“And the fireplace?” Jake shot out at once. “The gas guy took it apart and put it back together as if there was something wrong with it.”
“Yes, he did,” Nicole agreed. “But he never said there was anything wrong with it. He was too busy going on about how one partner always goes a little crazy in a divorce and whatnot.”
“Well, he seemed to think your ex-husband was trying to kill you. He apparently hugged you on the way out, insisting you should get a good security system. And he charged you a pittance for being there most of the day.”
“He hugged both of us, and I think he only hugged me so he could hug Pierina and cop a feel,” Nicole snapped. “He was crunching on her. I think that’s why he took the fireplace apart in the first place, so he had an excuse to hang around, ogle her, and chat her up. He offered to take us out on the town and show us the city while Pierina was here,” she added dryly. “And I think his crunching on her is why he agreed with her worries that Rodolfo was trying to kill me.”
Jake was aware that everyone had been glancing from him to Nicole as they’d argued, as if watching a tennis match. They were now focused on him again and he shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to say. She seemed to have an answer for everything . . . and Marguerite hadn’t mentioned that the gas guy had been crunching on Pierina, but then Pierina probably hadn’t mentioned that either.
His thoughts were distracted when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Dante said.
“What is crunching?” Elaine asked with confusion as the twin left the kitchen.
“Hitting on,” Tomasso answered. “The gas guy had the hots for Pierina.”
“Oh.” She nodded with understanding. “Well then it’s possible he was exaggerating the dangers to be the hero in Pierina’s eyes.”
“Mother,” Jake complained. He was having enough trouble trying to convince Nicole it was her husband without his mother siding with the woman.
“Well, it’s true, dear,” she said apologetically. “Men do silly things like that when they want a woman. And these earlier things you’re talking about don’t sound nearly as deadly, or as well planned as the hot tub and the accident. The poisoning of the hot tub took some knowledge of poisons, and fiddling with the car brakes and accelerator took some skill.”
“The police have already found out what was done to the car?” Nicole asked.
“Dante gave them a mental nudge at the accident scene to ensure they had it examined right away,” Jake said quietly.
“They called while Jake was settling you in bed when we got home,” Elaine added. “And it was no accident, the car had definitely been messed with.”
“It must have been while we were in the mall,” Jake muttered unhappily. “It was fine on the way out.”
Nicole nodded in agreement and then sighed and returned to the original topic. “Look, I know Pierina is convinced that Rodolfo is trying to kill me, but trust me, he isn’t. He’s greedy, selfish, and a bully. But he’s too fond of his own hide to risk landing in jail by getting caught trying to kill me . . . and he would be the first suspect in this instance. If he was going to kill me, he would have done it before I left him. But afterward? No.”
“I’m afraid she’s right.”
Jake glanced sharply past Nicole as she whirled at that announcement. His eyebrows rose as he watched Vincent Argeneau and his wife Jackie greet her.
“You must be Nicole,” Jackie was saying, shaking her hand with a smile as Dante slid past the trio to reclaim his chair at the table. “I’m Jackie, and this is my husband, Vincent.”
“Hello,” Nicole said uncertainly, and then blinked and peered more closely at Jake’s old boss and said, “Vincent Argeneau?”
“That’s me,” Vincent said lightly.
“You saved Jake’s life. You turned him when the skinny bitch stabbed him,” she said, using Jake’s exact words from when he’d told her about the incident.
“He was Stephano then, but yes,” Vincent said, eyes sparkling with amusement at her words.
“Not that he was too pleased at the time,” Jackie added dryly.
“Well I am now,” Jake said quietly, moving forward to greet the pair. He hugged Jackie first, murmuring, “I’m sorry I didn’t say it then.”
Hugging Vincent next, he added, “But thank you for my life.” Stepping back, he added solemnly, “And for giving up your one turn. I realize what a sacrifice it was, especially since you already knew Jackie was your life mate and that you couldn’t turn her once you turned me.”