Dirty Trouble (16 page)

“What’s up, Marcus?” I asked.

“I got the report from the fire marshal and also from the body shop where your Taurus was taken. Do you have a minute?”

“Yeah, are you coming by, or do you want to give me the bad news over the phone?” My heart thumped against my ribs as my stomach churned.

“I’ll be by in a few minutes. I’m leaving headquarters now.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you,” I said with dread, and disconnected the call.

The call ruffled my feathers. I started to tremble and sat down abruptly in the leather office chair. Smoothing my hair away from my face, I cupped my chin in my palm, staring out the window.

The grey Crown Vic pulled to the curb, and Marcus stepped from it. I watched him swagger toward the house and went to let him in. He was a hot babe in that uniform. My heart fluttered at the sight of his craggy features and well built, toned body.

Marcus stepped into the foyer and then the apartment. Turning, he took me into his arms, firm lips covering mine in a long kiss. He took my breath away and I warmed at his touch.

Could life get any better than this? I wondered.
Well, yes
.
You could fall for someone other than a cop
. I ignored my inner voice and enjoyed the kisses Marcus rained over my face and lips.

“The news must be bad if you’re priming me this way,” I uttered, my blood pressure on the rise.

“I’ve been waiting for this all day. The news has nothing to do with it.” He leaned back with a wolfish smile.

“Even though this is wonderful,” I said, “tell me the news. I can’t stand waiting.”

“Ah, yes, that impetuous and curious nature.” He walked toward the sofa and sat down. He patted the seat next to him and waited for me to sit.

Good Lord, I thought, it must be horrible news. Nervous, I scrunched up on the end of the sofa, turned to face him, and folded my legs underneath me. Fidgeting was a dead giveaway and I wanted Marcus to think I was calm, so I folded my hands in my lap.

“So, tell me. I can’t stand the suspense.”

“The fire was set. Burnt matches were found near the base of the tree. It appears that the garage caught on fire after the tree was set aflame. The person responsible is being sought. That’s all I can tell you about that.”

Questions spread across my mind like wildfire. No pun intended. If he wouldn’t tell me anything else, it meant there was a suspect or suspects. Huh?

“Okay, now what about the car?” I asked.

“Gary, at the garage, called to say they’d given the wreck a once over. The car was damaged underneath from the landing. However, the rear bumper and fender were scraped, and black paint left behind.” His eyes never left my face. “Since your car was red, chances are we may be able to find the vehicle that pushed you off the road. It’s a slim possibility, mind you, since the other vehicle may not have sustained enough damage to report to a body shop.”

“That’s better news than I anticipated, Marcus. I was nervous that you were going to deliver the worst news I could imagine.” I sighed and leaned back against the pillow on the end of the sofa.

Eyebrows hiked and questioning eyes watched me. He asked, “What kind of bad news, Vin?”

“I can’t think of what it would be, but I dreaded whatever it was. Maybe it’s just wrinkled nerves on my part. I don’t know.”

A smirk tickled his lips, and I smiled. Ridiculous as it seemed, I was pleased at the news. My garage lay in ruin, my car was totaled, and I felt pleased.
Imagine.

The back door opened with a holler of greeting from Aaron.

“Are you ready, beautiful?” he called.

“You got a date,
beautiful
?” Richmond’s eyes widened as his smirk vanished.

I stared at him for a moment. Was that jealousy I saw?
Nah, must be my imagination.
Couldn’t be signs of proprietorship, could it?
Nah.

“Not a date, exactly,” I began.

“Oh? Well,
beautiful,
why don’t you tell me exactly what it is?” His emphasis on the word told the whole story.

Ah, he was jealous, and ‘Was I just a bit pleased at that,’ you ask? ‘Indeed,’ I answer.

“I’m hitching a ride with Aaron to get my new car. Lola’s away today, remember?” I grinned with pleasure. Marcus never said how much he cared, and I considered this reaction a good sign.

Aaron strode around the corner and stopped short. He took in my Cheshire Cat grin and Richmond’s chagrin as he stepped into the room. The large frame settled against the door casing.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, and nodded at Marcus.

