Black Butterfly Page 19

  “He seems like the only one out of this whole group who’s on the level.”

  I thought about Sammy for a minute. “If he’s an attorney, how come he’s got so much free time? You’d think he’d be in court or with clients all the time.”

  “He took a vacation to help his uncle, plus he owns his own firm. He’s got people that can take over while he’s gone.”

  “I like him. I think he and Gloria will make a good couple.”

  Chris didn’t answer.

  I glanced at him and he was deep in thought.

  “What’re you thinking about?” I asked.

  “Tony Messina’s death. Who murdered him?”

  “I don’t know, but there’s something I was going to tell Janet and I never got the chance.”

  He looked at me. “What’s that?”

  “I overheard Gabe saying something to Meredith about a body being left in the desert. You heard that, too, didn’t you?”

  “No. Could he have been talking about the doll Meredith let go?”

  “I don’t think so. There was something about the way he said it, but I can’t put my finger on it. His tone of voice was secretive. I know I wasn’t supposed to hear what he was saying.”

  “Do you think you could get Meredith to spill the beans?”

  “I doubt it. She can be tight-lipped when she wants to be. Besides, he’s the cat’s meow as far as she’s concerned. She’s not gonna finger him.”

  Oh, good grief. I was talking Bogey Man’s talk. Cat’s meow? Finger him? I shook my head and brought myself back to reality.

  I glanced at my watch. “I’m going to go call Mikey. He should be home from school by now. I’m sure Mikey is the reason your father hasn’t been here. He’s enjoying his time with his grandson and probably using him as an excuse to stay out of things as much as he can.”

  “Let me talk to him before you hang up. It’s not the same without him around the house.”

  “I think I’ll talk to your father about bringing the dogs over to their house again, too. After the way I saw Jimmy act around them, I’m worried about their safety.”

  “Good idea. Let’s change clothes and take them over there before work. That way we can see Ace, too.”

  We changed clothes, loaded Sherlock and Watson in the car, and headed for my in-laws’ house.

  I hoped we’d have a quiet evening for a change. No hit men, no gangsters, and no memorable moments that I’d rather forget.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  If wishes were quarters, I’d be rich. My wish for a quiet evening didn’t start out well.

  We drove over to my in-law’s house and unloaded the dogs. Mikey came flying out of the front door, gave each dog a hug around the neck, and threw himself into my arms.

  “Mom! I’ve missed you and Dad so much. When can I come home?”

  As a mother, all I could do was feel even guiltier than I already did. “Son, I can’t wait to have you home. It won’t be much longer.”

  More wishful thinking.

  The part where things started to go wrong?

  “Grandma’s been telling me everything that’s going on. Can I at least come to the restaurant tomorrow night? I want to be on TV, too.”

  “We’ll see,” I replied.

  “I have some ideas about everything that’s been happening, too. I want to meet Tony and Sophia to see if I’m right.”

  Chris hugged Mikey. “Ace, that doesn’t surprise me at all, but don’t hold your breath about meeting them.”

  Our son returned the hug. “Besides, as an uninterested person, I can prob’ly see things better than you can.”

  Mentally, I rolled my eyes. “As a disinterested party – “

  “That’s what I meant.”

  “Okay, as a disinterested party you might be able to look at things differently than the rest of us, but sometimes you need to actually see what’s going on, too.”

  He smiled. “Which is why I should be at the restaurant tomorrow night. Besides, it’s a Friday and there’s no school the next day.”

  “We’ll think about it,” Chris said.

  “Think real hard, Dad. You might need my help at the Reservation Desk. If the TV people are coming, you’ll probably have a big crowd.”

  Chris nodded. “Why don’t you take the dogs in the backyard and we’ll talk more later?”

  Mikey called to the dogs and took them outside, but he didn’t stay to play with them. He rejoined us in the living room.

  “I checked their water before you got here,” he said.

  I smiled. “You’re a blessing, Son, always thinking ahead.”

  He grinned, too. “Always?”

  “Well, usually.”

  Judith, who’d been in the kitchen, joined us. “We were thinking about tonight. Would it be okay if we use tonight’s performance to practice for tomorrow night? We were also thinking that we should make an announcement about the media coming. It would be good for business.”

  “Who’s ‘we’,” Chris asked.

  His father gave his tight-lipped smile. “She means her and those women. They’re meeting here after practicing.”

  Chris didn’t have to think things over. “Sure. You can announce it from the stage. You’re right. It’ll be good for business.”

  “I could announce it,” Mikey said, sounding hopeful.

  “We’ll see,” I said. I knew he was thinking that if we said he could, we’d have to let him tag along tonight, too. I’m his mother. I recognize his attempts to put one over on us.

  Chris changed the subject and asked Mikey what was new at school.

  Our son ran to his room and brought back some papers, showing us how well he was doing.

  Chris, Sr. had let Mikey’s friend, Danny, come over after school to let the boys play and do homework together.

  “You haven’t told Danny what’s going on, right?” I asked.

  He rolled his upper lip under, imitating Chris. “I haven’t told him bupkis. I dummied up. You know I can keep a secret.”

  “Uh huh.”

