Chapter 107.

Back in the Locarno offices, Ricky had one of the clerks bring him the standard forms so that Jess and Nina could make their offer on their preferred property.

"You might want to put in an offer on one of the others in case they don't accept this one," Ricky suggested.

"We'll take our chances." Nina's smile said she might not be available to join him for dinner, but he still had a chance with her.

He gulped and accepted her decision. "I'll let you know tomorrow what the management company's response is. I hope they take your offer, because it's a perfect place for your business."

"Perfect," she agreed.

Once all the paperwork was done, we stood to leave. Ricky rose clumsily.

"You don't have to come with us. We know the way." Nina held out a hand to shake his. "Thank you for taking the time to show us the places today, and yesterday, too."

He held her hand after shaking it, his eyes locked with hers. I would have bet he was smitten.

We found our way out and down to the car. Once we were inside it Jess asked, "What did he say while we were inspecting the first place?"

"He talked a little about a woman he'd been interested in at the car place, a woman who was killed in an accident before he built up the courage to ask her out. I'm pretty sure it was Francesca, but all he said was that she spoke with an Italian accent and knew the manager."

Nina settled into the back seat of my car. "Where are we going now?"

"To the other car place, the one Jess thinks is where you were held."

"Oh, right. So I can see whether it seems familiar to me."

"I also want to take a look at the photos in the office again. I don't think I saw Ricky's face or even Francesca's, but now I know what they look like."

"And who knows who else's mug you might see." Jess smirked.

"Too true." The shop was half-way back to Princeton. I found it easily enough and pulled into the same space I parked in the last time we were there. They were still doing a big business in car customization. The front lot was crowded and we could hear the sound of the work being done in the back. No sign of the dogs. I wondered where they went during the day.

Surprisingly, the salesman who'd talked to us when we were there before recognized me, or maybe it was Jess, or even my car. In any event, he came out of the office smiling before we even reached the door. "You came back." He sounded surprised.

"Sure. I told you I was interested."

He nodded, but his gaze quickly shifted to the Giordano sisters and I could see the admiration in his eyes. "Ladies, would you like to have a seat in our waiting room while we take care of business?"

"I'm interested in what Greg's going to have done to his car." Jess put her arm through mine. Her smile was as smarmy as the salesman's. I didn't remember his name but figured he'd tell us again.

"Sure thing, little lady." He turned back towards the office. "Right this way."

We followed him into the office, and Nina immediately drifted off to look at the wall of photos. I decided she could handle that as well as I could. The salesman led us to a desk with the nameplate reading Sal Finnegan.

"So, where's your friend? The guy who was with you last time?" Sal motioned for us to take the chairs across the desk from him. He meant Wilson.

"Had to work."

Sal nodded understandingly. "So, what's it gonna be?"

"I was thinking a new paint job would spiff it up, and Jess here wanted me to add a racing stripe." I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Women, the things that turn them on."

"You've come to the right place, though. That's one of our specialties."

"Could we see where they do that stuff?" Jess' voice was higher pitched than usual. She was really getting into her role of the little woman. "Pretty please?"

"Sure. We can go around back and see the shop. I will warn you, the odors are pretty strong."

She giggled. "Nothing like the smell of men at work." She looked around for her sister. "Hey, Nina, wanna come with us and see the shop?"

"Would I!" Nina grinned.

Sal took us through a back door so we didn't have to go through the fence. The back of the place looked just as it had when I'd been there before.

"C'mon into the shop." Sal walked toward the open doors and the sounds and smells that greeted us were overwhelming, so we stayed near the doorway. Several men and a couple of women, too, were busy spraying paint on half a dozen cars. The colors ranged from a sedate black to iridescent shades of green and pink. One guy was taping the sides of a car.

"He's preparing it for striping." Sal had to shout above the noises of a sander close to us and a plane flying overhead.

Nina looked up, a perplexed look on her face, then refocused on Sal and the people working on the cars.

"As you can see, we have a large, accomplished staff. Whatever you decide to do, I can assure you the work will be top notch."

