The Devil's Due

by Ali Vali

  “They’ll be okay, Boss,” Sabana said and herded the two out the door.

  “For the sake of my sanity, let’s hope so. Thank you for calling and getting us organized so fast when that happened to Hannah,” she said softly. “I haven’t had a chance to say that.”

  “I was glad to help.”

  She entered the kitchen, and Merrick was holding the baby and making faces, which, considering who she was, made it all the more humorous. Everyone had a soft side when it came to babies and small children. “Taylor Kennison’s paying us a visit today.”

  “Why?” Merrick said, not stopping her attempt to entertain the baby.

  “To see how well Lucy has laid the groundwork for her to waltz in here would be my guess.”

  “Or she could simply be a woman going through a bad divorce and needing a shoulder to cry on,” Emma said when she entered in jeans and a loose-fitting shirt.

  “I might have to side with Cain on this one, Boss,” Merrick said and frowned a bit when Carmen took the baby back, but it looked like she was leaving to change him. “I’ve looked everywhere to find a Taylor Kennison with a child and bad husband that fits this criteria. Muriel followed that up with a search of her own.”

  “I found a couple in north Louisiana, but the number and names of their children are wrong,” Katlin said. “Today, if you can try to fit in some questions people usually ask when trying to get to know someone, we might have more to go on. I also asked Finley to check it out as well to see if she had any better luck.”

  “Miss Emma, there’s a lady here to see you,” one of the maids said.

  “Thanks. Can you show her to the den for me?” Emma held her hand out to Cain and glanced over her shoulder to Carmen coming back in. “We might need to borrow him for a minute, abuela.” Emma used the Spanish word for grandmother, and Carmen’s eyes grew glassy with tears. “I kept trying to think of something the kids could call you that holds more meaning than Miss Carmen, so I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Oh, Miss Emma, I love it.”

  Emma kissed her cheek as Cain took the baby from her and headed to meet their mystery woman. “Is it just us, or does this weird stuff happen to everyone?” Emma asked as they walked to the back of the house.

  “Unless everyone has a reward for information leading to my arrest, then I’d go with no.”

  “Oh,” the woman said, standing up when they arrived. “I didn’t think you’d both be here.”

  “The baby was fussy this morning, so I can’t get rid of her when that happens.” Emma walked up and held her hand out. “Hi. We met briefly at school, but I’m Emma Casey, and this is my wife Cain.”

  “I feel like I know you already because Lucy talks about you so much. Since she spends a lot of time with Hannah, I thought I should come and introduce myself and thank you for all the kindness you’ve shown her. I’m sure you know things haven’t been rosy at home.”

  “Lucy’s a pleasure to have around and Hannah loves her, so we’re glad to help,” Cain said, keeping her distance to put the woman at ease. “I’m hoping things are getting better for you.”

  “Once Drew, my husband I mean, realizes it’s over, I’m sure things will be fine.”

  It surprised Emma that this total stranger would be so forthcoming, but it could also make this easier. “I’m sure he’ll see reason once he realizes you’re serious about whatever you want.”

  “I don’t want to bore you, but this had been long in coming,” Taylor said, sighing for added emphasis.

  When she lowered her head, Emma glanced at Cain, cocked her own head toward the door, and smiled. “I think this one needs a new diaper, so it was nice meeting you.”

  “Likewise,” Taylor said in a tone that sounded like she had recovered from the emotional outbreak. “She seems devoted,” Taylor said as Cain walked out with the baby cradled in her arms.

  Emma watched Cain go and nodded. “She’s a definite keeper.” She plastered on a smile, and her impression so far was that this woman was full of shit. “Can I get you anything?”

  “No, I’m fine but not fine, you know.”

  “I do, and if you want I’ll be happy to talk to you about it. Drew, right?”

  “Yeah, that bastard.” Taylor certainly sounded like a woman scorned. “He cheats on me with his secretary and then doesn’t want me to leave him. Can you believe that?”

  “Maybe he’s come to see his mistake,” Emma said, lifting her hands momentarily. “Where does he work?”

  “Why?” Taylor went from mad wife to suspicious in a flash.

  “If it’s one of the big companies, it’d be hard to fire this woman without letting him go too. Getting fired might put you all in a tight spot if he’s still seeing her on a daily basis.”

  “He works for Shell, so it’s like the old boys club. He’s probably getting an award for what he did, but I’m not going to forgive that since I’m sure he’ll do it again.”

  “Do you work?”

  “My, you’re full of questions, aren’t you?” Taylor stood up and walked to the fireplace to study the pictures along the mantel.

  Taylor stopped at the family portrait they’d taken at the wedding and took it down to look at it. Cain and the kids looked so happy, Emma smiled just thinking about it. Of all the ones they’d taken it was her favorite.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was being nosy, Taylor. I’m glad you came so we could discuss Lucy. She and Hannah do like spending time together, and we don’t mind having her, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t have any problems with that.”

  “Sorry. I guess I’m on edge from everything. I work for an attorney downtown, but only part time, and I simply want Lucy to be happy and away from both of us right now. You and Cain have been really nice to have her over so much.”