  He hugged me again. You’d have thought he’d been gone for a month.

  Before leaving, Chris and I discussed Mikey wanting to come to the restaurant to announce tomorrow night’s events.

  “Dad,” Chris said, turning to his father, “Mikey has school tomorrow. Would you bring him in tonight just long enough to spill the story and then take him home?”

  “Sure. We’ll grab a bite to eat first at the restaurant, though. Your mother won’t be home to fix dinner.” He sounded only slightly judgmental.

  I glanced at Mikey and he was practically bouncing up and down.

  After spending a few more minutes with our son, we left for work, discussing things on the way.

  “Chris, if any of those people show up tonight, I want your father to get Mikey out of there as quickly as possible.”

  “You bet. I was thinking the same thing. You know Janet will show up. We need to tell Ace to act like he doesn’t know her. The less contact he has with people, the less I’ll worry.”

  “Amen to that,” I said.

  Arriving at Bogey Nights, we found that most of the lunch crowd was gone. Gloria and Sammy sat at a table for two, chatting with Donna.

  When Donna saw us, she excused herself and came to greet us.

  “There was a guy here, looking for you two,” she said. “He said his name is Jimmy, and he said you’d know who he is. He looked… Not angry, but way too serious. Something about him made me kind of nervous.”

  Chris stiffened. “Did he say what he wanted?”

  “No.”

  “Did he say he’d be back?” I asked.

  “No, but I have a feeling you’ll be seeing him again. He reminded me of someone I’d go out of my way to avoid. Is everything okay?”

  “It’s a long story and I don’t want to bore you with it.” I didn’t feel any need to involve even one more person.

  Donna smiled. “Gloria seems to really like that guy
she’s sitting with, don’t you think? They make a cute couple. He’s so tall and she’s such a shorty.”

  I nodded. “I think I’ll go talk to them for a minute.”

  “I’ll get the front desk set up for tonight,” Chris said.

  Donna left us to take care of a couple who were waving her over.

  Of course, our waitresses and waiters dressed in forties-style clothing for work. They usually wore dresses or slacks with an apron, but today Gloria was wearing a forties waitress uniform. When Donna got off work, Gloria would have to take over.

  I stood by Sammy. “No uncle today, huh?”

  “No. He’s spending the afternoon with Meredith. He said they’ve got a lot to talk about, especially after Sophia’s visit.”

  We talked for a moment longer before I joined Chris at the Reservation Desk.

  He glanced at me before going back to the list of reservations. He always liked to see who was coming in. We enjoyed the company of a lot of regulars who liked the ambiance at Bogey Nights.

  “There’s gonna be a good crowd tonight,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to read the list after Ace makes his announcement about tomorrow night.”

  “Chris, I’m really uncomfortable about Mikey being here right now. Maybe we should call it off. We can make the announcement.”

  “He won’t be here that long, babe. He’ll be fine. Besides, we’ll keep a close eye on him.”

  “And I’ll bet Janet will be here,” I added. “That makes me feel a little better. I’m going back to my office to take care of some paperwork. Would you let me know when your father brings Mikey in?”

  “Sure.” He returned his attention to the list and ran his finger down the names. “Wait a minute!”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Sophia and Tony Messina are on the list.”

  The mother in me leaped forward. “Call your father and tell him not to come.”

  “Call him from your office.”

  I hurried through the kitchen to my office and snatched up the phone receiver, dialing my in-laws’ house. The phone rang several times, but there was no answer – and my father-in-law refused to carry a cell phone. He said if a call was important, the caller would phone Judith’s cell phone. I called her, but it went straight to voice mail.

  My office door was open, and Donna knocked on the door frame. Her purse hung from her shoulder. “Pamela? I’m leaving for home. Chris asked me to stop in and tell you that his father and Mikey just walked in.” She waved. “See you tomorrow night.”

  “Tomorrow night? Aren’t you working the lunch crowd?”

  “Chris asked me to work overtime because you’ll be expecting a large crowd.”

  “Ah. See you then.”

  I hurried out to the restaurant and found Chris and Mikey deep in conversation behind the Reservation Desk.

  “Ace, I want you to eat dinner, hang out for a little while and make the announcement early, and go home. And, no, you can’t meet the Messinas.”

  That’s when I noticed that Mikey held the reservation list in his hands.

  “Your father’s right,” I said.

  I took the list from him to check the entries. The Messinas had made a reservation for seven o’clock.

  “Make the announcement at six and then you’re outta here. You’ve got school tomorrow. You need your sleep.” Yeah, like he’d fall for that one.

  “Grandpa said if I minded my Ps and Qs, I could have dessert. What are Ps and Qs?”

  “He just meant that if you behave, you can have dessert. It’s an old-fashioned term. Where is your grandfather?” I asked.

  Mikey pointed toward a table at the far end of the restaurant.

  Chris, Sr. sat quietly drumming his fingers on the table.

  “Chris, go talk to your father.”

  “Yeah. We’ve got a few things to talk about.”

  “Mikey,” I said, “you stay here with me for a few minutes.”

  The door opened and the Messinas walked in.

