by Joan Kilby
Paula reached for a napkin. She blotted her mouth as a pretext for blowing her nose. And swiftly dabbed her eyes. “The sugar went up my nose.”
“You’re meeting with a ruthless criminal,” Riley said, ignoring her clumsy attempt at covering. “I want you and Jamie to be safe. A couple of middle-aged dicks playing around with electronics in a van aren’t going to do squat if Moresco takes it into his head to snatch your son.”
Paula felt the blood drain from her face. “Don’t say that.” She sucked in a breath. “It’ll be broad daylight, right next to a busy shopping strip and the main street. Nick is not going to do anything stupid.”
“He might not regard taking custody of his son as stupid. I know if I was a father and had a child I wasn’t allowed to see, I’d do anything to spend time with him.”
“Except break the law.”
Riley made a small shrug, suggesting he would consider it. He was a soldier, used to obeying orders. But he was also ex-Special Forces, trained to think for himself. Would he be willing to break the law for her son?
Paula did a quick rethink. The plan was already in motion but John had left Riley out on her recommendation. If she talked to the Sergeant again…
“What if you were in the van, listening in. If things sounded dicey you could stroll by.” John had already arranged for a uniformed cop to do that but an extra pair of eyes and hands could be a comfort.
“I’d rather be in the park, walking my dog.”
“Your non-existent dog?”
“I’ve been thinking of getting a pooch. I could stop by the shelter and pick one up.”
“You would do that?” Too late she realized the unspoken implication. For me. “To crack a case, I mean.”
“I would do anything,” Riley said simply. He leaned forward and wiped a thumb across the tip of her nose, taking off a smudge of icing sugar.
Paula felt the warmth of his touch, of the look in his eyes. She glanced away. She couldn’t allow emotions to cloud her judgment.
“Wouldn’t work,” she said, shaking her head. “Jamie would recognize you and Nick would immediately suspect something was up.”
“Baseball cap, dark glasses…” he suggested. She shook her head. “Parks worker uniform?” She kept shaking her head. “Clown makeup? Astronaut?”
Her mouth twitched. “The van. That’s my final offer.”
“Deal.”
“You do realize I’m going to be playing up to Nick, don’t you?” Paula said. “Flirting a bit to get him onside. It’s all part of the act.”
“Is it an act?” Riley asked.
“You know it is.”
“Do I?”
“Quit asking dumb questions.” Paula jumped up and started stacking the used coffee cups. “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
Riley reached out to touch her arm. “Be careful.”
She moved her arm out of his reach. “Naturally.”
* * *
RILEY WAS GIVEN a set of headphones and told to stay in the passenger seat of the van and keep quiet. He checked his watch. Ten minutes until meet time.
They were parked in a short service road outside the post office with a view of a two-block stretch of Main Street, traffic lights at one end and a roundabout that led to the park at the other end.
If Riley leaned forward he could just see the ice-cream shop where his stepmother worked, now owned by Moresco.
In the back of the windowless van, Detectives Leonard and Cadley went about the business of setting up their surveillance equipment. He could hear them testing the wire with Paula, adjusting the volume and sound balance. Her voice through his headphones sounded curiously close, despite the slight static.
Then he heard Jamie’s voice in the background and smiled, straining his ears to hear what the boy was saying. Something along the lines of “Watch me.” Riley could picture him clambering over the monkey bars.
Movement down the street to his left drew his attention. A man in a suit was entering the ice-cream shop. Not unusual in itself, but something in the cut of the clothing made Riley bring out the photo of Moresco Paula had passed around this morning. He had dark hair going gray with a lean and handsome face.
It drove Riley nuts that she’d had a relationship with this guy. In the past. Why couldn’t Riley let it go? Why did he doubt her story? Probably because he thought she was lying to herself. What exactly were her feelings for Nick Moresco?
A few minutes later Moresco emerged carrying a tray of three ice-cream cones—chocolate, vanilla and pistachio nut. He knew Paula’s favorites, too.
He moved with natural grace, his gaze watchful. If Riley didn’t know every cop in the area, he might have thought he was looking at a detective. Besides police officers and soldiers, the only people who had that level of hyper-alertness were up to no good.
Riley slumped deep in his seat and watched the man pass. Yep, there was a resemblance to Jamie in the olive skin, the angle of the jaw and the set of his eyes. The unwelcome image of Paula having sex with this creep flashed through Riley’s mind.
He swiftly thrust that thought away and turned to the guys in the rear. “Suspect passing directly in front of us. He’ll be at the park in approximately two minutes.”
“Roger that.” Detective Cadley looped his headphones over his ears and flicked a switch to allow him to speak to Paula. “Drummond, do you read me?”
“Loud and clear,” Paula replied.
“Perp is on his way from south side of Main Street. All systems go.”
There was a static-filled pause. Then Paula said, “I see him. Two-way communication ceases from…now.”
Riley adjusted his headphones and prepared to be tortured.
* * *
PAULA STOOD BY THE monkey bars, one eye on Jamie crawling among the brightly colored steel maze, one eye out for Nick. Behind her were the public washrooms and a barbecue area with a picnic table. Tall pines bordered the small park.
