The next morning my cell rang as I was drinking a cup of Grandfather’s strong coffee. One cup was all it took to get my brain working and put my body in motion.
“About Mr. Cypress, Eve …. As a lawyer for the mob in Miami, he used our pawn shop owner’s cousin, Connie Russo, for a number of jobs.”
“Nappi?”
“And I think it might profit us to find the hidey hole of the pawn shop owner and have a talk with him.”
The way Nappi said the word talk sent shivers down my spine. I knew he meant something quite different from friendly chat.
“But no one knows where he is.”
“I’ll find him and get back to you. Oh, and there’s something else, Eve. I didn’t have time to tell you last night, but the kid who killed Alex? He’ll probably end up in a youth facility.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Not really. It leaves his mother and sister in the same neighborhood where the gang members can get at them. So far the kid isn’t implicating the gang, and he’s not naming names, but if he decides to talk, they’ll come after his family. He needs to be moved beyond their reach. He should be sent out of state, but it will be difficult to talk any judge into doing that or providing protection for his family members.”
“I want the gang held responsible for what was done to Alex.”
“So do I,” Nappi said. “It may be that the only way to do that is to put the mother and sister into a witness protection program.”
“I thought that was only for witnesses who were going to testify or who had testified and whose lives were in danger.”
“I said a witness protection program, not the witness protection program. I have connections.”
Of course he did. Before he could continue, I said, “Your ‘connections’ will move the family someplace else, and the kid will be placed in some facility where your ‘connections’ can ensure his safety. What then?”
“Then that gang and its members might be out of business for a long time.”
“I don’t want to know any more.”
Nappi was my friend, but he had ways of dealing with situations. He got results. I just didn’t want to know how he did it.
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“Please don’t.”
“I mean on the pawnshop owner, our Mr. Ed, Edward, Eddie Lawton.”
I had asked for his help, but now I worried what form that might take, and whether I would share responsibility for whatever happened.
Chapter 14
I finally scheduled a much-needed session with my friendly shrink, Dr. Halsey, and we decided I was ready to move back to my own house. Sammy and Grandfather would be sad to see me go, but there were a few advantages to my being back in my own bed. First, it was mine, and more importantly, it was big enough to fit Sammy and me in it together. I couldn’t fault my treatment at Grandfather Egret’s place. They fed me well, treated me like royalty, and did not expect me to lift a finger when it was time to clean or cook or wash dishes, but having Sammy in the next room so close and yet so out of reach was difficult for both of us. We sneaked away in the canoe whenever we could.
Oddly enough, when I thought of leaving, my mind kept straying to Walter’s three boys. They were often at the Egrets’ when I was there, and I enjoyed their company. They were fascinated by my punked hairdo and asked endless questions about it, so many that I finally had to confess the color came out of a bottle and the spikes were the result of globs of gel. I found the youngest boy, Jeremy, using the stuff on his hair one day. The result was hilarious, but the hopeful look on his face prevented me from laughing. It was clear he wanted approval for his little experiment, which I awarded him, but I also said I liked his natural look better. When Jason gave a snort of scorn at his brother’s hairdressing attempt, I shook my head, warning him not to make fun of his brother. He shrugged and said he guessed it was an okay look “if you liked that sort of thing.” The middle boy was quiet, but I thought I caught a look of jealousy that his younger brother had the courage to experiment, even if the outcome wasn’t so great.
One evening Sammy and I took the boys to the local carnival in nearby Indiantown. I think they were glad to have me along because Sammy said the rides made him sick to his stomach. Since I loved any kind of ride, I took the boys on all of them, although Jeremy was too short for the more thrilling ones. Instead he and I did the twirling teacups, which seemed to make me queasier than the tilt-a-whirl or the Ferris wheel. Jeremy, Sammy, and I did the merry-go-round while the two older boys played some of the carnival games like pick-up-ducks. They each won a goldfish, which made Jeremy cry with envy, so I spent about ten dollars to get him one too. I think the guy running the game saw what was happening and scammed me. I didn’t mind. The boys were all happy, filled with carnival food, and sleepy on the way home later that evening.
As they slept in the back of my car, I snuggled close to Sammy, who was driving.
“So my big guy is afraid of a few fair rides, is that true?”
I could tell by the way Sammy kept his eyes on the road that he knew I was on to him.
“Sammy, I’m more than happy to share our time with the boys. It’s no burden for me. I like them. You don’t have to make up stories about not going on the rides so the boys and I can bond. The kids are great.”
“You figured that out, did you? I was worried you found the boys a bother, so I thought, if you got to know them better, you’d like them more.”
I punched him playfully in the arm. “I like them. I like them a lot. And I’m going to miss them when I move back home.”
I hadn’t talked with Sammy about my move, but now was a good time with the boys snoozing in the back.
“I have to go back to my life, Sammy. You know that. I can’t sleep in your bed and have you on the couch forever, you know.”
He nodded. “But isn’t it a little too soon?”
“I talked with Dr. Halsey, and we agreed. It’s time for me to take my old life back, to work in the shop, to tempt you into my big bed at night, and—”
“To find out who killed Walter and who attacked you,” he finished for me.
