Page 34 of Praying Mantis

“I can’t guarantee I can keep my hands off of you but I can try.”

“You can come along but what about work?”

“I’m off for a couple of days so I can be with you for a little bit.” I nod. We finish dinner rather quickly because with the new deadline, we have things to do.

Sean

It’s been almost a week since Louisa started her surveillance on Colin. She has pictures and notes we’re going over tonight since I’ve been back to work. I feel like I haven’t seen her in months even though I spend every night with her in my bed. She’s sitting in my dad’s office with the pictures and a notebook mumbling to herself. I lean over the desk to kiss the top of her head when something catches my eye.

“When was this picture taken?” I point to a picture of Colin with two men I instantly recognize. They’re agents in the organized crime division.

“Yesterday about,” she opens her notebook, “at four thirty-three p.m. at a Chinese restaurant two towns over. He went to this meeting alone which I thought was odd.” Her gaze from the notebook moves to my eyes with a question in them.

“They are agents with the FBI,” I remark.

“Why would Colin meet with the FBI? I thought the mob usually avoided being associated with the law?”

“There could only be two reasons he would; to rat out the O’Hannon organization or those two agents are dirty as fuck. I don’t know how to figure out if they’re dirty or not.”

“What if I sent in a tip about Colin to see what happens? Or someone else?” Louisa asks.

“I might have to talk to my partner about doing some snooping because my boss knows about my dad’s organization and would never ask me to betray my dad or put me in a position to choose.” I sigh. “What else happened with the meeting?”

“I don’t know what they talked about because I needed to stay hidden. They were there for about two hours. They went separate ways then he headed to the strip club on Chamber Street.”

“We run the strip club so he could’ve been working,” I say out loud. She goes over the pictures and notes. My mind keeps wandering back to Colin and the agents. Louisa tells me she’s going to go soak in the tub for a little bit before heading to bed. I told her I’d join her soon, I wanted to talk to Mom about the agents. I go in search of my mom who is in her parlor reading one of her books.

“There you are. Did you and Louisa go over everything?” She smiles up at me. “I saw the pictures and notes.”

“Yesterday he met with these men. Have you ever seen them or heard Colin talking about a meeting on Thursdays?”

“I know he always told your father he had a standing appointment every Thursday he can’t get out of and not to schedule him for things then why?”

“Those men are FBI agents.”

“That fucking rat bastard!” Mom yells, tossing her book aside. “Was he selling out your dad?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to see if Tony can do some digging without pissing people off. If he is an informant for the FBI, it makes things trickier for Louisa.”

“How so?” my mom asks.

“If he doesn’t make a scheduled meeting or they could have him under surveillance with a tracking device and or listening devices. It’s why I’ve been using a bug detector in every room especially after he leaves. I’m going to buy a signal jammer for when he is in the house because his phone won’t work then,” I told her.

“I know what you need to do.” I stare at my mom hoping she tells me. “Talk it over with Louisa. She might know something about it. You remember she’s a serial killer.” I love how my mom doesn’t judge her and accepts her for who she is. “I’m going to bed but talk to her. You two plan it out and if you need me for anything, you know I’m more than willing to help. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty once in a while. I know how to use a gun.” She winks at me, making me laugh as she walks away. Louisa and my mom are so similar in things and their strength for supporting the men in their lives might be the best one.

I walk into my room after letting John know we’re all done for the night. He locks up and shuts the lights off for me. I trudge up the stairs with so many thoughts going through my head. I hope talking it out with Louisa will give me the answers to figure out how to proceed.

“Hey baby, how was your bath?” I open the door to see Louisa drying her hair with a red towel while wearing one of my blue shirts. She smiles at me and then frowns.

“What’s on your mind? You look like you’re a thousand miles away.”

“This FBI situation has me conflicted whether Colin is an informant or not. If he is then it could mean trouble for you.”

“I’m not worried about taking out an informant, I’ve done it before.” She shrugs like she’s talking about breaking a nail. It’s so casual and my mouth opens up. “What? I’m a hitwoman!”

“It’s funny how casual you are about it and how I’m okay with it. It still shocks me though.” We laugh.

“Why don’t you call your partner? You mentioned it earlier.” I sigh, knowing it’s what I have to do so I pull out my phone and dial Tony’s number.

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