Frankie nodded to Anderson. I guessed Frankie had all the information he needed. The detective and I walked toward my car. I opened the trunk and pulled a plastic shopping bag out. With jacket inside it, I rolled the bag closed. It stunk as would the trunk before I got home.
As I leaned against the car, Porter stood a few feet away. I explained how I had remembered the woman from the accident. Anderson stared at me for a moment.
“So you think she is the one behind all this?” He shook his head. “A little far-fetched, wouldn’t you say?”
“Think about it. She caused the accident, told Gina where to take me for treatment, and then I ran into her at the mall today. It’s too coincidental to ignore.”
“I think your curiosity is out of control, Vin. It could just be a coincidence, nothing more. Maybe she felt bad about causing the accident and tried to help with a recommendation of the treatment center.”
He didn’t believe me, and I realized I’d wasted my breath. In an effort to concede to his way of thinking, I nodded and said he might be right, that maybe I had overreacted. In my mind, I knew I hadn’t.
The art supplies stowed in the backseat, I left Providence and headed west, toward home. As I neared the cut off on the expressway, I decided to stop at my mom’s for a quick visit. The car swung south instead of west and I got off the exit nearest my mother’s house.
The neighborhood was quiet. The cold weather had forced everyone inside. I slowed the car and turned into the driveway next to the Cape Cod style house where I’d grown up. The only vehicle in the yard belonged to my father.
The kitchen lay empty, though a kettle on the stove bubbled. I could smell beef and lifted the lid to check out what was cooking. Beef stew simmered and my mouth watered. I picked the wooden spoon off the counter and stirred the stew. As I replaced the lid, I heard the gruff voice behind me.
“You haven’t done a taste test, have you?” my father asked with a smirk.
“Not yet, Dad.”
“Well, let me make you a bowl so you can do la zuppa with some bread.” He took a bowl from the cupboard and ladled stew into it. With a spoon from a drawer, he handed the bowl to me. Bearing a loaf of fresh, crusty Italian bread from the bread keeper, he handed that to me as well.
The stew smelled wonderful. I sniffed with appreciation. Sliding onto a chair at the table, I tore a hunk of bread from the loaf and dipped it into the thick broth.
“Mmm, this is wonderful.” I smiled my appreciation of his culinary abilities.
“Just what people need on a cold day such as this. Where is your jacket, anyway? You’ll catch pneumonia, Lavinia.”
Unwilling to start an argument over my inability to mind my own business, I said, “I had it on, but spilled food down the front so it needs to be cleaned.” More like tossed in the trash, I thought, but smiled at him.
My father left the room and a few minutes later he returned with a heavy Fisherman’s sweater, leftover from my college days. I’d forgotten all about the hand knit sweater and smiled to think he hadn’t.
“Where did you find this?”
“Your mother cleaned the attic and found this packed in a bin. I thought you might want to keep it, so I tucked it away when she wasn’t looking. You know how she gets when she cleans.”
With a chuckle, I nodded and finished the stew. I sat back and stared thoughtfully at my father for a moment.
“No card playing today?” I asked.
“We played earlier.” He stared at me. “What’s up with Giovanni? He’s not here for a medical conference, is he?”
“That’s what he told me. Why?” Evasion, plain and simple. Sometimes it worked, but I wasn’t that lucky today.
“Don’t play games Lavinia. I know you two have had your heads together. I want to know what’s going on.”
“If you want to know about Gio’s affairs, Dad, you need to speak with him.”
“I have. He’s not talking. You’re mother is concerned. She’s not sleeping well.”
If my mother was that worried, then she realized that all was not well with Saint Doctor Giovanni. I scrunched and unscrunched my napkin while I considered my father.
“Fine. I can tell you this much, Gio and Jill are having marital difficulties. He figured some distance between them might put a better perspective on things.”
Eyes narrowed, Dad asked, “What things?”
