Now that we know Christopher will be OK, let's move on...

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Chapter 130.

The next morning we rushed through our shower and breakfast. Jess' appointment was at nine, and we wanted to be early enough that we could talk to the technician doing the ultrasound.

But the technician was later. While Jess changed into an exam gown, I tackled the young woman who'd checked her in. "I never had a test like this. Have you been working here long?"

"Two, three years. It's a job."

"Aren't they all." I snickered.

"Well, yours must allow you to take off time in he morning."

My experience lying allowed me to prevaricate with the best of them. "I work nights. I'm a night worker."

"Oh." She went back to her paperwork.

"I hope this won't take long." I glanced toward the dressing room.

She looked up with ill-concealed annoyance. "Not long, but if you work nights, why are you in a hurry?"

I shrugged. This was going to be harder than I thought. "I suppose you worked here when my friend's cousin Francesca had her ultrasound. So sad."

"An ultrasound was sad?"

"No, what happened to her soon after." At least I had her attention. "Poor woman. Just after they proved she could have a child, she was killed in a car accident."

"Oh, how awful! Frances, you said?"

"No, Francesca. Francesca Molino." I watched her face, but there was no sign of recognition.

Her brows drew together. "I don't recall that name. And even if I did, I couldn't tell anyone about her, now could I?"

"You're not a doctor."

"But I still have to keep our patients and their results confidential." She looked toward the door and smiled as a young and good-looking man came through. He wore a tight T-shirt that showed off all of his muscles, and obviously the receptionist appreciated what she saw. "Morning, Todd."

"Oh, hi Maxine." Todd did a quick scan of me. "Can I help you?"

"I'm just hanging around waiting for my girlfriend."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "I guess that's my first sonogram for the day."

"She's waiting for you." Maxine pointed to the adjoining room.

"Good." He left as quickly as he came, this time through the door to what had to be the exam room.

Maxine's eyes didn't leave him until he walked through the door. I wasn't going to get any more from her, so I sat and took out my phone to call Jess' father.

Senior answered on the first ring. "Dr. House?"

"Yes, I'm going to have to cancel for today. Got an emergency." Let him make whatever he wanted of that.

"That's too bad. I was looking forward to our meeting." He sounded disappointed. "Maybe we can reschedule."

"I have a busy week, but I'll call when I have an opening or two."

"Alright. I'm working on setting up my restaurant. I found the perfect location for it, not far from your hospital in fact." His disappointment was replaced with excitement.

"Sounds good. Well, gotta run."

"Of course. I know you're a busy doctor."

I closed the connection without saying goodbye. And then I waited. All the magazines in the waiting room were from 2010. Two more people entered, and the receptionist sent the woman off to change into an exam gown, while the man she was with took out his phone and fixed his eyes on it.

I could do the same, play a game or read the news or something. When did phones become so much a part of our lives? I shook my head and tapped my cane until the guy looked up to scowl at me.

I was about to leave and get some vending machine coffee when Jess came out. She smiled at me. I hoped that meant she'd learned more from Muscles than I did.

We walked out to the elevator. She pushed the button and said, "That was interesting."

"What did Todd say, or were you referring to his physique?"

She grinned. "I mentioned that a friend of mine had been there a year or so ago. She'd gotten good news, but unfortunately, soon after she was killed in a car accident."

"I tried that with the receptionist, but she wasn't very forthcoming."

"Well, the sonogram technician was. How did you know his name?"

"Maxine used it as she drooled over him."

Jess laughed. "You must admit he's a hunk."

"Get to the point." The elevator dinged and we got on. There were three other people already in the car.

Jess voice became a whisper. "He seemed surprised I knew Francesca."

"He called her by name?" The woman standing next to me moved closer, and I lowered my voice, too. "I'm surprised."

Jess smirked. "Once he got started, he couldn't shut up. Guess he never heard of confidentiality about patients. Anyway, he said she was a lovely woman in every sense of the term, gorgeous to look at and pleasant toward everyone. He was devastated, his word, when he heard she was killed."

I nodded. "Obviously she was very attractive. The question is whether she caught the attention of our serial killer." I purposely said the last loud enough that our eavesdropper could hear. She gasped, as I hoped.

We'd reached the ground floor and got out. As we walked toward the car, I asked, "Where should I drop you?"

"Are you going to meet my father?"

