Deadly Dirty Martinis

by Nicole Leiren

  "That's a really good idea." I reached across the seat, took his hand again, and squeezed. "Want me to distract you while we drive there?"

  The tension in his jaw eased a bit. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

  "Since we're headed to the park, let's talk about that. I'd hoped they'd be finished with the construction by now." Thanks to an inheritance from my great-grandfather, I'd funded a project to build a park on the land that used to be owned by my family. Of course, that was before Jack Condor had convinced the town to claim eminent domain and tear down our home. Since Mr. Condor's plans had never been able to receive zoning approval, the town board agreed to the plans for a park. The large donation to pay for the project hadn't hurt in swaying them in my direction either.

  He grinned. "Rome, nor where Roman children played, wasn't built in a day. The weather has slowed their progress some. At least they got the swing set up," Tan consoled.

  I chuckled. "I'm not sure one could call that merely a swing set. It has twisty slides, a climbing wall, a tic-tac-toe board, along with the requisite swings. I really like that they chose the cedar wood rather than metal. It offers a more natural-looking area."

  "Agreed. Personally, I'm looking forward to the splash-and-play area they're planning on putting in this summer."

  Resolutely, I shoved images of Tan from the fashion show runway in my mind. Him—soaked to the skin in one of his white T-shirts—would not help me focus on finding Ashley. We parked the car and walked the forty feet or so to the playground. The November wind sliced through my jean jacket, making me wish I'd put a sweater on after work. I was always so warm while working. I hated to wear the heavier, bulkier clothes unless I knew I was going to be outside. The heaters out on the porch at the bed and breakfast had kept the chill away, but there weren't even trees nearby to break up the wind out here.

  "Ashley!" Tan called into the howling breeze.

  No answer. We made it to the swing set and walked all around the structure to see if she'd chosen one of the slides for her contemplation. Personally, I thought it was too cold out here to do any serious thinking. Then again, maybe I was just a wuss when it came to the chillier temps.

  Though there were light poles in the parking lot, the play area was a murky gray. We used the flashlight apps on our phones to conduct a search, but there was no sign of the teen.

  Tan took my hand. "Let's get back to the car. I'll call my mom and see if she's heard from Ashley yet."

  "Sounds good." Plus it was warm in his car. I worried about Ashley being out in this weather.

  Once back in the car, I held my hands in front of the vents as the warm air started to pour out into the front seat area. I listened the best I could through the chattering of my teeth. The temperature had to have dropped several degrees in the last hour or so.

  Tan ended the call. "Okay, Mom. I'll keep looking. Text or call me if you hear anything. I'll do the same."

  "No luck?" I asked as I took his hand.

  He shook his head. "No. I'm getting worried about her. Mom said she was studying at a friend's house and was supposed to be home an hour ago. She's called everyone, but the last anyone saw Ashley was almost two hours ago." Tan turned to look at me, the worry evident from the creases in his forehead. "She's acted out before, but this is out of character even for her."

  "I'm sure everything is alright. Let's head back the other way. Maybe she is over by Craggy Hill Estates. You said you used to live there, right?"

  "Right. Though it's been almost five years now."

  I shrugged. "If that's where she grew up, it could be a place she visits for nostalgic reasons." I offered a small smile, "Remember, those hormones sometimes make us do things that don't always make sense."

  My efforts worked, and he returned the smile. "They're tricky little creatures, aren't they?"

  A few minutes later, we drove through the mansion-like houses that formed Craggy Hill Estates. Tan pointed to a two-story brick home at the end of the cul-de-sac. "That was where we used to live."

  "Wow!" Yes, that was all I could manage. The front was lit up with two beautiful wrought-iron lamps fastened on either side of the door. A stone path led the way to three stairs before the large wooden door. Seven massive windows, three on the first floor, four on the second, were framed by brick overhangs. Very impressive.

