by Bria Marche
“No you didn’t.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. It’s missing.”
“How is that possible? You just changed the locks a week ago. Mia, you never misplace anything,” Aaron said.
“Yeah… and that’s what has me rattled. I had the new key fitted for every door in the house. I haven’t put the spare outside, not once, since they changed the locks. It’s been hanging on the key rack in the foyer since last Saturday. Now it’s gone.”
“Do you think one of the movers took it when they packed up Jack’s things?”
“I bet you’re right, but why? Those guys don’t know me from Adam. Why would they want my house key?”
“To steal things, honey. You’re going to have to change the locks again, and the sooner the better. You can’t risk it, Mia, not living alone like you do. Reggie is a good watch dog, but what if you aren’t home and someone sneaks in?”
“You’re right, damn it. That cost me three hundred bucks. I call the locksmith again. I hope they can just re-key the locks. Okay, I’ll let you get back to work. Thanks, honey.”
“Come over for dinner, Mia. Sounds like you’re a little stressed. I’ll be home by five-thirty.”
Chapter Three
Tina worked on Vic’s unruly hair, comb in hand, and a dozen bobby pins pinched between her lips. Sasha painted her nails, wearing lime green, cat-eyed readers, so she wouldn’t make any mistakes. The coral colored polish would look great with Vic’s olive skin and raven hair.
“Vic, am I’m doing a good job?” Sasha asked.
“Sure, hon, just make sure to keep the polish off my cuticles.”
“Maybe I can work at the salon doing mani-pedi’s,” Sasha suggested, enthusiastically.
“Yeah… no. Are you deranged, Sasha? You make more money in one hour of modeling than you would in a month of polishing someone’s nails. Anyway, Mia is going to start taking pictures of you for your portfolio and our advertising. Make sure your little fanny is at the salon on Tuesday so we can get started.”
“Okay, Vic. That sounds exciting. When can we start house hunting?”
“We’ll get together next weekend and start looking, okay?”
“Cool. You guys know the best areas anyway, even though Tarrytown isn’t very big.”
“That’s right, leave it to us. We won’t steer you wrong.” Vic glanced at the clock: 11:58 a.m. “Are you guys almost done? I have a dress to put on.”
“Yep, go ahead and get dressed, we’re finished,” Tina said.
Vic left for the bedroom. “No peeking. Wait until I come out.”
Tina, Karen and Sasha waited in the kitchen for Vic’s grand entrance. They gossiped while enjoying a fresh pot of coffee and cookies Karen found in the pantry. The clip clop of Vic’s heels sounded on the glistening hardwood floors as she neared the kitchen. They spun their chairs around to face her as she entered.
“Holy shit, Vic! Are you hot or what?” Tina squealed. She let out a long wolf whistle while Karen and Sasha gasped with their mouths gaping open.
“Do you really think I’m hot? Is my ass too big?” Vic asked, knowing the answer to both questions already.
“You look amazing. You’re even hotter than me,” Sasha said.
Vic pranced around the room pleading with Sasha to show her how to strut like a model on a catwalk. The girls were enjoying the moment when the doorbell rang.
“Shit, he’s here!” Vic yelped, almost in a panic.
“Yeah, he’s supposed to be, dummy. You should be happy he’s on time. Points for Max,” Karen said, as they gathered on the couch to watch him enter. “I wish I had a bag of popcorn.”
Vic took a deep breath and opened the front door. Max stood on the porch with a grin that almost reached his ears. He gave his own version of a wolf whistle as he looked her up and down. “Somebody get me the smelling salts before I pass out,” he joked. “What a beauty. Good God, I’m going to be the envy of everyone today.”
“Oh stop it,” Vic said, loving every word of his praise. “Come in already and meet my friends. Max, this is Karen, Tina and Sasha, my girls.”
“Hi, Max. We’ve heard so much about you from Vic. She can’t stop raving,” Tina said, just to embarrass Vic.
The three of them looked Max up and down, appreciating everything they saw. “Wow… Vic wasn’t kidding,” Sasha added, “you’re hot.”
