Linda Kay Silva - Delta Stevens 3 - Weathering the Storm (15 page)

“If you’re still in the sack, finish it up and get on out here!” Delta yelled down the hall before walking into the kitchen to find Gina holding two cups of coffee.

“You’re too late,” Gina said, grinning. “Quickdraw MacGraw struck again.” Handing Delta her Phantom of the Opera mug, Gina stood on tiptoe to kiss Delta’s cheek. “Gotta run, Sugar. You two behave, you hear?”

“Now why is it everyone feels compelled to say something like that to me?” Opening the front door, Gina laughed. “You’re kidding, right?” And with that, she whisked out the door. “Did you run my girlfriend off again?” Connie asked, taking Delta’s cup from her and sipping the steaming coffee.

“I guess so.”

After fixing herself a cup, Connie plopped in front of her computer and waited patiently for it to finish beeping, clicking and whirring at her. “Okay, what have we got so far?”

“Not much. No ID on the kid, but he looks Hispanic and—”

Connie turned from the computer and frowned. “Why is it that everyone assumes that a caramel-colored person with dark hair is Hispanic?”

“I said he
looks
Hispanic. He could be Greek for all I know.”

Connie harrumphed and returned her attention to the computer. “What else?”

“The guy rented videos from Kempt’s Porn Palace.”

“There’s a good start. I’ll access their files for all of the movies Richardson rented in the past year. We can then see if they were produced by the same company or companies.”

“For what purpose?”

Connie sipped her coffee before answering. “You have to remember, Delta, that our suspects are in town looking for the big score. They’re motivated by money. We don’t know what connection, if any, Richardson had with them, but we do know he was into video excitement, and they are into video production. I’ll wager Mr. Deceased Richardson is a star in one of the up-and-coming snuff flicks. So, we’ll check and see what kind of movies he rented and if there’s any correlation with the way he was found.”

Delta shook her head. “Geez, you’re good.”

Connie shrugged the compliment off. “I get paid to think, so here I am...thinking.”

Delta grinned. God, she loved Connie Rivera. “What next?”

“You hit the streets and see what you can find out about Kempt’s. It’s a little shithole next to a dive bar, but they have some very interesting clients. Kempt’s has been around for nearly twenty years. You don’t stay in that kind of business unless your customers have lots of dough.”

“So, I hit the streets and see what I can find, Leonard will pursue his normal line of investigation, and you’ll pirate whatever you need from the computers.”

Connie nodded and clicked the mouse twice before turning to Delta. “You know why Leonard’s helping, don’t you?”

Delta shook her head.

“He’s involved for the same reasons we are; he feels as responsible for Helen’s death as we do. I heard him talking to one of the guys the other day, and you can believe me when I say that her death has really affected him. He thinks if only he would have, could have, might have, etcetera.”

Nodding in slow understanding, Delta sighed. “He’s not such a bad guy after all.”

“No, he’s not. He truly cares. Russ Leonard is a `go by the book’ kind of guy. The fact that he’s out of bounds should tell you something. This is a big, big deal.”

Indeed, it was. Delta had despised Russ Leonard for his narrow views during the Zuckerman case, and when they needed his help most, he refused because what she and Connie wanted done wasn’t “correct procedure.” Shortly after he turned them down, Helen was killed, her blood staining everyone’s hands who had worked on the case, including one hard-headed detective.

And now, here he was, offering to help Delta do what no one was supposed to be doing.

No one, that it, except the feds, and no one had heard from them since the sergeant read the memo.

“I’ll hit the streets with my little Italian Albatross tonight and see what I dig up.”

“Good. In the meantime, I have a few other places Eddie needs to visit before I root around in Kempt’s computer basement.”

Finishing her coffee, Delta started for the door. “We’ll connect again tonight.”

“You got it. Oh, and Del?”

“Yeah?”

“Stay out of trouble.”

Getting into the patrol car, Delta thought back to the scared little family that adopted her after Miles died, and when her friendship with Jennifer grew deeper. Understanding each other’s need to share stories about the man they both loved gave them a bond that lasted well after the wounds had finally healed. When Jennifer discovered that men were interested in her, it was Delta who convinced her that it was okay to start dating again. It was Delta who stood by her through that first date and reassured her that it was what Miles would have wanted. after all, when Delta had been given a new partner, it was Jennifer who stood by her as she and Jan got to know each other. When it was time for Jennifer to start living again, it was Delta who held her hand and promised to stay by her regardless of who she saw or what she did. Life was for the living, and while they both would forever carry the memories of Miles Brookman, it was time they both moved beyond the past.

When Jennifer finally stepped away from Miles’s shadow, it was Delta who babysat for the two children who called her “Aunt.” Delta loved those kids. Both of them had Miles’s gentle disposition and zany sense of humor. They loved to hear stories about their father, and Delta was only too happy to share what she knew about the man they had only known for a short while. Their personalities were composites of the man Delta would have given her life for, and nothing short of death would prevent her from seeing that no harm ever came to either of them.

It was a promise she’d made at Miles’s gravesite, and she intended to keep for the rest of her life.

“Hey, Delta, you okay?” Tony asked, slowing down as they passed a convenience store.

Inhaling slowly, Delta shrugged. “I had a hard time sleeping last night, that’s all.”

“This kiddie case?”

Delta nodded.

“You gotta be pretty whacked out to do shit like that.”

Turning so she faced him, Delta looked hard at the side of Tony’s face. “Definately whacked out. I’m all for First Amendment rights, but you’ve gone way over the line when you start exploiting kids. Way over the line.”

“Did you see the faces on the guys at the scene who have kids?” Tony asked.