  "It was home." Tan's voice was laced with sadness. I'd bet a week's paycheck he'd spent most of his younger years here. Having to move out had to have been hard on the whole family. Amazing how one little insect bite had changed their lives forever. I felt a pang of compassion for Tan's family. They'd lost so much when his father got bit by a spider while visiting the Amazon rain forest. The poison had spread rapidly, and they'd barely had time to process the illness before they had to say good-bye. Another reason to dislike bugs and give them a very wide berth.

  We were just about to get out of the car and look around when Tan's phone buzzed. He signaled for me to wait and lifted the phone to his ear. "Hi, Mom."

  I closed my door, and we both remained seated. No sense in letting the cold air in now that I was toasty and warm. My breath held its position in my chest as I waited for Tan to say something to give me an indication if the search needed to continue. Where else in Danger Cove would a teen want to hang out?

  "That's great news, Mom." Whatever his mom was telling him was erasing the worry lines from his expression with broad, sure strokes.

  Nerves relaxed and released their stranglehold on my airway. With a slow exhale of relief, I focused on Tan. His strong jaw formed a nice opposite to his smaller nose. The stubble on his chin was only visible when the light caught it just right. Guess that was an advantage to being a blond. Well, a real blond. Us blondes-in-a-bottle still had to contend with dark hair from time to time.

  I was just about to give in to the urge to celebrate the good news by leaning across the seat and kissing that strong, stubbled jaw when Tan disconnected the phone. "Were you staring at me?"

  "Mmhmm." I grinned. "But only after I knew your sister was home safe."

  He shook his head and smiled. "Well, she's almost home. Ashley texted Mom to say she was okay and would be home soon. I should probably be getting back myself. I don't want mom to have to deal with this all on her own. Okay if I take you home now? I'm sorry the evening didn't work out quite like we'd planned."

  "No worries. You were awesome to come with me to visit my parents." Guilt gurgled from deep in the pit of my stomach. "If you'd stayed at home with your family like you'd wanted, maybe none of this would've happened."

  Tan turned in the seat until he was facing me. "Hey, none of that. I told you Ashley's been acting out. There's no guarantee she wouldn't have done exactly the same thing if I'd stayed."

  I nodded, but it lacked conviction. I remembered being a teenage girl. It didn't take much to send my emotions from one extreme to the other. I was convinced, and I'm sure I wasn't alone in the thought, that the world revolved around me. Gram did her best to disabuse me of that notion, but she acknowledged that it was an affliction common in people under the age of twenty-five. I figured I was close enough to be edging past that phase. I had to be on the tail end of it. It was something I was definitely working on.

  He took my hand and lifted it to those velvety-soft lips for a kiss. "I'll make this up to you, promise."

  "It's okay, really. I have some things to do when I get home. I'll text you later. If you're still up, we can make plans for Monday. I'm so glad you're home on break this week."

  "Me too." Tan smiled and maneuvered the car out onto the street. In all too short a time, we were in front of Hazlitt Heights. He opened my door for me. Though I loved being independent, I also loved that chivalry wasn't dead. There was no rule saying a gal couldn't want both. He took my hand and waited while I grabbed my purse. "I'll walk you up to your apartment. Make sure you get in safe."

  We heard the sound of footsteps running away from the building. From the back, all I could see was a dark, hooded sweatshi
rt, dark jeans, and a flash of green. That makes twice. How odd. As we made our way up the stairs, we were on the last flight when I noticed a few ants. Tan stomped on them before I could even say anything. I smiled. "My hero."

  He laughed. "That's me. Always at the ready to vanquish the enemy, even if they are less than an inch long."

  "I find with insects, sometimes it's not about their size, but their numbers. One or two ants—not so bad. A small army of them, and I go running for the hills."

  We rounded the landing and headed up the final flight of stairs. His laughter was cut off by my scream. There, in front of my door, was a whole army of ants.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  At my scream, Tan followed my gaze to see what had me yelling my fool head off. He moved me back several steps. "Give me your keys."

