CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY-ONE

(part two)

Friday morning — 7:01 a.m.

“You look swarthy,” Heather said to Mike Roper as she entered her new kitchen.

While the hair on his head was still long, Mike had shaved his heavy beard and his general body armor of hair was trimmed down. Heather was wearing a silken robe that was open over flannel pajamas.

“I do clean up nice,” Mike said with a laugh.

“What’s the occasion?” Heather asked.

“We have to go to some awards thing or another,” Mike said. “Mostly, Alex is in town and the guys got together for some grooming.”

Heather nodded. She filled the electric kettle with water and turned on the coffee maker.

“Dare I ask?” Heather asked.

“You can ask me anything, goddess,” Mike said.

“Was Sandy involved?” Heather asked.

“Not yesterday. She’s going to cut our hair today before I go to LA,” Mike said. “Before you ask, she has a male hair groomer at her salon now. He took care of all of our needs.”

“You look nice,” Heather said.

“Thanks,” Mike said.

Heather puttered around the new kitchen looking in one cabinet after the other. Mike watched her move around.

“What are you doing here?” Heather asked.

“Oh,” Mike said. “Sorry, I’m here for Jeraine.”

“Does he know that?” Heather asked.

“He came out and then said he had to shower,” Mike said.

Heather nodded.

“Jake’s opening the outside entrance to the ballroom today,” Mike said. “Jammy wants Jeraine there to take pictures. So he has to be dressed up. They’re pretty excited about the whole thing.”

“Why didn’t Jammy come?” Heather asked.

“I’m not good enough?” Mike asked.

“Jammy brings pastries,” Heather said.

“Ah,” Mike said. “No pastries for you!”

They laughed.

“Jammy flew from LA to Vegas to Denver,” Mike said. “No pastries for anyone.”

“That’s a sad fact,” Heather said. “Maybe I should get some.”

“Or wake up Blane and make him make some,” Mike said.

“I heard that,” Blane said. He was tying his robe when he came around the corner. “You look. . .”

Blane kissed Heather’s cheek, and they gave each other a hug.

“Swarthy,” Mike said.

“Shaved,” Blane said, looking over Heather’s shoulder.

The men laughed, and Blane and Heather separated.

“Alex home?” Blane asked.

Mike nodded.

“We went to the new guy at Sandy’s place,” Mike said. “He did a great job, I thought. Nice too.”

Nodding, Blane went to the refrigerator and poked around. He pulled out some eggs, bread, and bacon. He started cooking while Heather poured coffee into a travel mug. She added cream and a tiny bit of sugar before setting the travel mug on the edge of the counter.

A moment later, a completely dressed, and damp from the shower, Tres Sierra zoomed through kitchen. He grabbed the travel mug, waved to everyone, and jogged out of the house.

“Mask!” Heather yelled after him.

“Got it,” Tres said. They heard him open the drawer where they stored masks and push it closed. “See you tonight!”

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY-ONE

(part one)

Thursday night — 9:11 p.m.

“Fresh from the dryer,” Jill said.

She carried a stack of sheets into Tanesha and Jeraine’s bedroom. Heather grabbed a fitted sheet and a flat and threw them onto the bed. While Jill tucked the sheets into the closet, Heather made the bed. Tanesha came in with a clean comforter. Together, Tanesha and Heather put the comforter into a duvet cover and onto the bed. Jill threw a couple of pillow cases onto the bed. The women grabbed a pillow and began putting them on.

Jill looked around the room. The light bounced off the red oak floors, which had been laid over the heated floor. The walls were a pale green. Mike had spent a couple of days painting a lovely sky with white fluffy clouds on the ceiling. The moldings were a crisp white. The soft rug under the bed matched the green walls in subtle tones of green and blue. The bedding matched the carpet and the walls. They’d added an armoire that was Tanesha’s father Rodney’s along the wall along with a beautiful low cabinet in front of the one way window. The moon peaked through the rectangle windows near the ceiling.

“What do you think?” Jill asked.

“It’s beautiful,” Tanesha said. “Better than we deserve.”

“That’s not true!” Sandy yelled from the couch in the shared space where she was folding laundry. “You deserve at least this.”

“I haven’t asked but. . .” Tanesha started. “I mean, you know, I won’t be in class probably for the rest of the year. And. . .”

Jill gestured for Tanesha to follow her. They walked past Jabari’s room where he was entertaining Mack, Wyn, Eddy, and Maggie. The kids were deep into a game with cars and dolls. Heather picked up Wyn as she walked by.

Jill made a quick left turn and into a room that Tanesha thought was a closet.

“But. . .” Tanesha started.

Jill pushed the door open, and the women went inside a small but gorgeous office. There were high windows for light and privacy. Tanesha’s laptop sat onto of a long table. The cement floors were covered with cork so that Tanesha could have a soft surface while she paced back and forth. There was a comfy couch, big enough for Tanesha to nap on, along the wall. In the corner sat a small floating gas fireplace. On the wall near the door, there was a small counter with a sink. A filtered hot and cold water sat on the counter and there were cabinets above for supplies.

“We haven’t gotten your bookshelves and books in,” Jill said. “I know that you want some here and some in the main room and a few in the bedroom. I thought we could go through them later.”

Her eyes filled with tears, Tanesha nodded to Jill.

“Hey!” Sandy yelled from the couch in the main room. “Pizza’s here!”

Jill hugged Tanesha and left her with Heather.

“What do you think?” Heather asked.

“It’s amazing,” Tanesha said. “Everything is perfect.”

“We’re going to be really happy here,” Heather said.

“We are,” Tanesha said. “You never know what Jer’s going to complain about.”

“Hey!” Jeraine said from the hallway. “For that, I’m going to eat your pizza.”

“You’d better not!” Tanesha said.

She chased him out into the main living area. After the fiasco with the paparazzi, Jill and Jacob had painstakingly put a coating on the wall to ceiling windows and sliding glass door. The coating meant that no one could see inside. The sitting area had large empty book shelves, a wide area for kids to play in, as well as a comfortable sitting area for adults with a couch and chairs. A gas fireplace sat along the wall for when they wanted heat. A screen lowered from the ceiling for when they wanted to watch movies or games from the projected television.

Behind this area was a large gourmet kitchen created to Blane and Jeraine’s specifications. Blane was removing a pie from the oven.

“We’re going to be so happy here,” Heather said almost to herself.

Tres took Wyn from her. Nelson came in carrying the pizzas. He opened the sliding door to give some air flow before anyone took off their face masks to eat. For the next few hours, they celebrated the new home of their best friends.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY

(part six)

“Don’t remind me,” Tanesha said. “How much of that pile is Gran’s?”

“About half,” Heather said.

“She’s going to be mad if she finds out we got rid of her stuff,” Tanesha said.

“How would she find out?” Heather asked.

“Just don’t tell her,” Sandy said.

