Brownies, Bodies and Bad Guys (7 page)

Lexy took a seat and Sprinkles plopped down at her feet while Jack went inside to get the rest of the meal. He opened the fridge and grabbed two large bowls that housed the salads and a platter that had the steak. Balancing them in his hands his stomach clenched as his mind replayed the scene from the night before when Lexy had stumbled into the kitchen to find Simone in here.

Should he bring Simone up or wait for Lexy to do it?

He headed out the door with a sigh, if Lexy asked about Simone, he’d just have to keep with the story of her being an old friend that just stopped by and hope Lexy wouldn’t be able to tell he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“That looks delicious.” Lexy lifted the Saran Wrap from the salad and picked out a tomato wedge, popping it into her mouth.

Jack shot her a smile then slapped the steaks on the grill, listening to the welcome sound of sizzle as the flames shot up around them. He grabbed a beer from the cooler and sat down at the table.

“So, how was that memorial? I’m sure Mona had ulterior motives for having it.” Jack took a long pull on the beer.

Lexy smiled. “Of course. You know her. I didn’t stay very long. Just long enough to know Nunzio has some strange relatives.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t stay? You’re not investigating it with her?”

Lexy’s brow creased as she took a small sip of beer. “Well, I had no intention of getting involved. But Brax said it could be dangerous and maybe I should keep an eye on Nans. You know how headstrong she can be. Maybe if I help her, I can keep her from doing something crazy that will put her in danger.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at Lexy. “Brax? You mean that F.B.I guy? How do you know him?”

“Oh, he’s been by the bakery a few times. John introduced us.” Lexy casually picked a piece of lettuce from the salad bowl and bit off a dainty piece.

Jack’s felt his stomach tighten. He wondered just how many times Brax had been to the bakery. He didn’t know the F.B.I agent very well, but he’d heard the guy had quite the reputation with women. He didn’t like the idea of him hanging around the bakery … or Lexy.

“I think the steaks need to be flipped.” Lexy nodded toward the grill, pulling Jack from his thoughts. He went over and flipped the steaks with a large fork, then closed the lid.

“Anyway, I’m not really sure what to do. Nans is hell bent on figuring out who killed Nunzio.” Lexy looked at him sideways. “Do you have any idea who might have done it?”

Jack took a deep breath. He didn’t like discussing his cases and he certainly didn’t want Lexy getting involved in this one. The problem was, the more he told her not to the more she would want to. He’d have to be selective about the information he gave her to try to steer her in the least dangerous direction.

“We don’t have any solid leads but we
are
looking into the family very seriously.”

“Speaking of the family, I saw your friend at the memorial. Simone is it? Did you know she was Nunzio’s granddaughter?”

Jack’s heart pounded against his ribcage. Lexy knew about Simone.
How should he handle this?

Trying to shrug casually, he got up to check the steaks. “Yeah, she was in town for the reunion. I didn’t know her grandfather was in organized crime back when I knew her. It was a long time ago.”

Jack turned to see Lexy looking up at him quizzically and he had to look away fearing she would see he wasn’t telling the whole truth. He busied himself with putting the steaks on a platter and placing it on the table.

“Dig in!” He sat down and filled his plate, silently watching Lexy do the same.

Jack’s mouth watered as he cut into his steak. It was perfectly seared, the outside brown almost to the point of being crispy and the inside a medium pink. It practically melted in his mouth.

They focused on eating their food for several minutes. The occasional scrape of silverware on plates interspersed with nummy noises were the only sounds to be heard.

Sprinkles danced in between them, shifting her attention from Lexy to Jack. Finally the poor dog could stand it no more and she let out a soft bark, stealing Jack’s attention from his steak.

“Oh, you need a treat, don’t you?”

Sprinkles went crazy, spinning and bowing. Jack cut a little piece of steak and held it out to the dog who practically rolled her eyes back in her head. She went through a repertoire of tricks—first putting out her paw, then sitting, then rolling over without any prompting—causing both Lexy and Jack to laugh. Finally Jack gave the steak to the dog who inhaled it, then looked to him for more.

