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“Ted picked him up.”
“No,” Ty said, “he told Norma Rose he got a call and sent an officer out to pick him up.”
“He probably didn’t want to concern her,” Roger said.
“I drove the route.” Ty normally didn’t bother convincing people, but this time he was determined. “Ted could have easily dropped Dave off on the street corner, driven to the station and told another officer to go pick him up.” Ty crossed the room, laid both hands on Roger’s desk and leaned down to look the man in the eye. “It all adds up. Janet wants retribution for her brother’s arrest, and agrees to go along with accosting Dave, knowing when he’d visit the drugstore. Neither of them knew of Dave’s allergy to alcohol and panicked before they’d delivered him to Bodine’s henchmen.”
When Roger once again shook his head, frustration bubbled inside Ty. “Think about it. A girl who never had enough money to take the trolley to St. Paul, now lives in a brand-new apartment and drives a Chevy straight off the lot. A soda girl doesn’t make that kind of money. Add that to the Blind Bull being raided on Friday night and opening again on Saturday night, under a new name. That isn’t anything new, but I’ve seen buildings after federal raids. That didn’t happen at the Blind Bull. It was an internal takeover with a few local cops thrown in for good measure.”
“So Bodine now owns the Blind Bull,” Roger said. “Then go there and bust him, leave my resort out of it.”
“It’s not that simple,” Ty said, although he was thankful the man now understood certain aspects. “Bodine’s not there. He has front men, just like you. Dave’s the one who carries a suitcase full of samples for potential buyers—not you.”
Roger growled an expletive.
“The only place Bodine is going to appear,” Ty went on, “is here at the resort, and your only hope of avoiding a takeover, or a raid, which is what I’m sure his henchmen are planning by putting out the word there’s a snitch, is for us to stop him before he gets here.”
“Us?” Roger asked. “You want me to turn snitch by working with you, a federal agent?”
“You already have,” Ty pointed out. “You know my identity, but haven’t put a bullet in my back.”
Roger leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No, I haven’t,” he finally said. “Do you want to know why?”
Ty didn’t nod, but simply met the man’s stare eyeball to eyeball.
“Because I want to know what’s in this for you,” Roger said. “You could call in all the backup you need. Could have right from the start.”
“I need Bodine, not his henchmen,” Ty said. “The only way to draw him out is a meeting with you.”
“Which could mean the ruin of everything,” Roger said.
Growing frustrated again, Ty straightened and ran a hand through his hair. There was only one way to make Roger see how serious this truly was. “You want to keep those daughters of yours safe? You may want to send the rest of them to Chicago with Ginger.”
“What are you talking about now?”
Ty’s insides churned. “I know Bodine. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants, and deep down, you know that, too. Now, I can make sure that doesn’t happen, but you have to—”
“Why?”
Frustrated, Ty bit his lips together.
“What’s in this for you?” Roger asked. “Besides Bodine. He’s just another notch on your belt. The stories I’ve heard, you don’t work with anyone, just—”
“Because when this is all over, I plan on asking your permission to marry Norma Rose.” The second the words left his mouth, Ty wanted to call them back. It was too late, he knew that, and wondered if he looked as shocked as Roger did. The idea he might have fallen in love with Norma Rose had been brewing in the back of his mind since returning from town with her this afternoon, but marrying her hadn’t.
“No,” Roger said firmly.
“No?” Ty repeated. Now that he’d admitted it, the idea was growing on him. Marrying Norma Rose. He could imagine Nightingale might have apprehensions about his daughter marrying an agent—many men might. Slapping both hands on Roger’s desk, he leaned down again. “I’m about to save your business, your empire, and keep you out of jail. I’m the only one that can do it, I might add.”
Roger pushed out of his chair to stand and lean across his desk, where they stared at one another practically nose to nose. “Me, my business, is one thing. My daughter is another.”
“So you’d rather go down?” Ty asked.
“I won’t be blackmailed,” Roger said. “And neither will Norma Rose.”
