Triple Diamonds (Mystic Nights Book 2) (27 page)

“I’d like that,” she stated as he finished opening her door for her and she climbed in.

With a final message to her to not worry about them, Jewel rolled up her window and pulled out. But even through the glass, he could hear her yelling at her brothers. “If either of you so much as opens your mouth before we get home, I’m extending the punishment until graduation. If you think you’re going to . . .” Her voice trailed off and was drowned out by the sounds of traffic pulling into and out of the casino.

It wasn’t exactly how he had hoped his evening would end, but in retrospect, it had tested his fears and he had not jumped to any conclusions. He smiled to himself as he turned back towards
Mystic Nights
, knowing that he had overcome a big hurdle. One that had been holding him back for a long time. He was learning to have faith again. And it was because of Jewel.

*

Joseph was going
to take the elevator back up to his suite, when a flash of dirty blond hair tinged with grey caught his eyes. It was Senator Silver. Across the lobby, the man recognized him and waved. He switched directions and began to cross towards Joseph and met him half way.

“Senator, you’re still here,” he greeted the older man surprised to see him up so late as well.

The older man looked tired. But his eyes were bright. He seemed in good spirits. “Yes, a couple of the delegates decided to stay a few more days, and so since it’s my shindig, I stayed too. You never can tell what kind of support you will need down the road, and this is a big part of politics, networking.”

Joseph understood that since he had begun to campaign for the tribal seat. The elections was just a week away. “Well, I hope you’re getting to enjoy yourself while you’re here.”

Senator Silver smiled. “Oh, yes, yes. I always do when I come to
Mystic Nights
. Your mom has done a remarkable job with this place. As have all of you.” Joseph noticed the man quickly glance at his watch while he was speaking. He had been about to ask him if he wanted to have a drink.

But instead, he nodded towards him. “If I’m keeping you from something . . .”

“No. No, not at all.” The senator now gave him his full attention looking startled that Joseph had noticed his wayward glance. “Um, would you like to have a drink?” he asked.

He was surprised by the invitation since it seemed like the man had been heading somewhere, but he was glad for it. He always enjoyed his conversations with the Senator. “Sure,” Joseph answered enthusiastically. “
The Rainmaker
?” He suggested. “Eve is there and I’m sure she would love to say hello.”

The Senator’s smile was genuine. “Yes, of course. Just let me send a quick text to my aide, in case she’s looking for me.”

“Of course.” Joseph waited while the Senator sent a quick message on his iPhone. He saw the Senator smiling down when the phone pinged with a quick response. Joseph new that smile and wondered if the Senator and his pretty aide had more than just a working relationship. But he pushed that aside. Though the man deserved happiness, he knew the man was married though his wife had been in and out of institutions for over thirty years.

After Senator Silver slipped his phone into his pocket he gave Joseph his attention once more. “I’m all yours. Lead the way.”

When they arrived at
The Rainmaker
, Eve was conversing with the doorman heatedly. Probably giving him a talking to about not checking the IDs of their earlier guests more closely. But when she saw Joseph return with the Senator, she smiled broadly and left the doorman to greet them.

“Oh, Julee,” she crooned at the older man affectionately. It was her pet name for him. He winced when she said it, but accepted it none the less. “So nice to see you.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“You too dear,” he replied affectionately. “You always seem to be out and about when I’m in town.”

Shaking her long dark waves behind her shoulder and laughing, she replied. “All business. I assure you. Having a drink with Joseph?” she asked, her perfectly manicured eyebrows rising slightly. At his nod, she continued. “Well, let me give you a quiet table.” She began to lead them to an area near the bar that was more recessed from view of the entire night club.

The senator slid into his seat, and she slid right in next to him. Joseph took the seat across from them and a bartender appeared immediately. After they gave their drink orders, Eve was the first to speak. “How is your wife?”

News of his wife’s stroke had hit the air waves a couple months ago. Although they had never met the woman, they knew she had been sick for a very long time, and they always asked about her.

“Recovering,” he sighed, “Thankfully. It was a shock. She’s only fifty. But the doctors say she will pull through it.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear it,” Eve returned.

The senator smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. They knew the tragic story of his wife, and because he was as close to family as anyone, they felt the man’s pain. When the Senator and his wife were just young newlyweds, she had suffered a miscarriage and the woman had never emotionally recovered from it. In fact, she had been institutionalized on and off for post-partum depression ever since. She had attempted suicide on more than one occasion. It was a severe case. He hadn’t known when he had first met her, that she suffered from depression her whole life. But her dutiful husband had stood by her side throughout their thirty-one year marriage. He had done a lot of good work for the people of this state, and now the country in the area of mental health since his last three successful senatorial bids. He was a champion of the cause and someone who had lived through the worst of it. He was a popular man in the country.

They spent fifteen minutes catching up. Joseph filled him in on the new woman in his life, and Eve talked about her new night club that would be opening in five weeks. She had successfully managed to get a really big name to sign with her and perform there for the next three months.

The Senator also asked about Dawn, and Jonathan, and the new baby that was on the way. It was a good, but quick catch up session.

When the Senator made to leave ten minutes later, he was happy that he had the chance to catch up, with two of Tawny’s children. He always had enjoyed their company.

