Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) (12 page)

“No. You drive, let’s
just
go.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Mina didn’t say anything else.
All the same,
she headed across the street where La Promenade apartments stood, in all their pink glory.

The first street lights came on. Margo
’s
eyes
were
closed
as
Mina turned into the complex. How would she know which condo was Ginger’s? Most of the assigned parking spaces appeared empty
. P
eople were still at work. The fourplex by the pool seemed to be the only one with s
igns of
life. Mina head
ed
that way
. M
aybe she could ask someone. She drove slowly,
as
the private street sign
s
suggested
, and was near
the end of the circular driveway when she noticed the green sedan.
Maledizione
, there was only one sedan with that sick green paint job.
DeFiore
. The car was empty
and
parked next to another empty car that looked very much like an unmarked police car. She floored the gas pedal and made a fast U
-
turn.

They were a
lmost back to the road
. Maybe she
’d gotten by
unseen
. Th
at’s when she noticed
the
familiar
woman outside
on one of the balconies
, and from what Mina could tell, that’s when the woman noticed her
. It was Sam,
DeFiore
’s partner. Had she recognized her? Maybe not, after all, Mina was driving Margo’s car. Sam had never met Margo. The last thing she needed was for
DeFiore
to assume she was snooping around. She wasn’t, but he would draw his own wrong conclusions as usual. Time to head home. S
o
what if
Adams
would be
disappointed
? S
he’d had enough excitement for one day.

Margo was in a terrible mood,
said she was
feeling worse by the minute.
“
Forget the movie
. Forget everything. I just want to go home.”

Mina drove up to the gate of the Bayside complex, got out quickly and waved goodbye to the exhaust pipe of Margo’s Chevrolet.

“Good evening, Miss Calvi.” Herb was the guard on duty.

“Oh, hello, how are you, Herb?” Mina didn’t really want to go home. She walked
over
to the
guardhouse
. The big lamp post above attract
ed
hundred of little bugs, flying in the slice of light like snow flakes in a vortex. Should she take a taxi to South Coast Plaza? She could catch a movie there. Decisions, decisions.

Just then Diego passed through the gate on his Harley. He pointed his headlight in her direction and came to a stop in front of her. He wore a black leather jacket, black jeans, and black boots, but the most striking item was his new helmet. New to Mina. It looked like a smooth chunk of black obsidian
. T
he front
was
open
t
o show Diego’s face. Mina found the headgear fascinating.

Diego removed the helmet and without getting off the bike, he said, “
Buonasera Signorina
, waiting for a ride?”

Her mother used to call her
signorina
when she wanted her undivided attention. Mina felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She shook her head. She didn’t want Diego to pick up on her feelings.

“What are you doing out here?”
h
e asked.

“I’m having a chat with my buddy Herb.”

Herb’s chest expanded
a few inches.

“I see,” Diego said.

Damn that smile
.

“How about a movie
—
after you are done with your
conversation with Herb, of course.”

“Of course,” she echoed. “Are you serious about the movie?” She moved away from the
guardhouse
. She wasn’t sure where the conversation was heading.

“Absolutely. What do you have in mind?”

Mina cleared her throat
. Did
she dare? “
Edward Scissorhands
? You know, Johnny Depp?”

He put his helmet on the handlebar, crossed his arms and looked at her. “
Edward Scissorhands
.
”
H
is eyes met hers. “Heavy
-
duty romantic stuff
,
”
h
e said softly, without sarcasm.

She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t tell he if was teasing or agreeing with her choice. She fidgeted from one foot to the other, the paper bag with the cross-eyed angel in her hands.
Oh, no, s
he had left the super glue and Ginger’s weights in Margo’s car.

“Something wrong?” His voice was soothing. “You look like someone pinched you.” His eyes held onto hers.

“Oh, no, I can’t remember if I left the stove on,” she lied.

“How about we go and check it out before the movie?” He revved up the engine. “Meet you at the elevator?”

She nodded, waved to Herb and crossed the street into the garage.

Standing next to Diego in the encapsulated reality of the elevator was pure agony. She didn’t know where to look, how to handle herself. She couldn’t be too friendly,
or
too distant. She swung the paper bag. The cross-eyed angel probably had motion sickness by now. Finally they arrived at their floor.

“It’ll only take a minute,” Mina said, getting the keys from her jeans pocket.

“What were you cooking? More water?”

He saw when she spilled the boiling water? He had been spying on her.

Key in hand, she walked to her front door. She barely touched the door when it opened with a muffled creak.

Mina found herself held flat against the wall, the bag with the cross-eyed angel crushed by her hips.

“Shhhh,” Diego whispered, his hand pressed on her mouth, his eyes tight on hers.

She nodded, stiff and terrified. He let go. Mina watched him move, no, slither along the wall, to her door, a gun in his hands. He nudged the door open with his shoulder
and
disappeared from sight.

