Lie or Die: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  Good grief! I casually strolled to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. Glancing up, I caught him smiling at me, pleased that I’d obeyed his unspoken request.

  “Who’s Doug?” I asked.

  He frowned, taken off guard by my question. “My new security man. Did you meet him?”

  “Yeah, but he made me uncomfortable.”

  “Why? What was he thinking?”

  “Oh, nothing really,” I said. “He just seemed to know who I was already. Did you tell him about me? I mean, nobody knows what I do, right?”

  “No, of course not. But Jackie might have said something about you coming in today. That’s probably it.” He was wondering if he’d hired him too fast, and decided to do a more thorough background check on him.

  “That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed. “You can’t be too careful, even if he came highly recommended.”

  Uncle Joey studied me. “Yes, well, if you get anything from him, be sure and let me know. In the meantime, I have my hands full with this promotion. There are a few things going on with my organization that have me concerned, so it’s important to know what everyone’s thinking in the meeting today.”

  “Yeah, I get it,” I said.

  He was thinking it was the big trial that worried him. He knew most of the evidence was circumstantial, but if there was a leak in his organization…he caught me staring at him and frowned. He almost said something, but a sudden thought occurred to him, and his eyes lit up.

  “We’d probably better get into the meeting,” I blurted, not liking where his thoughts were going.

  “You’d know,” he said. “If you were at the trial, you’d know if someone was lying.”

  “What trial? What are you talking about?”

  He smiled like the Cheshire cat, and I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. “We’ll talk about it later. Everyone should be here by now. We’d better go in.” He stood, and motioned me toward the door. “After you.”

  I huffed, knowing he had me over a barrel, and there was nothing I could do about it. Disgruntled, I made my way to the conference room. As I entered, Ricky stood and smiled. He was glad to see me, and wondered if I still had my stun flashlight. He’d bought one just like it for his girlfriend. I almost reached into my purse to show him I had it, but resisted the impulse, just smiling back instead.

  Victor and Marc weren’t as enthusiastic to see me, but they nodded politely. I glanced around the room, surprised that the others weren’t there. Uncle Joey took his seat, and we took that as our cue to sit down.

  “As you know,” Uncle Joey began. “I have appreciated all you’ve done to take on the extra load left by Johnny and Walter. Now it’s time to replace them with people we can trust. As you’ve probably guessed, I’ve chosen Johnny’s nephew, Jimmy, to take his place. As for Walter, I thought it best to choose someone familiar with the books in that part of the neighborhood, so I asked Nick Berardini to take his place.”

  It was hard to catch all of their thoughts at once. They all seemed good with Jimmy, but Nick was another matter. I waited for them to voice their opinions, but they all just nodded instead. Frustrated with their silence, I spoke up, asking the question that was on all of their minds. “Why not Nick’s father?”

  Uncle Joey’s brows rose in surprise, and everyone stared at me. Ricky was thinking I had a lot of guts to question Manetto. It just wasn’t done. When the boss made a big decision like this, nobody questioned him, even if they had questions.

  Uncle Joey was wondering how I knew about David. He was sure he’d never mentioned him before.

  I held his gaze, and tilted my head toward the men, lifting my brows. His eyes lit with understanding, and he took a deep breath. He got it, but his lips thinned. He wasn’t sure he liked how I put him on the spot. How did that make him look in front of his men?

  I pursed my own lips, holding in my exasperation by sheer will. Wasn’t this why he wanted me here? Fine. I was not going to say another word.

  “I was hoping to keep this quiet a little longer,” Uncle Joey finally responded. “But now I see that this is something we need to talk about. What I tell you stays in this room. That goes for all of you.” He pinned his gaze on me, and I found myself nodding just as eagerly as the rest of them.

  “David is doing a special job for me that requires a certain amount of discretion. As most of you know, a complaint has been filed against Adam Webb, the head of Webb Enterprises. In fact, the trial is starting next week. I have a business arrangement with Adam that needs to stay private. David is doing what he can to keep it that way.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “While this trial is going on we will have to watch ourselves extra carefully. Don’t trust anyone outside of our business associates. If someone starts asking questions, I want to know about it immediately.”

