Tax Cut

by Michele Lynn Seigfried

  I started the engine, then pulled out of the parking lot. I had been thinking that this was a new record for me—four weeks on a job before quitting. I was also thinking that I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain this to my family, after I told them everything was fine at work. Fudging the truth a little appeared to be in order. I thought for a few minutes about what my story would be, then I decided I would say that I learned that there was some illegal activity going on in the village and I thought it was best to make a hasty departure. It was the truth.

  Klunk, klunk…klunk, klunk…klunk, klunk.

  “Crap.” I pulled over into the shoulder of the road. Just wonderful! A flat tire. Mechanically inclined was not a way I would describe myself. I hauled out my cell phone and found the number for emergency road repairs that I had saved for such unfortunate events. While I waited on hold for operator assistance, Bryce passed by my disabled vehicle, then turned his car around and pulled up next to me.

  “Need some help?” he asked.

  “Do you know how to fix a flat?” I asked.

  “Do you have a donut in the trunk?”

  “I do, but I don’t want to trouble you. You’re all dressed up and headed into work. I don’t want you to get your clothes messed up.”

  “And you are headed in the opposite direction of work. Why?”

  “It’s a long story,” I said. Bryce pulled his car up and parked on the shoulder in front of my car.

  “Well, I’m all ears for your story while I change your tire,” he said as he went to the trunk of my car, asking me to open it for him. I popped open the trunk. Bryce rolled up his sleeves and pulled out the jack and the tire iron. I was trying my best to come up with a good lie to tell him. I didn’t want to tell him the real reason. Something in the back of my head told me I could trust him, but I didn’t want to take a chance of anything that I knew leaking out to anyone at Coral Beach, no matter how remote the chance was.

  “I don’t like the way Marc treats me, and I decided that I don’t need to put up with it anymore, so I quit today,” I said.

  Bryce got down on his hands and knees and started working on the flat. “I thought you said you could handle him.”

  “It’s not just that; it’s my stalker, Mike Nero, bothering me.”

  “Why don’t you tell the police about that?” he asked. He had me there—I couldn’t go to the police about Nero because we were now working together.

  “Nero is the cousin of a friend of mine. I don’t want to ruin my friendship.”

  “Is there something you’re not telling me?” Bryce asked. I cringed, but I still wasn’t going to tell him.

  “No, I’m just stressed about some stuff at home as well…personal things. I can’t talk about it.”

  “Sorry to hear that.” Bryce finished up with my tire.

  “I’m so sorry, Bryce. Your clothes are all dirty.”

  “It’s really not a big deal. I already called in late.”

  “I don’t know how I can repay you!”

  “Well, I was going to tell you that you had to bring me coffee for the next week…the good stuff too, not that junk we have at work…but I guess I can’t, now that you’ve quit.” He flashed me a smile with those cute dimples showing. I did a mental sigh. The one thing I would miss about Coral Beach was Bryce.

  “I’m going to follow you over to the tire place. Maybe they can give you a new tire while you wait.”

  “You don’t have to follow me. I’ll be okay,” I said.

  “I have to go in that direction anyway. I’m going to go home and change.”

  “Well, okay, then.”

  I hopped into my car and drove to the tire shop, with Bryce following. I headed into the shop to find there was a three-hour wait. There were plenty of people ahead of me on the schedule for the day. I was thankful that Bryce had decided to follow me to the tire place. He offered to give me a lift back home. I graciously accepted. Staying in the lobby of a tire shop was not where I wanted to be. I very much preferred the comfort and coziness of my own home. I left my cell number for the receptionist to call me when my car was ready and I headed for home with Bryce.

  “So, why didn’t you give notice?” Bryce asked.

  “I figured I’d leave the job completely off my résumé, so I didn’t care if I didn’t leave in good standing,” I answered.

  “Do you have another job to go to?”

  “Nope,” I said.

  “What are you going to do for money?”

  “I have a little bit of money left from a settlement I received. It’ll be enough to hold me over until I find something new.”

  “Settlement?”

  “Another long story.”

  “I have time,” Bryce said as he pulled into my driveway.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m a procrastinator. You’re saving me from heading into work right away.”

  “Well, the least I can do is make you a cup of coffee.” I invited him inside. Snickers jumped up off the couch when we opened the door.

  “Bad dog. You know you’re not allowed on the couch,” I said. Snickers lowered his head, knowing he did something wrong.

  “Aw, come here, buddy,” Bryce said, kneeling down on the floor. Snickers jumped up and gave Bryce’s face a bath.

  As the two of them played on the floor, I said, “You boys have fun. I’m going to the kitchen to make that coffee.” I left the room and made a couple of cups of coffee. I took out an Entenmann’s Raspberry Danish Twist, a couple of plates, napkins, and a knife.

  I set everything out on the breakfast bar.

  “Coffee’s ready,” I said to Bryce.

  We made ourselves comfortable in the counter-height chairs, sitting next to each other. We sipped our coffee. I cut Bryce a piece of danish and slid it over to him, then cut a piece for myself.

  “This is pretty good,” Bryce said.

