Worth Dying For (10 page)

“I will,” Artie said and pulled the door closed.

Chapter 6

Fresh out of the shower and fully dressed for the day, Rheyna went back into the kitchen. She tucked the morning newspaper under her arm and then wedged a half-eaten bagel between her teeth. She grabbed her cell phone off the counter with her right hand and carefully picked up her cup of coffee with her left. She slowly made her way toward the patio door and, using her knee, slid it open.

Damn, I’m good
, she thought as she set the cup of coffee down on the table without spilling a drop. She pulled the newspaper from under her arm and dropped it, along with her cell phone, next to the coffee cup. She sat down on the lounger and leaned back, propping her feet up on the table while she ate.

She finished the bagel and brushed her hands down the sides of her jeans. She took a couple sips of coffee and then picked up the newspaper, laying it across her lap.
Not only am I good, I’m nuts
, she thought as she glanced again at the article just below the headline. She grabbed her cell phone, flipped the lid back, hit the speed dial for Laura, and waited for her to pick up.

“Hey, girl, I didn’t expect to hear from you this early. What gives?” Laura asked, stifling a yawn.

“Good morning to you, too, sunshine. Did I wake you?” Rheyna asked, jokingly.

“It’s seven in the morning. You know damn well you did, and this better be good,” Laura kidded back. “So what’s up?” she asked.

“You’re gonna think I’m nuts, but I’ve been thinking—”

“Oh, God no, say it isn’t so,” Laura teased.

“Anyway, since I took this assignment, I’ve been racking my brain to find a way to really get in with the Castrucci’s and I don’t just mean as a photographer or trying to plant a bug or two,” she said, then added, “By the way, I’m ignoring your comment, in case you haven’t figured that out.”

Laura laughed. “I kinda got that. Okay, you’ve got my attention. I’m listening.”

“You know how Caroline is a Veterinarian and—”

“Oh, so you’re calling her Caroline now?” Laura interrupted.

Rheyna laughed. “Will you please stop and let me get this out, already?”

“Okay, okay. I quit. I promise. Go ahead.”

“I’m gonna get a dog,” Rheyna said bluntly before Laura could interrupt again.

“Excuse me? Did I just hear you say you’re getting a dog?”

It was Rheyna’s turn to smile. “Yep, you heard me correctly,” she said, looking at the newspaper article and the photo of Caroline standing in front of the Haven Veterinarian Clinic. Before Laura could say anything, she continued, “There’s a pet adoption today at Caroline’s clinic and I’m gonna drop by and get one.”

“You’re right. I think you’re nuts. Nuts, but brilliant.”

“I don’t know about the brilliant part. By the end of the day, I may just end up being a new pet owner in the state of California and nothing else.”

“I don’t know. Either way, I think a dog might be good for you.”

“Well, I’ll give you a call tonight and let you know.”

“Okay, Rheyna, be careful and stay safe.”

“I will,” Rheyna said and hung up the phone. She took the newspaper and her cell back inside. She stopped at the counter, grabbed her keys, the manila envelope with the Castrucci proofs, and headed out the door. She figured she might as well head for downtown Palo Alto. She needed to update her wardrobe and a glance at the clock confirmed that most of the stores were probably open by now. She would do some early shopping, maybe grab a bite to eat, and then head over to the clinic to get a dog before finally making her way back to the Castrucci estate to drop off the proofs to Terasa.

###

Sonny Valachi pulled his chair closer to the desk and sat down. He leaned forward and lit Big Tony’s cigar.

Big Tony inhaled deeply and blew out several smoke rings in succession. He pushed several haphazardly stacked papers off to the side and looked at the manila folder lying on the desk in front of him.

Printed neatly across the top tab were the words:
Rheyna Moretti.
He flipped open the cover and picked up a photo of Rheyna coming out of her beach house. “You were right, she’s definitely a looker, and she’s Italian to boot. Terasa did real good with this one,” he said, tossing the photo off to the side.
 

Sonny picked up the photo and looked at it. “Yeah, in my younger days, I might have tried to tap that,” he said with a laugh.

Big Tony flipped through the documents in the folder. He looked at Sonny. “What about a husband?”

Sonny shook his head.

“Boyfriend?”

Again, Sonny shook his head. “I’ve had Henry on her since you gave me her name and there’s nothing. Hell, just this morning, he called, begging off. He said all she does is shop and hang out at the beach and that she’s boring him to death.”

Big Tony held up a copy of Rheyna’s arrest record. He skimmed over the document and chuckled. “It seems she was quite the little hoodlum as a kid.”

Sonny nodded in agreement. “Yeah, a couple minor skirmishes here and there, some vandalism and petty theft, but nothing too serious.”

Big Tony picked up two document papers clipped together. “It’s too bad about her parents, though,” he said, looking at the death certificates. He put them in the folder and closed the cover. “What else you got?” he asked.

“From everything we could find, she seems to be on the up and up. Moved here about two months ago, bought the beach house. She got a degree in photography and started her own freelance business not long after graduating.” Sonny paused to light a cigarette. “From what I could tell, she has no other family. Both her parents were only children and after they died, she was pretty much left alone.”

