Best In Show (Mina's Adventures Book 6)

by Maria Grazia Swan

  Millie patted her hand. “I bet he’s out there looking for the third man.”

  “The third man? Oh, you mean whoever was driving the truck that rear-ended us?”

  “Yes, the same man who must have staged the scene to make it look like you were driving the car, figuring no one would report the kidnapped person missing. I wonder who the real victim was supposed to be.”

  “Oh, honestly, that’s what Gino and Diego also thought. It’s kind of interesting you would think the same way. Diego put my hospital ID bracelet in his pocket. He said he’d keep it until whoever did that to me was brought to justice, or something to that effect. I think it’s very romantic, now that I’m safe at home.”

  “Like I said, he’s hunting the culprit who caused you pain. It’s in their blood. They see themselves as our knights in shining armor.”

  “They? Our knights? Sounds to me like you had your own Diego Moran in your life.”

  Millie’s face took on a dreamy look, her eyes staring at something only her heart could see. “Mine didn’t make it. You see, once they truly love someone they’re like—a fox—exposing their soft side. The object of their affection becomes their weakest link.”

  “Millie, you scare me. I don’t want to cause him harm.”

  “I’m sorry Mina. Pay no attention. Things are different nowadays. I didn’t mean to worry you. Besides, I don’t even know under which flag your man serves. Do you?”

  “Um, no, yes. He once asked me to meet him at the Marine Corp Air Station in El Toro. So I assumed he was with the United States.” And relieved to assume that. She carefully ignored the fact that the El Toro meeting was when he’d broken up with her.

  “I don’t know, dear, it’s been decades since I last stepped into the lobby at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue.” Did she notice Mina’s blank look? “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? When Diego calls, ask him to explain.”

  “I doubt he’ll call me tonight.” But he said he would, so she hoped he would.

  “Oh, he’ll call you tonight and tomorrow. The man who caused you pain is still out there, and until he’s caught or neutralized, Diego will make sure you’re safe. He may be sitting in a car down the street watching your house as we speak. ”

  “Millie, you’re spooking me. I’ll be looking over my shoulder twenty-four seven until I see him again.”

  “No need to worry. Nothing bad will happen to you. You have him out there, and old Millie in here—we’re both good shooters.”

  “Not helping. Too much information.” Her phone chimed. “Better go feed my cats.”

  Millie winked at her and closed the door softly after Mina left.

  Mina answered her phone while walking through the dark garage. “Margo? Why are you always whispering? What is it now?”

  “Holy cow, you won’t believe it.” In spite of her words Margo sounded rather amused.

  “What are you talking about?” Mina closed the door of the laundry room behind her, barely missing stepping on Houdini. “Sorry, kitty.” She bent down to pet him.

  “Eva.”

  “Kalinda’s assistant? What did she do?”

  “I’m not sure. There was a big scene, not what I would have ever expected, not in a million years. Gino asked her what she was reading. He wanted to see her book. They got into an argument, and it got loud until Kalinda quietly rolled up in her wheelchair and swiftly yanked the book from Eva’s hand. But it slipped and hit the floor spilling all kind of papers and letters. I don’t know what it was, but Eva started to cry. I tell you she was howling. My poor Gino froze and Kalinda asked me to please gather up and hand her what lay all over the floor. So I did.

  “With every piece of paper I picked up and gave to Kalinda, Eva let out a bloodcurdling howl. It was like an old I love Lucy kind of scene except that in the middle of all the excitement, Gino, still all shook up, asked me to leave. So I went to sit in our bedroom pretending to watch television but trying to hear what was going on in the living room. Pretty soon Kalinda was raising Cain. Man, was she ever pissed. Wait, wait, I think Gino’s coming back. Call you later.”

  Mina was stunned, yet aware she must be the cause of all the turmoil. Diego had taken her remark seriously and must have asked Gino to check Eva’s book. If Margo was right—and when Margo was involved, it was at times hard to separate reality from assumption—inside the book there must have been more than just printed pages. Too bad it wasn’t a recording device like she’d imagined. Still, Mina felt pretty good and couldn’t wait to hear Diego’s version of the incident. Why hadn’t he given her his new phone number?

