Black Butterfly

by Marja McGraw

  My mouth dropped open. “But we’re just a restaurant.”

  “Not anymore. Now we’re Big Time.”

  I strolled around the restaurant and chatted with various customers. Smart woman that I am, I started with Sophia’s table. At least for tonight, she was a small fish in a big pond, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. I even saw her smile – twice.

  As I passed Mr. and Mrs. Sharpe’s table, they called me over.

  “Pamela,” Mrs. Sharpe said, “we’ve been coming in here for months, and you never fail to show us a good time. By the way, we love what your staff is doing. They’re as entertaining as the music.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “We aim to please.”

  Janet arrived and I showed her to a table I’d reserved just for her.

  I returned to the Reservation Desk when I saw Danny’s parents talking to Chris.

  “We’ve got to go, although I wish we could stay longer. We’ve got to get Danny home and let him unwind. Otherwise he’ll never go to sleep. Can Mikey come along and spend the night?”

  I glanced at the boys. They were doing their little boy version of dancing for the customers. I could see what Danny’s mother meant. They were really wound up.

  “Please. Take him with you and bless your heart.”

  With a little argument, the boys left after I promised they could come help again.

  I took a deep breath.

  “Chris, is your father here? I haven’t seen him.”

  “Yeah, he’s in the bar with Nate, watching the show.”

  “I’ll go let him know where Mikey went.”

  After filling him in, I saw that Frankie was sitting at a table by himself. He looked tired and I had a feeling he was in pain.

  I sat down with him.

  “How are you doing?” I asked.

  “So-so. My leg hurts, but I wanted to see you and your husband. Have you made any progress? You need to find out who murdered my grandfather or Jimmy will do something that I can’t stop.”

  “We’re working on it. Chris says he has an idea, but he won’t tell me what it is.” Thankfully the band was just coming back from break, so I didn’t have to yell and let the world know what was going on.

  Frankie nodded. “My grandmother doesn’t know what we talked about. You won’t tell her, right?”

  “Not if I can help it.” I stood. “I’d better get back to work.”

  “Great dress,” he said, looking me up and down.

  “Thanks.” I ignored the look he was giving me and returned to the desk.

  An older couple I’d never seen before came in. It appeared that they weren’t happy with each other. Their backs were stiff and they wouldn’t look at each other. The man was very gruff when he gave Chris their name.

  I showed them to their table where they sat down and ignored one another.

  Lila and Judith sang a duet, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, a standard that they often sang.

  About five minutes later I glanced at the couple and saw the woman tapping her fingers on the table.

  Lila sang a Mildred Bailey song called Rockin’ Chair, about an old woman sitting in a rocking chair with a cane by her side. She laments that she can’t leave her cabin and tells a kid to bring her the gin, and she sings that judgment day is near. It was a sad song on one hand, and kind of humorous on the other.

  Next up was Rum and Coca Cola, an Andrews Sisters song.

  I happened to glance at the unhappy couple again and they were leaning over the table, talking and smiling. Apparently old music could work wonders. They looked like they might be reminiscing.

  It was turning out to be a good night. I was happy and so was Chris. Our customers and our employees were having a good time. I sighed, a very pleased sigh.

  A few people had finally left and we were able to seat some of those who’d been patiently waiting.

  Chris took a break and retreated to the kitchen.

  Shauna approached me. “You and your husband have a goldmine here. You ought to think about expanding.”

  “Really? You think so?”

  “I wish I’d heard about this place before because I’d probably be a regular. Your son and his friend are adorable, by the way. This is a family restaurant, and yet it’s not.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And those two women who are singing? Amazing. That one little old lady – what’s her name? Lila? – can hit notes that boggle the mind. Does she sing here all the time?”

  “Just a couple of days a week. The only other place she sings is at church, and yes, she is amazing.”

  “Church?” Shauna looked surprised.

