Mac turned his head to each side. I could hear the cracking of his neck. Tension, maybe, from whoever this Antonio guy was? "The only passenger on board was Michael Mahoney."
That name meant nothing to me either. Richie took the opportunity to retrieve the partial cookie he'd stashed and finish it off. His expression worried me, and his words would worry me more if I knew who either of these men mentioned were. The fact that Richie's rosy complexion had transformed to a ghostly white didn't help matters. He asked the question I couldn't. "Michael Mahoney, as in the sole counsel for the Giovanni family?"
Mac nodded. "And he's headed straight for Danger Cove."
CHAPTER SIX
Officer Faria waved good-bye only moments before Tanner made an appearance from the stock room. His arms were filled with cases of beer, and bottles of gin were in his hands. Once he placed the cargo down, he joined me behind the bar. Warmth surrounded me as he pulled me into an embrace. A girl could get used to this. When he lowered his head to the curve of my neck and sniffed, I couldn't help but giggle and pull away. Blatant and public displays of affection while at work violated multiple rules of conduct, I was sure.
"What are you doing?"
He cocked his adorable head to the side and teased, "Is that new perfume you're trying out Ode to Salty Oil or something?"
I laughed. "Close. Maybe Ode to Dirty Martinis. It's our new featured drink. Gin, dry vermouth, bitters, and a little salty olive juice. Topped with a spear of olives, of course."
Tan grabbed a couple olives from the condiment tray and popped them into his mouth. "Of course." He looked around to see everyone was taken care of before returning his gaze to me. I refused to look in the mirror at the back of the bar. No doubt after the morning I'd had, hot mess would be the only way to describe me. He always looked so put together. I, on the other hand…
"Want to fill me in on what's going on?"
"Let me see if Ruby is available to cover."
Once Ruby was tending the bar with my promise to return in just a few minutes, Tan and I headed out back. Abe was busy washing dishes. I needed to tie up this loose end right away. "Abe, I'm sorry I didn't text last night. Things were crazy when I got home. By the time I settled in, I'd forgotten. Forgive me?" No need to fill him, or Tan for that matter, in on the little gift that had been waiting for me.
He pointed a bony finger at me but smiled as he shook it. "Just don't let it happen again, missy."
I snapped to attention and saluted. "Sir, yes sir."
He responded by tossing soap bubbles in my direction. "Go on. Get out of here and enjoy your break." He inclined his head to Tanner. "Good to see you, my boy. Look forward to hearing how school is going."
"Catch you up on our next mutual break. Deal?"
Abe nodded and returned to the dishes. Tanner and I walked out back, and I filled him in on everything, the abridged version, as we took a little walk around the property. When we arrived at the shed, I showed him what had been the crime scene area. The forensics team and police had finished collecting everything they needed. Thankfully, the yellow tape blocking off the area had been removed. "This is where I found him."
Tanner took my hand and squeezed. If I looked at him right now, I might lose it. My emotions were barely held together better than my ponytail today. Instead, I focused on Abe's paint job. Blinking, I moved closer. I pointed to some odd impressions. "What do you think caused that?"
He squinted and narrowed his gaze. "It looks like something bumped up against the paint while it was still wet."
The disturbance resembled the top of two triangles with a squiggly line about a third of the way down the shape. It reminded me of something I would've doodled on my notebook when I was bored in school. "Agreed, but no idea what would cause such a shape, do you?"
Tan pulled me into his arms and held me tight. Yeah, this was better than looking at smudged paint. "Mandi mentioned other things that might be disturbing you when she called. Want to talk about that?"
My nose rubbed against his clean shirt as I shook my head. "Not now. Maybe later."
His lips on the top of my forehead eased the headache just the tiniest bit. Normally I'd crack a joke or lighten the mood to keep things from getting too serious, but it'd been a tough couple of days. "Whenever you're ready," he whispered.
I looked up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, I appreciate that. I better get back. You need to get to work too. Mandi's been pulling double duty with Freddie out today. We'll talk after pizza tonight, okay?"
