CHAPTER FOUR #2
“Unique. Yeah, that fits.” Eddie stood and stretched his arms high overhead. “The bed in Mom’s guest room is too small for me, so I’m planning to bunk with my team.”
Mark brows lifted. “Have you told her that yet?”
“Not yet.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m waiting for the right time.”
“Sure you are.” Mark set the file off to the side and stood.
Actually, Eddie was working up the courage, because he knew she would be disappointed and would make no effort to hide it. Amazing someone so small could be so damn scary.
“Want to grab breakfast with me?” He’d only eaten a bagel he’d snatched off the kitchen counter before rushing out of the house this morning.
“Sounds good.” Mark checked his watch. “When we’re done, I’d like to stop by the Flannerys’ place for another look around.”
“Mind if I join you?” Eddie wanted to get a look at the layout of their property.
“Not at all.” Mark led him out of his office and shut the door behind them. “We can take my car.”
They left the sheriff’s department facility, got into Mark’s dark green four-door pickup, and headed to the Good Eats Diner.
Eddie’s sister, Olive, and her husband owned the place, and the food was incredible.
His sister had learned to cook at the feet of the master—their mom.
She ran the day-to-day operation of the place, and his brother-in-law, Peter, managed the books, in addition to running his own successful architectural firm.
After a short ten-minute drive, they turned in to the packed parking lot, where Mark pulled around back and parked by the rear exit.
“Benefits of being family with the owners,” he said, and they climbed out.
The back door to the building was propped open with a garbage can, making it easy for just anyone to waltz right in.
“Not happy about that.” Eddie would have to have a little chat with his sister.
“They do it all the time. Olive said it helps cool down the kitchen.” Mark’s defense was half-hearted because he knew exactly why it was a bad idea.
“Well, they’re going to have to find another way to cool down the kitchen.
” No sense making it any easier for Eddie’s enemies to get to them.
“Hell, I’ll buy them some damn fans or something,” he mumbled.
“But I’d prefer they not keep that door open.
At least, not until we figure out what’s going on around here. ”
“You won’t get any argument from me. It’s your sister you need to convince.” Mark went ahead of him, and the smell of a griddle and deep fryer hit them as they passed the bustling activity in the kitchen on their way to the main dining area.
On the inside, Good Eats looked like most diners—booths along the walls, tables with chairs in the center part of the room.
The place sat about sixty people, and it was crowded with locals most of the time.
The walls were sprinkled with stunning photos depicting different views of the nearby Rio Grande Valley.
Their sister, Elena, was a professional nature photographer, and Eddie recognized them as her creations.
The diner was on the bottom floor of a three-story building constructed in the traditional pueblo style, with thick stone walls and ceiling beams that stuck out from the corners of the structure.
Peter had designed and overseen the entire project.
Since they would be living on the second and third floors, he’d wanted to make sure it was exactly what they both wanted.
The guy was a blond-haired, blue-eyed Harvard graduate from a wealthy family back east. The kind of family that could be traced back to the pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock. But he was a super nice guy who loved and took great care of Eddie’s sister, and that was all that mattered to him.
“You’re back!” Olive weaved her way around tables, doling out gentle pats on shoulders as she passed, and pulled him into a hug like she hadn’t just seen him less than two months ago.
He loved that about his family—any time away from each other was too much time. His three-plus years had felt like an eternity, not just for Eddie but for his family, too.
Olive was a near exact replica of their mom—short, a bit stocky, with arms just looking for someone to hug. If you were to look at a photo of his mom when she was thirty, you would swear it was Olive. And his sister considered the comparison a high compliment.
“Hi, Mark.” She gave him a quick hug.
“Hey.” He accepted the hug, then stepped back and looked around the room. “Have a table for us?”
“Duh, you know I always have a table for family.” She gave him a gentle swat on the arm. “Come on.”
She led them past the hostess stand, where she snagged a couple of menus, then took them to a large booth in the back corner.
“Coffee?” She handed them each a menu and cleared away all but two sets of silverware wrapped in napkins.
“Coffee would be great.” Eddie wasn’t usually much of a coffee guy, but he’d slept for shit last night and needed the caffeine boost. “Black, please.”
“Same.” Mark didn’t even bother to look at his menu. He just set it down on the table with the confidence of a man who knew exactly what he wanted.
“Be right back.” She headed toward the beverage station, stopping along the way to check on a couple of tables.
“I called Mr. Flannery this morning and told him we’d be coming by.” Mark set his forearms on the table and laced his fingers together.
“How are they holdin’ up?” Eddie didn’t have any kids of his own, but almost losing his sister made it easier to sympathize with what that family must be going through.
“She’s a wreck, and her husband is just trying to keep it together,” Mark said.
“If you’re cool with it, I think we should get that evidence sent off to Beatrice before we head out to their place.” Eddie wanted to make sure it was sent via special overnight delivery. “The sooner we can get them working on it, the better.”
“I’ll send them a message right now with the shipping info.” Mark pulled his phone from his pocket, tapped out a lengthy message, and set his phone on the table.
Olive walked up and set their coffees and glasses of ice water down in front of them.
“You know what you want, Eddie?” She slid a small electronic tablet from her pocket.
“Wow, fancy. When did you start using those?” Last time he was there, they were still using the old order pads.
“Peter set them up about a month ago, said they would help streamline things, and he was right.” Olive beamed with pride. “My man is so smart.”
“He married you, didn’t he?” Eddie scanned the menu. “I’ll take the farmer’s omelet with cheddar cheese, wheat toast, and hash browns.” He flipped the menu shut and handed it to her.
“You got it.” Olive tucked it under her arm and tapped his order into the tablet. “You want the usual, Mark?”
“You know it.” He leaned back against the booth.
“One farmer’s omelet and one Mexican omelet with extra avocado, home fries, and a biscuit, comin’ up.” She input his order, picked his menu up off the table, and headed back to the kitchen.
Mark’s phone beeped, and he picked it up to read the message.
“All of the evidence will be sent out to Dr. O’Halleran today.” Mark unrolled his napkin, placed his silverware on the table, and draped his napkin over his thigh. “So, what’s the deal with you and Lucia?”
“There is no deal with us. It’s ancient history.” Eddie did the same with his silverware and napkin. “So, tell me about the families of the other girls.”
Not the smoothest subject change in the world, but he was nowhere near ready to talk about him and Lucia.
It might have happened a long time ago, but the bitterness he felt still seemed to hover over everything whenever he came back here.
Not nearly as powerful as it had been but still there, nonetheless.