Deep In Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure Read online

  I was saved from answering by the phone ringing. Jackie dove for it and I held my breath as she answered. I knew from her thoughts that it wasn’t Uncle Joey or Ramos, and my shoulders sagged. She hung up and explained it was Ricky. Then the phone began to ring again. This time it was David Berardini saying that he and his wife were coming right over.

  Jackie sighed and flopped onto the couch, drained and exhausted. “I guess the news is out. Everyone’s coming over to wait for word.”

  “Yeah? That’s good. It means you won’t be alone.” At her stricken expression, I quickly continued. “While you wait for Uncle Joey to call. Which I’m sure he’ll be doing any time now.” Jackie stared at me with disbelief in her eyes. She wondered if I was the real deal or not? Just then it sure didn’t sound like it.

  “Can I get you anything?” I asked. “Like a drink or something to eat?”

  “Yes,” she said, nodding absently. “I think some wine would be good. It’s in the kitchen.”

  “Great. I’ll be right back.” I hurried out, glad for something useful to do that would hopefully take her mind off me. I found the kitchen without too much trouble, and after checking the cupboards, found a bottle of Cabernet and poured a generous amount into a glass. By the time I returned, David, his wife, their son Nick, and Ricky had all arrived.

  Jackie gratefully took the wine and almost drained the glass. She was thinking she could have used something stronger, but needed to keep her wits about her when Joe called. I perked up to hear that. At least she was being positive.

  “You all need to know,” Jackie announced. “That Shelby said Joe was going to be fine.” She glanced at me and smiled. “So even though things look bad, there’s nothing to worry about. You all know how much Joe trusts Shelby.”

  They all turned their gazes to me. Everyone but David’s wife comprehended that Jackie was talking about my premonitions, and their relief hit me like a tidal wave. I managed a weak smile and a nod, but they still waited for me to say something.

  I swallowed, hoping I could phrase my response so that it didn’t sound like I was lying through my teeth. “That’s right, and you know Uncle Joey. He’s been in lots worse situations before and he always manages to come out of them just fine. This is no different. In fact, he knew the Passinis were planning something, so I’m sure he was ready for it.”

  “Shelby’s right,” Ricky added. “We have to believe in the boss.”

  That seemed to break the tension and everyone began asking questions at once. Nick came to my side, his brows drawn low and his gaze hard. We’d spent some time together in Orlando, and he’d seen me win a poker match with my premonitions. Still, he was a little skeptical. “So…is this another one of your premonitions? Or are you just saying this to help Jackie.” He’d seen my hesitation and shifty eyes. That meant I was probably lying.

  “Listen Nick,” I whispered. “I’m doing my best here. I’m just as shook up as the rest of you. All I know is I have a feeling it will be all right, and I’m going with it. If I’m wrong, we’ll know soon enough, but I sure hope not.”

  His lips twisted, but he accepted my explanation with a short nod. “Good to know.”

  The shrill tone of the phone ringing froze everyone in their places. With all eyes focused on Jackie, she quickly answered, then held out her arm toward David, who reached out to steady her.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. There was a long pause before she spoke, but from her thoughts, I knew it was Kate and the news wasn’t good. “Yes. I think that’s a good idea. Shelby? Well, she’s here…” Jackie glanced at me while she continued to listen. “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll call you when I have the information.”

  She lowered the phone and leaned against David, who helped her to a chair. After sitting, she took deep breaths to compose herself, then closing her eyes, she began. “That was Kate. They’re still searching the area, and they’ve rescued a few people, but right now Joe and Ramos are officially missing.” She glanced at me, struggling to hold back the tears that filled her eyes. “She wants me to get on the next flight out, and she wants Shelby to come with me.”

  Now everyone turned their gazes to me. “Uh…me? Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I don’t know why, but she said it was important that you be there. Will you come?”

  I nodded. “Um…sure. Of course.”

  Jackie closed her eyes and sighed. “Good. Thank you Shelby.”

  “I’ll check the flights and book them,” David offered, taking out his phone.

