Two O'Clock Heist: A Rebecca Mayfield Mystery (The Rebecca Mayfield Mysteries Book 2) (27 page)

Rebecca then phoned Nina’s grandparents in Santa Rosa and gave them the good news that they could come and get their grandchild. She gave them Richie’s address.

o0o

Rebecca walked into Eastwood’s office, head high
, ready to turn in her badge if it came to that. “I found Nina Baranski,” she said. “Her grandparents will take her.”

“How did you do that?” Eastwood roared. “I ordered you to keep away from the Russians.”

“One of my neighbors told me she heard noises in my apartment. I went to investigate, and found the child in a stroller.”

“What? Why?” Eastwood asked, studying her.

She kept her eyes down. “I have no idea. Maybe Charkov realized he had gone too far. And, as you said, it’s up to the FBI to deal with him, not me. At least the child is safe.”

Eastwood’s narrowed as he studied her a long moment. “All right, Mayfield, as you said, the child is safe. I’ll take it from here.
Write a statement of what happened, with all the details, then go home until you hear from me. I’m sure the FBI will want to talk to you.”

“I’m sure as well, sir.”

With that, she left his office.

o0o

Rebecca hurried back to Richie’s house. The garage door had been left up, so little noise announced her arrival as she walked up the stairs from the garage to enter the house via the kitchen.

As she opened the door, she heard voices from the living room.

Vito and Shay were reading Richie the riot act for his actions that day and the prior evening. Both spoke at the same time. She couldn’t remember ever hearing Shay so animated. Both were asking variations on just who did Richie think he was running around with her the way he’d been doing? She was a cop; she knew how to protect herself. He wasn’t, and he didn’t.

“I worry about her,” Richie said. “She’s too headstrong. She runs towards things that she should run away from.”

“She’s leading the life she wants to lead.” She recognized Vito’s voice. “There’s nothin’ you can do about it, boss.”

“Leave her be,” Shay said. “If she gets herself killed, it’s not your problem.”

Her heart pounded as she waited for Richie’s answer. When it came, his voice was soft, and his words jarred her. “What if I want it to be?” he said.

“Christ Almighty,” was Vito’s reaction.

Shay said nothing.

She waited a few moments longer, then quietly shut the door, loudly stomped on the stairs, and this time, rattled the door as she opened it.

o0o

When Rebecca entered the living room, she could hardly believe she’d been gone only a little more than an hour and a half.

Richie lay on the sofa wearing a short-sleeve blue T-shirt, his arm well bandaged. Shay was on the floor with Nina, showing her how to build what looked like an Uzi out of Legos. Vito sat in a chair looking prideful at the mess all around. A half-eaten bowl of mac and cheese was on the floor beside Nina, with a few pieces of macaroni on the carpet. Another bowl of melted vanilla ice cream was on her opposite side. Around her were three dolls and two toy cars, but it was Shay’s activities that held her rapt attention.

Spike was in front of Nina, happily ripping up a stuffed animal.

Rebecca noticed additional bowls with remains of ice cream next to Richie and Vito, plus an open bag of Cheetos which explained the orange tinge on Nina’s mouth, fingers, and clothes.

“Cheetos? Really? You three should all be fired,” she said.

“All these foods were all my favorites when I was a kid,” Richie said. “And I turned out all right.”

“Me, too.” Vito said.

“How are you feeling?” she asked Richie.

“Fine. Shay gave me some super pills.” He raised his eyebrows and slightly shook his head. “And I’m feeling no
pain.”

“I called Carmela,” Vito announced woefully to one and all. “If his mother heard he was shot, and nobody told her about it, she’d have all our heads.”

Richie put a hand over his eyes. “Oh, God! That’s all I need. Leave me more of those pain pills, Shay.”

Rebecca made no comment, but chuckled to herself as she went and got some wet paper towels to clean up Nina before the girl’s grandparents arrived.

Vito and Shay took that as their cue to leave.

Rebecca had just finished with Nina when the doorbell rang. It was the Larkins, who must have set the land-speed record for Santa Rosa to San Francisco travel. Rebecca could see why. They couldn’t stop their tears from flowing as they hugged the little girl and kissed her. Nina obviously knew her grandmother, and hugged her back. It was all Rebecca could do not to cry as well.

Rebecca gave them the letter from Yuri so they would know what he was planning. She also told them a little about Karen’s last days so they knew she was trying to do good when she was killed.

“Rebecca,” Richie said, “there’s an envelope on the lamp table by the door. Would you give it to Kenneth?”

She was surprised, but did as he asked. Kenneth opened it. “It’s a letter from the Heritage Insurance company.” He read it aloud. “For her service in the identification of the jewel thieves who burglarized Marin County residences, which will lead to the retrieval of the stolen jewelry, Heritage Insurance authorizes Karen Larkin’s heirs to receive a reward within thirty days, in the amount of
ten percent of the value retrieved
and not to be less than
seven hundred thousand dollars
. I don’t believe it.” Kenneth looked up at them. “It appears to be signed by the Vice President of the company, and dated yesterday. Is it real?”

Rebecca turned to Richie and mouthed, “How?”

He shrugged, then winced at the pain it caused him.

She then remembered that he left Belvedere right after the arrest yesterday with Vito and Shay … as if they had something they needed to do. She smiled. “You can believe it,” she said to the Larkins. “I’ve met the man. That money should help pay for Nina’s schooling and upbringing.”

Faye looked at Kenneth. “And it will free up some of our own funds to help Yuri however we can. Our daughter gave up so much because she loved him, and saw much to value in that young man, we need to get to know him and, if possible, to give him a chance at a fresh start in this country.”

“We’ll do that,” Kenneth murmured.