“Their issues. That’s what ‘things.’ ”
“You know more, but won’t tell me, will you?”
“It’s not my place to say anything about his affairs, Dad. I think they will resolve their problems. You can tell Mom not to worry, okay?”
“I have another question for you.”
A heavy sigh blew through my lips while I waited.
“When you were here the night of Nate’s showing at the funeral home, Aaron asked some questions and you gave me the sign to keep quiet. Is he a fed?”
The man was astute – there was no getting around it. My father didn’t jump to conclusions. He thought things through until the end of time before he made any judgment.
“He is. I won’t lie about it, but keep the information quiet, all right? Marcus knows and I know. He’s undercover with the FBI.”
“Is he involved in an investigation of our family?”
“I’m not sure what he’s about at the moment. He can’t talk about his job much and uses the Gaming Commission as his cover.” I lied, I couldn’t help it. A confession at the Catholic church down the street from my house occurred to me. It was a fleeting thought, though. I was destined for hell, confession or not.
A nod of his head was all I got. Whether he did or didn’t he believe me, was another matter.
He rose from the table. “More stew, Lavinia?”
“No, I better get home. Where’s Gio?”
“At the hospital. He won’t be home until late tonight. He’s meeting up with some doctor friends for dinner.”
I left with a container of stew, fresh Italian bread and some cookies my mother had baked before she went to the senior center to serve tea. Life is good, I thought as I tucked the bag into the car.
Leaving Cranston, I drove through Nonni’s section of town west of my parents’ house. A minivan pulled up at the stop light behind me. I glanced in the rearview mirror and wondered if it was the woman from the mall. Was she following me? Where was she going? Did she know it was me in the car?
The light changed. I moved forward with the stream of cars. She followed behind. I turned down a side street and she did the same. Unable to stand the suspense, I whipped the car to the side of the road and jumped out. The mini-van slowed, the driver glared at me, made obscene hand gestures and sped away.
I caught the registration number and got back into the car. As I turned toward home, I considered what had just happened.
Chapter 20
Wild thoughts tumbled through my head as I covered the miles between Cranston and Scituate. It didn’t take long before I drew up to the intersection next to the Salt & Pepper Deli. Lights glowed from the windows of Lola’s eatery. The counter girl went from table to table. I watched her movements through the windows. I hung a left at the light, swinging into the parking lot behind the building.
Twinges of pain shot across my knee as I climbed the last of several stairs to enter the deli. I glanced at neat tables and chairs, tidy countertops, and glass cases filled with food wrapped tightly for the night. Donuts, muffins, and pastry lay on trays atop the counters, ready to travel to another place. Lola made fresh baked goods every day and donated the daily remainders to a local ‘senior living facility’ in town.
I caught the look on Millie Endrend’s face as I sauntered, with a limp, across the floor toward the kitchen. No way would she step in front of me again. The look of panic on her face said I’d left a lasting impression. I smiled and s
aid a pleasant ‘hello.’
She plucked up enough courage to give me a half-smile and greeted me.
“Hi, Lola’s in the kitchen at work on the cookbook. Go ahead in. I’m sure she won’t mind.” Her head bobbed up and down the whole time she spoke, reassuring me that I had permission, I guess.
“Thanks, Millie. Why don’t you come in and sit with us for a bit?” I asked in a friendly tone – at least I thought it was friendly.
But the scrawny woman muttered that she needed to get home and sidled away from the counter as though I would assault her. I nodded and watched her scuttle toward the door with her jacket in hand. It occurred to me that I’d made a bad first impression and should work on befriending the woman.
Millie shut off the lights, and the door lock clicked as she left. I realized the deli was closed – it was later than I’d thought. I stepped into the kitchen where Lola sat at the workbench. She leaned toward a laptop computer, her fingers flying across the keys. I chuckled as her head shook up and down when she agreed with what went on the page. Then I chuckled again at Lola’s scowl when she had to delete something that didn’t work for her.
