Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) (15 page)

“
W
hat is this
?” James wrinkled his nose as he studied the food on his plate.

“It’s dinner,” Grady said, enthusiastically digging in to his pasta. “Eat it.”

“Yes, but what’s in it?” James twisted his fork in the pasta and lifted it to his nose so he could inhale the pungent aroma. “It smells like fish.”

“It is seafood Alfredo,” Peter said, shooting James a disdainful look as he got comfortable between Grady and Mandy at the table. “My chef adds red wine and it makes the sauce taste like a bouquet of roses exploding in your mouth.”

“Huh.” James sniffed the food again. “It smells fishy. I’m not a big fan of fish. I’ll eat cod if it’s battered and slathered in tartar sauce, but in general I don’t like fish. I’m also not a fan of eating roses, just for the record.”

“I just watched you eat your weight in Red Lobster last night,” Peter pointed out, earning a snicker from the rest of the table. “By the way, Emma, I know you’re a vegetarian. That bowl there is the same sauce, but I had my chef whip up a special vegetarian Alfredo just for you.”

“It looks wonderful,” Emma said, smiling as she piled a huge mound of pasta on her plate. “I’m starving.”

Finn widened his eyes, surprised. “How hungry are you, sweetie?”

“Very,” Emma said. “James stopped at McDonald’s on the way home so I haven’t eaten all day.”

“James!” Finn fixed his brother with an angry look. “McDonald’s? You know she’s a vegetarian.”

“This is not my fault,” James said, extending a finger. “I had no idea they put beef stock … or whatever she said it was … in the oil for the fries. I didn’t even know it was a thing. I offered to stop somewhere else, but she said she just wanted to get back to you and Avery.”

“You’re such a turd sometimes,” Finn lamented.

“Turd,” Mandy said, giggling. She was in markedly better spirits after James allowed her to emote in private on the back patio. “That’s funny.”

“I don’t see you eating Peter’s marvelous dinner,” James said, pointing at his wife’s untouched plate. “Why don’t you go first?”

Mandy opened her mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. She was as leery of Peter’s food selection as James. “What kind of seafood is in it again?”

“Food that comes from the sea,” Peter replied, his agitation growing. “What kind of seafood do you think it is?”

“Well, the problem is that I like things like scallops, shrimp, lobster, and crab, but I’m not fond of things like calamari, salmon, and other … fishy … stuff. So exactly what kind of seafood am I looking at?”

James grinned as he watched his wife work her magic on Peter. The curmudgeonly mobster had a soft spot for the blonde that was both delightful and hilarious.

“The kind you eat,” Peter replied, refusing to kowtow to Mandy’s efforts at shaking him down. “Now, you should probably do just that, my dear.”

“It’s good,” Grady said, his mouth full of pasta as he reached for a glass of wine. “I’ve eaten tons of stuff at Peter’s house now and it’s always good. I’ve just learned not to ask what I’m eating before I shove it in my mouth. You should try that.”

“Yes, but I’m not you,” Mandy drawled. “I don’t stick anything in my mouth without knowing what it is.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Grady said, swallowing. “James told me you often stick things in your mouth that … .”

“That will be enough of that,” Peter said, cuffing Grady. “Don’t talk while you’re eating. In this case, focus on your eating and don’t talk.”

“Yeah,” Mandy sneered, making a face.

“You, too,” Peter ordered.

Mandy pursed her lips as she studied the food, resignedly. “If it’s gross and I get sick, James is going to make you sleep on the bathroom floor with me.”

“That’s true,” James said, watching Mandy carefully as she tentatively tasted the pasta. “She’s got a weak stomach.”

“I watched her eat five lobster tails and four pounds of crab yesterday,” Peter argued. “How weak can her stomach possibly be?”

“You’d be surprised,” James said, handing Mandy her glass of wine once she swallowed. “Well, baby? Will Peter be joining you on the bathroom floor, or will I be massaging you until my fingers fall off?”

“It’s actually pretty good,” Mandy said. “I am a little curious what these rubbery things are, though.”

“Rubbery?” Peter looked as if he was at his wit’s end. “There’s nothing rubbery in there.”

“Yes, there is.” Mandy could dig her heels in when she put her mind to it and she wasn’t afraid of Peter in the least. “These things with the weird line things along the edges are rubbery.”

