Double Down

by De Leo, Vicky

  Since I was on a roll making people nervous, I thought I might as well talk to Doris Fox about Arnie Waters. I needed to ask her if he was actually sexually harassing her. I called the casino manager’s secretary to check schedules. She called me back saying Arnie was off, so it was safe to talk to Doris. Doris was working, but standing on an empty game, so it wasn’t a problem to let her come see me.

  When Doris arrived, Charlene brought her in and introduced her. With over 1600 employees, I don’t always meet the ones who don’t complain or stay out of trouble. Doris must have been one of those, because we’d never met. She stood in the doorway, running her hands through short dark brown hair, and tugging on the uniform of black pants and white shirt that hugged an hourglass figure. The scowl on her face indicated she wasn’t happy to see me.

  I smiled, trying to let her know she wasn’t in trouble. “Please, sit down.”

  She perched on the edge of the chair, ready to take flight the minute I released her.

  I could see that it wasn’t going to be possible to make her comfortable and chat, so I got right to the point. “I spoke to Gary, your boyfriend, who tells me that you are being sexually harassed by Arnie. Is it true?”

  Instead of answering she said, “I told him that I didn’t want him to come here.”

  “Listen, if it’s true, I can protect you. I can make it stop. We don’t allow sexual harassment. But I need you to talk to me.”

  “I don’t want to make a complaint.”

  “What are you afraid of?”

  She didn’t answer, just sat with her hands in her lap looking down. It didn’t escape me that she hadn’t denied being harassed, just said she didn’t want to make a complaint. My gut told me Arnie was harassing this girl. I didn’t think she was afraid, as much as she just didn’t want to make waves. More than likely, she was a beautiful girl, who had learned a long time ago that it was better to keep your mouth shut and just put up with it. It wasn’t an uncommon attitude for women who worked predominantly with men. I wanted to make her see that she didn’t have to put up with that behavior anymore, so I tried again. “Look, if Arnie is harassing you, you probably aren’t the only one. I can’t make him stop unless someone tells me what is going on.”

  “I don’t want to make a complaint.” She said it deadpan with no emotion. She wasn’t going to change her mind.

  “Fine. If you change your mind, I’m here. I really believe I could help you if you’d let me.”

  “Can I go back to work now?”

  After she left, I called the casino manager. I told him what I thought was going on. He agreed to have surveillance keep an eye on Arnie to see if he was touching the dealers. Without a complaint, it was the best I could do. I had appointments for the rest of the afternoon. By the time I was free, it was too late to call Dee in St. Louis. With the time difference, she would have already left for the day. It was almost five and everyone was going home. Although I rarely left this early, it had been a long day. I decided to go home as well.

  Driving out of the garage, I noticed that the breaks on my car were acting funny, kind of squishy. I made a mental note to call the garage to have them checked out. I drove slowly, making sure I had plenty of room to stop. As I approached the signal, right before the freeway on-ramp, the brakes failed completely. The light was red for my lane. I pumped the brakes franticly, but nothing happened. The car continued to speed toward the intersection. Still pumping the brake, I alternated between swearing and coaxing.

  “No, no, no, please, baby, stop. I swear I’ll take you to the garage. Don’t do this to me.”

  Cars were turning left in front of me to enter the on ramp. I had nowhere else to go. I swung the wheel to the right and entered the on-ramp, trying to squeeze between two on-coming cars. The car behind me sped up, honking and trying to keep me from going in front of him.

  “Give me a break, you creep. I’m doing the best I can here.”

  I heard the squeal of the tires a second before the acrid smell of burning rubber hit my nostrils. The impact threw me forward. The seat belt burned across my chest. The car behind me clipped my left rear and sent me spinning out of control around it. Desperately fighting the steering wheel, I watched as my world revolved. The second impact against the guardrail snapped my head back. Metal screeched against metal as the car slid along the rail, barely slowing the momentum. The passenger side window exploded, covering me with fragments of glass. My car broke free of the rail, facing into the traffic entering the on-ramp. The images in front of me flickered like an old movie as time seemed to slow down. Through my windshield, I could see the horror reflected on the face of the other driver as my car slowly swung around to face his car. My car continued to revolve. With nowhere else to go, his car smashed into my passenger side, shoving me down the ramp sideways. Thrown against the door, I hit my head on the window as the car flipped over. The next thing I remember was someone calling my name.

