Diamond in the Rough

Vito was clearly doing very well. I knew he had some kind of career in finance, but had no details beyond that - however, the address I found for him and Carol was an impressive house on the edge of the city. I wouldn't be surprised if my entire apartment fit inside one of the bathrooms, or at least the kitchen. I'd expected them to have staff to handle mundane tasks, like getting groceries, cooking, cleaning, wiping their backsides and answering doors, so was surprised to see Carol herself respond to my knock. Even nearly eight years after the last time I saw her, she could still take my breath away. She had apparently been exercising - she wore a gray leotard that left her fantastic legs (always her best feature) bare. Her light brown hair showed hints of blonde highlights now but was tied back in a ponytail; hard to tell but it seemed shorter than I remembered. She had on little or no makeup, and her eyes seemed a bit raw, as if she had been fighting back tears.

“Jack!” She exclaimed, and stood there for a moment, clearly confused about something.

“Hi Carol. I regret to inform…”

“I just got off the phone with Dominic,” she interrupted. “I... I know about my sister. Would you like to come in? Could throw on a pot of coffee?”

I smiled sadly. “I can't stay too long but can talk for a bit.”

“Vito is on his way home, maybe half an hour at most. Sit with me until then?”. She asked, almost pleading.

“Of course. Look, I hate to have to do this, but it is kind of my job. Were you home all night last night?”

She pointed at a chair she expected me to take and headed off to where I presume the kitchen was. She froze as I asked that, and then turned to face me. “We came home from a fundraiser for Vito's niece - she’s running for city council - at about one AM. I was exhausted and went up to bed, I guess I fell asleep almost immediately. Woke up a bit after six and Vito was there beside me. That's all I know. That help you any?”

“I hope so. I hate to think either of you would be involved but my job is to cover all bases.”

“I understand,” she said, sadly. “Did you want that coffee?”

“A water would be good,” I answered.

“Even easier,” she said, walking out of the room. From the other room she continued, “I never liked having people wait on me, so we only have a cleaning staff and a chef who comes in two to three nights a week, otherwise I just ramble around this house, pretty much alone. Despite the circumstances, it is nice seeing you again, Jack.”

She returned with a mug of something in one hand, a cup of water in the other, and set the cup down on a table beside the chair I was leaning against, and then she plunked herself down on the couch beside it, sitting on top of one leg with the other still on the floor, as I remembered her doing a lot when we were younger.

She took a sip of whatever was in the mug, and I sat down in the chair. “You don’t think that Vito or I were involved…”

“All I know is a sweet kid is dead, in the messiest way I have ever seen. Beyond that, ¹we're waiting on crime lab results and interviews to start piecing things together.”

She considered this, then nodded. “Well, I'm glad it was you who came to tell me and not some stranger, at least,” her smile was genuine, if understandably sad.

“When I recognized her, I felt I had a duty to be the one,” I replied.

I found it difficult to spend time alone with her. I wanted to take her in my arms and … well, and see where it would go from there. instead, I just sipped my water. “You seem to be doing well,” I managed to say.”

“We are. I have sold a few magazine articles and Vito’s job pays very well. You look good, a bit weather-beaten, but good,” she replied.

I laughed. “The weather has been giving me a beating since boot camp.”

We both heard the sound of a car pulling up outside, and sipped at our drinks in silence until Vito came in through the door.

Vito Mercotti was a large man, and one even I had to admit was quite good looking - dusky complexion, thick, wavy hair, piercing dark eyes, dressed in a suit that fit tightly enough to let the observer know a mound of muscle lay beneath it. Pretty sure he had a piece on as well, partially but not perfectly concealed in a shoulder holster, but I decided that was not my business, at least not yet. I rose to my feet as he entered, and Carol shifted position so that both of her long legs now touched the floor. Vito moved quickly to her side, kissed her forehead, and then turned to me. “And you are?”

“Detective Jack Diamond,” I informed him.

“Diamond - we had a few classes together in high school, right? Thought you looked familiar.” He replied.

I bit my tongue to keep myself from adding "that, and we dated the same girl” and just nodded,

Carol, however, was not one to leave the band-aid on a wound and said, “Jack and I dated before you and I hooked up, too, dear.”

“Ah, that Jack - I do not think you ever mentioned his family name. What brings you here, Detective? The mess at the restaurant?”

“So, you heard? Yeah, I'm the one stuck doing notifications today. Next up is the old man.”

“I assume that the old thing that used to be a Honda and is probably still barely drivable parked out there on the street is yours?”

I hated to admit that that was a pretty good description of my old Civic. “Yeah?” I replied inquisitively.

“Give me a few minutes with my wife and I'll drive you to where both of our dads are. If you go there in that car, it will be hauled off as trash the moment you take your eyes off of it.”

I immediately knew what part of town he was talking about and nodded sadly. “I'ill just step outside and have a smoke then,” I replied.

“Just make sure to put it out before you get in my car. Secondhand smoke is worse than direct stuff,” he warned. I nodded and headed out to their porch.

“Despite the circumstances, it was nice seeing you again, Jack,” Carol called out to me.

“Same back at you, Carol,” I replied, and then the massive oak door shut behind me.

I lit a match; I'm kind of old school that way. As I did so, I noticed a large crack on one of the marble lions and let out a small chuckle. Even the rich had cracks in the walls, so to speak. Not as big as the cracks in the actual walls at my apartment but still…

Then I noticed something on the porch, bent down, and saw what looked like almost dried blood. There was a splotch right where I was standing and another on the walk up. I took out two collection bags and my pocketknife and collected what I could of each, then leaned against one of the four pillars holding up the roof of their porch to finish my cigarette. Fortunately, there was an old ashtray nearby and I tossed the butt into it just as Vito stepped out.

“You ready to beard the lions in their den?” He asked.

“So, both your dad and hers are together then?” I asked.

“If not, they will be soon. Some kind of big meeting today. One they won't even tell me what it's about until I get there.”

“Look, I hate to do this, but where were you between ten PM and midnight last night?”

“So, am I a suspect now?” he asked, one eyebrow cocked.

I let out a dry laugh. “Until we get some solid leads, everyone is a suspect. Hell, as I live only four blocks from the crime scene and my TV and the bottle of bourbon I polished off watching it last night are not very talkative, I'm a suspect.”

He nodded. “After we got home from a fundraiser, I was here with Carol until Dad called at ten thirty or maybe eleven. Spent fifteen minutes getting to his house, helped him with some paperwork for an hour, and drove home to find Carol sound asleep. Dad can back me up for most of that when we see him. Now, come, we're taking the Lambo.”

A Lamborghini? My, he was doing well. I would have been almost as impressed by the Mercedes. Or the vintage Cadillac. I slid into the passenger’s seat and it felt like I was being hugged by a high priced prostitute. “A guy could get used to this,” I said, putting on my seat belt.

He smiled. “And now you know why I drive it every chance I get. You mind if I break a few speed laws?” He asked.

“I promise to not even look at the speedometer unless you get into an accident,” I replied with a dry chuckle.

He just nodded and then we took off like a rocket.