Mrs. Hunter paid for her order, then she and the child left. Anthony turned to me with an apologetic smile. “You did real good, honey. Before you suggested it, I never even thought about putting stromboli on the menu.”
While Anthony may have been happy with the results, Vince was not. He flashed me a clear look of contempt. “Congratulations on making employee of the month.”
What was this guy’s problem?
Anthony disappeared into the office, and I busied myself with ladling the tomato sauce into containers for him to freeze while Vince waited on a new customer.
The back door banged open, and the kid who’d bumped into me the other day appeared. He was tall and slim, with carrot-colored hair and blue eyes that stared at me curiously under long, dark lashes. He placed a black warmer bag on the table and nodded at me. “Hi, I’m Sam. You must be Mrs. Esposito.”
“Call me Tessa.” I smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
He jerked his head toward the office door. “Is Anthony in there? I want to ask him if I can cut out early.”
I put on a pair of plastic gloves. “Yes, he—”
Vince strolled over, his eyes narrowing at me as he addressed Sam. “You don’t have to tell this lady anything, Sam. She’s an employee—same as you. I’ll inform Anthony you went home early.”
I bit into my lower lip, determined not to say something I’d regret. This was no time to get myself fired from Slice. I had a great deal of work ahead of me.
Sam looked from Vince to me as if he didn’t quite understand Vince’s behavior himself. “Okay, sure. Thanks.” He started to walk away, then glanced over his shoulder at me. “Nice meeting you too.”
“Take care,” I said. Vince took the containers of sauce I’d packaged and brought them into the cooler without another word. Jerk.
Anthony reappeared from the office. “You’ve had a long day, honey, so go ahead and knock off early. I can take care of things for the rest of the evening, and I’ll still pay you for your regular shift. Plus, Vince is here to help.”
“Lucky me.” Vince shut the door to the cooler. “Anthony, wait up. I need to talk to you in private.” They went into the office together and shut the door while I pulled out my phone to call Gabby. Since there were only a couple of hours till closing, I wasn’t about to argue with Anthony. I wanted to go home. It had been a long, strange day.
Gabby’s phone went to voicemail, and I cursed under my breath. I disconnected and shot off a quick text to her. She wasn’t expecting to come get me for a couple more hours and might be in the middle of something at her bookstore.
Eric walked by me with a black warmer bag in hand. “Hey, sweet thing. What’s up?”
I hadn’t even heard him come in. “Nothing. I’m trying to reach my cousin to give me a ride home, but she’s not answering.”
A sly smile crossed his face. “I suppose I could give you a ride, after I make this last delivery.”
I hesitated for a moment. The repulsion I felt for this kid was trumped by my curiosity ever since he professed to know something about Dylan’s death. Plus, I was convinced that the drugs I’d found in the cooler belonged to him. Did I really want to drive with someone who might be under the influence? But it was the only way to ensure our conversation wouldn’t be overheard.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be good.” He winked.
“All right, thanks.” I accepted before I could think better of it, then grabbed my purse and coat.
Eric opened the passenger door for me to his beat-up Chevy. A creep with manners—how nice. He started the engine, and we zoomed out of the parking lot. “Where do you live?” he asked.
I glanced around the car. There were empty soda cans, bags of chips, and candy wrappers scattered everywhere. The entire vehicle smelled like gasoline, and I caught the faint odor of marijuana mixed in with it. The windshield was so dirty that I wondered how he managed to see where he was going. “I’m at 42 Seasons Way. Three blocks over from the park.”
“Yeah, I know the street.” Eric accelerated. The legal speed limit around here was 30, but the kid had to be pushing over 50 miles per hour. He studied the order slip in front of him. “Sorry to hold you up, but this guy gets his panties all in a bunch if I’m late with his pizza. From the size of him, it wouldn’t hurt him to wait a while.”
This kid had no filter. “That’s fine. It will give us more of a chance to talk.”
