Black Butterfly

by Marja McGraw

  I spoke to the first man again. “Will that be a table for three?”

  He glanced at the other two men before smiling at me. “We’re not together. Just a table for me.”

  I blinked and licked my lips. I had a bad feeling about these three.

  Judith started talking, too fast. “Well, I’m going back to my table, Mrs. Cross. I just wanted to tell you that Gloria is a wonder. Best waitress in the place. Yes, ma’am, she deserves a raise.”

  Oddly, she shook her hands at me and walked away. I had a feeling this might be a sign of frustration because she wanted to talk to me and had been interrupted by three unusual men.

  I zeroed in on the other two men. “If you’ll give me a moment to seat this gentleman, I’ll be back and find you another table.”

  “Nah,” Number Two said. “I’m headed for the bar.” He walked away, heading straight for the cocktail lounge.

  “Yeah, me, too.” Number Three smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly smile.

  I picked up a menu and motioned for the first man to follow me. “This way, Mister…”

  He didn’t supply a name and I didn’t push it.

  I led him to a table near the window, but he shook his head. “Do you have something where I can sit with my back to the wall? I like to watch the people.”

  “Certainly.” I set him up at a table in Phyllis’ section, as far away my family and Sammy as possible.

  Sometimes it’s good to go with your gut feeling.

  I waved Phyllis over and she took his drink order, but I noticed she had a funny look on her face. Interesting.

  Chris had taken his food to the cocktail lounge, where he sat at the bar and ate, and I used him as an excuse to check out the other two men.

  One of them had seated himself at a table, and the other one sat next to Chris, talking to him. Chris was laughing.

  I nonchalantly glanced at all three men. Thugs. There was no doubt in my mind. These were bad guys. That ol’ gut feeling was making my stomach rumble.

  Someone tapped my arm and I found Mikey standing next to me. “Hey, Mom, you know the guy that’s sitting at the table in the lounge? I’ve seen him before. I remember his face.”

  My stomach lurched. “Where, Mikey?”

  “He was driving down our street. He has a car like that black one that kept driving past Meredith’s house, only it was blue.”

  I grabbed my son’s hand and hurried to my in-law’s table.

  “Judith?” Although my voice was soft, it sounded high pitched and it got her attention. “I think it’s probably time to take Mikey home and get him to bed.”

  She blinked and gave me a blank look.

  “Now!” I said. “Dinner’s on us.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  I was jittery and I couldn’t help it. I calmed down a bit when I saw my in-laws and Mikey leave.

  The man I’d sat at the table against the wall was watching me, as well as my in-laws and son.

  Thankfully, Phyllis approached his table and stood between him and me. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until I exhaled.

  Deciding to see if Chris had finished eating yet, I headed his way.

  He saw me coming and waved me away, saying something to the thug he was sitting next to.

  I left the room, checking out the third goon as I walked. He was studiously watching the front door of the restaurant. He’d chosen a table that gave him an unobstructed view. I was able to study his face since he didn’t notice me. Mikey had fingered him and I wanted to remember him.

  I stopped at a couple of tables on my way to the Reservation Desk and asked how the customers were enjoying their dinner. One of the women commented that she wished the band was playing. I told her when they’d be in and she went back to her dinner.

  Things were quiet, and yet I felt like I was living through the calm before the storm.

  Phyllis approached me and spoke softly. “I can’t explain it, Pamela, but that guy sitting at the table by the wall gives me the creeps.”

  “Did he say something?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary, but he’s watching everyone, especially you and Chris. He’s gruff, too. He’s not paying any attention to me. Hmm. He did ask a couple of questions about the type of customers who come in.”

  That was unusual. She looked so much like Marilyn Monroe that she always, without fail, drew attention. His question was odd, too.

  “I’m sorry, but I just felt like I should say something. If we were going to be robbed tonight, my money would be on him.”

  “Relax, Phyllis. Just be completely businesslike with him. Don’t bat your Marilyn Monroe eyelashes at him. Take him his food, see if he needs anything else, and…” I didn’t know what else to say. “I’ll keep my eye on him.”

  “I guess Chris will watch the two in the cocktail lounge?” she asked.

  “Of course.” I glanced up. “Here comes Chris now.”

  Sammy flagged him down and Chris changed directions. They talked for a moment and Sammy handed my husband the money for his bill and left. I noticed that he studiously kept his head down when passing the man sitting by the wall.

  Gloria looked wistful when she saw him leaving.

  Chris finally stood next to me. His expression looked tense.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “The goon at the bar asked a lot of questions about the restaurant. Because of our forties motif – his words, not mine – do we have a lot of older customers who frequent the business? Do any of them dress like mobsters? Can you believe he’d ask that considering the way he’s dressed? I joked with him, but I managed to skirt around his questions.”

  “I was right,” I said. “Those men are trying to act like they’re not together, but they are. Phyllis said the one at the table gives her the creeps. He was asking questions about our customers, too.”

  “Sammy said the one by the wall looks familiar. He couldn’t blow the place fast enough. Said he needs to talk to his uncle. He gave me his cell number and said if any of them left right after he did to call and let him know.”

