Slow burn PART 2

Chapter 26

         Friday was a very mysterious day for me. Not only have I heard words between Renzo, Dante, and Rocco consistently mention 'Friday', but Renzo basically disappeared today. At first I thought it was just work related. They've mentioned Friday, Friday, Friday, so obviously they had something to do, right? 

Ah, but here is where I begin the double investigation. The Revello Friday mystery and the Renzo Friday mystery. Why did I think there was more to it? It started at breakfast.

      Dante brought me a coffee and donut like we'd planned the day previous. I had worked late, and he said he'd bring me a 'pick me up' in the morning. My version of morning anyway, which is early afternoon, since I work rather late hours most days. 

"What do you have planned today?" I asked him, not really thinking too much on the question. It was just to make conversation. "Nothing, Why?" Dante immediately turned squirrelly.

"Uh, I don't know? I just asked" I chuckled and shrugged. Then my eyes fell into slits of suspicion. "Why?" I asked back. Dante took a large gulp of his coffee. To anyone else that would be normal. To me, I know him better than that. 

        That big swallow was him shutting up. Stopping himself from spilling something. I leaned further onto the breakfast nook and let him squirm before he said, "Alright then. I should get going." He's leaving. This is a big one. 

"What are you hiding from me?" I followed after her. "Kitten, please, not today" he asked me. Dante has a very hard time keeping secrets from me. I love it because I end up knowing everything. Even Renzo's secrets. But today...nothing.

-

        I let Dante leave in the morning because he swore he had a meeting in an hour. When I called Renzo just after Dante left, he didn't pick up. He sent me a text though. The text read, *Renzo: I'm in a meeting.* Interesting. They both have two different meetings today within an hour of each other when they usually do business together? 

Call it boredom if you must, but I was deeply curious today.

      The second part was too easy. If the first musketeer says one hour, and the second musketeer says it is right now, well, then you go to the third. I called Grace under the guise of friendship. I called to ask if she made any headway on the dress dilemma. 

The dilemma being that she liked all five dresses she tried on last time. 

"Oh, Grace, what time did Rocco say the meeting was that they have today? I don't want to call Renzo if he's busy" I split the conversation in half. "Um, 3 I think" she didn't even have a second thought about it. 

Rocco tells her everything. I feel like from hour to hour those two know exactly where the other is. Good on them, and good for me. So the third musketeer says 3 o'clock. That would mean they have 3 consecutive meetings spanning between right now at noon time all the way to some time after 3. 

And maybe they do. Maybe that's why I heard them say Friday so many times this week. When they speak in Italian I know it's so I don't understand.

        I remember that one time when me and my old roommate Alexa borrowed a car and followed Renzo around to see what 'shady' things he was into. Yeah, I found that answer on my own much later on, and it was a big one. 

Alexa and I were caught in our pathetic attempt to outsmart a mobster who was probably paranoid about people following him. At the time I didn't know that. I knew him as a businessman. 

I won't lie and say some small part of me did't want to call Alexa up and tell her to dust off her detective's hat, but no.

One, because it's childish, and two, because now that I know Renzo's true profession I couldn't have Alexa sneaking around with me and getting involved in mob business. People aren't supposed to know about it. It gets dangerous if they do.