A Sin For A Sin

I shuffle into my kitchen the next morning to find Dom rifling through my kitchen. I grunt at him and he grins.

"Morning. You don't have any food." I pour myself a cup of coffee and then pop open the microwave and pull out a loaf of bread.

"Make toast."

"Toast?"

"Yes. You put the bread in the toaster, butter it and eat it. Toast." I explain.

"I know what toast is, smart ass." he says, putting two slices of bread in the toaster. There is a newspaper on the table. I don't get the newspaper delivered to my apartment, but almost everyone else on my floor does, so whenever I want to read the paper, I snatch one. Dom is a fast learner. I sit down and flip through it while I drink my coffee. Someone knocks on the door, so I walk over and open it, figuring it's one of my neighbors blaming me for stealing their paper. John Kristaldi stares in at me instead.

"What's up?" I ask, wishing I was wearing something less revealing than my mini sweat shorts and white cami top with my nipples poking through. I can tell John is liking the tank top.

"I was on my way home from work. Thought I'd stop by and say hello."

"I thought you worked days."

"I've been working nights for the past couple of weeks, covering for a guy. I'm back on days starting tomorrow." I hear the toaster pop up behind me and Dom swear. I cringe as John peeks past me into the kitchen.

"Is this a bad time?" he asks, sarcastically. Dom comes up and stands behind me. John bites down on his lip and I can tell he's trying hard not to lose his temper.

"It might be." I say, quietly.

"Dammit, Dom, what the fuck are you doing involving her in your shit again? Did you learn nothing from the last time when she was almost killed?!" John yells.

"Why don't you stay out of it, OK? It doesn't concern you." Dom says.

"It concerns me if she gets hurt."

"Don't worry about my sister. I'll keep her safe." John scoffs.

"That's always your intention, isn't it?"

"Fuck off." Dom says. I can tell he's trying to move me out of the way, but I stand strong in front of him. No way are these two going to duke it out in my hallway right now. John looks down at me.

"Can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

"Yeah." I look back at Dominic and see him glaring at John. We make eye contact and he steps back into the apartment. I go out into the hallway with John. I cross my arms over my chest and watch as he whirls around to face me.

"What the hell are you thinking?"

"He's my brother." I say, calmly.

"Do you know what he's been accused of?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"I don't think he did it." he closes his eyes for a second.

"That's great. So you don't think he did it, so you're letting him hide out in your apartment."

"I don't really like your attitude right now."

"Forgive me. I just didn't think after what we went through in Mexico you would be so willing to involve yourself in another one of Dom's shitty situations." he says.

"I don't remember asking for your approval." I snap.

We both stand there for a minute, absorbing the rapidly deteriorating conversation. He sighs finally.

"OK, I gotta go pick up my daughter. I'll see you around." he says.

"Fine." I say. Before I even know what he's doing, he grabs me and kisses me. He backs me up against the wall and wedges his knee in between mine. I grab handfuls of his hair and the front of his shirt, enjoying the feel of his chest pressed up against my breasts. He breaks the kiss after a few minutes and looks down at me with a smirk.

"You're gonna have to get your brother out of your apartment asap, cause I'm not going to wait much longer."

"You'll wait until I'm good and god damned ready." I tell him. He grins down at me.

"See you later, cupcake." I watch as he saunters down the hallway and steps into the elevator. I take a couple deep breaths and go back into my apartment. Dom is sitting on the couch, eating toast and drinking coffee.

"What are you still hanging out with that loser for?" he asks.

"None of your fucking business." I snap, making my way into my bedroom and shutting the door.

When I come back out I'm freshly showered. My blonde hair is in a ponytail. My make-up is done and I'm wearing clean jeans, a white cami top and my cute little tennis shoes that were designed only to be cute and not for any kind of physical workout. I hang my big black handbag on my shoulder and look down at Dominic who is still on the couch, watching Seinfeld. I put my hand on my hip.

"What are your plans for the day?" I ask him.

"I don't know. Why?"

"I thought maybe you could clean up your mess. You haven't even been in my place for twenty four hours and you've already pigged it out."

