Besides, I had tonight to worry about. Ramos hadn’t told me much about the meeting at the health-and-nutrition store, but I had to believe that they’d set up a meeting with one of the buyers to sell them drugs, and whoever it was could have killed Tommy.
It made me a little nervous that I’d be part of a drug deal. But if there weren’t real drugs involved, it shouldn’t be that big of a risk, right? Maybe I should have gone inside with Dimples, just to see if Bates had found the owner of the BMW.
What if Bates had found the kid? And what if they were making a deal with him to catch the ring leader of the drug operation? The kid would be wired and come into the store ready to make a deal that would expose Uncle Joey’s organization. Only, instead, he’d find me, and Ramos… and probably Aaron, the store manager. If Vinny showed up with a bunch of drugs to sell… yeah… that would be bad.
But… I’d know before he even said a word, so I shouldn’t be so worried, right? I’d make sure nothing bad happened because I was awesome like that, and it would all work out. No one, especially not me, was going to jail for selling drugs. I’d make sure of it.
As much as looking on the positive side helped, it still didn’t get rid of the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
CHAPTER 10
I walked in the door, ready for a furry body to come rushing to greet me. As I set down my purse and car keys for the onslaught, nothing happened, and disappointment flowed over me. Where was Coco? Where were my kids?
Hearing a bark from the backyard, I hurried to the patio doors and stepped outside onto the deck. Savannah sat on the porch swing with Josh’s friend Chloe, both watching Josh and Coco play with the Frisbee.
“Hey mom,” Savannah called. Chloe sent me a wave, and I joined them on the swing, asking Chloe how her summer had been so far.
“I guess nothing like you guys,” she said, thinking about the story Savannah had told her. It was amazing I was still alive after a mob boss had put a hit on me. How did I do it? It almost sounded like Savannah had exaggerated most of it, because… how could one person get into so much trouble?
I frowned. Not her, too. “Uh yeah… there were a few intense moments, but I hope she told you about all the good stuff.”
Chloe nodded, thinking about Savannah’s huge crush on Miguel. But she knew Savannah would kill her if she mentioned that little confession that Savannah was in love with him, so she just smiled and nodded.
What? She loved Miguel? I mean… sure she had a crush… but love? What the freak? I swallowed a few times to calm down. She was only thirteen, so it was probably just a passing thing. Nothing to worry about, right?
Chloe blinked, wondering why my eyes had widened in panic. “Uh… yeah she did. It sounded like you had a great time.” Since Savannah was staring daggers at her, and I looked like I might faint, she changed the subject. “I love your dog. Josh told me all about him. It’s crazy to think his owner was murdered.”
“I know, right?” Grateful for the change of subject, I continued. “It’s pretty sad, but I’m glad Coco’s with us now.”
“How’s the investigation going?” Savannah asked. She was eager to steer the conversation as far away from Miguel and New York as possible, and questioned why she’d ever confided in Chloe at all. It was dangerous around me, because I seemed to have a sixth sense about things, and she didn’t want me to know how deep her feelings went.
“Uh… well, I made some progress today.”
Coco bounded over to greet me before getting a drink of water from a bucket Josh had filled. Josh sat on the lawn in the shade beside us, and Coco sat beside him, so I told them about my meeting with Lance Hobbs and his dog, Scout. “He said Coco was an amazing search-and-rescue dog, and he asked if I had any desire to work with him. He even offered to train me.”
“Really? That’s cool,” Josh said, thinking that it made sense to continue with the search-and-rescue team if Coco was that good. “Would you like that, buddy?” Josh ruffled Coco’s head, and he barked yup.
I smiled. “I think he said yes.”
Josh grinned down at Coco, wondering if that was something he and Coco could do together. He might like that. But was he old enough? He may be fifteen now, but he was turning sixteen in the fall. If he could drive, he should be able to join the search-and-rescue team.
“I haven’t decided what to do yet, but I know Lance would be happy about it. Josh, would you like to train with me? Maybe we could both learn, and then, once you’re old enough, you could do some on your own.”
“Really? Yeah. I’d like that.” Josh’s eyes lit up with excitement. “We could train this summer before school starts. I’ve got lots of time.”
“Okay. I’ll call Lance and check it out.”
I caught a whiff of jealousy from Chloe, but she thought it was a cool thing for Josh to do, especially with Coco already trained. Savannah didn’t care one way or the other, so at least that meant no bickering between them. I’d take that any time.
Josh’s stomach growled, and he thought he might be starving to death. Before he could ask me what we were having for dinner, I spoke up. “I’m thinking pizza for dinner. What kind do you guys want?”
Josh glanced at me suspiciously. Was this what Dad had meant last night? Had I read his mind, or was it just my premonitions? It could be
