In the Shadow of Love (9 page)

“Mommy says I help best if I stay out of the way.”  Looking at Maggie, he restrained the chuckle that spontaneously rose in his throat.

“I’m afraid it’s true.”  She sighed.  “But, we do make cookies together, don’t we?”  Stepping forward she ruffled Joey’s hair.

  “I’ll tell you what,” once again eye level with him.  “Come summertime I’ll show you how to barbeque.  How’s that?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Mommy doesn’t barbeque.”  Morris shot an inquiring glance her way.  Her sheepish grin confirmed it.  “We always have to go to Uncle Donald’s for barbeque.”

“We’ll see if we can change that this summer.”

Maggie’s heart warmed at how natural Morris was with her son.  Just as he calmed them all down earlier that day, he was providing a much needed sense of peace for them tonight.

“Joey, go tell your brother that dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.”  Maggie’s voice cut through the sudden awkwardness of the moment as they both realized what he had just promised with his offer to barbeque this summer.

“Okay, mom.”  Joey’s sudden switch to calling her mom made her realize the effect this man’s presence was already having on her son.  Returning to the kitchen she was uncertain of her feelings about the events of the past few minutes – and the past twelve hours.

“Anything I can help with?”

Jumping in response to his voice the large spoon she was holding to stir the beef stew fell to the floor.  He picked it up, walked over to the kitchen sink and washed it off.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”  His voice was soothing.

Reaching to take the spoon from his hand, her fingers brushed against his.  There it was again.  That electrifying feeling she had whenever they touched.

“You didn’t,” her voice lowered as she tried to avoid his eyes.  “I mean I’ve just been a little jumpy lately.”

“That’s understandable.”  He whispered, his breath fanning her cheek.

She looked away, nervously licking her lips.

“You’ve been through a lot today.”

Their eyes locked as their bodies pulled towards each other like two magnets unable to break their undeniable attraction.  Things were moving too fast – they needed to stop.

“Mom?”  Jacob’s voice tore through their fixation with one another.  They pulled apart, startled and shaken from what almost happened.

“Yes, honey.”  Maggie composed herself as she put a necessary distance between herself and the good detective.

“We’re hungry.”

She grabbed a healthy snack from the cupboard.  “Here, share this with your brother.  Dinner will be ready soon.”  Jacob reluctantly took the snack and left the room.  She turned to find Morris leaning against the sink, looking out the window.  She studied his features and thought back to their first meeting and how attracted she was to him, a sense that had only deepened with every passing moment.

Morris leaned on the kitchen sink, needing time to overcome the excitement he was feeling.  He splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to think clearly.  He could still feel her breath warming his chin as the perfume she was wearing overwhelmed his senses.  Everything about her intrigued him.

As the water cleared from his eyes he noticed a familiar unmarked car sitting across the street.  “Geridano!”

“I beg your pardon.”  Maggie’s voice vibrated through the air.

“Uh, nothing.”  He stammered.  “I just need to make a quick phone call.”

“Of course.  There’s a phone in the living room.”

Entering the other room he used his personal phone.

“Eighteenth District.”  The desk sergeant’s voice crackled over the wireless connection.

“Sergeant Jones?

“How’s it going detective?”

“Okay.  I need to know something, but keep it between you and me.”

“Sure detective, what is it?”

“Is Geridano still on duty?”

“Not suppose to be.”

The clicking sound of a keyboard sounded in the background.

“But looks like he’s got a vehicle out and looks like he’s not moving.”  Morris waited, knowing that more information was forthcoming.

“His car is parked on Canyon View Lane.”

GPS – another form of technology that was either a blessing or a curse depending on which side of its use you were on.

“Does that help?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Glad to be of service Detective.”

The living room window gave a more direct view of the car sitting across the street.  For a fleeting moment he considered confronting Geridano and demanding to know how he found him.  As he was struggling with his anger the other man left his vehicle and walked up to the front door of old Mrs. Rivers house.

“What the hell?”

