Page 24 of The Woman with the Target on her Back (Grassi Family)

“Yeah,” he agreed, nodding.

“We’ve got, what? Potentially a dozen criminal organizations to look at for this?” he asked, raising the scotch I’d gotten for us. It was the kind of night that called for it.

“I’m hoping that when Traveler accesses her cameras, that we get some faces. That will make shit easier. Especially since she seems to know all the players in this town.”

“How she doing?” he asked.

“I dunno. She’s the stiff-upper-lip sort,” I said.

“She seems to have some issues with you. Did something happen that you didn’t tell me about?”

“No. We’re just… oil and water is all.”

“She’s pretty.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, taking another sip. “You didn’t meet her at Massimo’s wedding?”

“I don’t think so.”

“She had green hair then.”

“You know, I vaguely remember someone with green hair, but I didn’t talk to her. So if she’s close enough with Mass to go to his wedding, why the hell did she call you?”

Yeah, that was the question, wasn’t it?

“She said it was because my name was first in her address book.”

“Yeah, sure,” Aurelio said, shaking his head.

“Maybe she just didn’t want to invite Mass into a dangerous mess when he’s got a woman and kids at home.”

“And, given her dislike of you, if you died…” Aurelio said, smirking.

“Yeah, exactly,” I agreed.

“Why’d you come?” he asked. “If you don’t get along?”

“She was in danger,” I said, shrugging. “I would have come if it was a stranger calling.”

To that, he nodded. We were in agreement there.

“I’ll look around to see if there’s a handyman or someone I can hire to board up those windows at her shop first thing. Then pull down the security gate. I doubt they’re done with that place. Might as well at least try to keep them from fucking any more of her shit up.”

“Thanks, man. I’m worried about her place.”

“Where does she live?”

“Fuck if I know,” I said, shaking my head.

Was it a house? An apartment? Did she have neighbors who would give a shit and call the cops if they saw something suspicious?

Was it already too late?

“Guess we can add that to the itinerary tomorrow too,” Aurelio said, rolling his neck. “I’m gonna run downstairs and get my suitcase.”

“I got a bag in my trunk, if you can grab that too,” I said, tossing him my keys.

There wasn’t much in it. Travel size toiletries, pajama pants, a spare suit. I would need to hit the store to get more than that.

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