  “Thanks.” Jackie wiped the tears from her cheeks. “While you do that, I need to call Miguel. He needs to know what’s happening, and I don’t want him to hear this from anyone else.”

  She went into Uncle Joey’s office for privacy and I sat down on the couch. I knew Kate wanted me there because I could figure out what had happened by listening to Julia or Jon. I wasn’t sure how that was supposed to help, since we already figured that they’d planned the whole thing. Still, it would be nice to know what was going on. I still couldn’t believe that Uncle Joey and Ramos were dead…I just couldn’t, but if I found out the Passinis had done something to make sure Uncle Joey and Ramos didn’t survive, I might want to shoot them myself.

  “Okay…you’re all booked,” David said. “I’ve got you on the eight-twenty flight to Seattle. Ricky will pick you up at six-thirty.”

  “Okay. I’d better go home and get packed. Tell Jackie I’ll see her in the morning.”

  It was nearly midnight when I pulled the car into the garage, and I hoped Chris wasn’t too upset with me that I hadn’t called. Then I realized that if he’d gone with Uncle Joey, he could be dead or missing too. I found him sound asleep in bed. The bedside lamp was on and his hair was tousled with his face half turned into the pillow. He must have sensed me watching because he stirred, moving his arm and flopping to his back. His eyes fluttered open and he glanced at me in confusion.

  “What time is it?” he asked.

  I threw myself into his arms. “Oh Chris! You’ll never believe what’s happened.”

  The breath whooshed out of him and he made a strangled sound. “You’re…cho..king…me.”

  I loosened my arms and rolled off his stomach onto my side of the bed. He grunted, and with blinking eyes, pushed himself into a sitting position. As soon as he was settled, I flung my arms around his waist and laid my head against the crook of his neck.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, pulling me tight.

  “Uncle Joey and Ramos are missing….and they might be dead.” As I told him how I’d found out from Billie that the yacht they were on had blown up, and how Jackie had called minutes later to ask me to come over, tears filled my eyes, and my voice shook. I blinked them away, hoping Chris wouldn’t notice how upset I was. “I think the Passinis must have planned the whole thing.”

  “But what did Jackie want?” Chris asked.

  “I guess Uncle Joey told her I had premonitions, so she wanted to know if he was still alive.”

  “Damn…so what did you tell her?”

  “I basically told her they were both alive.” I sniffed and wiped my nose with a tissue.

  Chris frowned and twisted his lips, thinking that was a dumb thing to do.

  “I know, but you would have done the same thing, so don’t judge me too harshly.”

  “I didn’t…” He sighed, knowing he couldn’t lie to me. He also knew that now wasn’t the time to get upset with me for listening to his thoughts. “Okay…maybe you’re right.” He brushed my forehead with a kiss. “But this whole thing…it’s crazy. I wonder what really happened.”

  “Yeah. It was kind of a shock. It also made me realize you could have been there. You could have gotten blown up!” I hugged him tighter. He winced, and I immediately loosened my hold.

  “I didn’t though…” he said. “I’m fine.” He was thinking I could have been there just as easily…I could have been the one getting blown up.

  “But that’s the thing,” I said. “M
aybe if I’d been there I could have saved them. I would have known what the plan was and stopped all those people from getting killed.” Hot remorse washed over me. I should have gone with Uncle Joey.

  “No, don’t think like that,” Chris said. “If the Passinis planned to blow up the boat, you couldn’t have stopped them. And don’t think for one minute you’re responsible for anyone’s death. It had nothing to do with you. Nothing at all.”

  “Maybe,” I said, not convinced. “Do you think they’re really dead?”

  “I don’t know,” he answered, careful to keep his thoughts neutral…even if this was good news. “I’m confused. You said Kate called first. What happened to her? Wasn’t she on the boat too?”

  He’d been thinking it was good news for us if Uncle Joey was dead, and it kind of made me feel bad. “I don’t know…I think so.”

  “Since Kate got off, do you think she was in on it?” he asked.

