Garden of Roses and Tears

PROLOGUE

David Fiori sat alone in his study, intently writing a letter to his only daughter, Kerensa. The small, desk lamp shed just enough light to guide his hand across the parchment.

David paused a brief moment and listened. He quietly placed his pen upon the rich, dark swirls of the mahogany desktop. Creeek . . . there was that sound again. It was the vibration of a door closing somewhere in the large, old Victorian house. Perhaps, Brian had decided to come home earlier than previously planned. Or, perhaps he was allowing his imagination to take an unwelcome hold over his usual, lucid and level headed thoughts. David continued to sit motionless in his chair. Suddenly, his head jerked up in surprise. There, standing before him, was a man with a gun in his hand. David froze with fear. "There is something very wrong here." Brian O'Brian's face was twisted in a mask of anger and emotional pain, "Just look at the facts!" Brian was talking to someone, hoping that person would agree to help him. He so desperately needed his commitment and assistance. He sucked his breath in sharply, and spoke again. "David was a healthy man, he was young and he exercised, watched his diet, he couldn't have a fatal heart attack!" Brian could feel his own heart beating furiously within his chest walls.

His colleague and friend was dead. He found him lying in his study, wedged between the desk and the wall. The theory was, that he had been working on his research project and he just plain keeled over from a massive coronary. Dr. O'Brian knew better. Call it a gut feeling, or anything else. He learned a long time ago never to intellectualize the obvious away. He learned that even though evidence could point in one direction, it didn't mean he should believe it. Although, Dr. Fiori's blood tests were indicative of a massive coronary, such as elevated CPK levels, and ischemic heart muscle, he still believed otherwise. No, he knew otherwise! Now, all he had to do was convince them.

"And the will," Brian remarked again. "Don't you think that was highly unusual?" Brian did not wait for the other man to answer. "His attorney called me this morning FIX, GARDEN OF ROSES to inform me of the changes. He told me that David came to him the day before he died, and asked him to draft a new will. I've known David Fiori for many years, I can tell you that everything he did was well thought out and precise. He never acted on impulse!" "Tell me about these changes," the other man finally replied, facing Brian as he spoke. His deep, sapphire blue eyes mirrored true empathy for the doctor. "His daughters name is Kerensa. She'll be twenty-one in a few months. She was David's only living descendant. She is currently living in Miami with a woman who has raised her since her mother died. She was around four or five years old at the time." Brian took a deep breath and continued, "Kerensa never relocated to Buffalo when her father took the position at Children's hospital, several years ago. David entrusted her with a friend of his deceased wife. I can tell you that he adored his daughter." There was no disputing the reflection of concern upon Brian's face. "That is why this entire affair does not make sense to me," he continued on. "For David to change the contents of his will, make me his daughters guardian, and tear her away from her life in Miami, is a message, a very strong one. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to tell me what it was." "What are you asking me to do?" the other man was rubbing his chin, now deep in his own thoughts as he asked the question. "I'm asking you to take this case and protect Kerensa Fiori. I know my colleague was murdered and I fear Kerensa is in mortal danger. She will arrive here in less then twelve hours, I must inform her of these plans." FIX, GARDEN OF ROSES "No!" the man stated emphatically. "I do not want her warned of something that is only speculation. I suggest you not tell her, you could risk her possible interference with this investigation."

As Kerensa entered the study, it was difficult to see through the dimmed light. Only the light on the desk was lit, and it cast eerie shadows against the tall, handmade bookshelves. Suddenly making them appear ominous. Kerensa's eyes attempted to adjust to the obscure light, and that was when she saw him. He was sitting there at her father's desk, as if deserved to be there. FIX, GARDEN OF ROSES 29 As if he had earned some special privilege to share in her father's past joy. Kerensa stared in disbelief. Yes, indeed it was the rudest man Kerensa had ever encountered. Worse yet, he was sitting in her daddy's chair! "What are you doing here?" She carefully asked, "and where is Dr. O'Brian?" The man feigned surprise for a brief moment, but it disappeared quickly, and it was replaced by a low, sarcastic chuckle. "Kerensa Fiori, I am Dr. O'Brian." Kerensa froze. That was impossible. She stood there momentarily speechless. He stared back at her, even in the twilight, his eyes seemed to freeze a hole right through her heart. Kerensa's mind searched wildly in recollection of what her father had ever said about him. Had he ever mentioned his age, or what he looked like? Suddenly, her mind was drawing a blank. This man only appeared to be in his late twenties, possibly thirty. He was too young to belong in Kerensa's mental image. He was too attractive to be close to, let alone share a house with. Oh no . . . no . . . no . . . this will never work out! Her head was reeling, she felt dizzy and her heart was pounding right out of her chest. This was her living nightmare, just when she didn't think it could ever get worse, there he was. "You would have known who I was if you had asked me for some identification when I picked you up at the airport. "Oh, but that's right," he continued mockingly. "You were doing such a great job defending yourself from the purse snatchers!" The lighting in the study abruptly looked brighter, or perhaps