Time for Jess and Nina to see some more properties for their business and for House to ask Ricky a few more questions.

Chapter 106.

I left the hospital at ten forty-five and sped to Nina's place. The two sisters were waiting for me, eager to see the places Ricky had to show them.

"Did you come up with a logo and design for your menus and business cards?" I asked as they got in.

Jess grinned at me. "Wait until you see what them!"

"And we've decided which name to use, too." There was laughter in Nina's voice.

I didn't know they were still undecided about that. "What is it?"

"A Movable Feast," they said simultaneously, then laughed.

"That isn't bad," I allowed.

"Oh, and do you think you can come up with something better?" Jess challenged.

"No. But then it's not my field."

We stopped at a burger place for lunch. "Why don't you add this place to your roster of restaurants?" I asked.

"You actually liked that?" Nina pointed to my plate, empty except for a bit of lettuce.

I shrugged. "It was alright for a burger."

"He's never met a burger he didn't like," Jess told her sister.

"I beg your pardon! Have too, and I quickly forgot where the place was."

We met Ricky in his office again. He was on the phone and motioned us to sit while he finished the call. The frown on his flushed face was matched by his belligerent tone. "I did not leave work early yesterday. As a matter of fact, I was here until seven, the last one to leave."

I wondered why he didn't tell us to wait outside. After all, this sounded personal and it was none of our business.

"Yes, I can prove it!" He tried to keep his voice down.

The call finally ended. He stared at the phone for half a minute before taking a deep breath and forcing a smile. "Sorry about that. My grandfather is in micromanaging mode again."

Jess nodded. "I know what that's like. You should hear our father when he's trying to tell us how to do things and what we've done wrong.

Even I could relate to that, but I wasn't going to bring my father into the discussion.

"So, are you ready to see some more properties?" Ricky stood slowly and reached for his crutches. "I think you're going to like the ones I show you today much better than the space we saw yesterday."

We traveled in his car again, this time to a newer area just inside the Trenton city limits. The space was in one of the two street level offices in a three-story modern building. The reception area was accessible from the street and from inside the building. I glanced at the other business across the lobby, a dry cleaners.

The sign on the doors of the property Ricky was showing Jess and Nina indicated that the previous tenant was a florist.

"What happened to Fran's Flowers?" Nina pointed to the sign.

Ricky shrugged. "I guess they didn't make it, or maybe they moved to larger quarters. The place is being offered by the company that manages this building, Collins Enterprises."

I'd seen the name Collins someplace before, very recently, but I couldn't recollect where. While Jess and Nina examined the three rooms, I continued the conversation I'd been having with Ricky the day before about cars and what could be done to them. "I made an appointment at Custom Cars, the shop where you had your work done. It'll be interesting to see what they can do for me."

"The staff were very helpful. I don't know whether my salesman or the mechanics who worked on my car are still there, but the management seems to run a tight ship."

"Someone said the shop's owned by some guy in Italy, Carlo something?" I scratched my head, as if I was trying to remember his name.

Ricky shook his head. "No one ever talked about the owner."

I snapped my fingers. "Molino, that's it."

"Huh?"

"The owners name. Carlo Molino."

Ricky shrugged. "Never heard of him."

I wondered whether he knew the name of the woman his sister said he'd been enamored of. Of course, we assumed it was Francesca Molino, but she might have used another name. "I guess you only knew the names of the salesman who worked with you, and maybe some of the mechanics."

His face softened. "Yes, Tony was the salesman, Tony DeLuca. I only knew the first names of a couple of the men who did the actual work." His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to remember. There was a Mack or Mark or something, and a Bob." He shook his head. "No one named Molino."

"Yeah, I couldn't tell you the name of the guy I bought my motorcycle from or the one who did the last tune up on it." I threw that out as a dare for him to come up with more names.

"I also met a woman who seemed to know one of the managers. She was there a few times and I talked to her once. Franny, they called her, but she was from the old country. You could tell from her accent." He smiled. "Pretty little thing."

"Pretty huh? Did you make a move on her?"

"Nah. What would she want with a cripple like me?" He swallowed hard. "Anyway, I heard she was killed in a car accident or something. Such a pity." He sighed. But his face suddenly brightened as Jess and Nina returned from their inspection. "So, what do you think? Is this the one?"

