‘I’m Agent Makinski.’
‘What news?’
‘It’s over. I’m here to take you out. You can be live people again.’
‘So, what happened?’
‘The whole distribution chain was rolled up. Turns out the police chief of one of the little coastal towns was in on it as were a passel of lesser locals.’
‘Did you nab ‘Mr. Big’?’
‘Mr. Big’ turned out to be a Portuguese national who had a pretty substantial estate on the coast. The estate’s been seized, of course, but Mr. Big is in a no-extradition locale. The State Department’s working on that one. He’ll probably move on to some other enterprise in some other country.’
‘What about the Canadian connection?’
‘Never was one. The master load of drugs originated in Africa, was transported across the Atlantic by a ship that stayed just outside the US territorial waters. The ‘blockade runner’ boat was loaded at sea and slipped through the offshore Maine islands to land at their obscure waterfront warehouse. Unless you were looking for them, you’d never know they had arrived or left.’
Dana and Josh went to their room to pack as if they were being let out of jail. In the course of the packing, another emotion crept in. With their enforced togetherness, they had assumed a ‘we might as well enjoy it’ attitude and did enjoy it. Dana found Josh interesting and intellectually stimulating and the possessor of a wicked sense of humor. She was never bored with him. If things got slow, he simply came up with something and off they would go. It wasn’t as obvious to them as it was to their hosts that they were a totally compatible couple. They left the ranch with some lingering sense of the loss of a chapter that would never be repeated.
* * * * * * *
Josh and Dana and Josh’s mom, Marion, sat at the corner table they had requested in the Hall Street Rest Home dining room. It allowed reasonably private conversation.
‘I so miss the times when you boys used to crowd around our dining table. You ate like starved prisoners or something. And, your outrageous jokes and language! I wore out most of my dish towels swatting you ruffians.’
‘We were starved, Ma, and you always took care of that. Your corned beef and cabbage has never been equaled.’
‘Do you cook, dear?’
‘My cooking’s pretty utilitarian, I’m afraid.’
‘Baloney! You cook just fine. She’s just intimidated, Ma, from living with one of the foremost gourmet cooks of our time.’ This earned eye rolls and sighs from the ladies.
‘You must still keep in touch with the boys. Within the last week, both Ray and that Eddie came by to leave me stuff and to ask me to remember them to you. What have you done for them? They seemed to be saying ‘thanks’ to you through me. And, wasn’t Eddie from the wrong side?’
Josh and Dana exchanged a look.
‘Dana and I got together some information for them, that’s all. We were glad to help. What did they bring, the usual diamonds and furs?’
‘Always the joker. No, they brought more useful stuff; a cheesecake from Renaldo’s and a basket of fruit from the Korean market. We love that stuff here. Forget flowers. They make a smell like a funeral parlor.’
After a leisurely chat during which Josh excused himself to allow the women to get to know each other, they rose to leave. First, Dana gave Mrs. Malley a hug. When Josh leaned in to kiss his mom on the cheek, she whispered, ‘I like her. Don’t screw this up.’
* * * * * * *
About the Author: Alex Wilson is a ‘Grandma Moses’ author having begun writing seriously at age 72. He currently resides in St. Petersburg, FL with his beloved muse/editor/wife, Barbara.
Other novellas by Alex Wilson are available at www.wilsonwritings.com.
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