Hardheaded Brunette (31 page)

"No," Fabio said. "Let's keep your find to ourselves for a few more hours until Thayer, the lab boys, and I get a chance to take a good look through it."

Kane sat back on the couch. "You think we can use it to catch whoever keeps searching her house, don't you, mate?"

"Oh great." Gilda paced the length of the living room. Her hands and stomach still shook, and her knees threatened to buckle. Just when she thought she'd be done with having people invade her home.

Fabio and Thayer donned their heavy raingear and went outside to take several photos of her backyard, then wrapped the box in a tarp and took it to their car, leaving with little fanfare.

Gilda curled up on the couch with a thick blanket, unable to shake the chill that had settled over her since her first glimpse of the strongbox beneath the porch. She turned on the television for some company while Kane and Mick made phone calls using hushed voices. Neither seemed concerned that it was only five in the morning. Convinced there was no way she'd get back to sleep anyway, she closed her eyes.

"Hey, babe." Mick woke her a short time later and handed her a cup of coffee from Café Beanz. "I didn't want to wake you, but Gary wants to chat."

Gilda yawned. "Where's Kane?"

"He's coming with me and Razi to talk to Gary about what we found."

"Razi's here too?" She stretched a kink out of her upper back. "Am I missing a party or something?"

Mick smiled. "He's waiting outside. I called Marion. She'll be over in a few minutes."

Groggy, she wiped her eyes. "You guys are going to talk to Gary about the Stocker Holdings stuff, aren't you? I want to come along."

"Sorry, babe, that might not be a great idea. Maybe you should let Kane, Razi, and I talk to him alone, just in case—"

She met his gaze. "Why is it you really don't want me to talk to him? Is this really all about Charlie or Stocker Holdings?"

"Just tell her the truth. She's already knee deep in everything anyway," Kane said.

"Who killed Charlie?" Gilda hesitated. "I've been thinking Nigel actually was on the beach that night and he had a partner."

"Nigel?" Mick turned to Kane. "How well do you know Nigel?"

"A better question is how well Gilda knows him," Kane said. "I wasn't aware she'd even met him before he showed up at the school."

"He was at the party the night Charlie was killed, remember?" She sat up straight and frowned. "Other than that, I'm not saying anything more until you tell me what else you two are keeping from me."

"Sorry, love. We've got to go." Kane headed toward the door.

Mick knelt next to her and touched her cheek. " I need to dig Kane out of the messes he's made. We've been friends for a long time. Now that Charlie's gone—"

Kane stood with one hand on the doorknob and frowned. "Charlie created a huge mess and dragged us all into the vortex. We need to clean things up and move along. Well, mostly me, but…"

Gilda nodded. "What can I do to help?"

Mick shook his head and turned away. "As far as you're concerned, we found the box, now it's all over and done."

"I don't think so." Gilda ran around them, barricading the doorway with her body. "You two need to start talking, or I'm calling Fabio back here and having you both arrested for obstructing justice."

"Babe—" Mick started.

Kane frowned. "We've got to get out of here before Mena shows up."

Gilda clenched her jaw. "You called her too? Oh, great. What did you tell her this time?"

"I told her nothing." Kane winced. "That's why we need to get out of here before she comes looking for us."

"Why are you so afraid of her?" she asked. "She's half your size and could blow away in a strong wind."

"So could you, love, but that doesn't seem to stop you either." Kane turned and hugged Gilda to his chest then picked her up, carried her to Mick's car, and dumped her on the front seat. He leaned over her and buckled her seat belt. "Listen and listen well, love. You're going to be a good little girl and stay out of trouble while Mick and I settle this mess. Do we understand each other?"

Gilda stared into his eyes, her mouth wide open. "Yes."

Kane pressed his face even closer. "We're going to drop you off at Marion's house. Don't leave town, don't leave the house, don't even leave the bloody couch, or I will personally make the rest of your life a nightmare. You need to lock the doors, lock all the windows, and do what little girls do best. Do each other's hair, paint each other's nails, and hide."

"I don't like you," she huffed.

"I know that, love," he whispered. "And I can live with that as long as you're safe."

Mick slid behind the steering wheel and cleared his throat. "Marion's home. Let's go drop Gilda off. We'll come back to pick you up later, babe."

