It was obvious that Richard agreed because he got up and began turning off the lights. Mick picked up the coffee cups, putting them in the kitchen sink, and then they headed upstairs.
* * * *
Much to Mick’s relief, the night was uneventful, if he didn’t count their making love—and quite successfully they agreed when they finished. Richard woke him when it was his turn for what Shorty had called ‘sentry duty’, saying, “All quiet. I almost fell asleep on the sofa.”
Mick spent the next three hours pacing the living room, waiting for any sound that said someone was trying to break-in. At four, he went up to wake Shorty and then returned to bed.
When they all convened for breakfast around seven-thirty Monday morning, Shorty declared that standing guard was more boring than sitting on the street panhandling, which got laughs from Mick and Richard. “I still think one of us should be here today,” he said as they ate. “You’re out, Mick, because you have to be at the club, and so’s Richard, so…” He looked hopefully them.
“We already discussed it,” Mick replied. “Besides, I need your moral support.”
“There is one thing we can do,” Richard said. “I thought about it last night. I kept my old phone when I got my new one, in case of emergencies. It had a decent camera so if we hide it someplace where it can see the stairs and leave it on, it should catch the intruder when he comes back down.”
“Is it charged?” Mick asked.
“Fuck. I forgot about that. Okay, same thing, only we use this.” He took his cell from his pocket. “I think I can live without it for one day.”
Mick grinned. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t have much choice if we’re going to capture him wandering around the house. Now, where to hide it.”
“Where he won’t be moving something to look for the box,” Mick replied as he walked into the living room with Richard and Shorty right behind him. “The one thing we know for sure is he’ll go upstairs to check the second floor. If we can set the phone facing the stairs…”
Shorty trotted up the stairs to the window on the landing and pulled back the curtains. “How about here?” He pointed to the top of the lower casement. “Leave the curtains open a crack and we should be good.”
It took trial-and-error to get it set up, but they succeeded. Richard turned the phone on to record a video, stepped back to make certain it was virtually invisible behind the curtains, and gave them a thumbs-up.
“Now, I need to get to work,” Richard said when they were back in the living room. “I’ll see you this evening.” He wrapped his arms around Mick and kissed him.
After they broke apart, Shorty grinned. “Where’s my kiss?”
“Find yourself a woman and maybe you’ll get one, too,” Richard retorted with a laugh.
“In my dreams,” Shorty muttered as Richard took out his keys and then gave Mick another quick kiss before leaving.
It wasn’t until he heard Richard’s car drive away that Mick realized he and Shorty would have to find another way to get to the club—and he didn’t have a phone to call a cab. He wasn’t about to disturb the set-up for the one in the landing window.
“I guess we hoof it,” Shorty said when Mick explained the problem.
Mick rolled his eyes, muttering “Five miles?” as he went into the office and turned on the computer. A couple of minutes later he knew which busses they could take, with the stop for one of them only three blocks from the house.
They washed the breakfast dishes, Mick changed from the jeans he was wearing into slacks and a better shirt.
When Shorty pointed out that it might be a good idea if he didn’t wear the same shirt he had on yesterday, Mick found him another short-sleeved one. Then, they were ready to leave. At the last minute, Mick decided to open a basement window a couple of inches, telling Shorty, “I’d rather not come home to find out he broke one to get in.”
“You sure he won’t smell a set-up?”
“It’s next to the dryer, so with luck he’ll think it was left open by mistake or to let out the heat.”
Shorty snorted, but didn’t pursue it any further.
* * * *
Mick spent the first two hours at the club, after it opened at eleven, paying bills and, once he found the inventory list for the bar, ordering what they needed from the various vendors to restock.
Apparently Shorty had decided to play substitute host, because when Mick eventually went into the main room to see how things were faring, he found his friend meeting-and-greeting customers, entertaining them as he escorted them to empty tables.
He’s a natural. Who knew? In a way, Mick had known. Shorty had a certain charm about him, even in the worst situations, that helped relieve tensions. And I should know. He kept me sane when I hadn’t a clue who I was or why I’d ended up in that alley. The question is, would he accept a job as the official host if I offered it to him? Hiring him had been something he and Richard had talked about. Of course he’s damned independent and might not want to be tied down, but it would be worth asking when the time comes.
Mick stopped at the bar to get a glass of seltzer with a twist before walking through the club to make certain everyone was enjoying themselves. Being a Monday, ‘everyone’ consisted of a couple dozen men he presumed came in to enjoy some downtime before going to their evening jobs. A week ago I’d have known for certain. Now? He mentally shrugged as he continued his perambulation of the front of the club and the back room, chatting with a few of the customers along the way.
As he walked past his office, he heard the phone ring and hurried inside, not wanting to miss whoever was calling. A glance at the Caller ID as he picked up the cordless phone’s handset made him frown in puzzlement. It said ‘Richard Wolfe’ with the number of his cell.
Before he could say more than “Mick, here,” a man whose voice sounded vaguely familiar, even though Mick suspected he was trying to disguise it, said, “That was a cute trick, Mick, but I’m not stupid. The open window when I know you have a small fortune hidden somewhere in your house? Uh-uh. That had to be a set-up. So while I was searching, I happened on a cell phone hidden…well, you know where. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing I found of any value, since the box was empty.”