She’d told Jamie they were meeting an old friend of hers from the city. He took it in one ear and it went out the other. Typical of what didn’t concern him.
After Detective Cadley’s warning she glued her eyes to the street. Sure enough, she spied Nick strolling up the path, a tray of ice-cream cones held casually, almost negligently in one hand.
“Hey, Nick.” She painted on a smile. “Over here.”
Jamie, hanging upside down, twisted his head up to see his mum’s friend. “Ice cream!”
“Ciao, bella.” Nick kissed her lightly on both cheeks, giving her a whiff of expensive cologne. He presented the tray for her to take the pistachio. Then glanced at Jamie as hungrily as the boy was eyeing the ice cream. “I didn’t know what your son liked. Jamie, is it?” He crouched down. “Would you like chocolate or vanilla?”
“Chocolate.” Jamie edged closer.
“Manners…” Paula murmured.
“Please?” Jamie looked at Nick with big dark eyes.
“Si, bambino.” Nick handed over the cone with an Italian word of endearment. “How old are you, my friend?”
“Six,” Jamie replied, lisping a little. “Six and a half.” He licked, turning the cone to catch the melting ice cream.
“Almost a grown man,” Nick said, laughing. He turned to Paula, including her in his delight.
She felt sick and tense. She didn’t want to align herself with Nick. She was afraid he would say something that would give Jamie a clue to his identity.
Jamie tugged on her skirt. “Mum, will you push me on the swing?”
Nick held up a hand to stop her and bowed to Jamie. “I would be honored to push, if you permit?”
“Okay.” Jamie shrugged and ran off to the swings.
Nick handed Paula his cone and followed. He grasped Jamie�
�s swing and pulled back. “You like to go very high?”
“Yes.” Jamie giggled, his legs dangling as Nick held him poised in the air.
“I give you one big push. Then you must pump your legs.” Nick pushed hard, then slipped sideways, out of the way of Jamie swinging back.
Paula chuckled. Then she realized what she was doing. While Nick was occupied she discreetly felt for the wire beneath her top. The tape was in place.
Nick gave Jamie another push then glanced at Paula. “I will speak to your mama now. Remember, pump your legs.”
Paula wondered what Riley was making of what he was hearing. Nick didn’t come across as the big bad drug dealer. He was good with children. He had a big family with lots of nephews and nieces.
“Jamie is a charming child,” Nick said, returning to where she stood by the picnic bench. He removed a big white silky handkerchief from his breast pocket and laid it on the bench of the picnic table. He gestured for her to sit. “Now, you and I can have a chat.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE CLEAN WHITE linen against the scarred and dirty picnic bench reminded Paula of Nick himself, an elegant facade for grubby dealings. She planned to use both the handkerchief and the man without getting soiled herself.
Lowering herself to the handkerchief, she glanced at him beneath her eyelashes. “Are you living in Summerside?”
Her flirtatious glance was wasted. Nick’s gaze was on Jamie, energetically swinging. “I’m never far away. He’s a handsome boy. He looks like me when I was that age.”
Nick’s egotism was so boundless he probably didn’t even realize what he’d said. “You’re looking well.”
He rested one polished Italian boot on the bench and leaned an elbow on his knee. “I’m glad you think prison agreed with me.”
“You always outshine your surroundings.” She let a beat go by. “Nick.”
He glanced at her, the smile lingering. “Did I even outshine my penthouse apartment? You enjoyed that place, didn’t you?”
“Who wouldn’t appreciate the best views in the city?” Outwardly she smiled, maintaining an aura of calm. Inside, her heart was tripping over itself. With Nick you never knew when a light conversation would take a darker turn.
Nick twisted his torso, rolling his shoulder then rubbing it. “Prison wasn’t good for my bad shoulder. I’ve been so stiff lately.” His smile turned suggestive. “Do you still have the magic touch?”
Paula flashed to a late afternoon in winter, a few weeks before the investigation came to a head. He’d insisted Paula join him for a glass of wine, saying it would help him relax for therapy. Cozy on a love seat before the fireplace, they’d kissed for the first time. She’d initiated the kiss. It had seemed necessary at the time, a way of gaining his confidence for the final push. She couldn’t do that again, not for the job, not for anything. Not now that she’d made love to Riley.
“I’m out of practice,” Paula said apologetically. “Let’s not dwell on the past. Let’s talk about the future.”
“The future? Do you mean Jamie?” Nick asked. “I am pleased you agreed to allow me a relationship with my son. It’s so much easier than going through the courts.”
“You wouldn’t have had a hope if you’re still engaged in illegal activities.”
“I told you, I’m not.”
This was the opening she’d been looking for. With the right touch of quiet regret, she looked him in the eye. “Pity.”
He stilled, his gaze sharpening. “What do you mean?”
But it was too soon. She’d only wanted to plant the seed. “Oh, nothing.” With a judicious brief touch of his knee, she changed the subject. “Who in your family knows about Jamie?”