Lola leaned back to glare at my sense of humor. I settled on a nearby stool with my leg propped on another. Lola swung the computer toward me and I read the recipe she’d half typed.
“Mmm, sounds delicious. Do you happen to have any samples available? I’m in the taste-testing mood. I just taste-tested some stew at my father’s house.”
I grinned when Lola hauled a bowl from the stainless steel refrigerator and ladled a portion of the recipe into a crock for me. She chucked the chowder into the microwave for a brief time. The bowl steamed with a savory fragrance that I couldn’t resist.
“Fish chowder, huh? Gosh, I haven’t had this in years. My father used to make it when we were kids.” I slurped the bowl clean while Lola watched with a pleased smile.
“What brings you to the deli?” she asked as she poured tea into two heavy mugs and unwrapped a tray of pastries from the counter.
The brew scalded my tongue. I hastily placed the mug back on the counter to cool. Glancing over the sweet delicacies on the tray, I picked up a petite apple turnover and licked the glaze off it before stuffing my mouth full.
“I wanted to tell you about something I remembered,” I said around the mouthful of turnover. “The PPD detective seems to think my brain is working overtime, but I’m not so sure. A second opinion is in order. So I came to you.”
Her eyes widened as did the Julia Roberts smile. She put her finger up in a wait a minute motion and scurried from the room. A few seconds later, Little Miss Dynamite strolled back into the kitchen with another tray of the pastries she would deliver later to the seniors.
“If we have to put our heads together, we might need more sustenance, right?”
“Absolutely,” I said and peeled the plastic wrap back from the delightful confections.
In a short time, I had explained what happened at the mall, what I’d remembered about the woman who’d caused my accident, and how Detective Anderson felt about it all. I’d also managed to eat three pastries. Lola listened intently, never uttering a sound until I finished.
“So this woman, the one who followed you, is she the same person who caused the accident?”
“The one at the mall was, yes. The one who followed me – I can’t be sure since I didn’t get a real good look at her face.” I picked the frosting off another pastry and licked my fingertips.
“Don’t get upset when I say this, but you do sound a bit paranoid about the woman, Vin.” She raised her hand as I opened my mouth. “I mean, who could blame you, since those idiots at the health center jerked you around so. Then there are the dead bodies and who knows what is next.”
“Exactly. I would sound out of control if it was just about her, but honest, Lola, I’m not paranoid. I just want someone to believe me.” I washed my hands, brushed the hair away from my face and settled down with my tea. “Marcus figures I’m overreacting, Aaron hasn’t offered an opinion, but the cops, well.… And there you have it.”
“Have you spoken of this to your parents or Gio?”
“No, my parents are worried about Gio and his marriage. The least I can do is to not add to their worries.”
“Do you think Gio will get matters straightened out?” Lola asked.
“If we can figure out how to get the paintings from the unit in Nebraska to a safer place without incriminating anyone, yeah, I think so. Great Aunt Lena knows that Jill has them. I have asked her to leave them alone.”
“My God, you have your hands full this time. My family isn’t anywhere near as complicated as yours, I’m happy to say.” Lola signed off and closed the laptop lid before she packed it into a leather carryall.
When new plastic wrap covered the trays of pastry I carried them out to the car for Lola, settling them on the backseat of the Mini Cooper. She turned and grinned at me as I stepped back.
“I noticed you played down the fact that you went shopping with Aaron today. What’s going on with you two, anything? He is such a hunk,” she said with a wistful sigh.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing. He asked me to go. I said yes – end of story. I’m not leading him on and that’s guaranteed.”
“Really?” she asked with the Julia grin.
“Huh,” I sighed. “I keep saying that to myself, hoping I’ll believe it.”
“Aaron is a big boy, Vinnie. He can handle the fact that you aren’t in love with him. By the way, where are you having Thanksgiving next week?”
“With my family, of course. Giovanni is here, so that means it will be chaotic with the cousins and everyone dropping by the house. Will you come down? Gio hasn’t seen you in, um … it seems like forever.”