“We’re not suppose to use bad words.”   Morris nearly jumped at the unexpected sound of Joey’s voice.  It had been awhile since he had to watch what he said around young children.

“Sorry, son.”

The boy looked at him as if something was missing and then his face lit up.  “Mom says it’s time for dinner.”

“Okay, Joey.  Tell your mom I’ll be there in a minute.”  The boy’s feet pounded on the wooden floor as he ran from the room.

Geridano was now at Mrs. River’s front door.  It opened slowly, constrained by the safety chain.  Morris watched replaying his experience from earlier that day.  Suddenly the door closed then opened wide and Geridano walked right through, crossing the same threshold that had been denied to him earlier.

Making his way back to the kitchen he realized there was much he didn’t know or understand, but was now more determined than ever to find out every last detail, regardless of where the evidence led him.

Maggie was putting plates and bowls on the table as he entered.  Just two settings adorned the bright floral table cloth that draped down to the floor.  Her boys were already at the counter eating their dinner.

“I hope everything’s okay.”  Her voice held a trace of concern as she turned back towards the stove to retrieve the pot of stew.

“Yes, everything’s fine.”  He could tell she wasn’t convinced from the look she threw his way.

Gesturing for him to take a seat she took the one opposite him.  “Tell you what.  Let’s eat dinner and discuss work-related matters over coffee.”

He positioned his chair to keep the house across the street under surveillance, hoping his hostess wouldn’t notice.

“That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.” His eyes darted back to Maggie’s face as he sat down, eager to keep her from becoming concerned.

“Is something wrong detective – er Morris?”  Too late!  Concern laced her tone, her expression marred by worry.

Over her shoulder he glimpsed Geridano emerge, turn to shake the old woman’s hand then get into his vehicle and drive off.

“Wrong?  No, nothing’s wrong.”   His eyes darted back to her face.  She wasn’t easily misled and turned in the direction of the window.

“Mom, I’m done.”

“Me too!”

Morris breathed a sigh of relief for the timely interruption.

Quickly attending to her sons, she gently shooed them upstairs for what sounded like a nightly ritual of bathing and bedtime stories.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes but help yourself to some coffee,” she gestured towards the coffee pot on the counter as she left the room.

Maggie hugged her sons and smiled as they struggled to stay awake.  They weren’t use to dinner guests, especially men they didn’t know.  She placed her usual kiss on each of their foreheads marveling at how angelic they looked when asleep.

Returning to the kitchen several minutes later she found Morris staring out the window.  “Is everything okay?”

He turned.  “Fine.”

Despite her reservations, she decided not to probe any further.  She sat and he followed her example.

“So, whose idea was it to start the restaurant?”

Shooting him a confused look she picked up her fork and resumed eating.

 “Oh, you mean Florina’s?”  The words were said between bites of beef and potato.

“Yes, Florina’s.”

She swallowed and paused before speaking.  “My brother Donald.  He was a cook in the army and after his tour was up he went to the International School of Cooking in Chicago and never looked back.”  She tasted another spoonful of stew.  “I’ve learned a lot from him.”

“If the meal tonight is any indication, yes you have.”

She felt herself blush at his praise.  With two boys whose main meal was pizza and PBJ’s it was nice to have an adult to cook for – especially an appreciative one.

“I hope you like strong coffee,” her voice broke into the awkwardness of the moment.

“I do, and I brought dessert,” handing her a bow-tied box.

“Thanks, but you didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.”  Their eyes met.  “It’s baklava.”

“Oh, one of my favorites!”

She left the table with the box, pulled cups and a desert platter from the cupboard, missing the smile of pleasure on his face.

Seated once again, two cups of steaming hot coffee before them he refocused on the reason for his visit.

“So, tell me more about Owen.”

“Oh, let’s see.  Owen was actually a close family friend.  My mother said he was like a cousin to her but I never found any family connection – at least not officially.  But he’s been around the family ever since I can remember.

She poured cream into her coffee and then offered some to Morris.  He shook his head.  “No thanks.  I take it black.”  He took a sip and let the aroma and the flavor of the coffee work its magic.

