Chapter 5 - The Fork
I didn't run.
I picked up a fork.
The same kind I had dropped in front of Dominic Vance the first night.
Cole’s men approached.
Henderson backed away.
Customers froze.
One man smiled.
“Daisy Bennett?”
“No.”
He looked amused.
“No?”
“I’m the specials.”
Then I drove the fork through the sleeve of his jacket and pinned the fabric to the wooden service station.
He cursed.
I ran.
“Kitchen!”
Henderson shouted.
I pushed through the doors.
Two men followed.
Then the rear entrance opened.
Dominic walked in.
His black shirt was open at the collar, tattoos visible across his neck and forearms.
He looked at the men.
Then at me.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You stayed here?”
“Yes.”
“You listened?”
“Mostly.”
One of Cole’s men stepped forward.
Dominic’s bodyguards appeared behind him.
The man stopped.
Dominic spoke quietly.
“Leave.”
They left.
I pointed toward the dining room.
“Carlo.”
“We know.”
“You trusted him.”
“For eight years.”
“I'm sorry.”
“So am I.”
He looked at my hand.
“Are you holding a fork?”
“Don't judge me.”
A laugh escaped him.
Then his expression hardened.
“Cole knows you have the ledger.”
“Good.”
“No, Daisy.”
“Yes.”
I grabbed my coat.
“We go to Pier Nineteen tonight.”
“He'll expect us.”
“Exactly.”
“You're enjoying this too much.”
“I’m terrified.”
“You don't look terrified.”
“I worked brunch for three years. I hide panic professionally.”
Despite himself, Dominic smiled.
At 11:58 p.m., we entered Pier Nineteen.
Cole was waiting inside an abandoned warehouse.
So was Carlo.
I looked at him.
“You sold me out.”
Carlo lowered his eyes.
“I owed money.”
“You could have asked me.”
“You don't have money.”
“That wasn't the point.”
Cole interrupted.
“Enough.”
I held up the ledger.
“You wanted this?”
“Give it to me.”
“Tell me what happened to my father.”
Dominic stood beside me.
Cole smiled.
“You really want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Michael discovered our operation. He threatened to expose everyone.”
“So you killed him.”
“I told someone to scare him.”
“You’re lying.”
Cole shrugged.
“Perhaps.”
Dominic took one step forward.
Cole's men moved.
Dominic stopped.
Cole smiled.
“Even Chicago’s great Dominic Vance understands numbers.”
Dominic looked around.
“Eight men?”
“Nine.”
A voice came from behind Cole.
“Actually, ten.”
Cole turned.
Carlo stepped beside us.
Cole stared.
“What are you doing?”
Carlo removed a tiny recording device from beneath his collar.
“Paying my debt.”
Cole’s face collapsed.
Carlo looked at me.
“I'm sorry, Daisy.”
Sirens sounded outside.
Cole looked toward Dominic.
“You called the police?”
Dominic shook his head.
“Daisy did.”
Cole stared at me.
I smiled.
“You powerful men really need to stop assuming waitresses don't have plans.”
Police flooded the warehouse.
Cole was arrested before 12:10.
Carlo surrendered voluntarily.
And the ledger?
Copies had already been sent to three attorneys, two reporters, and federal investigators.
Dominic had insisted.
“If something happens to us,” he'd told me, “the truth survives.”
For once, I had taken his advice.
May you like
Mostly.
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