by Mike Faricy
I picked up my envelope plus the cash Natasha had tossed across the table and stuffed them into my pocket then stood up.
“Pinkie will see you out,” Tommy said and held out his hand to shake. “Pleasure doing business,” he said.
Cecil raised his almost empty glass in a toast. “No hard feelings, Haskell.”
Natasha continued to look the other way and Pinkie suddenly opened the door and stepped into the room.
She linked her arm in mine and half led me out of the room. I heard someone close the door behind us before we’d walked through the library. She stroked my arm as we walked down the hallway toward the Lady Slipper’s front door. The lights were dim, it was very quiet and I figured with the exception of Tommy’s office the building was empty.
Pinkie gave a quick glance over her shoulder once we got to the front door then she gently stroked the side of my face, took my head in both her hands and kissed me gently on my swollen lips.
“Allow me to give you some advice. Tommy always, always gets what he wants. I’m not sure about all you were involved in, and really, it’s not important. Just be very careful. I’m guessing you made a profit, more than you expected to make. Take that and don’t think about anything else. He usually mentions a family member or a friend. Consider that a warning. They’ll be hurt first, before he sends someone after you. And he will send someone.”
“Then what are you doing here? Why do you stay?”
She leaned forward and gave me another kiss. “Because, I’m just like you, I don’t really have any other option,” she said then turned and walked back toward Tommy’s office.
Chapter Seventy-Two
At first I thought it was my head throbbing, but the noise continued, interspersed with the jarring ring of my doorbell. Since Morton was stretched out across my bed and I’d been pushed over to the very edge again it didn’t take much for me to just roll off, then pull on a robe and stumble downstairs to the door. Morton lifted his head to give me a quick glance. He had a look on his face that suggested, “Get that, will you?” Then he snuggled back into my bed and began snoring again.
Whoever it was pounding this early they were awfully damned determined.
Still half asleep I opened the door and tried to focus.
“It’s about time, I’ve been trying to call you since I landed last night. Do you ever answer your phone?”
“Oh yeah, sorry about that, the police have it, my phone. I had to get a pay-as-you….”
“God, what the hell happened to you, you really look like crap,” Maddie said then brushed past me. “So where’s my Morton?” she asked glancing around expecting him to be at the door.
“He’s still sleeping. What the hell time is it anyway?”
“Still sleeping? It’s almost noon, for your information,” she said and took off toward the kitchen.
There were a number of beer bottles on the kitchen counter, more on the floor in the den along with an almost empty bag of Bar-B-Que potato chips and a pizza delivery box. I quickly stuffed the bag of chips in the pocket of my robe then closed the door to the den on my way to the kitchen.
“What the hell is this?” she said picking up Morton’s water dish and sniffing it.
That lightweight Morton had left some beer in the thing. “I don’t know, God did he pee in it?”
“Err-rrr-rrr,” she growled, then set the dish on the kitchen counter. Her eyes widened when she saw the pizza crusts left in his food dish.
“I guess he’s not really into the crust,” I said then quickly rinsed out the water dish and set it back on the counter.
“Morton, Morton, it’s Mommy,” she called suddenly shifting to that obnoxious little girl Morton voice. If he had any sense given the tone of her voice he wouldn’t respond. “Morton, Morton? Morton, baby.” It sounded like nails on a chalk board.
A lazy sounding “Woof” came from my bedroom upstairs just as Maddie opened the door to the den and saw more beer bottles and the pizza box. “Oh. My. God.” She gave me a vicious look then pushed me out of the way, this time using both hands. She rushed up the stairs calling. “Mommy’s coming, Morton, not to worry, darling. Mommy’s coming.”
Morton “Woofed” a couple more times.
I followed Maddie and was halfway up the stairs when I heard her scream. By the time I made it into the bedroom she had crawled onto the bed and was gently petting Morton. His tail flopped back and forth a little, but nothing like when he was excited by Princess Anastasia.
“My God, what did you do to my poor baby,” she cried. Morton lay on my bed with the splint on his hind leg, the protective cone around his head and his side bandaged from the bruised rib and the stitches, milking it for all it was worth.
“Oh, that. He sort of saved the day on a kidnapping Saturday. It was in all the papers, on the news, even made Youtube.”
“Kidnapping?”
“Yeah,” I proceeded to give Maddie some of the highlights of our week. I left out the part about him mounting Princess Anastasia, drinking beer, eating Bar-B-Que potato chips, cheeseburgers and pizza. I saw no point in mentioning his chewing Natasha and Heidi’s thongs. I did mention his tripping Denis Malloy, capturing that guy in the middle of the night at the Blessington and then saving me from Cecil later in the day, although I didn’t tell Maddie Cecil’s name. I told her about the special seats in the private viewing box we got for the Blessington, the cheers and applause. Once she calmed down we all went into the kitchen and I showed her the newspaper articles with Morton’s picture on the front page under the headline Canine Hero.
