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“Take deep breaths. You’ll be fine in a minute.”

  “There, it’s there.”

  “Relax …”

  With a “The case … ack … is there,” she pushed him toward the open overhead door.

  “Holy shit.” With one swoop he scooped a blue suitcase from its resting place under the kitchen table and deposited it in the deep trunk of the Olds.

  The bawl of sirens was coming down 84th Street as he returned to Rhonda. She sat against the side of the car. Thinking this was seriously out of control, he took a seat next to her on the warm pavement.

  “D‘ja get it?” she asked breathlessly.

  “It’s in the trunk.”

  She nodded.

  After a moment’s review he shook his head and said, “But, that’s a bad idea. I should put it back.”

  He stood as a squad pulled into their aisle.

  “Too late,” she croaked.

  She had a point.

  “Freeze!” came the voice over the loud speaker on the cop car.

  Chapter 28

  A detective from the Wauwatosa Police Department spent the next hour and a half questioning them as a late summer storm built in the northwest. Lightning shot from gray-green clouds when they headed for the Olds. Bernie smelled the ozone. Rain drops drummed on the convertible top as they nudged their way onto the street. He ran the air conditioning full blast to keep the windshield from fogging completely. Minutes later they sat outside her sister’s house while the rain beat on the canvas top.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “Fine, fine,” Rhonda replied as she stared at the rain cascading down the windshield.

  “Sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  They listened to the rain.

  Finally she asked, “What was that guy doing there?”

  “Probably the same thing we were doing.”

  “And the killer?”

  “Yup.”

  “But, we got the case.”

  “Nope.”

  Rhonda turned in the red leather bench-seat and grabbed his wrist.

  “What do you mean, nope?”

  He shook his arm to extract it from her grip. “Hey! Hey! Don’t dig those nails into me.”

  “I thought you took the suitcase.”

  “It’s not the one we pulled out of the basement floor.” He rubbed his wrist.

  “How do you know?”

  “It wasn’t heavy enough.”

  “You sure?”

  “No, but it didn’t feel right.”

  Rhonda crossed her arms across her chest and sulked. “When it lets up, we’ll take the case inside and see.”

  The rain continued its tattoo, but at a slower pace. With the engine off the windows fogged over.

  He touched her shoulder. “That dead guy really shook you up.”

  She nodded.

  “That’s okay. It was a shock to me, too.”

  Her shoulders started to shake and he hugged her to him. Just at the moment he didn’t feel so guilty about lusting after his brother’s ex. Her gulps and sobs subsided with the storm. She pushed back from him. “The divorce didn’t have anything to do with you.”

  He nodded. That was unexpected.

  “He was a doper, dragging me down.”

  “I know. The whole thing probably saved your life.” What a load of bullshit.

  A small grin appeared on her face and she sniffed. “I hadn’t thought about Ryan in months, then it all came back.”

  “Yeah, it happens to me, sometimes.” He kissed her gently on the lips. What kind of asshole did he have to be to still want his sister-in-law after a conversation like that?

  She kissed him back running her tongue over his teeth. Bernie pulled her close while she held his head in her hands. Apparently, she thought he was a pretty decent guy.

  She broke the kiss and said, “This is good, but I’ve got a big bed inside.”

  Ryan was rotting in a California state prison. Bernie was here with Rhonda and nothing could change that. He’d add it to the list and live with it.

  They got out of the car as the storm blew south. Big drops fell off the trees and soaked them. He walked around the rear of the car, opened the trunk, and took out the suitcase. Bag in hand, he put his arm around Rhonda as they navigated the front walk to the house. At the door, they stopped for a kiss to tide them over until they got inside.

  The situation was shaky. Not just that he was lip-locked with a woman he’d sworn never to get caught up with again. She saved his life, but sent Ryan to jail. The other part was trying to get through the front door holding a powder blue suitcase in one hand with the other stuck in the back of Rhonda’s jeans. That was tough enough without having to deal with the hard shove somebody gave him in the back.