“The steak is delicious.” Lexy pushed her plate away and sipped more beer.

“Thanks. I think I have my grilling technique perfected this year.” Jack smiled as he popped the last piece of steak in his mouth. Over the past year, they’d grilled out a lot together and he actually had been practicing on cooking the perfect steak.

“Thanks for making all this,” Lexy said, as she put the Saran Wrap back over the bowls.

Jack pulled her chair closer to his.

“My pleasure,” he said, taking her palm and rubbing it with his thumb, then working his way up her arm, moving his face slowly closer to hers until finally, their lips met.

He kissed her tentatively at first, his heart beat kicking into high gear when she sighed and parted her lips. Her tongue flicked his lower lip and he pressed his mouth harder on hers, scooping her out of her chair and into his lap.

He felt her hands snake around his neck as he caressed the silky fabric of her top, then slid his hands underneath to her warm, soft skin. She let out a mewl of contentment which caused his own growl of satisfaction as a warm tightness started to form in his lower belly. His lips left hers to trail down her neck, his arms tensing to pick her up and carry her inside.

And then her phone rang.

“Shoot.” She broke the kiss and looked at her phone on the table. “It’s Nans, I better take it.” She scrambled out of his lap and back into her chair.

Jack leaned back with a sigh. He watched her answer the phone, thinking of how beautiful she looked with her tousled hair and lips all puffy from their kiss.

But then his heart clenched and his stomach turned to lead when he saw the color drain from her face.

“Lexy, what’s wrong?”

She snapped the phone shut and looked at him, alarm in her eyes.

“We have to get to the hospital right away. Ruth’s been attacked!”

Chapter Eleven

Lexy’s stomach was tied in knots as she rushed down the hospital corridor in front of Jack, her mind conjuring up images of Ruth, tiny and pale, lying in a hospital bed wrapped in bandages.

She skidded to a stop in front of the room.
Where was that loud laughter coming from?

Peeking into the room slowly so as not to disturb Ruth if she was sleeping, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open.

Ruth
was
propped up in the bed, but she wasn’t frail and bandaged. She was sitting in a blue dressing gown, her back supported by several pillows, her cheeks flushed with excitement and her blue eyes twinkling. Nans, Helen, Ida and Ida’s fiance, Norman were gathered around the bed. The five of them were having a grand old time laughing and talking.

Lexy looked at Jack who simply shrugged and walked into the room.

“Ruth! Are you okay?” Lexy made her way to the bed and gave Ruth a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, yes. It takes a lot more than a little crack on the noggin to put me out of commission.”

“What happened?” Jack asked from the foot of the bed.

Ruth leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Well, I had just gotten home from the grocery store. The last thing I remember is putting my key in the lock to my condo and BAM.” She accentuated the last word by clapping her hands together. “Someone conked me on the back of the head and I went down like a sack of potatoes.”

Lexy exchanged worried looks with Jack. “Did you see who did it?”

“No. They hit me from behind. But I must have been out for a while because when I woke up, I was lying on the couch and the house was a mess.”

“They searched it?” Lexy’s steak sat like a brick in her stomach. If they had knocked out Ruth and searched her condo, would Nans be next?

Ruth nodded.

“How did you get to the couch?” Jack asked.

Ruth spread her hands. “I have no idea … and the other funny thing is that my groceries were put away! Which is a good thing because I had ice cream and frozen peas in there.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at Ruth.

“This is good news!” Nans said. “If they are still looking for the will, and we know Ruth didn’t have it, that means whoever it was is still around and we still have a chance of catching them.”

“Did you say they were looking for a will?”

Brax’s voice drifted in from the doorway and everyone turned in that direction. Lexy saw Jack’s eyes narrow even further and his back stiffen.

“Oh, hi there.” Nans craned her neck around the curtain to greet Brax as he walked further into the room.

“I hope I’m not intruding. I heard about Ruth and wanted to make sure she was okay.” Brax winked at Ruth whose cheeks turned scarlet.

“Seems I’m no worse for the wear,” she said.

“Now what’s this about a will?” he asked.

“The family said Nunzio’s latest will was missing so we assume that’s what they have been looking for.” Nans eyed Brax keenly.

