Glenn-Stormy-Love-&-Spaghetti-on-Aisle-Eight (6 page)

Seth could see flashing red and blue lights in his peripheral vision.

He still wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but from the way the

police officers kept glancing at him, he was pretty sure it was a hit

and run or something, maybe a drunk driver. He didn’t think he had

done anything to warrant the odd looks he was receiving.

When another paramedic brought over a backboard and neck

brace, Seth shook his head. There was no way in hell that he was

being strapped down to any damn board. He was sore, and having

difficulty hearing, but he wasn’t injured enough to go to the hospital.

He batted the paramedic’s hands away and sat up. Almost

immediately, Seth’s head started to spin. Seth covered his mouth

when his stomach swirled and took a slow even breath through his

nose. So, maybe he had a concussion. That still did not mean that he

needed to go to the hospital.

“Stop!” Seth snapped when the paramedic went to grab him again.

“I just want to go home.”

“Dude.” The man winced as he glanced beyond Seth’s shoulders.

“Your home is toast.”

* * * *

40

Stormy Glenn

Frank hummed along with the music flowing from his stereo as he

stirred the pot of homemade spaghetti sauce on the stove. He dipped

his spoon in and took a small taste. Almost perfect. Maybe just a little

more basil.

Frank stepped over to rinse his spoon when his cell phone rang.

He groaned when Nick’s distinctive ringtone filled the air. Frank

dropped the spoon in the sink and grabbed his phone. “The answer is

no, Nick. Whatever it is, no. I’m making spaghetti to take over to

Seth. I’m hoping he won’t be able to refuse my apology if I’m

standing on his doorstep with dinner.”

“Man, I’m sorry, but we’re getting called in.”

Frank’s heart dropped with disappointment. “No.”

“Sorry, dude. There was an explosion over on Hyde Street, and

the chief wants us on this one. An entire house exploded.”

Frank stilled. “Any deaths?”

“No serious injuries as of yet, but the homeowner was knocked on

his ass when the place exploded. Paramedics are working on him

now.”

“Then why can’t Parker and Lane take it? We’re not on duty

tonight.”

“Apparently, the house belongs to someone important and the

chief wants the investigation handled with kid gloves. The order came

down from the mayor’s office, man, otherwise I wouldn’t have called

you.”

“Shit.” Frank racked his hand down his face. There was no way he

could ditch a direct order from the mayor’s office. His goose would

be cooked, not to mention his career. “Okay, give me a few minutes

to clean up and put this food away. I should be ready to go by the time

you get here.”

Damn.

Frank tossed his cell phone on the counter and took the spaghetti

sauce off the burner, placing the pot into the sink. It was too hot to put

into the refrigerator, and he didn’t have time to let it cool. Frank made

Love & Spaghetti on Aisle Eight

41

quick work of cleaning up the rest of his mess then ran upstairs to

dress in work clothes.

He was coming down the stairs when Nick honked from in front

of the building. Frank jumped in the car, barely getting the door

closed before Nick was weaving back into traffic.

“What do you know?” Frank asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

“Next to nothing,” Nick replied. “The mayor called the chief and

told him he wanted his best detectives on the case.”

“And he wants us?”

Nick shrugged. “We’re to report directly to the chief and no one

else. And get this, the case has top priority, and that includes lab

work, tech support, and evidence.” Nick snickered as he shook his

head in disbelief. “We’ve been promoted to the ass-kissing division,

my friend.”

“Jeez, whose house blew up?” Frank asked. “The president’s?”

“That, my friend, is information that I don’t have.”

“Man.” Frank rubbed a hand over the top of his head. “We’re

gonna have to be on our toes on this one, Nick.”

“That’s the impression I got.”

“I wish they had chosen someone else,” Frankie said as flashing

red and blue lights came into view. The street was filled with police

cars, paramedic vehicles, and fire engines. It was a madhouse. “This

is going to be a cluster fuck.”

“It’s also going to be a walk,” Nick said as he pulled the car over

to the side of the road and turned the engine off. “Come on. Our

adoring public awaits.”

Frank couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do less. However,

he was a detective and that meant investigating crime scenes, and the

one blazing in front of him looked like a very large crime scene.

The burning building was obvious. It was the one in flames

shooting up into the night sky. Well, what was left of it. Whatever had

made it explode had done a very good job. There really wasn’t too

much left of the place except rubble.

42

Stormy Glenn

Firemen were currently trying to put the blaze out.

As he walked up, Frank scanned the scene for activity beyond the

fireman and the burning building. His main concern was the crowd

and anyone that stood out or looked suspicious.

“Ah good, De Luca and Russo.” The chief was there with two

other men in suits. He gestured to one of them. “This is Ivan Federov.

Any information you gather is to be shared with Mr. Federov. Is that

understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Frank nodded then turned his attention to the man in

question, holding his hand out. “Detective Frank De Luca.”

“Ivan Federov.”

“Can I ask what your interest is in this case?” Frank asked.

Ivan’s eyes narrowed, his face giving nothing away. “No.”

Frank blinked.
Okay then
. If that’s the attitude the man wanted to

go with, it was very unlikely that Frank would be sharing anything

with him. Frank gave the man the same smile he gave the chief when

he was mentally telling the man to fuck off.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with the Incident

Commander.” Frank turned away before anyone could say more. He

hated when he was ordered to play nice with someone higher up on

the food chain and the courtesy was not returned.

Frank spotted the Incident Commander talking with some of the

firemen on the edge of the crime scene and headed in that direction.

