Black Butterfly

by Marja McGraw

  I couldn’t hear the rest, and I was actually glad. She was another one of those take-no-prisoners women.

  Chris and I looked at each other.

  “Don’t mess with Mama Messina,” he said. “Can you believe she dragged him out by his ear?”

  “I wouldn’t let on that you saw that, if I were you. Especially if you see Jimmy again.”

  A couple came in and they were watching over their shoulders. I had a feeling they probably got an earful outside.

  Chris greeted them and showed them to a table.

  I glanced at my watch every so often. Sophia spent about fifteen minutes talking to her two sons before returning to the restaurant.

  She stopped in front of us and said, “My son will be causing no more trouble,” and returned to her table, her back stiff and straight.

  Chris smiled. “Somehow she makes me appreciate my mother more than I used to.”

  “Yeah.”

  The Godmother sat down and started chatting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

  Gabe and Tony kept turning toward the front door.

  Sophia said something and they seemed to relax.

  “I have a feeling that woman could give lessons on how to keep your kids under control. I’ll go check on Mikey.”

  The band played a forties torch song while Lila and Judith sang like canaries – deep-throated, soulful canaries.

  I found my son in the kitchen with the door partway open, watching. Just watching – and probably listening.

  “Mikey,” I said, “go finish your dinner and make your announcement. It’s time to go home.”

  He did exactly what I told him to do without an argument. He didn’t ask any questions. I guess he’d seen enough.

  I returned to the desk.

  “Cover the desk, sweetie. I’m going to see what’s going on outside.” Chris walked to a window between two tables and looked out.

  He gave me a blow by blow description of what was going on, over his shoulder.

  The customers seemed to be quite entertained.

  “Jimmy’s still here. A cop is giving him a ticket.” He snickered. “He parked in front of a fire hydrant.”

  “Serves him right,” I said.

  Gloria joined me at the desk.

  “He’s tall and the cop is female. He’s trying to intimidate her by standing close and looking down his nose at her.”

  A family walked in and I asked Gloria to show them to their table.

  “The cop said something and Jimmy stepped back.”

  “Chris…” I said.

  “Janet’s here. She just flashed her badge at him.”

  “Chris.” I tried to get his attention.

  “I wonder if she knows who he is.”

  “Oh, Chris.” I was now using a sing song voice.

  “The cop handed him his ticket. I thought he was going to tear it up, but he shoved it in his pocket instead. I think he’s leaving. Frankie is laughing at him.”

  “Chris!” I really needed him to turn around.

  He did, only to find Tony standing behind him.

  “I tried to warn you,” I said.

  Chris had a guilty look on his face. “Hey,” he said. “Sorry, but I was watching outside.”

  “My brother,” Tony said.

  “Yeah.”

  Tony just looked at Chris and shook his head before returning to his table.

  A song ended and I heard Mikey’s voice over the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen…”

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Janet entered the restaurant and looked around before asking for a table. She made a point of asking for one where she could see the Messinas. Of course, Sophia and Tony knew who she was after meeting her at Meredith’s house.

  “I just want to keep an eye on things,” she said.

  “I – “

  She held up her hand. “Shh. I want to hear what Mikey’s saying.”

  We listened to his short announcement and Janet leaned back.

  “Shouldn’t he be at home doing homework?” she asked.

  “Of course. He and his grandfather are leaving any minute.” I felt just a tad annoyed that she seemed to be questioning my parenting. She was right though.

  She laughed. “I know Mikey will do anything he can to put himself in the middle of things. You’ve raised a good son, but he sure is nosy.”

  Mikey joined his grandfather and they picked up their belongings, ready to leave.

  He saw Janet and came running over. “Are you going to be here tomorrow night?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Are you going to be here?”

  He held up his hand with his fingers crossed. “I sure hope so. Maybe Mom will let me bring Danny and we can be on TV.”

  Chris, Sr. joined us.

  “Why don’t you leave by the back door?” I suggested. “I don’t know who might be hanging around in the front.”

  Janet stood and shook my father-in-law’s hand. “I’ll walk out with them. Be right back.”

  Chris had disappeared and I glanced around, looking for him. He stood in the opening to the cocktail lounge, listening to his mother and Lila sing. Their song ended and I saw him applaud.

  I hadn’t been paying attention to what songs they’d chosen.

  I saw that Sophia and Meredith were watching Chris’s back. I had a feeling they were wishing he’d move so they could watch the band.

  The two women picked up their drinks and headed into the lounge, which told me I’d been right. Tony and Gabe stayed seated at the table, but they watched the women intently.

  Too many things had been happening. I’d lost my edge and needed to get back to business. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, trying to regroup.

  Chris joined me at the desk. “Those two canaries make great music together. I think they’ll set the TV crew back on their heels.”

  “I think you’re probably right.”

  Janet returned and sat at her table.

  I walked over and sat down with her. I needed to talk.

  “Janet, who do you think murdered Tony?”

  “I don’t know, but Sophia does.”

  “Why do you think she has the answer?”

