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Kate pulled up behind a black sedan parked outside the old brick building near Payne and York. A silhouette of a man sat behind the wheel.
She grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car. A cold wind swirled around her legs, cutting through her coat. The steely sky held the impending rain in its grip, ready to let loose at any moment. Kate cursed herself for forgetting her umbrella—especially this time of year.
As she shut her car door, a blustery gust took up her hair—high over her head—swirling it in place for a second, before letting it flop down in a heap around her shoulders. She let out a quiet shriek, stopping short to pat it back into place with her free hand. She heard a car door shut and looked up to see a stocky, muscular man heading her way. Unfortunately, she couldn’t take back this embarrassing first impression.
The man appeared to be in his early forties. His salt-and-pepper hair was swooped back and held in place by a thick gel. His entire ensemble was black. Black shirt, unbuttoned at the top, expensive looking black leather jacket, black dress pants and black shoes, buffed to a shine. The only hint of color Kate noticed, was a gold chain hanging around his neck, a gold cross dangling in the middle.
As he approached her with an outstretched hand and a smile, Kate noted his broad shoulders and deep-set brown eyes. His olive complexion was mostly hidden beneath a neatly groomed salt-and-pepper goatee, which gave him a bit of a menacing appearance. She thought him ruggedly attractive—in a gangster sort of way.
She’d given up on her hair, and reached out her hand as he approached.
“Mr. Bracchio?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” he said, giving her hand a rough shake. A few cars whizzed past, making it difficult to hear.
Kate paused for a second, remembering the man from the cab who had called out to her. She thought this might be that guy. She kept that memory to herself though, as she noted his impeccably manicured hands.
Money.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said, returning his handshake with her own strong one.
“Yeah. Nice ta-meet you’se too.” He gave her a creepy up-and-down look and said, “When you said your last name was De Luca, I thought you was Italian.” He scratched his chin, still ogling. “But you don’t look Italian. Irish. Am I right?”
Kate smiled politely and nodded. “This way.” She pointed to the door of the first location.
“I’m impressed. I am Irish. What gave it away?”
Eddie leaned back and threw out his arms. “You kiddin’ me? Those baby-blues? That beautiful pale skin? An easy guess. Know what I mean?”
She smiled, but didn’t reply.
“So,” he said, “I take it you married an Italian then?”
“I did. I mean—I’m married, yes. His name is Marco.” She paused. “He’s from Brooklyn. Like you.”
Eddie smiled and jerked his head up a smidge. “How-you know I’m from Brooklyn?”
She smiled. “Please. That accent?” She flapped her hand at him. “Fu-ghet-abowd-it.”
Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “That’s pretty good, you know that?”
She laughed, too. “Really? You think?” She let out a big sigh. “Oops, sorry. Unprofessional.”
“Nah’,” Eddie said. “I love it.”
“What-you say your husband’s name was? If he’s from the neighborhood, maybe I know him.”
“Marco De Luca.”
Eddie looked up toward the gray sky for a second. “Marco De Luca. De Luca. Hmm.” He shook his head. “Nope. Never heard-a him.”
He turned to look at the old dark brick building in front of them.
“So this is it, ‘eh? You weren’t kiddin’. Don’t look like much.”
Three stores lined the front. To the left was an old liquor store long since shuttered. To the far right, was a narrow and battered wooden door, scarred by scratches and gouges, its stain faded to a dull gray. This entrance had no front window, only a worn-out sign on the door that read:
Accountants. No Appointment needed.
Kate frowned. She hadn’t recalled the building being this dilapidated. They moved to the middle door and she cupped her hands around her eyes and peeked through the grimy plate-glass window. It was bigger than she’d remembered. Empty, except for an abandoned stool sitting nearly dead-center.
She pulled away from the window and looked at Eddie with a frowning smile.
“What?” He asked. “No good?”
With hands on his hips, he leaned back to scan the entire front of the building, and then turned in a circle to check out the area. The streets and sidewalks were deserted, but it was still early on a Saturday morning.
Kate scanned the building one more time and turned back to Eddie, her brows raised as she crinkled her nose.
“Thoughts?”
Eddie shook his head. “I don’t like it. This center unit. It feels, I don’t know—”
“Claustrophobic?” Kate asked.
“Yeah. Claustrophobic.” He turned to her. “What else ya’ got?”
“You don’t want to go in?”
Eddie frowned. “Nah’. Seen enough.”
“Okay. Let’s see.” She flipped the pages of her notepad, the cold wind biting her face. “I have a few more places up and down Payne.” She headed to her car. “Why don’t you ride with me? It’ll be easier. I’ll bring you back to your car once we’ve finished.”
Eddie nodded and got into the passenger side of her car. They looked at three more places that morning, traveling up and back down Payne Avenue. One place was too close to Yarusso’s Italian Restaurant, and the other two didn’t give Eddie the vibe he was looking for.
“I can tell from your reactions that nothing is clicking with you so far,” Kate said, as they walked out of the last place. She padlocked the door, and they turned toward her car.
“Not yet,” said Eddie. “But I know these things take time. You got any more places we could look at?”
Kate shook her head as they climbed into her car. “Unfortunately, none for today, but ...”
Eddie gave her a side-glance. “What?”
Kate let out a sigh. “I do have one more place.” She frowned as she clicked her pen on the notepad, thinking.
“What? Somethin’ wrong with it?”
“Well, as I mentioned over the phone, this place is just−it’s not set up for a restaurant. It’s an old warehouse down closer to Seventh Street near the Minnesota Music Café. There would have to be major—and I’m talking major—renovations to convert it into a restaurant.”
Eddie nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know about that. Sounds like a lotta’ money.”
They fell silent on the ride back to his car, but as she pulled up behind it, Eddie rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. I guess I could look at it. My client—I’m not sure she’d wanna’ put that much money into it, know what I mean? But the location would be perfect. Near Seventh. Right outta’ downtown.”
Kate nodded. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to take a look. I can set something up for Monday. In the meantime, I’ll try to find more prospects. I’m afraid we might have to move beyond this area, though.”
Eddie shook his head. “Nope. Gotta’ have it ‘round here. That’s for sure. She wants it near her house. She’s older, ya’ know? She don’t wanna’ spend a lotta’ time driving back and forth.”
He opened the passenger door.
Kate nodded. “I understand.” She reached over and they shook hands. “I’ll call you later today with the time for early next week.” She felt him linger his grip on her hand, but she let it slide.
“Alright then,” Eddie said. “I’ll wait for your call, Kate. Good ta’ meet ya’.”
She smiled and nodded. “Good to meet you, too. I’ll be in touch.”
As Kate drove away, she noticed Eddie in her rearview mirror standing next to his car, watching her.
