Jailhouse Glock (23 page)

He smiled at Greta. “My girl here got a little too aggressive with
your gun. She was supposed to aim higher and only nick him, not put a hole in his gut. The asshole demanded more money because of it.” He waved his hand in the air. “He found out the hard way that nobody threatens Eddie Montero.”

Maddy stopped listening after the first sentence, and her mind
raced. She swiveled to face the redhead. “So it really was you who
killed Bernardi? And by the way, his real name was Joey Agostinelli. He was in Vineyard after he slipped away from protective custody in New Jersey. Seems he was a mob informant and pissed off a lot of bad guys. Had you waited a few more days, they probably would've taken care of him for you.”

“But I needed the notebook back.”

“That's why you killed him?”

Eddie nodded. “The coward cried like a girl before he gave it up.
Told us his girlfriend had it, but Greta got a little trigger-happy be
fore he had a chance to tell us her name. I thought all was lost. Lucky for me, you led me right to her.”

“Me?” Maddy was already trying to remember the day she and Lainey talked to Chrissy Rockford. That was the only time she'd had
contact with the blonde. Eddie must have been following them. What
kind of cop was she that she hadn't even noticed?

“Yeah. Some cop you are,” he said as if reading her mind. “But the bitch didn't have my book. The only possible explanation was that someone had taken it from her purse.” His eyes grew angry. “I figured that someone had to have been you. Imagine my surprise when
I saw you sitting in my mother's living room.” He pointed to the lunch
container camera on the mantel before charging the couch.

Maddy braced herself for another assault.

Before she could react, the loud boom of a gunshot echoed in the tiny room. Immediately, she felt the full weight of Eddie Montero's body as he fell onto her, blood streaming from a hole in his chest.

twenty-four

“No!” Greta screamed, running
from the back of the couch to the front and pulling Eddie off Maddy's body. “Oh God, no.”

Maddy glanced in the direction of where the shot had been fired. Apparently, no one had noticed when Alicia Montero had casually gotten out of her chair and walked over to the fireplace. Now, she
stood holding the smoking gun that had just killed her son. For a
split second, Maddy thought she saw the corner of Alicia's mouth tip in a smile.

Then Greta lowered Eddie's body to the floor and lunged at Alicia, knocking her back into the fireplace and sending Maddy's gun
skittering across the floor. Before Maddy could get up and step
around the body to keep Greta from beating the older woman to a pulp, Deena jumped up, grabbed a lamp from the end table, and cold cocked the crazed redhead.

“That's for Mike,” she said simply.

Quickly, Maddy ran to her gun which had ended up on the floor behind the couch. Certain neither Eddie nor Greta would be a threat to them anytime soon, she picked it up and walked to the wall phone and dialed 911.

Within minutes, the place was crawling with emergency technicians and Dallas police officers. Other than a huge goose egg on the back of Alicia's head and a large cut over her eye where Greta had landed a right hook, the elderly woman was okay. Deena had immediately knelt down on the floor next to her to wait for help to arrive,
and now reluctantly allowed the EMTs to move her to a gurney. Greta
was still unconscious from the hit she'd taken and was loaded onto another one.

“Thank you for saving our lives,” Maddy said, squeezing Alicia's hand for a quick second as they carried her past.

“I'm sorry,” the woman whispered before they lifted her into the ambulance.

Maddy hugged Deena while more cops filed into the house. She looked up, sure she was dreaming when she saw Jake standing in the doorway. He rushed over and enveloped both her and her sister in his arms.

“How'd you get here?” she asked, not really caring. The fact that he was there was all that mattered.

He brushed back a lock of her hair that had fallen across her face. “I made it all the way to Waco before I turned back. I just kept thinking I should never have let you do this.”

“But how did you find us? I didn't give you the address.”

“No, but you said it was near Fair Park. I drove around the area for about fifteen minutes without seeing your car. Then four Dallas cruisers zipped past me with sirens blaring. Somehow, I sensed you were in trouble, and I followed them, hoping I wasn't too late.”

“You are definitely a sight for sore eyes,” Deena said. “Wish you could've been here sooner and seen me in action.”

He laughed. “I have no doubt you were amazing.” He released his hold on them and stepped back when a homicide detective walked up and introduced himself.

At Maddy's questioning look, he grinned. “I'm not going anywhere
until I make sure you're safe.”

She smiled through the tears now threatening to spill over onto her cheeks as the realization that she and her sister had nearly died hit her like a truckload of bricks.

They were safe now, and in the process, they'd uncovered Agostinelli's real killer. Her life could get back to normal again. But now that Jake was here, she was damn sure going to milk it for at least a day or two to keep him in Vineyard a while longer. At least until she
figured out if there was anything between them. For now, she was just
glad he was by her side.