"Is this your idea of keeping me safe?" Gilda squirmed as Kane shut the passenger door. "Did you tell Kane to intimidate me so Marion and I would sit at her house being scared silly while you two deal with Stocker Holdings and find Charlie's murderer without me?"

Mick started the car. "Honey, I promise we'll catch whoever is breaking into your house and whoever killed Charlie, just please do what we ask."

"You don't want me involved."

"I think you've been involved enough already."

When they pulled up in front of Marion's place, Kane hauled her out of the front seat and up to the front door. "Let's go."

Gilda gave up fighting. Sandwiched between Mick and Kane, she walked up to Marion's front door and knocked. She didn't have to wait long. Marion answered instantly, like she'd been peering out the window watching for them.

"They're in an awful hurry. What's going on this time?" Marion stepped back as Kane dragged Mick down the sidewalk.

Gilda stood in the doorway and scowled. "They're going to confront Gary and brought me here for you to keep me out of trouble."

Marion rolled her eyes. "Do you know where they're meeting him?"

"My best guess? Café Beanz. If not there, then at the Phoenix."

Marion huffed. After a moment, she yawned and stretched out her arms. "You know, it's been a really long night. I sure could use a good cup of coffee."

Gilda smiled. "Me too. Let's go."

"Wait. I have to do one thing before we leave." Something nagged at Gilda and she paused to phone Fabio before they left the house. "Quick question. When you were digging through all the information about Charlie, did you happen to find information on a company named Stocker Holdings?"

Fabio blew out an audible breath. "What do you know about Stocker Holdings, Gilda? And don't leave anything out, or I'm coming straight over with an arrest warrant."

"All I know is what Kane told us." She winced. "Stocker Holdings owned the contracts for some of Charlie's fighters and there were five people on the Board of Directors. Charlie Hunt, some guy who died in Detroit, Gary del Garda, and two others, but Kane wasn't sure who they were."

When Fabio hesitated, she imagined him running a hand through his rapidly thinning hair. "Meet me at our usual spot. I'll bring the lattes."

The log on the beach. "Sure. I'll be there in ten minutes. I have Marion with me."

Another brief pause. "Can you lose her for a few minutes?"

"No way," she said. "Marion and I are a team. Besides, she'd like a latte too."

Across the room, Marion's face brightened. "Oh, yes, I would, especially if it's loaded with chocolate curls and it's free."

Fabio sighed. "See you in ten minutes."

"Let's go." Gilda turned to Marion. "Fabio's meeting us at the beach. Hopefully he has time to answer a few questions before Mick finds out we left the house."

She grabbed a pen and spiral notepad. If she and Marion got to the log first, they'd have time to sort out all the thoughts that tumbled through her head. At the very least, she could figure out exactly what she wanted to ask Fabio.

"Cool." Marion grinned. "I should grab my swimsuit."

"You can always go wading if you want." Gilda hoped Fabio had a lot more information on Nigel, Mena, Sanchez, and Gomes than she did.

"And miss out on all the covert conversation? Not likely." Marion paused at the front door. "Is this about Kane going to jail?"

"No. Amazingly enough, Kane dropped off the suspect list a long time ago." Not that he didn't have several good reasons to kill Charlie. He just didn't act like she thought a guilty man would behave. He was brash but not all that clever.

Marion frowned. "Man, I miss all the good stuff. When did that happen?"

Gilda grabbed her phone. "I'll fill you in on the way to the beach."

They arrived at the log with enough time for Gilda to make her notes about Charlie's murder and about Stocker Holdings, as well as jot down some of Marion's distracted observations while she gazed at the semi-clad men around them who threw footballs to each other on the beach.

"You're early." Fabio handed Gilda a paper cup that smelled of vanilla and chocolate. "Would any of those notes you're making happen to be about Stocker Holdings?"

"Only most of them." Marion took her latte. "Why thank you, Detective Fabio. This is really nice of you. I have to say, you are quickly changing my perception of most of our local police force."

He chuckled. "This coming from someone who actually works with us."

Gilda winced. "Kane told us he knew three of the five members of the Stocker Holdings' board of directors. I was hoping you could fill in the other two blanks."

