Lazy Bird a Seth and Ava Mystery Read online

  “Of course,” Joan said. “I’ll contact the artist. Do we have money to pay her?”

  “Good question,” Ava said. “I believe we have money to pay the artist. We should. But you never know.”

  Ava looked around the room.

  “Okay,” Ava said. “Good start today. I’ll let you know when the evidence gets here.”

  “I should be back in time to pass out the evidence,” Nelson said.

  “I’ll make copies of the file,” Ava said.

  “Good,” Fran said. “The digitized is good, but sometimes I feel like I get more information from the paper.”

  “It’s like you can feel what the detectives are thinking when they wrote the page,” Leslie said with a nod.

  Ava grinned at Leslie.

  “Before you think I’ve gone soft in the head, it’s quantum mechanics,” Leslie said. “Everything is happening at the same time and same place.”

  “Sure,” Ava said. “You’re using physics to explain how you’re full in on the whoo-whoo paranormal.”

  Leslie gasped and then realized that Ava was kidding her. She laughed, and everyone laughed with her.

  “I know you’re still injured, Ava, but I’m glad you’re back,” Leslie said.

  “Me, too,” Ava said. “Feel free to make it a short day. I’m sure we’ll be in the thick of things soon enough. But until the files get. . .”

  Ava’s voice dropped to a whisper, “. . . off the loading dock. . .” She cleared her throat.

  “We simply cannot move forward,” Ava said.

  Everyone laughed and started to get up.

  “I need help getting up,” Ava said.

  Nelson pulled her to standing.

  “Thanks,” Ava said.

  “I’ll be back to bring you home,” Nelson said.

  “Thank you,” Ava said.

  Ava hobbled back to her desk. When she looked up, Leslie was standing in front of her desk. Looking anxious, Leslie was pulling at skin on her fingers. Ava slowly dropped into her seat.

  “That looked hard,” Leslie said.

  “Hurts,” Ava said with a sigh. “You look anxious. We were too mean?”

  Leslie shook her head.

  “I love you guys,” Leslie said. “You’ve really helped me come out of my. . . you know, weirdness.”

  “I love you, Leslie,” Ava said. “We all do. What’s going on?”

  “Um. . .” Leslie looked down at the ground. “I wanted to let you know. . .”

  Ava held her breath and hoped that Leslie wasn’t quitting.

  “I’m pregnant,” Leslie said.

  “You are?” Ava asked. “I would jump up and hug you, but. . .”

  “Don’t get up,” Leslie said, looking a little less anxious. “I. . . um. . . I know that we said that we were done, but. . . I guess we’re not. Do you think it’s trashy to have four kids?”

  “I think it’s great!” Ava said. “What’s the husband say?”

  “He’s embarrassed,” Leslie said. “He was supposed to have a vasectomy next week. We put it off because of everything from the last case, and then we went to see my parents, and then. . .”

  “Congratulations,” Ava said. “What do you need?”

  “I’m kind of old?” Leslie asked. “I need a new doctor and. . . you know, I’ll need breaks and child care and. . .”

  “Anything you need,” Ava said. “What do the kids think?”

  “My eldest rolled her eyes,” Leslie said. “Can you believe that she’s a junior in high school now?”

  “No,” Ava said. “You were twenty when you had her!”

  “I know, but. . .” Leslie shrugged. “The twins don’t care. I don’t think that they listened to us when we told them. I can’t compete with that video app.”

  “Smart kids need a lot of stimulation,” Ava nodded.

  “My husband wishes it was math or physics,” Leslie said.

  “Didn’t they win a physics prize for their summer project last month?” Ava asked.

  Nodding, Leslie laughed. Ava grinned.

  “I was sure that you would be pregnant next,” Leslie said.

  “Me?” Ava asked.

  “You and O’Malley haven’t talked about it?” Leslie asked.

  Ava shook her head.

  “Not ever?” Leslie asked.

  “Never,” Ava said.

  “Why?” Leslie asked.

  “Just have other things going on,” Ava said.

  “Talk to your gorgeous man!” Leslie said.

  “Did you tell Fran?” Ava asked.

