Evil in Paradise

by R. B. Conroy

  She went on, “I heard on the news this morning that this recession could last another year or two. It’s getting kind of scary.”

  Dirk suddenly jerked up in his seat, his elbows hit the table, his face was only inches from hers. “Listen, lady, we didn’t come here to discuss the economy. So cut the BS.”

  Cathy didn’t flinch; she moved her face even closer to his and whispered, “Tell me Mr….Uh”

  “Harrison, H-a-r-r-i-s-o-n, Harrison!”

  “Tell me, Mr. Harrison, just what did we come here to discuss?” Cathy was icily still. She loved it when men tried to intimidate her.

  His thin lips turned up in a cruel smile. “I gotta give it to you, lady, you’re not the least bit afraid of me. You rich broads are gutsier than I thought.”

  Cathy was undeterred, “Answer my question.”

  “You know why we’re here, bitch, so quit acting dumb! I want one thing from you, pretty lady, and you know what it is.”

  A broad smile broke out on Cathy’s face, “Oh yes, I either put out or you’re going to tell my husband that my tennis partner laid me in Duval last evening. How frightening!”

  Dirk broke eye contact, his face flushed red, “Why you mouthy…..”

  Cathy immediately interrupted the nasty tough, “Better think of a new plan, Mr. Harrison. I’ve already told my husband that my tennis partner went to the house in Duval last evening. The garage door was broken and my tennis partner was nice enough to fix it for me. My husband actually called and thanked him today.” Cathy felt smug. She was so good at telling lies that she actually surprised herself at times.

  Dirk fell back and dropped his hands to his side. He looked somber and confused. Cathy had him back on his heels and he knew it. He was speechless. It was all Cathy could do to refrain from laughing at the dour, defeated looking Dirk. But, feeling it necessary to ease the increasing tension, she smiled warmly and continued. “I hope I haven’t offended you, Mr. Harrison, because there is something I would like to talk to you about.”

  Dirk’s expression didn’t change.

  “You said your business has not been good and your profits are down. Maybe I can help you with that.”

  Dirk looked dubious; he shook his head, “What could some fancy broad like you possibly do for me?”

  Cathy clasped her hands together and squeezed tightly, this was the nervous part. What would he think? How would he react when she told him what she had in mind for him? She took a deep breath and went on, “I need something done for me and I’m willing to pay quite handsomely for it.”

  “Handsomely, what’s that mean?”

  Cathy paused as if trying to determine whether to tell him the amount or not. She finally decided it would be best to tell him. “It means a hundred thousand dollars, Mr. Harrison.”

  Dirk’s brow lifted, his expression softened. “That’s a lot of bread, lady.”

  “I know.”

  “You have someone you want me to rough up. Is that it? That’s all a rich bitch like you could want from a guy like me.” He smiled and tipped his head back, certain he had figured things out.

  “Well, not exactly.” Cathy looked at her watch. “Do you have time? You told me that you could only take a half-hour for our meeting, and my watch says twenty-five after.”

  “Daisy’s watching the office, I got time.”

  “Good, let’s talk.”

  13

  Retired police officer, Vinnie Esposito, stopped what he was doing to try and make out the shrill commands coming from the kitchen, “Did you take the trash out, dear?” His wife shouted.

  “Yes, Angel, I did.” Vinnie affectionately referred to his somewhat overbearing wife as Angel, short for her given name of Angelica.

  “Okay, don’t forget to clean the garage. The Walkers are coming over tonight for a cook out.”

  “I know, dear, the garage will be clean when they get here, I promise.”

  “Did you find the list of the stuff I need at the grocery store?”

  “Yes, I did, dear. I’m putting gas in the cart right now. I will be leaving shortly.”

  “Drive safely.”

  “I will, darling.”

  Vinnie Esposito lifted the red five gallon gas can as high as he could and drained the last remnants of gas into the tank and dropped the empty next to the wall. He lifted the cap from the fender of the cart and twisted it on, put the seat down and then he hopped aboard his E-Z-GO. He crammed his cart into reverse and backed out of the garage and onto the street. He stuck it in forward and started on his way to The Colony shopping area on the southeast side of the Villages.

