Carrots: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (14 page)

In the parking lot I was thinking so hard, I didn’t see the car that had pulled up next to me until the window rolled down. “Hey, babe.” I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was Ramos. “Get in.”

He suddenly looked like the Big Bad Wolf. He saw my surprise and smiled reassuringly, but he was not happy with me. What was I doing at the police station? As if things weren’t bad enough with the murders. He hoped I wasn’t informing on the boss. He really didn’t want to kill me. “Mr. Manetto wants to talk with you. That’s all.”

“For now.” I finished his thought while a surge of anger rushed through me. Here I was at the police station, with cops only a few feet away, and I couldn’t even ask for help. I grudgingly opened the door and got in. Ramos winced when I slammed it shut.

“Did you kill them?” That took him by surprise. “I mean, I know you’re a hired gun, but I just hate to think of you killing those men in cold blood.” It was out before I could think that maybe asking him wasn’t such a good idea.

Something inside of him closed up tight. “You’re right, I am a hired gun. That’s what I do, and don’t you forget it.” I’d made him feel guilty again, and he didn’t like it. He wanted to know what I was doing at the police station, but it wasn’t his place to ask, and he realized he was getting too involved, and that wasn’t good. It got in the way of doing his job.

“Maybe you should find another line of work,” I suggested. “I’m sure there’s lots of other things you’d be really good at.”

That was the last thing he thought I’d say, and his mouth quirked up in a half smile. “You’re joking, right?”

I smiled, glad the tension was gone. “Oh, I don’t know. Lots of people get stuck in one thing, and forget they have other talents they could put to good use. Especially once they’ve made enough money to live comfortably.” I added that last comment when he thought of all the money he’d have to give up.

Speculation gleamed in his eyes, and he wondered again what I did that the boss found so valuable. “I didn’t kill them.”

The tension across my shoulders eased and I relaxed. “Thank you for telling me.” I smiled to let him know I meant it. He nodded and I plunged ahead. “What does Uncle Joey want?”

He growled under his breath before answering. “I don’t know, but if I were to guess, it has something to do with you being at the police station right after two of his men are killed.”

“How did you know that’s where I was?” He didn’t answer, but he thought of the GPS in my car. “That’s a…” I almost said tracking device before I realized he hadn’t spoken. “That’s a…” I tried to cover, but I couldn’t think of anything to say that would make sense. Ramos just stared at me, willing me to say global positioning system so he’d know if his suspicions were correct.

“What I’m trying to say is I’ll bet you’ve got something like a tracking device on the car Uncle Joey loaned me. Right? I’ve read about them. I think I might want one for my next car, in case I get lost or something.”

Ramos nodded, unsure if that was a good guess or something more. I decided I’d better keep my mouth shut, and try to figure out what I was going to tell Uncle Joey. Since I was at the police station, would Uncle Joey think I was the informant? Of course, maybe he didn’t even know there was an informant.

Maybe I should have told Dimples everything. Then at least if something happened to me, he’d know who did it. Now it was too late.

We pulled into the parking garage, and my stomach sank. Ramos was hoping I hadn’t outgrown my usefulness. Somehow I knew things, and he thought Manetto would be nuts to have me killed, but unfortunately it wasn’t up to him.

Did that mean he was on my side? I didn’t think so. It also meant he was getting awfully close to figuring out what I did. I’d have to be more careful.

Uncle Joey was waiting for me in his office. He shut the door firmly behind me, closing me in like a lid on a coffin. I almost started to plead for my life, but then I remembered that Ramos told me Uncle Joey hated it when people groveled, and I snapped my mouth shut.

   Uncle Joey hadn’t said anything, and I realized he had far more troubling things on his mind than me. He was angry, and grieving for the loss of one of his own. Someone was threatening his empire, and after he found out who it was, he was going to rip his balls off and then stick a knife…I quickly put up my shields, and tried to keep the revulsion from showing on my face.

