Decker's Dilemma (17 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

1810, Wednesday, February 12

Hack knocked and heard a woman's voice from within softly call out, “Come in.” He pushed open the door and stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Lee was lying face down on a blanket wearing a red t-shirt and reading a novel. A bath towel was thrown over the arm of the nearby sofa. Angie sat astride Lee's left thigh, massaging her lower back, neither of the women looking up to acknowledge Hack's presence.

Hack smiled at the sight before him. “Looks like I got here at the right time. You always leave your door unlocked like this?”

Lee, eyes still on the book, motioned with her left hand for Hack to sit on the couch. “It was locked. I heard you talking to the trike driver so Angie got up and opened it.” She finished reading the page, closed the book, and spoke to the maid. “
Oras upang ayusin ang hapunan
.” Angie got up quietly, smiled at Hack, and hurried to the kitchen.

“I've always been impressed with your Tagalog,” Hack said.

Lee turned on her side. “I guess I picked it up easily, but I'm still learning. I think I just asked her to fix dinner. Not sure if I got it exactly correct, but she understood what I wanted.”

Hack looked at Angie in the kitchen and then at Lee. “Must be nice having her here. I didn't know massages were part of her duties?”

“They're not. She worked as a masseuse before I hired her so I let her treat me if she asks. She's taught me how to give them, too. Maybe sometime I'll show you.”

Hack smiled at the thought. “Maybe the both of you can show me.”

“Don't be a jackass,” she said, sitting up and pulling down at the t-shirt to cover her waist.

Hack gazed at Lee's perfectly formed thighs, firm from her workout regimen. “I love you, Leeandra Mansfield.”

Lee rolled her eyes knowing where Hack had focused his attention. “Do you say that to every half naked girl you see?”

“No, just to the ones I sleep with.”

“Touché, silly goose,” said Lee. “Okay then, if you really love me, how about getting me some underwear?”

“What'd you do with the ones you had on?”

“I didn't have any on. I showered and just put on a t-shirt. We were watching TV and Angie mentioned a massage so I took her up on it. They're in the top drawer of my dresser.”

“Any particular pair?”

“Doesn't matter. You choose. And throw me my towel.”

Hack grabbed the towel but paused before tossing it to her. “You want a bra, too?”

“Are we going out?”

“I wasn't planning on it.”

“Then no bra. Just my panties.”

Hack flipped the towel to her. “I like the sound of that,” he said, walking to the bedroom with one eye on his girlfriend.

He opened the top drawer of her dresser but all he saw was an assortment of neatly folded tops. He thumbed through the clothes looking for underwear and felt something tucked between two shirts. He lifted the top shirt and saw a stack of bills held together by a small binder clip. He quickly counted. Six hundred dollars.

Out of curiosity he opened the next drawer. He found a packet of letters tied together by a bow underneath a pair of jeans. He thumbed through the stack. All were from Lawrence Pinto from the USS
Harvey
, variously postmarked from one year ago to last month.

“Damn,” Hack mumbled, annoyed.

“What's taking you so long?” Lee yelled from the living room.

Hack quietly closed the drawer. “I can't find them. You said the top drawer, right?”

“Yes, top drawer of my dresser.”

Hack put his hands on his hips and scanned the room. “Oh, I see it. I was looking in the wrong place.” He walked to the five-drawer dresser on the other side of the room and opened the top drawer. After going through the the choices, he selected a pair of white cotton panties with pink trim and red hearts printed all over it. He held it up between his thumb and index finger. “This'll do.”

Hack walked to the living room, handed Lee her underwear, and then sat on the couch facing her.

“Thank you,” she said, extending her legs and slipping on the panties. She sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him and smirked. “Did you get a good look?”

“Not really. You were too fast.”

“You need to pay attention next time.”

“You should go slower next time.”

“I might not be naked next time.”

“Do you always walk around nude with Angie here?”

“I wasn't walking around nude. I had a t-shirt on.”

Hack sat silent, thinking of the Pinto letters.

“What's wrong with you?” Lee asked.

“I found a bunch of money in your drawer,” he said, ignoring the letters he discovered.

“How did you find that?”

“It was in the top drawer of your dresser or what I thought was your dresser.”

“That's my vanity, silly goose. A vanity has a mirror.”

“I know that now,” said Hack. “You think it's safe to have cash like that lying around?”

Lee sat up and stretched her back. “I'm careful. I need cash to pay rent and other bills. I pay Angie in cash, too.” Lee crawled to the sofa and sat next to him. “Did you come here straight from the ship?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Sort of,” Hack said.

“What do you mean, sort of?”

“I was leaving base with Decker and we got sidetracked. My new best friend, Inspector Navarro, stopped us on the street. We sat in his car and had a nice chat.”

“The local police chief?”

Hack nodded. “Yep, he picked us up when we were crossing Shit River. We didn't have a choice. Three of his lieutenants were there to make sure we got in his car.”

“Why would he want to talk with you guys?” asked
Lee.

“There's something I haven't told you,” said Hack. “Decker and I went to see this guy Mr. Fortuno on Saturday. Inspector Navarro knew about it somehow.”

Lee cocked her head. “Who's Fortuno?”

“He's an old man who used to run the black market in town. He's someone Decker found out about from his trike driver friend, Rusty.”

Lee took hold of Hack's hand. “You need to be careful, sweetie. Don't let Decker talk you into stuff like that. I can't believe you guys are still chasing this inventory thing.”

