The Gift

by Kim Pritekel

  “How much further?” she asked, nearly pulled off her own feet as, yet again, Oscar got caught up. She turned to see Oscar’s entire foot buried in a pile of…something.

  “Lego my ankle,” he growled angrily.

  Catania covered her mouth with a hand for fear of bursting into entirely inappropriate laughter. “Come on, big guy.” She grunted, yanking on his hand.

  “You comin’?” the self-named Lego asked.

  “Yup. Be with you in a minute,” Catania called back. She turned back to her partner. “On three…”

  Eventually the trio reached the white hatchback that sat toward the back of the junkyard, cuddled up against the weathered fence.

  “Here she is,” Lego said, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of his coveralls. “My family has owned this place for three generations, and I ain’t seen this car here before.” He nodded at his own declaration. Looking at Catania and Oscar, he shrugged. “What’cha think?”

  “Uh,” Oscar said, meeting Catania’s gaze briefly. “Lego, those rims are so rusted, I don’t think this car has been driven in more than twenty years.”

  ****

  Catania and Oscar stood outside of a storage unit at a storage facility. It was cold and she shoved her hands into her coat pockets. Looking around and seeing nobody nor any cars, she glanced at Oscar, his ever-present sucker stick bobbing from between his lips.

  “When was this guy supposed to show?”

  “Half past twenty-five minutes ago,” he said.

  ****

  “Mr. Reeves, this is a gray Volkswagen Squareback.”

  “It’s not white?”

  “No.”

  ****

  “My nephew suddenly showed up one day,” Marla Abrahamson said, leading the duo from the house to the expansive pasture that was her backyard. Sitting just beside the old barn at the edge of the property was indeed a white Subaru wagon.

  “How long ago did he show up?” Catania asked, wondering if for the first time in three days she’d actually need to pull her notebook. This time it was looking like there may be some potential for something.

  “About nine days ago,” the older woman said, huddled in her housecoat.

  “And we have permission to search this car?” With the older woman’s nod, Catania said, “Ma’am, why don’t you go back on inside,” Catania said with a kind smile, briefly touching the woman’s shoulder. “We’ll let you know if we find anything or need anything, okay?”

  Left alone, Catania looked the car over. It definitely could be the one they were looking for.

  “What do you think?” she asked, reaching into her pocket to pull out a pair of latex gloves.

  “We may finally have something,” Oscar said, pulling his own gloves on. “Let’s check it out.”

  Noticing some paperwork and things piled on the front passenger seat, Catania headed over there, pulling the door open while Oscar headed to the back, opening the hatch.

  “Colorado plates,” he stated.

  “Not our Arizona,” she admitted. “But that could have been changed.” She grabbed a handful of papers. All looked to be a mixture of junk mail and bills, both opened and unopened.

  “There is so much shit back here,” Oscar said, tossing aside jackets, clothing, trash, and even an empty box of diapers. “I don’t see how Megan Murphy’s body could have ever been transported in here.” He studied a jack-in-the-box toy before that too got tossed aside. “Looks like a lot of this stuff has been here awhile, too.” He stood from where he’d been leaning in through the open hatch. “You know what…”

  Catania watched as he made his way around to the driver’s side door, tugging it open. Squatting down, he began to look for something.

  “You got that VIN on ya, Nia?” he asked, pulling reading glasses out of his jacket pocket.

  Catania removed her phone and pulled up the note she’d made for herself days before for this very purpose. She read the number to him. “We got the right car?”

  Oscar looked up at her as he pulled his glasses off, shaking his head.

  “Damn it. I was so excited that maybe we’d found it,” Catania said with a heavy sigh, tossing the paperwork back onto the seat. “Guess we should have looked at that first.”

  “Back to square-fucking-one.”

  Catania stepped back from the wagon so she could slam the passenger door closed. Damn it,” she said again, hands on hips as her head fell.

  “We’ve still got the Heiner house, and the guy down by the Mill—”

  “Nah,” she said, waving off Oscar’s words. “Let’s get something to eat. I need a break.”