  He waited for a moment to let that sink in. “Good. There’s also the matter of Kate and Hodges. I just found out yesterday that Hodges is dead, and Kate has disappeared. I’ve sent Ramos to Seattle to find out what he can, and hopefully find the money they stole. In the meantime, I’ve hired Doug Carter to help with security.”

  Marc was thinking that if things were a little dicey, right now might not be the best time to hire someone new. I thought he had a good point. I glanced at Uncle Joey and inhaled to speak, but he narrowed his eyes at me with a warning in his head to keep my mouth shut. It stopped me cold.

  “Doug came highly recommended by someone who owes me, and I feel confident in his abilities.” Uncle Joey stopped, realizing he was explaining himself. He never explained himself. He was the boss. He knew how to take care of business, and his men trusted him to do that. Didn’t they? Were they always questioning him in their minds? Or was it just me? That sort of thinking had to stop. He didn’t get where he was by making mistakes. He had friends in places most people didn’t even know about. That was what made him the man he was today. He deserved their respect, not a bunch of questions.

  Oh-oh. This was bad. Ricky and Marc straightened in their chairs. They could tell Uncle Joey was upset, but none of them knew what to say. Vic picked up on the tension and glanced at Uncle Joey nervously, then looked at me, thinking that whatever was going on, it was probably my fault.

  I inhaled sharply. Why was he blaming me? Of course, thinking about it objectively, it probably was my fault. Uncle Joey confirmed it when he spoke his next words. “I need to speak with Shelby for a moment.” He stood and left the room with the command, come with me, echoing in his thoughts.

  With great reluctance, I followed him to his office. Now what? Why was he so touchy anyway? I was only doing my job. Still, my stomach clenched with apprehension.

  He opened the door, allowing me to enter before him, and closed it tight. Taking his seat behind his desk, he waited for me to sit down, his fingers tapping on the desktop. “I think we need to set some things straight,” he began. “First of all, you are not to speak during our meetings. I don’t want your opinion, or that of my people, until after the meeting is over when we can talk privately. Is that clear?”

  “Sure,” I said. I thought about explaining myself, but decided against it. Uncle Joey did not want to hear it. He was angry, but lucky for me, not all of his anger was directed my way. There were other things he was worried about, and it didn’t take much to set him off.

  He took a deep breath, and got his anger under control. “Good. There are many things about my organization that you don’t know, and I think it would be better for you if we kept it that way.” His point made, he switched back to the matter at hand. “Now…I take it the only objection they had was about Nick’s father?”

  “Yes,” I quickly agreed. “They seemed fine with everything else.”

  “Good,” he said. He was thinking that maybe my abilities would be of better use to him in other ways than these meetings, where I wouldn’t hear something that could make me more of a liability than an asset. We had an agreement, but he knew I worked with the police, a
nd he wouldn’t put it past me to stab him in the back if I got a chance.

  Surprise ran over me. Why was he letting me hear all this? He knew I was listening.

  “Would you do it, Shelby?” he asked.

  “Stab you in the back?” I blurted, caught off guard. “No…I wouldn’t do that. We have an agreement.” I hoped that was the right thing to say. Sometimes it was better to lie, especially when the alternative could be death.

  “I’m glad to know that. Just keep in mind that while you work for me, you are under my protection, which for you seems to be a good thing.” Uncle Joey was thinking that although Ramos had saved my life, it was because of him that he’d done it. “Plus I’m paying you.”

  “Exactly,” I agreed. “I can see I spoke out of turn in the meeting, but I was just trying to do my job. Now that I know you don’t want me to do that, I won’t…unless you specifically ask.”

  He nodded, his lips curving into a slight smile. “I’m glad we understand one another. I have a lot on my plate, and I don’t want to have to worry about you.” There was a certain amount of loyalty in his organization, and although he’d grown fond of me, he wasn’t sure I’d ever feel that way toward him. He couldn’t let his feelings get in the way of business. It was probably due to having his son, Miguel, along with Jackie, in his life. It was making him soft, and he couldn’t afford that. Not now, not ever.