“Oh God, Dev. I don’t know whether to kiss you or kill you.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” I said and loosened the belt around my bathrobe.
“Oh please, sorry, um, look, there’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it. Please do not interrupt me.”
“Okay.”
“I sort of met someone else. I actually knew him a long time ago, I mean when we were kids, sort of. Anyway, I’m moving back to Atlanta, not ‘cause of this guy, but just to help my folks. I got a job at one of my dad’s firms. But anyway, Morton and I are driving down to Atlanta, we’re leaving day after tomorrow.”
Buster.
We sat at the kitchen counter. I put the coffee on, made some breakfast, filled Morton’s food dish with dog food and put water in his dish. He gave me a look that suggested he wasn’t all that thrilled with his menu.
Maddie went on and on about all the wonderful things Buster did, how great the new job was going to be and how fun Atlanta was. “It’s just that, well I feel like I’m really going home, Dev. You know what I mean?”
I nodded like I did, but I really didn’t have a clue. We loaded Morton’s stuff into her car and I helped him into the back seat. He gave me a look like a kid having to cut spring break short and head back to school early. I reached in and scratched him behind the ears and all of a sudden there was a big lump in my throat and my eyes started to water.
“We better get going,” Maddie said, she was checking the side view mirror for traffic and not really watching us.
Morton moved his head and I bent down so he could lick my face. “Thanks for saving me, buddy.”
He gave me another big lick and then whined a little.
“Hey, Morton, Princess Anastasia,” I whispered and his tail started thumping in overdrive. I reached into my pocket, took out a couple of Bar-B-Que potato chips, held them in my hand for Morton to devour in one quick lick.
“We gotta go,” Maddie called.
I closed the door and Maddie gave a quick wave without looking at me. She waited half a moment for a car to pass then slowly pulled away from the curb. Morton wedged his head with the protective cone and his paws up onto the back seat and stared out the rear window at me as they drove off.
“Princess Anastasia, Princess Anastasia, Princess Anastasia,” I yelled suddenly running down the sidewalk after them, tears rolling down my cheeks.
Mor
ton continued barking and kept it up until they turned a corner and drove out of sight.
The End
Thanks for taking the time to read Dog Gone. If you enjoyed the read please tell 2-300 of your closest friends. If you have the time, please take a moment to click on the appropriate link below and write a favorable review. Even if it’s just a sentence or two, it really, really helps. Thanks…
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Mike Faricy
Scam Man
Published by Credit River Publishing 2016
Copyright Mike Faricy 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior and express permission of the copyright owner.
All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2016 by Mike Faricy
ASIN# B01BEQM3ZS
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following people for their help and support:
Special thanks to Tim and Roxanne for their hard work, cheerful patience and positive feedback.
I would like to thank Roy and Julie for their creative talent and not slitting their wrists or jumping off a bridge when dealing with my neanderthal computer capabilities. Special thanks to Amanda Jane for a lot of laughs and some great ideas.
Last, I would like to thank family and friends for their encouragement and unqualified support. Special thanks to Maggie, Jed, Pat, Schatz, Pat, Emily, and Av for not rolling their eyes, at least when I was there, and most of all, to my wife Teresa whose belief, support and inspiration has from day one never waned.
To Teresa
“Are you awake?”
Mike Faricy
Scam Man
Chapter One
Her name was really Amanda Jane, but she and everyone else referred to her as AJ. I met her a couple of weeks back at a friends party and we seemed to hit it off pretty well. I asked her out a couple of nights later.
On our first night out we’d gone to dinner at a small, very private little restaurant overlooking the river. Romantic, expensive and both of us had a lovely time. We met at the restaurant. My experience had been there’s no “dinner with benefits” on a first date. I get it. She was a classy gal and just getting to know me, so I was prepared. I got a text from her later that night saying, “Thanks.”
On date number two we grabbed a movie, some chick flick that she just loved and I worked to stay awake. I kept cautiously checking my watch to see how much longer the torture would last, thinking more than once that the watch had stopped. We grabbed a glass of wine at an upscale bistro place after the movie. She mentioned the big important meeting she had the following morning after I suggested a drink at my place. So, I kissed her goodnight on her front porch steps and got the distinct impression that a grope was there for the taking, but it was only date number two and her ultimate mission was to prove she wasn’t a slut. Against my better judgement I remained a gentleman. Mission accomplished.
Tonight was date number three. Experience suggested since she’d already proven she wasn’t a slut, tonight would be the clincher. I‘d pulled out all the stops since there was a better than even chance we might end up at my place. I laid in a couple of bottles of her favorite wine, put fresh flowers on the dining room table and in the den. I vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, placed a scented candle next to the bathroom sink, hung clean towels, changed the sheets and tossed the pile of laundry waiting to be washed into the basement.
I had eggs, bacon, sausage, and a cinnamon coffee cake set to go for breakfast. The coffee pot was programmed to start perking at eight tomorrow morning. Just in case, I’d even picked up a couple of different teas. All my bases were covered.
