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  Bobby laughed.

  “Cocktail versus a long walk chasing a ball? Most would choose a mojito.”

  Mary Lou’s turn to laugh.

  “It has its own attraction.”

  She briefly touched his lower arm, near his wrist. Something she had not planned. Involuntary. And, as she was only too aware, quite definitely flirtatious.

  12

  Another day, another party. Mary Lou found the constant get-togethers quite tiring. She had no problem being sociable, being in the company of other people. As days and weeks rolled on, she realized she felt less of a loss when she had her nose to the concrete in Canada.

  With time on her hands every day, there were greater opportunities to recall Frank and the life she had with him. It had been far from plain sailing - his time behind bars; her time sleeping with other men - but they had been good together for so many years.

  And the parties got her down. This lifestyle was not hers. She might have bought the swanky house and have money to burn, but that didn’t make her like the neighbors. Mary Lou worked hard for everything she had and would defend her children to the death. Literally.

  Part of her needed to keep busy and her recent golf exploits had been a displacement activity. In the absence of anything meaningful to do, she found an excuse to learn a skill and spend time with Bobby.

  But golf was not a sustainable option. While the weather was great for a year-round outdoors pastime, Mary Lou understood herself well enough to be aware that hitting a small ball was not sufficient to keep her mind from atrophying. And as much as she loved Alice and Frank Jr, she could not spend all her time looking after them. Cindy was better placed to do that day in, day out than her.

  That didn’t mean she’d ignore her kids. Far from it. She vowed never to disregard them, the way her mother had disregarded her. There would never be a Pastor Neil in her children’s lives.

  All these thoughts bundled into her brain, Mary Lou stood in Janet’s living room with a beer in her hand and Roy, Milton and Raymond talking on the sofa four feet away.

  “Will he recover long enough to keep running things?”

  “Hard to tell. The Feds are breathing down our necks. That’s for sure.”

  Roy looked up and noticed Mary Lou within earshot. A hush descended as they hoped she’d walk back out to her girlfriends sat next to the pool but she remained resolute in her stance. The men changed tack to discuss football while Mary Lou stood her ground.

  “The Baninno Family have always held interests this side of the country.”

  She let these words hang over them so the men were sure she was listening, but also could understand she wasn’t some stupid wallflower.

  “They have. Doesn’t mean any of must like it.”

  “No. When I lived out east, you always heard stories of the family seeking to extend its reach in California.”

  “That so? Where d'you say you lived?”

  “I never mentioned it before, but I’m telling you now.”

  “You have connections with the Baninno Family?”

  “Me? Oh no. My husband’s family did, but I lost contact with them when he died. It was loose at best.”

  “But you were connected?”

  “At arm’s length.”

  Beat.

  “What do you guys say? Oh yeah, we had business interests that aligned with the Baninnos - for a short while.”

  “And once he died?”

  “Those interests receded rather fast.”

  “But you weren’t ever in the Family?”

  “Nope. Mixed in circles that mixed with them. No more than that.”

  “When did you say you left the east coast?”

  “Never did. And at this point in my life, I'm not going to tell you now. It’s nothing personal, okay? Just we’re in the middle of a house party and this information is precious to me. Capice?”

  Perhaps she had revealed too much, but she wanted some action and these guys were the most direct route for her to get to it. As a precaution, Mary Lou took a gun out the summerhouse and kept it with her for the next three days but nothing happened.

  No-one followed her, nobody asked any more questions. The dust settled on the conversation as though it never occurred. At least, that was the appearance to the outside world.

  The irony was she knew next to nothing about the Baninnos. Her most recent info was at least two years old and had been acquired via Frank and his Shylock uncle. The trail was thin as could be. Frank Senior funded local Baltimore operations sometimes, according to Frank, and he always kicked back ten per cent to New York. The Baninnos ran Baltimore, so she assumed they were the beneficiaries of the tithe.

  That meant Baninno’s men sprawled across country through Las Vegas to LA when she and Frank were on the lam straight after the heist. And that meant Baninno hoods had been in Burbank Airport when Frank was mortally wounded.

  A fragment of image: driving with blood drying all over her thighs to avoid capture and get away from everyone and everything.

  Back to reality and barbecues, cocktails and more gatherings without the men picking up on her comments from the few days before. Mary Lou couldn’t tell if she imagined this, but she got the feeling the women were treating her differently. Slightly standoffish. She was aware she might be distancing herself from Sylvia and the gang but there was a sense conversations died as she walked into the room or sat down at their booth in the Country Club.

  Bottom line: she needed to do more than sip cocktails and die a little inside every day.

  MARY LOU USED HER CAR the next time she hooked up with Bobby because his two-seater had insufficient space for the twins. She reckoned if he was going to be a part of her life then he needed to be in theirs too.

  To that end, the four headed for a picnic near the base of San Jacinto, the mountain that loomed over Palm Springs like a concerned parent over a toddler. Left onto Mesquite until she turned south on Palm Canyon Drive west of the city. As soon as East Avenida Granada appeared on the left, Mary Lou grabbed the first available right turn.

