Laced In Lies

by Colleen Helme

  He huffed out a breath. “Hmm… I wonder who told them.”

  “Well, they’re Manettos. They have ways of making people talk. It must run in the family.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll see you tomorrow. And Shelby, take care of my son.”

  “I will.”

  We disconnected, and I let out a sigh. Worry about Ramos tightened my stomach, but there wasn’t much I could do about it until tomorrow. Hopefully, nothing happened before then.

  Pushing my worry aside, I quickly called Chris and heard everything he was doing on his end with the contract. He was excited for Miguel, but not too happy that I had to stay another night.

  “I know,” I agreed. “But I’ll be home tomorrow, for sure.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Hey… I know what you’re thinking. That I’ve said that before and not come home… but this time it’s true.”

  He chuckled. “Are you sure you can’t read minds over the phone?”

  “Hmm… well yours may be a little different, since I know you so well, it’s like I can read your mind anytime.”

  “Oh yeah? So what am I thinking now?”

  “How much you love me… and miss me.” I knew I had him over a barrel with that one.

  He chuckled. “You know I do, and I’ll be thinking of you tonight… when I’m in bed… all alone.”

  Now I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  We disconnected, and I let out a happy sigh. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to leave on these little trips without Chris. He seemed to appreciate me more, and that was always a good thing.

  Miguel was still talking on his phone. From what I could pick up, he was calling just about everyone he knew with the good news. After ending his most recent conversation, he came back into the sitting room area.

  “I’m still in shock!” he said. “But it looks like things are going pretty smoothly. If all goes well, the agent said he’d be here around four with the contract for me to sign. Just think! I’m getting paid to do something I’ve only dreamed about! This is crazy.”

  “Yeah… for sure. How soon do you think you’ll be coming back to New York?”

  He took a breath. “That’s the other thing. I don’t start with the show until the first of July, but they want me back as soon as possible. Chris is checking to see if I can graduate early. Then I can come back in a week or two.”

  “Whoa, that seems pretty fast, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but May first is next week, and there’s so much I need to learn between now and July. All my finals were last week, and I just took my last one before we left, so there’s really nothing left at school for me to do. My dad even said he’d fly me home for graduation if I wanted.” Miguel was thinking that he’d rather fly his three best friends here to New York. Now that would be the best graduation trip ever.

  I smiled at that thought and wondered how Uncle Joey would handle that.

  My phone rang. The caller ID said it was Dimples. Oops. Was I supposed to help him today? I told Miguel I had to take the call and quickly answered.

  “Hey Shelby, how was your trip?” Dimples asked.

  “Um… well, I’m still in New York. We had to postpone coming home until tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh…”

  “Yeah, so how’s the case going?” So much had happened since we’d talked, that I’d nearly forgotten what we were working on.

  “We’re kind of at a standstill. We started with the girl who gave the drugs to Owen, but she wouldn’t tell us anything. We did manage to track down her father. Owen said he was the one who had the drugs in the first place, remember?”

  “Uh… sure. What did he say?”

  “He hasn’t said a thing,” Dimples replied, clearly disgusted. “That’s why I was hoping you could come down to the station. We could use your special help right now. But I guess that will have to wait.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay. So… you’ll be back tomorrow?”

  “Yes. I’m flying back in the morning. Why don’t I call you when I get home?”

  “Sure,” he agreed. “That should work. You probably don’t know this, but the other kid who was in the hospital died this morning. We need to get those pills off the streets before anyone else dies.”

  “That’s awful. I wish there was something more I could do.”

  “Hey… you’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll get to the bottom of it then.”

  We said our goodbyes and disconnected. I let out a big sigh. Between hearing his news, and the news about Ramos, it kind of took the fun out of this morning. And there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

  “What’s up? Bad news?” Miguel asked. He’d overheard my side of the conversation, and it worried him.

  “Oh… just work.”

  His brows drew together. He thought that I worked for his father, so what was wrong?

  “Uh… I’m a paid consultant for the police, and I’m helping them on a case. That was the detective I work with. A couple of kids died from a new drug on the streets, and I’m helping him track it down.”

  “Oh,” he said, surprised. “I didn’t know you helped them.” As the implications that I worked for both a mob-boss and the police sank in, his eyes widened. “Does my dad know?”

  “Yeah. He’s good with it. He knows I’d never turn on him… and you should know that too. We’re family, right?”

  Miguel nodded, but he thought that would be a hard position for me to be in. I totally agreed with him, but kept my mouth shut. He was also thinking that there was a lot more to me than he knew. What else did I do? It was on the tip of his tongue to ask me, but I was saved by the sound of his phone.

  “Uh… I’m going to get a diet soda while you answer that. Do you want anything?

  “No, go ahead.”

  I hurried out, grateful that I’d dodged that bullet. I found a drinks machine and a snack machine standing side by side, so I got a package of Cheetos to go with my soda since I’d missed breakfast.

  I got back to our room and Miguel was still talking on his phone, so I stood in front of the big window and looked over the city while munching on my snack. A moment later, Miguel joined me.

  “You want to do some sightseeing?” I asked him. “We’ve got a couple of hours before the agent will be here.”

