Dead Wrong (15 page)

I caught the registration number and got back into the car. As I turned toward home, I considered what had just happened.

Chapter 20

Wild thoughts tumbled through my head as I covered the miles between Cranston and Scituate. It didn't take long before I drew up to the intersection next to the Salt & Pepper Deli. Lights glowed from the windows of Lola's eatery. The counter girl went from table to table. I watched her movements through the windows. I hung a left at the light, swinging into the parking lot behind the building.

Twinges of pain shot across my knee as I climbed the last of several stairs to enter the deli. I glanced at neat tables and chairs, tidy countertops, and glass cases filled with food wrapped tightly for the night. Donuts, muffins, and pastry lay on trays atop the counters, ready to travel to another place. Lola made fresh baked goods every day and donated the daily remainders to a local ‘senior living facility' in town.

I caught the look on Millie Endrend's face as I sauntered, with a limp, across the floor toward the kitchen. No way would she step in front of me again. The look of panic on her face said I'd left a lasting impression. I smiled and said a pleasant ‘hello.'

She plucked up enough courage to give me a half-smile and greeted me.

“Hi, Lola's in the kitchen at work on the cookbook. Go ahead in. I'm sure she won't mind.” Her head bobbed up and down the whole time she spoke, reassuring me that I had permission, I guess.

“Thanks, Millie. Why don't you come in and sit with us for a bit?” I asked in a friendly tone – at least I thought it was friendly.

But the scrawny woman muttered that she needed to get home and sidled away from the counter as though I would assault her. I nodded and watched her scuttle toward the door with her jacket in hand. It occurred to me that I'd made a bad first impression and should work on befriending the woman.

Millie shut off the lights, and the door lock clicked as she left. I realized the deli was closed – it was later than I'd thought. I stepped into the kitchen where Lola sat at the workbench. She leaned toward a laptop computer, her fingers flying across the keys. I chuckled as her head shook up and down when she agreed with what went on the page. Then I chuckled again at Lola's scowl when she had to delete something that didn't work for her.

Lola leaned back to glare at my sense of humor. I settled on a nearby stool with my leg propped on another. Lola swung the computer toward me and I read the recipe she'd half typed.

“Mmm, sounds delicious. Do you happen to have any samples available? I'm in the taste-testing mood. I just taste-tested some stew at my father's house.”

I grinned when Lola hauled a bowl from the stainless steel refrigerator and ladled a portion of the recipe into a crock for me. She chucked the chowder into the microwave for a brief time. The bowl steamed with a savory fragrance that I couldn't resist.

“Fish chowder, huh? Gosh, I haven't had this in years. My father used to make it when we were kids.” I slurped the bowl clean while Lola watched with a pleased smile.

“What brings you to the deli?” she asked as she poured tea into two heavy mugs and unwrapped a tray of pastries from the counter.

The brew scalded my tongue. I hastily placed the mug back on the counter to cool. Glancing over the sweet delicacies on the tray, I picked up a petite apple turnover and licked the glaze off it before stuffing my mouth full.

“I wanted to tell you about something I remembered,” I said around the mouthful of turnover. “The PPD detective seems to think my brain is working overtime, but I'm not so sure. A second opinion is in order. So I came to you.”

Her eyes widened as did the Julia Roberts smile. She put her finger up in a wait a minute motion and scurried from the room. A few seconds later, Little Miss Dynamite strolled back into the kitchen with another tray of the pastries she would deliver later to the seniors.

“If we have to put our heads together, we might need more sustenance, right?”

“Absolutely,” I said and peeled the plastic wrap back from the delightful confections.

In a short time, I had explained what happened at the mall, what I'd remembered about the woman who'd caused my accident, and how Detective Anderson felt about it all. I'd also managed to eat three pastries. Lola listened intently, never uttering a sound until I finished.

“So this woman, the one who followed you, is she the same person who caused the accident?”

“The one at the mall was, yes. The one who followed me – I can't be sure since I didn't get a real good look at her face.” I picked the frosting off another pastry and licked my fingertips.

