officers are people to and in need of regular sustenance. They might even like Stefano’s café. As she was parking her car she noticed the ambulance and the small group of people around it. She wondered what was happening and assumed it had been something important hence the simultaneous presence of Police. She was curious by nature but didn’t want to be seen as a nosy parker so she refrained herself from joining the group, especially that she didn’t recognize anyone there. She expected to get some information in the café. After all everything happened at their back door and bad news travels really fast. In the nick of time for her. She just knew in her bones that something funny was going on.
Stefano was in today but appeared to be busy up to his neck with the inventory of the recent food deliveries. His young and gorgeous female assistants were efficient and hardworking unmistakably not in the arm candy role. As Rose was finishing her meal the female officer came in and ordered two coffees. There was a brief discussion between the officer and the staff member but Rose was too far away seated and could not hear it. Finally as she was paying her bill Rose summoned her courage and asked the run of the mill questions about the recent events and to her surprise the staff was happy to gossip. It was a win- win situation. The staff needed to unload the big and dreadful news.
‘It was a snake. We couldn’t believe it. A brown snake apparently managed to find its way into one of the residential units and bit a woman. ’
‘Oh my! That’s strange, isn’t it? I haven’t heard about that one before, ’ Rose said looking terrified. She had always had a snake phobia. The news suddenly make her feel upset and out of sorts. She was feeling dog tired.
‘Oh yes. That’s why the Police were called. Anyway they said it could happen and just reminded us that with all the recent rain we can expect more activity from the crawling insects and animals. ’
‘What’s happened to the snake? ’ Rose asked hoping that it wasn’t left running around. Here the rules were a bit tight around the issue of tampering with nature. God forbid to intentionally kill a snake, even a venomous one.
‘Relocated, ’ the young woman said with a grimace. ‘I’m hoping that it was taken far away from here as I don’t like those creatures, ’ she added with a plaintive sigh. ‘The poor woman was taken to the hospital. I can’t bear to imagine what ordeal she has to face. ’ Rose nodded her agreement making herself a note to ensure she got some advice on how to keep these creatures out of her house.
About 20 minutes later as she was opening her front door Rose was approached by Adele, her active neighbor who made a business of keeping up to date with the life of the complex. Probably she already heard the news, Rose thought and then she was struck by Adele’s appearance and her manner. Adele looked somehow disheveled and her face and eyes were red and swollen. Her speech was soft and tremulous and all her body was shaky. Hang on a tick, Rose thought, this woman seems to be at an absolute loss. What could have happened?
Her caring nature came forward and she invited Adele into her house. The poor woman looked about to collapse. Rose guided her to a chair in the living room and brought her a glass of water without any questions been asked. Adele drank it immediately with big gulps after spilling some on the floor. Maybe she needs something stronger, Rose thought and glanced towards her kitchen cabinet where she kept the alcohol for guests. Then she wondered if Adele was taking any medication that wouldn’t mix well with alcohol. Before she was able to make a decision about her next move Adele spoke up. She sounded a bit better and it dawned on Rose that she forgot to ask her if she needed an ambulance.
‘It was Mrs. Capeletti, you know? ’ Adele said with a soft voice and initially Rose was confused and said nothing. ‘The woman bitten by the snake, ’ Adele prodded on seeing Rose’s perplexed stare.
‘Aha, ’ acknowledged Rose as the new information was sinking in. She still could not work out Adele’s frightened demeanor. She could vividly recall Adele’s past laughter when she confessed about her snake phobia. That wasn’t really too long ago, she thought.
