Chapter 19

Wow. Not only did Noah offer to pay for my meal when he threw out the invite, but Lottie is shaking down my suspect for me right here at Mangias.

"The Tavern of Terror?" Sergio grunts at the mention of it. "I've seen it. I know the clowns that opened its doors. God rest Sal Marino's soul." He makes the sign of the cross and shrugs.

I wonder what that shrug was for?

Maybe he realizes that he shouldn't be dragging the Man Upstairs into this, seeing that he's the one that pulled the trigger. Or maybe he's sorry he pulled the trigger and he was trying to shrug off the guilt he feels?

"So who owns it now?" Noah asks just as the breadsticks are delivered and we all arm ourselves with the delectable delight. They're bathed in olive oil, sprinkled with just the right amount of garlic salt, and have that just-out-of-the-oven crunch before you get to the warm doughy middle.

If I ever get married, I don't need a bouquet of flowers. Give me a bouquet of garlic breadsticks from Mangias instead.

"Johnny the Meatball." Sergio rolls his eyes. "But make no mistake about it, that tramp he's seeing is the real boss of the joint."

Both Niki and I gasp at the Lazzari slight.

Good thing Cooper isn't here or bullets would be flying. Sure, Naomi got away with it, but she's a girl.

I have a feeling Sergio here would be toes up in the morgue before sundown.

"Tell me more," Noah says and I shake my head in awe. It's obvious he's a better detective than I am. Cooper? Not so much.

"Yeah," Lottie says. "Why the tramp comment?" I can tell she's a little peeved at the slight. Any woman on the planet can count on Lottie to have their back, even the trampiest woman of them all. Cooper's little sister.

"Sorry for the language." Sergio shrugs again and I'm starting to think it's a tick. "But the woman has been around the block. She's well known for her temper, too. And when she finally did settle down—twice—both husbands wound up dead with a bullet to their back."

"They don't call her Loretta the Black Widow Lazzari for nothing," Niki adds and I shoot her a look for contributing to the Loretta bashing.

"A bullet to their backs?" I shudder. She's a better shot than I am. Although if we're talking close range, the heat between our skills is still up in the air. "But she wasn't arrested," I point out. "She must be innocent."

Sergio is back to averting his eyes. "Her brother's a cop. Sorry, Noah, but I know how things work. I live in the real world. The woman has gotten away with murder, not once but twice. I wouldn't dare cross her. But I'm guessing there's a Marino brother in the morgue who did."

Niki and I are right back to gasping.

Not only did Sergio call Loretta a tramp in mixed company, but he accused her of a record three murders—that includes the newly deceased whose case is quickly coming to a Lazzari finish. And I don't mean Cooper.

Lottie inches back. "Why in the world would she want Sal dead? The other two I can understand. I'm a married woman."

"Can I tell Everett you said that?" Noah is quick to ask. He's still got the hots for her, so I'm pretty sure she'd get a free pass from the homicide department, too.

And with my occupation, that's another reason I need to get in bed with Cooper, proverbially speaking. Although literally wouldn't be a bad idea either.

"No way." Lottie laughs. "And that's not what I mean. I mean, I get it, relationships can be tough. But why would Loretta want Sal dead? In the middle of a grand opening? And isn't she seeing his brother?"

I shake my head at Lottie in amazement. Why am I wasting my time with Niki, Aunt Cat, and Carlotta?

Clearly, the one I should be dragging to my shakedowns is Lottie and her boy toy with the badge. But then, Lottie has solved so many homicide cases herself, she's practically gone pro, too.

Sergio sighs. "Rumor has it, she was seeing both Marino brothers."

This time the entire table, sans Sergio, gasps.

"Both brothers?" Niki's jaw goes slack. "I wonder if she teaches a course on how to make men crawl all over you."

"Niki." I reprimand her with a look for even going there.

"What?" she balks. "I'd pay cash money to have a few romantic entanglements myself."

"Entangled is the right word," Sergio says. "Sal was married. Poor Morella is a widow now. And there's not a soul in Honey Hollow who thinks she pulled the trigger."

A thought comes to me. "But what if she did? Word on the street is that Sal was cheating on her." That would have come straight from Loretta Lazzari's mouth on the night of the murder—and was given straight to the deceased. My eyes widen with fright at yet another terrifying prospect before he can ever answer.

"Yeah, he was a cheat." Sergio shrugs again as if it weren't all that big a deal.

I'm not exactly in the guy's fan club anymore. Although Niki still looks like a smitten kitten.

She would.

"What were you doing there that night?" Lottie asks unabashedly with the harbinger of a threat in her voice.

I really do like her.

Whoa—back up. Didn't Loretta say she was besties with Morella? And apparently, Loretta knows her way around a revolver or two?

Andrumor has it, her brother has let her off the hook a time or two.

Is that why she's not on Cooper's suspect list? Does he know she's guilty?

I gasp all on my own.

Someone shouts for Sergio from the kitchen and tells him to get off his culo—Italian for backside. And Niki chitters like a chipmunk just hearing it.

"Let's just say I was there checking out the competition," he says, answering Lottie's question as he rises to his feet. "I wasn't necessarily invited, but someone there owed me something." He snarls out the window. "Enjoy the meal. It's on me."

"Sweet. Thank you," Noah says as Sergio takes off.

The pizza and lasagna are delivered and we dive in, forgetting all about the dead sausage in the morgue.

Priorities.

Once we're done, we grab our stomachs and moan in unison.

"I'm so full, I don't think I'll eat for a week," I say.

"Sure you will," Niki says. "Tomorrow night is Sunday dinner. If you don't eat, Mom won't speak to you until Christmas."

"Are you trying to threaten me or encourage me?"

She shrugs in the same manner Sergio did. It must be catching.

"Suit yourself," she says. "But Cooper will be there regardless. He said he wouldn't miss it for the world."

"When did he say that?" I squawk.

"When I threw out the invite this morning."

"Wonderful."

Cooper is coming to dinner, and he's going to meet my entire family.

I think I just added another target to my hit list—my sister.