Celia's Puppies Read online

  When Jill told her that Jacob was adopting Katy, she reminded Jill of what her step-dad used to say. Souls find each other. Trevor never liked Katy much. Maybe Jacob was supposed to be Katy’s father. Just like her step-dad believed that he was supposed to be Sandy’s father.

  Sandy couldn’t be too mad at her mother.

  Finishing her coffee, she straightened the bed, cleaned Cleo’s cat box then got dressed for the gym.

  And Aden.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday morning – 9:3O A.M.

  “Um, okay. You want to film this?”

  “Yes, Dr. Lerner,” the producer said. “We’re taping for Oprah. She’d like you to show the painting and tell us how you found it.”

  “Okay, yeah, I got a call last night,” Adam Lerner said. A trim, handsome man, he looked more like a rock climber than a curator of the Lab at the Denver Museum of Art.

  “Can you stand next to the painting?” the camera man asked.

  “Um, sure.” Adam moved next to an oil painting.

  “Okay, go ahead,” the camera man said.

  “It’s a funny kind of thing,” Adam said. “Museum curators can make their entire careers by finding a great painting. I’m pretty young to be a curator. And I’ve been a curator for a long time. Finding a great work of art, like this, would solidify my career. Not that I’m unhappy in my career.”

  “You’re doing great,” the producer said. “Just tell us the story.”

  “At the same time, artists want their work to hang in museums. Most artists believe they’ve created great works of art.”

  “When they haven’t?”

  “Mostly? No. You can see there’s this collision of forces. The artist and the museum curator act in this kind of dance… of greatness.”

  Adam took a breath. Over the last five years, he prepared for what he would say when someone finally asked and Mike was ready to tell. He hoped he didn’t screw it up.

  “Anyway, I received a call from Senator Patrick Hargreaves about a painting. Usually, I don’t respond to ‘come see my painting’ requests because...”

  “There are so many?”

  “Well, yeah. And we don’t have a permanent collection at the Lab. They got my name from someone who knew me or met me. Anyway, the Senator said the painting was a gift from a local artist and he felt it was too important to keep in one collection. He wanted to donate it to the museum. Would I come for dinner? Please bring your wife. Oh, and the artist would like to remain anonymous. Of course, I was suspicious. But can you really say no to a Senator who invites you to his house for dinner? I couldn’t.”

  Adam shook his head.

  “Please continue.”

  “I know they fed me dinner, and I’m certain it was wonderful. My wife went with me. I remember that. But honestly, when I saw this painting... I don’t really remember anything else. I wanted to hide it, protect it… like a naked child in the freezing rain...”

  “And?”

  “No one could believe we had what we had. We did all the tests – paint, x-ray, whatever. Was it a copy of a masterpiece? A fake? No, it was a new painter. This painting is a huge find. A real masterpiece. Then we asked to meet the artist. We had to force their hand as the artist didn’t want to talk to us.”

  “Michael Roper.”

  “If you say so,” Adam said. “All I can tell you is that a really amazing human being painted this piece and gifted it to the museum… through me. It’s considered to be one of America’s great masterpieces. We’ve received offers to buy it from major museums – New York, Smithsonian... There’s no way we’re selling it. This painting belongs to the people of Denver and their Museum.”

  “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

  “He’s painted others.”

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday morning — 10 A.M.

  Jacob leaned forward to look at Jill. She was sitting against the back of the couch holding her cup of coffee. She hadn’t said much since coming to get him for his ten o’clock break. He wondered if she was irritated that he wasn’t sleeping as the doctor ordered. She didn’t look irritated. Mostly she looked lost in thought.

  But how would he know if she looked irritated or not? To him, her every expression was beautiful.

  “We weren’t always wealthy,” Jacob said.

  “What?”

  “You asked me why I had so much money if I don’t care about it at all.” He paused. “Listen, I can imagine how strange it must be for you. Everything is different for you, for Katy and for me.”

  “But not bad,” Jill said. “I’m not moving back to the apartment because I’m unhappy or anything’s bad. I just feel... I don’t know… like I should. I mean, you said it last night, we don’t really know each other.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “I’d like you to stay,” he said. “Not as my nursemaid. I like your company. I like being in the same room with you, under the same roof. I think everyone does. How can I get to know you better if you’re somewhere else?”

  Jill opened her mouth to respond then closed it.

  “You started to tell me about making the money.”

  “Right.” He noticed her diversion but didn’t want to fight it. “We lived in a little apartment until I was about five years old. Two bedrooms. Val and I shared a room. My parents worked. A lot. Val and I spent all our time either at school or with Delphie. I didn’t know we were poor. I guess we had each other.”

  “What happened?” Jill asked.

  “A bunch of stuff,” Jacob said. “In building DIA, priority bidding was given to women owned businesses. My mother owned a majority share of Lipson Construction because she put up the Marlowe mine as equity to start the company. Lipson got the work. They did such a good job at DIA that when they closed Lowry Air Force base, we got that work too. Then they closed the old airport... Just before she died, my Mom reformulated the company by creating the board of directors, and we got to work on the T-Rex project. By the time she died, the company was worth a lot of money.”

