Triple Diamonds (Mystic Nights Book 2) (23 page)

Nikko got up from his chair and picked up the brief case beside him. He placed it on Joseph’s desk. An array of technical equipment and a gun lay in the recesses of the container.

“Is a gun necessary?” he asked.

“In our line of work, it’s good to have. I won’t carry it unless I think I need it. We have the permits to do so,” he informed Joseph.

Joseph remained mute. But looked confused when Nikko held out a simple pen to him.

“That the wire?” he asked thinking he had stepped into some kind of cop drama.

Nikko nodded. “Just keep it in your pocket in your shirt if you can.”

“No problem.” He accepted the pen and slipped it into his pocket as directed. Only the top silver clicker could be seen. It was pretty innocuous.

“Where are you headed with the girl? We can head straight there.” Gio stood getting ready to head into position.

“Brunch at the diner in town. Her brothers may be coming too. They are moving today and I promised to give them a hand with the bigger stuff.”

Tom piped in. “I’ll give you the directions.”

“Very good.” Gio reached for Joseph’s hand and shook it, as Tom clapped him on the back. Then the big man turned to face Jonathan, clearing his throat before speaking. “Jonathan, please wish Aliya well for all of us. Andreas wanted to come himself, but his wife is expecting and he didn’t want to leave. But he sends his regards. Said tell her to be happy.”

Jonathan accepted the well wishes. He knew Aliya would appreciate the message. When he told her later who they inadvertently hired to help with these robberies, it would do wonders for her feelings of guilt over how that relationship had ended. “Aliya and I are expecting too, and I know she would want me to send her regards. She’s told me about her past and she does have regrets.”

Gio nodded solemnly.

“That was a tough time for all of us, but we understand the whys of it now. Tell her there are no hard feelings from any of us.” That was Nikko.

“Thank you. I’ll tell her that. And thank you for coming up here and helping us.”

Nikko chuckled softly. “Well, my wife is downstairs in the casino with Lisa, Gio’s wife. I’m afraid if we don’t figure this out soon, they may just spend any money we make on this case before we leave.”

Jonathan laughed in return. “The rooms are already comped, but we will add the meals too. It’s the least we can do.”

Tom walked the men to the door, and Jonathan went with them. He turned back to his brother. “You okay?” he asked.

Joseph felt anything but okay. “I’ll be fine. I just want this over. I want the truth.” He got up from his desk, and planning on heading out soon, he approached his brother.

“I know this sucks. And for your sake, brother, I really do hope they aren’t involved.” Jonathan didn’t know what else to say. He had been in a similar situation just a few months earlier, questioning everything he thought he knew about the woman he loved.

“Me too,” Joseph ground out. “Me too,” he repeated.

*

Before heading out
to his brunch, Joseph spotted an old familiar face in the lobby standing next to his mother. It was Senator Silver. The man waved at him when he saw them. Joseph went to where the two were standing.

“Senator, good to see you again. Is the convention wrapping up?”

“We have one more night. Nothing big though. Friday was the big event. Today we have a few more conferences scheduled,” the older man, with the golden brown hair just tinged with silver, said.

“I wish we could have had more time together.”

“I know your election is in a few weeks. Good luck, son. I know you will do fine.” The Senator placed a hand on Joseph’s shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze of support.

“Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good about it.” His tone didn’t match his words, and he saw the Senator and Tawny exchange a look of concern. He chose to ignore it. He had enough of those looks of sympathy for one day.

The senator spoke up. “I’m sorry to hear about these robberies. I’m sure you will figure this all out soon.”

He looked up meeting the senator’s eyes. “I think we will be able to get to the bottom of this fairly soon.” The two men they had hired seemed confident they would be able to figure this out quickly. The recent tapes had given them plenty to go on.

“Your mom filled me in,” he explained.

Tawny cleared her throat when she saw Joseph’s eyebrow shoot up in surprise. It wasn’t like his mother to share
Mystic
business with outsiders even though the man was a longtime friend. “None of the delegates were robbed, but I wanted to let the Senator know what was going on. Most of the bigger fish kept their jewels in the safe.”

That made sense. Tawny didn’t want any trouble with the attendees of the convention. Conventions brought in lots of new faces, and it was imperative that their travels were safe and worry free.

“Oh, yeah,” Joseph muttered distractedly. It would have been quite embarrassing if one of the delegates had been robbed. It probably would have made the papers too, and then brought in trouble from the state or gaming commission. The reservation PD would have had to turn it over to the Ledyard cops, and they would have put a couple of detectives on it now that the rash of robberies had been linked by the tapes.

“I’ll be here all day, Joseph, if you want to talk.” The Senator looked to Tawny who nodded her approval. “I’ll also probably stay the night. It will be a late one.”

“Thanks, Julian. Senator,” he replied shaking the men’s hand one more time. “I’ll call when I get back in, but I’m headed out for a bit now.”

“Okay, I’ll be here. It was good to see you again.”

“You too, Senator. I appreciate the help and advice on the campaign.”

“Anytime son, anytime,” replied the older man as he watched him leave.

And with that Joseph left to go pick up Jewel. To find out if she was a thief and had been lying to him all along.

