THE TUESDAY NIGHT POKER GAME

Catalina was in the garden with Sarah Brown. They worked the same row on opposite sides, pulling weeds around the tomato plants, the late afternoon sun warming their backs.

"Ewww!" The girl held up a tomato hornworm looking at its squirming bright green armored body in horror.

Sarah held up a coffee can and motioned for her to drop it inside. The two continued cleaning up the row. When they finished, they moved to a row of bush beans. They worked in silence until that row was weeded.

"Break time. I need some lemonade. How about you?"

Catalina nodded in agreement, and Sarah went into the house, returning a short time later with two glasses. She handed one to the girl, curled up in the porch swing. Cat drank thirstily. Putting the glass on the side table, she looked out on the horizon, her eyes filling with tears.

"It's ok to miss them," Sarah said, slipping her arm around Cat's shoulders. "They were your parents. You loved them. They loved you."

"They're dead. I couldn't do anything to stop it." Catalina broke into sobs and collapsed into Sarah's embrace.

"Sshh, just let it out, honey, let it all out. It's ok."

Catalina's sadness was overwhelming. For minutes, they were like that on the swing. Then the girl's tears slowed. Sarah handed her a box of Kleenex, and Cat used several noisily.

"Thank you."

"Oh, there's nothing to thank me for, child. Nothing at all. I've had a lot of wet shoulders in my life."

Catalina looked at the older woman. Sarah gave her a tight hug.

"When he was ten years old, we were living in Kentucky, in the Appalachians, and money was tight. Ed went hunting with his Pop and his Uncle Jordy, my brother, and he shot his first deer. They got home, and he helped clean and hang it, but afterward, I found him at the kitchen table, crying. We talked about his taking an animal's life and how that deer would help us through the winter. It helped him to think we had enough meat because of him. There have been other times he borrowed my shoulder. I think the worst time was when Annie was murdered. She and Ed were going to get married. It took him a long time to get over that. I was glad to be there for him."

"There was someone else before Fran?" Her voice was full of disbelief.

"Oh yes, Annie was a wonderful girl. I liked her very much. Ed loved her deeply, and she, him. After her death, Ed was hurt and very, very angry. For a long time, I didn't think he'd ever heal or find happiness, and when Francesca came to work with them, oh my goodness, it was cats and dogs between those two. She and Ed were always arguing and disagreeing. She challenged him every day, and he, her. When Ed and I talked on the phone, I could hear the frustration in his voice. The case they were working on was finding her father's murderer. He understood what Fran was going through. He knew how angry she was. She loved her father so much. He was the only family she had. Then, her family was gone. She believed she had no one except herself to rely on. He didn't know how to reach her."

"She showed me their picture."

"Her father was a captain in the police, Chief Ironside's former partner. After he was murdered, Dave Belding was made to look dirty. There was money in his bank account; they didn't know how he'd gotten it. Internal Affairs was investigating him. Fran was just out of the academy then, monitoring traffic meters. She believed no one would help her, and when Chief Ironside refused, she tried to find the killer on her own."

"Like on TV?"

"Yes, just like on TV. She did something very dangerous. The Chief transferred her to his team to keep her out of trouble. After her father's killer was caught, Fran did something that Ed still marvels over. She had every right to be angry, to insist that the rules be followed the way she had to. She did none of those things. Instead, she asked that the woman who killed her father have time with the man she loved. A man who had just been killed."

"She forgave the murderer?"

"No, but Francesca knew she needed to move forward. Unlike the woman, Fran had something to live for, and Chief Ironside, Mark, and Ed became a second family to her."

"I don't have any family either."

"I know, honey. Everyone here, Patrice, Fran, Ed, and me, all know how it feels to lose someone we loved through violence. You're in a safe place to start healing while Ed and Mac find out who did this to your parents. Consider us your second family.

"Hello"

Sarah got up. "Edward Dean Brown, what are you doing home so early!" She enthusiastically hugged her son.

He turned, extending his arms to hug Catalina as well. "Can't I come home early and spend some time with two lovely ladies?"

"Not when you're the Chief of Police. I know you better than that."

"Well, I wanted to warn you in person we're having a crowd for dinner tonight."

"Crowd? What is the occasion, and what am I supposed to feed this flock?"

"Chili."

"Chili? I don't cook chili. You know that. Fran cooks the chili in this house, and the only time we have chili for a crowd is when Robert is here."

"I couldn't get through to you this afternoon. He's coming tonight, going to stay with us for a few days. Mark's coming as well. He's got a conference, so he'll stay downtown after tonight."

"Who all will be here other than Robert and Mark?"

"Everyone in my office and their spouses."

"And we're doing this just to welcome the Chief and Mark?"

Ed tipped his head towards the kitchen.

"Catalina, be a dear and finish weeding the lettuces. I'll join you in a minute."

Catalina went back to the garden, and mother and son walked into the kitchen.

