A Case of Arson

By Di G.

Living in the suburbs of a large metropolitan city was still new to me having grown up in a very rural area of the Midwest. Although I had lived here for about a year, I was still nervous whenever I had to travel into the city for meetings or social events. My best intentions of heading home early were foiled this day by an extended meeting which left me heading for my car well after the business crowd had left the area and headed for the suburbs.

Making a concerted effort to avoid eye contact with anyone, I lowered my head and proceeded toward the parking ramp with a determined "leave me alone" attitude. Apparently the person coming toward me was as preoccupied as I was determined, resulting in neither of us seeing the other until it was too late to avoid a collision. As we both stooped to pick up items we had dropped, I heard his rich baritone voice utter "Sorry" and glanced up into the most beautiful pair of eyes I had ever seen. He gave me a small smile and handed me the file I had dropped as we both rose and turned to cross the street. I was doing a fair job of ignoring the fact that he was behind me as we waited for the streetlight to change until the skies opened up and it began to pour rain. Suddenly I realized someone was holding a coat over my head urging me to run toward the coffee shop on the corner, which I did. Upon entering the coffee shop, I turned to see the same eyes as before - this time with an amused glint and paired with a grin.

"Looks like this could last awhile. Can I buy you a coffee? Payback for almost running you over on the sidewalk?" He spoke perfect English with enough of an accent to make my knees go weak and all I could do was nod. After getting us a table, he told me his name was Tony and that he was a private investigator specializing in arson and missing person cases. He had been working in the city for only a couple of months and was still struggling to build his client list.

I told him my name was Kalli and that I was part owner in a business out in the suburbs. Holding true to being cautious, I kept the rest of the information to myself but did tell him that I had been attempting to get back home in the suburbs but that my meeting had run late.

"No wonder you were in such a hurry! You didn't look like you were too comfortable being downtown alone," he said.

"And here I thought I was successful with my 'Don't mess with me - I know what I'm doing' act," I replied.

He laughed and said, "You do have to remember to look up enough to see where you are heading or you don't know what you will run into. Look what happened today!"

We continued to talk about "safe" topics, found that we both held an interest in the arts and discussed the upcoming theater season and the attributes of the small local theaters as opposed to the Broadway touring companies which frequented the city.

Tony also regaled me with stories of past arson cases he had worked on when he was living in New York. While still not comfortable enough to let him know that I was executive with an insurance brokerage, I did tell him that I had contact with several insurance companies that may be able to utilize his services in the area.

"My lucky day 'running into' you!" he laughed. When I insisted I could pass his name along to my contacts he presented me with his card. "Antonio J. Ramirez, Private Investigator". Now I had his full name and phone number - would I be able to get up the nerve to call him or would I simply pass his name along like I promised and try to forget this meeting? It was something I would have to explore once I was alone and not influenced by how handsome he was and how kind he appeared to be.

By now the rain had ended and I regretfully told Tony that I had to head home. My parking ramp was across the street and Tony walked me to the elevator and waited with me until it arrived. After I insisted I was fine and that my car was parked right next to the elevator door a few levels up, Tony told me how much he had enjoyed our chat. I promised to make my contacts aware of his investigation business and we parted ways.

True to my word, I did call several of the insurance company claims managers the next day to let them know that there was a new service available in our area that could assist in investigating possible arson losses and e-mailed them Tony's name and phone number. Since arson investigation is a very specialized field, the companies were very happy to hear that there was an "expert" available and promised to contact him as soon as possible.

Now that I had fulfilled my promise to Tony, I still had to decide if I should take the next step and call him myself. Was he just being nice or had he felt the same attraction I had? Doubting myself had always been one of my weaknesses. Even though I had made an effort not to disclose too much of myself at our meeting, why hadn't he pressed to get my full name and phone number? Today was Wednesday - I would give myself until Friday to make a decision. I would either call him on Friday afternoon or I would put the entire thought out of my mind as I was spending way too much time thinking about it - and him.

