Death returns, p.18
Death Returns, page 18
part #3 of Death Card Series
Mimi chuckled. “See you soon.”
It was time to head to bed. As I climbed the stairs, I heard Isabella laughing, making my heart swell. I knocked on her door. “Hi, Sweetheart. How are the girls?”
“Here, Mama, do you want to say hi?”
I reached for her phone. “Hi there, Nica and Angela! How are you girls doing?”
It was fun to talk with them for a bit. “Well, give my love to Grandmother and Maria,” I ended.
I handed the phone back to Isabella. “Just a few more minutes, Isabella, then it’s time for bed. I’ll be back to tuck you in.” I smiled when she mouthed, “Okay.”
I was curious to know what tomorrow would bring. At that thought, I remembered the saying, “Curiosity killed the cat …”
CHAPTER 13
This was going to be Isabella’s last time with her tutor before school started in a few days. Today was a big day for them since Ruth would test Isabella on what they’d been working on.
After Ruth arrived, I fixed her a cup of the special tea I knew she liked, and we sat at the table and waited for Isabella to join us. “I’m sure you’re aware of how bright Isabella is. You probably have realized by now she has a gift for languages. She speaks English as well as anyone who grew up with it. I believe we should get her involved in Asian languages because it will provide an opportunity for her in the future. How do you feel about that?” Ruth asked.
“I couldn’t agree more. Are there some things Isabella needs to work on?”
“She’s a perfectionist which we both know can be a drawback as much as it can be an asset. Even though I push for accuracy, I don’t want anything less than perfect to be discarded as not worthy. That’s not healthy, so maybe between the two of us, we can help her with that.”
“I want to ensure that Isabella doesn’t feel she’ll only be loved and accepted by me if she’s perfect or the best at everything. Who needs that pressure? Besides, that’s not the way I roll. I want Isabella to live the most wonderful life possible—whatever that is.”
Ruth smiled and nodded in agreement.
A headache had formed and worry about what was happening at the construction had grown. I felt an urge to get to the site right away. “Are you going to be alright if I run a quick errand, Ruth? I need to check on the construction site.”
“Isabella and I’ll be busy for a while anyway, so take your time.”
Once at the site, I parked on the side street, walked in and saw Tony talking to the construction foreman. The foreman looked up and saw me. He said something to Tony, who turned around, surprised to see me. “What are you doing here?”
“I might ask the same of you, Tony. What are you doing here?”
“I have a right to be here. I’m the owner of all this.”
“No, you’re not, Tony. Mimi told me that you’re not even allowed on the property. Do you want me to call her right now and see what she has to say about that?” I challenged.
Tony flushed with anger and instead of lashing out at me, he turned his back and ignored me. He began to talk to the foreman again, but I was having none of it. I caught the foreman’s name embroidered on his shirt. “Butch, I need to speak to you right now.”
Butch looked torn between Tony wanting his attention and my command. “That’s okay, Butch, we’ll catch up later,” Tony said. He refused to acknowledge me as he passed by and headed to the car where his flunky, Lorenzo, was seated in the driver’s seat.
The foreman and I watched Tony walk away. Then I turned back to Butch. “What did Tony want?”
“Nothing …” Butch muttered.
“Butch, let me be very clear that Tony is not allowed here on this site. He has no authorization about anything to do with these jobs. Do you understand? No one, outside this construction company and the subs, is allowed on this site with the exception of Mimi, Romano, and me. Oh, and Mike too. And just so you know, I will report this to Mimi.”
Butch held up his hand in defense. “Okay, I’ll see that it doesn’t happen again.” He walked away to one of the workers who had called out to him.
Back in the car, I pulled out my cell phone and called Mimi. I left a voice mail message “Hi, Mimi, I’m just leaving the construction site now. You had a right to worry about Tony; he was already on site when I arrived.”
I had no sooner hung up with Mimi than the phone rang again. This time it was Jacklyn from the agency. “Hello, Rosie, how are you?”