  “Valerie, Valerie, can you hear me?”

  The voice sounded somehow familiar. I assumed I was dreaming. I couldn’t seem to move, and I didn’t want to open my eyes. I wanted to continue dreaming. The next thing I heard was a screeching of metal. Hands pulled at me. The wave of pain hit me like a tsunami. I was in agony. Every part of me hurt. I screamed for them to stop. It felt like they were ripping me apart. They kept yanking, and I kept screaming. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything. Voices swirled around me, but I was in too much pain to make sense of the words. After what seemed like an eternity of mind numbing agony, I felt a jab. The pain started to recede. Now I was cold, so cold. Again, I heard that voice.

  “Val baby, stay with me. Don’t leave. Please stay with me.”

  I wanted more than anything to stay and listen to the voice, but darkness enveloped me.

  Chapter Nine

  The next thing I remember, someone was holding my hand. I was still cold. The hand was warm. Lips brushed my forehead. I forced my eyes open so I could see who was there. It was so bright. I immediately closed them again.

  “Hey beautiful, wake up.”

  I knew that voice. I opened my eyes and managed to focus. Alan was standing next to me. He smiled. Beyond him, white everywhere, metal poles stood next to the bed with fluids dripping through a tube. I was in a hospital room. All at once, I remembered the accident. With that came an awareness of pain, not the sharp pain of before, just a steady dull ache everywhere. I couldn’t move my left arm. I looked up at Alan and managed to croak out, “My car?”

  “Absolutely totaled. They had to pry it open with the Jaws of Life to get you out.”

  “What about me? How bad?”

  “Dislocated left shoulder, couple of cracked ribs, various scrapes, and bruises. You hit your head pretty hard and lost a lot of blood, but the doctors say you’re going to be fine.” He patted the hand he was holding and kept smiling.

  I looked over and saw that my arm was in a sling. That would explain why I couldn’t move it. My mouth was so dry. I was having a hard time forming words.

  I croaked out, “Water?”

  Alan stuck a straw in my mouth. When my tongue stopped sticking to the roof of my mouth, I asked, “How long have I been out?”

  “About thirty-six hours. It’s Wednesday.”

  “How long have you been here?” I had a vague recollection of someone sleeping in the chair next to the bed.

  “I just got here. They had you in ICU until a few hours ago. They only allowed family to stay with you.”

  “Mom?”

  “I think she’s been here the whole time. I convinced her to take a break, and go get a Coke. I’m sure she’ll be back any minute.”

  Just then, the nurse came in. She asked Alan to wait outside while she changed some dressings. When she was through, Mom came back. She looked tired, but she had a big smile on her face.

  She said, “It’s so good to see you awake.” She hugged me gently. “Alan got a phone call and had to go back to work. He said to tell you
he would stop in again later.” She felt my forehead, and rubbed the only available arm. “You had us really worried there for awhile.” Tears formed in her eyes, but she brushed them away and kept smiling.

  “Why? I thought all I had were a few broken bones.”

  “A piece of metal from the wreckage nicked an artery in your neck. You lost a lot of blood. If it hadn’t been for Detective Delgado, you would have died.”

  “Delgado was there?”

  “Yes, he saw the accident happen. He managed to get to you and apply pressure until the paramedics could get to you. I think I like your detective very much.”

  I remembered the voice I heard. Delgado? No, I was just dreaming. I shook my head. “He’s not my detective. He would have done the same for anyone.”

  “I think you’re wrong about that. He’s been here the whole time. In fact, he would probably be here now, if Brian hadn’t insisted he go home and get cleaned up.”

  “Brian?”

  “His partner, Detective Brian Long. Brian had to swear he would guard your room every minute until Nick could come back.”