  She fed her cats, a lot. Since Houdini had joined the household, Aria spent a lot more time carousing with the calico than sitting on the window waiting for Mina to get home, making her hungrier. But it was a good thing for both of them, and Mina didn’t feel as guilty about getting back late at times from work.

  Foraging for food in her kitchen had become a mission impossible. She promised herself she would go grocery shopping tomorrow. Then she toasted the two ends of what was once a loaf of bread, scraped her Nutella jar, and called it supper. Walking around to check that all doors and windows were secured, she couldn’t help but think of Millie’s comment: “He may be sitting in a car down the street watching your house as we speak.” Somehow, the idea didn’t give Mina any tingling of pleasure. Quite the contrary, it made her edgy and anxious.

  By the time she turned off the lamp on her night table, she had not heard from Diego or Margo, so she had no idea how the Hermosa Beach drama was unfolding. But her cats sat curled up on the pillow next to her, Diego's pillow, and that brought Mina comfort.

  Chapter Eleven

  The ringing of her cellphone woke Mina. What time was it? It was pitch black, inside and out. “Hello...” Mina cleared her throat. She could use a sip of water. “Hello. Who is this?”

  “Mina, oh, my God. It’s bad. They even called Dan.”

  Margo? “It’s the middle of the night. This had better be good, and why the hell are you still whispering?”

  “I don’t know. You have no idea. I think she’s going to prison as soon as they figure out which prison to send her to.”

  “Stop it. Who is she? Who are they? Are you talking about Dan De Fiore? What would he be doing in Hermosa Beach? The town is in Los Angeles County so that’s not his jurisdiction. Maledizione, let me turn on the light. I want to know what time it is. Is Diego there? I need a glass of water.”

  “What’s with you? You sure are cranky. And no, your boyfriend is not here in person.”

  Of course he wasn’t. He was in Maui, or so he said.

  “They had one of those, you know, meetings over the phone. And Eva is in her bedroom. I think she’s locked in.”

  It was two am. Mina’s stomach growled louder than she did. None of what Margo was saying made sense to Mina's food and sleep starved mind. “Margo, listen up, I’m going downstairs to warm up some milk.” She continued talking as she went downstairs. “I have no clue as to what you’re talking about. Is everyone there awake? It’s two in the morning. Am I the only one who has to work tomorrow? How long ago did this phone meeting happen? Never mind. Can I talk to Gino?”

  “What about?”

  “What do you mean what about? About all these strange snippets of so-called news you’ve been feeding me. That’s what about.”

  “No, no. You can’t tell him. I’m not even supposed to know what’s going on.”

  “Margo.” Mina put a mug of milk in the microwave. “Margo, why are you doing this to me? Either tell me the whole story or just shut up. You’re driving me crazy.”

  “Fine, suit yourself. I was just trying to be helpful. I thought we were friends.” And with that Margo hung up.

  Damn. What now? Margo would forgive her, eventually. But how was she supposed to get back to sleep? Mina had no idea how to get ahold of Diego, and she wasn’t about to call De Fiore at two a.m. The only one left was Gino. But calling him meant letting him know
that Margo had been reporting on whatever it was that was going on, just like one would report a sports event, a running commentary.

  Mina carried her mug upstairs. Maybe the warm milk would help her get back to sleep. Who was she kidding? She wanted to know what they found in Eva’s book. What could be so incriminating in those letters to get the local police involved, according to Margo, of course. Mina was pretty sure Eva wasn’t American. She had an accent. But they could still lock her up here.

  Houdini, wide awake, watched Mina come upstairs and he followed her to the bed. That was her idea of a knight. Not really, but somehow the cat’s presence gave Mina a sense of security. She was still sipping her milk when the phone rang again. Really, Margo...