  They were two hours early, and all my wishes for a quiet evening flew out the window.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Mikey stepped forward before I could stop him.

  Sophia was dressed to the nines and looked happy, or as happy as a woman in her role could look.

  Tony stood a step behind her with his hands clasped in front of him. He, of course, wore an expensive suit and looked like a gangster. There was just something in his manner that gave him a certain look.

  “Your name please?”

  Sophia smiled. “Messina. I’m afraid we’re early, young man. Do you think you might find us a table anyway? We need a table for four. Friends are meeting us here.”

  “Yes, ma’am. For you? Anything.”

  I felt my stomach do a flip flop, figuratively speaking.

  Sophia turned to me. “Your son?”

  It was too late to send him home or I would have.

  “Yes. He helps out here once in a while.”

  “He’s quite the little gentleman.”

  “He has his moments.”

  I glanced at my son and thought about all the things that could go wrong. Think positive, I thought. He’s a little boy. They wouldn’t hurt a little boy. In fact, why would they hurt any of us?

  “I understand Jimmy is still here,” I said.

  Her eyebrows raised and her lips tightened. “Why would you think that?”

  “He was here earlier and said he wanted to see my husband and me.”

  She didn’t reply to me, but turned to Mikey. “Would you please show us to our table? I’d prefer one with a view of the front door.”

  Was this the old “keep your back to the wall so no one can sneak up on you” syndrome?

  Mikey showed the mother and son to a table near the cocktail lounge which looked out over the entire restaurant. Tony took the seat behind the table which kept his back to the wall. He shoved his chair back as far as it would go. Sophia sat next to him instead of across from him, where she could see the door.

  Mikey walked to the kitchen. “I’m going to get a drink.”

  Chris was still talking to his father. He glanced up and I waved him over, casually pointing toward the Messinas.

  He did a double take and hurried to the front desk.

  “I think you should let Mikey make the announcement early and send him and your father home.” My son had been too close to danger in the past and I wasn’t about to let it happen again.

  “What are they doing here so early?” he asked.

  “I have no idea. I mentioned that Jimmy was here earlier and she didn’t look happy. She wanted to be seated where she could see the front door. I think I may have ruined her evening. She said she’s expecting two people to join them.”

  Chris’s expression was grim. “I’m going to go talk to them.”

  “About what?” I asked.

  He walked toward them without answering me.

  Duke, our Steve McQueen lookalike, walked up to the desk to ask a question.

  I gave him the information he needed and asked him to cover the Reservation Desk for a few minutes.

  He stepped behind the desk and I approached my father-in-law.

  “You need to take Mikey home as soon as possible,” I said.

  “I saw the mafia come in, acting like royalty. Our dinner is coming. I’ll hurry him along and he can make his announcement early. Then we’re going home.”

  “Good. And thanks.”

  Chris, Sr. nodded and took a sip of his iced tea.

  I went back to the desk and sent Duke about his business.

  The front door opened and Lila and Judith walked in, heads together in deep conversation.

  Behind them came the Church Ladies.

  Right on their heels were Meredith and Gabe. Okay, so now I knew who was joining the Messinas.

  In the meantime, Gloria went to work and Sammy left the restaurant.

  The band members walked out of the kitchen and headed for the cock
tail lounge, having come in the back way, with Mikey trailing behind.

  Judith and Lila followed them, ready to sing their little hearts out.

  Meredith saw Sophia and waved, and she and Gabe joined them at their table.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Chris. “Welcome to Grand Central Station,” I said.

  The Church Ladies were turned toward the lounge, but the front door opened again and in walked Jimmy and Frankie, in all their glory. Jimmy stood quite still and surveyed the restaurant. He looked angry and the women scurried away.

  “Where’s Mikey?” Chris asked.

  “With your father.”

  I saw Chris, Sr. say something to Mikey, and my son left the table, heading back to the kitchen. My father-in-law doesn’t miss a thing, thankfully.

  Sophia saw her son and stood.

  Tony started to get up but she motioned for him to stay where he was.

  She walked to the restaurant entrance and met Jimmy and Frankie. “What are you doing here?”

  Jimmy inclined his head toward Meredith. “I’m here to settle an old score.”

  “What are you talking about James?”

  Chris and I hung on every word.

  “I know that old woman murdered my grandfather.” He spoke a little too loud and a couple of customers stared at him, horrified at what he was saying.

  “No,” Sophia said. “She didn’t. Are you the one who took a shot at her house last night?”

  She spoke quietly and she was a little scary.

  From the look on their faces, I had a feeling the nearby customers would agree with me.

  When I’m truly angry, I tend to speak quietly. Anyone who knows me also knows it’s time to tread softly around me. I could hear the same anger in Sophia’s tone and I knew Jimmy was in deep trouble with his mother.

  She placed her hand on his arm. “Let’s talk outside.”

  He pulled his arm away from her.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh or run when she grabbed his ear and started toward the front door.

  “Frankie!” she said.

  Without her saying another word, Frankie fell in behind her.

  As they walked out the door I could hear her say, “You and Frankie are going home to Las Vegas right now. You’re wrong about Meredith and I won’t put up with your…”