“So, has Owen Cassidy always been in the industrial products business?”

“No, believe it or not he used to be a cop.”

“Really.  How long was he on the force?”

“Not long.”  She leaned forward, her arms on the kitchen table as she tried to think.  “Maybe six years.  In fact he knows your Captain.”

Morris raised an eyebrow.  “Really!”  More guilt at keeping the secret of Owen Cassidy’s fake death from Maggie threatened to ruin the evening.  He needed to subdue this feeling, and fast.

“How long have you been working with Owen on this secret investigation you two thought up?”

“You make it sound so dirty and underhanded.  In fact it feels like an interrogation.”   She saw his eyes soften just a little but he didn’t respond.  “About four months.”

“So, not that long.”

“No, not that long,” she agreed, “and we could only meet about once every two weeks to avoid suspicion.”

She kept talking, anticipating his next question.  “Owen would bring me more letters and other paperwork to analyze and I’d give him an analysis of what I had looked at so far.  Like I said before, the only things that stood out were the papers I already showed you.”

“Do you still have everything he gave you?”

“Yes, it’s all right over there.”  She pointed to a desk area just off the kitchen where a computer was stationed.

“I’d like to have a look at it.”

“All of it?”

“All of it.”

“If you say so!”

Morris sat back as Maggie left the table and opened a slatted door near the computer station.  He soon understood her incredulous response to his request.

“Have you actually gone through all of these documents?”  He was incredulous.

“Mostly, yes.”

“Mostly?”

“You’ll see.”  She shot him a look that said - I know what you’re in for and you don’t!

“You really don’t expect to go through all of these tonight?”

“Well, not now that I see how much there is.  Maybe you can point me to the more important piles.”

“Sounds like you’re staying for awhile.”

“If that’s okay with you and your sons.”

“It’s okay, but don’t you have other things you’d rather be doing?”

“You want to get to the bottom of this don’t you?”

 “Yes, of course I do.”

“And, so do I, so let’s get started.”

She turned to haul another box from its hidden storage area.  “Shall I make a fresh pot of coffee?”

The box she was holding began to slip from her hands and he quickly reached over and saved it from scattering across the floor.

“Thanks.”

“Tell you what.  I’ll finish hauling out boxes.  You make the coffee.”  He gently touched her arm.  “Deal?”

“Deal.”  A smile spread across her face as her gaze locked with his.  This time there weren’t any children to interrupt them but he turned away.  He had to.  Equal parts of guilt from keeping Owen Cassidy’s secret and needing to stay objective to investigate the case made him step back from her and their obvious attraction for each other.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.  There’s just a lot to get through.”

“Well, we’d better get to work then.”

The sound of water from the faucet was followed by beans grinding then the smell of freshly ground coffee filled the air.  He turned his attention to the stack of boxes before him, noticing the markings on the outside.  Most had dates and page number ranges reminding him of the types of materials received from law firms.  Opening the box with the most recent dates he found it jammed tight with business reports, calendars and meeting agendas.

“Pretty boring stuff, huh?”  Her voice broke through his concentration.

“So far, yes,” which made him wonder aloud, “–why did Cassidy feel that it was important for you to have this information?”

“I don’t know.  I didn’t get a chance to ask him.  These were delivered just before he was–” Maggie’s voice started to break.

“Its okay, Maggie, its okay.”  The urge to hold her in his arms was overwhelming.  But right now he was afraid that if he had that kind of body contact with her he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.  He also wanted to tell her that Owen Cassidy was alive and well.  He couldn’t.  He had made a promise and he kept his promises, especially when the safety of another officer was involved.

“I’d better go check on the boys.”  Maggie excused herself which left Morris alone to decide where he wanted to start.  Looking at the many boxes before him he decided to start at the beginning.  He took the box with the oldest date and placed it on the table.  Peeling off the lid he quickly scanned through stacks of financial documents and corporate meeting memos finding them rather useless.