Intaglio: The Snake and the Coins (30 page)

“You’re
jealous,
”
he said incredulously.

“You’re an
asshole!” she barked, spinning on her heel and storming away. 

The two men
continued forward in Raya’s wake. Cole sat nearby, slumping further, hoping to
blend into the chair.  He was counting on the uncomfortable suit he wore
to camouflage him.  It was the only one he owned, the same one he’d worn
to his mother’s funeral years earlier.  The suit jacket was now too tight,
and it sat folded on the seat next to him.  As they approached, Cole
prayed that the rest of the outfit would help him be inconspicuous. 

He wanted to
know
the rest
of the story.

“I needed that
footage for my film,” Raya snarled, not looking at Kip walking next to her, his
eyes on the grimy marmoleum tiles of the floor.  “I didn’t care who was
with you, I just needed
you
there for the arrest.  My personal
feelings have
nothing
to do with this!” 

Cole focused
intently on catching the rest of Kip’s words. 

“Listen,” Kip
said wearily, “it wasn't like that at all. Her artwork just... it connects with
me, you know?
  I feel like I have some link to her
, Raya.”

Cole’s scalp
crawled.  The panic attack Ava had described was now imprinted with a
deeper meaning.  None of it was good. 

Next to
Chambers, Simpson spun again, her hand snaking out to grab his wrist.

“I don’t fucking
care
if you ‘feel like’ she’s the next Banksy!” she said through
clenched teeth.  “You and I have a
contract
and that film
will
get finished.”

She let go of
him, running her hands into her hair in frustration, leaving part of it
standing on end.  The bald man next to her glanced up, catching Cole’s
inquisitive gaze.  Cole dropped his eyes down immediately, fiddling with
the sharp creases of his pants, heart thudding.  He did
not
want to
be noticed right.

“I don’t know
what kind of hero you thought you were by taking all the blame,” Simpson began,
and Cole looked up surreptitiously.  “But because of your
stupidity
back there,” she snarled, “we now have a shitload of bad PR to deal with and a
massive fine to boot.  That is NOT coming out of my budget, Kip Chambers.”

Cole saw the
moment Kip’s face changed.  He stepped closer to Simpson, face flushed,
his voice suddenly a roar.

“I couldn’t let
Ava take the fucking BLAME for something YOUR production team caused!” he
shouted.  “If the trespassing fines come out of MY paycheque, it’s fine
with me!”

With that, Kip stormed
out of the police station, leaving Simpson and the lawyer behind.  The
bald man cleared his throat and both Cole and Raya looked at him.

“You know, Ms.
Simpson,” he said smoothly.  “You might want to remind Mr. Chambers to get
legal representation
before
making statements.”

“Fuck off!” Raya
snapped, stomping out the door without another word.

Ava sat at the
desk, waiting while the paperwork was completed.  She knew Cole was in the
room beyond; the dark-headed officer sitting across from her at the desk
casually mentioned it a few minutes before.  She had winked as she said
it, leaving Ava feeling awkward and embarrassed, Cole’s continued presence
pushing at her senses.

He was still
waiting for her.

She stared down
at her hands in her lap, tapping together her ink-stained fingertips. 
Things had changed drastically since she’d been brought in wearing handcuffs
late last night.  The charges had been dropped, the trespassing fines
paid, and there was nothing more to do except go back to her regular
life.   It would have been overwhelming if she hadn’t been so
concerned about the
latest development
:  that the whole arrest had
been orchestrated by someone. 

It appeared to
have been Raya Simpson. 

Ava closed her
eyes, recalling the conversation with Mrs. Quan in the minutes before she’d
made her official statement... 

“Well, first of
all, Mr. Chambers is claiming that the two of you took a wrong turn from the
river bottom. He said he knew where he was leading you because he’d painted
there before, but that you didn’t know.  He said you were innocent.”

“Why would he
say that?” 

“I have no idea
why, but it changes the situation,”
Mrs. Quan had explained
matter-of-factly.
  “What it comes down to is the fact that he took the
blame, which is why you’re now free to go.  Same thing with the
fines.  But there’s another thing I need to mention.  It turns out
someone called your visit to the train yards in to the police last night. You
were set up, Ava.  You were SUPPOSED to get caught.  A film crew was
discovered by the police, waiting on the access road, taking footage.” 

“Raya Simpson,”
Ava had
breathed.

Mrs. Quan had
laughed coldly.

“The police
didn’t take kindly to being set up like that.  By all accounts, the fines
for THAT part of the whole thing are going to be quite hefty.”

Across from her,
the woman at the desk cleared her throat and looked up from the
paperwork.  Ava blinked herself back to the present, watching as the
officer pulled out a stamp and banged it against the bottom of the sheet.

“All finished,”
the officer said with a grin, “just sign here, Miss Brooks.”

Ava gave a weak
smile, signing the papers before pushing them back across the desk.

“Next time
you’re going on a midnight walk with a
known graffiti artist
,” the woman
said, “you might want to watch where you’re going.  You
could
get
in trouble, you know.”

Ava nodded, a
hot wave of embarrassment rising up her cheeks.

“I will...
sorry,” she said, offering her hand, “thank you, Officer, for all the
help.”   

The woman
smiled, giving Ava’s hand a firm shake and grinning.

“Alvarez. 
Liz Alvarez,” she said with a wink.  “Morag’s my cousin.”

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: :

They walked
side-by-side out to Cole’s bike, both of them blinking in the bright afternoon
sunlight.  Ava was exhausted from lack of sleep and stress; her mind
floated in a half-lucid buzz.  She was counting the minutes until she was
home.  Sleep waited there for her.

“Sorry it took
me so long to get here this morning,” Cole said quietly. 

