Eileen Slovak

Chapter Sixty-eight: Tongue Tied

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and locales are products of the author’s imagination. They are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental. Copyright © 2024 by Eileen Slovak.

Scarlet

Frank put me on a week of mandatory vacation. I worked with Gary to have the rest of the samples released. We had to get another sample of the pizza scissors since the original is stuck in evidence. Frank explained my absence when he met with Dominick. Dominick sent me the biggest bouquet of flowers the nurses had ever seen. He’s right, if things don’t work out with Scott, I’ll consider dating older men.

      Frank offered to pay any hospital bills not covered by my insurance. He’s also footing the bill for the clean up on my apartment and reimbursing me for my car repair. I accepted, since I don’t have the heart to add to the Iannuccelli’s family problems. Trish is spending some time at a different type of hospital. The police have tried to meet with her again, but so far, she’s stonewalling them. Shocker.  

      Three days have passed since the attack. I’m having trouble sleeping. Every morning I wake up at 5 a.m. to a wild, melded bird chorus. It reaches a crescendo as the sun rears up, then dissipates once it’s high in the sky. I sit with my coffee listening, thinking how much I prefer nature’s alarm clock to the electronic version. Being up early with nowhere to go, I desperately want to take an easy run. My legs remained mostly uninjured in the attack aside from a graze. But any overexertion will disturb the sutures in my arms and torso. Rest is prescribed. I’m rehearsing what I’ll say when I see Scott this afternoon. With his case closed, he has no reason to stay in Rhode Island. We haven’t discussed what will come next, if anything.

      After breakfast, I shower with the extreme difficulty brought on by multiple wounds which need to be kept dry. This involves tape and plastic bags and takes forever. My injuries are still tender but I would have pushed myself to work if Frank had allowed it. I’m bored, but I’m learning to enjoy some quiet reflection time.

     Dressed, I stroll to the park, noting the small signs of Spring. Sunny daffodils and lavender crocus are peeping up out of the ground. Buttery forsythia bushes dot the landscape. Entering the park, I scan the benches, seeing no sign of Scott. Maybe he’s not big on goodbyes either. Then, I spot him lying on his side on a blanket in the grass. His cowboy hat is propped up in front of him while he pokes at something under the hat.

      “I wasn’t sure you’d make it,” I say.

      “I can still run. You aren’t carrying any concealed religious statues, are you?” He asks, smiling my favorite smile, It’s the one that’s both charming and disarming.

      “What’s that? Have you got a rabbit under your hat?”

      “More like a rabbit hunter.” He lifts a small fuzzy black kitten out from under the hat.

      “Awww, adorable.” I immediately snatch the kitten, holding it up to get a better look. It has tiny blue eyes and fur that sticks out in every direction.

      “You strike me as more of a dog person,” I say. I’m cradling the kitten in my arms while it tries to climb up to my shoulder. It’s biting me with its pin-like teeth.

      “I am. Believe me, this wasn’t in my plans. My former boss had a pregnant cat living in the office. She was surviving on his leftovers. There are four more like this little guy ransacking the place. They all need homes. The woman at the animal shelter says she will take them, along with the mom. She also said people who travel make fine cat owners, since cats are so independent. Levi here climbed right up my leg. I figured that was as good a sign as any that we were meant to be partners.”

      “Levi. That’s a very manly name.” I hold the kitten up peeking under its tail. “Do you have a back-up name?”

      “You don’t like my name choice?”

      “It’s an excellent name. But your tiny leg climber is female.”

      “Oh, man,” he says, lying flat on his back in the grass.

      “You are a chick magnet after all. Not all that surprising. Maybe something more gender neutral?”

      “Such as?”

      “Licorice.”

      “What if she doesn’t like being named after something you eat?”

      “It was my mom’s favorite candy.”

      “Done. Licorice it is.”

      “This is a big commitment for you, owning a pet I mean. It’s so permanent.”

      “Yeah, a little scary. Plus, I don’t know the first thing about cats. I was hoping you’d help me out with that. Show me the ropes. Kitty-sit sometimes.”

      “Like furry joint custody? Sure. That will be hard with the distance. You’ll have to leave me your number in Virginia. I hope she likes riding around in your truck. You can get her a tiny suitcase with a little neck sign that says, Rhode Island or Bust.”

      “That will be a problem.”

     “I understand.” I say, handing Licorice to him. He puts the kitten down in the grass. She pounces on a dry leaf, then lays flat searching around with wild eyes.

      “I won’t be going back to Virginia permanently. They don’t need me in Florida. It seems I’m homeless again.”

      “Why? Where are you going next?”

      “Well, the darnedest thing happened to my supervisor, Chuck Slumansky. Somebody dropped a dime on him for unsavory work ethic. He was let go.”        

      Scott puts the hat back on his head, rolling the kitten around on the blanket with his hand.

“Jeff, the company owner, needs a PI here in Rhode Island to cover the New England region. He asked me if I wanted to stay on. Can’t say I like the winters much, but the weather’s getting better every day. It’s as good a place as any to be a shameless drifter. Don’t you think?” He looks up at me.

      Tears well in my eyes. I try to form words but my mouth feels like it’s glued shut.

      When I fail to answer, he gets up, putting his arms around me. He whispers: “What? No smart arsed comment? I’ve done the impossible! The great Scarlet O’Brien is at a loss for words. Cat got your tongue?”

      “Shut up.”

      “You asked for it,” he says kissing me.

      “Well, I don’t know how long I’ll be around. To help you out, I mean. I hope you don’t think I’ll be available to solve all of your cases. I’ll be traveling more myself.”

      “Oh, really?”

      “The company wants me to start spending more time in the New York office. Just a few days, here and there. But who knows?”

      “I see. I’ll have to take my chances then, won’t I?”

      “I guess you will.”

      “Leave it to me to fall in love with the one woman who’s resistant to my charms.”

      “Not completely.”

      “Oh, yeah? Then, maybe my luck is about to change.”

      “I’d say the chances of that are excellent.”

The End

Merry Christmas all!