Read Online Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) by Maria Grazia Swan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Maria Grazia Swan
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take her mind off the stranger next door.
The phone rang twice followed by a series of clicks. “Good evening, Miller ’s residence. May I help you?” The saucy female voice reminded Mina of a lingerie commercial, but it didn’t sound like Ginger. “Huh, can I speak to Ginger, please?”
“May I ask who is calling?”
“Mina, Mina Calvi, her friend Mina.” She sounded impatient to herself.
“Thank you Mina Calvi. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No, I would like to speak to Ginger. Where is she?”
“Miss Miller is not available at the moment. If you would like to leave a message, I will make sure she gets it.”
“Forget it, I’ll visit her at the gym.” Click.
Maledizione. Ginger had an answering service? Since when? Maybe the guy she married had a lot of money and wanted privacy. If he was so rich , why did Ginger need to work at Bosom Bodies? The frustration from the call helped Mina overcome her fear, and she decided to get into her comfy robe and watch television.
She had barely slipped her arms into her robe when the doorbell rang. She froze. Visitors were supposed to check in with the guard. No one had called from the gate. Dio m io . DeFiore ’s words echoed in her brain. “ D on’t open the door unless you ask who it is first .”
The doorbell rang again. She tiptoed to the corner of the hall wall, trying to catch any noise on the other side of the door without being seen through the peephole. Little noises came from the front door, like the sound made by fingers drumming on a tabletop. Whoever was ringing the doorbell was also finger dancing on her door? Somehow that frightened her even more.
She tiptoed back to her bedroom. Time to set pride aside and call DeFiore . Her corduroy skirt lay on the floor where she had dropped it. Mina retrieved DeFiore ’s card from the pocket.
He picked up right away. “Hello.” He sounded—happy. She could hear music and laughter in the background. She felt so guilty. “Hummm, DeFiore ? I t’s me, Mina.”
“Mina, you okay?” Suddenly he was detective DeFiore , even the music and the laughter faded.
“I am, it’s just … I don’t know. Sorry to bother you at home. You see, there is somebody at my door.”
“Now?”
“A few minutes ago. Maybe he is gone now.”
“He? You know the person?”
“Not really, but a new neighbor moved in next door. He may be the one ringing the door bell.”
“Did you ask who it is?”
“No, just a hunch. I’m sitting here in the dark, feeling stupid. Maybe I overreacted.”
“Mina, remember the old saying, ‘better safe than sorry. ’ However, if he had bad intentions and your place is dark, he would have assumed you weren’t home and forced his way in. Could he just want to meet his neighbor?”
“This late at night?”
“Mina, it’s eight o’clock.”
“Oh.”
“Do me a favor, turn on all the lights, even the outside ones, put the TV on, make a lot of noise. While you do that, I’ll call the guards at the gate and ask them to send someone over. Shhh, listen, no big deal. They’ll come by and say hello. How is that?”
“Oh, okay. I guess.”
“And Mina, this is good, you calling if there is a problem, no matter how small. Call me back if the guard doesn’t come fast enough. I’m here . C all.”
Mina hated to admit to it, but she felt relieved. She went around the small condo and turned on all the lights, just like DeFiore said to do. She switched on the terrace lights last.
Five minutes later the guard rang the doorbell , announcing in a loud voice, “Miss Calvi, it’s Herb from the front gate, making a welfare check per Detective DeFiore ’s request.”
She ran to open the door before the guard woke up the whole building. Herb breathed heavily like he had run up the four flights of stairs instead of having stepped off the elevator.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. So kind of you. All is well. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
“No problem, Miss
The phone rang twice followed by a series of clicks. “Good evening, Miller ’s residence. May I help you?” The saucy female voice reminded Mina of a lingerie commercial, but it didn’t sound like Ginger. “Huh, can I speak to Ginger, please?”
“May I ask who is calling?”
“Mina, Mina Calvi, her friend Mina.” She sounded impatient to herself.
“Thank you Mina Calvi. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No, I would like to speak to Ginger. Where is she?”
“Miss Miller is not available at the moment. If you would like to leave a message, I will make sure she gets it.”
“Forget it, I’ll visit her at the gym.” Click.
Maledizione. Ginger had an answering service? Since when? Maybe the guy she married had a lot of money and wanted privacy. If he was so rich , why did Ginger need to work at Bosom Bodies? The frustration from the call helped Mina overcome her fear, and she decided to get into her comfy robe and watch television.
She had barely slipped her arms into her robe when the doorbell rang. She froze. Visitors were supposed to check in with the guard. No one had called from the gate. Dio m io . DeFiore ’s words echoed in her brain. “ D on’t open the door unless you ask who it is first .”
The doorbell rang again. She tiptoed to the corner of the hall wall, trying to catch any noise on the other side of the door without being seen through the peephole. Little noises came from the front door, like the sound made by fingers drumming on a tabletop. Whoever was ringing the doorbell was also finger dancing on her door? Somehow that frightened her even more.
She tiptoed back to her bedroom. Time to set pride aside and call DeFiore . Her corduroy skirt lay on the floor where she had dropped it. Mina retrieved DeFiore ’s card from the pocket.
He picked up right away. “Hello.” He sounded—happy. She could hear music and laughter in the background. She felt so guilty. “Hummm, DeFiore ? I t’s me, Mina.”
“Mina, you okay?” Suddenly he was detective DeFiore , even the music and the laughter faded.
“I am, it’s just … I don’t know. Sorry to bother you at home. You see, there is somebody at my door.”
“Now?”
“A few minutes ago. Maybe he is gone now.”
“He? You know the person?”
“Not really, but a new neighbor moved in next door. He may be the one ringing the door bell.”
“Did you ask who it is?”
“No, just a hunch. I’m sitting here in the dark, feeling stupid. Maybe I overreacted.”
“Mina, remember the old saying, ‘better safe than sorry. ’ However, if he had bad intentions and your place is dark, he would have assumed you weren’t home and forced his way in. Could he just want to meet his neighbor?”
“This late at night?”
“Mina, it’s eight o’clock.”
“Oh.”
“Do me a favor, turn on all the lights, even the outside ones, put the TV on, make a lot of noise. While you do that, I’ll call the guards at the gate and ask them to send someone over. Shhh, listen, no big deal. They’ll come by and say hello. How is that?”
“Oh, okay. I guess.”
“And Mina, this is good, you calling if there is a problem, no matter how small. Call me back if the guard doesn’t come fast enough. I’m here . C all.”
Mina hated to admit to it, but she felt relieved. She went around the small condo and turned on all the lights, just like DeFiore said to do. She switched on the terrace lights last.
Five minutes later the guard rang the doorbell , announcing in a loud voice, “Miss Calvi, it’s Herb from the front gate, making a welfare check per Detective DeFiore ’s request.”
She ran to open the door before the guard woke up the whole building. Herb breathed heavily like he had run up the four flights of stairs instead of having stepped off the elevator.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. So kind of you. All is well. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
“No problem, Miss
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