  “The danish or the coffee?”

  “All of it,” he said with a glimmer in his eye. I could have been wrong, but it seemed he might have been flirting, just a little. No, it’s only my imagination. He’s just a friend.

  “What do you think is Marc’s deal?” Bryce asked.

  “What do you mean?” I said.

  “Why is he so obnoxious?”

  “I don’t know,” I lied.

  “Bonnie would say he needs to get laid,” Bryce said with a chuckle.

  I blushed a little. “I can see you already know Bonnie pretty well.” I giggled.

  “So tell me about this settlement thing.”

  I told Bryce my long but boring story about a madman who held me hostage at my former job, and how I sued the Town of Sunshine and won a settlement. I told him how I had been out of work, but decided to go back recently when I had heard of the job opening at Coral Beach.

  “Big mistake, going back to work,” I said.

  “No, it wasn’t,” Bryce said.

  “No? I’m quitting after four weeks on the job! How was that not a mistake?”

  “If you hadn’t taken the job, then we never would have met.” He stared into my eyes. My heart skipped a beat. A rush of nerves raced from my heart to my toes and back. I shook it off and said, “More cake? Coffee?”

  “Nah, I have to be going,” he said. “Some of us have to work.” He stood up, bumping into me as he did.

  “Sorry about that,” he said as he playfully rubbed my knee where he bumped me. I stood up from my chair, and Bryce turned back toward me.

  “I am going to miss you at work,” he said. Our eyes met again and we held the gaze. Before I could answer him, he leaned down and kissed me softy on the lips.

  “Okay, bye,” he said and he kissed me softly a second time.

  “Bye,” I said, still staring into his eyes. He kissed me a third time, letting his lips linger longer on mine than the last two kisses. He wrapped his strong arms around my waist and our tongues met, sending tingles throughout my entire body. I felt lost in his embrace for a moment before I stop
ped him.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I said, covering my face. What did I just do?

  “It’s okay, really,” he said as he headed toward the door.

  “No, I mean, it’s just that I recently started seeing someone, and I…”

  He interrupted me. “No need to explain.”

  “No, please, I mean, I like you. It’s that there’s someone else.”

  Bryce turned back and looked at me sweetly in the eyes. “Chelsey, if things don’t work out with that guy, then call me.” He kissed me on the cheek, then left.

  “Thanks for everything, Bryce,” I called as he walked toward his car.

  He waved, got in his car, and drove away. Possibly for good. That might have been the last time I would ever see him. That thought made me sad.

  I had to clear my head. Why did Bryce have to kiss me? The things swirling in my mind were too much for me to take. With everything going on at work, and my love life now mirroring the craziness at work. Kris, Nero, and now Bryce! I like him! I don’t want to like him. I’m crazy about Kris. I shouldn’t have been complaining about having three men vying for my attention. But I wasn’t the type of person who liked leading people on. But I liked them both! How could this be happening? This never happens to me! I thought.

  I put Snickers in his crate then walked to the park, which was near my house. I would normally take him with me, but I wasn’t in the mood for picking up the dog droppings today. I took the footpath along the park’s edge. I needed to clear my mind. I strolled along the water, trying not to think any longer. I watched the red-winged blackbirds that seemed to be making their migration back to the northeast after a long winter. I listened to the soft wind and the unique sounds of the birds. I looked at the branches of the trees, seeing the buds beginning to form. I felt the sunshine on my face as I looked toward the pale blue sky. I returned my gaze to the front, to see a figure approaching me. It couldn’t be. I trembled with fear. My face turned white. The world went black. I had just seen my first ghost.

  * * *

  I awoke to find myself lying on the couch in my living room. It was dark outside. Snickers was whining and scratching at his crate door. I was dazed and my head felt foggy. A blurry image appeared in my line of sight. I jumped up and away from the figure. “No! No! It can’t be! How?” I mumbled.

  “Chelsey, calm down. You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Dumbfounded, shocked, and confused, I said, “But…but…how? Why?” I couldn’t seem to find the right words for a situation like this. This had absolutely never happened to me before. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t in the middle of a horrific nightmare. “Are you real?” I asked of the figment before me.

  “Oh, geez, Chelsey. I’m real. You can stop pinching yourself.”

  “How are you alive?” I asked. “Everyone thinks you’re dead, you know.” I paused for a beat. “Unless you are some sort of a twin brother that I don’t know about. And if that is the case, then how do you know my name? Heck, how did we get back here? How did you know where I lived?”

  “If you are going to interrogate me, you should let me answer one question before throwing the next question at me.”

  “Fine,” I said. “So, Question Number One. You are Vinny Buttiglieri, are you not?”

  “You know that I am. Don’t you remember taking the same classes with me?”

  “I do remember. I just didn’t know if you were some sort of a doppelganger. How did we get back to my house?”

  “I brought you here in my car.”

  “How did you know where I lived?”

  “I found your driver’s license in your purse.”

  “Were you following me?”

  “No, my mother’s house backs the park. I ran into you by coincidence.”

