Brownies, Bodies And Bad Guys Part 6

Jack's mouth watered as he cut into his steak. It was perfectly seared, the outside brown almost to the point of being crispy and the inside a medium pink. It practically melted in his mouth.

They focused on eating their food for several minutes. The occasional sc.r.a.pe of silverware on plates interspersed with nummy noises were the only sounds to be heard.

Sprinkles danced in between them, s.h.i.+fting her attention from Lexy to Jack. Finally the poor dog could stand it no more and she let out a soft bark, stealing Jack's attention from his steak.

"Oh, you need a treat, don't you?"

Sprinkles went crazy, spinning and bowing. Jack cut a little piece of steak and held it out to the dog who practically rolled her eyes back in her head. She went through a repertoire of tricksa"first putting out her paw, then sitting, then rolling over without any promptinga"causing both Lexy and Jack to laugh. Finally Jack gave the steak to the dog who inhaled it, then looked to him for more.

"The steak is delicious." Lexy pushed her plate away and sipped more beer.

"Thanks. I think I have my grilling technique perfected this year." Jack smiled as he popped the last piece of steak in his mouth. Over the past year, they'd grilled out a lot together and he actually had been practicing on cooking the perfect steak.

"Thanks for making all this," Lexy said, as she put the Saran Wrap back over the bowls.

Jack pulled her chair closer to his.

"My pleasure," he said, taking her palm and rubbing it with his thumb, then working his way up her arm, moving his face slowly closer to hers until finally, their lips met.

He kissed her tentatively at first, his heart beat kicking into high gear when she sighed and parted her lips. Her tongue flicked his lower lip and he pressed his mouth harder on hers, scooping her out of her chair and into his lap.

He felt her hands snake around his neck as he caressed the silky fabric of her top, then slid his hands underneath to her warm, soft skin. She let out a mewl of contentment which caused his own growl of satisfaction as a warm tightness started to form in his lower belly. His lips left hers to trail down her neck, his arms tensing to pick her up and carry her inside.

And then her phone rang.

"Shoot." She broke the kiss and looked at her phone on the table. "It's Nans, I better take it." She scrambled out of his lap and back into her chair.

Jack leaned back with a sigh. He watched her answer the phone, thinking of how beautiful she looked with her tousled hair and lips all puffy from their kiss.

But then his heart clenched and his stomach turned to lead when he saw the color drain from her face.

"Lexy, what's wrong?"

She snapped the phone shut and looked at him, alarm in her eyes.

"We have to get to the hospital right away. Ruth's been attacked!"

Chapter Eleven.

Lexy's stomach was tied in knots as she rushed down the hospital corridor in front of Jack, her mind conjuring up images of Ruth, tiny and pale, lying in a hospital bed wrapped in bandages.

She skidded to a stop in front of the room. Where was that loud laughter coming from?

Peeking into the room slowly so as not to disturb Ruth if she was sleeping, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open.

Ruth was propped up in the bed, but she wasn't frail and bandaged. She was sitting in a blue dressing gown, her back supported by several pillows, her cheeks flushed with excitement and her blue eyes twinkling. Nans, Helen, Ida and Ida's fiance, Norman were gathered around the bed. The five of them were having a grand old time laughing and talking.

Lexy looked at Jack who simply shrugged and walked into the room.

"Ruth! Are you okay?" Lexy made her way to the bed and gave Ruth a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, yes. It takes a lot more than a little crack on the noggin to put me out of commission."

"What happened?" Jack asked from the foot of the bed.

Ruth leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Well, I had just gotten home from the grocery store. The last thing I remember is putting my key in the lock to my condo and BAM." She accentuated the last word by clapping her hands together. "Someone conked me on the back of the head and I went down like a sack of potatoes."

Lexy exchanged worried looks with Jack. "Did you see who did it?"

"No. They hit me from behind. But I must have been out for a while because when I woke up, I was lying on the couch and the house was a mess."

"They searched it?" Lexy's steak sat like a brick in her stomach. If they had knocked out Ruth and searched her condo, would Nans be next?

Ruth nodded.

"How did you get to the couch?" Jack asked.

Ruth spread her hands. "I have no idea a and the other funny thing is that my groceries were put away! Which is a good thing because I had ice cream and frozen peas in there."

Jack narrowed his eyes at Ruth.

"This is good news!" Nans said. "If they are still looking for the will, and we know Ruth didn't have it, that means whoever it was is still around and we still have a chance of catching them."

"Did you say they were looking for a will?"

Brax's voice drifted in from the doorway and everyone turned in that direction. Lexy saw Jack's eyes narrow even further and his back stiffen.

"Oh, hi there." Nans craned her neck around the curtain to greet Brax as he walked further into the room.

"I hope I'm not intruding. I heard about Ruth and wanted to make sure she was okay." Brax winked at Ruth whose cheeks turned scarlet.

"Seems I'm no worse for the wear," she said.

"Now what's this about a will?" he asked.

"The family said Nunzio's latest will was missing so we a.s.sume that's what they have been looking for." Nans eyed Brax keenly.

Brax rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "That could be. Or it could be something elsea something more dangerous."

"You mean something to do with his days in organized crime?" Nans asked, looking from Brax to Jack.

