Cassandra (Fells Point Private Investigator Series)

by Denise Irwin

  Leona wasn’t sure about this horse-riding scheme of his, but she moved closer to the horse and whispered into the animal’s ear, “Nice horsey.”

  Sam interlaced his fingers together creating a cup for Leona to stand on his hands. “Step into my hands, and then swing your leg over the saddle.” She did as Sam told her and was quite-frankly shocked that it was that easy. She watched as he mounted his own horse.

  They walked their horses side by side along a trail. “How ya doing, partner?”

  “So far, so good, since I haven’t fallen off yet.”

  Sam pointed to a trail sign to indicate that the next left would take them to the beach. “Leona, we’re gonna take that left.”

  “Okey dokey Smokey.”

  When they hit the beach, Sam urged his horse to go faster. The horse Leona was riding must have thought they were in a race, so he ran faster to catch up with Sam’s horse. Leona bounced up and down in the saddle struggling just to stay on the beast. She wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck and held on for dear life.

  “Sam! Can we please go slower? I liked the walking thing better.”

  “Hold on with your knees. Look at my knees see how I’m squeezing the sides of the horse. Let’s head for the surf where we can let them run wild.”

  Leona thought yeah let this beast run wild. That’s what he’s doing now! How much wilder do you want?

  Sam was ahead of her looking like he was having the time of his life. It looked like it could be fun in a twisted way, so she gripped the horse’s sides with her knees. He shot off like a bullet and they left Sam and his horse behind in the surf.

  Leona heard Sam behind her let out a whoop, “Okay, little doggy, you sure got it now.” What her husband didn’t know was that she had absolutely no control of this animal. Her horse had understood the go thing, but how did she put him back in low gear. Leona and her pal, the horse, were running through the surf along the beach. The damn horse was also having the time of his life.

  Sam caught up with her, and the horses galloped alongside one another. Leona called to Sam, “How do I get this beast to go slower.”

  He almost fell out of his saddle as he doubled over laughing. “I thought you wanted to go fast.”

  “I never said anything about wanting to go fast. How do I make him stop?”

  “Pull the reins in and just tell him to ‘whoa’, and he’ll slow down.”

  Leona pulled the reins in and said to her horse, “Whoa.” Damn, if that didn’t work. He came to a stop standing in the incoming waves.

  “See, he did what you asked him to do. Let’s run them a little further down the beach and look for a place to have lunch.”

  “Sam, you lead, this old boy will follow your horse anywhere.”

  Now that Leona knew about the ‘whoa’ thing, her confidence grew. She gently pushed her knees into her horse’s sides and as they passed Sam, she yelled over, “Wanna race to the big tree up ahead?”

  “You’re on!”

  As if the two horses knew they were in a race, Leona’s horse sprang forward leaving Sam and his horse behind in the sand. When Sam caught up to her at the tree, she told him, “It’s a damn shame I didn’t put a wager on that race.”

  “I hear you. My lady, I believe you deceived me about riding.”

  “Well, I guess I’m just a quick learner. Now that I’m on, how the hell do I get off this animal; do I just roll over and fall to the ground?”

  Laughing he told, “Stand in one of the stirrups, and swing your leg over, it’s kinda like getting off a bike. After that, just step down. Watch, I’ll go first.”

  Sam made it look easy, so she tried it. Once her feet were on the ground, she sat and took her shoes and socks off. She wiggled her toes in the warm sand while she told her horse. “Thanks for not throwing me off.” The horse whinnied. “Sam, I think this horse just said you’re welcome to me.”

  “See, horses aren’t so bad.”

  As Sam took the reins for both horses and looped them over a tree branch, Leona said, “Sam, I gotta tell ya, when he took off like a bullet, I was scared shitless. My heart was pounding so hard I thought for sure I was having a heart attack. Once I learned the ‘whoa thing’, I was able to relax and enjoy riding. I thought running through the waves was just way cool. And the best part of it all is that I didn’t fall off the horse.”

