We were away for the weekend, so this is a day late. Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger last time.
Hope you enjoy. If you do, leave a few words.
Chapter 176
Before Morgan could reach the door with Jess, I sprang out of my seat. I used my cane to knock the gun out of his hand. Edgar was there in a flash. He wrapped his arm around Morgan's neck and yanked until Morgan loosened his grip on Jess. I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward me, out of harm's way, then watched as Edgar gave Morgan a proper thrashing.
Meanwhile, the bodyguards had subdued the rest of Morgan's men. Once Jess caught her breath, she told the crowd, "Sorry for the interruption. Please go back to enjoying your dinners. There's quite a lot more food to come." She smoothed her hair, swallowed experimentally as she rubbed her neck, kissed my cheek, and went back to the kitchen.
My heart eventually resumed its normal rate, especially when the bodyguards escorted Morgan and his men out of the restaurant, but I pushed my plate away until the next course came out, blackened chicken and sirloin cubes, along with cauliflower florets and white asparagus, to be dipped in a bechamel sauce or one made from black beans, both with tantalizing aromas. I looked at the food and then rose and walked to the kitchen, forcing myself to keep from running. The minute I saw Jess, directing her staff and Bertoli's cooks, I felt my shoulders unclench.
"What are you doing back here?" Her hands went to her hips.
I shrugged. "Thought I might be able to help."
Jess smirked and placed a hand on my cheek. "Were you checking up on me? Chill, Greg. Morgan's not going to come after anyone for a long time."
"He's only the muscle. What about your father and Molino? There's a back door." I swung my cane up to point in that direction, barely missing knocking over a huge pot of some boiling liquid. "The one Nina used to get it."
"The back door is locked and Locarno stationed a guard just outside." Her hand came to rest on my chest. She gave a gentle push. "Go enjoy your dinner." There was concern in her eyes. Why would she be worried about me? I wasn't the one still in danger. "Go," she repeated.
I had no choice but to return to my table. With occasional surreptitious glances toward the kitchen, I selected some meat and skewered it. Boy would I like to skewer Giordano and Molino! I dipped the steak in the almost black sauce and held it there long enough to cook it to a rare consistency. It certainly looked good.
The murmurs of approval all around me and the smiles of the other party attendees encouraged me to sample what I'd cooked. Wow, that was a good combination! I'd have to remember it the next time we ate here.
"Food's great," Doreen Beck said around a mouthful of chicken.
Her husband nodded. "Maybe we should hire the caterers for our daughter's engagement party."
"You should, " Wilson said, as Jess approach. "You can even mention it to Jess now."
"Are you the caterer?" Doreen asked.
"My sister and I." She glanced at me, then Wilson. "I hope everything's to your liking."
"I think you may have another client," he said.
"Oh, are you two planning a party soon?" Jess slipped easily into business mode.
"Our daughter is getting engaged." The grin on Doreen's plump face couldn't be wider. "If you can provide food this good, we'd love to have you do it. Only Meg and her fiance like oriental food."
"That's not a problem. When I have a chance, I'll bring you some sample menus."
She held out her hand. "Jess Giordano."
"I'm Doreen Beck. Pleased to meet you." She shook Jess hand. "Everything tonight was wonderful so far."
"Including the floor show?" I asked with a smirk.
"Oh that," Doreen looked to the ceiling. "I'd heard there might be some kind of altercation tonight, so I came prepared." She took something from her purse. "Pepper spray."
"Well, now I know I'll be safe the rest of the evening," I snarked.
Jess gave me her 'now behave Greg' look. "I have to go check on the dessert course, but I'll be back."
We made it through the main course without any more incidents. Locarno's guys filtered back into the restaurant. Guess they stored the thugs somewhere.
Before dessert was served, Bev rose to toast her sister. It was a nice enough speech as those things go, something about how worried she'd been when she'd heard Marisa was sick, although she insisted on calling her Marlene. She thanked all of the doctors for their hard work and expressed gratitude to everyone for coming. I noticed she hadn't invited her mother to the party.
Bev was followed by Ricky. "If you hadn't gotten sick, and we hadn't become involved with the doctors at PPTH and the Giordano sisters, I never would have met you." He turned from Marisa to face everyone else. "So here's to kismet and to the future."