“I know what I'm doing,” Hack reassured her. “It just bothers me that Navarro knew about the meeting. We were careful not to be followed. Rusty helped us get there and he didn't notice anything.”

“Maybe they weren't following you,” said Lee.

“How else would they know we visited?”

“Two ways,” Lee said. She extended her left index finger. “One, they could've been watching Mr. Fortuno's house. If he's a shady character, maybe the cops are always keeping an eye on him.”

“But we didn't see anyone watching.”

“You wouldn't see them. Probably watching from another house. Or maybe it was a spy. You know, some girl working at a
sari sari
store or a trike driver who the police pay for information. Wouldn't take much money. A few pesos here and there can add up for someone like that.”

“What's the other way?” Hack asked.

“Perhaps the honorable Captain Navarro is in cahoots with Mr. Fortuno. Think about it. What kind of vehicle does Navarro drive?”

“I think it was a Range Rover,” Hack said.

“See what I mean? I'm not sure what he gets paid, but that's a nice vehicle for a public servant in this town. You don't see police officers driving cars like that in the States.”

“I guess not,” Hack sighed. “I'm not sure what to think anymore.”

“What did Navarro want anyway?”

“He warned us not to stick our noses into things.”

“He said that?”

“In so many words.”

“Well then, you should take his advice.”

Hack ran his fingers through Lee's hair. “I'll try to be careful.” He paused momentarily. “There's something else. Chief Fray had your name written on a piece paper he kept in his safe.”

Lee looked up abruptly. “My name? Why would he write my name?”

“I don't know,” Hack shrugged. “He had several names listed and Mansfield was one of them.”

“Well, it's a common enough name,” Lee said. “It's probably someone else. I hardly know the guy except when he calls or comes by to complain about a shipment.”

“I told Decker the same thing, that it's a common name.”

“What'd he say about it?” asked Lee.

“Nothing really. But I think it made him suspicious. Vega told us the local cops think someone at the supply depot is in on the black market.”

“Well, it's not me! What about him?”

“Who? Decker?”

“Yeah, Decker. He's dragging you into this, but what's his motive? To help poor Vega?”

“That's not why. She told us not to get involved,” he lied.

“Then why is he doing it?”

“I told you, Kippen talked to him about an inventory problem the night he went overboard. I think it freaked Decker.”

Lee smirked. “The Honorable Elliott Decker, setting out to right the supposed wrong done to Kippen. Why does he care so much? Just think about it. Was anyone else around when Kippen talked to him?”

“No, Decker said they were alone.”

“See what I mean? How do you know what they talked about? Maybe Decker's the one involved in the black market and Kippen confronted him. Maybe he's the one who pushed Kippen.”

“That's hardly likely,” Hack said, a sliver of doubt coloring his voice.

“Is it? Maybe Decker also found out Chief Fray was on to him. And now he's getting you to do his dirty work to find out what Chief's knows. Maybe Vega's in on it, too. Everyone knows the local cops are corrupt.”

“I can't believe she'd be like that,” Hack said.

Lee started to say something but, instead sighed and rested her head on Hack's knees. “Let's drop it. I'm tired of talking about it.”

Hack massaged Lee's shoulder and was deep in thought when Angie emerged from the kitchen, speaking Tagalog to Lee. The maid smiled at Hack and carried a plate of shrimp and rice to her room.

“She said dinner's ready,” Lee translated. “Angie's shy around strangers, especially men. We eat together when we're alone, but she always takes her food to her room when someone's visiting. And before you say anything, no, I don't have men visitors anymore except for you. Before we met, of course a guy would come over once in a while.”

“I'm sure Pinto used to make himself at home,” said Hack, attempting to stand to go eat.

Lee grabbed his arm and pushed him back on the couch. She waited for Angie to close her door. “I told you before we only went out a couple times. Pinto means nothing to me. What's gotten into you?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Hack said thinking about the bundle of letters in Lee's drawer and dinner ready in the kitchen.. “Don't you want to eat?”

“I'm not hungry,” she said, running her hands up and down Hack's legs. “I was surprised to see you tonight. I thought you were going out with Decker.”

“I planned to, but I missed you and wanted to see you.”

Lee poked Hack in the stomach. “You're a terrible liar.”

“You're right,” said Hack. “I left base with Decker, but he went to Vega's after our run-in with Navarro.” He stroked her hair. “I did miss you, though.”

Lee wrinkled her nose. “Whatever the reason, I'm glad you're here instead of out with him. Decker and his little cop girlfriend are going to get you in trouble.”

“What's up with you and Vega?” Hack asked. “I thought you got along with her?”

Lee leaned back on her knees and let her hands drift to Hack's waist. “I don't know, just something about her.”

Hack laughed nervously. “I doubt if I'll see much of Vega anymore. I think she's dumping him tonight.”

“Really?” Lee said. “I thought she already did, that they were ‘just friends'?”

“I don't know what they are,” said Hack.

A sly smile formed on Lee's face. “A breakup can be sad, but I'm glad Vega's out of the picture.”

“Why's that?”

“She likes you.”

“She's never said anything to me like that,” Hack said hesitantly. “She doesn't really talk to me that much.”

“I've seen the way she looks at you. Remember the time we all went dancing at the Sampaguita Club when we first met? It was so obvious. She had her eyes on you the whole night. She may have been screwing Decker, but her eyes were on my horny goose.”