by Ali Vali
“What exactly do you want to do?”
“I’m going to find another buyer, so we’ll advertise the fact that we have an opening in this particular business.” He looked out over Canal Street and the five police cars that sped by with lights flashing. Whatever had happened obviously needed plenty of backup. “We have more than one way to expand, and we’re going to find someone who’ll think our pricing structure is totally acceptable.”
Royce stood but didn’t move from the desk. “What about what Poppa said?”
“Poppa might’ve built his business with the Caseys, but we’re moving in a different direction.”
“Do you honestly think Cain’s going to let someone set up with the same size or larger operation right under her feet?” Royce threw his pencil on all the papers and sighed. “The smart play would be to try to talk to her.”
“The smartest play is to do what I tell you, or did you forget who told her to get lost in the first place? I did you a favor by not telling Poppa, so now you’re going to listen to me. Casey won’t be a problem if she’s not around to bitch about anything.” He closed the curtains and shrugged when he faced Royce.
“Now I know you’ve lost your mind. You kill Casey, and you’ll bring down the wrath of the entire Casey family on us. Billy alone will wipe us all out, including Poppa.”
“You and Poppa need to have more faith.”
“I have faith, but I also have a need to not make problems when we don’t need to.”
“Trust me, Royce. We’re not going to take the fall for killing her, and once we get going, the only problem you’ll have is how to spend all the money we make.”
* * *
The professor finished giving out the assignments for their midterms, and Emma was thrilled when he finally stopped. Bea had arrived late so she wasn’t able to sit with her, but she was glad about that too. With Bea in the front row, she wouldn’t be stuck in some long conversation about Cain or anything else. She waved on the way out the back door, knowing Cain was waiting for her in front of the administration building.
“Emma,” Bea said from the top of the stairs. “Wait up.”
“Sorry. I’ve got a date,” she said and kept going.
Cain was standing outside the front SUV of the two parked out there, staring down the street as she spoke on the phone. She seemed to have a way of knowing Emma was around since she glanced at her and smiled when she was still a hundred yards away.
“Hey, beautiful,” Cain said, meeting her halfway and making her believe the compliment.
“Hey.” She kissed Cain and put her arms around her under her jacket. “I didn’t keep you too long. Did I?”
“Not at all, but let’s go before one of these campus cops gives us a ticket for parking illegally.” As always, Cain took her bag and walked her to the car door. “You ready to shop?”
“I’m spoiled for picnics, but I’ll take you however I can get you.” She pressed herself to Cain and liked the way Cain put her arm around her. “Hey, Lou,” she said, and Lou nodded.
“Picnics are becoming my favorite too, but too much of a good thing, lass, might bore you,” Cain said and pulled her closer. “I’ll be happy to show you the pleasure of variety in your life.”
“I bet you would.” She laughed with joy about where she was at the moment. “So what are we shopping for?”
“We’ve got a date in a few days, so something that’ll go with black tie.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to take someone else?” she asked, never having attended anything like that. “You know, someone used to black-tie things.”
“I promise plenty of picnics and nights at the pub having fun, but sometimes life isn’t about jeans and T-shirts. When those days come, I want you with me too.” Cain held her and kissed the back of her hand. “I’ll never want to make you uncomfortable, though, so if you really don’t want to go—you don’t have to, but I’m not taking anyone else.”
“I want to go, but I don’t want you to think I’m a bumpkin in heels either. I don’t want you to be ashamed of me.”
“Don’t ever think that again. You’re a beautiful woman, and I’m one lucky bastard that you’re with me,” Cain said with passion.
“Okay, and I only wanted to give you an out without feeling bad about it.”
Cain laughed and pinched her side. “Isn’t that what’s made you mad whenever I’ve done it since we’ve met? Let’s agree that no matter what it is, I want you to come with me.”
“Okay.” When Lou stopped in front of Saks downtown, she took a deep breath. “I’ve never been in there, even to look.”
“It’s like any other store, except for the sometimes snooty people who’ll wait on you.” Cain opened the door and held her hand out to her. “Come on. I’ll try to make it fun and painless.”
“I don’t think I have enough tips to pay for anything in there.”
“I asked, so you’re not paying. Think of it this way,” Cain said, holding the door open for her. “You’ve had all these birthdays that I’ve missed, so I have the afternoon to make that up to you.”
“I can’t accept that much from you. We really haven’t known each other that long, and this isn’t what I expect.” She pointed to the corner of the shoe department so they could have a semi-private conversation. “Can I just borrow something from Bea?”
“Sure, but I really don’t mind.”
“I know you don’t, and I’m sure plenty of people are with you because of what you can give. I just don’t want you to think I’m like that. I don’t mind paying my own way.”
“It’s a gift freely given. If you’re worried about the label of a kept woman, don’t. That only applies when you have to pay me back with something you’re not ready to give.”
“Thank you,” she said, not wanting to feel like she was proving her mother right by caving in to the first temptation that came along.
“Let’s just look, and then you can make up your mind.” Cain took her hand, and when she turned around, the woman named Merrick was standing close by with a phone in her hand. “Sorry. Give me a minute.”