Brax glanced over at Jack. "We don't know that for certain, but the bottom line is that you ladies shouldn't be messing with this. I'm sure detective Perillo will agree."

Jack nodded. "Ruth wasn't hurt badly this time, but next time you guys might not be so lucky."

Ruth laughed. "Well, I dare say the people behind this can't be all bad. After all they did carry me to the couch and put my groceries away."

"Gentlemen thugs!" Helen said causing a round of giggles.

Brax rolled his eyes at Lexy then pulled her to the other end of the room. Jack followed right behind her.

Brax glanced over at the bed where the others had resumed their conversation.

"Something about this seems off. Why would the family members search Ruth's place?"

"She was Nunzio's girlfriend a of sorts," Lexy said. "They probably found that out at the memorial."

"What do you think, Perillo?" Brax eyed Jack. From the looks the two of them were giving each other, Lexy didn't think they liked each other very much.

"I agree. Could be someone much more dangerous than a family member. Or the family members could be more dangerous than we thought."

"Yeah a I'd feel a lot better if Ruth had gotten a look at them. Then we'd have a better idea of who we were up against," Brax said, moving in closer to Lexy. He leaned down toward her, lowering his voice, "I think you better take my advice and keep a close eye on your grandmother."

Jack put his arm around Lexy and she got the feeling she was the prize in some sort of invisible battle. Brax narrowed his eyes at them, his brows rising in realization as he glanced down at her engagement ring.

"She will." Jack answered for her. Lexy wrinkled her brow at him and pulled away. She was perfectly capable of answering for herself.

"Yes, I certainly will," she said, then put her hand on Brax's upper arm. "Thanks for looking in on Ruth."

Brax smiled and turned to leave, giving Jack an unfriendly glare. Then his eyes softened as he aimed them at Lexy.

"You have my number if you find anything out or need my help," he said before turning and disappearing out the door.

"You have his number?" Jack's question forced Lexy's attention away from the retreating back of the F.B.I agent.

"Yes, he gave me his card." she smiled up at Jack. "For the investigation."

Jack furrowed his brow and looked back out into the hall. Lexy wondered if he was jealous of the attention Brax was paying to her. Well, serves him right, she thought. If he can have a woman friend, then she could certainly have a man friend. She figured it wouldn't hurt Jack one bit to see what that felt like.

Lexy joined the crowd around Ruth's bed.

"Did you get anything we can use from him?" Nans asked.

"Not really," Lexy replied.

"I think his presence here is a telltale sign this has something to do with organized crime, right Jack?" Helen raised her brows at Jack.

"Not necessarily. We haven't narrowed down all the suspects yet."

"Well, no matter who it is, we know they didn't get what they were looking for from Ruth's place so they will keep looking. I have a feeling this case is about to heat up." Nans rubbed her hands together, a gleam of excitement in her eye.

"Me too," Ruth said, pus.h.i.+ng the covers back and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Now get me my street clothes. We need to get out of here and start investigating before something worse happens."

Chapter Twelve.

"This key isn't the right size for the bus terminal lockers or a post office box." Nans turned the little silver key that had been in Ruth's locket over in her hand, then looked up at the other women. "But I think it might be a good fit for the lockers in the fitness center."

"We could check there first," Ida said. "But I also think we should try to get into Nunzio's condo and see if there is a box or safe with a lock that might fit the key."

"Ruth, you wouldn't happen to have a key to his place, would you?" Nans asked Lexy saw Ruth blush. "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Okay then, shall we?" Nans stood up and motioned for the others to follow.

Helen, Ruth, Ida and Lexy all pushed themselves away from Nans's mahogany dining table and followed her to the door. Lexy brought up the rear, glad that she had arranged to leave Ca.s.sie in charge of the bakery for a few days so she could keep an eye on the ladies and make sure they didn't get into too much trouble.

The fitness center was one building over. They followed Nans down a long corridor, two flights of stairs and through the gla.s.s doors that led to the large gym that was free for all seniors who lived at the retirement center.

Nans marched right in heading for the lockers, then stopped short, turning to face the others.

"What's wrong?" Ida furrowed her brow at Nans.

"I just realized Nunzio would have used the men's locker room," Nans said holding the key up. "Who wants to go in?"

The four of them raised their eyebrows and shook their heads.

Nans narrowed her eyes at the desk which was attended by one of the trainers, a twenty-something muscle bound type who was busy frowning over a calendar.

"I'm wondering if you can help me," Nans said approaching the desk.

Muscles looked up with one eyebrow c.o.c.ked.

"You see, my friend gave me this key to his locker and I need to get his belongings from there." Lexy tried to hide her smile when she saw Nans put her free hand behind her back, her index and middle fingers crossed. "He recently pa.s.sed away."

"Let me see." Muscles looked at the key then frowned. "This isn't one of ours."

"It's not?" Nans furrowed her brow.

"But if you're friend is Nunzio Bartolli, his brother already came to get the stuff from in his locker."

Lexy felt her stomach sink and saw Nans's brows knit even closer together. "He did? What did he look like?"

"Old guy with a really long, gray beard." Muscles ill.u.s.trated his words by holding his hand at mid chest level below his chin. "His locker was empty though. Nunzio never kept stuff in it."