Diner Knock Out (A Rose Strickland Mystery Book 4) (24 page)

He turned to look at me, a grief-stricken expression on his face. When he stood and crossed to me, his glance bounced from my arm to the bandage on my neck. “No.” He pulled me to him, hugging me tight. “That could have been you in there. You scared the hell out of me. Never do that again.”

“This is all my fault,” I said, wrapping my good arm around him. “If I’d just waited for the police—”

“Candi might be dead.” He pulled away. “This isn’t your fault.” He kissed the top of my head and led me to a chair.

His absolution didn’t keep the guilt at bay. Because I’d rushed into this situation, Henry might not make it. I replayed the scenario a dozen different ways, not sure what I could have done differently.

For the next six hours, Sullivan and I huddled together. Waiting.

Roxy and Ma showed up at some point. They sat across from us, giving Sullivan and me some space.

When Henry’s surgeon finally appeared, he wore a tired smile. “He’s going to be fine. He was shot twice. The first one nicked his rib, the second missed his lung by a few centimeters. He’s lucky. We’re going to keep him here a couple days for observation.”

I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer of thanks.

Chapter 24

Sullivan and I spent the night next to Henry’s bed. The nurses barged in to take his vitals every two hours. When he awoke, I filled him in on what had happened after he’d been shot. Sullivan and I took turns feeding him ice chips. All things considered, he came out all right.

The next morning, Pete drove me home. After several hours of sleep, I crawled out of bed, drank two cups of coffee, downed a couple of Tylenol, and wrapped my arm in a trash bag before taking a quick shower.

It was after five p.m. when I finally left the apartment. Before heading back to the hospital, I needed to make a few stops.

I went to the Carlucci residence first. I wanted to check on Candi, make sure she was okay. As I drove through the gates and up to the house, I didn’t get frisked this time. In fact when I walked through the front door, Carlucci pulled me into a tight hug.

“You saved my Candi. Thank you.”

I patted his shoulder awkwardly. “All righty.” He kept hugging. And hugging. “Okay, you can stop now. Really, it’s all good.”

He abruptly dropped his arms and sniffed, but didn’t step out of my comfort zone. “You have my undying loyalty, Rose.” He looked deep into my eyes. “Undying. You understand what I’m saying? Anything you need, you let me know.”

It was all terribly uncomfortable. I couldn’t scamper away fast enough. Then I thought of something and did an about-face. “Actually, there is something you can do for me. Give Sofia Morales enough money to live on for the next few years and start a trust fund for Olivia.”

Will bobbed his head. “You got it. That kid will never want for anything again.”

I hiked up to the third floor. In her colorful room, Candi lay in bed, surrounded by fuzzy pillows. When I entered, she glanced up. “Hey, Rose.” She nodded at my splint. “We’re practically twinsies.”

I laughed and parked next to her. “How are you?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Without all the makeup, she appeared much younger. “The man I looked up to as an uncle drugged me, carved me open, and removed my tracking chip.” She held up her bandaged left arm. “He killed my bodyguard and was going to shoot me in the head. I’m just great.” She batted tears from her eyes. “I’m still alive, at any rate, thanks to you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t figure it out sooner.”

She sat up, and I stuck a few pillows behind her back. “My dad’s busted up over this. Al was his best friend for nearly fifty years. Why? That’s all I want to know.”

“I think Al was jealous of your dad for a long time, and he finally cracked. What exactly happened that night? How did Al get the jump on Howie?”

“Al followed me from Ruby’s Roadhouse. The Hummer was still sitting outside of Weed’s house the next morning. From what I gather, Howie rolled down the car window, Al shot him, took him out of the Hummer and stuffed him in a car. By the size of this lump on the side of my head, Al must have hit me pretty hard. The doctor thinks he drugged me too. I really don’t remember any details. From what Daddy told me, Al dumped Howie’s body outside of the warehouse. It’s all a big black hole until I woke up in the hospital.”

I patted her cast. “When you feel up to it, we’re going out. You’ve had a seriously sucky time of it, and we never did get shitfaced.”

Her smile was sad. “I know you were only trying to get information out of me. You don’t have to pretend to be my friend anymore.”

My heart ached for her. For all the loss she’d gone through. For this most recent betrayal. “I’m not pretending. Stop by the diner this week. I’ll feed you a mountain of pancakes and we’ll make plans.”