Tanesha gave them a worried nod. Her Gran’s lover was forced to return to her fairy realm during the fairy wars. Without the constant care of her lover, Gran had deteriorated terribly. At the beginning of the year, Tanesha had to put her grandmother into a care facility.

Now she worried that her Gran would get Covid. It wasn’t that her Gran hadn’t lived a long, satisfying life. If anything, Gran had lived much longer than she would have otherwise. And, it wasn’t that Gran was a nice person or even a deserving person. Tanesha loved her Gran and wanted her around. Tanesha sighed.

“Don’t you think that we should keep her stuff?” Tanesha asked.

“She hasn’t missed this stuff,” Heather said. “And it’s been here a long time.”

Tanesha gave a slow nod.

“She’s not going to make it is she?” Tanesha asked.

“That’s not my purview,” Heather said. “I don’t know.”

Tanesha nodded. She turned to look at Sandy and Jill.

“What would you do?” Tanesha asked.

“I would put the four boxes in the SUV and go to lunch,” Jill said.

“Life has too much crap,” Sandy said. “We can all use to lose a few boxes.”

Tanesha shook her head.

“It feels like I’m betraying her,” Tanesha said.

“But not Jeraine?” Heather asked with a grin. “What about the ribbon he won for winning first place in that race in third grade?”

Tanesha gave Heather a long look before starting to laugh.

“Oh look, the boxes are in the SUV,” Heather said.

“Wha. . .” Jill got up to look in the SUV.

When Sandy, Jill, and Tanesha looked again, the stacks of boxes were gone.

“Where did they. . .?” Tanesha started.

Heather pointed to the trash and recycling bins. The recycling bin was full of folded boxes. The three trash dumpsters were full. Heather pointed toward the road.

A trash truck pulled into the storage facility. While they watched, the truck picked up the dumpsters and rotated them into the truck. They watched the back of the truck as it exited to the street. A recycling 

“I guess that’s that,” Sandy said.

“Time for drinks!” Heather said.

Laughing, the women left the storage unit. When the couch was free, it moved itself to the back of the storage unit. Tanesha gave Heather a curious look.

“Just in case we want a club house,” Heather said.

“Wednesday drinks club,” Jill said with cheer.

“Today’s Thursday,” Sandy said, laughing at Jill.

“I cannot keep these Covid days straight,” Jill said.

“You and me both,” Tanesha said. “I’ll tell you one thing.”

The women turned to look at their friend.

“I love these masks,” Tanesha said, gesturing to her face mask. “We did all this dusty stuff and I’m not even stuff up.”

“Me too,” Sandy said with a nod.

“Now that you mention it,” Jill said.

“We should wear them all the time,” Heather said.

“We may have to,” Tanesha said, grimly.

“It always passes,” Heather said.

The friends shared a long look before Tanesha nodded. Tanesha and Heather helped Sandy into the back seat. Heather sat next to her. Tanesha got into the passenger seat and Jill started the SUV.

“Did I tell you that Loki came for a visit?” Heather asked.

“No way,” Tanesha said.

Laughing and talking, the four best girlfriends went to get tacos at their favorite truck with outdoor seating.

Denver Cereal continues on Monday...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY

Thursday morning — 9:00 a.m.

“I don’t know,” Tres Sierra said to Jeraine. “Did you ask Jake?”

They were standing in the hallway of their new home. Jeraine, Tanesha, and Jabari had starting moving in the night before.

“He told me to ask you,” Jeraine said. “He’s been a little. . .”

Jeraine pointed to his temple and rotated his wrist in a gesture that meant “crazy.”

“Too much to think about,” Tres said with a laugh. “And you just had to drop a murder in his lap.”

“Hey.” Jeraine held up his hands as if he were being threatened. “It wasn’t me.”

Tres laughed. There was a knock at the door and Tres went to the front door to open it.

“Who’s fault is it then?” Tres asked laughing.

“I. . .” Jeraine started but stopped as Tres opened the door.

They expected the movers with more of their furniture from storage.

No one was there.

“Hello?” Tres asked.

He leaned out the door and looked left and then right. Jeraine tapped his arm and pointed down.

Maggie Scully was standing outside the door. She held a tiny pink suitcase in her fists just over her knees. Her usually perfect pigtails were disheveled. Her face, neck, chest, even her hands were bright red. She looked furious.

“Maggie!” Tres said.

“My friends are here,” Maggie said.

She marched into the house. Realizing she had no idea where she was going, she looked up at Tres and then saw Jeraine.

“Is Jabari ready?” Maggie asked.

“Jabari?” Jeraine asked, trying to remember if he forgot something. “He’s downstairs.”

“Where’s Mack?” Maggie asked.

“He’s. . .” Jeraine said.

“Wait,” Tres said. “Just wait. Why are you here, Maggie?”

“It’s Thursday morning,” Maggie said. “We always play on Thursday morning.”

“Does your mom know that you’re here?” Tres asked.

“She went to work today,” Maggie said.

Through the open door, they saw Tink race out of the Castle, through the gate, and across the street. She jogged up the hill to where their front door.

“Maggie!” Tink said, clearly angry.

“I’m not talking to you,” Maggie said. “I don’t have to talk to anyone I don’t want to.”

“You cannot leave on your own!” Tink said.

Dawning awareness came to the men. They looked down at the tiny girl. She was looking angry and more than a little embarrassed.

“You aren’t my mom!” Maggie said. “You can’t make me!”

“Uh!” Tink said. “We’ve been over and over this. You can’t be here because they’re moving in!”

“But it’s Thursday!” Maggie said, as if Tink was dumb or possible deaf. “We play on Thursdays.”

“Did you cross that street by yourself?” Tink asked. Her hands went to her hips and her voice was hard.

“I’m not a stupid baby,” Maggie said in a near perfect imitation of Katy’s latest favorite comeback. The girl gestured to the paparazzi across the street “I had one of those men walk me across.”

“Maggie!” Tink said.

Realizing that Tres and Jeraine were standing there, Tink looked up at them. The men gave her nearly identical “It wasn’t me” faces. She looked back at Maggie. She opened her mouth to speak, but Tres cut her off.

“How about this?” Tres asked. “Why don’t we bring Mack and Jabari back to the Castle?”

“I can’t look after more kids!” Tink said. “Noelle and Nash are watching Katy, Paddie, Jackie, Eddy, Máire and Joey. Charlie has all of the other kids — including those wild twins! — while I’m chasing down this one! The girlfriends are getting your stuff out of the storage container! We can’t take any more kids!”

“I’ll go,” Tres said. He gave her a kind smile.

“Who are you?” Tink asked.

“Good philosophical question,” Tres said. “We have met before. You actually know me.”

Tink gave him a deadly look.

“Right now, I’m the person who is resolving this situation,” Tres said.

“Don’t you have something to do over here?” Tink asked.

“I’m in charge of Mack and Wyn today,” Tres said. “I’m off for a few days because of job sharing.”

