by Susan Fleet
Festus scratched the stubble on his chin. Clint had hired him to watch a mob house but wouldn't tell him his last name. At the time, he'd figured the guy was just a dry-fart, didn't want to reveal his full name. But two multiple murders had gone down within two miles of the mob house Clint had hired him to watch. He'd been a PI for several years and he didn't believe in coincidences.
Clint had to be involved. The cops hadn't identified one victim at the hair salon. Maybe that's why Clint hadn't called. Maybe he was dead.
Not that he was going to do anything about it. At least nor right away.
He got up and put two frozen waffles in the toaster. Better stoke the furnace while he could. Any minute now his boss at Louisiana Livery might call him.
____
Natalie gazed into the bathroom mirror, dabbing skin-colored makeup on her jaw. The ice Annmarie gave her had eased the pain, but now there was a yellowish bruise. Orazio didn't seem to notice it when he caught her in the garage. He was too angry. But if the yellowish bruise turned purple, Catarina would notice and ask her about it.
“Laura,” Bianca called through the door. “Will you read me a story?”
“I'll be right out.” She put the makeup kit in her purse and took out her iPhone. No text. She checked the other phone. No text from Conti. She put them in her pants pockets, one on the left, one on the right. She didn't want to deal with Conti, but she was desperate to talk to Pak Lam.
After dinner tonight I will take you and the girl Christmas shopping. Orazio's chilling words.
He wasn't going to take them shopping. He was going to kill them. She had to get away, but how? Orazio wasn't here, but the guard was and so was Tommy. Too bad she hadn't kept Hammer's Beretta. At least she would have a fighting chance.
When she opened the bathroom door, Bianca was curled up on a chair beside the coffee table. She held up the Mother Goose book and said, “Rumpelstiltskin!”
“Rumpelstiltskin it is,” Natalie said. Maybe a fairy tale would take her mind off her worries. She sat in the other chair and Bianca climbed into her lap. She knew the Rumpelstiltskin story, a girl locked in a tower because the king expected her to spin straw into gold.
A bit like her situation, but hers was far worse. Imprisoned in a house with vicious mobsters, because Europol agent John Conti had blackmailed her. Forget spinning straw into gold. Conti wanted the name of a Mafia kingpin. But one of the mobsters was going to kill her.
A vibration came from one of her pockets. Hoping it was Pak Lam, she said, “Hold on, Bianca. Let me get up so I can answer my phone.”
Bianca slid off her lap and put the book on the chair. Natalie stood up and checked her cellphones. Her heart sank. It wasn't Pak Lam. It was a text on her Conti phone, but wasn't from Conti. Natalie, it's Frank. You and Bianca aren't safe in that house. I can help you. Bring Bianca to the house down the street this afternoon at two o'clock. Conti won't be there.
Her heart pounded. She was desperate to get out of the house, but Renzi wanted to arrest her. Still, if she managed to get out of the house, she might be able to escape.
She texted back: Dangerous. Guard may not let me.
His reply came immediately. A woman and a little boy will be outside the green house down the street to your left. The one with a fake snowman and a reindeer on the lawn.
She texted I will try. And closed the phone.
“Who was that?” Bianca asked, gazing at her.
“Just a friend. Let's finish the story.” She put the cellphone in her pocket and sat down. But as she read Rumpelstiltskin part of her mind was in planning mode.
Put everything she needed to escape in her leather purse.
Hope and pray that Orazio didn't come home.
Sneak out without the guard knowing it.
She had no idea what would happen then. A woman and a child would be at the house down the street. But Frank Renzi would be there, armed and dangerous, packing a gun and three arrest warrants. He wouldn't let her go without a fight.
Maybe she could distract him. Put him down with a Taekwondo move, grab his gun and escape. A long shot, but she had no choice.
If she didn't get out of the house before dinner, Orazio would kill her.
CHAPTER 33
1:45 PM
Plagued by doubt, Frank chugged some water and set the bottle on Mary Hogan's kitchen counter. Bianca was an orphan and Jacques might as well be. Now, driven by his desire to arrest Natalie, he was using them, putting the lives of two innocent children in jeopardy.
