A Soul Mate's Promise (17 page)

We get back to the table and I excuse myself to go to the ladies room. I leave my little purse on the chair and ask Celine if she wants to take the trip, too.

“Mmm, no thanks, baby. I’m going to see if I can get your boyfriend here to dance with me, next.”

              Sal being a gentleman, holds his hand out for her. “How can I refuse and invitation like that?”

Celine takes his hand.  “You can’t,” she drawls. As they start their way to the dance floor, Celine turns to me and winks. “I might not give him back to ya–look out now.”

I wander down the corridor to where the rest rooms are and there’s timid Mimi sitting on a chair holding some Advil’s.

“Hey, Mimi, how you doing? Can I get something for you?”

“No, I’ll be alright, thanks Gracie. Sometimes champagne just gives me a little headache.”

Since she’s okay, I make my way over to a stall and go in, careful not to drop my dress in the water. When I come back out, Mimi’s still there sipping her water.

“Gee Gracie, you and Sal look so great together, and wow, what a dancer. I’m so happy for you. Pay no attention to the other women in the club–believe me, underneath their snobby-ness they are happy for you too–and if some are not, well then they are green with envy. That’s a win-win if you ask me!”

I look around the rest room searching to see if anyone is listening. Mimi waves her hand.

“No one’s here but us, I already checked. I’ve been in here a while, hiding out I suppose,” she titters. “I guess I should try to pee.”

I giggle in reply. Mimi is very down to earth and not uppity like the rest of the ladies. She gets up and goes into a stall while I finish washing my hands. We can walk back together, so I plan to wait until she’s ready.

All at once, a man dressed all in black with a ski mask covering his face explodes through the door and points a gun in my face. He backs up a step and I’m looking at a metal barrel that looks awfully big around. I suck in a breath as my brain tries to register what’s happening.

“The necklace bitch! Get it off! Lets go!” he snarls.

I’m frozen in my tracks, to frightened to move. My heart is beating so hard it’ll either give out or jump out of my chest.
Oh god, Sal….

“Please,” I squeak as tears choke my throat, “please don’t shoot me.” My knees are buckling and my eyesight begins to flash.

“Give me the fucking necklace now and I won’t
have
to shoot you. Hurry up!”

I put my hands up slowly to get to the latch, but I’m trembling so much I can’t get it undone. Staring at the gun, I can’t breath. The first wave of panic is consuming me, the room begins to spin and I feel myself going down.

The man grabs my arm. “ Bitch, don’t play with me, what are you doing? Oh shit, you’re
not
gonna pass out!” Using his forearm, he pins me up against the wall and holds me up from under my chin. The gun is now up against the side of my head.

“Listen bitch, its really simple. Just get the necklace off and I won’t have to hurt you.” He’s pressing under my chin so hard I begin to choke.

Just before everything goes black, I hear a thunderous rumble and the man lets go as I crumble to the tile floor.

*       *       *

“Celine, thank you for the dance,” I said as I offered her my arm and we headed back to our table.

“No, thank you. And Gracie looks great by the way. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”

“I intend to,” I told her, pulling out the chair for her. She fumbled with her cell phone, then grabbed at my arm. Her eyes were wide as she held the phone up to my face. I read the text:

HELP–in bathroom man with gun at Gracie!

*       *       *

“So, Sal,” the deputy started again. “I need to take your statement. Let’s get this done. Then you can see to your lady.”

Sal bit back a growl and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

“I raced out of the ballroom, down a corridor, found the ladies room and kicked in the door. When I spotted the little piece of shit standing over Gracie, I didn’t think–there was no time–my combat instincts took over. I grabbed him by his neck and bent the arm with the gun back. He struggled with me and managed to cock the gun.

He said, ‘I’ll shoot her man let me go, I’ll shoot her!’” Sal ran a hand through his hair that had lost it’s tie a while ago, probably during the attack.

