The Wages of Cin (Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries Book 4) (21 page)

I laughed saluting. “Yes, sir.” I accepted his hand up.  I kissed him before I ran across the yard, jumping over the jasmine plants on my way inside.  I grabbed a handful of beers and distributed them to Dave and Luke before opening one for myself.

Luke was laughing at something Dave said.  Alex had moved on to play “Redheaded Stepchild.”
Noelle and Harry split apart and danced mosh pit style in the middle of the lawn.  My neighbors began coming out of their houses.  Once they saw where the racket was coming from, they went back in.

We worked our way back into the house.  I resupplied the men with more beer and went into the kitchen and began pulling bags of chips out of the pantry.  Alex and Noelle were playing guitar duets.  Harry was pounding on the arm of a chair, keeping the beat as the siblings rocked.

In the kitchen, I was dancing around with the whisk, mixing dip when Dave walked in.  He just stood there and watched me.  I finished making the dip and poured it into bowls before I danced over to him.  He opened his arms.  “This isn’t going to happen every time I come home, is it?” he asked, hugging me.

“It could,” I teased.  “I want to hear all about it.  Can you tell us or is it confidential?”

“It’s not my operation so why not?”

“Cool.”  I walked into the living room, setting bowls on the tables.  I waited until the kids finished their song before announcing, “Dave is going to tell us all about the apprehension of Sidney and company.”

Dave blushed when Luke and the kids turned and gave him their total attention.  His professionalism soon took over, and he launched in, “After Cin handed over the code.  Susan left the department store.  My detail was in charge of keeping track of her, and I started following her.  I was worried about Cin, but I knew that Harry here had her back.  Soon I heard the other details reporting in.  Sidney and Gareth had left the building.  Relief washed over me, and I was able to concentrate on tailing Susan Richards.”

“Sidney and Gareth headed south immediately while Susan made a detour and headed for her home.  She tried the gate, but it wouldn’t open.  We think Tom locked her out.  She was so mad that she backed out too fast and accidently clipped one of the Ken’s cars.”

“You’re kidding,” I said.

He shook his head.  “Ken One got out, and she refused to get out of her convertible.  So Ken Two joined him, and the two of them lifted her out of the car.  She was kicking and screaming.”

“Man, I would have liked to see that,” Harry said.

“It wasn’t pleasant.  We couldn’t come to her aid without blowing the operation.  So we followed the Kens to their station house.  The fed I was with went inside to talk to the chief.  I waited in the car because I didn’t want her to see my face.  I’m a bit familiar to her.”

“She calls you Ball-Buster Buslowski,” Harry said.

Dave did a double take.

“So do we,” Harry admitted.

“Shut up, Harry. Dave, tell us more,” Noelle pleaded.

“Tom arrived.  He walked in and walked out alone.  He spotted me and walked over to the car.  I got out, and he started talking. He said, ‘I’d like to turn myself in.  I’m guilty of sheltering two fugitives who my wife evidently is business partners with.  I also suspect that she may have aided in the murder of Caroline Broadhurst.’”

“I asked him why he thought that.  He explained that Caroline had been having an affair with Gareth Goodbody, and together, the two of them approached Sidney Stoneridge and Meyer with their
can’t miss
way to become rich and powerful.  ‘They then convinced my wife that easy money was to be made.  We’ve been struggling since the last stock market crash. I was ready to sell the house.’  I reminded him of his rights, but he kept on talking.”

“He said that he was kept busy and out of the way with the little stunts they pulled. He suspected something was up but couldn’t put his finger on it.  When Elijah brought Cin and Harry in, his wife started acting oddly.  Her bursts of temper happened more often, and he caught her once on the phone shouting, ‘You deal with her!’  Soon after, she suggested throwing a party to help you guys out.  The party planning seemed to calm her down so he bore the expense.”

“So he was being lead down the garden path, wasn’t he?” Harry said.

“Evidently, he had suspicions all along, but since you guys weren’t concerned about his wife, he didn’t act upon them,” Tom explained.

“After Cin’s kidnapping, Susan convinced him that Gareth and Sidney were being accused falsely and had been with her at the time you were supposedly at his place.  Sidney told him that he arrived home to find a police presence, and he fled because of the Cannabis plants he was growing behind the garage.  Tom agreed to have them stay until all of this could be straightened out.  He admits that he was wrong.”

“So when did he wake up?” I asked.

“When you asked for more money,” Dave told her.  “Susan stopped acting and most of the story came out.  When they left for the pickup, he changed the code on the gate.  He was consulting with a lawyer when Susan showed up.  We took him in for a formal statement.  He’ll have to answer for housing Sidney and Gareth, but I suspect he’ll get probation.”

“What happened to Sidney and Gareth?” Harry asked.

“According to Agent Morris, Sidney pulled into the shipping lot in Miami with the big van, and Gareth followed with a rental truck.  They got out on foot and looked for the container.  The DEA made sure it was on the bottom of a stack in a blind alley.  After they found it, they returned with the rental truck.  The DEA waited for them to open it up and start to transport the merchandise before moving in.  The goods were hidden inside stuffed animals like you would win in carnivals.  The DEA swarmed them.  The two of them were apprehended without much violence.”

