Now I need Gina to cease to exist. To leave my mind for a while again.
Detective Caruso's head tilts; he appears to have been asking me something, "Luxury … Luxury … Lux … "
"Like I've said before," my spine is ridged as I robotically reply, "Nowitsky, I don't know him. Never heard of him."
"Luxury, my apologies." Caruso gives me that comforting smile again. He gives this ‘you have the worst look in the world' face, even though in know cops are supposed to be cool and aloof. Yeah, he's still feeling it for not finding Gina's murder.
"Listen, Luxury, we had a few hits on Nowitsky around the States and he's wanted by Interpol. So if this had been just any bum off the street coming into rob Urban Gardens, I wouldn't be asking so many questions." Caruso smiles again as to apologize for what I'm going through. "My apologies for asking so many questions."
I frown, "Sir, I really don't think you believe me."
"Why is that?" His eyes flicker to the glass mirror to the left of us.
"You keep asking me the same thing. Never met Nowitsky in my life, and if I had crossed paths with him, I would know. Soon as he came into the building, I felt odd." I shrug. "What else can I say about this man? You've been asking me so many questions that I feel like I've done something wrong."
"That was neither my intention Miss Whitson. As I said, any other perp and closed case," Caruso almost winces at that inference. Closed case … "Deondre will be in some heat for that unregistered gun. But as far as our lengthily conversation goes, it's for the purposes of Nowitsky's sordid past. So I will keep in touch."
Legs shaky, it takes all my strength to stand, "Sure you will." I begin. Then I bite my lip, hadn't meant to appear so sardonic. Yes, I expect Caruso to keep in touch. But after a year of my mom being gone, the detective won't be keeping in touch about that. Still, I try to take some tiredness that has been transposed into mockery out of my voice. "Thank you for the coffee."
He nods. "If you think of anything. If you feel like you've been watched in the past, let me know. We'll want to piece together Nowitsky's time in the area, Miss Whitson."
I nod and start out the door. There has to be something that the cops aren't telling me. But as suggested, I call Victor while a uniform cop escorts me from the interview area into the lobby of the police department.
"Little one, I've been thinking of you."
Though he's a delight to hear, my body is feeling heavy at the moment. I sigh, "Hello, Victor … "
"You sound stressed? Where are you?" he asks, and I can hear honking of cars in the background.
"At the Precinct on 154th street. My shop was almost robbed. Luckily a friend from one of the neighboring stores came in and shot the guy."
"My car is on the way, Lux," he tells me.
I open up my mouth to say that I just want to go home and be alone, but with Victor, that is not an option. Had Victor been at Urban Gardens earlier, maybe I wouldn't have been so crazy or reacted so crass to Nowitsky. Surely telling Nowitsky I had a gun escalated the entire situation. But what am I saying, if Deondre hadn't been there, Vic and me would've gotten murdered.
Caruso
Soon as my eyes lay upon the young lady, I went back to the case of Gina Whitson. The crime of passion was riddled with so many flaws, so much circumstantial evidence that pointed to one man in particular. It should have been opened and closed. Doctor Charles Everhart, the genius made sure that didn't happen.
I watch the petite women's retreat, knowing that Interpol is in the office right next to me, looking through the mirror. It took every string in the book to get to do this interview with Luxury Whitson without them prying. Certain questions took her back to Gina's gruesome death, but I knew if Interpol had completed the interrogation that she'd have become a bundle of mess. We wouldn't be able to get a word out of Miss Whitson edgewise.
The night I met Luxury Whitson, she was covered in Gina's blood. Delusional, hopeful, erratic, and expectant all at the same time. She wanted her mother to survive when Gina had been dead for hours. She wanted answers, and reasoning to accompany her mother's death.
I sigh, realizing that after a hard divorce and putting my last kid through college, I gave her such high hopes. It had been one of those days where everything went wrong, so just meeting Luxury, witnessing her breakdown had me making promises that a seasoned cop like me would never have done. Hell, in my defense, I was drunk while making assessments and promises.