  “Sure. Let’s do it.”

  We found Syd in the lobby and asked where he thought we should go. With a shake of his head, he checked his watch and did a few calculations in his mind about what we had time to see.

  “Okay… let’s take the subway… and then we’ll have to walk to a spot where you can see the Statue of Liberty. Then we can make our way back here by way of a few other things like the 9/11 Memorial and The Empire State Building.” He didn’t think we’d have time to make it to the top, but we could at least check it out.

  “Sounds great!”

  I was excited to take the subway with an experienced New Yorker and found that it was everything I thought it would be. I even saw a rat on the rails. It was also nice to experience more of New York than just Times Square, although that was still pretty awesome.

  I took pictures of the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 Memorial. We also made it up to the top of the Empire State Building. That was because there were no lines due to the clouds and no visibility, but we didn’t care about that. It was fun to be up in the clouds and, with the wind, they moved enough that we still got some nice views.

  From there, we rushed around like crazy people, but that made it fun. We barely got back to our hotel rooms before the agent called, saying he’d arrived in the lobby. With a surge of excitement, I accompanied Miguel back to the lobby to meet him.

  After chatting for a few minutes, we decided to go over the whole thing in the privacy of our sitting room. Syd caught my eye, and I waved him over, telling him we were going upstairs to sign the contract. He gave me a thumbs-up, and we hurri
ed to the elevator doors.

  Inside the sitting room, the agent gave us each a copy of the contract so we could go over it together. As he explained everything, I listened closely to his thoughts to make sure he was being honest and picked up that he was super excited for Miguel and happy that he could represent such a great talent.

  I also found out that the agent had already called Miguel’s drama teacher to tell him the happy news and to thank him for introducing them. He was pretty sure that, by tomorrow, everyone in Miguel’s school would know what had happened, but he had a feeling that Miguel could handle it.

  It helped me to know that Chris had already gone over the whole thing and had told Uncle Joey and Miguel in a short phone call that it was good to go.

  After everything had been explained, Miguel glanced hopefully at me, ready to sign it. Before I could nod, my phone buzzed. “Hang on, let me answer this.”

  “Hey Shelby,” Syd said. “Sylvie and Frank want to know if they can come up and witness Miguel signing the contract.”

  “Uh… just a minute. Let me ask him.” I told Miguel what they wanted, and his brows drew together in confusion.

  “Why would they want to do that?”

  “Oh… that’s the other thing I didn’t tell you. Somehow they found out that you’re… you know… Uncle Joey’s son… you know… a Manetto?”

  Miguel’s brows rose. “Does my dad know?”

  “Yes. I mentioned it to him earlier, and he’s okay with it.”

  “Uh… okay then, I guess they can come up,” Miguel said, shrugging his shoulders and setting down the pen.

  I told Syd they could all come, and a few minutes later a knock sounded at the door. I opened it to find not only Frank and Sylvie, but Maggie, Syd, and four other people that I didn’t know.

  “We brought the whole family,” Sylvie said. She introduced her two sons and their wives, telling them all that Miguel was Uncle Joey’s son and their cousin. Then she turned to me and introduced me as Maggie’s daughter.

  My heart squeezed just a bit at the lie, but Maggie sent me a knowing smile and quickly came to my side, offering her moral support. All at once, they descended on me and Miguel, giving us big hugs and air kisses on each side of our faces.

  I felt a bit smothered from all the attention and hoped Miguel wasn’t overwhelmed by them all. I picked up his delight at suddenly having a huge family, just like he’d always wanted. He caught my gaze and smiled.

  After everyone had their turns greeting us, Sylvie shushed them all and motioned for Miguel to sign the contract. With a huge grin, he picked up the pen and signed it with a flourish. Everyone clapped and cheered, just like he’d won the biggest prize of his life.

  Maybe he had.

  The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent celebrating with the family. At dinner we met Sylvie and Frank’s grandchildren who’d been invited to eat with us. All six of them were under the age of ten, and having them there made for an entertaining evening.

  After they left to put the kids to bed, things settled down, and I had a moment to talk with Maggie. She told me she’d had another phone chat with Uncle Joey this afternoon. He’d told her that when Miguel came back, he and Jackie were coming too, and she looked forward to seeing him after all these years.

  “Telling that lie that you’re my daughter may have been the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. I hope you don’t regret it.”

  “Not at all,” I said. “Just as long as my mom doesn’t find out.”

  She chuckled, and then she wanted to hear all about ‘adoptive’ family.

  Later, Syd pulled me aside to tell me about the arrangements for our flight home. The plane was scheduled to leave at eight in the morning. That meant we had to be ready to leave by six-forty-five. “I’ll schedule a six o’clock wake-up call for both of you.”

  I nodded, then picked up a wave of satisfaction from him that everything had turned out so well. Seeing me with Maggie had convinced him that Frank and Sylvie needed to know that Miguel was Uncle Joey’s son, and he patted himself on the back for doing the ‘right thing’ even if Uncle Joey might not like it.

  “Uh… Syd?” I said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Just so you know… Frank and Sylvie know you report everything to Uncle Joey.”

