Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) (22 page)

She would get her car even if she had to take a taxi there. There—where? She didn’t know the address because Diego was taking her. Maybe she could ask
DeFiore
. Remembering their last conversation
,
she decided it wasn’t such a good idea. Diego had never let her
down;
he would come to pick her up
. S
he needed to be patient.

The UPS
truck drove by and
headed for
the warehouse. What a boring Monday.

Finally Paco came back.

“Paco, why is it so quiet? Nothing is happening? No phones ringing, no vendors, nothing.”

“
W
e are days from Christmas
. W
e shipped all the orders
. W
e answered all the phone calls. Under normal circumstances we would be functioning on a skeleton crew, we kept the show going for the benefit of the investors. That’s it
. T
omorrow we are cutting down and
will
close until after Christmas when we start getting returns. You can go home if you want
.
I can take it from here
. G
o, go.”

“Go where? I’m waiting for my ride to go pick up my Bug. Diego, the Harley guy, is supposed to take me
. H
e knows his way around.”

“He knows his way around…?” That devilish smile in Paco’s eyes…he figured it out. “Around what?”

“Never mind Paco. And, no, it’s not what you think.”

Diego, all dressed in black, arrived
at
two minutes to
four
. Mina’s excite-meter went from zero to
one hundred
in a nanosecond. She had spent the last fifteen minutes in the bathroom preening her plumes
,
and she was ready.

God, he looked so good
. “I’m glad you showed up, I have no idea where to go to get my car.”

“Glad I showed up? What made you think I wouldn’t?”
He revved the engine. “You
r
car is at the police impound yard. Not too far from the courts. Hop on. I don’t want to cut it too close in case we need some paperwork.”

“
DeFiore
said…” Mina
began
.

“Yes, I understand, but
DeFiore
is a busy person
. I
n the larger picture, your car is hardly a priority.”

“Excuse me?” Hands on her hips
,
she felt like telling him a thing or two about the importance of her Bug.

Diego laughed, released
the handlebar of the Harley, gave her a big hug and
a smooch on the tip of her nose, all without stopping the laughs. “You are so cute. Now get on the bike, let’s go.”

She did get on the back of the motorcycle, but was still mad as hell. The smooch helped a little. Certainly he could do better. He put his hand on hers like he did that evening when he gave
her the
ride home. Only a week ago
she loathed it
,
cherished it now. Diego wasn’t even her type, Brian looked like a movie star compared to Diego. She rested her head against his back and he squeezed her hand.

“So, this is what a police impound yard looks like
,
” Mina said.

The place was
l
ike a used car lot, except
the markings on the windshields had nothing to do with prices or special offers.

She had to show ID before they let her through the gate. Diego spoke to the man minding the yard and showed something, she wasn’t sure what. The man nodded and that was it. Diego left the Harley outside by the entrance. He walked in with her. She could hardly contain herself. W
hen she spotted the Volkswagen i
n a far corner
,
she took off running
. S
he heard Diego say something
but
didn’t stop.

To
her surprise,
the Bug looked cleaner
on the outside
than
when she
last drove it. Maybe before releasing the cars to the legitimate owners the cops washed them? Whatever. She opened the passenger door and noticed the keys in the ignition.
Che gioia.
Such happiness made
her think in Italian.

By now Diego caught up to her and stood to the side, grinning.

The easiest way for her to get in was from the passenger side because the car was parked close to the wall. No problem, she slid over the passenger side, leaving the door open,
and
plopped herself in the driver seat with a satisfied, “Oh, yes.”

She turned the key and the engine started without delay. She felt like shouting, but controlled her impulse and sc
runch
ed down to motion Diego to get in the car. He hesitated at first then rolled his eyes and sat in the passenger seat.

“This is so cool. Do I need to sign papers or something
? Oh, let me take you to dinner.
L
et’s celebrate. I’m so happy!” She turned and hugged him in a fast, friendly hug.

“Down girl, down,”
h
e joked. “Let’s get the paperwork signed and leave, then we can talk.” He
started to get out of the car.

She stopped him.
“No, I’ll drive you to your bike. Where do I go to sign the papers?”

Diego turned and pointed to a white, squat building at the opposite end. “What do you have here?” He lifted a
Ralph’s
paper bag stuck in the narrow back seat.

Mina looked
.
“Oh, so that’s where I left it. It’s nothing. My Bosom Bodies uniform. I brought it home after my last day and washed it
.
”
T
he faint smell of shampoo reminded her of the lack of detergent. Didn’t really matter at this point. “When I went to return it on Monday the place was closed and the cops
…
W
ell
,
you where there
. Y
ou remember.” They looked at each other. No laughs, no smiles, eyes locked and then… “Shit. The uniform. Ginger lent me her uniform I was to return it to Barbara on Monday. Oh my God. Oh my God
.
”

“Sh
ush
, Mina, calm down.”