  “She knew before I did,” Leslie said. “She kept telling me to see a doctor. I just. . . Fran.”

  Grinning, Leslie shook her head.

  “She’s the very best,” Ava said.

  “Yes, she is,” Leslie said. “Okay, I’m going to help Fran get ready for the new case.”

  “Congratulations!” Ava said.

  Grinning to herself, Ava turned back to her email. Her mood dropped. She had three months of stupid emails in her box. Sighing, she started working her way through them.

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  Three

  Seth O’Malley pushed the gate to their backyard open and stepped aside to let Seth Running Wolf and his sister, Koko, in the gate. It was late, much later than O’Malley had realized, until they reached the house to find it dark and everyone in bed. The Running Wolfs gave Seth a nearly identical nod and walked through the yard to their carriage-house apartments.

  Pulling at his tie, Seth quietly his made way through the sliding door and into the back of the house. He went into the kitchen to look for something to eat. Grabbing an apple from a bowl, he took a bite and started toward the stairwell to the second floor, where Ava was sleeping. He’d made it to the stairs when he heard someone softly say his name.

  Seth turned to see who was there. His ninety-some-year-old father was waving him into the front living room. Seth looked up the stairs. Bernie shook his head and waved Seth in his direction. Seth gave him a “You’re sure?” look, and Bernie nodded. Seth followed his father into the front living room.

  “What are these assholes doing here?” Seth asked, forgetting his efforts to be quiet.

  He gestured to the two men sitting on the couch.

  The men looked like “G-men” out of an old movie. They were wearing nearly identical dark suits and ties with matching glasses. Their fedoras were sitting, one on each arm of the couch. They were of indiscriminate age. They were wearing the same shoes, the same haircuts, and even the same hair color, black.

  Seth walked over to the couch. Using both hands, Seth pulled the glasses off the men’s heads. The men gave him a slightly amused look.

  “I’ll take these,” Seth said.

  “What in the world?” Bernie asked.

  “They are connected to the Internet,” Seth said.

  “Through the glasses,” Bernie said.

  Seth gave a pair to his father. Bernie looked through the lens. Scowling, Bernie gave the glasses back to his son. Seth went to the grand piano, lifted the cover, and stuck the glasses next to the strings. He crushed three piano keys to disorient the glasses and took out his phone. He turned off the WiFi in the house.

  “You know that these have a bomb mechanism in the arm of the glasses, right?” Seth asked the men. “I’ve seen them go off. It is not pretty.”

  “Standard uniform,” the Number One G-Man said.

  Seth closed the piano lid with a thud.

  “You come to my home while I’m not here and harass my elderly father,” Seth said.

  “He said we could enter the house,” the Number Two G-Man said.

  “You’re vampires now?” Seth asked.

  The G-Men looked confused. Seth looked up at the ceiling.

  “Vampires need permission to enter residences,” Bernie said.

  “Do you know what they want?” Seth asked.

  Bernie shook his head.

  “S
peak, or get the fuck out,” Seth said, his voice rising with anger.

  “No need to go crazy,” the Number One G-Man said.

  “What. Do. You. Want?” Seth asked.

  “Your wife has a case that we’re interested in,” the Number Two G-Man said.

  “And?” Seth asked.

  “May we be frank?” the Number Two G-Man said.

  “Your name is Stephen,” Seth said, emphasizing the “ph” sound of his name. “Why would you be ‘Frank’?”

  “Funny,” the Number Two G-Man said. “You’re a comedian now?”

  Seth took a breath to ask them again what they wanted, but the Number One G-Man started speaking.

  “Your wife was assigned a file of a death in a small town in Colorado,” the Number One G-Man said. “Mancos. The Agency had a contractor in that town during that time. He disappeared around the time of the remains. We believe that he is the person found in the dumpster.”

  “Okay,” Seth said with a shrug.

  “We’d like to be in the loop on this case,” Number Two G-Man said.

  “When are you not ‘in the loop’?” Seth asked. “Don’t you usually hack your way in?”

  The G-Men didn’t respond.

  “Oh, I see,” Seth said. “The security measures are keeping you out of their computers.”

