by Alexie Aaron
“Thank you for coming. There are drinks in the lobby and music. Perhaps, Bella, you will dance with me. My father would have liked that.”
I nodded.
Max left the stage. Eyes turned to me. I stared over at Tony. He shook his head smiling. I didn’t look at Dave. Victor offered me his arm, and we left the box. Harry and Sally followed us. Taking a rose with me, I stopped to set it in the alcove before continuing to the elevator.
Sally caught up and hugged me. “I am so proud of you. You are the bravest woman I know.”
“Thank you, Sally. I hope we can remain friends, but I don’t want to cause you any problems at work.”
“Aside from spitting in his coffee, I haven’t had much contact with Dave,” she said. “My allegiance is with Harry and those who Harry loves.”
“Thank you. Careful, loving Harry is not for the meek.”
Harry and Sally descended in the elevator. Victor held me back. His bodyguard stood a discreet distance away.
“Max is a headstrong man, Bella. You will have to dance with him, and I fear it will be a tango. He wants them to remember. He wants them thinking. I think he is right.”
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
Victor pulled out a flask from his pocket. “Some courage perhaps?”
I took a long drink and handed it back to him. The expensive whiskey warmed my stomach and eased my tension. Victor took a drink. He turned to his bodyguard and nodded. The bodyguard called for the elevator. We got in and descended.
The doors opened, and Max was there. He took my hand and kissed it. He nodded to the ensemble, and they started the strains of a tango. This time, I looked at my partner with appreciation. He looked at me with determination. Together, we followed the music, and our bodies told a story, the story of a love found between an alto clarinet player and a scoundrel named Marco. When we finished, they clapped. The music started up again, and Max took me back to Victor.
“Cin, I would like to leave here. I do not want to scandalize you further by taking you with me. Victor, wait a while and then bring Bella to the penthouse. We have business to speak of.”
Victor looked at me, and I nodded.
“Good. I shall thank the board and then leave.” He walked off.
“Damn, I wanted to leave first,” I said. “Harry, get me a drink, please?”
“Yes, Bella,” he teased.
Sally took my arm, and we walked to a quiet corner. “Harry really wants to become a private investigator,” she said. “The only thing that is stopping him is you.”
“I won’t stand in his way, Sally.”
“No, he wants you to be one too.”
“Oh.” I thought a moment. “Why not? If I’m going to be killed doing something stupid anyway, might as well do it on the job.”
“Atta girl,” Sally said, patting my back. She ran off to tell Harry.
Tony walked over. “Cin, I have no words.”
“I suppose that is only a temporary thing,” I teased.
“The item you asked me to hold for you is in my car.”
“I have found a translator, and I promise to tell you anything that will help you out.” Victor appeared once more at my side, and I asked, “Victor, please ask your bodyguard to follow Detective Curtis to his car and secure the package? I would like to take it with me.”
He nodded and made arrangements. “I think you are doing the right thing. Max can help you translate it, and I think he needs to know his father. The last two chapters, your detective needs to read, as do you, Bella.”
“Victor, you have written an interesting part for yourself in Marco’s opera.”
“I am a complicated person. You are too. Come for pasta soon. I want Lisa to meet you, Bella.”
“I will,” I promised.
Ryan walked up to our group, and I introduced him to Victor. He gave us his sympathy and shared a cute story with us about him, Marco, and a ninety-proof bottle of vodka. I laughed. The music changed, and he asked me to dance. I turned to Victor, and he nodded. It was a slow song, and Ryan moved me around the floor with care.
“I never thought I’d be dancing at a funeral,” I said laughing.
“I never thought you’d accept a dance from me,” he said. “We got off on the wrong foot, Cin.”
“It’s good to hear my name again,” I sighed. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I was in a relationship that was not what I thought it was. It didn’t make it through my tragedy. Marco came along, picked up the broken pieces, and made me notorious.” I laughed.