They hugged Rebecca and shook hands with Richie, thinking it best not to ask what had happened to his arm. Rebecca put the toys in a shopping bag and gave it to Kenneth to take home for Nina.

Soon after, amid more tears and thanks, they left.

Rebecca was blinking hard. “It’s done,” she murmured, turning her head so Richie couldn’t see her eyes.

“Hey.” He sat upright, the pain pills clearly making him groggy and unsteady. “It’s okay to shed a few tears over a little happiness going to that sad family.”  

She wiped her eyes and gave him a small smile. “You’re right, we did good.”

“We make a good team, Inspector,” he said.

Her smile broadened. “Lay back down, those pills are making you loopy.” She took a deep breath. “I should probably get going, too,” she said. “I’m sure Carmela will be here any minute, and I suspect, knowing I’m a cop, she’ll blame me that you got shot. I might have to agree with her.” With those words her smile vanished. “You’ve been too easy for me to lean on when I needed help, and for doing that, you could have been killed. I don’t know what to say, except that I’m so, so sorry.”

“But I wasn’t, and in a couple days, I’ll be fine,” he said. “You don’t have to leave. I’ll tell her to go home.”

“And then she’ll hate me for the rest of my life. No. Someone once told me that no matter how old your children are, if you see them hurt, you want to care for them, and you’ll do anything and everything you can to help them. You’re her one and only. She needs to be here, and you need to let her.”

He nodded. “I guess, but it doesn’t mean I’ll like it.”

“I’ll call you later,” she said. Much as she didn’t want to walk away from him, she picked up Spike and headed towards the door. But then, she felt his hand on her shoulder. She turned. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t be up!”

He lifted Spike from her grasp and put him on the floor, then he put his hands on her waist and slowly stepped closer as his arms spread across her back, capturing her against him. “Don’t blame me about this,” he murmured. “I’m all doped up and have no idea what I’m doing.”

She didn’t have that excuse as she wrapped her arms around his neck, being careful of his arm. She had held him in the past, even hugged him a time or two, but this was different. The way he looked at her, the way she felt about him, were more. Much more. She could have easily stopped this as she had so many times before. A joke. A quick turn. But she didn’t want to.

Slowly,
cautiously, he bent his head to hers. She shut her eyes as their lips met. Finally, she thought. But a sweet kiss wasn’t nearly enough. Her arms tightened around him, as his did around her. His hands slid up and down her back, pressing her close, closer, as the kiss became a head-turning, mouth-open, desire-filled kiss—as if all that had happened earlier between them was like gasoline poured atop kindling, and his simple kiss was a match. A conflagration roared as, much more than she had ever imagined, Richie knew how to kiss.

She soon felt every bit as woozy and dopey as he said he was, and she didn’t care. She wanted him, and had for a long time. The fingers of one hand curled in his hair, while the other traveled over his body, needing—

“Richie!
Madonna mia!
I was scared you were dying!” Carmela’s voice cut through her senses.

His hold loosened, and he drew in his breath, but his eyes never left Rebecca’s. “I am, Ma. But not the way you mean.”

Rebecca kept her hands on his shoulders as her heartbeat came back to earth. She had often wondered how it would be between them, and now, not only did she know how it felt to be in his arms, but knew her imagination hadn’t come close to the real thing. She stepped back slightly, hating to leave him, but knowing she must.

He held her a little longer. “
Soon,” he whispered. And then he let her go.

The End

RICHIE’S ITALIAN DIALECT

In many Italian neighborhoods throughout the U.S., a unique and colorful Italian dialect can still
be heard. It originated with the early twentieth century immigration of people from Sicily, Calabria, and Naples, and is a mixture of the dialect of those areas—words and phrases used more than a century ago—that have continued to survive. The dialects are unwritten, so the spelling is completely arbitrary. Also, the pronunciation differs slightly in different parts of the country; that heard in the East Coast will differ a bit from what is spoken in Chicago or San Francisco. These differences pale, however, compared to differences with the Italian used today in Italy.

Many people in the U.S. are attempting to create a ‘glossary’ of this dialect so it is not lost forever. One of the biggest and best sites is http://xeroth.wordpress.com. If you go there, be sure to look at the numerous comments where a great many additional words and phrases are given.

Most of these words come from memory and familial recollection. I remember my Calabrian grandparents using many of them, and offer the words and translation here for your enjoyment. Words not listed here (e.g.,
perché
= why;
salute
=health) are standard Italian.

Aspett’!  (ah- SPET)– Wait!

Basta! (BAH-stah) – Enough!

Che brutt’! (KAY broot) – How ugly! or How vile!

Che schifozz? (KAY ski-FOTZ) – What’s that disgusting thing?

Che za deech’? (KAY za DEECH) – What’s up? (Literally, “what do you say?” as a greeting)

Goomba  (GOOM-bah) – an Italian guy “from the neighborhood” who gets what the neighborhood is all about.

Lasciami! (la-shah-MI)– Leave me alone!

Ma che bell’! (mah KAY bell) – What a beauty!

Ma che cozz’u fai? (Ma KAY kotz-oo fah-ee?) – What the heck are you doing?

Macarun cu poip  (mah-cah-ROON cu POI-puh) – heat garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil, then add cooked spaghetti and stir it all together. Sometimes parsley, anchovy, or parmesan are also added.

Mamaluk’! (mah-mah-LUKE) – Idiot!

Scorciamend’! (Scorch-ah-MEND) – Pain in the a--!

Find out what happens next in the lives of Rebecca and Richie when the clock strikes
THREE O'CLOCK…
coming in 2015

o0o

Rebecca and
Richie met and shared their first mystery/adventure in the novella
The Thirteenth Santa
. Th
eir first full novel adventure took place in
One O'Clock Hustle
.
If you missed it, here's chapter one:

ONE O'CLOCK HUSTLE