“Commander,” Frank said when he stopped next to the man. Luckily,

he had worked with Commander Williams in the past and had a pretty

decent working relationship with him.

“I see you got the short stick, De Luca.”

Frank glanced over his shoulder to where Nick stood with the

chief and Federov, talking to the man and no doubt trying to gain

insight into Federov’s interest in the explosion. Until they both knew

better, Federov was a suspect in Frank’s book.

“It’s certainly looking that way,” Frank said. “What can you tell

me so far?”

Love & Spaghetti on Aisle Eight

43

“It looks like a gas leak,” the Fire Chief said, “but my gut tells me

this was a bomb. It’s too neat to be anything else.”

Frank glanced at the burning pile of rubble. “Too neat?” Was he

serious?

“Explosions, like fires, can tell a story. If this explosion came

from a gas leak, it would be more widespread, more of a mess. Parts

of the brownstone would be coming down a block away.” The older

man gestured to what was left of the brownstone. “As you can see,

none of the debris made it farther than the street.”

“A bomb, huh?” That might explain why the mayor was so

freaked out over this incident, although how he knew it was a bomb

already, Frank would never know.

“I believe we’ll find bomb fragments when we find the origin of

the blast.”

“Let me know what you find.” Frank turned to the Incident

Commander. “What do you have, Williams?”

Williams flipped open his note pad and stared reading. “One Mr.

Seth O’Connal was coming home from the hospital when he—”

Frank’s knees went weak. “Did you say Seth O’Connal?”

God, please say no
.

“Yes.”

Frank gulped. “Seth Patrick O’Connal?”

The Incident Commander frowned as he glanced down at his pad

again. “Yes.”

“Where is he?” Frank’s head snapped around as he searched for

Seth.

“The paramedics are looking at him now.”

Frank glanced over to the ambulance. He could see lights on

inside, people moving around. He couldn’t see Seth. Frank hurried

over, ignoring the voices that called out to him. He had to see Seth, to

assure himself that the man was still breathing.

Frank ripped the doors open on the ambulance, his eyes landing

on the man lying down on the gurney with an oxygen mask over his

44

Stormy Glenn

face. A man in a blue EMT shirt was inserting an IV into the arm of

the man on the gurney.

“How is he?” Frank whispered, his heart thundering in his chest

so hard that it hurt.

“He got quite the bump on the head and his ears are ringing, but

he doesn’t seem to have any life-threatening injuries,” the EMT said.

“We’re going to take him to the hospital to have him checked out just

in case. A witness said he was thrown back several feet when his

house exploded.”

Frank swallowed hard. “Can I speak to him?”

“He’s not up to questions right now, Detective. Maybe after the

doctor sees him.”

“I’m also a friend.” At least, he was hoping to gain that

designation back.

“Oh, well.” The man glanced down at Seth for a moment before

nodding. “I suppose that would be okay, but you need to be quick. We

really need to get him to the hospital.”

“I won’t be long.” Frank waited for the EMT to move out of the

way then climbed into the ambulance, scooting along the small seat

until he was up near Seth’s head. He did a quick perusal of Seth’s

body, cataloging the apparent injuries while he prayed there were no

injuries that weren’t readily apparent.

Frank waited until the doors closed on the ambulance and then

grabbed Seth’s hand. He pulled it up and pressed his lips to the man’s

knuckles. “Hey, babe, I hear you’re having a bad day.”

Seth’s eyes were a little dazed when he looked up, but at least he

was looking up. He gave a weak attempt at pulling his hand away, but

Frank refused to let it go.

“I’m sorry, Seth. You were right. I was being a jackass. I was

upset because you were canceling our date.” Frank’s face flushed

when Seth’s eyebrow rose. “I thought you were brushing me off.”

Seth reached up to pull the oxygen mask off.

Love & Spaghetti on Aisle Eight

45

“No, no. You have to leave that on, baby.” Frank quickly pressed

the mask back over Seth’s mouth and nose. “Just let me talk, okay?”

Seth’s lips thinned, but he didn’t try to remove the mask again.

“I’m sorry, Seth. I truly am. I was an ass, and if you never speak

to me again, it would only be what I deserve. But I’m hoping you

will.” Seth wasn’t trying to pull his hand away anymore. Frank took

that as a good sign and continued pleading his case.

“I was at home making you a big pot of spaghetti when I got the

call about the explosion. I had planned to bring it over and sit on your

front porch until you agreed to let me in or have me arrested.”

Seth’s eyes started to dance with laughter, giving Frank a pretty

good idea what Seth’s choice would have been.

“I really did think you were brushing me off, Seth. The night we

spent together was very special to me. Until you called, I had thought

it was special to you, too.” Frank swallowed hard, trying to find the

courage he used to face the gritty streets every day. It would be easier

to face a man with a gun. “Was I wrong?”

When Seth reached up to remove his mask again, Frank started to

stop him only to be stopped by a steely glare from Seth. He waited,

holding his breath as Seth decided his fate, and possibly his future.

“Talk to me like that again,” Seth said, his voice low and raspy,

“and I’ll castrate you.”

Relief almost brought tears to Frank’s eyes. He broke into a wide,

open smile. “I have a great set of knives in my kitchen.”

“I still expect a spaghetti dinner.”

“Just as soon as the doctor says it’s okay.” Frank turned when the

ambulance doors opened. The EMT gestured to him, and Frank

nodded before turning back to Seth. “I need to go, babe. I have some

people to talk to, but I’ll be by the hospital just as soon as I can.”

Frank leaned down and brushed his lips over Seth’s forehead then