| Mystery and Crime Fiction posted May 27, 2014 | Chapters: |
-Prologue- 1... 
|
  |
Epilogue for the Bard of Bel Air/Prologue for this.
A chapter in the book Bel Air: A Bard's Guide
Epilogue & Prologue
by michaelcahill
Previously, In book one we met the Bard. He is mentally ill, but high functioning. He is a poet and, at times, brilliant in his observations. He is often ignored because of his station in life and eccentric ways. He helped Tenaya Adrian and her partner, Lucy Smaldino, get to the bottom of the murder of Johnathon Blackwell Senior that turned out not to be a murder at all. Book two takes place immediately after the events of book one. The Bard is in the hospital. Blackwell Junior is in Jail for Blackwell Senior's murder, unaware that Senior is actually alive. Chief Sandoval is also in jail for conspiracy to commit Blackwell Senior's murder. Ruby Dancer is now the heir apparent to the Blackwell billions. She is the first-born daughter of Blackwell senior. We begin the story now as Lucy has learned that the Bard has survived his injuries, and she is running to his room to see him. He received his wound taking a bullet for her.
Lucy runs into the room to find the Bard conscious. He senses her presence.
"THEY think that I'M crazy! Let's go spot. Woof. Woof. Woof. Hi honey. You're home. How's Dr. Ricky?"
Lucy wove her way through a maze of wires and tubes, finding the source of those beautiful words and planted a soft kiss on them. The Bard was conscious and cognizant, at least by his usual standards. He was not out of the woods, medically speaking. The doctors predicted that the blindness in his right eye would resolve when the swelling in his brain subsided. Somehow, the fact that he lived made all of the bandages and IV's seem to be simple inconveniences. Some would describe his condition as "looking like hell".
"You look wonderful! You had me more worried than I ever wish to be, again... EVER".
"I never know how to get a ladies attention. Flowers? Candy? Reservations to Cats? I went with conquering hero. Will you go to the prom with me now? We'll have to enroll in High School. The other kids will make fun of us, of course. But, the boys will just be jealous because they haven't developed breasts yet. And the girls, well, they can't envy what they can have for the asking, now can they?"
Lucy laughed and the Bard joined her with a couple subdued chuckles. The morphine drip produced a half-asleep state that seemed oddly familiar to him. There is a point right before a person awakens from a dream when they realize that they are dreaming. The Bard knew that state well. The Bard usually existed in that state. He could tell the difference between the dreams that floated constantly through his mind and the reality that surrounded him, but for the most part, the dreams made more sense. Lucy, however, he did prefer to his alternate reality. Somehow, his dream girl had escaped to the real world.
The sound of running staff in an emergency hospital like County General didn't raise Lucy's eyebrows. A sense of gratitude that the attention focused elsewhere in the facility and not on this room made her smile. The Bard would recover in time.
Tenaya, Ruby and the others that had gathered in the waiting room had a different perspective on the commotion. Security guards didn't answer emergencies of a medical nature.
Winston! Tenaya had no problem making the leap of logic to Winston. In her mind, the security guards had to be running to Winston's room. She jumped up and joined them followed by Ruby who gestured for the other's to remain behind.
The officer's assigned to guarding Winston's room had hospital staff attending them. One lay prone on the floor unmoving. The other, a young officer named Brenda, stood rubbing her head while a doctor questioned her and shined a light in her eyes. Tenaya approached her.
"What happened?" Tenaya made note of the empty room.
Brenda, though in obvious distress, answered, "Two men disguised as doctors approached the room. We thought nothing of it. Simmons took a knife in the gut and I took a gun butt to the back of my head. They wheeled him… the prisoner… Winston… out. They went that way… the elevators… up". Brenda pointed down the hall at the bank of elevators.
Tenaya ran to the elevators, there were three on each side of the alcove. With the hospital on lockdown, none were operational. She noticed the middle elevator on the right had made it to "R". R for roof. She hit the stairwell running. It was eight floors to the roof. She knew it would be too late.
She arrived at the door to the roof and burst through with her service revolver drawn. The old man standing there with a push broom in his hand froze in place.
