Speak Low, a Seth and Ava Mystery

By Claudia Hall Christian

Forensic scientist Ava O’Malley is in the middle of a criminal trial when a mysterious box arrives from Center, Colorado. Inside the box are the boney remains of at least three young children. Ava and her team must throw their usual controlled process to the wind to track down who these bones belong to.

Ava's investigation leads her to encounter an ancient evil creature known only in Indigenous myth. As Ava gets closer to the truth, she finds herself in danger, but she is determined to bring justice to the families of the murdered children.

Speak Low is a suspenseful mystery set in the wilds of rural Colorado while taking a fascinating look at an Indigenous myth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cook Street Publishing
• Release date: Aug 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9781956034509

Claudia Hall Christian

Claudia Hall Christian writes stories about good people caught in difficult situations. Her stories are addictive, heart pounding, and intense. She is the author of the Alex the Fey thriller series, the Queen of Cool, the Seth and Ava Mysteries, Suffer a Witch, Abee Normal Paranormal Investigations, and the longest consecutive serial fiction ever written, Denver Cereal. She lives in Denver where she keeps bees, gardens, hangs out with her Plott Hounds, and husband

Book preview

cover.jpg

Speak Low

A Seth and Ava Mystery

Claudia Hall Christian

img1.jpg

Cook Street Publishing

Denver, CO

Also by Claudia Hall Christian

StoriesbyClaudia.com

Abee Normal, Paranormal Investigations

The Casebook of Abee Normal, Paranormal Investigations, Volume 1

The Casebook of Abee Normal, Paranormal Investigations, Volume 2

The Denver Cereal

V01 — The Denver Cereal V13 — Fort Collins

V02 — Celia’s Puppies V14 — Olney Springs

V03 — Cascade V15 — Manitou Springs

V04 — Cimarron V16 — Idaho Springs

V05 — Black Forest V17 — Poncha Springs

V06 — Fairplay V18 — Hot Sulfur Springs

V07 — Gold Hill V19 — Glenwood Springs

V08 — Silt V20 — Pagosa Springs

V09 — Larkspur V21 — Steamboat Springs

V10 — Firestone V22 — Estes Park

V11 — Fort Lupton V23 — Woodland Park

V12 — Fort Morgan  V24 — Roxborough Park

V25 — Ponderosa Park

Alex the Fey Thrillers

The Fey Lean on Me About Face

Learning to Stand In the Grey In Deep

Who I am  Finding North True Mark

Hackneys

Hackneys

The Queen of Cool

The Queen of Cool

Reapers

Reapers

Seth and Ava Mysteries

Tax Assassin Little Girl Blue

Carving Knife Billie’s Bounce

Friendly Fire Footprints

Cigarette Killer Freddie the Freeloader

Lazy Bird

Suffer a Witch

Suffer a Witch

Copyright © Claudia Hall Christian

ISNI: 0000 0003 6726 170X

Licensed under the Creative Commons License:

Attribution – NonCommercial – Share Alike 3.0

ISBN-13 : 978-1-956034-49-3 (print)

  978-1-956034-50-9 (digital)

Library of Congress available on request.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

img2.jpg

First edition © July 2023

Cook Street Publishing

ISNI: 0000 0004 1443 6403

PO Box 7247

Denver, CO 80207

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-one

Twenty-two

Twenty-three

For Cassie and Dottie,

proof that dogs never get tired of barking.

One

The doors to the elevator on the floor of Ava’s lab opened with their usual efficiency. Half asleep, Ava paused too long before getting out. The elevator doors started to close.

Her arms were full of work junk, Ava stuck her Converse All-Star covered foot into the space between the doors to keep them open. Ava took a few precarious steps with her stack of files, her dress shoes and nylons, and a travel mug of coffee wedged between her chin and the stack of random crap. Balancing everything, she made it down the darkened hallway to the door of her lab.

Her cell phone rang.

Startled by the sound, the travel mug slipped and everything she was holding in her arms crashed to the floor. The travel mug skittered across the floor and rolled.

Fuck, Ava said.

She needed to answer her phone. Her husband was in surgery today. Leaving everything on the floor, she took off her backpack to find her cell phone. Her hand was on her phone when it stopped ringing.

Ava leaned her head back and mock-yelled at the heavens in frustration.

