Authors: J. M. Griffin
Like a mini hurricane, Lola burst into the kitchen. Her glance landed on my bruised face and then her eyes slid toward Marcus.
"Are you all right?” she asked, as she turned back to me. “Is this the trooper you told me about?” she asked with a sly grin.
"Yes, to both questions. Marcus Richmond, meet Lola Trapezi.” I watched her Julia Roberts smile brighten the room as those pearly teeth sparkled.
Richmond reacted as though she was a movie star. Lola had that affect on men. I, on the other hand, dazzled them with footwork. Just joking, I doubt I ever dazzled anyone.
They shook hands and he asked if she planned to stay the night.
"Oh, absolutely. Vin's had a lot to deal with this past week and she could use a break. I'll stay until she feels safe enough to be alone again. Don't worry, Trooper Richmond, I'll take good care of her."
Good gravy.
I rolled my eyes. All she had to do was flutter her eyelashes next. That would be the end of my romantic interlude with a man I'd really like to mess with.
Rising from the stool, he strode toward the door and ordered me to secure the locks and windows the minute he stepped outside. It was all I could do not to stand at attention like the other troopers had when he'd marched through the door earlier.
With a half baked nod, I walked to the door with him.
He turned and warm hands slid up my arms.
"You sure you'll be okay here with Little Miss Dynamite?” he asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, I think we're safe for the night. Besides, I know you'll call the locals or have someone from the barracks keep an eye on us, won't you?"
"Mm hmm, I will.” His lips brushed mine before he left the hallway.
I knew he waited to hear the bolt slide into place and I obliged. A sound of satisfaction rumbled through the door. I smiled, turned back into the apartment and locked that door, too.
At the counter, Lola set out several plates of snacks and a bottle of wine. If nothing else, I could use the wine.
"He's a good looker. Man, you're reeling them in, aren't you?” Her laughter bubbled over while she stared at me.
"Oh yeah, I'm just a wicked woman. The problem is that I'm not sure what's going on with my life at this juncture. I've figured out that Aunt Livvy was into something that probably wasn't legal, though. Three bags of jewels in a couple of days are more than enough, wouldn't you say? And who wants them back?” Frustration filtered through my voice. “Where did they come from in the first place?"
Dark eyes glittered in concern as they rested on me before she poured the wine. I gulped the first mouthful and sat back, deep in thought.
Daring to interrupt my reverie, Lola opened her mouth and started to talk. I hadn't caught the first few words until she mentioned the shop in Providence.
Conclavia Inspirata
, the gift shop Livvy had left me, had flown out of my mind when these other incidents had started.
With a hand in a stop motion, I beckoned her to back up and repeat her words.
"Begin again, Lola, I didn't get what you said."
"I said, maybe we should look at whatever Livvy had a serious interest in.
Conclavia
was her most beloved business. We know she spent most of her time there when she wasn't in New York, right?"
"Right, but she had two other businesses as well. There was
Fleur De Le
in Wickford and also
Bella Clava
in Newport. Let's start with Wickford first and then move on to Newport. It will be hell with the traffic since the tourist season is upon us, but we can always pretend to shop. You know the words from the first note start with the same letters as
Conclavia Inspirata
begins."
"Really? Do you think there might be a connection? And who says we're pretending to shop? I adore Newport and Wickford. When do you want to go? I have to make arrangements for Gerry to handle the deliveries for Salt & Pepper, but then I'm free."
Guilt tightened my chest. I'd asked Lola to stay here tonight when she'd worked all day and had only just closed the deli after cleanup. I hesitated to ask her to sleuth with me.
"It's ridiculous for you to go with me. I know how busy you are right now."
Her eyes rounded like saucers, she gasped. Her slight frame pulled up to full height as she stood with her hands on her hips.
"Don't think for one minute you'll get to investigate without me. No way, I'm going and there's nothing you can say that will stop me. Would Cagney go without Lacey, huh? Tell me that."
