Buried Innocence - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery - Book Thirteen (Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Series) by Terri Reid Page A

speakeasies, nightclubs, whiskey stills
hidden in the hills during Prohibition, and its connection with the notorious
mobster, Al Capone.
    “There’s always a
market for sin,” Joey said, thinking about the money in his wallet.
    He drove south
beyond the town limits into the countryside. These roads, the same ones the
bootleggers used nearly a hundred years ago, wove through thick, forested woods
and farmlands to isolated destinations that were perfect for concealing all
kinds of nefarious actions.
    Finally, after
about twenty minutes, he pulled up on the dirt road in front of the dilapidated
farmhouse and parked his car. Before he exited the car, the front door of the house
opened and a petite middle-aged woman met him. She was dressed in a modest
skirt and blouse, her hair carefully coiffed. She wore pearls around her neck
and on studs through her earlobes. She looked decisively like a minister’s wife
until you looked into her eyes.
    Angelina Gambino
Amoretti, or Gigi as her daddy always called her, was the daughter of one of
the top crime bosses in Chicago. She was a real looker, curves in all the right
places, blonde hair that glimmered in the light, and a
mouth that was so plump and ripe it took all he had not to taste it the first
time he met her. Yeah, he thought, grabbing his wallet from the dashboard, and
see where that got me.
    “How did it go?”
Gigi asked.
    He reached in his
wallet and pulled out the stack of hundred dollar bills. “We hit the jackpot,”
he said, placing a kiss on her cheek. “And she was worth every cent.”
    She snatched the
bills from his hand, placed them inside her handbag and then looked him over.
“You look and smell disgusting,” she said. “Go in and clean up, and be quick
about it. We’ve got to drive down to Clinton to meet this new family.”
    “Yeah, I’m going,”
he grumbled.
    “And this time,
don’t forget to bring your holy books,” she called after him. “What kind of
minister are you without a Bible?”
    He stopped on the
first step of the porch and turned back to her. “The kind that gets his rewards
here on earth, my dear,” he sneered, grabbing his crotch and smiling, “and
enjoys the blessings of the flesh.”
    “Yes, I noticed,”
she said, glaring at him with such venom that he nearly stumbled. “In the
future, just remember that I give you the ones you can sample. The other ones,
you keep your hands off.”
    He shrugged. “Just
breaking them in, my dear,” he replied carefully. “They don’t mean nothing to me. None of them are as sexy as you are.”
    Her eyes softened
for a moment, and then she shook her head. “Don’t try to sweet-talk me, you
Casanova. You don’t touch them unless I say so,” she repeated. “Do you
understand?”
    Nodding, he stepped
back toward the door. “Yeah. I do,” he said.
    “Good,” she said,
meeting his eyes. “Because I can dig a big hole in the forest
just as well as I can dig a small one.”
    A chill ran down
his spine as he considered the collection of graves behind their barn. “I won’t
touch one ever again, Gigi,” he breathed. “I promise.”

Chapter Thirteen

 
    “Where are you
going?” Mike asked, appearing in front of Mary as she headed out of her office
door.
    She stopped
suddenly, her hand on her chest, and took a deep breath. “You really have to
stop doing that,” she said pointedly. “This can’t be good for the baby.”
    Mike looked
ashamed. “Sorry,” he said.
    “Really. I’m sorry,” he repeated when she gave him a skeptical look. “I was just going
to check in on you, and suddenly, you’re going out the door. Does Bradley
know?”
    Sighing audibly,
Mary put her hands on her hips and met Mike’s eyes. “I am going to Galena,” she
said. “I need to see if I can find out any more information about Steve.
Bradley does know that I’m going, but not because I have to ask his permission
to do my job. He knows because we both let each other know what we are