The Queen of Cool (5 page)

The nurse let her go and walked out of the
room. An orderly helped Lo into a wheelchair. She was wheeled
through the hospital to an entrance where Lisa and her husband
Earl, and their kids waited for her. Earl helped Lo into the car
and they made the journey to Fairmount. Lisa pulled up in front of
the house. While the kids danced around them with happy chatter
about their new house, Earl carried Lo to her old bedroom. Lisa
gave her some pills and Lo was alone.

“
Don?” She whispered before
the meds took her away.

Q

Monday morning—8:02 a.m.

Fairmount Historic District, Fort Worth

Days: 9

“
What is she doing in
there?” a heavily Mexican-accented voice said.

“
This is her room,” Lisa’s
voice followed.

Lo rolled onto her back to see what they
were talking about.

“
This is a child’s room,”
the woman said.

“
Yazmin?” Lo
whispered.

“
Yes, Lorraina, Yazmin is
here.”

“
How?”

“
Mr. Downs, how else?”
Yazmin said. “Who do you think cleaned this place?”

“
Yazmin, I can’t pay you,”
Lo said. “I have no money, nothing.”

“
Don’t worry about that,”
Yazmin said.

“
But…?” Lo sat up in
bed.

“
Later – we’ll talk about
everything later,” Yazmin said. “When you’re feeling
better.”

“
Oh Yazmin,” Lo began to
cry.

“
Now, this is not your
room,” Yazmin pointed to Lisa. “Get her other arm.”

Lo felt herself being lifted from the bed.
Barely conscious, she stumbled but found her footing after a few
steps. The women half carried, half dragged Lo down the hallway,
the stairs and through the kitchen. Lo had the vague impression of
moving through a beautiful garden with big vegetable plots. There
was even a Koi pond like her garden at home.

“
Oh my God!” Lisa
said.

“
You didn’t come out here?”
Yazmin asked.

“
No, we’ve been moving in
and taking care of Lo and…”

Lisa shook Lo awake.

“
Look,” Lisa
said.

A new four-car garage sat behind the house.
Lo blinked and shook her head.

“
This way,” Yazmin
said.

Yazmin directed them to the side entrance.
They went up a flight of reclaimed maple stairs to a gorgeous
apartment. Stunned, Lisa stood at the entrance to gawk. The light
from an open living area reflected off the shining hardwood floors
past at least four bedroom doors. A gourmet kitchen with granite
countertops and stainless steel appliances sat near the back. The
apartment was filled with comfortable, yet beautiful furniture.
Yazmin nudged Lisa and they helped Lo into the master bedroom.
Yazmin helped Lo into the bed and shooed Lisa out of the
bedroom.

“
What is this?” Lisa
asked.

“
It’s Lorraina’s new
house,” Yazmin said. “You and your family have the front; Lorraina
will stay here.”

“
But…”

“
I’ll take care of Lorraina
as I have for the last ten years. You can take care of the house by
yourself?”

Lisa nodded.

“
Good girl,” Yazmin said.
“When Lorraina is better – when she doesn’t need me. – I can help
you.”

“
We can’t pay you,” Lisa
said.

“
Pay, pay, pay,” Yazmin
said. “You and Lorraina… You think the man who went to all of this
trouble would not have worked out how to pay me? I have
keys!”

“
Don?”

“
Now, go on. Your babies
need you.”

Q

Days: 9–13

The next week went by in a blur. Yazmin had
tossed the sedatives the doctor had prescribed in the toilet. She
flooded Lo with tea until the sedatives were out of her system.
Shaking her head and muttering about Lo’s weight, Yazmin fed her
tortillas, sopapillas, and Lo’s favorite homemade gorditas.

Even without the sedatives, Lo felt numb.
When she was awake, she stared out her windows at the flowering
garden. At night, when Yazmin was gone, she dreamed of Don. They’d
never spent even one night apart while they were married. She woke
every morning with the surprise that she’d survived another night
without him.

