I paused. My instinct said slash and burn, but many of our customers were loyalists. They’d been coming here for decades. They noticed when we changed linen suppliers or replaced the wineglasses. For them, SPOC was an institution. The place they celebrated birthdays and anniversaries. A required stop on their seaside vacations each summer. A destination for marriage proposals involving elaborate desserts.
We drew the line at hiding diamond rings in oysters. Too easy for that one to go sideways.
“Can we trust him?”
Another shrug. “I don’t know. Last weekend I would’ve said yes, but Marty, your dad, two servers, and our lobster supplier are in federal custody. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Don’t forget my mother evading arrest in Central America,” I added. “That part’s important.”
Mel laughed. “Not sure if Sandy’s evading arrest so much as lost. The only things she knows how to evade are organization and structure.”
“Explain that to the FBI,” I grumbled. “They’re under the impression she and Dad are criminal masterminds.”
She picked at the shreds of police tape hanging from the doorframe. “Your father doesn’t know how to cheat at bingo. I don’t think an illegal thought has ever crossed his mind.” She balled up the last bits of tape. “They’ll come through this, Beck. You’ll get them out of this just like you always do.”
I stared out the window as Mel headed downstairs, her boots thudding on each step. She was right about me getting my family out of these crises—and it not being the first or last time.
* * *
Four cupsof coffee and three billable hours on the phone with my attorney later, I slammed my laptop shut and pushed away from the desk. My back and shoulders gave a snap-crackle-pop and I grunted at the ceiling. When I was finished feeling every one of my thirty-six years, I paced to the windows to get a closer look at the line stretching out the door at Naked Provisions.
I’d noticed it about half an hour into my call with Adrian Pineda and his legal team, and watched it steadily grow as morning shifted into afternoon. That damn patio was a huge hit. It had been packed from the start, with customers filling the small tables as they sipped coffee and shared saucer-sized cookies.
I tapped Lance’s number with an eye still fixed on the busy café. Where were all these people coming from? And for what?—veganthings? I needed a lot more information about this place Sunny was running.
“Loew!” Lance boomed. “It’s like two in the morning for you. Is this your one call from a jail cell?”
I didn’t enjoy how close to home that hit. “Not in Singapore today. Not in jail either.”
He blew out a laugh. “There was a point in time when any call from either of us was probably coming from a jail cell.”
“More you than me,” I said.
“Where the hell are you if not home in Singapore?”
“Home in Rhode Island,” I said.
He made a strangled noise. “Why the hell are youthere?”
The goth girl with the braids swept through the patio collecting dishes and mugs. I’d heard her say something about publicity. I wanted to know what kind of PR strategy had a line out the door and halfway to Market Street on the first day of their soft launch.
“Long story,” I said, “but the better question is why did I have to find out that your sister is running a café fifty feet from the oyster bar by catching her before she took a header on the patio?”
“Wait—what happened to Sunny?”
“Nothing. She’s fine. She just…tripped and I was nearby.”Because I was debating property lines and parking requirements and the curve of her waist before realizing she’s your very grown-up sister.“No injuries to report.”
“Oh, okay. Good.”
When he didn’t go on, I said, “So? About this café?”
“I didn’t realize you wanted the play-by-play on my sister’s life. Or anything happening back in Friendship.”
“Well,” I said on a sigh, “I’ll be hearing about Friendship for the foreseeable future. I’m on a leave of absence from my firm.”
“What the fuck? Why?”
I leaned against the wall to get a better look at the foot traffic outside. “Because the feds busted a money laundering and counterfeiting ring at the oyster bar. My father was arrested along with the general manager and a couple of servers. The lobster guy was picked up for ferrying cash in and out of Canada. Oh, and there’s a warrant out for my mother’s arrest but she never got on her flight home from a last-minute girls’ trip to Belize. The assumption is she was tipped off about the raid and went into hiding.”
