“We’re going to follow this to the end,” Mike said. “This is a whole new thing now that we have an eyewitness willing to testify.”
“I agree but I think we should sit down and discuss this with the FBI and ATF before arresting him,” Kane said. “They’re trying to build an arson and bombing case on Ruiz and Carlow. We don’t want to arrest Ruiz too soon and fuck up that investigation. It could send Carlow even deeper underground. We can put Kendal in a safehouse with a protective detail now that he’s agreed to testify against Ruiz while we build our case.”
“I think that’s a good strategy,” Cassidy said, reaching out a hand for Kane to shake.
“Thanks so much for bringing us both in on this,” Kane said, shaking their hands.
“Yeah, thanks, guys,” Kelly said, also shaking the detective’s hands. She glanced at Kane. “This might be the break we need.”
Kane nodded. “At least in this half of the partnership between Ruiz and Carlow, we have enough to bring Ruiz down. Next, we go after Carlow even harder. When all of this shakes out, maybe we can put away a Boston syndicate heavy right along with a dangerous, murdering, pimp.”
Kelly patted him on the back. “We can only hope so, partner.”
Chapter Sixteen
After Kane left the house to go to work, Luca cleaned up the breakfast dishes and changed into a pair of comfortable stretchy yellow jeans with a loose-fitting Kelly-green T-shirt. He pulled his turquoise Converse high tops over his bare feet and grabbed his wallet and keys, locking up the apartment right at eleven. He had just enough time for his final driving lesson with his friend Thelma before work. She pulled up to the curb in front of his building right on time, driving her creaky old early-80s yellow Yugo. Even though Kane had poked fun at the car, Luca loved it. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that his elderly friend Thelma owned the car and the driving school. When Thelma stepped out of the car, she shot Luca a broad grin. Her perfect dentures clicked as he scooped her up in a hug, being gentle with her old bones.
“Luca, sweetie. How ya’ doin’?” she gasped as he set her back on the ground.
“I’m so excited, Thelma! It’s my final lesson!” he said, clapping his hands. He went to the passenger side of the old heap and opened a squeaky door for her, waiting until she’d settled in the seat before running around to the driver’s side and getting in. Once they were both in their seatbelts, Thelma started ticking off the things they hadn’t covered.
“We need to do parallel parking, Luca. For one thing, you will be tested at the DMV on parallel parking. For another, in this neighborhood where there’s very little garage parking, the streets are always full so you have to know how to do it, don’t you agree?”
“Sure,” Luca said, “it’s a little scary though. I’m so afraid I’ll hit another car.”
Thelma laughed, making her dentures click as she patted his hand. “That’s okay. You’ll do fine. We’ll look for a wider space but eventually, you’ll have to be able to park in a tight spot.”
Luca grinned, thinking about the jokes Kane would make up about tight spots. The truth was, Kane wasn’t shy about the things he said when it was just the two of them. Since they’d only been seen together in public a few times, it was hard to say how he’d react to things if someone made a joke. Would he be offended? Would he deny being with a guy? Would he deny being with Luca? It was a hard thing for Luca to predict but he swore he’d find out before long. He needed to know if Kane could throw him away again. He wouldn’t be made a fool the next time around.
“Okay, Thelma, let’s get the show on the road,” he said, pushing down the feelings of worry and returning his attention to Thelma.
“Okay, honey. Note that space up ahead of us on the other side of the street.” She pointed an arthritic finger across the street. “Pull out now, checking your blind spots over your shoulder, and make a three-point turn in the driveway on the other side of the street. Then, drive just past the car in front of the empty space.”
Luca did as was requested, looking over his left shoulder after starting the car. He hadn’t even seen the bicyclist which sped by the car in the rearview mirror, and was glad she’d reminded him to check his blind spots so the bicyclist didn’t end up as a splat against the side of the yellow car. He pulled out safely and made the three-point turn, coming back to the spot on the opposite side of the street.
“Now, as you put the car in reverse, ease off the clutch and turn your wheels into the curb.”
