House's investigation goes on, using everyone who agrees to help.

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Chapter 154.

So there was a connection between the Locarnos and Bertoli. And one between Jess' father and Molino. "Bertoli, have you had any dealings with Peter Giordano?"

"Me? No, never. As long as he played his games in Dorsey, I ignored him."

I eyed him. That was a strange way of putting things, making it obvious for the first time that Bertoli was a bigger fish than he first appeared, and that he was aware of Jess' father for some time but didn't think highly of him.

"And Tony Locarno? What does he think of my father?" Jess asked my next question for me.

Bertoli shrugged. "He didn't pay any attention to him either, not until he decided to open up shop here in Princeton. Now he's not so sure. Was it you two who steered Giordano to Marcello when he was looking for a location for his restaurant?" He had his own questions.

"If we'd known all the connections, we wouldn't have done that." I sipped my coffee and dipped another piece of fruit in the chocolate. "So he did approach Marcello.I wasn't sure he'd take our advice. Now, I wonder if he thought he was fishing for info on the Locarnos for Molino."

"I think I'm going to have to talk to my dad one more time." Jess had that stricken look again.

"Don't say anything about Bev being Bertoli's daughter," I warned.

"Oh, I won't." Her chuckle held no humor. "I'll let the two of you find out what she's up to."

Bertoli smiled. "As long as my daughter continues to keep her relationships with Marcello and me quiet, she could help us a great deal."

"Thanks for being so open with us tonight," I told him.

"But you think I should have told you more earlier." He tilted his head. "Perhaps I should have been more honest. A long habit, being in the background, pulling my strings. Tony likes the limelight, so I leave that to him."

"And no one knows the modest owner of the best fondu restaurant in Princeton has an agenda. What are you after, Bertoli?" I asked.

"I try to keep this town clean and safe, or at least more so than other cities in New Jersey. It helps that it's a college town and there's a large educated population, but you've noticed, I think, that we've kept Molino's businesses here to a minimum."

"The fruit company might have a bigger presence here than you think," I pointed out.

"Tony's got his eyes on that, making sure they don't get too big. Jess, do you know whether your father is using Bernini?"

She looked thoughtful. "I don't think I asked about that, or even warned him not to. I wonder what he'd say if I did. It might be a way to find out how closely he's working with Molino. I'll definitely bring it up next time I talk to him."

"Bev might be able to tell us who else he's hired." I smirked. "If she sees Morgan or even Giancarlo working at the restaurant, it would also tell us something."

Bernini scratched his ear. "Especially if it's both. I think I'll give my daughter a call tomorrow morning, and then let you know what she's learned so far."

"And I'll call my father. With Tina talking to her family, we're bound to find out more."

"Maybe." As always, I was skeptical, but we'd picked up a lot of valuable information in the last hour. "Of course, we also have a couple of people trying to learn more about the fruit company."

"You do?" Bertoli sounded surprised, although his face didn't show it.

I took a breath and let it out slowly as I thought about how much I could trust the guy. "Jess brother, Petey, is applying for a job at Bernini Fruit. Also, Bev's sister's boss is already a customer of the company, and he's been trying to get anything he can from the current drivers."

Bertoli whistled. "Seems like you've got a bunch of lines in the pond."

I grinned. "I do, don't I? And now we have to wait and see what my lines bring in." I stood. "Jess, I think we've done all we can here."

She nodded, took a last sip of tea, and got up. "Thank you, Mr. Bertoli. We'll talk to you when we have more, and hope you'll give us a call with any information you can gather."

We left the restaurant and drove home in silence. I thought about what we might learn over the next twenty-four hours, but didn't want to speculate. Based on the frown on Jess' face, she was still thinking about her father and how he'd contributed to Molino's efforts or what he might know.

Once we were inside the condo, she collapsed on the couch. I sat next to her and draped an arm over her shoulders. She rested her head on my chest, and sobbed. It didn't happen often. I hated when women cried, but just as I didn't mind when she giggled, her sobs brought out a protective impulse I didn't know I had.

"Greg, could my father be Molino's silent associate the same way Bertoli is Locarno's?"

"If he is, Molino's not as smart as I thought."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes on a tissue. "What do you mean?"