  I stood up and walked over the Snicker’s crate. I let him out back to do his business, then let him back into the house. He wasn’t growling at Vinny, which put me more at ease. I decided to leave him out of the crate. If Vinny was going to try anything funny, Snickers would protect me.

  “How are you alive?” I asked.

  “It was a set-up, by the police. I was working with them. I was kidnapped, but I knew they were coming for me. I had a gun hidden on my ankle and a bulletproof vest filled with fake blood. It was all theatrics. I got shot, but I reached down, grabbed my ankle gun, then shot Rocco Righetti. In the commotion, I jumped into the river where the police were waiting to pick me up. I’m in the witness protection program now. If they knew I was alive, they’d all want me dead for killing the mafia don.”

  “Do your family and friends know you are alive?”

  “No, and sadly, I have to beg you to keep it that way. That’s why I brought you home and waited for you to wake up after you fainted. You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone. You’d be putting both of us at great risk.”

  “Why are you back, then?”

  “My mother has taken ill. She’s eighty years old. I had to see her. I parked far away from her house, I couldn’t risk someone spotting my car at my mom’s place. I was walking through the park on my way there when I ran into you.”

  “So why did Rocco kidnap you and who else is involved?”

  The moment I said that, my front door was kicked in by men wearing masks, holding guns and screaming at us to stay where we were. Snickers, my dog, ran toward them, in attack mode. They shot him. I screamed, “No!” I wanted so badly to run to Snickers; I saw he was hurt, but instead, I ran to the bedroom, where I kept my gun.

  One of the masked men was hot on my trail. I tried to slam the bedroom door shut, but he stopped it with his foot. I reached toward the dresser drawer, but the man grabbed me around my waist from behind. I kicked, I scratched, I screamed. I felt his hand over my mouth. I would have bitten him, but his hand was covered in a thick, black leather glove and he was holding a cloth. The cloth smelled funny. My head felt dizzy. My lights went out for the second time that day.

  Chapter 20

  I awoke in the trunk of a car. My wrists and ankles were bound by rope and my mouth was fastened with duct tape. The tears poured out of my eyes. My thoughts turned to my baby girl. I was grateful that she wasn’t in the house when this happened. I didn’t know who had me, but I suspected it was Gino Righetti. He must have seen Vinny and followed him back to my house. I was shocked at having learned Vinny wasn’t really dead after all. I thought about my poor Snickers and I cried harder. Why didn’t I keep my gun handier? Why did terrible things happen to me? I wept until I felt the car pull over. Then fear took over.

  The trunk opened and I was lifted out of the vehicle. One of the goons cut the rope around my ankles, while the other pointed a gun in my face. I was forced through the parking area of an abandoned warehouse. I could see that there was a body of water nearby, but I didn’t know where we were. It didn’t smell like salt air. I wondered if we were still in Jersey.

  I was marched down a long corridor. The building seemed old, abandoned. We passed numerous vacant rooms. I was led to a large room with dim lighting. The back of a large, leather chair faced me from behind an ornate mahogany desk. I could smell the cigar the person in the chair was smoking.

  “We brought her to you, boss. As instructed.”

  Boss? I thought.

  “Take the tape off and leave her,” the voice said from behind the chair. It was a familiar voice, although I couldn’t place it at the moment. The goon ripped the duct tape off of my mouth. It stung. There would be no need to get my upper lip waxed this week…that is, if by some miracle, I survived.

  “Sit,” the voice commanded.

  I looked behind me to see two chairs. I sat as ordered. I looked around the room, but didn’t see anything familiar. The carpets looked new, maroon in color, with an oriental pattern. The room looked expensive. I waited nervously for my impending doom.

  The figure in the chair slowly turned around.

  “Chelsey, Chelsey, Chelsey. What am I going to do about you?” I found m
yself staring down the barrel of yet another loaded gun. The gun was held by Dingo Malvagio. I was taken aback. Dingo was not who I was expecting.

  “Dingo? I’m confused,” I said. “Why am I here?”

  “No other reason than you seem to have gotten yourself in the way.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “Oh, I think you understand a lot. You can stop pretending.”

  “I honestly don’t know anything.”

  “Liar!” he growled, his anger growing.

  “I swear I’m not lying. I blacked out when I saw Vinny in the park. I thought he was dead. I no sooner came to, and these men were breaking into my house. I don’t get it.”

  “Chelsey, Chelsey, Chelsey. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t get it. You’ve crossed the Righettis and now it’s time to pay the price.”

  “Righettis? So, you work for Gino?”

  An evil-sounding bark of laughter came out of Dingo’s mouth.

  “Gino works for me, sweetheart, not the other way around. But that’s good that you thought that. Shows me I’m still keeping my low profile. We can’t have the enemies knowing who the real mafia don is, now, can we?”

  “Mafia don?” I asked. “Who is the mafia don, then?”

  “You’re not as bright as everyone thinks you are. It’s such a shame I have to have such a hot body like yours put down like a dog. Maybe I’ll have a little fun with you first.”

  I cringed at the thought of Dingo having “fun” with me “first.” I glanced around the room, trying to think of a way to get myself out of this mess.