  Vinnie’s trip was suddenly interrupted by neighbor, Rex Johnson, who stopped doing his yard work and hurried toward Vinnie, waving his arms and signaling for him to pull over. Vinnie reluctantly slowed and pulled over to the curb in front of Rex’s house, prepared for what he knew would be a lengthy conversation with his talkative neighbor.

  Perspiring heavily, Rex pulled a wrinkled hanky from his back pocket, dabbed his forehead and then croaked out a friendly, “Good morning, Vinnie.”

  “Good morning, Rex, looks like you’ve got quite a project going there.”

  “Yeah, the old lady wanted me to add some color to the yard. I’ve already planted four flats of petunias and two flats of geraniums.”

  “Looks great, Rex.”

  “Oh, thanks.” He gave Vinnie a quizzical look. “You got the day off or something?”

  “Yes, I always get Fridays off.”

  “Oh heck, I knew that.” Things got quiet for a minute with Vinnie patiently waiting for Rex to explain the reason for the interruption of his trip to the store.

  A mischievous grin suddenly appeared on Rex’s face. “You wouldn’t believe what I saw the other night while I was out walking the dog.”

  Vinnie’s brow lifted slightly, a polite gesture to feign some kind of interest in Rex’s more than likely irrelevant, useless information about some harmless event that had taken place in the neighborhood recently.

  Rex went on. “You know that good-lookin’ gal who comes over to check out the Smith’s house every so often?”

  “Yes, I’ve seen her over there a few times.”

  “Well, she was over there last night with some guy and it wasn’t her husband.”

  “No law against that.”

  “I know, I know. But it gets kind of juicy.”

  Vinnie was not the gossiping type. His inclination was to drive away before Rex said anymore, but as a former police officer and part of the security force at The Villages called Community Watch, he felt an obligation to at least hear his neighbor out.

  “Did they do something illegal?”

  “Well, not exactly.” Rex wiped his forehead dry again and moved closer to Vinnie. Eyes wide, he looked around to be certain none of their neighbors were listening and continued. “They didn’t see me. Bogie had stopped to pee on the trunk of Walker’s large oak tree and I was kind of in the shadows behind the tree waiting on Bogie to finish when they drove by.”

  He probably ducked behind the tree so they couldn’t see him.

  Rex did another quick look around to see if anyone was watching and then continued. “The guy with her had curly hair and looked quite a bit younger than her. When they got to the house she had already opened the garage door and she pulled in and closed it quickly behind them-like she had something to hide.”

  “Maybe that’s how she always pulls in.”

  “No, it’s not. She always parks out front and then she opens the garage using the keyless entry pad.” Rex had a smug look on his face. “They were up to no good, my friend. They were in that house for over an hour and the only light on was in the Smith’s master bedroom. I’ve been in their house several times and I know where the master bedroom is.”

  “Maybe her friend was repairing something in the bedroom.”

  Rex shook his head disgustedly, “You know, for a former New York City cop, you sure as hell are naïve. Are you kidding
me? I could see their silhouettes through the blinds and believe me he wasn’t repairing anything!” The stubby Rex awkwardly gyrated his thick hips back and forth to demonstrate what he saw. “They were going at it, like this.”

  Vinnie chuckled at his neighbor’s antics. “I get the picture, Rex. By the way, how long were you behind that tree?”

  Red flushed up the nibby neighbor’s face. “Oh, not very long, they got right at it. I didn’t have to wait long to see what was going on. I just thought you should know what’s happening around here. Sometimes these situations can get out of control and somebody gets hurt.”

  “Okay, Rex, I’ll try and keep an eye on things, but there’s really not much I can do. As inappropriate as it is, they’re not breaking the law.”

  Rex nodded, a little embarrassed by Vinnie’s nonchalant attitude. He quickly changed the subject. “Let’s get out and hit ‘em sometime. I just got a new TaylorMade driver and I’m killing the ball.”