“Ah, but you were notorious before. I saw that. When you’re out of mourning, may I call you and take you for a coffee and a thick slice of cheesecake? You’re too thin, Cin,” Ryan said as the dance ended.
“Call me,” I said.
His face lit up, and he walked me back to Victor.
“It is time to go,” Victor said.
~
Once again, I stood in front of Marco’s door alone and afraid to knock. I had started to leave when the door opened. Max stood there. “Cin, where are you going?” he asked.
I didn’t say anything but followed him inside. I handed him the manuscript. “I think we need to read this together.”
“I think you are right.” He took my arm and gently turned me to face the middle of the living room. Standing there was Marco. I looked at him, walked forward, and touched him. He was real. “Is this why I can’t dream of you?” I asked, tears running down my face.
“Bella, my Bella, I have been a bad man,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
“I don’t care. I have been a bad woman. You’re alive. Oh my god!”
He took me in his arms and kissed me. I felt the bandages under his shirt. You have been hurt. Oh my darling,” I said, kissing him. “I should hate you for this, but I can’t.”
“Be gentle with him, Bella,” Max warned. “He almost died on us.”
I nodded. “I know you have so much to tell me, but all I can think is to tell you that I love you,” I said.
“And I love you, Bella. I’m sorry for putting you through this, but it was necessary. Max and I need to tell you some things. But perhaps, Max, if it can wait?”
“Go ahead, Papa. I will be watching TV with the sound really loud.”
Marco took my hand. We walked into his bedroom, and I carefully took off his shirt and saw the bandages. “She almost got your heart.”
“But she did not. Because my heart was with you, Bella.”
I led him to the bed and took off my mourning clothes. I stood before him and let him look at me.
“You are too thin.”
“And you’re dead.”
He laughed. “Come here, and let me love you. Let me fill you full of my love.”
I walked to him, and together we lay down. He kissed me and spoke to me in a language I was just learning. Italian, the language of love.
~
I watched him as he slept. He lay on his back with a smile on his face. I slipped out of the room and put on a robe. I walked over to my purse. Max looked over at me. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone he is here or alive. I just don’t want to worry Harry.”
Harry, I have decided to stay in town tonight. Don’t worry, all is well, Cin.
I turned my phone off and started to walk back.
“Cin, I’m sorry for my part in giving you grief.”
“Don’t be. I was given a gift. The gift to know how much I loved that scoundrel who is your father. I was given time to find out who were my friends and who were my foes. There is no need for apologies.”
“He was in Miami, getting ready to get on his plane. He agreed to see Leora. She seemed so distraught. She simply walked up to him and shot him and then turned the gun on herself. He died but came back, just as you did, Cin. He and Victor came up with this plan. It was partly to find your killer and the one who had influenced his. But in Victor’s and my mind, it was a test. You passed. Now we just have to put it all together. Maybe you and Harry can help u
s?”
I smiled. “Can I stay, or do I need to go back so no one is suspicious?”
“Stay tonight.”
“Is he sick? Does he really have cancer?” I asked, fear clutching at my chest.
“No, it was something Victor thought would convince you as to why a man would give you a fortune after only two days.”
“Thank God.”
“You don’t want his money, do you?”
“No.”
“Go now. I am glad I met you, Cin.”
“I’m glad Marco has a wonderful son like you,” I said, meaning it. I walked back into the room, slid into bed with my bad man, and slept.
Gioco Pericoloso
In the morning, I made the attentive D’Amore men sit while I made breakfast. They laughed together at how I cursed when I shattered an egg and had to pick out the shells. I managed to place before them scrambled eggs, toast and crispy bacon. Very American, very Cin Fin-Lathen.
I had called Harry and asked him to come out alone, telling no one, and to bring me a change of clothes. He thought I had slept with Max. I told him that I may be notorious, but there were certain lines I would not cross. He promised me a lecture later, and I promised to listen to the first five minutes of it.