I made a reservation for 8:30 at Bobby’s, a trendy little place just a five-minute drive from my house. I wanted to miss the hurry-up crowd, the folks who had somewhere else to go that night. We sat and laughed over a glass of wine for a good half hour before we even looked at the menu. AJ wore a slinky, low cut black dress that was so tight it looked like it was painted on. A little gold cross dangled intriguingly at the top of her cleavage and I pictured myself at exactly the same spot in just a few hours. I ordered a soy sauce mushroom appetizer to share and we took our time eating.
AJ nibbled a mushroom then said, “Would you mind ordering dinner for me? I kind of, well, you know, sort of like being told what to do.” Then she raised her eyebrows in a suggestive way.
I ordered two sixteen ounce steaks, medium rare. I finished with a clean plate, AJ had the remaining two-thirds of her steak placed in a white Styrofoam takeout container. Our plates were cleared just after ten.
“May I interest either one of you in a dessert? Our special tonight is a delicious caramel custard made with free-range eggs and heavy cream from a local Minnesota dairy farm. I strongly recommend it,” our waiter said then flashed a charming smile.
“What do you think?” AJ asked. She brushed a sexy blonde lock back over her ear and bit her lower lip.
“If you want, or we could maybe go to my place for a nightcap, you know, if you’re feeling up to it.“ I crossed my fingers and counted to myself one, two, three, four…
“I better take a pass on dessert. The steak was delicious.”
“Sir?”
“I think just the check when you have time.”
“Actually, I’d love the dessert, but the night cap might be more…interesting,” she said smiling.
I immediately wondered where in the hell the check was.
I got a lingering kiss just inside the restaurant before I held the door for her.
“Goodbye, thanks so much,” she called to our waiter on the way out.
“Have a fun night, folks,” he replied.
“I plan to,” AJ said and made a beeline for my car parked at the curb.
I held the door for her and she gave me another kiss before she slid into the passenger seat. Once I started the car she said, “Would you mind if I turned the channel on your radio? There’s a station that plays real romantic music until midnight on Fridays. Really gets me in the mood.”
“Oh, yeah, great idea. I love romantic music.”
She hummed along with the song as we raced to my place. As I drove, she gently rubbed her index finger up and down my neck. I made the five-minute drive in just under three and pulled to the curb.
“I’ve been dreaming about this all week, I really want to see…your place,” she said. Then she undid her seat belt and waited for me to get out and open the door for her.
I hurried around the back of the car, wondering what her favorite perversions might be, all the while reminding myself not to get her too drunk. I opened the passenger door and she brushed up against me as she stepped out. “Come here,” she said and gave me a long probing kiss. Then she looked at my front porch and said, “Did you get some packages delivered?”
“What?” I turned and stared at a number of items piled on my front porch just as a head suddenly popped up from behind a grocery bag and barked. “Morton?” I cried and leapt over the front steps, ran up the sidewalk, and took the steps up to the front porch two at a time. “Morton.”
He jumped out of the basket placed in front of the door, but his leash had been tied to the door handle and he couldn’t go any further. His golden retriever tail was wagging a mile a minute, slamming into the dog food bags and knocking over the grocery bag full of dog toys.
“Morton, Morton, hey boy, what are you doing here?”
“You have a dog?” AJ asked walking up the sidewalk behind me.
“No, this is Morton. He belongs to a…to someone
I know, I mean used to know. I watched him for a couple of weeks last spring while she went to take care of her mom and dad, some sort of medical thing. She ended up moving down to Atlanta, got a great job offer, and reconnected with some nitwit she knew in high school. God, she took Morton down there with her. He saved my life actually.”
“The dog?”
“Yeah, didn’t you, boy? Oh good boy, good boy. It’s so good to see you. Did you miss me, Morton? Did you?” I said scratching him behind the ears as he licked my face.
“So, ahhh, you need some help carrying this stuff inside?”
“What? Oh yeah. Come on in. Let me just get him untied here,” I said undoing the leash from the door. I took my keys out and unlocked the door. Morton pushed with his shoulder just as I began to open the door. “Grab one of those dog food bags there, AJ. Hey, Morton, you remember the place, don’t you? We had some good times, didn’t we?” I hurried after him as he barged into the entryway, charged through the house into the kitchen and then ran back out into the living room. He hopped onto the couch, barked a couple of times at a car driving down the street then followed me as I made my way to the kitchen, turning on the lights as I went.
“I bet you’re hungry, aren’t you fella? Here how about this,” I said pulling a food dish out of the grocery bag I’d brought in from the porch. Morton barked, and hopped back and forth as I set the empty bowl on the floor.
AJ walked into the kitchen and set the dog food bag on the floor then set her Styrofoam container with the steak on the kitchen counter and started brushing dog food crumbs off the top of her dress. “Oh God, look, I’ve got dog food all over the front of this new dress.”