“It sure is,” I said smugly.

“Good. Well, we should get going if we’re to pick up your car.” He checked his watch.

“Okay.” As I stood, my muscles protested a bit, but not as bad as earlier in the day. My headache nearly disappeared. There was hope for me yet.

We trooped out the back door after I locked the front door. Suddenly my life didn’t feel like such a pile of shit, and Marcus was the reason. A lighthearted sigh escaped me as I turned toward him.

A question shot across his face, and I grinned like a fool. Leaning toward the handsome brute, I laid a kiss on his lips, darting my tongue out for good measure. When I leaned back, I could see a smile forming and knew all was well once again. I guessed the jealousy part was over for Marcus.

* * * *

Aaron turned the truck eastward toward the car dealership. Ahead of us Marcus turned onto the highway, while we continued on. As we entered the car lot I stared up and down the rows of cars.

“Is your car among any of these?”

“No, it’s probably out back,” I said as we pulled up to the front door.

Aaron parked the Yukon and we went inside the dealership. I glanced around, looking for Mr. Snot Necktie, but I didn’t see him right away. As I turned to Aaron a man approached us with a shark-like grin, and introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m the manager. Justin Scuzzi. You must be Ms. Esposito?”

Extending a hand to shake his, my glance took in the shiny suit and gleaming shoes. His shirt was crisp white and the tie pure silk. Ashen-colored skin accompanied the slicked-back brown hair on his egg-shaped head. I could smell
parfum du cigar
smoke on his clothing, even though I wasn’t standing close to him. Ugh
.

“Yes, that would be me. I’ve come to collect my new car.” The prospect of owning this classy new vehicle excited me, even though I had liked my Taurus a great deal.

“Sure thing. Come this way and we can get the remaining paperwork out of the way,” he said.

I turned to walk alongside him, and then glanced back at Aaron.

“You needn’t wait. I can manage from here. Thanks for everything.”

“That’s all right. I’ll hang around until you take possession of the car.” His gaze roved around the room before landing on me again.

The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention as I glanced around quickly, taking his cue.
Was anything wrong? Did I miss something?
The showroom was quiet, as far as I could tell. Maybe Aaron thought I couldn’t stay out of trouble for a moment. I shrugged and nodded at him.

“Okay, we’ll only be a minute then.” I smiled and strode after Scuzzi.

With the check and paperwork signed, and handed over to Scuzzi, I accepted the car keys along with the registration papers. Curious as to what happened to the regular salesman I dealt with, I turned to Scuzzi with the question on my lips.

Before I could open my mouth he smiled and said, “Mr. Beducci has the day off. That is what you are curious about? Am I right?”

“Yes. He has been most helpful to me in both my purchases, and I wanted to thank him.” Actually, I was just wondering where the man was.

“Well, I’ll be sure to give him that message,” Scuzzi said with a smile. He ushered me down the hallway and into the showroom where Aaron awaited my reappearance.

He stepped forward and grinned when I jingled the keys at him. Excitement coursed through me as we exited the glass doors toward the pale blue Altima. I proudly strode around the car with a grin the size of Montana on my lips.

Laughter rumbled after me as I sped around the car twice.

“Are you going to circle this car all day, or drive it home?”

I giggled, opened the driver’s door, and slid behind the wheel. I slid the key in the ignition. The new car smell enveloped me like a fur coat.
Wow, what a smell.

A rap on the window reminded me that Aaron stood outside looking in. I glanced at the dashboard, found the window button and pressed it. The window slid downward in silence.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m headed into the city for a bit. Are you going straight home?”

“Yeah, I have some work to do for class tomorrow. I need to report to the insurance company as well.”

“All right. Go straight home. No stops and no shenanigans, understand?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said.

“Promise me.”

“All right, then.” I promised, but my toes were crossed the whole time.

Reaching into his pocket, Aaron handed me a small strip of paper. The name of a builder was printed in his bold script. I scanned the phone number and realized the guy lived in Scituate.

“I’ll call this number when I get home. Thanks,” I said.

