Murder Close to Home: Carmine -Edit

Cindy grabs the child and screeches, "Leave him alone! Leave him alone!" Meanwhile Neil is still screaming and Carmine loses his grip on the boy's ankle. He grabs up the phone saying, "Shut him up, woman!"

Cindy takes Neil to the kitchen and closes the door. Carmine says, "Hello"

"Carmine?"

"Yeah, is that you Lew?"

"You're fucking right it's me! I want to see you!"

"Hey, what's up buddy?"

"Asshole, I been talking to your chink friends. You've been holding out on me. I want to count those fucking units in the garage. You meet me tomorrow night by the garage. You got that?"

"Hey Lew, you know those damn chinks. They been feeding you a line, buddy."

"Tomorrow night! By the garage!" The line goes dead.

Carmine hangs up the phone staring at it. "Cindy, bring me a beer!" He starts sweating. He stomps through the kitchen, "Never mind, I'm going out!"

He slams the back door and goes by the garage. He stops and looks at the car. "What the fuck! Oh Christ, Cindy!"

He screams again, "Cindy!" He stomps in the house and finds her cringing in the bedroom with the boy behind her. He grabs her hair and pulls her to the back door. He tosses her ahead of him out the door then pushes her by the garage.

"Why! Why did you do that, bitch?"

Cindy stares at the car and blubbers, "Not me, it was her. It was Monica!"

Carmine stares at her, "Monica who?"

She screams, "Your whore!"

"How do you know about her?"

Crying Cindy explains about how the woman tried to befriend her and talk her into leaving Carmine. Carmine listens and nods his head. He looks at the car and says, "I think you're right, baby. I think I misjudged you. You go on in the house. I think it was her."

He watches her go and unlocks the garage. Going inside he sits by his workbench and tries to think what to do. He looks around and decides even if he takes all the units out of their boxes and makes them look like twice as many there still won't be as many as there is supposed to be.

* + *

Mike snoozes with Jan beside him watching a police show she shouldn't be subjected to as Marlene completes a dress she proudly holds up in front of her form in the mirror. She dreams of the day after she has the baby and can wear it for the first time.

Chapter 4:

October 30

Mike tries to ease out from under Marlene but she squirms in her sleep and pins him to the bed again. Both are naked and she drapes herself over him in her sleep each night. With her head nestled under his chin or on his shoulder she presses her breasts into his chest and sleeps with one arm around him. One leg finds its way during the night over his legs and she sleeps with her pelvis pressed to his. Often in her sleep she feels him stir and instinctively rubs her labia on his penis. He often wakes to find himself coated with her juices.

She jokes about it and says it saves time when they wake up. Mike never argues but rather enjoys it. She has slept with him like that since he first met her when he was driving truck for the Navy and she rode with him to Vancouver Island. They have been well-matched companions.

But this morning he must return to his mistress and he is looking forward to slipping into bed with her in an hour. He attempts once more to slide out from under her and she stirs. He stops. She smiles and whispers, "Go if you must. She'll be waiting." She lifts her head and kisses him.

Mike quickly dresses and slips out to the stairs. It is five-o-clock and he passes like a shadow through the house and out to the car. Soon he is driving like the wind on the freeway homeward bound. Each week Thursdays and Sundays are a thrill for him, an opportunity to experience anew his home life with a different woman. He hurries to Trudy.

At one time she was a truck stop waitress out at Floods near Hope in the valley. She was a product of the military, known as a PMQ brat. She was cruelly raped by a boyfriend of her mother's when she was but twelve and survived a period of promiscuity with everyone willing until at the age of fourteen she got pregnant and married an army serviceman who she claimed was the father.

Her daughter Crystal is now nine and she is twenty-three, separated from her brutal husband and in love with Mike. She has struggled to find favour with him to the point of becoming his partner in the security business and has found peace and maturity finally with the only man she has ever truly loved since her father. She has had to curry favour with his wife and strive for acceptance in a society that frowns on her. She hides her feelings with a brave front but inside she can be hurt so easily. She has borne Mike a daughter named Shannon but whom she calls Sam mainly because she wished to present him with a son. She is now again pregnant.

