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  Sam nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Nico leaned back, still holding the stare. “You got a week. Then you better have answers. Now get the hell outta here.”

  Chapter 27

  Vinnie tapped on the door before pushing it open. His eyebrows lifted slightly and he almost smirked as he said, “Ian is here.”

  Lucianna hadn’t told him. But he’d made it clear with his sweet and never subtle ways that he knew. Maybe she’d developed a flashing neon sign on her forehead that read, “Pity me, I’m in love.”

  She smiled, striving to remain in her professional persona. As if she hadn’t already lost that battle. “You can send him in.”

  He held her gaze a bit longer than necessary. Then he nodded and stepped out.

  Ian wore faded jeans and a blue chamois shirt. In one hand he held a jacket bearing the New England Patriots logo and in the other a Styrofoam cup. “Good morning,” he said. He handed the cup across the desk. “Green tea, no sugar. Right?”

  Damn he was sexy. She cursed the sudden heat flooding her body and focused on his words. “Great memory,” she said, taking the cup. “Thank you.”

  “I figured you’d need the caffeine since I kept you out half the night.”

  She grinned and said, “I’m fine. But Dylan is a little irritated with you.”

  “Then I guess I need to bring him some treats. See if I can make it up to him.”

  Lucianna bit her lower lip to keep from spilling the words rolling around her mind. That had been the perfect opening to invite him to her condo. She fiddled with her tea, squeezing out the bag, killing time until she got herself under control. Letting the moment pass.

  What the hell was wrong with her? She’d actually considered inviting a man to her house on the pretense of making amends with her cat. This whole love thing had obviously jumbled the last of her good sense.

  “How was your mom this morning?” she asked.

  Ian’s expression instantly turned serious. “Quiet. She didn’t mention the man being in the house. She didn’t actually talk much at all. At least nothing aside from the usual nonsense rambling.”

  “I’m sorry. We’re making progress here. We’ll figure it out.”

  Ian nodded. “I know. I spoke to Mrs. Patterson, my neighbor, this morning. She was out picking up her paper when I was leaving, so I figured I’d ask her about yesterday. Maybe save you a little time.”

  “Did she see anything?”

  “She remembers a white car in the driveway yesterday afternoon. She didn’t see who was inside and she doesn’t know what kind of car it was. Just a four-door mid-size white car. She’d never seen it at the house before.”

  “Do you know anyone who drives a car like that?” Lucianna asked.

  “Not offhand, no.”

  “Friends? Family? Maybe one of your mom’s coworkers or old boyfriends?”

  Ian shook his head. “No one I can think of. But I don’t know what they all drive.”

  “Okay.” Lucianna jotted the information on a notepad. “I’ll see if anyone I’ve talked to so far drives a white car. Something might turn up. But at least we now know for sure that someone was at your house yesterday.”

  “Looks that way. Yeah.”

  “Try not to worry.”

  He gave her a slight smile. “I’m working on it.”

  “I need some background information. Something in the past might somehow connect to whatever is going on now. The more I know, the easier it’ll be to figure that out.”

  “I can’t think of anything,” Ian said. “But I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

  “How about your dad? I know your parents are divorced. Has he been around? Do you or your mom see him?”

  Ian drew a deep breath, exhaling slowly. His gaze fixed on the window behind Lucianna as he spoke. “He walked out when I was ten. I haven’t seen him since. And, as far as I know, neither has my mother.”

  “Do you know why he left?”

  “I remember them fighting a lot. My father liked to gamble. We were always broke because of it.” Ian shrugged and met Lucianna’s eyes. “One day, after a lot of screaming, he packed a suitcase and walked. My mom never talked about it. And I never asked.”

  “And that was nearly twenty years ago?” Lucianna said.

  “Yeah. So I can’t see it having anything to do with my mother now.”

  Lucianna wasn’t as positive about that. Stranger things had happened. But she let it go, deciding to do some of digging on her own later. She asked about other family. Ian explained that he was an only child. His father’s parents had both died when he was five, in a bad car accident. His father’s only sibling, a sister, had been in the car as well.

