Best In Show (Mina's Adventures Book 6)

by Maria Grazia Swan

  “Are you wearing a different shirt?”

  “Guilty,” he said. “I bought this one. I didn’t want you to have to look at my wrinkled shirt all day.”

  “I could have washed it for you, I know how to use a washing machine and a dryer.” She pouted. They entered the house and stopped by the laundry room.

  “I’m sure you do, but I have better plans for our day together. Smile. Let’s talk about our evening with Gino and Kalinda.”

  “Gino and Kalinda? How about Margo?”

  “Of course, Margo.” He nodded. “And Kalinda’s assistant, Eva. Isn’t it interesting? I’m well acquainted with Gino and Kalinda, so well that I’ve come to consider them friends. But I know very little about Margo and Eva. You, on the contrary, know Margo extremely well since she’s your roommate, and I’m sure you consider Gino a friend, but you hardly know Kalinda and you’ve never met Eva. It’s going to be a very interesting evening indeed.”

  “So we’re spending the evening with all those people?” She shook her head.

  “I must speak to Gino and find out if Kalinda’s problems are true or imaginary. And if you don’t feel like going I’ll understand. I’m sure you have plans too.”

  Mina rested her head on his shoulder. “My life is your life, at least until the moon is high in the sky,” she joked, to hide her surge of emotions. Then she remembered she had to stop by the adoption booth. Damn.

  “Mina, are you sure about this? I can lease a car. It’s not a big deal.”

  “What is it? You have something against Fords?”

  “No, it’s not that. Some people are funny about letting others drive their car, that’s all.”

  “Well, I’m not one of them. Beside, you’re a far better driver than I’ll ever be. It’s settled then; we’ll take my car. I’m glad the cats are over at Millie’s. I won’t need to worry about Houdini. They seem to get along fine, wouldn’t you say?”

  Diego shrugged. “When it comes to cats you have the upper hand, bar none.” Stretched out on the bed, he watched Mina applying her mascara. “Do you mind me watching you? I’ve never been around to see you put on make up. It’s fascinating. How women don’t gouge their eyes out I’ll never understand. Didn’t mean to interrupt. Where is the adoption event? Same place as…Has it been only a week?” His mood changed. He closed his eyes and seemed to age in an instant.

  Did he miss the Greek princess? Stop it Mina. The previous adoption event was where she’d run into Diego after so long, in the company of a certain, spoiled, filthy rich Greek heiress with no morals.

  “No, it’s outside the Laguna Niguel library, across the parking lot from the police department. We figured we’d get a nice selection of people. It’s only from noon until three. Can’t wait to see Linda’s face when we show up.”

  “Linda? I remember she was minding the shop while you were under the table chasing Houdini. That was quite an—entrance—you two made.” He looked at her. “When I heard her call your name, impossible was my first thought. And yet I knew. Watching you land inches from my shoes felt like a wakeup call from above, and no, I’m not a religious person. When you accepted my hand, to help you up—regardless of how prepared I felt—something exploded inside of me. I could see you trembling, and I fought the urge to hold you and tell you everything would be okay. In retrospect, I should have followed my instinct. We would have stirred the muck up from the get-go and—what does it matter?” He shrugged. “We’re here now. It’s all good.”

  “You picked a fine time to tell me all this. Look what you did.” A stubborn tear messed up her mascara, but she didn’t care. Mina smiled. It was all good.

  They left the parking lot of the Laguna Niguel library where Mina had gone to talk to Linda and the volunteers to make sure everything was as it should be. It was. But instead of following Crown Valley to Interstate 5 North, they’d driven back to the Pacific Coast Highway and were now cruising through Newport Beach, soon to go right past the Bayside Condominiums where it had all started four years earlier.

  Now Mina understood why Diego had wanted to get her a helmet. She clearly remembered the first night they’d met. Her car had had a flat tire, and he’d offered her a ride home on his Harley. A motorcycle ride up the coast would have been the perfect trip down memory lane. Regardless, they left Corona Del Mar behind and would soon reach the uphill section of the Pacific Coast Highway, where they would coast by her old condo.

