Dante & The Dark Seed

by C. J. Pizzurro

  “Bonner! How ya doing, buddy?”

  “I’ve... been alright, Chief. It’s been a while.”

  “You’re calling about the thing I asked you to keep an eye on, aren’t you?”

  “About that….”

  “Let me take this call in the other room. Hold on for me.”

  Adel placed the phone on the hook, and walked into the other room, while Adel Jr. looked on wondering what was going on.

  “Bonner you still there?”

  “Yeah, of course, Chief.”

  Adel smiled. “You can call me Adel now buddy, I’m not your chief anymore.”

  “Uhh, I don’t know, Chief, you’re still more of a chief than the one we got now. That’s for sure.”

  “You’re calling from an outside line, right?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “So, what’s up?”

  “Well, I got a call this morning. May just want to see it for yourself. We can do a ride-along this mornin’.”

  Adel rubbed the back of his shiny scalp, looking at his wife as she worked. He had a feeling things would get hairy soon with whatever Officer Bonner was about to tell him, so he took one last look at his son. “Okay, I’m in, you just going to come to pick me up or do you want me to meet you there?”

  “Meet me at Luigi’s. I gotta pick up some pastry I ordered for me and the guys,” Bonner said, salivating.

  “Okay, cool, that’s right down the street from Rob’s place.”

  Bonner grew quiet for a second. “I guess you could say that.”

  Adel’s gut tightened.

  Is Tim still alive? Oh man, what have I done? Adel wondered. “See you in fifteen.”

  “See ya then, Chief.”

  Adel went into the kitchen then walked behind Brianna, embracing her around the hips. “I’ve got to head out, dear, it’s about that thing.”

  She dropped the spatula she was using to ice the cake. Brianna spun around, giving him a hug a squeeze, then whispered in his ear, “You better stay safe, or I’ll kill you myself.”

  “Hey son, I gotta go take care of that thing I told you about, so come here. Give me a hug.”

  “Be safe,” Adel Jr. said as he hugged his dad goodbye.

  Adel wasn’t excited to be going off in such a way, leaving his family, but he had to see it through for the sake of the children that never again got to see the light of day. His son was lucky, but they had yet to see for themselves how lucky he was.

  Officer Bonner pulled into Luigi’s and parked. With his fresh haircut, his golden hair glistened in the sun while he went into the front of the small mom-and-pop Italian eatery. A massive red and green neon sign in the shape of Italy hung from the window. They made the best cannoli and an excellent tiramisu, but what made Luigi’s so popular was their pastry. They had the flakiest blueberry turnovers that would make anyone’s mouth water.

  Opening the door, he was smacked in the face with the aroma of sugary goodness. His stomach gurgled and his mouth watered as he made his way to the counter where there were three white boxes stacked, lying in wait. A tiny Italian woman whom everyone called Noni, rounded the pastry case, greeting him.

  “You just getta hair cut? Looking very handsome. You sure you don’t want to date my daughter? She’s very single.”

  “MAHH!” A woman in the back yelled, then she too came up front. She was a beautiful Italian woman with long, luscious dark brown locks of hair. All the guys at the precinct had eyes for her.

  “You gotta stop telling guys I’m single. Makes me seem desperate. Like c’mon, Mah!”

  Noni started shaking her finger in her daughter's face. “Why you yell right in my face? Imma right here!”

  And even after all that, Noni just smiled at Bonner before walking away leaving him alone with her beautiful daughter.

  “Hey again, Marie,” Bonner said, scratching behind his ear. Marie had almost a shine to her olive skin, brushing her raven hair behind her ear.

  “Please pay no mind to her. How are you doing today, Doug?”

  So many guys had asked her out and Bonner always wondered what the heck she was waiting for. She was so beautiful now, never did he think that she could have been a late bloomer.

  Bonner then leaned on the counter. “I’m doin’ good, Marie. How about yourself?”

  “I’m doing okay, been a long year.”

  Bonner shook his head thinking about what he had to go take care of afterward. “Tell me about it.”