Big Tony pulled open his lap drawer and tossed the folder in it. “Okay, you can go ahead and pull Henry off,” he said, pushing the drawer closed. He took another drag from his cigar. “Did you take care of my other little problem?”

“Yeah, it’s done, but I’m worried. I know they’re gonna figure out she was preggers.”

Big Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “So?”

“It’s only a matter of time before they tie her back to you, Tony.”

“Like I said, so what if they do? Charlene was a whore. Hell, I don’t know that it was mine and for that matter, we don’t even know if she was pregnant at all.”

“And what if she was telling you the truth and the baby was yours?”

“If you did your job, I don’t have anything to worry about, now do I?”

Sonny shook his head.

Big Tony tapped the end of his cigar in the ashtray. “How’d it go on Friday?”

Sonny frowned.

“The girl, I’m talkin’ about the girl.”

“Oh, yeah, she was a real pro. You’ll be pleased with the results.”

Big Tony smiled. “She worth fifteen K?”

“More like twenty-five,” Sonny grinned.
 

“Good, good. Our Hong Kong clients will be thrilled. Maybe we’ll charge them seventy-five next time.”

Sonny laughed. “Oh, they’d pay more, I’m sure.”

“She have any sisters or brothers?”

Sonny shook his head.

“Cousins?”

Sonny busted out laughing. He shook his head.

Big Tony leaned back in his chair. “Pity, we could’ve had a family affair,” he said, blowing smoke toward the ceiling.

###

Rheyna got out of the Jeep and shut the door. She looked around the Haven Veterinarian Clinic parking lot. She couldn’t believe how crowded it was. The lot had definitely reached its capacity. She made her way toward the crowd of people who were milling around in front of the clinic. As she got closer, she could see what was holding their interest—to the left of the doorway, along the whole front of the building, cages of various sizes set in a U-shaped design were stacked on top of each other. Each cage contained an animal as diverse as the size of the cage. She walked past a row that had a monkey, several different colored rabbits, a couple guinea pigs, and a very large box turtle.

Ah, this is what I am looking for
, she thought as she walked up to the small cages. She walked slowly down the row, looking at the different breeds of puppies. She stopped in front of the last one. It contained a small black puppy with a cast on its right front leg. The little pup was curled up in a tiny ball, sound asleep and snoring louder than any human Rheyna had ever heard. She looked at the card stuck in the slot. It said the puppy was a female Labrador Retriever, approximately ten-weeks old, and could be adopted for $125.00. The card went on to say the price covered the cost of the puppy’s shots, an electronic ID chip, and a $50.00 gift certificate toward spaying/neutering fees.

Rheyna stuck her fingers through the cage, scratching the pup’s head. The puppy opened her eyes and then stretched her front legs out, arching her little body like a cat. She yawned while simultaneously licking Rheyna’s fingers. Rheyna smiled. “Hey, girl,” she said, continuing to rub the pup’s head.

“She’s a real cutie, don’tcha think?”

Rheyna jumped, startled by the voice coming from just over her shoulder. She felt her pulse quicken. She turned to face Caroline and smiled. “I think she’s adorable.” She nodded at the pup’s leg. “Why does she have a cast?”

“Because her leg is broken in two places and she has a pin holding her kneecap in place.”

“That must have hurt like hell. How’d it happen?”

Caroline opened the cage door. She reached in and caressed the side of the pup’s face. She turned to look at Rheyna. “I think she had a run-in with a car and the car won. I found her lying against a curb not far from here.”

Rheyna frowned. “So the person who hit her just left her there?”

Caroline nodded. “Unfortunately, it seems that way.”

Rheyna shook her head. “People can be such assholes,” she blurted without thinking.

Caroline smiled at her. “Yes, they can.”

Rheyna looked back at the puppy. “I’ll take her,” she said, turning to Caroline.

Caroline eyed Rheyna curiously, crossing her arms against her chest. “Most people don’t adopt wounded puppies. From my experience, they’re usually the last to go.”

Rheyna laughed at the expression on Caroline’s face. “Well, I guess you can say that I’m not most people.”

Caroline smiled at her and nodded at the pup. “I can see that, but are you really sure about her? A pet is a lot of responsibility, especially one with a broken leg.”

It was Rheyna’s turn to smile. “I thank you for your concern, but I’ve already made up my mind. I’ve always wanted a dog. It’s not the way I pictured getting one, but it’ll work.”
  

“All right, you win.” Caroline smiled as she grabbed the cage card out of the slot. “Let’s go get the paperwork taken care of and then I’ll get a tech to help get your new puppy into the car.”

###

Artie snapped off the bowtie and tossed it on the kitchen table, along with his briefcase. He picked up the stack of mail on the counter and tossed it next to his briefcase. He opened the refrigerator door and glanced inside. He shook his head at the bare contents and then grabbed a pack of lunchmeat from the crisper—a cold sandwich again.
What else is new
? he thought to himself as he rummaged through the cupboard for a loaf of bread. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. He tossed a few pieces of ham between the bread and flipped through the mail. He tore open the letter from the Mortgage Company.