Maggie Lee | Book 26 | The Hitwoman and the Teddy Bear

by Lynn, JB

  “Maggie,” Gino warned.

  The brother nearest to me took a step closer. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time.” He stared at me, a mixture of curiosity, and maybe some respect, shining in his eyes. “That was thirty years ago.”

  “Yeah, well,” I bluffed toughly. “I think that’s what this whole thing with Griswald is about.”

  The two brothers exchanged a look.

  I took the opportunity to glance at Gino. He was standing off to the side, his posture relaxed, but his eyes watchful.

  “Tell us what you know,” the twin standing nearest me commanded.

  “Griswald is obsessed with clearing his father’s name,” I began.

  “The jury already did that,” the other brother murmured.

  I shook my head. “No. He wants to prove who actually killed her. Then, his father would be truly vindicated.” I surveyed the brothers, realizing they both looked tired. “Did you believe the ‘not guilty’ verdict?”

  One nodded. The other shook his head.

  The one who nodded walked over to a chair and sank into it. “Jerry Griswald had no reason to kill her.”

  “Nobody did,” his brother retorted hotly.

  I took that to mean that the standing one was the one who’d had the relationship with the dead woman. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Gino was typing frantically into his phone.

  “You’re saying Jerry was framed?” the seated one asked.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “By who?”

  “Whom,” God whispered so only I could hear.

  I ignored the lizard’s grammar lesson, looking from one brother to the other. “I believe he was framed by the person who actually killed her.”

  “And how would you know that?” the standing twin challenged.

  “There may be new evidence,” I replied carefully, trying to come up with a way to keep my dad out of it. He already wasn’t the Delveccios’ favorite person.

  “What kind of evidence?” the seated brother asked.

  “I believe that Griswald might be in possession of a video.”

  “And what would that show?” the seated one asked.

  I glanced at the standing brother nervously. He’d begun to pace, his agitation clear.

  Gino was still concentrating on his phone.

  “Her murder,” I said softly.

  The pacer halted. “Lying to us is a dangerous game, Maggie.”

  I raised my hands defensively. “It’s what I’ve heard.”

  “Then, you must know who killed her,” he challenged.

  “It’s a rumor,” I stated. I didn’t want to say something that wasn’t true, especially if it had the capacity to start a mob war. “I haven’t actually seen the video. I can’t guarantee it’s the truth.”

  “Who is it? Who killed Lada?” The one who’d had a relationship with her advanced toward me, hands balled into fists like he was prepared to beat the information out of me.

  Suddenly afraid, I took a step back and glanced toward the door, ready to make a run for it.

  Gino, moving quickly, placed himself between me and his boss.

  Fury flashed in his employer’s eyes. “Get out of the way, Gino.”

  Gino didn’t budge.

  “Are you defying me?”

  “I’m buying time for tempers to cool, boss,” Gino replied easily. “Nothing good comes from impulsive choices. You’ve told me that.”

  “Plus, he’s sweet on her,” the seated brother said with a chuckle.

  We all looked to the seated brother.

  He shrugged. “He has been for a long time.”

  I wanted to ask him how long, but it really wasn’t the time.

  “Just tell us what you know, Maggie,” the seated one invited. “We’ll be responsible for how we choose to react.”

  Gino glanced over his shoulder and gave me a slight nod. “Quickly. I’ve got a lead on where they’re holding Griswald.”

  “The video shows Nikolai Anatov killing his sister,” I blurted out.

  The man who’d been threatening me stumbled backward, as though the revelation had been a physical blow. “Nikolai.”

  “That actually makes sense,” his twin mused. “He wouldn’t have been happy about her betraying his family with you.”

  “Nothing about her death makes sense!” his brother raged, stalking away. “Nothing.”

  The seated Delveccio focused on Griswald. “You know where Anatov is holding Griswald?”

  “Think so,” Gino answered as a door slammed in the distance.

  “What do you need to get him out alive?”

  Gino cocked his head in my direction. “Her.”

