Undercover Chapter 3
The caller ID on my cell phone said that it was my mother who was calling. I glanced around and made sure there was no sign of the pervert I was trying to track down. No such luck. "Hi, Mom. How are you?" I said.
"Stephanie, what is this I am hearing about you and Joseph standing naked in your front yard and arguing? Couldn't you even put on a robe?"
"Mom, that's not exactly what happened. I was yelling out the window at Terri Gilman and Joe went down to talk to her."
"Naked?"
"I was naked when I was yelling. Joe was sort of dressed when he went outside to talk to her. It's a long story."
"Why don't you and Joseph come to dinner tonight and explain it to me. We haven't seen much of you since you got home from your honeymoon and we have wedding pictures for you to look at." She said.
"I'll come. I don't know about Joe. He's been pretty busy." I still wasn't sure what the plan was and didn't want to commit him to doing anything without talking to him.
"No, you are married now. You and Joseph need to eat dinner together. Every night. That's what married people do. Find out if he can come and then let me know."
"Are you saying that if he can't come that I'm not invited?" I couldn't believe this.
"Yes. You need to eat with your husband." She insisted.
I said goodbye and disconnected. Still no sign of my perp so I dialed Joe's cell phone.
"Hey, Cupcake. How are you feeling?" He's so considerate.
"I'm fine. Do you think we can have dinner with my folks tonight?"
"That sounds great. I don't want to tell anyone else our news until we tell our parents." I could tell he was bursting with pride over the baby. "Maybe if we get done there early enough we can go by my Mom's house and tell her tonight, too. I don't want to think about what would happen to us if she or Grandma Bella heard it at the bakery or something." He chuckled.
"I have to warn you, the grapevine is alive and well. My mother heard that something happened at our house last night in the front yard."
"Yeah, I've caught hell about it all day at work, too. Everyone is teasing me about you getting jealous over Gilman and cutting my nuts off." It could happen, I thought, I am hormonal now. "However, I have been thinking about it. If we continue with the undercover operation it could just lend credence to the story that I ran away with Terri. We have witnesses that you were ticked and that she was at our house last night." And that you were almost naked while talking to her in our front yard.
"What do you mean 'if'? I thought we'd decided that you need to do it." I said.
Joe responded, "I'm not sure I can leave you. It was going to be hard enough before but the pregnancy changes everything. Where are you? Can I take you to lunch and we can talk?"
"I'm hanging around outside the Wagon Room on Stark Street, waiting for some creep to come get his morning jollies. Yeah, let's go eat. I'm hungry."
"How about Sam's Burger joint? It's halfway between where you are and where I am."
"Okay. See you there in 10. I love you, Joe."
"Love you, Cupcake."
Joe looked so damn sexy when he got off of the Duc at Sam's. He was wearing jeans and a Trenton PD t-shirt. His gun was visible and he had his incredible air of confidence on display. He moved to my side and eased me into the darkened dining room with his hand on the small of my back.
Sam's is a great place for greasy burgers and fries. It is a little shack of a joint where decades of grease hangs in the air. Let's just say that if you drop your napkin on the floor, you do not retrieve it. You just get another one. Same thing for your purse. If it falls off your lap, just leave it. You don't want it anymore. But OOH the food is great.
I ordered a chili-cheeseburger and a chocolate shake. Joe had been on a chicken binge lately, so he was having a chicken sandwich and a Coke. We shared a huge plate full of greasy fries.
"So," I said between bites. "What can we tell our families about what's going to happen?"
"Well, assuming I go, which I am not convinced I will yet, we will tell my Mom and your Mom and Dad the truth. Everyone else will have to stay in the dark."
"What about Grandma Mazur? She might put out a contract on you if you leave me and run away with Gilman." I smiled at him.
"Neither of our Grandmothers can keep a secret. The same goes for Mary Lou, Valerie, or any of the rest of my family. It's just not advisable to tell them." I knew Joe was right. Our parents would know that the limited disclosure would serve to keep Joe safe. We couldn't risk word getting out and putting him in danger. Tommy Takata still had connections in the Burg. Whatever was said here would be conveyed to him.
"How many people on the Police force will know? Will they all think you really got a drug habit and got fired?" I thought it was unlikely that most of those people would believe it. They knew Joe was a pretty straight shooter.
"Well, as far as really knowing, Morgan and a few of his peers and, of course, the folks up the chain of command. I've arranged for Dunphy to be a contact for you so if you need to reach me he can get a message to me. It will pass through a lot of hands, so you need to be judicious in what you say." He smiled at me and winked. I love it when he flirts with me.
