The Italian Affair by Loren Teague

suspiciously at her tone. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you’re far too used to getting your own way?’
    ‘Uh-huh. Plenty of times.’
    ‘Yeah, I thought so somehow.’ He lifted his finger and wagged it.‘I mean it, Gina. One step out of line and we’re straight back home. Got it?’
    She nodded, though there was a curve to her lips that told him she wasn’t taking him seriously.
    By the time she had driven the car out of the garage and onto the tarmac area, it was Rick who said, ‘Move over, I’m driving.’ To his surprise she agreed and shifted over to the passenger seat.
    After parking in town, Rick was around to her side in a flash and took her arm firmly the minute she climbed out of her seat.
    ‘I’m not going to run away you know,’ she said, trying to shrug him off. ‘Quit holding me so tightly.’
    He grinned. ‘I’ve never heard a woman complain about it yet. Besides, after that car tried to run you down I’m taking no chances.’
    Rick’s cell phone went. He gave his name and listened for a moment. ‘Great. That’s a first. I’ll be there shortly.’
    ‘What is it?’ she asked.
    ‘My old boss. Dave Brougham. He’s been busy on our behalf,’ he replied enigmatically. ‘I need to call into the station for a minute.’
    The minute turned into five. Gina sat in the Ferrari while a young constable hovered nearby. Rick had taken the car keys with him. When he returned to the car, he was carrying a hard plastic box fastened with a padlock. He put it on the floor underneath his legs and started the car. He didn’t tell Gina what the box contained though he could see her looking at it curiously.
    Eventually, she said, ‘So what’s in the box?’
    ‘Tell you later,’ he said abruptly.
    Rick followed Gina around for three hours, in and out shops in the town, until he felt like strangling her. What was she buying all this stuff for anyway?
    He soon found out. She gave him directions that took them to the other side of town and to where she demanded he pull up outside the women’s refuge.
    ‘It’s best you don’t come in,’ she warned, ‘or they’ll probably call the police.’
    No one knew better than Rick how the women’s refuge would react if he fronted up to the place. He figured she’d be pretty safe since no one knew they were stopping there anyway. Even so, he wouldn’t let her get out the car until he double checked the street first.
    ‘Are you sure this is necessary?’ she asked impatiently.
    ‘Yeah, it is.’ He opened the car door for her, then lifted out the plastic bags of shopping. ‘I’ll be standing right out here waiting for you. If you’re not out in ten minutes, I’ll come in and get you. I don’t give a damn what the refuge staff think.’ He glanced at his watch noting the time.
    She raised her eyebrows in disgust. ‘I’ll be out when I’m good and ready. Not before. So quit hassling me.’
    Rick’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t reply. He surveyed the neighbourhood as he stood on the pavement. Not a person in sight. He picked up the newspaper he had bought earlier and studied it. After reading for a while, he glanced at his watch again. Gina had been away for almost ten minutes. Her time was now up. He walked over to the low, white painted house, situated behind a high wooden fence. Then he put one foot on the cross bar of the gate and peered over. No sign of her. The front door was closed, the blinds drawn tight on the windows.
    Where the hell was she?
    He glanced at his watch again. Fifteen minutes had already passed. He wasn’t going to wait a moment longer. He had just put his hand on the latch of the gate when he finally heard the front door of the house open. Gina’s voice drifted down to him. Again, he took a quick look. Gina was bending down, talking to a little boy. Rick watched for a few seconds until Gina noticed him peering over.
    She bounded down the steps and opened the gate. ‘Quit spying on me,’ she said, irritation in her