“I knew I had him in a good sleeper hold but he let one shot out and it hit the wall above the sinks. I glanced at Gracie who was sprawled on the floor but I didn’t know if she was hurt or dead or what. I saw red fury and hauled him back with me and slammed his head to the porcelain sink. Heard a snap. Then I got over to Gracie.”

“Ever see this guy before?” the deputy asked.

Sal shook his head. “Mimi said he wanted her necklace.”

“Okay, so he’s dead, what happened next?”

“I went over to Gracie and checked her over. Then I realized she fainted. She gets severe anxiety attacks sometimes and I’ll bet this one was awful.”

The cop nodded.

“I brought her around and sat her in the chair in that little alcove and then Mimi came out of the stall, shaking and stuttering so bad, I thought she’d faint, too. She handed me her bottle of water. Next thing I know, you guys are here.”

“Okay, sir. I’ve got what I need for tonight. You can go. If we need anything more, we’ll be in touch.”

Sal turns away and jogs over to the ambulance where the lights are still flashing red and white beams all around the country club front lawn.

She looks at him, her eyes still too wide, too dark. He knows what she’s seeing in her mind. He reaches out to take her hand and Mimi gives him a little smile.

“You doing okay, Mimi?” he asks as he squeezes Gracie’s hand.

“Ss..sal?…is..is he dead?” she asks, pointing at the front door of the building.

He lets out a big sigh and looks back to Gracie. “Yeah,” he said quietly, “he’s dead.

*       *       *

In upstate New York in a quaint little Norman Rockwell town, Maggie spent a nice quiet winter’s eve safe and warm with her husband and girls in their old but cozy Victorian home. Before retiring to bed she searched for her cell phone, tracing her steps and coming up empty.

“Jess, I can’t find my cell–did you see it?”

“No Mom, did you try calling it with Dad’s phone?”

“AH! See? This is why we keep you kids around.”

“HONEY!” Maggie called to her husband. “I need to use your phone to find mine.”

“Oh here, I’ll call it for you,” he said.

Maggie stood still, waiting to hear the Marvin Gaye ring tone, “Let’s Get It On.”

“It’s ringing,” he shouted, “do you hear it?”

“I think I do. Keep it going!” Maggie raced up the stairs and realized it was coming from her art studio on the third floor.

“OKAY, thanks I got it!” She entered her studio and flipped the light switch on. There it sat on her desk. “Yep, right where I left it,” she commented to herself. She hit the button and saw a text from Gracie–about three hours earlier. She tapped her message icon and up popped a picture.

“Oooh… oh how beautiful they look.” She stared at the photo for a bit, then a little longer.
Hmm how strange
.
This photo seems familiar, like I have seen it before.

She sent the picture to her computer. Within seconds she clicked on the big screen and there they were, larger, so she could get a better look.

“Oh my, Gracie”. She said to herself. “You really do have a handsome devil there.”

“Hey hon,” her husband called from the hall. “Ready to go to bed? The girls are tucked in.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, yeah. Hey Mike, come up here a minute.”

He stands in the doorway. “Yeah, sure, what’s up?”

“Look at this photo. It’s Gracie and her new boyfriend. I talked to her earlier–she sounds head over heels happy.”

“Wow! She looks great!” Mike commented. “Hey, he looks like he stepped out of GQ or something. Good for her!”

“Yeah, yeah besides that–this picture, does it remind you of anything?”

Mike took a longer look. “No, why? Should it?”

“I’m not sure, but for some reason it looks familiar to me. It’s giving me like a deja vu feeling.”

Mike chuckled at his wife. “Should I get the tin foil hats out or the Ouija board?”

“Hey, really, no jokes.” Maggie turned towards her husband. He saw her face was serious which meant the wheels in her brain were going full throttle.

“I’ll call Gracie in the morning,” she said. “See how the party went.”

“Okay you do that. Now will you come to bed?”