  “Sounds good, but I’ll need shots.”

  “No way, I’ve seen you hit the ball.”

  Vinnie touched the gas pedal, the gas engine groaned for a second and then he let off. “I better get going, we’ve got company coming. Call me about golf.”

  “Okay, Vinnie, see you later.”

  Vinnie smiled, pressed down on the gas pedal and pulled away from the curb to continue his trip to the store. Somewhat annoyed by the intrusion into his busy schedule by his chatty neighbor, Vinnie none the less enjoyed being a security officer for Community Watch-it made him feel needed and important again.

  A former police officer with the NYPD, Vinnie had a distinguished career with the famous police department before he retired with wife Angel to The Villages just over three years ago. During his tenure with the NYPD, Vinnie was known as a very tough, no nonsense kind of a cop. Early in his career, after a brief stint in the trendy upper Manhattan, he was assigned to head up the Youth Division in East Harlem. He was only twenty-eight at the time and held the same position until his retirement twenty-seven years later. Gang infested, East Harlem was one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the city and Vinnie loved it. One of the top marksman in his class at the Police Academy, he was involved in several shootouts during his long tenure in that nasty precinct. Protected only by a bullet proof vest, Vinnie was wounded several times in the line of duty and still carried many scars from the scores of bullets fired at him over the years.

  Feared and respected by even the most hardened gang leaders in East Harlem, Vinnie received more than two dozen commendations for bravery during his career and became one of the most decorated police officers in the history of the NYPD. When he retired, the department threw him a huge party that was attended by many dignitaries, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg congratulated him and presented him with a plaque naming him a “Top Cop” by the National Association of Police Organizations for his courage, bravery, and professionalism while serving the NYPD.

  With his days as a police officer in East Harlem behind him and his retirement now in full swing, Vinnie and his wife very were much enjoying the good life at The Villages. A far cry from the hustle and bustle of New York City, The Villages, or “our paradise” as Vinnie liked to call it, provided them with an active and exciting life. With no chance of being killed or maimed by a stray bullet from a gun in the hands of a drug-crazed teenager, he was able to relax and enjoy his job. Life was good for the Espositos.

  Vinnie turned south onto Morse Boulevard to continue his trip to The Colony Shopping Center. He thought back to his conversation with neighbor Rex and had to grudgingly admit to himself that his neighbor might have a point. Of the very few crimes that took place in The Villages, the majority of them were a result of a domestic dispute-usually because of an illicit affair by one or both of the partners. Vinnie would heed his gossipy neighbor’s advice and keep an eye on things at the Smith’s. As his former Chief in New York used to say, ‘Good police work starts in your own neighborhood.’

  14

  Ed pulled to a stop in front of the Colony Cottage Recreation Center and slid off his cool leather seat. He stretched and glanced toward Morse Boulevard. A familiar white and blue golf cart with a NYPD logo on the side ducked off Morse Boulevard and went whizzing past on Colony Boulevard. Such specialty carts, like the NYPD police car, were easy to remember and commonplace in The Villages. There were UPS golf carts, Cadillac golf carts, golf carts that looked like fire trucks and hundreds of other specially-built carts. All you needed was a few thousand bucks and you could have the cart of your dreams. A simple man, Ed chose to have just a standard gas cart with a few nice graphics stenciled on the sides and Ed and Cathy written on the front. He remembered how excited he and Cathy were when they first got their new cart. They hugged and quickly jumped aboard, anxious to take their first ride into The Villages. But those days were gone; it had been weeks now since Cathy had even been in the cart. It seemed as if there was very little joy in their marriage now. Initially he blamed their troubles on Cathy’s love for tennis, but he was beginning to feel there was something other than tennis on Cathy’s agenda lately. Reserved by nature, Ed hesitated to confront his more aggressive wife, fearing that it could cause an ugly argument.

  Ed pushed through the front door of the recreation center and headed for the rear of the building for his weekly karate class when a familiar voice shouted at him from the customer service desk just to his left.