  “But didn’t you live in a big house in Crestmoor before...”

  “My Dad had an inheritance from his Dad and his brother. It was hung up in litigation... I don’t remember why. Something stupid. He got the money when I was four. He bought the house. He wanted the best for my Mom and he thought Crestmoor was the best. She hated that house, but never told him until last year of her life. That’s how they were — kind to a fault to each other. Always doing what they thought the other wanted regardless.”

  Jill nodded.

  “Anyway, my point is that all of a sudden, I had all this money. I didn’t know what to do with it,” Jacob said. “In fact, I planned to give it all away and only spend what I earned myself. Then my Dad came to Maine and... Well, here I am. Outside of this place, I don’t really spend the money.”

  Tucking her leg under her, Jill turned to look at him.

  “We weren’t always poor,” Jill said. “Only after our parents died. I don’t know what they were thinking. I have more life insurance than they did and they had five kids. I guess they thought they’d live forever.”

  “It must have been a hard transition,” Jacob said.

  “I think Megan and Mike really suffered. They gave up their dreams for us,” Jill said. “If you don’t spend any money, how’d you get the car?”

  “I bought you the car that Jennifer Garner drives. Or Mike said Jennifer Garner drives that car.” Jacob shrugged. “It seemed perfect for you and Katy.”

  “It is perfect,” Jill said. “I love it. So does Katy. But I don’t mean that car.”

  “Which car?”

  “The Aston Martin.”

  “Oh, isn’t that funny? It’s the car James Bond drives.” He laughed. “It’s actually Val’s. It was a gift from that producer guy, Kapanski. Val was here with Mike. She tells everyone she ‘retreats’ in Colorado when really she’s here with Mike. Producer boy missed her so much he ‘sent a car for her.’ Mike went ballistic. I don�
�t think Val’s driven it. It had like a hundred miles on it.”

  “It’s totaled?”

  “Yep,” Jacob said. “I doubt Val will replace it.”

  “Why did you drive it?”

  “I thought I was going to die,” Jacob said. “I figured if I was going to die, I should at least drive the stupid expensive car and wear the stupid expensive suit. I’d never worn the suit before either. Val sent it to me so I could go to that premier. The one we missed last Friday night.”

  “You thought you were going to die? And you still came to get me?”

  Jacob nodded.

  “Why?”

  Jacob took her hand in his.

  “I think I said this in the car. You’re the very best thing that’s ever happened to me. Whether it’s one day or a life time, nothing’s going to change that fact.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Jill asked

  Jacob shrugged.

  “I know my heart,” he said. “I never thanked you for saving my life.”

  Jill blushed.

  “Your compression dressing is the reason I didn’t die,” he said. “Thank you for the chance to sit here on this couch with you... It’s wonderful.”

  “You’re welcome. Thank you for the dress contract and the diamonds and adopting my daughter and...”

  “Most of that doesn’t have anything to do with me,” Jacob said. “But I know, it’s overwhelming.”

  “It’s overwhelming,” Jill said. “I’m caught between taking a break and wanting more.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I miss my things. I know they aren’t much but they are mine. My things. My space. My life. I’m surrounded by your life and your things. They’re nicer than mine. Well, not this couch, but you know what I mean. And…”

  Jill moved so her face was less than an inch from Jacob’s.

  “I’ve never felt this way. I want more of you.”

  She kissed his lips.

  “More touching.”

  She slipped his hand under her blouse then kissed him.

  “More holding.”

  She shivered as his fingers caressed her nipple. She kissed him again.

  “More talking.”

  She gave him another kiss.

  “More love.”

  She flopped back on the couch.

  “Then I feel just stupid and crazy.”

  “Why?” he asked. “I want all of that too.”

  “Well, you’re recovering and should sleep,” she said.

  “Uh, first one to the bed?” he asked.

  He stood up then he fell to his knees. Jill screamed then laughed. He held up a large square cut diamond ring in his left hand. Clearly an antique, the center diamond was surrounded by a hundred light blue aquamarine stones in an ornate setting.

  “Will you marry me, Jill?”

  Jill’s hands cupped his face.

  “Oh put it away,” a woman’s voice came from the stairwell to the Castle. “Shit. I have the worst timing. You’re not naked are you?”

  Jill looked up to see a gorgeous woman with long auburn hair and large blue eyes come across the apartment. She looked like a model or an actress, but her designer dress and Kenneth Cole shoes were too understated and professional. The woman looked familiar but Jill couldn’t place her.

  “Get up, lover boy,” the woman said. “Hi Jill.”

  “Samantha, you think I could have a minute?” Jacob’s face registered irritation and shock. “Maybe a knock?”

  When the woman turned, she winked at Jill. And Jill realized that this was Samantha Hargreaves, Alex and Max’s older sister. Max told her yesterday that Samantha had just moved back from Washington DC. She was a criminal defense attorney and Valerie Lipson’s best friend.

  “The Denver Police are here to see you, Jakey. They don’t want to wait a minute.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Mess with one…

  “I’m sorry,” Jacob said. “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

  “Mr. Ashforth states that you attacked him in his office. He states…,” the Denver Police Detective read from a piece of paper. “He states that you threatened his children and wife. He claims you were out of control, wild eyed, and so violent that he felt he must stop you before you reached your car.”