Maggie turned back to the picture on the computer screen. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” Her husband kissed the top of her head and started for the door.

As he was leaving the studio he muttered, “Truly it’s not that surprising–you and Gracie have been friends a long time. You two have always had some kind of mental connection.”

Maggie sat for a minute longer or so staring at the picture. She just couldn’t shake the weird feeling she got when she looked at it. She smiled in spite of herself. “They look so regal,” she thought out loud. “Wait till Gracie hears all this, she’ll think I’m crazy.”

From down the hall her husband called out, “You
are
crazy. Now come to bed!”

CHAPTER 17

Sitting in an ambulance outside in the Marriott’s parking lot, the EMT examines me. He shines his bright little light in my eyes and has a blood pressure cuff on my arm.

“I think you’ll be okay miss, but maybe you should come to the hospital anyway. You’ve had quite a scare and you’re still a bit shaky.”

“No, please, I just want to go home.” I crane my neck and spot Sal, Pop and Mimi talking with the police. I let out a long sigh and the EMT adjusts the blanket he’s wrapped around my shoulders now that the BP cuff is gone.

“Finally!” I hear Celine yell as she comes over to the ambulance. “They wouldn’t let me near you. My god, Gracie, I think I’ve had my first heart attack!”

I smile at her. “I’m fine Celine, really. If you’ve had a heart attack, maybe we should trade places and let this EMT look at you, too.”

She swats at me with her lovely hands, but I can see by her color that she’s had a fright, too. I try to smile, but I don’t think it really works. She clutches her fist to her chest. “If it wasn’t for Mimi hiding in that stall sending texts, I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Celine,” I whisper, “Sal killed that man. He
killed
that man.”
What if this triggers something awful in Sal? Because of me…
I feel the familiar burn of tears in my eyes my body keeps shuddering in nervous spasms.
I will not cry…

“He had a gun, Gracie. You don’t know what that shit stain could have done. I’m thankful Sal was here. Mimi said she saw the whole thing from the stall.” Celine chuckles. “She’s tellin’ the cops he was like some kind of superhero.”

“Sal told me he would kill anyone who got close enough to harm me. I’m just glad I didn’t actually
see
it. I know Sal is strong. I know he’s killed before because he had to, but, I know the tender, loving Sal, the one who touches me like I might break–those same gentle hands took a life.” I drop my heavy head into my hands. What if
his
dreams come back?

Celine reaches for my hands and gently pulls them away from my face. “Hey, you…” she says in a motherly tone. “Don’t you
dare
make Sal feel guilty about what he’s done.” She points a scarlet fingernail at me. “That guy loves the shit out of you! He is the same guy. He fought for our country and I’m sure he’s seen things no human should ever see. But I’m also sure he has taken out bigger and more important problems than some dick weasel with a gun!”

She’s right and I know it, but I can’t stop the fear that threatens to choke me. How many men and women serving this country can’t handle the guilt? How many lost their battle with those ugly memories?

“I know Celine, it’s not that. The past couple of years have been a long road for Sal - to get back to normal. I’m just scared this might set him back. He was finally finding some peace.”

“Yeah, baby girl.” She smiles and pats my leg. “He found
you
.”

This time I can give her a smile. Hasn’t Sal told me that same thing more than once? I nod and she relaxes.

Sal strides over to the ambulance and as I watch him approach us, my heart skips a beat. Celine hugs me and then hugs Sal.

“Let me get the old man home. I’ll talk to you both tomorrow–make sure she gets some sleep tonight, Sal. I think it be best if you skipped the hokey pokey tonight.”

Sal’s smile is weary, but genuine. “Yes, I’ll take care of her. Thanks, Celine.”

She winks, points her manicured finger at me one more time and races off.

“How are you feeling?” he asks as he tightens the blanket that was given to me.

“I’m fine.” I search his eyes. I see fatigue, but nothing else.  “How about you?”

He chucks my chin with his index finger. “I’m good.”

