Firestone (43 page)

“
That’s right, the dog
goes everywhere with the boy,” Yvonne said.

“
Chesterfield! Come!”
Rodney yelled.

They listened. There was no scratching sound
of paws on the hard wood, no clanking of dog tags, and no creaking
of Mr. Chesterfield coming up the stairs.

Mr. Chesterfield wasn’t there.

Yvonne flew down the stairs with Rodney
right behind her. They raced through the little house screaming
“Jabari!” and “Chesterfield!.”

Mr. Chesterfield wasn’t in the dining room
or the living room or the little study or the milk porch.

Jabari wasn’t in the dining room or the
living room or the little study or the laundry room.

“
Oh no,” Yvonne
said.

She slid across the kitchen floor to where
Mr. Chesterfield was lying next to the door. The dog’s muzzle was
red, as if he’d bitten someone or something. In return, someone had
kicked or hit the dog hard. The battered dog whimpered when she
touched him.

Yvonne hopped to her feet to meet Rodney.
She used her body to stop him from getting to the dog. He easily
looked over her shoulder.

“
Chesterfield!” Rodney
wailed.

“
He’s just hurt,” Yvonne
said. “We’ll get Abi here and
she’ll . . .”

Rodney pushed Yvonne aside and dropped to
his dog. He lifted the old black dog onto his lap and began to
wail.

“
Jabari’s gone,” Yvonne
said to herself. “Mr. Chesterfield is injured.”

Yvonne nodded to herself.

“
I need the police,”
Yvonne said.

She touched Rodney’s head and went to the
phone. After calling the police, she went out in to the back to get
Akeem. The boy ran across the backyard to the kitchen. Through the
kitchen window, Yvonne watched Akeem pull Rodney away from Mr.
Chesterfield.

Yvonne nodded to herself.

Jabari was taken by Annette. She just knew
it.

Mr. Chesterfield was hurt by Annette. She
just knew it.

“
No matter where you
hide,” Yvonne said out loud to the early morning dark. “I will find
you.”

“
I will get my Jabari
back. He will be healthy, happy, and full of life. I will make sure
Mr. Chesterfield is there to greet him.”

The stars seemed to bend down to listen to
her wishes.

“
You don’t have any idea
who you messed with Annette,” Yvonne said. “You will regret the day
you took
my
boy
and hurt
my
dog.”

A police cruiser wailed to a stop outside
the home. Yvonne ran to meet them.

Denver Cereal
continues . . .

Aaron Alvin:

Father of Ava; also called
“The spider” by Yvonne Smith.

Abi the Fairy:

Partner of Prince Finegal;
great-grandmother of Tanesha.

Aden Norsen:

CEO at Lipson
construction; single father of Nash and Noelle; husband of
Sandy.

Alma Fontaine:

Mother of Heather Lipson;
Psyche.

Alexandra
Hargreaves:

Identical twin to Max
Hargreaves; ‘The Fey;’ the leader of the Fey Team; wife of Dr. John
Drayson; sister to Colin and Samantha Hargreaves.

Anjelika:

Megan, Mike, Steve, Candy
and Jill’s mother; grandmother to Katy; wife of Perses.

Andrea Menendez or Andy
Mendy:

Mother of Sandy; Seth’s
love & lover from the time he was 14 until he lost her when he
was 30.

Annette:

Reality television star;
mother to Jabari; Jeraine Wilson’s ex.

Arthur “Raz”
Rasmussen:

Member of the Fey team;
boyfriend of Samantha Hargreaves.

Ava — Amelie Vivian
Alvin:

Denver Police Crime Lab
Technician; fiancé of Seth O’Malley; daughter of Aaron
Alvin.

Ben Red Bear,
Detective:

Denver Police Detective in
charge of investigation of rapes; possibly involved in the
distribution chain.

Bestat Behur:

Partner to Zack Jakkman;
stepmother to Teddy; dragon.

Beth Baker:

Ava’s best friend; Child
Psychologist; murdered by Saint Jude.

Blane Lipson:

Jacob’s ‘cousin;’
assistant to Jacob Marlowe at Lipson Construction; Chinese Medicine
doctor; husband of Heather; father of Mack; getting bone marrow
transplant for HIV infection.

Bob aka ‘Blood spatter
Bob’:
Former expert forensics instructor
with the FBI; currently a laboratory technician in Ava’s Denver
Police Department lab.

Bumpy Wilson:

Good friend of Seth’s;
medical doctor; father of Jeraine Wilson, husband of Dionne, born
Leroy Wilson.

Candace or Candy
Roper:

Daughter of Anjelika;
sister to Jill.

Charlie
Delgado:

Stepbrother of Sandy;
street kid; drug addict; move in with Sandy in
Cimarron
.

Chesterfield or Mr.
Chesterfield:

Rodney Smith’s large black
dog, which he was given in prison from the Puppies for Prisoners
program; best friend of Jabari.

Celia Marlowe:

Wife of Sam Lipson; mother
of Valerie Lipson and Jacob Marlowe; Delphie’s best friend; died of
cancer nine years before Denver Cereal begins.

Cleo:

Black and white cat
belonging to Sandy.

Colin
Hargreaves:

Brother of Alex, Max and
Samantha Hargreaves; Homeland Security Agent; Fey Team member;
father of Paddie Hargreaves.

Dale:

Boyfriend of Beth Baker,
Amelie’s best friend; housemate of Amelie; Handyman who lives with
Seth O’Malley.

Delphinium or
Delphie:

Psychic; beekeeper; master
gardener; best friend of Celia Marlowe; girlfriend to Sam
Lipson.

Dionne Wilson:

Wife of Bumpy Wilson;
mother of Jeraine and LaTonya; medical nurse; singer.

