Prudent PI

“Can you keep a secret?” Diego asked out of the blue, chewing on his thumb nail and shaking his leg impatiently. Reina was sitting in the window seat of their small office, reading a book and waiting for Brandon who’d gone to get coffee.

“What do you mean?” She sighed. Diego rolled his eyes and shot up off of the couch, pacing in front of Reina.

“What do you mean, ‘what do you mean’? Can you keep a secret?! It’s a simple question, Reina!” He snapped, as he faced Reina and flailed his arms in anger.

It was Reina’s turn to roll her eyes. Diego wasn’t normally an ‘on edge’ person, so she was a little curious as to what the secret was, but the rage that emerged when someone wasn’t on the same ‘wavelength’ as him made her want to ignore him. He hated to waste time on explaining things and had zero patience. One of many negative traits, though Reina. 

“OK, yes, I can keep a secret. What d’you want to tell me?” 

Diego began to speak, before stopping abruptly. He rubbed his chin slightly, as if contemplating whether or not he should tell her. 

“How can I trust you?” He asked suspiciously. Reina groaned in irritation.

“Diego! It’s you who wants to tell me the secret! If you don’t want me to know, don’t tell me. Then I can just get back to my book.” She stated, reaching for the paperback. Diego grabbed her wrist quickly.

“OK, I’ll tell you. Just, don’t tell anyone, and don't freak out…” He warned. 

Reina sat there with a skeptical eyebrow raised, waiting for the news. She’d worked with Diego as a private investigator, along with Brandon, for over 7 years now. She knew that he had a tendency to overreact to things and was too dramatic. She expected some mundane news and so sat there calmly. 

He took a deep, almost shaky breath and began hurriedly. 

“OK, so, you know the job we had two months ago? With those two brothers? In New York?”

Reina nodded her head slowly. She vaguely remembered some task of that description.

“Ah, yeah, the...umm…the Aaron brothers. Where one of them was killed and the other fled?”

Diego’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah, that’s it! Well, I found the one that ran.” He spoke.

Reina sat deeper into her chair, somewhat in disbelief but mostly as if she were taking offence.

“You went without me? To find the most wanted man in America?” She ridiculed. “I can only imagine how that went. How many injuries did you sustain in that little side-quest?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Diego rubbed the back of his neck tentatively, as if remembering a sense of pain that had once lingered there. 

“One or two…” He admitted sheepishly, before shaking his head slightly and continuing in a serious tone, “But that’s not what I’m trying to say. I found him and...I have him. I have him.” He blushed slightly, like a child admitting to his mother that it was him who’d smashed her favourite vase.

Reina gazed at him, her mouth slightly agape in disbelief at his success, but also his stupidity. Another of those faults, she noted.

“What?! What do you mean? Where? For how long? What?” She repeated in confusion.

Diego’s cheeks turned a brighter red. He grimaced, seemingly frightened of Reina’s reaction, before relaxing slightly and walking toward the door.

“Follow me…” He mumbled. Reina observed in bewilderment, as Diego slowly made his way out of the office and outside. She huffed before following him.

Reina scowled as she marched behind Diego, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. Diego shuffled to the back of their office, toward the car park and garage. Facing Reina whilst making his way toward the garage, he began to explain. 

“Basically, one of my friends at the police department said that he’d reemerged, that he’d been spotted back in New York. I think it was for his brother’s funeral, I’m not too sure... Anyway, I went to where he’d previously lived and all his favourite restaurants and all that, and I saw him. I approached him, he tried to run, I stun-gunned him, he fell. Then, I bundled him into the trunk of my car, tied his hands, legs and taped his mouth, and brought him here.” He said hurriedly. Reina, still puzzled and still mad that he’d done this without her, nodded in understanding. 

“So, when did this happen?” She quizzed. Tensing slightly, and grinning cheekily, he told her.

“Two days ago. I said that I had a dentist appointment, remember. I didn’t though, obviously.” 