  An array of emotions came hurtling at her. Diego held her hand, but kept his eyes on the road. They drove past the guard gate, circling to the back of the complex until they came to the unmanned entrance. “The one for emergencies,” Diego had explained four years ago. He stopped the LTD by the parking gate arm and turned to her with a devious smile.

  “You think they kept the same code?”

  “Let’s find out.”

  Mina snuggled up next to him and watched him punch some numbers in, and like magic, the automatic arm snapped open.

  The first time they’d used the emergency entrance was to get in unnoticed. This time it was pure nostalgia. They drove into the cavernous common garage of the luxurious complex, and Diego cruised around to the space once assigned to Mina. A silver Miata occupied the spot. He stopped their car and turned to look at her. Neither spoke. They both moved toward each other and kissed. A kiss full of tenderness and anticipation.

  Chapter Three

  From the street, nothing about the corner house would have tipped off passersby about the unusual group of people inside sharing living quarters. The structure blended perfectly with the rest of the older homes dotting the road. The neighborhood was located east of the Pacific Coast Highway away from the beach and the ocean but still in within walking distance.

  In the late afternoon all seemed quiet. There was a child’s bike left on a sidewalk, toys sitting by a carport, faint barking from down the street. Not many of the houses had garages, probably because they were originally built as weekend getaways for wealthy Los Angelinos.

  Hermosa Beach wasn’t a place Mina knew well. She had spent a weekend there years ago with a friend from the gym, whose parents had decided to retire in the quaint coastal town. While there, Mina and her girlfriend had dedicated their time to sun tanning and watching happy cyclists pedaling along the ever-popular bike path known as The Strand.

  With the end of summer fast approaching and kids getting ready for the new school year, the sleepy town seemed sleepier. Mina found it an odd location for what Diego called a Company Transitional House. Transitioning to what? Even more interesting was to find out that he kept some personal belongings there for when he was in Southern California.

  Her opinion of the house changed the minute they rounded the corner and, like magic, a double garage door lifted silently. Inside there were two parked vehicles, a rather imposing SUV and way in the back a black sedan. The garage door slid down, as quietly as it had gone up, the minute the LTD drove in. At least one other car could easily fit in there.

  Did Diego sense her edginess? He held her hand while they walked to the dark corner of the huge garage. A door opened—a bright slice of light exposed a stairwell leading to an upstairs landing from where Gino cheerfully welcomed them. She heard his voice before actually seeing him.

  “Benvenuti, benvenuti, welcome, come on up.”

  He waited for them at the top of the narrow, wooden stairs. It had been over six months since Mina had last seen Gino, and the man hadn’t changed much, although he now sported a decent suntan, courtesy of Maui. He made no comment regarding her presence there, but he did wink at her when she landed on the last step.

  It wasn’t seeing Gino again that made Mina edgy, it was seeing Kalinda for the first time since the murder attempt that took her legs two years ago. Mina couldn’t shake a feeling of responsibility in spite of the fact that she and her red dress may have saved Diego’s life. He wasn’t in the car because he had stayed behind at the charity gala to talk to her, Mina. In spite of the two years that had
gone by, she still carried in her mind a vivid image of Kalinda the way she looked that night before the explosion. Tall, beautiful, long, dark hair, the very image of an exotic model with the sparkle of a rare diamond.

  “Mina, Mina, you’re here.”

  Margo’s exuberant welcome diverted Mina’s thoughts from Kalinda’s plight. Dear Margo, as joyful as ever. They hugged, and her roommate was about to say something when she stopped and seemed confused, staring at Diego. What? She didn’t know they drove up together? Gino and Diego were not big sharers.

  “Huh, hello—I—didn’t see your limo. I apologize,” she said to him, referring to the only vehicle she’d ever seen Gino’s boss in.

  Mina felt terrible for poor Margo. She hugged her babbling friend’s shoulders. “It’s okay Margo. We drove up in my car. Diego left his Harley at my place.”

  Diego acknowledged Margo with a short hello then he went back to talk to Gino.