“I’m fine and you?” I asked nervously.
“I’m just going over some paperwork regarding Isabella. Thank you for letting me know that she’s registered at the Wilson Charter School. We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that all works out for her. We’ll need to do some background checks on those who will be in Isabella’s immediate life going forward. We’ll keep it simple and make it just those in Las Vegas. I’ll need you to complete a list of them and forward it to me. Please include Ruth, and perhaps your close neighbors, and any others who will have a positive influence in her everyday life. Oh, and don’t forget to add Mike.”
I said I’d get back to her in a day or two. I’d had an odd sensation wash over me when Jacklyn had mentioned Mike, so I decided to phone him for some details.
“Hey, Rosie, is everything all right?”
I told Mike about my conversation with Jacklyn. “So Mike, when and where were you born?”
“I was born on January 27, 1979, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.”
“You’re an old man, Mike. You’re 7 years older than me!”
“You forgot wiser, didn’t you? Older and wiser?” he teased.
I laughed. “What’s your middle name?” There was silence. “Well, c’mon! What is it?”
“Shiye …” he answered.
“Can you spell it? Is it a family name?”
“S-h-i-y-e. It’s Navajo for a son. My mother was a Navajo.
“Well, it’s a beautiful name. Is she still alive?”
“No, neither of my parents are,” he answered, dismissing them. “I was going to call you anyway because I’m planning to leave tomorrow and head home. Sorry, baby, but Brian’s calling me, and I’ve got to go.”
“Can’t wait to see you! I love you, Mike.”
“Love you too, baby.”
With a middle name of Shiye, it should be easy enough to find Mike’s background search on the internet. I wanted to do this before Jacklyn had a chance to do her own background check on Mike … I didn’t want any surprises.
When I got home, Ruth said Isabella had done well on her test.”
“Do you want to know what I scored, Mama? I scored 96! At first, I was disappointed not to have them all correct, but Ruth said it’s no fun if there’s nothing new to learn.”
Ruth smiled and winked at me. “I agree,” I said as I took Isabella in my arms and kissed the top of her head.
We said goodbye to Ruth, and Virginia showed up to do some fall housecleaning. Instead of helping her, I went to meet Romano at the construction site. He’d call to say there was a problem and he needed my help.
Once there, I saw Romano talking to Butch, who stood there with a smug smile and his arms crossed over his chest in a bullying fashion. Randy stood back from them and frowned. Closer, I heard Butch say, “Here she is, you’ll have to clear it with her.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, perplexed.
Romano’s face was beet red and sweat appeared on his brow. He obviously was distressed and practically hurled his words at me. “He said Randy is not allowed on site with me to check out the restaurant.”
I was furious. “Butch, you know better than that. I didn’t think I’d have to spell it out for you. Obviously, if we show up with someone, they are approved by us to be on site. So what’s your game, Butch?”
“Just following your orders …” he said.
“Next time, why don’t you try to follow your brain,” I snapped. “C’mon Romano and Randy, let’s see what’s going on at your site.”
As we headed there, Butch tagged along behind. Looking at the poured cement, Romano and I shared the same thought. “It looks so big, doesn’t it?” he exclaimed, pleased.
“It’s going to be wonderful to have Romano’s restaurant up and running, isn’t it?” I asked Randy.
“Yes, it is. Did you know that I’m going to be the maître d?”
“No, I didn’t. How exciting is that!”
Romano paced around the hole, imagining the finished product. Randy and I smiled as we watched him. Butch left us, and we walked to our cars.
CHAPTER 14
The next morning, Irene called and invited Isabella to spend the day with her to bake cookies and freeze them for her afterschool snacks. I hesitated but realized I’d have to let go of having Isabella all to myself and allow her relationships outside myself. I kissed her goodbye and sat at the computer to research Mike’s name.