If she’d missed the surgeon’s call, he wasn’t likely to call back. She looked at the phone and saw that her teammate Dr. Joan Quincy — the country’s, if not the world’s, expert on forensic bones — had called her. Ava tried to return Joan’s call, but found that Joan’s phone was busy.

Sighing, Ava stuck the phone in the back pocket of her jeans. She turned off her lab’s security and unlocked the door. She’d just filled her hands with her files and other junk when the phone rang again.

Yes, Ava said, lisping around the keys that she’d stuck between her teeth.

Ava? Joan asked. You okay?

One s-th-ec-nd, Ava said, lisping.

She went into the lab and jogged into her office before her arms gave out again. She spit out her keys and checked that the dress she’d planned to wear to court was, indeed, hanging in her office closet. Only then did she look at her phone.

Sorry about that, Ava said. I have to be in court today, so I took everything home to review it.

Good thinking, Joan said. When are you due in court?

One, Ava said. You?

I’m on after you, Joan said.

Ava’s eyes rolled to the ceiling. While Joan would deny it, she was a very formal person. She didn’t like to be rushed or even asked why she’d called. Ava waited.

I need you to come over to my office, Joan said. Are the ladies in yet?

Not yet, Ava said. I took a cab. Nelson’s not here, either.

Lock up, and come over, Joan said.

I really. . . Ava started.

You’d better make time, Joan said. I’m not threatening you. I just. . . mmm. . . I could use some of your assistance.

I’ll be right over, Ava said.

Come with a uniformed officer, Joan said. We’ll need him.

A uniformed officer was standing at Ava’s door. She waved to her. The interim head of the CBI had insisted that every member of Ava’s team receive police protection, including escort.

How about a ‘her’? Ava said. I have Hannah and her partner today.

Technician Hannah Norfolk had come up through the Police Academy just after Ava graduated. Ava had mentored her for the first six month she was on the job.

Even better, Joan said. See you in a minute. Take a cab. That leg of yours has not had enough time to heal.

Ava had been shot at the end of the case that she was testifying in — a complicated cold case with multiple casualties involving casinos and organized crime. Her leg hadn’t healed well and had gotten infected. She’d had another surgery in the middle of their last case.

Got it, Ava said.

She made a pile of everything she had been carrying on her desk, wrote a Post-it telling her team where she was, and went back through the security to lock up. She put the Post-it on the door. Nodding to the officers, she pointed to the elevator.

Where to? Hannah asked.

Coroner’s office, Ava said. I need to take a cab because, even though it’s not that far, I’m not cleared for that kind of walking.

We have a car today, Hannah’s partner, Technician Olivia Rivera, said, holding up a set of car keys. Didn’t want your fancy clothes to get mussed up getting to court.

Olivia was a middle-aged woman who’d spent most of her time at the Denver Police Department working in dispatch. When her children were finally out of the house, she’d moved to more-active duty. Olivia and Hannah were always great company.

Yay! Ava and Hannah cheered.

They were back in the elevator and heading down. They made their way to the vehicle. Ava sat in the back seat while her uniformed guards drove her the few blocks to the coroner’s office. They got out, went through security, and headed down the hallway to Joan’s work area. They passed Joan’s uniformed police officers, went through her work area, and stepped into her closet-sized office.

What’s up? Ava asked.

Joan gave her a direct stare. Their eyes held for a moment.

Please sit down, Joan said.

Okay, Ava said slowly as she sat down.

Joan reached down and pulled out a cardboard box. She set the box on her desk.

Wha. . .? Ava started to ask.

Joan held up her index finger. Ava nodded.

Joan pulled on blue latex gloves and opened the box. She pulled a black trash bag from the box. The bag hung in the air for a moment. There was something heavy pressing against the cheap plastic bag. Joan carefully set them on her desk. The items in the bag made a sound like a drum — thud, thud, thud.

Wha. . .? Ava started again.

I was sent this box, Joan said, as she pointed to the top of the box. "It was sent to me. My name. This location."

Ava opened her mouth to say something, but waited. Joan nodded for her to go ahead.

What’s in the box? Ava asked.

I thought you’d never ask, Joan said.

She rolled the black plastic down so that Ava saw. . .

Is that. . .? Ava started.

The skeletal remains of at least three children, Joan said. Little children. Younger than ten years old. Bones.

