For Love of Livvy (25 page)

"You must design jewelry.” She smiled.

None of your business, I thought. However, I said, “Yeah, it's my latest craze. I just can't get enough of this stuff. The gems are gorgeous, don't you think?"

"Indeed.” With that, she pulled a coupon out from under the counter and scanned that.

I got a discount without even asking. I smiled and thanked her as I headed out the door, a determined woman on a mission.

In the car again, I headed to Cranston. I dialed my cell phone and my mother answered the call. With a lame excuse, I asked to speak with my father. Mom said he was at the hall playing cards with the guys and wouldn't be home until later in the afternoon. I thanked her, promised to stop by soon and headed toward the Knights of Columbus Hall.

It occurred to me that I'd have to face him down with as much bravery as I could muster. Maybe he wouldn't yell, scream and holler in front of his cronies. I'd been wrong before though, so why would it be any different now? I sighed, cut through the traffic and avoided my parents’ neighborhood.

My father was the Grand Poobah or some such thing at the K of C. He hung out there quite often now that he'd retired from the restaurant. Dad and some of his law abiding friends, not Jimmy the Neck, played cards at the hall nearly every day.

My car swung with ease down the street and I saw my father's car parked alongside the building. I pulled up next to it, locked the doors and wandered inside with reluctance. This must have been how the gunslinger felt at the O.K. Corral. Beads of sweat slid down my armpits. A face off with my father was never high on my list of priorities.

Laughter greeted me when I entered the card room. My father sat facing toward the entrance. He was extremely superstitious about having his back to the door. When he glanced in my direction, the smile died on his lips. A serious gleam entered his dark eyes. Since I'd never before entered this realm of his life, he undoubtedly considered something was wrong.

The other guys at the table turned to stare at me and I tried for a natural smile. It might have fooled most of them, but not my dad. Instead of greeting me with open arms, his dark eyes narrowed before he rose from the table. His hands spread out in welcome, he bid me entry into the room and introduced me to the other card players. Then he asked, “What brings you down here from the boonies, Lavinia?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about Mom, if you have a minute. Nothing to worry about, just, you know, I wanted to talk to you. It won't take long. You can get back to your card game straightaway.” Wow, that was lame. No wonder his eyes narrowed.

"Sure. Gus, deal the cards and you's can play until I come back, eh?” he ordered his buddies. With a false smile, he left the table.

His hand on my arm, we walked from the game room into a larger one. It looked like a place where banquets were held. A chandelier sparkled above walls dressed in some shiny material. I glanced around without interest and played for time. The sweet smell of flowers drifted over my senses. A huge bouquet of roses and carnations sat astride the wall table.

I tried to come up with a reasonable explanation of my actions so my father wouldn't lose his temper. Nothing came to mind. It was a sink or swim situation. I could feel myself sink before I'd had a chance to open my mouth.

"Speak up, Lavinia. It must be important for you to come here."

"It is, dad. Now don't get mad, but I've had some instances at the house that I haven't told you about."

"It's the new boarder, isn't it? He's an ax murderer like I said and your cop friends told you, ah? Aye, I knew it, you just take everyone at face value. Now if you'd get married, this wouldn't happen.” His voice started to rise.

My hand came up in a stop traffic motion. “Wait Dad, before you jump to all the wrong conclusions, just listen to me for a minute."

His temper was on the rise, I knew the signs. He held it in check. Dark eyes glared, but Dad waited for me to continue. I'd better be quick or it would be too late.

"A couple weeks ago I found a box on the doorstep of Livvy's house. In it was a bundle of expensive cut stones. There were a couple more bags hidden inside the house as well.” I explained how I'd found them and my intruder, leaving out the self defense part, of course. He'd blow a gasket if he knew I'd been attacked. Then I explained the reason why Trooper Richmond kept an eye on me.

"So why have you told me this now?” He had a suspicious cast to his face.

"There have been phone calls from some creep demanding the stones back. I don't have them, the state police do. They won't give them back since they're stolen contraband. The caller has threatened to hurt Mom, and I'm worried. The stones have to be returned today or Mom and I will be injured or worse."