"What happened? What did you see?" Tenaya asked impatiently.
"They put the man in the wheelchair in the helicopter, jumped in and took off. They didn't even see me. I hid behind the turbines over there. The Channel 7 news chopper. I couldn't believe it really. Channel 7. I watch channel 5. I like the local news".
Tenaya laughed as she returned her revolver to the inside of her jacket. "Yep, I'm with you sir. I like to know what's going on around town. Who cares what's happening in Yemen?" She reached for the handle on the door. She wiggled the locked door handle and laughed again.
"Let me get that for you miss". The old man leaned his broom up against some kind of large metal structure that must have housed some kind of generator or something and opened the door for Tenaya.
Tenaya returned to find Ruby talking to a nurse in Winston's room. There were regular LAPD on scene now. She nodded to Ruby who came over immediately.
"They came to the room disguised as doctors. The officers didn't have a chance. Officer Lawrence is in surgery, he should be okay, no vital organs. A headache for Brenda there. The nurse says that Winston didn't have serious injuries. He wouldn't be in any danger with basic medical care. Damn. Easy as pie. They just wandered in waltzed out with him just like that. One of the cops told me they've already released the Chinese. No evidence. They have Winston's men on weapon's charges, but that's it. Crap, Tenaya. All that for what? The Bard almost killed. We don't even have Winston."
"No. That's okay. Winston's screwed. He doesn't have the money. The Chinese don't have the weapon. We did what needed to be done. We stopped the deal. That's what we wanted to do. We did good".
They walked to the Bard's room and found Lucy and the Bard laughing at God knows what. They joined in the laughter. Ruby picked up the L.A. Times front page that sat on the end of the Bard's bed and looked at it. She burst out with peals of laughter as she held it up to show the others. Lucy and Tenaya read the headline and howled with delight.
LILITH BLACKWELL SUES ESTATE FOR ONE BILLION DOLLARS
"I'M GONNA GET WHAT'S COMMIN' TO ME"!
Previously, In book one we met the Bard. He is mentally ill, but high functioning. He is a poet and, at times, brilliant in his observations. He is often ignored because of his station in life and eccentric ways. He helped Tenaya Adrian and her partner, Lucy Smaldino, get to the bottom of the murder of Johnathon Blackwell Senior that turned out not to be a murder at all. Book two takes place immediately after the events of book one. The Bard is in the hospital. Blackwell Junior is in Jail for Blackwell Senior's murder, unaware that Senior is actually alive. Chief Sandoval is also in jail for conspiracy to commit Blackwell Senior's murder. Ruby Dancer is now the heir apparent to the Blackwell billions. She is the first-born daughter of Blackwell senior. We begin the story now as Lucy has learned that the Bard has survived his injuries, and she is running to his room to see him. He received his wound taking a bullet for her.
Lucy runs into the room to find the Bard conscious. He senses her presence.
"THEY think that I'M crazy! Let's go spot. Woof. Woof. Woof. Hi honey. You're home. How's Dr. Ricky?"
Lucy wove her way through a maze of wires and tubes, finding the source of those beautiful words and planted a soft kiss on them. The Bard was conscious and cognizant, at least by his usual standards. He was not out of the woods, medically speaking. The doctors predicted that the blindness in his right eye would resolve when the swelling in his brain subsided. Somehow, the fact that he lived made all of the bandages and IV's seem to be simple inconveniences. Some would describe his condition as "looking like hell".
"You look wonderful! You had me more worried than I ever wish to be, again... EVER".
"I never know how to get a ladies attention. Flowers? Candy? Reservations to Cats? I went with conquering hero. Will you go to the prom with me now? We'll have to enroll in High School. The other kids will make fun of us, of course. But, the boys will just be jealous because they haven't developed breasts yet. And the girls, well, they can't envy what they can have for the asking, now can they?"
Lucy laughed and the Bard joined her with a couple subdued chuckles. The morphine drip produced a half-asleep state that seemed oddly familiar to him. There is a point right before a person awakens from a dream when they realize that they are dreaming. The Bard knew that state well. The Bard usually existed in that state. He could tell the difference between the dreams that floated constantly through his mind and the reality that surrounded him, but for the most part, the dreams made more sense. Lucy, however, he did prefer to his alternate reality. Somehow, his dream girl had escaped to the real world.