‘She was visiting her sister when the snake came from nowhere and bit her while she was sitting in the lounge room. ’
‘But that’s really rare, I understand, ’ said Rose attempting to comfort her and to her surprise Adele replied with: ‘Yes, I know. That’s what my niece said too, ’ Now it was Rose’s turn to feel at loss. ‘Maybe someone wanted to hurt her, ’ Adele said very softly and then Rose understood her fear. Then before Rose was able to reflect on it Adele was up and ambling towards the door. ‘Thanks for listening Rose. Just my thoughts. Don’t tell anyone, ’ she added and then she left. Her gait was definitely better and there was a hint of determination in her voice. Rose was left to ponder on the new issue which has not changed in any way her determination to get some expert advice on the security of her house.
ROGER THAT!
James was having a shower when the phone rang. It went straight to his voicemail and was discovered about 15 minutes later when the noise of a second call alerted James. He was now making his breakfast at the small kitchen in his 2 bedroom penthouse with views to die for: French toast and coffee. His favorites since childhood.
It was early morning and Friday in Brisvegas, two things very dear to his soul. Not that in his line of work that meant much. It was more a mental imagine that James associated over the years with relaxation and peacefulness. With times spent with his family. He was holding the current job because James was seen by his boss as a man of action. That meant that he actually travelled a lot and did not spend much time in his house but nonetheless he liked the idea of having one and even entertained the idea of having a family of his own one day
At this stage in his life, James liked the feeling of adrenaline rushing through his body. He liked the thrill of pursuing his target, moving quickly, taking decisions and generally being his own boss most of the time. That meant that he worked alone, with minimal backup and that he could not afford careless mistakes. His life was more or less in his hands. He was an adept of the old saying that a man should fight his own battles. Type A personality, said his general physician when completing his physical examination for the medical insurance purposes. Apparently, prone to high blood pressure and heart attacks. No, that does not sound too good, he thought briefly and got to the phone on the second ring.
‘Good to see that you are in good shape, ’ he heard his boss’s voice and knew it was business again.
‘Yes, sir, ready for action, ’ he replied from the comfort of his house. He was always ready for action but today he was in a private place and he didn’t have to say just ‘Roger’. They say that men don’t like much talk and that was true for James too but on his last assignment he barely had the chance to say a few words for days in a row. He worried at one point that his mind was going to be all clogged up and the saying- use it or lose it- might apply to language too. The incidental discovery that one of his colleagues’ mother was diagnosed recently with Alzheimer did not help his morale either.
‘How is Rose doing? ’ his boss asked directly. No need to use special codes between the two of them. At the moment James was working on 5 cases simultaneously but 3 of them were kind of cold. Not much activity there. Rose’s case was one of them. It was taking only 1 or 2 days a week of his time, at the most, and his boss knew it.
‘Well, thanks for asking Steve. I’m planning to take her out over the weekend. Maybe a bit of sunshine on the coast would do us both good, ’ He said pretending he was talking about his partner, in case someone was interfering with their line.
‘Are you in for the poker tonight? ’ Steve continued, trying to find if they could meet at the usual exchange place. Probably he had more information for him. There talk lasted less than two minutes and James knew that things were moving slowly. That meant probably a lot of frustration for his boss who was always under the pressure from above to solve as many cases as possible.
For James that meant more time in front of the computer and then some leg wo
rk. If things remained cool he could hope for a quick visit to his family in the bush. Fly in and out the same day, usually Sundays. They understood his work although he could not discuss cases with them. His mother was a successful romance writer, not that many people knew that. For her privacy was more important than fame. She was a dear soul who managed to find the silver lining in everything. He knew that she relished his presence and the feeling was mutual.
Hours later while leaving the training building, after a shooting session followed by some cardio work James bumped into an old friend. They spent the next half hour in the nearby coffee shop gossiping and catching up. Both, Angela and James, grew up in the same area and as young kids attended the same school although James was about five years older. ‘Police force? I can’t quite see you there, ’ admitted James with open surprise after being told the news. He hadn’t seen Angela since her wedding day, about 7 years ago. At the time she looked happy and was working as a nurse.
‘And you? Still helping people? ’ Angela asked smiling. She was alluding to his openly verbalized intentions as a teenager- to help people- .