There was no shushing her, not now. She yan
ked the bag from Diego’s hands. T
he p
aper ripped. The red wig fell out first, the mini skirt, then
the
T
-shirt
which
was stil
l inside-
out the same way as when she tried to dry it with her hair blower. She felt herself blushing while pulling out the last piece, the skin colored padded bra. That was it.
She crumbled the paper into a small ball and chucked it into the back seat
, h
er hands still trembling with excitement.

Maledizione.

“You
even
had me going there for a minute.
” Diego
’s voice was calm and soothing
. “Look, I’m sure this bag and its contents have been examined very carefully by many experts before they allowed you to pick up the car. Don’t feel bad. Your heart is in the right place.”

“Shut up.” She kissed him
. T
he ins
tant their lips touched she could tell
he was totally startled by her action. He pushed her back ever so slowly
.
“Mina, we are under surveillance
. T
hey have cameras in every corner. By morning, your friend
DeFiore
will be watching the ‘kiss’ in his private office. Just saying.”

She shrugged
but knew he was right. “It has to be here, that’s the only thing I had from Ginger. Let’s look again.” Mina started to recheck every item she pulled from the bag. She felt the padding in the bra, ran her fingers through
the coarse texture of the wig, analyzed the seams and
zipper of the mini skirt. She turned the
T
-shirt over, the way it was supposed to be. Nothing. Everything looked the same as it did when she first wore the uniform from hell. Shit.

“I thought maybe the rhinestones were the real thing,” she said, rubbing her fingernails over the dense, iridescent surface.

“Diamonds don’t look so multicolored even in the raw state, this is probably plastic.” Diego took the
T
-shirt from Mina and looked at the lettering
first
from the inside
, then from
the outside.
Metal fasteners poked through from the wrong side of the shirt, grabbed onto and anchored the individual rhinestones
. Something seemed to catch Diego’s attention
. H
e looked at the front again
.
“Did you wash this?”
h
e asked.

“Of course I did
. T
hat’s why it smells of shampoo.”

“You washed the
T
-shirt with shampoo? Never mind.
I’m sure you have a fascinating story on the subject.” He looked up and winked at her. She wanted to grab him and kiss him again, but she remembered the cameras and
DeFiore
. She smiled.

Diego searched his pocket and pulled o
ut a small knife, snapped open the
blade and forced the sharp
point
under one of the rhinestone
s
. Mina could see the shining tip poking between the fabric and the stone. He pushed hard
er and then twisted the blade. T
he top of the rhinestone came loose. He caught it with his other hand.

“Let me see,” Mina said.

Without spea
king
,
he put the plastic gem in her hand and then closed it like a fist.

He
inched his face closer to hers.
“Listen, whatever happens next, keep a sad expression, no kisses, no happy dance
. W
e are on camera and don’t know who
’
s watching. Perhaps some
one who reads
lips
.
I’m not joking, Mina. P
lay along, sad or happy news, do
es
n’t matter
. Y
ou are feeling miserable.”

All she could think about was the warmth of his hand on hers and the scent of his skin. He opened her fist and brought the blade to her palm. They were so close to each other their bodies formed a cocoon around the hand holding the stone. Diego inserted the tip of the knife at the bottom of the rhinestone and lifted. Something small and clear fell out.

“Here it is
,
” Diego said.

“What?”

“This is a diamond in its rawest state
.
Some clever scum encased the real thing in an iridescent plastic shell. Had you not washed the shirt, no one would have figured out. But the moisture caused by the water and the forced hot air produced vapor and
,
lucky for us
,
not all disappeared.”

Mina was speechless
.

Diego must have assumed she was following his directions
.
“Good girl, now listen
. K
eep the sad face, pack everything back in the ripped paper bag, go sign the documents and let’s get out of here. While you sign off, I’ll contact
DeFiore
and have him meet us halfway. Once the evidence changes hands you are home safe. Good job. Now let’s move.” He got out of the Volkswagen
.
Mina pack
ed
the uniform and wig back into the crumpled
grocery bag
.
She had yet to find her voice.

Winter Solstice darkened the sky and the shadows of the night descend
ed
upon them at the speed of a falling star. Mina followed
Diego’s Harley
from the Costa Mesa
F
reeway to the 73
S
outh. She was clueless as to where they were headed.
DeFiore
would meet them halfway, halfway to where? She didn’t like driv
ing
at night
,
and driving at night on unfamiliar routes was the worst. The road wasn’t deserted
. C
ars zoomed past her Volkswagen
. L
it buildings lined the hillside. Mina kept her eyes on Diego’s taillights. From time to time she patted the paper bag lying on the passenger seat. She wa
s still in a state of awe that
they discovered the diamonds.