The car purred when I turned the key further. After fastening my seatbelt, I headed from the parking lot. The smooth ride convinced me that everything in my life would turn around. Why I was that naïve, I can’t say. Maybe it had something to do with the new car smell.

The Altima scooted along and I reached the house in no time at all. Parked at the back door, I wandered around the garage once again in search of the cat, Evergreen. He’d slipped my mind until I stared at the woebegone evergreen trees at the edge of the property.

Several ragged trees needed replacing, but the one at the side of the garage was toasted to a crisp. I scuffed the dirt with my toe and stared around at the landscape. No sign of the cat or anything else for that matter. No birds sang and no caterwauling from the ragged beast.

On a sigh, I returned to the house and rummaged through the fridge for a few scraps of food. Tossing them onto a paper plate, I thrust it outside the back door and waited in hopes it would draw the cat out of his lair – a lair that used to include the garage.

When Evergreen didn’t show up right away, I left the French doors and headed into the office. Messages from the university, and also from my mother waited for me. I sat at the desk and fiddled with a pencil, lost in thought as I listened to them.

Chapter 15

The school wanted to know if I would carry two more classes next week. My mother’s message was urgent, she said. She needed a return call right away. Good God, now what? I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh. I only left her a while ago.

The slip of paper holding the builder’s number lay on the desk in front of me. I called, left a message, and hung up. Dialing the number for the university, I spoke with Margy Gluck, Secretary of All and Everything. She asked if I was well enough to teach an added class or two. I assured her that things were fine but that I couldn’t manage the other classes. Margy said she’d take care of things. I thanked her and ended the call.

Sliding away from the desk, I rose and checked the plate of food on the deck. It was empty, but no there was sign of Evergreen. I turned away and made a pot of coffee before returning to the office.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that my procrastination level was at an all-time high. I’d stood and waited for the pot to finish perking. I folded paper napkins, threw a load of laundry in the washer, and checked the deck once again – for Evergreen.

With a cup of steaming brew in hand, I finally dialed my mother’s number. She answered on the first ring. Dang, I thought. She must have been next to the phone awaiting my call.

“Hey, Mom, what’s up?”

“Dear, I just returned from the seniors’ center. You’ll never guess who I ran into.” From the conspiratorial sound of her voice, I could only imagine it was someone I’d rather not know about.

“Who was it?” Reluctant as I was to ask the question, curiosity factored in.

“Antonio, the businessman. That’s who. What do you think about that?”

“Get outta here,” I said in a state of disbelief. “What the heck was he doing there?”

“He wasn’t visiting anyone, I know that much. He came out of the business office as Nonni and I left the arts and crafts room. A thug was with him. Do you think they were shaking someone down?”

“Mom, it’s not likely. Who would they shake down at a seniors’ center? Besides, Antonio isn’t a shakedown artist. He’s got bigger business to handle.”

“What kind of business, Lavinia?”

“I’m not sure, Mom,” I lied. I wanted to spare my mother the worry of my aunt’s involvement with a true-to-life badass gangster. She knew he was a businessman for the mob, but she didn’t know the rest. Far be it from me to enlighten my mother at this juncture.

“Oh, well, I thought I should tell you in case one of your law enforcement friends might be interested. I’ll call you if I run into him again. What do you think he was doing there, Lavinia?”

“I have no idea, Mom. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
Yeah, like that was gonna happen.
“Are you sure he wasn’t there to visit someone?”

“I really don’t think so, though you never can tell. Maybe you’re right and it was innocent. Nonni wasn’t impressed with him in the least.”

Right, innocent. The man wasn’t born innocent, I thought. He’d always been a mob guy and was probably born with that tattooed across his forearm. You know, something like, ‘Antonio, the Mob Businessman’ or its equivalent. So far as my grandmother being impressed, well, she was kinda like my dad in that area. He wasn’t an easy man to impress either.

With a goodbye, my mother rang off. I went in search of the mail. Across the street, I entered the post office. My box was full of junk mail, a few bills, and a small envelope addressed to me, Vinnie Esposito. Not Lavinia.