"Lavinia, your brother never got into this kind of stuff. Why do you have to have a life like this?” Heavy arms waved frantically as he rambled on. A thick hand ran through his hair while he paced back and forth.

When he turned toward me, his eyes were flat and black like those of a shark.
Shit, he was angry now
. The worst was yet to come, so I waited in silence.

"Other parents have daughters who get married, have children, do the soccer team thing with them, and live a normal life. But not you, no, you gotta hang out with cops and teach school about criminals and whatnot.” His hands waved in the air again and his pace slowed when he reached me.

"Man, I knew this was a mistake. All I want you to do is to keep an eye on Mom for me. I can't go by the house, I have to get home and wait for the call.” I lied by omission. I had told Richmond I wouldn't go to my parents’ house, hadn't I?

"Well, that's what I'll do then. But for Chrissake, find a man and get married, will ya? You're driving me nuts.” He left and went back to the card room to say good bye to his buddies. Why he thought marriage would change my haphazard life, only God knows. That's just the way my father thinks.

Outside the foyer of the massive building, I waited for him to join me. I wasn't sure it was the smartest thing to do, but I did it all the same. He strode through the door and glanced to where I stood. Together, we walked to the cars and parted ways. I blew a sigh of relief that he hadn't started to bark at me again and drove out of the parking lot.

Heading back to Scituate, I took the quickest route through the back roads. I wanted to be sure I was in place for the phone call to make the drop. Lanky Larry entered my mind, but I didn't call him. It would be me, Lola, and hopefully the cops, if things went well. The fewer people involved, the better at this point.

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Parked in front of the garage, I contemplated the plan. It could get real dangerous, and the seriousness of the situation tied my stomach in knots. If this idea didn't work, I was screwed and so was my mother.

If anyone tried to hurt my mother, my father would take actions nobody would like. He had many high powered connections, mostly legal and several illegal. People who owed him favors, folks who wouldn't think twice when it was time to pay up.

With a heavy heart, I left the car and sauntered into the house through the French sliders. The day had turned out sunny, even if it was cool. The vertical blinds closed with a flick of the cord and the kitchen became shadowed. If anyone watched me through the windows, they would be out of luck.

The packets of gems lay strewn across the counter as I slid them all out of the bag before me. Piles of colorful stones of various shapes sat in small, clear plastic bags. I put the velvet drawstring pouches aside and split each plastic bag open. Emptying them into a pile, I then segregated the stones into three groups. Drawing each soft velvet sac closer, I swept the piles of gems into each one.

They lay in a neat cluster on the countertop and I tossed the leftover debris into the trash container. Grasping the bundled gems, I tossed them into my purse and snapped the clasp tight. Now to await the phone call, I thought with dread. Patience had never been my strong suit and it was difficult to keep from pacing back and forth.

I cleaned the sink, did a load of laundry, switched on the television and then switched it off for lack of concentration. The smooth surface of the lion beckoned me and I found some solace in the strength of the animal form. He was a fighter and so was I, it didn't matter that he was an inanimate object. His form encapsulated my emotions.

The sound of the doorbell brought my breath to a standstill. I choked at the thought of who might be on the other side of the wooden door. With purpose, I strode forward, opened the door and peered through the security hole in the front entry. My mother stared around as she stood on the doorstep.
Holy crap
. I unbolted the door.

It swung wide and I stared at the woman. Mom stepped into the hallway and through the door of my apartment. I glanced around outside to see if my father was there, but he was absent. After I secured the door, I scurried inside behind my mother.

She stood with her hand on the lion, a strange look on her face. Unsure of what to expect, I sat on the edge of the nearest chair and waited for her to speak. My mother turned toward me after she glanced around the room.

"I haven't been here for ages. I thought it would be nice to see what you've done with the place.” Her glance lingered on my face and she continued. “What's wrong, Lavinia?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, I just didn't know you planned to come up today, that's all. I'm glad you're here,” I lied. Shit, just what I needed was to have my mother on hand for the showdown. “Does Dad know you're here?” I asked.