  He came back to himself, realizing I’d just heard his thoughts. It didn’t bother him at all. “Well,” he said pleasantly. “I guess we’d better get back in there. Jimmy and Nick should be here by now.”

  “But I thought…oh never mind.” He confused me, and I couldn’t help shaking my head.

  Uncle Joey noticed. “What?” he asked, stopping me in my tracks. “What’s the headshake for?”

  “Nothing,” I said. He raised his brows expectantly, not letting it go. I gave in. “All right. If you must know, I was just thinking that you’re really good at this…at what you do.”

  His face brightened. “Ah…so you admire me. That’s nice.”

  This time I kept a pleasant expression on my face, even though it was hard not to roll my eyes. He chuckled, not fooled by my expression for a minute.

  We left his office and found two men waiting by Jackie’s desk. Uncle Joey greeted them enthusiastically and showed them into the conference room.

  Jimmy seemed pretty young for the job, but he was in awe of Uncle Joey, and I knew he’d be loyal, especially after both his Uncle Johnny, and his Cousin Jerry’s murder. He appreciated the way Uncle Joey took care of Walter, the man who’d killed them.

  Nick was about my age and harder to read. He was on the short side, had dark wavy hair, and a five o’clock shadow, even this early in the morning. For some reason he put me on edge.

  We took our seats, and Uncle Joey gave a nice speech about Jimmy and Nick, which I tried to tune out while I listened to everyone’s thoughts. The only thing that came through was that Nick was certain his position was payback for all his dad’s hard work. It was about time, and he was willing to use the position for whatever power it would give him. He hoped to expand his father’s business and use Manetto’s clout to make new friends and, if possible, get rid of a few enemies…permanently.

  Hmm…that sounded pretty cold-hearted. Just the kind of person Uncle Joey would like. I decided to steer clear of him, especially when he caught me studying him. I jerked my gaze away, but not before he started thinking about me and wondering what I did for Uncle Joey. He figured it was something important, and decided that was the first thing he was going to find out.

  Oh great, now I had to worry about him too.

  The meeting ended, and Nick didn’t waste any time. He turned on the charm and headed straight for me. “I’ve heard about you…Shelby, right?” He continued without giving me a chance to answer. “Now that I think about it, haven’t we met somewhere before? You seem familiar to me.” He was lying through his teeth.

  “I don’t think so,” I responded. I glanced toward Uncle Joey, hoping he’d see me and come to my rescue.

  “Hmm…well in that case, I hope we can get to know each other better.” He smiled with a lop-sided grin, making him more approachable and handsome. He was quite the charmer. “It will be nice to come to the office if you’re here.”

  “Well…I don’t work here full time, just occasionally when Uncle Joey needs me.”

  Nick’s eyes widened. “So you’re his niece? Now it makes sense. That’s probably why I’ve heard of you.” He was thinking that it didn’t make any sense at all, since the niece he’d heard of had red hair. Hadn’t something bad happened to her? She couldn’t be me, but he’d only heard of Manetto having one niece. What a puzzle this was turning out to be.

  Uncle Joey came to my side, just in time to hear Nick’s comment about me being his niece. He glanced at me with narrowed eyes before turning his gaze on Nick. “So I see you’ve met Shelby.”

  “Yes,” Nick said with enthusiasm. “I can even see a family resemblance.” He was totally sucking up, and it was hard to keep a straight face.

  “Really,” Uncle Joey answered, pleased. Nick using that angle made his job a lot easier. Maybe he should let everyone think I was his niece. It would work since I insisted on calling him ‘Uncle Joey’ all the time anyway. “Good, then you’ll also be glad to know that she’s off limits.” He said this with a smile, but there was a threat behind his words.

  Nick stepped back in surprise. “Oh…sure. I didn’t realize…”

  “Of course you didn’t,” Uncle Joey said, giving him a pat on the back. He narrowed his eyes and smiled thinly, just to make sure Nick understood.