“Whatever,” Tink said. “Maggie, you need to get back to the Castle.”

“No!” Maggie said. “I won’t go without Mack and Jabari! I won’t go! I won’t go! I won’t go! I won’t go!”

Jeraine winced. He’d been in the middle of a Katy melt-down once. It had permanently scarred him. He held his breath.

“She doesn’t have powers,” Tres said under the sound of the shouting girl.

“Thank God for that,” Jeraine said.

The sound of Maggie brought Mack and Jabari to the door. They saw their friend’s red angry face and her messed up hair. Jabari shifted to hide behind Jeraine’s leg, while Mack waded right in.

“Maggie?” Mack asked. “Why are you mad?”

“He has powers,” Tres said under his breath to Jeraine.

Jeraine gave a slow nod.

Maggie started to sob. Mack went to his friend and hugged her while she talked and cried. Tres made out that her mother went back to work today and her father thought he might not be home tonight and her best friends weren’t playing with her and her hair was lumpy and Tink was mad at her and she’d done something terrible by coming here and she was alone this morning and. . . On and on the tiny child went. She was so grief-stricken that even Tink’s justifiable anger eased.

When Maggie was calmer, Mack stepped back. He looked up at Tres and Jeraine.

“Can Maggie come inside?” Mack asked. He looked up at Tink. “T’nk?”

Mack held out his hand and a golden apple appeared in his palm. Without hesitation, Tink took the apple and bit into it.

“Th-nks,” Tink said with a full mouth.

Smiling at his big sister, Mack nodded. Tink picked him up with one arm while holding the apple in the other.

“May as well come inside,” Tink said. “I need to change anyway.”

She finished eating the apple and held it out to Mack. He blew on it. The apple core flew across the cement path and landed in the dirt. Everyone watched in awe as a tree grew — from sprout to five feet — where the apple’s core had landed.

“I wondered where those were coming from,” Tres said.

“Mama said we could move them if there’s too many,” Mack said.

“Your mama’s brilliant,” Tres said, giving the boy a warm smile.

Tink smirked at Tres. Jabari held his hand out to Maggie, and they all went inside the cool house.

“Can I see your new bedrooms?” Maggie asked.

“This way!” Jabari said.

Maggie ran after Jabari. Tink set Mack down, and he ran off after the other children.

“Well,” Tink said as she walked past the men. “Any idea where my dad is?”

“Blane’s in his acupuncture studio,” Tres said. “I’ll keep an eye on the kids if you want to talk with him.”

“Thanks, funky-dad,” Tink said.

Tres grinned and watched her head inside.

“Funky-dad?” Jeraine asked with a raise of the eyebrows.

“She wanted to call me fuck-dad,” Tres said.

Jeraine laughed, and Tres smiled. There was another knock at the door. Tres went to watch the kids while Jeraine dealt with the movers. Another load of possessions was coming from the storage.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday morning — 10:02 a.m.

Teddy Jakkman was standing on the Castle’s backyard grass watching the children play when Alex Hargreaves appeared. Instinctively, he let out a yelp and jumped. Then he swore at himself.

“Let’s try it again,” Alex said.

“I know you’re coming now!” Teddy said.

Alex grinned. She helped out with the martial arts classes whenever she was home. Right now, they were working on being calm, but prepared for anything at any time. It was a lot harder than it seemed.

“How long did it take you to get it?” Teddy asked.

“Forever,” Alex said. “And I had two annoying brothers, who kept me on my toes.”

Teddy grinned and then scowled.

“How’s Uncle John?” Teddy asked.

“Good,” Alex said with a grin. “Well, better. He’s starting to act a little bit more like himself again.”

“That’s good,” Teddy said.

“Death is sticky,” Alex said. “Every soul leaves a bit of themselves with you. I don’t understand it enough to explain it, but it just is.”

Teddy nodded in understanding.

“I came to see my children,” Alex said.

“Are you taking them home?” Teddy asked, his voice rising in anxiety.

“If they want to come home,” Alex said. “They seem pretty happy here. They’re having a great time here. Should I take them home?”

“No, I. . .” Looking relieved, Teddy nodded.

“Why?” Alex asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Teddy said with a sheepish grin. “If they go, then I’ll probably have to go.”

“Makes sense,” Alex said. “Unlike you, the kids and I need to have a conversation with our family in Afghanistan.”

“Valerie said something about it,” Teddy said with a nod.

“She said she’d set it up for me,” Alex said. “But I know she just had her baby. It would be okay if. . .”

“I think it’s done,” Teddy said. “Well. . . really, you’re just using Jill’s office. She talks to Mike and Val when they travel. It’s quiet and there’s space for everyone.”

“Sounds great,” Alex said. “Is Jill here?”

“The girlfriends are at Tanesha’s storage facility,” Teddy said. “Val’s waiting for you in the kitchen.”

“Perfect. Thanks for keeping track of everyone,” Alex said. “That’s a real skill, Teddy.”

Teddy blushed and looked away.

“Are my kids upstairs?” Alex asked.

Teddy gestured out on the grass. Máire, Katy, Ivy, and Jackie were with Delphie inside the greenhouses while Joey was running after Paddie with Eddy, Bladen, and Tanner close behind.

Smiling, Alex went to the greenhouse. Teddy watched. Even though Maire and Joey went long periods without seeing their mom, they were super close, almost closer because she was gone sometimes. The children could share their raw need and emotion because they knew that their mom could handle it. It was true for Teddy, his sister, and brother and their dad, too.

Máire looked up when Alex opened the door to the greenhouse. The girl’s face flushed red and she began to cry. Alex walked over to the small girl and picked her up. Alex smiled at Delphie and carried Máire out of the greenhouse. Teddy saw the girl cry and talk to her mother. Alex carried Máire over to the deck. She sat down and held her daughter as she cried and spoke.

Teddy went across the grass to get Joey. He was nearly there when Joey noticed his mom and sister. He raced past Teddy and threw himself on his mother and sister. The three of them were such a joyous sight that everyone stopped to watch.

After a moment, Alex got up. She held a hand out to Máire and a hand to Joey. Máire smoothed her long curly hair before taking her mother’s hand. The three went inside.

When Teddy looked back, the boys were playing again and Delphie was working with the girls in the greenhouse. It was just starting to warm up for the day.

Even with the face masks, handwashing, and social distancing, this was going to be a really great spring.

Teddy just knew it.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday morning — 11:30 a.m.

“Who would have thought that we had so much crap?” Tanesha said.

She dropped down onto the ancient couch next to where Sandy was sorting through boxes.

“I do not remember storing all of this crap,” Tanesha said with a shake of her head.

“I’m not sure that you did,” Heather said, holding up an ancient dress. “This looks like. . .”

“Gran,” Tanesha said with a nod. “She must have put some boxes in with mine by accident.”

“By accident,” Jill said with a roll of her eyes.

“Some?” Heather asked.

Tanesha raised a hand to them”.

