by Olivia Swift
“Let’s go and get the locks,” he said, and they pulled the door closed and drove down to the mall. It didn’t take long to put a chain and hook onto the door and use the padlock to fasten it.
“You keep a key as well as me,” she said, and he fastened the key onto the bunch he carried around.
“Collect some things for staying away, and we’ll put the bag in the car.” Corby found a bag, the odds and ends she would need, and clothes for work the next day. They locked the padlock and set off for Chestnut Hall.
“Just in time for burgers,” Evan called as they came inside the familiar and welcoming huge kitchen. Evan, as usual, wielded cooking utensils, and everyone settled and were full of chatter. Molly Kim was in a buggy that charged around the floor in reckless abandon, and the place felt so good. Jazz was sipping a mineral water and looking very pregnant.
“Had a bit of a holdup because Corby’s front door was standing open,” Carlo said.
“What?” everybody chorused together. “What happened?” Corby let Carlo tell the story, and he told them that the place was now padlocked.
“I’ve said that she can stay with me, so she packed a few things before we locked up.”
“Oh, Corby,” Kim said. “How do you feel?”
“A bit shaky, I must admit,” Corby told them.
“Are you going to report it to the police?” Dex asked, and Corby looked at Carlo.
“What do you think?”
“Nothing was taken but, it is a bit strange after the break-ins at the new house,” Carlo said. “The detective gave you his number. It might be worth a call.”
“Burgers will cheer everybody up,” Evan announced and brought a platter over for everyone to help themselves.
“What have you decided to do about the house?” Rob asked, as Corby swallowed a mouthful of delicious food.
“After all of the scares, I really don’t want to keep it. We have solved the mystery and proved there is no treasure.”
“Give me the nod, and I’ll get that floor redone,” Rob told her.
“I think when that is done, the place can have a thorough cleaning and be put up for sale.” Corby made the decision. “Do you all think that is best?” There were nods from everyone and she smiled. “Thanks. I’m sure my uncle just wanted the mystery to be solved and I’ve done that.” The pendant warmed her neck and she smiled. “I just felt the necklace warm, so I guess he agrees as well.”
“The odd thing is that the pendant seemed to warn Corby as we got to the front door,” Carlo added, and Jazz asked Corby to talk about how it felt. She thought about it.
“When I was near the buried turquoise or where we found the bones, it sort of felt like it was somebody giving me a nudge to remember something. When I am near something of Uncle Bill’s, like the coffee table, it is kind of warm and comfortable, but when we got near the broken door . . .” she hesitated, “it was a sharper sort of feeling.”
“That is a very special piece of jewelry,” Carly added. “And it looks lovely as well. I think you were meant to notice these differences. It gives you . . . I don’t mean to sound weird-- but it gives you a sort of power. It is like making you stronger, because you have a bit of warning about things.” She laughed. “That does sound weird. I’m sorry.”
Corby smiled and said she thought Carly was right.
“At the same time, I would like to sell the house because it seems to attract trouble.” There were nods around the room as she looked at the group. “I am glad you agree. Rob, anytime the floor can be done is fine with me.” He finished his third burger and said he would get on to it.
“We’ll come and help you tidy the place up,” Miller offered, and the others agreed.
The party split up after Jazz came back from putting Molly Kim to bed. There was no sound from the baby alarm, and she said a glass of wine was what she wanted but would settle for a mineral water.
“We’ll leave you in peace,” Miller told her and grabbed her jacket.
“Take care,” Carly said as she gave Corby a hug and laughed. “Remember, you have the power!” It was a chuckling group who headed for their cars and called goodnight.
Corby settled in beside Carlo and he reached across and took her hand.
“Power indeed,” he said quietly and drove away.
His apartment was a welcome sight, and she told him how relieved she was to be out of the house and not alone.
“Relax. Make yourself at home. In fact, if you fix some coffee or hot chocolate for us, I’ll find some pillows for the sofa.”
“I’ll take the sofa,” she offered, but he refused.
“Not a chance,” he grinned. “Make the hot chocolate and stop using your power.” With a smile, she found her way around his kitchen and produced the hot chocolate. For the first time in a long while, Corby was not thinking about security and locking doors. She enjoyed sitting close to him and feeling contentment. It crept into her mind that life without Carlo would be very lonely and sad. She pushed the thought away and enjoyed the moment.
“Even if it doesn’t last, I should enjoy the time we have together,” she told herself. They decided that in the morning she would call Detective James and see what he thought, and Carlo pondered that he might give Garcia a call as well.
“I can use the sofa,” she protested again, but he told her that he would switch on his mega television and look at the sports news. She allowed him to be a gentleman, and after he had taken her in his arms and gave her a goodnight kiss, she went to the giant, king-size bed and slipped under the covers. She ran her hand across the other half of the bed and wondered if he wanted to come and join her. Then she stopped herself thinking like that and pushed the niggle away that told her she really would like him to want her in that way.
