Chapter 8

    Rheyna took a deep breath and pulled the door open. A large brown paper bag and a tight, stonewashed pair of Levi jeans greeted her. Caroline slowly lowered the bag from in front of her face and smiled at Rheyna.

     “Well, hello there,” Rheyna said.

     “Hi, I hope I’m not too early,” Caroline said, looking a little embarrassed.

     “Are you kidding?  Please come in.” Rheyna moved out of the way to let her through the door.

     Caroline followed Rheyna into the kitchenette and sat the bag on the counter. “I brought some things for the puppy. I hope you don’t mind.”

     “Yep, I mind. I want you to leave and take everything back.” Rheyna laughed at the expression on Caroline’s face. “I’m just kidding. Hell no, I don’t mind. I was planning to go out later to pick up a few things for her and you just saved me a trip. So thank you and please tell me how much I owe you.”

     Caroline smiled at her. “First off, you’re welcome and we can just add it to your donation and has anyone ever told you that you might be a little warped?” 

     “Personally, I think you have to be warped to survive in this world of ours. Makes things a little easier to stomach sometimes,” Rheyna answered honestly.

     Caroline started to respond, but the puppy got her attention instead. She limped happily over to Caroline with her tail wagging fifty times a minute. Caroline knelt down to her level and lovingly ruffled her fur. “She sure looks a lot better than the last time I saw her.”

     “Yeah, she’s a real cutie. I think she and I are gonna get along just fine.”

     Caroline stood and crammed her hands into the front pocket of her jeans. “Have you thought of a name for her yet?” she asked.

     Rheyna thought about it for a moment and then realized she hadn’t given it a second thought. “No, I’ve been calling her puppy.”

     Caroline smiled as the puppy nudged her hand, wanting more rubbing's. “You do know that you just got yourself a new best friend here and that she will love you with no questions asked?”  

     For some reason, Rheyna got the feeling Caroline was making the comment more to herself than to her. I really, really like this woman, she thought as she watched Caroline hug the puppy tightly against her chest.

     Caroline looked up at Rheyna and smiled. “What do you think about ‘Annie’?”

     “Annie?” Rheyna asked, because she only heard part of the question.

     “You know, for her name.”

     Rheyna liked the sound of it and said, “I think ‘Annie’ is the perfect name for her.”

     “Okay, then—Annie it is,” Caroline said as she walked over to the counter. She opened the bag she brought and started pulling things out, laying them on the counter. There were several cans of puppy food, a matching navy blue collar and leash, a couple of small bags containing tiny dog biscuits, and a rubber toy in the shape of a newspaper.

     Annie must have known the items were for her. She limped over to Caroline and stood on her back legs with her front paws resting against Caroline’s legs. Caroline reached down and scratched Annie’s ears. “She is just too adorable,” she said as Annie’s tongue hung out the side of her mouth. She looked at Caroline with big, brown, expectant eyes. Caroline handed Annie the rubber newspaper. She and Rheyna laughed when Annie chomped down on the toy and it squeaked so loud, it caused her to jump several inches off the floor. She bit down on it repeatedly before trotting off to the couch with it hanging from her mouth. She looked at Rheyna and Caroline and chomped down again.

     Caroline cringed at the sound and smiled. “I hope you don’t end up hating me for that.”

     Rheyna wanted to say, “I don’t think there is anything you could possibly do to make me hate you.” Instead, she said, “I’ll let you know in a couple days.” Rheyna opened the fridge and pulled out a pack of ground chuck. “Will you stay for lunch?” she asked and immediately saw hesitation on Caroline’s face. “Please, Caroline? It’s the least I can do for your help with Annie.”

     “All right; since you asked so elegantly, how can I refuse?”

     “Do you like hamburgers?” Rheyna asked as she began the gross task of converting the meat into patties.

     “It’s one of my favorites, if you add cheese.”

     “Okay, then, it’s settled—cheese it is,” she said, thrilled at the thought of spending time with Caroline. She quickly told herself that it was all in a day’s work and that having Caroline stay for lunch to eat a hamburger was just a tiny needed piece in the grand scheme of things. She intentionally ignored the little voice in her head and tossed the patties on a plate. She pulled a spatula out of the drawer and flung open the fridge door. She grabbed a pack of cheese slices and the slid open the patio door. Caroline, along with Annie, followed her out onto the deck. Rheyna lit the gas grill and tossed on the patties. Caroline, to her amusement, had already made herself comfortable. She had taken off her shoes and was sitting on the glider with her legs tucked up under her. Rheyna tried not to stare, but found it awfully hard. “Would you like something to drink? A glass of wine, maybe?” she asked.