“I know, I know,” Tanesha said. “Let me just sit over here with my illusions and exhaustion.”

The women laughed. Tanesha leaned back so that her head was on Sandy’s lap and her knees rested on the armrest of the couch. Sandy rubbed Tanesha’s scalp and Tanesha’ closed her eyes.

“Have some iced tea,” Jill said.

She got up to get the thermos and cups from the back of her SUV.

“We need bourbon,” Sandy said.

“It’s too hot for Bourbon,” Heather said. “But champagne?”

“Headaches,” Tanesha said.

“Let’s face it,” Jill said. “We have to get through this and then celebrate.”

The women laughed. Jill sat down on the other side of Sandy and Heather pulled up a box.

“Can you magic something?” Tanesha said without opening her eyes.

“Magic?” Heather asked. “Something?”

She sniffed in a manner befitting of a queen.

“I assume you are speaking to me,” Heather said.

They laughed.

“Oh yes, oh wise goddess, please oh please, help me sort through all of this crap,” Tanesha said.

“Are you sure?” Heather asked. “You didn’t want me to ‘magic’ when we started.”

“I was a fool,” Tanesha said. “Please forgive me, oh, wise woman.”

Jill and Sandy watched and for a long, silent moment, they just looked at each other. Heather laughed.

“It’s about time,” Heather said.

Heather clapped her hands together. The random stacking of boxes and other junk was sorted into a large pile, stacked precariously from floor to ceiling, on one side of the storage unit and a four boxes in a row on the other side of the storage unit.

“Whoa,” Jill and Sandy said in near unison.

Tanesha sat up.

“What in the world?” Tanesha asked. “What is this?”

“On one side, you have the crap that you hate,” Heather said. Nodding, she added, “Most of it is Jeraine’s crap — his high school papers, crayon drawings, the first guitar string he ever broke, the. . .”

“The first guitar string he ever broke?” Jill asked, laughing.

“You see what I have to deal with?” Tanesha asked, laughing.

Ever the practical friend, Sandy asked, “And the other side?”

“Stuff you want to keep,” Heather said. “That little picture Jabari had with him when he came. Before and after pictures of the yellow house. Your college pictures.”

“Anything of Jer’s?” Tanesha asked.

“Some,” Heather said. “But we took a whole lot of it to the house.”

“Don’t remind me,” Tanesha said. “How much of that pile is Gran’s?”

“About half,” Heather said.

“She’s going to be mad if she finds out we got rid of her stuff,” Tanesha said.

“How would she find out?” Heather asked.

“Just don’t tell her,” Sandy said.

Tanesha gave them a worried nod. Her Gran’s lover was forced to return to her fairy realm during the fairy wars. Without the constant care of her lover, Gran had deteriorated terribly. At the beginning of the year, Tanesha had to put her grandmother into a care facility.

Now she worried that her Gran would get Covid. It wasn’t that her Gran hadn’t lived a long, satisfying life. If anything, Gran had lived much longer than she would have otherwise. And, it wasn’t that Gran was a nice person or even a deserving person. Tanesha loved her Gran and wanted her around. Tanesha sighed.

“Don’t you think that we should keep her stuff?” Tanesha asked.

“She hasn’t missed this stuff,” Heather said. “And it’s been here a long time.”

Tanesha gave a slow nod.

“She’s not going to make it is she?” Tanesha asked.

“That’s not my purview,” Heather said. “I don’t know.”

Tanesha nodded. She turned to look at Sandy and Jill.

“What would you do?” Tanesha asked.

“I would put the four boxes in the SUV and go to lunch,” Jill said.

“Life has too much crap,” Sandy said. “We can all use to lose a few boxes.”

Tanesha shook her head.

“It feels like I’m betraying her,” Tanesha said.

“But not Jeraine?” Heather asked with a grin. “What about the ribbon he won for winning first place in that race in third grade?”

Tanesha gave Heather a long look before starting to laugh.

“Oh look, the boxes are in the SUV,” Heather said.

“Wha. . .” Jill got up to look in the SUV.

When Sandy, Jill, and Tanesha looked again, the stacks of boxes were gone.

“Where did they. . .?” Tanesha started.

Heather pointed to the trash and recycling bins. The recycling bin was full of folded boxes. The three trash dumpsters were full. Heather pointed toward the road.

A trash truck pulled into the storage facility. While they watched, the truck picked up the dumpsters and rotated them into the truck. They watched the back of the truck as it exited to the street. A recycling 

“I guess that’s that,” Sandy said.

“Time for drinks!” Heather said.

Laughing, the women left the storage unit. When the couch was free, it moved itself to the back of the storage unit. Tanesha gave Heather a curious look.

“Just in case we want a club house,” Heather said.

“Wednesday drinks club,” Jill said with cheer.

“Today’s Thursday,” Sandy said, laughing at Jill.

“I cannot keep these Covid days straight,” Jill said.

“You and me both,” Tanesha said.

“I’ll tell you one thing.”

The women turned to look at their friend.

“I love these masks,” Tanesha said, gesturing to her face mask. “We did all this dusty stuff and I’m not even stuff up.”

“Me too,” Sandy said with a nod.

“Now that you mention it,” Jill said.

“We should wear them all the time,” Heather said.

“We may have to,” Tanesha said, grimly.

“It always passes,” Heather said.

The friends shared a long look before Tanesha nodded. Tanesha and Heather helped Sandy into the back seat. Heather sat next to her. Tanesha got into the passenger seat and Jill started the SUV.

“Did I tell you that Loki came for a visit?” Heather asked.

“No way,” Tanesha said.

Laughing and talking, the four best girlfriends went to get tacos at their favorite truck with outdoor seating.

Denver Cereal continues next week...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY

(part five)

Thursday morning — 11:30 a.m.

“Who would have thought that we had so much crap?” Tanesha said.

She dropped down onto the ancient couch next to where Sandy was sorting through boxes.

“I do not remember storing all of this crap,” Tanesha said with a shake of her head.

“I’m not sure that you did,” Heather said, holding up an ancient dress. “This looks like. . .”

“Gran,” Tanesha said with a nod. “She must have put some boxes in with mine by accident.”

“By accident,” Jill said with a roll of her eyes.

“Some?” Heather asked.

Tanesha raised a hand to them”.

“I know, I know,” Tanesha said. “Let me just sit over here with my illusions and exhaustion.”

The women laughed. Tanesha leaned back so that her head was on Sandy’s lap and her knees rested on the armrest of the couch. Sandy rubbed Tanesha’s scalp and Tanesha’ closed her eyes.

“Have some iced tea,” Jill said.

She got up to get the thermos and cups from the back of her SUV.

“We need bourbon,” Sandy said.

“It’s too hot for Bourbon,” Heather said. “But champagne?”

“Headaches,” Tanesha said.

“Let’s face it,” Jill said. “We have to get through this and then celebrate.”

The women laughed. Jill sat down on the other side of Sandy and Heather pulled up a box.