As expected, there were many Michael Williamses. When I narrowed it down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, there were five different ones. When I added Shiye into the mix, there were two Michael S. Williamses. I clicked on the first one and it said he was married, so I clicked off that one and clicked on the next. This one said he was born on June 27, 1979, and I wondered whether I’d misunderstood the month Mike had told me he’d been born—January 27, 1979. This Michael had two siblings—sisters—and was divorced. My heart skipped a bit and a flush of heat coursed through me. I paid to download more information and searched it looking for Mike’s picture. A photo of the man flashed across my screen. It wasn’t Mike. I had the wrong person!
I immediately went back to the first Michael S. Williams, which stated he was married, and when I saw the photo of Mike, my heart fell. My mind screamed that this had to be a mistake. I had enough to do to overcome Isabella’s kidnapping in Santa Fe while I had been in charge of her. I couldn’t allow anything more to tempt the state to not consider me fit to become Isabella’s foster mother. As the severity of the situation hit me, I started to cry big gulping sobs. Had I reached the point where I’d have to choose between Mike and Isabella? There was no way I’d let Isabella down, and if that meant my relationship with Mike was going to bar me from being Isabella’s foster mother, I had no choice. As tears trailed down my face, I made noises of distress as I tried to contain my anguish—so much so that Sweet Pea came to where I sat, put her paws on my lap, and whined. “Oh, Sweet Pea, what has just happened?”
The longer I sat at my computer, the madder I got. I became enraged and let out my anguish because I knew if I didn’t release some of my anger, I’d be a bigger mess when I confronted Mike. I’d received a text message from him that he was on his way home and would arrive later tonight—he’d catch a cab to the house. I replied “Good” because I’d be relieved to deal with this disaster—the sooner the better.
Isabella came running in the door, all excited. When she saw that I’d been crying, she came close and studied me. “Are you okay, Mama?”
“Yes, sweetie. I just read something sad and it made me cry, but I’m okay.”
She took me at my words and said in excitement, “Gramma Irene wants me to ask you whether I can sleep over because they have the Cinderella movie. And we’re going to have pizza for dinner too!”
I love the Universe because things always seem to work out in their own mysterious ways. Isabella’s being at Irene’s was the perfect solution to provide Mike and me our private time to deal with this new situation. “I think that sounds wonderful, sweetheart, go pack your overnight bag, and I’ll call Irene.”
“Thanks, Mama.”
I closed my eyes and began to meditate. I felt my grandmother’s hand as she smoothed my hair like she used to do when I was little, “Listen to what is said and know obstacles are not there to stop you but are there for you to overcome, making the victory even sweeter. I love you, darling girl.” And she was off, leaving a whiff of her perfume behind.
When I heard the cab pull into the driveway later, my heart beat faster with a joy that I couldn’t seem to squelch. I needed to be strong, and I knew myself well enough that I’d need to control my temper. When Mike came through the door, he was excited to be home and expected me to be as well. I had to force myself to remain seated in the living room and not jump up and run to him. When he heard me say nothing more than “Hello, Mike,” he looked puzzled.
“Hey, baby, what’s up?” he asked, perplexed.
“Mike, we have a problem. Take time to settle in and then we need to talk,” I stated in a flat tone.
“No, Rosie, let’s talk now,” he said as he came forward and bent to kiss me while I sat stiffly.
“Alright,” I said in a heavy voice, “we might as well get this over with.”
He sat beside me and placed his arm around me. It took all my resolve not to snuggle against him, but I needed to be strong and get this predicament settled. “What’s the problem, Rosie—so much so you didn’t even welcome me home?” he asked, worried.
His words stung. No one likes to be treated the way I’d acted toward Mike. “As you know, Jacklyn called to tell me she needed to do some background search on those who would have the greatest effect on Isabella. That’s why I called you for your birth date and full name.”
“Yes, so what’s the problem?”