Cain’s conversation was short and didn’t seem pleasant in any way. “You want or need to reschedule?” she asked when Merrick disappeared with the phone.
“I’m sorry, but I need like two hours, so stay and look around.”
“Without you?” She thought of being thrown into a very deep pool full of hungry alligators.
“You won’t be alone.” Cain called one of the salespeople over and had a short talk with her. “Have a seat, lass, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She sat and looked at the display of shoes nearest her. They were all beautiful but probably cost more than she made in a month. “Ms. Verde,” a handsome, well-dressed man said when he stopped in front of her.
“Hello,” she said, wondering who this was. Sometimes she thought her naïveté was tattooed on her forehead.
“Kevin, ma’am. If you’d like some assistance navigating the store, I’ll be happy to help. I’m a personal shopper and friendly ear if you need a friend.” He had a gentle and kind manner, and he seemed completely sincere. How many times had Cain used him for this?
“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you known Cain?”
“I’ve never met Ms. Casey. Of course I’ve heard of her, and she comes in every so often for her own shopping needs, but she asked for a personal shopper you’d feel understood you.”
“I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I appreciate your help.” She stood and groaned, realizing that her bag and money had left with Cain. “Maybe we can just browse, and once I get my money back we can decide on something.”
He looked at her as if she’d grown a horn-sized pimple in the middle of her forehead. “My boss told me you wouldn’t have to worry about that, but you evidently didn’t get that memo, did you?”
“No. Cain mentioned it, but I don’t want to be like all the women in her life, if that makes any sense
. Like you said, you may not know her, but you’ve heard of her. I’m sure reputation has to be a part of that.”
He shook his head and then snapped his fingers. “Since I’m new, and we’re stuck with each other, want to test your theory?”
“What do you mean?” She looped her arm around his and followed him to the third floor.
“If we’re going to be friends, you have to swear to keep this between us,” he said, and she nodded as he opened the door that led to what appeared to be the offices. He dragged a chair into his cubicle and brought up Cain’s account.
They both reviewed the list of purchases, but not one thing on it indicated any purchases for what could be considered another woman. Cain had good taste, according to Kevin, but most of her purchases were personal, with a few notations for Marie, Therese, and Billy Casey.
“Judging from this record,” Kevin tapped the screen, “she’s being nice and totally out of her shopping character.”
“Thank you, and since we’re promising to keep our secrets, I have to be honest and say I’ll never completely fit into Cain’s orbit.” He glanced back at her after shutting his system down, and his surprised expression probably meant he had the wrong impression. “Not the rumor part, but the clothes and experience part. I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.”
“Miss Emma, it’ll be my pleasure to prove you wrong on that one. Shall we?” Kevin stood, bowed, and offered her his arm again. “The clothes and accessories are my specialty—the rest is up to you, but I’m confident you’ll do fine.”
“That makes one of us.”
* * *
“So who do you work for?” Jake asked when he opened his door after a few minutes of pounding.
“We’re here for Cain Casey,” the guy who appeared to be in his early twenties said.
The kid looked like he’d gotten hit in the face with a bat. Casey had gone to extremes to convince Jake she wasn’t interested in dealing with him, so that he and his friend were here at all was confusing as hell.
“Cain Casey sent you here for what? To fuck with me?” He turned his back on them but didn’t shut the door. He poured himself a shot and took one of the pain pills the ER doctor had prescribed. The doctor had splinted his fingers but said they’d have to wait for the swelling to go down before they decided if he needed surgery.
“Hey, you want us to leave?” the shorter guy said with the kind of attitude he was way too small to pull off well.
“Calm down and tell me who you are,” he said, knocking on the wall to get Bradley up. He’d spent the night since the ER visit had taken so long. “I said calm down,” he repeated when the little guy reached for something in his waistband. He opened the drawer closest to him and held them at gunpoint in case these two had a learning disability. “Start talking.”
“I’m Marty and this is Jonsie,” the taller guy said. “Obviously Cain can’t deal with you directly, so it’s us or nothing.”
“Why can’t she?” he asked.
“Man, you know the five-o is all over her ass. So you want to deal or not?” Marty asked.
“How much of a deal?” Bradley asked when he came out wearing only his jeans and holding his gun. “Same as usual?”
“We’re like the two low men on the totem pole, so how the fuck should we know what’s her usual.” Marty spoke but kept glancing at Jonsie as if for backup. “How do you want to do this?”
“Give me a number, and I’ll think about it,” Jake said.
“This is only a trial run, so a hundred grand,” Jonsie said, and Marty nodded. “If there’s no problem, we’ll up the numbers, but she really doesn’t know you from nobody.”
“Why send you two if, like you said, you’re peons?” he asked. It was too early for this shit.
“She didn’t really explain herself, but if you want my opinion, if you can pull this off, the big stuff should be easy as shit,” Jonsie said as he leaned against the counter, obviously trying not to act like being held at gunpoint wasn’t making him twitchy. Jake wasn’t fooled since the kid’s eyes were open wide and didn’t leave the end of his hand.
