Angelina's Oak

by Jesse Reiss

Chapter 27

  When they found Paula, to Neil’s disappointment, Angelina’s behavior changed and she stopped flirting with him. Paula was standing and filling out forms with her right hand while her left was in a solid cast up to her shoulder.

  “Wow Mom — that’s quite a cast!”

  “Yeah and I have to keep it on for six weeks.”

  “Can I be the first to sign it?”

  “Not a soul is going to sign my cast, thank you very much. I am not proud to have this thing and want nothing to remember it by.”

  They left the hospital, driving back to the Stanleys’ house where Angelina helped Paula wash up and change into some light clothes. They laid her out on the couch in the living room to rest while Angelina took a full shower and changed again, this time intentionally putting on a thin shirt with a low neckline.

  When Angelina came back upstairs, Paula remembered, “We were supposed to go to the police station this morning so you could look at those mug shots.”

  “They came by while we were moving things out of the house and showed me the photos. Definitely him. They know who he is now.”

  “Good. Now I hope they catch him and this can all be over.” She reached for the remote and flipped on the TV.

  After endless commercials for Angelenos to buy cars on credit and others with schemes to eliminate debt and avoid bankruptcy, the headline news came on with two charming talking heads exchanging sentences as they read from their prompters with an ominous soundtrack backing them up:

  “Terror strikes as LAPD launches a citywide manhunt…The president arrives in Vietnam on his Asian tour…Is fruit juice causing your child’s obesity?…And are your tax dollars going to waste in caring for the poor?

  “Hello everyone, I’m Diane Mendez”.

  “And I’m Patrick Hughes.”

  A man with a goatee appeared in the corner of the screen. “That’s him!” Angelina blurted out.

  “The LAPD launched a citywide manhunt today for a man in his thirties named Malcolm Lyons. He is wanted in connection with a crime spree through Los Angeles over recent days. He is suspected of parole violation, homicide, attempted kidnapping, extortion, attempted murder and arson — the latest being early this morning when a firebomb was thrown through a living room window, destroying a house in the Hollywood Hills.”

  Images of their burned out home appeared on the screen.

  “The attack occurred at four o clock in the morning while the family occupying the home were sleeping peacefully upstairs. They were rescued by neighbors and emergency crews who assisted them to escape the inferno by climbing out of the second floor window.”

  An image of a Great Horned Owl appeared on the screen.

  “Detectives have linked this attack to a kidnapping and extortion attempt that occurred on Saturday in neighboring Griffith Park. DNA evidence taken from the scene of the attempted kidnapping has been linked to previously convicted felon Malcolm Lyons. The DNA evidence came from — and this has been confirmed by the LAPD — the talons of a Great Horned Owl that reportedly saved the victim, a young girl. The witness reports the owl attacked Malcolm as he attempted to put the girl in his car. The owl was reportedly shot by Malcolm as he attempted to flee and is recovering from its injuries at the ‘Glendale Avian Sanctuary’.

  “Linked to the crime spree was the body of a man found in the LA River Monday morning, shot with a gun reportedly matching the one used by Malcolm in shooting the owl.

  “Witness statements and traces of blood and skin on the talons of the bird lead detectives to believe the suspect has multiple lacerations across his face. Detectives are warning citizens that Malcolm is armed and dangerous and asks that any information as to his whereabouts be reported to the LAPD hotline immediately. The victim and family have meanwhile been moved into protective custody.

  “Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute information as this story develops.”

  The talking heads switched topics and the US President appeared, waving lazily as he descended the steps of Air Force One.

  Paula muted the TV and stared off. Angelina slumped into a chair.

  Neil shook his head and dropped this jaw. “Wow! I really had no idea what you guys have been through.”

  Angelina nodded and smiled at him, trying to make it look like it was not that bad. Her cell phone rang. It was Cassie.

  “OH-MY-GOD! Was that your house on the news?!”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “OH-MY-GOD! I’m so sorry!”

  “Yeah, we’re all fine.”

  “Oh Jeez that’s good! Did someone try to kill you!?”

  “We’re fine Cassie. Really, we’re fine.”

  “And kidnap you!?”


  “Cassie! I’m okay!”

  “Oh thank God! Where are you? I want to come see you right now!”

  “Well, I’m in protective custody right now so you can’t just come see me. I’ll be back at school soon or I’ll come by your place. Don’t worry. I’m okay.”

  Angelina could do little to reassure Cassie, whose reaction to the news was now becoming insincere. Cassie went on, “Oh my God. Call me if you need anything. And you have to tell me every detail of what happened. I can’t believe it. You’re gonna be like famous and all that. That’s so amazing!”

  “Right. Whatever Cass. I’ll talk to you later.”

  She hung up and looked up at her mother, worried. “I can just see it. Cassie is going to plaster this all over Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and God knows what else.”