“Don't get upset when I say this, but you do sound a bit paranoid about the woman, Vin.” She raised her hand as I opened my mouth. “I mean, who could blame you, since those idiots at the health center jerked you around so. Then there are the dead bodies and who knows what is next.”

“Exactly. I would sound out of control if it was just about her, but honest, Lola, I'm not paranoid. I just want someone to believe me.” I washed my hands, brushed the hair away from my face and settled down with my tea. “Marcus figures I'm overreacting, Aaron hasn't offered an opinion, but the cops, well.… And there you have it.”

“Have you spoken of this to your parents or Gio?”

“No, my parents are worried about Gio and his marriage. The least I can do is to not add to their worries.”

“Do you think Gio will get matters straightened out?” Lola asked.

“If we can figure out how to get the paintings from the unit in Nebraska to a safer place without incriminating anyone, yeah, I think so. Great Aunt Lena knows that Jill has them. I have asked her to leave them alone.”

“My God, you have your hands full this time. My family isn't anywhere near as complicated as yours, I'm happy to say.” Lola signed off and closed the laptop lid before she packed it into a leather carryall.

When new plastic wrap covered the trays of pastry I carried them out to the car for Lola, settling them on the backseat of the Mini Cooper. She turned and grinned at me as I stepped back.

“I noticed you played down the fact that you went shopping with Aaron today. What's going on with you two, anything? He is such a hunk,” she said with a wistful sigh.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing. He asked me to go. I said yes – end of story. I'm not leading him on and that's guaranteed.”

“Really?” she asked with the Julia grin.

“Huh,” I sighed. “I keep saying that to myself, hoping I'll believe it.”

“Aaron is a big boy, Vinnie. He can handle the fact that you aren't in love with him. By the way, where are you having Thanksgiving next week?”

“With my family, of course. Giovanni is here, so that means it will be chaotic with the cousins and everyone dropping by the house. Will you come down? Gio hasn't seen you in, um … it seems like forever.”

“Sure, maybe in the late afternoon. Is that all right?”

“It is. Just pop in whenever. You know there will be enough food for an army and the pastry … well, you know what that's like, too.”

Lola leaned against the car and stared at me for a minute.

“For what it's worth, I think you're on the right track with this person who caused the accident. Just stay alert so you don't end up in a bad situation. Remember how tough things got the last time you were run off the road.” With that said, Lola slid behind the wheel and drove away.

The squat little car sped up the street ahead of me as I drove toward the colonial. Light from Aaron's apartment windows spread across the driveway until I drove in and the automatic overhead lights came on. I sat in the car for a few minutes considering the paintings in the loft, the others in a Nebraska storage unit, Lena and the FBI, and the deaths of the rehab crew. Life's problems overwhelmed me. I didn't know what to do to smooth things out.

With a sigh, I left the car and headed indoors. I hadn't been in the house for more than a few minutes when I heard the outer door open and footsteps in the hallway. A sharp rap on the door preceded Marcus's entrance. Dang, I hadn't locked up and knew he'd call me on it. Sometimes it's not fun to be right.

Dressed in chocolate colored jeans and a rich green turtleneck with a forest-green wool jacket over that, Marcus looked good enough to eat. I stared at his face for a few minutes and then smiled.

“What's up?”

“You didn't lock the door. Did you just get home?”

Considering he'd checked the hood of the car to see if the motor was still warm, I smirked.

“You know I did, so why ask? I hadn't locked up yet, but I was going to.”

In a swift move, he reached out and wrapped his arms around me. Warm lips met mine as I wondered what this was about. My inner voice started yelling warnings again about involvement with a cop and the fact that he'd had a lunch date with Ima without sharing the knowledge. Try as I might, I couldn't shut the voice off. I drew away from Marcus, reluctantly.

“Want a drink or some coffee?” I asked as I moved around the counter away from him.

The hazel green eyes narrowed a tad while he stared at me, but he just nodded and said coffee was fine. He hitched onto a stool at the counter and fiddled with the pen that lay near the phone. The answering machine light blinked, which meant I had messages, but I was unwilling to play them while he was around in case they incriminated the family. The artwork and Lena logically sprang to mind. I glanced away from the phone.

