Deadly Dirty Martinis

by Nicole Leiren

  Clara smiled and nodded. "That's a great idea. When are you wanting to have the meal?"

  "I'm going to see if I can talk the band into staying long enough to have an early holiday meal with us. We'll close between lunch and dinner tomorrow. Everyone should be home prepping their own meals. A couple hours won't hurt."

  Clara and Tara both looked a little worried about my plan.

  "Don't worry. I'll take full responsibility."

  This appeased both of them, if the relief on their faces were any indication. "You two don't have to stay or do anything. You can have that time off to be with your family if you want."

  "Are you kidding? Staying here means—" Clara started.

  "—we get two meals and actually get to help prepare one. Mother is such a kitchen nazi," Tara finished with a grin.

  Who would've guessed that Clara and Tara didn't get to do any cooking when at their parents' house? "Fantastic. I need to get out there and rescue Tan. If you get any spare time, can you please work on the menu and shopping list? Abe, see me to give you the money before you go. Thanks, everyone."

  They all nodded and got to work. Hope was right—we had a great team. Hope. I'd need to explain what I was doing and why to her. Maybe email was the best in this case. Since she had a heart for justice and investigation, I hoped she'd understand and not fire me. I brought Tan, Mandi, and Freddie up to speed and asked them to reach out to their families at the earliest convenience to see if they would join us tomorrow. Even if I couldn't persuade the band to stay, it would be a nice meal together with my adopted families.

  Once I made sure everyone was taken care of, I pulled out my cell and called the Ocean View Bed & Breakfast. Bree answered.

  "Hi. How's everything going? Uncle Eddie behaving today?"

  She laughed. "When does he ever behave? I'm just glad when his antics don't blow something up or tear something down. How are you doing? I overheard the band talking about leaving."

  Emotion welled up in my throat, and I had to swallow to keep control. Now was the time for action. Later, I would cater to my depressed PLH factor. "That's why I was calling. I'm going to try to get one more night out of them for you. Is Brock around?" I'd thought about asking Harmony but figured my chances were better with Brock. Harmony was blinded by her all-consuming love for him. From what I'd learned of my father, he was a fairly practical man. I intended to appeal to his logical side.

  "Yeah, let me grab him. Hold on a minute, okay?"

  "Okay." I waited for about two before he finally came on the phone.

  He cleared his throat. "Hi, Lilly. Is everything okay?"

  Awww, did I detect a bit of fatherly concern? Time to engage. I sniffed a little for effect, though it really wasn't far from the truth. "No, everything isn't okay. Harmony told me everyone is leaving. I'm upset about that."

  He sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

  "I want you to stay one more day, have an early Thanksgiving lunch with my friends and me, and then you can leave. We'll go back to pretending the other doesn't exist, just like you want."

  "That's not what I want." His normally calm demeanor escalated into frustration.

  "I'm just calling it like I see it. You and Harmony have been okay without me for the first decades of my life. I'm sure you'll survive the next ones as well. Maybe we can have quarter-century reunions or something?" Admittedly, the last part was sarcastic and not part of my original plan. I hoped it didn't derail the whole train.

  "Look. Your mother is very upset about leaving. She's barely spoken two words to me since we got to the hotel. She doesn't want to go back to the way things were, but you know we can't stay in one place and play family. That's just not who we are."

  "Agreed. I don't need you to be in my backyard. I just want you to be in my life. And"—time to move in for the prize—"I would love to have a Thanksgiving meal tomorrow between our lunch and dinner rush with you and your band family. We got a shipment of extra turkeys in. Fate has spoken."

  His laughter lifted my descending mood. "Okay. I'll talk to the band. We'll need to leave after the meal. I'm sure you can appreciate there are a lot of details to be worked out, including finding a new manager."

  Yes. I fought to contain my excitement and keep things cool. "Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon at two."

  "Tomorrow at two it is. And Lilly?"

  "Yes?"