  “Morning, Ed.”

  Ed paused and turned toward the friendly voice, “Good morning, Mary, how are you today?”

  “Fine, how ‘bout yourself?”

  “Pretty good, thanks. Woke up today and everything is working-so that’s good!”

  The staid receptionist smiled, “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Seen any karate folks yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I guess I’m a little early.”

  “I guess so.”

  Mary stopped reading her spreadsheet, sat back and grinned at Ed. It was a kind of a fake little grin. “Your wife’s quite the tennis player.”

  Ed was taken aback by the usually reserved Mary’s attention. “Why…uh, yes, she’s won a couple of doubles championships and so forth.” His quizzical expression begged more information.

  “She certainly has. My husband Carl and I are in the same league and we played her the other night. I mean we played her and her new partner, Eric. I liked her other partner, Mr…uh ”

  “Waring, John Waring.”

  “Yes, that’s it. He was a nice fellow.”

  Several members of the karate class walked by giving Ed and Mary a quick ‘hi, how are you.’ Mary waited until they were all out of earshot before continuing. Ed noticed the pause, his curiosity was growing.

  “You a tennis player, Ed?’

  “No, not really. I gave it up a when my back started bothering me.”

  “You might want to get your back fixed. That Eric is quite a hunk, you know. And, you know the old saying, when the cat’s away the mice will uh,” she paused and looked at Ed, “Well, you know what I mean.” She gave him a flat-lined little grin.

  Ed studied the usually reserved receptionist’s face and he didn’t like what he saw. She was trying to tell him something with that smile, something like, ‘you better watch out buddy, your wife’s getting a little too cozy with her new tennis partner.’ Ed chuckled uneasily, a little annoyed by the unsolicited advice from the quiet receptionist. “He’s handsome enough I guess, but I trust my wife. It’s not an issue with me.”

  Mary looked away from Ed for an instant and then right back at him. “Your wife is lovely and I’m sure you want to trust her. Please forgive me for my weak attempt at levity. It’s really none of my business.”

  A wave of nausea shot through Ed’s gut. Want to trust her? The cat’s away! What on earth is this woman trying to tell me? “No problem, Mary, we all need a laugh now and then.” Ed choked up a couple of nervous chuckles, but inside he was dying. The nosy rece
ptionist had thrown another log on the smoldering fire of mistrust burning inside of Ed.

  Mary pushed her glasses up on her nose and went back to work without further comment.

  Ed turned and walked toward his class. His feelings of uncertainty soon turned to anger. He became indignant. Why would she say something like that to me? She’s just an uptight old biddy. How dare she! She’s just doesn’t know a good marriage when she sees one. People like her think every time you speak to someone other than your mate you’re on the prowl.

  Feeling better, Ed shouldered his way through the door to his karate class and was greeted by a chorus of “good morning, Ed” from his classmates, who were all clad in their traditional Karate Gi outfits. Ed pulled his brown belt a little tighter around his Gi, crouched down and began to move up and down with an occasional kick to the side. Soon he was sparring with a live partner and all thoughts of Mary and her comments were out of mind-at least for the time being.

  15

  “You’re one nasty broad, you know that, Mrs. Roberts?”

  “Cathy, please call me Cathy.”

  “You’re almost old enough to be my mother; I could never call you Cathy. It’s Mrs. Roberts to me,” Dirk grinned sarcastically, enjoying what he knew would be a very insulting remark to the vain lady.

  Annoyed, Cathy continued, “So we have a deal. Is that right, Mr. Harrison?”

  “I gotta think about it. This is big, ya know, but I could sure use a hundred grand.”

  Dirk played nervously with the gold ring centered by a large ruby on his right hand. The engraving on the ring read, “Sturgis SD 2010.” He bought the ring at the infamous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota, and he never left home without it.

  Cathy grimaced. She wanted an answer now. “When can you let me know?”

  “I want to check the numbers again at the shop. How about tomorrow?” Dirk seemed interested in trying to work something out with her.