Ottis sagged onto the chair, with an uneasy smile, and swiveled his head when Rico pushed the door closed with his foot.
I strolled across the room and came to a stop behind Ottis, resting my fingertips on his shoulders.
He flinched and grabbed the arms of his chair, squeezing them so hard, his knuckles turned white.
Cap glanced from me to Rico, Rico to Ottis, and then back to me. “Fine. I’ll bite. Why is Ottis back in here?”
I held up Dom’s phone and smiled. “Well, look what we’ve got here.”
“It’s a phone, Nighthawk.” Cap leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
“But not just any phone. It belonged to Dom, the dead mob enforcer, with the ugly yellow sport coat at the warehouse. I…relieved…him of it at the scene.”
“You stole evidence.”
“Potatoes, patahtos.”
“Other than you annihilating the chain of evidence, why do I care about this phone?”
“Remember when I was hanging off the ledge? This Dom guy’s standing below me, yacking on his phone, saying somebody named Snowflake called and ratted us out.” I swung my eyes to Ottis.
Cap rubbed his face, then stared at me over the top his hands. “You think Ottis is Snowflake?”
Ottis’s jaw dropped. “Huh?”
“Really?” Cap asked, inspecting Ottis as if he were some alien being. “He doesn’t look like a snitch.”
“A what?” Ottis’s eyebrows squished together, giving him that lost ball in high grass look.
“Quiet,” I said, smacking the back of his head. “No one asked you.”
Cap swept his hand in my direction. “Get to the point, Nighthawk.”
“While we were in the meeting a few minutes ago, I pressed redial on Dom’s phone. The same group of people from today’s meeting were present when we planned the warehouse raid, including Spuds McSquirrel here, when he coincidentally wandered in for your trash can.”
Ottis’s right leg shimmied. “Bu...but that’s m-my job.”
“I don’t get it,” Cap said. “I didn’t hear a phone ring.”
“That’s because it didn’t ring here,” I said. “But it did ring somewhere. A man answered. I’m not sure who, but the voice sounded familiar.”
I moved out from behind Ottis and resumed my seat across from Cap. “Think about it, sir. Even if McSquirrel here isn’t Snowflake, he could still be feeding intel to a handler.”
Ottis blinked. “Feeding…what?” Sweat poured from his temples. “I-I’m not feeding a-anything. Am I in t-trouble?” His eyes grew moist. “Can I g-go back to work n-now? I don’t like this.”
Cap frowned and shook his head. “This is thin, even for you, Nighthawk.”
I had to admit, one look at the sniveling squirrel told me my theory sucked rocks. He didn’t have the guts, or the brains, to be a stool pigeon. Ottis couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag without a map.
I’d scared the crap out of a simple guy, doing his simple job. And now, I felt like a shitheel. And Little Allie, who should have stopped me in the first place, decided to get all high and mighty, making me feel worse. The brain bitch needed to either stay tuned in or butt out. Her ADD was killing me.
“Sorry about the head slap, Ottis,” I mumbled. “My mistake.”
Cap walked around his desk and lifted Ottis out of his chair. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Go on back to work, now. Just one more thing before you go. Don’t forget. When you see my door closed, always knock from now on before you come in. Okay?”
Ottis threw me a withering glance. “No problem.”
He slunk out the office, side-eying me every inch of the way.
Cap closed the door behind him, then turned back to me and asked, “Have you lost your mind?”
I explained that Ottis was conveniently present at all the strategic moments of the case, but my words fell on deaf ears.
Cap shooed Rico and me out of his office, with instructions to pick up Leo and take him back to my place.
Rico pulled me out of Cap’s door, even as I continued to plead. “Somebody answered that phone, damn it. And when I figure out who, I’ll have our snitch.”
Cap yelled from his office, “Be sure to log that phone into evidence.”
“Will do,” I called, then I grinned at Rico and whispered, “Right after we use it to find our snitch.”
“Jesus,” he sighed, leading me out of the precinct doors. “You’ll get me fired, yet.”