His plan was a high-stakes gamble, a complicated scheme that involved mobsters, a traumatized boy, an arrogant Europol agent and Natalie, a woman he didn't trust. If it worked, he might save Bianca's life. He didn't want to think about what might happen if it didn't.
He peered out the window above the sink. Kelly should have been here fifteen minutes ago. Where the hell was she? At least the weather had cooperated. The torrential rain had stopped and the sun was shining. But would Jacques cooperate?
The boy still wouldn't talk and was prone to violent temper tantrums, screaming and throwing things. What if he had a meltdown when Kelly took him outside to play? Would Bianca throw a tantrum too? If the mob guard saw them, all hell might break loose. Bullets flying at Mary Hogan's house with two kids in the line of fire. No way could he allow that to happen.
Conti was another problem. Tony Coppola was working the NOPD surveillance van today. Tony knew he was in the Hogan house, but Conti didn't. A while ago Tony had called and told him Conti was following Orazio, who'd driven off in his SUV. Frank told Tony to call immediately if Conti came back. With Conti and Orazio out of the way, fewer things could go wrong. But if Orazio came back before Natalie and Bianca got here at two, he'd never let them leave the house. Hell, the mob guard might not let them leave either.
“Kelly's car just came around the corner!” David yelled from upstairs, watching the mob house from the window in the guest room.
“About time,” Frank muttered. He went to the hall doorway and shouted, “Thanks, David. Tell me immediately when Natalie and Bianca leave the house.” Provided they managed to get out.
He went in the mudroom off the kitchen. One door led to the garage, the other opened onto the driveway. He opened the entry door and watched Kelly walk up the driveway with Jacques, who was screaming and dragging his feet.
Grasping a plastic shopping bag in one hand, Kelly picked him up with the other and carried him through the mudroom into the kitchen. “Sorry, Frank. Traffic delay. Now that the sun is out everybody's going somewhere.”
She huffed a wisp of dark hair off her sweaty forehead and put Jacques down. The boy sank onto his butt and drummed his heels on the floor, a three-year-old throwing a major temper tantrum. Dressed in jeans and a royal-blue T-shirt, Jacques had the cutest button nose you'd ever see, but a river of tears was leaking from his big brown eyes and running down his cafe-au-lait cheeks.
Kelly had on her take-down outfit, a navy sweatshirt and navy pants. The bulge under her shirt told him she was packing. Frank was, too. Nestled against his spine, Vobitch's Glock was tucked into the waistband of his pants, hidden by a loose-fitting sweatshirt.
“Will he be okay?” Frank said. “I need you to take him outside soon.”
She gave him an arch look. “Does the Master Detective think I am without talent? Does he not appreciate the consummate acting skills I had to employ to get out of a meeting?”
Frank laughed. “What did you do? Use the girly excuse?”
“No, but my boss wasn't happy, I can tell you that. However, pursuant to your plan, I stopped to buy some toys.” She took a softball-sized orange Nerf out of the shopping bag and tossed it to Jacques. Squalling wordlessly, he flung it back at her and hit her in the head.
“That went well,” she said, bending down to retrieve the Nerf.
His cellphone vibrated against his leg. He took it out of his pocket and checked the ID. “Damn it to hell!”
Jacques went quiet, wrapped his arms aro
und Kelly's legs and hid his face.
Using her warning voice, Kelly said sternly, “You're scaring him.”
He held up his cellphone. “It's Conti.”
She frowned. “Don't answer it. Let him leave a message.”
“Okay, but there'll be hell to pay if he drives by and sees Natalie and Bianca.” He checked the time. 1:55. “You need to take Jacques outside so Natalie will see you when she comes down the street. Can you quiet him down?”
“This might do it.” She reached into the shopping bag and took out large Snickers bar.
She pried the boy's arms from her legs, knelt down and said, “Want a Snickers bar?”
Jacques reached for it, but Kelly pulled it away. “Let's go outside and eat it. Maybe we'll let the snowman and the reindeer have a bite.”
The boy wiped tears off his face and rose to his feet.
“For someone who's never had kids,” Frank said, “you've got good instincts.”
