Page 70 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
Rhonda gazed at him.“Have you gone over to the dark side?”
He shook his head.“No, my men and I are here for the government.We heard about a meeting between Jonny and a man we’ve been looking for.I’m afraid it didn’t go well for either of them.Jonny was shot dead, and the other man was wounded and taken into our custody.”
I suddenly realized what a favor he’d done for us by getting us away from the restaurant.“Thank you, Vinnie.That could’ve been awful for us to witness.”
“And a chance for you to ruin things and maybe get killed,” he answered.“I’m very glad we intercepted you in time to get you away from the scene.You can have your phones back to call whoever you need to.But you can’t leave until we get statements from you regarding your ongoing difficulties with Jonny.”
We were given our phones, and I immediately called Vaughn.
“No details,” said Vinnie, warning us both.
When Vaughn answered, I couldn’t help the tears that spilled down my cheeks.I’d been more frightened than I’d thought.Simply hearing his voice reminded me of how much I loved him, how safe he made me feel.
“Hi, Ann.What’s wrong?”he asked.
“I’m just calling to tell you that I’m away from the office.Rhonda and I are together being interviewed about damage that was done to the hotel.I’ll call you again before we leave the meeting to come home, but it may be a while.”
“You sound stressed.Are you sure you’re alright?”he said.
I drew a deep breath and calmed myself.“I’m fine.I’ll tell you all about it later.”
I ended the call and sat as Rhonda continued speaking to Will.
I decided to phone Bernie so he wouldn’t spread news about Rhonda and me missing scheduled meetings.I had to leave a message for him.I told him Rhonda and I were away from the hotel but would return as soon as we could.
Vinnie shot me a look of his approval.“Okay, ladies, what can we get you for lunch?We’ll do our best to get you through all this, but we have to be sure we have as many details prior to the ‘take down’ as possible.”
One of the men who’d changed into less conspicuous clothing was now wearing shorts and a golf shirt.“I’ll get whatever you want.”
“I’d like iced tea and a Caesar salad with shrimp,” I said realizing that after the stress had eased, I was hungry.
“I’ll have the same,” said Rhonda.“But I’m tellin’ ya that after the day we’ve had, I’m going to have a cocktail tonight.”
We all laughed, relieved the situation with Jonny had been taken out of our hands.
###
Later, Rhonda and I were grilled as we ate our lunches on the couch, answering questions about any interactions we’d had with Jonny.
“Who else was on his team?”Vinnie asked leaning forward in a chair in front of us.
Rhonda and I studied each other, then Rhonda said, “Brock Goodwin.”
“Yes, he was quoted in the local newspaper as saying something to the effect that The Beach House Hotel wouldn’t be able to compete with Osteria Arno.We’ll be talking to him a bit later.”
I pressed my lips together, loving the idea.
Rhonda winked at me, and I saw that she was having the same reaction as me.After all he’d done, Brock deserved any harassment Vinnie intended to give him.
“Guess he’s a pain in the ass to the two of you, huh?”Vinnie said.
“You could say that,” Rhonda said.“Have you been planning this raid on Jonny for a while?”
“More on the man he met with,” said Vinnie.“But no one liked what Jonny was doing.He was squandering money, causing problems where none should exist, and drawing unwanted attention.The people he’d promised to produce for were fed up.”
“What will happen to the restaurant?”I asked.
Vinnie shrugged.“They’ll probably sell it.One of the private investors is interested.Maybe change the name and bring in a new chef.”