He did as was instructed but the clutch slipped and the car stalled. He started it again and after several tries, ended up half in and half out of the space with his back wheels touching the curb. He looked over at her.
“This is really hard.”
She chuckled and patted his knee. “It is, which is why you’re going to practice this over and over until you have to take the test. Do you have a car to use or do you need to use mine?” Thelma asked. Her eyes were twinkling wickedly and Luca knew there was something she wasn’t saying. “How about using your friend Kane’s car?”
Luca grinned at her. Thelma had met Kane weeks ago and she’d embarrassed them both by telling him what a nice couple they made in the midst of their breakup.
“I could use Kane’s car. We’re together now,” he grudgingly admitted.
Thelma’s teeth clicked as she grinned widely. “Well, that’s wonderful, sweetie. You deserve the best, Luca, and that man is crazy about you. I can see it so clearly. He’s over the moon about you.”
Luca snorted. “You can’t tell that from the short meeting you had with him.”
“Oh yes I can,” she said. “He was head over heels, Luca. Mark my words. The man never took his eyes off you. He’s fallen and he can’t get up.” She cackled and Luca laughed.
Suddenly a car honked loudly and Luca realized half her car was sticking out in traffic on the narrow residential street. He waved at the driver and motioned for him to drive around him. Once he’d done that, Luca pulled back out and then drove until he could find a place to stop where he didn’t have to parallel park. He glanced down at his watch and yelped.
“Oh, shit. I’m gonna be late for work.” He leaned across the seat and kissed Thelma on her wrinkled cheek which smelled of Windsong. Once he jumped out of the car and gave her a gentle hug, he jogged off down his street to the front of his building to change for work.
“I’ll send you your certificate,” Thelma called after him. “Congratulations, Luca!”
“Thanks, sweetie. Better yet, give it to me when I take you and your daughter to lunch next week.” He grinned as she nodded and got back into her car. He only had ten minutes to change and get to work as he jogged into his building.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Sebastian was polishing a 14-karat gold bangle bracelet when Luca walked into the store ten minutes late. After greeting Dog and Rodney, he jogged toward the counter and sent Sebastian an apologetic smile while opening the low door to the fine jewelry kiosk equipped with a security latch. Once inside the low space, he greeted his favorite employee.
“Hi, Seb. Sorry I’m late. Where’s Marilyn? Wasn’t she supposed to open with you?” he asked, puzzled by her absence.
Sebastian looked over at him and Luca noticed how beautifully dapper the man looked. He was always put together very well, and Luca likened his style to a proper British businessman. His ivory and cocoa wingtips were highly polished and his double-breasted dark brown suit was of the finest worsted wool. A russet-colored tie with tiny cafe pinecones lay against a shirt of fine linen in a deep olive tone. He looked as though he was ready for a fall parade.
“I just sent her to lunch. It was Chris who called in sick this morning. I’m closing with you, dear boy. Don’t you check your messages?”
Luca dug his phone out of his pocket and frowned down at the screen. Sure enough, Marilyn had texted to say she’d opened alone because Chris called in for the fourth time that month. She’d told hi
m not to worry since she’d only be alone at the counter for two hours and that she had Dog and Rodney, their two security guards, for company. Luca felt an immediate rush of anger. He knew Chris had a lot of commitments with school since he was taking several college science classes this semester which required additional lab hours as well. Tracy had quit several weeks after the robberies, and he hadn’t replaced her which was completely his own failing. That didn’t excuse the fact that he’d ignored Chris’s frequent call-ins. He was short-handed and needed to hire more help.
In a jewelry store, hiring new people took extra effort. He was required to run background checks on anyone he hired and have them pass a three-hour exam designed to detect dishonesty. It was harder than one would think to find qualified help who needed to be trusted to handle diamonds, gold, and very expensive watches. Luca’s shrinkage numbers had vastly improved since he was made manager but the store experienced loss now and then. He trusted his people but one could never be 100 percent certain of everyone. Luca was especially careful since he’d had to fire one young man who was always on the schedule when things turned up missing… and he hated firing people.