It doesn't take a rookie cop to notice that Nowitsky had been shot at the side of his head. Ballistics indicated at a longer range of distance than what Luxury Whitson's briefing of Deondre Watt's location implied. Mr. Watts would have had to be on the South side of the alley while making that shot. The slugs didn't even match.
As I step out of the interview room and toward the adjoining conference room, I stop a new cop, a young Caucasian guy with a dash of red hair.
"Tail Whitson," I nod my head at another cop escorting Luxury to the front of the precinct.
"Will do," he replies eagerly.
Then I step into the conference room with the two Interpol agents who were sent here to gather more information about Nowitsky's last days. A Latina butch, Perez, and a black man, Jackson, who is a vet in the game. I hope they don't plan to continue this fiasco. Luxury didn't know Nowitsky, not one bit. But I'm going to keep tabs on her for a while.
"Caruso, we're convinced this isolated incident had nothing to do with Luxury Whitson," Jackson nods to me.
I take a deep breath. I don't want to cause Luxury any more heartbreak than I did before. Besides, Nowitsky had it coming. There's no need Interpol drilling questions into her. Nowitsky had so many enemies that just about anyone could have murdered him.
For now, I'll allow the taxpayers money to confirm Miss Whitson's safety just for a short time.
Victor
As Burt went to get Luxury, I took a quick cab back to Bulgari. Disregarding the missed calls from my Mother and a few other deals in Arlington that needed to be dealt with. I went to the luxurious bathroom and turned on the infinity tub for Luxury. Opening the brown bag of L'Occitane almond bubble bath, I poured the contents into the steaming pool of water, as the suite door opened and voices traveled toward me. So I leave the water running and start for the living room.
" … Burt, you are so kind," Luxury says, slipping out of her jacket as he takes it.
"Is there anything you would like?" he replies. Darn Burt The Butler really is putting the moves on this one. With all the others, Burt usually leaves me to my own devices. It's easy to see that he cares for her, too.
"No. Take a load off, I commend you for working with that one for so long," Lux replies, glancing at me, to which Burt smiles as if they have a secret.
"What's going on here?" I ask, leaning against the living room archway. Burt gives a cocky smile and retreats to his bedroom.
"Inside joke," she chuckles, as I pull her into my arms. Luxury's head nestles against my chest.
"Well, I'm glad you're doing okay under the circumstances," I reply.
"Yeah, I think Burt pretty much made my day! He told me about your ‘sniffing' the chairs of beautiful ladies as a toddler." Luxury looks up and smiles, though sadness masks her eyes.
"You don't believe everything that senile old man says?" I smile for Luxury's sake, though on the insides I'm seething about the cunning Everhart. It's Burt's time to get some rest from watching Luxury, but when it's my time to rest, I'll be searching for Everhart instead thanks to Paul and Monica's tapping into the NYPD database.
I walk Lux into the bathroom, expecting to clear her mind before we discuss Nowitsky's death – if she wants. But she speaks, giving a summary about how everything played out.
"Well, Little One, good thing you had a hero." I smile, even if a random person gets all the credit, Lux is safe.
"Yeah, I'm just glad I didn't look back and have to see another dead body," she replies. Luxury hasn't told me about Gina's death, but I'm to assume that's whom she meant.
"Allow me to wash away all your worries, little one," I tell Lux while pulling her shirt over her head. Lux's beautiful curly hair goes falling all around her shoulders, like a reddish golden lioness' mane. Then I bend down and kiss her pillow lips. After undressing Luxury, I take her hand and help her into the water.
"Mmmm," she sighs as bubbles tickle her voluptuous body. I unbutton my shirt at the wrists and push the sleeves up.
"Victor, aren't you getting in?" Luxury pouts.
"Not until you're clean," I take a crystal pitcher from the ledge and scoop it in the water, as Luxury leans back. Then slowly pour it in her hair. Next I grab the shampoo and wash. A moan seeps from Lux's sexy lips making my dick harder than ever, when I had already been horny at just undressing her.