  “Not really, but I have no idea. Who knows what Kate is capable of? But don’t forget that Alec Passini is in love with her. If he was in on the plans, he probably made sure she got off okay. I don’t think Alec would have left her to die, no matter how much his mom and brother might have wanted it.”

  “Then maybe the explosion really was an accident.”

  “Maybe…but I doubt it. Jon Passini hated Uncle Joey and planned to take him out. I just didn’t know how he was going to do it. Uncle Joey must have signed the merger and that was all they needed to kill him off.”

  “Are you sure the Passinis got out alive? That would tell you whether it was an accident or not.”

  “Hmm…I think Kate would have said, but I don’t know for sure. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “Yeah. It should be on the news in the morning.”

  “Well…actually…” I hesitated, hoping Chris would understand, but not holding my breath. “Jackie asked me to fly to Seattle with her in the morning and I said yes.” He stilled, a little shocked, and opened his mouth to object. I cut him off. “I have to go. I told her I would, and I’m already booked on the eight-twenty flight with her.”

  “Why did you do that? Especially since Manetto didn’t want you to go in the first place.”

  “Jackie needs me…and Kate asked if I’d come.”

  Chris let out a deep sigh. “So you’re going to get involved in this mess? What if it puts you in danger? Have you considered that?”

  “Yes, but I don’t think it will be dangerous, and I want to help if I can. I want to know what happened, and I want to know if they’re really dead. Because some part of me would feel really bad…and I know you think it’s great…but I don’t, and this is…this is really hard for me.” The tears I’d been holding back ran down my cheeks. “Please try and understand.” I sniffed, and Chris reached for a fresh tissue.

  “Here.” He handed it to me and closed his eyes in resignation. “When will you be back?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m sure it won’t be long.”

  He was thinking that I’d said the same thing when I’d stayed in Orlando, and that little escapade had ended up lasting more than a week, never mind that I’d nearly died. Now I was doing it again. How was he supposed to feel good about that?

  “I’m sorry, honey, but it’s something I have to do. Don’t worry. This is different. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “You say that now,” he answered. “But the truth is…you don’t know. You don’t know what Kate has planned. You don’t know if the Passinis are done with their schemes, and you don’t know what’s happened to Manetto and Ramos. There are too many things that could go wrong, and it drives me nuts with worry.”

  “Well…if it makes you feel better, I think I’ll be safer there than here.” Looking at it that way, now was probably the best time to tell him about my visit to Marketing Solutions.

  Now Chris was really confused. “Huh?”

  “Remember my appointment with Sean Hanley at Marketing Solutions this morning?” He nodded, so I continued. “Well, after talking with him I found out that he’s the guy. I think he killed Darcy Shaw and a few other women as well.”

  “What? That’s huge. It means you’ve solved the case. I guess the hard thing will be proving it.”

  “Yeah. But that’s not the worst part…” I fidgeted with the blanket, not wanting to look Chris in the eyes. He picked up on my reticence and was wondering what I had done this time.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” I began. “But since I fit the bill and his other target moved, well…he’s probably coming after me now.”

  “What the hell!” Chris said, jerking upright and turning to catch my gaze. “You’re his next victim?”

  “Looks that way. It kind of freaked me out to be honest, but at least by going to Seattle for a few days, I won’t have to worry about him killing me, right?”

  Chris couldn’t speak. Besides a few swear words, all kinds of thoughts were going through his head, mostly about how I couldn’t even stay out of trouble when Manetto wasn’t involved. How in the world did I do it, and how was I going to get out of it this time, and what the hell!

  “Chris! That’s not helping.”

  His shoulders sagged and he sighed. “Oh Shelby…what am I going to do with you?”

  ***

  I woke at five-thirty the next morning and could hardly open my eyes. After grabbing a quick shower and pulling on my clothes, I packed my carry-on case with everything I thought I might need for a couple of days. By six-twenty, I was ready to go, but I couldn’t leave without telling Savannah and Josh goodbye. They weren’t happy when I woke them up, but let it go when they found out I was leaving for Seattle. I told them it was sudden, but I hoped to be back sometime in the next few days.