  Margo, all serious and perhaps concerned, grabbed Mina’s arm. “How come Gino’s boss was at your house? How long have you two known each other?”

  Mina shrugged. “Oh, Margo, we met a long time ago. He was the mystery man who sent me flowers in white boxes.” This wasn’t the time or the place. “I’ll tell you later when we’re alone.” It dawned on Mina that this was the first time she’d actually seen the two men next to each other. Gino, taller than Diego, moved kind of clumsily—probably a combination of Gino’s prosthetic foot and the fact that Diego always walked as surefooted as a cat, and as deftly too.

  Might as well get it over with and meet the rest of the guests, she thought, so Mina followed Margo, half listening to all the chatter about the house they were in and how they were to have dinner in the town where Gino would work. Then it hit her that Margo had no clue as to Gino’s real profession or what was going on behind the mundane façade of the newly arrived guests. Mina realized it was funny she would think that, since she actually understood as little as Margo, even if she’d known Diego for over four years.

  Four years? It seemed just yesterday...

  When they cleared the corner, women’s voices came from the corner of the room at the end of the corridor. It had to be Kalinda and her assistant—Eva? The men were nowhere in sight. The room was large and by the view from the main window, it was just above the garage. It was furnished with average looking furniture, nothing about it screamed beach living.

  A faint smell of mothballs and lilacs seemed to fight for control when Mina approached the chairs by the window where Kalinda sat, an afghan draped over her lap covering the place where her legs used to be.

  Kalinda stretched her arms and smiled. “Come here, young lady. Come hug me. So good to see you after all this time.”

  The spontaneous friendliness of the woman put a knot in Mina’s throat. She had no doubt that Kalinda sensed her uneasiness and tried to make her comfortable by acting extra friendly. She went to hug her, praying not to get too emotional. Mina sneezed instead—she had found the source of the mothball smell.

  “You too?” Kalinda pointed to the afghan. “Italian, handmade, a gift from Gino’s sister.” She laughed. “Here.” She pulled a small can from under the afghan and sprayed what must have been room freshener, lilac scented. Mystery solved. “Sit here and tell me all about your cat, Houdini. Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard the story.” She winked and glanced around as if to assure herself no one was listening. “And the wench from some foreign island.” Another wink. Her charming English accent gave more meaning to the word wench than Mina ever could. The Greek princess deserved the word, and the extra meaning, for trying to steal Mina’s cat.

  Margo stood there, a frown across her forehead. “Houdini? Mina’s cat is Aria. Right?”

  Aye…and so it begins… Keeping everyone up to date on her eventful life wore on Mina. “Right Margo, but I’ve adopted another cat, a calico, remember? Tom Jones and…”

  Her roommate’s face lit up. “Oh, yeah, I remember. The patchwork cat, he liked to listen to that song about a pussycat. Very strange if you ask me.”

  Good, Margo didn’t feel left out, but what about the other woman? Kalinda’s assistant sat on the chair next to them, reading. She looked up long enough to nod. Must be a very good book. Eva wasn’t at all what Mina had expected. There was no nurse’s uniform, no stern look or pulled back gray hair. The woman was probably in her early forties with soft features, pale blue eyes behind thick oddly framed glasses, and brownish hair. Out of the blue, she got up and came to where Mina sat next to Kalinda, to shake Mina’s hand.

  Mina’s nervousness began to fade when Diego and Gino joined them. Diego went straight to Kalinda’s chair. If he was surprised to see Mina sitting all scrunched up next to the long-haired beauty, he didn’t let it show.

  “Here is my Lover Boy,” Kalinda teased. “Come give me a big hug. Mina, you’ll have to move unless you want to sit on my man’s lap.” She squeezed Mina’s hand.

  Her face on fire for no logical reason, Mina got up to give her place to Diego, but he didn’t sit. He kneeled next to Kalinda and kissed her cheeks, a true old-fashioned Italian greeting. He whispered something in her ear, and she nodded, watching Gino coming into the room pushing a wheelchair.