Friday morning came and I still hadn't made a decision. Completing a phone call, I sat in my office with my back to the door when I suddenly heard a silky baritone voice say "Good Morning Ladies!" The accent was unmistakable - Tony was here! As I turned in my chair, he stepped into my office and closed the door. My office door doesn't latch properly so is very seldom closed which, I'm sure, caused quite a stir in the outer office. Tony simply leaned against the closed door and waited for me to conclude my phone call.

Upon hanging up the receiver, I turned and stood to face him. "How did you - - -?"

"Private Investigator - remember? Just as you have your contacts so I have mine, querida. You seemed somewhat apprehensive that first night we met so I didn't want to push you. I knew I would be able to find you with a little work".

"So much for guarding my privacy", I replied.

He laughed and said that he had actually gotten my name and business address from one of my contacts who had called him based on my referral. He had been trying to decide if he should run my license plate number through the Department of Motor Vehicles to get my address when he decided it would be best to contact me at work. You see, he had waited for me to exit the parking ramp that night in the city - both to make sure I made it to my car safely and also to get the plate number. I tried to decide if that made me feel safer or more apprehensive. At that moment I decided that this was a relationship I wanted to pursue and how we managed to find each other was irrelevant. Taking the situation in hand, I invited Tony to my home for dinner that evening to which he agreed. I presented him with my home address and phone number with no further hesitation.

As the door to my office opened I could feel 10 pairs of eyes focused in our direction. Tony walked confidently through the center of the desks, smiled and said "You have a wonderful day, ladies!" and left. I didn't dare look too closely at my co-workers but swear I noticed a couple of glazed looks and open mouths! Good - that'll give them something to talk about at coffee break, I thought.

That night Tony arrived precisely at 7:00 p.m. as agreed. I had a salad made and the steaks were ready to grill. As I poured us both a glass of wine, Tony walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. I shivered slightly as he turned me to face him.

"Are you still frightened of me, querida?" he asked. "I want only to bring us closer together - please do not pull away from me."

"I'm not frightened of you, Tony. I'm afraid of what being close to you makes me feel," I answered. "No one has made me feel this nervous in many years. I'm afraid I will do something or you will learn something about me that will bring this to an end before it has a chance to even begin".

Tony smiled knowingly into my eyes. "We cannot possibly know what the future holds, mi amor. We can only take pleasure in the moment we are given."

At that moment Tony placed his hands on either side of my face and lowered his lips to mine. All doubts and fears I may have harbored left my mind immediately. Wrapping my arms around his neck I opened my mouth to allow his tongue access to mine. It developed into a kiss that I could feel right down to my toes.

Both of us could feel where this was heading and regretfully pulled away from each other in an unspoken agreement that we needed to slow this relationship down and allow it to grow. Neither of us wanted to rush the moment and allow the desire to burn out.

Two years have passed since that first date at my home. Tony's business has grown into one of the largest investigative services in the nation. He is known throughout the insurance industry for his excellent investigative talents but, more importantly, for his honesty and unquestionable ethics.

I receive phone calls from company presidents regularly thanking me for referring Tony to them and letting me know that he has saved them many thousands of dollars in fraudulent claims.

I know from first hand experience how good Tony is at his job. He has allowed me to accompany him on several arson investigations and let me assist him in doing research on a couple of missing persons cases. Watching Tony relate to the heartbroken parents of a missing child or the worried siblings who have been attempting to locate their missing brother or sister only reinforces my decision that he is a man to be trusted and loved. I have never met anyone else who is as compassionate (or passionate!).

Tony still visits me at my office regularly (supposedly on business). I made sure that my office door was repaired and now latches securely - in fact, I had a lock added at same time! The female co-workers in the office still get the same dazed look as Tony walks through the office and wishes them a "Good Morning" in that smoothly accented baritone voice. As for me, I continue to get the 'butterfly flutters' in my stomach whenever I see him or hear his voice.

Life is a series of changes and we must all learn to "give and take" to make our relationships work. Tony has made many sacrifices to make me comfortable and secure. As for me, I have decided that the city isn't the evil place I imagined it to be when you have someone to share it with. Selling my home in the suburbs was scary. But even the commute is well worth it when I consider the life Tony and I are building together in our loft in the heart of the city.

It is a case of arson - Tony lit this fire in my heart and we face each new day determined to keep it burning hotter than the day before.