seven

After the fish remains were taken off for a decent burial, we retuned to the living room for coffee. Audrey barely touched hers and soon begged off with the excuse of a headache. I didn’t blame her. I was starting to get one too.

“Thank you for agreeing to help me, Nic,” Audrey said as she put on her coat. Daphne had offered to see Audrey home, but Toby insisted on doing it. He now stood next to her, his sensible black wool coat already on, and ready to go.

“I can’t promise anything,” I said. “But I will see what I can do. Can you get me Frank Little’s number? I’d like to talk to him. Sometimes people are more forthcoming when they’re not talking to wives.”

Audrey nodded. “Sure, I understand. But I still think you’re wrong. I think Frank told me everything he knew. He seemed to want to find Leo too.”

Audrey and Toby then said their good-byes with promises to call and left.

After listening for the sound of the front door closing, Olive let out a long sigh. “I hardly recognize her anymore! She’s nothing but a walking shell of her former self ! Do you know that she’s given up all her charity work? She says she just wants to concentrate on Leo! It’s ridiculous!”

“Well, there are some who might consider Leo a form of charity work,” said Daphne.

Olive ignored her. “Oh, why couldn’t Audrey have married Tobias? He’s so wonderful to her,” she wailed.

“Well, for one, I don’t believe Toby ever asked her,” said Max.

Olive dismissed this fact with a wave of her hand. “He would have, I’m sure of it. But then Leo came along and ruined everything. Lord, I hate that man. How could Audrey have ever thought Leo was a better man than Tobias?”

Daphne twisted her mouth. “I don’t know about that, Mother. If you ask me, Toby is no different from Leo. Just a little more mannered and better dressed.”

“Nonsense!” said Olive. “Tobias comes from a good family. And he’s devoted to Audrey. Always has been, too.”

“You forget, Mother,” Daphne countered, “that I’ve worked with him for the past two years. I know him better than you do.”

Olive scoffed. “And since when are you such a expert judge of people? You were convinced that last boyfriend of yours was Mr. Wonderful until you caught him running around on you with that other woman. I told you he was no good.”

Daphne flushed a deep red. “You’re unbelievable,” she bit out through clenched teeth.

“Does Audrey have a pre-nup with Leo?” I asked, before the fight escalated.

Max shot me a grateful look. “Yes. I couldn’t stop her from marrying him, but at least I made sure that he agreed to a pre-nup. If they divorce, Leo gets shown the door, and that’s pretty much it. He doesn’t see a dime.”

“Of course, that doesn’t help us much now. He makes out like a bandit as long as he’s still married to her,” Olive said.“And it’ll only get worse once she turns twenty-five.”

“How so?” I asked.

“According to the terms of Audrey’s trust, she has limited control over her fortune. For her to spend over the predetermined amount she must first get approval from the trustees,” said Max.

“Which is you and Olive,” I said.

“Correct,” said Max. “However, that all ends once she turns twenty-five. After that, she can do whatever she wants without our approval.”

“What is the amount she can spend now without your approval?”

He told me. I let out a whistle. Olive wrinkled her nose in disdain at the noise. “That’s still a lot,” I said.

“Yes. Yes, it is,” Max agreed.

I thought for a moment. “Do you think the reason Leo didn’t ask Audrey for the money this time was because he knew it was more than she could pay?”

Max blanched. “God. I hope not.”

“What about this Frank Little person?” Daphne asked. “Could we get in touch with him? Do you think he might know where Leo is?”

“He might,” I said. “Especially if he’s related to Danny Little. Danny is a notorious loan shark. Or at least he used to be when I knew him. He’s a ruthless bastard. If Leo ended up on the wrong side of Danny’s temper, it could explain his sudden disappearance.”

“You mean this man might have killed Leopold?” Olive gasped. “But why? You heard Audrey. She said she always paid his debts. There’d be no reason to kill him!”

I shrugged. “I know. But Danny Little isn’t known for his rational thinking when it comes to overdue debts. Or for anything, really. And if Leo couldn’t pay his debt this time, Danny might have taken matters into his own hands.”

Olive shuddered. “That’s horrible. Disgusting. I can’t believe the people you associate with,” she said.

“Used to associate with,” I corrected with a smile. “Now, I associate with you.”

Olive narrowed her eyes, belatedly remembered that I was doing her a favor, and forced a smile on her face.

It was around that time that we all agreed it was time for us to go.

Good-byes were said, airy kisses exchanged, and promises were made to call with news. Then Nigel and I were back in the foyer with Joe. As he helped me into my coat, I grabbed his hand. Hard. “If you want me to keep my mouth shut about what you used to do, Joe, you’re going to do me a favor,” I said. “Maybe several favors.”

Nigel and Skippy waited patiently while Joe mulled this over. Glancing down the empty hallway, Joe said, “What do you want?”

“Well, as I’m sure you know, we were talking about Frank Little tonight. Is he the same Frank Little that’s related to Danny Little?”

Joe’s eyes widened, but at least he didn’t bother to deny eavesdropping. “I told you, I’m straight now. I don’t deal with them anymore.”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re a parole officer’s dream, but that’s not what I asked. Is he the same Frank Little who is related to Danny?”

Joe paused. “Yeah. Frank’s Danny’s kid brother.”

“See? That wasn’t so difficult now, was it? Is Frank still involved in the family business?”

“Yeah. Well, he was. A year or so ago, Danny got busted for assault or something. I heard he got three years. Since then, Frank’s been working for Fat Saul.”

Hearing this left me with an uneasy feeling as to Leo’s fate. Fat Saul made Danny Little look like a choirboy. “Thanks, Joe. I’ll be in touch,” I said.

Joe was pale as he ushered us out. He shut the door behind us with a resounding thud.

I turned toward Nigel and smiled. “Can I just tell you again how much I love your family?”

Nigel winked. “Don’t be sarcastic, Mrs. Martini. Aunt Olive says that it does horrible things to your complexion.”

“Well, she would know, wouldn’t she?”