6

“You like him for it?” Greene asked his partner as they left the don’s place.

Emma shrugged. “Not especially. I don’t see a motive. Of course, we can’t be sure of anything until we get more information.

He nodded his agreement. “Shall we move on to Donati, then?”

“Might as well.” She looked at him. “So where are we going for dinner?”

“Dinner?” He looked back at her, confused.                  

“Friday night,” she elaborated. “Where are we eating? I was just curious.”

“Well, I hadn’t picked a place, yet,” he confessed. “Did you have somewhere specific you wanted to go?”

Emma shook her head. “Anything but Mexican. Michelle hates Mexican food.”

He chuckled. “So her name is Michelle. I like it.”

“Well, that’s good, but I don’t need your blessing for my daughter’s name.”

“Fair enough.” He smiled. “No Mexican. Anything else I should know?”

Emma thought for a moment. “She dislikes burgers.”

“You’re kidding.” He checked to see if she was. “What kind of kid doesn’t like burgers?”

His partner shrugged. “She’s a special little girl.”

Don Donati wore a dark Armani suit. His hair was combed back, neatly. He was fit and looked capable of taking most people in a fight. When he let the officers in, he sent his bodyguards away, knowing they were unneeded. “So Leroy is dead, huh? That’s a shame. Give Alfero my sympathies, will you? I heard he was fond of that one.”

“Actually, we’re here to ask you about him,” Emma said. “We were told your people might be involved.”

Donati shook his head. “None of my people would do this. I have no desire to start a war. I’m a business man.”

“But the people who work for you might not feel the same way,” she pointed out.

“They wouldn’t dare go against my wishes,” he told them. “I know everything that goes on in my family. Nobody makes a move without my say so.”

“And if somebody did, what would you do?” Caleb asked.

Donati rewarded him with a cordial smile. “I’d fire them.” Obviously, there was more to it than that, but there was no need to press the matter, for now.

“Well, do you know of anyone else who might have wanted him dead?” Greene watched him for any sign of deception.

The don thought for a moment. “Could be one of Alfero’s people, I suppose. Could also be a woman. I hear he had a way with them and you know how hot-headed women can get.” He smiled at Caleb, as though sharing a joke, then looked at Emma. “Present company excluded, I’m sure.”

The female detective shrugged. “In my experience, men are much more likely to get hot-headed.” She smiled. “Present company excluded, I’m sure.”

Donati laughed. “I like you.” He looked at Caleb. “You got a good partner, there. You’re a lucky man.”

Caleb closed his notebook. “Well, if that is all you can tell us, we’ll be on our way.”

The don nodded. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help. I try to stay out of Alfero business, you know. Leave them to their work and they’ll leave us to ours, usually.”

“Thank you for your time,” Emma said as they headed out.

“Stop wiggling. You’ll make it worse.” Camille told Lily as she ran a comb through her wet hair. She had the day off and was spending it babysitting. She’d gotten good at arranging her shifts around Joseph’s, so she could watch the girls. She’d been taking care of them for a few weeks and had just given the older one a bath, while the baby slept.

Lily held still, but winced at each tangle. They heard the door open and she jumped up from her chair, forgetting the combing. “Daddy!” She ran to greet him.

“Well, it’s nice to see you clean,” he commented as he picked her up and looked at Camille. “I hope they weren’t any trouble.”

“They never are,” she replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She started to head to the door, but he stopped her.

“Stay for dinner?” Joseph asked. “It’s the least I can do after how much you’ve helped.”

She smiled. “That’s not necessary.”

“I insist,” he replied. “And I’m sure Lily does, too, don’t you?”

Lily nodded, enthusiastically. “Daddy makes yummy food.”

Camille giggled. “Well, how can I say ‘no’ to that?” She looked at him. “I should at least help you cook, though.”

“Alright.” He put Lily down. “Go watch Dora, okay?”

She wasted no time in obeying and Joseph led Camille to the kitchen. He turned on the stove and put on a pot of water. “The girls really seem to like you.”

“I like them, too,” she replied, looking around. “What can I help with?”

“There’s some spaghetti sauce in the fridge,” he told her. “You can heat it in the microwave.”

She nodded and pulled out the sauce, popping it in. “I saw some ground beef in there, too. I could cook that and mix it in, if you wanted.”

He looked at her. “Is that how you were taught to make it?”

Camille shrugged. “My foster mom made it like that. It was pretty good.”

“Alright, then.” He pulled out a frying pan. “Have at it.”

She poured some beef in and started it cooking. “Most people say something when they hear I was a foster.”

He shrugged. “That’s in the past. It’s sad, but you were clearly strong enough not to let it stop you.”

She smiled. “Well, I have had good people in my life.” She paused and looked at him. “May I ask you something personal?”