  I couldn't take my eyes off the little red ants feasting on something that had managed to be smeared all over the entryway to my apartment. Tan's hand slid under my chin and forced my attention away from them and back to his understanding gaze. "It'll be okay. Just give me your keys. I've got this."

  Just because a fear is irrational doesn't mean you're any less afraid. A part of my brain chided me that these little insects were far more interested in the gooey, amber substance on the floor than they were in me. Unfortunately for the ants, that part only comprised about two percent of my brain. The rest of my gray matter hosted a very vivid imagination. Images of them organizing into rows and marching to the summit of Mount Lilly sent shivers throughout my body. Could anyone else hear the song "The Ants Go Marching" or was that just me?

  Tan's calming voice finally weaved through my distress. Keys. He wanted my keys. Right. I fumbled in my purse until the Hula-Hoop keychain slid between my fingers. Tan stepped over the ants and opened my door. He rustled around in my apartment before returning with a spray bottle. He provided the ants with a shower, and shortly thereafter they stopped moving. "What's in the bottle? Don't tell me vinegar. I know that's your answer to everything, but…"

  He laughed. "Well, there is vinegar in here, but there's also a little cayenne pepper, dish soap, lemon juice, and water. A home remedy for stopping insects in their tracks." Using a large amount of paper towels, he cleaned up the ant graveyard he'd created and disposed of it in a small trash bag.

  "You're taking that with you, right?"

  His grin eased my remaining jitters. "I'm going to leave the homemade bug spray with you, but I'll take these guys with me. Sound good?"

  "Sounds perfect." I did a quick survey of the space the ants had occupied. No stragglers. Strange as it may be, I didn't condone killing bugs. I may not like them, but I didn't wish them any harm. I just wanted them to stay far, far away from me. "I'm sorry I'm such a baby when it comes to bugs. It's on my list of things to work on."

  He put the bag near the top step and guided me into the apartment. "You have lots of lists."

  "Yes, but you're at the top of all the very good ones." I pulled him into a hug before whispering, "Thank you for cleaning that up."

  "You're most welcome. I wonder where they came from. They were attracted to the honey. Any chance you spilled some taking tea to-go or something?"

  Now that the bugs were gone, I moved into the kitchen to heat water for tea. "I don't think so. No way would I have spilled that much and not realized it. You'd think with it being winter and being on the second floor…" A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. I turned to Tan, who, if his expression were any indication, had come to the same conclusion I had.

  Someone, for some ungodly reason, had brought them to my front door.

  After we let that disturbing thought sink in, Tan moved closer and pulled me into his arms. "You want me to get Mandi and see if she can spend the night? Or…" He pulled away just enough for me to see his rogue smile. "Or I could spend the night."

  My smile widened, and a chuckle eased some of the tension in my body. "As appealing as that sounds, I'm going to make sure my big-girl panties are pulled up nice and snug and handle this solo."

  Tan's blue eyes darkened to the color of the ocean at night. A few seconds too late, I'd realized mentioning my undergarments, even as part of a quirky expression, had sent his thought process in a different direction than I'd intended. Instead of saying anything, he kissed me. Soft and sweet. "Call if you change your mind."

  A short time later, I snuggled under my covers with my recently purchased laptop keeping me company. I'd had to forgo lemon with my tea since Tan had used it all up for the homemade bug spray. Couldn't find it in myself to complain about that detail. I opened my search engine and typed in: Illinois Driver's License.

  Before I could hit enter, my phone rang. "Hey, Mandi. Everything okay?" She didn't normally call this late.

  "Everything's good. I wanted to let you know that I spoke with Freddie."

  "You are the best. Were you able to learn anything more about Liza and her connection or trouble with the Giovanni family?"

  "You know I love getting details, but you owe me for this one, as Freddie made me agree to a date in exchange for the information." There was a tease in her voice, but I felt guilty.

  "I'm sorry. You should've told him to forget it. We could learn the information another way."