  Delveccio’s gaze met mine. “It would be better for all involved if my brother doesn’t get the chance to kill Nikolai Anatov. Not to mention that the thing going to trial could get messy.”

  I nodded my understanding.

  “Go,” Delveccio ordered.

  Gino grabbed my hand and practically dragged me outside. “We’ll take my car.”

  “But everyone’s waiting in mine.”

  “Everyone?”

  I pointed to DeeDee and Piss watching us from the windows of my vehicle.

  “Fine,” he muttered. “They can come along. But we’re still taking my car. I’m not the only one who has a tracker on yours.”

  I quickly ushered DeeDee and Piss out of the car. “We’re going to ride with Gino.”

  “Shotgun!” DeeDee barked excitedly.

  “You can’t ride shotgun if Maggie is in the passenger seat, you furry fool,” God told her, clambering up to my shoulder.

  “Don’t forget! Don’t forget! Don’t forget!” Benny squeaked.

  I scooped up the mouse and hurried to get settled into the passenger seat of Gino’s car. Impressed that he’d opened the rear door for the cat and dog without being asked.

  His eyebrows raised at the sight of the little white mouse cupped in my hand. “Is that everyone?”

  “Except Mike,” God replied.

  As though he’d heard his name, the crow landed on the car’s hood.

  “He’s with us,” I told Gino.

  “Let’s roll!” Mike squawked, flying off.

  Gino began to drive.

  “What’s going on?” Piss meowed from the backseat.

  “We’re going to save Griswald,” God announced excitedly.

  “You up to this?” Gino asked me, concentrating on the road ahead.

  “Yes.”

  “Cuz you seemed spooked by the boss,” he murmured.

  “I was handling it,” I told him. “You didn’t need to interfere.”

  “You’re welcome,” he muttered.

  “You put yourself in danger,” I told him. “I didn’t want that.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, Maggie, we’re in danger most of the time.”

  I nodded, knowing he was right. Still, he’d deliberately defended me to a man who could order him killed. Somehow, that felt more dangerous.

  “It sounds romantic,” Piss purred dreamily.

  “Love! Love! Love!” Benny chanted.

  “What are they saying?” Gino asked.

  I slid a sideways glance at him, wondering if they were right. “They’re eager to save Griswald,” I lied.

  23

  “I’ve got two men watching the place where Griswald is being held,” Gino said, focusing on his driving.

  “Are they still conscious?” I asked, considering the last pair had been knocked out when they were supposed to be guarding the Marshal.

  “Ha ha,” Gino muttered.

  “So they think he’s still alive?” I asked, hating the way my voice cracked at the end.

  Gino patted my knee. “We’re going to get him home.”

  I remembered Aunt Susan saying not to make promises that couldn’t be kept. “I don’t have a gun.”

  “Glove box.”

  Balancing Benny in my lap, I reached in and found a .38 revo
lver. I spun the chamber, counting the bullets. It held five shots. “Extra ammo?”

  He chuckled. “If we don’t get the job done right, you’re not going to be getting a chance to reload.”

  I frowned.

  “Scary. Scary. Scary,” Benny squeaked nervously.

  “He’s afraid,” I translated before Gino could ask.

  “Me too,” the mobster’s bodyguard admitted.

  I stared at him, surprised.

  “What?” he asked. “You think I don’t get frightened? Some of your antics scare me half to death.”

  Benny’s whiskers quivered. “Love. Love. L—”

  “Hush,” I told the mouse.

  I was pretty sure I heard God chuckle.

  “Your dad told you about the video, right?”

  I considered lying again, but answered honestly. “Yes.”

  “And he knows about it how?”

  “You won’t believe me.”

  He smiled. “With everything else I accept about you, what could be so far out there that I wouldn’t believe whatever it is?”

  “He has a point,” God said.

  “He stole it a while ago,” I began. “Sold the camcorder, hung on to the tape, but never watched it until recently.”

