“A LL RIGHT, I’LL CALL HER.” Em struggled with the idea. We’d brainstormed for an hour and decided that Jackie needed to know. She was the one who told Em that she thought there were terrorists involved. We thought maybe we could get a little more information before we confronted Rick Fuentes.
She dialed the number, and we sat drinking the last two beers and contemplating what the conversation might lead to. I looked at her, my eyes going up and down her body. I glanced at James and he was doing the same thing. So obvious. She wore tight pedal pushers and a top that exposed her stomach. It hit me that we hadn’t made love in a week. To be honest, I thought about it every day. Every hour. Every couple of minutes. Em’s got a great body, very fine skin, and fine golden hair that she wraps around every part of a guy’s anatomy. I wish I could say ‘wraps around every part of my anatomy only,’ but I’m sure there are others.
“Jackie!”
She paused, smiling.
“Hey, me too. I thought the same thing.”
One phone. No extensions. What the hell, it was fun to imagine what was going on on the other end of the line.
She broke out laughing. “No. Well, if you say so. I think they had other things on their mind.”
I saw James perk up. He thought the same thing I did. They referred to us.
“No, seriously. They had something to deliver to you.”
Silence while Jackie apparently talked.
“Uh-huh. Jackie, please listen to me. I’m going to explain what happened and it’s sort of complicated. Just listen, and when I’m done with this story we can talk, okay?
Silence for a half-minute.
“Okay. Now please, no interruptions.”
She proceeded to tell the story. There were no interruptions that we were aware of, no pauses. Em told her about the finger and Rick’s reaction. She told her about the stakeout and the fire and the two Cuban guys who visited us just an hour or so ago. When her litany was delivered, Em drew a deep breath and sat back on the sofa. She listened for a moment, then nodded, as if Jackie could see her.
“Well, we thought you should know.”
Em was silent for another minute and I wished to hell we had an extension. Every damned outlet cost a ton of money. We both had cell phones, and my guess is that in ten years a landline will be a thing of the past, but right now I just wanted an extension. Finally, Em hung up.
“Jackie isn’t surprised.”
“Well, I figured she’d be stunned.”
“She said it doesn’t surprise her because she knew something was going on. She thought Rick was involved with terrorists. What surprised her was that we’ve gotten into this so deep. She also said that she hoped and prayed that Vic wasn’t in any more serious trouble. She’s only his stepmother, but she really liked him and she really took the finger thing hard. That’s the part that just confused her. She didn’t realize this was a life and death situation.”
“So did she mention anything about a Cuban connection?” James was chomping at the bit. I wondered why he hadn’t been this anxious when the two bozos who visited us had been camped in front of our apartment.
“She told me again about the Spanish-speaking men that hung around her husband. They apparently stopped by the house frequently. That was it. You heard my half of the conversation. It didn’t last that long.” She paused. “Oh, and James, it pains me to tell you this, but she said to tell you she still thinks you’re cute.”
He grinned.
“No ideas?” I was looking for a solution.
“I think she’s going to sleep on it. I agreed to talk to her in the morning.”
“Morning. Shit!” James stood up. “I’ve got to be at work at 10 a.m. tomorrow.”
“I can do you one better. I’m supposed to be at the office at nine and on the road by nine-thirty.”
“Skip,” she looked at me with disdain. “Why don’t you ask Daddy for a job. You’d work out fine, and this job you have-” She trailed off.
“What? This job I have what?” My dander was up-whatever the hell dander is.
“This job you have is not going to last! You’ve got to actually sell a security system now and then, and you’ve got the worst territory anywhere!”