Before we went back, I snapped a picture with the camera on my phone of the odd shapes in the paint. You never know. It might be nothing. It might be everything. Abe also might take advantage of the warm-up expected later in the week to do some more painting.
Tanner nudged me with his shoulder as we headed in. "You're not planning on playing detective, are you?"
My feigned innocence had no effect on him, but I tried anyway. "Who, me? Never."
Despite the busy crowds and being short-staffed, we finished out the day with no more major incidents or family encounters. To be honest, not seeing Brock or Harmony again left me with mixed feelings. I'd reserved sorting through all of that for later as pizza had been ordered, and I needed to get home before it was delivered.
The chain was still on my bike tonight, but the tire was flat. "You've got to be kidding me."
"What's wrong?" Tanner had refused to leave without me. He was overprotective, but in a cute way…mostly. The app he'd made me download on my phone so we could keep track of each other was both sweet and maybe just a tad stalkerish. Once I learned I had the option to turn the GPS off so he couldn't track me if I didn't want to be found, I'd gone along with his caveman request. Like I said, he's adorable.
"Tire's flat."
"Well, it is an older bike. I bet you haven't taken it in for a tune-up since Hope gave it to you." He studied the tire closer. "I can't find any damage to the tire. Looks like it's just deflated."
His smile as he fussed kept me from a sharp retort about no time for such trivial matters. Now that the bike had issues two days in a row, maybe when the tavern was closed on Monday, I'd tend to this detail. My centi-senses, short for centipede, as I refused to have spidey senses thanks to The Barking Spiders, started a small dance up and down my spine. While not providing proper maintenance to the bike was true, the fact that two nights in a row something had happened, along with the little gift left for me in between, added up to more than just dereliction of maintenance in my book. "I'll add it to the list. Meanwhile, want to give me a ride home?"
Tanner took my hand and walked me to his cherry red Mustang. "Not only will I give you a ride home, we'll stop by my house, and I'll air up your tire for you."
I bridged the distance and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. I really appreciate it, and I will try to get it in for maintenance."
The leather seats hugged my frame and surrounded me in a luxurious embrace. The old-car smell soothed my senses. Maybe Abe had a point about the car. Nah. I loved riding my bike, and Danger Cove really wasn't big enough to justify any other mode of transportation.
The delivery guy was waiting when we arrived. I paid him and breathed a sigh of relief that no more "gifts" were waiting at my door. Minutes later, Mandi and Freddie arrived.
Handing Freddie a napkin and paper plate—yeah, only the best for my friends—I asked, "How you holding up?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "You talk to your mom?"
I did, but nothing she'd said convinced me either way of her innocence or guilt. "She says she was with Brock all last night."
"And you believe her?"
My turn to shrug. "Honestly, I don't know what to believe." The whole revelation about the pictures and letters left me questioning whom I could trust. Gram had been the one person I counted on to be honest with me without fail. I wanted to believe she had a good reason for not sharing she was in contact with my parents. Right now, I just couldn't fathom what that could hav
e been. "But, a promise is a promise, and you can believe I'll keep mine. I'll go to the police station tomorrow morning to tell them about the altercation."
My words relaxed his posture and softened his expression. "Now that's settled. Can we eat? I'm starving. My appetite is back, and I'm looking to make up for lost time."
The boxes were opened, and everyone dug in. I smiled as the melted cheese and gooey goodness quieted everyone long enough to inhale their first bites of pizza. This. This was my family now. My BFF, my pseudo-boyfriend, and the closest I would come to a kid brother. Add in a supreme pizza from Gino's, and you just upped your peace, love, and happiness (or PLH) level ten-fold.
Once we'd finished off at least a half a slice—the boys had polished a whole slice, of course—I turned to Freddie. "Will you tell me what you know about the tension in the band? I've witnessed a few things myself, but not really knowing the players like you do, I don't want to draw the wrong conclusions."