“I’m so sorry, Seb. I totally missed the alert,” he said, wiggling his phone.
Sebastian lifted an eyebrow. “Hot date?” he asked, bending to put the bracelet back into the case and lock the door. When he straightened, he was smiling slyly. Luca couldn’t help but smile back.
“In fact, I did have a hot date but that’s not the hot date I want to talk about.” He bent and put both elbows on the counter, looking over at Sebastian as he wiggled both brows. “How was it going out with Stephen? Hmm?”
Sebastian lifted his chin and sniffed daintily. “A gentleman never tells.” He turned his back as Luca chuckled.
Luca went over to the door to the large jewelry area and opened it again, calling back over his shoulder. “I’m going to get settled in my office. Give me three minutes.”
“Hurry and I might share some fun details.” Sebastian’s reply was nearly lost as Luca laughed.
He hastily took off his jacket, checked his tie in the mirror, then grinned to make sure nothing was stuck in his teeth. After proclaiming himself fit, he checked email, writing down the name and request for a particular ring from one of his regular customers. He already knew the piece she wanted and he knew they didn’t have it in stock so he picked up the phone and placed a special order with their diamond buyer. After listening to her bloviate about her husband’s boating skills for nearly five minutes, Luca begged off the call. Listening to her, one would think the man a yachtsman rather than the operator of a ten-foot craft with an outboard motor that putted across Lake Castaic.
Luca logged out of email and walked back out to the front. There were two customers and he immediately approached the one waiting with a wide grin, just happy that he was back in his element. He adored his job and the people he worked with. Sebastian left his customer standing at the counter and walked toward Luca with a pricy Tag Heuer ladies watch in his hand. Sebastian gave him a thumbs up as he proceeded to step behind the wrap desk to ring up her purchase. It was another two hours before the two of them had finished with the afternoon rush of customers. Since Marilyn was back from lunch, Luca walked over to Sebastian and pressed for details of his date with Stephen. He really was interested to know how it had gone.
“So, now that we have a minute, I’m dying to know what really happened. Spill the beans, Sebastian.”
“He was a perfect gentleman,” Sebastian replied.
Luca stuck out a lower lip. “How disappointing,” he snorted.
Sebastian smiled slyly. “You don’t really want me to give you blow by blow details, do you?” He lifted an eyebrow as Luca waggled both of his. “Huh, of course you do.”
“Well, get on with it.”
“Fine,” he said, waving a hand as if in dismissal. “But you’ll have to stop being you right now. Can you do that?”
Luca chuckled.
“Fine, then,” Sebastian said. “He picked me up in a rather lovely burgundy Rolls Royce limousine…”
“Jeez, how many of them does the man have?”
Sebastian raised his perfect salt-and-pepper brow again.
“Sorry, sorry,” Luca said. “Lips are sealed.” He lifted two fingers, pressing them together and drawing them across his mouth like closing a zipper.
“In any case, his driver, Michael, took us to a lovely restaurant in the penthouse of the Bonaventure hotel.”
“Wow, that place is nice,” Luca said.
“Well, the restaurant is divine but I’ve no doubt the elevator needs retrofitting.”
Luca’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“Oh dear, we were halfway up when the lights went out and it suddenly came to a lurching stop. I almost peed myself. Not something I wanted to do on a first date.”
“Holy crap. I should say so. I’ve no doubt you were dressed in your best Tom Ford,” Luca replied with great amusement. “It must have been terrifying to be stuck in an elevator!”
“It wasn’t being stuck that was so unpleasant. It was the dark.”
Luca pouted. “Oh, are you afraid of the dark?”
“Of course!”
“Why? You had a beautiful man with you. Why were you afraid?” Luca snickered.
“It wasn’t the beautiful man… it was the inherent absence of light, dear boy,” he drawled wryly. “In any case, Stephen took it in stride and called for help. Within minutes, the elevator started again and we were at the penthouse.” He smiled and Luca grinned.