  The G-Men shifted uncomfortably. Seth laughed.

  “We have one request,” the Number Two G-Man said.

  “What?” Seth asked.

  “We observe an artist who draws of the post-death reconstruction,” the Number One G-Man said. “She’s been hired to work on this case. We’d like to view the image before it goes out to the public.”

  “I can’t promise you that,” Seth said. “Further, I won’t. My wife is the head of this lab. I’m not interfering in their work to help out. . . What? Are we supposed to be friends? Part of the same vampire coven?”

  The G-Men shifted uncomfortably again.

  “No,” Seth said.

  “Will you speak with your wife on our behalf?” Number Two G-Man asked.

  “Why would I do that?” Seth asked.

  “We will assist you in your next mission to find remains,” Number One G-Man said. “You’re heading to Vietnam in a month, aren’t you?”

  Scowling, Bernie turned to look at Seth.

  “You are telling me that you know where American GIs are buried in Vietnam and you. . .” Seth’s voice rose in volume. “Get the fuck out of this house.”

  “These remains aren’t in Vietnam,” Number One G-Man said.

  The Number One G-Man nodded to Bernie. Seth’s father had fought in Guadalcanal during World War II.

  Seth took a step in the men’s direction, but Bernie got there first. Bernie grabbed the men by their collars and started to drag them out of the house. A fit man, Bernie managed to get them about halfway out of the room when Maresol arrived at the door of the front room. She was wearing her bathrobe and carrying a loaded shotgun. Ava came limping in behind her, wearing only a skimpy T-shirt and bikini underwear. She had her service weapon in her hand. The safety was off the weapon.

  “Who the fuck are they?” Ava asked.

  “They want to trade the location of American GI remains in Guadal for information about the man in the construction dumpster,” Seth said.

  Shocked, Ava reeled back. Unstable on her leg, she nearly fell, but Seth grabbed her to keep her from falling.

  “Out!” Maresol said. “Get out of my house. If you think that I won’t shoot you, you are wrong. This brown woman will stand her ground.”

  Maresol ratcheted the shotgun.

  “Out!” Maresol said.

  The men scrambled to their feet.

  “We need. . .” Number Two G-Man gestured to the piano.

  “Get the fuck out of here,” Seth said.

  The men grabbed their hats and nearly ran out of the house. The Number Two G-Man turned at the door, but Seth closed the door in his face.

  Seth turned around to see that Bernie had decompensated. His father was weeping for his long-lost friends and comrades left alone in cold graves so far from home.

  “You’d better fix this,” Maresol said as she went to comfort Seth’s father.

  Seth nodded to her. Seeing Ava, he grinned at her. She smiled at him.

  “Help a girl out?” Ava asked.

  Ava laughed when Seth swooped her off her feet.

  “You’re still healing,” Ava said after kissing his lips.

  Seth had had his abdomen torn open by a bullet at the end of a complicated case. The bullet had lodged in his hip, and it was taking a very long time to heal. Of course, Seth’s work schedule didn’t help.

  Seth kissed Ava again and set her down. He held out his hand, and they walked toward the stairs.

  “I need to make a call,” Seth said.

  “Takes me a while to get up there anyway,” Ava said.

  He gave a sly grin, and she laughed. She waved to him and started toward the elevator. Seth watched Ava get into the elevator before taking out his cell phone. Remembering the glasses, he went back into the front room. Maresol had helped Bernie to the couch. Seth grabbed the glasses from the piano and left without disturbing them.

  He took the glasses out to the backyard. Looking up at the sky, he gave the finger to the satellite he was sure that was watching him. He walked to Dale’s workbench in the garage. Grabbing a hammer, he bashed the glasses into little pieces, which he wrapped in aluminum foil. He put the packet into the trash bin on his way back to the house.

  He sat down on an outdoor chair and placed a phone call. He was surprised when his friend and the only person he’d ever heard of who had the absolutely highest intelligence rating, Lieutenant Colonel Alex Hargreaves, answered. She and Seth were on the team of experts who brought historic remains home to families.

  “Oh, good — you’re awake,” Seth said.

