SecondSightDating (22 page)

Jake intervened and ordered, “Everyone stop where you are.
I’m about to call the police and nab the guilty party.
If you’ll all return
inside, we’ll get to do this in front of the other guests.”

Dan, Serena and Michael glowered at each other.
In unison
Serena yelled, “Arrest him,” just as Dan flashed his badge, pointed to her and
angrily announced, “You’re under arrest.”

Sorting out who was arrested, for what reasons
and what part, if any, the play had to do with the proceedings would take time.
All returned to the dining room, muffled grumblings uttered as Jake begged them
to control their arguments until the evening’s event was over.
Promising a
quick solution, that of naming Percy’s killer and fast removal of the other
diner guests, he swiftly announced the culprit’s name…Mrs.
Worthington.

Serena’s head swam with visions of their scene outside and
lovemaking with Dan, interspersed with urges to smack Dan silly.
All threatened
her sanity and to gel into one massive headache.
Her head popped up as the
killer’s identity was announced and, as ludicrous as it seemed, her curiosity
pulled her off-track.

She stayed focused long enough to find out that the elderly
matron had dabbled into an affair with Percy, but didn’t want him around her
illegitimate daughter, the lovely Rosalia.
Jealous over his attention to the
younger woman and finding out about the pregnancy, she stabbed him in a lover’s
quarrel.
End of story.

The guests applauded and began filtering out, leaving Dan,
Michael and Serena standing by the door, carefully watched by Justine, Jake and
Mrs.
Worthington.

Dan spoke first.
“You need to come down to the station with
me, Miss Xavier.” He turned to give Michael a snide glance.
“You too, whatever
your real name is.
We know it’s not Gino.”

“It’s Michael and,” he ripped out his badge and presented it
to everyone, “I’m a police officer in Wichita.
I’m investigating you.”

“What?
You’re the brother?” Dan asked in confusion.

Michael got right up to his face and challenged, “And, what
were you doing, going to my future in-laws’ home and questioning them?
For
what?
What asinine charges are you throwing at all of us?”

Serena’s head spun.
Dan had talked to Annemarie’s parents?
“Michael, how do you know he spoke to them?”

Michael snapped his head from Dan to Serena.
“Because, they
recognized him.
They saw him here and asked if we knew they’d met Detective
Carrington.” He returned to stare at Dan.

The men bounced glacial looks back and forth between them,
then turned to the others witnessing the scene.
Serena wished for a nice quiet
hole to drop into.
What had happened to her serene, uncomplicated life?
Dan
walked in and nothing stayed sane after that.

Tension surrounding them charged the air and Serena
suggested, “Why don’t we go to your office, Dan?
The one where you really work?
I’m sure we can sort this out there.
Or, are you going to arrest me now, put
handcuffs on me and drag me off to jail for God only knows whatever reason you
dreamed up in that police detective head of yours?” Her voice rose a notch with
every word she uttered.

Michael put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“He won’t do
that.
We’ll follow you and sort this out.
I’ve got plenty of questions of my
own to ask.”

A suddenly quiet Dan nodded his agreement.
“Follow me.” He
turned to the bewildered threesome watching the discussion.
“Thanks for an
interesting evening.”

They walked to their cars and Justine yelled after them,
“Dan?
Have Serena give you my number and call me.
I’ve never had so much fun on
a date before!”

* * * * *

“Gino Conti gave us information about your operation.”

Dan and Steve sat in an interrogation room with Serena and
Michael.
As a professional courtesy, they presented the statement Gino made for
Michael to read.

Stomach now queasy, Serena fought for control.
“He’s no
longer one of my clients.
I had too many complaints about him and canceled his
application.”

Michael intervened.
“Sis, he said here that you wanted him
to go out with women and ask for money.
Then you’d split the profits with
Gino.”

“What?” Serena jumped up and glared at Dan.
“You believed
this nonsense from that idiot?”

“We heard from one of his unhappy dates and had to
investigate.
You presented,” Dan nodded toward Michael, “him as ‘Gino’, Mr.
‘Eight’ and we knew that wasn’t true.”

Serena bit out, “I had to call Michael something.
I didn’t
want you to know I didn’t trust you and called in my big policeman brother to
investigate.”

Dan jumped up, leaning across the table to within inches of
her face.
“Me?
Why would you investigate me?”

“You snuck peeks at my files.
You seemed too good to be
true.
You came across as too much of a polished playboy pretending to be a nerd
who wanted me to set him up with someone.”

Dan ran a hand through his hair and turned away.
The other
two men frowned and Serena’s energy drained away as she witnessed the entire
bizarre scene.
All she wanted to do was go home and forget Dan Reese—no,
Carrington—if possible.

Steve interrupted her train of thought.
“I think we’ll have
you both write up statements and get the names of your clients who’ve had
unpleasant episodes with Mr.
‘Eight’.
Mistakes have been made based on
misjudgments and we need to concentrate on the man behind all this—Mr.
Conti.”

Dan stayed with his back toward them, staring
out the window.
Michael asked if they could leave after writing their
statements and Steve agreed.
Serena looked up from her paper to watch as Dan
trudged out the door.