Mick gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he kept the anger he felt from coloring his words as he replied sarcastically, “How would you know, since I’ve got the key?”
“I pried it open with a screwdriver I found on the workbench in the basement. I was pretty sure it was empty, anyway, by the weight.” The man paused. “Where’s the money?”
“Do you honestly think I’ll tell you?”
“If you don’t want to end up in another alley, and this time I’ll make damned good and sure you’re dead.”
Taking a stab in the dark, Mick retorted, “I don’t think your boss would like that. You kill me, you’ll never find it.”
“You’re not the only one who knows. I take care of you and go after lover boy. My boss doesn’t give a damn who gets hurt as long as sh…he gets it back.”
She? He almost said she. A name came to him from the dim recesses of his lost memories. It can’t be, can it? Not her.
Playing for time, Mick replied, “I won’t tell you where it is, but I’ll show you.”
“Yeah, right. Do you think I’m that stupid?”
“Hey, your words, not mine, and twice.” Mick heard the office door open, turned, and saw Shorty standing there. He put a finger to his lips, gesturing for Shorty to close the door, before saying to the man on the phone, “How much of the loot are you getting for trying to murder me?”
“None of your business,” the man growled. “Where the hell is it?”
“Well hidden.” Taking a deep breath, hoping he had guessed right, Mick said, “Tell Celeste I’ll give it to her, and only her. She can get in touch with me here to set the place and time.”
It took so long for the man to reply, Mick wondered if he’d hung up.
Finally he said, “I’ll relay the message.” Then—he did hang up.
“Who’s Celeste?” Shorty asked when Mick put the phone back on the base.
“Trenton’s wife.”
“So your brother is involved in this whatever this is?”
“I…” Mick shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He recalled his brother’s reaction when he’d given him a modified version of the ‘mugging’. “Sure, he seemed relieved I didn’t remember my attacker, but he’s no fool. If he wasn’t involved but was afraid it wasn’t a random mugging, he knew I would figure he was behind it if I had remembered who attacked me. Make sense?”
“Does,” Shorty replied. “Not sure you’re right, but it’s logical.”
“I’m not sure I’m right, either, but I hope I am. He is my brother. I hate the idea he could be involved in something like drugs or blackmail. Celeste, on the other hand…”
Shorty shot him an amused look. “Not your favorite person?”
“Quite honestly, I have no idea. But since I’m not too surprised it is her, I’d say not.”
“Now we wait for a phone call?”
“Or another attack,” Mick replied sardonically as he picked up the phone. “Damn, I don’t know Richard’s work number, or which bank he works for, as far as that goes.”
“Do you have an address book on the computer?” Shorty asked.
“Yes. Duh.” Mick found it, and Richard’s work phone number. When he called, he was put on hold momentarily.
Then, Richard answered, saying, “I’ve only got a minute. What’s up?”
“When do you take lunch?” Mick replied.
“An hour ago?” Richard chuckled.
“Okay, that was a stupid question. I got a phone call from our man. He’s not happy. So, when you get off work come here, okay?”
Richard audibly sucked in a breath. “Will do. Did he threaten you? Damn, I have customers.”
“I’ll let you go. Be careful coming over here.”
“Guess that answers that question. I’ll see you later.” Richard lowered his voice. “Love you.”
“Love you back,” Mick replied and they hung up.
“Now what?” Shorty asked.
“We carry on as usual, I guess. Everyone who’s supposed to be working today is present and accounted for, so our man isn’t one of the day people. Of course he might not work here. He could be someone from The Den.”
“Or he could be an outsider,” Shorty pointed out. “What are the chances Celeste would know the combination to the safe?”
“She’s married to my brother, so I’d say the odds are good that she does, or could have found out. But why use The Rainbow for her…assignation?”
Shorty frowned, and then nodded. “If it is blackmail, then the target either works here, or is a regular. My guess is, they’re a customer. I don’t think you pay your people the kind of money we found in the box.”
“Nope. So, he’s a regular, either here or at The Den, but she doesn’t want to involve Trenton by meeting them there. But why either place?”
Shorty snapped his fingers. “Not blackmail. Drugs. Think about it, Mick. No, don’t. Not now. We’ll wait for Richard because he knows her and we don’t.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Okay, off the cuff. We know Trenton isn’t happy that your dad turned the clubs over to you. My bet would be she isn’t, either. So she decides to frame you by making it seem that you’re dealing drugs out of the club.”
“That doesn’t work,” Mick said. “The box held cash, not drugs.”
“Good point. Fuck, I don’t know.”
“Me neither, so we’ll do like you said and wait for Richard to get here.”
Chapter 8
When Richard arrived at the club at six-thirty-five, Mick was talking to one of the bartenders and Shorty was chatting up a couple of customers at one of the banquettes. Crossing to the bar, Richard tapped Mick’s shoulder to let him know he was there.
“I’ll meet you in your office,” he said when he had Mick’s attention.
“Give me five,” Mick replied before returning to his conversation with the bartender.