“Please sit down,” Uncle Joey said congenially, “and tell me what you found out at the police station.”

My mouth dropped open. Was that it? I was suddenly glad I hadn’t groveled. “They found a second body this morning. Mr. Falzone’s nephew was in the big freezer.” He took that rather well. Maybe he already knew.

“Do they have any suspects?”

“No, but they think…” I faltered. If I told him, would I be informing on the informant? “They think it’s an inside job.” Hopefully he’d think that meant inside the restaurant, and not inside his organization.

Uncle Joey perked up. “What made them think that?”

I had no idea, so I improvised by trying to make it sound like I misunderstood the question. “Maybe because it was after hours, and there wasn’t a forced entry, so at least one of them knew the killer.” That made sense to me.

Uncle Joey sighed. I hadn’t fooled him. He knew someone had double-crossed him. He hoped it wasn’t me. “So, why did you go to the police station?”

“One of the detectives working on my case called. He needed me to fill out some paperwork. All they were thinking about was the double homicide, so that’s how I got my information.”

“I see,” Uncle Joey said. “You didn’t tell them anything about me then?”

“Do you think I would tell you if I did?”

He actually smiled. “No.”

“I didn’t, but now I’m not sure I did the right thing. If something should happen to me…”

“Shelby,” he soothed. “I’m surprised. You’re very valuable to me, and with this double murder, we’ve got our work cut out for us. Someone close to me is trying to undermine my organization, and you’re the best one to help me figure out who it is.”

“Lucky me,” I said under my breath.

He ignored it. “I’ve called an emergency meeting. Soon everyone will be here, and I’m counting on you to find out if anyone in my organization is behind it.”

I thought his plan was seriously flawed. What made him think I would tell him the truth? It wouldn’t bother me to be out from under him, although I didn’t like the thoughts of people dying. But if it meant I wouldn’t die, maybe it wasn’t so bad. It started to bother me that I could even think such a thing. When had I become so callous? “When did you say they would be here?”

“Some have arrived already.”

“Oh, no! My wig and glasses are in the trunk of my car, and it’s at the police station. I can’t let anyone see me without my disguise.”

Uncle Joey didn’t care. He thought my disguise was unnecessary anyway. “That’s too bad, but you’ll have to do without it.”

“If I can’t wear my disguise, I’ll have to hide in the room where they can’t see me.”

“Shelby, at this point I’m not going to waste time on something that doesn’t matter, and your disguise doesn’t matter.” That last part was said rather loudly, and Uncle Joey was a little surprised that he had lost his cool. He paused to gain his composure, and I saw my opening.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I really can’t go in there without my wig. Besides, don’t you feel a little funny about leaving one of your cars parked at the police station? What if someone realizes it’s not supposed to be there, and they run a license plate check? When they find out it belongs to you, they’ll figure out some reason to impound it, and come snooping around here. I don’t think you need that right now.” Things were getting out of hand and I was desperate. If I could just get inside the police station, I was ready to tell Dimples everything.

He closed his eyes, wondering if I knew how much I exasperated him. “I’ll send Ramos for it…”

“I’ll go with him. Someone’s got to drive it back, and I’ve got the keys.” I hurried out the door before he could stop me. Ramos was standing guard, and I grabbed his arm. “We have to go back for my car.” I tugged at him, but it was like trying to move a brick wall.

Uncle Joey paused in the doorway, smiling at my futile attempt to get Ramos to move. “Get the car and come straight back,” he said to Ramos. “Don’t let her out of your sight.” To me he said, “I want you in my conference room in half an hour whether you have your wig on or not.” With that announcement, he shut the door in my face.

“It’s never good to mess with the boss,” Ramos said, but he was secretly impressed that I dared. “Move it.”

It was a quick trip to the police station, mostly because Ramos was all business. I was a bad influence on him, and he wanted to keep his distance. It bothered me at first until I realized that it actually meant that I was a good influence. I couldn’t help smiling at that, and even though he noticed my smile, he chose to ignore it.

