Retired police officer, Vinnie Esposito, stopped what he was doing to try and make out the shrill commands coming from the kitchen, “Did you take the trash out, dear?” His wife shouted.
“Yes, Angel, I did.” Vinnie affectionately referred to his somewhat overbearing wife as Angel, short for her given name of Angelica.
“Okay, don’t forget to clean the garage. The Walkers are coming over tonight for a cook out.”
“I know, dear, the garage will be clean when they get here, I promise.”
“Did you find the list of the stuff I need at the grocery store?”
“Yes, I did, dear. I’m putting gas in the cart right now. I will be leaving shortly.”
“Drive safely.”
“I will, darling.”
Vinnie Esposito lifted the red five gallon gas can as high as he could and drained the last remnants of gas into the tank and dropped the empty next to the wall. He lifted the cap from the fender of the cart and twisted it on, put the seat down and then he hopped aboard his E-Z-GO. He crammed his cart into reverse and backed out of the garage and onto the street. He stuck it in forward and started on his way to The Colony shopping area on the southeast side of the Villages.
Vinnie’s trip was suddenly interrupted by neighbor, Rex Johnson, who stopped doing his yard work and hurried toward Vinnie, waving his arms and signaling for him to pull over. Vinnie reluctantly slowed and pulled over to the curb in front of Rex’s house, prepared for what he knew would be a lengthy conversation with his talkative neighbor.
Perspiring heavily, Rex pulled a wrinkled hanky from his back pocket, dabbed his forehead and then croaked out a friendly, “Good morning, Vinnie.”
“Good morning, Rex, looks like you’ve got quite a project going there.”
“Yeah, the old lady wanted me to add some color to the yard. I’ve already planted four flats of petunias and two flats of geraniums.”
“Looks great, Rex.”
“Oh, thanks.” He gave Vinnie a quizzical look. “You got the day off or something?”
“Yes, I always get Fridays off.”
“Oh heck, I knew that.” Things got quiet for a minute with Vinnie patiently waiting for Rex to explain the reason for the interruption of his trip to the store.
A mischievous grin suddenly appeared on Rex’s face. “You wouldn’t believe what I saw the other night while I was out walking the dog.”
Vinnie’s brow lifted slightly, a polite gesture to feign some kind of interest in Rex’s more than likely irrelevant, useless information about some harmless event that had taken place in the neighborhood recently.
Rex went on. “You know that good-lookin’ gal who comes over to check out the Smith’s house every so often?”
“Yes, I’ve seen her over there a few times.”
“Well, she was over there last night with some guy and it wasn’t her husband.”
“No law against that.”
“I know, I know. But it gets kind of juicy.”
Vinnie was not the gossiping type. His inclination was to drive away before Rex said anymore, but as a former police officer and part of the security force at The Villages called Community Watch, he felt an obligation to at least hear his neighbor out.
“Did they do something illegal?”
“Well, not exactly.” Rex wiped his forehead dry again and moved closer to Vinnie. Eyes wide, he looked around to be certain none of their neighbors were listening and continued. “They didn’t see me. Bogie had stopped to pee on the trunk of Walker’s large oak tree and I was kind of in the shadows behind the tree waiting on Bogie to finish when they drove by.”
He probably ducked behind the tree so they couldn’t see him.
Rex did another quick look around to see if anyone was watching and then continued. “The guy with her had curly hair and looked quite a bit younger than her. When they got to the house she had already opened the garage door and she pulled in and closed it quickly behind them-like she had something to hide.”
“Maybe that’s how she always pulls in.”
“No, it’s not. She always parks out front and then she opens the garage using the keyless entry pad.” Rex had a smug look on his face. “They were up to no good, my friend. They were in that house for over an hour and the only light on was in the Smith’s master bedroom. I’ve been in their house several times and I know where the master bedroom is.”
“Maybe her friend was repairing something in the bedroom.”
Rex shook his head disgustedly, “You know, for a former New York City cop, you sure as hell are naïve. Are you kidding me? I could see their silhouettes through the blinds and believe me he wasn’t repairing anything!” The stubby Rex awkwardly gyrated his thick hips back and forth to demonstrate what he saw. “They were going at it, like this.”
Vinnie chuckled at his neighbor’s antics. “I get the picture, Rex. By the way, how long were you behind that tree?”
Red flushed up the nibby neighbor’s face. “Oh, not very long, they got right at it. I didn’t have to wait long to see what was going on. I just thought you should know what’s happening around here. Sometimes these situations can get out of control and somebody gets hurt.”
“Okay, Rex, I’ll try and keep an eye on things, but there’s really not much I can do. As inappropriate as it is, they’re not breaking the law.”
Rex nodded, a little embarrassed by Vinnie’s nonchalant attitude. He quickly changed the subject. “Let’s get out and hit ‘em sometime. I just got a new TaylorMade driver and I’m killing the ball.”
“Sounds good, but I’ll need shots.”
“No way, I’ve seen you hit the ball.”
Vinnie touched the gas pedal, the gas engine groaned for a second and then he let off. “I better get going, we’ve got company coming. Call me about golf.”
“Okay, Vinnie, see you later.”
Vinnie smiled, pressed down on the gas pedal and pulled away from the curb to continue his trip to the store. Somewhat annoyed by the intrusion into his busy schedule by his chatty neighbor, Vinnie none the less enjoyed being a security officer for Community Watch-it made him feel needed and important again.
A former police officer with the NYPD, Vinnie had a distinguished career with the famous police department before he retired with wife Angel to The Villages just over three years ago. During his tenure with the NYPD, Vinnie was known as a very tough, no nonsense kind of a cop. Early in his career, after a brief stint in the trendy upper Manhattan, he was assigned to head up the Youth Division in East Harlem. He was only twenty-eight at the time and held the same position until his retirement twenty-seven years later. Gang infested, East Harlem was one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the city and Vinnie loved it. One of the top marksman in his class at the Police Academy, he was involved in several shootouts during his long tenure in that nasty precinct. Protected only by a bullet proof vest, Vinnie was wounded several times in the line of duty and still carried many scars from the scores of bullets fired at him over the years.
Feared and respected by even the most hardened gang leaders in East Harlem, Vinnie received more than two dozen commendations for bravery during his career and became one of the most decorated police officers in the history of the NYPD. When he retired, the department threw him a huge party that was attended by many dignitaries, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg congratulated him and presented him with a plaque naming him a “Top Cop” by the National Association of Police Organizations for his courage, bravery, and professionalism while serving the NYPD.
With his days as a police officer in East Harlem behind him and his retirement now in full swing, Vinnie and his wife very were much enjoying the good life at The Villages. A far cry from the hustle and bustle of New York City, The Villages, or “our paradise” as Vinnie liked to call it, provided them with an active and exciting life. With no chance of being killed or maimed by a stray bullet from a gun in the hands of a drug-crazed teenager, he was able to relax and enjoy his job. Life was good for the Espositos.
Vinnie turned south onto Morse Boulevard to continue his trip to The Colony Shopping Center. He thought back to his conversation with neighbor Rex and had to grudgingly admit to himself that his neighbor might have a point. Of the very few crimes that took place in The Villages, the majority of them were a result of a domestic dispute-usually because of an illicit affair by one or both of the partners. Vinnie would heed his gossipy neighbor’s advice and keep an eye on things at the Smith’s. As his former Chief in New York used to say, ‘Good police work starts in your own neighborhood.’