Mike Faricy: Russian Roulette

“Here you go, Dev,” Jimmy said setting a fresh Jameson down.

“Jimmy, am I losing what’s left of my mind, did I…”

“From the lady.”

“Lady?”

“That redhead, she’s,” Jimmy looked back over his shoulder. “Well now, where in the hell did she go? She was standing right there a minute ago, maybe she ducked into the ladies room.”

“Redhead? Accent?”

“Yeah, she’s got an accent.”

“Good-looking?”

“Very, that’s her, wherever in the hell she went,” Jimmy said looking around again.

“She’s gone.”

“What do you mean gone? She was really a knockout.”

“You should see her naked on the beach.”

“What?”

The following morning I wandered up to Bon Vie wearing sunglasses and staying in the shade as much as possible. Okay, it was a little past one in the afternoon but after a night of being over-served it was still breakfast time for me. I was trying to be positive, thinking there may have been a spark between that cute waitress Madeline and myself.

“Oh you. Do I need to warn our customers or is this going to be a social visit?” Amy asked as I entered, but then she smiled, sort of.

“I was thinking breakfast.”

“I suppose Madeline’s section,” she said waddling toward the back of the small room. “Here, take this table and try not to disturb any of the other customers around you.”

Madeline arrived with a mug of coffee, a menu, and sporting a shiny new diamond that she waved under my nose as only recently engaged women can.

“Thanks, Maddie. Gee, did you get engaged?”

“Oh, you noticed, yeah, we just decided ….”

I settled for Eggs Benedict as I heard exactly how some wretch popped the question and ruined my plans for a fun night or two. My phone saved me from hearing their honeymoon plans.

“How’s the head?” Aaron asked.

“Good. Hearing just about back to normal,” I said.

“Anyone trying to kill you?”

“Not so far, ‘course its still early in the day. You back on the job?” I asked.

“Couple more days of clerical, but thought you might be interested. They found Marvin Lepke yesterday.”

“Really, where, Vegas, L.A.?”

“Not quite that far, actually in the BMW we had towed in. Searching it was put on hold after Braco’s arrest and the shooting. Marvin was wrapped up in about fifty different packages, frozen, looked like they planned to leave him scattered across a five-state area. He eventually thawed and attracted someone’s attention once he started leaking into the parking lot.”

“His wife Lori involved?”

“Probably, not that we’ll be able to prove or even want to pursue. Bail has been revoked for your pal Braco and his girlfriend, Kerri Vucavitch. Flight risks. They’ll be looking at a couple of consecutive life sentences, no chance of parole. I don’t know if you caught Peters on the news?”

“Peters? No, not really, what’s his angle?”

“He’s putting the success of the operation all down to the Task Force, naturally, since he heads up the thing.”

“You gonna blow the whistle on him?”

“Not in so many words. We got a lot of bad guys off the street, shut down a major trafficking operation. We’re happy enough with that for the time being. You okay?”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, I mean the mental part of it. Hearing will most likely return. You having nightmares or anything?”

“Nightmares? No, no trouble there, just having a tough time finding a date is all.”

“Yeah, well the word is probably out on you.”

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, not a problem. Dev, glad you’re okay. Stay safe.”

I left a tip, wished Madeleine well. Amy thanked me for not causing a scene and I congratulated her for scrubbing most of my blood from the front sidewalk.

I’d walked fifteen feet from the restaurant when a horn honked. I looked at the attractive redheaded woman behind the wheel. She waved me over, smiled, “You maybe buy me a drink now, no?” she said.

“Yes.”