“Really?”

“Really.” I hoped Candi could get past this and move on with her life. That girl deserved some happiness.

I left her and stopped by the dojo. I had to let Kai know that I’d found Rob’s killer. I dragged him out of a karate class, and as we sat in his office, I told him the long, twisted tale. All of it, including the fact I wasn’t a PI, that I’d taken his case under false pretenses.

Kai was deeply saddened by Rob’s senseless death. Yet he didn’t seem that shocked when I told him I wasn’t an investigator.

We sat in silence for a few moments while he absorbed it all. Then he dug in his desk and pulled out a checkbook. “I don’t care what you call yourself, Rose, you solved this case, put your life on the line to save the Carlucci girl. Whatever I pay you, it won’t be enough.”

I’d been thinking about my fight with Al. I’d used Kai’s advice to my advantage. Still, I had a long way to go if I wanted to protect myself. “Why don’t you give me self-defense classes in lieu of payment?” I waved my splint. “I’m freaking tired of getting my ass kicked.”

He grinned at that. “Deal. We’ll start as soon as your arm’s healed.” He gingerly hugged me goodbye. Unlike Carlucci, I found Kai’s embrace comforting.

My last stop was the Morales’ house. When Sofia answered the door, she wore no makeup and her hair was a tangled snarl. It looked like she hadn’t slept in days. I hoped the yellow-green stain on her t-shirt was baby puke and not something worse.

“Hey, Rose,” she whispered, waving me inside. “I think Olivia is finally napping.”

I settled on the sofa in the living room, and Sofia took the rocker. “You have news?”

There was no way to break it gently, so I told her the facts. “I found Rob’s killer. He’s dead. This won’t go to trial, and I’m guessing you’ll never read about it in the papers.”

She swallowed and glanced at the floor. “The police called, said they’d ruled out suicide. How do you know the killer’s dead? Did you see the body?”

“Yes. He suffered.” I didn’t offer any more details. I didn’t want to add to her burdens right now.

“Good.” She noticed my arm. “Is that how you got hurt?”

“Kind of. Sofia, I’m so sorry Rob got caught up in all of this. He was never the real target. I know that doesn’t make it any easier.”

She grabbed a tissue and dabbed her cheeks. “It was his own fault. He joined the fight club in the first place. I miss him, though.”

We sat in silence for a moment. I’d decided to leave when Sofia’s voice stopped me from moving.

“Rose, I didn’t understand what you were trying to tell me that day in the diner, about the prescription meds. I called the detective in charge, hounded him. He finally told me the only drugs found at the house were Rob’s steroids.” She glanced up, her eyes meeting mine. “You found them, didn’t you?”

No point in lying anymore. “Yeah. A big bag of them. I know it’s not much consolation, but they weren’t Rob’s pills.” Which reminded me, I needed to flush them as soon as I got home. They couldn’t stay in my oven indefinitely.

Fresh tears blurred her eyes. “I know. They were Franco’s. I finally put it together. The new Mustang, the fight he had with Rob. Rob found the drugs and took them, didn’t he? He hid them from me because he loved me. He didn’t want me to know my brother was a dealer.”

That about summed it up. I merely nodded.

“I confronted Franco. He finally admitted everything. He was getting the pills from a doctor at the hospital. He’s not sorry, he’s angry—at me, at Rob. I’m going through all this pain, and Franco only cares about the drugs. I told my parents. They kicked him out of the house.” The tears spilled over and she blotted at them. My heart broke for Sofia. So much change in such a short amount of time.

She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. “At least I have some peace. Rob didn’t leave us voluntarily. I’m just overwhelmed right now, you know? Rob wasn’t much of a dad, but he loved Olivia so much.”

“I talked to Will Carlucci. He wants to provide for you and Olivia. I know it won’t bring Rob back, but it might take some of the stress off you.”

Her eyes drifted open. “Why would he do that for me?”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth, that I’d asked Will for the favor. “Carlucci has a daughter. He loves her, like you love Olivia.”

I left Sofia to her grief and drove to the hospital.

Four days later, I sported a brand-new cast and was back at work. It was hard slinging trays with my left hand, but I managed.