“What was the haul?” Luke asked.

“They were still computing it when I left but somewhere around 50 million dollars in heroin.”

“And Susan?”

“Oh, she is spending the night courtesy of the Ken dolls.  She’ll be picked up by the Feds tomorrow.”

“And the moral of the story is?” Alex asked.

“Don’t mess with Cin and Harry,” Dave said.

I stood nervously in front of the window.  I was once again dressed to the nines.  I was waiting for Dave to pick me up for our second try at an official first date.  He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but he said to dress nice.  Noelle had gone overboard winding a gold rope through my red curls.  I was wearing my favorite dress, a flowing, soft green, V-neck A-line, on which Noelle cinched in the waist with a gold belt.  My new, soft leather, gladiator sandals hugged my feet.

“You look like you just walked off an urn,” Harry said, checking out my attire before he left with Alex and Noelle.  They had someplace to be, and no one bothered to tell me where.  We were all adults I suppose.  It had been a hard week of court appearances for the terrorists’ trial and depositions for the kidnapping, murder and drug-smuggling case.  This weekend, we’d all promised ourselves some selfish time.  It was Friday night, and I was looking forward to spending as much of the weekend as I could with Dave.

I thought about Caroline.  No one admitted murdering her.  I suspected Sidney killed her and Gareth was the one watching the body.  It was the light from his cigarette that Mandy had seen.  He had returned to guide me to the dark beach in order to pin her murder on me.  I had missed the signs.  He no longer wore his jacket, and he had a bloodstain on his sleeve.  When Mandy started screaming, Sidney stuck with me to give himself an alibi.  I was still shaking on the inside with the thought of what my wild night had brought me.  Lesson learned.

A black sedan pulled into the drive, and a smartly-dressed man got out, walked around the car and opened the door.  Dave got out dressed in a suit.  He looked so different that it took me a moment for my brain to figure out what my eyes were seeing.  He looked so handsome dressed up.  I can only imagine how handsome he had looked in his military dress clothes.  He walked with confidence to the door.  I rushed over and opened it.

He walked in.  I was too stunned to say anything.  He looked down at me, his blue eyes taking in my appreciation.  The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled.  “You look beautiful tonight, Cin.  But you look beautiful no matter what you’re wearing.  I notice you have two shoes on.”

“Um, yes.  Dave, you’ve got me thrown off balance here.”

“I cleaned up,” he said.

“You clean up well,” I said, timidly reaching out to touch the jacket.  “This is pretty expensive.”

“This old thing” he teased.

“Did you win the lottery?” I asked.

“No, I’ve been saving up.”

I felt awkward, still lost for words.

He sensed that I was unbalanced, and he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.  “It’s me, Cin, Buslowski.”

I kissed him back.  “I feel like Cinderella after her prince has found her.”

He nodded.  “It took me long enough, and you had to lose so many shoes in the process.  I guess you are my Cinderella, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I’m yours alright,” I said.  “I love you, Dave.”

He looked down at me and said.  “I know.”  He drew out a long thin box from his suit’s inner pocket and handed it to me.  “This is a little something I had made for you.”

I opened it up, and tears sprung to my eyes.  Lying on a bed of satin was a long gold chain, and at the end of the chain hung two high-heeled shoes.

“This is so you never lose all your shoes again,” he said.

I kissed him, and he helped me put the necklace on.  I lifted my curls, and after he clasped the necklace, he kissed my neck.

“If you keep doing that, we’re not going to make it to that sedan,” I said.

He laughed.

I dropped my hair, and he spun me around.  As my dress settled, he reached forward and traced the chain down and smiled.

“I’m jealous of these little shoes right now.”  He looked around the living room.

“What are you looking for?”  I asked.

“Harry did me a favor.  It should be…  Ah, here it is.”  Dave picked up a suitcase, of all things.  It was hidden behind one of the chairs.

“You had Harry pack for me?” I asked worriedly.

“He and Noelle,” Dave clarified.  “You’re not coming home tonight or tomorrow night.”

“I’m not?”

“No, and if I had my way, we would simply disappear into the sunset.  But Harry would just find us.”

“He would.”

“Come on, our chariot awaits.”

I took a last look around the place, grabbed my purse, and let myself be led to the car.

Once we were inside, he turned to me and brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.  “I love you, Cin. You are my everything.”

“You’re mine,” I said, meaning it.

The driver put on a classical music CD.  As we drove to our destination, my heart fell into beat with the music.  Dave put his arm around me. I sighed.  My world would never be in my control, but as long as I had this man near me, I knew I would always feel safe and loved.

***

After traveling the world, Alexie Aaron, a Midwestern native, returned to her roots where she’s been haunting for years.  She now lives in a village outside of Chicago with her husband and family.

Her popular Haunted Series was born from her memories of fleeting shapes rushing around doorways, an heirloom chair that rocked itself, cold feelings of mysterious dread, and warm feelings from the traces of loved ones long gone.

Alexie also writes the Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries.  These cozies set in England and south Florida combine action and intrigue with a liberal dose of humor.

For more information, free song download and fun, visit Alexieaaron.com