Bones? Ava asked.

With Ava’s word, the air of the room became heavy and felt hot. Olivia and Hannah looked a little gray.

Return address? Olivia asked.

I’m glad you asked, Joan said, looking up to the uniformed police officer. It just says Center, Colorado.

Where? Ava asked.

Center is a tiny city in the middle of the state, Olivia volunteered. In the San Luis Valley. It has more people now than ever, but it’s still pretty small — a few thousand people. Mostly working poor. Migrants who work the fields. Lots of kids.

Olivia was an encyclopedia of Colorado facts due to her decades in dispatch.

We’ve got a new cold case, Joan said.

Ava groaned. Her head dropped until her forehead hit Joan’s desk.

Ava and her lab had received a grant to apply modern forensics to rural Colorado cold cases. The one thing they’d learned about these cold cases was that, while the families wanted some resolution, there was always someone who’d spent a lot of time, energy, and money to make sure they were never solved. Their lives had been threatened. Ava’s garage had been burned down. Multiple people had threatened bodily harm, rape, and a whole host of horrible things. Ava’s lab had completed five cases, and, according to the interim CBI director, they had five more to do.

Joan laughed at Ava.

We’ll get through this, Joan said.

I have to be in court for one of our cold cases, Ava said. You have to be in court for one of our cold cases. We don’t have time for a new case.

But we’ll do it anyway, Joan said.

Still bent over, Ava rotated her head up to look at Joan.

You know that we’ll do it anyway, Joan said.

Sighing, Ava nodded.

We always do, Ava said. She nodded to Joan. I have to get back to my office for a pre-court meeting with the prosecutor.

I’m going to call Nelson, Joan said. He can help me tag and film everything. Is he. . .?

The entire lab is in court this week, Ava said. The entire week!

Starting this afternoon, Joan said.

Starting this afternoon, Ava said. At one.

Happy Monday! Joan said.

Laughing, Ava got up from her seat. She gave Joan a wave and started out the door.

How’s Seth? Joan asked.

I don’t think the surgery’s started, Ava said. I haven’t heard from Sandy yet. So I assume they haven’t started.

He’s going to be fine, Joan said.

Ava gave Joan a worried nod.

Seth had been shot at the end of a complicated case. The bullet had ripped through his intestines and lodged in his hip bone. While he’d healed well, his hip cracked nearly every time it healed. He was getting his own titanium pin today. Because Ava had to be in court today, Sandy, his eldest daughter, was their family representative today.

Oh, and Ava? Joan asked.

Ava turned to look at her.

Take your meds, Joan said. Stay off that leg. You look like you’re in pain.

Ava gave her a brief smile of thanks and left her office. For the last three months, the entire lab had been off doing new cases while they wrapped up their other cold cases.

Are you in pain, Amelie? Hannah asked, using Ava’s birth name.

It’s worse when I’m under stress, Ava said.

Let’s get you back into your office and your meds, Olivia said.

She opened the back door to the police cruiser and Ava got inside.

You’re back in the wheelchair for the office, Hannah said. No complaints.

Fine, Ava said with a nod.

Olivia started the vehicle, and they headed back to Ava’s office.

|-||-|||-||-|||-||-|||-||-|||-||-|||-||-|||-||-|||

Two

Ava’s phone buzzed again, and she looked down at it. She was sitting in the seats of the courtroom, waiting to be called. As usual, the court was running behind schedule. Right now, the defense attorney was complaining about the conditions of the prison where his client was currently residing.

Ava had been told the defense attorney’s name at least twice, but she could never remember what it was. She was glad there wasn’t a test at the end of this. Then again, if there was a test, she would know his name.

Ms. O’Malley? the judge asked, breaking her train of thought. Is there something we need to know?

I apologize, Ava said. My husband is in surgery today. He was supposed to be done by now, but they were delayed. The text was from his daughter.

You may read it to the court, the judge said. I believe most of us would be interested in hearing how Seth O’Malley is doing after his hip surgery.

Uh, okay, Ava said. Flustered, but not one to back down from a challenge, she said, "Um. Sandy Delgado, his eldest, says, ‘Surgery done. Surgeon says that they placed two pins in his ilium. Uh, that’s his hip bone. Figured out why it keeps breaking. Hence the extra pin. In