Dunphy is Joe's best friend; they had met in the Police Academy years earlier. Joe's personal life at that time had been a disaster and so was Dunphy's. They bar hopped together, got into a lot of bar fights and bedded a lot of women. Joe put all his positive energy into work and moved up the ladder pretty quickly. Dunphy put all his energy into womanizing and fighting and it slowed down his professional progress. They weren't as close as they once were but they still worked out together two or three times a week and called on each other when they needed help. Dunphy had gotten his life together more in the past year and they were getting closer again, it seemed. I'd hoped Joe's positive influence had something to do with that.
Joe was holding my hand after he paid for lunch. He walked me to my car and wrapped his arms around me protectively. "Have you talked to the Doctor?"
"I called. I want to use Dr. Hands. His schedule is packed, so I can't get in for three weeks. I guess you'll have to miss it."
Joe gave a bark of laughter. "Dr. Hands? What kind of name is that? Especially for a Doctor who delivers babies?"
"I never thought of it. That's who Mary Lou and Valerie both used, so I just thought I would, too." I was laughing too. I could feel Joe's taut stomach moving with his laughter against my own. I was reminded again how funny and sexy he could be. If we didn't both need to get back to work I would have tempted him to follow me home for some afternoon delight.
"I've gotta go. I'm meeting Terri to talk about the change in plans. I'm not telling her about the baby until after we talk to our families." He gave me a kiss and headed over to the Ducati. If I'd known he was meeting Terri after lunch, I would have insisted he eat a burger with extra onions on it. Opportunities lost, sigh.
I called my mother and told her that, yes, both my husband and I would be able to come to dinner tonight. I also told her that we needed to find a way to occupy Grandma Mazur afterwards because we wanted to visit with just her and Daddy about something. She didn't seem to think this was an odd request, thankfully, so she said she'd handle it.
I trooped back to my post on Stark Street. Luckily, my pervert was proudly displaying his Mr. Happy on the corner to a hooker and I was able to apprehend him without incident just by promising I would look in his pants without making any negative comments. A small price to pay, I thought, although after seeing his pitiful little offering I think it is indelibly burned on my brain. I'm reminded more every day how happy I am to be married to Joe.
After collecting my money, I was happy to go home for a cool shower and a nap. I've been so hot the last couple of days. I guess no matter what it is that happens to me now; I can blame it on being pregnant. The phone ringing at 5:35 p.m. woke me with a start. It was Joe. He was running late and would have to meet me at my mom and dad's house instead of coming to pick me up. I got dressed, grabbed my keys and headed out the door, not willing to incur the wrath of my mother if I got there one minute after 6 p.m.
Joe was leaning on the kitchen counter and eating celery off of a relish tray when I ran in the door. My mother was telling him about a great new barber at the place where my Dad gets his hair cut. (Hint, hint, hint.) I'd never seen Joe eat celery before. He looked sort of dusty. I went over to him and brushed him off a little. By way of explanation he said, "I was sort of wrestling with a suspect earlier. I had your kind of afternoon." He smiled. He's right. He is hardly ever dirty. That's usually my gig.
"As long as it wasn't Terri Gilman, you're probably safe." I smiled at him.
"Nope. This was her ex-husband. He seems to be trying to move back in on her and felt that I was impeding his progress." He was laughing.
I was not laughing.
"What? You got in a fight with Terri's ex-husband?" Here I go again, my voice was getting higher and louder with every syllable. He can't even mention her name that I don't just start fuming.
"No, not really a fight." Joe was trying to cool me off. He was still sort of half-smiling and he'd put his hands on my shoulders in a comforting gesture. "I told you I was meeting with her after lunch. Well, when I got to her place, he was in the bedroom and wouldn't leave. She told me she didn't want him there so I was just - removing him, sort of, against his will. Anyway, there's always a warrant of some sort out on that guy, so I was going to take him into custody but I was on the Duc. He tried to run for it while I was calling for a blue and white, and I had to chase him down. He's pretty fast for a short little fat guy, but I managed to just trip him and then tackle him. I just got a little dusty, that's all."
He looked so innocent. He was just handling a domestic dispute. He was doing just like any other police officer would do for a victim in need. Except, of course, that this 'victim' was Terri freakin' Gilman, and he was running out on his pregnant wife to go play house with her in just 9 days. I know he was appealing to my sense of rationality. I didn't seem to know where it was right now. All I knew was that he and Terri had been intimate. Very intimate, that is, for a very long time. She didn't care if he was seeing her exclusively then, she just took him when she could get him – and I figured with his libido, she got him a lot. He, at that point in his life, didn't care if she was connected with organized crime, as long as she was connected to his zipper periodically.