  “Yeah?” She yawned loudly, and heard chuckling. Was Margo messing with her? “Hey, Margo, stop it already.”

  “Sorry, I was concerned about waking you up. Either Margo beat me to it, or you didn’t go to bed yet?”

  “Diego. Oh, sorry, sorry.” She set her mug on the night table. “Yes, Margo keeps on calling with all these strange tales that don’t make much sense. How are you? Where are you?” She turned and saw Houdini drinking the milk that was left in the mug, his head buried deep in the porcelain. Darn cat.

  “I’m fine, I wish I was there with you. Soon. Mina, I’m not sure what Margo told you but thanks to your sense of observation, or imagination, we did find evidence in Eva’s possession. She’s in trouble. It’s sort of sad because she had nothing to gain and everything to lose.”

  “Damn, I want to know the whole story, from the beginning. I’m tired of maybe this or that. What is it that Eva did that you and Gino found it necessary to consult with Detective De Fiore?”

  “Ah, Margo has been busy. How did she know about Dan?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care. After all, she lives there also, right? They just don’t build stone walls like they did in Italy anymore. Paper walls I tell you, how hard can it be to eavesdrop?”

  “Paper walls—you’re cute. One thing we now know for sure is that the car accident was not related to what’s happening with Kalinda, so it’s safe to assume it was a case of mistaken identity. Not that it changes anything of what has already happened, but I doubt they have any further interest in us, and that’s a good thing. You’re sure you want to know about what’s going on with Eva? And here I called to whisper sweet nothings in your ear.”

  He laughed a low laugh that made every inch of her skin sprout goose bumps by the bushel. “I tell you what,” said Mina, “yes, I’m very curious about what’s happening in Hermosa Beach, but I love to listen to your voice regardless of what you talk about. So go ahead, you talk, and I’ll close my eyes and pretend I’m listening to you telling me a bedtime story. Okay?”

  “Deal.” He sighed. “Mina, soon, very soon, I will be telling you a better story while holding you close.” He cleared his throat. “Years ago, in a faraway land, a young woman named Eva, feeling very lonely, decided to look for love on the Internet. She had heard there were websites where you could sign up, post a photo and other information, and with some luck find your perfect match. Eva didn’t know much about computers. Actually, Eva knew nothing about computers, but she had inherited a large estate from her father, so she hired some local expert, a college student really, to help her with the task.

  “She did what most everyone else was doing, posted a picture of herself when she was years younger, and exaggerated the bulk of her inheritance. Men flocked. For a while it was all fun and games and no personal contact. Then a few of the men insisted on phone calls, and that was still fun. But Eva, being a shy person who had never been in a serious relationship, didn’t progress beyond phone sparring. Once summer was over, the college student she had hired went back to school in a different town.

  “Now more confident, Eva decided she could do this on her own. At some point she became involved with two men. By involved I mean she went out on real dates. Here her story becomes fuzzy. Eva found herself falling for one of them. A gentleman she calls him. The kind that always brought her flowers, opened doors, and was content with goodnight kisses. The opposite of the other one whom she described more like a domineering octopus. Her words, not mine.

  “Hoping the gentleman friend would propose, she decided to say good-bye to the octopus. He seemed to handle it well, and asked her to go out for a good-bye dinner and a show at a rather swanky hotel. Fast forward, she woke up the next morning in one of the hotel rooms in bed with the octopus. Maybe she drank too much or maybe he spiked her drink. It got ugly, with lots of crying and name-calling. She went home and locked herself in her house, too embarrassed to see or talk to anyone. She told herself it was the end of her life as she knew it, so she wouldn’t answer the phone or her door, too ashamed to confess what had happened to the gentleman, who for sure wouldn’t want to marry a fallen woman.

  “To her surprise and delight, the gentleman didn’t give up, and one bright day when she finally answered her door bell, there he was with a bouquet of flowers in his hands, declaring his everlasting love for her.”

  “That’s so romantic, don’t you think so?”

