Ben felt a little overwhelmed. “How often will you be doing ultrasounds now?”
“Well, I’ll continue to see you every two weeks, but we probably won’t do an ultrasound at each visit. Don’t worry. Everything looks and sounds fine. You know the reason we’re seeing Lane every two weeks is because the pregnancy is high risk, but as I said everything looks good.”
Lane and Ben made their next appointment and left the clinic. Ben held her hand as they walked to the SUV. He opened her door, helped her in, walked around, and got in himself.
Lane held the photo and looked at it, “It makes it seem so much more real, doesn’t it? The photo I mean.”
Ben nodded. “Sure does. It’s not just a concept; we can sort of put a face to him or her now.” He wanted to jump up and down, waving the photo while shouting to the world that he was going to be a Dad. Instead, he leaned across the console and kissed his wife. “I love you, Red.”
Chapter 7
Jamie watched as his parents walked out of the house and then he turned to Roy Tanner.
“Mr. Tanner, what do you really think is going on? Why would anyone care what was happening with a high school football state championship?”
They were sitting in the hearth room. “You’d be surprised, Jamie. Most people think that bookies only take bets on pro and college games, but when state championship time rolls around, some dabble in high school games. Especially when a hometown team is involved. I’m not saying that’s what’s going on, I’m just saying it’s a possibility. Then there’s the possibility a parent out there thinks their kid should be on the team. They may even think he should be the starting quarterback. In Texas a few years back, a woman hired someone to kill the mother of one of the cheerleaders at her daughter’s school because she wanted to get her own daughter on the squad.” He tried to give Jamie a look of encouragement. “People do some pretty unbelievable things for reasons that make sense only to themselves. Hopefully, the police will make the connection between the incidents with your friend and the coach, and figure out who’s responsible for them. But, in the meantime, it’s my job to keep you all safe. And, Ben and I will be thinking about the possibilities. We’ll make the connection or the police will and either way the police will arrest the person or persons responsible”
Jamie nodded and stood. “I’m going to get a soda. Can I get something for you?” He stopped at the door. “You and Dad do this kind of thing every day?”
Tanner chuckled. “Not every day, thank God. I was a detective for over 20 years before I met Ben. I didn’t have a perfect record like Ben’s, but I was good. We’ll figure this out.”
Tanner followed Jamie into the kitchen. Yeah, he’d been a cop for more than 20 years before he was arrested and accused of being a dirty cop. Ben had defended him, exposed the real criminal, and gotten Roy acquitted; but the smear was on his record. How could there not be? Ben discovered that Tanner’s partner, Cole Rayburn, had been skimming drugs and money on every bust that they worked. The drugs went up Cole’s nose or he sold them back to the dealers and then he used the cash to keep a mistress in a love shack he didn’t think his wife knew about. That’s the thing with wives though; they always know when their husband is having an affair. Some women just prefer to let the affair fizzle out on its own, but Cole’s wife spilled her guts to Roy and Ben. The rest was easy. They found the other woman and then just followed the money trail. After Tanner’s acquittal, he took early retirement and left the force. He’d been working for Luciano & Bellini ever since. To his way of thinking, he owed Ben Bellini and not just for keeping him out of jail. It isn’t unusual for disgraced cops to eat their guns.
Jamie brought his can of soda and a cup of coffee for his protection detail to the kitchen table. “The game is Friday. How much longer am I going to need protection detail?”
Jamie remembered Joey Bellini sticking by Jess 24x7 last month when she had the stalker. He shook his head. Sure, Mom thought Joey was protecting Jess but Jamie had overheard Joey saying that Jess could hold her own. Jess was a little bit of a thing, five feet four inches tall, and about 105 pounds. She had an advantage in that people, especially men, always under estimated her. It made him smile. Anyone who thought Jess was helpless because of her size soon found out just how wrong that was. Jamie on the other hand, stood six feet four inches tall and weighed in at 220 pounds. No one ever under estimated him based on size, but anyone who thought he was defenseless was every bit as delusional.
Ben had started taking Jamie and his siblings to the gun range three years ago, just after they moved to Kansas, and then Ben had gotten Lane to enroll Jess and Jamie in self-defense classes about the same time. Ben also took Jamie and his siblings to play paint ball or laser tag at least once a month. Even though Jess was in L.A. now, Ben, Jake and Jamie still went. He was anything but helpless, yet here sat Roy Tanner at the table with him, doing “protection detail.” It was annoying. But, if it made his mother feel safe, it was an annoyance he could live with. For now.
