“Mrs. Avery, I happen to know for a fact that there is a drug operation functioning under the auspices of the restaurant. You can’t deny it.”
Mrs. Avery’s blue eyes locked on mine. They seemed cold in a way I hadn’t noticed before. “I won’t have this kind of talk in my house.”
“All right, I’ll leave,” I said, gathering up my things.
“Have you gone to the police?” she asked.
“Not yet,” I said.
“Why not?” she challenged.
“I wanted to talk to you first.”
Her lips puckered. “Thank you for that. I didn’t have any knowledge of this drug business, Kate. In fact, if what you say is true, I’m shutting the businesses down myself. I won’t have it. I’m not that type of person. I would have thought you’d have known better by now.” She got up from the couch, nearly knocking over the tea service. “I don’t deal in drugs. My family doesn’t deal in drugs.” Her anger was building. Her voice cracked as she tried to restrain herself and she nearly spat out, “My family is very respected in the San Francisco community and the nation at large.”
“That may be,” I acknowledged. “I may be totally wrong. All I know is that drugs have been going out of El Paraiso and Heavenly Haight and somebody
Mrs. Avery froze. She turned on her heel and grabbed the phone from the den. “Well, we’re going to call Rich right now and straighten this out. I won’t have you thinking I’m some sort of common criminal, bandying about accusations and slandering my family name.”
She dialed a number into the cordless phone and spoke quietly into it. “Rich assured me he’s on his way,” she said.
I sat, defeated, and put my head into my hands. “How long will it take him to get here?”
Mrs. Avery pulled the glasses off her face, then served herself and me tea from the beautiful silver server that Marta had brought in. “He should be here shortly. Fifteen minutes at the most.”
I remember the glasses found at Michelle’s house.
“Mrs. Avery? How long have you worn reading glasses?” I asked.
“Thirty years now, dear. Why? Are you starting to have to push things further out to read them?”
God. Did I look that old? I had to get some sleep!
I smiled tightly. “No. Not yet.”
After about ten minutes of waiting, Rich’s car finally screeched onto Mrs. Avery’s driveway. A moment later Marta entered and announced Rich’s arrival. He came into the room and immediately approached Mrs. Avery, kissing her cheeks. He acknowledged me with a nod and a curt hello.
Mrs. Avery gestured toward the sofa. “Sit, Rich. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”
Rich smiled. “What can I do for you ladies?”
“I think you have a few things to explain. Show him the paperwork, Kate.”
I pushed the reports toward Rich. “Here’s a ledger for El Paraiso showing a loss. It’s dated July. And here’s a ledger for El Paraiso for the same month, showing a profit.”
Rich nodded and said, “Hmmm. That’s odd.” He sucked on his teeth for a moment, then finally asked, “Where did you get these?”
I leveled a glare at him. “I know you’re laundering money through the shop on Haight as well.”
He shook his head from side to side, putting his ear to one shoulder then the other, and jiggling his legs up and down. He looked at Mrs. Avery. “Uh, what would you like me to say, Gloria?”
Mrs. Avery frowned. “Is it true?”
“That we’re dealing drugs out of El Paraiso?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Avery said.
He looked from Mrs. Avery to me, then back to Mrs. Avery. “Yes, it true.”
Mrs. Avery paled as though she’d seen a ghost. Then as quickly as the color had drained, it returned, turning her face red with fury. “How can you do this? How can you do this to Bradley’s memory?”
“Well, Brad was the one who started the whole business, Gloria. I’m surprised you didn’t know.”
“How would I know such a thing?” Mrs. Avery demanded.
“This city is very competitive in regards to restaurants. I mean, you didn’t really think we were turning a profit selling hamburgers and frittatas, did you?”
Mrs. Avery looked stunned. I felt sorry for her. She really had had no idea.
She reached for the phone and dialed 9-1-1.
•CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR•
When I got home, Jim was searching the Internet for job opportunities. I asked him to give Laurie a bottle while I slept. I napped two hours and woke feeling semirefreshed to a ringing phone. Would I ever wake up feeling that I’d gotten enough sleep ever again in my life?
Jim hovered over me. “Are you awake?”
“Sort of.”
“It’s Galigani.”
I grabbed the phone.
“Congrats, kid. I heard you’re responsible for a drug bust.”
Galigani tsked. “You are not responsible for other people’s actions. Only your own. As for your brother-in-law, he committed a felony. He’s old enough to commit the crime, he’s old enough to do the time. Which we hope will go a long way toward making him a better father.”
“I hope you’re right.” I worried about Kiku and the new baby being all alone. I’d have to find a way to help her. After a moment, I said, “What about Jennifer, do you think she really did it?”
“Why not? The cops think so.”
“But she was released and now she’s pointing to Mrs. Avery.”
Galigani guffawed. “Mrs. Avery? Hell, is she reaching or what? Look, Jennifer Miller was released on a technicality. Not enough evidence for the DA to prosecute doesn’t mean ‘not guilty.’ McNearny will keep digging until he finds something the DA likes. As for you, you don’t work for the DA, so it doesn’t matter what he says. You just need to satisfy your client.”
“Something’s not right. I just don’t know what it is.”
“That happens. What I do when I’m stuck is go over all my notes again. Just read everything in your notebook and think. Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, but you can’t see the forest for the trees. It helps to get a little rest and not think about anything for a while.”
I snorted.
Galigani laughed. “How’s the baby?”
That evening I followed Galigani’s advice and tuned everything out. Jim and I watched a football game and carved pumpkins. I read every single line I’d written in my notebook and reread Galigani’s book for good measure.
Feeling no closer to solving the case, I reviewed my to-do list.
To-Do List:
1. Help Jim find a job.
2. ?
