Courting Disaster by Joanne Pence Read Free Book Online Page A

son-in-law, he didn’t like seeing this kept secret, and his cop instincts told him that Sal was being neither open nor honest about it. However, if the woman was as off-balance as he made her sound, she had to be kept away from Serefina and Angie no matter what Sal’s problem actually was. He nodded, his lips tight. “I’ll help.”
    Â 
    The North Beach area’s Fior d’Italia had no Amalfi party, nor did the Washington Square Bar and Grill. The next restaurant for Angie to check onwas Moose’s. As she passed St. Peter and Paul’s Church, she went inside to light candles and say a prayer for loved ones and those seeking guidance about engagement parties.
    As she stepped out of the dark church, the bright sunlight made it hard to see. She stopped and blinked, looking up and down the street a moment.
    Parked at the corner was a car that looked amazingly like her father’s. Sal Amalfi was the only person she knew who still drove a 1969 four-door red Lincoln sedan with red leather seats and a huge red steering wheel. Sal loved the car. It was the first one he ever bought straight off the showroom floor. It had everything he’d ever wanted, and he’d babied it completely. It ran like a dream, eight miles to the gallon. It used to get better mileage before the California Air Resource Board pressured him into adjusting it to take unleaded gas, but their computers went berserk every year that it came up for a smog check.
    Every so often Angie or Serefina would take him out to test drive a Mercedes or BMW or even a Jaguar. He declared them all garbage—flimsy, poorly made, death-trap tin cans. Nothing compared to his own personal Sherman tank.
    Maybe he’d like a new Hummer.
    Angie eyed the car as she walked toward it. It had to be his. If so, what was he doing in North Beach? Her parents lived south of the city in the wealthy peninsula town of Hillsborough. Because of his heart condition, Sal rarely left home, and it was even rarer for him to drive anywhere, especially into San Francisco, one of the most congested cities in the nation.
    Serefina, on the other hand, enjoyed driving her Rolls-Royce. If Sal was riding with her, however, he clutched the dashboard the entire time. As a result, they often hired a chauffeur to get them from one place to the other. That way they didn’t have to worry about parking or Serefina’s driving.
    Angie stood beside Sal’s car. He liked Moose’s Restaurant. Perhaps he was there having lunch with a friend.
    She should try to find him. Wouldn’t he be surprised!
    She was a few feet from the entrance when her father stepped onto the sidewalk. She waved and smiled. To her amazement, Paavo appeared right behind him.
    Both men awkwardly watched her approach. They seemed to be leaning away from each other, which she dismissed as a weird perspective, or uneven sidewalks. She gave each a quick kiss. “What a nice surprise! My two favorite men right here together….” She stopped talking, expecting them to tell her why they were there.
    Instead, Paavo said, “What are you doing here, Angie?” His voice sounded strangled, as if he were under some great strain.
    She didn’t want Sal to know what she was up to. “Just shopping, a walk in the park. Nothing special. What about you two?” She kept the smile on her face, difficult though it was.
    All of a sudden, to her amazement, Sal wrapped a stiff arm around Paavo’s broad shoulders and yanked him close, then patted his back hard. Very hard. “We’ve decided it’s time to get along even better than we have been.”
    Angie gawked. Paavo pulled free, yet kept a sickly smile pasted to his face as he said, “That’s right. Bury the old hatchet.” He gave Sal what looked like a friendly tap on the shoulder. Sal staggered back a couple of steps.
    The two men eyed each other, stiff as lampposts, smiles spread wide, teeth clenched.