"You know you worry me some days, young lady." He sat next to her and gazed at the waves bouncing across Lake Erie. "There are things going on with this case that you don't understand. Big, ugly things you shouldn't get involved with."

"Do you know how many times Doc and my dad used to say that when I was a kid? I already am involved. Only this time my house and yard are a mess and I'm ready to leave town." She huffed. "Maybe if everyone wasn't keeping so many secrets from me, I wouldn't have to ask so many questions or stick my nose where it doesn't belong."

"Good point." Fabio sipped his latte then handed her a file folder. "Don't you dare tell Thayer or Mick I gave you access to this, or I'll lock you up for my own peace of mind."

"What is it?" Marion leaned over Gilda's shoulder.

"The board of directors of Stocker Holdings." Gilda scanned the list of names, each with a short bio next to it. "Gary del Garda, Charlie Hunt, Mena Trava, Rico…"

Marion gagged on her latte. "Gomes?"

Fabio nodded. "That wasn't a name I expected to see either."

Gilda chewed on the end of her pen before she wrote the names down on her notepad, along with brief notes on each person. "It seems odd to have one of Kane's biggest opponents listed as one of his bosses. I thought for sure Sanchez would be on that list. Do you think having Gomes and Kane face each other was one way the company could make double the money without anyone catching on to what they were doing?"

"Seems plausible." He shrugged.

Marion snorted. "Seems illegal."

"They must have become good at having one fighter take a dive without creating too much suspicion," Fabio said. "When was Gomes brought on as a partner?"

"Just a couple years ago." Gilda frowned. "I think that was actually about the same time Kane and Charlie parted ways. Kane knew about Stocker Holdings, or at least Charlie's conflict of interest all along, and that was part of the reason for their split."

Fabio made notes as Gilda continued on to the end of the list. Down at the bottom was the one and only name Gilda didn't know. "Giorgio Legin. Why is that name familiar?"

"His real name was Giorgio Trava."

Gilda winced. "Any relation to Mena and Nigel?"

"Their father," Fabio said. "He was killed in Detroit a few weeks ago. Shot in the back of the head, execution style. At first, the police treated the case like a random killing. Giorgio was a trainer who worked with Charlie way back when. The two of them had been, pardon the expression, thick as thieves for years."

"But then when Charlie was murdered…" Marion sat on Fabio's other side.

"Naturally, we searched out his partners at Stocker Holdings, as well as his fighters," Fabio said. "We looked for business deals gone wrong, disgruntled partners, that sort of thing."

"Huh." Gilda stared at the list. "Isn't it kind of an odd coincidence that all of the partners in Stocker Holdings, except Giorgio, were in Sandstone Cove when Charlie was killed, including Mena and Nigel. I mean, considering their father was murdered a few weeks ago…"

"Yeah. About that." Fabio took the papers from the folder and shuffled through until he found the one he was looking for. "Does this look familiar?"

On top of the stack of papers he placed a photo of Charlie's ingot necklace and the key they'd used to open the padlock on the strongbox.

"Of course." Gilda looked at him oddly. "That's Charlie's necklace and key I found on the beach. The one I gave you this morning when we turned over the strongbox."

He shook his head. "Apparently, Giorgio and Charlie had an identical set of gold ingots with identical padlock keys hidden inside. The Detroit police found Giorgio's necklace clutched in his hand when his body was found. There was no key inside."

She sucked in a sharp breath. "So Giorgio not only knew about the strongbox, he also knew where it was hidden and had access, which was probably why he was killed. When Charlie found out about the Phoenix grand opening, he must have seen it as a legitimate way to come back to Sandstone Cove to retrieve the box before anyone else knew where it was."

Marion sat back and stared out at the lake. "Wow. That's crazy."

"But whoever killed Giorgio probably had no idea where the key or the strongbox actually was, if they even knew about either. They searched my house, searched my yard…" Gilda paused and frowned. "Kane searched both my house and my yard. Do you think he killed Giorgio?"

"No." Fabio took the file folder out of her hands. "Your friend Kane Garrick was sitting in jail the night Giorgio was murdered. According to his girlfriend, they'd had a fight, and he was causing a disturbance."