Mike slips around the house on Clarke Drive and taps on the sliding glass door of their bedroom. Like a ghost she flies to the door and welcomes him home. In the cool morning mist he holds her close and whirls her around in her sheer light gown as their lips caress each other's. He carries her back inside where she kisses him again and again. "Oh Mike, I've been awake for an hour waiting! Come to bed, darling."

Where Marlene is statuesque and brunette, Trudy is five foot and blonde. Where Marlene is a homemaker, Trudy needs one. Where Marlene detests his work, Trudy loves to be the sleuth.

He removes his clothes by the bed and she pulls the sheer gown over her head. She can't keep her hands from straying to him. She holds the covers back for him and hugs him as he joins her. "Don't talk darling, just hold me." He cuddles her close and she snuggles to him. Her lips kiss his chest and his arms. She raises her head to kiss under his chin and then she seeks his lips. She feels deliriously happy. Nothing else matters to her right now, just his arms holding her and his breath mixing with hers. But soon she feels a yearning inside her body for more than his touch.

She squeezes and rubs his buttock with her hands and feels him press against her. She squeezes the flesh and pushes one leg up to rest a knee on his hips. She lets him surge in and touch her. She thrills to the touch on her vulva and squeezes the cheeks of his ass harder. It takes her breath away when she feels his hard manhood move sliding over her sensitive labia. She tries to hold her breath but her hips move with a will of their own.

A small moan escapes her throat. She kisses his lips hard and opens hers to touch his tongue with hers. His tongue slips in to invade her mouth and she welcomes it, sucks on it lightly. She wants him all inside her. She moves her hips feeling for him and he slides over her and up between the cheeks of her ass.

She pulls back abruptly and he slips through her labia to slide up her belly. She pulls herself close again to feel it thrusting up between them and his sack presses between her labial lips. She pulls her lips from his and hisses, "Mike, put it in!" Mike chuckles and she kisses him again.

Determinedly she moves her hips and feels him sliding down closer and closer, she arches her back and pushes her hips but Mike moves with her and she feels him poke around her clitoris. It sends shivers up her back as he moves and rubs her there with the head of his erection. She lets him do that and tries to catch her breath. He moves with such a smooth sweet rhythm rubbing her and sending electrical charges through her body. She can feel the earth moving and she sways erratically with it. She wants to kiss him and can't seem to get her bearings but she feels so full of love for him.

She feels a damn burst inside her and she gushes to cover him, to hold him within her and she realizes he is deep inside her. He fills her with his manhood and she holds him in her womanhood. They are one.

She feels him move and knows she said something but has no idea what. Everything is a blur and she feels his body on every inch of her skin. She wants the movement in her to go on forever. She can hear her own heart beating harder in her veins and it seems to sing his name. She realizes she is uttering his name over and over. Each time she makes sense out of what is happening he touches her breasts or changes his penetration to rub her near her entrance and she spins off again into delicious euphoria.

She feels his fluids bathe her inside and waits for the next gush and then the third. She runs her hand down his arm feeling the muscles ripple and tries to catch her breath. She touches his chest and his chin, pushes a finger between his lips and feels his strong teeth, feels him suck on her finger. "Oh my darling, I love you."

"I love you too, Trudy love."

She snuggles to him again and he holds her tight. She feels so wanted and loved. She has satisfied her man again. She is very proud.

The real world starts to crowd in around them and she thinks of what she has resolved. "Darling?"

"Yes love."

"I've had time to think things out and I know we have to make room for Veronica. Don't say anything. Hear me out."

"Yes love."

"I've decided she can have you when you're on the road. It wouldn't be fair to reduce my days with you and I'm sure Marlene won't want to either. What do you think of that? Remember she has a husband to go home to or she will have." She's talking into his chest and doesn't look up while she waits for his answer.

Mike mulls it over, "I suppose that's fair. You won't be calling her names any more then?"

She pulls her head back, "I called her what she is! A Kurdish whore!" She relents, "But I was wrong. She's Armenian."

Mike shakes his head, "You owe her an apology."

"I will never, never apologize to her! She sneaked behind our backs to take you away from us!"

Mike grins, "What did you do to Marlene?"

"I just wanted a small share of you. I was willing to share with Marlene."

"Why do you think Veronica was trying to steal me away? She still has plans to marry Marv."

"She wants to have your kids! I could see it in her eyes. She wants you all to her own!"

