Chapter Twenty-Seven

“I’m thrilled neither Rick nor Antonio murdered anyone,” Abrams said, raising his glass of beer for a sip. 

“That is a plus. Although it was close.” James nodded in his direction. “But that might’ve made this wedding slightly less expensive with fewer guests to invite.”

Lily smacked his good shoulder. “That’s far too gruesome to say at my sister’s wedding.”

“We are at a funeral home. I don’t think anything is off limits,” James replied. “And watch the shoulder smacks. I’m already down one.”

Lily petted his right arm. “I know I’m too rough.”

“And what a beautiful job Lily has done,” Gina Giordani said from across the table. She’d brought a mystery man Lily had never seen before.

The gray near his temple and solid fit physique gave him a distinctive look. She couldn’t help but wonder if he might be an ex-gang member or a criminal since he was hanging around Gina. It was hard to tell. Going by his stoic expression he was not someone Lily should mess with. 

“Former FBI special agent, Charlie Mesa,” James whispered in her ear. “Quite the legend in his day.”

Lily nodded, then turned to Gina. “This house does it all by itself. All I did was call a few people to bring food and drinks. The real test will be in a couple of weeks when I have our first client wedding.”

She wondered if Charlie had been the guy Gina called for inside information on Rick. It would make sense. The idea set Lily’s mind into a tailspin. Had Charlie known about the case? Had he been tracking Rick? Lily knew the FBI wouldn’t normally follow this type of case but had Rick been on Charlie’s radar for other reasons?

Gina looked around. “Based on what you’ve accomplished here I’m certain your client will be more than happy.” 

Lily smiled in return. She admired the punk rock meets wedding chic look Gina had come up with today. Her blonde hair had been slicked back on the sides while the top had been combed into a fauxhawk. Black kohl lined her lower lids, but her satin lavender strapless dress softened the whole look.

“I have to be honest with you, Lily,” Abrams said, pulling her out of her thoughts, “I wasn’t sure about this place for a wedding, but it works. Did I hear correctly that you’re also opening it up for weddings for hire on the side.”

“That’s right, Don, I’m always thinking ahead.”

“Maybe you could do Halloween parties, too. It’s got that creepy vibe.”

“All right, I think you’ve gone too far, boss,” James scolded. “I think you’re a little scared you just tied the knot against your own self-professed principles.”

“Oh!” Zachary burst out laughing while Julie grabbed his arm to shush him.

Abrams looked at James. “You want to go for round two? I owe you a right hook.”

“Nah, you’ve been drinking. The fight will end the same way even with my bum shoulder—with you on the ground.”

Abrams smirked at him. “I might not be as young and fast as you, but you’ve got a hell of a lot more baggage.” He sipped his beer.

James scrunched up his face. “Is that right?”

Abrams nodded. “Mm-hmm. But you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to treat you any differently even though I know what happened in your past about Andrea.”

James swallowed hard to prevent from spitting out his drink. “You do? Who told you?”

“Shanna told me. Put it this way, I get why you act the way you do toward Lily, so protective all the time.” 

James rolled his eyes. “Wonderful. Are you going to walk on eggshells around me now?”

“Are you kidding? If anything I have more dirt now to make fun of you.” 

“Hey,” Shanna said as she shimmied over to the table in her glittering white dress, “stop the fussing. Let’s go dance. I’d rather you make a fool of yourself on the dance floor. Come on, husband.” 

“You heard the lady,” James added. 

“Fine.” Abrams guzzled the last of his drink. “At least we know no one is sneaking around the place looking to steal a body or two. Lily, for that I am thankful.” He raised his glass toward her while his other hand was being pulled by Shanna. He had no choice but to get up and go with her. 

Lily noticed Charlie Mesa perked up at Abrams’s last comment. She wanted to know why. Sliding her chair toward Gina, she knew James would understand. 

“I can’t tell you how integral you were in helping us with Rick,” she said to Gina. “If you hadn’t given us the information about the cemeteries, we’d probably be missing more bodies.” Lily noticed Charlie had leaned forward to listen. 

“It’s no trouble. This is my friend Charlie.” Gina leaned out of the way to introduce him to Lily. 

“Nice to meet you.” Lily shook his hand. He held her hand in a firm grip before letting go. 

“Are you the famous sleuth Gina’s been telling me about?” Charles asked in a voice that thundered as opposed to simply stating. “Better be careful, it’s ugly out there.”