Marco’s arms were around me, and he drew me away from the kitchen. “Bella, before your Harry comes, sit with me.”
I walked with him outside and sat beside him on the patio. It was a temperate morning. The ocean was sparkling, and the sky was full of the large sailing ships others would call clouds.
“I have not been fair to you. I have played this game and forced my son and my good friend to play too. You have honored me with your love and have done all the crazy things I asked you to do. My death hurt you, and yet, I see that you still love me. I am still a bad man, Bella. I cannot marry you.”
“Thank God,” I said. “Marco, you are here always,” I said, hand over my heart. “But I don’t want you here always,” I said, holding out my hands. “You have awakened me, and I will not be caged.”
Marco laughed.
“I would do anything for you, and I hope we share many moments of love in the years to come, but we are adults. You can’t love only one woman. You’re not made that way.”
“This is true,” he said.
“I need to be able to live and love without the fear of hurting someone. I don’t want to hurt you, but I sense you understand.”
“We are perhaps too alike. Two broken people, but instead of being fragile, each break has made us stronger, Bella,” he said, pulling me to my feet.
“Yes, exactly.”
He drew me to him and kissed me. When Marco kisses, it’s heaven. When he finished, he smiled wickedly. “No one will love you better but, perhaps, my son.”
“No.”
“Bella, he is young and strong.”
“No.”
Marco linked his arm through mine, and we walked back into the house arguing.
“But the papers have already made you lovers.”
“Marco, this is too much, even for you. What kind of woman would I be, loving two D’Amores?”
Max said, coming out of the office, “Papa, stop meddling. Bella has to act her part, and her Harry is on his way up.”
Harry stood in the doorway, stunned. He then nodded his head and shut the door behind him. “I knew it was majorly weird, that whole estate thing. I mean Cin is a wonderful woman, but to give her everything?”
“But I did and have,” Marco said.
I turned around. “No, this is all a ruse. Everything is still yours.”
“No, I have so much wealth. This is pocket change, right, Max?”
“He is right, Cin.”
“I’m sorry, but what have the two of you bought with this money? Cin is not for sale,” Harry said firmly.
“Harry, first of all, they are nuts. But no one has pressured me for anything, not even my fidelity,” I said.
“Well, this is going to take some getting used to. Let’s get down to business and pool our information,” Harry said.
I turned to the D’Amore men and said, “We will tell you what Harry and I have figured out and the facts supporting our guesses. Marco, feel free to correct us. There is some personal information that you may not want your son privy to…”
“Max can know everything.”
I nodded to Harry to begin.
“Cin, your Bella, bears a striking resemblance to Eldora Capella. Preston Steele saw this, and a plan started to emerge, a plan to reopen her missing persons case. He wants to find Eldora. He will and has killed to find her. Prior to this, he managed to draw Antonia Aldana into his web. Together, they convinced her daughter Leora to spy on you, Marco. You were possibly one of the people who knew where Eldora was. Preston also suspected that Tom Richards could have been involved at the time. Tom is in prison for his involvement in harboring wanted criminals. Preston didn’t know how to get to him, but once Cin walked out on that stage, it all fell into place.” Harry looked over at me to continue.
“Tom is connected to Harry and me because we were responsible for breaking up a drug ring that his wife was involved in. He harbored two of the criminals, and that is why he is serving a short sentence in jail. Preston also found out, through what I thought was a casual conversation, that my boyfriend was none other than Lieutenant Dave Buslowski, a former CID officer presently working for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This is the policing authority that has Eldora Capella’s cold missing persons case.”
Harry took a drink of water and continued, “We surmised that Preston convinced Cin to wear a very similar dress to what Eldora wore in Carmen the night you proposed to her. He had Cin wear a copy of the tattoo that Eldora had had done when she was in South America performing. He also convinced Kyle Martel that, if he imitated your proposal onstage, Cin would fall into his arms and he could have her. But he warned the boy that Cin would need a firm hand. A few slaps and she would grovel at his feet. This is the information Carlos overheard. We’ll get to Carlos later. Why the slaps? He needed to involve Cin’s paramour. No man is going to let his woman be beaten without retaliation. He also had to orchestrate a hatred between Kyle and myself, so Cin would insist that I not attend the opera. She would do anything to protect those she loves.”