I dropped my Harley off at the house and then Rico drove us to the hospital to pick up Leo.
Weston grinned like a fool, the minute we walked down the hallway.
Rico stopped outside Leo’s door, to let Weston know he’d been allocated to the unit responsible for identifying the warehouse biters and BOLO Guy.
I walked on past them and into the room, but I couldn’t help overhearing Weston’s sigh of relief, and something about Leo being a royal pain in the ass.
Leo couldn’t wait to share his feelings, either. “What’s with that Weston guy? He’s like a mannequin, only stupider, and with no sense of humor.”
After we gathered Leo’s things, a nurse rolled him to the front door in a wheelchair, while he yammered on, a mile a minute, thrilled to be “busting out of this joint.”
Weston parted ways with us at the curb and strolled across the parking lot, a lightness in his step, presumably due to being “Leo-free.”
The ride home featured Leo unplugged. I was surprised at how much I’d missed that.
We reached my house, and hadn’t even made it out of Rico’s car, when Nonnie flew through the screen door, arms open wide, homing in on Leo like a B-52. I was afraid she’d knock him over, but he latched onto her and gave her a big smooch on the lips.
“I have lasagna for you,” Nonnie said, beaming. “And some rugelach for dessert. The guest bed is made up for you, too. Come, come,” she said, hustling him into the house.
The guest bed? I didn’t have a guest bed.
And while I’d worried about Headbutt’s reaction to Leo, given that he had the Z-virus, Headbutt escorted him up the driveway, wagging his tail stub, treating him like his new best friend. Even Kulu was on her best behavior, greeting Leo at the door with, “Buongiorno, Leo.”
Leo wandered in and gawked at the pictures of my family, hanging willy-nilly on the walls.
“Nighthawk,” he said, his head on a swivel. “Your mother…and father? I’ll be damned.”
Good Lord. Had the man thought I’d been hatched?
We sat at the kitchen table and ate lasagna until it came out of our ears, smiling and laughing, Leo’s arrival feeling like a homecoming of sorts. Leo’s color was good, even if the usual glint hadn’t returned to his eyes. Once his belly was full, he yawned, clearly ready for a nap. Nonnie led him down the hallway, to the bedroom across from mine. Until now, I’d always referred to that room as The Arsenal. And the door to the arsenal had been locked.
The last time I’d been in my house, only a day or so earlier, there was no bed in that room. I threw a side-long glance at Nonnie, which she completely ignored, then I moved to the doorway, almost afraid to look inside.
I peeked through my fingers and stifled a gasp. Good God. What had she done with my napalm?
The room now hosted a double-bed, complete with sheets, pillows and comforter, as well as a night table and matching dresser. This was not my stuff, but one look at Nonnie’s face told me who it belonged to. She was happy and feeling needed; Leo was relaxed and comfortable.
On the far side of the room, a padlocked metal cabinet took up most of one wall. Nonnie stepped beside me and forked over the key. I unlocked it and peeked inside. She had managed to move all my weapons and munitions into the cabinet, without blowing my house to bits. A woman of many surprises, our Nonnie.
While Leo slept, Nonnie cleaned our lunch mess and started making veal scallopini for dinner. If I continued to eat like this, I wouldn’t be able to outrun an eighty-year-old corpsicle. Headbutt, who followed Nonnie around like she had a pork chop tied to her neck, had already put on a few pounds.
Rico and I excused ourselves and walked outside to analyze the security of my house. Or lack thereof.
“Other than locks on the doors and windows, I got nothing,” I said. “There isn’t a soul in this neighborhood who would even think about screwing with me. And when it comes to random riff-raff, Headbutt doesn’t take any prisoners.”
But it was different this time. It wasn’t just my life at stake. We weren’t talking about screwball kids with attitudes anymore. Gangsters and biters boosted the security needs up a notch. Motion sensor lights seemed reasonable, as did an alarm system. Sweet. I’d be sending that bill to the D.A.’s office.