  Janet sat forward and looked me in the eyes. “Everyone has a tell.”

  “A tell?”

  “Yes. Something they do that gives them away. For instance, you roll your eyes, which is a habit you should break. Chris rolls his upper lip under.”

  “But Chris does that all the time,” I said.

  “Not with me. Chris rolls his lip under when he’s uncomfortable with me.”

  “I never noticed.”

  “Sophia has a tell, too. I asked a couple of questions that I knew wouldn’t bother her, and she answered without hesitation, her face remaining calm and her attitude aloof. Then I asked her a question about Jimmy that I knew she wouldn’t want to answer. Her expression didn’t change, but her face turned to stone and she gave me some flim flam answer. Her jaws were tight.

  “I finally asked if she knew who killed her husband. She put on that same stone face and said she had no idea. Then she changed the subject. She knows. Trust me.”

  “I wonder if she did it.” I was thinking aloud.

  “I don’t know. She could have, but I doubt it. I felt like she was covering for someone.” Janet shook her head. “Not my problem, though. It’s not my case and it happened in Las Vegas. I’m more interested in who shot at Meredith.”

  I nodded. “Is there any way you can prove it was Jimmy? He thinks she killed his grandfather. He said so tonight.”

  “I knew I should have come in earlier.”

  I shrugged. “I guess you weren’t meant to be here for the show. His mother dragged him outta here by his ear, if you can believe that.”

  “Now why doesn’t that surprise me? She’s one tough cookie. I guess you’d have to be in her position. In the meantime, I want to keep my eye on these people. I don’t trust any of them.�
�

  “Pamela,” Chris called. “I need you over here.”

  “Talk to you later.” I stood and left Janet to her dinner, which had just been delivered.

  Duke gave her one of his special Steve McQueen smiles and she grinned from ear to ear.

  I couldn’t believe how my employees thrilled our customers. It was truly amazing.

  Sophia and Tony left as soon as the music ended. The Messinas picked up the tab and offered Meredith and Gabe a ride.

  After everyone cleared out, we made a point of sprucing up the restaurant. After all, the media would be visiting on Friday night. Actually, we didn’t have to do much.

  It felt good to get home and in bed. We slept well, without hearing the sounds of gunfire.

  ~ * ~

  I awoke bright and early to the sound of the telephone. Groaning, I made myself get up and answer it.

  My son’s hopeful voice greeted me. “Mom, did you decide if I can come tonight?”

  “Good morning, to you, too,” I said.

  “Good morning. Can I come?”

  “Let me talk to your father and call you when school lets out.” It was too early to put two thoughts together and come up with an answer.

  “But I need to know if I can invite Danny?”

  I thought of Janet and my tell when I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but see if his parents want to come, too.”

  What the heck? With the TV crew and reporter, and a big crowd, nothing could go wrong. It was going to be a fun evening.

  “Tell Danny to dress up and he can help us out.”

  “I love you, Mom.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  He hung up and I could almost picture him dialing Danny’s number.

  After Mikey’s announcement, several people had made reservations for tonight. Everyone wanted to be on television, even if it was the news.

  “Chris, I don’t think you had any idea of what you were doing when you set this up with the reporter.”

  “Huh?” he said before turning over and going back to sleep.

  I hurried downstairs to let the dogs out before remembering they were at my in-laws’ house.

  “Well, fine,” I said. “Now I’m wide awake. I might as well take my shower and fix some breakfast.”

  By the time I decided what I wanted to eat, Chris was up and appearing very cheerful.

  “What’s up, babe?” he asked.

  “Mikey called. He and Danny are coming tonight. I told him to invite Danny’s parents, too.”

  “Oh.” He didn’t look pleased.

  “Chris, with cameras and reporters there I think you can relax. No one’s going to pull anything with the cameras rolling.”

  “You’re probably right. Why commit a crime if it’ll be filmed and on the 10:00 News?”

  “I think everyone involved is too smart to do anything tonight.”

  After breakfast I was putting the dishes in the dishwasher and thinking about cleaning the house when the phone started ringing.

  Lila called to say she was excited about her upcoming performance.

  Jasmine called to tell me not to worry, she and the other Church Ladies would be at the restaurant “with bells on.”

  Judith telephoned to let me know she’d meet Lila at the restaurant a little early so they could make some last minute arrangements regarding the music. She said Chris, Sr. would bring Mikey later in the afternoon. Oh, and she wanted to let me know that Danny and his parents would be there for dinner.

  Meredith called to tell me how much she and Gabe had enjoyed themselves and to let me know they’d be back. She didn’t care if her face was on the news because by this time everyone that mattered knew where she was. She added that Tony and Sophia would be there, and Jimmy had driven himself back to Las Vegas. Frankie had opted to stay because he was having a good time.

  I hung up and the doorbell rang.

  I turned to Chris, closed my eyes in defeat and pursed my lips. “I guess I’ll put off cleaning house until another day.”

  “Good idea. I’m surprised you had housecleaning on your mind.”