“Maybe you can come to the club opening. If you’re in town?” Eve suggested.

“I’ll try, but it’s not really my scene.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

Eve laughed. “Senator, you’re fifty-three. Not dead. Live a little. Plus, all of this wouldn’t have been possible without you,” she gestured around her. It was because of him that the Eastern Pequot tribe was finally recognized by the state and received First Nation status.

“Oh, I think your mother really deserves the credit there,” he laughed and tried to shrug off the praise. He accepted one more kiss from the leggy brunette that looked just like her mother except in stature. She was quite tall, not like the other Sassacus women. Probably got that from her father’s side of the family.

Joseph shook his hand one final time in parting. “It was good to see you, sir.”

“You too, son. You too,” and with that the man turned and left heading back to the lobby, and then upstairs to the suite he always booked while staying here.

Joseph turned to say good night to his sister.

She was watching the Senator still. “You know, it’s a shame he’s been alone all these years.” Eve’s voice took on a whimsical quality.

“I know,” he replied. They knew he was dedicated to his wife, but it had never been a real marriage, not for a long time, at least in his mind. “But, that man is honorable. Solid. I’m glad he is a family friend.”

“Me too,” Eve stated as she accepted the quick embrace from her brother. “Good night, Joseph. I need to get back to work. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow, Sis. Night.”

‡

F
irst thing in
the morning, the two investigators who had flown in from Tampa asked to meet with Tawny and Tom. It seemed that overnight Gio and Nikko Marino had some new information, and they also had a plan.

Joseph was in his mother’s office just before the two brothers arrived. He’d had a good morning with Lesley and Wesley at the youth center and he hoped that the Marinos had some good news concerning the investigation.

Joseph greeted the massive men at the door, and shook hands with both as he led them deeper into his mother’s office.

Greetings were done quickly and then Nikko, the younger of the two, got right down to business. “So, we have been doing some digging on Justin. And we’ve found out a lot more. We definitely feel he is involved. In fact we know it.” Joseph exchanged a look with his brother. Finally, they were getting a break.

“Fabulous. Let’s have him picked up.”

Gio winced. “It’s not that simple, Joseph. He’ll walk. Yes, the police will watch him, and he’ll probably stay clean for a while, but we have nothing concrete or admissible. Yet. The Intel we’ve gathered . . .” He paused looking for the right words, “well, it’s gathered in a way the courts are not fond of, shall we say.”

Tom spoke up seeing the concern on Tawny’s face. “You can trust these men, Mrs. Sassacus. We wanted answers, and we’ve got them. I’m sure Gio and Nikko have a plan.”

“We do,” Nikko looked at his brother before speaking. When he nodded for Nikko to explain, the younger man continued. “First let me tell you what we know. You already know about the money. All cash deposits, so we couldn’t trace that. We had to follow him, and use some special equipment to listen in to his phone conversations, and we have some high tech equipment that can get us audio and video through satellite detection software. Anyhow, that’s how we found out he was hanging out with a fellow named Eddie Bauer. Bauer is 22 and has quite the rap sheet already.” Nikko then rattled off some of the crimes committed by Eddie that included breaking and entering, drug dealing, and drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Gio then chimed in with more information. “We began to follow that lead last night. Eddie has kept his nose clean for about eight months, but his associations with another man peeked our interest. He used to deal for a gang leader who goes by the name of Willie Ramirez, but his real name is Willard Dominguez. He has other aliases as well, but suffice it to say, this guy is really bad news. He runs a gang out of Hartford, and Meriden, where he grew up. The MO used by Willie’s gang, they call themselves Iron Rush, is to use young street kids to commit crimes for them because they don’t go to jail long, and they entice the kids with parties, girls, booze, drugs, fake IDs. We followed Eddie last night after he left here to one of Willie’s haunts. Four other kids were there as well.”

Gio paused and Nikko picked up from there. “So we listened in, and it seems Eddie, because of his age doesn’t actually commit the crimes; he is now a lookout and a recruiter. Since Eddie is on the reserve, a local kid, he recruited Justin. He’s Justin’s cousin by the way. And we think Justin was trying to recruit the Diamante boys. But their clean. Good kids.”

Joseph was relieved to hear the PIs says that. But the fact this gang had their reach onto the reserve was something he didn’t like. Lots of youth were attracted to easy earnings and a gang lifestyle, especially for those who grew up in poverty and came from broken homes. Even though he had his mother and grandparents influencing him, he knew how easy it was to be enticed by your peers.

“So, you think these robberies are the work of this gang, Iron Rush? And the kids doing it are working for Dominguez.” That was Tom who spoke up.

Nikko and Gio both nodded.

Tawny cleared her voice and got everyone’s attention. “So how do we stop them if we can’t use the recording you have?”

The two brothers exchanged a look and smiled. Nikko looked Tawny in the eye before responding. “A good old fashion sting, Mrs. Sassacus.”

She looked perplexed so Gio piped in. “We let them know we have some big fish here at
Mystic Nights
, a big score, and we wait for them to come.”

Tawny was shaking her head. The thought of luring a gang to the hotel was out of the question. She had to consider her patrons and staff. “That would be too dangerous. No. Absolutely not.”