"Bertoli is a clever and skillful man, someone who would make anyone a good partner, but your father? In a small town, he was a big shot, so he didn't need much besides a clever accountant." I pointed to her. "But here in Princeton? Truly a small fish in a big pond. Why would Molino associate with him?"

"Why indeed." She put her hands on my chest. "I suppose we'll learn more tomorrow. Maybe we'll finally get to the bottom of all the questions we have." She got up and strode to the bedroom.

I followed, more tired than I'd been in a while, both mentally and physically.

We got ready for bed silently, then crawled under the sheet and moved toward each other in the center of the bed, but we didn't make love. I wrapped my arms around Jess and she snuggled against me and fell asleep. I smiled, kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes.

After an hour of filtering all we'd learned through my head, I slept, too.

In the morning when I woke, Jess was sitting up in bed.

"Good morning." I brushed an errant strand of hair off her forehead. "Feeling better?"

"Better? Yes, I guess so. I've decided that dwelling on the worst possibilities would be counter-productive. I'll wait and see what the truth is about my father before I jump to conclusions."

"That's what I told you." I love being right.

"Yes, I know. But when I first heard Bertoli's speculations, I couldn't see past them." She got out of bed and reached for her robe.

"And now?"

"They're only speculations, right? But I have to talk to Bev myself. I can't wait for Bertoli to do that and then tell us after he decides what we should know." She went into the bathroom, and I heard the shower.

She was right. The same applied to the people we asked to look into Bernini Fruit. I sat at the edge of the bed. I'd have to do some exploring myself, too. I trusted Rudy to tell me everything he learned. But Petey? Well, Jess' brother wasn't the most reliable person. By the time Jess returned and started to dress, I was out of bed, too.

As the hot shower water eased the stiffness in my aging muscles, I planned my day, including a visit to the fruit company. I still had to come up with a reason to be there, but I figured I'd think of one before I got there.

I toweled off and dressed. Jess was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, the one meal she was really good at. That morning we had scrambled eggs, sausage, toast and coffee. She ate some fruit, but knew not to offer me any. Much as I liked melon, grapes and whatever else she had in her bowl, those weren't breakfast foods in my book.

"I don't have to meet Nina until eleven, so I'm going to try to contact Bev this morning." She bit a piece of buttered toast. "After that, I might call my father." She sounded reluctant.

I nodded. "I think I'll pay the fruit company a visit before I go to the hospital."

"Why?" Her brows grew together. "I thought you had it covered between Rudy and my brother."

"I need to see for myself what kind of operation it is." I speared a link, and ate it from one end to the other. Before I even swallowed, I added, "It's like the car places. I had to investigate those for myself."

"You'll call me if you learn anything, especially connected to my father?"

"Of course. Don't worry, Jess. Whatever his part in this, we'll find the truth. Maybe you should hold off talking to him until we do. Then you'll be able to ask him to explain the things you don't understand."

She smiled. "Yes, I guess I can do that."

I drank the last of my coffee, wiped my mouth, and stood. "I better go if I want to make a stop on the way to the hospital."

"Why? They don't expect you before ten or ten thirty." She smiled for the first time that morning.

"Sometimes I like to show up earlier. Keeps everyone on their toes."

She laughed as she rose to kiss me goodbye.

##

Bernini Fruit Company was located in a warehouse on the east side of town, nestled between two other warehouses. The old brick building had few windows and a metal door with a small sign over it, with only the street number and the word Fruit, not even Bernini.

I parked along the curb between a pickup and an old Honda. Leaving my suit jacket in the car, I got out and walked to the door. There was no bell, only an even smaller sign that deliveries were made in the back and directing drivers to a side door. The knob turned in my hand, but the door didn't open. I walked around the building looking for the drivers' entrance.

A man came out a narrow door, reading a sheet a paper.

"This where I sign up to drive?" I asked.

He looked up. "They're not hiring. I just checked." He waved the paper at me. "Even though they advertised for drivers. Guess I'll have to try another place. You should too." He walked off down the street, still scanning his newspaper.

There went my idea of pretending to be looking for a job. I looked at the building again, wondering what other ploy I could use.

The drivers' entrance did have a bell. I rang it, and a skinny younger man with a bad case of acne opened it. "We're not hiring, just like I told the last guy."

"I'm not here for a job. I want to speak to the manager about a bad case of fruit you delivered to my restaurant." I could only hope it would get me in the door.