by Kit DeCanti
Kat was surprised at how far it was to the top- but not nearly as surprised as she was at the beauty of it all. The drive way circled around revealing a small grouping of cabins encircling a large main house. A path led from the cabins and main house to a barbeque and picnic area and continuing off into the woods from there. In front of a rustic garage and old gas pump was a Model T looking as though it had just rolled off the show room floor. Although everything was very rustic, it was as neat as a pin.
“Not one blade of grass or leaf out of place,” Kat thought as her car rolled to a stop. She got out and was admiring some topiary near the porch of the main house, when the front door opened and a tall nice looking middle-aged man strolled out and waved to her. He seemed vaguely familiar to Kat, but she dismissed it. “After all, this is a small community. Everyone in the county is bound to cross paths with each other at one time or another,” Kat reasoned. He walked down the steps meeting her midway and introduced himself as Mr. Guido Lombardi.
Kat shook his hand and gave him her card, and told him in a matter of fact manner that she was doing a ‘welfare check’ on Mrs. Lombardi and asked to see her.
Mr. Lombardi was very friendly and cooperative- but not surprised at the request; which Kat thought strange.
He invited Kat inside and asked her to wait in the foyer. From there she could see into the great room and down a hall into a library and up a rustic but grand stair case. Mr. Lombardi had disappeared down the hall and through a door off to the left. He soon poked his head out and motioned for Kat to join him. As she approached he put his finger to his lips indicating for her to be quiet, and stopped her at the door. “My wife is napping,” he said in a hushed voice. The large darkened room was neat as a pin and smelled clean and fresh, a nurse sat in a chair facing the bed with her back to the door and didn‘t turn around. Asleep in a huge rustic bed was a frail looking old woman, curled up on her side. Kat tip toed a bit closer for a better look. The sleeping woman seemed old enough to be Guido’s mother and yet he had indicated that he was the husband.
After making sure she was alive and safe Kat tip toed out of the room, and Mr. Guido Lombardi closed the door behind them.
Kat thanked him for his cooperation and took her leave.
Back at the office Kat told her supervisor, “I can’t say Mrs. Lombardi looked well…. but she was there and seemed to be well cared for. Even still, I’d like to do a background check and call on her again.” But Kat was told to leave it alone by her supervisor.
“There are plenty of open cases to keep you busy, Kathryn!” scoffed Kay.
Still, Kat couldn’t get the frail little old lady out of her mind. The person on the phone was adamant that Mrs. Lombardi was missing. “Why would Mr. Lombardi keep his wife away from family and friends?” Kat wondered.
About a week later Kat’s suspicion about Guido Lombardi grew and her opinion of him took a turn towards dislike, when she ran into him and a beautiful young woman, coming out of the Kelseyville Post Office holding hands.
Guido pretended to not know Kat, when she greeted him. He didn’t even respond to his name when Kat called out to him. He just kept walking. His companion, however, was obviously uncomfortable and nervous; so much so that dropped a letter she had been carrying. Kat saw that it was addressed to Mrs. Lombardi and made a mental note of the post office box. Mr. Lombardi was slick though, and stayed cool and calm as he swooped up the envelope and with his companion’s elbow in his large hand he strolled quickly to a black Hummer with blacked out windows.
Kat couldn’t put her finger on it- but she knew she had seen the two of them before. And her dislike for the man intensified.
A couple weeks later, Kat deliberately ‘ran into’ Guido Lombardi again at the post office and wasn’t surprised to find him alone this time- but was surprised to find him sporting a full grown mustache and much longer hair.
“He couldn’t have grown it that fast.” Kat said to herself. A closer look made her suspicious that both were fake. This time Guido readily greeted her and offered a bit of small talk about the weather.
Kat was confused- but not convinced. The only thing she was convinced of was that Guido was going to extreme trouble to cover up his affair, when all he would need to do is to tell her it was none of her business.
“Which it isn’t,” Kat muttered as she got into her own car. “…. if it is just an affair. What if it’s more?” and she frowned.
Kat decided another visit to the house was called for and this time Kat was determined that if Mrs. Lombardi was napping she would wait until she woke up so she could have a talk with her.
It took a few phone calls to get an appointment. When Kat arrived the must-ached Guido Lombardi minus the fake long hair, met her at the door and told her that Mrs. Lombardi was too ill to actually carry on a conversation with her and was disturbed by strangers as well- but if Kat would agree to pretend to be there to visit him and not say anything to upset his wife, she could stay as long as she liked. Kat knew that she had to agree to his terms- this being her second visit with no search warrant. She felt quite certain Guido knew this as well. She also felt by his assertiveness, that he knew she was there without authorization. Instead of inviting her in, he led her from the front porch, around to the back of the house.