“I thought I’d do some of my own research since you haven’t shared that much with me. I wasn’t happy with what I found,” I said, sadly.
His face got red. “Listen, I was just a kid who was left to fend for myself most of the time. Yes, I got into trouble back then, but as you know, I straightened out. I served in the Marines, got into police work, and became a detective. They’re not going to hold anything against me for things I did as a kid, are they?”
“Nooo… It’s not that. What else can you tell me?” I asked in a soft voice.
“Nothing, really,” he answered with certainty. “Why?”
“How about being married?” I snapped, annoyed that he hadn’t been forthcoming.
“I’m not married! You must have me mixed up with someone else!”
“Mike, I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you’ve never been married,” I demanded.
“Where does it say I’m married? Married to whom?” he challenged, looking around as if the answers were right in front of him. He sat with a faraway look until a look of disbelief crossed his face. “Oh no, this can’t be happening …”
I remained quiet and held back a venomous retort.
“I’m going to kill Brian! Rosie, it was never a real marriage, honest. Several years back, Brian and a couple of other guys came with me to Las Vegas to celebrate my joining the company as Brian’s partner. The guys knew I didn’t really drink so they got me drunk—so drunk that I remember very little about the trip. The next morning when I got up, the guys teased me and said, “Congratulations.” For most of the day, they refused to tell me why they’d said that. They just laughed each time I asked. Finally, Brian filled me in on their little joke. We all were drunk, but since I was so out of it, they thought it’d be funny for me to get married to a dancer they had partied with that night. I guess I’d passed out and nothing happened. Afterward, they paid her to sign the papers for an annulment and get it filed.”
“You want me to believe something that stupid?” I asked, incredulous.
Mike’s face fell. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth. Ask Brian. We were just a bunch of crazy guys visiting Las Vegas—out on the town—doing all sorts of dumb-ass things. Call Brian, he knows more about it than I do,” he urged.
“So what was her name?” I demanded, furious. “Her real name please since it’s listed as Martini Darling.”
“I don’t even know … maybe Brian remembers. I don’t,” he ended in a small voice.
“Why are you listed as still being married? I need the truth, Mike,” I ordered. “All this affects my chance of becoming Isabella’s foster mother, and I can’t allow anything to interfere with that,” I pleaded, angry tears beginning to flow.
Mike was nearly as upset and angry as I was. “Let’s call Brian right now. I’ll put him on speaker phone, so you can hear what he has to say and you can ask any questions you want.”
I sat in dismay at this turn of events. Mike stood up and punched in Brian’s number. We both held our breath as we waited for him to answer.
“Hey, Mike, how goes it?” asked Brian when he picked up.
“You’re on speaker phone with Rosie and me. We have a problem, Brian. Do you remember that time we guys came to Las Vegas to celebrate my becoming your business partner?”
Brian began to laugh. “Who could ever forget that time? You were so drunk—I can’t believe we put you through all that mess. It’s a good thing you finally forgave me. What’s the issue?” he asked, chuckling.
“There’s nothing funny about this, Brian. When Rosie did a background check on me, I’m still listed as married!” he roared in anger.
“What do you mean, still married? We paid off that dancer to take the signed annulment to the registry. You mean she didn’t do it?” he asked in disbelief.
“Apparently not,” said Mike in disgust.
I interrupted. “Brian, what was her name … her real name? Do you remember it?”
There was a long pause while Brian racked his mind for the answer. “I don’t remember her full name or whether she even told us what it was. Everything was pretty hazy. I remember looking at the signed paper, but she didn’t use her full name … it was supposed to be a joke. Listen, I’m really sorry …”
I cut in, “We’ll need you to help locate this Martini Darling as soon as possible. This is a priority, Brian, do you understand? The agency that handles Isabella’s case is going to be doing their own background check on Mike and what they find can ruin my chances of becoming Isabella’s foster mother. I can’t have that, do you understand?” I said as my voice rose louder and higher in pitch.