Once a day, Yazmin dragged Lo into the
garden where she sat in the sun by the rose bushes. Lisa came out
to talk. Lo drank in the sun while Lisa talked about nothing. When
the hour was up, Yazmin would lead her back to bed, where she’d
return to Don. Larry checked in every night before he went on
shift.

What Lo would remember most about this week
was the honey. Yazmin fed her honey in her tea, honey on her
gorditas, honey in her oatmeal, and even honey in her soup. The
honey seemed to reach inside her to soothe what was jagged and
raw.

Larry stopped by for lunch four days after
Lo had tried to throw herself on the pyre of her life.

“
The Fire Chief says you
can go through the house today,” Larry said. “The Fire Inspector
wants you to take a look at some things.”

“
Lorraina?” Yazmin asked.
“Are you strong today?”

“
I can do it,” Lo
nodded.

Q

Friday afternoon—2:53 p.m.

River Crest, Fort Worth

Days: 13

Lo took a deep breath and plunged into the
burned out hull of her home. Shocked, she stopped in the entryway.
Every perfect piece of her life was now rubble and ash. What the
fire didn’t take, the water destroyed. What had once been bright,
clean and filled with love, was now gray, charred and dark. Lo
swallowed hard. She felt more than saw Larry next to her. Lisa
stood at her other side.

“
Mrs. Downs?” the Fire
Inspector asked. “We’d like to ask you, about what time did you
leave the house?”

“
I don’t know,” Lo said.
“The funeral started at about eleven. The girls and I had to get
there early. It went on for three hours or so. I guess you know
that because you were there.”

Lo blushed.

“
Why are you asking?” Lisa
asked.

“
We’re trying to confirm
our timeline,” the Fire Inspector said. “The Tarrant County
Sherriff approved for you to come in and get…”

“
My wedding album,” Lo
said. “I have that. At the house. Do you want to see
it?”

“
No ma’am,” the Fire
Inspector said. “What condition was the house in?”

“
Perfect. Like home,” Lo
said. “No fire, if that’s what you mean. I came in and went
upstairs for my album. The Deputy was with me the entire time. Did
he say that?”

“
Yes ma’am,” the Fire
Inspector said. “He said he escorted you out of the house around
three-thirty.”

“
I’m sorry,” Lo said. “I
haven’t been well since…”

Lo hiccupped back a sob. Her eyes filled
with tears. She let out a breath.

“
If he says it was
three-thirty, then that’s when it was.”

“
We have another report
from a Sherriff’s deputy saying he removed you from the backyard at
ten-fifteen that same night,” the Fire Inspector said.

“
I sat on the swing for a
long time. We planted that tree when we got married. I just wanted
to…”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

“
Do I need a lawyer?” Lo
asked. “No matter what anyone says, I’d never ever… do…
this…”

Despite her best efforts, tears slipped from
her guarded eyes. She swatted at them with her finger tips.

“
Ma’am, I’d like to show
you something,” the Fire Inspector said.

Lo followed the inspector up what was left
of the marble staircase and into her old bedroom – Don’s old
bedroom; their bedroom. Lo gasped at the sight. In the left back
corner of the room, the falling roof had taken out her walk-in
closet.

The room was wet and streaked with smoke
stains. But otherwise, unburned.

Yet, everything was destroyed.

The mattress had been slashed to bits.
Pieces of her clothing lay around the room in ribbons. Don’s
expensive suits, his trial suits, had been ripped to shreds. His
cowboy boots were cut to pieces. Every mirror, clock, and figurine
had been smashed. Lo kneeled down to touch a piece of the Hummel
figurine that looked like Alisha. Her eyes scanned the floor for
the shards of the Hummel that looked like Mandy. Trying to right
the fuzzy sensation in her head, Lo swallowed hard and stood
up.

Her shocked, round eyes returned to the Fire
Inspector.

“
The Deputy swears the
house wasn’t like this when you and he left with your photos. Did
you see or hear anything while you were in the
backyard?”

Lo shook her head slowly back and forth.

“
And you slept in your
car?”

