Foreign Deceit by Jeff Carson

estate they occupied at the moment. He shoved the rest of the croissant in his mouth and downed the coffee with two hearty sips. She followed his actions, slapped down her cup, went to the unoccupied cash register, laid down some coins and threaded her way out the door. He followed her out, wondering what the hell just happened.  
    “Good lord. Felt like my first time all over again,” he mumbled to himself.  
    “What?”
    “Nothing, never mind.”
    They continued walking for another few seconds.  
    She turned with squinted eyes. “Are you saying that was like your first time having sex?”  
    “What? Uh, yeah,” he said. “That’s what I was saying.”  
    She looked down and resumed her walking. “So, your first time was that crowded? I don’t understand.”
    “No, more like standing, uncomfortable, and over before I knew what happened.” He looked into the distance at nothing in particular. “Never mind. I very much regret saying that now.”
    She burst into a high pitched natural laugh that magnified his caffeine buzz.  

     
    Wolf turned to Lia as she drove. “So, how the heck do you speak such perfect English?”
    She laughed. “My mother is from New York. She spoke only English to me and my brothers growing up my whole life. It just comes second nature to me. And I also went for two years in college in North Carolina, at Wake Forest.”
    “Aha. Okay, that explains it.”
    “And you and Valerio?” He braced himself as she dove full speed into another traffic circle. “You seem like close friends on the force.”
    “Yes. Valerio is kind of like a brother to me. He grew up with our family. I have three older brothers, and he has a brother, and they were all friends growing up.”
    “Wow. Three brothers? Older brothers?” She nodded. “That must have been rough for you growing up.”
    “You could say that,” she said with a smirk. Then her expression turned serious. “I had to fight for independence from my brothers growing up. Two of them were very protective of me. I hated it. I didn’t need the protection. It was hard.”  
    She paused, glancing to the right, then cranked the wheel left, throwing Wolf into a spastic look to his left, then realized she was using another convex mirror.  
    She looked at him and laughed softly. “I fought and gained the respect I deserved from my brothers.”
    A heavy silence engulfed them for a minute.  
    “So, you feel this job…the colonnello…you aren’t getting the respect you deserve, or the chances you deserve?”  
    She glared out the windshield. “Yes. Something like that. Valerio was a friend of the family. He grew up with us. He knows I can handle myself. He knows I’m better than what they think. But it’s also a matter of paying your dues. But the dues are much more expensive for a woman in Italy.”
    Wolf nodded his head. They drove alongside the lake shore once again. Diamond waves glistened in the sun.  
    “What do your brothers do? They cops too?”
    “Ehhhhhh,” she exhaled, “let’s see, one is a lawyer in Roma, one is a Caribiniere in Bergamo, and one is Guardia di Finanza.”
    “What’s Guardia di Fananza ? Finance guards?”  
    “Yes. They are part of the military, kind of like the Caribinieri. They patrol the territorial waters of Italy. Working against smuggling, illegal immigration, that type of thing. Among a lot of other duties.”
    “Okay.”
    “Yes, Luca is my brother in the Guardia. I am most close to him.” Her face melted into a fond smile, then looked to him with a tinge of regret, as if she realized she was just flaunting a toy he didn’t.  
    She was, but she didn’t mean anything by it. They drove on in silence.

Chapter 17

    They were buzzed into the morgue, this time by a female voice. He met the morning pathologist on duty, Bianca. Lia explained the situation, and Bianca left for a few minutes, returning with the bag from the night before.  
    Wolf brought the bag into the room where his