“Twenty bucks?” I said. “I paid a hundred.”
“There’s a sucker born every minute,” Scarlet said. “What’s the plan. Dinner? Drinks? Dancing? I learned how to floss and I want to give it a try.”
“I need to call Nick and fill him in,” I said. “I’m uneasy knowing Vince was here, especially if Angelica is being followed. Whoever was trailing her could’ve latched on to Vince.”
“And I’ll call Savage and see what he can find out about whoever visited Carmen in prison,” Kate said. “And I can get him to start doing a trace on his cell phone to see what tower was pinged last.”
“Y’all can do all that at dinner,” Scarlet said. “I’m starving and I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing. If we eat in the hotel restaurant maybe you can see if anyone recognizes Vince. I thought you said he met Angelica here.”
“Good idea,” I said. I looked down at the three of us, Kate in red, me in yellow, and Scarlet in tangerine, and thought we looked like we belonged on top of Carmen Miranda’s head. Kate must’ve had the same thought because she just closed her eyes and shook her head.
“Whatever happens on this night,” Kate said. “Please don’t take any pictures.”
I smiled tightly and I ushered Scarlet toward the dining room. It was at the front of the hotel on the first level, and it overlooked the beach.
I didn’t actually have a picture of Vince by himself, so I texted my mother and asked if she could send me one. This, of course, led to a couple thousand texts of her asking me if I’d found out anything.
The waiter seated us out on the balcony in a dark corner, but Scarlet wasn’t having any of that.
“No, young man,” she said. “We’ll take that table right there. I can’t read the menu in the dark. Besides, I like how my earrings sparkle under this light.”
The maître d’ took it in stride and seated us directly in the center of the balcony, under a cacophony of twinkle lights, that did, indeed, make Scarlet’s earrings look like disco balls.
“At least it’s quiet out here,” Kate said.
“Order me something to drink and something that involves a lot of cheese for an appetizer,” I told Scarlet. “I’m going to call Nick.” I saw the gleeful look in her eye and figured it was worth a reminder. “Nothing alcoholic to drink for me.”
“People used to drink all the time when they were pregnant back in the old days, and it never hurt anybody. That was a generation that went off to war and knew how to defend their liberty. Women stopped drinking and now look what we’ve got—stunted men in suspenders with beards who drink coffee all day and watch porn because they don’t know how to flirt with women in real life. I say it’s time to take a stand and bring back the greatest generation.”
“Maybe you should write a letter to your congressman,” I told her. “They love to get suggestions.”
“Good idea,” she said.
I walked over to the railing and looked out over the dark ocean. The waves crashed gently, and I inhaled the scent of salt and sea as I dialed Nick and waited for him to answer.
“How’s Miami?” he asked when he answered.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Scarlet’s dressed like Elton John and I got kidnapped and taken for tacos. And Scarlet is trying to get me to drink so we’ll give birth to the next greatest generation.”
“Maybe you should stay away from Scarlet,” Nick said. “Do I want to ask about the kidnapping?”
“Probably not,” I said. “But guess who Angelica is.”
“I’m on pins and needles,” he said.
“Valentina de Salva.”
“You’re joking,” Nick said. “She died in an explosion twenty years ago.”
“Nope, she’s the one who flipped on her husband and sons and sent them to prison. In exchange, she got WITSEC and a face-lift. Vince and Dad worked that case with the federal task force.”
“This is not good,” Nick said. “Vince shouldn’t be involved with anyone from WITSEC. Why would he do that?”
“Angelica said she didn’t trust her FBI contact, so she’s kept contact with Vince and Dad all these years. I know Vince was looking into the case. I found a file folder in Dad’s shed with all his case notes and more of a journal as he worked the case. Not anything formal.”
“You only found one folder?” he asked.
“Yeah, in the top drawer of his file cabinet. I followed the dust trail and saw that’s where Vince had been poking around.”
“I can promise you he’s got more than one file folder,” Nick said. “He and Charlie worked on that case for two years. He should have closets of files.”
“Or a storage locker?” I asked.
“Or a storage locker,” Nick said. “Did you find a storage locker?”
“Scarlet did,” I said. “I think I found the key to the lock with the de Salva file.”
“I’ve got an uneasy feeling about this,” Nick said. “It all feels wrong. Vince shouldn’t be involved with a woman who got immunity and a free pass for the crimes she committed along with her husband. She’s a murderer. So don’t let her take you for tacos again. I need some Tums.”
I swallowed and felt lightheaded. I could have used a couple of Tums myself. “She’s a murderer? But she seemed nice. Crazy,” I said. “But nice.”
“Just be careful,” he said. “And stay in contact.”
“Kate’s talking to Savage to see if he can get a ping from Vince’s cell phone. We know he made it back home after he met with Angelica because Edna next door saw him leaving three days ago. He said he was going fishing.”
Nick snorted. “Yeah, right,” he said. “It sounds like your work in Miami is done. I’ll