"And don't you?"

She ducks her head into his chest. "Please, just while you're on the road."

"I'll see how that suits her. I think that's what she wants."

"Mmm, move in me some more."

He does and they go on for another half hour before they come together. They fall asleep in each other's arms.

"Mommy, when's Daddy coming... Daddy! You're home!" Crystal climbs on top of them. Mike hugs her and sets her on the floor. "Good morning, princess."

Trudy stretches one arm out from under the sheet loosely thrown over them and says, "You run along honey, we'll be right up. Is Sam awake?"

"Yes, she is Mommy; she's up and watching you. I hope you were behaving." She giggles and runs out of the room. Shannon is sixteen months old and learning to talk. She has just started walking and still crawls some. Trudy has already got her potty trained and she is the center of attention around their home. Trudy is glad they are having another one to keep her company.

They get up and shower together. They bring Shannon in the shower with them and she loves it. They don robes and Mike carries Shannon out to her highchair. "Good morning, Anna"

"Good morning, Mr. Mike."

Anna is Trudy's housekeeper. She has a sick sister nearby and stays with Trudy. She has a room upstairs next to Crystal's. She is very trusted by Trudy and Mike.

Mike leaves Shannon for Trudy to look after and settles himself at the desk behind the front door. He pulls up the last week's activities on her computer and searches a file or two.

Trudy calls him, "Breakfast is on, darling."

He joins them and they all enjoy a meal together before Crystal has to run for school. He is enjoying his coffee when the two officers for Chilliwack arrive. He greets them. "Hi Werner, hi Maryann."

"Good morning, Mike," from Werner and "Good morning, sir." from Maryann. Trudy gives them their assignments and explains any problems they can foresee. They pick up their files and are gone.

Trudy comes back to the table. Mike asks, "What do you take in each month in skip tracing?"

"About fifty Gs, I guess. I don't catch them all. Maybe forty-five. Why?" Mind you that's a good month. I have seen it less than twenty.

"I think we'll have a lot in Abbotsford. I want to get someone trained for specifically that."

"Why Abbotsford? It can be done from anywhere."

"Lily handles the Langley skip tracing. Why not Abbotsford?"

"I suppose it might be a good idea when the load increases. There's not that much there yet."

"I was looking through your file yesterday. It was close to a million. That's a hundred Gs."

"Actually it's fifty for Lily and fifty for me if we can find them all. So?"

"So Connie would like to have control over her own area."

"Connie! That string bean! She's not even working for us yet. Who says she's going to be the Area Manager?"

"I do. I promised it to her."

Trudy tries persuasion, "Darling, I find her so strict, so officious. I think it's because she thinks she's still an RCMP officer."

"She is."

"Well, there you go. She may never be the security chief in Abbotsford."

"Look, I keep my eye out for good people and I saw she was thinking of quitting even before she got married. She's damn good and well trained so I promised her the position. What is really bugging you about her? Is it because she's Janine's friend?"

She laughs, "That's part of it. I find her so comical. I'm surprised she could find a husband. Look at her! If she weren't pregnant she wouldn't have a figure. My God, do you want her representing our head office?"

"Trudy, I'm shocked! That's prejudice against tall people."

"Hey, we can use her as an officer if she comes down off that high horse but do we want her heading up our head office?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, okay. Is there anything else you'd like me to change, master?"

"Your attitude for a start."

"Mike, that's not fair. I work my buns off for you and you know it."

"I know you do, love. I'm just surprised you would think of Connie as someone not qualified because of her looks."

"All right, so who's going to run things while she's having the baby?"

"You and I."

"Okay, she's got it. I suppose I can spare the time to train someone to do the skip tracing for her. It is picking up fast in Abbotsford."

"She hired two new officers yesterday."

"Did you approve them?"

"Yes, one is Roger from Royal Columbian Hospital in New West. Remember him?"

"Oh yeah, that's good. He should be one damn good man for the job. Now why not him to run the head office?"

"His experience is in security, not investigations. He will learn quick, I was out with him yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, okay. Do you have plans for today?"

"Yeah, I think I may go over to CPX in Poco."

"What for, to wash the truck? Oh, do you have your bedding? We mustn't let Marlene see all that Veronica juice, right?"