  Brian? Nick? How did she manage to get on a first name basis so quickly? “You said Delgado has been here the whole time?” I was trying to remember the person in the chair holding my hand. Delgado? I couldn’t capture the image. It was just too fuzzy. My brain refused to accept the possibility. “I thought I wasn’t allowed any visitors.”

  “He told them you were in danger, and he was your police protection. By the way, Charlene’s been here as well. She told them she was your sister.”

  I could picture that, Charlene charging in and daring anyone to stop her. I laughed. That was a mistake. A stabbing pain encircled my rib cage making me double over, which in turn triggered all the other injuries to begin throbbing. Mom immediately stabbed the nurse’s call button, announcing I was in pain. I tried to tell them that I was fine, that it just wasn’t a good idea to laugh, but nobody was listening. The throbbing had increased by the time the nurse came with the medication, so I stopped fighting, gratefully drifting back to sleep as the pills took effect.

  The next time I woke up was just like the first time. Somebody was holding my hand and lips brushed my forehead. Only when I opened my eyes this time, I was looking into Delgado’s beautiful green eyes.

  With only a ghost of a smile he said, “Welcome back.”

  I closed my eyes again. I’d been dreaming about him and if this was just a continuation of the dream, I didn’t want to wake up. He laid his hand on my cheek. I took a deep breath, inhaling essence of Delgado. “You smell sooooo good,” I murmured. I heard my own voice, embarrassed that I had said it aloud.

  He chuckled. “I guess it was good thing Brian made me go home and clean up.”

  I opened my eyes. I wanted to see that smile, to make sure he really was there leaning over me. The hand he was holding was radiating warm throughout my whole body. How could any one man look and feel that good? The smile disappeared. Instead, he frowned, his eyes searching my face. I realized I must look terrible.

  “How bad is it?” I asked, raising the head of the bed so I could sit up.

  “What . . .?”

  “You’re frowning at me. I must look pretty bad.”

  He chuckled again. “Well, you have looked better.”

  Great, honesty. Didn’t the man know how to lie? However, he was smiling, so I forgave him instantly. I felt like a heroin addict just given a fix, dizzy and euphoric. My heart did a flip and I forgot how to breathe. When he leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Too soon, he leaned back. I reached up to hold on to his shirt, but I was too weak. He easily slipped out of my grasp.

  He grinned, that crooked little grin that I instantly loved. “I’m afraid that’s all you can handle for right now. I don’t want a horde of doctors and nurses in here wondering what I’m doing to you.”

  He was probably right. My heart was pounding, but I looked in his eyes and said, “I’m willing to take that risk.” It was the drugs. Everything I was thinking just popped out. I could feel myself blushing.

  He threw back his head and laughed. He looked at me still smiling. “You don’t know what a relief this is to see you awake and alive.” Then the smile was gone, and the intensity was back. “There for awhile I was afraid I’d lost you.”

  “I didn’t think you wanted me,” I blurted out

  “I’ve never stopped wanting you.” His voice was soft like a caress.

  “You had a funny way of showing it.” Again, I blame the drugs, but I couldn’t seem to stop. “You kiss me and then you disappear. Now I’m supposed to believe you care.”

  He looked like I’d slapped him. His eyebrows drew together. “I lost my cool interviewing Waters. Brian thought my feelings for you were getting in the way of the investigation. The captain said either I stay away from you, or he’d take me off the case. What was I supposed to do?”

  Feelings for me? I must still be dreaming. The aching in my body assured me I was awake. “You could have called and told me.”

  He got up and walked to the window. With his back to me he said, “I was given strict orders not to contact you.”

  Something at the back of my mind was picking at me. “Mom said you pulled me out of the wreckage.”

  Still looking out the window, he nodded.

  “How did you get to me so quickly?”

  “I was following you.” He said it quietly, almost too low for me to hear.

  “Why?”

