by Ana Bisset
I opened the door to my grandfather’s office, like I had so many times before, my brain churning on overdrive. How am I going to get out of this? First, I knew I had to keep him talking.
I went around the desk and looked directly into the face of Salvatore Mancini, not such a paper pusher after all. “Does Mr. Romano have any idea how much you’ve taken from his business?”
“See, I knew you were smart. No, he doesn’t. My father-in-law never concerns himself with the details. Everything is black or white, there’s no gray. He tells you to pay the contractor, you pay the guy and add a little to the amount on the books, then pocket that. He has no idea how much the guy makes, anyway.”
He took out a container of pills, a coffee mug, and a bottle of vodka. He put them on the desk in front of me and began to explain. “You are going to take these pills, a few at a time, then you are going to go to sleep. It will be that easy. You do this, I’ll leave your grandmother alone. You don’t, we both walk over, and you can watch me take her out first after I scare her a bit.”
“Well, that is some choice. Especially since you brought the cheap vodka.” I said. “I prefer rum, top shelf.”
“Too bad, sweetheart.”
I opened the pill bottle, poured them on the desk, and looked at him in the doorway. “Since I’m on my way out, tell me, why did you kill Diego?” I asked.
“He put two and two together after I gave him his last payment. Said he was going to tell Mr. Romano if I didn’t give him a cut. So, I met him here and gave him the book. The idiot had no idea what it was worth. He threw it at me and went out that stable door. I ducked and went after him. I didn’t know I was going to kill him, not then. I figured I’d pay him, but if he kept bothering me, I’d have to take care of it. But he kept telling me as soon as he was done here, he was going blab. So, I shot him.”
“Did you get help for the rest of it? Were Lorenzo and Mario in on it too?”
“That’s a joke! Bianca is a better crime boss than those two twits. She is not as stupid as she lets on. No, I didn’t want to spread around what I was doing. Leah helped with the body.”
“So, you were having an affair with Leah? I heard her yelling at you that day. Did you have to kill her?” I asked.
“Look, she was a great gal to have around when I was tired of dealing with Bianca’s whining. But you can’t threaten me and get away with it. Little girl games don’t work in the real world,” he smiled. “Okay, it’s time to drink up, sweetheart.”
“Just one more question, why did you meet here? What was Diego doing here in the first place?” I asked. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. They met here. Why?
“I don’t know, something to do with your grandfather’s business back in the day.”
I looked confused.
“Oh, you don’t know about that? That’s rich! Your grandfather and Mr. Romano had business dealings way back when. Mr. Romano thinks something is still here, not sure what it is though. Kept my nose out of that,” he said.
“I don’t believe it. There has to be some mistake. My grandfather would never do business with a man like him,” I said.
“You can start taking the pills,” he yelled and pointed the gun, “then you can ask him yourself. Or we can go ask your grandmother about it.”
“Okay, okay.” I had stalled long enough and needed to step into my plan of action. I didn’t think it would work, but I had to try.
I stood, grabbed the bottle of vodka and pretended the top would not turn. He got frustrated, leaned over the desk to help, I grabbed the neck of the bottle and hit him in the face and then over the head with it. As quickly as I could, I went around the desk and out the office door, running through the maze of desks in the open office.
I heard him yell, “Now you’ve made me angry.” I look over my shoulder to see him come out of the office, I duck behind the last desk before the hallway, he fired once and missed me.
I look up and see Kyle running into the open office. “Stop! Police!”
Sal shoots, Kyle ducks down beside me.
“You okay?” he asks. I nod once, and his attention immediately goes back to the situation.
“The place is surrounded, put your weapon down!” Kyle says.
Another shot, he was getting closer.
There was a faint shuffle, Kyle stood and took two shots. Salvatore Mancini went down, shot in the leg.
Kyle grabbed my arm, stood me up and handed me to a deputy. “Get her out of here and to an EMT. Make sure she is okay, then take her into the house to her grandmother. I’m going to arrest this guy.”
_____________
For the second time in four days, the police were crowding our driveway. At least this time there were answers. After a paramedic gave me a once over, I went inside to sit with Grammie and watch out of the window as they brought Salvatore Mancini out, handcuffed to a stretcher.
Grammie sat a mug of coffee and a few of this morning's donuts in front of me and urged me to eat something. She didn’t ask what happened, she must have known it was awful. She kissed the top of my head and hugged me. Then, she waited with me for it to be over. Being the strong foundation in my life that she has always been.
There was going to be a time that I needed to ask her about Gramps and Mr. Romano. That time was not now. But, I would know everything I needed to know in the near future.
Kyle came in to see how I was doing and get my statement before he went down to the station to talk to the state detectives. I was grateful he was letting Grammie stay with me while I did.
After explaining what was said in the carriage house, I told Kyle a few things that now made sense.
“The batteries on the floor of the Smith house kitchen were 22 volts. They don’t make those anymore, I didn’t remember that at the time. But, you can find them in old radios. Rosie had a box of old transistor radio for Sal the day I was at her shop,” I said. “Nikki, Mel and I saw him speed by after everyone was all ready at the viewing.”
“Thanks, Libby. Are you sure your okay?” Kyle sounded worried.
“Yeah, thanks for asking. Hey, how did you know to come and save me?” I asked.
“As soon as I got Mr. Romano booked, I got a call that Sal’s fingerprints were on the book. Then I nearly had a heart attack when your grandmother called to tell me she saw you and him on the web-cam!” Kyle explained.
“Thank goodness our new security works!” Grammie said and squeezed my hand.
I smiled and was glad to be home.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Late in the afternoon, the sun already falling from the sky, there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” I called to Grammie who had just started making supper.