_____

Mike's funeral went smoothly, although there were barely enough people there to fill the first three rows at St. Agatha's Church. Afterward, the family gathered at Lainey's house to try to put a dent in
the massive amount of food from the neighbors. Surprisingly, Deena
had held up pretty well, considering she was burying her husband of eight years.

Now sitting around the dining room table, Maddy noticed the way the entire family seemed to be talking at once. She smiled, thinking it was one of the things she loved most about them. When her sisters got together, if one of them had something to say, they'd watch for someone to take a breath and then jump right in.

Her eyes connected with Jake's, and he smiled. Tomorrow he was leaving for San Antonio—again—but this time they'd made arrangements for him to come back to Vineyard to spend a few days with her and Jessie over the Christmas holidays. She remembered the way her daughter had squealed with delight when he'd told them.

She had no idea where their relationship was going, but right now she didn't care. She was having too much fun watching it develop.

He could be your new Dustbuster,
Tessa said, sliding in beside
her.

Maddy grinned, mouthing
thank you
to her sister's ghost.

No need to thank me. I just go where they tell me. And by the way, your face doesn't look too bad. Montero must hit like a girl.

Maddy tapped the table to get everyone's attention. “Wanted ya'll to know that Tessa's here.”

“Hey, Tessa,” Deena said. “We missed you earlier.”

Tell her I don't do funerals. It reminds me too much of how dead I really am.

Maddy repeated Tessa's words, getting a laugh from her other sisters.

Tessa looked Deena's way.
How's she holding up?

“She's good. Graveside services were a little tough on her, but we got her through it, and she's ready to get on with her life.”

“Who are you talking to?” Jake asked, now looking at her as if she had a screw loose.

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Let's just say I have a pretend friend.”

Lainey burst out laughing. “We all do. Even Colt. Hey, Tessa, are you
staying around for a while this time?”

Tessa shook her head.
I'm going to see if I can smooth things over with St. Pete's wife.
She shrugged.
Who knows? I may be back when you least expect it.

“Oh God! I don't think I can handle any more adventures anytime soon,” Maddy said, shaking her head. “And good luck with that St. Pete thing.” She turned to the others and held up her hand. “Don't even ask.”

Colt stood up and refilled everyone's coffee cup. When he got to Maddy, he stopped. “I still don't get why Agostinelli showed up at your house and talked to Jessie.”

“I'm not sure, either, but I have a feeling it was part of the setup. Somehow, they got him to call my house at odd hours of the night looking for Francis Montero. My guess is they told him the guy was there with the money.” She paused to blow on the hot coffee and take a sip. “You have to admit, with all the evidence it would have been easy to convince a grand jury that I knew him.”

“I'll say,” Kate said. “And speaking of money, did they ever find the ten mil Agostinelli stole from the gangster?”

Colt shook his head. “No. The charges against Cavicchia were dropped, by the way, since Agostinelli could no longer testify. Montero did the mob boss a huge favor by whacking the accountant in his cell.”

“Oh well. Guess we'll never know where he hid the cash. Sooner or later, though, they'll nab Cavicchia for something else. Everyone screws up sometime,” Maddy said.

“What ever happened to the black notebook, Colt?” Deena
asked,
leaning closer.

“I turned it over to the DA. It's up to him to decide what to do with it, but since there's no real proof of anything illegal, there's not much he can do. My guess is he'll make sure the reporters know that he has the book in his possession. That should make a lot of people nervous at least.”

Lainey turned to Jake. “I hear we'll see you again at Christmas. Is that right?”

He nodded. “I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've never known a family that talks to an imaginary friend.”

“Imaginary sister,” Deena corrected. “And I wouldn't get on her bad side if I were you. Even dead she has a mean streak.”

Jake laughed. “Oh boy! What am I getting myself into?”

He has no idea how crazy we really are,
Tessa said before her expression turned serious.
I've got to go now, Maddy, and I don't know when I'll see you again.

“You'll find a way,” Maddy responded. “We all love you, Tessa.”

I love you more,
Tessa said before she disappeared.

“Is she gone?” Kate asked

“Yes, but I have the distinct feeling we haven't seen the last of her.” Maddy looked upward and smiled when she heard Tessa's imitation of Arnold Schwarzenneger.

I'll be back.

the end

about the author

Lizbeth Lipperman (Dallas, TX) is the author of the Clueless Cook mystery series (Berkley Prime Crime). She worked as a registered nurse before becoming a writer.

Author photo by Nicole Bushland.