  His mother had one sister who lived in the city. They’d been fairly close before. Now his aunt only called him every few weeks to check on his mother’s progress. She never spoke to his mother. The call always seemed more of an obligation than sincere interest. Aside from those calls, his aunt, uncle, and three cousins kept their distance.

  Ian said, “It’s as if they think her condition is contagious.”

  “A lot of people are like that,” Lucianna said. “They’re afraid of any sort of mental illness. Maybe they really are afraid it’s contagious.”

  “I’m beginning to think that maybe it is.”

  Lucianna chuckled at that. “Don’t worry. You’re not crazy, Ian. Not yet.”

  “Good to know,” he said with a smile.

  “By the way, I met with Sam. I’m not too sure about this guy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just a feeling,” Lucianna said. “Could be nothing. Have you heard from him?”

  “Not in awhile.”

  “If you do, let me know.”

  “Sure will,” Ian said.

  They talked a little longer. Nothing jumped out at Lucianna as significant. Finally, reluctantly, she said, “I should let you get to work now. You’ve been a big help. I’ve got some stuff to follow up on, then I’ll be in touch.”

  Ian held her eyes. “Maybe we could have dinner this weekend?”

  The question caught her off guard. Although, in retrospect, she didn’t see why it should have. They’d been dancing around this attraction since they’d first met.

  The whole love thing scared her, if, in fact, that was what she was feeling. Declining politely would be the safe way out. Then again, she’d never been one to play things safe. “I’d like that,” she said.

  He visibly relaxed, breaking into a wide smile. “Great. We can sort out the when and where later.”

  She walked him to the door. Vinnie gazed up at them, not bothering to hide his interest. Ian just grinned at him as he leaned down and kissed Lucianna on the cheek.

  ***

  As soon as the door closed behind Ian, Vinnie said, “He’s squeaky clean.”

  Lucianna glanced back at her uncle. She tried to remember if she had asked him to run any background checks. Her memory came up empty. “Who is?” she asked.

  “Ian McCormick.”

  Her eyes widened. “You ran a background check on Ian?” She shook her head. Even Vinnie didn’t normally go that far. “Why would you do that? Have you been running checks on everyone I date but just failed to mention it before?”

  “Of course not.” Vinnie ignored her anger. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms over his head. “The other men in your life were simply distractions. They meant nothing to you, therefore I was not particularly worried. This one is different. And I was not about to sit back and allow you to get hurt. Certainly not if there was something I could do to prevent that from happening.”

  Lucianna’s anger instantly deflated. She sighed. “It’s that obvious?”

  “That you’re falling hard and fast? Yes. To me it is.”

  “Wonderful.”

  “Don’t worry. The rest of the world is not nearly as perceptive as I.”

  “Well that’s good news,” she said dryly.

  “Y
ou had to fall sometime. It’s not such a bad thing.”

  Lucianna tucked a strand of curls behind her ear and tried not to show how touched she was. She said, “I do appreciate you looking out for me. But please try to remember that I am an adult.”

  “I have never forgotten that.”

  “Vinnie…”

  “Given the circumstances,” Vinnie said, “I thought it best to be cautious. Now that I know he’s clean, I intend to leave you to your own devices.”

  “You know I can’t stay mad at you.”

  “I’m aware of that and am guilty of using it to my advantage.”

  “Good that you admit it,” she said with a chuckle. “I’ll be in my office.”

  Vinnie smiled, a hint of mischief twinkling in his eyes. “And I shall be right here at my desk, minding my own business.”

  Chapter 28

  As Ian walked down the driveway, he did his best to overlook Rob’s smirk. At times like this, it really sucked that Rob had been happily married for fifteen years. That gave him too much leverage for teasing those newly in love.

  Ian took his time strapping on his tool belt. He said, “Looks like we should be done here by the end of the week.”