  She clutched him and called out as they tumbled onto the floor of the front hall. The suitcase slid back to the kitchen door. Bernie twisted in a vain effort to avoid landing on her.

  Tears came to her pinched eyes. “Damn, you know how to take the romance out of a situation.”

  He adjusted his glasses. “Are you alright?” A shadow fell over them from the front porch light. Bernie rolled slightly to see a dark man step forward from the doorway with an automatic pistol in his hand. For a moment Bernie thought the gun was some kind of toy. Maybe that was an illusion created by the size of the man.

  Rhonda hit Bernie on the shoulder. “Jerk!”

  “Shut up,” the giant squeaked and stepped across their prone bodies on his way to the suitcase.

  Bernie jumped to his feet and dragged Rhonda into a squatting position. With another yank he pulled her to the door then pushed her outside. Three steps and they were around the corner and running into the next yard where they huddled in the yews while their assailant sauntered down the front walk with their suitcase.

  Rhonda made a move to stand. Bernie tackled her, clamped his hand over her mouth and sat on her. The light over the monster’s license plate came on and Bernie read the numbers before the car pulled away. Just as he took his hand off her mouth, he was swatted in the head with a broom

  “Let her up!” scratched the antique voice.

  They both looked up to see a diminutive man in a maroon bathrobe.

  “Hi, Mr. Kolchak,” Rhonda said.

  “Are you okay, Ro?” the old neighbor asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “Humph.” Kolchak turned back to his house. “Well then, get a room.”

  Bernie helped Rhonda to her feet.

  “Why didn’t you chase after him?” she demanded.

  “Pretty much for the same reason our friend at the storage barn should have stayed home.”

  “We could have followed him and seen where he’s going?”

  “That was an immense man with a big gun. If you want me to take on some guy, you’re going to have to find one smaller and, preferably, older.” He couldn’t see the look on her face clearly, but he assumed she wasn’t smiling. “Let’s go inside and discuss this.” The sound of reason, he thought. Actually, more like self-preservation when dealing with Rhonda in an agitated state.

  Without a word she turned and limped toward the house. Inside she stood on the first step to the second floor. “Why don’t you make us some coffee while I take a shower?”

  “A shower sounds good to me, too,” he said hopefully.

  Rhonda shook her head. “Stick to the coffee,” and hobbled up the stairs.

  While the java brewed Bernie sat at the kitchen table. What did they know? The license number. He wrote it on the back of his hand. Some guy was murdered in the same storage unit where the sheriff dumped Nana’s things. For a while they had a suitcase that looked a lot like the suitcase they dug out of Nana’s basement floor. A big guy took the case from them. Bernie was sure that the case they just lost wasn’t the one from the basement. Where was that case from the basement? The coffee finished brewing and he began to pour some in a mug he had fished out of the cabinet.

  From the mid
dle of the room Rhonda said, “Can I …,”

  He started with a “Huhn!” followed by a “Yeow!” as he poured coffee on his hand. Sucking the scalded fingers, he looked at her intently. She stood in bare feet next to the kitchen table wearing very brief khaki shorts and a red tank top as she rubbed her blonde hair with a pink towel. He took his hand from his mouth. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.” He handed her the half full mug.

  “Sorry, next time I’ll whistle when I enter a room.”

  He looked her over once again and determined she wasn’t wearing a bra. She pushed him back when he leaned forward to kiss her.

  “What?” she said.

  “You … ah … ya know … you wanna …”

  “Relax and tell me what you think is going on.” She followed his gaze to her chest. “For crying out loud, with the suitcases, I mean.”

  They took seats at the kitchen table and he explained what he thought. He made a point of maintaining eye contact with her.

  “If that wasn’t the original suitcase, where do you think the right case is?” she asked.

  Bernie turned to look out the window over the kitchen sink. “One of two places, back at the storage unit or with our recent visitor.”