Freddie took a long swig of soda and grabbed another slice before answering. "About three months ago, Donny Z hired Liza to be the new bass player." He arched an eyebrow and cut Tan a look while sporting a frat-boy grin. "For three obvious reasons. Only one of which was her talent playing the guitar."
For his comment, Mandi punched him in the arm. "Did you know that studies show men spend an average of forty-three minutes a day staring at ten different women? When you do the math, that means by the time you're fifty, you will have spent close to a year ogling women."
Freddie laughed. "And that's a bad thing why?" He leaned closer to Mandi. "I wouldn't mind spending all forty-three of my minutes on just one girl."
The throw pillow off my recently acquired couch hit him square in the head. "Focus, Freddie." When he flashed me that Joey smile, I added, "On our discussion. Not on Mandi."
I half expected him to nod and say to her, How you doin'? Instead, he ate another big bite and continued. "She plays a mean bass guitar, but she also plays a mean game of ambition. Her interest in Brock has fired up Lilly's mom, and her desire to flush The Barking Spiders down the toilet and strike out as a duet with Brock has the rest of the band pretty much hating her, too."
"And everyone blamed Donny Z for hiring her?" I asked.
Freddie nodded as he inhaled some more pizza. Maybe I should've ordered three pies instead of two.
"Can you tell me more about your friend, Donny Z?"
Freddie sighed. "You really don't keep up on pop culture or follow public figures, do you?"
Wasn't sure the fedora-wearing manager of a wanna-be-famous rock band constituted a public figure worth following on Twitter, but he was right. I didn't stay up on current stuff, noteworthy or not. "No, not really. Why?"
"Donny Z is really Donald Xavier Giovanni, one of two sons of Chicago mob boss, Antonio Xerxes Giovanni. He pursued the career in music management to distance himself from the family, but at the end of the day, he's still an heir apparent to the throne." His face fell. "Well, was…"
A couple of dots connected. Giovanni was the name Officer Faria had inadvertently shared with me earlier today when he mentioned the attorney heading straight for Danger Cove. Not sure why the attorney would be sent in, but what I knew about crime bosses and the mob, you could put in one of Gram's thimbles and still have room for your thumb. This revelation, however, meant much more to Mandi, if the surprised look on her face was any indication.
"Shut the front door! Are you serious? The Giovanni family is major-famous in the underbelly of mob society. They operate primarily in Chicago."
"Mandi, seriously?" The amount of knowledge—some useful, some not— this girl had amassed in her quarter-of-a-century life was uncanny. Maybe she didn't sleep.
She had the decency to look abashed. "Sorry, but that was really a compliment. He runs a decent-sized crime dynasty. An accomplished businessman…for a criminal." Her voice waned as she realized how ridiculous her statement sounded.
Tanner stated what everyone was thinking. "Do you think it's possible his murder could be tied to mob activity?"
I didn't answer out of respect for Freddie, and maybe even Donny too, but I'd rather think that than believe my mother capable of killing him. Mandi jumped in and saved me from having to find a suitable reply.
"I'm sure our police force hopes it's not mob related."
"Why?" Freddie put his pizza down and looked interested in the answer.
Mandi leaned in, bringing us all in with her. We were huddled around the oversized, black leather ottoman serving as the table for our get-together. "Think about it. If this was a mob hit, there will be retaliation. No way does Giovanni Sr. allow his son to be murdered and not do anything about it."
"She's right," Tanner jumped in. "They may be equipped to handle something like this in the big cities like New York, Chicago, or maybe even Seattle. But Danger Cove?"
Freddie's posture had straightened, excitement ebbing from every limb. "They'll send someone in. Someone who will make sure the guilty party will pay."
Faria and Mac's conversation from earlier today echoed in my head. I looked at each of my friends before sharing. "They already have."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mandi's blue eyes sparkled at my statement before her eyelids closed and she began processing. I knew this because we'd spent a lot of time together over the past six months or so. I'd learned her Jedi ways. After a moment, she opened her eyes and narrowed her gaze directly at me. "You eavesdropped on Officer Faria and his friend's conversation, didn't you?"