“Can you magic something?” Tanesha said without opening her eyes.

“Magic?” Heather asked. “Something?”

She sniffed in a manner befitting of a queen.

“I assume you are speaking to me,” Heather said.

They laughed.

“Oh yes, oh wise goddess, please oh please, help me sort through all of this crap,” Tanesha said.

“Are you sure?” Heather asked. “You didn’t want me to ‘magic’ when we started.”

“I was a fool,” Tanesha said. “Please forgive me, oh, wise woman.”

Jill and Sandy watched and for a long, silent moment, they just looked at each other. Heather laughed.

“It’s about time,” Heather said.

Heather clapped her hands together. The random stacking of boxes and other junk was sorted into a large pile, stacked precariously from floor to ceiling, on one side of the storage unit and a four boxes in a row on the other side of the storage unit.

“Whoa,” Jill and Sandy said in near unison.

Tanesha sat up.

“What in the world?” Tanesha asked. “What is this?”

“On one side, you have the crap that you hate,” Heather said. Nodding, she added, “Most of it is Jeraine’s crap — his high school papers, crayon drawings, the first guitar string he ever broke, the. . .”

“The first guitar string he ever broke?” Jill asked, laughing.

“You see what I have to deal with?” Tanesha asked, laughing.

Ever the practical friend, Sandy asked, “And the other side?”

“Stuff you want to keep,” Heather said. “That little picture Jabari had with him when he came. Before and after pictures of the yellow house. Your college pictures.”

“Anything of Jer’s?” Tanesha asked.

“Some,” Heather said. “But we took a whole lot of it to the house.”

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY

(part four)

Thursday morning — 10:02 a.m.

Teddy Jakkman was standing on the Castle’s backyard grass watching the children play when Alex Hargreaves appeared. Instinctively, he let out a yelp and jumped. Then he swore at himself.

“Let’s try it again,” Alex said.

“I know you’re coming now!” Teddy said.

Alex grinned. She helped out with the martial arts classes whenever she was home. Right now, they were working on being calm, but prepared for anything at any time. It was a lot harder than it seemed.

“How long did it take you to get it?” Teddy asked.

“Forever,” Alex said. “And I had two annoying brothers, who kept me on my toes.”

Teddy grinned and then scowled.

“How’s Uncle John?” Teddy asked.

“Good,” Alex said with a grin. “Well, better. He’s starting to act a little bit more like himself again.”

“That’s good,” Teddy said.

“Death is sticky,” Alex said. “Every soul leaves a bit of themselves with you. I don’t understand it enough to explain it, but it just is.”

Teddy nodded in understanding.

“I came to see my children,” Alex said.

“Are you taking them home?” Teddy asked, his voice rising in anxiety.

“If they want to come home,” Alex said. “They seem pretty happy here. They’re having a great time here. Should I take them home?”

“No, I. . .” Looking relieved, Teddy nodded.

“Why?” Alex asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Teddy said with a sheepish grin. “If they go, then I’ll probably have to go.”

“Makes sense,” Alex said. “Unlike you, the kids and I need to have a conversation with our family in Afghanistan.”

“Valerie said something about it,” Teddy said with a nod.

“She said she’d set it up for me,” Alex said. “But I know she just had her baby. It would be okay if. . .”

“I think it’s done,” Teddy said. “Well. . . really, you’re just using Jill’s office. She talks to Mike and Val when they travel. It’s quiet and there’s space for everyone.”

“Sounds great,” Alex said. “Is Jill here?”

“The girlfriends are at Tanesha’s storage facility,” Teddy said. “Val’s waiting for you in the kitchen.”

“Perfect. Thanks for keeping track of everyone,” Alex said. “That’s a real skill, Teddy.”

Teddy blushed and looked away.

“Are my kids upstairs?” Alex asked.

Teddy gestured out on the grass. Máire, Katy, Ivy, and Jackie were with Delphie inside the greenhouses while Joey was running after Paddie with Eddy, Bladen, and Tanner close behind.

Smiling, Alex went to the greenhouse. Teddy watched. Even though Maire and Joey went long periods without seeing their mom, they were super close, almost closer because she was gone sometimes. The children could share their raw need and emotion because they knew that their mom could handle it. It was true for Teddy, his sister, and brother and their dad, too.

Máire looked up when Alex opened the door to the greenhouse. The girl’s face flushed red and she began to cry. Alex walked over to the small girl and picked her up. Alex smiled at Delphie and carried Máire out of the greenhouse. Teddy saw the girl cry and talk to her mother. Alex carried Máire over to the deck. She sat down and held her daughter as she cried and spoke.

Teddy went across the grass to get Joey. He was nearly there when Joey noticed his mom and sister. He raced past Teddy and threw himself on his mother and sister. The three of them were such a joyous sight that everyone stopped to watch.

After a moment, Alex got up. She held a hand out to Máire and a hand to Joey. Máire smoothed her long curly hair before taking her mother’s hand. The three went inside.

When Teddy looked back, the boys were playing again and Delphie was working with the girls in the greenhouse. It was just starting to warm up for the day.

Even with the face masks, handwashing, and social distancing, this was going to be a really great spring.

Teddy just knew it.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY

(part three)

“Maggie?” Mack asked. “Why are you mad?”

“He has powers,” Tres said under his breath to Jeraine.

Jeraine gave a slow nod.

Maggie started to sob. Mack went to his friend and hugged her while she talked and cried. Tres made out that her mother went back to work today and her father thought he might not be home tonight and her best friends weren’t playing with her and her hair was lumpy and Tink was mad at her and she’d done something terrible by coming here and she was alone this morning and. . . On and on the tiny child went. She was so grief-stricken that even Tink’s justifiable anger eased.

When Maggie was calmer, Mack stepped back. He looked up at Tres and Jeraine.

“Can Maggie come inside?” Mack asked. He looked up at Tink. “T’nk?”

Mack held out his hand and a golden apple appeared in his palm. Without hesitation, Tink took the apple and bit into it.

“Th-nks,” Tink said with a full mouth.

Smiling at his big sister, Mack nodded. Tink picked him up with one arm while holding the apple in the other.

“May as well come inside,” Tink said. “I need to change anyway.”

She finished eating the apple and held it out to Mack. He blew on it. The apple core flew across the cement path and landed in the dirt. Everyone watched in awe as a tree grew — from sprout to five feet — where the apple’s core had landed.

“I wondered where those were coming from,” Tres said.

“Mama said we could move them if there’s too many,” Mack said.

“Your mama’s brilliant,” Tres said, giving the boy a warm smile.

Tink smirked at Tres. Jabari held his hand out to Maggie and they all went inside the cool house.

“Can I see your new bedrooms?” Maggie asked.

“This way!” Jabari said.

Maggie ran after Jabari. Tink set Mack down, and he ran off after the other children.

“Well,” Tink said as she walked past the men. “Any idea where my dad is?”