  “Like Cain said, she’s a beautiful child and our Hannah loves her, so it’s no problem.”

  “Great. I have to go. Work and all, you know.” Taylor laughed nervously and ran out of the house like Emma had threatened her with a loaded shotgun.

  “That was damn bizarre,” she said, going back to the picture and picking it up. She turned it around and studied the back. If you weren’t looking for it, the extremely small device would’ve blended perfectly with the black backing. “Wasn’t that nice for her to come over,” Emma said when Cain came back in and opened her mouth to say something. “She’s having a rough time.” She pointed to what she’d found.

  “I hope you let her know we’ll be happy to help out however we can. Let’s go finish breakfast, though. Carmen’s sending someone in here to clean.”

  “The place is spotless so they can skip it.” She followed Cain to her office and slammed the door. “I didn’t want to believe you were right about them using Hannah.”

  “I’m not sure it’s who you think it is, but let’s make sure.”

  “What’s your idea?”

  Cain put her arms around her and rocked her gently, as if to calm her. “You’re going to continue to be the devoted friend she obviously wants, we’re going to let them listen to Hannah sing at the top of her lungs in there, all while we double back and sneak up on them.”

  “Can you explain that so that I understand?”

  “We need to know exactly who they are before we do anything, but I truly think our bozos outside have nothing to do with this. That means someone else is pulling the strings, and I’m interested in the puppet master. Once I know that, it’ll be easier to whittle them a new head.”

  *

  Carol stared at the faucet on the sink and couldn’t believe it was so close, she was so thirsty, yet she couldn’t get anything to drink. She had no idea how long she’d been in here, but her whole body hurt from the awkward position Elton had left her in. “Please, someone help me,” she said, but she was hoarse from screaming.

  The only way she was getting out of here was to break the pipe Elton had chained her to so she started pulling, but the cuffs cut deep into her wrists. The pain prevente
d her from doing it for very long, and she figured she’d pass out before she could rip the plumbing apart.

  She tried one more time and was grunting through the pain to try to maintain the pressure longer when the door opened. The possibility that Elton had come back to kill her made her panic and tug harder. When they’d first met she’d figured him for a man of principle who understood her plight, but she guessed he couldn’t let her tell anyone what he’d done. Killing her was his only option.

  “Hello,” a woman said with what sounded like a Spanish accent. “Housekeeping.”

  “In here, hurry, please,” she screamed, hoping the woman understood her. “Please help me.”

  “You okay in there?” The woman sounded as if she’d come closer. “You want me leave.”

  “No, please help me,” she yelled, and finally the door opened and it wasn’t Elton. “Call the police.”

  “Dios mío,” the woman said and took her radio out. She said a lot of things in Spanish and took one of the cups on the counter and helped her drink something. “People coming.”

  “Don’t leave me,” she said, starting to cry. The relief of all this being over was overwhelming her. It was time for her to give up for now and go home. “Please don’t go,” she said as the woman cleaned her face with a warm face towel.

  “You okay, lady, you okay,” the maid said and only moved when more people arrived.

  “What happened?” a middle-aged man asked when he arrived and introduced himself as the manager.

  Carol gazed up at him and could only come up with one name. “Cain Casey did this. She tried to kill me.”

  The police behind him had arrived in time to hear her say it, and she tried hard not to smile. Elton Newsome could go straight to hell. If you wanted something, you had to do it yourself.

  “Please don’t let her kill me,” she said, slumping forward as if she were too weak to sit up. “Cain Casey did this.”

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Judice came down the concourse at the airport and halfway expected to see Fiona waiting on her like she had the first time she’d come after such a long absence from the place she’d been born and raised. This time, though, she thought she recognized the tall man usually with Cain standing on the other side of the security stand. If Cain planned to get rid of her, she’d made it plenty easy by leaving home with no word to anyone as to where she was going.

  “Welcome, ma’am,” he said, taking her bag and pointing to his left. “I’ve got the car waiting right outside unless you checked something.”

  “That’s it. I wasn’t really planning to stay long.” She walked away, glancing over at him every few steps. “I’m sorry I don’t recall your name.”

  “Lou Romano, ma’am.”

  He was tall, solid, and very good-looking in a dark, rugged kind of way. “Do you think I’ll get to see Cain this morning?”

  “She has someone at the house, but I’m sure as soon as she’s free she’ll come by and talk to you.” He got in the front, leaving her the backseat as if to emphasize how truly alone she was in all this.

  It took less than twenty minutes to drive into the Piquant’s grand entrance, and the bellman took care of her bag as Lou gave her a set of keys. “He’ll take you up, but if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me directly. Cain wanted this to be as easy and stress-free as possible for you.” He handed over a card with his name and number on it.

  “Thanks, Mr. Romano. I appreciate you getting me here.”

  “Please, ma’am, call me Lou.” He smiled and then was gone.

  Upstairs, a breakfast tray arrived right after the bellman placed her bag on the stand, and only then did she realize it’d been a while since she’d eaten. Whoever had taken care of the food had ordered plenty, and on the side lay a handwritten note.