  ****

  Catania could feel her partner’s eyes on her as she poured the salsa from the black plastic cup onto her taco salad. “Yes, Oscar?” she asked, never taking her eyes off her task.

  “You know I like Mexican,” he said. “But why aren’t we at Randy’s? Why haven’t we been there this whole week and why have you been bringing your lunch? I haven’t seen you do that in about two years.”

  She didn’t respond, had no intention of responding, but what he said next stabbed her through the heart

  “And, why did Ally look like she’d lost her best friend when she was over this past weekend to help decorate the Christmas tree?” He paused and Catania didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to say as she felt like she was about to cry. “Nia?” he said gently, pausing until she finally did look at him, managing to swallow her emotions down. “Did something happen, kid? I know you really like her. You two seemed to have gotten really close.”

  She let out a heavy sigh and set the salsa cup aside as she sat back in the booth. “We kissed.”

  Oscar’s eyebrows raised. “Uh oh. Is she not into that? Is that why you’re avoiding her?”

  “Something weird happened to me, Oscar.”

  “Look, Nia, I want to hear about that, but Linda has really grown to like Ally and, well, I have, too. You’re my buddy and I care about what’s going on. Don’t change the subject.”

  “I’m not. Listen. Ally kissed me. I’m…well,” she said softly, about to say it out loud for the first time. “I’m crazy about her, so obviously I responded.” She hesitated to continue, not sure what Oscar would think.

  “But something went wrong, I take it?”

  She nodded. “Yup. While we were kissing, that’s when the weird things happened. I had this, this…vision, I guess.”

  “Uh, I know I’ve been married forever, but isn’t that called a fantasy?”

  “Of a woman being murdered?” She met his surprised gaze and held it. “It was crazy, Oscar,” she said almost in a whisper as she brought back the images from her memory. “I saw her so clearly, could feel what she was feeling. It scared the living shit out of me.”

  “Jeez, no doubt. Any idea who this woman was?”

  “I—” Catania cut herself off. She had an idea, yes, but decided it would be crazy to share it with him. After work, she intended to hunt down her street girls to ask around. “No.”

  “So, did you freak Ally out or something?”

  “No, I’m the one who freaked out.” She picked up her fork to mix the contents of her taco salad around in the edible bowl. “She took it as rejection of her, I think.”

  “Oh. Ouch.” He was silent for a moment as he cut a few bites of his burrito, ready to stab and eat. “And, I’m guessing you did that wonderful communication thing you’re so good at and explained it to her?”

  She smirked. “Oh yeah, sure. ‘Gee, honey, sorry ’bout that. Some dead woman popped into mind. You’re awfully purty, though.’” She waved his idea away. “She’d think I was nuts.”

  “You know, Nia, I’ve known you a long time, worked with you a long time, and even though I’ve only known Ally for a month or so, something tells me she actually would understand.”

  She met his gaze but said nothing, his words rolling around in her mind.

  “One thing I do know, however,” he continued, pointing his
fork at her. “You’re being unfair by letting her believe something that’s not true.”

  She used her fork to spear a hefty bite of meat, refried beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and salsa. She put it all in her mouth and chewed as her mind did cartwheels around what he’d told her. To be honest, it felt good to finally talk about it and maybe get some good advice. Finally, she swallowed and washed it all down with a drink of Coke.

  “Is she really mad at me?” she asked at length.

  It was Oscar’s turn to take a thoughtful moment as he chewed his lunch. “I wouldn’t call it mad,” he said. “She just looked very sad. I mean, we had a great time with her. She came over Saturday for dinner and we did the tree stuff, but you could tell something was wrong.”

  “How do you know it had to do with me?”

  He shrugged, using the side of his fork to cut another bite from the large burrito that was smothered with green chili, a Pueblo staple. “I know Linda had invited both of you, so she asked why you weren’t there and Ally pussyfooted around her answer. I guess she hadn’t asked you, especially since you hadn’t mentioned it to me.”