“Blane’s in his acupuncture studio,” Tres said. “I’ll keep an eye on the kids if you want to talk with him.”

“Thanks, funky-dad,” Tink said.

Tres grinned and watched her head inside.

“Funky-dad?” Jeraine asked with a raise of the eyebrows.

“She wanted to call me fuck-dad,” Tres said.

Jeraine laughed, and Tres smiled. There was another knock at the door. Tres went to watch the kids while Jeraine dealt with the movers. Another load of possessions was coming from the storage.

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY

(part two)

“You aren’t my mom!” Maggie said. “You can’t make me!”

“Uh!” Tink said. “We’ve been over and over this. You can’t be here because they’re moving in!”

“But it’s Thursday!” Maggie said, as if Tink was dumb or possible deaf. “We play on Thursdays.”

“Did you cross that street by yourself?” Tink asked. Her hands went to her hips and her voice was hard.

“I’m not a stupid baby,” Maggie said in a near perfect imitation of Katy’s latest favorite comeback. The girl gestured to the paparazzi across the street “I had one of those men walk me across.”

“Maggie!” Tink said.

Realizing that Tres and Jeraine were standing there, Tink looked up at them. The men gave her nearly identical “It wasn’t me” faces. She looked back at Maggie. She opened her mouth to speak, but Tres cut her off.

“How about this?” Tres asked. “Why don’t we bring Mack and Jabari back to the Castle?”

“I can’t look after more kids!” Tink said. “Noelle and Nash are watching Katy, Paddie, Jackie, Eddy, Máire and Joey. Charlie has all of the other kids — including those wild twins! — while I’m chasing down this one! The girlfriends are getting your stuff out of the storage container! We can’t take any more kids!”

“I’ll go,” Tres said. He gave her a kind smile.

“Who are you?” Tink asked.

“Good philosophical question,” Tres said. “We have met before. You actually know me.”

Tink gave him a deadly look.

“Right now, I’m the person who is resolving this situation,” Tres said.

“Don’t you have something to do over here?” Tink asked.

“I’m in charge of Mack and Wyn today,” Tres said. “I’m off for a few days because of job sharing.”

“Whatever,” Tink said. “Maggie, you need to get back to the Castle.”

“No!” Maggie said. “I won’t go without Mack and Jabari! I won’t go! I won’t go! I won’t go! I won’t go!”

Jeraine winced. He’d been in the middle of a Katy melt-down once. It had permanently scarred him. He held his breath.

“She doesn’t have powers,” Tres said under the sound of the shouting girl.

“Thank God for that,” Jeraine said.

The sound of Maggie brought Mack and Jabari to the door. They saw their friend’s red angry face and her messed up hair. Jabari shifted to hide behind Jeraine’s leg, while Mack waded right in.

“Maggie?” Mack asked. “Why are you mad?”

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and FORTY

(part one)

Thursday morning — 9:00 a.m.

“I don’t know,” Tres Sierra said to Jeraine. “Did you ask Jake?”

They were standing in the hallway of their new home. Jeraine, Tanesha, and Jabari had starting moving in the night before.

“He told me to ask you,” Jeraine said. “He’s been a little. . .”

Jeraine pointed to his temple and rotated his wrist in a gesture that meant “crazy.”

“Too much to think about,” Tres said with a laugh. “And you just had to drop a murder in his lap.”

“Hey.” Jeraine held up his hands as if he were being threatened. “It wasn’t me.”

Tres laughed. There was a knock at the door and Tres went to the front door to open it.

“Who’s fault is it then?” Tres asked laughing.

“I. . .” Jeraine started but stopped as Tres opened the door.

They expected the movers with more of their furniture from storage.

No one was there.

“Hello?” Tres asked.

He leaned out the door and looked left and then right. Jeraine tapped his arm and pointed down.

Maggie Scully was standing outside the door. She held a tiny pink suitcase in her fists just over her knees. Her usually perfect pigtails were disheveled. Her face, neck, chest, even her hands were bright red. She looked furious.

“Maggie!” Tres said.

“My friends are here,” Maggie said.

She marched into the house. Realizing she had no idea where she was going, she looked up at Tres and then saw Jeraine.

“Is Jabari ready?” Maggie asked.

“Jabari?” Jeraine asked, trying to remember if he forgot something. “He’s downstairs.”

“Where’s Mack?” Maggie asked.

“He’s. . .” Jeraine said.

“Wait,” Tres said. “Just wait. Why are you here, Maggie?”

“It’s Thursday morning,” Maggie said. “We always play on Thursday morning.”

“Does your mom know that you’re here?” Tres asked.

“She went to work today,” Maggie said.

Through the open door, they saw Tink race out of the Castle, through the gate, and across the street. She jogged up the hill to where their front door.

“Maggie!” Tink said, clearly angry.

“I’m not talking to you,” Maggie said. “I don’t have to talk to anyone I don’t want to.”

“You cannot leave on your own!” Tink said.

Dawning awareness came to the men. They looked down at the tiny girl. She was looking angry and more than a little embarrassed.

“You aren’t my mom!” Maggie said. “You can’t make me!”

Denver Cereal continues tomorrow...

CHAPTER SIX HUNDRED and THIRTY-NINE

“It is perfectly legal,” the son said.

“So is this,” William said. “We’ll file by end of day today to take control of the buildings. Unless, of course, you have the money to pay off the loan?”

“You’ll give us a month?” the son asked.

Bernie looked at his lawyer.

“How long did they give their tenants?” Bernie asked.

“Twelve hours,” William said.

“I’ll give you twelve hours from the time we notified you about this meeting,” Bernie said.

“That would be. . .” William looked at his watch, “. . . ten minutes from now.”

The father’s head continued to shake back and forth. The son started spewing words. His flawless, unlined face made every effort to twist around the cruel, rage-filled word. It was odd to watch the plasticity of the skin, so smooth and blemish free, bend around the rage. Bernie and William watched in fascination.

After a few minutes, two security guards arrived at the office and dragged the shouting son and his shocked father out of the conference room.

Bernie and the son of his old lawyer, his current his lawyer, William, sat in silence for a moment.

“That was. . .” William said.

Bernie started laughing.

“Satisfying,” William said. “Yes, yes, it was most satisfying. You have balls of steel, old man.”

“As do you,” Bernie said.

William’s face was covered in a face mask but Bernie was pretty sure he was grinning.

“We become what we hate,” Bernie said, gesturing to the door. “The boy reminded me of the Nazis — then and now.”

“If I’m honest,” William said.

Bernie gave a slight nod.

“He terrified me,” William said. “You’ve seen this before?”

“During the war,” Bernie nodded. Rather than spend time talking about Nazi evil, he said, “Did you know that it was my granddaughter who found the trove of Jewish art?”

“In Poland?” William was either surprised or was polite enough to act surprised. “Salt mine?”

“My Seth helped get it,” Bernie said.

“O’Malley is an incredible man,” William said. “Why do you bring this up?”