"I have them in the trunk. I'll get them if you want to put them in right away."

"So why go to Poco?"

"The boss called; the terminal boss. He wants me to do an investigation of freight thefts. What do you think? I know it's out of our area."

"CPX? That could be a big contract. And you work for them. That's a good in. Why not?"

"That's what I was thinking."

"Hey, I can go with you. It'll be like old times. Mike and Trudy, Trudy and Mike."

Mike grins, "That's what I was hoping you'd suggest."

She tickles him, "Oh you little devil! We can go by the head office and I'll see if I can warm up to the string bean."

Mike gets the bedding from the car and dresses while Trudy is putting them to soak. He comes out and has coffee with Anna while she dresses. When she appears ready to go he closes up his briefcase and waits on her. Trudy drains the rinse water and grins mischievously at Mike.

She whispers, "There goes your sperm soup down the drain." She giggles and starts the wash with detergent. She asks Anna to put them in the dryer when they're done.

They use Mike's car even though it's raining. Mike says, "It likely will be nice down in Poco." And what he says is frequently true. The farther west one goes in the valley the greater the likelihood of fair weather. Their first stop is Head Office in Abbotsford. Mike pulls onto the airport property and down passed Mainline Helicopters to Trike Services, Inc.

Trudy expresses surprise at the shrubbery and paved parking. Workmen are still working on the ends of the building on the patios and siding. They go to the entrance annex and enter the building. They go right through to their office and Laura greets them as they pass with a cheerful, "Good morning."

The first thing Trudy does is to pull the drapes across the shared patio glass door. "We don't need them workmen watching us instead of working." At the light rap on the door Trudy calls, "Yes Laura."

Laura steps in, "Coffee?"

Mike nods and Trudy shrugs. "Okay."

Mike says, "Thanks Laura, is Mrs. Van Houghton busy?"

"I believe she's downstairs in the training room, sir."

Mike looks at his watch. "Does she have any interviews scheduled for today?"

"Two after lunch. Both for officers."

"Okay, if she comes up before we finish our coffee could you ask her to step in here, please?"

Laura smiles, "Yes sir." she leaves.

Trudy mumbles, "Down boy! I see who I'm going to have to watch around here."

Mike pulls up some files on the computer. "You are one suspicious woman, love." He checks the day's activities in Abbotsford. "I see she's got Walter out on the job again today. He's going to have to give his notice to the Commissionaires soon at this rate." He checks hours. "Damn! Ram is into overtime already this week."

Laura brings the coffee and says, "Mrs. V will be right in, sir. I just gave her your message."

"Thank you, Laura."

As she's leaving Connie raps on the interconnecting door. "Come in, Connie." Trudy goes to open the door for her and they almost collide. Mike has to grin at the tiny blonde and the tall brown haired Connie as they eye each other. Trudy backs away from her and straightens up. "Come in."

Mike ushers Connie to a seat quickly to help Trudy gain back her equality and suggests, "Would you care for coffee?"

"No, please go ahead and enjoy yours. I just had a cup." Mike nods at Trudy and sits back behind the desk.

Trudy strides across the office floor and says, "Mike and I have decided the job is yours. We find your work to date more than satisfactory. We have also decided you should have control over the skip tracing in this area so I will be training someone for your office." She looks at Mike. "Did I forget anything?"

"Well, let's ask Connie."

Trudy takes it up, "Yes, have you got any problems or ideas?"

Connie looks at Mike and then back at Trudy, "Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, Ms. Trudy. I didn't know I was on probation. I've been working under the impression I was helping Mike set up things. I am still employed by the RCMP."

Trudy spins to Mike, "I told you she was still working for them."

Connie goes on. "If you want me to work for you all you have to do is ask me. I've enjoyed the work so far here and I think things are going along well."

Trudy slowly looks back to her, "We want you to work for us."

Connie accepts that half-hearted request and grins, "I'd be delighted to take the job you are offering, Ms. Trudy. Thank you both."

Mike grins behind his coffee cup. Connie has managed to get Trudy to hire her. He has to restrain himself from laughing out loud. It's unusual to see someone outmaneuver Trudy. Trudy comes to stand behind Mike and picks up her coffee from the corner of the desk. She glances at the computer monitor; "It looks like you need more officers already. I see Ram is on overtime already."