  Sam chortled, “When I saw your horse take off like a bullet, I should have had my camera ready to get a shot of your terrified look.”

  Leona howled with laughter, “You just might a second chance for that picture since we have to ride these beasts back.”

  “Didn’t you have any fun?”

  “Initially I thought I would end up peeing myself right there in the saddle, because I was so scared, but once I got the ‘whoa’ thing going, I have to admit it was a lot of fun.”

  “See, I told you it would be fun.”

  Sam found a flat grassy spot under a tree that was perfect for lunch. After lunch, they made love on the blanket in that tall grass.

  As she lay on her back watching the puffy clouds float high above her, Leona told Sam, “I don’t want this honeymoon to end.”

  “I’m hearing ya. Me either. Do you think you could leave your family and become a boat bum with me?”

  “If we had a boat like the one we chartered, I might be able to.”

  “Think on it a bit, before you give me your answer. While you’re enjoying this wonderful vacation, are you sure you want to leave your family and friends behind?”

  Sam packed the blanket and lunch item into saddlebags as he watched Leona walk through the surf. Her brown hair had streaks of blonde from the sun and salty water running through it. Her tanned body had a healthy golden glow. She looked up to find him smiling at her.

  She walked toward him and asked, “Is it already time, to go back to the ranch?”

  “I’m afraid, it is. As soon as you put your shoes on, we’ll leave.”

  She sat in the sand to put her shoes on. She stood and mounted her horse without assistance. As soon as she was in the saddle, she urged her horse to run and called to Sam. “Race you to the trail.”

  Sam, still standing on the sandy beach laughed. He mounted his horse and laughed, he’d never catch up to her, which meant, he’d never pass her. He heard her laughter ahead of him as she ran through the surf.

  When he reached the trail, she gleefully shouted to him, “I win!”

  After returning the horses to the stable, a taxicab took them back to the dock and water taxi stop. Sam and Leona took the water taxi back to The Island Hopper.

  “Sam, can we stay here one more night?”

  In New Jersey, a prison guard locked LoVerde in a small interview room with his client and posted two guards outside the door. LoVerde and Grossman looked across the table from one another.

  “Bruce, I spoke with Sal. He’s not happy with you. He’s not happy with me either. He’s afraid that you’re gonna try to cop a deal with the ADA and the AUSA. I tried to tell him you weren’t going to rat him out, but he’s worried. I gotta ask you, if either the federal or state prosecutor tries to enter into a plea agreement for Sal’s name, what do you plan to do? I just need to ease Sal’s overactive imagination.”

  Grossman thought for a few minutes while he assessed the situation, “Tony, I’m a dead man if I even consider a plea agreement. I do not intend to rat Sal out. Hell, he’s taken care of me all these years. What fucking reason would I have to go against him?”

  “You understand that Jersey still has capital punishment for rape?”

  “Yeah, but as my attorney, you’re not gonna let that happen, are you?

  “That’s right kid. As your attorney, I’m going to make sure I give the jury reasonable doubt. Fuck, we might even get you back out on the street. Bruce, with the criminal charges, it appears that you’re gonna serve some time on this, but what the hell; you’ve been in prison before. If you talk, you’re gonna get murdered in prison by one of Sal
’s buddies.”

  “I’m aware of that. Look Tony, I have no intention of squealing. I fucked up and Sal’s pissed about it, but I ain’t a squealer. I’ll take my knocks in prison but, as one of Sal’s boys, they ain’t gonna go too far. You tell him from me that he doesn’t need to worry about me.”

  As LoVerde left the room, he thought to himself, what a stupid, cocky bastard, his client was.

  As Leona stretched out on the housetop to read a book, she realized their honeymoon was almost over and she’d not bought one gift yet. She called to Sam, “Sam, where are you?”

  “Don’t worry honey, I didn’t fall overboard. I’m snoozing in the cockpit.”