“Sasha, jeez! Can you please zip it?”
“Sorry, nice to meet you.”
“Well it’s nice to meet you too. I’m sure we’ll all be close friends soon,” Max said, with a positive nod. “What, no Mia?”
“Not today. Should we head out? You can drive my car, while I call out the directions. Lock up girls. See you later,” Vic looked back, grinned and blew air kisses to her friends.
“Wow, not bad… not bad at all,” Tina said, as she downed her cup of cold coffee. “Wanna go out to lunch? Karen, call Mia and see if she wants to meet us at Morey’s.”
A late lunch at Morey’s was just what they needed. Mia had something to run past the girls, and of course, they had to ooh and aah about Max. Mia sat at a bar table waiting for everyone to show up. She ordered two bottles of Merlot because she knew that’s what they’d be drinking anyway. Mia poured four glasses. The girls arrived and air kissed her when they reached the table.
“Why didn’t you come over to Vic’s house this morning?” Sasha asked. “That Max is way too gorgeous.”
Mia laughed. “You’re preaching to the choir, sister.”
“What does that mean?”
“Never mind, sit down. I have something to run by you guys. It’s kind of scary, but I want everyone’s individual opinions of what I should do.”
All eyes were on Mia, wine glasses suspended in mid-air.
“What?” Tina asked.
“Okay, so I changed all of my locks last Saturday morning, right?”
“Yes,” they agreed.
“What I didn’t tell any of you, was that Jack texted me, and called about eighty-five thousand times Friday night after the ordeal at the promotion party.”
“He did that to me too,” Sasha said, sounding worried.
“Same here,” Karen said, as she looked at each one of them.
“Well, shit! Why didn’t we tell each other?” Mia asked. “He actually threatened me in one text. Everything else, I deleted without reading or listening to. I didn’t want to focus on Jack or even hear his voice again. Now, my extra set of house keys are missing. They were hanging in the foyer. I was going to give them to Aaron instead of putting them outside. I went to grab them this morning, and they were gone.”
“I wonder if Jack had anything to do with it. So now what?” Tina asked.
“I’m not sure. Aaron thought it might be the movers that loaded Jack’s stuff in the truck. I guess that makes sense. They were in the house after all. How would Jack have gotten in? I thought that for a minute myself, but Aaron’s theory makes more sense. I guess I’ll have the locksmith come in and re-key the locks.”
“Or catch the thief in his tracks,” Tina suggested.
“How am I going to do that without risking my own safety?”
“That’s a great idea, Tina. Just hide a spy cam outside. They’ll never get their foot in the door because you have deadbolts and chain locks anyway. Why spend more money re-keying the locks? We can catch the person on camera and have their butt arrested. You can download the video app right to your phone. You don’t even need to be home to catch them,” Karen said.
“That idea sounds too scary to me. I’ll just call the locksmith. So, I wonder how Vic and Max will hit if off after spending an entire day together?”
“I don’t know, but man would I love to be in her shoes,” Tina said, to the point of almost drooling.
“You said it, sister. Max Cole is one hot hunk of manflesh,” Karen agreed.
“Did anyone take a picture of them together before they left?”
“I did,” Sasha said, triump
hantly. She was the only one who had enough brain cells left after staring at Max, to snap a pic of them together.
“Well let’s see it.” The girls crowded around Sasha’s cell phone and hyperventilated over the picture. Max and Vic looked like they just stepped off a Vogue magazine cover. Mia’s heart did a little flutter as she looked at the snapshot. What the hell was that? There’s no way I’m going to let myself become jealous of Max and Vic. No way in hell.
***
Vic directed Max to the Pelham Bay Golf Course in the Bronx. The manicured gardens and lawns made a beautiful setting for the outdoor wedding planned today. The afternoon was sunny and 82 degrees.
“Just a head’s up, Max, my family is pretty crazy. There’s a lot of us, being Puerto Rican, and all. Plus we like to let loose and have fun. You do like to dance, don’t you?”