“What?” he asked.
Sebastian sighed. “Well, he did take my hand after we stopped and never let go until we arrived at our destination.”
Luca pursed his lips. “Aww, that’s so sweet,” he said, patting Sebastian on the back enthusiastically. “I’m so glad. Now, tell me the rest and don’t spare any of the horny details.”
Sebastian laughed. “If there had been… as you call them… horny details, you’re the last man on earth I’d share them with, darling. Anyway, we had a fantastic meal and then Stephen took me to some horridly tacky drag club.” He grinned widely. “It was all great fun and I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in my life.” He chuckled. “The performers had no idea how to apply makeup and I could’ve sworn one Dolly Parton headliner was about to fall forward onto her massive chest. I kept waiting for the show to begin and then I realized it was over.”
Luca laughed. He could just imagine the look on Sebastian’s face when Dolly had taken the stage to sing.
“Haven’t you been to a drag club before?” he asked.
Sebastian made a tsking noise. “Dear boy, there is life in these old bones, you know. Of course I’ve been to a drag show before. I just didn’t recognize any of these performers.”
“Who were they?” Luca asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. They all had single names though.”
“Single names?” Luca asked.
“Well, let me think,” Sebastian said. “Um there was a… Prince… a King of Rock and Roll… oh, and a Charo… who knows what royal family she comes from?”
Luca threw his head back and laughed. “But I see what you mean about single names. Tell me, was there a Pele, a Liberace, or a Sting among them? Maybe a Superman.”
Sebastian snorted. “Now, that would have been interesting. I just wasn’t aware that Pele sang. And Superman… my, my. Can you imagine your favorite hero in a party dress?”
A very dirty picture formed in Luca mind and something in his expression must have given him away when Sebastian smiled.
“What?” Luca asked.
“I know what your picturing,” Sebastian said, just as Luca knew he would. “You’re picturing that detective in a party dress.”
“Maybe, though I don’t know how a stubbled jaw would go with a pink feather boa,” Luca shot back as he scrunched his nose.
Sebastian laughed. “In any case, we fiddled away a few hours watching drag queens
eat their young and then he took me home. It was a lovely evening, really.” He turned and tried to walk away but Luca reached out and grabbed his forearm. When he spun back around, Sebastian’s eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“Oh, no you don’t. I want to know if there was chemistry. Did you kiss?”
“Dear boy, a gentleman never kisses and tells… but, oh, my,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “The man’s lips are so soft… I do believe I’ll die happy now.”
Luca laughed and threw his arms around Sebastian, hugging him tightly as the man oomphed into his shoulder. “I’m so happy for you. You both deserve much happiness,” he whispered his ear.
“Oh, for fucks sake, Luca, it was one date,” he said, trying to wiggle out of Luca’s grasp. Luca could hear the mirth in his voice. He squeezed harder and felt Sebastian relax and pat his back. “Don’t have us reading the marriage banns just yet, Luca. Besides, I already know my schedule for the next three successive Sundays and it’s certainly been ages since I stepped into a parish church,” he drawled.
Luca finally let go of him and stepped back, laughing. It was only when he heard someone whistle that he remembered he was at work. When he turned to the rude sound annoyance bubbled through him.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
“Who is that, Luca?” Sebastian asked, “and did he just whistle at you?”
“It’s my soon to be former best friend, Corey. Excuse me, Sebastian,” Luca said, walking over to the counter where Corey stood looking anxious.
“Why aren’t you answering your phone or texts,” Luca?” Corey hissed.
Luca’s stomach turned at his frantic tone. It wasn’t like Corey to actually travel out of his way to come see him. He pulled his phone back out of his pocket then lifted his gaze to Corey, standing on the other side of the jewelry case. Lo and behold, when he’d checked for Chris’s message hours ago, he’d accidentally put the phone on silent. There were eleven missed calls and four voice mails, most of the calls and all of the voice mails from Corey. There were also two back to back missed calls from Kane.
Play With Me Page 22