  “She’s a Christian. That table of women in the lounge? We call them the Church Ladies. They have good hearts, they pray about everything they can think of, and they love a good mystery.” Oops. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that last part.

  “Christians? Mysteries? Huh! I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover, after all. Anyway, I wanted to tell how much I like this place.” She kissed her fingertips. “And the food is… I can’t think of a good word to describe it. Delicious. Kudos to your chef.”

  She left my side without waiting for a reply.

  Judith sang Stormy Weather, sounding very sultry, and I perused the reservation list. I found myself wanting to sing along with her, but I bit my tongue, not wanting to scare off the customers. I have a lousy singing voice.

  I glanced toward the front door just in time to see someone backing out.

  I only got a glimpse, and I hoped I was wrong, but it looked like Jimmy.

  I left the desk for a moment and hurried to the kitchen, looking for Chris.

  I motioned for him to follow me. “I think you’d better come out here, sweetie.”

  After I told him whom I thought I’d seen, he left my side and made a brief stop to let Janet know. She glanced at me and suddenly seemed very alert. She walked outside and returned after a few minutes, looking at me and shrugging. Obviously she hadn’t seen Jimmy. She sat down and remained on alert.

  Chris stopped at Sophia’s table and said something to her. She stood and followed him a few feet from the others, and they spoke quietly, heads together. They walked past me with Chris saying, “We’ll be in your office. Please don’t let anyone disturb us.”

  Chapter Forty-one

  Because there were so many people demanding my attention, I couldn’t give too much thought to Chris and Sophia, but I had a feeling I’d just learned what his plan was.

  I looked up at the people standing in front of me and a feeling of panic overtook me. My chest felt tight. I was so glad that Mikey and Danny had already left, but it didn’t ease my tension. The people I was facing were innocents. They had nothing to do with our situation, but somehow they’d brought reality to the front of my mind.

  “Please wait here and I’ll be right back.”

  Without waiting for a reply, I hurried over to Janet’s table. “Janet, should I clear out the restaurant? What if Jimmy comes back? Someone could get hurt.” My stomach did a flip flop.

  “Take it easy, Pamela. He’s not going to do anything with all these people around. If it was him you saw, he was probably making sure Meredith is here.”

  “That’s what I mean. He’s sure she murdered – “

  Janet interrupted. “I have a feeling he’ll wait until she leaves. In the meantime, I’ve alerted everyone to put on an extra patrol and search for him. Just go back to work and try to act like everything is normal.”

  “Easy for you to say.” I knew I sounded petulant, but I couldn’t help it.

  “Great outfit,” she said. “I don’t know how you can breathe in it though.”

  Maybe my tight dress was causing my feelings of unease. Yeah, that was probably it.

  Of all people, Scott distracted me. I heard a male voice singing and turned toward the stage. Our bandleader was singing Paper Doll. My grandfather used to sing that song to me and I don’t know if it was the uproar I was going throug
h or not, but it brought tears to my eyes.

  I had no idea Scott could sing. We’d talk. Later. He was a man of many talents.

  I returned to the desk and added the latest couple’s name to the list of those waiting to be seated.

  As another couple approached, I made up my mind.

  “I’m really sorry, but we can’t seat anyone else tonight. If you’d like to make a reservation for tomorrow night, I’ll add you to the list.”

  Thankfully, they were agreeable and gave me their names.

  They passed the word along and several people left, with a few asking me to add them to the list for Saturday night.

  I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It wasn’t easy. Maybe I was just too wound up and too tired.

  Lila stepped up when Scott was done and sang Sentimental Journey. It was just the tonic I needed – soft and gentle forties music.

  Chris and Sophia had been gone for quite a while. Tony hadn’t been invited to follow along, and I noticed that he kept glancing toward the kitchen door.

  There was so much tension in the air that it was almost palpable.

  Sammy arrived about half an hour later. He walked past Gloria and touched her arm, letting her know he’d arrived. He surprised me when he headed for the cocktail lounge and sat with Frankie. I didn’t think the two knew each other, but apparently I was wrong.