  I gave Chris a long kiss. “I’ll call when I get there. And thanks again for checking out Sean Hanley while I’m gone.”

  “Sure. As long as you call Harris as soon as you get back and let him know.”

  “I will.”

  After another kiss, I headed out to the waiting limo. Ricky drove, and Jackie sat in the back. The other passenger surprised me. “Nick? What are you doing here?”

  “My father didn’t want you two going alone, so I’m your back-up.”

  “Oh.” For some reason, that helped relieve some of the nervous tension in my stomach. “Good. I’m glad you’re coming.”

  “I agree,” Jackie said. She didn’t look like she’d slept at all, but there was deep anger lodged inside her heart that seemed to sustain her. She was determined to get to the bottom of this and take care of it just like her Joe would, and if the Passinis thought they could get away with murder, they were in for a rude awakening.

  “Did you hear anything more?” I asked.

  “No,” she answered. It was sounding more and more like Joe was gone, but until she had proof, she wouldn’t stop searching. Besides, if Joe thought it would be in his best interests to disappear for a while, he would. In the meantime, she wasn’t going to let the Passinis get away with it.

  I didn’t know exactly how she was going to do that, but I was grateful she wasn’t despondent or crying. She had a backbone of steel, and wasn’t afraid to fight for what she wanted. She’d even hired a hit-man to threaten me once, and stood up to Uncle Joey to boot. I almost looked forward to seeing her take the Passinis down.

  The plane landed in Seattle to overcast skies and a big chance of rain, totally fitting my somber mood. We took a taxi to the hotel where Uncle Joey and Ramos had been staying, and a small hope that they were hiding out in their rooms gave me hope. Jackie marched up to the clerk and told her she was Mrs. Joe Manetto and wanted the key to her husband’s room. The clerk stammered that she’d need to see some ID first, and Jackie pulled out her driver’s license and a credit card.

  As the clerk examined them, I glanced at Nick, my brows raised in surprise. They were married and I didn’t know? When did that happen? Nick shrugged, but his eyes were wide with surprise. This was news to him. Maybe Uncle Joey and Ja
ckie had kept it under wraps to protect her. Whatever the reason, it put a new spin on their relationship, but also made it uncomfortable to be there. I mean, how could I tell her congratulations, or I’m so happy for you, if he was gone.

  Once the clerk gave Jackie her key, she waited while Nick and I got checked in as well. Our rooms were on the same floor and across the hall from hers. We took our key cards and hurried to the elevator. On the way over, I caught a glimpse of the back of an older man with silver hair and my heart raced. Was that Uncle Joey? He turned his head and my elation fell. Nope. Not him.

  Jackie and Nick waited in the elevator for me, so I hurried to catch up. The doors opened on the fourth floor, and we eagerly stepped out, following Jackie to Uncle Joey’s room. I picked up that she was secretly hoping he would be there too, and this was all a ruse to trick the Passinis.

  With shaking fingers, she slid the card into the lock and pushed the door open.

  “Wait,” Nick said. He slipped into the room like a bodyguard checking for bombs. Not about to wait, Jackie breezed in right after him. She couldn’t let another minute to go by without knowing if Uncle Joey was there. I followed behind, hoping she was right, and noticed the room was neat and tidy.

  Nick came back from checking the bathroom, and Jackie opened the closet to find Uncle Joey’s suitcase and a few shirts hanging up. She opened the dresser drawers and found more articles of clothing, then slipped into the bathroom where his toothbrush and shaving supplies sat on the counter. With each discovery her mouth tightened and tears threatened to fall.

  “I’m going to put my things away in my room,” I said. “But I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Jackie nodded, grateful to have some time alone, and Nick and I left. My room was directly across the hall, with Nick’s next door. “Which room is Ramos’? I asked him.

  “That one next to Manetto’s.”

  “Too bad we can’t get in there, but I guess it wouldn’t be any different from Uncle Joey’s room.”