“You have messages, you know.”

“Yeah, I'll play them later,” I said as I slopped water on the counter and spilled coffee grounds.

A chuckle rolled forth from Marcus. I glanced up to see him shake his head. Paper towels lay nearby and he tossed them to me so I could clean my mess.

“What kind of a day did you have?” he asked.

Peering into his face, I wondered if he baited me or if his question was sincere. Where all this self-doubt came from was something I knew I'd have to consider later.

“I went shopping at the mall and then to Providence for art supplies. Why?” There was that lie by omission thing again. I'd just added to my one-way ticket to hell.

“Just wondering. I didn't hear your name on the police radio or the newscast tonight, so I figured maybe you had a decent day for a change.” He smiled at me and I felt my resolve to stay aloof weaken.

“I ran into Ima after you left me the other day. She said you two were having lunch. Is there something you'd like to share with me, Marcus?” There, I'd blurted it out. Now I'd have to deal with the answer, whatever it might be.

His eyes widened for a second and then his wolfish grin appeared.

“Are you jealous, Lavinia?” His chest heaved as he laughed in silence.

“No, I'm just curious as to your relationship with her. She has a serious crush on you, in case you haven't noticed.” I shrugged.

“You have nothing to worry about, Beautiful,” he said with a chuckle and ran his knuckles down my cheek. “I'm not unaware of what Ima thinks, but believe me—I have no romantic feelings for her. She's going to make a helluva trooper when her probation period has ended and she'll be transferred to another unit. Probably to South County – they're shorthanded down there.”

“Oh.” When he touched me that way, I had all I could do not to jump over the counter and drag him off to the bedroom. His touch soothed and tingled me all at once.

“What else is wrong? You seem harried for some reason. Have these three corpses gotten to you? If the PPD continues to harangue you, I can put a stop to it.”

I'd poured the coffee and motioned for him to follow me into the living room. Marcus settled on the sofa.

“I've got a lot on my mind, that's all,” I said as I started the fireplace. The air was cool, but it wouldn't take long for the heat from the hearth to permeate the room.

As I took the chair nearest the fireplace, I noticed the change on Marcus's face. Concern gave way to surprise. I figured it was because I hadn't snuggled in with him on the sofa.

“Tell me,” he said in a soft voice. Sort of interrogation soft, I thought. Yeah, he was great at interrogation and for a moment, I was tempted to spill my guts about everything.

“It's just work stuff and family stuff. Nothing real important, but it wears me down when added to the dead bodies of the rehab crew.”

“What kind of family stuff?” His interest perked up.

“Gio and Jill have some marital problems. Gio took the medical convention trip as time away – to give Jill some space.”

“Is she having an affair?” he asked.

A smile hovered at the edge of my lips. His eyes widened.

“Not that I know of, but I wondered the same thing. Then I wondered if Giovanni was involved with another woman. But he isn't.”

“This has nothing to do with you, Vin. Don't get involved. You'll only get hurt by it.”

“Easy for you to say. He isn't your twin.”

“Right, the twin thing. I forgot about that.” He leaned back and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Is there anything else you want to share? I'm a good listener, you know.” His measured glance sent my anxiety soaring.

Did he know what else was on my mind? Could he have found out about the artwork and Lena? Good God, was I overreacting?

“Not that I can think of.” I sidestepped the issues he might be interested in.

“How about the woman you saw today?”

“What woman?” Had I just jumped out of my skin? Did he notice? I took a deep breath and hoped those things hadn't been apparent.

“The one you told Anderson about. I don't like to find out what is worrying you from other people. You need to trust me enough to confide in me,” he said with a serious face.

“What the hell? Anderson didn't take me seriously and it's clear you think that I'm overreacting to what's been happening. As a matter of fact, you seem to consider it a pain in the ass, Marcus.” I never took my eyes off him and watched his face take on the cop look, the one I couldn't fathom.