“Oh yeah?” He reached out and ran a finger suggestively down my arm. Furious, I smacked it away. “What? I thought you were interested in me. Nights have got to be pretty lonely for you since your stuck-up suit of a husband kicked the bucket.”
I fought to control my temper. “Sorry, but I’m not looking for a replacement.” Especially from a punk kid like you.
“Then what did you want to talk to me about?”
I decided to be honest with him. “I think you know something about my husband’s death. You don’t believe it was an accident.”
He placed a cigarette between his lips and reached for the car’s lighter. “But we both know that, don’t we? Come on. I’ve heard that you’ve been going around asking questions about your old man. What’s the deal?”
“You tell me.”
Eric blew a plume of smoke in my face, and I did my best not to gag. “Thanks to that windbag of a cop, it’s all over the streets. Somebody tampered with your dude’s car and baked him to death.”
My stomach twisted in a knot at his words. “Did you see who did it?”
He stared straight ahead, a smug smile playing on his lips. “I might have.”
Was he pulling my leg? I honestly couldn’t tell. “Does this person work at Slice?”
“I didn’t say that. Your old man’s car was parked in the alley that day. Anyone could have come along and fooled with the engine. Chances were pretty good that no one would see either. But—maybe someone did, you know?” He gave me a sly wink.
Even though I despised him, I sensed that Eric was telling the truth. “Just come right out and say what you want.”
“Take it easy, babe. Get me some cash, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
God help me. If Gino ever found out I had agreed to a bribe with this creep, he might shoot me with his gun, but I was desperate enough to agree. “How much do you want?”
“Five grand.”
I sucked in some air. “I don’t have that much lying around.” I thought of the life insurance policy that should be arriving any day now. “But I’ll have it soon.”
“I don’t take IOUs, baby.” Eric sucked on his cigarette. “I’ve got to think about my future, you know?” He laughed. “The perks of this job are great, but there’s no future in it. What I’d really like is an office job. I’d make a great CEO somewhere. The ladies would all be chasing me then.”
“Look, you can understand my position, with Dylan being gone. I can get you a grand today and the rest within a week or so.”
He picked up my left hand before I could stop him and studied the one-carat solitaire I wore with my wedding band. “That baby’s got to be worth a couple of thousand at least.”
I gritted my teeth and snatched my hand away. “Forget it.”
Eric held up his right hand, as if making a promise. “Only as collateral until you get the rest of the dough. Scout’s honor.”
Right. Because Eric was definitely the type of kid who helped old ladies across the street and returned valuable property that was loaned to him. I wasn’t handing over my ring, but I let him go ahead and think that it might happen. From my wallet I withdrew five twenties, which I arranged into a fan and held out to him. “Fine. After you deliver the pizza, take me to the ATM. I’ll get you the other nine hundred and give you the ring. But first you tell me what you know, or it’s no deal.”
Eric pulled into a long blacktop driveway in front of a beige Colonial.
He placed the car in Park and snatched the bills out of my hand. “Wait here. We’ll talk when I get back.”
Conniving little creep. I watched him swagger toward the door with the warmer in hand. My phone buzzed, and I drew it out of my purse. It was a text from Gabby. I’m so sorry! I got hung up at the store and missed your call. Are you still at work?
My fingers flew over the phone’s keypad. No, I’m with Eric the delivery guy. He’s giving me a lift home. I think he knows who fooled with Dylan’s car. Call you when I get home.
As I pressed Send, Eric opened the car door, and a loud popping noise filled my ears. A moment later, an engine roared to life and burned past us. For a few seconds I didn’t register what had happened. With horror, I watched as Eric slumped to the ground beside the car and a steady stream of blood flowed from his body to the blacktop underneath him. He lay there, motionless.
“Oh my God!” I screamed and covered my eyes.