“Go ahead.” He put the pasta in the now-boiling water.

“Where is your girls’ mother?” Camille asked. “Doesn’t she want to be part of their lives?”

He fell silent for a minute. Just when Camille thought he wouldn’t answer, he said, “She died in childbirth with Emily.”

After how many people told her “sorry” when her parents died, Camille knew that wasn’t the right thing to say. “It must be hard, raising two girls on your own.”

He nodded, then smiled at her. “But I’m not alone. I’ve got you.”

Camille smiled back and was about to reply when she heard the baby screaming. “I’ll get her if you want to finish up on your own.”

Joseph nodded. “The girls come first. I’ll be fine here.”

Camille disappeared into the nursery, smiling a bit as she picked up the baby. For the first time in a long time, she really felt like she was part of a family.

“He had sex,” Isaac informed the officers as they entered the precinct.

The pair stared at him for a moment before Caleb spoke up. “Who did?”

“James Leroy, who else?” Isaac held up a lab report. “There were traces of latex and semen on his penis, indicating that he had sex not long before he died.”

“Any idea with whom?” Emma asked, looking at the report.

“Not yet, but there were some hairs on his clothes and we’re testing for DNA, now,” he replied. “And I would like to compliment you on properly using ‘whom’. Most people don’t do that. Of course, I don’t usually correct them, because that would be rude.”

Emma smiled. “Thank you. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

“No, but I will let you know when there is.” He nodded to them both and took off down the steps to the morgue.

The detectives watched him go. Once he was out of earshot, Caleb said, “He’s…interesting, isn’t he?”

Emma smiled. “I like him.” She walked back to her desk.

Caleb followed. “Do I hear wedding bells in your future?”

She laughed. “I didn’t mean it that way. He’s just enthusiastic and it’s refreshing.” She took a seat. “So what do we have on his romantic attachments?”

“Well, you’ll have to ask, but I’m betting he’s single,” Caleb replied. “Not a lot of girls go for morticians.”

“I meant Leroy.” Emma shook her head. “Try to stay on point.”

He chuckled. “You were unclear.” He looked at his report. “Well, as Donati said, there seem to be a lot of women coming and going with the victim. It could take a while to question all of them and we still haven’t ruled this out as mob-related.”

She sighed. “It will be inconvenient if it is one of the families. Hopefully, it will at least be Alfero, if it is.”

“Well, I’d like to avoid setting off a war as much as you would, but we have to go where the facts leave us,” Caleb told her. “For now, let’s see if we can find out who he was in bed with the day he died.”

“Thanks for helping me get them to bed,” Joseph told Camille. She’d stayed for dinner again and had stuck around to help the girls get to sleep.

She smiled. “Well, I know how hard it is to do it one at a time.”

“Yeah…” He paused and looked at her. “You’ve really been a big help. I don’t know how I ever got by without you.”

“Well, I’ll be happy to keep helping,” she replied. “I really like these girls.”

“And they really like you.” He was quiet for a moment, before adding, “So do I.”

“Well, I really like you, too,” she told him, playfully. “You’re a nice guy.”

After a brief hesitation, Joseph leaned forward and kissed her. It took a few seconds for her to pull away. He rubbed his head, clearly embarrassed. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate.”

Camille stared at him. “No…it’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting it.” She paused. “I guess I misunderstood.”

“No, I misunderstood,” he told her. “Can we just forget this ever happened?”

She nodded. “Okay…” She started to walk towards the door, then turned back. “Actually, no.” She walked back over to him. “I like you and I like your daughters. This is the happiest I’ve been in a while and it is thanks to you.” She kissed him.

After a surprised pause, he kissed her back. The kissing became fiercer as he wrapped an arm around her. They made it to his bedroom and closed the door. Gone, was the sweet, awkward father of two girls. The man who took her to his bed was wild and passionate. Camille felt a moment of panic, but she couldn’t seem to make herself stop. She wanted to give herself over to this man. He was kind and gentle. He had his life in control, in stark contrast to her chaotic world. He was stable and he could take care of her.

As their clothes fell to the floor and he pressed his lips to hers, Camille decided she wanted this life with him. She wanted to be with this man and his daughters. As she felt his hot skin against hers, she knew she would give anything to have them.

“Jimmy didn’t really have anybody,” Freddy Wilkins told the detectives. They had been directed to him by Leroy’s sister, who said the men were close. Wilkins was a dock worker, unassociated with the families. He had gone to school with James Leroy. “Not romantically, anyways. I don’t think he knew the names of half the girls he slept with and he hardly ever slept with the same girl twice.” He gave an amused smile. “Well, not intentionally, anyways.”

Caleb nodded. “Do you know who he might have been with the day he died?”