  "Things are going to be different from now on. I'm not sure what different will look like, but we'll figure it out. Cool?"

  "Cool. Later, old man." I laughed as I called him that. Gram had always hated when kids called their parents that. I didn't disagree, but somehow it seemed fitting for my rock-and-roll dad.

  I could hear him chuckling through the phone. "Later, baby."

  First order of business was blinking back happy tears. It shouldn't matter to me that he'd used an affectionate nickname for me. Probably should tick me off. Instead, it made me think that maybe my relationship with my parents really would change for the better. Heck, having a relationship would be a vast improvement.

  "Everything's set for tomorrow. Both Tan's and my families are excited about the meal." Mandi's sapphire eyes were bright with excitement.

  "And Freddie?"

  Mandi rolled her eyes. "He reached out to Tucker, whose only reply was 'groovy.' He refuses to ask his father."

  For some reason, maybe because of my pseudo reconciliation with my parents, I wanted Michael Mahoney to be at our dinner. The nonstop rush had finally ended, and the dining area was almost empty. Freddie was clearing the last of the tables. I walked over to him and started helping.

  "Don't say it, Lilly. I don't want him here." He took his anger out on some of the plates who'd dared to get dirty.

  "I get that. I do. I just wanted to share a thought. If you invite him to the dinner, you can have a meal with him on your terms. Your stance on leaving Danger Cove doesn't have to change. You can demonstrate it's possible to be a part of each other's lives without having to live in the same town. Believe it or not, I just had essentially the same conversation with my father."

  He stopped punishing the dishes long enough to clear his wayward bangs from his face. His eyes were as dark and intense as his father's. "You okay with them not sticking around?"

  I thought about it for only a moment. "Yeah. I really believe I am. We're going to figure out how to do our relationship going forward, but the important part is there will be one this time. Don't you want to know you did everything in your power to have at least some connection with your father?"

  He slid into one of the cushioned seats for the booth. "It's been a helluva few days, hasn't it?"

  I slid into the opposite side, took his hands, and squeezed. "It has been, but I'm confident it's going to settle down soon. In the meantime, we need to be thankful for our family being close by. It is the season after all."

  Freddie nodded and grinned. "Fine. I'll reach out to him. No promises though."

  "Fair enough."

  With the guest list as confirmed as it was going to get, I retrieved my purse from the office and wrote Abe a check I hoped would cover the cost of the remaining groceries. He stopped in just as I was finishing up. "Here. This should be enough, but if not, let me know how much I owe you. I'll write another check."

  He waved my offer and the check off. "This is my treat."

  "Abe, this was my idea. I'll pick up the tab."

  He sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "This may be my last chance to spend a Thanksgiving with people I love and care about. Let me do this."

  Crap. I'd almost forgotten about the whole witness protection program situation. "Have you heard anything?"

  He shook his head. "The last communication said they were working on details and to sit tight." His face scrunched. "I've always wondered what it meant to sit tight. Does one normally sit loose?"

  Wanting to lighten the mood a bit, I offered, "We could always ask Mandi. I bet she'd know."
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  He laughed. "Indeed, she would. Speaking of asking, are you going to ask Hope about this little side plan of yours?"

  My bottom lip was called into service again as I grabbed it between my teeth. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?"

  Abe stood and grabbed his coat off the hook near the door. "You sound like one of my students now."

  "I'll email her, promise." After the dinner was over, but still, I would tell her. I hoped by then I could share with her we'd caught a killer thanks to my cunning plan for delaying the band's departure.

  "Okay, kiddo. I'll be back as soon as possible. We'll all be burning the midnight oil tonight prepping everything for tomorrow."

  "You don't have to stay."

  He winked and smiled. "There's no place else I'd rather be."

  With all the plans in place, I'd just about decided to reward myself with a leisurely cup of tea when I heard commotion out front. What now? I headed back into the dining area in time to see Johnny conducting a search. "Hey, Johnny? What or who are you looking for?"