“The proposal got your, Tom Richard’s, and Buslowski’s attention. The plan was starting to take form,” I said, feeling chilled. Marco got up and brought back my shawl and wrapped it around me.
Harry continued, “The publicity put pressure on the Sheriff’s Office to reopen the case. Preston had been the biggest lobbyist for this. He was the first one Buslowski interviewed. Between them, they concocted a plan to draw out the people who knew Eldora before she disappeared. The plan involved using Cin as bait.”
“I was convinced to go to the opera. I didn’t want to attend. I knew that Kyle wasn’t through with me yet. Buslowski promised that I would never be alone, so I agreed. I thought that Eldora was dead, and we were looking for her murderer. I was gowned by Preston, paraded down the aisle on Buslowski’s arm, and encouraged to make myself visible. Marco, I did not know of your involvement with Eldora. No one told me. If so, I would have warned you off.”
Marco cleared his voice before he spoke. “I knew something was up. At the gala, the pantomime hurt. It was the single most wonderful and horrible time of my life. And here it was on the stage for all to see. I did not know this Kyle or this beautiful redhead, but when I saw her again, I made sure I put myself in her way. I was caught in their web.”
“But not the first to be ensnared. Antonia and her daughter, Kyle, and Buslowski and I had already been given our roles to play,” I told Marco.
“I saw you, Bella, and you both were and were not Eldora. I sensed that you had no idea how you were hurting me. I fell in love the moment I touched your foot. I felt the tremble of your hand on my shoulder as I assisted you with your shoe. You were not playing a game to hurt me. You were innocent. Leo
ra. How do I explain her? Antonia and I were lovers once, and when she presented her young daughter to me to enjoy, it was an old man’s fantasy. But Leora grated on me. I don’t understand young women with their pretenses and demands. Once I knew you were my Bella, I told her to go home. I finished the opera alone, watching you, Bella. They say that Kyle’s Don Giovanni was the best that has been seen, but I didn’t see it. I only saw you.”
I smiled and took his hand. “You smiled down at me, and my heart connected with yours. Did you feel that?”
“Yes, Bella, and more.”
Harry snapped his fingers in front of us. “Do we have to separate you two?”
“Sorry, Harry,” I said.
I noticed that Max was very amused but kept silent.
Harry continued, “Cin wanted to go home, but Buslowski insisted that they attend the party. They entered the banquet room, and Preston separated them. He had already encouraged Antonia to seduce Buslowski, which she did, upstairs in her dressing room. He had primed Dave with the gossip that Cin and Kyle had been seen making love in the workroom. He laid it on thick how you liked to be tossed around and manhandled.”
“Which I don’t, so don’t get any ideas,” I said quickly.
“Preston took control of Cin, and Dave went to the bar where Carlos watched him for Preston, and for Kyle.”
“Tell us about Carlos?” I asked. “How did he get messed up in this?”
“According to Tony’s interview, Carlos was in love with Kyle. Kyle knew this and used it. Kyle enjoyed watching the boy grovel for scraps of his attention. Carlos was also under the employ of Preston, who knew of the intern’s attraction for Kyle. He urged Carlos to let him know of Kyle’s plans for your seduction, Cin. Preston told Carlos, once Kyle had bedded you, he would tire of you, and then he would look Carlos’s way.”
“Leora?” Max asked. “I sense that she too was involved that night.”
“Her phone was found in the workroom, and her perfume is the one Cin identified smelling in there during the attack. Also, Cin and Buslowski smelled it in Cin’s home after the break-in and the destruction. Leora wore Rose Anonyme, a very distinct scent.”