‡

W
hen Joseph arrived
at her trailer, he was glad to see her in a bright mood. He hid his worries not wanting to alert her that the noose was getting smaller around her neck. He still couldn’t fathom that she involved. Amidst the boxes ready for her move to the house on the reservation, she told him she had some other good news that she would share with him on the way to the diner. He nodded distractedly as he looked around for her brothers who were supposed to be helping her. They were nowhere to be seen.

“Where are Lesley, and Wesley?” He asked in confusion after greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.

“They filled the truck with the furnishings we are taking and headed over to the house. They are going to meet us at the diner in an hour.”

He nodded and helped her into the car.

“I’ve already got my car packed up so when we are through, I can be dropped off, we can fill yours, and then drive on over. I think maybe the boys will only have two more trips, one with the rest of the boxes, and one with the rest of the furniture. They did most of the heavy stuff, so it looks like you are off the hook for that,” she prattled as he pulled out into traffic.

He began to head to the diner, when she asked him to make small detour. “Turn left here.” She indicated River Road. It was just off the beaten path, and he knew of nothing on it other than a few old farm houses most of which were abandoned. Some of the property had just been purchased by a land developer and recently zoned for commercial use.

When they arrived at her destination, he was still confused. He had not the remotest idea of what she wanted to show him. But it was an old farm house that was up for sale. He examined the property, and figured the land developer was hoping people would buy up this property and the others for a bed and breakfast.

Joseph’s expression must have clued her in to his confusion because she quickly began to ramble. “I think this would be the perfect spot for a restaurant. I would get patrons from the reserve and the nearby town. Now that the land is zoned commercial, I’m sure some of these properties will be converted into shops, antique stores, maybe a bed and breakfast or two. The kitchen would need to be updated and industrialized, but the rooms on the ground floor would make for great seating. And the porch too in warmer months. Upstairs I would use for storage.”

When had this idea popped into her head?
He thought her restaurant was still far off. “Your restaurant?” He chimed in. He knew that was her dream, but knew she didn’t have the capital to start something like that now.
Or did she?

“Yes,” she continued breathlessly. “It’s been my dream forever. And the back windows have a great view of the river. When I saw the sign this morning, something just clicked. I think I’m going to make an offer.”

He tried to wrap his brain around that announcement. “That’s going to be expensive.” His words came out softly. He tried to mask the incredulity he was feeling.

She didn’t pick up on it. She was too excited about her new venture to notice. “I have great credit. And a little put away. Hopefully enough for a small down payment.”

“This is going to take a lot of work.” He kept the shock from his voice.

“I know, but with the boys gone in a few months, I figure they can help me over the summer with labor. And I can keep working at
The Mystic
until I’m ready to open. With them in college, more of my money can be spent here.”

Not wanting to discourage or dissuade her, or show his suspicions, he smiled and reached for her hand. “It is a great location. And I’ll help when I can,” he murmured. But he continued to wonder where she would get the start up cash.

His reward was a bright smile and she leaned over and kissed his cheek in her exuberance. “Okay, I’m ready to eat. Let’s head to the diner. The boys are going to be famished. They have been at it all morning. And they got home so late from studying too,” she was shaking her head.

“Sure thing.” He smiled at her to put her at ease and put his car into reverse as she settled more comfortably into her seat.

“Have you mentioned the restaurant to your brothers yet?” He looked at her from under his lashes to gauge her reaction. He tried to keep his tone neutral.

He saw her stiffen slightly in her seat. “Yes. They know. They want this for me too. They are willing to do whatever they can to help me.” She ended her words abruptly and looked his way.

Jewel sensed something in his tone. He didn’t sound as excited for her as she’d thought he’d be. His eyes were probing. “They’ve known I’ve always wanted this. They know I gave up a lot to come home and raise them. They want this for me.”

“I’m sure they do,” he replied cautiously. His thoughts were a whirl.
They would do anything to help her.
He was sure of that.
But what was anything?
Theft? Robbery? How could she come up with the money to convert this old farmhouse into a high end restaurant?
No matter how good her credit was, the banks would want some capital expenditures on her part to cover any loss if the restaurant wasn’t a success. It took a while to make a restaurant successful. He carefully chose his next words. He didn’t want to spook her or alert her of his ever growing suspicions. “Your brothers, once they go to school, will they be home often to help with the new restaurant?”

She didn’t answer right away. Again, he felt her stiffen beside him. “I’m not sure. And I don’t want them to lose focus of their educational goals. I’ll take my time. I don’t foresee opening for at least a year. Maybe even longer. As you said, the equipment needs alone will be quite expensive.”

He dropped the subject for now. They were almost at the diner.

“My brother and I had a rough start in school too. Too many parties, too many distractions. It’s good that they focus on school,” he added.

He heard her sharp intake of breath although she tried to mask it. “My brothers are good boys. They have had their scrapes and have done things, like I’m sure most boys have done, but they’ll achieve their dreams too. They have some friends I don’t particularly care for like Justin, but again they need to learn that for themselves. That’s why it is important for me to achieve mine, set the example so to speak.”