"OK, I'll clean. Where are you going?"

"Work. I'll be back later."

I walk out of my apartment and take the elevator down to the lobby. When I step out onto the sidewalk, I hear a car engine roll over but I don't think much of it. As I start to cross the parking lot, I hear the same car rev it's engine. I look up and see a black Mercedes speeding towards me with Karen Gratelli behind the wheel. I yelp and take off running towards my car. Luckily she misses me and I get in my car, crank it over and let my heartbeat slow down. I watch as she turns the car around and sits at the other end of the parking lot, apparently waiting for me to cross again. I grab my phone out of my purse and dial Dom's cell phone.

"Yo." he answers.

"Yo yourself. Look out the living room window. There's a black Mercedes in the left corner." I tell him. I hear him get off the couch and a moment later he comes back on the line.

"I see it."

"Karen Gratelli is driving the car. She just tried to run me over."

"Why?"

"Because I served her with divorce papers yesterday and she wasn't excited about it."

"Are you still in the parking lot?" he asks.

"Yeah."

"Sit tight until I come out. I'll take care of if." he says and then hangs up. I drop my phone back into my purse and wait. A minute later, I see Dom walk out of the building and turn. He walks over to Karen's car and I watch as she rolls her window down. I carefully put my car in gear and slowly pull out of the lot, so as not to steal Karen's attention away from Dom. Once I'm on the road, I head over to McDonalds and grab breakfast, then drive to my bosses office. I park on the street outside of the office which is sandwiched in between a used book store and an abandoned video rental place and walk in. My boss, Mike is sitting at his desk. There is a huge stack of files in front of him.

"There you are. We got bombarded this morning with cases. We're going to have to split them up between us." He hands me four folders.

"Two of them are from the same apartment complex on the other side of town. I'm giving you those."

"Is there a deadline on these?"

"Tomorrow."

"I'll do what I can." I tell him, stuffing the files into my purse. I walk back out to my car and sit in the drivers seat and look through the files. I put my car in gear and pull out into traffic and drive towards Garden View apartments. It's on the opposite side of Lawrence from where I live and couldn't be more opposite to where I live. My apartment building is brick and five stories. Garden View is two buildings, sitting beside each other on a curve. There is dead grass surrounding the two buildings and a parking structure in front of both. There are cars parked outside of the parking structures though. Both of my guys live in the same building, so I park and look through the first file. Michael Hanger. 32 years old, no job, lives alone on the second floor. There are stairs on the outside of the building. I take them up to the second floor and count my way down to Hanger's apartment and knock on the door. The door opens and I'm presented with Michael Hanger, completely naked. He appears to weight about 450 pounds with pasty white, furry, fat everywhere. I avert my eyes up to his to his bloodshot eyes. I can tell this guy is a pot smoker.

"Uh?" he says.

"Michael Hanger?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"You've been served." I hand him the official eviction notice and he looks at it for a second. His shoulders sink in defeat and he looks up at me.

"You know, this is really shitty. What did I do to deserve this?"

"You didn't pay your rent." I remind him.

"Well, yeah... but can't they like, deal with it?"

"Apparently not, since they're kicking you out."

"Gee thanks, lady. I didn't realize that." he snaps.

"Take it easy, Hondo. I'm just doing my job."

"Is that some sort of crack about my weight? I take offense to that, you know."

"No, I swear it wasn't a crack about your weight. Though you could stand to put on some pants." I say.

"All of my clothes are dirty. My mom won't come and wash them. I'm really depressed right now." He looks up at me then.

"You know, you could make my day a whole lot better." he says, brightly.

"What do you mean?"

"You could come inside... and you know." I feel my eyes involuntarily widen.

"Oh my God, no!" Then I watch in horror as he reaches down and gives himself a yank. Oh jeez. Like my life wasn't crappy enough, now I have to watch Hanger slap his wanger around. Oh jeez, Hanger's wanger. Mental head slap. I hold my hands up.

"Listen! I am not going to be doing.... that, with you. I just need you to sign this paper and then I'll leave you alone."

"You suck." I roll my eyes. My phone rings in my purse and I hold up my finger to Hanger.