  Where was Chris? I could sure use his soothing voice and calm demeanor by my side. I couldn’t leave the desk to check on him, and he’d made a point of saying they didn’t want to be interrupted anyway.

  Another fifteen minutes went by before I saw Chris and Sophia walk out of the kitchen. He walked her back to her table and pulled her chair out for her, nodding as he left her side and joined me.

  “How’s it going out here?” he asked.

  “Fine. I’m now turning people away. Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”

  “Soon, but not now.”

  “You take over the desk. I’m going to go sit with Janet and relax for a few minutes. Besides, I think I’d like to find myself sitting next to a cop if Jimmy comes back.”

  “He won’t be back.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Sophia said – “

  “Frankly, I don’t care what Sophia said.” I thought about that for a moment. “At least, I don’t care what she said about Jimmy. I don’t trust any assurances that he won’t be back.”

  I flipped my hair over my shoulder and made my way to the kitchen where I poured myself a glass of iced tea, returning in time to see Janet at the desk, talking to Chris.

  “Huh!” I turned and headed for the lounge, intending to join the Church Ladies. At least I knew I could trust them.

  Trust? What did trust have to do with it? I glanced at the Messina table and saw Sophia and Meredith deep in conversation.

  The band had switched to a boogie woogie number while Lila and Judith took a break. A young couple made their way to the dance floor and danced like there was no tomorrow.

  Someone bumped my elbow and I tried to sidestep the spilling tea, but my dress wouldn’t allow the quick movement. I rolled my eyes in frustration.

  I’d never buy a dress that fit this tight again.

  May jumped up with napkins and dabbed at the dress. “It could have been worse,” she said. “At least it’s just a little spot on the bodice.”

  Jasmine patted the seat next to her. “You looked pooped. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s been a busy night, that’s all.”

  She glanced at the other women. “Ladies?”

  They joined hands, including mine, and said a prayer for patience and understanding, reminding the good Lord of what I was going through because of having Meredith for a neighbor. They prayed for Mikey, Chris and Meredith, too.

  “Thank you,” I said, meaning it with all my heart. “I needed that. Sometimes I lose track of what’s really important and what isn’t.”

  Lila changed the subject. “Judith and I are going to do two more songs and then we’re done for tonight.”

  “Oh? What do you have in mind?” I asked.

  “We’re going to sing As Time Goes By and end with Goodnight Sweetheart. Scott is going to join us for the last song.”

  “I had no idea he could sing,” I said. “He’s pretty good, too.”

  “I think he might join in more often now that he’s put his toe in the water. I think he was afraid to sing before tonight.” Lila smiled and glanced up at the stage.

  The band had set down their instruments and taken a break, too.

  “I think we’re going to have to hire another waiter if things stay busy,” I said.

  “I think I may know someone who’d be perfect for the job,” Addie said. “He goes to my church and he looks just like… Oh, what’s his name? I can’t think of it. I’ll tell you, getting older isn’t for sissies, that’s for sure. Anyway, I’ll send him in to talk to you. You’ll like him. You’ll know who he resembles, too.”

  “Well, I’d better get back to work,” I said.

  “No sign of that troublemaker, Jimmy, I’m assuming?” Jasmine asked.

  I ignored the question and walked away.

  “I knew it. Someone’s seen him.” It sounded like Judith speaking, but I wasn’t sure.

  I joined Chris, who was now standing by Janet’s table. I wondered if he was filling her in on what Sophia had told him.

  “Oh, what’d you get on your dress?” Janet asked. “I hope it’ll come out. That’s the prefect dress for you.”

  “Tea,” I replied. I wondered if she was purposely changing the subject.

  “We were talking about Meredith’s situation,” Chris said.

  “Oh? Did you fill her in on what Sophia told you?”

  Janet studied Chris’s face. “No, he didn’t, but he will. He knows better than to keep something from me.”