Delta nodded. “I can’t imagine how they must feel. You’re right. Children used to be the one thing we held dear. Now, they’re at a greater risk than ever. Remember when you could just hop on your bike and ride over to the park to play basketball with your friends?”

Tony nodded, a grin slowly forming on his lips. “Yeah, and when everyone on your block would go trick-or-treating together and you didn’t have to worry about razors in apples or drugs in the candy?”

“And you could play kick-the-can until midnight because your parents felt safe leaving you out on the streets?”

Tony blew a big breath from his mouth. “Those were the days, eh?”

“Yeah. And now, we’ve got these assholes in our city, killing children, and we’re supposed to sit back and let the FBI take over. Right.

“You’ve never sat back in the past.” The words seem to jump out of Tony’s mouth.

Slowly, Delta turned so she faced him. “Look, Carducci, I shot those men because I had to. As much as it may appear, I am not the vigilante the academy stories portray me as. You do what you have to do out here to make sure that your number one objective is accomplished. Did they tell you what that objective is?”

“To make the streets safe?”

Delta smiled a patient smile. She remembered that silly line from her own academy training years ago. “No, Carducci. Our number one objective out here is to make sure that we both get home safely. No matter what happens out here, no matter how many damn rules and regs you have to break, you remember that that’s our greatest priority. We may have to hurt people to make it happen, but that’s part of the job. We’re not sacrificial lambs, Carducci, even if the taxpayers think they own us. You got that?”

Tony nodded. “Gotcha. And that’s what you were doing when you shot those guys?”

“Exactly. And no matter what else you hear, that’s the only reason I pulled the trigger. And I’d do it all over again if I thought it meant the difference between driving myself home and being carried away in an ambulance. There’s nothing heroic about self-preservation, Carducci. And make no mistake about it, that’s exactly what it was.”

Tony nodded. “I got it.”

Delta slowly turned and pushed her face closer to his. “Do you? And do you understand that sometimes that means breaking the rules? Because if our lives are ever at risk, I don’t care how many rules and regs you’ve got to break, I want you to break them. Do you understand that?”

“I hear you loud and clear.”

Delta backed down a bit. “Good. And I’ll deny saying that if you ever try to burn me with it. We’re partners, Carducci, and after your own hide, my safety comes next. We take care of each other, no matter what it takes.”

Tony nodded. “I read you, Delta. Honest, I do.”

“Anything you want to say before we drop this conversation?”

Tony shook his head. “You amaze the hell out of me, that’s all.”

“Well, stop being amazed and just assure me that you’ll do what it takes to keep us alive.”

Tony nodded vigorously. “Don’t you worry, Delta Stevens. Breaking rules is my second favorite activity.” Turning to smile at Delta, Tony shook his head like a little boy. “There’s only one thing those academy stories didn’t exaggerrate on.”

“What’s that?”

“What a tough woman you really are. You don’t mess around, do you?”

Delta shook her head. “Not out here.”

“Not at all is more like it. You and your friend really kicked ass out

side the bar that night. You two meant business. I...I never really thanked you. I suppose it’s the macho Italian in me, but I can’t say I’ve ever been rescued by a woman before.”

Suppressing a smile, Delta faced the front again and watched two prostitutes slink through the crosswalk. “Oh, so that’s the reason for your cavalier, albeit reckless, attitude?”

“I come from a very traditional Italian family, where the man is the strong one. The man makes the decisions and the woman’s place is to maintain his castle. I’ve never been one to rely on a woman for much of anything.”

“Except sex?” the words escaped Delta’s mouth before she could stop them.

“That’s not what I meant. It’s a cultural thing. My mama spent her life in the kitchen and my two older sisters got married right out of high school. My family is Old World and it’s sort of in my blood. I won’t apologize for it, Delta, but I do try to keep up with the times. I’ve ticked enough women off to know the Old World attitude ain’t happening. That kind of shit isn’t going to get me through the door, let alone in the sack.”

Delta shook her head. “You mean you’re
aware
of your disgusting macho behavior?”

Tony shrugged, but did not take his eyes off the road. “Yeah. I try to control it, but my father had a big influence on me. `Son,’ he’d say just before I went out on a date, `just don’t get her pregnant.’That was my only worry. Forget her feelings, forget she has a mind; after all, he treated Mama like she was some kind of servant. `Get me a beer, get me my dinner. Stop that kid from crying.’It wasn’t until I moved out of the house that I realized most women in this country refuse to be treated the way he treated my mother. But by then, I had already learned a lot of stupid things.”

Delta didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, she realized she had judged the book too soon. Tony Carducci, the macho man, was merely a facade hiding the real man his father would be ashamed of. He was a victim of the backwards, archaic social standards, and probably just recently realized that most women didn’t want to be bashed over the head and dragged out of a room by their hair.

“So, you’re not as big of a chauvanistic asshole as you appear?”

Tony grinned. “Not always. I have my moments. But when you grow up in a neighborhood full of other tougher Italians, you develop a tough exterior real quick.”

“You mean there’s hope?” Delta smiled and patted his hairy arm.

Tony grinned. “Sort of. But cut me some slack in the female department. I may know how to woo them, but it’s a new thing to have to work with one.”

“Have to?” Delta goaded.

“Ah, man, you never let up, do you? I didn’t mean it that way.”

Laughing, Delta shook her head and rolled down the window. It was a beautiful Indian Summer night. “If you’re going to `have to’work with me, Carducci, you’ve got to get one thing straight.”

Tony groaned. “And that is?”

“Try to remember to put your machismo in your locker before you hit the streets.”

Tony nodded. “I’ll try. But I can’t make any promises. I’m not very good at those, either.”

Delta smiled warmly at him. “Somehow, Carducci, I’m not surprised.”