  “Phyllis is right. This whole thing gives me the creeps.” I felt a chill run up my arms.

  “Well, they’re not getting any answers tonight. Maybe they’ll hit the bricks and not come back. The palooka at the table in the bar hasn’t spoken to a soul. He just keeps staring at the customers.”

  “And us,” I said. “Don’t look now, but he’s drilling a hole in you with his eyes.”

  “Let’s just treat them like any other customer and dummy up. Don’t let on that we’re suspicious.”

  “Mikey told me he’s seen the one sitting at a table in the lounge driving around our neighborhood. I don’t know if he knows we live there, but I’ll lay odds that he knows where Meredith is.”

  Chris sighed, put on his best Bogey face, and started talking to the customers.

  I saw Phyllis present the bill to her creepy customer and hurry away. She only returned when he set out a credit card. She carried it to the register and I casually walked past her.

  “Phyllis,” I whispered, “write down that guy’s name. I want to know who we’re dealing with.”

  “Gotcha.” She, also casually, pulled out a piece of paper and copied the name on the card, handing it to me when I returned to the Reservation Desk.

  I slipped it into my pocket and greeted a new customer.

  Wall Guy left, complimenting me on the food on his way out.

  I thanked him and turned to see the other two men getting ready to leave, too. They followed him out, but kept their distance.

  Chris had returned.

  “Would you watch the desk? I want to go see the dogs and unwind for a few minutes. I need to eat, too, although I’m not sure how my stomach will react to food right now. Maybe I’ll just have some soup.”

  Chef Luis ladled some French onion soup in to a bowl for me and I carried it and a glass of water to my office.

  The dogs heard me moving aroun
d and whined outside the door. I let them in, after stepping outside and looking around, and gave them each a dog treat.

  “It’s been a weird evening,” I said, scratching Sherlock’s head and giving Watson a pat.

  They sat in front of my desk and waited for a taste of soup. Yeah, like that was gonna happen.

  “Sorry, but doggies can’t have onion soup.”

  I thought about the three men, trying to figure out what was going on.

  Okay, the three of them coming in at the same time could have been coincidence. They were all dressed similarly. Another coincidence? The fact that two of them were asking similar questions could also be coincidence.

  But I didn’t think so. Too many coincidences equal trouble, and I had a feeling we were… What? In for trouble? Meredith was in for trouble? Could these really be goons or did they just give that appearance?

  Thugs.

  Goons.

  Mobsters.

  Gangsters.

  It felt like all of those descriptions fit. They were one in the same, weren’t they?

  I dipped my spoon into the bowl for more soup and realized I’d finished it in record time.

  Wait a minute, I thought. Just because they look like goons and sound gruff when they speak, doesn’t mean they are bad guys. It doesn’t mean they know Meredith or Gabe, either.

  But what about Sammy’s reaction? It must have meant something.

  Chris and I needed to have a long talk.

  I gave each of the dogs a hug, brushed dog hair off my shirt and put them outside again.

  I felt like it was time for action. Too bad I didn’t have any idea what that action might be.

  I dropped my bowl off in the kitchen and headed for the Reservation Desk.

  Phyllis was taking a short break and I stopped to talk to her.

  “Why did that guy make you feel uncomfortable?” I asked.

  She thought for a moment. “I can’t really put my finger on it. He never smiled, and he seemed too, uh, watchful, for lack of a better word. When he spoke it was more like a rumble, like you hear after lightning. He had a gravelly voice. He was very polite, though. I’ll give him that. Maybe I’ve just gotten too used to the way people react to me because of my Marilyn resemblance.”

  “That’s it?”

  “I think it was mostly that he looked rough and he asked questions about the customers. And I kept seeing him watching you and Chris.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I just wondered.”

  She nodded and I left her to finish her break.

  Chris was away from the desk, showing a couple to their table.

  I thought about what Phyllis had said, realizing there was no good reason for my reaction to the three men. It all went back to that gut feeling I had, and that they said they weren’t together, but I thought they were.

  Chris returned to the desk and said, “Hey, sunshine, what’s up?”

  “You sound like you’re in a pretty good mood, considering the stress we had around here tonight.”

  “I am. The goons are gone and business is good.”

  “About the goons,” I said. “We’re judging them without knowing anything about them.”

  “Better safe than sorry.”

  “Why did Sammy leave so suddenly?”

  Chris rocked back on his heels and looked down his nose at me. “He said the goons made him feel twitchy.”

  “Twitchy? He said that?”

  “No, that’s my word. He said they made him feel uncomfortable and, like I told you, the one at the table by the wall looked vaguely familiar to him. He wanted to talk to his uncle to see if he could shed any light on things.”

  I told him what Phyllis had said, but he didn’t have any enlightening thoughts on her comments.

  He walked past me and glanced at the Reservation Book before checking his watch.

  “I just wish we knew who those guys were,” he said.

  “Wait!” I fished in my pocket for the slip of paper with a name on it that I’d gotten from Phyllis.

  Pulling it out and reading it, I sucked in my breath.

  “What?” Chris asked.

