Twin Peril (11 page)

Jonah stared at her for a long moment. “What’s her name?”

“Rachel Camille Simon. And before you think you can leverage her cooperation where I failed, you should probably know they have a son. And she’s convinced Caruso would kill his own son if he even suspected she broke her promise.” When Jonah scrubbed his hands over his face, she knew just how he felt. Her clue had only led them to a dead end. “So, how did your meeting with the Chicago P.D. go?”

“About as good as yours,” he said drily. “They have suspicions that Caruso is involved in Claire’s disappearance, but no proof.”

“So what should we do now?”

Jonah sighed. “I say we go out for dinner.”

“Dinner?” she echoed incredulously. “That’s it? We just go out for dinner?”

“We’re going to eat at Salvatore’s restaurant, in downtown Chicago. It’s the only other link we have to Caruso at this point. And besides, I’m hungry.”

* * *

Jonah’s pulse still hadn’t settled down by the time they’d arrived at the restaurant. He couldn’t believe Mallory had actually gone off to talk to Caruso’s
ex-wife without telling him. Or waiting for him.

“Oh, look, outside seating.” Mallory pulled off her helmet and ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s a beautiful night.”

“Actually, I’d rather sit inside. It’s our best chance to find out something about the owner himself, Bernardo Salvatore,” he said.

She shrugged but didn’t say anything more as they walked inside. Thankfully, the place wasn’t too fancy, although the food smelled heavenly. “This way,” the hostess said in a soft Sicilian accent.

“Does Mr. Salvatore himself ever eat here?” Jonah asked as she stood by a small table for two and waited for them to take their seats. “I would love to meet him sometime.”

The hostess’s expression remained neutral, although he sensed she wasn’t entirely pleased by his question. “Mr. Salvatore is very busy, but yes, he does occasionally stop in for dinner, although he prefers to be left alone.” She quickly went on to describe the specials for the evening, and Jonah couldn’t help but find her reaction curious.

Once the hostess left, Mallory leaned forward. “That was a little strange,” she whispered. “I got the impression she was warning us off.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jonah glanced at the menu, wincing a little at the prices. They were getting low on cash. Even though Gage had agreed to get him more, he couldn’t help wondering if this was a bad idea. What could they learn from eating here? He considered getting up to leave, but decided that would only fuel any suspicions the hostess already had. “What would you like to eat?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” Mallory said, picking one of the cheaper items on the menu. “I’m in the mood for comfort food.”

“Sounds good.”

The server came by and introduced herself as Kate. She was young, blonde and slender, reminding him a bit of Claire Richmond. After she took their order, he flashed a warm smile and went with his gut. “Did you know Claire Richmond? She’s an old friend of ours. She used to work here, right? Before she landed her big modeling contract?”

Kate’s bright smile dimmed and a hint of alarm flashed in her eyes. “Uh, no, I didn’t know Claire.”

“But she used to work here, didn’t she?” he persisted, instinctively knowing he was on the right track.

Her gaze was a bit uncertain, as if she wasn’t sure what to say, but then she shook her head. “I don’t know. Excuse me but I need to place your order with the kitchen.” The waitress couldn’t get away from their table fast enough.

“How did you know Claire Richmond worked here?” Mallory asked in a low voice.

He shrugged and grinned wryly. “Lucky guess. Where else would a twenty-one-year-old meet a man like Caruso? And land a big modeling contract?”

“She looked scared,” Mallory murmured, staring at the door Kate had disappeared through. “Maybe you should have told her you’re a cop.”

Jonah knew that sometimes people were more likely to open up to someone outside of law enforcement. “I’d rather pretend to be a concerned friend of the family.”

Their dinner arrived in record time, and Jonah tried to catch the gaze of the young man who brought their food, but he simply dropped the plates and left. No one stopped by to offer freshly grated Parmesan cheese or ask how their meal was, which he also found very peculiar. Apparently, the management at Salvatore’s was anxious to get rid of them because he’d asked too many questions.

Kate didn’t return until they’d finished their meal. “Hope everything was all right. Are you interested in dessert?”

He looked at Mallory, who shook her head. “No thanks. Just the check, please.”

