Snow Blind - Lori G. Armstrong [78]
My nonresponse made her backtrack.
“I’m sorry; I shouldna said that. You’re probably thinking—”
“I’m thinking there’s no rule that says you have to like everyone.”
“There is in our family.”
Everyone but me apparently. I said, “What do you mean?”
A suspicious, “You won’t blab to my mom what I said?”
“No. Why?”
“’Cause she gets sorta mad about that kinda stuff and starts lecturing me about Christian charity.”
“Really?”
“If I complained about working with him, she blew 276
a fuse. Then she demanded I find something nice and positive to say about him. It was really hard to do, because he wasn’t a nice man at all.” She sighed. “The only good thing was Dad didn’t have a lot of work for him, so he wasn’t around all that much.”
“This is going to sound creepy and snoopy, but did Melvin ever make sexual comments to you?”
No response.
In for a penny; in for a pound. “Did he ever touch you inappropriately? Or try to touch you, especially when it seemed like he was helping you do chores?”
More silence.
“Did he try to get you alone?”
Breezily, Brittney said, “I don’t gotta clue to what you’re talkin’ ’bout. And it kinda makes me mad you’d call me up just to ask gross stuff like that. Are you trying to make me feel worse? Because it’s working.” She sniffed. Loudly.
What a manipulative kid. She didn’t stand a chance of lying to me face to face, or dodging my questions with emotional blackmail. I’d give her a couple of days before I forced the issue. “I’ll drop it for now, but if you need to talk, call me. So, you all healed?”
“Pretty much. I still get headaches. I thought since I’d gotten hurt you’d show up here to take me out for ice cream or something. But I guess you’re too busy.”
I ground my teeth. It seemed the more I did for her, the more she expected.
“You want me to have Dad call you back?”
277
“No. In fact, don’t even tell him I called.”
“Okay. See you.”
“Not if I see you first.”
She giggled, but it didn’t make me smile like usual. I closed the office and implemented the “catch people off guard” line of thinking by heading to Fat Bob’s. My rearview didn’t pick up a tail. Didn’t mean one wasn’t there, just meant he was sneakier than Dietz. My lifetime ban on hanging in the biker bar ended when the reign of Harvey, the Hombres former enforcer, ended. The bouncers waved me through. By the time I’d reached the door to the back room, Big Mike leaned against the wall.
His gigantic grin was a thing of beauty. “Nice shootin’ earlier.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “And if you tell bossman I said that, I’ll deny it.”
I mimed zipping my lip.
“He didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“He doesn’t know.” I skirted a bartender rolling an empty keg out of the walk-in cooler. “It’s a surprise.”
“Ah, he ain’t one for surprises, but I’m sure he’ll be appreciative after he’s done with his meeting.” Big Mike paused outside the steel door to the private suite. 278
“Then again, maybe it’d be best if you chilled at the bar with a beer until he’s finished. Shouldn’t be long.”
“Who’s he meeting with?”
He shrugged and looked away.
And then I knew. Tony was meeting with a
woman.
Curiosity made the cat . . . catty. I pounded on the door.
The profusion of locks snapped. No-neck poked his head out and glared at Big Mike. “Didn’t he tell you—”
“You didn’t tell me,” I said sweetly. “I’m the one huffing and puffing on his door.”
“Julie. He’s in a . . . a meeting. Maybe you should—”
“—do the same thing to this door that I did to the 4Runner today? I’d let me in if I were you. Right. Fucking. Now.”
Big Mike muttered shit behind me as I strolled inside. A leggy brunette almost dressed in a slinky scarlet cocktail dress was perched provocatively across from my man. They pored over stacks of papers on the coffee table, an open bottle of red wine and two halfempty glasses between them. Martinez looked up, annoyed. “I said no—”
“You never say no to me, sugar.” I bent down, kissing him exactly like he’d kissed me in front of Trish.
“Thought I’d pop by and say hello. See if you had any 279
more car problems.”
His gaze threatened