The toasts over, the waiters and waitresses finally brought out the desserts. They continued the black and white theme. Black cherries and blackberries, chocolate brownie bites flavored with pepper, vanilla ice cream and tons of whipped cream, black and white cookies (and I don't mean Oreos), a white chocolate fondu, and many more. I tasted almost everything, but drew the line at the anise-flavored blood pudding. Just the smell turned me off.
The smiles on everyone's faces testified to their enjoyment. Of course, they'd all imbibed some of the wide choices of wine and two kinds of champagne, so the laughter was understandable.
"I guess we've made it through this without any real damage," Wilson said, but he spoke too soon.
The crowd was enjoying themselves so much they didn't notice the reentrance of Carlo Molino and he wasn't alone. They caught Bertoli off-guard. One of them grabbed him and passed him to Molino, who shouted loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear. "The party is over. This restaurant is closed until further notice."
His Italian accent was thicker than those who'd live in the U.S. for many years, but the English was flawless. Diners didn't know what to make of him or his announcement. Most were in the middle of a delicious meal. A few stood immediately and scurried out the front door, but the rest stood their ground.
Locarno stood next to the table where his son, nephew, Bev and Marisa were enjoying their dessert. His voice was as commanding as Molino's and his accent less pronounced. "Your issues are with me and my family, not all of these innocent people. I'll ask you and your goons to release Signor Bertoli and leave immediately."
Molino stared at him. "You cannot believe you can intimidate me, do you?"
"It's you can't, can you," Marcello stood shoulder to shoulder with his father. "And yes we can."
"Bertoli has been working with you. He knew the consequences." Molino held a gun to the restauranteur's head.
A cry escaped from Bev despite the hand she slammed to her mouth. Molino's eyes narrowed. "Beverly? Is that you? What do you have to do with all of these people?"
She stood, took a deep breath and walked steadily toward him, despite Marcello hand reaching for her arm and his whispered, "Bev, don't". She shook him off. "Hello, Carlo. Welcome to my world."
"You know these people?"
"The man you're holding is my father, and I won't let you hurt him."
Marcello hadn't been able to stop her, so he motioned for his men to close in on Molino.
Molino stared at Bev. "Did they send you to Italy?"
"It was a fortuitous meeting. I knew who you were when we met."
"You didn't answer my question. Did Bertoli send you to spy on me?"
Bev shrugged. "I was in Europe, studying. When I met you, I decided I could help my father by gaining information about you and your operations." She smiled. "I'm glad I did because it's helped him in defending himself against your little vendetta."
"Ah, but is it helping him now?" He tightened his grip on Bertoli. "It would seem to me that I have the, how you say, upper hand." Molino sneered.
She shook her head. "You won't be able to go far." Her eyes flicked to the men closing in on Molino and her father.
Molino stiffened, but held tightly to Bertoli and pressed his gun to Bertoli's head. "Tell everyone to let us go, or I shoot."
Edgar had returned from disposing of Morgan and his men. He inched closer and closer to Molino, staying out of his view, while two of the bodyguards covered the front door. "Signor Molino," he called.
The Italian turned his head to see who said his name, and his gun arm automatically lowered.
A bodyguard and Edgar were on him in a flash, freeing Bertoli and capturing Molino. Edgar knocked the gun out of his hand.
Bev ran to her father. His arms enveloped her.
"What do we do with this dirtbag?" Edgar asked no one in particular.
"We'll take care of him," Locarno said. He motioned for three of his men to grab Molino and escort him from the restaurant.
I didn't want to know what had happened to Morgan, but I was curious about what Locarno would do with Molino.
"Eat up, everyone. I think the second act is over," Locarno said. He sat again and took a large piece of the blood pudding, smiling as he began to eat it.
Everyone else found their seats. Wilson practically collapsed into his. "So, it's over?"
"You know what Yogi said."
"But they have Morgan and Molino," he argued.
"You're forgetting someone."
I saw the moment the penny dropped. "Giordano? But he's only small potatoes. With Molino out of the picture, he should fold."
"You think so?" I shook my head. "Don't be so quick to count him out. The way he's treated Jess and Nina, it's clear he has an agenda. With Molino taken down he can take over the operations in New Jersey. And don't forget Bernini."
"I thought Bernini was brought in as a replacement when Julio wouldn't finish the job he was sent to do."
I'd wondered about that. "If that was all he was here for, he wouldn't have set up the fruit company after his attempted attack on Ricky failed. That may have been a smoke screen to throw the Locarnos off."
"So you expect more from them tonight?" His eyes went to the front doors, but they remained blissfully closed.
"It can happen at any time."