A Different Blue(131)

Chapter Twenty-Four





And then the lab called.

I had worked seven straight eight-hour shifts at the cafe, and when I wasn't at the cafe, I was

in the basement, wallowing in all the space I'd been given. Wilson stayed away. The only

connection I felt with him was at night, when I sat beneath the vent, listening to him play his

cello. I had tried to wean myself from even that, simply because the music chaffed at my longing

and made me feel raw and rejected. But night after night, I found myself with my face upturned,

torturing myself with sound, cursing Wilson and his space.

It wasn't that I had forgotten about the pending results of the DNA testing. I hadn't. But I

hadn't awaited them eagerly. So when the call came, I was unprepared.

“Blue Echohawk?”

“Yes. This is Blue.”

“This is Heidi Morgan from the Forensics Lab in Reno. We have the results.”

My heart actually hurt it was pounding so hard.

“Okay.” My lips felt numb, and the simple word was all I could form.

“We have a match, Blue. We'd like you to come back to Reno.”

“Okay,” I repeated. They had a match. They knew who I was. “I . . . I need a second to think.

I will have to get off work and get a plane ticket . . . and I . . . I need to think,” I

stuttered out, sounding ridiculous even to my own ears.

[page]“Absolutely,” Heidi Morgan replied warmly. “Give us a call when you've made your

arrangements. I have been in contact with Detective Moody and Sergeant Martinez. Everyone is

pretty excited, Blue. This kind of thing doesn't happen very often.”

I promised I would be in touch and disconnected the call, collapsing onto my old recliner where

it rested beneath the vent, awaiting another late night symphony. I tried to calm my racing

heart and breathe through the nerves that had me biting my nails and tapping my feet against the

floor. I needed to tell someone. I needed to tell Wilson. But he wasn't home, and I was mad at

him. Without pausing to talk myself out of it, I grabbed the keys and headed out the door. I

would go see Tiffa.





Tiffa's building had a doorman, and I supposed that was good because he warned Tiffa I was on my

way up, giving her time to compose herself in the face of my surprising visit. But she answered

the door immediately and pulled me into the house with a fierce hug and a wide smile.

“Blue! You twit! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have ordered lunch and

champagne to celebrate! And I would have had a chance to change my blouse! Melody spit up all

over it. She spits up on everything, so be warned. At the very least I could have changed her

nappies so she could make a good first impression! As it is, you are going to have to put up

with us as we are – smelly and hungry!” Tiffa's laughter floated around me like a balmy

breeze, and I relaxed immediately, letting her pull me toward the bedroom.

Melody's nursery looked like a garden with butterflies and birds fluttering on the walls and

perched on the branches of blossomed trees. A chipmunk poked his head from a hole in the trunk,

and a family of rabbits hopped along the wall above the the plush pale green carpeting. The

ceiling was a blue sky, peppered with fat white clouds and a flock of tiny geese flying in V

formation. A wise old owl looked down from a branch that stretched above the crib, which was