  Leona raced down to the cockpit. “We haven’t bought any gifts and we go home in just a few days. What are we going to do?”

  “Leona, we flew to the Islands with the maximum number of allowable luggage bags. We have no way to get those gifts you’re worrying about, home.”

  She thought about that then responded, “Yes, we do. We can mail them to the house. I absolutely cannot go home without gifts, and I refuse to buy gifts from the duty free store at the airport.” To make sure he understood she gave him the evil eye.

  “Woman, you are such a damn hard head. We’re on our honeymoon. Relax and enjoy it. We don’t need to ship gifts home.”

  “I’m not wavering on this, if you get my drift.” He laughed at the sternness in her voice.

  Still laughing he told her, “Okay, I get it, we’re gonna ship packages home. Tell you what; we’ll sail to Puerto Rico tomorrow. If you can’t find what you want, we’ll head back to St. Thomas a day early.”

  She lovingly said, “Thank you, honey. Can I get to you a beer?”

  “You certainly can. Bring up some snacks with that beer, and watch the sunset with me.”

  They watched as the sun slid into the ocean, leaving its pink glow in the sky. Sam rose and went to the bow to hang the anchor light on the head stay and asked Leona, “Are you hungry for dinner?”

  “After snacking all afternoon? Hell no, I’m not. What about you?”

  “Me either, I think I’d just like to lay here in the cockpit and watch the stars. Maybe we’ll see some shooting stars tonight. I’m gonna go below for another beer, can I refill your wine.”

  “Sure, but you know I’ve had three glasses this evening, so I’m gonna get giggly.”

  “I love giggly women.”

  Leona had put off asking Sam about his family long enough. With her fourth wine, she decided it might be time.

  “Sam, can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Of course you can, you’re my wife.”

  “Cassie told me I should ask you about your family. When you never mentioned anyone in your family, I thought you didn’t want to talk about them. I often wondered why you didn’t mention them, but I never asked.”

  “Cassandra caught me at a weak moment.”

  “Does that mean you’d rather not talk about it with me?”

  “What did Cassie tell you?”

  “She didn’t tell me anything other than to ask.”

  “What’s a man to do with two wives who talk?”

  “You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable.”

  Sam sighed, “Cassie told me I should tell you when we flew to Houston after that money laundering case in Vegas. I just put it off. Lee, my memory of my family is quite slim in content. When I was a very young child, my family went to my grandparents’ house in Connecticut for the Christmas Holidays. All my aunts and uncles along with my cousins would gather there for several days. There was a fire.” Sam stopped talking for a moment to get his emotions under control before he could tell his wife what happened.

  Leona stood up in the cockpit, “Sam, come let me give you a hug, before you go on.”

  As Sam hugged her, he rested his cheek against the top of her head. They stood together with arms wrapped around one another until Sam could continue. Leona sat next to him rather than across from him, so she could hold his hand, and give him all her attention.

  She smiled at him, giving him the courage to go on. “The house burned to the ground with everyone inside. My entire family died in that fire.”

  “Oh my God, that’s horrible! How did you survive the fire?”

  “I was a small child at the time, so I was in the barn waiting to hear the animals talk at midnight on Christmas Eve.”

  “Sam, what can I say? I’m hurting all over for you. Who found you?”

  “A fireman found me when he came in the barn to make sure that the fire hadn’t spread to the barn... I remember he picked me up in his arms and took me out to a police car that whisked me quickly away. I suppose he wanted to prevent me from seeing that the house had burned to the ground.”

  “What happened after that? Who raised you?”

  “Since I was an orphan, I became a ward of the state. I was placed in a foster home where I remained until my eighteenth birthday.”

  “Were they nice?”

  “No, they weren’t. The state paid them a fee each month to keep me. There were five orphaned children in that house and they abused all five of us. We were slaves without rights.”

  “Where did you go when you left?”

