Here's another chapter. Thanks for reading and leaving great comments.

Chapter 162.

Edgar Allen's comments had me thinking. What kind of business had Locarno tried to start in Sicily? And why there? Other parts of Italy might have been easier to penetrate. No, it couldn't be that. Molino's actions against him went beyond keeping him from moving into Molino's territory. He'd countered Lucarno's attempt by beginning a slow incursion into Locarno's.

Was it just a matter of controlling all the commerce in one area, or was there more? I'd never been a businessman and didn't know much about how they operated. But there was one person who might fill me in, and we'd be seeing him tonight.

"Doc? You kinda zoned out there for a few minutes." Edgar's booming voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"I was thinking about the questions we could ask Bertoli tonight."

His brows drew together. "Bertoli?"

"The owner of the Melting Pot. I guess I never mentioned that he was connected to Locarno."

"No, you didn't." Edgar smirked. "I'm sure there are lots of things you left out when you told me what was going on."

I nodded. "There's lots more and a few key players you should know about." I knew I could trust him, so I told him about Bev, about Petey, and about Locarno's son and grandchildren. "Tina Locarno works at the Melting Pot and so does her boyfriend, Julio Curci. He used to work for Molino, but now he's on our side."

Edgar chuckled. "So there's our side and theirs."

"Of course."

He glanced at his watch. "Did you want me to go home with you? I'd like to change my clothes before we go to the restaurant." He was wearing worn jeans and a Gold's gym t-shirt, which he sniffed. "Definitely need to change this."

"We can stop at your place first, and then go on to ours. I don't know whether Thirteen will be there with Jess, but since you'll be with us the rest of the night, I can send her home."

"Thirteen?"

"She works for me and volunteered to guard Jess."

"Who names their kid Thirteen?"

"Her parents named her Remy. It's not much better."

"Is she a doctor?"

"So she claims."

He let it drop. "So we'll go in about fifteen minutes?"

I nodded. "It's good that we don't take as long as women do to get dressed."

He laughed. "Sometimes I wonder what all they have to do in the bathroom. They look just fine when they go in, and not much different when they come out."

"So what kind of job are you looking for?"

"I was a salesman in a sporting goods store." He shook his head. "Retails not for me. People never know what they want and are unwilling to pay the prices the stores set. I tried working in the stockroom. They're always looking for big guys like me, but it was boring and the people I worked with couldn't string more than two words together. Those were my last two jobs."

I pointed to his T-shirt. "What about working in a gym?"

Edgar rolled his eyes. "Helping skinny women become skinnier or showing folks how to use the equipment properly and then watching them destroy it doesn't appeal to me." He held up a hand. "I know there are plenty of folks who are serious about exercising but unfortunately there are many more who play at it."

As we left, I told Chase and Foreman that I was going for the night. I didn't bother to thank Chase for suggesting Edgar, since it was obvious he was with me.

Edgar lived not far from the building where Julio's apartment was, but his place was much larger than the young Italian's. I sat in his living room on a nondescript beige couch while he changed. It didn't take him long. He came out of his bedroom wearing a good pair of slacks and a tan shirt, open at the collar. He carried a herringbone sports jacket.

I smiled as we continued on to the condo. As expected, Jess was in the bedroom, getting ready, and her shadow was waiting for her.

"You're dismissed for the night," I told Thirteen. "Edgar can take care of both of us."

Thirteen nodded and called to Jess, "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"You'll come with us to the party tomorrow night, won't you?" Jess said as she entered the room. She wore a striped knit maxi dress that showed off her curves and gave the impression that she wasn't wearing anything under it.

I whistled. So did Thirteen before replying, "I'd love to." She glanced at me and left.

Jess held out a hand. "You must be Edgar." She smiled at the big man.

My eyes narrowed, but I left them alone so I could get dressed. I chose navy slacks, a pale blue shirt that Jess liked, and my gray jacket, then put the jacket back and selected a tweed one.

Edgar and Jess were chatting comfortably when I returned to the living room. They sat side-by-side on the couch. A little too friendly for my taste.

I cleared my throat to get their attention. "Are we meeting your girlfriend there or picking her up?" I put extra emphasis on the word girlfriend.

"She'll meet us there. Her place is near the restaurant." Edgar stood.

Jess sat next to me in the car and our bodyguard sat in the back. I didn't think anything would happen that night, but we were going to Bertoli's restaurant. If we weren't targeted, Bertoli or Tina Locarno might be. Of course, her uncle had arranged for someone to guard her.

Edgar's girlfriend waited outside the Melting Pot. She was a tall, slim woman with a mane of chestnut hair and bright green eyes.