“My granddaughter gave me something for you,” Bernie said.

William’s hand flew to his heart.

“You. . .” William started. Overcome, the man’s eyes welled with tears. “You. . .”

“Is your father here?” Bernie asked.

“I won’t let him come into the city,” William said. “It’s too dangerous for the elderly.”

Bernie gave a quick nod. He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a tissue paper wrapped packet. He set it on the table and pushed it over to William.

William’s eyes held Bernie’s for a long moment before he looked down at what was in front of him. His fingers picked at the tissue until it began to unfold.

A shiny gold pocket watch the size of a quarter and two gleaming rings were nestled inside the tissue. He opened the ornate pocket watch cover to reveal a beautiful face. In an effort to control his emotions, William snapped the lid to the watch closed. Bernie pointed to a set of initials engraved in the watch. William’s thumb moved over the engraving as if he were caressing soft skin.

“It’s on the rings, too,” Bernie said.

When William looked up, tears were streaming down his face. Bernie nodded.

“We may have more of your possessions. It will take some time,” Bernie said. “But I wanted to get this to you as soon as we knew they was yours.”

William had opened the watch again.

“Your great-great-grandfather made that watch,” Bernie said. “He signed it inside the instrumentation. We had it cleaned and a new timing coil put in so that it will work. I thought you should have it, especially during this challenging time.”

William gave Bernie a nod. Bernie grinned at the son of his old lawyer.

Bernie stood up from his seat and left the room. He nodded to the young woman at the front and left the office. He was in the elevator when his cellphone rang.

“Thank you,” William croaked. “My father is crying his eyes out. Right now. These are his parents’ rings.”

“Yes,” Bernie said. “They are.”

“Your granddaughter is Sandy Delgado?” William asked.

“Seth’s child with Andy Mendy,” Bernie said.

“I was going to say that she looks so much like Andy,” William said. “I looked her up. Your granddaughter. What a beautiful person.”

“She’s amazing,” Bernie said. “This effort of hers could use some help.”

“Donations?” William asked.

“Assistance distributing the items, determining their authenticity,” Bernie said. “And, between you and me, more than a few of your father’s friends are acting like jackasses. One of his friends is suing her for not giving him his item long before he or she knew it even exited! Is that how we deal with people now? No patience, no trust — just bring in the lawyers to harass someone who’s done you a favor.”

“I’ll take care of it,” William said. “You can’t imagine what this means to us. Thank you.”

“And it’s our pleasure,” Bernie said.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” William said. “Anything at all. As it is, you’ll take possession of the buildings by five tonight.”

“Thank you,” Bernie said, but William had gone.

Grinning at himself, Bernie left the building. He found Maresol where he’s left her.

“How did it go?” Maresol asked, standing.

“Much screaming,” Bernie said.

“Yes, I saw that,” Maresol said, as she tucked her hand into his arm. “How do you think he keeps his face so still while he spews such hate?”

“No idea,” Bernie said.

“I think he’s the devil,” Maresol said. “A demon at the very least.”

“Could be,” Bernie said. “We did just give him a very, very bad day.”

Chuckling, she squeezed his arm. They walked to the car that was waiting for them. He opened the door for her and she got inside. They returned to Seth’s building where anxious people waited to find out if they would have their homes this winter.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday morning — 9:00 a.m.

Denver, Colorado

Seth O’Malley knocked on the interview room with his foot. A uniformed officer opened the door and nodded. Seth went into the room carrying two cups of coffee.

“Coffee?” Seth asked.

The man in the interview room looked up at him and then nodded. Seth sat down across from the man. For a minute, they both took long drinks from their coffee cups. Seth set his down and looked at the man across from him.

In his day, this man — Gerald Whitestone — must have been a giant. Well into his 90^th year, he still held himself with the powerful look of someone to be reckoned with. Thick chest and biceps pushed through the man’s tailored suit. His skin wasn’t quite brown and wasn’t exactly black. His eyes were on the brown side of hazel. What hair the man had left was combed back across his dome.

They had both been tested for Covid-19 before they entered this room. Neither was seemed to have the disease.

“The detectives tell me that you’ve made it through a physical and psychological evaluation,” Seth said.

Gerald Whitestone nodded.

“You’ve had your Miranda Rights read,” Seth said. “Any questions?”

Gerald Whitestone shook his head.

“We’re taping this interview,” Seth said. “Audio and video.”

“Got it,” Gerald Whitestone said.

“What would you like me to call you?” Seth asked.

“Whitestone,” Gerald Whitestone said. “You mind if I call you, O’Malley?”

“Most people do,” Seth said with a grin.

“You know ’bout the cancer?” Whitestone asked.

Seth nodded.

“I’ve got about three months to live,” Whitestone said.

“That’s why I’m here,” Seth said.

“You aren’t po-lice anymore, are you?” Whitestone asked.

Seth shook his head.

“I work special investigations, cold cases,” Seth said with a shrug. “They let me talk to people like you.”

“Why’s that?” Whitestone asked.

“They think that you’ll talk to me,” Seth said with a shrug. He held the cup to his lips. “Two old men in a room.”

Whitestone laughed. The men finished their coffee. Seth replaced his facemask and waited for Whitestone to do the same.

“That detective is older than you,” Whitestone said.

“More miles,” Seth said.

Seth gave Whitestone a long look.

“When I was a kid, I used to spend my weekends playing at the swing clubs in New York City,” Seth said.

“Big Daddy,” Whitestone said, softly, as if he didn’t want anyone to hear.

“I took jazz lessons from his father-in-law,” Seth said, not willing to give up the name of his mentor to the police detectives behind the mirrored glass.

Whitestone’s indicated that he knew who Seth was referring to.

“I spent a lot of my youth in those clubs,” Seth said.

“You can’t charge me for the swing club,” Whitestone said. “Or selling alcohol. They aren’t crimes any longer.”

“Murder,” Seth said. “You’re here for murdering your wife as well as another male, Mrs. Jones and a child.”

“Fair enough,” Whitestone said.

Whitestone leaned back in his chair. Sitting in silence, the men looked at each other for a long moment. Whitestone sighed.

“You waiting for me to confess?” Whitestone asked.

“No,” Seth said. “You did that last night.”

“That’s right,” Whitestone said. “There’s nothing wrong with killing a cheating woman. Not one thing.”

“That’s what I was thinking about,” Seth said.

Whitestone looked up at him.

“According to Wretched Jones, your wife wasn’t cheating on you,” Seth said.

“What about that man?” Whitestone asked indignantly. “She spent a powerful lot of time with him.”

“According to Wretched, the man was a teacher,” Seth said. “He was teaching your wife, and his, how to read.”

Whitestone made a “tsk” sound and shook his head in disbelief.

“Your wife was also learning basic accounting,” Seth said. “I guess you were having trouble with people stealing?”

“That’s just it,” Whitestone said. “I couldn’t tell.”