  “The one sitting by the wall? His name is Tony Messina.”

  “Tony Messina?” Chris turned toward me so fast that I was afraid he’d hurt himself.

  “The Third,” I added.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  “Here’s my take on it,” Chris said. “One of those goons must have been at the vacant house next door to the duchess’s house. Of course they would have seen us coming and going. They probably – “

  “It’s not much of a stretch to figure they followed us,” I interrupted. “Obviously we’re friends of Meredith’s. But what’s their agenda?”

  “That’s what we have to figure out.”

  “Maybe we should cancel the meeting here at the restaurant tomorrow night.” It seemed like the reasonable thing to do, in my book.

  Chris disagreed. “If Meredith and Gabe are going to meet, it should be in a public place with lots of people around. Those guys aren’t going to do anything with so many witnesses.”

  “You think they might do something?” Once again, I felt a chill run up my arms.

  “That’s my point. I don’t think they will – at least not here.”

  I thought about that for a moment. “Besides, we’ll have your mother and the Church Ladies here to watch things. Maybe we should tell your mother to stay home though. I was talking to her when they came in. They’ll recognize her.”

  Chris laughed. “You could tie my mother up and put her in chains, and she’d still find a way to get here.”

  “True.”

  The last customer left and a cleaning crew arrived. We’d spent so many nights cleaning that we finally decided to have it done professionally, at least once a week. The rest of the time we and our staff straightened up after hours.

  We’d had a long day, again, and nothing sounded better to me than a good night’s sleep.

  Of course, we took the dogs home with us as planned.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep well because three well-dressed and scary looking thugs kept interrupting my quiet night’s thoughts and my dreams.

  ~ * ~

  Chris called Sammy first thing in the morning and told him we’d found out who at least one of the men was. I had him put the phone on Speaker so I could hear what was going on.

  Apparently Gabe was there because Sammy turned from the phone and passed on the information.

  Gabe took the phone from his nephew. “I know Tony. He’s a good kid. I can’t say much for his brothers, though, and that’s probably who was with him. Did he say what they want?”

  “They didn’t say much of anything,” Chris replied. “All they did was ask a lot of questions about our customers.”

  “Mark my words, they’ll be back.” Interestingly, Gabe didn’t sound upset or worried. He sounded almost joyful.

  “But Gabe,” I said, “we were going to set up a meeting for you and Meredith to meet again tonight – at the restaurant.”

  “Trust me, it’ll be fine. Go ahead with your plans.”

  I honestly wasn’t sure if he could be trusted or not.

  “I’ll talk to Meredith and get back to you.” Chris was going to leave the decision up to her.

  Good!

  “And we’ll be telling her about our visitors from last night,” I added.

  Sammy took the phone from his uncle, and while he and Chris talked, I left to visit my neighbor.

  When I said I had a lot to tell her, she grabbed her cigarettes and we adjourned to the backyard.

  She lit up and took a deep breathe. “I heard you had some visitors at the restaurant last night.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Chris’s mother called me.”

  I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair. “Leave it to her. What did she tell you? And how did she get your phone number?”

  “She asked for my number the other day. I di
dn’t see any harm in giving it to her. She said three men visited the restaurant last night and she said she thought they looked like gangsters.”

  She paused and stared at me, taking another drag off her cigarette.

  I thought about how much I should tell her.

  “Well?” I guess she didn’t want to wait on me and my thought process.

  “I think she’s right about who they were.”

  “Why?”

  “One of them was Tony Messina.”

  “It couldn’t have been Tony. You know he’s dead.”

  “The Third,” I replied. “I guess this guy is a grandson.”

  She stubbed out her cigarette and stared off into space. “When I left, Sophia had one son. I guess he must have had three sons of his own. What do ya know about that?”

  I didn’t respond, waiting to see if she’d add anything.

  “I didn’t think Tony and Sophia were, uh, being intimate anymore. Honestly? He didn’t treat her well. Her life had become all about her son. Gabe was right about Tony. He only thought about Sophia as… What do they call it now? I forgot the term again. Oh, yeah, arm candy. That’s right, arm candy.” She looked deeply into my eyes. “When she did anything he didn’t like, well, let’s just say he was a mean person. Everything she did caused him displeasure. I’ve seen her with bruises. Oh, she tried to hide them, but that’s not always possible. I lied when I said he adored her. That’s just the impression he tried to give everyone on the outside.”

  “Here’s the thing, Meredith. We’d hoped to have your meeting with Gabe at the restaurant tonight. Chris talked to Sammy and his uncle, and Gabe is all for it. It’s up to you. Do you want the meeting to take place tonight?”

  She didn’t think about it for very long. “Yes. In this day and age they wouldn’t dare pull anything in a public place. I think. I hope.” She closed her eyes briefly. “No, I really don’t think they would.”

  “Judith and the Church Ladies will be there,” I assured her.

  She laughed. “Then I guess I’ll be safe.”

  I told her Chris would pick her up and we decided on six o’clock. Just in case, I also warned her to keep her doors locked all day.

  Chris was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee when I went home. “What’d the doll say?”