We’d gone back inside and were reviewing home security systems on my laptop, when someone rang the doorbell. Headbutt growled and jumped up and down in front of the door, his usual greeting. I looked through the peephole and sighed. Even on the best of days, trouble eventually found me. Today’s trouble took the shape of Jade Chen.
I opened the door and summoned every ounce of control I had left inside. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Jade smiled sweetly and handed me the newspaper from my driveway. “I come in peace. No microphones, no cameraman. Just me. May I come in?”
I stepped aside and let her pass. “I’ll let Rico know you’re here.”
“Actually, it’s you I want to talk to,” she said, sitting on the couch.
Rico walked into the room and she smiled.
His eyes narrowed. “What’s up, Jade?”
“I know it’s early, and you’re supposed to pick me up at seven, but I really stopped by to see Allie.”
Rico’s eyes darted back and forth between Jade and me, making what was already an awkward moment downright uncomfortable.
As if that weren’t bad enough, Leo, apparently awakened by the doorbell, appeared in the hallway, pointed his finger at Jade, and said, “I know you! You’re the news broad who gives Nighthawk shit all the time. Cadaver diver! Ha! Good one. You’re sharp. And you’ve got some big-ass, hangy-down things. Two thumbs up, chica.”
I scowled at Leo. “Go back to your room, Uncle David. This is a private conversation.”
“No. Wait,” Jade said. “Allie, I know who he is. He’s a mob accountant named Leo Abruzzi, who’s turning state’s evidence against the Giordano Family.”
Nonnie rounded the kitchen doorway and burned holes through Jade with her eyes.
I snapped my head toward Rico, seconds from making him wish he’d never been born, when Jade jumped up and stood between us. “I know what you think. But Rico didn’t tell me anything. I swear.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. Don’t insult my intelligence.”
“Oh, c’mon, Nighthawk,” Jade said. “Don’t be so naive. Grand juries aren’t the secrets you think they are, when you have the right sources. There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about tonight. Something only you can help me with. The wires are full of stories about an increase in zombie activity and biters that seem to be evolving. I want to know more about that.”
She took a deep breath. “No, actually, I need to know more about that. One thing’s for sure. If Leo’s here, and you’re here, those two things have to be related. And that’s news.” She paused and lifted her chin. “It’s dark. It’s gritty. And I want in on the ground floor. I want to write an exposé on the Z-virus.”
Oh no, she did not just say that.
I laughed, in spite of myself. “And because we’re such close, personal friends, you thought I’d buy into this ridiculous load of crap.”
“Oh, hell no. That ship’s sailed. But I’ll run my copy by you before I air it, to be sure I’m not giving away any secrets. Agreed?”
“No way, Jade.” I yanked the front door back open. “You’d be in so far over your head, you’d never come up for air again. It’s time you leave now. And if one word of this gets out, I’m coming for you. Personally. You can count on it. A man’s life is at stake.”
Jade looked down and bit her lip. “I know in the past I’ve been…harsh. But to be fair, so have you. I’ve thought…what you do…is cruel. I didn’t understand it. I’m not sure I do now, but I want to. And I want the public to understand it, too. No more jibes, no more insults. I promise. And not a word will go to print, until you say the word. Deal?”
I held the door open and glared at her.
“No,” I said. “No deal. And I meant what I said. If one word of this gets out, there isn’t a corner of the world where you can hide, where I won’t find you.”
Jade nodded and walked slowly to the door, then turned to me and said, “I’m going to do this with or without your help, Nighthawk. With, would make it a whole lot easier.”
I pushed the door closed behind her and stared accusingly at Rico.
He didn’t look away. “You know me better than that,” was all he said.
Leo wandered into the kitchen with Nonnie, probably trying to stay out of my path. The next hour passed in awkward silence, as Rico cleaned his gun and I scanned the internet for security systems.
The doorbell rang again at six o’clock. Thank God, Ferris was here for the start of his shift.
Without so much as a glance at me, Rico let him in, squeezed past him, and slammed the door on his way out.
“Whew,” Ferris said. “Trouble in paradise?”