The Case of the Black Dragon
by
Chris Corso
Rita was dreaming, reliving the moment she first saw Chris, the moment she found her future. She smiled inwardly. So much had happened to her since then. Did she? Had she seen her future in Chris's eyes? Perhaps she did. In her dream Rita walked toward her future partner and husband, she extended her hand and... The sudden and strident cries of a baby shattered her dream and pulled her to wakefulness. She blinked and tried to focus her mind. She felt Chris stirring next to her; he would wake up, he always did. Rita slowly moved out of the bed. Chris looked up at her, now somewhat awake. He asked in a sleepy voice, "do you need company, Sam?"
She replied as she always did. "No, Sam, thanks, I can handle it."
Chris asked again, "You sure? You look beat Rita. I mean it's not like I'll be able to get back to sleep." Chris frowned as he said, "when we were on the force, on stakeouts, I would always sleep lightly, so you would be able to get me up if there was trouble. I guess I still do it."
Rita allowed herself to smile at Chris. Yes, she thought, she was very lucky, lucky indeed, to have a husband like Chris. They were not perfect people, far from it, but they only wanted the best for the other and were willing to do anything to achieve it. Being together was what they wanted, they never got tired of each others company.
"It's OK Chris, next time it's yours." Rita walked toward the door.
She walked into the nursery and moved toward the crib. Even though the baby was being very loud, Rita's eyes glowed as she looked down at her daughter. She picked up the infant, whose crying began to lessen. She sat down in the rocker. Rita began to nurse the baby, speaking to her softly and rubbing her head.
Chris had not listened to Rita, he slowly, carefully, walked toward the nursery. He did not go in, however, he simply looked on at the scene, silently. He often would go in and watch Alicia sleep, just watch, he would think about all the things he would do with her. What he would teach her and what Alicia would teach him. Chris was often scared about being a good father. He wanted to be the best father in the world, he would not be like his own parents. No, he would never abandon his child-never. Chris knew that Rita would have a connection to the baby that he would never have, but he was not jealous, perhaps fathers because of this, must make the most of what they do have; which is a great deal, much more then most fathers imagine.
Rita never knew her mother, it had been with her father that her connection had been forged. In much the same way Chris felt a stronger connection to his grandmother. Alicia Rose was the baby's full name, she was named for two very special women. Rita's mother Alicia, who died giving birth to her and Chris's beloved grandmother Rose. As Chris gazed on the scene he realized that love for your child was not based on sex, but, instead, it was based on wanting the best for your child and giving it the skills to have a happy life. It was about two people, or one, doing what they had to, it was about being a parent.
After a time the baby, satisfied, dozed off to sleep. She held the baby for a bit longer, then placed Alicia back in the crib.
The next sound to bombard Chris and Rita's ears was not the baby, but the alarm clock, a very loud alarm clock!
Chris hit it and stated, "I hate this clock Rita. I would rather, I would much rather be awaken by the baby."
"Can't argue with you there, Sam."
Chris, standing up, said, "I'll get breakfast ready." Chris said this without enthusiasm.
"Right, I'll get the baby ready. Remember, Sam, we're interviewing nanny's today." Rita said the last part without expression.
It did not thrill either of them, the idea of getting a nanny, not at all. But they had little choice. At first they did not care what perspective clients thought of them. They were parents and PI's in that order. Luckily much of their time was spent working for their biggest clients. Robert Christian and his friend Phillip Russell. Chris and Rita had been hired by them originally to solve the murders of their daughters. They did this and much more, they gained the trust and friendship of the two entrepreneurs, and their wives as well. As a reward Christian and Russell gave Rita and Chris a yearly contract to do security work for them. Chris and Rita were being paid handsomely; no handsomely was not strong enough; they were making more money then they ever dreamed they would.
But the money was not truly important to them. Yes, they were comfortable and secure, but they had seen the dark side of wealth too many times. Growing up in Palm Beach and then working there as detectives, they saw the rich at their worst-either killers or victims. The lust, the never-ending lust for money and power did something to people. It made them change, it brought out the worst in people. The only rewards that Chris and Rita cared about were doing a good job and being with each other.
Chris had breakfast made, he called up to Rita. "Hey, Sam...you coming down or what? It's almost time for the nanny interviews."
Rita descended the stairs with the baby in her arms, she gave Chris one of her looks. Rita had several different "looks": the playful look, the sweet yet sexy look, the total shocked look she'd give Chris when he did something that amazed her, and last but not least, the, I don't want to do this look. Which was the one she was employing presently.
Chris waited for her to say it, the issue they were both thinking about, worrying about. Rita placed the baby in a portable bassinet that they kept downstairs. Finally, she turned to Chris and said, "Sam..I'm not too sure about this.." She sighed, "I just..I don't like the idea of someone else raising our child!"
Chris knew he had to play devils advocate even though he felt as Rita did.
"Rita, we're going to raise our child, us! But we need help, Sam, I want the best for both you and the baby."
Chris paused, he looked down at the table, then, suddenly, looked at Rita. "I never, never cared that you were a professional woman. I was so proud of you Rita; I loved the fact that you were an independent woman. You could not survive being a house wife-you would be unhappy at best. Is that what you want our baby to see, a broken woman, an unhappy woman."