“Certainly.” Kate’s perky smile and cheerful attitude were back in place, as if nothing had transpired earlier. But when she brought over the vinyl case holding their bill, she leaned close. “Abby knew Claire—she’ll be outside,” she whispered, before adding at a normal volume, “You can pay me whenever you’re ready. Thanks for dining with us this evening.”

“We enjoyed our meal, didn’t we, honey?” he asked, beaming at Mallory like a devoted boyfriend. He placed cash in the vinyl folder and pushed it toward Kate.

“Absolutely.” Mallory played along. “I’m so thrilled they’re opening up a Salvatore’s at home, aren’t you?”

He quickly nodded. “Can’t wait.”

“Thanks again,” Kate said as she walked away.

He stood and placed his hand against Mallory’s back as she led the way outside. There were swarms of people crowding the sidewalks, so he stepped up against the building, glancing around for someone who apparently was willing to talk to them.

“Over there,” Mallory murmured, nudging him. “She’s staring at us.”

Sure enough, a young brunette was standing across the street, smoking a cigarette and trying to catch their attention. “Let’s go,” he said to Mallory.

Mallory took his arm as they walked toward the waitress, keeping up the pretense of being out on a date. “Abby?” she asked as they approached.

The brunette crushed out the cigarette. “Next time, use a little finesse. We don’t talk about Claire in the restaurant. Ever.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized quickly. “I should have been more subtle. We’re just very anxious to find our friend. When was the last time you spoke to her?”

She gave him a disgusted look. “Drop the act. You’re obviously a cop. I can spot one a mile away. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but Claire is gone and she’s never coming back. I spoke to her the night before she disappeared. Her plan was to go to the police with what she knew and then cash in the expensive jewelry he’d given her to relocate somewhere else, but then she was gone. Poof. Vanished. As if she’d never been here.”

He couldn’t believe she was telling them all this. “How do you know she didn’t disappear on her own?”

“Because she was going to wait until after the weekend, since Friday and Saturday night are the highest-paying shifts.” Abby looked at Jonah as if he were stupid.

That didn’t make sense. “Why would she need to wait tables? I thought she had a big modeling contract.”

Abby glanced away and shrugged. “She didn’t think modeling was going to work out long-term.”

Interesting. Had Caruso threatened to take the contract away?

“Did she say exactly what she wanted to say to the police?”

“No. And I didn’t ask.”

“Have you mentioned at least this much to the police?” Mallory piped up. “Do they know she was going to come to talk to them?”

“Yeah, right.” Abby let out a harsh laugh. “You don’t cross Salvatore or any of his friends. I need my job so don’t ever come into the restaurant asking about Claire again. Understand? It’s not exactly healthy, if you know what I mean.”

Before he could thank her, she disappeared into the crowd of pedestrians.

“I don’t like this, Jonah,” Mallory murmured. “They’re all so scared.”

“She didn’t give us much information. She never mentioned Caruso’s name—she only referred to Salvatore’s friends.” He tried to ignore the surge of hopelessness. All of their leads were just dead ends.

“I hope we didn’t cause either Abby or Kate any trouble,” Mallory said as they walked back toward the motorcycle. “Do you think the hostess overheard us asking about Claire?”

“I don’t think so. She looked pretty busy.” But he wouldn’t put it past a guy like Salvatore to bug the place. Something he should have considered sooner.

He put on his helmet and straddled the bike, waiting for Mallory to climb on behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he vowed once again to find some other form of transportation. Being so close to Mallory was driving him crazy. He not only admired her, but genuinely liked her, far more than he should.

As he headed down the street, the front wheel on the bike shimmied a bit. He hoped it was nothing
serious—the motorcycle was their only means of transportation. Concerned, he bypassed the freeway to take side streets, trying to avoid the more congested downtown area. When he found one that was less busy, he kicked the bike into the next gear.

The handlebars jerked hard in his hands, and he realized the front tire was loose. He tightened his grip, desperate to maintain control. “Mallory, jump off before we crash.”

He felt her push away at the exact moment the tire flew off, sending him airborne. He hit the pavement with enough force to rattle his teeth and had only one thought before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Mallory.