  No more than a dirt track leading nowhere, the turning ending five hundred feet away from the main drag at a flat piece of ground, covered in grass. The base of the mountain rose up almost as soon as the vegetation petered out. Mary Lou had done her homework. Bobby whistled as she stopped the car.

  “Beautiful. Lived here all my life and never once came here. This is a wonderful country, isn’t it?”

  “Has its moments, Bobby.”

  She patted his knee before hopping out and freeing the twins from the back seat. He opened the trunk and pulled out two rugs and a food basket prepared by Cindy.

  The kids ran around in empty circles playing chase while the adults smoothed out the wrinkles in the blankets and checked out the contents of the picnic. Before she sat down, Mary Lou scooted over to the trunk and revealed four cushions.

  “I wasn't sure how lumpy this place would be.”

  She tossed one over to Bobby who placed it near his rump, took one for herself and threw the others down for the twins.

  “Want a drink or something?”

  “Scotch?”

  “Nope. I didn’t pack hard liquor. Got coffee, though?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Milk?”

  “Nah.”

  Mary Lou smiled and poured him a cup as well as one for herself.

  “I hear you’ve been annoying the locals.”

  “Have I? How’d I manage that?”

  “By expressing opinions on men’s matters.”

  “Say again?”

  “You spoke to Roy and Milton about the Baninno family.”

  “Oh, yes. I got bored listening to their hushed tones so I reminded them there’s more to women than looking pretty.”

  “And some sure look pretty.”

  He gazed into her eyes until Mary Lou looked away.

  “They said you spoke with some authority.”

  “I know a thing or two.”<
br />
  “I have every faith you do.”

  Beat.

  “Doubt if you care, but you freaked them a little.”

  “Not much.”

  “Caring or freaking?”

  “Both I guess. Does it bother you that I had a life before arriving in Palm Springs?”

  “Makes you even more interesting as far as I’m concerned.”

  “But you had to bring this up as soon as we arrived here?”

  “More I wanted to mention it and move on without taking up the whole day. What’s past has passed. It’s part of who you are, so it is interesting but not to any extent that my finding out about it might stop you from wanting to be with me.”

  A tentative smile from Mary Lou.

  “And if your earlier business interests have any interconnection with my current ones: yes, I’d like to find out.”

  “All my old business affairs have well and truly run their course. Believe me, I have no interest in rekindling my east coast contacts.”

  Bobby nodded. Just then Frank Jr threw himself on top of him causing the man to exhale a loud wheeze while Alice came up to Mary Lou and gave her a hug around the neck. Mary Lou scooped her up and swung her to land on her lap, carrying on the cuddle until it had spent its force.

  The boys carried on playing rough-and-tumble for a minute more. When Bobby was lying on his back with Frank Jr cudgeling his sides, Mary Lou called a halt. Bobby might have been in control of the situation the entire time, but the boy needed to learn he didn’t always have to win every fight. Mercy is an important trait.

  To save him from her son, Mary Lou revealed peanut jelly sandwiches and chocolate muffins. Cindy could bake too. Ten minutes of near silence as the contents of the basket were devoured. Their ball was released from captivity and the twins shot off to kick the sphere around, enabling the adults to continue their conversation.

  “You said you didn’t want to hook up again with your east coast contacts. How do they feel about you?”

  “Let’s just say there was a parting of the ways.”

  Bobby chuckled.

  “Thought so.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’ve been thinking - about you, the age of your kids, the death of your husband. And the fact you can afford to live on Oakcrest Drive.”

  Mary Lou bristled.

  “And?”

  “And I think you were in the news two or three years ago.”

  “Oh, you reckon?”

  “Yep. Doesn’t bother me. If you are who I think you are then I owe you a huge dollop of respect.”

  “And who am I?”

  “If you haven’t mentioned your past, would be rude of me to do so. But I believe there might be a hint of Baltimore about your southern accent.”

  Mary Lou stared cold at Bobby. Her secret was out. Her fingers felt damp with sweat.

  “Who else have you told?”

  “Nobody. It’s not my story to tell, like I said.”

  “And why are you letting me in on your thoughts now?”

  “So you can trust me. That I can be your confidante. I’m growing to like you, Mary Lou and I want you to know I’m safe - given what went down in Burbank Airport.”

  “How’d you find out what you think you know?”

  “Thought about dates, checked a few public records. Nothing fancy.”

  “So anyone can work it out.”

  Her mind raced.

  “Well, only if they know you well enough to bother. You’re hidden away in the heartland of the West Coast mob. East and west haven’t played nicely in the sandpit since Bugsy Siegel first cut the turf in Las Vegas. There’s no love lost between those two gentlemen’s clubs.”

  “And the others?”

  “They can probably guess, but again, no-one out here cares to do anything and no-one’ll be placing a call to the Baninnos. There’s no money in it for them. You are as safe today as you were yesterday.”

  “Is that enough, though?”

  13

  Mary Lou wanted to believe she could trust Bobby, but in reality she knew so little about him other than he had some connections with the West Coast mob. Yes, he appeared kind and considerate - and hadn’t tried to hit on her since they first met. Perhaps that was the reason there was any sort of relationship between them: they both respected each other’s boundaries enough not to ask too many questions or try to speed matters up through sex.