  "It's just one date. He's twenty-one, good-looking, and fun to be around. There are worse people I could've made a date-data exchange with."

  She'd just entered the best friend bonus area. I had to be the luckiest girl around. "You get to pick the pizza, flavor of ice cream, and game we play next time we're all together at my house."

  "Even if it's Trivial Pursuit?"

  I laughed. "You bet. As long as I get to be on your team."

  "Deal. Okay, so here's what I learned. Freddie said that Liza got involved with Antonio Junior. Something happened between them, and she either stole from him or got in over her head and lost at a game of chance. Either way, she ended up owing a debt from her dealings with the family."

  "Wow. How did he learn all of this?"

  "They were talking about their childhoods and comparing stories, I guess. He's a good listener, and she likes to talk." She yawned as she shared the last bit.

  "Get some rest. Thanks again for making the call. Talk to you tomorrow?"

  Mandi yawned again. "Okay, calling it a night. You try to get some rest too."

  "Night, Mandi." I let the information Mandi had provided simmer in the melting pot of motives in my brain. Maybe dividing and conquering the problems in gray matter would help me be twice as effective…or would that be half? Either way, I wanted to get back to my search results while this new information about Liza filtered in.

  Google proved generous with links for my query, over one-and-a-half million to be exact, populated in a matter of seconds. The first page contained links to the Secretary of State and frequently asked questions. Too general for me. Next I tried: Illinois Driver's License Code.

  Over two million results in a flash. Amazing how much information—not all of it useful, of course—was out there to be read. Made me wonder if Mandi spent time with Google every night to keep her knowledge base filled. Though there were millions of results, the first one mentioned algorithms for four states, including Illinois. I clicked the link and read through the information. About two-thirds down the page, there was mention of a Soundex code. Additional research showed that the code is a hashing system for the English language. It will generate a letter and three numbers for each word that will roughly describe how any given word might sound. This was kind of cool. Made me wish I'd known about something like this when I was younger. Passing notes in class would've been safer, as the teacher wouldn't have been able to understand the contents even if he or she intercepted the message.

  The page revealed the State of Illinois' purposes for using Soundex was to share personal information on a license that still helped protect the privacy of the cardholder. In this case, I'm sure it was meant as a message for Donny Z.

  Reaching over to my nightstand, I look
ed at the note again:

  A100-M230-P000 K000-H500-24-H620

  Clicking the back button on my browser, I scrolled through the page again. There were several names listed in conjunction with the Soundex code, but none that matched any of the three-digit numbers in the message.

  All the numbers and letters were making my head hurt. It had been a long, emotional day. Between Tan's sister, Ashley, disappearing for a while, meeting with my parents, and the ant colony camped out at my front door, my eyelids were winning the battle against my curiosity to keep researching. I bookmarked the page with the results. Tomorrow was my day off, so I could research then.

  Between the issues with my bike and now the ants, I began to wonder if maybe Donny Z wasn't the only one with enemies here in Danger Cove.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Banging on my door woke me from a nice, deep sleep. "Lilly. Lilly! Open the door."

  Mandi's voice carried an urgent tone—one my neighbors would probably not appreciate. I stumbled into the front room and unlocked the deadbolt and chain (hey, a girl can never be too careful) before opening the door. "Door is open. What's so urgent?" I didn't mean to be cranky, but no one would like being roused from sleep in this manner. Especially not on my day off.

  Wait. It's Monday. Our day off. Why is Mandi beating down my door? A quick glance at the clock on the microwave showed it was not even eight thirty. This had better be very important.

  She stepped in and closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry to barge in, but you weren't answering your phone."

  "I was asleep."

  "Bree didn't have your phone number or know where you lived." Mandi continued the verbal spewing of facts without making any sense—at least not to me.

  "Why was Bree trying to reach me?" The sleep fog started to clear from my brain. My parents were staying at the bed and breakfast. I was supposed to meet Brock this morning at ten. "What is it? My mother?"