The Nick Spinelli Romance Mystery Series

Chapter 6

Spinelli released his hold on the baby letting her rest on the floor and he pushed himself up on all fours. But before he could get up completely someone jumped onto his back and gripped him in a chokehold. He pushed himself into a kneeling position and he used both his arms to reach over his shoulder and grab his assailant around his neck. He pulled the attacker over his shoulder breaking the chokehold then he scrambled to position himself over his assailant, pinning him to the floor.

"Who the hell are you?" Spinelli asked the small man pinned beneath him.

The man fought to release himself but his strength didn't compare to Spinelli's.

"Who the hell are you and why were your hands on my wife?" the man spat back.

"I'm Detective Spinelli and your wife assaulted Ms. O'Hara over there."

Still pinning Smith to the floor, Spinelli looked around the room to find the baby lying on the floor crying. He knew she wasn't physically hurt, perhaps just scared. Tiffany sat on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs; she continued to bawl. And poor Shannon fought for air gasp after gasp.

"Shannon, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Shannon lifted herself off the floor and walked over to the baby. She picked up the infant, cradled her in her arms, and rocked her back and forth in an attempt to calm her.

Spinelli handcuffed Smith, pulled him to his feet, and stood him next to the wall. "Don't move," he commanded with the authority of a general.

Spinelli pulled out his cell phone and called for an ambulance for Tiffany. By the way she acted, he certainly thought she would be headed for the mental health facility.

Smith heard Spinelli's call for an ambulance. "She doesn't need an ambulance. She needs to stay here and take care of the baby!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Before Shannon could explain the situation Spinelli turned in Smith's direction and let loose his anger and frustration. "You're kidding, right?"

Spinelli moved closer to the man and looked down at him. "Look at her," he yelled as he pointed to Tiffany who continued to sit on the floor in some sort of trance. "Does she look like she's capable of taking care of an infant in that state? She's going to the hospital and that baby is leaving with us."

"Detective, stop!" Shannon yelled drawing Spinelli's attention away from Smith.

He turned to find Shannon staring wide-eyed in his direction, scowling, nostrils flaring, and her cheeks as red as a vine-ripened tomato. The smoke billowing from her ears caused his vision to blur.

She spoke through gritted teeth, "Just stop talking. Let me handle this. Why don't you wait in the hall?"

Spinelli recalled Captain Jackson's words. Just do as you're told.

Then he sucked in a deep breath. "Fine, handle it then."

Leaving Shannon unguarded in the bedroom made Spinelli feel uneasy, but he did find a smidgeon of comfort in knowing Smith was handcuffed. However, with as angry as Smith seemed, who knew what he would be capable of, or do, at the height of his irrational fury.

From in the hallway, Spinelli could hear Shannon explaining that the baby would be placed in foster care until further notice. He heard her explain the process and what would be required of the Smiths in the event they wanted to see the baby until the court system sorted out the matter.

The baby stopped crying but Spinelli could still hear the whimpers coming from Tiffany. Suddenly he heard Smith scream at Tiffany. "You stupid b***h! You stupid b***h! They're going to take our baby away because you're too dumb to know how to take care of her!"

Spinelli heard the sound of rushing footsteps. He quickly stepped around the doorway and into the baby's room to find Smith kicking at Tiffany who remained seated on the floor. Smith got a couple of hard kicks off before Spinelli grabbed him and pulled him away from his wife. She never even flinched. She just kept rocking herself back and forth.

Moments later, the squad car and ambulance arrived. Two officers hauled Smith away, with Smith kicking and screaming, and the EMTs loaded Tiffany into the ambulance.

Spinelli drove Shannon and the Smith baby to the foster home. The silence in the minivan about killed him and the tension in the air felt thicker than that of a bowl of pea soup, the kind so thick you eat it with a fork.

Spinelli waited in the van while Shannon took care of business in the foster home. He dreaded her return almost as much as he dreaded returning to the office to face Captain Jackson.

He leaned his head back against the headrest, closed his eyes, and replayed the events that occurred in the Smith home. Damn it, why couldn't I just keep my big mouth shut. His mind replayed the events again. Why couldn't I keep my big mouth shut? Because that baby deserves better, that's why!

Shannon slid into the minivan and slammed the door shut. Her body emitted so much heat Spinelli began to sweat profusely. Her silence about killed him. "Are you going to say anything?" he asked as he continued to drive back to the office.

Spinelli glanced at Shannon and waited for a response. She sat silent. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she leaned her head back on the headrest, closed her eyes, and drew in slow deep breaths. He gave himself about thirty mental head slaps for being such an i***t. His mind raced for a resolution. Though Shannon had tongue-lashed him earlier in the day, for some reason he just couldn't stand the fact that the beautiful creature who sat beside him disliked him so much. And he couldn't help but think that if only she knew he meant well and was only thinking of the baby's well-being, she wouldn't hate him. Maybe even like him.

Spinelli parked the vehicle and Shannon sprang out and headed toward the building, still without speaking a word. He followed close on her heels. "Come on, Shannon, what did you want me to do? Let him keep wailing on me or you or Tiffany? Do you really want him to go on believing that he and Tiffany are fit for raising children?"

Spinelli's words caused Shannon to stop dead in her tracks. She spun to face him. The rage in her eyes scared the hell out of him. He hunts down killers for a living and none of them ever caused this much fear to penetrate his body.

"Who are you to judge them? Who are you to tell them they aren't fit to be parents? I explained their mental capacity to you so you would know what we were dealing with. All you did was upset them and make things worse."

"You think I made it worse? The way I see it I did them a favor. I'm probably the only person in the world who ever told them the truth. You and I both know that Tiffany doesn't have the ability to raise a child. Why kid them? Why let them believe they can do something they can't?" Spinelli yelled back.

"You know what, Detective Spinelli. When you earn a degree in psychology you can come back and offer me all the free advice you want but until then why don't you just shut the hell up? You know nothing about this. I deal with this day in and day out!"

"O'Hara, you don't know s**t about me or what I know. So maybe it's you who should shut the hell up," Spinelli spat back.

Shannon's eyes flooded with tears and she fought for a voice. "You..."

"I what?"

Shannon closed her eyes. "You're the coldest and harshest person I ever met," she whispered. She put her hand over her mouth and turned and walked away from him.

Spinelli stared after her. Her words sliced through his heart like a knife.