American Criminal (40 page)

    Ray felt dizzy as he placed the briefcase in Alicia’s office and returned to the bar.

    “You look terrible,” Alicia said, upon noticing his pale complexion. “Was the meeting that bad?”

    “It wasn’t good,” Burnside said, absently, as he gazed across the bar area toward the busy restaurant. He became mesmerized by the customers talking and eating at the tables. If only he could be one of them: an ordinary person with the usual worries of a family and a mortgage. His eyes focused on a gleaming jewel necklace on an older woman’s neck, as if hypnotized by its brightness.

    “Ray, you look like you could use a break,” Alicia said, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.

    Ray stepped back as if startled by Alicia’s touch. He turned toward her, slowly as if coming out of a daze.

    “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Ray asked.

    “I said, it looks like you could use a break. As soon as Karl gets here at four, we’ll take off.” She glanced at her watch. “That’s only fifteen minutes from now.”

    “Sounds good,” Burnside said, as he imagined Salducci pacing back and forth in his office like an impatient gray wolf.

    Ray served some customers and the other bartender, Karl, arrived a short time later.

    “Karl, we’re taking  break,” Alicia said. “Do you have it covered?”

    “Sure, it looks like most of the action is in the restaurant,” Karl said. “As long as you’re back by five, I should be okay.”

    “Thanks, Karl,” Alicia said, taking Ray by the hand and leading him out from behind the bar.

    “Alicia, before we go, I need you to lock your office door,” Ray said. “There are important materials stored in the briefcase that Salducci gave to me.”

    “Sure, anything for you, Ray” Alicia said, beaming a smile at him as she closed the office door and locked it. “Now can we go?” she asked, playfully, taking him by the hand and leading him across the bar area.

    Ray tried to relax as he let himself be led away. Apparently, the bet had been placed and there was nothing to do now but let it ride. Alicia led him by the hand through the bar area, restaurant, front doors, and onto the street.

    “Hey, I thought we were going to eat in the restaurant?” Ray asked.

    “I have a better idea,” Alicia said, winking at him.

    Alicia continued to hold his hand as she led him toward the parking garage. She didn’t disengage her hand from his until they reached her car - a black 2010 Infiniti - on level 2.

    “Where are we going?” Ray asked.

    “My place. I’m going to grill us some steaks.”

    Burnside raised his eyebrows.

    Her place?

    Alicia pressed her remote, a beep sounded from the car, and she motioned for Ray to get in. He opened the passenger door and slid into the seat. Alicia opened the driver’s side door, got behind the wheel, and started the engine.

    “I only live five minutes away. I have a nice grill on my balcony that will cook steaks in twenty minutes. We should have plenty of time.”

    Burnside was still trying to adjust to the news that he was going to her apartment. He was too stunned to think clearly, so he just went with the flow. They descended the ramp and pulled onto the street.

    Alicia was right about the ride only being five minutes. At ten past four, they arrived in the parking lot outside Alicia’s condo. Alicia parked in her reserved space, exited the car, and circled around to Ray’s side. She gently took his hand again and led him to the front glass doors. She swiped a card key across a scanner and the door clicked open. As she led him into the building, Ray was still too stunned to speak. He followed her across the lobby to the elevator; she pressed the “up” button. The doors opened and they boarded. Alicia still held his hand. She glanced at him, slyly, as they ascended.

    “Relax, big guy,” she said, smiling. “You look like you’re being led to your execution rather than a steak dinner.”

    “Sorry, Alicia, I’m still trying to adapt to the unexpected detour to your apartment,” Ray said, flashing her - what he hoped - was a casual smile.

    “Don’t worry about the detour. I’ll take care of everything,” Alicia said, as the elevator stopped on the sixth floor.

    “All right, fair enough,” Ray said.

    When the doors opened, they left the elevator and Alicia led him down the hall to apartment 602. She keyed in and they entered a spacious living room with a champagne-colored carpet, black leather couches, and a large, flat-screen TV in the corner. A sliding glass door led outside to a balcony where Ray saw a grill with a black cover over it. A spacious dining area adjacent to the living room contained a gleaming mahogany table with a fan circulating air above it. An antique cabinet in the corner contained tiny gleaming crystal shapes on multiple tiers of glass. Ray focused his eyes on the crystals and realized they were tiny animals. Beyond the Dining Area was a small kitchen on the other side of a short marble countertop. A hallway next to the kitchen led to other rooms deeper in the apartment.

    “Nice place,” Ray said. “I like your crystal animals.”

    “You don’t miss a trick,” Alicia said, smiling. “I’ll go fire up the grill.”

    “Alicia slid one of the sliding glass doors open and stepped onto the balcony. She pulled the cover off the grill and opened the top. She adjusted a dial on the propane tank on the side and pressed a button, which caused flames to leap up. After making some adjustments, she returned to the living room and closed the sliding glass door.

    “Why don’t you have a seat and make yourself at home while I get the steaks ready,” Alicia said as she noticed Ray standing awkwardly in the no-man’s-land between the dining room and living room, studying the Classical paintings on the walls. Ray sat down on the right side of the soft black leather couch and tried to relax.

    “What do you want to drink?” Alicia asked from the kitchen as she rummaged around in the refrigerator.

    “A water would be fine,” Ray said, feeling that his throat was as dry as sand.

    “We also have beer and wine,” Alicia said.

    “Sorry, I don’t drink on duty,” Ray said.

    “Oh, I see, a real company man,” Alicia quipped.

    Alicia entered the living room carrying a crystal glass with clear liquid in it and a plate with two large, defrosted steaks. Alicia flashed Ray a sultry smile as she handed the ice water to him.