I opened the front door, and there stood Kyle in plain clothes. He was showered, shaved, and smelling like a deep musk god.
He was also holding the leash of the cutest puppy I’d never seen. He was a furry little yellow lab with two big paws and a tail that was wagging the pup’s entire body.
“Awww! Hi, come on in,” I said.
“Who is it?” asked Grammie from the kitchen.
“Just Kyle,” I said.
She came out of the kitchen and addressed him, “Do you want to stay for supper, Kyle?” she asked.
“Thank you, Mrs. Foster, but Mom is expecting me tonight. I’ll take a rain check though,” he said.
“We will see you soon then and tell your mother I said hello,” she said, looking down at the puppy but saying nothing. With a smirk forming on her face, she went back into the kitchen.
I knelt to pet the puppy, “What is in the bag?” I asked pointing to the full paper grocery bag he was hugging with his other arm.
“Supplies to get you through the first couple of days,” he said.
“To get me through… wait a minute… I don’t know how to take care of a puppy,” I said.
“That’s why I brought you everything you need,” he said.
“Kyle, seriously. What are you trying to do here
? I just got out of a long term relationship. You, geez, what you did those years ago still hurts. I don’t think I want to share a dog with you.” I saw the pain go in and out of his eyes when I mentioned our past. But, he recovered quickly.
“This young man,” he said as he pets the pup, “is not for us to share. He is for you to love because he is going to love you forever. I thought since you decided to stay in Black Ridge Cove for the next little while, and you’ve had enough men let you down, you could use one that you can rely on.”
The puppy tried to jump into my arms. I bent down and picked him up, getting a face full of puppy kisses for my trouble.
“How many strings are attached to this gift?” I asked.
“None,” I said and gave him my stern look. “Okay, maybe one. Like we agreed, we just begin again, right where we are. Someday, I want to talk about what happened. But for now, friends?”
I scratched the puppy behind the ears and gave in. “Okay, as we agreed, friends.”
“Great! I have to go, my mom is waiting. He has already had his supper, I put a How-to book in the bag along with some treats and toys,” he said as he started going out the door.
“Wait. What’s his name?” I asked.
“I don’t know. You tell me,” he said.
“Where did you get him?”
“A friend who is a ranger at Mount Katahdin had a litter.”
“Hmmm… Baxter State Park? Baxter is a good fit,” I said.
I took the leash, he gave Baxter one last pat on the head and walked out the front door. The pup sniffed the door like he was expecting to leave too. But, he turned and saw me and got so excited to be staying, he piddled on the floor.
“You’ll need to carry a roll of paper towels and cleaner if he is staying,” Grammie said as she peaked out of the kitchen doorway.
“You don’t mind?” I asked.
“Not at all. He’s a cutie,” she said. “Let me get you something to clean that up.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Rrrruff! Rrrruff! Baxter barked to some unseen person on the balcony. “Shh,” I said, picking him up.
I moved the drape and saw a shadow. “Who’s there?” I asked. The shadow turned to leave, so I opened the door.
There, about to climb over the rail of my second-floor balcony was Lorenzo Romano, Jr. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t having some sort of hot dream, because well, he’s hot. I pushed those thoughts out of my head when I thought about what his brother-in-law tried to do to me.
“Is that how you got up here?” I asked.
“Yeah and just so you know, the trellis is a little shaky,” he said.
“I’ll make a note,” I said while actually making a note that I could see his breath in the cold. Since it wasn’t a dream, I’d thought I would check to be sure he was among the living. Just one of the weird things about being me.
“You know, before you go calling the cops or anything, I’m just here to make sure you’re okay. If I had any idea that my brother-in-law was behind all this mess, I would have taken care of him before it got that far,” he said, looking worried.
“Have you ever heard of a telephone?” I said.
“Yeah, actually I have. I just have to be careful who I call. I’m watched pretty closely.”
“I don’t understand. What does it matter to you how I am?” I said.
He laughed, “Still haven’t figured it out yet, Chickie? I’m disappointed.”
My mouth dropped open.
The End
Book 2: Dastardly Deeds and Possible Parricide
Available for sale at Amazon!
Newsletter
Thank you for reading Empty Promises and Crowded Caskets. It is the first book in the Libby Foster Cozy Mystery Series. Join us for more fun at
Click here to get updates, special offers and bonus content from Ana Bisset.
About the Author
Ana Bisset currently resides in Northern Maine with her husband and one dog, a Terrier named Iggy. Our family lost Baloo, our yellow lab in March. We miss him. Besides reading and writing mysteries, she enjoys crochet, web design, quilting, and watching videos of her grandchild who lives too far away.
Visit with her on her website at
cozy-mysteries-by-anabisset.com
Grammie’s Fish Chowder
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
3 stalks of celery
3 medium onions
6 medium white potatoes
1 1/2 to 2 pound of white fish(fresh or cooked leftovers; flounder, haddock, etc.)
4 cups of whole milk
Parsley, salt and pepper
Corn starch or flour for thickening
Optional: Oyster crackers
Instructions:
Cube potatoes into half-inch cubes.
Dice onions and slice the celery.
Saute onions and celery in butter until tender, but do not brown.
Add potatoes and enough chicken broth to barely cover the potatoes. If your fish is fresh, lay it over the potatoes now(Leftover fish to be added later). Allow the broth to simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Add milk - heat to a boil - stirring potatoes and breaking up the now cooked fresh fish.
Once this boils, turn down the heat to a low simmer. If your fish is leftover fish, now is the time to add it.
Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk corn starch or flour into a little water in a small bowl or mug. Stir into the chowder to thicken.
Once thickened to your liking, serve with oyster crackers.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.