The frail elderly woman was on the back deck in a rocking chair sitting in the sun staring out across the valley at the mountains in the distance. The nurse was again with her, sitting low in a willow chair with a large sun hat, which had drooped down over her face. She seemed to have fallen asleep. Kat couldn’t blame her, she probably gets little sleep. Since Mr. Lombardi took his place in the chair next to his wife, the elderly woman was not being neglected. Kat could not detect even the slightest sign of neglect or abuse. The elderly woman was clean, neat and dressed appropriately for the temp-erature. Every so often the frail little woman would begin to rock, short little rocks, and then as if forgetting to keep rocking the old lady would come to a halt and just stare off in the distance again. At one point her eyes squinted and she looked as though she saw something then looked at her husband as if she wanted to share it- but couldn’t make the words come out; then she just bowed her head in sadness and remained like that until Kat couldn’t take it anymore and excused herself to leave.
Mr. Lombardi walked Kat to the front of the house without a word and then turned to go back, but not before she saw the tears in his eyes.
Kat stood there wondering if she was wrong about him. About all of this. The only thing she knew for sure was that Mr. Lombardi was cheating on his sick old wife.
“Although a cheating husband is wrong; it’s none of my business… but it does make Mr. Lombardi dishonest.” Kat murmured.
Later back at the office Kat tossed it by her workmates and their thoughts were, “Can’t blame him for finding happiness where he can.”
Kat disagreed and disliked Mr. Lombardi for his disloyalty to his sick wife most of all. “A cheater is a cheater no matter what the circumstances!” Kat told her fellow social workers.
Kat was curious about Ron’s take on it, and wished she could pick up the phone and call his cell phone and ask him. She missed their frequent phone calls.
Although Ron had finally called Kat, ever since that night at Zino’s, they had been keeping their calls short and infrequent- almost only when necessary.
Kat returned to her inbox and pulled out a file that needed to be updated for an upcoming court date. It would be her first time to testify on behalf of a client. She got a dull ache in the pit of her stomach at the thought of it. She had never been in court before- not even traffic court.
Kat pulled out her day planner and jotted down a reminder to find her notes from a college workshop on this important part of her job. She wanted to review those notes.
CHAPTER FOUR
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do-
Breaking A Date Is Easier
When Ron called Kat Friday at break time, he had asked her to meet him for the
ir Friday dinner date on the roof at Bigg’s 155 Diner in Lakeport, since he would be working. She half hoped he would get a call taking him to another part of the county and not be able to make it.
Things had been pretty tense between them since Zino’s. Kat had a difficult time keeping conversations going, and Ron didn’t seem to even try.
There had never been that problem before. There weren’t any uncomfortable silences between them ever. Laughter used to be so easy. And now she couldn’t remember the last time they really laughed together. They used to never tire of peering into the depths of each other’s eyes. Now when they met their eyes avoided contact and conversation was forced and the silence was uncomfortable. Still, except for that first weekend and Monday after Zino‘s, Ron kept calling.
Tonight Kat had a prepared topic for conversation, which she felt Ron would be interested in. Well, she couldn’t have been more mistaken.
When she brought up the subject of Mrs. Lombardi and her mysterious husband Guido, Ron stiffened and his jaw set. She pressed on trying to draw him into the mystery.
Ron cut her off with, “Doesn’t your job keep you busy enough, without taking on the duty of mystery solving, Miss Nancy?” Kat winced. She didn’t like him making fun of her.
Ron realized he was too sharp and tried to soften it, but made it worse when he said, “Why don’t you leave the police work to the professionals?” as he brought his thumb up to point at himself. He laughed nervously, seeing that now she was angry.
Kat was offended that Ron didn’t take her concerns seriously, and told him so. Ron apologized and looked away momentarily then back to her and leaning closer he lowered his voice and said, “Kat, I need to tell you…” but was interrupted by the waitress.
After ordering dinner, Ron seemed to have decided not to finish his sentence and instead seized the opportunity to change the subject. Stumbling he tried to come up with something else to talk about. He chose poorly.
“Say, Kat, I was driving through Buckingham and thought the country club there might be a nice place for a wedding.”
Anger welled up in Kat again. But it quickly turned to disdain. And then to worry. Kat turned and looked intently at Mt. Konocti rising up out of Clear Lake, trying to hide the thought that just overcame her. She was wondering if maybe she didn’t really love Ron. She gave him a quick glance and knew what he was feeling. She also knew that the strong feelings he had right now were not all about their relationship. She knew that he had rejection and abandonment issues, stemming from his Dad’s early death and his mother’s more recent passing. Kat had issues along those lines herself, brought on from her own father’s early death.
Maybe it would be better for them both to not have to deal with a serious relationship just yet.
And yet here they were. It had to be dealt with it one way or another.
“But not just yet…” Kat sighed to herself. She desperately wanted to avoid dealing with anything right now.
Somehow, she and Ron got through dinner without another argument. And they got through Sunday breakfast at Auntie’s as well, but Kat wasn’t so sure they could make it through another dinner alone.
Fearing that they were heading for a break up, Kat broke their standing Friday night date saying she needed to catch up on paper work; but her plans really were to return to Vista Montagna on Cobb Mountain and spy on Guido Lombardi.
