Deborah Fletcher Mello - Seduced By The Badge

In the other room, she dropped the plates into a sink filled with soapy water. She extended a pair of rubber gloves toward Danni and pointed her index finger. “Earn your keep, baby,” she said. She spun to the other side of the room and pulled a plastic container from an upper cabinet. She moved back to the counter and filled it with what was left in a pan of banana pudding.

Danni took a deep breath, shot Armstrong a look and then moved to wash the dishes that cluttered the sink.

Armstrong laughed, stopping when Miss Nanette slapped him in the chest with a drying towel. He sputtered as the two women both giggled heartily. Minutes later, with the dishes washed and dried, Miss Nanette handed him the container of dessert. In return, he pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his wallet and pressed it into the older woman’s palm. “So, do you know this Pius?”

“Alexander Balducci has a grandson. Paul Balducci. He’s been bad news since preschool. He’s coming up fast in the family business and fancies himself to be quite the kingpin. His mother used to call him her little priest. But that was wishful thinking on her part. In her mind, he was a good Catholic kid. The truth was his grandfather bailed him out every time he got into trouble—and he got into trouble a lot.”

“Do you know who he runs with?” Armstrong asked.

Miss Nanette shrugged. “If it helps, there’s a coffee shop on California Avenue that he and his associates are known to frequent,” she concluded. “They say he’s quite the Renaissance man. You might find him there.”

“Thank you,” Armstrong said.

“We really appreciate everything,” Danni added.

Miss Nanette winked an eye at the young woman. “Be careful out there,” she said, staring directly at Danni. “Pius and his kind chew up pretty girls like you and spit them out like they’re sucking all the salt off some sunflower seeds.”

Chapter 4

Armstrong stepped into the shower, anxious for the cool spray of water that rained down from the showerhead. Nothing about his day had been what he had expected. He wasn’t accustomed to having anyone in his space as he worked a case, and Danni’s presence had been completely disquieting. There was something about the young detective that had him feeling out of sorts, and he couldn’t begin to understand it. Explaining it would have been virtually impossible, so he was grateful to keep the unsettled feelings to himself.

Despite his best efforts to put the day and the woman behind him, there were too many thoughts lingering in his head. He pressed his hands against the tiled wall and leaned his face beneath the warming flow. Water rained over his brow and down his cheeks, droplets lingering in the strands of his beard.

He needed to run by the barbershop for a trim and edge, he thought to himself. There was also laundry in the trunk of his car that he needed to drop off, the errand deterred by the impromptu dinner plans with the queen of the neighborhood watch. He smiled as he thought back to their meal with Miss Nanette.

Danni had been ready to head over to the coffee shop to search out Pius the minute they stepped back out onto the front porch. But he’d called an end to their day instead, knowing Pius would still be there when they picked back up in the morning. He had wanted to pull the career criminal’s file first, hoping to discover a lengthy rap sheet and at least two outstanding warrants for failures to appear in court. When they finally did cross paths, he wanted to ensure they’d have reason to cuff and arrest him.

Armstrong could tell by the shift in her mood and the expression on her face that Danni hadn’t liked the idea, but she didn’t say so out loud. She’d been exceptionally polite, and dismissive, when he’d returned her to her hotel. She’d wished him a good night, and then she’d stomped into the building.

Danni was fire and ice, intensely calculating with a quick fuse. She was not an easy woman to read. She intrigued him, and he found himself wanting to know more about her. Needing to understand what drove her. Unlike women he’d been known to date, she reminded him instead of his mother and his sisters, her staid demeanor marked by a piercing stare and terse tongue. There was a moment with Miss Nanette where she’d finally relaxed, her smile fueling the light in her eyes. Her laugh had been airy and her brow had smoothed, no longer furrowed with emotion. That woman had made his heart skip a beat, and he couldn’t help but hope that he’d get a chance to know that side of her better.

Stepping from the shower, he grabbed an oversize towel and tucked it around his waist. Minutes later he’d slipped on a pair of sweats and sat alone in his living room. Settling himself comfortably against the chenille sofa, he sipped on a cup of hot coffee laced with Irish whiskey. The file on the Balducci family wasn’t quite light reading to send him off to sleep, but it was necessary. He needed to learn everything he could about the kid, because he had no doubts that Junior already knew everything there was to know about him.

* * *

The coffee shop on California Avenue would have been easy to find if she hadn’t been looking for it, Danni thought as she pushed her way inside and looked around. There was a late-night crowd of regulars who all seemed to turn and stare as she entered. Her gaze swept quickly around the room as she moved swiftly to the counter to order an iced chai latte and a brownie.

“You new around here?” the young man who took her order asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, I just got into town.” She pushed her hands and the change he’d passed her into her pants pockets.

He nodded. “My name’s Carlo,” he said as he extended his hand to shake hers.

“Danielle, but my friends call me Danni.”

He smiled, flashing bright white teeth with a center gap and dimpled cheeks. His eyes were black against an ivory complexion, his hair cropped just low enough to define wavy curls.

“Do you have somewhere to stay, Danni?”

There was a moment of pause as Danni pondered her response. Carlo continued before she could respond.

“It’s not safe out here. Especially for a young girl. I don’t know what your story is, but if you need some help...”

Danni smiled sweetly. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’m staying with a cousin. She doesn’t live far from here. She works late and I just wanted to get out and do some exploring.” The lie rolled effortlessly out of her mouth.

Carlo nodded. “Okay. But if you ever need help, there’s a shelter close by and people you can turn to.”

“Why are you so nice? You don’t even know me.”

“My sister was a runaway. She didn’t make it home. I want to think that had she ever asked someone for help they would have been there for her.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Carlo shrugged. “Grab a seat and I’ll bring your coffee to the table.”

“Thank you,” Danni said, offering him one last smile.

Grabbing a table by the window, Danni positioned herself so that she could see most of the room, anyone coming through the door and the sidewalk outside. The sun had set hours earlier, and a full moon shone through the windows, illuminating the dark sky and the street outside. There were more people inside than Danni would have imagined. Most looked like college students. There was a couple out on a date and the occasional single with a laptop and headphones pretending not to be paying attention to the conversation at the next table.

But what drew her attention and held it was the table way in the back where three young women sat, silent. There was barely the hint of a conversation between them, each staring off into the distance. A man with bad skin and a too-small suit sat with them, his demeanor and presence seeming everything but protective. When one girl rose to go to the restroom, he grabbed her wrist abruptly and held it a tad too tightly for comfort as he hissed something under his breath.