Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes Page B

chance to pass the information along.” I didn’t want to become a mob conduit. I thought it was interesting that Eddie would come to me, like a confession that he wasn’t in touch with Sam.
    “If you were going to tell Tony what happened,” I went on, casually, “what would you say to him?”
    “Look, I’m sorry. I mean, I hate to keep you in the dark if that’s where you are, but Sam, ya know, the boy’s like a son to me, and I don’t want to say anything might come between the two of you. He’s a good man and he loves you. That ought to be enough.”
    So much for the fishing expedition.
    “But, hey, you need money, Sam wants you to have whatever you want. He’s worried about the little girl. He said I should just write out a check, or leave you a blank one, if you’d rather.”
    “Not necessary. Not yet. I’ll let you know.” So he had been talking to Sam. “Is that all?”
    “Well, no.” He shot me the smile again. “Really, ya know, I came to beg your pardon.”
    That surprised me. “What for?”
    “I wanted that bum, Jonno, to come with me, but Katharine, she can’t see that her little darling should have to do anything he doesn’t want to do. Other than that, ya know, she’s a hardheaded woman, a business woman, but where Jonno’s concerned, she might as well be some ditzy housewife. My baby boy. No matter what crap he does, it’s always for the best.”
    I waited.
    “Jonno’s got no use for Sam, ya know? Some kind of weird sibling rivalry shit—excuse the language. Like he wanted Tony all for himself. Wants a father, another father, because his own father was a useless SOB. So what I’m saying is he had no business closing up the Charles River place like that, thinking he’s gonna take it over. He jumped the gun, ya know? We all think Sam will beat this thing, that it’s not going to be long before he’s back in town.”
    I wanted to believe him.
    “I’m holding things together till he comes, but Jonno, well, he’s a hell of a problem, going off half-cockedlike he does. So I wanted to tell you, the apartment is still Sam’s. I’ll get his stuff moved back, no problem. Jonno doesn’t speak for the rest of the family. Understand?”
    I nodded.
    He regarded the boxes. “He just dumped this stuff here?”
    “He did.”
    “He’s got a nerve. I’ll be glad to bring it back. He had no business doing it. I don’t know, the kid’s not exactly under control.” Nardo rubbed his hands together, got up, and moved toward the boxes.
    “Leave them,” I said.
    “Hey, it’s no trouble. I’ll buzz my driver. He’ll grab a couple. Whenever you want to come over to the apartment, unpack, put everything the way you want it, you do that. You want to live there, move in fulltime, it’s okay by me.”
    “Thanks,” I said, “but I kept too much stuff there anyway. I’ll take care of it.”
    “You sure?”
    “Sure.”
    “I meant what I said, about the money, about Sam being like a son. If there’s anything I can do for you, you call me.”
    I wondered what Nardo’s story was. How he came to be who he was. I almost asked him about the Jaguar—where it was and would he help me get it back from Jonno. Then I thought about owing a guy like Nardo a favor.
    I handed him the cashmere coat. It felt as soft as sin.

TWELVE
    Paolina had free time on Tuesdays and Thursdays from two until three, an unscheduled block when a staff member might escort an approved visitor into the common area. Only Paolina’s therapist could approve the visitor, and Eisner tended to update the list daily at 1:55, which was inconvenient, to say the least. If I phoned just before two to discover I’d been added to the list, I couldn’t make it there till three, when I would no longer be admitted.
    After the Macs came by and took the Franklin file, I decided to make the drive on spec. My chances of getting inside were small, but on the whole, I approved of the visitation policy. Without the restrictions, Marta