The bigger problem was finding a chance to talk to Dimples. I knew it was a long shot from the beginning, but if I could just convince Ramos to drop me off, I might have an opportunity. Before I could get out of the car, Ramos caught my arm. “I’ll follow you back.”

“You really don’t have to. I’m not going anywhere else.”

“Neither am I, babe.” He smiled, but this time it didn’t reach his eyes. They were cold and predatory, kind of like when he shot the bank robber.

“Oh, all right.” I didn’t mask my annoyance as I got out of the car, but for some reason, I couldn’t slam the door this time. I marched over to my car, but that one look had undermined my confidence, and I knew now was not the moment to try anything. Ramos had a job to do, and this wasn’t the time to push him. I just hoped that if he ever got the order to kill me, he wouldn’t do it, or at least he would hesitate long enough for me to get away.

I pulled out of the parking lot, barely glancing at the doors to the police station, knowing Ramos was watching me closely. At least now I had my wig and glasses. Thank goodness I had been thinking professionally this morning and they were in the trunk.

I pulled into Uncle Joey’s parking garage with only ten minutes to spare. I grabbed my stuff out of the trunk, and made a beeline for the elevator. Ramos was running to catch up when the elevator doors began to close. He wasn’t going to make it unless I stuck my foot in the door. I waved instead, and the doors closed, cutting off his startled curse. I didn’t feel too bad though, because now I could put on my wig without an audience.

I quickly went to work, and was smoothing it into place when the doors swished open. Uncle Joey and Number Five were talking in the hall, and both of them turned to look at me.

Number Five smiled, faintly amused, and Uncle Joey quickly directed him to the conference room before turning to me. He tried to hold back a smile, but couldn’t do it. “You’d better look in a mirror before you come in. But hurry, everyone’s here.”

As I started down the hall, Ramos stepped off the second elevator, and nearly ran over me. He opened his mouth to tell me off, but quickly changed his mind. “The bathroom’s that way.” I knew there was something wrong with my wig, but it couldn’t be that bad.

When I saw it, I nearly died of embarrassment. Part of my hair was sticking out one side, and the wig was crooked, with the bangs off center. I looked like I’d been in a bad accident. So much for trying to hurry.

I finally got everything straightened out when my cell phone started to ring. The sound echoed in the bathroom, and was so loud I dropped my make-up kit trying to answer it before Ramos came running. “Shit!”

“Shelby?”

“Chris?”

“Why are you swearing? You never swear. What’s going on?”

“I never swear in front of the kids, but sometimes I swear. Like now.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked evenly.

I clamped the phone to my shoulder, and started grabbing my lipstick and mascara. “I dropped my make-up kit, and now all my make-up’s scattered all over the bathroom floor. Damn! My eye shadow is broken into a million pieces!”

“Where are you? Kate told me she saw you at the police station. She asked me about your ‘consulting business’ and I didn’t know what to say. What was she talking about?”

“She probably loved that.”

“Shelby.”

“Well she would! There’s more to her than you think, but I can’t explain right now, I’m at work, and I’m supposed to be in this meeting. They’re all waiting for me, and I don’t want to get in trouble. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

“You mean you’re at Thrasher Development? Right now?”

“Yes. I’ve really got to go. I’ll call you later.”

“No, wait! I’m not through talking to you. You said yesterday that you’d never hang up on me again. Remember?”

He had me there. “Well, sure. I’m not hanging up on you, but I’ve got to go. I promise I’ll call you as soon as the meeting’s over. Okay?”

I heard a heavy sigh before he answered. “Fine. Just don’t forget.” Then he hung up. The click seemed louder than normal, and I hoped it made him feel better to hang up first. Not that it mattered to me…ha-ha.

I decided to leave my make-up kit in the bathroom, and after a glance in the mirror to make sure everything was in place, I stepped into the hall. Ramos was standing next to the door like a statue, and I knew he’d heard everything I’d said to my husband.