When Jaclyn pulled up to the Park Manor, she wasn't sure how she was going to go about doing this. And frankly, she didn't care. She was so angry at Dracon that furious didn't even begin to cover it.
One of Dracon's men, Pal Joey, saw the young woman approaching Dracon's suite.
"Hey, you can't be up here," he said to her.
Jaclyn walked up to Joey and looked him straight in the eye. "Get your boss out here, now," she growled.
Joey was about to open his mouth to tell Jaclyn off when Glasses stepped into the hallway.
"Well, hello, Miss Dracon," Glasses said with a smirk. "Mr. Dracon will be pleased to see you. Joey, leave the girl alone. You don't want the boss coming down on you for harassing his favorite niece."
Joey turned from Glasses to Jaclyn before stepping aside. "Sorry, Miss Dracon," he said. "I hope you can excuse my behavior."
"Yours I can," Jaclyn said as Glasses showed her in.
The two of them walked into the suite and to Dracon's office. Glasses knocked before entering.
"Boss, there's someone to see you," said Glasses.
"Show 'em in," Jaclyn heard Dracon say.
Before Glasses could say she was allowed to go in, Jaclyn walked passed him and into Dracon's office.
Dracon looked at Jaclyn. "Hey, Jaclyn! How's my favorite niece?"
Jaclyn walked up to Dracon and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. "You lowdown, dirty dog!" she snarled before trying to take another swing at Dracon. Dracon managed to grab her wrists to keep her from hitting him. "I can take the embezzling, the racketeering, the arms deals, but you know full well, Tony, that I hate the killing!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Dracon.
"I have a half-dead gargoyle laying on my living room floor," replied Jaclyn. "He told me you shot him!"
Dracon stared at Jaclyn in disbelief. "You found Broadway?" he asked.
"I don't know his name!" yelled Jaclyn. "All I know is that he needed help. You stay away from him, Tony, or so help me, I will make sure you go to jail for a very long time."
"Chill, chill," said Dracon. "Calm down, Jaclyn. You have my word as a Dracon; I won't go near him."
"Good." Jaclyn calmed just a little.
Dracon looked at his niece. He could see that she had been working hard and had possibly been up all night. Her red cheeks contrasted with her pale face, her hair was still tied back with her scarf, meaning that she had been at something before she came here, and there were dark circles around her eyes.
"Now, are you going to stay mad at me or can I show you a little hospitality?" asked Dracon. Jaclyn thought for a moment before smiling faintly. "Great! I'll have my personal chef make you some breakfast and you can sleep in my room. You look tired."
"I've been up all day and all night," said Jaclyn. "I'm moving back to New York."
Dracon raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's a surprise. I thought your mother would have a fit if you came near me again."
"I'm old enough to make my own decisions," said Jaclyn.
"That's my girl," said Dracon.
After Jaclyn left the room, Glasses turned to Dracon. "Should we go after him and finish the job?"
"No," replied Dracon. "I meant it when I said I wouldn't go near him."
Glasses frowned. "Do you really think she'll turn you in?"
"No," Dracon said easily. "She's family. Three generations of Dracons in the business, not one family member has ratted out another. Jaclyn won't be the first. But being family, I'll honor her wishes. Besides, you do not want to mess with that girl. She can be very vicious."
It was the middle of the afternoon. Spencer was sitting with a mug of coffee between his hands at the kitchen table. Jaclyn had not called or anything since she left early in the morning. Spencer thought that she was insane for going after Dracon. But that was one of the reasons why he liked Jaclyn. Unlike other girls he dated in the past, Jaclyn could take care of herself.
Spencer smirked. "He incurred the full wrath of Jaclyn Willows," he muttered. "He may be a crook, but God help the man."
Spencer could imagine Jaclyn busting down doors and kicking butt of whatever poor lackeys Dracon put in her path. He could just see Jaclyn knocking the snot out of Dracon. The mental image made him snicker.
"She'll be fine," he said after running through the scenario.
Spencer got up and walked into the living room. The gargoyle's status was still the same: stone cold. Spencer had a feeling that nothing was going to happen until the sun went down. He lay down on the sofa and decided to take a nap.
Elisa had been told what had happened to Broadway. She was grateful that Angela had enough sense to get the license plate number of the truck. The vehicle was a cherry red Ford with a Pennsylvania plate. After a little searching, Elisa found that the truck belonged to a Jaclyn Willows, who had just moved to New York.
Elisa drove over to the apartment building where Jaclyn and someone named Spencer Terry lived. She figured they were probably boyfriend and girlfriend.
"Nothing like a gargoyle to test your relationships," murmured Elisa as she drove.
Spencer woke to a knock on his door. At first he thought he was dreaming, but the knock came again. He sat bolt upright and looked at the door.
Quarrymen? Dracon's goons? Spencer thought it best not to answer the door.
The knock came a third time and with a voice accompanying it. "NYPD. Open the door."
"Oh, man!" hissed Spencer, looking at the stone gargoyle on the floor. "Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man!"
Spencer jumped up and rushed to answer the door.
"Yes?" he answered, trying to act like there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
It was a woman in plain clothes holding a police badge. "Detective Elisa Maza. Are you Spencer Terry?"
"Yeah," replied Spencer.
"Does a Jaclyn Willows live with you?" asked Elisa.
"Yeah," replied Spencer. Spencer's mind began racing through worst case scenarios. Could Jaclyn be dead? Did she kill Dracon? Or worse, did someone see her with the gargoyle last night?
"May I speak with her?" asked Elisa.
"She's not home," said Spencer.
"Oh." The detective was disappointed. "May I come in?"
"Actually, I do mind," said Spencer. "The place is a wreck. Jaclyn's just moving in and there's boxes everywhere. She would bite my head off if I let someone in here with the apartment in the state it's in. What's this about anyway?"
"It's nothing," said Elisa. "She may have witnessed a crime last night. Do you know when she's going to be back?"
"Not a clue," replied Spencer. "We work odd hours. Sometimes we don't see each other for days. If you come by later, you might catch her."
"Thank you," said Elisa.
"No problem." Spencer closed the door. He put his back to it and slid to the floor. "Holy smoke, Jaclyn. What have you gotten yourself into this time?" He looked at the gargoyle. "You're not helping things either, you know."
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