The sound of running feet on pavement drew closer, and I looked up. Eric’s customer was shouting at me and gesturing with his hand. My legs shook with fear as I somehow managed to get out of the car. The man reached my side. He was shirtless and heavyset, carrying an iPhone in one hand. He reached out to me with the other. Despite the cold and his half-naked body, his bald head shone with perspiration. Sweat trickled down the sides of his face, and he breathed heavily. “Hurry, lady! Follow me!”
“What are you doing?” I shrieked as he tried to pull me up the driveway. “We have to get him some help!”
“Don’t bother,” he panted. “The kid’s dead. Now let’s get the hell out of here before someone tries to pop us next.”
Eleven
“All right.” Gino guided his unmarked vehicle through a yellow light that changed to red as we flew underneath it. “Tell me what happened from the beginning. Yes, again.”
I turned toward the side window so that he couldn’t see me roll my eyes. It wouldn’t do any good to complain. After the police had arrived, they had transported the customer and me down to the station where we’d been subjected to over an hour of intense questioning. First thing, I’d called Anthony, who’d been horrified when I told him what transpired. When I divulged my relationship with Gino at the station, my cousin had personally come to escort me home. It was after nine and I was too tired to even try to argue with him.
“I was sitting in the car, waiting for Eric to make a delivery. As he got back inside the vehicle there was a loud noise, like a firecracker. When I looked over, he was lying on the ground.”
Gino swore under his breath. “I knew that it was a mistake for you to be working there. Plus, I said to call if you needed a ride. Why were you with that hoodlum?”
“Because I think he knew something about Dylan’s death. He hinted that he might have seen who tampered with the car.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “Eric could have been lying, you know. Why didn’t he say something before now?”
I shrugged. “Maybe he was holding out for the right price.” Oops. Wrong thing to say.
Gino pulled his car into my driveway and placed it in Park, the engine idling. He turned to me, his brown eyes snapping. “Did you offer that kid money?”
I didn’t answer.
“Damn it, Tessa,” he said in disbelief. “You did, didn’t you? That punk was nothing but a scam artist with a record. He assaulted an officer last year and was arrested for possession of drugs. Did you ever think he was trying to make a quick buck off you?”
“He knew something about Dylan’s murder,” I insisted. “I think someone wanted to shut Eric up—for good. Maybe before he could talk to me? Whoever did this might be the same person who killed Dylan. We need to find out who’s behind it.”
“We?” A muscle ticked in Gino’s jaw. “There’s no we. This has gone too far. I’m officially firing you from Slice. First thing in the morning, call Anthony and tell him you won’t be coming back to work.”
I counted to ten in my head before answering, knowing Gino’s macho stubborn streak. “Sorry, but I can’t do that.”
“Can’t or won’t? Why did I even tell you about the job? I never thought you’d take it this far.” Gino’s expression darkened. “What if you’d been shot instead of Eric?”
I shivered at his words but remained silent. The same thought had already occurred to me.
“Well?” he asked again.
“I have to find out what happened to my husband. I have a right to know. I need to know. There are a couple of employees at Slice who might be willing to talk.” Butchy came to mind, and I wanted to have a chat with Sam too.
He sighed. “Tess, I don’t want someone coming into Anthony’s shop one night and taking a potshot at you. My goal was to get you cooking again—not killed.”
“These days, that sort of thing can happen anywhere.”
His eyes glittered as he leaned in closer. “Yeah, but I don’t want it happening to my cousin. Did anyone ever tell you how stubborn you are?”
I shot him a grin. “It must be a family trait.”
“No doubt.” He pinned me with a long, hard stare. “So what else have you found out?”
“There are people I’m suspicious of at Slice,” I confessed. “Carlita from Sweet Treats told me that Vince Falducci and his former partner were stealing from their restaurant in New York City. She said it’s a possibility their tax guy turned them in. I don’t know if it was Dylan but plan on looking through his personal records tonight to see if I can find anything. Vince got very angry when I asked about the business and wouldn’t even tell me the restaurant’s name. I was planning to check around on the internet to see what I could find.”