“Mama, my brothers and sisters, the aunts and uncles, touti mondi. Everyone wants to meet him.”
Paula had a vision of Jamie disappearing into a vast sea of Morescos, never to be seen again. Nick had three brothers and dozens of cousins, some of whom had worked for him. His little brother Rico was an expert forger who could easily doctor a passport.
Despite her plan, the anxious mother overrode the cop. “Jamie will grow up on the right side of the law.”
Nick chuckled. “You should see yourself, the fierce mama bear protecting her cub. Don’t worry, cara.” He stroked her hair, sliding his fingers slowly through the loose strands. “I have only Jamie’s best interests at heart.”
His touch made her skin crawl. She forced herself to continue the charade. “He needs a father.”
“You know I want to be part of his life.”
“Then perhaps,” she said slowly, “you’d like to provide for him.”
“You want support payments? I would have offered, but I didn’t think you’d accept tainted money.”
He’d guessed correctly. Paula would starve before she’d accept a penny of drug money. “I thought you had legitimate businesses now—the restaurant, the ice-cream shop.”
“I do. I’m working my way back from nothing. It takes time to build a clientele again.”
Did he mean drug users or ice-cream customers? They were dancing around, talking of two things at once. “I’m in a position to help build your client base.”
“Oh?”
“I think I told you there’s been an influx of crystal meth into the area.” Paula strove to sound casual. This was the critical moment when she had to convince him she was being upfront. It wasn’t going to be easy given that, until now, she’d been hostile every time she’d encountered him. She watched his face carefully. He didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. “I’m in charge of the new Drug Investigation Unit at the department. I’ve initiated a task force looking into the local trade.”
“I thought you’d been busted back to uniform.” Nick sounded equally casual.
“The sergeant in charge reinstated my detective stripes. He wanted someone experienced on the job.”
Nick stroked his jaw. “And this would help my ice-cream business, how?”
“Everything goes through me. All the intelligence reports, evidence, drug hauls, you name it. I decide what to act on, where to send my men, what information to send up the line.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I missed you. I’m sick of being a cop. The police never treated me as well as you did. We—you, me and Jamie—could be a family someday.”
Nick’s gaze narrowed. “That’s not what you said when I first contacted you. You didn’t want me to have anything to do with my son.”
“I’ve had time to think, to remember our times together. I hated turning you in. I’d like to make up for that. I could help you. With your businesses.”
He smiled, then his gaze drifted to Jamie. “We’ll talk more in a while. My son is playing by himself.”
He strolled over to the swing set. “Show me how high you can go, Jamie.”
Paula propped an elbow on the picnic table and covered her mouth to speak into the microphone in her cleavage. “Are you getting all this? He’s being cagey, but I think I can get something useful if I keep at him.”
“Roger that,” Detective Leonard said.
In the background she heard Riley say, “Tell her not to let the prick touch her.”
“Tell Henning he can go jump. Quiet, he’s coming.”
Nick wandered back. Paula adjusted her blouse and leaned her head on her hand, smiling at him.
He crouched at her feet and placed his hands on her knees, looking into her face. “Did you really miss me, cara?”
She met his gaze square on, calling upon all her acting skills. “Yes, Nick. Very much.”
“And you can see a future for all of us together.”
“You, me…and Jamie.” The catch in her voice was real when she added, “He needs a father.”
She just
didn’t want that man to be Nick. Riley’s rugged features came to her. His strength combined with tenderness that was so appealing. How could she ever have fallen for Nick’s oily sophistication?
“I need a son, to carry on the family,” Nick said. “Shall we tell him now?”
“No,” she said quickly. “You couldn’t have any association with me or Jamie while I’m still on the force…helping you. But that won’t be forever. Two years tops, I reckon.”
“You would make this sacrifice for me?” he said, turning his mouth to kiss the palm of her hand. “You would betray your principles, break the law, for me?” He murmured the words as if they were endearments.
Paula took in a breath. “I would do anything for you. You’re the father of my child. That means something. And I love you. I’ve always loved you—”
Nick rose to his feet, so swiftly and unexpectedly Paula rocked forward before she caught herself. Gripping the bench she looked up.
“You love me? You want to help me make money?” His voice dripped with bitter sarcasm. A flash of his dark underbelly showed in his glittering black eyes. “What kind of fool do you think I am? You betrayed me.”
All Paula’s instincts and her training told her to get to her feet, to be prepared for a contest of strength. With an effort she stayed seated, tried to pretend she wasn’t bothered by his outburst. “I was doing my job.”
“Was it your job to sleep with me?”
Paula was aware that Riley was listening. But she was playing her role. She would say what she had to say. “No, that was my choice. I wanted to.”
“You’re lying,” Nick said harshly. “This whole business proposition is a lie. You’re trying to set me up. But it won’t work because I’m clean.”
“Nick, calm down. I was only joking.” Her voice had a tremor. She prayed he didn’t notice.
He planted a foot on the picnic-table bench and stroked his booted ankle, drawing her attention to the secret pocket where he kept the stiletto. “You know I can’t abide traitors.”