Their meeting place was in the parking lot of an abandoned five-pin bowling alley, located in an industrial area out of sight of the main road. The plows had been out during the night, piling mountains of snow around the perimeter of the lot, affording even better cover.
Natalie arrived first, as usual. Antonio was always late. She sipped her cappuccino and turned up the tunes while she waited. Her heart, fueled by caffeine and hatred for Lily Valier, beat like a jackhammer. Every time she thought of either of the Valier sisters, her mind was swept up in a current of anxiety. Sara the slut came dangerously close to ruining her parents’ marriage. Even her ghost held power. Natalie had never seen her parents fighting as much as they were now.
Sara might be gone, but her sister Lily remained a thorn in Natalie’s side. She knew her type—beautiful and flirty; she could have any man she wanted. Who did that woman think she was fooling, living like a frugal old spinster? Women like Lily made her sick. They used their looks and sexuality to get whatever they wanted. Everything came easy for women like that. Not like for her. She was invisible to men. Never been on a date or had a man other than her dad give her a compliment. Worst of all, Lily Valier made her crave the pills in her pocket. When her worries drifted away, even if for just a few hours, she didn’t hate herself as much.
Before going to Antonio for help after Sara’s murder, she’d done some digging. It hadn’t taken much, just a Google search, and she’d discovered more than enough to know he was a crooked cop. And when he suggested they pin it on Lily, she couldn’t have been happier. Yes, she wanted to shout. Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly what I was thinking!
But of course, she let him believe it was all his idea. Men and their egos. It may be a stereotype, but it was one she thought held some truth.
Natalie had thought all night about what she’d tell Antonio to get him back on the scent of Lily’s trail. He probably wouldn’t buy her story, but she was prepared for that. They’d have a little to and fro, their usual game. She’d be the earnest teenager just trying to help and he the big, brave cop whose job it was to be suspicious of her story. It didn’t matter either way. They were playing their parts; they both knew it and in the end, he’d listen to her.
The pounding in her chest was uncomfortable now, driving her to feel around in her jacket for the pill bottle. One little pill and her nerves would soon be calmed. With expert fingers, she one-handedly popped the bottle open, shook one out, and downed it with her cappuccino.
Natalie didn’t see Antonio at first, but when she caught movement in the edge of her eye, she clicked off the radio and rolled down the window.
“Mornin’,” Deputy Deluca said from his own car, which he’d parked alongside Natalie’s SUV in the opposite direction so they’d be face-to-face when the windows were down. His hangdog face twitched up briefly into a smile. “What’s so important we had to meet in person?”
She thought about the envelope of crisp hundred-dollar bills she’d placed in her glove compartment. The ones she planned on handing over to this all-too-willing crooked cop. Now how could she do that over the phone?
She smirked. “Sometimes it’s just nice to see your face.”
Antonio cocked his head, returning the smirk. “It may be my day off, but I’ve got a crap load of paperwork waiting for me at the office, and I already told you everything I know about the Sara Valier investigation.”
The deputy wasn’t the kind of man to be working on his day off, but Natalie pretended to buy his story. “I won’t keep you long then. But why not give this some thought… I might have something important to tell you?” She saluted him with her Styrofoam cup.
He laughed. “Yeah? You gonna break the case wide open for me?”
“What if I told you I know where the gun is? The one Lily shot her sister with?”
Antonio’s jaw fell open wider than Natalie had thought humanly possible. She could have counted his fillings if she was so inclined.
Deluca’s eyes narrowed. “Now how the hell would you know that?” he said, using his best cop voice.
“Don’t go getting all official on me. I’m not saying I have the gun or my dad has it. But I do know who does and exactly where you can find it.”
“No, you don’t.” The words came slowly, as if he were daring Natalie to convince him.
She smiled widely. “Oh, yes I do! And if you want me to tell you, you’d better be nice.”
She leaned over and opened the glove compartment, snagging the envelope of cash. “First, this is for the info you gave me the other day, and you know there’s more to come if you keep me in the loop. Now, when I tell you about the gun and where you can find it, you sure as hell better promise to let me know everything about the investigation, and I don’t want you questioning my dad about the murder again, OK?”
Antonio snatched the envelope like it was a raw steak held over the head of a hungry crocodile. “I smell something fishy.”
She had half a mind to drive off. “You’re not being nice.”
“OK, OK. I’m sorry. Where’s the gun?”
“In the Higgstown Diner. Under the couch in Lily’s office but not in plain sight. It’s under the rug.”
He laughed. “And you know this how?”
“I heard Lily say it herself yesterday. That’s why I wanted to meet with you. She was telling one of the waitresses. Annie I think her name is. They’re kinda friendly and I guess she needed someone to spill to. She was crying when she told her. I’d get there quick if I were you, Deluca. I think she was trying to figure out a way to get rid of it once and for all.”
He frowned. “Come on. You think I was born yesterday?”
“Does it really matter? It was your idea to pin the murder on Lily, or did you forget about your big payday once she’s arrested?”
He was silent for a moment, then grinned and tipped his head to her. “I’ll need something in writing.”
“I’m willing to make an official statement, but it has to be anonymous.”
“Good enough. But you’re sure it’ll be there? I don’t want to look like a fool.”
Natalie held a hand over her heart. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
“Your mother’s not dead.”
Natalie laughed. The pill had her now.
“All right, but it’ll take a day or so to get the warrant. I’ll meet you at the station to get that statement.” With that, he rolled up his window and spun the car around. It fishtailed on the hardened snow as he made his way out of the parking lot with Natalie Lyons following behind.
A grateful little smile unfolded on her lips. At least she’d have some time to figure out how the hell she was gonna get that gun into Lily’s office.