The Goddaughter by Melodie Campbell

Let’s get out of here.”
    He dropped me, and I went splat on the pavement. Pete was just getting to his feet. Our assailants were already over to their van. They piled inside and pulled away.
    â€œAre you okay?” Pete asked. He sounded concerned.
    â€œI don’t feel so well,” I said. Then I lost the hollandaise.
    * * *
    It’s a good man who will take care of you when you’re throwing up. Pete was a good man. He held me so I didn’t fall over, and then he found something to wipe my face.
    â€œWell, that was a waste of seven bucks,” he said.
    I was more worried about being shoeless.
    We found flip-flops in a dollar store around the corner. Luckily, they had a pair in my size. Pete didn’t like the look of them much.
    â€œHow can you stand wearing those things?” he said while we were going through security at the airport.
    â€œYou should try wearing thong underwear,” I replied.
    The flight back to Toronto was uneventful, which was a real treat for a change. As we were landing, Pete said, “Phoenix is nice. I’d like to see more of it. We should go back there sometime.”
    I nodded and smiled. That we had a good ring to it. This was encouraging. It signaled he wasn’t planning to disappear as soon as we got off the plane. Which was a good thing, because we still had something left to do.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
    I t was a nice dream. We were at David’s Shoes in posh Oakville, and Pete was buying me a pair of Manolos…
    The phone rang. It wasn’t the phone at David’s Shoes. It was the phone in my condo. I picked it up and muttered “Hello.”
    â€œThey want the body.”
    â€œWhat?” I cradled the phone to my chin.
    â€œThe body. They want it.” Was that Sammy’s voice, or was I still dreaming?
    â€œWhat body?” I said. Still not awake. What time was it? I looked at the clock. 4:30 AM . I looked to the other side of the bed. I wasn’t alone.
    â€œTony’s. The body that’s in the morgue. The guys in New York. They want it. We hafta get it to them. Vinnie wants it done now, before the morgue creeps dissect it. Angelo says it’s on the schedule for this morning.”
    â€œWho is it?” Pete muttered. He lay on his back. His eyes weren’t open yet.
    â€œSammy,” I whispered.
    â€œGina, are you there?”
    â€œI’m here,” I said. “So they want the body. They can have it.” I didn’t want it.
    A pause.
    â€œAren’t there rules about things like that? Taking bodies across the border?” I asked.
    â€œNot if nobody knows about it.”
    â€œI’m trying to figure out what this has to do with me.”
    â€œVinnie said to call you on account of he has a high opinion of your brains.”
    So they needed a plan.
    â€œSammy, I’m a jeweler, not a criminal mastermind. Why do we have to do this under the table?”
    â€œâ€™Cause they want it now, not after the morgue creepies do their pulling-apart thing. They want the body intact. For burial.”
    I sighed. “And why do we care?”
    â€œYou wanna start a war?”
    â€œI don’t want to start anything! But why me? I didn’t have anything to do with the shooting.”
    â€œThey don’t know that. You took ’im to the place, and he got nailed. Maybe they think we set it up.”
    I was out of the bed and pacing now. “That’s nuts! I thought they got him plugged by his own people because he was out of control, or something.”
    â€œSo did I. They’re not sayin’. An’ Vince don’t wanna take the chance at starting bad relations, you know? So we’re doin’ this little favor for them. You gotta be involved so it’s looks like we’re doing this in good faith.”
    I counted to seven. I could refuse. Couldn’t I? But then they would do the whole comedy routine over again. I could see it all. Sammy phoning.