Wilkins shook his head. “Like I said, he probably didn’t know himself. He had a thing for blondes, but that’s about all I can tell you.”

“Alright.” Caleb made a note. “Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm him?”

“No one, in particular,” Freddy replied. “He was a good guy. He didn’t have any debts that I know of and he had plenty of friends to watch his back, especially after joining up with the Alfero people.”

“So you don’t think any of the girls would have wanted to get back at him for kicking them to the curb?” Emma asked.

Freddy shook his head. “He wasn’t like that. He was polite, even when he dumped a girl. The ones whose names he didn’t know, didn’t want him to know them. People think guys run around a lot, but you can find girls doing it just as much.” He looked around. “Listen, officers, I have to get back to work and I don’t think I can tell you anything more, so…”

Caleb nodded. “Thank you for your time.” He and his partner headed out. “You think he’s right about the girls?”

Emma shrugged. “Could be. He was right about the double-standard.”

Her partner laughed. “Are we going to get into a sexism debate?”

“Fairly certain I would win,” Emma replied with a friendly smile. “But we have to get back to the station so we can file today’s paperwork and end our shifts. We have dinner tonight, after all.”

He nodded. “I look forward to meeting Michelle.” They made their way back to the precinct, making friendly conversation as they went.

“I’d like to take you out,” Joseph informed Camille a few weeks after their first night together. She had stayed over a few times since then and was surprised to hear him ask her out, especially since he did so as she waited on his table during her day job.

“On a date?” she asked, dumbly.

He nodded. “A proper one that doesn’t take place in a house with two little girls. I can find a babysitter if you give me a few days.”

Camille smiled. “Alright.” She looked around. “But I should probably get to my other customers…”

He nodded. “Don’t let me interrupt your working. We just stopped in to say hi and ask you out.” He looked down at Lily, whose hand he was holding. “Say ‘hi’.”

She pulled her fingers out of her mouth long enough to wave. “Hi.” The fingers popped right back in.

Camille smiled as the group left.

“He’s cute,” Kelly told her as Camille returned to the counter with the list of orders she’d taken from a table.

Camille blushed. “You heard that?”

“This diner isn’t big.” Kelly smiled. “He’s got two kids. I’d think a young thing like you would blanch at that.”

Camille shook her head. “I love his daughters. They are one of the reasons I want to date him.”

“Well, that’s good, because nobody should date someone who doesn’t let them put their kids first.” She looked at her employee. “So what are you going to wear?”

Camille’s eyes widened as she realized she had no idea. She hadn’t brought any date clothes with her when she left home. She hadn’t been thinking of romance, at the time.

“Order up,” someone called, forcing her to focus on the job at hand. She considered the few clothes she had, rejecting each one as a date outfit.

“You don’t have anything, do you?” Kelly asked as her path crossed Camille’s again.

The younger girl blushed and shook her head.

Kelly chuckled. “You don’t seem like the type who dates a lot, so I guess it’s understandable.”

Camille sighed. “What am I going to do?”

“Relax.” Her boss smiled. “You can come by my place after work. I think I have something that will suit you just fine.”

“Hi. I’m Michelle. It’s nice to meet you.” The five-year-old stuck out her hand to Caleb, expectantly. She was about three feet tall and had brown hair with matching eyes, just like her mother.

He took the hand and gave it a little shake. “Nice to meet you, as well. I see your mommy has taught you excellent manners.”

She smiled up at Emma, who nodded. “A first impression is very important.”

A hostess came over and seated them in a booth. The restaurant Caleb had chosen was little more than a nice diner, but it suited the group.

Michelle’s feet dangled off her seat and she stared at Caleb. “So are you dating my mommy?”

Emma looked at her. “We already talked about this.”

Caleb just laughed and shook his head. “No. Your mom and I work together, so we can’t date.” It seemed an easier explanation for a child than the truth.

Michelle pondered that, then nodded. “Okay. I was just checking.” She looked at her menu, pretending to read it as she kicked her legs.

Unable to resist, Caleb asked, “Does your mother date a lot?”

“That’s rather personal,” Emma informed him, but Michelle didn’t seem to care.

“Mommy never goes on dates,” she answered. “She says she doesn’t have time.”

“So where is your dad?” He knew he shouldn’t ask, but he figured he might not get another chance.

“Daddy’s in heaven,” she replied, all innocence.

Caleb stared at her, then to his partner. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay.” Michelle smiled. “Mommy says she loves me so much she doesn’t need anybody else.”

“Well, I think the turkey club sounds good.” Emma was looking at her menu, refusing to take part in the conversation. “What do you think, Michelle? Fish fingers?”

Michelle smiled and nodded. “With applesauce?”

“I’m sure we can get some.” Emma smiled at her and Caleb could see she meant what she said about loving her daughter.