“It’s okay,” Ava
answered, leaning into his side.  “Glad you came.” 

She wondered if
she should admit she almost
didn’t
call him.  That she didn’t like
having to rely on anyone.  But she
had
called, and it meant
something important
.
Ava opened her mouth and closed it again, staying
silent.  Cole pressed a kiss to her temple.

“I want you to
know that I called Suzanne’s mom right away last night.  I didn’t wait or
anything.”

 “I know
you did,” Ava answered.  “She told me.” 

“She started working
on getting you out as soon as I convinced her we actually
knew
Suzanne.
God, that was a crazy phone call to make.” 

He laughed,
shaking his head; Ava giggled, imagining that conversation.  She was going
to have some explaining to do when Chim and Suzanne got back.

“Thanks for
that,” she said softly.

“She told me to
wait until she’d contacted the police station,” Cole continued.  “Turned
out that Chambers had already come forward to take the blame.  Actually,”
Cole said, dropping his voice.  “I saw Kip in the hallway this morning
having a huge fight with Raya Simpson...”

“Oh?” 

There it was...
the thing that Ava had been worried about.  Her dad was right, she
should
listen to her gut more often.

“She sounded
really jealous,” Cole continued, pulling Ava close.  “And not the least
bit happy with him, but Kip didn’t sound like he was in on it.  Just kind
of got pulled into the whole thing.  I don’t think he…” Cole’s words
faded, nostrils flaring as if annoyed.  “I don’t think he actually meant
for it to happen.”

Ava peered up at
him.  Cole’s eyes were troubled.

“Thank you for
letting me know,” she said.  It didn’t change anything, but she
liked
that
he’d told her.  That he would tell her the truth rather than let her think
the worst of Kip.

“Mrs. Quan told
me the police would need a character witness for you,” Cole explained, “to make
sure that Chambers wasn’t just covering for his hot young girlfriend.” 
Ava rolled her eyes at his words.  “Of course they needed the D.A. too.”

Ava’s eyes took
in his suit and tie.

“So you had to
dress the part.”

He placed
another kiss on her temple.

“Exactly... so
by the time I shaved and showered and got to the station to provide character
witness for you, Suzanne’s mom had been able to get the charges dropped.” 
He sighed.  “You two were just fucking lucky there were no spray cans in
your bag.”

Ava
nodded.  She’d thought of that more than once.

“I know... God,
my dad would have freaked if I’d been arrested two days before he came
home.” 

She let out a
rueful laugh and Cole wrapped his arm around her shoulders. 

As they reached
the entrance to the parking garage, he jogged ahead of her, retrieving two
helmets and his biking jacket from the parking lot attendant.  Cole kicked
the bike to life, slowing down as he reached Ava’s side.  He reached back
for the second helmet, the engine of the motorcycle dropping down to an
idle.  There was something about the gesture – Cole waiting for her – that
made Ava frown in concern.  When she didn’t move, Cole leaned forward,
lifting his voice over the burr of the engine.

“You ready to
go?”

She took a
single step closer, her arms crossing on her chest.

“I don’t need to
be saved.”

She wasn’t sure
why she felt the need to say it, but she had that raw feeling inside and she
didn’t like it.  Cole’s brows pulled together in concern.

“I know that,”
he stammered, his hand reaching out.  She let him touch her, but didn’t
unlink her arms.

“I called you
because…” she muttered, then lifted her eyes, staring over his shoulder.  “I
dunno why I called.”  Her gaze came back to him again.  She could
feel herself fighting the tug of his nearness.  “I just… I need you to
understand that I could’ve dealt with this, Cole.  I could have!  I
just…”

His fingers
tightened against her elbow.

“Stop, alright?”
he said quietly.  “You called, and I came… but that doesn’t mean that you
couldn’t deal with it.”  He grimaced, reaching down and turning off the
bike.  The parking garage was suddenly too quiet, their words too loud. 
“You know, Ava, it’s okay to ask for help sometimes.  Doesn’t mean you’re
weak to take a hand when it’s offered.”

She swallowed
hard, throat aching.  Her eyes skittered everywhere
except
for
Cole’s face.  She
hated
feeling like this.  ‘
Vulnerable…’
 

“Maybe,” she
muttered irritably.

Cole reached
out, but this time he left his hand open in front of her, not touching her at
all. Her eyes dropped to his open palm, but she didn’t move.

“I wanted to
help you, Ava,” he said quietly.  “I’m glad you let me.  Everyone
screws up sometimes, and it’s just easier not to be alone.”  His words
trailed away for a moment.  “I hope you’d help me if I needed you.”

Her eyes darted
back to him.

“Of course I
would,” she said.

He smiled sadly.

“Then can you
trust me to do the same for you?”

She felt like
more than just tonight hung between them.  She
could
do it alone –
she had before – but she didn’t have to anymore.  The thought scared her
more than anything else.

“I… I do trust
you,” she whispered, and she put her hand into his.  “It’s just… hard.”

Her voice broke
and Cole smiled, his fingers tightening around hers.

“I know,” he
said gently.  “But it’s harder to take on the world alone.” 

Ava nodded,
stepping into his arms.  Moments later, they had their helmets on as they
flew through the streets, traffic all around them.  She lay her face
against Cole’s back, closing her eyes and feeling the pull of the bike, swaying
and moving with each turn.  She let out a slow breath, tension easing from
her shoulders.  This reminded her of a dream she’d had the night
before.  In it she was in a boat on the ocean. 

‘Or was I a
bird…?’

She couldn’t
remember. 

In either case,
Ava knew one thing was for sure.  She was here with Cole now, and this
time she wasn’t letting go. 

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