I took a deep breath and counted to 10. My mother and Grandma Mazur were watching all this unfold with wide eyes. About then my Dad bellowed from the dinner table, "Dinner is late!" We all were moved to action, grabbing platters, gravy boats and pitchers and hustling out the kitchen door to the dining room.
"Isn't he something?" Grandma Mazur said, looking at Joe with adoration in her eyes. "He takes such good care of everyone. We just feel safer now that he's in the family."
I still had my eyes narrowed at him. "Yeah, he takes care of everyone alright." My teeth were still a little clenched when I helped myself to meatloaf.
The next thing I knew, I was looking up into Joe's eyes and he looked scared to death. I was lying on the floor and was all sweaty. My mother was bustling around trying to wipe my face with a damp cloth.
"Are you okay?" Joe asked his voice all soft and sexy.
"What happened? Why am I on the floor?" I asked.
"You just sort of fainted." Joe's eyebrows were knitted together. Aaww. He's worried about me. That's sweet. Uh-oh.
"I don't feel so good." I groaned.
Joe picked me up and carried me to the living room sofa where he gently put me down. My mother handed me a glass of water to drink. I drank a sip. She knew. I could tell by the look on her face that she knew everything.
Joe sat on the floor next to the sofa and held my hand. "Steph, are you okay?" He asked again.
"I'm feeling better. Maybe I'm just hungry." I hadn't eaten anything all day except for 3 donuts for breakfast, a bag of Cheetos, a huge, greasy chili-cheese burger, French fries and a chocolate milkshake. That's it. I'm just hungry.
I stood up and walked back into the dining room where my Dad and Grandma Mazur were still eating like nothing had happened. Mom sat in her regular seat and Joe took his spot after making sure I was all settled.
"Well," I said brightly, "We have some wonderful news. If you haven't guessed already, we're going to have a baby."
My dad mumbled something into his food about Joe not knowing what he'd gotten himself into.
Grandma just smiled and said, "Oh, you're knocked up. How nice."
"What? A baby! Oh, that's wonderful!" My mother was crying and bouncing around. I guess I was wrong when I thought she knew. "I was afraid you and Joseph were having trouble! Since you wanted to come to dinner without him I was scared you were going to tell us you were getting divorced again!"
"You didn't want me to come to dinner?" Joe asked.
"No, that's not what I said. I told her I wasn't sure you could make it because you have been busy lately. My mother thinks that a couple not having dinner together is the first sign of trouble." I answered him.
"Oh." He was trying to make sense of all of this.
Back to the others at the table, I said, "I guess it happened on our honeymoon. I'm waiting to get in to see Dr. Hands but I'm sure I'm pregnant." Everyone seemed sufficiently thrilled and relieved that Joe and I weren't splitting up.
After dinner was over, Grandma Mazur announced that she was going to Minnie Stein's viewing at the funeral parlor and that Mabel Grouper was here to pick her up. As hard as it would be for her, I asked her to keep the news about the baby quiet until tomorrow since we hadn't told Joe's family yet.
That solved, Joe asked my mom and dad to both come into the living room to sit down to talk with us. I could tell my mother thought it had something to do with the baby because she brought a calendar with her. I guess she was ready to plan showers or something. When Joe started to explain about the undercover operation, my Dad perked up. This was the most interested I've ever seen the man in anything in my life. He asked questions! He was excited! My mother was putting two and two together and realizing what this meant for me.
She looked at Joe accusingly and, shaking her finger in his face, said, "You can not leave my baby. You just married her. You can not leave her here all alone and in her condition. Shame on you for even thinking about it, Joseph Morelli."
Then a look of realization came over her face. "Wait a minute. Jeri Stephenson, you said? Her mother is in my bridge club. Shirley Stevenson. I feel so sorry for her. I can't imagine going through life knowing that one of my children had been murdered and no one had ever been punished for it. She tries so hard to put on a happy face. She looks 10 years older than me, but I know that she's really younger. Oh, Joe. You have to go find out what happened to that poor little girl."
Okay. It's official. My mother is as torn up about this and as conflicted about this as I am. I jumped into the conversation. "Mom, Dad, it is very important that only the two of you know what's going on. Grandma, Valerie, really nobody else can know. Joe's life could be in danger if it gets out that he's undercover. That means that you will have to play along. If someone is badmouthing Joe, you can't correct them or let on that he's not the lowlife scumbag he's acting like."
"Hey," Joe stopped me, "You don't have to say that like you believe it so much!"
"You know what I mean." I said to him, smiling. "He's leaving in 9 days. We're working out some details about how we can stay in touch while he's gone. Obviously I'm going to need your help while he's gone."
Hugs were given and well wishes conveyed all around before we packed up and headed the two blocks over to Joe's mom's house to go through the same thing all over again.