Chapter Sixteen
Her father’s lips were shut tighter than a clam. Other than having her and her sisters sign various documents, he’d barely uttered a word in the past five days. The tension surrounding him was so thick Norma Rose could almost see it, but no matter how hard she insisted he tell her what was going on, he refused.
Refused.
She was furious, fed up and sick. Literally sick to her stomach. Hadn’t been able to eat and at night she cried. Something she hadn’t done in years. But Ty had disappeared. Utterly disappeared. It was as if he’d never been at the resort. In her life. Even her memories were foggy. If not for the constant ache inside her, she’d almost believe he’d been nothing more than a phantom she’d conjured out of thin air.
Norma Rose scrubbed her face one more time, trying to wash away the evidence of another sleepless night. Glancing into the mirror over the sink, she concluded all she’d done was take off a layer of skin. All the cosmetics in the world wouldn’t disguise the bags under her eyes or the hollowness of her cheekbones.
She had to try. Tonight was Big Al’s party.
After applying makeup, which didn’t help, she pulled on a dress. A black one that was far more fitting for a funeral than an anniversary party, but it fit her mood. She then went to her room, where she added black shoes and gloves and rather than a headband, she put on a black pill hat.
Twyla and Josie both encountered her in the hallway, their brows raised, yet they made no comment, at least not about her outfit. They were both dressed in vibrant colors.
“The decorating is completed,” Josie said. “You have to come see it. The ice sculpture is gorgeous.”
“Ice sculpture?” Norma Rose asked, needing something to say.
“Yes,” Josie said. “I told you about it. They are becoming a rave.”
“It’s in the shape of a swan,” Twyla added. “Most impressive.”
Nothing could impress her. Not even all the work her sisters had done. Something she truly needed to appreciate. If not for them, the resort may have dried up and blown away. She just didn’t have the energy it needed. That had never happened before, but she didn’t know how to get it back. It was already two in the afternoon and she was just now venturing downstairs.
Her sisters, however, had been up since the break of dawn. When she’d asked them to take over Big Al and Palooka George’s parties they’d jumped in like they’d been running the place all along. At the time, she’d believed she’d be glued to Ty’s side, not mourning his absence like an army widow. That’s truly what she felt like—a widow. Having lost the one man she’d loved more than life itself.
A sigh burning her chest escaped and covered the sob that wanted to be released. She was afraid to think where Ty might be. The mystery behind Dave’s poisoning had vanished with him. At least that’s how it seemed, considering no one would talk about it.
“You should add a long string of pearls to your outfit,” Twyla said. “It would liven you up a bit.”
Norma Rose caught the glare Josie shot at their other sister while she hooked her arm. “She looks lovely just as she is,” Josie said. “Black has always been Norma Rose’s favorite color.”
“Yes, it has been,” Twyla said, hooking Norma Rose’s other arm. “Wait until you see the ballroom. Forrest Reynolds will be green with envy.”
Josie leaned forward to once again glare at Twyla, and Norma Rose knew she had to respond. Her sisters had been extremely understanding over the past few days. “I’m excited to see the ballroom,” she said, digging deep to pull up a portion of her past resilience. “But I don’t give a rat’s ass if Forrest is impressed or not.”
It was Josie who started giggling. When Twyla joined in, Norma Rose’s lips started to quiver. It was either laugh with them or cry. She went with laugh.
“I knew you were still in there somewhere,” Twyla said as their laughter died down. “I knew it would take more than a good-looking lawyer to take down my sister.”
Josie, done laughing, groaned. “Twyla—”
“No,” Norma Rose said, stopping Josie’s reproof. She hadn’t been taken down. Just the opposite. Ty had lifted her up. Made her feel things she’d never imagined. “Twyla’s right. Ty is good-looking.” Loving him, as she now knew she did, may have made her stumble, but it hadn’t brought her down. And no one would control her love life this time. No one. Looking at her sisters, she said, “And just so you both know, he’s mine.”