I nodded so he would think I agreed, but some of the spray painting looked sloppy to me. I wasn't sure I would trust my baby to this shop. "What else do you do besides cosmetic changes?"

"We can make some modifications, of course, like changing the sound system, but for engine customization and the like, we send customers to our place in Trenton."

Of course, I already had an appointment there, as I told Ricky, but I played innocent. "Trenton?"

"Yeah, it's called Custom Cars. The same guy owns both places."

"Someone from around here?" Jess piped up.

"No, actually, he's from Italy. Palermo, I think. Name's Carlo Molino."

We all pretended that we never heard of him. I hoped that would prompt Sal to tell us more about him, but I guess that was all he knew.

"Tony's the only one here who's ever met him. He rarely comes to the States."

"Well, since he won't be working on my car himself, who cares who owns the place." I forced a chuckle.

"Exactly." Sal was quick to agree. "So, shall we go back to my office and write up an estimate on what you want done?"

"Oh, honey, you promised we'd go look at a car for me before you decide what you can spend on your old clunker!" The whine in Jess' voice was brilliant. She knew just when to play her part.

I rolled my eyes upward. "Women! Maybe next time I'm come back without 'em."

Sal insisted on giving me his card as we walked back through the office to the front of the place.

I was anxious to hear what Nina had to say about the sights, sounds and smells but had to wait until we got into the car.

She was bursting to tell me. The minute the car doors were closed, before I'd even driven out of the lot, she said, "This is it! Jess, you were right. The minute I smelled the shop, I knew. And that plane flying over, that was the clincher."

"Do you think we need Julio's confirmation?" Jess asked.

"Can't hurt. I just have to find a way to get him here without putting the idea into his head that this is where you were held. We need him to come to that conclusion himself." I smirked. "And I'm afraid if I show up again, I'll have to let Sal sell me a paint job."

"Nothing wrong with that," Nina said.

"Are you insulting my baby?" I pretended to be offended.

"House, even you have to admit, this car has seen better days. A nice new paint job could make it look spiffy." Nina wasn't giving up easily.

"I don't want it to look spiffy."

"How 'bout classic?"

"Says the owner of a BMW."

"That's inherently classic."

By then Jess was laughing her head off. To tell the truth, I was having a hard time keeping from laughing myself.

"Let me think about how I can convince Julio to come with me." I had some ideas, but had to pick the best one.

"He's home now, so he's probably available. Nina, are you going to go out with Ricky?" Jess asked.

"If you think he knows more than he told House."

I shook my head. "I doubt he knows much more, but there may be something he doesn't realize he knows. The more time any of us spends with him, the more opportunities there'll be for him to say something that might help."

"If the management company doesn't come down on the price, what are we going to do? Do you think it will help us get a good deal on the office property if I date Ricky?" Nina sounded as if she was actually considering it. "I think I'd better prepare Wilson for it, if I do."

"It'll be more fun if he doesn't know." I smirked at her.

"House, that may be how you operate, but Jim means too much to me. I...I won't go behind his back like that."

"I do it all the time and I've known him a lot longer."

Jess put a hand on my shoulder. "Greg, let Nina do what she thinks is best."

I smirked again. "Nina, did you see anyone you know in the photos on the wall at the auto shop?"

She sighed. "No. That was very disappointing."

"Why, did you think you'd spot a picture of Francesca with Ricky or someone else we know?"

"It was always a possibility."

We'd reached Nina's place. "You don't really have an appointment with Uncle Johnny tonight, do you?" Jess asked.

"No, but I couldn't very well tell Ricky that I was having dinner with my boyfriend. That would have eliminated any possibility of dating him in the future."

"So you'll lie to Ricky but not to Wilson?"

She grinned at me as she got out. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. Thanks for coming with us today, House. I think we accomplished a lot."

"Glad to be of service. And thanks for confirming where you were held."

Jess and I watched her enter the building, then I drove on to the hospital. Nina was right: we'd accomplished a lot, learned more than we knew before. The only question was what it all meant.