I’d been gone less than a week, yet I missed out on everything. During the burlesque revue, Sugar had been spotted by a talent scout and planned to go on tour with a burlesque troupe for the next six months. Axton had a steady girlfriend. Ma had sworn off men for good. That Sally Dawkins eloped with one of the guys from the dating site, and Byron Metzer put his house up for sale. He was moving to Florida to be near his grandkids.

“You made him lava cake and Chicken a la Ma for nothing,” I said. “He didn’t deserve it.”

“You got that right, toots.” Ma’s lips pursed in disgust. “Men. Who the hell needs ’em?”

On my second day back to Andre’s office, we resumed our stakeout of Ted Benson. This time, we were prepared. When Ted slipped out of Ernie’s Bar, we followed him. The driver of a late-model Buick led us to a brick ranch on the southeast side of town. Andre pulled out his camera—the one with a long-range zoom lens. He had a straight shot into the living room.

“You’re not going to believe this.”

I slouched down in my seat. “I’d believe anything at this point. Try me.”

“He’s playing a video game with one hand and shoving a hoagie in his mouth with the other. He’s cheating on Mrs. Benson by eating meat.”

“Better than screwing around, I guess.”

“I hope she feels the same way.” He snapped several shots and packed the camera back in its case.

“Hey, can I talk to you about something?” As I’d sat with Henry in the hospital, I’d taken inventory of my life and had drawn a few conclusions. Now, staring at my arm cast where Sugar had Sharpied an anchor, I cleared my throat. “I’m not sure this arrangement is working for me.”

Andre’s eyes were obscured by his dark lenses, so I couldn’t get a bead on him. “What are you referring to, Miss Strickland?” His words were as clipped and formal as ever.

“I’m not sure we’re a good fit, professionally speaking.”

Horizontal lines deepened across his forehead. “You don’t like working with me. You find me too structured.”

“That’s not true. I do like working with you. I think you could loosen up once in a while, but your methods have helped me. Truthfully, I could use a little more structure in my life. I’m just not sure I’m cut out to slog through background checks. And school’s starting soon. Working twelve-hour days, taking classes at night…I need time to study. I’m sorry.” I was breaking up with my work boyfriend, and it tore at my heart a little bit.

“I should have taken you out in the field more,” Andre said. “I see that now. But I can’t let you go without helping you gain some proficiency with a firearm. It would be irresponsible of me.”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he didn’t want me to go. That maybe he liked having me around. “I could still come in a couple times a week. You could teach me how to shoot, show me how to use those gadgets in your supply closet.”

“That’s a definite possibility. And you could spend at least one hour on background checks. They keep you sharp.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Andre.”

“You’ve never addressed me by my first name.”

“Yes, I have.”

“Not to my face. I’d remember.” He put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb. “I believe I prefer it to Hardass.”

“Hey, I’ve never called you
that
to your face either.”

That earned me a full-blown smile.

Once we arrived at the office, Andre told me to go home. He’d type up the report for Mrs. Benson himself. Since I was working with one hand, it’d be faster that way.

As I drove toward Sullivan’s house, for the first time in weeks I felt good about my life. Henry was alive and well, Roxy and I were tight once more, Sullivan and I had come to an understanding, and I still had a job with Andre. The only cloud to my silver lining was Jacks. We were on the outs, and I wasn’t sure how to fix what we’d broken. Hopefully time would heal that wound too.

When I reached Sullivan’s house, I checked on Henry first. He lay on the sofa, sipping a 7UP and watching an afternoon talk show. He actually had a little color in his cheeks today.

Nurse Bea sat next to him. In her mid-sixties, she had three kids, seven grandkids—she’d shown me lots of pictures—and two ex-husbands. She fussed over Henry like a mother hen, tucking in his blanket and making him eat lots of soup.

“You look better today,” I said.

He hit the mute button and smiled. “Feeling better. Ready to get back to work.”

“Not on my watch,” Bea said. “You’re ready when I say you’re ready.”

Henry tipped his head toward her. “She likes to crack the whip. Boss is in his office.” He winked, letting me know he meant the library down the hall, not Sullivan’s
office
office.

Heading down the hall, I knocked on the library door and, without waiting for a reply, stepped inside. Sullivan sat behind his desk staring at his laptop. Early evening sunlight shone through the windows and cast a glow on the warm hardwood floors.

He glanced up. “You’re here.”