“I want to discuss some things with you that have come up recently.” Pisano, turning to Hanna said, “I spoke with Sara, Ed’s sister’s friend. She’s the one with the friend, Jamie, who is the beautician that does T.J.’s wife’s hair on Thursday afternoons at the beauty parlor.”
“At first I didn’t see how anything was going to work here. Talking to Sara, I found out her friend Jamie has a little problem I might be able to help her with. Anyway this connection is still a possibility, but it may only be a long shot. I’m still working on an angle.” Still addressing Hanna, Pisano added, “If we go down this road, you have to be very careful. I’ll come back to this in a minute.”
It was obvious to Wade that Pisano and Ed had talked before this meeting, and Ed had arranged the meeting between Pisano and his sister’s friend, Sarah. Ed never mentioned anything to him. This irritated Wade. He felt Ed should have at least told him about this arrangement, since they were working together and Wade’s life was at stake. Ed had seen Wade at his garage last week, and he hadn’t said a word about any of this. Although he was upset, Wade didn’t say anything at the meeting. He just gave Ed a betrayed and frustrated look. He thought Ed picked up on it.
Pisano now turned to Ed and said, “We got a nibble on the parts inquiry you made last week.”
Ed responded, “They seemed interested when I told them. I don’t think they suspect anything.”
Pisano said, “We’re going to go very slow and easy with this one. I don’t want you involved in any part of the actual transaction. Is that clear?”
Ed replied, “I understand. I haven’t asked about it, and they haven’t offered any information. I think they are going to be very suspicious on the first transaction if they make any contact at all.”
Pisano said, “They already have.”
Ed was very surprised, “What? They have?”
“Someone who works for your boss called. He goes by the name of Jerry. There may be a meeting in the next few days, but there’s been no discussion of parts or the money involved. We think they’re checking out my guy right now.”
A little worried, Ed asked, “What if they find something?”
Pisano replied, “My guy will check out fine. He’ll have all the right criminal references when they check. The less you know the better. You don’t know anything about the call, or meeting, or what they discussed. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Pisano explained further, “That’s why I’m not telling you any more about it.”
Pisano turned his attention back to Hanna again. “I have an idea about how a meeting might work, but I haven’t thought through all the details. Sara’s friend Jamie is Linda’s beautician. She’s agreed to show some interest in you romantically. Do you see where I’m going here?”
Wade was genuinely lost for a second. “I’m not sure I do.”
Pisano spelled it out for him. “Look, we first have to have a reason for you to be around a beauty shop in the middle of the day. You’re not getting your hair done.”
Wade still wasn’t nodding or speaking, so Pisano kept going. “I don’t want the other girls in the shop becoming suspicious or asking questions Linda might overhear. It’s got to be natural, like boyfriend and girlfriend just meeting for the first time. Do you understand now?”
Wade said, “I’m still confused. Why do I want to meet her in the beauty shop?”
“Just listen for a minute. I see you don’t get around girls very often?” Pisano replied.
Wade quietly admitted, “No.”
“Okay. You have a crush on the beautician, Jamie. You happen to come by and see her while you’re on that side of town on a Thursday afternoon — when Linda happens to be having her hair done. Get it?”
“Yeah, I do now.”
Pisano answers, “Good. That’s as far as I’ve gotten. I need to think through how you get friendly with Linda so it doesn’t look contrived. It’s got all be a natural coincidence. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Pisano said “Sometimes doing undercover work, I would spend weeks just arranging a natural, coincidental meeting. This is still a long shot. It also depends on how much Linda knows and how scared she is.”
Turning back to Ed, Pisano said, “You cannot breathe a word of this to anyone, including Sara or your sister. Or your friend here,” gesturing toward Wade, “is dead meat.”
Pisano shifted in his chair a bit, getting ready to stand up. “Just to close out our meeting, I want to repeat that what I want now is to make sure everything gets back to normal. It may be a while before we see each other again, and I may meet with you both or with just one of you next time. Any questions?”
Wade had one. “Can I just drive by the shopping center where the beauty shop is — just to see the layout?”
“Yes. But do it quickly, and not on a Thursday.”
With that, the meeting ended.
It was only a week later that Wade got a call from Pisano, wanting to meet at the Ole Grille at 2:00 pm sharp the next day. Pisano asked Wade, “Did you go by the beauty shop?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We’ll talk more about it when I see you.”
They met at the scheduled time, at Pisano’s preferred table. Pisano began by saying, “We’re going to do a dry run on the meeting with Linda. First, I want you to see Jamie. I want you two to talk for a while, just to get to know each other. She said her slowest times are on Monday afternoons. So you’re going to see her next Monday afternoon. There will be other girls in the shop looking you over. You have to have your story down. You are a nice young guy who happens to know a mutual friend, Sara, who has just recently introduced you and Jamie. You haven’t really dated yet; you just like each other, and you want to see more of Jamie. Jamie will introduce you to the other girls in the shop.”
Pisano stopped and asked, “Are you getting this, Hanna?” Wade’s blank stare exasperated him. “It’s a natural meeting between boy and girl. It happens every day like this.” His frustration began to show in his tone as he continued, “I can see you don’t get around much. You look confused. You’re spending too much time with your engines.”
Wade just asked, “What do we talk about?”
“Anything light. Do you know anything about what the opposite sex might find interesting? Not engines, hot rods, or football. Do you know anything about cooking? Do you listen to music or know what bands are popular? Or what concerts are coming up around the lakefront?”
“Do you want me to ask her out on a date?”
“No, that would embarrass her in front of the other girls in the shop. You’re just visiting and making light conversation, something normal people do when they’re trying to meet someone of the opposite sex. Are you getting this? I’m a little worried that if you’re not natural you’ll cause suspicion.”
Pisano got an idea. “Practice conversations with other girls, and get comfortable in this situation. And remember these practice runs will be important, because you’re getting ready for a meeting at a whole different level soon. With the crime bosses’ wife. In that meeting you can’t make a mistake.”
“I’ll have an undercover agent at the strip center right across the street during the dry run. I’m not comfortable with putting someone in the shop with you, since the other girls haven’t seen you before. You’ll be on your own. The meeting’s set up, and I’ll let you know if Jamie for some reason wants to pull out. I’m helping her as a small favor with her brother’s problem. Hopefully she’s in for playing her role.”
The dry run with Jamie at Ronda’s beauty shop went better than expected. It was less stressful than Wade had imagined it would be, mainly because Jamie performed great and kept the conversation going. The other girls in the shop thought Wade was cute and that Jamie and Wade made a nice couple.