It was late when I strutted into Tino’s Deli. The dinner rush had passed and a few stragglers lingered over a bottle of wine. A server with frizzy red hair wiped down tables and chairs for the night.
The ex-spy’s face lit when he saw me. “Caterina!”
He hustled from behind the counter, took my face in his hands, and kissed my cheeks. “The investigation, it is finished?”
I nodded.
“Bravo. Sit. I have a nice Cabernet.”
I took a table by the window and watched the slow procession of white and red lights through Bridgeport. Tino hung the Closed sign on the door and selected a bottle from the wine rack. He opened the bottle and filled our glasses.
The ex-spy clinked his glass with mine. “What is spoken here, stays between us.”
“Gotcha.”
“Who killed my friend, Danny?”
I sipped some wine. “It’s complicated.”
“I want it all. Why did he run into the street?”
I gulped more wine and pulled a leg up under me. “The three men from the armed robbery returned to the shop that day.”
“To rob Danny again?”
“No. To collect their money.”
“The gleam in Tino’s eyes was freaking scary. “Are you suggesting the burglary was a scam. Insurance?”
I nodded.
“I’ll kill that greedy bastard.”
“Rob had company. Cam Stewart. You know him?”
“He’s a dirty cop. Danny hated that Rob hung out with him.”
“Birds of a feather. Rob hired these guys and then shorted his partners. Instead of shelling out their agreed share, Rob paid them in tacky, flawed diamonds and cheesy cubic zirconia. It was a fatal mistake.”
Tino’s teeth ground. It was a lot to take in.
He reached into a pocket and dragged out a flask. He tossed down a drink and passed it over.
I did the same, then handed it back.
“Danny was shaken to his core when the thieves told him Rob betrayed him. He offered to pay Rob’s debt right then. One of the thieves got greedy and frightened Danny. He wanted his grandfather’s medallion.”
“The medallion was a family heirloom. No one messes with Danny’s lion.”
“Danny ran with the medallion. I think he was blinded by grief and rage. He never saw the van.”
“Who are these scum who killed my friend?”
I dropped a hand in my lap and crossed my fingers. “Clive James died shortly after Danny.”
“Lucky bastard.”
“Clive’s death was ruled an overdose. The truth is, Cam Stewart killed him for a fat swag of diamonds and cash. Cam was the first responder and he was assigned the case.”
Tino hissed. Cam Stewart is a snake.”
“Marcus Russell was killed at the Dreamscape Motel. Bathtub, hairdryer, 220 volts of electricity. It was awful.”
“Cam again?”
“Bingo. When we began investigating the Baumgarten armed robbery, Cam knew we’d eventually identify the three guys on the security film. Marcus wasn’t a rat. But he could connect Cam to multiple thefts and possibly to Clive’s homicide. It was a chance Cam couldn’t take.”
I slugged down the rest of my wine. “Cam’s in the clink. The prosecutor hasn’t decided what to charge him with. It’s a political time bomb for CPD. Maybe he’ll hang himself in his cell.”
“If they want him to die in a crash on a lonely stretch of road, I’m their guy.”
“Do spies go to heaven?”
“Spies are God’s angels. Who’s the third guy?”
I dropped my second hand in my lap and double-crossed my fingers. I bugged my eyes wide open. I read once that people blink when they lie. And I was lying through my teeth.
“Tom Barker. He died a few years ago in Joliet. Cancer.”
“Was it slow?”
“Excruciating.”
“Good.”
Tino passed the flask and I took a good pull of whiskey. It was a good burn.
“What will you do about Rob?”
“I’ll deal with him later.”
I almost felt bad for the guy. “Danny will be watching.”
“Dammit.”
“You should know that Rob saved my life tonight.”
“Christ, Caterina. What happened?”
“Last night I let myself into Cam’s condo…”
“Where was Max? You promised to take him with you.”
“I was an idiot. Are you finished yelling yet?”
“For the moment. Continue.”
“Anyway, Cam is laundering money for some wanna-be-gangsters. I needed more evidence. I surprised one of his buddies in the shower. Cam came home. They argued over who would kill me. Luckily for me, Rob stopped by. He knew nothing of the murders and the blackmail. When he couldn’t stop Cam, he tackled him. He risked his life. And he was willing to face prison to save me. He showed a lot of chutzpah.”
“Dammit. I can’t kill anybody, can I?”
“I think Danny would want you to give Rob a chance to turn things around.”
“Rob can make his papa proud. After I kick his ass.”
“Did Max tell you Rob’s a fence? He buys stolen jewelry.”
“Not anymore. Rob is having a come-to-Jesus moment.”
“Isn’t he Jewish?”
“Right. So he’s coming to Yahweh if I have to drag him there.” Tino grunted. “Now, I want the driver.”
I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach. “It wasn’t the driver’s fault.”
“Danny was left to die in the street.”
I stared at my wine.
“Forget about it,” Tino said. “I don’t need to know.”
“Really?”
I felt almost giddy with relief. I popped out of my chair and hugged him tight.
“Tony and Bob can keep their secret,” he said. “It won’t bring Danny back.”
I leaned back searched his face. The gold flecks in his brown eyes danced.
“You crafty old spy. How did you know?”
Tino winked. “I haven’t forgotten the extraordinary things we do to save the ones we love.”
We finished our wine in peaceable silence before he walked outside with me.
“One more thing,” he said before I slid behind the wheel, “you didn’t say what happened to Danny’s gold medallion.”
Crap. “Uh…”
The corners of Tino’s mouth twitched. He was smiling inside. “Don’t tell me if you have to cross your fingers again.”