  He held up his index finger in the international sign to ask for a second. In my experience, the person was typically asking for much more than just one increment of time. I was right. It took at least three minutes before he emerged from the men's restroom. "Have you seen Tommy?"

  "No, not since he left earlier. I thought he was at the hotel packing." This was not good. We needed to know where Tommy was. It was all part of the master plan for him to be here for the meal tomorrow. Easier for the police to find and arrest him. Easier for him to finally share with me—I mean the police—what his motive for killing was.

  "He was. Brock told us about an hour ago that we were waiting one more day to leave. He threw his guitar and stormed out. No one has seen him since."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Fantastic. I was paying top dollar to rush a DNA test on someone who might already be headed out of town. Logic said they could call for a manhunt regardless of state lines to find and arrest him if the results were a match. The reality was even if the sample held up in court, once the Giovanni family learned Tommy was the killer, they'd probably hunt him down and kill him themselves. If there was even a grain of truth to the mob movies I'd watched, Tommy was far better off in custody here than suffering a slow death from Donny Z's family.

  Johnny was still standing there, looking at me expectantly. "So no idea where he might be?"

  I wasn't sure why he thought I would know. Tommy and Johnny had been touring together for years now. He should know him far better than me. "No, but if I think of anything, I'll call the Bed & Breakfast and leave word."

  He nodded. "Thanks. Hey, can I get one of those Dirty Martinis before I go?"

  Apparently he wasn't too worried about his band buddy. "Sure."

  He finished three martinis before he left with a promise to keep us posted as well if they heard anything. The rest of the shift passed by quietly. We were all working hard to prepare as much ahead of time as possible. At eleven, we locked the doors and headed home. Tan was waiting for me by my bike. "Hey. You should be getting home. You can fill Ashley in on all the excitement awaiting her bright and early tomorrow morning."

  Tan laughed. "It was sweet of you to offer her a job."

  I tried to blow my bangs away from my forehead, but the sweat had them plastered on there better than super glue. A hot shower was in order. "Sweet, nothing. We need the help. I hope she's good at slicing, dicing, and chopping. I think there's going to be a lot of that tomorrow."

  He pulled me into a tight embrace. His hugs were better than a warm blanket on a cold night. "I'll have her do some practice runs when I get home just to make sure she's ready."

  I would've laughed at his comment, but every muscle in my body screamed for me to shower and then get horizontal. "Whatever you want."

  Tan pulled away from the hug enough to slip his hand in between us. His fingers were warm against my clammy chin. Lifting until my head was tilted and positioned for a proper kiss, he lowered his head and whispered, "What I want is to kiss you."

  With one simple phrase, he managed to spark the nerves in my body and call them into action. It had been a long day, and there was no better way to finish it than with a kiss. "Then stop talking about it and kiss me." Straight and to the point. Too tired for anything else. I did soften my command with a smile.

  A moment later, the rest of the world faded away as I allowed myself to drown in the luxuriousness of his lips. The delicious sensation released and roused my nerve endings to break out in song, the "Hallelujah" chorus to be exact, and finish with happy sighs of contentment. He felt so good. So right. So dangerous. I could understand how Mom and Gram could let themselves get lost in love. Savoring this feeling and not falling in completely proved a fragile balance to maintain. Enough but not too much. Reluctantly, I pulled back. "Mmm, that was nice. Thank you."

  The look in his eyes told me he was willing to give so much more. I was too tired tonight to have that discussion. "See you tomorrow, bright and early. I'm looking forward to spending a Thanksgiving meal with you and your family."

  He grinned. "And about fifteen other people."

  "Details, shme-tails. Now off with you, brave knight."

  "Let me take you home."

  "I'll be fine. I need a ride in the brisk night air to make sure I do everything at home I need to." I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for being a worrywart about me."

  Tan shook his head. "Someone needs to be. Okay, I'll check in with you later."