The sound of running staff in an emergency hospital like County General didn't raise Lucy's eyebrows. A sense of gratitude that the attention focused elsewhere in the facility and not on this room made her smile. The Bard would recover in time.
Tenaya, Ruby and the others that had gathered in the waiting room had a different perspective on the commotion. Security guards didn't answer emergencies of a medical nature.
Winston! Tenaya had no problem making the leap of logic to Winston. In her mind, the security guards had to be running to Winston's room. She jumped up and joined them followed by Ruby who gestured for the other's to remain behind.
The officer's assigned to guarding Winston's room had hospital staff attending them. One lay prone on the floor unmoving. The other, a young officer named Brenda, stood rubbing her head while a doctor questioned her and shined a light in her eyes. Tenaya approached her.
"What happened?" Tenaya made note of the empty room.
Brenda, though in obvious distress, answered, "Two men disguised as doctors approached the room. We thought nothing of it. Simmons took a knife in the gut and I took a gun butt to the back of my head. They wheeled him… the prisoner… Winston… out. They went that way… the elevators… up". Brenda pointed down the hall at the bank of elevators.
Tenaya ran to the elevators, there were three on each side of the alcove. With the hospital on lockdown, none were operational. She noticed the middle elevator on the right had made it to "R". R for roof. She hit the stairwell running. It was eight floors to the roof. She knew it would be too late.
She arrived at the door to the roof and burst through with her service revolver drawn. The old man standing there with a push broom in his hand froze in place.
"What happened? What did you see?" Tenaya asked impatiently.
"They put the man in the wheelchair in the helicopter, jumped in and took off. They didn't even see me. I hid behind the turbines over there. The Channel 7 news chopper. I couldn't believe it really. Channel 7. I watch channel 5. I like the local news".
Tenaya laughed as she returned her revolver to the inside of her jacket. "Yep, I'm with you sir. I like to know what's going on around town. Who cares what's happening in Yemen?" She reached for the handle on the door. She wiggled the locked door handle and laughed again.
"Let me get that for you miss". The old man leaned his broom up against some kind of large metal structure that must have housed some kind of generator or something and opened the door for Tenaya.
Tenaya returned to find Ruby talking to a nurse in Winston's room. There were regular LAPD on scene now. She nodded to Ruby who came over immediately.
"They came to the room disguised as doctors. The officers didn't have a chance. Officer Lawrence is in surgery, he should be okay, no vital organs. A headache for Brenda there. The nurse says that Winston didn't have serious injuries. He wouldn't be in any danger with basic medical care. Damn. Easy as pie. They just wandered in waltzed out with him just like that. One of the cops told me they've already released the Chinese. No evidence. They have Winston's men on weapon's charges, but that's it. Crap, Tenaya. All that for what? The Bard almost killed. We don't even have Winston."
"No. That's okay. Winston's screwed. He doesn't have the money. The Chinese don't have the weapon. We did what needed to be done. We stopped the deal. That's what we wanted to do. We did good".
They walked to the Bard's room and found Lucy and the Bard laughing at God knows what. They joined in the laughter. Ruby picked up the L.A. Times front page that sat on the end of the Bard's bed and looked at it. She burst out with peals of laughter as she held it up to show the others. Lucy and Tenaya read the headline and howled with delight.
LILITH BLACKWELL SUES ESTATE FOR ONE BILLION DOLLARS
"I'M GONNA GET WHAT'S COMMIN' TO ME"!
"I'M GONNA GET WHAT'S COMMIN' TO ME"!
This would be both the last chapter of the first book and the first chapter of this book. We can't do that here, so it is the first chapter of this book. As always, suggestions and input are the saving graces of my writing life! Please feel free at all times to suggest, admonish or cajole as you see fit. I can't tell you how much difference you make!!
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. 
You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.
© Copyright 2024. michaelcahill All rights reserved. Registered copyright with FanStory.
michaelcahill has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