“I haven’t danced since I went to my junior prom in high school,” he said, with his sexy grin. “But something’s telling me I’m not going to have a choice, am I?”
“You got that right, mister. There’s no way someone as hot as you is going to sit in a corner and go unnoticed. I’m getting you out there, baby, and we’re gonna shake up the dance floor. We’ll have a great time. My family is a riot. I need to figure out how to keep all my cousins off you though. There’s going to be a lot of hot, young chica’s there that would love your attention.”
“Are you worried?” he asked, with a chuckle.
“Naw… I can take all of them. They know better than to mess with me. I’ll whip their asses.”
“My eyes are focused only on you. You look stunning today, Vic.”
“Thanks, Max. You’re not so bad yourself.”
The wedding was glorious. The bride, Vic’s cousin, Serena Lopez, wore a wedding dress that could rival any royal. Serena’s beautiful, single sister, Olivia, was the Maid of Honor and the groom’s brother, Élan, was the Best Man. Ten couples, a miniature bride, flower girl and ring bearer made their way down the rose petal lined path while the guests snapped picture after picture.
Max watched Vic as tears of joy wet her cheeks. The smile she wore illuminated her entire face. He smiled too, and squeezed her hand. She’s a spitfire alright, but sweet and sentimental. I like this girl.
Vic caught the bouquet and Max caught the garter.
“You know what this means, right, Max?” she taunted. “You have to slow dance with me now. Just us, in front of the whole world. Don’t worry, it’s only for a few minutes, then everyone else will join in. But for those few minutes, you’re all mine. I’ll take it easy on you, babe, I promise.” She laughed and gave Max a peck on the cheek.
Vic and Max danced in front of the crowd of onlookers while the smoke machine set the mood, and the spot light was fixated on them. The music played slow and sexy. Hoots and hollers came from everyone watching, because they looked that good together. Vic nuzzled in close with her arms wrapped around Max’s neck. He pulled her in even tighter.
“Max Cole, I think you’re enjoying this,” Vic whispered in his ear.
“Victoria Alonso, I’m enjoying you.”
The bride and groom made their exit at eleven o’clock and the party began to wind down. “What do you think, Vic? You wanna blow this pop stand?”
“Sure, let’s go to my house. What’s your pleasure?” she asked, making sure she sounded sultry.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously… beer or wine?”
“I’m a beer kind of guy, but you knew that. There’s time… plenty of time to get better acquainted. Now let’s go have that beer, gorgeous.”
Chapter Four
Mia called the locksmith Sunday morning hoping to leave a message. A recorded voice said the office would be closed until August 4th.
Well, what the heck? Now she felt anxious and irritated. “C’mon Reggie, let’s go for a walk.” Mia grabbed the leash and snapped it to Reggie’s collar. She pulled the front door closed out of habit, then turned back and went inside to grab her keys and slip them in her pocket. She exited again, giving the doorknob a twist to make sure it was locked. Going through the daily process of walking Reggie made Mia stop and take note of her actions. Crap! I never lock the front door when I walk Reggie. I’ve never given it any thought until the keys went missing. Anybody could have come in and taken the key, even Jack. Mia’s eyes darted up and down the street, looking for that familiar white BMW. Nothing. Goose bumps rose on her arms. Okay Mia, stop freaking yourself out. I’ll keep the deadbolt and chain lock secured for now when I’m inside. In a week I’ll get the locks re-keyed. She turned the corner with Reggie.
The man wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses waited an extra minute, then nonchalantly went up the sidewalk, unlocked the front door and slipped inside. He headed straight for the basement. He knew Mia rarely went down there. Out of sight, out of mind, she always said. Truth be told, Mia didn’t use the basement for anything except storage because it creeped her out. It was the perfect way for Jack to come and go at will.
He descended the twelve steps and pulled the string on the ceiling light. The windows were large enough to easily fit through. This will work out fine. It doesn’t hurt to have another way of getting in, in case Mia changes the locks again. Jack unlatched all the basement windows, then went back upstairs. Just to mess with her, he pulled one of the kitchen chairs out about a foot from the table. “That will drive her nuts,” he sneered. He peered out the windows to make sure nobody was outside, then left.