  "Text in case I'm sleeping."

  He waved and left me unlocking my bike. I'd managed to get the lock open and the chain secured in the basket when I started coughing.

  A moment later, Liza appeared out of nowhere and pushed me up against the wall. Her forearm was pressed solidly into my chest, holding me in place. Her breath reeked of cigarette smoke. "You just couldn't let it go, could you?"

  "What are you talking about?" I had a good idea, but no sense in volunteering information she might not have.

  "Do you think I'm stupid?"

  That question I refused to answer, especially since I was mostly at her mercy for the moment. She took my silence as agreement and continued. "You spent entirely too much time staring at Tommy's ass. Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been looking at him."

  I opened my mouth to deny the inferences she was making. My interest in Tommy had nothing to do with a relationship or his butt. Good thing I'd not really answered her first question. I watched the long, red tip of her fingernail closing in on my face. If she scratched me, that would totally leave a scar. And not one of those cool ones either. She placed it over my lips in a direct command for me to stay quiet. I could do that. Mostly.

  "Are you tired of your Ken doll and want to move on to a real man?"

  Her referring to Tan as a Ken doll would be funny if she weren't so angry and serious. I would've answered, but her finger still pressed heavily on my mouth. She moved in closer, and the urge to breathe fought valiantly with wanting to hold my breath to avoid the stench of cigarette smoke. Liza must've chain-smoked an entire pack before coming to see me.

  "You stay the hell away from Tommy. He's got nothing you need. You hear me?"

  Since speaking was out of the question, I nodded. She removed the lock on my lips and stepped back to offer some breathing room. Since I could finally say something, I took the opportunity to ask her a question. "Do you know where he is?"

  She pulled a cigarette from her bustier and lit the tip. After a couple quick drags, she answered. "No, and I blame you for that detail. You're forcing us to spend one more day in this hellhole. I want to go home."

  Technically, no one could stop her, but she hadn't caught on to that small point. Might as well ask another question. I had lots of them. "Why were you arguing with Donny the night he was killed?"

  A moment later, I was back against the wall. The force of the shove robbed me of my breath and prompted coughing to
draw in the necessary oxygen. She waited for me to finish. How nice of her. "What makes you think I was arguing with Donny?"

  "I have an eyewitness." Technically, Ashley was more of an "ear" witness, but no sense sharing that detail.

  She hit the building hard with her hand right next to my head. She didn't need to explain the warning in the near miss. "For the last time, I'm going to tell you to keep that long nose of yours out of my business. If you don't, I'm going to push you over a cliff. Got it?"

  Oh, I got it. Loud and clear. I didn't doubt for a second she meant every word of it. Her threat did prompt a reminder for me about a conversation Tommy and I had the first time he came into the bar by himself. Thanks to that, I had a decent idea where he might be, if he hadn't headed north into Canada to flee jurisdiction. I just needed to get rid of my tattooed troublemaker and see if my theory was correct. I did my best to look frightened. Not hard to manage under the circumstances. "Got it."

  A moment later, she was gone. I grabbed my bike and started pedaling before anyone else could threaten me. There'd been a lot of that going around lately. First Michael and now Liza. Maybe I was crazy for inviting them both to the holiday meal tomorrow. Speaking of crazy, instead of turning left and heading toward my apartment, I turned right and headed for the cliffs. Tommy had mentioned his desire to stand at the top and stare at the water…before diving off the edge. I needed to find him and find him fast. If I wasn't too late already. He'd been missing for hours.

  The sound of the waves crashing hard against the cliffside stirred up the nerves inside of me. If I did find Tommy, I'd probably be the last person on earth he wanted to see. He may even want to send me diving into the deep end. That would be preferable to the rocky, shallow depths below. Yes, deep end—much better. I parked my bike and switched the battery in my phone. Tan had laughed when I'd insisted on getting the phone that featured modular components and came with an interchangeable battery.