NINE

M
allory screamed as she let go of Jonah’s waist to jump free. She hit the ground with a hard thud, thankfully landing on the small grassy median before rolling onto the concrete.

Pain reverberated through her body and she lay flat on her back, staring up at the star-laden sky through her helmet while struggling to breathe. This tuck-and-roll thing was getting old. She decided right then she wasn’t going to do it anymore.

Unlike the night she and Jonah had jumped off the train, he didn’t come rushing over to see how she was. He’d stayed on the motorcycle until the last possible minute to save her. When she could breathe, she forced herself to sit upright, sucking in a harsh breath as her muscles protested. She tested her limbs, silently acknowledging that the aches and pains weren’t anything too serious. Thankfully, her new hoodie and jeans had protected her skin. She took off her helmet, the crack in the side proof that it had saved her from a far more serious injury.

“Jonah?” She swept a gaze over the area, almost missing him, as he was lying in a crumpled heap at the side of the road beneath the back end of the motorcycle. Panic stabbed deep when she realized he wasn’t moving.

“Jonah!” She stumbled to her feet and rushed over. With herculean strength, she lifted the bike off and then knelt beside him. “Jonah? Can you hear me?”

He didn’t move for several long seconds. Then suddenly he groaned and turned onto his back. His right arm was literally covered in blood and dirt from the road. The sight was enough to leave her feeling sick and dizzy. She quickly averted her gaze, putting a hand to her stomach.

For a moment she closed her eyes, feeling helpless.
Lord, give me the strength to help Jonah.
She took several deep breaths and opened her eyes. The nausea had receded to a manageable level. Feeling more secure in her ability to help, she loosened the strap of his helmet and wiggled it off. She pulled open her purse in order to search for her cell phone.

“Mallory?” His hoarse whisper caused an overwhelming rush of relief.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, trying not to look at his bloody arm. His injuries were likely far beyond her capabilities. Her fingers closed around the small cell phone. “Stay right where you are—I’ll call 9-1-1.”

“No. Don’t. I’m fine.” Despite his assurance, he winced and groaned when she helped him to sit up. “Just give me a minute.”

“Hey, are you two okay?” A middle-aged bald guy, as round as he was tall, had opened his front door to call out to them. “Don’t worry, I’ve called 9-1-1!”

Jonah sighed heavily. “It’s okay,” he called out. “We’re fine. Don’t need an ambulance.”

“I think it’s too late for that,” she muttered under her breath when the man threw them a surprised look and then stepped back to shut his door. “Besides, it’s best that you get checked out by a doctor, Jonah. That arm of yours looks pretty bad.” So bad, she could barely look at it.

“Not an option.” The firmness was back in his tone, and despite his injuries he struggled to stand. “We need to get out of here. But we obviously can’t use the bike, so we’ll have to call a cab.”

She helped support his weight, placing her arm around his waist so he could lean on her. “We can catch a cab, but why are you being so stubborn about going to the hospital?”

“For one thing, there’s still a warrant out for your arrest. And look at the bike for a minute.” He lifted his chin in the direction of the seriously crumpled motorcycle. “See how the front tire came off the frame? That didn’t happen by accident.”

She stared in shock. “It didn’t?”

“No. There was a little shimmy once we got on, and I should have stopped right then and there to investigate. I knew the tire was going to come flying off, which is why I wanted you to jump. Someone tampered with the motorcycle on purpose because we asked questions about Claire Richmond.”

She swallowed hard, not wanting to believe him. But she couldn’t deny how scared that waitress had looked when they’d gone out to talk to her.

She shivered, and not because of the cold. Was it really possible someone had just tried to kill them once again?

* * *

Jonah mentally kicked himself for not figuring out the bike had been tampered with sooner. Idiot. He should have known, or at least anticipated the possibility, especially after the way everyone at the restaurant acted so weird the minute he’d asked about Claire. Even Abby had tried to warn them.

Mallory looked scared, adding to his guilt. He put more weight on his right leg, relieved when the pain wasn’t too bad. His right side had taken the brunt of the crash, but he didn’t think he had any broken bones except for maybe a cracked rib—the right side of his chest felt as if it was on fire.