Kelly shrugged. “Maybe. But I can't get him to talk. He still won't say a word.”
_____
Natalie stood at the window, reviewing the items she'd stuffed into her big leather purse. Her new passport, driver's license, credit card and all her cash. A small box of crayons and a notepad to entertain Bianca. Her iPhone and Conti's cellphone.
After she escaped she would dump that one. Good riddance to Conti. Failure was not an option. This was her only chance to escape.
She had dressed Bianca in jeans and a blue T-shirt with a little alligator on it. Bianca wanted to wear shorts, but she wouldn't let her. It would be cold in Boston. Before they got there she would have to stop and buy her a windbreaker.
She checked her wristwatch. 1:56. Time to go. Her stomach clenched in a hard knot. Turning away from the window, she said, “Let's take a walk, Bianca. Now that it stopped raining, it's a beautiful day. There's a little boy playing outside a house down the street.”
Bianca's face lit up in a smile. “Can I play with him?”
“Maybe. We'll see.” She went to the door. Her heart pounded, sending pain down her jaw. Now the bruise was turning purple. To hide it, she had slathered more makeup over it.
“Be quiet when we go past Catarina's room, okay?”
Bianca nodded. “So Tommy won't hear us.”
She smiled. “Exactly. We'll go out through the door off the kitchen. Annmarie won't mind.”
“Can I have a Popsicle?”
“No. You had one this morning.” She opened the bedroom door and they tiptoed past Catarina's room. Orazio still hadn't returned. If he came back now, she was doomed. And she still had to get past the guard. She paused at the landing halfway down the stairs. Her heart beat her ribs like a wild thing. Nicky sat in the chair beside the foyer.
She put on her stone face and started down the stairs.
He looked up, scowling at her. “Where you going?”
“To see Annmarie in the kitchen.”
Bianca squeezed her hand. She wanted to hug her.
Did Bianca know how frightened she was? Maybe not. To her this was probably an exciting adventure.
When they entered the kitchen, Annmarie said, “Hi Laura. Hi Bianca.”
“We're going for a walk,” she said. “It's too nice to stay inside.”
“It sure is. If I didn't have to prep these vegetables for dinner, I'd go with you.”
“Can I have a Popsicle when we come back?” Bianca asked.
“If Laura says it's okay,” Annmarie said. “Have a nice walk.”
“See you in a while,” Natalie said, desperately hoping she wouldn't.
If all went well, she would never set foot in this house again.
She looked in the garage and breathed a sigh of relief. No black SUV. She opened the side door. Nicky's yellow Jeep stood in the driveway. She wanted to take Bianca's hand and run down the street to the green house. But if Nicky saw them, he'd be after them like a shot.
Would he shoot them? Not in broad daylight on a street where anyone could see them probably. Not even Orazio would dare to do that. But she had to play the part. Just a nanny taking her charge for a walk in the sunshine.
She slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder and took Bianca outside. The fresh air felt marvelous.
A strange calm settled over her. Renzi wanted to arrest her. Maybe this was a just ploy to get her away from the mobsters. In his text he'd said Conti wouldn't be there, but cops lied all the time.
Conti was the biggest liar of all, lying beside her in bed after sex, saying he loved her. The prick.
Conti had forced her to make a deal with the devil. A deal with no good outcomes. Risk her life by infiltrating a murderous Mafia gang to get information for him, or face three murder charges in New Orleans.
Where would she be two hours from now? Driving to Boston or sitting in a jail cell?
She had no control over what would happen. Fate would decide.
_____
Frank stood at Mary Hogan's front door, watching Kelly and Jacques pretend-feed bits of the Snickers bar to a Styrofoam snowman with a carrot nose, and a small brown-plastic reindeer. Now it was 2:02. No sign of Natalie and Bianca.
“They just came out of the house!” David yelled from upstairs. “Walking down the driveway.”
He tapped the storm door to signal Kelly. She nodded, took the orange Nerf out of her pocket and tossed it to Jacques. He got a hand on it, but the Nerf bounced on the grass and rolled toward the sidewalk. Kelly dashed after the ball and caught it before it rolled into the street.