Maybe he would just say no, and that would be so terrible that I couldn’t face it, she thought and took a pillow to cuddle in her arms instead.
Carlo did switch on the sports program to distract himself from the woman currently lying in his bed. That ex-husband robbed her of confidence and made her afraid. I cannot add to that. The thoughts of what he would like to do to Deills Malvez made him more determined than ever to protect her from any more distress. He knew it might cost him the life he would like to see for both of them.
The knock on the door woke Corby from the best night’s sleep she had enjoyed for years. He popped his head around the door and said he was the bearer of coffee and toast and would she like it.
“Like it? I’d love it,” she answered and struggled into a sitting position. “This is the most wonderful bed I have ever slept in. It must have cost you a fortune.”
“Move over and let me share.” He grinned and passed her the mug of coffee. With the toast balanced between them, they enjoyed a lazy breakfast until Corby realized what time it was.
“Good grief. I must have slept like a log,” she cried. “Haven’t got time to call the police. I’ll be late for work.” She put the mug down and rushed off to the bathroom. Carlo sat back and enjoyed his coffee as he watched her struggle to find the right clothes and do something with her makeup.
“The makeup will have to wait until later,” she cried and suddenly stopped. “I haven’t got my car. Never gave it a thought until now. What will I do?” Carlo took pity on her and said he had called Kim and told her they had to pick up her car and phone the detective.
“She said you could start in an hour and make it up at the end.”
“Oh, Lordy. I was panicked there.”
“I did notice,” he said and grinned. “Let’s make another coffee and call the detective.” She set off for the kitchen and noticed he had cleared away the bedclothes and the room was clean and tidy. By the time she made the coffee, he had made the bed in the bedroom as well.
“You are really well housebroken,” she said with a twinkle in her eye as she handed over the drink. “I will have to keep my stuff tidy.” He agreed that he was someone who liked things put away.
“But if
you want to bring the quilting things over, I don’t mind.”
13
Detective James took the report quite seriously.
“I don’t like the stories about the caretaker entering the house at all times, and I am checking for a list of previous tenants. The agency doing the renting can give me those,” he said. “Are you at the house?”
“No,” Corby answered. “I stayed with a friend last night. It seemed sensible, but we put a padlock on the door.”
“Can you let in the forensic and fingerprint people if I send them over?” Corby asked how long and said she would meet them there. “I would like to see if there are any prints that would tie into anything at the other house. Something is not right about this,” he finished.
“Thank you,” Corby told him. “I’ll go over there now.” Carlo said he would drive her over and stay.
“Mario knows I will catch up on the office work. I can do some of it on my tablet anyway.” Corby collected her bag, and they left. She phoned Kim as they wanted to bring her up to date.
“I am glad the police are taking it seriously,” Kim said. “It will be better if it is all cleared up. Don’t worry about getting in here. We will figure it out later.” Corby thanked her and said to Carlo that she seemed to be thanking everybody for something or other. He reached across and held her hand.
“They are all glad to help.”
The fingerprint team was there on time and asked them to touch as little as possible.
“Did you say some things were moved? If you can show me where there were disturbances,” the lady scientist told her, “it might well save us time.” She added, “We’ll need your prints as well for elimination.” The three forensic people settled down to brush and check all over the place, and Corby collected together her quilting materials.
“I had better do some work on these,” she said to Carlo. “They seem very popular.” She found a suitcase to lay the materials in and picked up one or two more items as she went around. As she looked at the little cup and saucer that Carlo had given her as a gift, she noticed that it was on a different shelf than the one it was on when she left. She mentioned this to the forensic lady who took the piece in gloved hands and used her brush across the sides.
“Got a partial print here,” she said. “Thanks. I’m glad you spotted it.” Carlo came to see what they were doing and wondered why anyone would pick up pieces of china and put them down again.
“The nerve of them, poking through other people's things, “Corby said.
“It is an awful feeling,” June, the forensic officer added. “Everyone says that when they’ve had intruders. With a bit of luck, he will have made a mistake and we’ll catch him.” She went away to see how the rest were doing, and after about an hour, they had all the evidence they could find.
“Right, off to work,” Corby said.
“Should I get new locks on here for you?” Carlo asked, and she said that he should go to work as well. “I will, and then I’ll send one of Mario’s workers to do the locks for you.” He laughed. “He won’t mind you know.”
“I will thank him and owe him a drink,” she said and reached to kiss his cheek. “You are the best. Whatever would I have done without you?”
“Before you go to work, there is one more thing,” he said, and she waited to see what it was. For an answer, he gathered her into his arms and held her close. Then he took her lips in a kiss that made her head spin.
“What a way to go to work,” she smiled.
“I can arrange it every day if you like,” he joked, and they locked the door and drove off in separate cars.
Kim wanted to know what had happened, and Corby told her about the fingerprint people.
“They said that it might connect to other crimes, and they will let me know if they find anything.”
“Do you think that people still think that there might have been buried treasure and you’ve found it?” Kim wondered, and Corby told her that she had never thought about that.