* * * * *

“Serena, go to work.
You’ll feel better.”

Serena wiped her eyes after yet another episode of crying.
Michael had tried his best to cheer her up, even offered to take her with him
on his dates with Annemarie, but to no avail.

She wanted the solitude, welcomed the time to reflect on her
daring to open up her body and soul to another man, only to have her heart
dashed aside and broken in pieces.
Alan hadn’t been trustworthy and neither had
Dan.

Checking her calendar she realized it was April eighteenth
and Dan’s number magically appeared in her head.
How ironic.
His number
epitomized the day she’d start anew, locking away forever the remaining pieces
of her unfixable heart.

No man would ever get this close again.
She’d live out the
rest of her life concentrating on work, her brother and his soon-to-be wife and
any children they’d have.
She’d have none of her own.

Maybe Michael was right.
She’d done well in her business
before Dan.
She’d do well after him.
With a fierce determination and fresh,
though somewhat potentially solemn outlook for her future, Serena figured it was
time to get back to work.

* * * * *

Dan was going crazy.
His gut kept telling him she was
innocent, but he had to go along with what the facts suggested and that screwed
everything up.
She’d never forgive him.
When she’d walked out of his
department, she’d looked straight ahead, her eyes never straying in his
direction.

And, what would he have said?
Uh, gee.
Sorry?
I love you?

He did.
Love her.
Madly.
Passionately.
With more conviction
and commitment than he’d had with his ex-wife.
Serena was the one his heart had
waited for all these years.

Dan reread her statement and the one Michael had penned.
Noting Michael’s cell phone number, he decided it was time to speak to him, man
to man.
Either Michael would punch him out or listen to the heartfelt yearnings
of a lovesick fellow male.
While he preferred the second scenario, if the first
happened he’d accept it, if Michael would then calm down and talk.

To his surprise, Michael agreed to meet him at his office.
Dan asked to use Steve’s office for more privacy.
After they were seated, Dan
began with, “I’m sorry about what happened.
You don’t know just how sorry I
am.”

Michael grinned and Dan wondered if he were about to reach
across the desk and take that punch.
To his amazement, Michael offered in a
nonchalant tone, “She loves you, you know.
I’m guessing you love her, too.”

Dan stood up and paced the room.
“Damn right I do.
Are you
sure she loves me?
After all this?
I didn’t think she’d talk to me.”

Michael laughed.
“Oh, she thinks she hates you now, but deep
down inside, she loves you.
I know my sister.
You’re the one for her.”

Dan stopped his march across the carpet and asked, “How do I
get her to speak to me?
I’ve got to be the last person alive she wants to find
walking into her office.”

“Go back as a client.
Be truthful on her application form.
Get her to know the real you, the one she hoped to find all along.”

“Would you put in a good word for me with her?”

Michael snickered.
“Wow.
That’s a tough one.
I might be able
to get her to see your side of the picture, but I’m still big brother, trying
to protect my little sister.”

Dan gave him what he hoped was a sincere look.
“I wouldn’t
do anything to hurt her.
Hell.
I love her and want to marry her.”

“Tall order, but I’ll do what I can.
It’d be nice to have
another man in the family, especially another cop, to keep her in line.”
Michael let out a deep exhale.

“I appreciate anything you can do.
I’ll plan to do battle
with her this afternoon.”

* * * * *

Serena fielded inquiries from her messages on her answering
machine.
She laughed to the point of crying at a message from Justine asking
for Serena to give Dan her number.

Pigs would fly first.
Hell would freeze over.
She’d sleep with him before passing any date information on to Dan.

She grabbed his file, rereading the lies he’d written.
Using
a bright pink marker, she drew a line through everything she now suspected to
be untrue.

Not an insurance salesman received two bold pink marks.
She
couldn’t help wondering how long he’d been a policeman.
His preferences in
almost everything now came into question.

And, what about his number, four-eighteen?
Why that number?
Look at all the mess it had caused.

Four-eighteen.
Today was four-eighteen, the day of a new
beginning for her.

Her dates numbered one, four, eight, could be construed as a
play on four-eighteen.
Those dates weren’t real and led nowhere.
Dan,
four-eighteen, had been real, amazingly real, in their time together,
especially in giving her pleasure.
His number, good for her.
Another
coincidence?

Distracted, she shivered with doubts about her ability to
get a true picture of Dan’s character.
Had he disclosed a flaw in her “sight”,
one that would further hamper her continuing her business?

Damn.
Something else popped into her head.
Miss “DC”, the
name she’d given herself to try for a match with her male clients.
DC.
Dan
Carrington, his real name.
The man was everywhere, crowding her psyche, seeping
into her brain and toying with her emotions.

Serena rubbed her temples, hoping for a reprieve.
None
followed, so she took some headache painkillers and reclined on the sofa.
The
one she’d been on while enjoying Dan’s body what seemed like ages ago.

Damn him.

Michael barged in, putting a halt to her attempt for
headache relief.
She glared at him and ordered, “Go away.
I need to rest.”

“My, you’re real pleasant.
We need to talk.”