  For the longest instant silence cloaked the room then Kalinda said, “I’m needed in the master’s chambers to help pick his evening attire.” Diego lifted her up and rested her gently on the wheelchair while Kalinda held on to her afghan.

  When Eva started to get up from the chair, Gino gave her a look that stopped her. “We’ll be heading to dinner in about half an hour,” he announced, before following Diego and the wheelchair down the hall.

  Mina could hear Kalinda taunting her driver, “This is the best you can do? Didn’t you used to race Ferraris? Come on, boy, show me what you’ve got.”

  If Diego chuckled she couldn’t hear him, since they’d disappeared around a corner. Mina wasn’t sure where they were headed. Margo seemed disturbed by the whole scene, but to her credit, she didn’t say a word. Eva went back to her book. She had yet to say a whole sentence.

  Mina walked over to the window to watch the last rays on a distant horizon painting the sea red, red like her dress the night beautiful Kalinda’s life changed so dramatically.

  Chapter Four

  The evening wasn’t shaping up the way Mina had hoped. She didn’t know what had happened behind the closed doors, but she knew that something was bothering Diego. They left for Gino’s restaurant, which was located in Long Beach, in various cars. Apparently the SUV in the garage was a leased vehicle designed to accommodate Kalinda’s needs. Gino drove off in the sedan ahead of everyone to make sure they had a suitable table for the wheelchair.

  Mina found herself driving her LTD with Margo sitting next to her and Eva in the back. Margo wore enough perfume to offend an entire beehive, queen and all. Mina followed Diego and Kalinda’s SUV. They traveled south on the PCH, almost tracking back the way they’d come. But after crossing the Los Angeles River and leaving the highway, they headed inland, ending up in an older residential neighborhood.

  The chitchat in the car was light, with Margo sharing some stories about her Maui vacation. Mina knew she was only getting what Margo felt was the acceptable version for general consumption, saving the best for when the two of them were alone. The silence coming from Eva was becoming annoying. Why hadn’t she tagged along with the person she was hired to assist?

  “Margo, what about your car? Where is it?” Mina asked, to fill the silence.

  “It’s parked in a safe place. Friends of Gino, they let me use their garage. From there I took a taxi to the airport. It’s actually on your way home, maybe you can give me a ride there to get it. What do you say?”

  “You mean on my way back to Orange County?”

  In spite of Eva’s speechless performance, Mina could tell she had been soaking up everything they said. Didn’t Gino say the woman was born in a different country? Maybe she wanted to learn more about the way Americans lived? Unf
ortunately, neither Mina nor Margo made for bright American examples. Eva had spoken perfect English when they’d exchanged greetings, with hardly any accent. Perhaps they spoke English in the country where she was born? Mina reminded herself to ask Diego, and to pay better attention to the road.

  The residential area sported a few one-and-two-story commercial buildings, except they were so old they could have used some remodeling, or maybe it was just an illusion created by the shadows of the impending darkness. Why set up a restaurant in Long Beach? Was this really Gino’s new job, running a restaurant? Feeling clueless began to get under Mina’s skin. What was she doing there anyhow? Diego certainly didn’t need her.

  Suddenly the magic of her night with Diego began to fade. Absorbed in her own self-pity Mina almost drove into the SUV that was turning right. They were tracking back toward the harbor. Mina wished she were headed to her own familiar harbor in Dana Point. Then the SUV stopped in front of a two-story building that was either under construction or going through a total redo. Scaffolding took up most of the front.

  Even if no workers were present, Mina decided she wasn’t going to park her car anywhere near that mess. The SUV moved again, so she followed it. Mina couldn’t see Gino’s car anywhere, so perhaps they were at the wrong place. No, they circled to the back of the building where, surprise, Gino’s sedan was parked next to at least five other vehicles. One looked like a military Jeep with an insignia with a cute seal and—Naval Weapons Station? Seal Beach—California. Were they in Seal Beach or Long Beach? Mina decided she didn’t really care and was actually very hungry.

  “Margo, have you been here before?”

  “Yeah, I came yesterday with Gino. He had to okay some of the work in progress.”