  “I’d say tomorrow afternoon,” Rob replied. He swung his hammer back and forth like a pendulum as he spoke. “How’d it go this morning?”

  “Good.”

  Rob watched him, his smirk growing. “Just good? That’s it?”

  “It was just a meeting, Rob,” Ian said, trying to sound casual about the whole thing. “Lucianna wanted a little history to help her figure this mess out.” Then he quickly steered the conversation away from the inevitable teasing. “Someone was in my house yesterday. When I got home last night, I found my mother curled up in her closet. All she would say was “He was here”. I couldn’t get her to tell me who “he” was.”

  Rob’s smirk instantly vanished. “And you’re sure she wasn’t, well, you know, imagining it?”

  “She was terrified. Just like that first day I found her. And my neighbor said she saw a car in my driveway earlier in the day. Whoever this guy is, he’s real.”

  “Damn,” Rob muttered. “What are you going to do now?”

  Ian adjusted his belt, tried not to appear as uptight as he felt. “Not much I can do. Lucianna’s working on it.”

  “Is your mother okay alone? You want to go home?”

  “I thought about it. But I can’t stay home until this is over.” Ian raked his hand through his hair. He got sick to his stomach every time he pictured his mother curled up on that floor, helpless and terrified. “This morning I told her absolutely not to open the door for anyone. I even stuck notes on all the doors, in case she forgot, which is likely to happen.”

  Rob said, “Look, you want me to see if Alison can go sit with her? She could drop the twins off with my mother for a few hours.”

  “I appreciate the thought,” Ian replied. “But Alison has enough to deal with without adding my mother to the mix. Besides, I wouldn’t be comfortable bringing anyone else into this situation. I really have no idea what’s going on.”

  “Okay,” Rob said. “But leave whenever you want. I can handle things here. We’re ahead of schedule anyway, so it’s no big deal.”

  “Thanks.”

  As Ian turned to get to work, Rob said, “Hey, don’t be thinking this lets you off the hook. I still want details on your love connection.”

  Ian laughed. “You do have a way of lightening the mood.”

  “Yeah, I’m blessed that way. So?”

  “All right.” Ian held his hands up in surrender. “I asked her to have dinner with me this weekend.”

  “About time.”

  “I’ve been studying the art of procrastination.”

  “I assume she said yes,” Rob said. “Otherwise you’d be a cranky prick right now.”

  “Me cranky?”

  Rob grinned. “Get to work asshole.”

  ***

  Skeets had the old Camaro up on the lift. His hands covered in oil, he watched the black sludge drain from the engine. Dean approached him, his face locked in that perpetual scowl. His head was shiny bald. Shaved every day and probably oiled as well.

  Dean stood at only five-nine, an inch shorter than Skeets. However, Dean had a good fifty pounds on Skeets and every bit of it was muscle. He was also a mean son of a bitch. The kind of guy who’d strangle his mother for screwing up dinner. And, as if that wasn’t enough to put Skeets on edge, the guy was also one of Nico’s enforcers.

  Sound died away as Dean stepped closer. Probably nothing more than a trick of the imagination. Still, Skeets’ back teeth clenched tight. He grabbed a rag and wiped the oil off his hands, more for something to do than because he cared.

  Dean stopped inches from Skeets. He’d always enjoyed getting right up into other people’s space. Skeets fought the urge to take a step back. He kept wiping his hands, not looking directly at Dean. As casually as possible, Skeets said, “What’s up, Dean?”

  “Nico wants you in his office,” Dean said. “Now.”

  Skeets nodded, a thousand thoughts whirling through his mind at once. Dean’s tone meant nothing. The guy always sounded pissed off. The important thing was that Nico wasn’t pissed, especially at him.

  Skeets dropped the rag on the floor and walked to the office at the back of the garage. The door was open but he knocked anyway.

  Nico sat in a leather chair behind a metal desk. He held his cell phone to his ear with one hand, a cigarette with the other. To Skeets he said, “Come in and close the door.”