“I know you’re
physically
good”. I reach my hand to his cheek and then place it over his heart. How are you
here
?”

He takes my hand and kisses it. His voice is quiet but urgent as he looks at me. “I was scared, Gracie–really scared. I saw you on the floor and I thought he hurt you. He was scared himself–he would of shot us
all
out of fear. I know that look.”

Just then the EMT comes back. We’ve all been checked out and they are ready to get going.

“Ma’am are you sure you don’t want to get checked out at the hospital?”

Sal cuts in before I can answer. “I’m taking her home. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem, sir. If she starts to feel shaky or light headed don’t hesitate to get her to the hospital.”

*       *       *

Camille had enjoyed their evening, but was delighted to be headed home. She was expecting some good news shortly.

On their way home from the benefit Richard’s cell phone rang.

“Yes, Jessica,” Richard answered. “WHAT? When? We were just there.”

Camille managed to convey just the right amount of concern. “What’s happened Richard?”

Richard, still on the phone waved at her so he could hear more information. When he disconnected the call he turned the Escalade around.

“Richard, what in god’s name is going on?” she asked, unable to control the rising concern.

“Someone attacked Gracie at the benefit. Tried to steal her necklace–at gunpoint.”

Camille started to sweat, took a breath. “Do they know anything? Why are we going back? I don’t think going back there is going to help anything, Darling.”

“I want to check on her–see if I can help. Jessica said the man who attacked her is dead, but doesn’t know anything more.”

“Dead?” Camille shrieked.
Had little Gracie killed that idiot?
Had he told anyone anything before he died?
Her dinner was beginning to churn in her stomach.

When they arrived back at the Marriott the parking lot was full of police and ambulances. Richard jammed the car into park, opened the door and literally sprinted toward the flashing lights. Camille wondered if he’d ever move that fast for her…

She stayed behind in the car almost holding her breath as she tried to battle the panic back. Finally the car door opened and Richard jumped back in.

“Well?” Camille asked, not bothering to hide her concern. Let him think it was for
poor
Gracie.

He recapped what he’d learned, then took a breath. “Sal apparently crashed into the ladies room and there was a struggle, but he cracked the guy’s head open, broke his neck!"

“And Gracie is fine?”

“Yes everyone I hear is fine, I just couldn’t get close enough to talk to anyone, I’ll try calling her in the morning.”

“Richard?” Camille willed herself to stay cool. “Do they have any leads? Do they think there’s any connection to the burglary?”

Richard shrugged. “No idea.” He shook his head. “What the hell is going on? Poor Gracie…”

Camille wanted to scream, but she stayed calm. She reached over and touched his face. “I hope you don’t feel guilty, Richard. None of this is your fault–don’t make yourself feel bad about it.”

He brushed her hand away from his face and put the car into Drive.

“Jesus Christ, Camille. I know it’s not my fault, but what’s been happening to Gracie is not
her
fault either. We may have fallen apart, but she was once my wife. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to her.”

They drove the rest of the way home in silence. Camille had not only calmed herself, but she was feeling a bit relieved. What was that saying? Dead men told no tales?

*       *       *

“I’m never going to fall asleep tonight,” I announce as we walk through the door. Toby approaches us with caution, sensing something is off.

“It’s okay, Toby, come here, boy,” I call. He comes toward us and I pat his fur and kiss his head. He calms down a bit and Antonio takes him outside. Sal gently tugs my arm.

“Hey, you’re going to get into bed. This is all over for tonight. You need to rest.”

I cock my head and raise an eyebrow. “Just like Toby knows something’s off, I know there is something on your mind. We need to talk.”

He shakes his head as he opens the top button on the tux shirt. “Princess, it can wait till tomorrow. I’m concerned about you. I want you in bed resting.”

“Ha! Like
that’s
going happen.”

Antonio came back in with Toby. I stand in place, hands on my hips, my eyes darting back and forth at them both.

