Rod, again - Chapter 17, Rico comes clean

Rod stormed into his apartment, slamming the door behind him. Cindy looked up from the sofa, sensing that he was upset. She’d been excited for him to return so she could tell him how great the meeting with Debbie went. She was even considering asking him if it would be okay to invite Debbie to the wedding. That discussion would have to wait. Rod was rarely upset. Something must have gone wrong at Nina’s. Rod flopped himself into an easy chair and stared at the floor, breathing in snorts.

“Trouble with Nina?” she asked, quietly.

Rod glanced at her and then returned his focus to the floor. “She won’t do it, or more likely, she can’t do it.”

“Why on Earth would she say no? Doesn’t she need the business?”

“She said the cake was a mistake that shouldn’t have been served. She offered up some alternatives but nothing edible. I think she lost her cook. When we were there, someone else was doing the cooking. She claims she’s the only cook now.”

“Can we get the name of her old cook?” Cindy knew Rod had likely already explored this avenue, but she didn’t know what else to say.

Rod looked at her. “Nina wouldn’t tell me his name. She’s such a pain.” Rod let out another snort.

Cindy thought for a moment. “Too bad you couldn’t get a few minutes alone with that guy taking the orders. Seems like he might be convinced to be a bit more forthcoming.”

Rod considered Cindy’s words. “That’s it! I’m sure I could get Rico to tell us.” Rod stood. “I’m going back to the restaurant and wait until they close. Maybe I can get a moment alone with Rico.”

Cindy jumped off the couch. “You’re not going back there again without me.”

“Then let’s go.” Rod said, smiling. “They don’t stay open real late, especially on the weekend.”

“Right,” said Cindy, chuckling. “Because nobody goes out to eat on a Saturday night. It’s no wonder business is suffering.”

Rod and Cindy rushed out of the apartment and sped off to Nina’s. It was almost six o’clock when they arrived. A short line of customers waited at the order window.

“Why would they close at six if they’ve got customers?” Cindy wondered.

“I’m not sure,” Rod replied. “To be honest, Nina doesn’t seem to have the keenest business sense. It’s kind of surprising she’s managed to stay open this long.”

They watched as the last customers left with their frybread. At precisely six o’clock, Rico closed the order window and put out the “Closed” sign. A potential customer pulled up and then drove off as Nina came bustling out the side door. She hurried to her car and sped away.

“Wow,” Cindy remarked. “She wasted no time getting out of there. I guess we won’t have to worry about getting Rico alone.”

“I guess it must be Rico’s job to clean up.” Rod observed.

Cindy nodded, wondering if clean up was even a priority for Nina. She imagined the kitchen was probably greasy from all the deep frying. Maybe she didn’t want a cake from this place. “Should we wait here, or should we see if he’ll let us in?” she asked.

“Let’s give him a few minutes. I’d rather catch him outside so he can’t avoid us.” Rod replied.

While they waited, Cindy relayed the details of her appointment with Debbie. Rod was happy that everything had gone so well. Cindy posed the possibility of inviting her new friend, Debbie, to the wedding. Rod was fine with it, even though, privately, he couldn’t help but think of the Debbie from his past. She was also from Minnesota. But this Debbie was president of a design firm. As far as he knew, his Debbie still worked at the bait and ice cream shop. She was smart enough to run a company, but far too timid. Rod finally realized this was one of the reasons he’d left her. She was always so cautious, too nervous to ever take a chance.

Cindy opened a bag of carrots and the two munched and watched the store. Already, an hour had passed and Rico still hadn’t emerged. They decided that if he didn’t show by seven-thirty, they would knock on the door and hope he’d let them in. They began discussing the best way to approach him, like a couple of detectives preparing to interrogate a suspect.

Twenty minutes later, the building went dark and Rico emerged from the side door. Rod and Cindy hastened across the street and positioned themselves next to his VW van. When Rico saw them he stopped short, unsure of what to do.

“Hi Rico,” Rod said in a friendly tone.

