Page 101 of Hell Hath No Fury

They all give me the same unconvinced look, but having no other choice, they stand back, allowing me to follow Patty on my own.

He leads me into the back, through several locked doors, until finally, we reach a smaller room with rows of doors lining the walls. He leads me to the table in the middle of the room, motioning for me to wait as he walks to the far end. Using the key from the ring around his wrist, he opens one of the larger doors, pulls out a long box, and then turns and comes back to me, setting it on the table.

I eye the box suspiciously. “Do you know what’s in here?”

“Yes.”

“Is it important?” I ask, turning my gaze to his.

Patty levels me with a solemn look. “Depends on your perspective.”

I frown and tilt my head. “Come on. I’m sure you know more than you’re letting on. Just tell me what to do.”

“Just open it, Ms. Ferro. You can decide thewhatafter you see what’s inside.”

Sighing, I nod and then ask, “Are you going to stay while I go through it.”

“Oh, yes,” he replies. “My instructions were clear.”

I frown but don’t bother questioning him further; instead, I pull the box closer to me and open the lid. Now, I have no idea what I was expecting to find in this large metal box, but annoyance rolls over me when all I find is another plastic bag with what I’m sure is some card stock inside.

I give Patty a look, and he shrugs, smiling slightly, so I retrieve the bag from the box and open it. Pulling the paper from the bag, once again, a key falls out onto the table, though this time, it appears to be more for a residence than a safe deposit box. Groaning, I ignore it, unfolding the stiff paper to reveal an address on the Upper East Side.

I look from the paper to Patty, my eyes wide. “What is this?”

He smiles, then looks over at the box until I finally take another look and find a large envelope on the bottom, my name written in Mickey’s familiar scrawl. My heart stutters in my chest, my sinuses suddenly stinging, so I clear my throat, reaching for the envelope before I can talk myself out of it.

Inside the envelope, I find a few pieces of paper, the top one being a birth certificate, though none of the names are familiar. “Whose birth certificate is this?”

Patty leans in, glancing at the page before replying, “Hard to say, really.”

“Now is not the time to play coy.”

Patty laughs, then shrugs. “I believe there’s more there for you to read.”

I move the top page to the back, revealing a short note, also in Mickey’s handwriting.

Lils,

Well, I guess this means I finally managed to get myself dead dead.

I snort, already wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. A tissue appears in front of me, and I take it with a grateful sniffle before returning to the note.

I’m going to lead out on a merry chase now. Consider it a final adventure for the road and humor an old man one last time. I promise every answer you’ve ever asked for will be revealed once the end is reached.

-M

P.S. Don’t give Patty a hard time or he’ll put you in time out.

Scowling, I glance at Patty and ask, “What does he mean by time out?”

Patty smiles, then laughs. “There’s a clause in my instructions giving me the freedom to put this adventure on pause if you get out of hand.”

I gasp, my hand pressing against my chest dramatically. “Why, I never.”

“Don’t try to hustle a hustler, Ms. Ferro,” he replies dryly. “I’m onto you.”

I return his smile, replacing the pages in the envelope and retrieving the key and card stock with the address. “Shall we?”

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