Tanner thanked Jamie for the coffee. “In a homicide investigation, the first 24 to 48 hours are considered crucial. Cops generally believe if they don’t have it figured out within that timeframe, that they won’t get it figured out. That doesn’t mean they always make an arrest in the first two days, but they usually have a suspect. It’s only been a few hours, but believe me; Detective Duncan is working the case.” Tanner took a drink of coffee before continuing. “Today, there are cameras everywhere. The police will be checking traffic cameras to see who came to the school today during the time that the medical examiner gave them as the window for the time of death. Most schools have a policy that visitors have to sign in, and they’ll be checking those logs too. They’ll check Coach Ferguson’s phone records. By the time it hits the news…” Tanner checked his watch, “…in a few minutes now, the whole city will be doing everything they can to help. No one is going to tolerate someone going into a school and committing a murder. I expect an arrest before the game on Friday.”
Jamie’s cell phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket to read the text message. “Dad was right; I just got a text that school is cancelled tomorrow.”
The door from the garage opened and Ben and Lane walked in. A look passed between Ben and Tanner saying that nothing had happened while they’d been gone.
“Roy, would you like to join us at Papa’s?” Lane asked. As she said it, she realized she didn’t really know anything about Roy. Whether he was married or even if he had family in the city. Maybe he needed a place to have Thanksgiving.
“Thanks for the invitation. I’d like that.”
Ben nodded to Jamie, “Bambino, did you check with Jake?”
“I sent him a text and he texted back. He said to let him know when we were leaving.”
Chapter 8
Ben was pensive, torn between suggesting he ride with Tanner so they could talk privately and wanting to gather his family close, when Jamie spoke up, saying he’d ride with Tanner. Tanner waited for a signal from Ben before he agreed. He knew Ben wanted to protect Jamie and that Ben’s first thought would be that no one could do it as well as he could.
They walked outside. Ben opened Lane’s door and helped her into the Escalade as Jamie and Tanner walked out to Tanner’s SUV.
As Ben backed out of the garage and reached for Lane’s hand, he said, “All right, spill. I can hear the wheels turning.”
Lane looked at him. He knew her so well. “I was just thinking about Roy. Is he married?”
“No, Tanner’s a widower. Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering if he had plans for Thanksgiving. Earlier today, I invited Meg and her family to join us Thursday.” She smiled. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re in-laws before too long, so I thought it might be nice to get to know her family. Besides, at this point, what difference would a few more people make?”
Ben gave her hand a squeeze. He knew that Jake was doing more than just thinking about proposing to Meg. Jake had come to him a couple of weeks ago to get some advice about buying an engagement ring. Ben had directed him to a salesman at Tiffany’s; and Ben had called the salesman himself to give the guy a heads-up that Jake Parker was a member of Ben’s family. “He’s like a son to me. Take good care of him.” Ben had told the salesman.
Since Ben exercised his Black American Express card there frequently since he had begun dating Lane, he was sure the salesman understood what he was saying. Then Ben had told Jake that he’d be doing some Christmas shopping there himself and suggested that Jake come along. Jake had taken him up on the offer and the two of them had dropped in last weekend.
*****
Ben had done introductions and the salesman had discussed the four c’s (Cut, Clarity, Color, and Carat weight) of diamond buying with Jake. Ben had told Jake that the old standard of spending two month’s salary on an engagement ring was just that, old. The important thing was to buy something Meg would love and to stay within the price range that Jake had in mind.
“You don’t need to go into debt to buy the ring.” He’d told Jake.
Ben knew that Lane had paid for college so that Jake didn’t have any student loans he needed to pay off. He also knew Lane had given Jake money from the trust she’d learned about a few months ago and that Jake had bought a house with it. Chances were that Jake had a sizable nest egg he could use for the engagement ring.
Jake nodded, “I see a lot of couples shopping for rings together, but you bought Mom’s ring on your own. How did you know what she’d like? I don’t want to open the box and have Meg look at the ring like it’s the ugliest thing she’s ever seen.”
Ben shook his head. “I’d known your Mom for a while, and I had been noticing her jewelry all along. But, I also had an idea of what I wanted to say with an engagement ring. I love your Mom, and I knew she loved me so, I was as confident as I could be that she’d be happy with what I designed. What have you noticed about the jewelry Meg wears?”
Jake shook his head. There was a look of utter confusion on his face. “I’ve never seen her wear a ring, so I’m flying in the dark.”