The neighborhood walk ended, and Mia returned home with Reggie. She had lunch plans with Aaron, and wanted to look especially nice for him. She felt good about their relationship and where it was going. Soon, we’ll take it to the next level. Mia wanted to be intimate with Aaron. She was ready, and dreamed about it when she lay in bed at night. Aaron would wait for her to initiate sex because he was a gentleman.
This whole thing with Jack had Mia unnerved. She hadn’t heard from him at all. That in itself didn’t sit well with her. Jack had always been a loose cannon, and his silence worried her more than anything else. Unfortunately, her thoughts were more on Jack and the divorce, then on Aaron, the man she loved. She couldn’t wait until it was over. Jack needed to be nothing more than a bad memory. Mia hoped to hear from her attorney saying Jack signed the papers.
Reggie bolted for the kitchen after Mia took off his leash. She laughed as he plopped down on the cool tile floor. His tongue tapped the floor as he panted. “Need some water, Reg?” Mia grabbed his water bowl and emptied the tepid water into the sink. She filled it with clean, cold water and turned to set it on the mat. She watched, as if in slow motion, as the bowl fell to the floor, spilling water everywhere. Reggie yelped and ran for the bedroom.
“Son of a bitch! I know that chair wasn’t pulled out when I left.” Mia’s hand shook as she made the call to Aaron.
“Hi, sweetheart, what’s up?”
“Aaron, can you please come over? I need you right now.” There was urgency in Mia’s voice.
“Mia, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not. I’m seriously going crazy. Please, Aaron, come over now.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Hang tight, honey.”
Mia sat on the porch waiting. She fidgeted and couldn’t control the trembling of her hands. Aaron’s car rounded the corner and squealed to a stop in her driveway. He rushed up the sidewalk and embraced her.
“Sweetheart, what happened?”
Mia began sobbing with her head in her hands. “Aaron, somebody came into the house. I mean just this morning, a half hour ago.”
“What? Are you okay? How do you know? That’s it, I’m calling the cops.”
“Wait, just hold me for a minute. We need to figure this out,” she said, as she wiped her eyes.
“Do you want to go to my house?”
“We’ve got to go inside, first. I didn’t look around yet. I ran out when I saw it.”
“When you saw what?”
“Come i
nside, I’ll show you.” Mia took Aaron by the hand and led him into the kitchen. “Be careful, the floor is wet. There.” She pointed to the chair, in the same position, a foot from the table.
“I don’t understand what you’re pointing at.”
“The chair. When I took Reggie for our morning walk, all the chairs were pushed in. I had my coffee and toast at the breakfast bar this morning. I never sat at the table. I locked the front door when we left, and we were gone for about thirty minutes. This is how the chair was when we got back. I haven’t touched anything.”
“Stay in the kitchen, honey. I’m going to search the house thoroughly.” Aaron opened the service door and flipped on the garage light to check there first. “Come, Reggie, you can help me.”
He searched the entire house and found nothing out of place, other than the chair. “Everything looks normal, sweetheart. None of the doors or windows appear to be tampered with.”
“There’s still the basement. I hardly ever go down there. It’s dark and creepy.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back, stay put.” Aaron grabbed a flashlight, then he and Reggie disappeared down the flight of stairs. Mia heard each descending step, and counted them in her head. She knew he reached the bottom when she heard him pull the strings on the individual ceiling lights. Within minutes he and Reggie came back upstairs.
“Mia, when was the last time you were down there?” Aaron asked.
“Last year when I brought up the Christmas decorations, why?”
“Every window latch was open, and the dust on the sills was disturbed. I locked them again. My question is, if it’s truly a thief, wouldn’t they have taken anything?”
“It’s Jack.”
“What?”
“It’s him, he’s messing with me. He wants to drive me crazy. I have to warn Karen and Sasha. He left them threatening messages too. We have to get restraining orders right away.”
“Honey, he’s still your husband, and he hasn’t done anything to warrant a restraining order against him.”