“Those are oysters,” Peter said. “I spent a fortune to have them shucked.”

“Huh.” Mandy stabbed her fork into another oyster and lifted it so she could give it a long look. “Oysters are aphrodisiacs, right?”

“Yes.”

Mandy dumped the oyster on James’ plate and then went searching for other offending rubber bits to add. By the time she was done James had at least eight additions on his pile of pasta. “Okay, now I’m happy.” She dug into her meal with a bright smile.

“Why did you give me these?” James asked.

“Because you’re going to need extra strength when it comes time to wowing me tonight,” Mandy replied, not missing a beat. “I think you should be thankful for the extra help.”

James frowned. “Are you insinuating that I can’t wow you without help?”

“I’m insinuating that I don’t want to eat those and I can’t very well hide them in my napkin when Peter is staring at me like that,” Mandy replied, unruffled. “That means you have to eat them.”

The table burst out into hysterical gales of laughter – even Peter – and James could do nothing but shake his head. “You’re lucky I love you, woman, because you’re a lot of work.”

“And you haven’t even started massaging me yet,” Mandy said, flashing an angelic smile.

“Not that I’m not thrilled with listening to Mandy mess with my brother, but I missed the update about the prison visit,” Ally interjected. “How was that?”

“Pretty much how you would expect,” Emma answered, gracing Finn with an appreciative grin as he rubbed her tense shoulders. “She was mean … and rotten … and horrible. She did tell us some information, but I’m not sure how much it will help.”

“I’ve got Sven running a search through our files for David’s drivers over the years,” Peter supplied. “I considered calling David to ask him myself, but the idea of intruding on his grief isn’t appealing. Plus, well, I don’t want to admit how I know he dated Sheila.”

“I would think it would be common practice for you guys to keep tabs on each other,” James said. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to him.”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise – and, yes, we all monitor each other – but that doesn’t mean it would be comfortable to talk about,” Peter said. “If we can’t find the information we need in a timely manner I’ll call him tomorrow. He’s gone through a fair number of drivers. I asked Sven to come up with information and photos on as many as he can track down. Perhaps we’ll luck out and be able to match a face with the person we saw on the video.”

“I have a very vague memory of the guy being next to Owen’s body, too,” Finn admitted. “I didn’t remember right away, but I’ve dreamt about it twice now and I’m sure I would recognize him.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” Emma scolded. “Are you having nightmares?”

“Not nightmares, sweetie. Just … dreams.”

“And I thought I tired you out so much last night you wouldn’t dream at all,” Emma grumbled, making a face. The table lapsed into silence and when she lifted her head and found everyone staring at her she couldn’t help but flush with color. “Oh, what? I’m sure it’s not shocking that he talked me into being his dirty nurse last night. Get over it.”

James and Grady barked out twin laughs as Mandy shot Emma an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

“I’m still not sure I understand all of this,” Ally admitted. “Sheila dated David Barber before she married Lance Pritchard but after his wife died, right?”

Peter nodded.

“Whoever killed Owen Parker took something from his pocket and his father figured it was probably a safety deposit key his mother left him, right?”

Peter nodded again.

“Why wouldn’t David Barber have opened this safety deposit box back when both keys existed to see what was inside of it?” Ally asked. “I mean, he had to wonder. He might be rich in his own right, but whatever is in that safety deposit box has to be big.”

“David is a … unique … individual,” Peter explained. “I think everyone who gets involved in this business is unique in their own way, don’t get me wrong, but David has always been different.

“He inherited the business from his father, who continued to run it until David was in his thirties,” he continued. “I built my business from the ground up, and it was a long process. David was handed a kingdom, but he didn’t seem to want to rule it.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Ally admitted. “By the way, James is trying to slip his oysters onto Jake’s plate when he thinks no one is looking.”

Jake made a disgusted face and slapped James’ hand when he realized what his friend was doing. “Really?”

“Hey, they’re supposed to be magical,” James said. “Don’t you want to give Ally a magical night?”

“Since when are you promoting things like that?” Jake asked.

“Since … I don’t want to eat them,” James admitted. “Mandy is right. They taste weird.”

