Page 57 of Jack of Hearts
As for his brothers, Nate was spending a lot of time with the prosecutor, preparing for an upcoming trial for a human-trafficking ring, the victims mostly underprivileged teenage girls, while Court was in the early stages of an investigation into a gang of luxury car thieves based in Miami and rumored to be operating worldwide.
“Why are you smiling like you just swallowed the canary?” Court said.
“Trust me, if I swallowed a damn bird, I wouldn’t be smiling. But I was thinking how righteous it would be if your car thief dudes stole Lopez’s i8.”
Court snorted. “That would be funny.”
“Children, pay attention.” Nate tapped the whiteboard with his knuckles. “Here’s what we know about Lopez so far.”
Alex settled back in his chair, giving him a salute. “Yes, sir!” He grinned when Nate growled. The three of them were a team, and no matter how busy they might be with their own investigations, they were always there for each other. Whenever he thought of how far they had come and what they’d made of themselves, he wished the old man were still around so he could laugh in the bastard’s face.
“I think we have to assume, until we learn otherwise, that Lopez is working for the Alonzos,” Nate said.
Alex nodded. “Agree. So the question is, what does he want with the bookstore’s bank information? If he’s working for the Alonzos, then he’s following orders, meaning they want those numbers.”
“Only one reason,” Court said. “They want to use the bookstore to launder money, with or without Madison’s or Lauren’s knowledge.” He glanced at Alex, giving him a shrug. “I doubt Lauren knows anything about it, at least not yet. But I can’t see how Madison wouldn’t know.”
Alex gripped the arm of his chair to keep from punching his brother. “She doesn’t know.” Did she?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
That afternoon, Madison made two lattes. “Looks like things have slowed down a little. Come sit with me for a few minutes.” She handed her mother one of the coffees.
Angelina took the cup. “Lovely. I could use a break. We had a busy few hours.”
“Oh, I ran into Mrs.Anderly yesterday,” Madison said as she set her cup on the table before her shaking hands spilled coffee on her slacks. “She said she saw you in the park. Are you taking walks there now?”
“Who’s Mrs.Anderly?”
“A customer. She usually comes by in the mornings when you’re not here, but she saw you one afternoon when she stopped by to pick up a book we were holding for her.”
Angelina shrugged. “Can’t place her, but yes, I’ve started walking for thirty minutes in the mornings.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you’re getting out more.”
“Me, too. It’s about time, don’t you think?”
“I do.” It was past time her mother started living again. “Listen, I need to talk to you about something. Uncle Jose doesn’t want you working here. He told me to ... well, to fire you.”
“What?” Angelina set her cup down. “Why would he say such a thing?”
Because he doesn’t want you around when the cops bust me for money laundering, maybe?“I don’t know, Mom. He didn’t say. It wasn’t a request, though.”
“Is that what you want, Madison?”
“No, absolutely not. I love you working here, and you’re so good with the customers. I think you enjoy it, right?”
“Oh, I do. My brother is just old fashioned. Thinks women shouldn’t have to work.” Angelina patted her hand. “You leave him to me.”
Which was going to really make him angry, but she didn’t care. “It wasn’t actually Uncle Jose who told me, but a message from him delivered by Ramon.”
God, she had a splitting headache. She was a simple bookstore owner. Drugs and threats and perverted cousins were just too much to deal with. If her uncle and Ramon would disappear from the face of the earth, she’d be the happiest person in the world. She rubbed her forehead, wishing she could close her eyes and forget all her problems.
“Are you all right, Madison? Your cheeks are pale.”
She forced a smile for her mother. “I have a little headache, is all.” Actually, she had a major headache, which she didn’t know the cure for.
“Why don’t you go upstairs, take something for it, and have a little nap? It’s almost time to close. Lauren and I can finish up.”
