The Devil's Orchard

by Ali Vali

  He took the throw-away phone out when he was alone at the water’s edge. “Are you alone?” When the answer was yes, he paused and lit another cigarette. He kept his voice low to disguise it. “I’ve told you I have the information you need, but you have to be patient awhile longer. When it’s possible you’ll have what you’ve been waiting for.” He hung up after that and took the SIM card out of the phone and snapped it in half.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The Casey family’s flight left early the next morning, and Lou was waiting with the four new Yukons Cain had purchased from the local GMC dealer. Every chance she got, they bought from the locals so no one would think the new neighbors weren’t a great addition to town.

  Jerry Rath was driving the vehicle behind Lou, and Cain hadn’t gotten such a strong embrace from a man since her brother was alive. She stepped back and let him greet Emma and the children the same way, which gave her a chance to notice the two large SUVs parked close to the building where the control tower was located. Every so often she had the fantasy of asking one of her people for their weapon and just opening fire. Her defense would be she’d had enough of the constant invasion of her privacy.

  “Maddie and JC are waiting at the new place with lunch,” Jerry said as the men unloaded the plane. “She’s been in there cooking since yesterday. I hope you don’t mind her christening your kitchen, Emma.”

  “I’d rather milk a hundred cows than cook, so don’t get jealous when I kiss her on the lips for thinking about us.”

  They hadn’t been to Emma’s hometown since Cain had driven Big Gino to the hole she’d buried him in, and she loaded her family into one of the trucks and carried them to their new vacation home. She’d designed it large enough for Ross to stay with them if he wanted to, but he’d told her on the way there that he’d given up his room to Maddie and Jerry. Ross figured Emma would appreciate the time to catch up with her oldest friend and enjoy the Raths’ new baby.

  Even though the cabin was closer to the Raths, Cain had built the drive to it from Ross’s farm. The patch of land was now hers and Emma’s, but she wanted their place to connect to Ross and his family’s heritage. She’d had the drive lined with the pines Ross told the kids his family had on their original farm in France generations before. Eventually it’d be a beautiful addition, and they’d provide no cover for the teams the FBI insisted on sending with them.

  “It’s beautiful,” Emma said when the cabin came into view.

  The place was big, yet small when compared to the house in New Orleans. It was deep into the acres Ross and Jerry owned, so unless their friends had a warrant, they’d have to trespass to get anywhere near them. The hedges that surrounded the buildings also left them only one view, and that was from the front porch, so she’d told everyone that no business would ever take place there.

  “I’m glad you approve so far, because I think it’s perfect for us. We’re going to finally enjoy ourselves without anyone looking on.”

  “Then I love it already.” Emma reached across the center console for Cain’s hand.

  They parked on the side and entered through the back deck, where she’d installed a heated pool so it wouldn’t freeze over and crack in the winter. Maddie was outside holding JC with a smile so wide Cain thought her face had to hurt, and even though Maddie was Emma’s friend, she hugged Cain first. The baby was squeezed between them, so Cain took him from Maddie and held him up so she could get her free arm around her.

  “God bless you,” Maddie said softly, but she heard her words over JC’s baby talk.

  She was able to look at JC when Maddie let go. The little boy had gotten bigger, and his chubby cheeks were cherub-like. His hair had grown out and was curly at the ends, which made him resemble Maddie. Cain thought back to the waif of a girl who was his birth mother; her hair had been a bit wavy too.

  “His hair’s lightened up.” Emma ran her hand over his head. “All that time outside with his daddy is doing him good.”

  “He’s perfect even when he’s cranky,” Jerry said. “And that only happens when Maddie brings peas anywhere near him.”

  “I don’t mean to mess up your routine, but while we’re here let’s play it safe and keep JC indoors. You all know how popular I am, so let’s assume the trees have eyes and ears.” Cain handed the baby to Emma, who immediately got a series of laughs out of him.