  The doorbell rang again.

  “Patience,” I said, taking a deep breath.

  I opened the door and found Janet standing on the porch.

  “I don’t care what it is, but please tell me you have some good news.” I smiled, or grimaced, at her.

  She shook her head. “Sorry.”

  “Now what?”

  “We found Frankie Messina late last night. He t-boned a telephone pole.”

  “Is he – ?”

  “He’s alive and in the hospital, and he’s asking for you and Chris.”

  “Why? What could he possibly want with us?”

  “No idea, but he said it’s important. He was pretty insistent. He said he wouldn’t talk to anyone but you two.”

  “Is his mother there?”

  “She was on her way when I left, but he didn’t want to see her. What’s the deal with that family? He acted like he was afraid to see her.”

  “I think she’s quite controlling. She won’t be happy if he was drinking or anything like that. I get the feeling she rules that family with an iron fist.”

  Janet raised her eyebrows. “I’m going to follow you back to the hospital. I have a few more questions for him, like where’s Jimmy?”

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  “I can’t imagine why Frankie would want to see us,” I said. We were headed for the hospital and it seemed like Chris wasn’t in any hurry. “He’s the only one we’ve never really had any contact with, other than seeing him hanging around.”

  Chris shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t understand half of what that family does. As far as him being afraid to see his mother, I’d probably feel the same if I were in his shoes.” Something about his tone sounded cranky.

  “I know. Last night Janet and I talked about how controlling she is. From what I understand, her husband was abusive. Maybe she wants to make sure she’s never in a position like that again.”

  “Like I said before, she’s a smart cookie. Sometimes the smart ones can out-think themselves though. Tony seems like the only grandson who likes her.”

  “I’m not even sure about him,” I said.

  I pointed ahead on the left.

  “There’s the hospital.”

  “I know where it is and I don’t need directions.” There was that moody tone again.

  I stared at him while he drove into the parking lot. “What’s up, Chris?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Let it go.”

  “But – “

  “I said, let it go.”

  He knew me and he knew I wouldn’t let it go. I’d bide my time before asking again.

  “Janet’s right behind us,” I said.

  “Yeah.”

  He parked and the three of us walked into the hospital together. We found Sophia and Tony getting off the elevator.

  “Good morning,” I said.

  Sophia glared at me. “Maybe it is for you. Frankie is waiting to see you. He asked us to leave.”

  “Sophia, do you know what this is all about? We don’t know why he asked for us.” Maybe she’d answer me and maybe she wouldn’t.

  “Tony,” she said, “wait for me by the door.”

  He nodded and left her side.

  She turned a worried glance my way, which surprised me. “I think he knows something about Jimmy. My grandsons… No, make that Jimmy. He doesn’t always listen to me like he should. You’ll tell me what Frankie knows.”

  “No, ma’am, not unless it’s okay with him. He’s an adult and it’s his decision.”

  Ah. Now I knew what the stone face Janet had mentioned looked like. And, yes, her jaws were tight.

  Without a word, she walked over to Tony, put her hand on his arm, and they left the hospital.

  “You’ve got guts, I’ll say that for you.” Janet was grinning. “Of course, you’ll tell me what he wants, right?” />
  “Maybe,” I said.

  Janet rode up in the elevator with us, but when we reached the third floor she sat in the Waiting Room with a magazine.

  Chris and I strolled down the hall, in no hurry to find out what was going on.

  “Here it is,” he said, pointing to a room number.

  He pushed the door open and a nurse was taking Frankie’s blood pressure. He ripped the cuff off.

  “Get out of here,” he said.

  She didn’t argue, but she gave him a scathing look and a warning. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes, and you’d better be ready for me.”

  She was a big woman, close to six feet tall, and hefty. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. She wore no make-up and had a sour expression on her puffy face.

  I wouldn’t have argued with her.

  Frankie made a spitting noise at her back.

  She turned and shook her finger at him before leaving.

  I took a good look at Frankie. His right arm and leg were in casts. He had cuts and bruises all over his face, and his hair had been shaved in one spot. I could see stitches.

  “Looks like you didn’t have a good night,” Chris said.

  “Not my best,” he replied.

  “So why did you want to see us?” I asked. “Let’s just get to the point and get this over with.”

  He looked Chris in the eye. “I usually go with my gut feelings, and you two are standup people. I trust you.”

  He waited for Chris to reply, but my husband rolled back on his heels and tugged on his ear without saying a word. He simply stared down at Frankie.

  Frankie stared back, but he broke first. “Okay, I need to let someone know that Jimmy was in the car with me. We were arguing and that’s when we had the accident. He walked away without a scratch and told me to keep my mouth shut. I don’t know where he went.”

  Chris continued to stare.

  Now I understood my husband’s moodiness. He didn’t want what he thought might be a confrontation with Frankie.

  “What were you arguing about?” I asked.

  “He still believes that old lady killed our grandfather. Our grandmother told him he’s wrong, but he won’t believe her. He’ll go after the old woman. You need to get someone to look out for her.”