  Catania felt the need to cry return at hearing that. She took a moment to gather herself with the distraction of eating before she replied. “I tried to talk to her at the diner. For some reason she was leaving early from her shift, but she literally ran from me.” She couldn’t look at her partner and friend as she told him that. Instead, she forced herself to continue eating.

  “Well, Nia,” Oscar said gently. “You said you think she thought you rejected her. She was probably seriously embarrassed. I mean, to kiss someone, that’s kinda really putting yourself out there. I’d feel really humiliated.”

  Catania sighed, nodding as she chewed her latest bite, smaller than the previous one so she wouldn’t choke on it and her emotions. “She said that to me,” she said after taking a drink. “She told me she was embarrassed. She thanked me for essentially being her friend and…” She smirked ruefully. “It really sounded like she was breaking up with me. Our friendship, I mean.”

  “She must really dig you, Nia.” He sat back against the seat, reaching out for his own soda to sip. “I mean, she doesn’t seem like the vindictive type to me, so I’d say it’s more along the lines of it’ll be too painful for her to be around you.”

  She met his gaze, a knife slashing her heart. “That hadn’t even occurred to me. I just thought that maybe she was too mad.”

  “I mean, I’m not her, I don’t know, but from what I’ve gotten to know of Ally, she’s a pretty sensitive girl. I can see her holding on to anger like that, you know? Or,” he added. “Maybe holding on to that kind of hurt, like to kinda protect herself, you know?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

  “By the way,” he asked, forkful of food halfway to his mouth. “How’s the wrist? I mean, since you listened to the doctor and everything and kept that sling on,” he added sarcastically.

  She grinned, glancing at the Ace bandage she’d wrapped her wrist in rather than the cumbersome sling. “It’s great. It’s my damn fingers that hurt, though.”

  “You know what’s crazy?” Oscar said, amusement in his eyes. “With how deep that wound was in your fingertips, how much skin those staples took and the scar tissue that will form, your prints will be altered. Maybe you should become the criminal cop.”

  She chuckled. “Yeah. Great idea.”

  ****

  It was a rare rainstorm in late December, Christmas only a few days away. The rain was coming down harder and so was the temperature. Catania wondered when it would ultimately turn to sleet and then snow.

  She and Oscar had ended their day unsuccessful with any of the tips they’d checked out. She knew Price would be angry, but they were doing what they could. She had an appointment to meet with the lab the following day to talk about some results in the Tanner case.

  For now, she was looking for her girls. She had questions about Liv, the young African-American woman she’d seen only the one time with Trish and Maria, the young woman whom she’d given matchbook number eighteen, the very matchbook that had been found in Kevin Tanner’s truck. She thought she’d seen her hanging around during the press conference a few days before, but wasn’t sure.

  After driving around for nearly an hour and not finding anyone—everyone likely too smart to be out in the dangerously cold temperatures—she decided to call it a night. Glancing at the clock on her Jeep’s dash, she saw the late hour and decided to suck it up and head to the diner. It was way too cold for Ally to walk home.

  Pulling up to the building, she saw, as she expected, the lights already dimmed and shades drawn. She was, however, surprised to see a car in the parking lot. Pulling up near the back door, she killed the engine of her Jeep and didn’t even bother putting her jacket on before she climbed out and ran to the door, hair already plastered to her head by time she reached it.

  Knocking loudly on the door, it finally opened and the man she recognized as the new cook stood on the other side. “Hey,” she called over the deluge. “Is Ally still here?”

  He shook his head. “No, she left about twenty minutes ago.”

  Catania nodded and thanked him before running back to her Jeep. She looked out of the windshield. Well, at the glass anyway; the rain was coming down so hard she couldn’t even see the building before her. Gripping the steering wheel, she tried to decide what to do. Go home, or…

  Chapter Sixteen

  She raised her fist only for it to fall back to her side. Letting out a heavy breath, she raised it again, this time actually making contact with the wood, rapping lightly as it was late. She’d let herself into the main house with the key Karen had given her as a backup person should anything happen.

