J.M. Griffin - Vinnie Esposito 06 - Death Gone Awry Read Free Page B

Cursed with it all my life, I have to admit I enjoy snooping around where I shouldn’t, which often leads to interference in situations that are none of my affair, and usually dangerous.
    “I’m headed back to the barracks and thought I’d stop by to see if you could go to the Performing Arts Center this weekend. You’re interested in seeing the musical La Familia , right?”
    “You actually got tickets for that? My mother said they were sold out and was disappointed she wouldn’t get a chance to see how the actors and singers handle the story of humorous vineyard life.”
    “They were complimentary. The star performer and I attended the same college. He looked me up when he arrived in town.”
    “What time should I be ready?”
    He got up, slipped his hands around my waist, held me tight, and kissed me deeply. “Be ready around six, we’ll have dinner first.”
    “You betcha.”
    He smiled, kissed me again, and left with a warning to stay out of the water.
    I smirked as the door closed and knew what he really meant by the remark. Staying out of the water was one thing, minding my own business was another. An hour later, I’d folded and put away the laundry before lining up the homework assignment for the next day of classes at the university. The students had finished their reports on the University of Rhode Island’s Crime Lab after we’d toured the facility and gotten a firsthand opportunity to see techs at work. This week’s classes would put some of those practices into action.
    A box of broken tail lights and crumpled car parts sat in the classroom closet. They’d been used to set the scene for an accident and robbery in the past, which brought excitement to each new class I presented the scene to. I wrote the assignment, offered just enough information to capture the students’ interest, and packed the paperwork into my valise.
    Grabbing my jacket, I headed to the Salt & Pepper Deli to chat with Lola. Her exit, after her whirlwind entrance earlier, left me wondering if there was something plaguing her mind.
    When Aunt Livvy had bought the house I now lived in, I’d been a mere teenager. My twin brother, Giovanni, and I would visit, but I stayed with Livvy as often as I could. Livvy and I painted together, laughed over nothing, and ate great food, usually prepared by my dad. She often told me to follow my dreams, whatever they were. She and my mother agreed on that, and Mom pushed the idea home more often than not. The fact that I’d decided to travel my chosen path, most certainly not the one Mom would have chosen, didn’t make a difference. She supported me no matter what. We all need to be thankful for the small things in life.
    As a criminal justice instructor, I deal with the police quite a lot and on equitable terms. At least when I’m not being robbed at gunpoint, forced off the road, and stalked by some nutcase I’d known from a past that rears its head like a snake every now and then. I have a penchant for being in the wrong place at the worst of times, but it’s like the weather. There’s nothing that can be done about it, so I live with it.
    During the years I visited Aunt Livvy, I’d become familiar with the people in town. Lola Trapezi and I were true and steadfast childhood friends. My father, a chef in his younger years, taught us how to cook. Italian life revolves around food, family, and more food. It’s just the way things are. Lola, who had a flair for it, took the lessons to the next level by opening up the deli and offering home cooked meals. I only cook when the spirit moves me, when the deli is closed, or I think I might be starving to death and need to eat.
    Glowing interior lights beckoned as I walked up the steps of the historic building that Lola owned. She rented space to a couple of shop owners, a combined florist and gift shop took up one end of the long, wide building that filled the entire corner of the street. A large chalkboard hung on the fenced in area