  He turned back to face me, his hands in his pockets. “Because I couldn’t stay away. I had to at least see you, know that you were all right. We had just finished interviewing Martin Sanders. That man is insane and he hates you. I hung around, waiting for you to leave. I had to make sure you got home safely.” He took a deep breath. “I was two cars back when that car rammed into you. I turned on the siren and stopped the traffic. By the time I got to you, I was almost afraid to look. I was sure you were dead. There was blood everywhere. Then you moaned. I reached through the window and found the wound. But your pulse was so weak.” He closed his eyes.

  When he opened them, I held out my hand to him. He came and sat on the side of the bed. “I heard you talking to me. I held on to hear your voice.”

  Very gently, he put his arms around me and held me. I hugged him back with my one free arm. After a moment I said, “So are you off the case now?”

  He sat back still holding my hand. “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is you’re alive, and getting well, and now I can be with you. That is if you want me.”

  I smiled and parroted, “I’ve never stopped wanting you.” He leaned forward and gave me another quick kiss, just enough to ratchet up my blood pressure and send warmth down to my toes, but not enough to set off any alarms. When my heartbeat slowed back to normal, I said, “I’m surprised that Mom has left us alone for so long.”

  “Brian took her to dinner.”

  “Brian and my Mom?” I asked.

  He shrugged.

  “I am not double dating with my Mom.”

  “Good because I see all I want of Brian during work hours.”

  Detective Long and Mom walked in a few minutes later. I studied them both. They weren’t holding hands, and she didn’t look flushed, so maybe it was just two hungry people sharing dinner. I sincerely hoped so. Delgado stood up, but he kept hold of my hand.

  Mom came around the other side and hugged me. “How are you feeling?”

  I said, “Terrific.” and then I felt my face turn red.

  She smiled and winked at Delgado. He managed to look a little smug and innocent all at the same time.

  Detective Long asked, “Do you feel up to answering a few questions?”

  I said, “Sure.”

  Delgado glared at him. “Can’t this wait?”

  Brian ignored him. “Maybe it would be better if I spoke to you alone.”r />
  Delgado said, “I’m not leaving.”

  Mom, ever the peacemaker, said she wanted to ask the nurses about my medication, and slipped out.

  Detective Long took out a notebook. “Do you remember the accident?”

  “Yes, at least part of it.”

  “What do you remember?”

  “The brakes failed. I couldn’t stop, so I turned right trying to merge with the traffic entering the on-ramp to the freeway. The guy behind me hit me. My car spun around, hitting the guardrail. I think I hit another car. I don’t remember much after that. Was anyone else hurt?”

  “A few bumps and bruises. You were the only one seriously injured. We checked out your car. Someone had sliced through your brake lines. There was a puddle of brake fluid where you normally park in the garage.”

  “You’re saying it wasn’t an accident? Someone deliberately tried to kill me?” I looked at Delgado. He squeezed my hand, keeping his face turned away from me, the muscle in his jaw clinched. This wasn’t new information for him.

  Brian‘s voice was calm and matter of fact. “It wasn’t an accident, but I’m not sure the goal was to kill you. Whoever it was probably just wanted to scare you. It’s not like Vegas has any big hills or dangerous curves where you could lose control and drop to your death. The most likely outcome was that you would be involved in a minor fender bender. However, no matter how severe the accident, any examination of the vehicle would turn up the evidence that someone had deliberately tampered with your brakes. I think that’s what he was counting on. It was a warning. We reviewed the surveillance video from the garage, but unfortunately your car was just out of range of the cameras.” Looking up from his notes and fixing me with a steady gaze, he asked, “What have you been doing that would make someone want to send you that kind of a warning?”

  I thought back. “Actually I think I’ve made quite a few people nervous lately.”

  He waited patiently for me to continue.

  “You already know about Arnie Waters and his threats.”

  He nodded.

  “Darryl Collins, the corporate VP of HR, seemed upset when I insinuated that Monica told me he and she were in regular contact. It wasn’t true, but I wanted to see his reaction. If Monica was into blackmail, Darryl would have been a prime candidate.” I looked at Delgado. He closed his eyes and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe I had been that stupid. I wasn’t looking forward to telling him about Jerry.