I didn’t recognize either of the men, but Vince shifted where he stood so when they faced him they didn’t have a clear shot of the kitchen window. Vince put his weapon back in the holster.
“Jimmy,” Vince said, shaking the man’s hand.
Jimmy was tall and lean, and he seemed to be in good shape despite his age, and he was very handsome. His hair was thick and silver, and his face clean shaven, showing a little dimple at the chin.
“Bruce,” Vince said, reaching out to the other man. Bruce was considerably shorter than Jimmy, maybe a couple of inches taller than my own five foot eight. His hair was dark and thinning on top, but his mustache was Super Mario Brothers quality. He was also quite a bit thicker through the middle than his friend. They both wore khakis and loose button-down shirts that screamed retirement.
“Thanks for coming,” Vince told them.
“Anything for you, Vince,” Bruce said, clapping Vince on the back. “It’s not like we’ve got anything better to do. Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” I raised my brows at that tidbit. I’d called that one right. “I’ve remodeled every room in our house, and Helen told me if I didn’t get out of her hair she was going to put me in a home. Thirty years of marriage, and the woman wants to put me in a home.”
Vince snorted out a laugh and seemed to relax some. “Could be worse. She could want you dead. Cop wives are very resourceful. Remember back when Johnny Russo kept getting those stomach aches and no one could figure out what was wrong with him? I swear his wife was poisoning him.”
“Well,” Bruce said. “Johnny Russo was a horse’s ass. Who could blame her?”
“I heard he died in a car crash a few years ago,” Vince said.
“May he rest in peace,” Bruce said, giving the sign of the cross and then spitting on the floor. “Probably drunk, the worthless bastard.”
Jimmy slapped Vince on the back a couple of times, his smile wide. “It’s been too long, Vinny. It’s like you disappeared after you retired. How come you don’t come to none of the get-togethers with the old crew? Too good for us?”
“Nah,” Vince said, hands on hips. “I just discovered there’s more to life after retirement. I don’t want to sit around and drink beer and talk about the good old days. I moved to Whiskey Bayou and started over. Now I get to travel and do all the things I never got a chance to do when I was on the job.”
“I heard you started your new life with Charlie Holmes’s wife,” Bruce said, waggling his eyebrows. “How come you didn’t send us invitations to the wedding? More than twenty years we worked together and you can’t spare some wedding cake?”
“You were always first in line for cake,” Vince said.
Bruce put his hands on his round stomach. “Yeah, but now my metabolism is shot, and Helen has me eating celery sticks and gluten-free everything.”
“Doesn’t seem to be working,” Jimmy said.
Bruce gave a boisterous laugh. “That’s ’cause she don’t know about my secret stash.”
“She only wants you to think that,” Jimmy said. “Wives know everything.”
Bruce pursed his lips. “Says the guy that’s been divorced three times.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “I’ve been divorced three times because wives know everything.”
Vince shook his head, his smile wide. It was clear these men were his friends, and he enjoyed their company. I couldn’t figure out why I was standing on a stilt in the swamp and not inside where the floor heater was going full blast.
“In this case you didn’t miss out on any cake,” Vince told them. “Phyllis and I got married by Elvis in one of the little chapels in Vegas. We said our vows and they gave us buffet vouchers and a bottle of champagne.”
“That’s the smart way to do it,” Bruce said, nodding his head in agreement. “We all had a bet going that someone would snatch Phyllis up quick after Charlie died. That’s one fine woman. Never did figure out why she married Charlie. She always seemed like a bit of a wild card, and Charlie was the most uptight guy I’ve ever known. He was always one for rules and regulations. I don’t know how you stayed his partner for so long. It would’ve driven me to drink.”
I winced at that. I’d always thought the same thing, but it was upsetting to hear it coming from a total stranger.
“If I recall,” Vince said, “everything drives you to drink. Charlie was a good cop, and he was a good partner. And I’m lucky I got a second chance with Phyllis.”
“Oh, right,” Jimmy said, his grin sly. “I forgot you two had a thing for a while after she and Charlie split up that time.”
I squeaked and slapped a hand over my mouth. I never remembered my parents splitting up. But I do remember Vince always being a part of our lives. That nugget of information was definitely something to delve into later.
Vince shuffled his feet and changed the subject. “So who won the pot?”
“Stuart Marcel,” Bruce growled. “Won three hundred lousy bucks. None of the rest of us figured you’d make a move again since you’d already ridden that merry-go-round.”
“Some things are worth a second ride,” Vince said. “Being a cop was some of the best years of my life, but it seems I wasn’t able to leave all of it behind me. I’ve had some close calls recently. That’s why I called you. There are very few people I can trust right now.”
“You know you can trust us,” Jimmy said. “Whatever you need, we’re here.”
“I appreciate that,” Vince said, letting out a deep breath of relief.
“We heard through the grapevine that you started digging into the RICO case again,” Bruce said.
“If you guys have heard it through the grapevine, I can only assume everyone has,” Vince said. “That would explain the sudden close calls.”
“There’s no honor among thieves,” Jimmy said, shrugging. “The second you started sniffing around and re-questioning old informants, the information made its way down the food chain. Some of those informants are still active. So yeah, I’d say everyone knows what you’ve been doing at this point.”
“That’s why I need help,” Vince said. “I’m being watched, and I can’t move as freely as I’d like. Someone is trying to kill me.”
“Man,” Bruce said, his hands moving animatedly. “This case is twenty years old. And we closed it up tight. We sent people to prison. I don’t think you want to open this can of worms. We knew back then we didn’t round up all of the players. If you start digging you’re going to have more than a close call. And I’m not ready to go to your funeral just yet.”
“I wish I could let it go,” Vince said, dropping his head slightly. “But we didn’t get the right guy. And I have the proof. Or at least enough to start a new investigation. And apparently that’s starting to piss some people off.”
“Look, man,” Jimmy said. “I love you like a brother, and we all worked our tails off on that case. It is what it is, and I’m telling you to leave it alone.”
I held my breath. The tone had changed and the atmosphere in the room was heavy.