  There was no answer. She cleared her throat, feeling nervous. She knocked lightly again, cringing at the seemingly loud boom in the quiet hallway. She raised her hand a third time then paused, ultimately deciding to let it go.

  Her nervousness turned to deep disappointment and fear that she’d lost any chance of having Ally in her life. With a heavy heart, she turned away, bringing a hand up to run through the strands of her hair, still wet from the punishing rain both at the diner and then running to the Aberdeen House. At this point, all she wanted was to take a hot shower, climb into bed, and disappear.

  Her morose thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of a door opening and her name spoken softly. Turning, she was treated to the sight of Ally, who had taken a half step out of her door, a white bath towel held in her hands. She still wore her diner uniform dress, but it was saturated in the front and her hair hung around her face in wet blond tendrils.

  Catania walked back to the door and, without a word, Ally stepped back inside and allowed her to enter. The door closed behind them, Catania noted a lamp was lit on the entertainment center giving the small living room space a soft, golden hue.

  “Sorry I didn’t hear you knock,” Ally said quietly, the towel clutched in both hands and held to her chest. “I was downstairs and didn’t hear it.”

  “It’s okay.” She studied that beautiful face that she’d missed so much. She met Ally’s eyes, which were slightly shifty, often falling downward. “I’m sorry you had to walk home in this,” she said at last. “I’m sorry I didn’t get there in time.”

  Ally looked at her and gave her a small smile. “It’s okay. They told me to go ahead and go a little early. It wasn’t raining as hard then, but the skies opened up and dumped buckets about a block away from the diner.”

  Catania gave her a small smile. “Always the way it goes, isn’t it?”

  “Nia,” Ally said softly. “It’s late. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m sorry,” Catania said, again running a hand through her hair, this time out of nerves. “I won’t keep you. I uh…” She tucked in her bottom lip to chew on before releasing it, feeling so lost, so unsure if she’d be able to make it right between them. “I wanted to apologize. I’m so sorry I hur
t you, made you feel embarrassed the other day.” Now she was the one who struggled to meet Ally’s gaze. She swallowed. “I won’t go into it now, but something very strange happened to me and it had nothing to do with you. My reaction, freaking out, it had nothing to do with you.”

  “I’m sorry that whatever happened upset you,” Ally said, the slightest bit of bitterness in her tone.

  Catania studied her face and knew it was now or never. Her heart just couldn’t take it if it was never. She took a slight step forward, flirting with Ally’s personal space. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” she said again, her voice not much above a whisper. She shook her head. “You didn’t read anything wrong.”

  Catania leaned in just a bit, just enough to make sure she wasn’t going to get slapped before she fully bridged the distance. The second feel of Ally’s soft lips was exquisite. It felt like home. She nearly cried in relief when she felt the slightest give in that softness. She brought a hand up, her fingertips just barely making contact with the soft yet chilled skin of Ally’s cheek.

  Ally’s body began to relax as the slow, almost hesitant familiarization of lips continued. One of her hands left the shield of her towel and lightly gripped Catania’s arm. Emboldened, Catania’s hand on Ally’s face moved, lightly cupping her jaw, using firmer pressure with her mouth. She nearly screamed out for joy inside when Ally tossed the towel away to the couch before that hand found its way into short, damp hair.

  Catania placed her free hand on Ally’s lower back, gently nudging her forward until their bodies were a breath apart. She could just barely feel the light shifting of Ally’s body through the thick puffiness of her jacket. Any lament of wanting to feel more was wiped away when the soft, tentative touch of Ally’s tongue flicking her bottom lip brought a soft sigh from Catania’s mouth.

  The moment their tongues brushed against each other, it was as if a switch had been hit. The dynamite that was the years’ worth of pent-up passion inside Catania had absolutely been unleashed, the fuse lit the moment she’d met Ally. Apparently, the beautiful waitress felt the same as her hand wormed between them and she grasped the large zipper tag on Catania’s coat, tugging down on it until the jacket fell open.