  “Or what?” Jacob asked.

  Jacob looked over to at his lawyer, Samantha Hargreaves. She shook her head slightly as if this was to be expected.

  “It’s our understanding that you have a black belt in a martial art and certainly we know you are wealthy. He states that he felt you were a danger to his family and the community.”

  “In the first place,” Samantha said, “a black belt doesn’t mean anything. I have a couple myself. Unless you can prove that my client was an immediate danger to specific persons, you have to let this drop. Jacob Marlowe was attacked by Mr. Ashforth, from behind I might add, after he terminated his contract with Ashforth Pipe Supply. You should be prosecuting Mr. Ashforth, not vice versa.”

  “This has become a major departmental situation, Ms. Hargreaves. Mr. Ashforth was wounded by two Denver Police Officers,” the police detective said. “These officers are currently suspended from duty while we investigate. It’s important that we pursue every line of inquiry.”

  “He was shot?”

  “Yes, Mr. Marlowe,” the detective said.

  “I don’t remember any of that,” Jacob said.

  “Let’s start with why you went down there,” the detective said.

  “A woman called to say that my friend, Jill, had been thrown out of a building. I took her card.”

  Jacob tilted his head as if he was trying to remember what happened to the card. Samantha touched his arm then gave the detective a business card.

  “You went to help your fiancé.”

  “She was just my friend then,” Jacob said. “We’d been out once.”

  “And now she’s your fiancée?”

  “She hasn’t said ‘yes’,” Jacob smiled. “But I’m hopeful.”

  “That’s fast,” the detective said. “It’s only been a week.”

  “I… I think when you almost die, certain things become very clear,” Jacob said. “I’m lucky to be alive, Sergeant.”

  “You went to help your friend...”

  “Right. Jill told me what happened. Even though she had sick and vacation time, she was fired for taking a day off to be with her sick daughter.”

  “Katherine.” The detective flipped some pages. “Katherine had a bad reaction to a bee sting?”

  “Yes.” Jacob said. “Jill was thrown out of the office. She showed me a bruise on her elbow where Mr. Ashforth grabbed her arm.”

  “What’s your relationship with Ashforth?” the detective asked.

  “Ashforth was one of our pipe suppliers. We’d been having trouble with them for about six months. Their product quality had deteriorated and their service was awful. Our guys in supply alerted me to possible difficulties. According to my assistant, Blane, they met with Mr. Ashforth a couple of times. I hadn’t made the decision yet to terminate our relationship because...”

  “Your fiancé worked there,” the detective finished his statement. “We’ve spoken with Blane and your supply team. They said the same thing. They said they had already found a new supplier but were waiting for you to make the final decision. What was the hold up?”

  “Ashforth Pipe Supply started around the time my parents founded Lipson Construction. The two companies kind of grew up together. Mabel Ashforth was a friend of my mother’s. I knew what losing our business would mean. I had planned to meet with Mabel… I thought she was still running the company… to discuss the problems.”

  “Mr. Norsen completed the termination of business with Ashforth Pipe Supply while you were in the hospital,” the detective said. “He effectively closed the company.”

  Jacob nodded his head.

  “The employees report that they heard you yell at Mr. Ashforth.”
<
br />   “I was very angry,” Jacob said.

  “Because your fiancée was mistreated.”

  “More than that. While I attempted to work with them, went out on a limb for them, they were lying to me.”

  “About the ownership changes?” the detective asked.

  “Yes. I’m sure our guys told you but we really bent over backwards to continue our relationship with them. I personally went way out of my way to keep them in business. So, yes, I was angry. But I never threatened him or his children or Mabel for that matter. I remember getting Katy’s medicine then going out to the car. I was excited about spending time with Jill and having a rare, free evening. I wouldn’t give up time with Jill to harass some poor family, a friend of my mother’s no less.”

  “Getting a child’s medication from the company refrigerator doesn’t exactly sound like someone who is out of control or violent, Sergeant,” Samantha said.

  “They say different things,” the detective said. “You’re saying he attacked you out of the blue. Completely unprovoked.”

  “I can’t speak to his motivations,” Jacob said. “I was walking across the sidewalk and he hit me. I didn’t see it coming. My father told me it was a twenty pound pipe wrench but I never saw it.”

  “That’s what the officers say,” the detective said. “The attack is corroborated by a video surveillance camera. Your statements differ on the events that happened inside his office. Mr. Ashforth says he was reasonably provoked.”

  “Listen, the Ashforths lied to my client for almost a year,” Samantha said. “They’re lying now.”

  “Is there anything you’d like to add?” the detective looked up from his notepad to Jacob. “Sir? Mr. Marlowe?”

  “I’m sorry,” Jacob said. “I don’t feel well. I had this acupuncture treatment... It seems to have worn off.”

  “This interview is over, Sergeant,” Samantha said. “My client is still very ill.”

  Standing, Samantha walked to the door of the small sitting room. Opening the door, she found Blane waiting for Jacob. Blane helped Jacob from the room. Samantha watched them move into a nearby bedroom.