  “And, you’re sure the case we had here wasn’t the one from the basement?”

  “Yes, it was the wrong size and it didn’t weigh as much.” After a short silence he asked, “What do you want to do now?”

  “I better call Nana.”

  He made a point of watching Rhonda talk on the phone. The conversation between her and her grandmother was short. The cops had just left Nana. She was okay and wanted to see Rhonda in the morning.

  After Rhonda hung the phone up she turned to see him staring at her. “What?”

  He kept a half smile. “You look as fine as the first day I met you. Maybe finer.” That was a long time ago, long time - grade school.

  She grinned and sighed, then turned on the radio that rested on the kitchen counter. Creedence Clearwater Revival was just starting.

  Ooo I bet you wonder how I knew

  ‘bout your plans to make me blue.

  She closed her eyes and began to move her hips in the slow seductive way he’d seen her do before.

  Some other guy you knew before

  Two of us guys, you know I love you more.

  He liked watching her dance. Anyone who danced like that couldn’t be all good.

  It took me by surprise, I must say,

  when I found out yesterday

  She put her arms above her head and began to make long serpentine motions. He turned up the volume.

  Don’t ya know, I heard it through the grapevine,

  not much longer would you be mine

  She reached her hands out for him and he began to dance next to her.

  Ooo I heard it through the grapevine,

  and I’m just about to lose my mind

  Honey, honey yeah

  With a shake of her head and a manic laugh she raised her shirt and flashed him.

  Someone knocked at the back door. Through the glass panes on its upper half they saw the old guy from the adjoining house. He looked particularly creepy in his antique bathrobe with his sparse hair sticking out in all directions.

  Rhonda gave a squeak and pulled her shirt down. All three of them remained frozen. Then Rhonda answered the door. “Yes, Mr. Kolchak. How can I help you?”

  “Keep it down! Will ya’!” the man rasped. “Believe it or not some of us are trying to sleep.”

  “Yes, we will,” Rhonda said. “Sorry to disturb you.”

  He raised a gnarled finger to face. “Next time I’m calling the cops.” He turned in his slippered feet and shuffled into the darkness.

  The lust of the moment broke. Bernie was saved from himself and old entanglements. “Well, I think I’ll be going now.”

  “Not without me,” she said. Seconds later they were in the car. Rhonda laughed. “God, can you believe it?”

  He smiled as the humor of the scene crept in. “What now?”

  “Take me someplace for a drink,” she panted.

  “You don’t have any shoes.”

  She looked at her feet. “I’m not going back in there.”

  “Hmm, I may have something in the trunk.”

  Later that evening at a Red Carpet bowling alley, a lawyer of the verge of disbarment was seen in the company of a blonde woman, on the tall side, dressed in very brief khaki shorts, a red tank top and black galoshes.

  Chapter 29

  Rhonda and Bernie laughed at the bartender’s punchline as he closed the door behind them. The heavy summer air replaced the scent of liquor and smoke. The couple held onto each other and continued to laugh.

  “Oh, God,” she said. “My stomach hurts.”

  “Mine too. I think we’ve rung all the good time out’a this night.”

  She fished a cigarette from her red purse and stuck it between her lips. “Ha.” The cigarette burst from her mouth and tumbled through the air.

  Bernie caught it in his open palms and offered it back to her. “Here.”

  She plucked it from him. “Got a light for a girl?”

  He fumbled in his pants then found a book of matches in his shirt pocket. He struck a match and held it to her cancer stick.

  The lights of a car flashed from the parking lot. “Hey, Bernie,” Sam called from the dark car.

  Though unexpected, Bernie was pleased to see him. “Let’s consult with your lawyer.”

  They ambled over to the black Buick Electra coupe and leaned on door next to the open driver’s window. “Hey.”

  The orange glow of the cigarette illuminated the hand on the steering wheel. “How’s our girl?” The diamond from his pinky ring glinted in the light from the street lamp on the corner.