  “It’s 11 a.m. here in sunny Syria, O’Malley,” Alex said. “Morning there, too.”

  Seth looked at his watch and grimaced. It was nearly 2 a.m.

  “What’s up?” Alex asked.

  Seth explained what had happened and what the men had said.

  “I’ll find it,” Alex said. “Tell Bernie not to worry. If they have something, I will find it. Bastards. How dare they?”

  “They were very smug about it,” Seth said.

  “Who shot them?” Alex asked. “Maresol or Ava?”

  Seth laughed.

  “You know us well,” Seth said. “No one was shot, but. . . My dad decompensated.”

  “Shit,” Alex said. “Bastards.”

  “One more thing,” Seth said. “They say that they lost a contractor in Mancos around that time. That’s why they’re interested in this. Wanted to trade the Guadal info for information on Ava’s case.”

  “I don’t know anything about missing contractors in Colorado,” Alex said. “You think he was an assassin?”

  “It’s as likely as anything,” Seth said.

  “Is this something you and Mitch were involved in?” Alex asked.

  Seth didn’t respond.

  “Got it,” Alex said. “I’ll see what I can find. Should I send the details to you or to Ava? You think she’ll need my dad?”

  “I don’t know,” Seth said.

  “I’m on it,” Alex said.

  “They haven’t been able to hack in yet,” Seth said. “Thank you.”

  “Absolutely,” Alex said. “So you want me to check out a government contractor, likely an assassin, who was lost in southeastern Colorado, and you want me to check to see if there are details about the location of US-soldier remains in Guadalcanal.”

  “Affirmative,” Seth said.

  “I’m on it,” Alex said. “Tell Bernie that I’ve got this. Not to worry. If they’re there, we’ll bring those boys home next month.”

  “I’ll tell him,” Seth said.

  When Alex hung up, Seth shut off his cell phone. Trying to calm his rage, he looked at
the stars and took some deep breaths. He heard the sliding door open.

  Ava was standing there in her T-shirt and underwear. She waved to him.

  “I need to check on my dad,” Seth said.

  “He’s taken his meds,” Ava said. “I helped Maresol get him into bed. He’s safe and will be sleeping soon.”

  Seth felt a wave of relief. Like many soldiers, his father had a complete mental break as a sixteen-year-old soldier caught in the blood and chaos of Guadalcanal. He went from the battlefield to spending years as a lab rat for the CIA and then, eventually, a spy for various agencies. Since Bernie had moved in with them, he’d been able to maintain mental clarity for more than a year.

  Until tonight.

  “Come to bed,” Ava said, giving him the saucy smile she knew that he couldn’t resist.

  His worries about his father faded from his mind. He followed her inside and up to bed.

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  Four

  Yawning, Ava went into their small changing room. She pulled on a paper coverall, slipped covers over her shoes, and pulled the hood over her hair, making sure to tuck her ponytail into the coverall. She grabbed an N95 mask and put it on. She pushed open the door to the clean room. She grabbed a pair of gloves from the box on the wall and put them on.

  “What’d you save for me?” Ava asked Leslie and Fran, who were dressed in the same outfit.

  “Ava!” Fran and Leslie said in near unison.

  Fran pointed to the bags of evidence that were sitting in the hood. Fran and Leslie were holding adjustable pipettes, and there were rows of ELISA plates on the counter. Their five DNA machines were chugging away along the side of the clean lab.

  “We need to comb the overcoat and the rest of his clothing,” Fran said. “It’s in the hood.”

  Ava clapped.

  “My favorite weird compulsive task,” Ava said. “Should I look for old vs. new?”

  “It looks to me like someone stuck the coat into an evidence bag and never did anything with it,” Leslie said. She turned to Ava and said, “Of course, I went through everything.”

  “Thanks,” Ava said.

  Ava went to one of the two clean hoods along the wall. She sat down on the stool and rolled up to the hood. She pushed up the top glass hood cover and then pushed down the glass at the bottom. The fan was on, and she could feel the air flow up through the vent. Leslie had arranged the evidence bags by size. Ava grabbed the grey overcoat evidence bag and closed up the hood.