"Excuse me for just a second." I hold my phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Izzy, it's your mother." as if I wouldn't recognize her voice.

"Hey mom. I'm a little busy, can I call you back?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm working."

"Oh, Jesus. That silly job of yours. I just wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight. The whole family is coming."

"The whole family?"

"Yes, of course. Feel free to bring a date, honey." she says. I'd rather stab my eye out with a rusty fork.

"Gee, Ma. That sounds great. I'll be there." I say.

"OK, great. I'll see you tonight." she hangs up and I drop my phone into my purse before looking at Hanger.

"So, are you gonna help me out?" I ask him.

"Are you gonna help me out?"

"No, so you'd better put that right out of your head."

"Fine." he says in a dejected voice. He takes the paper from me and signs it and then gives it back. I reach into my purse and grab out a roll of quarters I've been meaning to turn into the bank and hand it to him.

"Go to the laundry mat and get your clothes washed." he smiles.

"Oh man, thanks! You're really nice."

"Don't mention it. But you could do me one more favor." I say.

"Shoot."

"Do you know if Anton Ward is home? Is his car in the lot?" he steps out and looks out at the parking lot for a minute.

"He's home. That's his Suburban right there." he says, pointing.

"Thanks. Have a good day."

"You too." I leave Hanger on the second floor and march up to the third floor where Ward lives. From the notes Mike left on Ward's paper, I'm a little scared. The words dangerous and drug dealer blip into my brain as I knock on his door. When he answers, I almost laugh with relief. This scrawny little guy probably couldn't hurt me. He'd probably trip and fall on his baggy homie pants if he went after me. He looks out at me.

"Can I help you?" he asks.

"I'm looking for Anton Ward."

"You're looking at him. Who are you?"

"You've been served." I hand him the paper, "Now if you could just sign this for me I'll-" I don't have time to finish the sentence, because Ward whips out a huge handgun and pulls the hammer back. I yelp and take off down the hall at a dead run. As I hit the stairs, I hear the gun go off and a bullet zings past me. I take the stairs so fast, I'm sure I'm flying. I don't stop running until I get in my car and lock myself in. My heart is still racing as I pull out of the Garden View lot. I drive to the courthouse and park on the street, then I pull out Ward's file. I do my best at forging Ward's signature on the dotted line and then slide the paper back into my bag. I figure Ward isn't going to be giving us any problems about his eviction. He'll probably pack up all of his shit and move out in the dead of night, never to be heard from again until he quits paying rent on his next apartment.

Once I'm done at the courthouse, I stop by my third file and find the person isn't home. I slip the paper into their screen door, giving them the information about their case and telling them to contact Mike's office so they can sign the confirmation slip.

The whole day, I've been thinking about Dom's situation. The paper hasn't been giving me a lot of information on the case and I feel like Dom is holding out on me, which isn't unusual. I pull out my cell phone and dial John's number. He answers on the second ring.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, can I come over tonight and use your computer? I need to do some research." he pauses for a beat.

"Sure. What time?"

"I'm having dinner with my parents, so anytime after seven thirty."

"That's cool. I'm dropping my daughter off at five. I'll be home."

"OK, see you then." I say, hanging up.

I drive home and find Dom in the kitchen, unloading groceries into my cupboards.

"What's up?" I ask him.

"I went to the store and picked up some shit."

"What's the deal with Karen? I didn't see her car in the lot."

"She was trying to kill you. But, I talked her out of it."

"How did you do that?"

"I'm taking her out for dinner tomorrow night." my mouth drops open.

"Oh my God, you little slut!"

"Shut up."

"I can't believe you're gonna go out with Karen Gratelli. You must be desperate."

"Desperate isn't even the word right now. I'm a sinking ship." he says.

"Did you talk to Mom?"

"About dinner? Yeah."

"Are you going."

"Of course I'm going. I wouldn't miss a chance to piss Frank off by dangling myself in front of his face, knowing he can't touch me in front of mom and dad."

"So I take it you're not riding with me."

"No. I'm gonna go get my car. I'll meet you there."