“
I had nowhere to go,” Lo
said.

“
Did you hear or see
anything?”

Lo shook her head.

“
They must have started
after you left. This would have taken a long time. They went
systematically through every room. Busted walls, chopped up
curtains, clothing, everything,” the Fire Inspector
said.

“
Then set it on fire?”
Larry asked.

“
Yes sir,” the Fire
Inspector said. “We expected to find a body.”

“
How dare you!” Lisa’s
voice was belligerent and loud. “What are you implying?”

“
Nothing, Lisa,” Larry
said. “You just usually see this kind of damage when someone’s
trying to cover a murder.”

Larry and Lisa’s eyes held. Lisa gave a
little nod.

“
Do you know what time you
moved your vehicle?” the Fire Inspector asked.

“
I came after my shift was
over at two,” Larry said. “It was probably two-thirty. We talked,
then left. They’d have the video from my cruiser downtown. We went
straight to Whataburger. They must have a record of our
purchase.”

“
We have a receipt for food
purchased at 2:44 a.m.,” the Fire Inspector said. “Then again at
3:24 a.m. The clerk remembers Mrs. Downs.”

“
The house is ruined,” Lo
said.

“
Yes ma’am,” the Fire
Inspector said. “Your insurance agent has already been through the
house. The house and property are a total loss. He tried to get a
hold of you, but your phone…”

“
Everything’s turned off,”
Lo said. “Money, phone…”

“
Ma’am, do you have any
idea why anyone would do this?”

Trying to keep from sobbing, Lo bit her lip
and shook her head.

“
I’ve been authorized to
let you get whatever you’d like,” the Fire Inspector said. “Like I
said, your insurance agent totaled the house. You’ll have to talk
to him to see if you want to rebuild or get a check. While y’all
are here, can you give me some idea of what is missing?”

Lo, Lisa, and Larry turned their entire
attention on the Fire Inspector.

“
What do you mean missing?”
Lisa asked.

“
We’re not sure if this was
a robbery? Vandalism? Vandalism made to look like a robbery?” The
Fire Inspector shrugged. “If you notice something is missing, that
would help us a great deal. Your insurance agent has serial numbers
for a few things. The FWPD might catch these guys trying to fence
it.”

Lo nodded.

“
I need to document
whatever you take from the house,” he said. “Photos, physical
description, and whatever details you can give us.”

Confused by his words, Lo blinked.

“
It’s standard procedure,”
the Fire Inspector said.

Lo nodded. She went to her broken dresser.
Her jewelry box was gone and… Lo took in a quick breath to keep
from crying. Don’s father’s and grandfather’s watches were
gone.

“
My jewelry’s gone,” Lo
said. “Nothing very fancy. My watch, a couple of necklaces I wore
all the time. My big good-luck diamond earrings…”

“
You’re wearing those,”
Lisa whispered in her ear.

“
I am?” Lo asked. Her hand
touched her ears to find the two-carat diamond solitaire surrounded
by pave-stone studs in her ears. “Scratch the earring
thing.”

“
Nothing really
valuable?”

“
Most of the fancy stuff
was Don’s mom’s. It’s kept in a safe deposit box,” Lo said. “Don’s
watches are gone. I don’t know if they were super valuable. They
were precious to Don. They were his only connection to his father
and grandfather.”

She looked around the room. Every drawer was
broken. She peeked in the closet where everything was wet and torn.
With a nod, she went from room to room on the second floor
reporting what was missing. She found only the broken shards and
torn strips of fabric of what had been her life.

“
We believe the fire
started here,” the Fire Inspector said in Don’s office. “Did Mr.
Downs keep any of his work files here?”

“
Never,” Lo said. “He kept
work at work and home at home. He only kept this office for his
journals.”

Her eyes went to the shelves that had once
held rows and rows of hardcover eleven-by-nine journals. The
shelves had burned away and the journals destroyed. Don’s record of
his life, painstakingly written in fountain-tip pen, was gone. She
felt a wave of numbness threaten to overtake her.