  As Skeets pushed the door closed behind him, Nico ended his conversation and laid the phone on the desk. He inhaled deeply from the cigarette. The room was small. Skeets stood by the door, which was about ten steps from the desk. The one metal filing cabinet held receipts and work orders for the cars they worked on. At least the ones that were legit. Nico kept nothing else here. Regardless, the cops came several times a year. You’d think they’d know better by now.

  Viper leaned against the filing cabinet. His thick arms were crossed in front of him. His expression remained blank. As usual, he said nothing.

  Nico leaned back in the chair. “I don’t trust Evans,” he said.

  Skeets waited for more. Nico offered nothing further, so Skeets said, “You think he’s gonna go to the cops?”

  Nico lifted an eyebrow, looking amused. “Not even Evans is that stupid. But I do think he might bolt, which isn’t acceptable. Besides the fact that the prick still owes me money, we need that connection he has to McCormick.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Skeets asked.

  “Babysit the asshole. Make sure you know where he is all the time.”

  “You want him to know I’m there?”

  Nico took another drag from his cigarette, then crushed it into an ashtray on the desk. “No,” he said. “He knows you’re there and he’ll be too careful. I wanna know what he’s really doing. Every fucking minute.”

  “Okay. You got it.”

  “Keep me informed. And don’t fuck this up.”

  ***

  Lucianna sat tapping her pen against her desk. She’d been mulling the same thought over for at least twenty minutes now. She glanced through the open doorway and called, “Vinnie, do you happen to know what shift Peter Graham works?”

  A moment later Vinnie stepped in and leaned against the doorframe. He said, “Usually second. Why?”

  “I’m thinking of paying him a visit today.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “To find out why he’s watching the McCormick’s house.”

  Vinnie frowned. “You don’t honestly believe that he’ll give you that information. Or even admit to it, for that matter.”

  “I’m sure he won’t,” she said. “I just want him to know that we know.”

  “Ahh, looking to shake things up a bit?”

  “Hoping to. Maybe if I shake hard enough, something will fall out.”

  �
��I’ve been keeping tabs on this Evans character,” Vinnie said. “He met with Nico last night. Late. He was escorted in and did not appear pleased by the situation.”

  “Any idea what’s going on there?”

  “None. No one’s talking.”

  Lucianna nodded. “Okay.”

  “Would you like company on your little field trip?”

  “Thanks for the offer,” Lucianna said. “But I think I’d better go alone.”

  “You don’t think I can behave.” The statement was matter-of-fact. No humor or accusation. “And you are probably correct.”

  “I know. And that’s just one of the many things I love about you.”

  Vinnie gave a slight bow. “Why thank you.”

  “I do have a project for you,” Lucianna said. “Have you got time today?”

  “Nothing but time.”

  “Find me whatever information you can on Cameron McCormick.”

  “The lad’s father, I assume?”

  “Right. He walked out on them twenty years ago.” Lucianna held her hand up to stop Vinnie’s protests. “I know that’s a long time ago. And it probably has nothing to do with Corinne today. However, the man had a gambling addiction. A bad one, from what Ian remembers. And since Ian was only ten when his father walked out, there was probably a lot going on that he wasn’t aware of.”

  “And the plot thickens,” Vinnie said.

  “It just struck me as odd that this gang is somehow connected to Corinne,” Lucianna said. “She has no gambling history, no drug addiction, and certainly isn’t out looking for prostitutes. Yet her ex-husband had at least one, if not all three of those vices.”

  Vinnie stroked his chin, as he thought that through. He said, “The time frame is off but otherwise it makes sense. I’ll see what I can uncover.”

  Chapter 29

  The day had warmed up into the low fifties. Lucianna cracked her window as she drove, enjoying the bright sun and fresh air. She arrived at the seventh precinct minutes before four p.m. A few cops mulled around the parking lot, either clinging to that last shred of peace before their shift began, or unwinding from the craziness before heading home to face their families.