Shorty must have seen him, because he was right behind Richard when he entered the office. “Any trouble on your way over?” he asked.
“Nope. Somehow I don’t think our man would attack me in broad daylight, if that’s what he’s got in mind.”
“He wants the money,” Shorty said. “Or, more to the point, we think Celeste does.”
“Are you shitting me?”
Shorty told him about the phone call from the man, and his slip of the tongue. By the time he’d finished, Mick had joined them.
“You think Celeste is behind this?” Richard said.
“She’s the only ‘she’ I can think of,” Mick replied. “Yeah, Trenton’s got waitresses working at The Den, but I don’t see how one of them would know the combination to The Rainbow’s safe.”
“Good point.” Richard took a seat by the desk, Mick settled in his chair behind it, and Shorty pulled over another chair for himself. “That brings up a lot of questions. Why was Celeste here? How did she get in without you knowing it? How come she’s got the combination?”
“The last two are easy to answer,” Mick replied. “She’s Trenton’s wife, and he has keys and presumably knows how to open the safe.”
“I think that’s a given,” Richard said. “Just like you undoubtedly know the combination to The Den’s safe, even if you don’t remember it.”
“What I can’t figure out,” Mick continued, “is what she was up to.”
“She doesn’t like you,” Richard said. “Or, I guess I should say, according to you she doesn’t and hasn’t since you took over from your father. She’s not all that happy I’m in your life, either, giving you moral support against them.”
Mick pressed his fingertips together, tapping them against his lips as he looked at Richard. “Shorty thinks it has something to do with drugs and framing me, somehow, but the box was full of cash.”
Richard thought about it. “Okay, what if…You said you heard someone say, ‘This should cover it,’ and then the box changed hands, Mick, but you didn’t see who took it. She’s giving it to the man; he’s got the drugs to give to her so she can hide them in the club, but then the third person sees you listening to what’s happening and knocks you out.”
“Yeah,” Shorty said, apparently getting where Richard was going with that. “They have to deal with you, Mick, so she takes the box back, stashing it in the safe, while the two drug dealers drag your ass out of here.”
“Where are the drugs?” Mick asked.
“Maybe in the one guy’s car?” Shorty replied. “He’d want to be sure she wasn’t giving him cut-up newspaper instead of cash before he handed them over, so he stashed them there.”
Richard nodded. “Without them, there’s nothing she can do. Who knows, maybe she tells them to dump you somewhere and make it look like someone hit you too hard during a mugging. She would have wanted you dead because she didn’t know if you saw her and the other guy, and with you out of the picture, it would have bought her time to cover her tracks.”
“It all fits together,” Mick replied. He glanced at Shorty. “You were right. We needed his insight.”
Richard arched an eyebrow. “I’m glad you have that much faith in my cognitive abilities, Shorty.”
“If you mean I know you’re smart, yeah, I do. Three minds and all that.”
“Uh-huh.” Richard rolled his eyes. “Okay, if we’re right, and I’m guessing we are, we have to prove she was behind everything.”
Mick frowned. “Why didn’t she come back to get the box?”
“She might have been afraid someone would see her,” Richard suggested. “Say she borrowed Trenton’s keys, and I use the term borrowed loosely, then returned them without his knowing. She might not have been able to get her hands on them again to come in after closing to get it, after you disappear
ed.”
“That makes sense. There would be no reason for her to be here during the day unless she was with Trenton. If she tried without him, like saying he sent her to pick up something, I’m sure someone would have mentioned it to Ed; or me now that I’m back.”
“Mrs. High-and-Mighty couldn’t have pulled off his sending her and made anyone believe her,” Richard replied dryly. “She’s arm candy, not his gofer.”
“I still can’t figure out what her motive was, presuming we’re right about her,” Mick said.
“Money. Sure, there was a lot of it in the box, but nothing compared to what Trenton would bring in if he owned the clubs.”
Mick cocked his head in question. “You’re saying I’m raking in the dough?”
“You’re not a millionaire, but you make enough to keep you quite comfortable. I told you that a while ago. On the other hand, you should see their house. Your sister-in-law has expensive tastes. Okay, you have seen it.”
“I’m sure, though obviously I don’t remember it.”
“As I keep telling you, give it time,” Richard replied, giving his arm a pat. “Anyway, if she thought getting you out of the picture would improve their lot, I can see her setting it up to make it seem as if you were dealing out of the club. You get arrested, and you know she’d make sure that happened, and Trenton takes over ownership of both clubs.”
“Now, as you said, we have to prove it.”
“According to Shorty, you told the guy who called you that you wanted him to give her a message that she should set a time and place for a meeting and let you know when and where.”
“Yep. So far she hasn’t gotten in touch.”
“Probably trying to figure out somewhere safe to dust you,” Shorty said sardonically.
“Then she’d never get the money,” Mick replied.
“She would, if she made it clear that you bringing it with you to a meeting was part of the deal,” Richard pointed out.
The corner of Mick’s lip curled up. “How stupid does she think I am?”
“This is Celeste we’re talking about.”
Hawk and Wolfe: A Life Interrupted Page 9