    “Thank you,” he said, taking the water.

    Ray admired the contours of Alicia’s voluptuous body as she crossed the living room. The supple movements of her hips and ass were exquisite. She opened the slider, stepped onto the balcony, and placed the steaks on the grill with a pair of tongs. After, she shut the grill cover and returned to the living room. Retrieving a glass of wine from the kitchen, Alicia returned to the leather couch. Ray was slightly disconcerted as she sat down so close to him that her left leg was touching his right. He was trying to adapt to the situation, which seemed to be improving by the moment.

    “To new friends,” Alicia said, raising her wine glass in a toast.

    Ray smiled as he clinked his glass of ice water against her glass.

    “Are you sure you want to be friends with a gangster?” he asked.

    “I thought you weren’t a typical gangster,” Alicia said.

    “I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least warn you that I’m bad news.”

    “I told you, Ray. I like bad boys. Besides, I sense something different about you. My intuition tells me you’re not really a bad person.”

    “You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew what my meeting with Salducci was about,” Ray said, taking a nervous sip of water.

    Alicia leaned closer to him and placed her hand on his thigh. “I’m sure you will do the right thing,” she said.

    “If I do the right thing,” Ray said. “I will end up unemployed or dead. Probably both.”

    “That’s quite a dilemma.”

    “Yes, it is.

    “Ray, how did you get mixed up in all this?”

    “Alicia, if I told you, it would be your responsibility as a good citizen to report me to the police. You’re better off not knowing.”

    “Does anyone else know your secret?” She asked.

    “No one.”

    “You have to trust someone eventually.”

    Alicia hit a nerve with her comment. Ray had been alone with his misery for so long he couldn’t imagine receiving sympathy from another human being.

    “Alicia, I would like nothing better than to trust you, but it’s better that you don’t know.”

    “Is it really that bad?” she asked, pensively, as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

    “Very bad,” Ray said, trying to suppress the emotions that were fighting to rise to the surface. He had the urge to tell her everything and unload the oppressive burden he had been carrying for the past three years, but it would place them both in danger.

    “Ray, no matter how bad it is, I’ll keep your secret,” Alicia said, staring directly into his eyes. “I’m a perceptive person. I know you’re hiding something painful. If I had to guess, I would say you were forced to kill someone and you’re on the run from the law.”

    Ray didn’t know how to respond because she was very close to the truth and he feared exposing it.

    “Think about it for a moment, Ray, while I check on the steaks,” Alicia said, gently, rubbing his shoulder. “You have to trust someone eventually. I can see it in your face that you want to tell me, but you’re not sure if you can trust me. Believe me, you can. I’ll be right back.”

    Alicia stood up, walked to the balcony, and checked the steaks on the grill. She used the tongs to flip them over and returned to the couch. This time, she pressed her entire body against Ray’s and placed her arm around his shoulders.

    “I can see that you want to tell me,” Alicia said, drawing close and kissing him. “I wish you would trust me.”

    Ray kissed her back hard. He put his whole soul into the kiss and released all the pent-up bad feelings he had accumulated since the horrific experience began three years ago. Alicia kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him. She climbed onto his lap and kissed his neck. He cupped her breasts as he slid his lips down to kiss the soft skin on her throat. She moaned with pleasure. The moan triggered a signal in his brain and he stopped.

    “Why are you stopping,” she asked.

    “This isn’t a good idea,” he said, feeling emotions tugging him in opposite directions. He wanted to confess everything and release all the pain of the past three years, and yet his survival mechanisms were deeply ingrained.

    “Ray, tell me your secret and I will help you,” Alicia whispered in his ear.

    That did it. Her empathetic words opened a breach in his mind’s wall and all his carefully built defenses crumbled.

    “Okay, I’ll tell you,” he said, placing his hands on her waist as he gazed directly into her eyes. “Whatever happens, it can’t get any worse for me than it is now.”

    He paused as his mind made a last-ditch attempt to repair the breach.

    “Tell me,” she whispered, kissing him on the lips.

    “Alicia, I was set up,” Ray said as tears formed in his eyes. “I was an NYC cop. My partners set me up for a drug crime and I went to prison.”

    He wiped his eyes and regained his composure as the sordid tale flooded from his lips as if a sluice-gate opened in his mind. Tears of sympathy formed in Alicia’s eyes as she listened to his account of the hell he went through in prison. He had broken down, lost control, and everything came out with the force of a tsunami through a breached sea wall.

When he was done telling his story, she pulled him close and whispered in his ear,

    “Ray, it wasn’t your fault. You did what you had to do to escape and survive. What you did wasn’t your fault.”

    Ray exhaled a deep breath as if he had been anxiously awaiting this simple statement of sympathy for the past three years. Lying his head on her shoulder, he felt as if an immense burden had been lifted. Alicia caressed the back of his neck and whispered in his ear, “Everything is going to be all right now. I’m going take care of you.”

    Ray felt emotionally exhausted and it took several moments before he could think clearly again.

    “Alicia, I didn’t want to get you involved in this.”

    “I know, baby, I know. It doesn’t matter. I want to be involved,” she whispered, kissing his cheeks softly.

    “As long as you know the truth and you think you can deal with it, that’s good enough for me,” Ray said.

    “It’s okay, baby, it’s all over. I’ll take care of you now.”

    As Ray’s mind regained its equilibrium, he remembered the steaks on the grill. Glancing out the glass sliders, he saw thick black smoke billowing out from beneath the grill’s cover.

    “I think we forgot about something,” he said, gesturing toward the sliders.

    “Oh shit,” Alicia said, standing up. She ran to the sliding door, tugged it open, and turned off the grill. She didn’t bother to open the cover.