A bubble of laughter rippled from my throat as I watched her. “Okay, okay. We can go tomorrow afternoon. I have to go to the funeral home in the morning for my mother. Then I'll come back here and we'll head for Wickford. Does that work for you?"
"Sure, what's at the funeral home? Nobody died, right?"
Nardolillo's Funeral Home was in Cranston, not far from my parents’ house. Everyone in the family used Nardolillo's when there was a death in our family and we were all on a first name basis. The Nardolillo family ran the business and was successful at it.
"I promised Mom that I'd pick up Livvy's death certificates. She has to deal with the insurance companies and burial costs. It won't take me long, honest."
With a nod of her head, Lola rifled the cabinet drawer. Pulling a pad of paper from within, she picked up a pencil and started a list of questions to ask when we went to the shops. I left her to it and straightened the rest of the rooms. Before I righted the paintings, I checked behind each one which revealed nothing.
About a half hour later and a wide yawn, I trundled back into the kitchen. Lola had changed into pajamas and was ready for bed. The hour was late and exhaustion cloaked my body and mind. I followed suit and we bunked in for the night.
After a fitful night's rest, I left Lola to her schedule and drove to Cranston. I stopped at Nardolillo's to speak with Avery, the owner's son. He'd arrived just as I parked the Volvo. With a wave of his hand, Avery waited for me to join him at the entry to the funeral home offices.
"Long time since I've seen ya, Vinnie. How ya been since yer aunt died?” He was a bit rough around the edges, especially when it came to dealing with the public, but I liked him anyway. An honest, open personality was worth a lot as far as I was concerned and that's exactly what Avery had. His uncle dealt with the public in a smooth, most sophisticated, and sympathetic manner. Avery drove the limo and showed customers the casket room. Yeah, that was a job I'd stand in line for.
"I've been better, but thanks for asking, Avery. I'm here to pick up Livvy's death certificates for my mother."
We'd entered the long, quiet corridor. I followed the slim man with whom I'd gone to elementary school. His father had sent him to a private Catholic high school after elementary school. Since then I'd only seen Avery when there were funerals in the family. He asked me out every time we met and to be honest here, I just couldn't get past the mortuary thing, so I'd made up excuses to refuse in a kind way.
He hustled me into the office and rummaged through the paperwork on the desk. Bright eyes accompanied a sweet smile as the envelope with the name Esposito came to light. Handing them over, Avery said if I needed anything else to just call.
With thanks, I left before he could ask me out. It was a close call. I started out the door when he called my name. I pretended not to hear him and scuttled to the car as quickly as I could without breaking into a dead run.
Relieved, I drove to my mother's house and strode into the kitchen, thankful that I'd been spared the effort of another excuse not to date Avery. Mom glanced up from the sofa as I entered the family room.
"You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you all right, Lavinia?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. I picked up the death certificates for you and ran into Avery. Honestly, I almost ran from the building. He asks me out every time I go there.” I knew I whined, but didn't care. After all, this was my mother.
"He is a very nice young man and well to do, too.” Her eyebrows arched as I shuddered. “You know, that young man who came by the other night is also very nice, Lavinia.” Her eyes were hopeful.
"Mom, forget the matchmaking thing, eh? I'm not interested in marriage. I can't abide the thought of life or even a date with Avery. He's really nice, but I can't get past the hearse driving and casket thing. So far as Richmond goes, well I'd like to just use him for sex, but he's all business. That means my chances are slight."
My mother, used to my blunt language, didn't take it seriously for a moment, thank God. The last thing I'd want my mother to do is to think her daughter is a wanton woman, even if it was true.
The envelope sat idle in my hands. I smoothed the surface, unable to bring myself to open the damned thing. I glanced up when my mother held her hand out. She waited patiently for me to give her the packet. Staring into her calm, sad eyes, I laid it in her palm.
Her gaze rested on it for a moment before she tore the end off the business sized envelope. Tipping it to the side, she slid the copies of the certificates from within and unfolded the sheets of paper. Her dark eyes flew over the words and she paled.
