House is finally putting two and two together. Whether he'll get four remains to be seen.

Thanks for reading and leaving such wonderful comments.

Chapter 112.

It seemed strange to spend an entire morning at the hospital. We didn't have a new patient and I had all the time in the world to ponder my next moves on the Molino front. Could I get Julio to tell me what he found out? That would be a start.

At noon, I dragged Wilson to the Melting Pot. I didn't have to twist his arm, or even offer to pay, so technically I didn't drag him. And we went in his car.

Bertoli was conferring with the lunchtime hostess when we entered. He greeted me as a long-lost friend. "Dr. House! It's been over a week since you were here last. And Dr. Wilson, isn't it?" He turned to the hostess. "Amanda, take these two gentlemen to one of our best tables, and their meal is on the house." He laughed heartily. "On the House, get it?"

"It's better than on the Wilson, the way it usually is," my friend muttered as we followed the slim woman with the shapely legs to a side table.

"Har, har." I rolled my eyes. Everyone's a comedian.

"Why are we here?" Wilson beat a tattoo on the table as he looked around the restaurant.

"To eat fondu."

"I know it's not your favorite lunch."

"Who says?"

He shook his head.

A waiter brought tall glasses of ice water and a basket of rolls. "What would you gentlemen like today?"

I hadn't even looked at the menu. One thing stood out when I glanced at it. "The Teriyaki-marinated sirloin." My mouth watered just from saying it.

"Sounds good." Wilson nodded and shut his menu.

"Copycat!" It was a reflex, honed over the years. I didn't care what he ordered.

"Very good." The waiter probably would have said the same thing if we ordered a hot dog.

Wilson waited until he was halfway across the room. "So? Why are we here?"

"I was hungry."

"There are dozens of other restaurants we could have gone to, why this one?"

I knew he wouldn't give up until I gave him an answer that would satisfy his curiosity.

"I want to talk to Julio."

"Didn't you see him yesterday? Couldn't you call him?"

I looked around and lowered my voice. "I had to see him in person."

"And meanwhile get a free meal out of Bertoli."

I grinned. "Something wrong with that?"

Wilson busied himself with a roll, tearing it apart, biting and chewing it.

"What?" I knew there was something on his mind, and eventually he'd tell me.

He swallowed. "As long as I know you, I'll never understand why you do the things you do."

"That sounds like a cheesy song lyric. And you do understand me, or at least as well as anyone except maybe Jess. I'm following up on a theory about why Julio and the Giordano sisters were kidnapped. Don't you want to know that?"

"Well, of course I do."

"Then let me do whatever is necessary to get to the bottom of it."

He seemed to think that over "So what's your theory?"

I explained what I'd been thinking. "If Julio tells me what he learned that led to the abduction it'll go a long way to explain the entire situation."

"Maybe he knows whether Molino will be coming to New Jersey sometime soon. He could introduce you."

I hadn't thought of that, but couldn't tell him so. Instead, I said, "That's what I'm hoping."

Our food came, artfully arranged on the plate. It was as delicious as it sounded and looked, even without the dipping sauces, but they added a pungency, a kick, and left my mouth feeling very happy.

Wilson must have shared my opinion. "We should come here more often."

"I hope this is on the girls' catering menu." I didn't want to let go of the taste of the steak, but remembered the place had fantastic deserts, all sorts of cake and fruit that you dipped in hot chocolate fondu. We decided to share one of their largest platters and spent the next half hour immersing morsels and watching the deep brown sauce drip from them on the way to our mouths.

Bertoli came by before we finished. He put a hand on my shoulder. "How are you gentlemen enjoying your meal?" His smile indicated that he knew we'd answer positively.

"The food's fantastic!" Wilson never could hide his enthusiasm.

As casually as I could, I asked, "Is Julio around today?"

"Yes, he's in the office, I think. Working on the taxes. All morning, he's been going on and on about how much the auto shop changed since he worked there."

"I guess there was a turnover in personnel."

Bertoli nodded. "Every business is like that. You can't always keep the best people."

I'd found the same with doctors, but Bertoli wasn't interested in hearing about that. "Julio tells me he's much happier working here."

That brought a smile to his face. "He also said that the shop smelled like the place he and the young ladies were held. Is that right?"

"I believe so. Jess and Nina said something similar."

"Well, I'll be." Bertoli didn't sound as surprised as I'd expected.

I ignored Wilson's wide open eyes and mouth. "We're still trying to find out what the connection is."

"Julio's cousin's husband owns it, doesn't he? Is that why you want to talk to him?"

"Something like that." I finally had to say it. "Wilson, you can close your mouth now."

"Should I send Julio out to you?" Bertoli asked.

I rose. "It might be easier to talk to him in the privacy of your office."

"Sure. My office is your office, or words to that effect." Bertoli chuckled as he led the way back to the small room in the back.

Julio sat at the desk, entering data in the ancient computer. He looked up when I walked in with Wilson and Bertoli, and grinned.

"Dr. House wanted to talk to you. I'll leave him here with you. The place is busy today and I'm one waiter short." Bertoli left us.

"How can I help you, doctor? I've been thinking about yesterday and I'm certain now that was where we were."

I nodded. "Bertoli said you've been talking about that. Who did you tell?"

"What? Oh, just my boss and Luca."

"That's the other man who shares this office, right?"

"Yes. His title is office manager, but he does a little of everything. I'm surprised Bertoli doesn't have him waiting tables today."

"Where is he, then?"

"Oh, he just stepped out for a few minutes. We've been working on the payroll and the quarterly taxes." Julio shook his head. "You don't care about any of that, do you? Why are you here? And why do you want to know who I told about the car place?"

"It's not really important." I waved his questions away. "I wanted to ask if there was something you'd learned about Molino recently."

"What do you mean?"

"Did Tina tell you something that made you realize that Carlo Molino had something to do with Francesca's death?"

He started and his eyes flew open. "What? No. That's impossible."

"Which part?"

"The part about Carlo. He loved her. Why would he want her dead?"

"He must have thought you believed he did. That's why he had you kidnapped." I realized what his denial meant. "So, Tina never said anything." That was one of the missing pieces. "He must have learned that you didn't suspect him after all and decided to let you go. That's why the ransom was so low." I still didn't know how Molino got his information, but the rest of it made some kind of warped sense.

Obviously not to Julio. "None of this makes any sense." He rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

"Doesn't it? Think about it. Molino arranges his wife's death. To shift blame from himself, he sends you after the Locarnos who had nothing to do with...oh! But that's why he had her killed! He thought she was having an affair with Ricky Locarno."

"Tina's brother?" Julio flinched.

"Yes. He admitted he had the hots for her." I grinned at the way it was all coming together.

"Wow! I mean, I think Tina said something about a woman that Ricky liked. That was my cousin?" Julio's eyes couldn't be wider.

I nodded. "He never did anything about it, or at least that's what he told me. Have you ever met him?"

"Ricky? No. He's always busy. Tina says he's gung ho about his job, wants to prove himself. Oh, and he had a car accident a while back."

"It left him with damage to his legs, but that doesn't seem to be holding him back from working his tail off, just from pursuing the ladies. He found the perfect property for Jess and Nina's new business, you know."

"That's good. So he's a good guy?"

"Seems to be."

Wilson had been watching our dialogue but hadn't said a word. "House, your theory is sounding more and more far-fetched."

"That doesn't mean it's not what happened."

"So how do we prove it's true?" Julio asked.

"That, my boy, is where you come in."