Silenced by the Yams - By Karen Cantwell Page 0,33
upstairs. It was five thirty in the morning and I’d had about four hours of sleep. I pulled the toilet lid down and sat while Howard shaved in the steam-filled bathroom. The towel around his waist covered his butt cheeks, but didn’t hide their taut ripples. I had to smile. Even with wet hair and his face half covered in shaving cream, he was simply scrumptious to behold. I’d take a second tumble in the sack if he didn’t have to head back out. And if I wasn’t afraid Mama Marr might barge in and tell us we were doing it all wrong.
He must have glimpsed the smile from the corner of his eye as his rinsed his blade under the running water. “What?”
“Nothing.” I pulled my knees up. “Just enjoying the view.”
“You’re not mad then? I thought you’d be happy I was leaving the Bureau. You’re always complaining about the hours and how much you worry.”
“Of course I’m still mad. You’re just lucky you’ve got such a cute butt.” He was also lucky that I had a little teeny-weeny little secret of my own, so I couldn’t exactly jump down his throat. I rationalized that he’d understand once I proved Frankie’s innocence.
The steam was frizzing my hair, so I pulled it into a ponytail with a nearby scrunchy. “I am happy that I won’t have to worry about you anymore, I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me.”
“I have been trying to tell you.”
“Like I tell the girls: trying isn’t doing.”
He nodded. “I think a part of me wanted the option . . .”
“Of not retiring?”
He nodded again.
Howard was never indecisive. “I think” wasn’t generally a part of his vernacular. I realized that this wasn’t about him being afraid to tell me. It was about him being afraid to admit it was time to move on. He was vulnerable. Men like Howard don’t like to be vulnerable. Suddenly I understood, and any anger I had felt washed right down the drain with his shaving cream.
“When’s the official date?”
“July 31st.”
Wow. That was only three weeks away.
We continued the discussion while he dressed. Sure, I had real concerns about his safety on the job, but we had bills to pay. Plus, Callie was going to be applying to colleges in just a little over a year and we would have to be coming up with tuition soon. Would his FBI retirement income cover everything?
He assured me that he’d already received several offers for civilian work in high tech security firms. The money would be almost double what he was making as an FBI agent. The work would be safer and he would finally have more free time for family.
How could I argue with that? In fact, it all sounded a little too good to be true. We kissed and made up before he headed downstairs to say goodbye to his mother. I sighed when I heard the front door close and I watched him from our bedroom window as he drove off in the sunrise.
I started a fresh pot of coffee while I showered and dressed, contemplating this new life we were getting ourselves into. For the first time since Sunday, I had completely forgotten all about Kurt Baugh’s death.
Then I picked up the morning paper and saw the headline:
“DC Police Find Key Piece of Evidence in Kurt Baugh Murder Investigation.”
Chapter Fourteen
I picked up the phone and dialed Colt. Time to find out what he’d learned from both Frankie and Guy Mertz. I wondered if Guy got the early word on the evidence I’d just read about. According to the article, police had received an anonymous tip leading them to a bottle containing the same poisons identified in the yams that allegedly killed Kurt Baugh. A finger print positively matched that of the Mafia-connected Frankie Romano.
Things were looking very bad for Frankie. I was beginning to doubt my ability to help him at all. Talking to Colt would have made me feel better, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards. His phone went to voice mail after six rings. I left a message, then checked my cell phone to see if he’d left a text. No such luck.
Thinking he might still be sleeping, I tried his house phone again and when that still went to voicemail, I tried dialing his cell phone which did the same.
My eyelids felt heavy from lack of good sleep and I was dying to crawl back into bed, but now I had a