  “Give me your cell phone,” Paula said. Angelina handed it to her. Paula hit redial and called Cassie back. She picked up instantly. “Cassie. No, this is Paula here. Hi…yes, I’m fine as well. Look, I don’t want you reporting this to anyone or making it known to Angelina’s friends that this happened, okay?…Yes, I know they are going to hear about it…but they are not to hear about it from you. I don’t want Angelina’s or my name spread around in connection with this, do you understand? Okay good.” She hung up and handed Angelina her phone back. “Chick is a total spaz.”

  Angelina’s phone rang again and she looked at it. “Brittany. Probably same thing.” Paula’s phone rang and she looked at it and shook her head. They spent the next hour on and off talking to friends and family, letting them know they were okay and discreetly answering questions.

  Lee arrived home as Paula was finishing a phone call to an old college friend in Long Beach. She powered off the phone and instructed Angelina to do the same. “That’s more than enough. We could do this all night long if we allowed it.”

  Lee surveyed the mood. “I brought home some take-out from Mimi’s restaurant, if anyone is interested.”

  “Oh, that sounds great,” Angelina said, realizing how hungry she was.

  They pulled out plates and opened up the plastic containers and each person allowed himself or herself to whatever they felt like. Angelina helped her mom fill a plate and cut up pieces of chicken into bite sizes.

  “I got to tell you it feels weird having a police officer walk into a room in full uniform bringing you dinner,” Paula said with a smile.

  “Well, as long as you’re here, get used to it.”

  “As long as we are here, we’ll be cooking, won’t we Honey?”

  “Oh yes!” Angelina responded.

  “I can sure look forward to that!” Neil commented.

  As they ate, the conversation drifted from foods they like, to produce prices at supermarkets to the LA freeways to Neil’s baseball tryouts to Paula’s preferences in music and Angelina’s iTunes collection. The day’s activities were intentionally avoided until Lee brought them up.

  “You guys watch any TV today?” Lee asked.

  “We watched a little. Saw our house on the news and Angelina’s bird,” Paula said.

  “Yeah. It’s all over the news. Most have the story backwards and there are media requests coming into the station nonstop. AP has sent out a wire on it and the major networks are covering it on their evening ne
ws. Once we catch this guy it’ll flare up again and all will be forgotten about, trust me. Things will return to normal and you guys will be able to get on with your lives.”

  “What will happen to Virginia?” Angelina asked.

  “Whose Virginia? Oh, the owl! I forgot you had named it. I don’t know. It seems to be the main focus of the story right now. Nothing like that has ever happened before.”

  “Will they euthanize her?”

  Lee looked at her puzzled.

  “That’s what the volunteer at the sanctuary said would probably be ordered because it had attacked a human,” Neil added.

  “I really don’t know. That would be a call made by city officials who deal with that sort of thing. I can try to find out for you.”

  “I’d appreciate it, thanks,” Angelina said.

  “So what do you guys do to relax or entertain yourselves on a Tuesday night?” Paula asked, pushing her plate back with her good arm. “I mean if you do nothing, that’s fine. I just don’t want to cut across your normal activities.”

  “Oh no, that’s okay. We’ll do whatever you want. You’re probably quite tired and —

  “ No, no” Paula said emphatically with a hand up. “If I hadn’t called you at four this morning, what would you be doing right now?”

  Lee looked at Neil for help. “Watching baseball?” he said, wincing and waiting for a return blow.

  “Great!” Angelina exclaimed. “Just what I need.”

  Paula looked at her daughter like she was crazy. “Honey, I know you liked going to games with Dad, but I didn’t think you liked to watch it on TV.”

  “No, it’s just that when I was having a real bad day yesterday, Charles told me to have a beer and watch some baseball.”

  Her jaw dropped. “He said what!?”

  “Yeah. He said that if he came home from school after a bad day, his dad used to give him a beer and they would watch baseball. He said millions of Americans use it as a therapy every day.”

  They all laughed together.

  “There is some beer in the fridge,” Lee commented with a shrug.

  “I don’t think my daughter would like beer. If you have some wine she would go for that.”

  “Thanks Mom!”

  “Sure Honey. But you’re not getting drunk.”

  “I’ll have a beer and you can have a sip of it,” Neil said, heading for the fridge.

  The Dodgers were in St Louis playing the Cardinals and the game was already in the fourth inning with the Dodgers on top 5 to 3. Angelina had a white wine, enjoying the warm tingling sensation that flowed through her body with each sip. She tried a sip of Neil’s beer and almost spat it out, complaining how it tasted awful. Paula smiled, confirming she knew her daughter’s tastes.

  By the seventh inning stretch Paula was petering out. Her arm was starting to throb and she announced she planned to take a pain pill and hit the sack. Angelina went downstairs with her and helped her wash up, change and get into bed.