“Yeah, obviously,” Reina shook her head, “I should’ve known something wasn’t right there. I mean, do you even have a dentist?” She joked, as they entered the garage. 

Diego didn’t answer. He paused in front of a large, grimy chest freezer and gulped. Reina saw his reaction.

“Oh, no. You didn’t...In there? Ah, gross.” She wrinkled her nose, “Hold on, he was kind of a ‘large guy’. No way he’d fit in there.” She thought. They both stood in silence, before Diego approached the freezer. Placing his hand as to open it, he paused and turned to Reina, a stern expression on his face. 

“Like I said, don’t freak out. Be ready…” He warned. Reina’s eyes darted toward him. 

“What do you mean? Is he going to jump out? Is he armed or something?” She questioned apprehensively, her hand hovering over the gun in the holster that was always wrapped around her waist. Diego smirked slightly at the words ‘jump’ and ‘armed’. 

“He won’t jump, nor will he be armed....” He murmured. 

Opening the aged freezer slowly, Diego looked the other way, whilst Reina peered in tentatively. She was hit by a nauseating smell, and a swarm of buzzing flies.Taking a small step closer, she squinted and gasped slightly. Diego stood beside her, arms crossed and sucking his teeth. Reina covered her hands and mouth with the back of her hand. 

In the freezer, lay the surviving Aaron brother, well, the brother that had originally survived. He was arranged in a very weird order. His legs lay at the start of the freezer, followed by his hands, his head, his torso, his arms and then his feet. 

Diego had cut him up. He’d sliced his body parts like a Thanksgiving turkey. Reina stared in disgust. 

“Gnarly…” She whispered. Diego nodded slowly.

“Yeah. I told you that he wasn’t armed, didn’t I?” He’d joked quietly. Transfixed on the body parts, Reina punched Diego in the stomach, without looking away from the freezer. He doubled over in pain and shock, grasping his stomach. Whilst Diego was crouched over, trying to regain his breath, Reina slammed the freezer door closed with a shudder. She began to exit the garage, before turning on her heel to face Diego, as if becoming aware of what she’d just discovered. She hauled him up to his feet and pointed in his face.

“So, you have one of the most powerful, most connected, most infamous man in America - no, the world - cut up into bloody body parts in your freezer?” She exclaimed. Diego considered what she was saying, before answering.

“Well, it’s more the company's freezer, not mine…” Is all he said. Reina’s nostrils flared and she brought her clenched fist up threateningly. Diego flinched. She relaxed her fist before walking out of the garage and sitting on the bonnet of Diego’s car.

“Hey!” He protested, following her before sitting next to her.

“So, Diego the 'Dismember-er', what happens now? I mean, I kinda want to know what happened leading up to this, but I don’t think I should know.” 

“Well, that’s why I wanted to tell you. I need you to help me, you know, with the ‘getting rid’ part. I mean, I’ve done a pretty good job of the ‘cutting up’ part, wouldn't you say? I also need you to help me deal with the...repercussions of this act. Like, he was an influential man with connections, they’ll know something’s not right when they haven’t seen him for ages.”

Eyes narrowed and arms crossed, Reina glared coldly. Diego smiled hopefully. 

“Will you help me? I really need your help” He pleaded. Reina opened her mouth, ready with a sarcastic reply, before a voice cut her off.

“Hey, guys. What do you need help with?” Brandon asked innocently, walking over to them, holding the steaming coffee in his hands. Exchanging looks and raised eyebrows, Reina and Diego turned to Brandon. 

Diego jumped off the bonnet and strode toward Brandon, snaking an arm around his shoulders and guiding him to the garage. Reina walked on the other side of Brandon, hugging his arm as she looked up at him, her eyes full of anticipation and a slight smirk on her face. Glancing over at Diego, she winked. Diego sighed and ‘tsked’ with mock pity at the information he was going to enlighten Brandon with.

“Brandon, can you keep a secret?”