     Caroline used her hand to shield her eyes. She smiled warmly and said, “A glass of wine would be nice, thank you.”

     Rheyna went back inside and pulled open the cabinet door. As she went to grab the glasses, she noticed her hands were trembling. She sat the glasses down and leaned against the counter, trying to quiet her nerves. What is wrong with me? How the hell am I going to pull this off if I can’t handle being alone with her for more than two minutes? She took a deep breath and opened the fridge. She needed to calm down and get it together.  She grabbed the bottle of Moscato. She used a corkscrew to pop out the cork and then took the glasses along with the bottle of wine outside.

     Caroline graciously held them, while Rheyna poured the wine. Caroline then raised her glass in the air for a toast and said, “To Annie: may she have a long, healthy life.”

     “To Annie and to me surviving the squeaker,” Rheyna said, clanking her glass against Caroline’s glass. They both laughed when Annie, as if on cue, bit down on her new toy.

    Sonny and Henry watched Big Tony meticulously unwrap and then light the illegal Cuban cigar. He blew several smoke rings into the air. The three of them were sitting at the table, having drinks by the pool, discussing business. Big Tony was agitated and that was not a good thing, as they very well knew. When things did not go right, it was the ones closest to him who felt the wrath.

     “How much did they get this time?” he asked, directing the question at Sonny.

     “Hundred pounds,” Sonny answered without hesitation.

     Big Tony slammed the glass of iced tea down on the table, spilling half the contents. “I thought you plugged the fucking leak!” He spat at the two men. The men grew silent as Esther approached the table with a pitcher to refill their glasses. Big Tony waited for her to leave before continuing. His turned to Henry. “Get me some fuckin’ answers. I wanna know who the back door motherfucker is! You hear me, Henry?”

     “Yes, sir,” Henry answered and then got up to leave.

     The waves breaking along the edge of the sand created a soothing and romantic swooshing sound and Rheyna found herself completely at ease. The sun was beginning to set over the ocean, sending a pallet of red, yellow and orange hues cascading across the water’s surface. The colors reflected back into a sky dotted in various shades of blue, creating a light purple haze across the puffy clouds. The effect was breathtaking and was only dampened by the low drone of boat engines as scores of skiers zipped up and down the coast.

     Caroline took a sip of wine. “It’s so quiet and peaceful. I wish it was like that at home, but I know it’s just wishful thinking on my part. I honestly can’t remember a time when someone wasn’t at the house and to tell the truth, I don’t understand how my Mom takes it.”

     “Why don’t you get your own place?” Rheyna asked.

     “I will eventually, but for now, Mom wants me to stay until she knows for sure that Haven is a success.”

     “Well, I’d say from the looks of things, your clinic seems to be doing pretty well.”

     “I know it is and so does my mom. I think she’s just using it as an excuse to keep me home. What about you?” Caroline asked. “I’ve done nothing but sit here and talk about me.”

     “What do you want to know?”

     Caroline took another sip of wine. “Are you from California?”

Rheyna shook her head. “No. I moved here from Chequotah, Oklahoma about two months ago.”  

     “Why here?”

     “I was tired of the cold and wanted to live in a place where the temperature didn’t drop below thirty.” Rheyna recited the words she had rehearsed umpteen times. She hated lying to Caroline and wanted desperately to change the subject. Out of sheer habit, she glanced at her watch and instantly regretted it.

     Caroline stood up and brushed off her jeans. “I’m sorry, I should go. I’ve probably worn out my welcome.”

     Rheyna did not want her to leave. “You don’t have to leave.”

     “Yeah, I do. My dad’s leaving on business tonight and Mom doesn’t like to eat dinner alone.”

     Rheyna reluctantly followed Caroline to the front door. Caroline turned abruptly, causing Rheyna to lose her balance and before either of them knew what happened, Rheyna fell against her. The force knocked Caroline up against the door. With her face only inches from Caroline’s, Rheyna felt her pulse rate quicken. Her senses were assaulted with the sweet smell of Caroline’s perfume, a mixture of honey and lilacs.

     “I am so sorry,” she managed to get out. She felt Caroline’s hands on her forearms, trying to steady her. She felt Caroline’s warm breath against her cheek and shivered. They were much too close. Rheyna pushed against the door frame, trying to upright herself.

     “You don’t need to apologize, Rheyna. I’ve been told a time or two that I should add a set of brake lights. Although I’m not sure it would have mattered in this instance.” Caroline winked at Rheyna, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

     Rheyna was tongue-tied. “Uh…uh…you can visit Annie anytime you like,” she managed to get out and was immediately embarrassed. It was obvious that Caroline was enjoying Rheyna’s discomfort, just as she had the first time they met.