“Yes, all of that. To get back my fearless, Eve-on-the-scent persona. I have a job to do for those boys and for you and Grandfather. I hope I can count on you to help.”
“We’ll help,” said a chorus of voices from the back.
I turned around in my seat. “How long have you guys been awake?”
“Long enough to hear how you’re going to have a sleepover at your place with Sammy,” said Jeremy.
“She’s not having a sleepover,” said Jason.
“Or a slumber party then. Are we invited?” Jeremy asked.
Sammy and I looked at each other.
“Why not? How about this weekend?” I said. “Now go back to sleep. Tomorrow is a school day.”
“You want the truth?” Sammy asked after the boys had quieted down.
“The truth? You mean you don’t want to share me with the boys this weekend?” I kept my voice low so the boys wouldn’t hear.
“Well, there’s that. No. I meant the truth about carnival rides.”
“Huh?”
“I really do get sick on them.”
I heard giggles from the backseat.
The next morning, I packed my bag with the clothes I’d brought to the Egrets’ and kissed Grandfather goodbye, thanking him for having me as a guest. Sammy and I were planning a canoe ride this evening, so his goodbye could wait for a more private place where I’d deliver kisses plus something more.
I drove to the shop and opened by myself. Today would be the first day in weeks where I was responsible for taking care of the business on my own. It suited me fine that my first day back to the old Eve—as I’d put it to Sammy last night—would be tending to the business Madeleine and I had started here in Sabal Bay. Although the place seemed familiar, I almost felt as if I was beginning anew, and that made me optimistic about the future. I roamed the store touc
hing the merchandise, as if the items for sale were old friends I’d not seen for some time. When I felt satisfied that the shop was still mine, I took out my cell and dialed the number Nappi had provided earlier this morning.
There was something about the robbery over thirty years ago at Renfro Pawn that bothered me. I needed to talk to the detective who worked the case. I hoped Nappi had given me the right number, but I also worried that once I made contact with the detective, he wouldn’t talk to me. I had called Frida right after Nappi’s call and asked her to call the detective first. I liked snooping around in criminal matters, but I had found that saying you were the curious sort didn’t get you far as a credential. I needed the force of law in my corner.
The phone rang about ten times, and I was about to hang up when a machine kicked in. As I started to leave a message, the recording was interrupted.
“Yup. What can I do for you?”
“Is this Detective Burt Wayman?”
“Retired. Just plain Burt Wayman now. You that gal the detective from Sabal Bay said would call today?”
“Yes.”
“She said you had some questions about an old case, the one where Renfro’s Pawn was robbed. That right?”
Frida had given him the details, making it easier for me to get right to the point.
“The neighbor who thought he saw the thief running away … did he give you a description of the guy?”
“Yup. Said he thought he was an Indian.”
That I already knew.
“Any other details? Height, build, age, what he was wearing?”
There was silence on the other end. Darn. I was out of luck. Just as I feared. Most people who saw Indians, saw Indians, and that was all they saw. The details were lost.
“Let’s see. I remember he thought the guy was young.”
“Young? That’s kind of vague.” I was getting nowhere.
“Young like a teenager. He was short and lean—small guy, he said. Had to be, I figured. Otherwise how could he have gotten through that rear window? He only removed two of the bars.”
Right. I’d noticed that too. Sammy’s father was a big man like Sammy, according to Grandfather, and he would have been in his twenties back then.
“I wondered about that,” I said.
Since things were going so well, I tried another question, a way-out one.
“Any idea who it could have been?”
“If I knew that, I’d have made an arrest back then, now, wouldn’t I?”
Oops. I’d unintentionally insulted the man.
He continued after a brief pause. “But there were a rash of robberies back then. What we knew was that there were some kids up to no good. We figured they might have been stealing stuff, but we had no proof.”
“Names?”
“Uhm, sorry. I can’t remember. You know how those Indian names are—like animal names, some of ’em.”
“I know. Listen, you’ve been very helpful. If you think of anything else, could you call me?” I gave him my cell number.
Putting down the phone, I leaned back into the counter with a sigh of satisfaction. I’d learned something important. Whoever stole those items, including the watch in that robbery at Renfro’s years ago, was a kid, not Sammy’s father.
The bell signaling a client tinkled as the front door opened. I looked up and saw the last person I wanted in my store. Danny Cypress.
“You look like the cat that swallowed the canary. Did you find out something about who attacked you?”
“Now, why would you think that?” I asked.
“Because of your reputation as an inveterate snoop—always on the case, never defeated.” He walked up to me and got close enough that I could smell he’d been sucking on a peppermint. Trying to impress me with his fresh breath?
“I don’t spend much time thinking about the guy who broke into my house. It’s up to the cops to get him, not me. And my doctor says it’s not good for my mental health to dwell too much on that night.”
“I’ll bet that’s hard for you, being the nosy gal you are.”
He was annoying me with his insistence that I was some kind of super sleuth.
“Let’s just drop the subject, can we? What can I do for you? Looking for a gift for someone?”
