Necessary Decisions, A Gino Cataldi Mystery (2 page)

Delgado offered to drive me home, but I told him I was good. The swelling had gone all the way to my eye, which hurt like hell, and my head throbbed so bad I wanted to just hold it and squeeze, but I was okay to drive.

As I drove home, I thought about a lot of things, but all I could focus on was the guy who hit me.
Number Three.
No matter what Coop said, I’d get Mary’s watch back.

Chapter 2

Hard Times

L
onny Hackett grew up poor. Hard-working poor. The kind of poor that made a man proud because he’d worked all day and his muscles ached. The kind of poor that made him smart from scrimping to pay bills and haggling over prices.

Like most poor people, Lonny dreamed about getting rich. He didn’t want a lot. Just enough to let him buy Lucia a new dress now and then. Or a new pair of shoes. Take her out to dinner on Friday nights. The kids too, if they’d go. Enough so he didn’t have to pray
every single night
that his old truck would start in the morning and get him to work. Enough to stay home when he got real sick.

He dreamed about it a lot, especially during the winter months when construction was slow and Lucia had to take on extra work to help with food. His mama had always told him that money ruined everything. When he was young, he figured she was right. He still believed in what she said, that money could ruin him…but he wanted to try it out sometime.

Maybe in the next life.

Lonny quit daydreaming then finished striking the joints on the brick facing for a drilling rig company. It was the first nice job they’d had in months.
Thank God for the oil industry.

As he moved to the spots exposed to the afternoon sun, he put away his iron striker and used a smooth, wooden one he’d made out of hickory. Wood wouldn’t burn joints—an important consideration in Houston’s climate—and hickory was hard enough to polish joints instead of stripping them.

Lonny stepped back and smiled. He might be down to half of his hours, but that was no reason to slack off or do shoddy work. He wiped sweat from the corner of his eye then got his coarse brush and cleaned the mortar off the brick. Occasionally he used the wooden handle to scrape dried cement from the edges. When he finished, he placed his tools in his canvas bag, slipped his level through the handles, slung it over his shoulder, and climbed down the scaffold to the parking lot.

Mr. Mattusek, the boss, stood off to the side, talking to one of the concrete crew. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Mattusek.” Lonny waved as he headed to his truck.

When he was almost there, he heard his name called.

“Lonny, you got a minute?”

He tossed the tools in the back of the pick-up—a ten-year-old blue Chevy with a metal toolbox fastened to the bed—grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler then headed over to Mattusek. If he was lucky, he’d get more work out of this.

“You need something done, Mr. Mattusek? You know I need the work.”

Mattusek turned his head to the side. “I hate this shit.”

Lonny’s gut lurched. He felt as if he might throw up.

“I’ve got to let you go,” Mattusek said. “I don’t know for how long, but I promise you’ll be the first one I call back.”

Lonny’s voice cracked when he spoke. “What about the restaurant we were supposed to get? And the—”

Mattusek was shaking his head. “We didn’t get the contract for either. The financing fell through on the restaurant, and we lost the bid on the other. Somebody undercut us.”

Unable to talk at first, Lonny managed to keep his dignity. He shook Mattusek’s hand and thanked him for the years they worked together. “Call me if you get anything. I mean
anything.
”

“I will,” Mattusek said. “Promise.”

Lonny got in his truck and headed for home.
How am I gonna tell Lucia?

As he thought that, the phone rang. It was her. “Hey, baby,” he said. “I hope you have a few filets on the grill topped with my favorite mushrooms.”

“How’d you know, old man? And just in case your dreams come true, stop and pick up some
real
milk to go with those imaginary steaks.”

“You got it. See you soon.” Lonny felt like running, getting on the freeway, and heading west, or south into Mexico. Anywhere to get away from his responsibilities. If it weren’t for Lucia and the kids, he’d pack up and leave. Instead, he pulled into the corner store and slowly walked inside. He checked the price on a gallon of milk then counted his money. He grabbed a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar for Lucia, a Heath Bar for Jada, and a bag of crunchy Cheetos for Mars.

May as well make them happy with my last few bucks.

Lonny set everything on the counter and yanked the crumpled bills from his pocket. “Dave, how’s it going today?”

“Not bad. Business is slow, though.”

“About to get slower, I imagine.”

Dave rang up the order. It left Lonny with $1.08. “I’ll tell you what, give me one of those Texas Lotto tickets. What’s it up to?”

“Thirty-nine million.”

“Thirty-nine million…I could use that.”

“Cash option?”

“Regular’s fine. I get the cash option, I’d spend it all at once.”

Dave handed Lonny the ticket. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Lonny clutched the ticket in his hand.

Come through for us
,
Lord. My family needs this.

Chapter 3

The Prom

J
ada Hackett walked down the long hall, her head hung low. It was the beginning of May, and no one had asked her to the prom. If it didn’t happen soon, it wouldn’t happen at all.

Alexa was cramming books into her locker when Jada approached.

“Well?” Alexa asked.

Jada sighed. “Nobody. Not even Kenny, though I’m kinda glad he didn’t ask. I might have been tempted to say yes.”

“You just broke up with him last month. Regretting it already?”

“Not hardly. Kenny was nice but he…just didn’t have it.”