  Thank you for coming and for agreeing to meet with me. I’d imagine that trust isn’t something you blindly give any more than I do, so I’ll try not to disappoint you.

  I shouldn’t be too long, but please enjoy the breakfast and try to spend some time thinking of who might be responsible for your current predicament. Perhaps together we can figure it out so Fiona will be safe from what could happen.

  Cain

  That was the problem. She accounted for the money Colin and Salvatore made, then provided instructions as to what to do with it, but had no authority to move, touch, or withdraw any herself. It wasn’t a trust issue on Colin or Salvatore’s part, but because she’d never wanted to face anything like this. This system she’d put in place was as foolproof as she could make it to protect her from false accusations. Colin especially couldn’t have forgotten that.

  Her ringing phone stopped her train of thought, and she took a deep breath to calm her nervousness when she saw it was Fiona. “Hello, sweetheart.”

  “Hey, where are you? I tried calling you all last night and this morning. I was getting worried.”

  “I was dead tired so I must’ve not heard your call last night, and I’ve been running errands all morning and forgot my phone. Is something wrong?”

  “No. I just wanted to tell you about the assignment I got. You’ll never guess who the head of detectives has me investigating.”

  She smiled at Fiona’s enthusiasm for a job no one in her family would’ve thought to have. “Not Cain Casey, right?”

  “Actually it’s her mother-in-law. The crazy woman tried to kidnap Cain’s little girl and hurt her in the process. Not in a bad way but slapped her hard enough to scratch her face. I’m on my way to some hotel in the French Quarter where the maid found her handcuffed to the bathroom sink.” A horn blew in the background and Judice grimaced.

  “Try to get there in one piece and call me when you’re done. For once that job of yours sounds like the makings of a good book.”

  “Thanks, Mama, and you’re sure you’re okay?”

  “I am now that I got to hear your voice. Be careful and I love you.” She hung up and thought about what her daughter had reported. “Hell, I should check out the plumbing in the bathroom and see how easy it would be to escape from if that’s what she has in mind for me.”

  *

  “Where have you been?” Marisol pushed her way into Nicolette’s apartment.

  “Working,” Nicolette said in as stern a tone as she could muster, since Marisol had awoken her from a dead sleep. “I’m here, but we still own a winery, remember?”

  “When I call I expect you to answer. It’s been more than a day.”

  “Look, you don’t own me and I don’t work for you, so cut the crap.” She tied her robe tighter, got her Italian coffeepot down, and filled it with water and espresso. “That may be what you’re used to, but I’m not your whore or groupie.”

  “It could be that I was worried about you.” Marisol sat on one of the stools and watched her every move.

  She snorted and lit the stove. “The way you came in is the way you show concern? If it is, your technique needs lots of work.” No way she had time for this today. Freddie had spent the night before explaining how some dead woman who owned the bar at the Hilton had brought in drugs, and it was genius.

  Pouring wine out of their bottles and filling them with liquefied cocaine would allow them to buy all the land her father wanted for planting. With enough money they could get back to simply making wine, and she could leave animals like this behind.

  “My father met with Casey, and she told him who stole his drugs. It was great that Tracy interrupted while Cain was talking and basically called her a liar. One more stunt like that, and Tracy will be fertilizing some field somewhere.” Marisol picked a stem of grapes from the bunch in the bowl close to her and started eating. “The one thing my father hates is someone who can’t keep their mouth shut in front of someone like Casey.”

  “Who ripped your father off?”

  “Some lowlife who thinks he’s a big shot.”

  “What’s his name?” The thought of spending a lifetime with this woman made her contemplate tak
ing her own life, if it came to that.

  “Nunzio Luca. The dumbass didn’t even bother to throw my father’s marked bags away.”

  “How’d Cain find out?”

  “The cops were all over the place, and some friend of hers called and told her. She called my father so he wouldn’t think it was her and kill her ass.”

  Talking with your mouth full of grapes was disgusting, but Nicolette wanted to hear more. “So you can’t get it back?”

  “Not unless you know of a way to break into the police station.”

  “So what now? What does this do to our deal?” She had to play the part of the wounded business partner. “My father has invested plenty of our money and time because your father said he could deliver.”

  “Are you seriously questioning what we can do for you and your father? If we said we could do it, we’re going to do it, so don’t mention that again.” Marisol slammed her hand down and smashed a few grapes on her marble counter. “We have enough problems, and I don’t need you telling anyone we can’t keep our word.”

  “I’m not asking because I’m trying to bring you down. I need to know our money is safe. You’d be doing the same thing if it was you and your family’s business at stake.” She poured coffee into two small cups and added plenty of sugar to hers. “Do you think I need to meet with Hector?”

  “Are you crazy?” Marisol slammed her hand down again. “You talk to him, and he’ll know I told you shit I wasn’t supposed to. I did, though, because I trust you.”

  “Okay, but you have to promise that you’ll let me know if I have anything to worry about. I’m not familiar with all this since wine really is our business.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you, and you won’t lose anything.”

  “I have no choice but to trust you now,” she said, and Marisol got up and left without another word. “Luce is looking better these days,” she said when the front door slammed closed.

  *