Chris stood up and walked over to Rita. He put his arms around her. He looked her in the eyes as he stated, "You're the strongest woman I have ever known, the smartest, the sexist. You're a great role model, Sam. I think part of being a good parent is being yourself, not putting up false fronts. Showing your weakness and your strengths. To do that, you have to work. Rita, it's not like we're cops anymore, we control our lives now."
Chris paused again, Rita gazed at him in silence. "We'll find a person to help us, but if we don't or if you get bad vibes, then that person is OUT OF HERE!"
Chris stopped, he had said his peace, he now waited for Rita's reply.
"Wow, Sam, that was some speech." Rita looked at him in amusement. "I'm very impressed, Chris, I never realized you could talk for so long. You should have been a lawyer."
Chris frowned at her, "Yeah, not on your life Sam! Well what do you think?"
Rita smiled and went into Chris's arms she whispered softly. "Okay, we'll see what happens." The baby seemed to agree, Alicia let out a little squeal. Rita and Chris smiled down at their baby, then at each other, at that exact moment the door bell rang.
Chris rolled his eyes at Rita, she smiled, Chris called, "Coming, hold on!" Over his shoulder he told Rita, "Be good, Ok."
"I'm always good, Sam."
"Ha! Don't get me started, Sam, not now!"
Chris opened the door, and standing in front of him was a woman of impressive size. The woman asked, or stated, Chris could not be sure which. "You are Mr. Lorenzo?"
Chris responded, "Ms. Jurgen?"
"Ya, Ya, Helga Jurgen." She extended her hand, Chris took it, but immediately regretted it. Ms. Jurgen all but broke Chris's hand. A look of alarm passed over his face, he controlled himself enough not to yell out. Chris seemed to have passed some sort of unspoken test, he did not faint; which was a good thing, for Ms. Jurgen literally bounded into the apartment. Rita had seen the whole thing and she quickly picked up the baby.
Rita smiled at the older woman, as Ms. Jurgen made her way toward Rita and the baby. Chris was attempting to get the blood back into his hand; he made his way toward the trio-slowly.
Rita was about to say something, but Helga beat her to the punch.
"You must be Mrs. Lorenzo, and this, I presume, is your child." The statement was made in such a cold and precise manner, that Rita, was at a loss to respond.
Finally she said, "Ah, yes, I am. You must be Helga? Please take a seat." Helga did so. Chris sat next to Rita, with his arm around her shoulder. The trio sat in silence for some time until Rita nudged Chris gently.
"So, Ms. Jurgen...ah, how much experience do you have, in this line of work?"
Ms. Jurgen considered the question, clutching her large old fashioned black hand bag tightly, out of habit, rather than fear. Chris doubted if the woman was scared of anything or anyone.
"Well," she began, "I worked for several years in Germany, for wealthy parents. As well as in England. I was trained at the Roth school in London, in fact, the best school for governess in the world. Since then I've worked several times in this country."
"Yes, your credentials are impressive. It's just..have you ever worked with a baby of Alicia's age?" Rita asked.
"Well..no, but I believe that it is never to early to instill discipline in a child. Children must be taught self control and how to deal with hardship, adversity, they mu..." Ms. Jurgen was just hitting her stride when Chris interrupted her.
"Ah, yes, I see." Chris stood, it was clear that the interview had come to an end. Helga was clearly disappointed, she glanced at the young couple with a look of displeasure, as she laboriously rose to her feet, still clutching the massive black bag. Rita wondered ideally what she kept in such a bag, but on second thought she didn't want to know.
Chris began to usher Helga to the door, he said, "Thank you for your time, we'll keep your name in mind."
"Ya, go ton morgan." Was the cold reply.
Chris leaned against the closed door wearily. He felt Rita staring at him. He turned and walked toward her. Her expression was inscrutable. She had the, "I told you so," look on her pretty face.
Rita stated, "Sorry, Sam, looks like baby makes three."
Chris frowned and replied in a slightly annoyed voice. "Sam, we've only interviewed one person, we still have six more, let's wait and see, okay?"
Chris walked over to Rita, who was still holding the baby. He kissed Alicia on the head, Rita handed him the baby. He took Alicia in his strong hands, and looked down with delight at the little life that he and Rita had made together. He never grew tired of this, he never stopped being amazed by her. Rita just smiled happily at him, she was content. Chris beamed at his wife and said, "OK, Sammy, we'll interview the rest, but if we don't find anybody...I guess..." Chris grinned naughtily, "We'll have to find a baby size trench coat!"
Rita's face broke into a wide grin. "Sounds like a plan, Christopher."
Rita and Chris moved toward one another, their lips met in a passion filled kiss. The baby, however, put a end to the moment in her own way, as Chris felt a wetness. "Ah, Sam, I think the baby needs to be changed."
Rita grinned at her husband, as she said, "Well, don't just sit here, go change her."
"Yes M'am! Boy, your mommy is really tough, but we love her anyway, right kiddo." Chris said to the baby.
The final few interviews went little better. It was noon by the time Chris and Rita finished. They had to be to the office by 1:30 to meet with Christian and Russell. It was just a routine review of character background checks.
"Rita is it me or is every person who works in child care, one taco short of a combination platter?" Chris asked using Rita's pet phrase.
"Afraid so Sam, sorry." Rita replied with a grin.
Chris looked at Rita hard. "You knew we wouldn't find anybody, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did, Sam."
"Well...it's like I always said. A woman's intuition is clearly a superior intellect."
Rita smiled at Chris in her special way, she replied briskly, "And you better not forget it, Sam."