  “Two days before my eighteenth birthday I received a letter from some investor who asked me to call him about my trust fund. Luckily, my foster parents were at work when the mail came, so they never saw the envelope. I tucked the letter into my pocket and waited until I left before I made the call. I had just enough money in my pocket to call this investor. He had someone pick me up and bring me to his office.”

  “Oh my word, you only had enough money to make a phone call. That’s incredibly horrible.”

  “I worked delivering newspapers every morning. All five of us worked. We had to turn the money over to our foster parents.”

  “Isn’t that child slavery?”

  “Yeah, but who’s gonna believe an orphan. Children didn’t have rights in those days. We were supposed to be grateful that we had a roof over our heads.”

  “What happened when you got to this guy’s office?”

  Sam loved this woman whose face showed such concern for what he’d been through as a child. “He told me I was the sole survivor in my family. I inherited the estates of my parents, my grandparents, as well as the estates of my aunts and uncles. When Social Services put me into foster care, my grandfather’s attorney put all the money into a trust. That trust grew for thirteen years and was a sizable amount of money by the time I turned eighteen. I used part of the money to put myself through school, bought the condo in downtown Baltimore, and still had enough invested that I didn’t need to get a job. However, I’m not the kinda guy who can play all day. I had to work or I’d go crazy. And, that my love is why I told you there isn’t a need to worry about losing your job.”

  “Did you think that if you told me this before we were married, I would have said yes because you had money?”

  “No, by the time I asked for your hand in marriage, I knew the woman I was proposing to. There’s no way you would ever marry for money. It’s more likely that if you knew about the money you would have declined my marriage proposal. There are a number of gold diggers in the world and babe, trust me, you ain’t one of them.”

  They slept, cuddled together in the cockpit that night.

  The next morning in Baltimore, Sue was grinding the coffee beans for a fresh pot of coffee when Cassie came into the kitchen. Sue saw a worried look on Cassie’s face. “Cassie, are you alright?”

  Cassie put on a happy face and smiled, “Of course, I am. How are you on this fine morning?”

  “I’m fine. You just had such a worried look on your face when you came into the kitchen; I wondered if you were okay, that’s all.”

  “I didn’t sleep very well.”

  “Are you worried about next week?”

  “I suppose I may be. I’d feel a lot better if Sam was driving me, but I’ll be fine. Sue when we
get through next week, I was hoping I would be able to come back here. I’m sure you and Neal would like your home returned to normal, so I can find somewhere to go if you prefer. I feel so comfortable with you and Neal, but I just don’t know how long this thing is going to drag on and I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

  “Cassie, you are welcome to stay as long as you like. You’ve been a pleasure for me, and I know Neal feels the same as I do. With that said, if there’s another place you’d rather stay, I’ll understand. I’m quite sure you’re ready to go home.”

  “I was, but I’m not so sure where home is anymore.”

  Sam and Leona set off for Puerto Rico. “Sam, I gotta tell ya, I’m really enjoying our honeymoon and I appreciate what you said last night, about I didn’t need to work, but I do need to work, at least until we start having children. Would it upset you if I looked for a job?”

  “It certainly would not. I just wanted you to know that you have choices. We have a long, lonely sail today, so let me see the girls.” Sam raised his eyebrows at her. “Get my drift?”

  “Is that all you men think about?”

  “You bet it is. This boat sails well enough that I can leave the helm and take you right here on the cockpit sole.”

  Leona winked at him, “I’m game if you are.”

  “Oh babe, trust me, I’m game. We’re gonna be apart for at least a week when we get home, so I’m gonna need lots of lovin’ before I go.”

  Leona threw her clothes into the cabin, “I hope I can help you out with that need.”

  He laughed as he pulled her close against his body. “I’m sure that you can.”

  “That makes me very happy.”

  They made love in the open cockpit. Sam checked their course periodically, but the boat in fact, with the sails set, essentially sailed herself. Sam told Leona, “That’s a sign that she’s balanced.”

  “Unlike me; Sam, I gotta go put some clothes on. I’m burning in places that have never seen the sun.”