  Marie proceeded to tell him about it, and unbeknownst to them, Noni was eyeing on them from the kitchen.

  Bonner nodded and responded, “That doesn’t seem too fair. There are a lot of guys that come in here. One of them had to have asked you out by now.”

  Marie smiled. “Yes, of course. Many have, but I say no to them.”

  It was put up or shut up for Bonner, she was putting all of her cards on the table and he had an ace-high royal flush. A bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck.

  “Uhhhhh, so do you….”

  Her eyes widened as she smiled with the derpy-looking grin he liked so much.

  “Do you want to…uhh, go out with me?”

  She wiggled a little bit, something he had never seen her do, but every second of silence felt like an eternity.

  While the two lovebirds showed each other their feathers, Noni had a grin of her own, as she crept on them from the kitchen.

  “Yes, I would love that.”

  He stood at attention, filled with confidence; he asked, “So where do—”

  Noni ran around the pastry cabinet. “YESSS, FINALLY! YOU ASK OUT MY DAUGHTER! I’MMA SO HAPPY! WHERE IS YOU GONNA TAKE HER ON THE FIRST DATE, EH?”

  Both Noni and Marie stood there wide-eyed, looking at him.

  “Uh, I can take you to the movies, or dinner.”

  Noni nudged Marie out of the way. “My daughter love to do both of those things. Both is good.”

  Marie just shook her head smiling at Bonner who smiled right back.

  “And since you finally man-up and ask her out, pastry today, fifty percent off.”

  I could get used to this, Bonner thought, floating on sunshine. Marie ripped off a piece of receipt paper and wrote down her number while Noni took his money, and put an extra couple pastries in the box.

  Marie slid him the paper while her mother kept on, “You know I always knew you were a good boy.”

  “Bye, Doug, talk to you soon,” Marie said with a smile.

  “Until then, ma’am.” Heading to the door, he opened it with his back, locking eyes with Marie as he left.

  Adel was already out there, parked and leaning up against his car, waiting. “Hey, buddy, how’s Marie?” Adel asked with a big smirk.

  “C’mon, man!” Bonner yelled.

  Adel smiled, knowing he had struck a chord. “Is that any way to talk to your old Chief? I was just seeing how your girlfriend is.”

  Bonner put the pastry in the back. “You just shocked me is all! And I’ll have you know that I just asked her out.”

  “My man! About damn time you asked her out. You wouldn’t shut up about her.”

  “And ya know what’s better, Chief?”

  “What’s that, Bonner?”

  “Noni gave me fifty percent off today.”

  “No, she didn’t!” Adel yelled, shaking his head in disbelief.

  Bonner nodded, pursing his lips. “Yeah, she did. You want one?”

  “Oh, I couldn’t. But if ya got a blueberry turnover in there, I might take one of those off your hands before we head out.”

  Bonner sifted through the boxes, handing him the pastry.

  “So this is what a fifty percent off pastry tastes like?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Doing his best not to get any more powdered sugar on his face, Adel shoved the rest down his gullet, getting in the car.

  “Damn, Chief, be careful. I don’t wanna perform the Heimlich today.”

  “Just drive, man,” Adel said, coughing u
p a powdery white cloud.

  “See, Chief, told ya so.”

  “Yeah, yeah. So, what’s the skivvy, Bonner?”

  Bonner shook his head. “It didn’t sound good chief, pretty sure he’s dead. We may even beat forensics there since it was just called in this morning.”

  Damn, Adel thought, but he knew there was still a glimmer of hope with the notebook at home. He just hoped Tim had managed to get out alive.

  In no time at all, they had made it to the tiny home. It was just a few blocks down from the government housing, so it had a wooden fence surrounding it.

  The yard looked like it hadn’t been touched in months with piles of trash strewn about and the porch furniture was covered in filth. There were no signs of a struggle outside, just neglect.

  Left untouched, the house hadn’t yet been taped off by the State Bureau of Investigation, and there weren’t any signs of anyone on site. Inside told a different story as it was even more dilapidated than both of them anticipated.

