Uncorked (15 page)

“Who taught you where sea glass
came from Chella?”

“Probably my dad. I lived on an
island a long time ago, and he used to take me to the beach every Saturday. We
did exactly what you and I are doing now, collecting shells and sea glass and
making sand castles.”

“You don’t do these things with
your dad anymore?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Because my daddy’s not here
anymore. He’s in heaven.”

“That must make you sad.”

“It does sometimes.”

“When my grandma went to heaven,
it made me sad.”

“I know how you feel, but you
know how you can smile and be happy again?”

“Yes. I look at pictures and
videos of when we used to have fun together.”

“That’s a great way to remember
her.”

“Why didn’t your mommy go to the
beach with you and your dad?”

“She’d stay home to fix our big
Saturday night dinner. We used to have dinner together every Saturday night—the
whole family. Sometimes she’d even bake a cake.”

“Do you still have dinner with
your mom on Saturdays?”

“No, I don’t. She’s in heaven,
too,” Chella replied, feeling a moment of sadness as she remembered her
parents.

“I’m sorry. Maybe we should make
a sand castle. That might make you happy.”

“I think that’s a wonderful
idea.”

After lunch, Chella,
Mitch and Emily took photos
together and swam and snorkeled in the crystal clear waters. Mitch decided they
would not go back to his mother’s house, so they perused the street shops and
looked for a restaurant where they could enjoy an evening dinner.

They ate at a patio restaurant
overlooking the boats and the beautiful views. Chella left Emily with her dad
and excused herself to go to the restroom.

Chella noticed a man at the bar
staring at her. He was probably in his thirties, blonde hair, piercing blue
eyes. She had no idea who he was, but the way he stared and smiled at her left
her feeling very uncomfortable.

When she exited the ladies room,
the man stood in the narrow hallway between the bathroom and the dining room
watching her, smiling. Goose bumps erupted on her skin. Everything about this
man told her to stay away from him.

She returned into the bathroom
and dug through her purse for her Taser gun. She took a deep breath, held the
Taser firmly in her hand and headed out the bathroom.

The man was in the same position.

Chella Noon you can do this…

She leveled a stare at the
stranger. “Take one step toward me, and I’ll blast your ass with fifty-thousand
volts of electricity.”

“I just think you’re the prettiest
lady,” he replied, still smiling but never making a move toward her.

Trying to remain cool, calm and
collected, it took every ounce of courage not to run out of the restaurant. She
returned to their table, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly slipped the
Taser back into her bag.

“What’s wrong?” Mitch asked when
he saw her serious expression.

Emily was bouncing and playing
with a ball nearby.

“A man was staring at me when I
went to the bathroom. When I got out, he was waiting for me in the hallway
outside of the bathroom.”

“Are you okay?”

“Nervous as hell. I threatened
him with my Taser gun.”

“What’s he wearing?”

“Red shirt, navy shorts.”

“Is he the one sitting at the end
of the bar?” Mitch asked looking through the glass wall to the inside.

Chella turned in her chair,
pretending to look at Emily.

“Yes, that’s him.”

“I’ll be right back.”

She was not certain what Mitch
was going to do. How could Aaron have possibly found her? They were three
hundred and fifty miles away from San Diego. She saw Mitch approach the
stranger inside. A middle-aged couple quickly joined the conversation. Moments
later, they shook hands and Mitch returned to Chella and Emily.

“He’s mentally-challenged. His
parents own the place. They apologized. They’re going to come over in a few
minutes.”

Chella sighed then nervously
giggled a little. She was now questioning whether she had overreacted. Whether
she had or not, it didn’t change to fact that he had frightened her. Five
minutes later, she still wasn’t able to stop her hand from trembling.

The man’s parents approach their
table. “Ms. Noon, I’m Barbara and this is my husband, Bob.”

“Hello,” Chella answered calmly,
slightly smiling.

“We just wanted to apologize for
our son Tommy’s behavior. He doesn’t understand how what he does frightens
people. Since he was young, he always seemed to be fascinated by beautiful
women. Getting him to understand that following, smiling and staring at women
can scare them has been a great challenge, but I promise you, he means no
harm.”

“Okay.”

“The fact that he’s trapped in
the body of a thirty-year-old man doesn’t make it any easier, but he only has
the mind of a five-year-old boy,” his father continued.

“I guess I’ll take that as a
compliment. I hope I didn’t frighten him, though. I threatened him with a
Taser.”

“He has no clue what that is.
He’s okay.”

“Most of our customers are from
the area, so you stood out, for more than one reason. The ladies around here
are also used to him so he rarely ever causes a problem,” Barbara continued.

“No need to explain further. I
completely understand. Thank you for taking the time to come over.”

“We’ll be sending over some
complimentary desserts. What would you like?”

“I’ll admit that he scared me,
but now that you’ve explained that’s really not necessary. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Bob asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“I hope you return next time you
visit.”

“We will, and I’ll be sure to say
hello to Tommy next time I see him.”

They cruised back to the marina.
It was heavenly. The late afternoon waters, once blue, were now golden. The
skies turned to hues of yellow, purple, orange and pink. It was simply
breath-taking.

