Carla’s Prince

Chapter 12

The bust could not have gone better if Carla tried. It was a freaking work of art as far as she was concerned. The three took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. It was the perfect ending to one of the most exciting cases she had ever worked on.

She had just finished handing over her notes to the police when Cristoff walked over to her car. She pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and gasped silently. She would have run off if she could, or simply gotten in her car and sped off, but she was no drama queen and attracting attention to herself was the last thing she wanted to do.

“So, it’s over,” Cristoff said and she shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s over, but you have to promise me that you will not go after Pops. He is just a small businessman trying to make ends meet.”

He frowned.

“Pops?”

“The owner of the vintage store we found the katana in. He did everything he could to help. He was fully cooperative.”

Cristoff nodded.

“I don’t intend on pressing charges on him. I got my property back and got rid of the fox in my hen house.”

She nodded.

“Thanks.”

“You look beautiful,” he said as she turned to unlock her car.

She turned around and looked at him unsure of what to say. She was in jeans, a long sleeved V-neck fitted t-shirt, and a pair of ankle boots. Her freshly straightened hair was hanging loose on her shoulders framing her face. It was not a spectacular look as far as she was concerned but he seemed to like it.

“Thanks.”

“Carla…” he started as he moved close to her but she took a step back.

“Don’t. Just don’t.”

He looked at her and exhaled loudly.

“I need to talk to you, Carla.”

She shook her head.

“I have nothing to say to you,” she said in a soft voice. “You said a lot of things, made a lot of promises, and I asked you not to say anything you didn’t mean, but you said it anyway and I get to see pictures of you in a fucking crown with some woman holding you?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, confused.

“Stephanie Tempest,” she said in a soft voice. “I saw that picture of you after reading that email you sent me.”

“I can explain,” he said and she shook her head.

“That’s the thing about you. You can always explain and I can’t listen to this anymore.”

“Carla,” he called out as she got into her car and started the ignition. “Carla, please. Don’t leave like this,” he pleaded as he watched her securing her seatbelt.

She drove off, leaving him standing there. There was a tear rolling down her cheek and she could not stop it as much as she tried.

She drove straight home and went right to bed. It was all she needed. It was all she could do.

                                                            *****

Carla spent the day in bed tossing and turning and binging on the second season of The Crown when she could stay awake. By the time Brenda was coming back home, it was almost seven. She stood at her doorway and looked at Carla who was a mess in her t-shirt and sweatpants. Her hair was pulled up in a loose messy bun on top of her head.

“When did you get home?” Brenda asked.

“I don’t know. Half past eleven. Midday maybe.”

“And you have been in bed since?” Brenda asked. Carla shrugged.

“You will be pleased to know that I will no longer bi*ch about you watching the second season of The Crown without me.”

Brenda walked in and took her hand.

“Come on. I brought all the Pinot and Chardonnay I could carry and we still have a hell of a lot of pizza from last night,” she said as she pulled Carla out of bed. “We are going to drink and forget all about life.”

Carla took a long deep breath and followed her to the living room.

“So,” Brenda started as she took the leftover pizza out of the fridge. “The case over?”

Carla nodded and got a corkscrew.

“Yeah, it’s over.”

Brenda stuck a few slices in the microwave and turned it on.

“Shouldn’t you be a little more enthusiastic?” she asked.

Carla pulled out the cork out of a bottle of Chardonnay and began pouring the wine into two glasses.

“I spoke to Cristoff,” she said. “I confronted him about Stephanie.”

Brenda shrugged.

“What did he say?”

Carla shook her head.

“I don’t know. I didn’t let him say anything…I couldn’t listen to another lie.”

“Why would you say that? How do you know that he was lying?”

Carla took a long sip of her wine.

“I don’t know, Brenda. That’s the thing,” she said. “And honestly, I would rather just drink.”

Brenda took the slices of pizza out of the microwave.

“I hear that,” she said as she carried her wine and the pizza to the living room. Carla followed with her own wine and the bottle.

“What about you? How are you here so early?”

“I just left early. I get to do that now after I kicked ass in Atlanta,” Brenda said proudly as she put on some music on the TV and Carla frowned.

“Again, I am sorry about that. I was too lost in my head…too twisted to pay attention to what’s really important,” she said as she reached for a slice of pizza.

“All right, before we get this night started, officially, I have to ask. Are you sure you want to close the door to this whole Cristoff thing? Because once you do, I don’t think you can look back.”

Carla rolled her eyes.

“This again. Seriously, Brenda….”

“No, hear me out. I have not known you for that long but I have known you long enough to know what you look like when you are truly happy and Cristoff made you happy. That much I can say. So, I ask again, are you sure you want to close this door?”

Carla shrugged as she took another sip of her wine. The truth was that she had not thought about it but there was one thing she knew better than anything: there was no future for them. There was no future for two people who could not be open with one another.

“I’m sure,” Carla said before she took another sip.

“All right then. Here’s to the men lucky enough to have us and the losers who knew us,” Brenda said, raising her glass. Carla smiled and raised her own glass. She took another bite of her pizza just as a sudden explosive sound filled the room.

“The fu*k was that?” Carla muttered.

“You heard it too, right?” Brenda asked as another sound ripped through the atmosphere. “Gunshots?”

Carla shook her head.

“Unlikely. This is one of the safest neighborhoods…” Her voice trailed off when another sound interrupted her. She put her glass on the table and switched off the TV as Brenda switched off the lights. They looked at each other and slowly made their way to the window. “Is that…are those fireworks?” she asked as she looked at the sky that had been illuminated by color.