  “They do?” His eyes widened with alarm that was entirely feigned. He knew they knew, and he was thinking that, in this business, it was always a good thing to think each side knew something that the other side didn’t. It was part of the delicate balance between the families that kept them in line.

  “Yeah,” I said, smiling. “But something tells me you already knew that.”

  He smiled back, but shook his head. “What else do you know?”

  “I don’t think I’ll tell you yet. But someday…” I knew he wasn’t ready to hear that I’d picked up his more than casual interest in Maggie. He’d remembered her from all those years ago, and once had a huge crush on her. Seeing her again brought all those same feelings back.

  He studied me, thinking that maybe I had a talent for finding out things, and that’s why Uncle Joey needed me so much. To be honest, he’d been surprised that Uncle Joey had been so adamant about watching out for me. Miguel, he could understand, but I wasn’t part of the family. But Joe sounded like he really cared for me.

  After observing me with Miguel, and then Maggie and the whole family, he could see that I had a good heart. There was something about me that he trusted, and he was sure Uncle Joey felt the same. Someday, he hoped Uncle Joey would tell him the story of how I’d come to be part of the family.

  Yikes! Was I part of the family? Glancing around the room, it sure seemed like it, and I hoped that was a good thing. Not only was I a cousin to these people, but a niece and a daughter. It was a lot to take in, and it made me a little tired just thinking about it.

  Since I had to get up early the next morning, I used that as an excuse to say my goodbyes. Miguel smiled with relief and stood as well. He thanked them all for their support and, amid all the goodbyes, we both promised to stay in touch with everyone. I even got an extra hug from Maggie.

  As I left the restaurant, I heard Syd offering to drive Maggie home since it was so late. I picked up a wave of pleasure from her as she accepted, and I was glad she couldn’t see my pleased grin.

  It was a relief to enter the quiet of my room. After packing up everything, and getting ready for bed, I fell onto the soft mattress with a thankful sigh. This had been a whirlwind trip, and I was ready to get home. But I had to admit it had been pretty awesome as well.

  Snuggling under the covers, I closed my eyes and began to drift off. Once again, the sound of Miguel’s beautiful singing brought a smile to my lips. Then my brow puckered. What was he doing awake? It had been a long, eventful day, and he should be asleep.

  The song sounded like one I’d heard before, but I couldn’t understand the words. Then it hit me that the words were in another language. What? Was Miguel singing in Spanish? Why would he do that? Wait. I’d just heard this song recently… but where? Then I realized that I’d heard that exact song in the lobby when we first arrived, and later in Frank’s office. It was Italian!

  My eyes jerked open, and my breath caught. I glanced around my dark room but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I only knew that the beautiful voice wasn’t coming from Miguel’s room. It was here, right beside my bed. My breath quickened, and I held perfectly still.

  Con te partirò.

  The resonance from that rich voice sent chills down my spine. The haunting melody swirled around me. Since it was in Italian, I couldn’t understand what the words meant, but they were filled with emotion and tenderness. I inhaled sharply as the song soared to a breathtaking height, sending a rush of emotion so strong that it brought tears to my eyes.

  Then the notes floated away, carrying the scent of sandalwood and spice. Except for my racing heart, all was quiet. I swallowed and sat up to turn on the bedside lamp. What
the freak? Was that a ghost?

  I’d left a bottle of water on the nightstand, and I grabbed it to take a few long sips, hoping it would help settle me down.

  Then it hit me. Hadn’t Frank said something about his grandfather being a singer? He’d even thought that the talent had been passed on to Miguel. Was that who it was? Miguel’s great-grandfather? Had he lived here in this hotel?

  Since I knew I’d never get to sleep after that, I grabbed my Kindle and started reading a book to take my mind off what had just happened. Around one-thirty in the morning, my eyes were too tired to keep reading. After turning out the light, I settled into bed and closed my eyes. Relaxing, I let out a deep breath. As I drifted off, the low hum of a sweet melody lulled me into sleep.

  My wake-up call came way too early. Somehow, I managed to get out of bed and hop into the shower. As I dressed in my comfy jeans and my “I Love New York” t-shirt, I wondered if I’d really heard that beautiful voice last night. It had sounded so much like Miguel. Maybe it was Miguel, and there was some connection between the rooms that made it sound so close? Yeah… right. Who was I trying to kid?

  Pushing that thought away, I got down to business and made sure all my toiletries and clothes were packed up. Then I stuffed all the souvenirs on top and zipped up my bags. From the sitting room, Miguel’s door stood open, and he was just zipping up his bags. He soon joined me in the room with a huge grin on his face, still amazed at his good fortune and feeling on top of the world.

  His contagious happiness brought a smile to my lips. “Hey… did you get any sleep last night?”

  “Some,” he answered. “But it took a while.”

  “I’ll bet. Uh… you didn’t happen to do any singing in your room, did you?”

  “Last night? No. Why?”

  “Uh… no reason. I just thought I heard something, and I wondered if it was you. Did you hear anything?”

  He shook his head, wondering what was going on with me.

  Still, I forged on, knowing I couldn’t let it rest until I knew for certain. “Do you know any Italian songs?”