  “Amazed the tape hadn’t disintegrated after three decades,” Gino mused.

  “I hadn’t thought of that.” I scowled out my window. It actually didn’t make sense that the recording would have been in good condition, and Dad had never said how he’d managed to view it. Something wasn’t adding up.

  “Five minutes,” Gino said, interrupting my thoughts.

  “What?”

  “We’ll be there in five minutes.”

  I nodded, forcing my thoughts away from my father. “Do you have a plan?”

  “Besides getting Griswald out? Nope.”

  “Awesome,” I muttered.

  He glanced at the gun I held. “It would be best to do so with a minimum of gunfire, if possible. Less chance of Griswald becoming collateral damage.”

  “CO-llateral!” God bellowed.

  I flinched as he screamed in my ear.

  “CO-llateral!” the lizard repeated.

  “I can hear you,” I muttered.

  “What’s he saying?” Gino asked worriedly. “He seems agitated.”

  I sighed. “I told you how Armani is psychic, right?”

  Gino nodded.

  “Part of her…thing…is that there are messages in Scrabble tiles.” I winced, realizing how stupid and weird that sounded. “I know it makes no sense, but the letters usually end up meaning something.”

  “Huh, like a talking Ouija board?”

  “Kinda…I guess.”

  “And what message is God excited over?”

  “He remembered my name!” From the pleasure in the lizard’s voice, I thought he might actually swoon.

  “The last message was CCC OOO,” I told Gino.

  “And what does that mean?”

  I shrugged. “We don’t know. Usually the letters spell out a word, often multiple words, but we couldn’t make sense of that combination no matter what order we put them in.”

  “CO—llateral,” the lizard reminded me.

  “When you said collateral, God thought maybe it was important because it starts with CO.”

  “Do you?” Gino asked, pulling onto the shoulder of the road and rolling to a stop behind another parked car.

  “Could be. I really have no idea,” I admitted.

  “Could mean Colorado,” he suggested. “I mean, those are the initials of the state.”

  “I like how this man thinks,” God approved.

  “Wait here,” Gino instructed. He climbed out of the car and strode toward the vehicle in front of us.

  “Who wants to wait this out in the car?” I asked my pets.

  Nobody answered.

  “Anyone?” I prodded. “It’s perfectly okay to wait where it’s safe.”

  “Help!” DeeDee barked.

  “You can’t do it without us, sugar,” Piss purred.

  “Me too. Me too. Me too,” Benny said, though he didn’t sound as convinced as the others.

  “It’s not like you could do it without me,” God declared.

  I watched Gino talking to the occupants of the other car. “What if I get him killed?”

  “Griswald?” DeeDee whined.

  “Gino,” Piss corrected.

  “If we’d brought my car, there’s a chance the ninjas would have shown up to save the day. If Ms. Whitehat hasn’t tracked us here…” I trailed off.

  “It will be okay,” God assured me.

  “I won’t be able to choose,” I muttered. “And if I fail to choose…” The painful lump in my throat made it impossible to continue.

  “Choose what, sugar?” Piss purred.

  “Which of them to save…Griswald or Gino,” I choked out.

  A worried hush fell over the car. No one made a sound.

  Listening to my own pounding heartbeat, it felt like my fear was smothering me. I cared about both men. I couldn’t bear losing either.

  My cellphone buzzed. I glanced at the display. The number was unfamiliar, but the message was clear: Body NOT Griswald P.

  “Patrick,” I murmured.

  “What about him?” God asked.

  “He says the body isn’t Griswald.”

  “Clearly,” the lizard drawled. “Did he say who it is?”

  I shook my head. “Hopefully whoever it was is the source of the blood trail.”

  “Where are you?” Patrick texted.

  I hesitated. Then, glancing at the GPS, I sent him the address.

  “If Gino had wanted him here, he would have asked for his help,” God disapproved.

  “We need the back-up,” I countered. I had a very distinct feeling that this was going to end badly.