“She wanted to surprise you by doing all of the books,” Seth said.

“Nah,” Whitestone said. “She was cheating. I knew it the moment it started. Heard it from a guy who said he saw them together kissing and carrying on.”

“This guy,” Seth said. “He wouldn’t happen to be tall, lanky white guy?”

“Jeramiah Simons,” Whitestone said with a nod.

“You mean Sergeant Jeramiah Simons,” Seth said. “Soon to become Captain? Spent his nights and weekends in a white hood?”

Seth gestured with his hands to indicate a pointed hood.

“He the klan?” Whitestone asked. For a moment, his mouth dropped open. “Po-lice?”

“Feds,” Seth said.

“I’ll be God-damned,” Whitestone said with a slow shake of his head.

“They set you up,” Seth said pointing to Whitestone. “They didn’t care if you killed your black wife or Wretched’s, for that matter. They wanted to get rid of the teacher who was giving good hardworking black people an education. And they wanted to get rid of places where black people could congregate, enjoy themselves.”

Seth picked up a piece of paper and read.

“Reducing the native population was the cat’s meow,” Seth read. Seth looked up at Whitestone. “This is a letter he wrote to his superior.”

“How did you get that?” Whitestone asked. “That for real?”

Nodding, Seth set the sheet down. Whitestone picked up the paper and read the letter for himself.

“I. . .” Whitestone started and then stopped. “He. . .”

Seth nodded.

“It’s easy to get led astray when you want to believe it,” Seth said. “You had mistresses? It says here that you have three kids by three other women besides your first wife.”

“Sure,” Whitestone said.

“You thought your wife was behaving like you were,” Seth said.

Whitestone gave Seth a long look. After a moment, his head went up and down.

“You’re right,” Whitestone said. “My wife was a Christian woman. She drove me crazy with all of the praying and church going. I wanted. . . Well, I don’t know what I wanted.”

“You were relieved when you could justify killing her,” Seth said.

“Now where do you come off. . .” Whitestone started.

“Big Daddy told me that a very long time ago,” Seth said. “It’s taken me all of these years to realize it was this speakeasy — you — he was talking about.”

Whitestone looked away from Seth, and Seth waited. After a moment, the elderly man’s eyes flicked back to Seth.

“Big Daddy,” Whitestone said with a shake of his head. “The guy before him gave us the capital to start the club. First time I saw Big Daddy, he was traveling with his parents. Huh. The kid had my number the whole time.”

“Big Daddy had everyone’s number,” Seth nodded. “That’s how and why he was able to be who he was for such a long time.”

Whitestone nodded.

“Your children would like to bury their mother,” Seth said. “I guess there’s a plot already purchased for the both of you?”

Whitestone didn’t move.

“We’ll make arrangements,” Seth said.

“They still okay with me going in the ground there?” Whitestone asked.

Seth gave a slight nod.

“They’ve always known that you killed your wife,” Seth said. “At least that’s what your eldest daughter said.”

Whitestone gave Seth a slow nod.

“Out of curiosity, were you involved in building the ballroom?” Seth asked.

“No,” Whitestone said. “That place been around since the 1890s. Build by some guy named Marlowe. I’ll tell you — he built places all over the city. Secret places where people of all colors could meet up. You know. . .”

Whitestone leaned forward onto the table.

“It’s owned by a guy named ‘Marlowe’ now,” Whitestone said. “That family is an old, old Colorado family. They built places all over. Own a mine in Leadville that’s supposed to be filled with blue diamonds, but I don’t know that for a fact.”

“He found the ballroom,” Seth said.

“I bet he’d find them all,” Whitestone said.

“I’m not sure he knows about them,” Seth said.

“He will now,” Whitestone said. “You’ll tell him.”

Chuckling to himself, Whitestone nodded.

“The Feds want me to about the Phosogene,” Seth said. “Did you fight in Europe in World War I? There’s no record of it.”

“My big brother from my Daddy’s first family. Brought that back from the war,” Whitestone said. “You have to understand — most blacks believed that white people would wipe us out. My brother used to say, ‘There’s going to be a race war and we need to be prepared.’ I used the club to organize our people. Take a stand. Many of the more recent black politicians came out of our movement.”

“And now?” Seth asked. “Do you have any more gas canisters? Bomb? Anything lurking in your storage shed?”

Whitestone shook his head.

“At least I don’t think so,” Whitestone said. “My brother was alive when I. . . Well, you know. He told me to use the gas. I did just what he said. He helped me close up the wall. We left the ballroom and never went back.”

Seth nodded.

“Is Wretched angry?” Whitestone asked.

“Sad,” Seth said. “This entire thing is so sad. I spent an hour with your kids while they wept for their mother. They knew that she wasn’t cheating around. They knew what she was doing. You never asked them?”

“Never thought to,” Whitestone said. “They were kids.”

Whitestone shrugged.

“It was different then,” Whitestone said. “When their mother died, they went to live with her people. I sent money every month. They grew up in California. I didn’t see them again until they were long grown.”

“A couple of them live here now,” Seth said.

“To be near their kids,” Whitestone said. “Not me. They didn’t move here for me. But I’ll tell you, I gave them all I had left from the ballroom — more than $100,000. Those kids went to college on that ballroom. Made good lives for themselves.”

“I bet they would have rather had their mother,” Seth said.

Whitestone’s head jerked up to look at him. Seeing no judgement in Seth’s eyes, Whitestone nodded.

“You’re probably right,” Whitestone said. “Truth of the matter is that I would have had a better life if I hadn’t. . . I spent my life boozing and. . . doing nothing. That ballroom was the best of me. I killed the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“That’s likely,” Seth said.

“What happens now?” Whitestone asked.

“Your kids are asking for compassionate release,” Seth said. “Because of the cancer. That’s really up to the judge.”

Seth looked at Whitestone for a long moment.

“Jeraine is planning on having concerts in the ballroom,” Seth said. “Over the Internet. They think that they can manage the airflow and keep people healthy.”

“That’s good thinking,” Whitestone said. “That boy is smart.”

“He is,” Seth said nodded.

He waited for a moment and then looked at Whitestone.

“Is there anything else I should add?” Seth asked.

Whitestone shook his head.

“I’ve been waiting for this day since the day I kill them,” Whitestone said. “In some ways, it’s a relief to be here.”

Seth nodded and got up.

“I’ll get this typed up and get it to you,” Seth said. “I’ll have it for your signature later today.”

“Thanks, O’Malley,” Whitestone said. “Big Daddy would be proud of you.”

Seth snorted a kind of laugh and left the room. He closed the door and stood behind it for a long moment.

He couldn’t help but feel sad. At the peak of his success, this man had killed his wife and destroyed his family because he believed a cruel liar. That man was long dead. Yet there sat the man who’d acted on the liars words. Whitestone would spend his last days on this earth in prison for acting on the lie.

Sighing, Seth left to go find someone who could help him type up this statement.

Denver Cereal continues next week...