Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter. Now that Camp NaNo is over, I should have more time to work on future chapters.

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Chapter 111.

"So, Julio also recognized the shop as the place we were held?" Jess perched on the couch that evening, one leg underneath her.

I nodded. "It was the smell that did it for him."

"I wonder where they would have taken us during the day when the mechanics were there."

"They would have found some place, but I don't think they were planning on holding you for long."

She nodded. "Because they demanded the ransom right away."

"And they asked for so little."

She sighed. "That still doesn't explain why they took us in the first place. Are we sure it was Julio they were after?"

"How could they know who you were? And besides, they didn't demand a ransom from your father or even your uncle." I smiled. "And another besides, you had no connection to anyone at the car shop."

She clutched a throw pillow to her chin and nodded. "Is it possible that none of us was the target?"

"No. Julio was the one they were after. They contacted Julio's boss for the ransom, so they knew who he was. And he did have a prior connection to the shop."

"A shop owned by Carlo Molino."

"It comes back to him, doesn't it? And his wife's death. I speculated early on that Julio was abducted to frighten him into retaliating against the Locarnos, but maybe he learned something and it was more to frighten him into keeping quiet." I shook my head over the conflicting thoughts.

"What do you think he learned?"

"That Molino had something to do with Francesca's death." I was almost certain of that.

She squeezed the pillow. "You've mentioned that before as a possibility, but never had any evidence."

"I still don't, but I'm more convinced than ever."

"So why would he send Julio after the Locarnos? And what would kidnapping him achieve? Even if Julio found proof that Molino had his wife killed, why would his abduction keep him from telling anyone?"

"That's what I still don't understand." I put my arm around her shoulders. "At least everything's working out for you and Nina."

She grinned. She'd been grinning a lot that evening, ever since she and her sister signed the lease for their new office space. "I think we'll be able to start serving customers in less than a month. If we have any customers."

"How can you doubt that now?"

She kissed my cheek. "Of course I don't."

"So what color did you decide on?"

She chuckled. "I bet you've been wondering about that all day."

"Well?"

She cleared her throat. "Nina still wanted the pale pink we'd talked about but I convinced her otherwise. We went to the restaurant supply store on Atlantic and checked their stock. The fabric had to be the kind that would take the imprint of our logo."

"I don't need chapter and verse. Cut to the chase."

"We decided on a pale blue linen." She pulled away from me and stood. "Wait a minute. I want to show you one. We had a sample printed."

She wasn't gone long. When she returned, she held a large square of fabric. Imprinted diagonally across the light blue were the walking edibles of their logo and the words 'A Movable Feast' in script. It was quite professional looking. "What do you think?" Her eyes were eager for my approval.

"Not bad." I forced my mouth into a straight line but I'm sure my eyes were smiling.

"Not bad? That's all you can say? It's brilliant!"

"Well, if you're sure of that, why'd you even ask me?"

"Why indeed." She tried to scowl, but ended up snickering.

"What else did you get?"

"Tablecloths in the same blue. They'll be imprinted too. And dishes, white with a silver rim they promised won't come off in the dishwashers. I didn't find any flatwear that looked good enough." She shrugged. "I guess I'll have to look somewhere else. Oh, and some glassware that looks like good crystal."

"But it's not?"

"Not at that price. Tomorrow, Nina and I will see what we can find in the way of appliances."

"There are already refrigerators and ovens at the office."

"We'll need some other things, even if the food is prepared at the restaurants."

"If you say so."

"This is so much more fun than keeping my father's books! I can't wait until we start meeting with clients."

"How are you going to let people know you're open for business?"

"We'll start with an ad in the local paper and on the local news. Nina thinks we should see whether we can post something at the hospital, but I don't really want to do that."

"I think you're right." What she said prompted another possibility. "What about advertising in some way at the restaurants that will be providing the food?"

"That's a great idea! I don't know why we never thought of it."

I wiggled my eyebrows. "Guess I'm good for something."

"You're good for a lot of things, Dr. House." She threw her arms around my neck and smacked my lips with hers. But she was still focused on what I'd said. "We can have business cards at the hostess desk and possibly signs. I guess each restaurant owner will have to agree to that, but since they'll be getting a cut of any catering we do using their food, I'm sure they won't mind promoting our business."

That was one of the things I liked about her. She was quick to realize the implications of every action she took.

"Any other brilliant suggestions?" She grinned at me, her hands around my neck pulling my head closer for another kiss.

"Gimme time. I know I'll come up with a few."

"I don't doubt that!" She let go of my neck and snuggled against my shoulder. "Greg, thanks."

I brushed a few brown hairs off her forehead. "What are you thanking me for?"

"I don't think I could have gotten this far without your support."

"Don't sell yourself short. I'm just along for the free food I see in my future."

"Free food?"

"What else will you do with the leftovers besides feed them to your boyfriend?"

She playfully slapped at my chest with her hand and smirked at me. I caught the hand and planted a kiss on the palm. One kiss led to another, and another. Soon we'd stood up from the couch and I was tugging at her shirt, then pulling it over her head, kissing the swell of her breasts above the top of her bra. Kissing her naval. I could see she was getting into it, so I continued lower, while she reached around to push up my T-shirt and massaged my back with her magic hands.

Before long, our clothes were strewn all over the couch and floor and our hands and lips had the access we needed to stir sensations. I stopped occasionally to marvel at her lovely figure, her firm, full breasts, her narrow waist and curvy hips. And then there was the admiration in her eyes as she looked at me. Talk about turn-ons! I could feel my body respond.

"Bedroom?" she whispered. She took my hand and we hurried to the bed, falling on it together before resuming our foreplay. That didn't last. In a short while, we joined, our hearts racing, our breaths coming in gasps. It didn't stop the kissing and caressing, at least not right away, not until we neared the pinnacle and the only thing that mattered was reaching and prolonging it.

Afterward, snuggling replaced the touching as our hearts and breathing returned to normal. "I don't think I'll ever get enough of you." Jess nibbled my right ear.

"That's good," I muttered into her sweet-smelling hair.

We both fell asleep after that, at least I did and I think Jess did too. When I woke hours later, my arms were empty, but she was still there, next to me. I slipped out of bed, used the bathroom and returned to find her snoring softly. When I smiled and stretched out again, sleep didn't come so easily. There were too many things whirling around in my mind. Usually it was occupied with working out a medical mystery, but lately I'd been studying a puzzle of a different sort. My well-honed analytical abilities hadn't been able to reach a clear solution, only theories and conjecture, and not a whole lot to support any of them.

I knew more than I did at the start, much more. But a lot of it didn't make sense. If I'd been dealing with symptoms and a medical history, I would have a better idea of how to approach the problem of proof, what to do next. Jess had raised some of the questions I still had. If Molino was behind the kidnapping, what was his motive. In fact, what were his motives for anything he did? I'd never met the man, only knew what others told me about him. There was little chance I'd ever meet him, yet getting the measure of the man might give me some more insight into what he'd done and why.

I finally fell asleep again, thinking of wild and crazy ways I could accomplish that. But in the morning I was no closer to figuring it out than I had been. It was as if something was blocking a part of my brain.

"Greg?" Jess snuggled close. "You look worried or maybe confused."

"Only stymied." I looked at her and brushed a strand of hair away so I could kiss her cheek. "If you wanted to get to know someone who was across the ocean without traveling to where they were, how would you do it?"

She shrugged. "Get them to come to me."

I grimaced. Yes that was the way to go, but how could I get Molino to come to New Jersey? And then how could I get to meet him?