Chapter Nine Ava Angelhart
Chapter Nine
Ava Angelhart
“Maybe you should go to the car and call Aunt Rita,” Margo said. “She’ll be able to get answers. I’ll talk to Nelson.”
Ava had been in shock since learning Cooper had been transferred to Supermax. It seemed inconceivable, yet it had happened.
She could hardly think of anything other than immediately getting on a plane and going to him. She would do that as soon as
possible.
But first, Margo would insist on her telling everything she knew. Ava dreaded the conversation. She didn’t know if she should
say anything. Was Cooper’s transfer a warning for her to remain silent?
Yet . . . she’d kept quiet for three and a half years and now an innocent woman was dead and Cooper was gone.
“Mom.” Margo put her hand on Ava’s arm. “We’re going to find out what happened and get Dad back.”
“Yes,” Ava said, though she didn’t have Margo’s apparent confidence. Maybe it was an act. Or maybe her daughter was simply
stronger than she was.
What would Margo think when she knew the truth? Would she hate Ava? Hate her father?
Ava said, “We’ll call Aunt Rita after we speak with Ken. I know him.”
Margo frowned but didn’t argue. Ava didn’t know if she could handle another argument with Margo, not right now. In the warden’s
office, Margo had asked necessary questions when Ava’s mind went blank. She was so grateful that Margo had seemed to sense
that Ava was on the edge and taken charge when she hadn’t.
They waited a good ten minutes before Ken entered the visitors’ room. Ava felt like she was walking a tightrope without a
safety net, and Ken was the only lifeline within reach.
Ken Nelson was a small man with thick black hair liberally threaded with gray and dark eyes that appeared bottomless. He’d
already served six years of a minimum ten-year sentence for fraud and money laundering. He was greedy, not violent, and showed
little remorse for the victims of his scams. But he liked Cooper, and Cooper said Ken was a good cellmate.
This morning, he looked wary, almost nervous. He glanced at the guard—it wasn’t Tony who had brought him in—and sat down across
from Ava and Margo. “Hey, yeah, you’re here about Coop.”
“What happened, Ken?” Ava asked.
He shrugged. “Don’t know. One minute he was, um, talking.” He looked pointedly at Ava; Ken knew that Cooper had been talking
to her. “And then we heard the door at the end of the cellblock open, so Coop tossed me the phone and I hid it. Thought for
certain the asshole across the way had ratted me out or something, but naw, it was two guards coming to get Coop, said he
was being transferred.”
“At two in the morning?” Ava asked in disbelief.
“Yeah. Swear to God, that’s what happened.
And Coop asked, like, ‘Does my lawyer know?’ And one of the guards said two US Marshals were here to transport him, the paperwork is in order, and they don’t know if his lawyer was told, that’s above their pay grade, yada yada.
They weren’t jerks about it, just very matter-of-fact. Everyone likes Coop, even the guards.”
“Have you heard anything?” Ava asked. “Anyone talking?”
“Nothing. Everyone’s asking questions, no one has answers. Like I said, we all like your husband.”
“Did Cooper make any other calls last night?”
Ken didn’t say anything.
“It’s important,” Ava said.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“We’re not going to jam you up,” Margo said. “We need your phone.”
“You know how hard it is to get a phone in this place? Sure, some guys can get whatever they want, but not people like me.
I have no one on the outside who gives a shit.”
“I’ll replace it,” Ava said.
“How you gonna do that?”
She didn’t say anything, just stared at him.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Fine. It’s not going to be easy, so come back tomorrow—”
“Give it to Officer Zanutti. He’ll get it to me.”
Ken looked wary. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
Margo glanced at Ava, but Ava ignored her daughter’s unspoken questions.
“Fine. Okay. Shit. You owe me, right?”
“When you go back to your cell, Officer Zanutti will come by. You won’t get in trouble, and I’ll replace it in a few days.”
“If you say so,” he grumbled.
“Did my dad say anything to you about something he might have been worried about?” Margo asked.
“No, he doesn’t talk about himself much, but, well, a few weeks ago—not more than a month—he had a visitor and came back to the yard upset.
He was supposed to help a couple of the guys who were testing for their GED, but told them he couldn’t.
And he asked to go back to his cell because he was feeling ill. But I think it was the visitor.”
“Who?” Margo asked.
Ken shrugged. “Dunno.”
Ava would know when Dave gave her the visitors’ log. Was Cooper trying to find answers about Devin’s murder from inside prison?
Why would he do that, risk himself, without confiding in her?
She was deeply worried about his safety.
“Thank you, Ken,” Ava said.
He walked away and Margo said, “You didn’t push him for answers.”
“He doesn’t know. We’ll get the visitor log and the phone. Let’s go.”
On their way out, Ava pulled Tony aside and told him what she needed from Ken. “If you can bring them out along with the logs
and anything else Dave has for me?”
“Of course.” He reached out and touched her arm, a small comfort, but one she desperately needed.
They went back to the car and Ava said, “Let’s sit here for a few minutes.”
Margo looked frustrated, but she complied. Ava called Rita. This was the first Rita heard of the transfer, and she said she’d
call the court.
When Ava ended the call, Margo said, “No more secrets. Family meeting, now.”
Ava’s stomach was twisted in knots, but she didn’t have a choice. Cooper was in trouble.
“Call Jack,” Ava said. “We’ll be at the office in an hour.”
Margo texted her brother, Ava assumed. Or maybe everyone. Ava would rather share what she knew once than have to repeat it.
Five minutes later, Officer Tony Zanutti approached the car. He carried a manila envelope. “Here are the documents you requested.
I’ll see if I can learn anything else for you.”
“Thank you, Tony,” Ava said.
“He’s going to be okay,” Tony said.
Ava wanted to believe it.
Tony glanced around, then leaned closer. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. No one has, not in the middle of the
night. If I find out anything, I’ll call.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Ava said. She offered him a small smile, but that was the best she could do.
As soon as Tony stepped away from the SUV, Margo sped out of the parking lot.
Ava pulled out the paperwork. Ken’s small flip-phone fell into her lap.
She stuffed the logs and transfer orders back inside. Her stomach was too queasy to read in the car. She held the phone, not
knowing yet what to do with it. She needed just a few minutes to gather herself, to be the strong woman Cooper needed her
to be.
Margo said, “Jack, Tess, Luisa, and Nico all confirmed they’ll be at the office in an hour.”
“Okay.”
“No more secrets, Mom. No lies.”
“I’ll tell you everything I know, Margo, but it’s not what you think it is.”
“I don’t think anything, other than you and Dad have been protecting a killer for no reason I can fathom.”
“No. That’s not it.” She took a deep breath, let it out, but didn’t feel any less tense or scared. “We’ve been protecting
all of you.”