  They took the tour of the inside, the kids running to their rooms, and Emma grasped her hand and asked for a look at their bedroom. When she’d had the architect lay it out she’d asked for him to pay tribute to a certain tree close to the shore. He’d actually built the master suite over the water, and the bed faced the lake and that one tree.

  “I remember the first time you brought me to this place you love so much,” Cain said as she stepped behind Emma and put her hands over their baby. “You said this was your wishing place, and I wanted you to know that I’d do anything to make every dream and wish you have come true.”

  “It’s silly, but I think of this baby being conceived right over there,” Emma pointed to the shore. “And you are my wish, my love. I feel selfish wanting anything more when I have everything already.”

  “I love you, and tonight when everything quiets down, I’ll be honored to show you how much.”

  Emma turned and reached up for her. She kissed her, and when Emma’s tongue entered her mouth she was ready to strip. “You’re a bad influence, Mrs. Casey,” she whispered in Emma’s ear as Hannah came in and jumped on their bed.

  “I’ve learned from the best, but I have years of lessons left to take,” Emma said as she squeezed her butt. “Besides, you have yet to make an honest woman out of me, but you’ll have your chance soon enough. For now let’s go be sociable.”

  They spent the rest of the night laughing and catching up with the Raths. Cain didn’t understand the cow conversation aside from the number that Jerry was now responsible for. With the number she’d purchased and Ross’s, Jerry was now the largest operator in the area. He’d taken advantage of the huge land acquisition his silent partner had made from some of the neighboring farms that were happy to sell for the price she’d offered.

  “The new star of the farmers’ market is the Verde cheese.” Jerry slapped Ross on the back. “We used your recipe, and its popularity has made us double the volume three times already.”

  “It’s the same as any around here,” Ross said, in his usual humble way.

  “That’s not what the buyer from Dean and DeLuca thinks,” Maddie said excitedly. “The woman happened to try some and they want to talk to you.”

  Cain’s phone buzzed as everyone started talking about Ross’s good luck. Emma glanced at her, but she smiled and shook her head to let her know it was nothing to worry about. The caller was Remi, and she wasn’t expecting any bad news.

  “Hey, thanks for the ride up here. Emma and the kids are getting spoiled with that kind of service.”

  “Glad to do it,” Remi said. Judging from the background noise, she was at the Pescador Club, her father’s favorite business. “I don’t want you to worry on your vacation, but Nicolette was here earlier. She came in with two guys to offer us the deal you walked away from. Her tone was almost desperate, but she did take her time telling me what a shit you are. I guess she forgot we were part of the original deal.”

  “Then half my message got through.”

  “How’s that?”

  “She came to the house and wasn’t too nice to Emma. Before she got to be a pest like she had been the night before at Emma’s, I paid her and Luce a visit, with a message to leave. She’s moving on, apparently, but finding new takers wasn’t what I had in mind.” She looked about into the darkness, at ease with the number of guards Katlin had roaming close to the house.

  “According to her, she’s not going anywhere.”

  “Do me a favor and call her back and set up a meeting next week. If you want to make it sound better, tell her you want your dad there and he’s not available until then.�
� The lights from the porch had attracted a swarm of bugs, which gave her the idea to take the kids fishing, since she’d had the lake stocked.

  “No problem. I’m not interested in anything this woman has in mind, from the way she approached me. She should’ve stuck with Maximo to finish our contract. He was reasonable, and what he’d agreed to would’ve been good for everyone. Nicolette comes across as half-hinged.”

  “Keep in touch, and let me know if you need any help.” She ended the call.

  “Problems?” Katlin asked.

  “Nicolette’s trying to find new wine lovers, and Remi was tops on her list.” She’d moved into the office, which had been Emma’s idea, and she’d designed and decorated it. Like in New Orleans, it had some mementos of her family’s history, as well as Emma’s touches that were, as always, tasteful. “Before we head back I’ll give Michel Blanc a call and ask him to come for a visit. That’ll be the easiest way to put a leash on Nicolette and her girlfriend.”

  “I know we just arrived, but Muriel called during dinner with some interesting information.”

  “She’s okay, right?”