  The dark grey wallpaper had been peeling for quite some time and trash lined the floor. But after getting over how filthy the place was, both Adel and Bonner looked at each other, catching a whiff of something vile.

  Adel pulled his gun from behind his shirt while Bonner unholstered his, making their way down the hall.

  Getting closer and closer to the stench, Adel and Doug checked and cleared each room along the way. Making it to the end of the hall, there were only two rooms left.

  Adel pointed to himself, then the door to his right. So Bonner stacked up to take the door on the left. Adel held up his hand, counting down from five. At zero they opened the doors, but there wasn’t any movement other than their jaws dropping.

  Adel was seldom bothered in times past, walking onto similar scenes. But Tim had been hung by his left leg on the pull-up bar mounted to his closet door. His right ankle was tied to his left knee as if it had been placed there by design.

  It was a message and, as Adel got closer to Tim’s decaying body, he could see that whoever did this had also cut him from ear to ear. The sheets were strewn about, as though he was asleep before being ripped from his bed.

  It was because of what he had done, the information he had gathered, that Tim was like this. In a state of shock from being hit so close to home, Adel stood there staring. But out the corner of his eye, he saw something shimmer at the bottom of the pile of clothes.

  Looking closer, he saw that it was a tiny camera lens. Backing away, he walked across the hall where Bonner stood looking at a man—who Adel knew to be Tim’s friend, Rob—who was shot in the head. They made quick work of him with two slugs to the temple, still nestled in his sheets. Adel eyed Bonner, pointing with his head toward the hall.

  “What is it, Chief?”

  “Shhhh, we’ll talk in the car.”

  They rushed back to the car, shutting the door.

  “So was that your guy?”

  “Yeah…it was him…they made an example of him. And what’s worse is I think I saw a camera in the room. We just have to assume they did this to figure out where the leaks in the department are.”

  Bonner drove off, as his skin whitened even more.

  “I just hope they only saw me, and you’re still safe. Why else would have I lost my job investigating this crap unless they’re still pulling some strings?”

  “I knew you were onto something, but this is starting to get crazy.”

  “It’s been crazy, Bonner. These people are sick. They did that to their own family….”

  “We don’t know that yet, Chief.”

  “Of course, they did, Bonner. These people fund the force! Damnit, I shouldn’t haven’t gotten you involved!”

  “I knew what could happen. I’m in it to win it, Chief.”

  “And how long does it take for SBI to get to a scene? They should be there by now.”

  “Well, I got the call at 6:30,” Bonner said.

  “And it’s 8:00, now. See…it never takes this long for the crime scene guys to show up…ever.”

  “So, what you think we should do, Chief?”

  “Bonner, you know I love you but…we…can’t do this together anymore. They could have seen you too, and I still need you…but I need you alive. So you have to sit this out for now.”

  “I want to help, Chief, to hell with these evil bastards.”

  Adel grew quiet for a moment.

  “I just can’t have another person get hurt on my watch, it’s my fault he’s dead, Doug! I can’t have you get hurt.”

  “BUT, CHIEF!”

  “BUT NOTHIN! Tim died because I couldn’t protect him, and I’m not on the force anymore to protect you. Leave it be, Bonner…I promise I’ll let you know if I need any help, but until then, you have to leave it be.”

  “What about your family?”

  “My family will be okay. I’m the one that has a target on his back.”

  “I’ll do anything I can. Just let me know.

  “Well, all you can do right now is enjoy your life and take Marie out on that date.”

  Bonner rounded the corner pulling into Luigi’s.

  “Want another pastry for the road?”

  “Why not?”

  Bonner gave him another blueberry turnover, as powdered sugar fell from it.

  “Stay safe now,” Adel said while getting out of the car.

  Adel left and Bonner knew now more than ever was a time to cherish the people in their lives. Wanting to spend his time a little wiser after what just happened, he put the car in park and headed inside.

  “Backa so soon?” Noni asked.

  “Yep, I’m here to see Marie again.”

  “Waita moment, I go get her.”