Now he could see Natalie and Bianca walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. When they reached the corner, Kelly waved and called to her. Natalie took Bianca's hand and they crossed the street.
So far so good. Bianca went over to Jacques and said something. She was three years older than Jacques, but only an inch or two taller. Kelly gave the Nerf to Bianca and spoke to Natalie.
Watching anxiously, Frank thought, Get her in the house!
Bianca tossed the Nerf to Jacques. He caught it but he didn't seem to know what to do, just stood there with the Nerf, staring at Bianca.
Natalie spoke to Bianca and they came up the walk to the front door. Frank opened it and let out a sigh of relief as Natalie brought Bianca inside. Maybe his plan would work after all.
Natalie looked at him, stone-faced. “Is Conti here?”
“No. He doesn't know I'm here. I didn't tell him about this house.”
Wide-eyed and silent, Bianca looked at him, then at Natalie.
When Kelly came inside with Jacques, Frank shut the door, gave her a look and said, “Treats for the kids in the kitchen.”
He wanted to talk to Natalie alone. She seemed tense, her expression strained, her eyes wary, and her jaw was swollen.
He waited until Kelly took the kids to the kitchen, then said, “What happened to your jaw? Did someone hit you?”
She raised her chin, challenging him with her eyes. “Orazio is going to kill us.”
“He threatened you?”
Her lips tightened. “Nothing so obvious. This morning he said he would take me and Bianca Christmas shopping after dinner tonight. I don't think shopping is part of his plan.”
He didn't like the sound of that. Maybe he'd gotten them out of the house in the nick of time.
To allay her fears, he said, “We can protect you.” Put you in a jail cell, Orazio won't get near you.
She gazed at him, skepticism visible in her almond-shaped eyes. Could she read his mind?
He pointed her toward the kitchen and followed her. When they entered the room, Bianca said in English, “Can I have a Popsicle?”
Natalie smiled and said to Kelly, “She already had one today, but I guess it's okay if she has another one. Bianca loves Popsicles.”
“I'm not sure we have any,” Kelly said. “Jacques, do you want a Popsicle?”
The boy sank to the floor beside the kitchen table and began kicking his feet and screaming. Bianca
stared at him, frowning. In English she said, “Why he do that? He's not nice.”
Natalie shushed her and said to Frank, “What's wrong? The boy seems very unhappy.”
“His mother died recently,” Frank said quietly. “Murdered. Jacques isn't over it yet.”
Natalie said something in Italian to Bianca. Now Bianca looked sad, too. Natalie knelt down beside Jacques.
“What's wrong, Jacques? Such a beautiful boy. I love your name.”
Jacques stopped screaming and kicking his feet.
“Your name reminds me of a song I know.” In a soft voice, she began to sing. Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines Ding ding dong, ding ding dong.
Jacques sat up, staring at Natalie as she sang the song again. When she finished Jacques said, “Mama used to sing that song to me.”
Kelly gasped. Equally stunned, Frank watched as Natalie sat on the floor and rubbed the boy's back. “A beautiful song for a beautiful boy. You miss Mama?”
“Mama,” he said, gazing at Natalie with doleful eyes.
“You have a big pain in your heart,” she said. “Shall we draw a picture of it?”
She opened her leather handbag and took out a small box of crayons and a notepad. Using a red crayon, she drew a big sad face. Then she handed the box of crayons to Jacques. “Show me where it hurts, Jacques. Draw me a picture of your heart.”
Jacques took out a blue crayon and drew a lopsided heart. “Mama's heart.”
Natalie hugged him. “Very good, Jacques. You miss Mama and Mama misses you.”
“Sing the reindeer song,” Bianca said. “A happy song.”
Natalie looked up and smiled at her. “Okay.”
But then David called from upstairs, “Blonde woman incoming from the mob house.”
“Catarina,” Frank said. “Go talk to her, Kelly. I'll keep everyone in the kitchen.”
The front doorbell rang.
Natalie scrambled to her feet and grabbed her leather purse. “No. I'll talk to her.”
Before he could stop her, Natalie bolted out of the kitchen and ran toward the front door.