  “Don’t worry. I put a fence around her. What happened to Merrick and Emma isn’t going to be repeated, if I have anything to do with it.” Katlin came close and stood next to her. “I think about it all the time too, so I go over all the potential holes in our security constantly. These people who’d hurt the women we love, they won’t get close again.”

  “Do you remember that hole we filled not that long ago?” Cain turned and put her hands on the sides of Katlin’s neck. “When I have Juan in that same place, then I’ll stop thinking about it.”

  “Muriel might’ve gotten us one step closer to that.”

  “Is she doing okay?” She waved Katlin to one of the faux-cowhide chairs Emma thought would be perfect.

  The decanter and glasses were her father’s and had been in the office for years. Emma had asked her to consider moving them because of the crystal stag head on the bottle that matched the etchings on the glasses. Unlike the other glasses at home, this set had been a gift from Cain’s mother, so they weren’t that old, but she did love them as much as her dad had.

  She poured Katlin a small amount of whiskey and some for herself. “After what happened with Shelby, I think she covers up her feelings so I won’t find any weakness in her. The way that all went down, I don’t know, it changed her.”

  “Do you mind me being honest?”

  “That’s why I’m talking about this.”

  Katlin sipped her drink as if to fortify herself. “What Shelby did cut deep into who Muriel thought she was, and it gutted her. Muriel felt, hell, feels like an idiot for allowing someone so dangerous that close to the family. Right afterward, Brent the asshole put you in the hospital, and Emma and I wouldn’t let her in to see you. She told me later it was like losing everyone who loved her right after Uncle Jarvis died.”

  “I didn’t blame Emma for what she did, considering the circumstances. Maybe it’ll take time, though I want her to know we may disagree at times, but we’re her family.”

  “Talk to her then, cousin. Think about what her relationship was with Uncle Jarvis right before he passed. You’re the rock in her life now. She needs your reassurance and faith. I’m convinced that’s what’s sped up Merrick’s recovery, so don’t take for granted that everyone always knows what’s in your head.”

  Cain laughed, forever grateful that she’d lucked out with the family she’d been blessed with. “Thanks for the advice, and just so you know, I love you. When Emma came back to me, I asked you to step up, and you have. I’m proud to have you with me.”

  “I wasn’t fishing for compliments, but I’ll take that one. Your Da and Uncle Jarvis helped me get here, and Mum and I’ll never forget that. She wants to have us over for dinner when we get back.” Katlin’s mother was Dalton’s cousin who’d married young, but to a bastard who’d given her only one good thing in her life—Katlin.

  Katlin was a baby when her mother Laura received her last black eye from her husband’s fists, and she’d finally turned to Cain’s Da for help. Neither Katlin, when she was old enough, nor Laura ever asked what happened to him, and most probably never would. Cain’s Da hadn’t killed him, but he’d disappeared like fog on a sunny day after their talk. In Katlin’s life, Dalton and Jarvis were the fathers she knew and loved, and she’d never ventured beyond that.

  “How is she? It’s been a while since she’s been to the house.”

  “You know Mum and her daily masses. I swear the day we both go, a troop of angels will fall from the heavens to carry us away, she prays so much.”

  Cain laughed at that too, since her mother was exactly the same way. “Tell her we’d love to, though she might be sorry when I drag my rowdy bunch along. Now tell me what Muriel found.”

  “Something you and Ramon did once. Do you remember the name Jerome Rhodes?”

  “He was the one who’d rented rooms for Gracelia and company, supposedly. Is he back?”

  “Arrived the day after the first bout of bad luck, only this time he’s staying in Metairie at that place by the lake. Muriel put the word out after that last time, on the off chance he came back, and one of the girls at the front desk called this morning. He’s got four rooms this time under J. Rhodes.”

  “Get Sabana on the phone and ask how hard she’s willing to work to get back in my good graces. If she goes off on these people and I lose Juan, let her know there’s no hole big enough for her to hide in. Send her over there and watch to see if Gracelia has finally poked her head out from whatever rock she’s been hiding under.”