“You wouldn't be the first to give out that advice.” That’s all she needed, another overprotective presence in her life. 

“Especially with people like Rick Drakon. The FBI has been tracking him for a while. He’s been involved in funeral home scams for some time. When he skipped town and landed here, they didn’t know where he was headed.”

Lily’s eyes went wide. “That’s insane.”

“When people would still hire him, his last scam involved selling body parts and putting concrete powder in people’s urns to fake the ashes. It’s taken some time to put all the pieces together.” 

Lily’s hand covered her mouth in shock. “How could he do that and still be a detective?”

“He isn’t a detective now despite what he’s been telling people.”

Lily’s jaw dropped. “He’s a completely different person, leading a double life.”

Charlie nodded. “It appears so. He walked away from law enforcement when they started asking him too many questions.” 

She thought about how James might feel hearing this—he’d be devastated. All that trust and confidence in someone had been a waste of his time. 

Charles continued. “When Gina called, I knew we had something, thanks to you.”

“I believed going to her would help but I had no idea you would be on the other line.”

“What did you think?” Gina smirked. “That I had some mafia contact on the other line?”

Lily's cheeks flushed. “I wasn’t sure. You’re very…private.”

Gina chuckled. “Are you admitting to believing everything you hear?” 

“No.” Lily’s hand went up against her chest. “But I have to say this is a surprise.” Lily glanced at James who had been watching her the entire time. “I wanted to get to know you better, but I didn’t think you’d be open to sharing.”

“I’m somewhat open. I think we have more in common than I previously thought. You’re quite a gangster in your own way.”

“Which brings me to my next question.” Lily smiled, feeling a bit awkward. “James thought since we lost Marcia maybe you could come be our make-up artist.”

Gina laughed—a rare sight. “I’m flattered but I love my shop and I’m not sure I could handle both.”

Lily wondered if Gina and Charles were dating. Physically, they looked good together, but her checkered past seemed at odds with his straight edge lifestyle. Or maybe crime was something they have in common. She was no dating expert. “At least consider working for us on a part-time basis. I think you’d be great.”

Gina smiled. “I will.”

Lily felt James come up next to her. His hand went out. “A dance, my lady.” 

She smiled looking up at him. “Certainly.” She took his hand as he led her to the dance floor.

“I waited.” He said as he led them to a less crowded spot on the dance floor. 

“For what?”

“A slow song,” he said, pulling her against him. “It took ages.”

She put her arms around his neck careful not to disturb his shoulder. Even though he’d mostly recovered, the long road of surgery to fix the bones, and physical therapy, had been extensive.

“What’d you learn?” he asked.

“Too many things.” She shook her head. “The gist is that Rick wasn’t who you thought he was for longer than you thought.”

“I could guess that based on the level of crazy. Anything else?”

“Is that why you didn’t want to believe me for so long? Maybe you didn’t want to know?”

“Maybe. I also hated the idea that I’m the one who invited him into our lives. That makes it my fault.”

“How would you have known? Plus, I get to be right again, which you know I enjoy.”

“I know. What did Charlie and Gina have to say?”

“Charlie confirmed Rick’s long history of scams and Gina politely declined our offer to hire her. Although, I’ll keep trying.”

He stared down into her eyes as they turned to the music. “How are you feeling about Antonio?”

She sighed. “I’m shocked and disappointed. Granted, the only staff I really trusted was family and now I know why my parents chose to keep it that way. How about you? You were the one he shot.”

“You have said that I’m the one blinded by my friendship with Rick. Antonio was not on your radar because you trusted him, remember.” 

“True. But in the end that was Rick’s fault again. If he hadn’t approached Antonio with an offer he couldn’t refuse, Antonio would still be alive. Rick brainwashed everyone.”

“You did a great job identifying Rick. Are you sure you won’t consider re-joining the force?” 

“I consider myself part of the team but I’m not switching careers. I’ll have to check my ego…sometimes.”

James smirked. “Will you slap me if I agree with that statement?”

“I’m shocked you had to ask. I know this sounds like good news to you—less danger and all but I think it’s a good compromise.”

“Agreed. Unless you want to ditch the entire sleuthing thing all together which would help me sleep better at night?”

“No chance. You sleep fine.”

James’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he swung Lily around and used his good shoulder to lean her into a dip. “That’s because you sleep right next to me.”

She smiled as he went in for a quick soft kiss and then slowly pulled away, leaving her stomach aflutter. “How did I get so lucky?”