"It's a good use of space," Nina replied. "And we like the way the storage area is set up."

"We'd need more refrigeration units, but there's room for them." Jess came over and put an arm through mine. "Why don't we go see the other place and then we can decide."

"Absolutely," Ricky held the door open for the three of us and locked up behind us. We got back in his car, and he drove a few miles north, out of the city. He pulled into a complex containing a mixture of stores, restaurants and office space, as well as some buildings that looked like upscale condos. He parked the car in one of the two lots at either end of the complex. "It's in this section."

He led the way past several boutiques, a coffee shop, and a shoe store, turning in at the end of the row. The leftover sign on this one said, "Milo's Cafe."

Just inside the door was an area that must have been the actual cafe, complete with a few round tables and chairs. Through a door was a well-equipped kitchen with two huge refrigerators and three freezers, sinks and even a couple of ovens. The back room held a few racks, two file cabinets, and a long table.

I could see the matching gleams in Jess and Nina's eyes. Something about this place appealed to them. I'll admit I thought it might work for the kind of business they were starting.

Nina scratched her head as she walked back through to the front. "We'll have to replace the tables and chairs out here with desks or something."

"Maybe we could keep a couple so we can do tastings for perspective clients," Jess suggested.

Her sister nodded. "Good idea."

I hated to throw a damper on things but felt I should say, "If you're getting the food from the restaurants you've contracted with, why do you need so many kitchen appliances?"

"Sometimes we'll have to bring half-cooked food here to finish and assemble, especially when we're using food from more than one place for a job," Nina explained. It made some sense.

"But why would you have to do taste testings here?"

"We can't very well do them at the restaurants. Again, we'll be offering food from six or eight different places and need a central location to meet with clients." Jess smiled at her sister. "I think this will do very well."

"If you've decided, we can go back to my office and work up the lease agreement." Ricky seemed anxious to close the deal.

"Not so fast!" I held up a hand. "You haven't even mentioned an amount yet. How do we know we can afford this place?"

"We?" Jess smirked at me.

"Alright, you." I pointed to her and then her sister. "It's not like price is no object. You're just starting out."

"Are you implying that we might not make it?" Nina's fists went to her hips.

"No, no. Of course not." How could I get myself out of this one? Turn it back on Ricky, of course. "So, how much?"

He took the time to consult his iPhone. "They're asking twenty-five thousand per month."

"Offer eighteen," I said.

Jess looked at me, then her sister, and finally Ricky. "Twenty."

He shook his head. "I don't think they'll take less than twenty-three."

"How long has this space been on the market?" Nina asked.

"How many square feet is this?" Jess added. "The going price is eighteen to twenty dollars per square foot."

I smiled, not surprised they'd done their homework.

Ricky swallowed and looked at the information he had again. "It's been vacant only three months. And it's, uh, just under a thousand square feet." He frowned because he could see they weren't about to budge. "I'll have to talk to the management company that's leasing the space, the same one as the other place you saw today. We can go back to the office and draw up your offer so I can submit it and see what they say, OK?"

Identical smiles appeared on Jess and Nina's faces. The trip back to Ricky's office was made in silence. I don't know what the others were thinking, but I was formulating some questions to get him to reveal more about what might have happened between him and Francesca.

Nina gave me the opening I needed when she finally said, "So, Ricky, are you married?"

Jess gave her a strange look, but I jumped in and replied for him, "Ricky's pining after a girl he met at the auto customizing shop."

"He is?" She looked from me to him. "You are?"

"Not pining, exactly. Unfortunately, she died before I even had a chance to get to really know her." We stopped for a light and he turned to Nina with a smile. "She was almost as pretty as you." He sighed. "Are you free?"

I could see she was debating whether to tell him the truth or not. "Well, I'm not seeing anyone exclusively right now," she replied.

Wilson wouldn't be happy to hear that, but I expected she thought she could get Ricky to open up more if he thought he had a chance with her.

"How about dinner tonight, then?" Ricky didn't miss a beat. I guessed he thought Nina was more likely to date a cripple than Francesca might have been.

Get yourself out of this one, Nina, I thought.

She sighed. "I'm afraid I have a previous appointment."

"So you do have a boyfriend."

"Oh, no, it's with my uncle. I can't disappoint him."

Ricky frowned, but accepted that she was telling the truth.