Brax rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “That could be. Or it could be something else… something more dangerous.”

“You mean something to do with his days in organized crime?” Nans asked, looking from Brax to Jack.

Brax glanced over at Jack. “We don’t know that for certain, but the bottom line is that you ladies shouldn’t be messing with this. I’m sure detective Perillo will agree.”

Jack nodded. “Ruth wasn’t hurt badly this time, but next time you guys might not be so lucky.”

Ruth laughed. “Well, I dare say the people behind this can’t be all bad. After all they did carry me to the couch and put my groceries away.”

“Gentlemen thugs!” Helen said causing a round of giggles.

Brax rolled his eyes at Lexy then pulled her to the other end of the room. Jack followed right behind her.

Brax glanced over at the bed where the others had resumed their conversation.

“Something about this seems off. Why would the family members search Ruth’s place?”

“She was Nunzio’s girlfriend … of sorts,” Lexy said. “They probably found that out at the memorial.”

“What do you think, Perillo?” Brax eyed Jack. From the looks the two of them were giving each other, Lexy didn’t think they liked each other very much.

“I agree. Could be someone much more dangerous than a family member. Or the family members could be more dangerous than we thought.”

“Yeah … I’d feel a lot better if Ruth had gotten a look at them. Then we’d have a better idea of who we were up against,” Brax said, moving in closer to Lexy. He leaned down toward her, lowering his voice, “I think you better take my advice and keep a close eye on your grandmother.”

Jack put his arm around Lexy and she got the feeling she was the prize in some sort of invisible battle. Brax narrowed his eyes at them, his brows rising in realization as he glanced down at her engagement ring.

“She will.” Jack answered for her. Lexy wrinkled her brow at him and pulled away. She was perfectly capable of answering for herself.

“Yes, I certainly will,” she said, then put her hand on Brax’s upper arm. “Thanks for looking in on Ruth.”

Brax smiled and turned to leave, giving Jack an unfriendly glare. Then his eyes softened as he aimed them at Lexy.

“You have my number if you find anything out or need my help,” he said before turning and disappearing out the door.

“You have his number?” Jack’s question forced Lexy’s attention away from the retreating back of the F.B.I agent.

“Yes, he gave me his card.” she smiled up at Jack. “For the investigation.”

Jack furrowed his brow and looked back out into the hall. Lexy wondered if he was jealous of the attention Brax was paying to her. Well, serves him right, she thought. If he can have a woman friend, then she could certainly have a man friend. She figured it wouldn’t hurt Jack one bit to see what
that
felt like.

Lexy joined the crowd around Ruth’s bed.

“Did you get anything we can use from him?” Nans asked.

“Not really,” Lexy replied.

“I think his presence here is a telltale sign this has something to do with organized crime, right Jack?” Helen raised her brows at Jack.

“Not necessarily. We haven’t narrowed down all the suspects yet.”

“Well, no matter who it is, we know they didn’t get what they were looking for from Ruth’s place so they will keep looking. I have a feeling this case is about to heat up.” Nans rubbed her hands together, a gleam of excitement in her eye.

“Me too,” Ruth said, pushing the covers back and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “Now get me my street clothes. We need to get out of here and start investigating before something worse happens.”

Chapter Twelve

“This key isn’t the right size for the bus terminal lockers or a post office box.” Nans turned the little silver key that had been in Ruth’s locket over in her hand, then looked up at the other women. “But I think it might be a good fit for the lockers in the fitness center.”

“We could check there first,” Ida said. “But I also think we should try to get into Nunzio’s condo and see if there is a box or safe with a lock that might fit the key.”

“Ruth, you wouldn’t happen to have a key to his place, would you?” Nans asked

Lexy saw Ruth blush. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Okay then, shall we?” Nans stood up and motioned for the others to follow.

Helen, Ruth, Ida and Lexy all pushed themselves away from Nans’s mahogany dining table and followed her to the door. Lexy brought up the rear, glad that she had arranged to leave Cassie in charge of the bakery for a few days so she could keep an eye on the ladies and make sure they didn’t get into too much trouble.