Erik Le
Monde:
Father of Wanda; plumber;
works for Lipson Construction.

Edie the Fairy:

Second daughter of Queen
Fand and Manannán; sister to the Blue Fairy and Mari the fairy;
nanny to Jill and Jacob’s twins.

Edith Stiefel:

Mother of Wanda. Ex-wife
of Erik Le Monde.

Evette:

Secretary of Jacob’s for
one week; claims romantic relationship between them.

Fand, usually Queen
Fand:

Queen of the Fairies; wife
of Manannán; ancestor of Jacob Lipson.

Fran:

A laboratory tech in Ava’s
Denver Police Department lab.

Frankie Aziz:

Boyfriend of Wanda Le
Monde; videographer of group of rapists; brother of DPD Sergeant
Aziz.

Gilfand:
Loyal male servant of
Queen Fand; one of the oldest fairies; appears as a
gargoyle.

Heather Lipson:

One of Jillian Roper’s
group of best friends; mother to Mack; wife to Blane Lipson;
adopting Tink; Hedone, child of Psyche and Eros.

Honey Lipson:

Paralyzed; stepdaughter of
Sam Lipson; wife of Sergeant MJ Scully; Lives at the Castle and
works at Lipson Construction.

Jabari Wilson:

Young son of Jeraine Smith
and Annette.

Jacob Marlowe:

Son of Sam Lipson and
Celia Marlowe; husband of Jillian Roper; brother of Valerie Lipson;
president of Lipson Construction; owns his own rehabilitation
business; carpenter; hockey player.

Jeraine Wilson:

R&B sensation; husband
of Tanesha Smith; son of Bumpy; drug and sex addict.

Jeraine Wilson,
Junior:

Young son of Jeraine
Wilson.

Jillian or Jill
Roper:

Daughter of Anjelika and
Perses; mother of Katy Roper; wife of Jacob Marlowe; ex-wife of
Trevor Mc Guinsey; pregnant with twin boys.

John Drayson,
MD:

Vascular surgeons; husband
of Alex Hargreaves.

Julie
Hargreaves:

Mother of Paddie
Hargreaves; wife of Colin Hargreaves.

Katy or Katherine Anjelika
Roper Marlowe:

Daughter of Jillian Roper
and Jacob Marlowe.

Leslie:

A laboratory tech in Ava’s
Denver Police Department lab.

Leslie Roper:

Wife of Steve Roper;
mother of infant Elisa Roper.

Levi Johansen:

Won Delphie in a card game
when she was 5-6; held her as a slave/The Oracle Tabor; gets out of
prison and wants Delphie dead; evil.

Liban:

Queen Fand’s twin sister;
looks like Cleopatra.

Mack Lipson:
Infant son of Heather and Blane
Lipson.

Margaret Peaches or
Sergeant Margaret Peaches:

Fey team member; partner
of Sergeant MJ Scully.

Manannán:

A Celtic sea deity;
possibly first ruler of the Isle of Man; husband of Queen Fand,
ancestor of Jacob Lipson

Maresol
Tafoya
:

Seth O’Malley’s
housekeeper; mother of Bonita’s Seth’s second wife; friend of
Delphie.

Max Hargreaves:

Identical twin to Alex
Hargreaves; brother to Colin and Samantha Hargreaves.

Megan Roper:

Daughter of Anjelika and
Perses; partner of Tim; mother to Ryan and two other
boys.

Melinda:

Daughter of one of Sandy’s
clients; one time romantic interest of Nash Norsen.

Mike Roper:

Son of Anjelika and
Perses; husband of Valerie Lipson; hockey goalie;
painter.

Michael Bladen Roper
Marlowe:

Infant son of Jill and
Jacob Roper-Marlowe; identical twin of Tanner.

Mitch Delgado:

Sandy’s stepfather who she
called ‘Dad’; father of Charlie and Sissy; Seth O’Malley’s best
friend; died of lung cancer 8 or 9 years ago.

MJ or Sergeant Michael
Scully Jr.:

Fey team member; partner
of Sergeant Margaret Peaches; husband of Honey Lipson.

Molly:

Bookkeeper for Jacob
Marlowe’s rehabilitation business; wife of Pete.

Nash Norsen:
Son of Aden and Nuala Norsen; brother of Noelle
Norsen.

Nelson:
A lab technician in Ava’s Denver Police
Department lab; potential love interest of Blane Lipson.

Noelle Norsen:

Daughter of Aden and Nuala
Norsen; sister of Nash Norsen; artist.

Nuala Norsen:

Ex-wife of Aden Norsen;
biological mother of Nash and Noelle Norsen.

Paddie
Hargreaves:

Best friend of Katy Roper;
nephew of Alex and Max Hargreaves; son of Colin
Hargreaves.

Patty Delgado:

Mother of Sissy and
Charlie; mother to Sandy; wife of Mitch Delgado.

Pete:

Husband of Molly; father
of her children; friend of Aden Norsen.

Perses:

Paid assassin; rescuer,
Titan, and biological father of Jillian Roper.

Rodney Smith:

Father of Tanesha;
imprisoned for 26 years for a murder he didn’t commit; husband of
Yvonne Smith; site manager at Lipson Construction.

Ryan:

Oldest son of Megan Roper
and Tim.

Sam Lipson:

Husband to Celia Marlowe;
married to Tiffanie Lipson; boyfriend of Delphie; father to Valerie
and Jacob Marlowe-Lipson; step-father to Brianna, Becky, Honey and
the ‘step-whore.’

Samantha
Hargreaves:

Sister to Alex, Max and
Colin Hargreaves; girlfriend of Art Rasmussen; best friend of
Valerie Lipson; criminal defense attorney.