When Mariano strides through the door, relief sweeps through me. Sidekick’s tail thumps wildly, and I’m grateful God didn’t see fit for humans to have tails.
“Oh, Piper. It’s always something with you, isn’t it?” Mariano sticks out his hand to Robbie. “Thanks for taking care of her.”
No name, I notice.
“Just glad I was there to help.”
Hmm. None from him either.
Mariano’s gaze shifts back to me. He offers me a hand, his eyes sparking with amusement. “You really need to stop hanging out with those girls. They’re more trouble than you are.”
Robbie holds open the door, and Mariano hooks his arm around my waist to help me exit. On the sidewalk, I turn to Robbie. “Thank you for your help, Robbie. Again, I’m sorry for making you late.”
“No trouble at all. I’ll see you again soon, I’m sure.” Robbie tips his hat and strides away.
“Where am I parked?” Mariano murmurs in my ear.
“You’re the Ford by the street lamp. Emma should be waiting for us.”
“You’ve dragged that sweet girl into this?”
“Actually, that sweet girl dragged me into this, thank you very much. Can you see her in the car? She was supposed to return when the coast was clear.”
“See, this is just reckless enough to have your name written all over it.” In a fluid motion, Mariano sweeps me up into his arms. “The car is too far for you to walk. With your bad ankle and all.”
“You’re a real cad, Mariano Cassano. Do you know that?”
He grins. “I know I’ve missed you.”
When we get to the car and Emma’s head pops up from the backseat, I release the breath I’d been holding. Her mouth falls open at the sight of me and Mariano.
“Hello, Miss Crane,” Mariano says. “Fancy seeing you here.”
She blinks from Mariano, to me, to my wrapped ankle. “Well. Clearly, I need to be caught up.”
“Your friend here might be the death of me, Miss Crane.” Mariano plops me into the passenger’s seat and grins. “And I mean that in the nicest way possible.”
Sidekick hops in, and Mariano shuts the door.
“I’ll tell him it’s my fault,” Emma assures me from the backseat. “Did you really hurt your ankle?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“It wasn’t her fault, detective,” Emma says as Mariano opens the door and slides in. “I hired her to tail him. This whole thing was my idea.”
“Even without your aid, I suspect Piper would have eventually found some way to stumble upon a lair of men who would take great pleasure in shooting her.”
Emma’s mouth forms an O. “Not Robbie. He wouldn’t. I can’t imagine . . .”
“I didn’t mean Robbie. He took very good care of Piper.”
“Wasn’t she just brilliant?” Emma’s eyes sparkle. “She comes up with the most creative things.”
“Piper’s creativity blossoms when it comes to finding new ways to get herself into trouble.”
I smile sweetly. “That’s because I have such a handsome detective to come to my rescue. A handsome detective who I’m sure knows just the right people to figure out what Robbie is—”
Mariano slants a glare my way as he pulls out into traffic. “I know what you’re after, and it’s not going to work. For one thing, word is the Prohibition bureau is building a case against the Finnegans, and I don’t want to find you two in the wrong place at the wrong time and wind up in the crossfire.”
Emma’s hand grasps the Peter Pan collar of her dress. “Do you think Robbie is involved?”
“What I know is that this is a dangerous neighborhood to be in right now. When you go after these kinds of people, you better have a plan in place, or you’ll wind up six feet under.”
“You certainly paint a very vivid picture, detective,” Emma says in a breathless voice. “It just seems like if they’re breaking the law, and if you can prove it, that would be that.”
Oh, sweet Emma.
“In a perfect world, that’s how things would work. But this isn’t a perfect world. This is Chicago.”
His words seem to reverberate in the car.
“Robbie just seemed so nice . . .” Emma’s voice is watery.
I turn in my seat. “Robbie is nice. It’s possible he’s mixed up in something bad, but I still believe he’s a nice guy. Maybe he’s trying to get out? Maybe that’s the news he doesn’t want to share with you yet?”
“Maybe.” But Emma’s face retains the kicked-puppy look. “Though that seems awfully optimistic.”
“That’s the funny thing about Piper. She seems tough. But really”—Mariano winks at me—“on the inside, she’s as soft as they come.”
“You may think it’s crazy that she would want your help with something like that, but I don’t.” Mariano twists his fork to gather spaghetti. “Who else is she going to ask?”
“I’ve at least learned he’s not married. So it hasn’t been totally fruitless.” I frown. Unless his wife and kids live in a different town . . .
“You found a smart way to get up to his apartment. That can be tough.”
“But I couldn’t figure out how to get back out without blowing my cover.”