  Nick was now more interested in me than ever, but he took his cue and excused himself. Before walking out the door, he turned back with a smile. “Oh…and I’ll take care of that matter we discussed earlier,” he said. At Uncle Joey’s nod, he left the room.

  By then everyone else had already left, leaving Uncle Joey and me alone. “Well?” Uncle Joey didn’t waste any time.

  “Um…Jimmy will be great. He’s totally loyal to you.”

  “What about Nick?”

  “He’s got a lot of ambition,” I said.

  Uncle Joey laughed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “He wants to expand his father’s business, and hopes to use your clout to do that. He’s also not opposed to eliminating anyone who gets in his way. With your resources, of course.”

  “He wants me to do his dirty work, huh?” Uncle Joey said. “Well, we’ll see about that. Anything else?”

  “Yeah, he’s also pretty interested in me, and what I do for you.”

  “I figured that much,” Uncle Joey said. “Especially after you called me Uncle.” He was sure I knew he didn’t like it, but that hadn’t stopped me yet.

  “Is that why you let him think it for real?” I asked.

  “Partly,” he answered. “But it just occurred to me that it might offer you some protection from anyone who knows me. If they think you’re my niece, they’d probably leave you alone.”

  “Oh…I see,” I said. Was he serious? Or was he just getting back at me? It seemed like it was a little of both.

  “Is that it?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “Then I think that’s all for today,” he said. “Thanks for coming in.”

  “Sure,” I said, eager to leave. I hurried to the hall, and caught a glimpse of someone as they ducked out of sight around the corner. Was that Doug or Nick? Uncle Joey almost ran into me.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I think someone might have been eavesdropping on our conversation.” I pointed down the hall. “They went that way.”

  Uncle Joey hustled faster than I would have thought possible. I quickly followed. We rounded the corner to a door that opened out into another hall. This was where the restrooms and exit to the staircase were located.

  Uncle Joey pushed open the staircase
door and leaned over the railing, with me trailing behind. Footsteps echoed from below, but stopped with the swinging of another door a few stories down.

  “It won’t do any good to follow now,” Uncle Joey said, thinking the person running down the stairs could have been anyone in the building, and not necessarily the person eavesdropping on us. But then where did that person go?

  “We should see if Doug is in his office,” I said.

  “Good idea,” he agreed. We hurried from the staircase, back into the hall, and the door to the men’s room opened. Doug came out, and he glanced at us with surprise, but I thought I caught a glimpse of relief from his thoughts. Did that mean it was him?

  “What’s going on?” Doug asked, concentrating on Uncle Joey.

  “Nothing,” I quickly said.

  Doug was confused at my answer. Why was I lying? “Mr. Manetto?” he asked.

  Uncle Joey was trying to figure out what I was doing. He shook his head and gave up. “Do we have surveillance cameras out here in this hall?”

  “No sir. Would you like me to set some up?”

  “Yes, but right now, I want to see the footage from just a few moments ago in the office hall.”

  “Sure,” he said.

  We followed Doug into the security room, and waited for him to rewind the footage of the hallway. He backed it up, and we saw everyone come out of the conference room, including Nick. The hall was empty, but a minute later, it looked like someone came in from the door to the restrooms. That was a blind corner, and the angle of the camera was tilted off just enough so that all we could see was his shoulder. He stood there until I came out of the conference room, and quickly pulled away. It was basically what I’d seen myself.

  Uncle Joey sighed, trying to remember what I’d said to him, and if it was enough to give me away. “Will you please adjust that camera?” he growled, looking pointedly at Doug.

  “Yes sir,” he said, thinking it wouldn’t really make any difference. That corner we were looking at was at an angle the camera couldn’t penetrate, no matter how he adjusted the angle. It was perfect for listening in on any conversation that went on in the conference room. As long as the door was open. Then he thought he’d better do a good job for Manetto, or he’d get sacked, and he couldn’t afford that right now. Not after all his hard work to get hired.