“Was it the guy who was snooping around here a month ago when we went to St. Augustine?” I demand to know.

Sal and his father exchange that look of theirs. Sal takes his hand and wipes at his face, taking a deep breath. “Yes.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Do we know who he was or why he came after me?”

Antonio puts up a hand as if to slow me down. “Caro, he was a petty thief, he had many aliases. He is some-a-one who would be paid to do a job or a hit. Now they have a face to identify- they find he has record a mile long.”

Sal swipes at his face again and drags his fingers through his hair. “He was a piece of shit someone hired to steal your necklace. He had a gun. He was a threat–kept saying he was going to shoot you and I took him out. But, now we can’t question him. We have no idea who hired him.”

I can see, hell–
feel
his frustration. The staccato report-like phrases.  The expressionless face that I hardly recognize. Like he was talking about a military operation. I wonder if
he
can handle what he’s done…

“Son, you did what-a you had to do. No charges–it was self defense.” Pop turns his head back to me and points a finger. “Your friend Mimi, she witnessed the whole-a-thing. He was caught in the act with a weapon.”

Sal scratches his head. “I’d like to know who hired him, that’s all. I don’t get it. And until we know that, she’s not safe. Guys like that are all over the place.”

“I saw Officer Dan there tonight. What did he have to say?” I ask with one eye on Sal.

Pop just lifts a shoulder. “He thinks it could be random, but they have-a-no leads yet. He had a throw away cell phone, wiped clean.”

“RANDOM!” Sal’s voice lifts in fury. “They think it could be random? Holy shit! Are they stupid, Pop? She had someone break in. The suspect did a drive-by twice, Lou put that on record. Then the same guy shows up at the benefit and knew to go in the bathroom. He’s been watching. Nothing random about any of this.”

“Okay son, calm-a-down. What else can we do for now?”

Sal shakes his head. “I’m making some phone calls.”

I just stand there, listening. The look on my face must be pretty bad because I feel like puking. It’s not over…

Sal registers my look and steps into my arms. “Don’t worry, I’m making assumptions. But, the threat still worries me. Did someone hire him? Gracie think, do you know of anyone who would want to hurt you? Has anyone threatened you in the past year?”

“No,” I squeak. “I can’t imagine anyone, not even Richard.”

“Son,” Antonio says evenly. “Maybe it was random. He could have-a-been watching from before the break in. Knowing she was alone here.”

“I don’t know, Pop. How’d he know the code?”

“Thieves know how to figure out codes, nothing is impossible. Now, this old man is-a-going home. Good benefit, Gracie! The kids will do well–at least that turned out good, si?”

I bend down and give Antonio a big hug. “Yes, that’s a good thing. And, both Mimi and I are fine, too. Thank you for coming with us, Pop.”

We walk him to the back door and Sal watches as Tony wheels himself the short distance to his house, then enters. We see the kitchen light switch on.

Sal turns in my direction. “Off to bed, Princess. Let’s go. Are you feeling any better?”

“I’m freaked out but I’ll be alright. I thank god you were there–you saved my life. How do I ever…”

Sal puts a finger to my lips. “Don’t you dare say
re-pay
. This isn’t about keeping score. I thought I lost you tonight. That would have ended me in ways you can not imagine–and I can’t explain.” He takes my hand in his and we walk toward the stairs.

“Now, I want you to get into bed and don’t worry about any of this. I’m going to do my own checking and make some calls. It should be quiet for awhile. If someone is out for you or this necklace, after tonight, they will lay low.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s my job to know. Trust me, Princess.”

We enter the bedroom and what I really want is a hot shower. Maybe I can scrub some of the terror out of my body. And maybe I’ll feel clean enough to get to sleep.

Sal assures me he’ll be in the study while I shower, but not to worry. After I’m in the shower long enough that I begin to wrinkle, I quickly dry off, put on some warm P.J’s and crawl into bed. Sal peeks in to check on me.