  “I would if that were the end of the story.”

  “There’s more?”

  “Yes, and you aren’t going to like it. Soon the gentleman offered to help Eva run the estate that was in a sad state due to Eva months of reclusion. He moved into her house and took control. When he disappeared six months later, he emptied her bank account. Of course, all the info she had on him turned out to be phony, and the police weren’t much help. Eva had to sell whatever was left of the estate to pay all the past-due bills. The gentleman had been in charge of paying them, but never had, pocketing the money instead.

  “When it was all said and done, she relocated to a small condo her father had left her in Maui, and worked as a receptionist at a local hotel. But the anger that had filled her heart since the betrayal screamed for vengeance. She spent her days working and her nights dreaming of finding the gentleman and destroying him the way he had destroyed her life. She contacted the college student who had once helped her manage computer tasks and asked if he could help her track down the man.

  “By now the young man was a college graduate working in a very prestigious office. He promised to think about it. What he didn’t share with her was that the company he worked for was a front for something else, something shifty. Then he convinced Eva that the gentleman was still playing the old dating game and taking women’s money, and he soon talked Eva into applying for the position of assistant/caregiver to Kalinda, The Matchmaker to The Stars, with the story that it was the site where the gentleman did his hunting.

  “The former college student even prepared the resume Eva submitted, the one that got her the trusted position in Kalinda’s home. Eva would take her book with her whenever she ran household errands, and instructions on how to access specific computer information would be slipped into the pages of the book while Eva would be in a fitting room or using the ladies’ room. We believe a full time employee of said company followed Eva’s every move. That should tell you how bad they wanted to get into Kalinda’s computer, and I don’t mean the Matchmaker to the Stars site.

  “It took a while before Eva figured out she was being used. And thankfully she made a mistake. She accessed the Matchmaker site on her own, and that’s when Kalinda realized something was going on. Kalinda then began to pay close attention and she realized that whoever was doing it was no amateur, or at least seemed not to be an amateur. That’s when she panicked and called me. I doubt Eva had a grasp of the enormity of the consequences created by the chain reaction from her actions. One good thing is that we were able to close down a very dangerous operation.”

  “Did Eva find the gentleman?”

  Silence.

  “Mina, I guess I could live to be a hundred years old, and I would never understand the way women’s minds work. Do you know what Kalinda said? “Damn it, I’m going to find that son of a bitch who
stole her heart and her money.” She’s feeling sorry for Eva. Unbelievable.”

  “What is it that they wanted from Kalinda’s computer?”

  More silence, then carefully chosen words, of course, “Kalinda is sort of a genius when it comes to computers. She’s able to gather important information not usually available to the public.”

  “Diego, you were doing great until you inserted your personal comments,” Mina teased. “I think stories are fascinating because they’re just that, stories. What’s going to happen to Kalinda? Who will help her? This is so sad. I should call her. Can I have her phone number?”

  “Bella, please, you can hug Kalinda and tell her how much you care, but you need to pretend you know nothing about the rest. Promise me, okay? And do not discuss this with Margo.” He chuckled. “Apparently you’re more awake now than before my story, so my bedtime story mission was a total failure.”

  “No, it’s not. I have so many questions, but I’ll save them for your next call. By the way, how come I don’t have your phone number? What if I absolutely, positively must speak to you?”

  “Call Gino. It’s only temporary. Everything should be fine in a few days.”

  “Oh, I have an idea. What do you think about Kalinda getting herself a service dog?” He didn’t answer. “Hello? You there?”

  “I think it’s a terrific idea. Well, Mina, you keep coming up with little gems. I will make sure Gino gets in touch with you in the morning. Yes, a very, very good idea. Too bad you aren’t looking for a job.”

  “Why? You’d hire me?”

  “Me? Hire you? Not possible. I wouldn’t get anything accomplished, and I would have you wear a red uniform.”

  Diego was still chuckling when he said goodnight.

  Chapter Twelve