Part 10 (1/2)

”I love you, too, sweetheart.”

Chapter 11.

The day was warm and sunny, and Pal Joey's was bustling with the afternoon lunch crowd. Located in the business district of Palo Alto, it had quickly become a hotspot for the law-abiding-and not-so-law-abiding locals. In a booth at the far end of the bar, Big Tony sat with Sonny, eating lunch. Jay Farino sat at the bar laughing as he listened in on the argument between the two men. Jay Farino was not the only one listening in.

Directly across the street in their surveillance room, Laura and Stevens listened to the two men as they argued.

”And I'm telling you, the Lincoln has it over the Cadillac by a mile!” Sonny yelled back at Big Tony.

”How you figure?”

”Because the f.u.c.kin' Lincoln's longer.”

Big Tony's look was incredulous. He scowled at Sonny. ”You've got to be kiddin' me!”

Sonny busted out laughing. Big Tony smiled when he realized Sonny was s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with him. He threw his napkin on the table and turned toward the bar. ”Hey, Louie, how about another scotch over here?” he yelled over the lunch crowd noise.

Henry walked up to the table. Big Tony motioned for Sonny to slide over, and Henry plopped down in the seat.

”I gave Roberto the extra package, like you said,” Henry whispered just loud enough for the booth's two occupants to hear. ”He was a real punk about it, making threats about the last couple boat s.h.i.+pments.” Big Tony raised an eyebrow, and Henry lit a cigarette before continuing. ”The boys were talkin' s.h.i.+t about him being named Under Boss.”

Sonny eyed him cautiously. ”Who was doin' the talkin'?” he asked.

Henry nervously tapped his cigarette in the ashtray. ”Paulie and Georgie.”

”How'd you find this out?” Sonny asked, lighting a cigarette of his own.

”Card game at Nicky's the other night.” Henry leaned his head back and blew the smoke up in the air.

Big Tony looked at Henry and then at Sonny. He clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. ”Is that right?” he asked. ”They think they know everything and don't know s.h.i.+t.”

Sonny nodded his head in agreement. ”I'll tell ya, the young ones just don't have any manners like in the old days. They need to learn manners.”

”Maybe we should get together for a dinner meeting-you know, to iron out our differences and all,” Big Tony said.

Sonny took out another cigarette and used the one he had burning in the ashtray to light it. He looked at Big Tony. ”In L.A.?”

Laura removed the headphones and looked at Stevens. ”Do you think he's serious about dinner, or did he just order a hit?”

”I don't know. With these guys, you can never be sure.”

”Should I contact the L.A. office and let them know, just in case?”

Stevens shook his head. ”Nah, let's hold off and see if we can get something a little more concrete.”

Laura shook her head too, but for a different reason. ”Okay, it's your call,” she said. It was up to Stevens whether suspicious information gained from the surveillance was acted on or not. Stevens might have been the senior agent when it came to decision-making for Pandora's Box, and he might have had a h.e.l.l of a lot more experience than she did, but his answer just then didn't sit right. She had an uneasy feeling. This one was going to bite them in the a.s.s, and she knew it.

It was dark outside by the time Big Tony returned home, and Terasa greeted him at the door with a kiss. ”How was your trip, Anthony?” she asked.

”It was good, real good.”

She followed him into the family room and watched as he poured a gla.s.s of scotch.

”Where's Caroline?”

”Over at Rheyna's.”

He frowned, trying to place the name. ”The photographer?” he asked finally.

”Yes. I think she found herself a new friend.”

He hesitated, as if he were going to say something and then changed his mind. ”I got some calls to make. I'll be in my study if you need me.”

Terasa watched him retreat down the hallway. ”I've been married for almost thirty years and have spent most of them alone. You'd think I'd be used to it by now,” she said as she poured herself a drink.

The ending credits for the movie Beaches scrolled across the screen. Caroline wiped her eyes with a tissue. ”I love that movie,” she said between sniffles.

Rheyna tried not to laugh, but couldn't help herself. ”You're such a wuss.”

Caroline made a pouting look with her lips and playfully shoved her. ”You can't tell me that you didn't cry the first time you saw it.”

”I didn't say that, and for your information, I did. I just didn't cry the second, third, or fourth time,” Rheyna continued to tease.

”Okay, smarty-pants, you pick the movie the next time.”

”Okay, I will.”

”I can only imagine what type of movie you'd pick.”

”Really? And what would that be?”

”You probably like movies like Terminator or Die Hard, or one of those that blow up everything in sight,” Caroline said smugly.

The woman was amusing, to say the least. ”I do like those movies, but I prefer something more along the lines of the G.o.dfather saga or Scarface,” Rheyna said, wanting to see if she would get some kind of a reaction, and she did.

Caroline made a disgusted sound in her throat.

”What? How can you not like those movies, Caroline?”

Caroline took a sip of her wine. ”I live it. Why would I want to watch it? I'm not stupid, Rheyna. I know what my dad does. I know what he is. I read the papers. I see what they say about him.”

”You can't always believe everything you hear.”