  “So what’s the big secret?” I asked. “Did she tell you who murdered Tony?” I could be blunt when I needed to be.

  “Janet is going to stay after the restaurant closes and we’ll talk then.” Talk about side-stepping a question.

  “Maybe you’d better talk now, and talk fast.” I pointed toward the entry door.

  Jimmy walked in and headed for his grandmother’s table.

  Tony jumped to his feet and tried to stare his brother down, but Jimmy didn’t even glance at him.

  To my shock, Jimmy pulled out a gun and pointed it at Meredith. “It’s time to pay, old lady. I don’t care what my grandfather did. You messed with the wrong family.”

  Sophia stood and stared into Jimmy’s eyes. “Son, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “Yeah, I do. It’s called vengeance.”

  “No, it’s not, because you’re wrong.”

  While all of this was going on, Janet quietly left her table and snuck up behind Jimmy. She did something, but I don’t know what it was. It looked like what I’d call a karate chop on his arm and he dropped the gun.

  He turned on her with fire in his eyes. “Hey! You stinkin’ – “

  Janet took him by surprise and grabbed his arm, pulling it behind his back. “You’re done, Messina. You’re coming with me.”

  He tried to pull away, but Janet tightened her grip, pulling his arm upward.

  To my shock and surprise, the customers started applauding. They thought this was all part of a forties show, apparently. After all, Jimmy and Tony looked like a gangsters.

  Janet bowed from the waist, but through her teeth she said, “Don’t put up a fight. Come with me. We don’t want any innocent people getting hurt.” I saw her carefully pull him away from the gun that now lay on the floor.

  Sophia walked around the table.

  “Detective, would you please show him to Pamela’s office? It’s time everyone knew the truth. I can fix things, if you’ll let me.”

  She looked at the others who sat at her table.

  “Come with us.”

  Janet kept one hand
on Jimmy while she picked up the gun with the other. “We’ll talk while we wait for a patrol car.”

  Janet, Sophia, Tony and Jimmy, Meredith and Gabe paraded through the restaurant and kitchen to my office. Frankie saw them and followed behind.

  Okay, it was time for Chris to fill me in, and it had better be good.

  He seemed to know what I was thinking, because he nodded at me.

  Chapter Forty-two

  “We’ll talk as soon when the restaurant clears out,” Chris said.

  “You bet we will. It’s time someone told me what’s going on. I’ve put a lot of effort into Meredith. Plus, I – “

  “It’s okay, Pamela. I understand. Once the band is done, we’ll start closing the place. Then we can talk.”

  Lila, Judith and Scott sang Goodnight Sweetheart, thanked everyone for coming, and the band packed up to leave.

  Shauna and her cameraman approached Chris and me.

  “This was fantastic,” Shauna said. “I’ll be back and bring my friends with me.”

  “I’ll be back, too,” her cameraman said. “This place rocks, even if it is forties stuff.” He was young.

  Shauna turned to Chris. “The guy with the gun was all part of the act, right? He sure made it look real. Love the way he dressed like he was part of the Mafia.”

  Chris smiled at her but didn’t reply.

  “Anyway, Joe recorded it for me.”

  Chris rolled his ever lovin’ upper lip under, but he still didn’t reply.

  I laughed when Shauna and Joe did a two-step out the door.

  Judith hustled her little bustle over to the Reservation Desk. “Lila and I saw Jimmy, but we couldn’t see what he was doing at the table. What happened?”

  “He pulled a gun on Meredith. I guess he figured it was time for her to pay the price for what he thought she did.”

  “No! But why were people clapping?”

  “The customers thought it was all part of the show. Janet stopped him and all of them went to my office to talk. Sophia seemed to think it was finally time to tell all.”

  “No! We’re finally going to hear what happened?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mother,” Chris said, “there’s no doubt in my mind that you’re going to blab to the Church Ladies and Dad, but would you please tell them to keep their traps shut? When you finally hear what really happened back in the fifties, you’ll understand.”