I crossed my arms but avoided looking directly at her. "Not technically. They were speaking loud enough for me to hear them. I was just doing my job behind the bar."
Freddie interrupted Mandi before she could further lecture me. Another reason to like him. "Forget about that. She overheard. Big deal. Tell us what you know, Lilly."
"Well…if you're sure you want to hear the ill-gotten information." The corners of my mouth twitched into a smile, and I caught Mandi rolling her eyes out of the corner of my gaze.
"Of course we want to know." She tossed the pillow I'd hit Freddie with earlier at me. "Just reminding you that listening to other people's conversation isn't polite."
BFF and manners police. She was a two-for-one deal. "Duly noted. Can I share my ill-mannered information now?"
"Yes." They all answered in unison, which made me smile.
"Officer Faria's friend, Mac, must work at the Seattle Airport. He shared that a private plane landed earlier today, and Michael Mahoney was the sole passenger on board."
"Who's Michael Mahoney?" Tanner asked as he slid closer to me. I took his hand. Hey, I hadn't seen him for over a week. I'd missed him. Plus, I was emotionally taxed between parents, dead people, and police.
"Counsel of record for the Giovanni crime family, from what I learned."
Freddie's complexion paled from olive to a sickly white. About that time, his phone sounded for a text message alert. He checked it and then grabbed his coat. "It's Liza. She's upset about Donny. I gotta run. Thanks for the pizza, Lilly. See you at work tomorrow."
A moment later he was gone.
I had to ask. "What was that all about? I know he appreciated her twins, but I didn't realize they were that tight."
Tanner shrugged. "Don't ask me. You both spend more time with him than I do."
My gaze drifted to Mandi. She knew him better than me, as they worked side by side out in the dining room. "I don't know, but I'll try to find out."
With Mandi on the case, I knew if there was information to be had, she would find it. "Thanks, Mandi. I'm gonna play Mom and text him. I want to make sure he makes it home okay. Something about Liza doesn't add up. I don't know what, but there's something."
I stood and pulled my phone from my back pocket. The slip of paper I'd found at the shed fell to the couch.
Tan grabbed it. "What's this? Was someone passing you notes in class?"
Mandi laughed. "You're the only goofball who would pass her a note."
A pillow hurled in her direction again, this time courtesy of Tan. Made me wonder if that was how they'd come to be named "throw" pillows. "Would you two stop? My pillows will have to be replaced if you keep that up."
They both grabbed their respective pillows and held them on their laps. "Sorry, Mom." Their bodies vibrated with the suppressed laughter. Hopeless, that was what they were.
I texted Freddie asking him to let me know he made it home okay after his visit with Liza. Grabbing the paper from Tan, I plopped down beside him on the couch and opened my potential treasure—or junk—either was possible.
Mandi moved over to sit beside me. Her curiosity might be worse than mine. I liked that about her. "What is it?" She craned her neck to see the contents as I placed the paper on the ottoman.
"Patience, please," I teased.
She moved closer. "Webster's defines patience as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. As I am neither angry nor upset, I'm meeting all the necessary requirements."
Laughter bubbled in my chest as Miss Dictionary shared her knowledge with us. "How do you quote definitions? Don't you sleep?"
Mandi's face blushed red, almost matching her hair but not quite. "Mom fusses at me all the time for not being patient. I looked it up and memorized the definition so I had a return argument."
Her admission made me smile. I could just imagine her and her mother engaging in the debate. "Remind me to never argue with you. Now let's see what this is." We all leaned forward to see the contents. On the paper was a string of letters, dashes, and numbers:
A100-M230-P000
K000-H500-24-H620
"Any guesses?" I looked between Tanner and Mandi.
"Where did you find the paper? Maybe some context will help. Could be bank account numbers?" Tanner offered.
I'd rather avoid telling them where I found the paper. They wouldn't be pleased with me, even if I had just fed them the best pizza around. "Maybe a Swiss or foreign bank account? Looks more like a super-secret spy code to me. Not anything I studied in high school, that's for sure." I looked to Mandi. "Any ideas?"
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