"No, I went out to the mall after you called and haven't been home yet. What are you not telling me?"

This was the moment of truth. I had to get rid of my mother and I'd do what it took to accomplish that. I opened my mouth to give her some cock and bull story when the doorbell rang again. Geez, what the hell was this, anyway?

I rose from the chair as my mother sat down, and I went to answer the door. Once again, I peered through the peep hole and in amazement, I saw Richmond on the doorstep.
Great, just great
. With a beleaguered sigh, I wrenched the heavy door open once more.

His eyes narrowed as he took in my harried appearance. Marcus stepped toward the door as I tried to block his entrance. He put one hand on the outside door and pushed it back to make his way past me while I straddled the entry. One brow arched and he moved forward with purpose.

"Lavinia, are you trying to stop me from coming in?"

"Uh, well, it isn't a good time right now. I was just about to leave,” I lied again. I knew I'd go straight to hell from all these white lies, but God help me, it was the best I could do.

"With your mother, I assume?” Both brows hiked a notch. From the rigid look on his face, it was safe to bet he knew I'd lied.

"My mother?"

"I just saw her arrive. I thought we had an agreement?” His voice was soft.

I knew I was in the crapper.

"Oh, my mother. Yeah, well she stopped in quite unexpectedly."

"Uh huh, I'm sure.” He moved past me and I caved in to the pressure that was about to squeeze the life out of me.

His entry into the living room brought my mother to her feet with a warm smile. Approval of him shone on her face as she greeted him with her best manners. The grin widened as she glanced toward me with the same approval.

"How are you, Trooper Richmond?” My mother asked.

"Fine, Mrs. Esposito, I'm glad to see you again. Could you excuse your daughter for a moment? I have some business to go over with her."

"Sure, I should get home anyway,” she murmured. “Will you be down for dinner tonight, Lavinia?"

Richmond smiled and wrapped an arm around my waist and said, “I'm taking your daughter out to dinner tonight, I hope you don't mind, Mrs. Esposito."

His approval ratings had just skyrocketed. I knew he could do no wrong in my mother's eyes at this juncture.

"Not at all, I'm so glad you two are getting along so well.” She smiled at him. Her glance strayed to me as she said, “I'll let your father know so he won't worry if you don't come to eat with us."

Relieved, I glanced from my mother to Richmond and back. He'd made it possible to get her out of the house and away from me with just a few words. I'd never have managed it alone and silently thanked him for his interference.

We stepped aside as my mother moved toward the door. I stood in the entry and watched her get into the car and leave. Once she was out of sight, I closed the door and strode back into the apartment. She'd taken the main road so I knew she'd be safe. No telling who she'd meet if she took the back roads like I did.

Marcus paced the hardwood floors in the dining room as I entered the apartment. I could hear the sound of his tread and knew he was in the process of walking off his dismay. Maybe dismay was too mild a word, but what the hell, it wasn't my fault my mother came by, I reasoned.

His glance strayed toward me as I leaned against the door jamb. I didn't utter a sound while I assessed the depth of his anger. It is difficult with police since they had that cop face thing going on a lot. My hands snuck into the pockets of my jeans, and I just stood there watching him pace.

"We agreed that you'd stay away from your family, Vinnie.” His voice was hard, just like his eyes.

The craggy features of his face reminded me of granite when he looked at me like that. Damn it, it wasn't my fault that my mother had taken it upon herself to pick today for a visit. What was I supposed to do, tell her to get lost? Oh, that would go over big. My mother is Italian through and through and there are boundaries one never crosses, at least I try not to.

"Look, don't get all huffy. My mother decided to come here today. God knows why, but she did. I didn't invite her, Marcus.” My temper and voice climbed even though I tried to put a lid on them.

"Suppose you tell me why you went to the Knights of Columbus to see your father?” He controlled his voice.

I felt like an idiot for my inability to do so. Were there no secrets? I said, “The creep called last the night and threatened to hurt my mother if I don't return the damned gems. I called today in search of my father and she said he was at the hall.” I recapped the visit and how Dad had returned home to stay with her, but she had gone to the mall.