“Do I get to talk to her?”
“Call her, she said, and the deal’s off. Her words were, you could go fuck yourself,” Marty said and motioned for Jonsie to get going. “Sounds like you’re not interested, so fuck off.”
“Hold on,” Bradley said, moving between them and the door. “A hundred grand is a small order, but sure. We’ll do it. We just need some guarantee that she’ll deal with us exclusively from now on.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Marty said. “How much time do you need?”
“Give us a week and we’ll be good to go. How do I get in touch with you?” Jake was thinking this was some kind of setup, but maybe that was why it wasn’t. Cain had gone out of her way to show the feds she didn’t want anything to do with him or anyone. In a fucked-up kind of way, maybe this was the way she’d go about giving him some business.
“We’ll be back in a week with the money, so don’t disappoint us,” Jonsie said, and they pushed Bradley out of the way.
“You buying this?” Jake asked when the two tough guys slammed out of the apartment.
“It’s not like anything I’ve heard Casey doing. She’s a control freak when it comes to everything in her life,” Bradley said as he poured himself some orange juice and smelled it. The move made him laugh since he couldn’t remember when he’d bought it, so it was probably bad. “Her father was careful, and that’s what he taught her to an extreme that might make this our only chance to do business with her.”
“So is this bullshit or reverse psychology?”
“She’s probably laughing her ass off thinking about us overanalyzing this situation, so tell me how you want to handle it,” Bradley said, putting his full glass in the sink.
“We’ve come too far to choke now, so set it up.” He took another small drink and held his broken fingers against his chest. “This is going to be sweet.”
“Or we’ll spend even more time in the emergency room piecing you back together.”
* * *
“That’s right,” Cain said to Billy on the phone as she headed back to the mall to get Emma. “Stick with the information Lincoln found. If you uncover anything, promise me you won’t follow up alone.”
“Are you kidding, and have you, Mum, and the guys after me? I don’t think so. Go have fun, and we’ll touch base when you get home. I’ll probably still be up.”
She hung up and hoped what Billy’s crewman Lincoln had found in Baton Rouge would lead them somewhere. Muriel had called her about that and the start of the distribution of their first shipment. Billy had set it up, and after checking their routes numerous times, their guys had started for their new delivery locations. She’d wanted to be there to make sure they didn’t have any compromised spots in their new setup, and so far everything was running smoothly.
“You want me to go in with you?” Merrick asked once they stopped.
“The only thing in danger is my credit card, so wait here.” She headed in alone and paged Emma to try to find her.
“Hey,” Emma said five minutes later as they met at the bottom of the escalator. “Are you sure you don’t mind paying?”
“Did you find anything?” she said with a smile.
“Sort of,” Emma said, and dropped her head onto Cain’s chest. “The guy that helped me found more than one thing, but I had him put it all back once I was able to speak after the sticker shock.”
“Ah,” she said, kissing the top of Emma’s head. “You could always wear the clothes with the tags and return them afterward,” she said, laughing.
Emma slapped her side but laughed with her. “I’d never do that, and I’ve never experienced anything like today. He dragged me to every department, and I mean every one.”
“I’m not sure what that means, but if that’s the case, hopefully you picked something for me too.”
Emma glanced up at her ap
pearing mortified. “Did you need something? I can get it if you tell me what it is.”
“How about we go upstairs for a few minutes, have a drink, and talk.” She walked Emma to the glass elevators outside and rode up to the hotel on the eleventh floor. “Hopefully you had a little fun.”
“Do you like to shop?” Emma asked, ordering them two glasses of wine and an appetizer.
“Sometimes,” she said, watching a string of barges go by since they had a great view of the river. “My sister Marie is mentally challenged, and she likes coming and getting something for church with my mum.” She smiled when Emma kissed her cheek. “She also likes toys and games, so I shop mostly for her.”
“That’s sweet.” Emma kissed her on the lips this time. “Will you tell me about your family?”
“It’s basically your story but with more kids. My parents loved tradition, and they tried to teach us to be good people. Marie and Billy are my only siblings, and Billy and I take turns caring for Marie to give Mum a break. She’s a sweetie and really wants to meet you.” She talked more about Marie and the rest of her family, thinking it was only fair since Emma had talked about her mom and dad.
“It sounds like you all take good care of her,” Emma said as she traced her palm, stopping only to kiss a spot on her hand. “Do you really want me to get the dress we found? I think things will change if I let you do that.”
She was finding that conversations with Emma were sometimes like wandering through a maze. “Nothing needs to change except that doubt or fear you have that I’m moving on. This is uncharted territory for both of us, but I want you to stop thinking that something like today somehow tallies up a debt between us.” Cain took her hand and shook it gently. “That’s the last thing on my mind.”
“I just wanted to be sure and not screw up anything.”
“Did you by chance find something you could wear to Sunday lunch?” She hoped dropping Emma in the middle of her family wouldn’t overwhelm her, but it was time for that too.
“I thought you said you spend Sundays with your family?” Emma fed her a cracker with cheese.