“It does seem it could be a reason why someone would poke around in my house.” The rest of the day passed with seeing to customers and restocking shelves, punctuated by phone calls and texts from Carlo. He told her later in the day that the house had new locks and he had the keys.
“I’ll meet you there, and you can see that they are working and pick up the quilting things.” She told him what time she got off the work for the day. Rob came and told her he had booked the concrete floor for two days time, and he would go himself to see that it was all completed.
“You are just so good,” she said smiling. “I will have to pay you for this.” He shook his head.
“No problem,” he told her. “We’ll have a cleaning party and get everything done so that the real estate people can look at it for you.”
“It was a lucky day that I walked into this shop,” she answered. “Thanks.” She collected her things and waved good night to anyone left in the store, and then she felt that little tingle of excitement as she drove off to meet Carlo.
“I feel a bit like a teenager again,” she thought to herself as she went along and smiled as she found him waiting at the door. The locks were new and efficient, and for good measure, he had replaced the back door lock as well.
“Tell me how much, and I’ll give Mario a check,” she said, and he gave her a printout with the amount.
“I knew you would ask, so I put it through the books,” he grinned. “Happy now?”
“I am,” she answered and went to pick up the bags she had packed that morning. They had a quick look around, and on impulse she took the cup and saucer he had bought as a gift. “I will just keep an eye on this in case anyone else wants to pick it up and move it,” she said. “This is quite a lot of stuff,” she added. “Do you not mind?” He laughed.
“I know that you noticed I am tidy. We can find places for everything.” He picked up the bags, and they packed it into his car.
“I’ll bring my car and follow you,” she added as they locked the new locks and took the keys. Once inside Carlo’s apartment, she confessed that it felt much safer in his place than in her own house.
“Good,” he said. “Let’s send out for pizza.” As he picked up his phone, her own phone rang at the same time, and she saw that it was the detective.
“We have something on the prints,” he told her. “Can we come and show you to see if you recognize this man?”
Corby told him where she was staying, and he said they would be there in about an hour.
With a bit of luck, we will have finished the pizza by then. They are just around the corner and will be here in about an hour, Carlo thought when he heard about the police visit. “I’ll put your clothes in the bedroom and keep the quilting things in here.”
“If we put them behind the sofa, they will be out of sight,” Corby suggested, but he shook his head and opened a cupboard against one wall.
“This is almost empty, and the sewing machine can stand on the top,” he told her. She asked if she could put the cup and saucer on the shelf units against one wall. He took it and gave it place of pride. “Your every wish is granted, oh woman of the powers.” She was still laughing when he went to collect the pizza, and they gorged on it with enthusiasm.
“I was hungry,” she confessed as she cleared the remains away. They were sitting with coffee and cookies when the police arrived on the doorstep. Detective Spencer James apologized for disturbing them but said they found a print on the cup that was moved. Corby pointed to where it now sat on the shelving unit.
“Thing is,” he went on, “we found a match in the database for this print. The man is called Carluke Malia and this is his picture. Do either of you recognize him by any chance?” He handed over a printed photo, and both of them answered together.
“Yes. That is Jim Maddon.” And Carlo added that it was the man who had been the caretaker at the house and the one who was in the house when they first got there.
“Thank you. I knew there had to
be a connection. If he thought that you had found something valuable, he might have tried to see if it was in your house.” Carlo and Corby both nodded.
“He has disappeared for the moment,” James continued, “but we can put a bulletin out for him.” Corby put a hand on Carlo’s arm and gripped so hard that he winced. She had the other hand on the pendant, and her face had drained of color.
“What is wrong?” he asked, and James asked if she was feeling ill. She shook her head and tried not to feel sick.
“My ex-husband, who is in jail for all sorts of nasty things, is called Deills Malvez but he had his mother’s surname. His father is Carluke Malia.”
Carlo held both of her hands. “Tell us that Malvez is still safely behind bars.”
“As far as I know, that is the case, but I will certainly make sure and let you know.” He stood up. “We will find this Maddon character, believe me. Try not to worry.” He and his partner left, and Carlo gathered her in his arms as she shivered and shook. Then Corby Santana felt the pendant at her throat and held it tightly.
“He cannot hurt me anymore, Carlo. The pendant warned me when the detective said the name. I refuse to sit and shiver.”
“That’s my girl,” he said and went to make coffee. She came and put her arms around his waist.
“I’ll tell you one thing, though,” she said, and he turned, “either I sleep on the sofa with you, or you come into that huge king-size bed with me. I am strong and I have the power.” She gave a smile. “But I do not want to be on my own.”
“Let’s take the coffee to the bedroom and put the television on in there.”
14
When Corby awoke, she felt his arms around her and smiled. They were warm, safe, and happily tangled together. She closed her eyes and thanked whoever was up there listening for sending this man back into her life. His arms tightened the hold and he kissed the back of her neck.
“Everything okay?” he murmured into her hair.
“Never better,” she told him. “I really do not want to get up and go to work.”