"There was a man here earlier from Taconi Brothers. He said you'd asked him to look at our alarm system and phones. He even wanted Patrice's and my cell phones." Sarah said quietly.

"They got here fast."

"They said you wanted the job done as quickly and completely as possible. So, why did we need this checkup?"

"I can't tell you everything now. I'm just taking some precautions. Someone wants Catalina very badly, and they don't care who gets in their way."

Sarah nodded. "Does Fran know?"

"Not yet."

"Well, why not? Edward, she's your wife. If anyone needs to know around here, it's her." Her voice was angry.

"Whoever wants Cat is a very serious player. He may have all our phones tapped, just for starters. They may have already compromised the museum phones as well, maybe more than just the phones. I wanted to make sure that no one could overhear us when we talk, and I don't want anyone to become suspicious at the museum. The Taconi Brothers are coming in tonight to take care of Fran's office and her workspaces."

Sarah looked at her son. "I think now would be a good time for you to have that talk."

Ed looked puzzled. A moment later, he understood why. Fran stood in the doorway. Ed could feel anger rising off her like waves.

"You want to tell me why Bryce Taconi came to my office today with his crew?" Her voice was icy, tightly contained.

"Can we talk privately?" Ed asked.

Fran turned on her heel and started briskly walking down the hall. Ed followed her.

Inside the workroom, Fran opened the small refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of Negro Modelo beer. She held one up at him. Ed nodded. She took the bottle opener, popped the caps, and handed one to him. They drank silently for a moment. Finally, she broke the quiet.

"Why did Bryce Taconi come to my office today? He stopped by around two-thirty and asked, no, I take that back; he demanded that I send Henrietta home early. When I asked why he said it was your order. He wouldn't say anything else. I struggled to find a decent reason to let her go home early with pay. I don't think she bought it."

"I'm sorry, honey. Bryce was supposed to come later tonight. Not when you were in the office. I wanted to talk to you first about what's going on. You deserved to know as soon as possible. I didn't feel it was safe to go to your office. It might have drawn unwanted attraction, and your office and cell phones might have been hacked."

She took a long drink from her beer. "I know you don't think there's ever a bad day in the world of art conservation and museums, but I had the mother of all of them today. A seven-year-old decided to play with one of the Lakota medicine drums and punched a hole in it with the beater, I'm not too certain it can be repaired, and I finished my exam of a 16th-century Paolo Veronese, discovering it was a forty-eight million dollar forgery. The collector who was going to donate it to the museum will not be happy about that. George is furious, and the insurance company will not be happy to pay out on the claim, and I'm being asked why it took so long to authenticate it. It was so tense in the museum today that I don't think you could have drawn attention from anyone there today had you walked in there with your gun drawn."

He walked over and drew her into a hug. His voice was apologetic. "Sorry you had such a crap day, and you're right. I should have found a way to talk to you sooner, but you'll understand better when Mark and the Chief are here. There's a threat not just to Cat but to us as well. It has to do with who Catalina's people are. Mark's been running an investigation in San Francisco." They walked out to the small deck area. Sitting down, he told her all he knew.

"Eddie Rogers is Catalina's grandfather?"

"Yeah, small world, isn't it?"

"It's almost identical to all those years ago. Someone wants to get Eddie Rogers out of the way and take over the mob in San Francisco."

"And needs us out of the way here in Denver. Mark says this Pepe Alvarado wants to take over Denver too and has someone he calls the Fixer here."

"Who's Pepe Alvarado, Ed? And who could this "Fixer" be?" He finished his beer and took the bottles over to the sink to rinse out.

"I have an idea, but that's the only thing I can't tell you. Not now. Mark and the Chief will have more information tonight. They'll be here at about seven-thirty. Mac and Eve are picking them up at the airport."

"Am I expected to feed these people coming to our house tonight, or is Sarah cooking?"

"I promised them chili."

"Who all is coming?"

"Mattie and Ben, Jerry and Brenna, Eve and Mac, Mark and the Chief, and the family."

"Chili."

"I did promise them that."

Fran got up, and Ed grabbed her arm, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I will do everything to keep you safe. I won't allow anyone to hurt you." He whispered into her hair.

"I can take care of myself. You've got a lot of things to take care of, like finding someone who'd like to kill you, for starters. Thank God you've got good people who will be there for you. I want you to promise me one thing".

"Stay away from the balconies."

Fran laughed. "Mindreader."

"I'll be careful. I promise." He kissed her lingeringly. "You too. Don't leap without looking, ok? I can't have anything happen to ..." His voice broke.

"Agreed. No balconies, no leaping." Fran replied.

They kissed again.

"If we keep doing this, there will be no chili. And you know what the Chief will say." She sighed.

"Canoodling never gets things done."

"Nope, that little can of Hormel has everything a man needs to survive, and it doesn't taste too bad either."

"You better get going before you have to open one or two of those cans." He wrapped his arm around her. and they started back towards the kitchen.