  Bernie leaned on the car door. “Rhonda or Nana?”

  “Either, both.”

  “Tough as nails.”

  The tip of the cigarette shone red as Sam took a drag, held the smoke then exhaled through his nose. “Any idea what’s goin’ on?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Could it be just what they say?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Rhonda poked Bernie in the kidney. “Hey, I’m right here.”

  He stood up.

  “Why not?” Sam asked.

  Bernie stood and stretched in his crushed suit. “I don’t sense any fear in either of them.”

  “Well, let me know if I can do anything for you.” Sam started the car.

  Bernie handed him a crumpled bit of paper from a pants pocket. “California plate number. See what it tells us.”

  Sam flipped on the overhead light and looked at the scrap. “Okay. Give me a few days.” He touched the crisply starched collar of his shirt.

  Rhonda and Bernie turned and walked toward the Oldsmobile.

  Chapter 30

  The head nurse scowled at Rhonda as she got off the elevator on Nana’s floor. Rhonda smiled. “Good morning.” After ten hours sleep it was the greeting she had for everybody at the hospital. The yellow sundress she wore accentuated the tan she nurtured around the pools in Vegas. The mini-dress was simple by west coast standards, but just racy enough for Milwaukee to get smiles from the men. She was particular satisfied with the “Holy Shit!” she got from one candy-striper. The neckline and back of the dress were cut to reveal as much of her as possible without giving her hypothermia from the air conditioning.

  She walked into Nana’s room and kissed her grandmother on the cheek. “Hi, you’re dressed.” Rhonda handed her grandmother a large Styrofoam cup of coffee from the lobby snack bar.

  The older woman looked up from her game of solitaire. “Wow, tootsie, that’s some outfit you almost got on there.”

  Rhonda smiled and twirled. “You like? With the tan I don’t need hose.”

  “Well, you got plenty to show off,” Nana continued. “With what I got left, this old blue pants suit will do.”

  The grand
daughter put her hand on the old woman’s shoulder and laughed.

  Nana pointed to a paper shopping bag on the bed. “They’re releasing me at nine.”

  Rhonda pulled a metal chair close and sat down. “What happened last night?”

  “The cops came about eight and told me about the guy you found in storage with my stuff. They showed me his driver’s license and asked me if I knew him.” She took a drink of coffee from the cup. “I said he was some coot from the apartment building across from my house. He used to chat me up now and then. Lookin’ for something free.” She winked. “How you doin’?”

  Rhonda raised the volume on the television and leaned close to Nana to relate the adventure with the blue suitcase.

  “Bernie doesn’t think it was in the bag you dug up from my basement, huh?” Nana asked.

  “No.”

  Taking her granddaughters arm, the old woman snorted. “Then, it was your uncle Harvey’s comic book collection.” She stopped laughing abruptly. “Shit, I bet those stupid things are worth a couple a thousand.” She slapped her thigh. “Damn!”

  The two women sat and drank their coffee.

  “When that big bugger finds out what he’s got, he’s gonna be back,” Nana said.

  The door to the room opened and a woman of Asian ancestry in pink scrubs said, “Time to go home.” Rhonda took Nana back to Alice’s house.

  Chapter 31

  Nana pushed open the plain wood door of the Cape Cod and stepped inside. “Hey, honey, ya left the place wide open.”

  Rhonda pulled the shopping bag with Nana’s things from the backseat of the Javelin and hurried after her. The hot breeze barely moved the leaves on the elm trees that lined the street. With key in hand Rhonda stepped into the foyer and bumped into Nana. “No, I didn’t.”

  The gigantic, tan man from last night stood before them. He filled the central hall of the house between the living room and the kitchen. The shine on his ox blood, penny loafers reflected the light from the door behind Rhonda. He was dressed in the largest blue blazer Rhonda had ever seen. She found it hard to think of anyone that big as a preppie. Her feet thought about running, but her head knew she couldn’t leave her grandmother behind.