If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought my mother was about to faint, however, she's stout of heart. Instead, she just leaned back against the sofa and handed me the papers. The color returned to her face and relieved, I grasped the certificates.
My gaze drifted down the page. The information under the
Cause of Death
heading said Aunt Lavinia had died of unknown causes. I read further and under the heading of autopsy, the word
yes
had been inscribed. So, there had been an autopsy, but no determining cause was found.
Slumped in the chair, I rubbed my brow while the papers fluttered onto the coffee table and my mind raced forward. The cops already had this answer to the cause of death, they'd have received the certificate before we would. I knew this for a fact and did that rankle me to no end? Why yes, it did.
Springing off the chair, I moved onto the sofa with Mom. She sat in silence and I knew she was mystified by the fact that the death was of unknown causes. My hand covered hers. I whispered that I'd find out what had happened so she wasn't to worry.
Brown eyes turned toward mine and she said, “Don't tell your father that you'll be involved in this or he'll shit a brick. Just don't tell him anything, all right?"
I nodded and continued to hold her hand until she managed to get some sense of normalcy back in place. When she'd spoken, her voice had sounded hollow and sad. It got to me, and I knew I had to ask the hard questions, but that she could take it.
"When you and auntie grew up, she started her own business. Where did she get the money?"
"Your uncle Al gave her a nest egg to start with, why?"
"I've found out some things about her that don't make sense and need you to fill in the blanks. I won't tell Dad if you don't tell Giovanni that I'm interfering in the investigation, okay?"
"Right, as long as you find out what happened to her and why she died. Your father is unbearable when he thinks you're out of control and Gio takes right after him."
My eyes widened at her admission over Gio's behavior. A soft smile lifted the corners of her mouth and she chuckled.
"Don't think I don't know that they give you difficulties every time you get into something they consider a man's job. I think you're courageous to do so, my dear, and so did Livvy.” Mom's eyes glinted with tears and she blinked to hold them back.
"When you decided secretarial school was out of the question, Livvy took your father on. They went head to head. She won of course, and you got what you desired. She could always overcome his obstacles and did it with logic. It was an interesting sight to behold. They always ended up laughing before she was finished. He would concede to her with graciousness most of the time, and he misses her terribly, just as I do."
This was news to me. I'd just thought my father had capitulated when I'd refused to do the secretary thing. My mouth hung open for a fraction of a second and then the questions poured forth.
"So, Uncle Al gave her the money to start the Providence shop. Did she ever pay him back?"
"Not to my knowledge. She was a favorite with him and they spent a lot of time together while she got the shop rolling. She was younger than we were, you know. Livvy had such spirit and laughed easily."
"It wasn't her investments on the stock exchange that gave her the start in Providence?"
"No dear, she played the stock market after that. Her business took off and within a couple years she had opened the other two shops. I was surprised and even asked to manage one of them, but she didn't want family involved in the business, she said. So I managed your father's pizza restaurant for him instead."
"When she was in New York, who did she hang with, do you know?"
"No, but she did bring home a lot of exciting stories and said she'd met some important people in the business world. I didn't pay much attention to it because I had two children to keep up with and a business to manage. Al was at the house a lot in those days. His jewelry manufacturing business flourished. Livvy even featured some of the jewelry he made in her shops. It was semi precious stuff."
"Where did the jewels come from?"
"I guess from an importer that Al was connected with at the time. You'd have to ask your cousins, since Al's dead now."
"Are you sure that Aunt Livvy wasn't ill?"
"She never said so. I think she'd have told me if she was. Why?"
"I'm just trying to figure out her cause of death. If the Coroner doesn't know, nobody does."
There wasn't much else I could say except to reassure my mother that I'd look into things and she needn't worry. I didn't tell her it included the three shops and my two slimy cousins, Frankie and Kenny.
The two bums were Al's only children and had grown up not far from our family. Giovanni and I never liked them much since they were rotten and underhanded while we were blatant about our extracurricular misbehavior.