     Caroline busted out laughing. She smiled at Rheyna, which only made things worse. Her smile was truly disarming. “Umm…I was wondering…if you have any plans tomorrow?” she asked.

     Rheyna realized happily, that she wasn’t the only one a little unnerved. “I have a photo shoot in the morning,” she lied. “But I’m free the rest of the day.”

     “How would you like to come for dinner? You can bring Annie along, too.”

     “Are you sure?”

     “About you or Annie?”

     Rheyna felt her cheeks redden. “Both.”

     Caroline grinned at her. “Yes, both of you, silly. Besides, Mom will want to show you the pictures she chose and…she loves dogs.”

     Rheyna opened the door and walked Caroline to her car. “In that case, how can I possibly refuse an offer like that?” she asked, closing Caroline’s car door.

     Caroline started the engine and rolled the window down. “Dinner’s at seven and I’ll see you then,” she said and then backed out of the driveway.

     Rheyna waited for her to disappear from site and then headed back inside to make her phone call to Laura. She dialed the number and stepped out on the deck. She waited for Laura to answer. “Well, good evening, Ms. Forrest,” she said happily into the phone.

     “You sure sound chipper,” Laura said.

     Rheyna was bubbling with excitement. She told herself it was because her plan was working so well. If she were truly honest with herself, she would admit that her excitement had more to do with seeing Caroline again.

     “I’m having dinner tomorrow night at seven with Caroline and her mother.”

     “Excellent. You’ve really outdone yourself this time, and Edwards wanted me to tell you that he was impressed.”

     “Really? Edwards said that? ” Rheyna asked, a little shocked.  

     “Yep, and you know as well as I do that impressing him isn’t an easy feat.”

     “I hear you, but we can’t get too excited yet.”

     “You’re being modest, but okay. I’ll try to contain myself.” 

     Laura was silent for several seconds and Rheyna could tell that she was digesting the information. Rheyna also sensed that Laura was thinking along the same lines as she and that this was the opening they were looking for and hoped they would get. They just did not expect it to happen so soon.

     Rheyna was the first to speak. “Caroline said that her father was leaving tonight for some business in New Jersey. You know anything about that?”

     “Yeah; just a few minutes ago, Stevens told me Artie picked up the tail at Newark’s Liberty International Airport.”

     “Any idea what’s going on?”

     “Edwards thinks Castrucci’s gathering support from the Commission, just as we suspected.”

     “There’s a real surprise. How are we doing on the warrant?”

     “Ron is working on it as we speak.”

     “Okay, I was just thinking that I might be able to get something in place before he gets back from Jersey.”

     “I’ll call you as soon as I get word. Talk with you soon.”

     Rheyna hung up the phone and went inside. She walked back to the camera room, grabbed her bag of toys, and took them back into the living room. She knew that if the electronic gadgets in the bag were anything like her camera equipment, she was in for a treat. Thanks to modern-day technology and the creation of microchips, covert surveillance was on a completely different level and because of this new technology, she didn’t have to worry about anyone searching her house. If they did, they would not find anything suspicious.

     She emptied the duffel bag on the counter and sorted the items into two piles. She placed the cameras on one side and the listening devices on the other.  I’m not sure what they thought I’d do with this; she thought as she picked up a smoke detector and popped open the lid. She had to look real close to see the infrared camera lens. She thought it would look a little bit out of place on Castrucci’s ceiling or walls. She picked up a small digital camera, masquerading as a matchbook. It was designed to take a picture each time the flap was squeezed. She looked at several items and decided that the ballpoint pen was the least likely to be discovered. She had no idea where she would leave the listening device. She would just have to wait and see what opportunities arose.

     Big Tony and Sonny stood just outside the airport entrance and waited for the limousine to come to a stop. They waited for the driver to come around and open the rear door. Sonny took his seat across from Big Tony and then grabbed two glasses and a bottle of scotch from the mini bar. He poured each of them a drink.

     Big Tony lifted the phone off the receiver and punched in a number. “Yeah, we just arrived and should be there within the hour,” he said into the phone. “Okay…Got it.” He placed the phone back in the cradle and took the glass from Sonny. A smile formed on his lips as he watched the liquid swirl around in the glass. He tilted his head back and emptied the contents in one gulp.

     Sonny refilled the glass before taking a drink of his own. “If Carlos catches word of this, we’ll both be floatin’ in the bay.”

     Big Tony shrugged off his concern with a flick of his hand. “Who’s gonna tell him? Not Don Vitto; they all want him out, too.” He reached over and patted Sonny on the side of his cheek. “You worry too fucking much.”