  “You sure? Sabana’s good and doesn’t hesitate, but she’s still too high-strung for me to trust completely.”

  “She wants off that wall more than she wants to pull the trigger, so let’s see what happens. If my judgment’s off that bad I might have to consider retirement.”

  “Retirement? And leave me with all this crap? Forget about it,” Katlin said as she left.

  The need to get back on the plane and see if Gracelia really was with this guy Jerome was something Cain had to beat down and put back in its cage. She’d promised the kids and Emma the week, and that’s what she was going to give them.

  “We’ll see soon enough, Gracelia, what kind of devotion you have for your child. Will you give him up at the first sign of pain, or will you die with his secrets intact, like I would if our positions were reversed?”

  *

  “Judice, this is Victoria.”

  The call was unexpected; she’d caught up on everything before she left and informed all her clients when she’d be home from her brief vacation. Victoria worked for Salvatore Maggio, a man you never wanted to disappoint.

  “Hello, is everything all right? I’m surprised to hear from you.”

  “Everything’s ready for your return, and I’ll get into a world of trouble if Sal knows I’m making this call.”

  “If anything’s wrong he won’t hear it from me.”

  “Colin Mead called Sal and told him someone was asking about your kid, but the interest shifted to you quick enough. You know how much Sal likes questions, so what are you doing down there?”

  Victoria might’ve been Sal’s assistant, but she was also his mistress, and he loved pillow talk. No subject about his business was off-limits. If someone like Fiona ever flipped someone like Victoria or her, the head of the mob on the West Coast would go away for life. Then the streets would run red with blood for the betrayal. Sal had been good to her, as had Colin Mead, but a lifetime of lying to Fiona about who her mother really was had been burdensome. There was no way out, though, except a pretty casket for a job well done.

  “Someone called Colin about me?” Colin’s operation wasn’t as large as Sal’s, but he was as deadly. The Chicago transplant was a big Irishman who loved to laugh and drink, and his crew ran part of the docks. He’d been one of her first clients and still tried to get her in bed whenever he came to the house f
or his ledgers. “Who?”

  “You know someone named Casey?” Victoria’s voice dropped, and Judice pictured the pretty brunette hunched over her phone somewhere in Sal’s office.

  “Cain Casey?” Dread spread through her like fire through dry brush.

  “No, it was Muriel Casey. Colin talked to her because Sal said they were somehow related. Maybe this Muriel was asking because they want to use your services, but I’d suggest coming by when you get back and talking Sal off the ledge. He’s not paranoid about much, but he’s rethinking outsourcing his books. You could hurt him if you really wanted to, but I told him you weren’t that stupid.”

  “Sal and Colin don’t have anything to worry about. I took a blood oath with both eyes open, and I know the consequences of breaking that.” In reality she wasn’t worried about herself. Fiona was her priority. If Cain felt threatened by her daughter, she knew from experience how she’d react. “Do you think I should talk to him now?”

  “No.” Victoria’s voice rose suddenly. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything,” she said through what sounded like clenched teeth. “That goes for Colin too.”

  “Did Sal say what Colin told Muriel Casey?”

  “All I know is what I just told you, so relax and enjoy your visit. If anything else comes up I’ll call you.”

  “Thanks.” She hung up and grabbed her stomach. Such sudden fear always made her nauseous, as did not having a good answer to avoiding a bad situation.

  Her phone rang again, and she lunged for it as if whoever the caller was held the key. “Hello.”

  “How are you, pretty lady?” Colin’s voice boomed through the receiver, and she had to pull it away from her ear.

  “Enjoying my visit with Fiona, but I’m looking forward to coming home.”

  “Good,” Colin said, in a more normal tone. “Good,” he repeated. “Judice, you know I trust you, and I’ve stuck by you even when that kid of yours picked the road she did. Having the woman I trust with my money living with a detective of the LAPD was a gut check for me. You promised, though, that this wouldn’t ever be a problem, and so far you’ve been right. Fiona’s gone about her business, which was to stay the hell away from ours.”