  “We’re all set,” Gino said, opening the door and pulling me from my morbid thoughts. “You and I will take the front. My men will cover the back.”

  I watched as two of Delveccio’s hired guns emerged from their car and hurried into the woods.

  I climbed slowly out. The dread clawing at my gut made me feel sick to my stomach. I had to steady myself by leaning on the car.

  “Down, down, down,” Benny requested. I put him on the ground.

  “We’ll scout it out, sugar,” Piss said. Then, she picked up the mouse in her mouth and bounded away.

  DeeDee remained by my side.

  Mike landed on the roof of Gino’s car. “He’s in there. Two muscle guys and one boss suit.”

  I conveyed the information to Gino.

  “That confirms what my guys reported,” he said. He ran an assessing gaze over me, frowning at what he saw. “You don’t look great. Maybe you should wait here.”

  I shook my head.

  He shrugged, seeming to silently acknowledge that he knew better than to argue with me. “Okay, let’s—”

  “Kiss me,” I said.

  “Now isn’t the time…” God began, but then grew silent.

  Tucking something under his arm, Gino stepped in front of me, cupped my face in both hands, and kissed me with a heartbreaking tenderness that threatened to shatter my heart.

  “Kiss for luck,” he quipped with a wink, then he grabbed my gun-free hand and pulled me into the woods.

  It was time to rescue U.S. Marshal Griswald.

  24

  They were keeping him in what appeared to be an abandoned shed.

  Griswald sat in an old chair, arms restrained behind him. His head hung low so I couldn’t see his face, but he looked to be hurt.

  Armani’s prediction about torture had been right on the nose.

  As Mike had said, there were two big muscle guys looming over him and a guy in a suit pacing back and forth.

  Gino and I knelt on the ground, behind tall grass, watching the place without being seen ourselves. DeeDee lay beside me, quivering with anticipation of the fight to come.

  “The
suit is Nikolai Anatov,” Gino said, pulling a ski mask on.

  “The one who must die,” God intoned dramatically, reminding me of Delveccio’s unspoken instruction.

  Gino handed me a mask. I stared down at it.

  “It’s safer if nobody can identify you,” he explained.

  I nodded, understanding the logic, and pulled it on. The fabric was coarse and itchy.

  “Maybe the cat or dog could be a distraction,” Gino suggested. “Lure at least one of them out into the open before we make our move.”

  “I like the way this man thinks,” God seconded.

  Piss ran up to me. “We have a plan.”

  “It seems everyone does,” I muttered.

  “I’ll get one of them to chase me out here and you can knock him out. Then, when another comes looking…”

  “Yeah, yeah,” God said from my shoulder. “Gino already thought of that.”

  “You’re assuming they’re going to chase a cat or not shoot the dog,” I told them.

  “Do you have a better idea?” God asked.

  I did, but nobody was going to like it. “You’re going to have to stay, DeeDee,” I told her firmly. “Do you understand? You stay until I tell you.”

  “Stay,” she panted softly.

  I watched as Gino signaled his men to get ready. While he was distracted, I made my move.

  Ripping off my mask and casting it aside, I sprang out of our hiding spot and raced at full speed toward the shed, shouting, “Get back here, Templeton. You’re a bad dog.”

  Everyone inside looked in my direction. Even Griswald. His face was bloodied, but I saw recognition flash in his gaze, so he wasn’t too out of it.

  “Bad plan,” God griped in my ear. “This is a very bad plan.”

  “You’re a bad dog, Templeton!” I yelled, spinning in a circle, like I was searching for the imaginary animal.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Piss streak past, headed for the shed. I was pleased to see that Gino and his men remained hidden.

  I stopped spinning, pretending to notice the men in the shed for the first time. One of the muscle guys was standing in the doorway, blocking the view. “Have you seen a little white dog?” I held up my hands, indicating the size of the make-believe escaped canine. “Or maybe he isn’t white anymore. He probably rolled in the mud.”

  “Lady,” he said, his Russian accent thick, “you need to go.”