He had a gun
.

Where did he get a gun? Who was he, really? She was afraid to move, afraid to even breathe too loud. If Angelina c
a
me back to the house Mina would take care of her. No need for guns. Her fear morphed into anger. Whoever violated her home would be punished. She took in a long breath, exhaled, then straightened herself up and walked toward
the
open door. Her hand
gripped
the crinkled bag with the broken angel like it was her lifebuoy.

Inside, her condo was dark. Only a slant of light came from her bedroom
. T
he digital clock on the microwave flashed 7:30. No sounds. Where was Diego?

Mina switched
on
the light. She gasped. The place looked like a tornado had ripped through it.

What little furniture she had
was
damaged
. Even
the couch pillows
were
slashed open. The kitchen drawers and cabinets were wide open, contents scattered on the floor. The moving boxes
were
emptied on the carpet.

Her body quivered
, and
her brain
had trouble
process
ing
the sight. She felt sick. Diego came from her bedroom. Like a cat of prey, he moved soundlessly. Mina stared at his hands, no gun. He held her phone instead.

Before she could voice a single word, he admonished her, ‘Shhh.” His arm around her waist, he lifted her and carried her out onto the terrace. Mina was frightened and mad as hell.

When her feet felt grounded, she said. “You put your hand on my mouth one more time, and you’ll live the rest of your days minus one finger. Who did this?” She pointed
beyond the terrace door
to the inside of her condo, now in shambles.

“Listen carefully.” Diego didn’t sound too concerned with her threats. “You’ll go back in there and make a lot of noise, like you just discovered the mess, then you call Dan
DeFiore
. I already punched his number in
. J
ust push
‘
call.
’
You only talk to him, and you never mention my name. I’m not here, never was. Understand?”

“What I understand—“

He moved his hand close to her mouth, changed his mind. “You need to do this now. I’ll answer your questions later. Go.” He pushed her toward the door. She didn’t resist. He wanted a show? He would get one.

Once i
nside, she let out a loud, “
Dio
m
io, cos’e successo
?”
S
he
cried
out in Italian
over and over
, r
an
up and down the hall,
opened doors and slammed
them shut,
all the time watching Diego’s reaction. At first he looked surprised, then amused
. Finally,
he rolled his eyes and motioned her to knock it off. She
stopped dead, smiled, and
pushed the call button on her phone when she felt Diego was about to come in and muffle her. Diego shook his head, about her performance she assumed, all the while standing between her and the front door.

“
DeFiore
? Yes, Mina. Something awful has happened, you should come over and see for yourself, please. Yes, I’m alone. I need help.” Her voice shaking
for real
, she pleaded, but kept her eyes on Diego the whole time. She sensed something bigger than a break-in was at work here, but didn’t know what
it was
. Whose side was Diego on? What if he had her ask
DeFiore
over to ambush him? No one knew Diego was in her condo
.
Dio
m
io.
Maybe he was in this with Angelina.
This?
This what?
She inched nervously toward her bedroom. Diego followed a few feet behind
, always positioning
himself between her and the exit.

The destruction in her bedroom was even worse than the living room.
S
ome of the damage appeared
senseless,
without a specific reason, just because. It was personal.
Even h
er clothes were off the hangers and piled on the floor. She was thankful the box with her family pictures was still at West Coast Software. Furniture and clothes could be easily replaced, not so the photos. She laid the bag with the broken figurine on the bathroom counter
,
so much for her guardian angel. Her adrenaline rush was wearing off.
She sat down on the bed to wait, not even caring that Diego stood across the room watching her.

It seemed
only minutes had passed before
f
ootsteps
sounded
in the living room. She turned to go see who it was, but
again
Diego placed himself clearly in between. When he stepped aside,
DeFiore
was staring at her from the end of the hall.

“Mina, what happened?”
He looked
at Diego
and t
hen did something peculiar
, tapping
his wristwatch with his index finger and rais
ing
his hand to show five fingers. “When did this happen?” The verbal comments were
obviously
meant for Mina while
the
visual
was for
Diego.

The three of them walked toward the bedroom. Diego pointed to the night table where Mina kept her phone, he too lifted his hand and showed one, then two fingers.
DeFiore
nodded. Diego turned around and left through the terrace door. Mina was speechless. What had just happened? Someone broke into her house, did all this damage, probably wanted to do some bad things to her and these two macho men played mimes among the ruins?

“
DeFiore
, are you going to let—“

Voices and noises came from the outside hall. Sam, all smiles and blonde curls, came in with a few other people. Men. Mina recognized Sergeant Jones who helped her when Angelina drugged her.
They arrived
approximately five minutes after
DeFiore
showed up
. Mina now understood the hand signals, and the discovery made her feel even more frightened. Diego and
DeFiore
were in this—together. Was she the pawn?