“W-we’re closed.” Rico stammered.

“Rico, I think you know why we’re here,” Cindy said, stepping toward him.

Rico stepped back and gulped. “I-I’m s-sorry. It was Nina’s idea.”

Cindy looked back at Rod and shrugged. Rod shook his head, unsure of what Rico was talking about. “Rico,” he began. “You don’t have to do everything Nina tells you to do. She’s your boss, not your master.”

Rico thought about this but he was having a difficult time understanding the distinction. Still, he thought he knew what Rod was implying, that even if he’d been following Nina’s orders, he was still guilty of spying on them. “I’m sorry.” he pleaded. “I won’t do it anymore. Nina doesn’t even want me to. She’s given up on you.”

“Given up on me?” Rod asked.

“You were so mad when you left earlier. We know you aren’t coming back, even if we figure out what you like to eat.”

Rod thought about the carrot cake and the deep-fried carrot and spinach entree that Nina had tried to serve him. “Rico, how is it that you know I like carrots?”

Rico smiled, happy to finally be asked an easy question. “Gosh, you eat them just about every night. You must like them.”

Rod looked at Cindy. She looked back with a knowing smile and then turned to Rico. “Rico,” she said, smiling, “Have you ever considered growing a moustache?”

Rico put his head down and stepped back again. He’d been caught, discovered. He’d let down ninjas everywhere. He waited for Rod to start yelling at him, or worse, call the police.

“Rico,” Rod said. “I want you to tell me everything. I want to know how long you’ve been spying on me. I want to know who you’ve been reporting to. I want to know who made the carrot cake. I want to know everything. Otherwise, you’ll be talking to the police.”

Rico looked up. Rod sounded stern but not angry. And, it sounded like there was a chance he could avoid being arrested. Rico started talking. He spilled everything, the ninja nights, Chet, everything, except Debbie. She was only there that one night and she wasn’t really working with him. He didn’t want to take a chance and rat on a ninja.

Rod and Cindy listened, amazed at the lengths Nina had gone to. When Rico was finished, Rod stepped up to him. Instinctively, Rico flinched. Rod paused, realizing how truly frightened Rico was. “Okay, Rico.” Rod said in his gentlest voice. “Here’s what we need you to do. You need to find Chet and bring him to my apartment. Cindy and I really want to speak with him. Don’t worry, he’s not in trouble. In fact, we might be able to help him out. Can you do that Rico?”

Rico nodded. He had given Chet a ride home a couple of times. He knew where he lived.

“Great,” Rod continued. “Do that and we’ll forget about the whole spying thing, okay?”

Rico nodded again and waited for Rod to say something more. Rod nodded at the van and Rico ran to it, happy to be free again. He sped off intent upon finding Chet and redeeming himself.

Rod and Cindy were returning to their car when Rod’s cell phone rang. It was Lloyd, apartment’s assistant manager.

“Hello?” Rod answered.

“Rod Piston? This is Lloyd, from the apartment. I just wanted to call to let you know we caught your prowler.”

“You what? That’s not possible...” Rod replied.

“Oh it’s more than possible, it’s done.” Lloyd crowed, triumphantly. “What’s more, it wasn’t a he at all. It was a woman!”

“What?” Rod replied, confused.

“I know, I don’t know how you two mistook this one for a man...must have been one heck of a disguise. Anyway, we brought her by your apartment but you weren’t there. One of your neighbors remembers seeing her in the hallway last night though.”

“Did she say what she was doing?”

“She won’t say anything except that she wants to be arrested and taken to the police station. She won’t even give us a name. She just wants to get out of here.”

“So, she’s still at the apartment?”

“Yeah, we’re holding her in the office. Thought you might want to talk to her before we took her downtown.”

“Thanks Lloyd. We’ll be back soon.”

Rod relayed the information to Cindy. As they sped back to the apartment, they wondered who this mystery woman could be. An accomplice of Rico’s? An innocent person caught by some overzealous security guards? They were anxious to find out.