  She wasn’t even sure she wanted his dick anywhere near her. The absence of a man since Frank hadn’t weighed down on her as much as the pre-twins Mary Lou might have expected. Her loins needed attention now and again but she no longer experienced that pressing yearning inside for a fuck. Either the kids put paid to that or Frank’s death. Both had blurred into each other, she couldn’t quite remember any more.

  If she took the kids and ran away again, the good news was she still had enough green to start from scratch and leave the house behind. Few people had the luxury of being able to leave behind a thirty thousand dollar piece of real estate. Mary Lou knew how fortunate her life had become despite her tenuous circumstances.

  She decided to take an overnight trip into LA. The twins would enjoy the razzmatazz of Hollywood even if they didn’t know who the stars were just yet. Mary Lou brought Cindy along to ease the burden of the childcare and to have someone to talk to during the trip.

  The two-hour journey passed quickly thanks to the simple plan of feeding the twins before shoving them into the car so they crashed out by the time Mary Lou hit the freeway.

  They missed the commuter crowd heading into Los Angeles by over an hour so they sailed into their hotel and up into their adjacent rooms: one for Cindy and the twins, the other for Mary Lou.

  The plan was simple: check out the Chinese Theater, pop past a studio or two hoping to see someone famous, sleep then go home the next day. The overnight piece was there so the kids wouldn’t be trapped in a car for four hours solid. Without the sleepover, there would be guaranteed tears before bedtime.

  Feed-and-go meant they stood outside their first studio before one as the crowds abated with pangs of hunger. Fifteen minutes later and there was nothing to see - just like the previous time Mary Lou stood by the same entrance, only with Frank by her side. Their last days together.

  “It’ll be more interesting at the Chinese Theater.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Into a cab and off to the excitement of seeing hand prints set in concrete. When they arrived, Mary Lou had a huge flashback: a genuine deja vue as clear as day. The moment she held onto a cab door as Frank was about to rip the head off a mobster who walked past them outside the Theater. Once that had passed and her breathing was back to normal, Mary Lou took the kids and marched them along the road.

  Occasionally, they’d stop so Cindy and Mary Lou could discuss some star or another, but generally the twins enjoyed the noise and pizzazz but were oblivious to anything more that that. Impersonators pan-handled their way through the crowd hoping to convince someone to take a photo with them in shot.

  Unlike the last time when Frank had sent a Marilyn Monroe off with her tail between her legs, Mary Lou allowed a Laurel and Hardy double act to relieve her of two dollars. The twins giggled and chuckled at the silly antics and she felt the money was well spent.

  Ice creams for everyone and then back to the hotel. The kids were ready to drop so Cindy put them to sleep and popped into Mary Lou's, leaving the adjoining door ajar.

  “Thanks for letting me come along today.”

  “Don’t mention it. You being here means we’re all having a much better time.”

  “Thank you anyway.”

  “Da nada.”

  “Your family is a pleasure to spend time with.”

  “No need to blow smoke.”

  “I’m not. The last place - you wouldn’t believe. The kids ran riot around the parents who did nothing to stop them.”

  “Nightmare. I wasn’t brought up that way and the twins won’t be either.”
r />   “Of course. Firm boundaries with love in the middle. That’s best.”

  Mary Lou cracked open two beers and handed one over to Cindy.

  “I shouldn’t when I’m on duty.”

  “I won’t tell your employer if you don’t.”

  Cindy smiled and half-raised the bottle before taking a small swig. The agency would disapprove but she was sitting in a classy hotel having a drink with the client. When in Rome...

  “Where’s your family?”

  “Back in Chihuahua City.”

  “Do you get to see them?”

  “Not the past four years, since I arrived in the Land of Opportunity.”

  “Tough break.”

  “I send some of my earnings home - to help out - and I get a letter at least once a month.”

  “I’m glad you’re still in touch. Families can be difficult beasts.”

  “Not being rude, but I noticed your family never comes round.”

  “Because they’re all dead.”

  “I am so very sorry. I didn’t mean...”

  “Not a problem. Been dead for years. I was orphaned when I was fifteen.”

  “Oh man. So young.”

  “Grew up fast.”

  “Can imagine.”

  “Tonight, if you want to go out to a club instead of hanging with me, I’ll totally understand. Think of it as an extra night off, if you like.”

  “Well, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. Just remember not to bring anyone back to the room...”

  “I’m a good Catholic girl!”

  “... and we leave at ten so you’ll need to be in the land of the living in good time to help the twins in the morning before we get breakfast.”

  NOTHING HAPPENED AND no-one appeared on Mary Lou’s doorstep demanding money or shooting her between the eyes. Bobby had been true to his word: what he knew stayed inside him. She didn’t want to trap herself in the house, but she wasn’t confident enough to hang out in the local bar.

  Palm Springs Country Club was a good compromise with a healthy mix of west coast connections surrounding her. The first time out there since the picnic, Mary Lou chose to sit facing the tables even though her usual position was to have her back to the room.