Kat was nervous on the drive up, but her curiosity chased the fear away. And although she had planned on finding a way to climb the fence and sneak up to the house, she was surprised to find the gate open. It didn’t seem to be hanging right, but she would need to get a closer look to see why. She paused trying to remember if there was a clearing further up the drive where she could hide her car near the top, saving her some of the walk through the darkness. Before she had time to decide to drive up and look for a spot, she saw headlights coming down the drive way towards her.
Kat quickly pulled out and headed up the mountain on Diener Drive, thinking she would turn back and follow who ever it was. However the headlights were coming her way. And fast!
Kat sped up but couldn’t lose the large vehicle that was closing in on her. She quickly regretted her choice of directions; since it was a long, rough desolate dirt road with many sharp turns. She had an advantage on the turns of driving a small sport car, but the other vehicle had the advantage of large tires that took the pot holes and bumps much better. She reached the summit and as she started down the other side the head lights in her rear view mirror were bearing down on her. Panicking, Kat fumbled for her cell phone to dial 911, but dropped it on the seat next to her. As she reached for it she lost control of her car and it started fishtailing and slid off the road over a bank coming to a rest on its side.
Kat didn’t even stop to think if she was okay. Fear like she had never felt before filled her, and all she could think about was getting out of the car and running to hide. She unhooked her seat belt and opened the driver’s door and climbed up and out of the car. As she was perched on her hands and knees on the fender she saw the tail lights of the large vehicle as it drove off and was both amazed and relieved to see the flashing red lights of a sheriff’s patrol car pulling up. She slid down off the fender and slumped against her car in relief and to steady her legs which were buckling at the knees. “Ron!” was her first thought.
A deputy yelled, “Does anyone need medical attention?”
Kat called back “No… I think I’m alright!”
“Get back in your vehicle Kat, and lock the doors, I‘ll send help!” The deputy yelled as he sped off trying to catch the vehicle that ran her off the road. Shaking, Kat leaned back steadying herself on her car. Although it wasn’t Ron, she knew Ron would hear about this very soon.
Kat’s thoughts went from wondering if it was Guido Lombardi chasing her, to trying to come up with something to say to Ron to explain why she blew off their date to drive up to Cobb Mountain.
Kat didn’t realize she was bleeding from a large bump on her head until the ambulance arrived. The paramedics convinced Kat to let them take her to the ER and get checked out. She had barely gotten into the ambulance when a grim faced Ron stuck his head in the door.
Riding down the bumpy road in the back of the ambulance Kat watched Ron’s bouncing headlights from the rear door window.
“How am I ever going to explain this to him?” Kat worried, hoping she would come up with something by her arrival to the hospital.
Turned out she wouldn’t need to come up with anything that night, because Ron caught a call and called the ambulance driver to give her the message that he would see her later.
‘Later’ turned out to be at Sunday morning at Auntie’s for breakfast.
Kat had been kept for observation at Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where they kept waking her due to her head injury. After being released early Saturday morning, she spent most of the day catnapping, with her worried mom and sister checking on her every few minutes. They were soon joined by Uncle Lenny and Auntie.
Kat fully expected a long lecture from her uncle and braced herself for it each time he entered her room. She was surprised when it was never forthcoming. However, his expression revealed his displeasure and disappointment with her- and that stung.
Although Ron stopped by to check on her, Kat was thankful that he didn’t come up to her room.
However Sunday morning Ron’s SUV was already in Lenny and Antoinette’s driveway when Caroline Amoretti pulled in with her daughters.
Seeing the worry on Kat’s face, Caroline reached over and patted her daughter’s hand, “Don’t worry, honey, every-thing will work out alright. Ron will under-stand.”
Angel piped up from the back seat, “What is she so worried about? Don‘t tell me you’re worried about wrecking the car! You’re not even married to him yet!” Angel defiantly got out of the car and stormed into the house ready to give Ron a piece of her mind, if he even tried to give Kat a bad time. She didn’t have to worry.
R
on was uncharacteristically silent during breakfast. Not even talking shop with Lenny. After breakfast Kat and Ron did the dishes, as was their custom. But this morning instead of the usual banter there was silence. Afterwards Kat walked Ron to the door, knowing he was off that night; but also knowing he was not going to ask her to go out with him.
She lifted up her face as he leaned down to kiss her. Kat knew the kiss was good bye. She closed the door behind him and leaned her face on it as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Kat turned around to find her mom standing there and she ran into her arms and wept. Angel stood sadly off at the end of the hall feeling her sister’s heart break.
She came up with a plan.
CHAPTER FIVE
Blind Date
The very next Friday, Angel was unusually bubbly- even for her. She kept poking her head in Kat’s room urging her to hurry and finish getting dressed.
“We’re going to be late!” she chided. But Kat was dragging her feet. She was unenthused about going out. She knew her sister was only trying to cheer her up by treating for concert tickets at Konocti Harbor Spa and Resort. But Kat really didn‘t feel like going.
Konocti is where she and Ron first saw each other. Kat would rather be going to the theater where she could sit in the dark and let the tears flow.
No, that would not do either. That too would remind her of Ron- their first ‘blind date’. In fact there was no place in Lake County that didn’t remind her of Ron.
Kat finished putting on her make up, half heartedly picked out a dress and fluffed up her hair.