  Marie came out looking as beautiful as he remembered. “What’s going on, Doug?”

  “Would you wanna to go do something now? Go for a walk or somethin’.”

  Marie beamed.

  • • •

  On a tiny screen, the footage from the cameras in Tim’s room played live. Then the sound of a door shutting resounded through the speakers.

  “Boss, we’ve got movement,” a man with hunched stature said, sitting in front of the screen. Jacob wasn’t too far behind him, bellowing, “Oh, Rip! I think your man finally showed up!”

  Rip made his way downstairs, coming to see who sprung their trap.

  Another moment passed while the men waited, hoping their assumptions would be confirmed, and upon seeing Adel grovel over Tim, Jacob looked to Rip. “You know what must be done. End it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  A Birthday to Remember

  George had rented a piano that was delivered earlier that day because he would have been a fool to decline Adel Jr.’s offer to play during Amy’s long-awaited birthday party. Amy danced around the house, putting up decorations. She was turning nine this year and she wanted it to be a spectacle to remember. Oh, how it’s not always wise to wish for such things. They might just happen.

  She hung up gold streamers on the wall and put a large candle in the shape of a nine—smack dab in the center of the cake her dad had bought from Hole Foods. Amy had asked for lemon, but the biggest size they had was yellow.

  Amy’s friends began to arrive just as George finished readying the island to receive the potluck of dishes soon to be brought. Elaine, who managed to get the day off, prepped the punch bowl and made sure the cornhole board was set up.

  Eager, Dante watched Anora park out front and went to help her in with a tray of burritos made just the way he liked them with a little pico-de-gallo, guacamole, and cilantro, nestled inside some slow-cooked pinto beans.

  Soon Dawayne arrived, parking on the street with his new black Lexus. It had been a few weeks since the two young men had seen each other but they embraced each other all the same. “My eldest friend, it’s a pleasure to see you and it’s good to see you again, Anora,” Dawayne said.

  Anora smiled, shaking Dawayne’s hand, looking at his new car. Dawayne did his best to
keep up appearances anytime Anora crossed his path, hoping his cold disposition didn’t give him away. And unknown to Dawayne, Anora could tell he erected a wall to keep something from them. But what, she didn’t know. So like Dawayne, she kept up appearances for the sake of their mutual acquaintance.

  “Dawayne, good to see ya, buddy. So what’s with the car?”

  Dawayne looked over to his car, “Oh, that thing? My dad helped me out after my mom disappeared. So what you got to eat?”

  Anora squinted at Dawayne after he responded in a manner so gray. Such an odd thing to say, she thought.

  But again, Dante paid it no mind, looking at his burgundy car, “Must be nice. So what did you bring? People like Anora here brought dishes.”

  Dawayne closed his eyes, smelling the air. “Bean burritos with pico and guacamole, your favorite. You certainly weren’t my favorite during our slumber parties, after you ate a few of those.”

  Anora chuckled. “And you’ve never had to share a bed with him!”

  “Shall we head inside?” Dante asked, eying the tray. “My dad also made some barbeque, but he hasn’t put it out yet.”

  “Oh, I will not be having any of that thanks,” Anora said.

  “I know, honey bun, neither will I.”

  George paused filling up the cups with punch. “Dawayne! How are you, young man? Elaine this is Dawayne, Dante’s best friend.”

  Elaine was busy putting out some flowers but still lifted her head. “Nice to meet you again. Don’t you remember George? He was there the day we met?”

  “Oh, yeah!”

  Dawayne had no interest in small talk as his eyes gravitated toward the food.

  George had known him for much of his life and seeing Dawayne eye the food was like watching a tiger lying in wait.

  “Don’t mind us, Dawayne, help yourself.”

  Dawayne didn’t even wait for George to finish his sentence before making his way over to the table where there was macaroni & cheese, coleslaw, hush puppies, and mashed potatoes.

  With Dawayne occupied, Anora and Dante made themselves scarce to snog. As more and more people started showing up, they were beckoned to let them in.

  “I really hope your dad likes my parents,” Anora fretted.