Ben offered an encouraging smile, “But she wears other jewelry. Earrings, a watch, a necklace. Something. What do those look like? Your Mom wears classic jewelry. Jess wears either bold and modern or vintage jewelry. What does Meg’s jewelry look like?”
Jake thought about it for a few minutes. “More like Mom’s than like Jess’s, that’s for sure.”
The salesman, Evan, took them to a private room and began by showing Jake the shapes: round, princess, pear, heart, emerald, asscher, oval, marquise, cushion, and radiant. He laid a one-carat stone in each shape on the velveteen pad in front of Ben and Jake. Jake quickly eliminated the heart, pear, and emerald shapes.
“How do you choose something classic and still get something that she won’t see on every other woman’s hand?” He asked, struggling with self-imposed pressure to pick the perfect ring.
“Round and princess are the two most popular shapes.” The salesman had told him. “They will never go out of style. The oval is classic and yet has a little edginess. It accentuates the hand and creates a slenderizing affect.”
Jake had eventually narrowed it to the oval or the cushion. All he had to do now was look at settings. They’d spent the better part of Sunday afternoon looking at stones. Jake had eventually settled on a cushion cut and had chosen a stone just over one carat. Evan had shown him settings and he’d chosen one that had small round diamonds around the center stone and had more small round diamonds on the shank. Evan hadn’t asked what Jake’s budget was, and Jake hadn’t spoken of it. When the total had come to nearly thirty thousand dollars, Jake hadn’t batted an eye; he’d held out his credit card and made the purchase.
Ben had promised Jake that he wouldn’t tell Lane. Perhaps it was another case of a lie of omission, but he planned to honor his promise to Jake. Ben didn’t know when Jake was planning to pop the question, but until he did, Ben wasn’t going to say anything to anyone about that shopping trip.
*****
Lane wasn’t surprised to see Jake standing next to his Chevy Silverado truck as they pulled into the parking lot. She also wasn’t surprised to see Meg and Abbey Kelly with him. Ben parked the Escalade, walked around the SUV, opened Lane’s door, and helped her get out. Little Abbey broke free from her mother and ran toward Lane. Ben scooped her up and held her so she could kiss her MizWane. Abbey who would soon be three years old was talking better every time they saw her, but she still had a little trouble with her L’s. Lane smiled remembering how shy Abbey had been when they’d first met almost four months ago. She’d come a long way since then.
Abbey squirmed and looked at Ben. “I walk now.” She said, and Ben let her down. She immediately reached for Lane’s hand.
They walked into Papa’s where Ben’s father, Dante Bellini, greeted them, hugging Lane, and kissing her on both cheeks. He tucked Lane’s arm in the crook of his elbow and walked the group back to the Board Room, which was the private dining room for the members of the Bellini family and their guests.
Although Meg had attended Ben and Lane’s wedding reception in the Ballroom at Bellini’s, it was her first time in the Board Room. She’d grown up in Kansas City and had heard the whispered rumors about the Bellini family being part of the mafia for as long as she could remember. The rumors didn’t fit with the family, as she knew them. Sure Jess Parker had called Ben’s cousin Daniela a couple of months ago, and asked her to handle the situation with Meg’s ex-boyfriend. Daniela had come with her father, Vincenzo Luciano. They’d wanted to take DNA samples, and when Meg had confessed that Scott Coyle was the only man she had ever had sex with, it seemed to be beside the point. Uncle Vinnie had told her, “You’d be surprised what DNA tests might show” as he’d taken a cheek swab from Jake and had Meg do the same with Abbey. He’d given the samples to Ben’s youngest brother, Pauli who was a doctor, and spoken something in Italian. A couple of days later, Daniela had called Meg’s ex, and gotten him to believe that Abbey was Jake’s daughter and that he needed to leave them alone. At the time, Meg’s only thought was keeping her abusive ex-boyfriend away from her daughter and she really hadn’t cared how it came about. It had worked and she had neither seen nor heard from Scott Coyle since.
Jake scooped Abbey up as they walked toward the Board Room. Meg glanced from her daughter to Jake. Abbey was a blonde haired, blue-eyed, cherub who easily could have been the child of the tall, blonde haired, blue-eyed man who carried her, except for two small things. First, she hadn’t even known Jake when Abbey was born and second, she still hadn’t had sex with Jake. She might have had a child “out of wedlock” but she was far from what anyone could call promiscuous.