"Cheryl, this is Dr. House, the guy who diagnosed me when I had the blood clot," Edgar said. "And this is his girlfriend, Jess."

Cheryl scrunched up her pert nose. "I thought your doctor's name was Chase."

I studied her. "I'm Dr. Chase's boss."

Jess put a hand on my arm and squeezed, then smiled at Cheryl. "He means he's the real brains behind the team."

I guessed she meant I should play nice. I had every intention of doing that.

Tina's face lit up when we entered the restaurant. "Table for four tonight, Dr. House?" She took four menus from the hostess stand. "Right this way." We followed her to one of the posher booths, and she placed a menu in front of each of us. "All set for tomorrow night, Jess?"

"Yes we are, Tina. And we'll be using food from here next weekend."

"Great. Well, your waiter will be right with you. Enjoy your meal."

"Do you eat here often?" Cheryl was probably trying to figure out how we knew the hostess or rather how she knew us. "We've only been here two or three times before tonight."

We hadn't eaten here more than that, yet it seemed we'd spent a lot of time at The Melting Pot over recent weeks. "It's one of our favorites."

Before long our waiter appeared with ice water and took our drink orders. He was followed quickly by Bertoli himself.

"Back again?" he asked.

"Can't stay away." I wanted to talk to him in private, but that would have to wait. Meanwhile I said, "Edgar's here to guard our backs."

Bertoli's eyes narrowed. "This I gotta hear."

"I had a visit from Jess' father today, and it wasn't a social call."

"Bev's not in any danger, is she?" He frowned.

"I'm pretty sure Giordano doesn't know who she is."

He nodded, but the frown hadn't left his face. "Guess things are coming to a head."

"Yeah, but I still don't know what started this."

"Come to my office before you leave tonight." He forced a smile. "Nice to see you again, Jess." He nodded at Edgar and Cheryl. "Welcome back to the Melting Pot."

"Who's Bev?" Cheryl honed in on the important part of what Bertoli said.

So many possible answers. I decided to keep it simple. "She's our mole in Giordano's operation. Her sister used to be my patient." I felt Jess' eyes on me, and hoped she didn't add anything. I trusted Edgar, but he might share what he knew with his girlfriend. To forestall any more talk, I threaded my meat on a skewer and cooked it.

We were busy for a while eating the delicious food. I finished before the rest. Normally, I'd steal some of Jess' dinner. Instead, I said, "Excuse me for a few minutes. I'll be back right away." Without waiting for anyone to reply, I stood and headed for Bertoli's office.

Julio looked up when I entered. "Hi, Doc. I heard you and Jess were here."

"Let me guess. Tina, right?"

"Of course. So, what's up?"

I told him all I said to Bertoli earlier. "Just waiting for your boss so I can have a word."

"Oh, did you want me to leave?" Julio started to rise.

"No, no, stay right there. You should hear all of this, too. Maybe you'll have some insights or know something that will help."

Bertoli joined us and closed the door behind himself. "So, what else did you want to talk about?"

"I thought you wanted to see me." I stared at him.

"Nah, I just don't want your friends to hear whatever you want to discuss."

"I'm trying to piece together the sequence of events. Locarno went to Palermo to open a business a while back, right?"

He nodded. "Molino didn't take kindly to that, so Tony moved the operation to Naples instead."

"Why Palermo in the first place and Naples after that?" I thought of what I knew about business centers in Italy. "Why not, say, Rome, Milan or Bologna?"

Bertoli shrugged. "For some reason he has a soft spot for the southern part of the country."

"But he's from the north, isn't he?" I asked.

"Yes, like me. You'd probably have to ask him why he likes southern Italy so much."

"Okay, so instead of Sicily, he turned his attention to Naples. Did you know him then?"

"Of course. We've known each other forever."

I tapped my cane twice. "Did he know when Molino opened his two car shops in New Jersey?"

He nodded. "Tony laughed about it. Called him a pipsqueak, a gnat."

"But he didn't crush him."

"Nah. As long as Molino stuck to those two shops, he was no concern of Tony's."

"What about the fruit company?"

"That's a recent addition. But it still doesn't have my friend worried. Even Giordano's restaurant." He grinned. "Molino thinks he's making inroads, but he doesn't know how far-reaching Tony Locarno's control is. He'll find out."

"Molino might resort to violence. Julio can probably tell us how he operates in Palermo."

Julio grimaced. "That's true. Mr. Bertoli, I wouldn't take any threats he makes lightly. My cousin is a dangerous man."

Bertoli nodded. "Well, I guess we're forewarned."