“Oh, give them to me,” Peter snapped, sliding an empty plate in James’ direction. “I don’t want to hear one more thing about the oysters. Everyone who doesn’t want to eat them put them on that plate and shut up about them.”

“I’m a good boy,” Grady said, smiling. “I ate all of mine.”

“Son, you’ll eat the paper boat a hot dog comes in at a Detroit Tigers game if no one is watching you,” Peter said. “I wouldn’t brag about that. Now, where was I?”

“David didn’t want to rule his kingdom,” Ally prodded.

“Thank you, my dear,” Peter said, smiling. “Tonight you’re my favorite.”

“Hey!” Sophie was affronted.

“Behind you, of course,” Peter said, patting her hand. “Your place on top of the list is secured forever.”

“That’s more like it,” Sophie said, dumping her own oysters on the passing plate before it landed in front of Peter. “What? I don’t like them either. I just never had the heart to tell you.”

“Yes, and you hid it so well when you made Sven eat them when you thought I wasn’t looking,” Peter said.

“Oh. I didn’t realize you knew that.”

“I know and see all, Sophie,” Peter said, shaking his head. “I can never eat dinner with you people again, by the way. It makes me feel old. Back to David, though. He never really came out and said it, but he wasn’t interested in the family business. His big problem was that he never went to college so he had no other life options. It was always assumed he would take over the business, so that’s what he did.”

“It must’ve been tough on him,” James said. “It sounds as if he didn’t have the constitution to do what his father wanted him to do.”

“That’s pretty much true, and when I started in the business I took a few territories over that used to fall under the Barber purview,” Peter said. “I expected trouble – I was ready for trouble – but it never came. David didn’t even bring it up.

“He married Stella Parker when he was in his earlier twenties,” he continued. “It was a love match. His father was behind it simply because of her money. He balked at the prenuptial agreement, but David signed it without complaint. David loved Stella and she loved him.”

“How did that work, though?” Grady asked. “Stella wasn’t in the business, right?”

“Far from it,” Peter said. “She wanted nothing to do with the business. She was never at risk, though, because we managed to hammer out certain agreements with one another. Family was off limits. Sure, certain upstarts tried to move in on us, but when that happened we worked in tandem to snuff out the problem. We never tangled with one another, even though the occasional business deal did go wrong.”

“So Stella died and David was a wreck,” James said. “Owen ended up with a fortune, but he couldn’t touch it until he was twenty-five. That’s what David said, right?”

Peter nodded. “I think if David had his druthers he would’ve left the business before Stella died,” he said. “He couldn’t do that without risking his life, though, so he stayed. After Stella died he continued doing what he was supposed to do, but his heart was never in it. It seems young Owen’s heart was never in it either, and the fact that he took his mother’s name when he changed his identity is telling.”

“David did for Owen what his own father didn’t do for him,” Emma surmised. “He gave him a way out.”

“I think it probably hurt that Owen cut ties with him, but that’s exactly what David did,” Peter confirmed.

“He was a good father,” Emma said. “He did the right thing by his child even though it tore him apart.”

“Yes, I think that’s a good way to look at it,” Peter said. “After Stella died, David became something of a womanizer, as I told you. It seems Sheila Archibald was merely one notch on his bedpost. There’s a rumor that he even had a vasectomy to make sure none of the women flitting in and out of his life could trap him with an unwanted pregnancy.”

“Sheila said that Owen bragged about the treasure his mother left him,” James said. “I obviously only met him the one time, but that doesn’t sound like the man I met.”

“Keep in mind that Sheila is a user and manipulator and doesn’t see people as they really are,” Peter said. “Owen probably confided in Sheila that his mother left him a key. My guess is David always intended to find the other key for his son and somehow it fell through the cracks, which allowed the key to go missing. In Owen’s young mind the idea of treasure was probably just as exciting as whatever was really in that box.”

“Owen carried around the key and never had the box drilled,” James said. “I wonder why. He had to be curious.”

“Peter just answered that question,” Mandy said. “Owen didn’t open it because his mother left him treasure. The knowledge of her final gift was probably enough to sustain him for a long while. He probably meant to get to the box eventually but ran out of time. I know if I had a final gift from my father, I would be terrified to open it but love it all the same.”