"No, I canceled that appointment, but I want to stop at one or both of the car places on my way to see Marcello."

"I'll come with you." She linked her arm in mine. "I'm almost as curious as you are about what you'll find, and I may be able to achieve something you can't."

She was right. People told her things. Even I did.

I drove to the nearest of the car shops, the one that did the detailing. They were busy. It had to be a lucrative business for Molino. I had to part on a gravel side lot rather than in front of the place.

They must have a huge turnover in salesmen, because the ones who were there the last time were gone, replaced by another band of overeager, smiling men.

"What can we do for you today?" A bouncy young fellow with slicked-back blond hair approached us.

"Is Mike here?" I'd been thinking of an opening line during the drive over.

"Mike?" His brows squished together.

"Yeah, he was our salesman last year." I tried to recall the descriptions I'd seen of Morgan. "Dark- haired guy." I looked him up and down. "Taller and heavier than you."

"Sorry. I've only been here a short time. I never met him. Maybe you should talk to my manager, Tony." He pointed to a man who looked familiar. He was the one in the picture with Francesca, so he had to have been here a while.

I nodded. "Thanks." I made for the manager, while Jess drifted over to the wall of photos.

Tony was with a customer, so I loitered, pretending to look at some of the brochures on what they could do to a perfectly fine car. Finally, he turned to me. "May I help you? I'm Tony Cossimo, the manager here." He held out a hand.

I shook it but only gave my first name. "Greg." I couldn't use the same line with him as with the new salesman, so I changed my tactics. "I don't know if you remember me, but I've been in before."

His eyes narrowed, then he shook his head. "Can't say as I do."

So, he didn't recognize me from my recent visits. "Yeah, well, it was a while ago." I made a big deal of looking around. "I don't see Mike here any more."

"Mike? Do you mean Mike Morgan?"

I snapped my fingers. "That's it!"

"We had to let him go." He didn't sound sorry. "He, um, there were some problems." He rolled his eyes.

"With his work?" I probed.

"You could say that."

"Was he a good salesman? Because he seemed to be." I held his eyes. That usually forced some truth out of people.

"He – I guess I can tell you, he was a pest, wouldn't leave – someone alone."

Was he talking about Francesca? How could I get him to tell me? "One of the other salespeople, huh? Surely not a customer."

"Not exactly." He let out a deep sigh. "It was the boss' wife."

Bingo! "That's terrible!"

He nodded. "And what was worse, she was killed in a car accident, and he was the other driver. Can you believe that?"

"I hope he paid!"

"Actually, he got off. I told the boss I'd testify against him, but he said it wasn't necessary. And then the scumbag got off. Had a record, too, but they didn't pay any attention to that either." He shook his head. "I should never have hired him, you know?"

He'd given me all I needed, but I couldn't just walk away. "Yeah. But how could you tell?"

"Couldn't, but I've been much more careful who I hired since then." He stood up straighter and pasted on a salesman's smile. "So, what can we do for you today?"

"I could use flashier wheels on my car." I turned and waved. "It's out there on your lot. Can you give me a price for 'em?"

"That will depend on the size of the wheels and what you have in mind. Let me show you a few of our best rims." He led me to a cubicle with half-glass walls.

As I followed him, I signaled to Jess. A slight bob of her head showed she understood. I let Tony give me his spiel about aluminum rims vs. steel, nodding periodically, until Jess came racing in.

"Greg, I'm not feeling so well." She clutched her stomach. "I think it's something I ate."

I glanced at Tony. "I guess I'm going to have to take her home. Sorry about that, but I'll be back."

"Sure, sure." He shoved some brocures at me. "Take a look at these and let us know which ones appeal to you. And, Miss, I hope you will feel better soon."

We hurried to the car and didn't speak until we were safely inside.

Jess couldn't wait any longer. "Morgan was in one of the pictures of Francesca with that man you were just talking to."

I nodded. "Tony confirmed that he worked here as a salesman, but he was fired. All the manager would disclose was that he pestered the owner's wife."

"He actually said that?"

I nodded. "And how terrible it was that she was killed, and he was the one who crashed into her."

"Wow! So our speculations are true. But what does this have to do with the Locarnos? And why does Molino keep sending people after them?"

That was the remaining question. Oh, sure, there were a few stray ends we hadn't tied up, but that was the big one. "I'm still meeting with Marcello later. Maybe he can tell me something."