“Don’t bother. I can run some searches on him easily enough,” Gino said. “A check through DMV at the very least. Anything or anyone else that I should know about?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “Anthony’s daughter, Izzy, had a crush on Dylan and offered him a good time. Apparently, Dylan saw her making out with another guy, and she might have been worried he’d tattle to her rich fiancé about it. Even Anthony seems a bit shady to me now, and he doesn’t like talking about Dylan. Someone may have been watching my house last night too.” I told him about the car that had been parked on the street with the headlights off.
Gino gritted his teeth. “You should have told me about this sooner. Plus, you’re forgetting a key suspect.”
“Who?”
“Your ex-boyfriend,” Gino said darkly. “I’m watching that guy like a hawk.”
“Just because Dylan’s car was at his shop the day before he died doesn’t make Matt a killer,” I pointed out.
“It’s the same thing as Dylan’s car being at Slice right before he died. Okay, I’ll be honest,” Gino confessed. “I’ve never liked Matt Smitty, but that’s beside the point. He was all nervous and jittery when I questioned him at his house earlier.”
“You went to his house? He must have freaked.”
“He’s hiding something. I’m sure of it,” Gino insisted. “Sometimes it pays to keep badgering a suspect. They get nervous and slip up. Maybe next time he’ll cave. You stay away from him, and if he comes near you, I want to know about it.”
I groaned. “Yes, Dad.”
“Have you checked Dylan’s cell phone?” Gino asked.
“No. It burned up with… I mean, it was in the car with him when he—” My heart hurt every time I let myself think about the manner in which he had died. Despite what Dylan had done, he was my husband, and I still loved him.
Gino leaned over to ruffle my hair. “If you like, I can check with the phone company and try to retrieve his texts.”
“Dylan hated to text,” I said. “If I sent him a message, he’d always call me back.”
“Did you know his password to retrieve voicemails?” he asked.
Uneasiness washed over me like a tidal wave. I’d nev
er been one of those wives who’d check her husband’s phone on the sly when he wasn’t around. It felt like a lack of trust to me. Then again, Dylan had betrayed that trust, and this might be the only way to get to the bottom of his deception. “Yeah. I know his password.”
Gino drew me closer, planting a kiss on the top of my head. “You need to take a day and think about this first. What if you found out something even worse about him? Could you handle that?”
I didn’t answer.
“As a cop, I’d say to check his voicemail. Speaking as your cousin, sometimes it’s best to leave these things alone. Think on it before making a decision.”
“I will. Thanks for the ride.” Gino waited until I was inside my house before he took off. Luigi met me at the door, and I hugged him close, listening to his loud purrs, and sank down on the love seat with him in my arms. What a day. I was so exhausted I couldn’t even see straight but wanted to go through the boxes, which were still in my car. For now, I was intent on closing my eyes and snuggling with Luigi, enjoying the peace and quiet.
Headlights shone through my window from the driveway and I groaned. Maybe Gino had forgotten something. When I looked out, I spotted Justin’s truck. I had forgotten about asking him to stop by today when he was off work.
“Hi, stranger.” I held the door open and smiled at the athletic-looking guy with the black, wavy hair jogging up my sidewalk. I hadn’t realized before how much I’d missed seeing him the past few days. Justin was like a breath of fresh air—something I sorely needed right now.
“Hey yourself.” He held a pizza box in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other. “Want to join me for a slice?”
His company was always welcome, but the last thing I wanted to eat was pizza. Still, I had to let him know what I’d discovered. “Sure, come on in.”
Justin put the pizza and beer on the breakfast counter while I grabbed plates and napkins from the cupboard. He removed his Carhartt jacket and tossed it on the stool next to him. Despite the cold night he was wearing a light-blue Adidas T-shirt with the sleeves cut out, his muscles bulging from the strenuous workouts he performed religiously to keep himself in shape for his job. He stooped down to pet Luigi, who rubbed affectionately against his legs. “How’s it going, big guy?”
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