“Sure, maybe in the late afternoon. Is that all right?”
“It is. Just pop in whenever. You know there will be enough food for an army and the pastry … well, you know what that’s like, too.”
Lola leaned against the car and stared at me for a minute.
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re on the right track with this person who caused the accident. Just stay alert so you don’t end up in a bad situation. Remember how tough things got the last time you were run off the road.” With that said, Lola slid behind the wheel and drove away.
The squat little car sped up the street ahead of me as I drove toward the colonial. Light from Aaron’s apartment windows spread across the driveway until I drove in and the automatic overhead lights came on. I sat in the car for a few minutes considering the paintings in the loft, the others in a Nebraska storage unit, Lena and the FBI, and the deaths of the rehab crew. Life’s problems overwhelmed me. I didn’t know what to do to smooth things out.
With a sigh, I left the car and headed indoors. I hadn’t been in the house for more than a few minutes when I heard the outer door open and footsteps in the hallway. A sharp rap on the door preceded Marcus’s entrance. Dang, I hadn’t locked up and knew he’d call me on it. Sometimes it’s not fun to be right.
Dressed in chocolate colored jeans and a rich green turtleneck with a forest-green wool jacket over that, Marcus looked good enough to eat. I stared at his face for a few minutes and then smiled.
“What’s up?”
“You didn’t lock the door. Did you just get home?”
Considering he’d checked the hood of the car to see if the motor was still warm, I smirked.
“You know I did, so why ask? I hadn’t locked up yet, but I was going to.”
In a swift move, he reached out and wrapped his arms around me. Warm lips met mine as I wondered what this was about. My inner voice started yelling warnings again about involvement with a cop and the fact that he’d had a lunch date with Ima without sharing the knowledge. Try as I might, I couldn’t shut the voice off. I drew away from Marcus, reluctantly.
&n
bsp; “Want a drink or some coffee?” I asked as I moved around the counter away from him.
The hazel green eyes narrowed a tad while he stared at me, but he just nodded and said coffee was fine. He hitched onto a stool at the counter and fiddled with the pen that lay near the phone. The answering machine light blinked, which meant I had messages, but I was unwilling to play them while he was around in case they incriminated the family. The artwork and Lena logically sprang to mind. I glanced away from the phone.
“You have messages, you know.”
“Yeah, I’ll play them later,” I said as I slopped water on the counter and spilled coffee grounds.
A chuckle rolled forth from Marcus. I glanced up to see him shake his head. Paper towels lay nearby and he tossed them to me so I could clean my mess.
“What kind of a day did you have?” he asked.
Peering into his face, I wondered if he baited me or if his question was sincere. Where all this self-doubt came from was something I knew I’d have to consider later.
“I went shopping at the mall and then to Providence for art supplies. Why?” There was that lie by omission thing again. I’d just added to my one-way ticket to hell.
“Just wondering. I didn’t hear your name on the police radio or the newscast tonight, so I figured maybe you had a decent day for a change.” He smiled at me and I felt my resolve to stay aloof weaken.
“I ran into Ima after you left me the other day. She said you two were having lunch. Is there something you’d like to share with me, Marcus?” There, I’d blurted it out. Now I’d have to deal with the answer, whatever it might be.
His eyes widened for a second and then his wolfish grin appeared.
“Are you jealous, Lavinia?” His chest heaved as he laughed in silence.
“No, I’m just curious as to your relationship with her. She has a serious crush on you, in case you haven’t noticed.” I shrugged.
“You have nothing to worry about, Beautiful,” he said with a chuckle and ran his knuckles down my cheek. “I’m not unaware of what Ima thinks, but believe me—I have no romantic feelings for her. She’s going to make a helluva trooper when her probation period has ended and she’ll be transferred to another unit. Probably to South County – they’re shorthanded down there.”
Dead Wrong Page 15