Chella awoke to
the sound of a roaring engine.
Glancing at her watch, she realized it was just after noon. So much for leaving
early in the morning. After the night of heated passion she and Mitch shared
the night before, it was no wonder they were four hours behind their scheduled
departure time.

She freshened up, slipped a pair
of sexy shorts over her two-piece swimsuit then went out to keep Mitch company.

It was a beautiful day, perfect
for a boating trip. After she made herself comfortable between his legs, they
took the long cruise to Shelter Island, which would be
Ciao Bella’s
new
home. When the journey was over, they tidied the boat together and gathered their
things to leave.

The previous Friday while at the
airport, the hotel manager from Humphreys had sent Chella an email to tell her
she had received some mail, so they detoured through the hotel to pick it up.
As they approached Mitch’s vehicle in the parking lot across the street, Chella
realized something was terribly wrong.

The SUV’s tires were slashed. The
windows and windshield were smashed, and the vehicle was badly keyed. Chella
knew immediately.

Aaron.

The pattern was becoming more
frustrating by the minute. The fact that the police had no leads in the case
was driving Chella up the wall.

Detective Carter and a squad of
police arrived soon after Mitch called. They thought Mitch’s parked Jaguar
across town would have thrown Aaron off, but somehow Aaron found out what Mitch
had been driving. Rusty had dropped the vehicle off early Sunday morning. At
nearly eight o’clock in the evening, it had clearly happened sometime that day.

The police reviewed the cameras
and found out that the vehicle had been vandalized only twenty minutes before
Chella and Mitch arrived. Two people dressed in black with masks on and under
the guise of the night’s darkness had destroyed the vehicle in less than a
minute.

Because it had just happened, the
police believed the perpetrators might still be in the area, possibly watching
what was taking place. Detective Carter had serious concerns for Mitch and
Chella’s safety. If they were being watched, the culprits could plan to follow
Chella and Mitch home. Detective Carter wanted them taken to the station. From
there, he could find a way to get them home safely and undetected.

As Detective Carter
drove them to the station,
Chella was dead silent. In fact, she had not said a word since the police
arrived. Mitch knew the thoughts that had been going through her head, and the
conversation they were likely to have when they were alone. He being targeted
because of her was a conversation they would have all over again.

They now had evidence to prove
Aaron had not been working alone. Whether he had the finances to pay someone to
do this were still unknown, but highly unlikely, so they were working under the
assumption that he was one of the men in in the video.

When they arrived at the police
station, Detective Carter escorted them to a conference room.

“Can I get either of you
anything?” he asked.

“No, thanks,” Chella replied.

“Some water, please,” Mitch
continued.

When Detective Carter left the
room, Mitch pulled his chair close to Chella and took her hand in his. “Sweetheart,
you haven’t said anything.”

“What do you
want me to say?” Chella replied.
“We’ve been here before. I’m sure you know what I’m thinking. Mitch, the fact
is, whether you want to admit it or not, I’m a liability to you and your
business. I can’t allow this to continue.”

“Chella, please don’t.”

“If I continue seeing you, you’ll
end up dead.”

“What about you? There’s not a
doubt in my mind that he’s trying to kill you.”

“Mitch, I don’t want you getting
hurt. I can’t handle that.”

“Chella, I’m starting to think
that there’s more to this than you’re telling me.”

“I don’t expect you to understand
any of this, Mitch.”

“Please, I’m begging you. Make me
understand.”

She had become so attached to
him, started to fall in love with him, but she could never tell him. When her
parents died, she lost the two most important people in her life. In the span
of a short time, Mitch had filled that void. She was afraid to go through the
hurt and pain of losing someone she loved again. Compounding the situation was
Emily. She had completely fallen in love with her, and she could not bear
something happening to him or his child because of her. Causing that precious
little girl to grow up without a dad was simply not an option in her mind.

Detective Carter returned to the
room, handed Mitch the water, then said, “I’m sorry this is taking so long.
We’d prefer to do this in an unmarked car, and none are available at this
minute. We’re making arrangements to get one back here.”

“I’m thinking of renting a
vehicle. What if I had it delivered here?” Mitch asked.

“Might not be a bad idea. We can
have it delivered to our underground parking lot. That way no one on the
outside will see you leave. Better yet, I’ll drive you both home while the two
of you lay low until I’m certain we’re not being followed. Someone can come
over to your place and pick me up.”

“Perfect. I’ll let you explain
the delivery,” Mitch responded.

“Sure.”

While Mitch made the
arrangements, Detective Carter sat next to Chella.

“Ms. Noon, I’ve been working
tirelessly to get this solved.”

“I’m sure you have, but that
doesn’t change the reality of the situation. Is it possible for you to get me a
ride to my hotel?”

“You’re not going home with Mr.
Mariani?”

“If I stay in his life, he’s sure
to get killed by this maniac. That’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”

“Ms. Noon, I strongly advise
against this. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“There is nothing you can say to
get me to do otherwise.”

“You’ll get yourself killed,”
Detective Carter said adamantly.

“Better me than him. After you
handle this call with him, can you give us a few minutes alone, please?”

“Sure.”

When they had finished the
conversation, the detective left the room.

Chella walked over to Mitch,
looked him in the eye, and said, “I’ve asked Detective Carter to make arrangements
to take me to the hotel.”