“And you
know
you won’t have that problem with Jason.”

They both giggled, finished putting their books away, then headed toward English Lit class. Halfway through
Great Expectations
, Jada realized she was dreaming of Jason Rules instead of Pip. She sat up straight, cleared her thoughts, and got back to reading. Two hours later, on her way to the bus, she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned, she almost gasped.

“Jason! You scared me.”

“Enough to go to the prom with me?”

Jada couldn’t believe she was hearing this, but she played it cool, soooo cool. “What, nobody else would have you?”

He leaned in real close, his breath warming her cheeks. It sent goose bumps up her arms.

“You
know
that’s wrong.” Jason brushed his fingers against her neck, tucked her hair behind her ear. Kissed her. “So what’s it gonna be? I can’t be making my boys wait on me.”

She cocked her head, as if she hadn’t said yes a million times in her heart already. “I guess we’ll make a good couple.”

“You got that right, girl. We’ll couple for sure.”

A horn beeped. He flipped them the finger. “Gotta go. We’ll catch up and figure things out.”

Jada waited until he was out of sight then held her hands in front of her face and screeched. Then she giggled and laughed, running for the bus. Alexa was already there.

“Girl, was that Jason Rules I saw you talking to?”

Jada jumped up and down, screeching again. “Jason Rules—he
rules
.”

“Jason Rules has got the
tools
.”

Alexa and Jada laughed more, hugged each other as they got on the bus, and almost danced their way to a pair of empty seats.

Kenny approached Jada, hands in his pockets, head hung low. “You going to the dance?”

“Jason asked me,” Jada said, her head halfway to the clouds.

“Jason Rules?” Kenny shook his head. “You could do better.”

“Like you?”

“Yeah, like me, but by the time you figure that out, you’ll be messed up. Forget I asked.”

“I already did.”

Alexa put her hand on Jada’s arm. “Don’t worry about it. He can’t ruin this day.”

“You’re right about that.
Nothing
can ruin this day.”

Half an hour later, after riding the bus to Alexa’s house, Jada caught a ride home with a friend. The houses in her neighborhood were three-bedroom ranch homes built in the fifties or sixties. Most didn’t have a garage. She waved to old Joe out sprinkling his lawn, and to Mr. Cobb tending his gardens, but mostly she thought about how to tell her mom that she wouldn’t be going to the prom with Kenny. Her mom liked him.

Jada got out near the end of the street, walked up the short driveway and into the house. The door opened into the living room, which shared space with the eating area.

Her mother was folding clothes from a basket on the table. “How was your day?”

Jada tried containing herself but didn’t do so well. “I got asked to prom!”

Her mother continued folding a towel but glanced in Jada’s direction. “Kenny?”

“Another boy asked me first. I couldn’t say no, not this late; besides, he’s
adorable
.”

Her mother kept folding towels.

“Mom, you don’t understand. It’s Jason Rules, the most popular guy in school. And he asked
me.
Aren’t you happy?”

Her mother finished the last towel, and then set the laundry basket down and hugged her. “Of course I’m happy, but…”

“But what?” Jada pulled back, staring, afraid of what would come next.

“What will you wear?”

“We’ll have to get something.”

Her mother’s face grew rigid, almost stern. “You know the situation. Nothing’s changed.”

“Don’t we have
any
money?”

“Where do you think we’d get money? Did
you
bring any in this week? Your father’s work is down by half.” She grabbed a dishtowel and tossed it to Jada. “You dry. I’ll wash.”

Jada dried a few dishes, setting them on the counter. “What about Mars? Is he still going to jiu-jitsu?” She tried taking the anger from her voice.

Her mother’s glare made Jada feel ashamed. “His classes have been paid for since the beginning of the year. And we
don’t
get refunds for canceling.” She washed the pan they’d cooked asparagus in and handed it to Jada. “Believe me, if we could get a refund, we would.”

“How come I get shafted? You knew the prom was coming up.”

Her mother turned off the water, set down the washcloth, and stared at her.
Glared
was more like it. Again. “Yes, I knew the prom was coming up, but I
did not
know that your father’s boss would cut his hours in half, or that he wouldn’t be able to find more work.” She looked ready to cry, but held it back. “And I did not know that
every damn
thing we need to live would go up in price. If I
had
known, maybe I would have found time to save money for your precious prom.”

Jada cringed and looked away. She ran the towel across the bottom of the pan and wiped the inside. “I’m so sick of seeing dog hairs. I can’t wait till Scooter goes.”

Her mother turned on her with fire in her eyes. “I
know
you don’t mean that. Tell me it was one of those stupid,
stupid
things that come out of a young girl’s mouth.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you.” When her mother didn’t say anything, Jada repeated it. “I really am sorry. And I really do love you.”

Her mother stared at her for a moment then nodded. “All right. And about that prom, don’t give up yet. We may find a way. I can still sew a mean dress.”

“It’s okay. I don’t need to go.”

“What, and let poor what’s-his-name take a lesser girl to the prom?” They both laughed. Her mom wrung out the dishcloth and wiped the table. “He’d never forgive me.”

“You’re the best, Mom. And by the way, his name’s Jason.”

“You mean I’m the best mom
if
I figure out how to get you a dress?”