He laughed. “As a matter of fact, I am. My mother’s birthday is next week, so I’m looking for a dress for her.”
“I would think you’d be more interested in buying new.”
“Maybe I would, but my sister was in here last week several times, and she had someone here hold a dress she said would be just the thing for Mom.”
“I’ll check on it. It’ll take just a minute.”
I went into the backroom and looked through the clothes hanging on our “hold” rack. I found a blue chiffon dress with the name “Cypress” on it and pulled it off the rack. When I turned around, Danny was right behind me. I collided with him, and he reached out his arms to steady me.
“Sorry,” he said.
“I didn’t know you had followed me back here.”
“Was I not supposed to? Oh, sorry again.”
He had to know he shouldn’t be back here. He was the most annoying man.
“Well, let’s go up front where the light is better.”
He followed me to the front windows.
“It’s a beautiful color. I assume your mother has dark eyes and hair. This should be perfect for her.”
“It is,” he said, fingering the material, “but my sister was worried it was too long. Mother is pretty short and kind of small through the shoulders.”
“If she comes in, my tailor Shelley will fit her.”
A moment ago Danny’s face was lit up with a kind of joy at how perfect the dress would be for his mother. Now a cloud seemed to settle over him.
“Mom is in a wheelchair. She almost never leaves the house. Would it be possible for your tailor to come out to the ranch and fit her there?”
“Sure.”
“And I’d like you to come along too, if you’d be so kind.” He flashed his white teeth in a friendly smile. Sometimes the guy could be okay. If he’d just lay off that smarmy romantic stuff.
“Would next Tuesday work for you and your mother?”
He nodded, and we agreed on ten in the morning. This was working out better than I could have expected. I wanted to know more about the Cypress family, especially the older brother who had left years ago. A visit to the ranch with the family there would present the perfect opportunity to ply them with questions. I’d be subtle, if I could manage it.
That evening Sammy and I took his canoe out to our swamp hideaway, and we almost got reacquainted. It wasn’t that the mating roar of a bull alligator disturbed us. We were used to that and considered it “our song.” Nor were we put off by the mossy, moldy smell of the swamps. That was like perfume to us. Even the rain that began to pelt us and force us farther back under the sloping roof was like tiny caresses of teardrops against our skin. It was my fault when Sammy cried out “Damn” and I followed with, “I’m sorry.” I had brought my cellphone with me, and it rang in the middle of one of the most sensual and loving moments Sammy and I had experienced in weeks.
Sammy leaped up and yelled something in Miccosukee to the clouds overhead. Then he stomped off into the dense vegetation, leaving me behind holding only that damn cell.
I shrugged. Might as well answer it. “Hello?”
“Am I disturbing anything?” asked Nappi.
“Not anymore.”
He hesitated. Perhaps he caught something in my tone of voice. If so, he dismissed it and continued talking. “I’ve been using some of my contacts to find our pawn shop owner. You know, Eddie of the numerous last names.”
I quickly forgot my mortification at having my cell ring in the middle of Sammy and my romantic interlude. “Where is he? Have you told the authorities yet?”
“I’m telling you first. I thought if you weren’t busy tonight we might pay him a visit and have a little
chat before I turn him in to the police. He’ll just lawyer up then, and we won’t get anything out of him.”
“Uh, okay. But what kind of a chat are you thinking of? ‘Chat’ as in baseball bat or tire iron, or the other kind?”
“What other kind?”
“That’s what I thought. I don’t want to be a party to that kind of rough stuff.”
“Aren’t you interested in getting to the bottom of the stolen watch mystery?”
“Of course, I want to find out about the watch, but ….”
Sammy, who had reappeared out of the dark, took the phone out of my hand and held it so both of us could hear.
“I’m interested in the watch,” he said. “What’s up?”
“How about we meet in an hour at your airboat business?”
“Good. I’ll leave Eve at home if she’s queasy.”
I heard Nappi laugh. “By now the two of you should know me better than that. I can get information from a stone by just giving it a bad look.”
Sammy disconnected and handed me the cellphone.
“It was a good thing you brought it. Otherwise we might have missed out on all the fun.”
“You have no idea what Nappi is capable of,” I said.
“I think I do. He’s capable of scaring the bejesus out of someone and getting the information he needs with nothing more than sustained silence. Don’t be so worried about his methods, Eve. He’d never compromise his friends.”
Sammy was right. I wasn’t giving Nappi enough credit.
“Where are we headed?” I asked as I jumped into the backseat of Nappi’s SUV.
“We’re going north of town on 441. Once we get past the golf course, we’ll take a dirt road west and into some swampy area past the Martin ranch.” Nappi hit the accelerator and the big car surged forward. “It seems that Eddie, like his dead cousin, likes to go to ground in cabins out here in the boonies. Thinks no one will find them.”
Yeah, well, that didn’t work out so well for Connie, now lying on the medical examiner’s table in Sabal Bay. I wondered what we’d find tonight and hoped it wasn’t another burned-out cabin with a body inside.
Old Bones Never Die Page 14