Nico wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but Frankie looked surprisingly normal. He was dressed casually in well-fitting black joggers and a zip-front hoodie that probably cost a small fortune. He had a Lululemon gym bag on his shoulder and designer sneakers on his feet. He wasn’t conventionally attractive by society’s impossible standards, but he was fit and his clothes and grooming habits screamed money, which would be a big draw for some people.
“We’re looking for Amy,” Nico said, keeping his weapon trained on the man.
“Who?” Frankie said without any inflection, his nearly black eyes studying them both in a way that made Nico want to squirm beneath his scrutiny.
“Don’t play stupid. We know you had a thing for her,” Nico pressed.
Frankie continued to stare for another thirty seconds before asking, “For…Amy?” He shook his head like he was baffled. Maybe he was. “Wait, you mean thebaat pohwho makes the purses? The one that has Leo and my brother frothing at the mouth? I didn’t know that was her name.”
“Baat poh?” Nico asked at the same time Mal said, “Frothing at the mouth?”
Frankie looked at Nico. “Gossip. She was always running her mouth.” He then looked at Mal. “Yeah, frothing at the mouth. He went on and on about her skills. Now, Leo keeps saying that without her, their operation will crash and burn.”
“You know all that about her but didn’t even know her name?” Nico asked.
Frankie scoffed. “Do you know how many of thosegaiwork the stalls? You think I have time to keep them all in my head? That’s not my territory.”
Mal and Nico exchanged glances, but before they could ask anymore questions, Frankie walked farther into his apartment. He dropped his bag on the floor then collapsed onto the sofa, clearly unbothered by their presence.
When he noticed them staring at him, he snorted out a laugh. “You can put your guns down. I’ll answer your questions. But I don’t really know exactly what it is you expect to learn from me. I barely knew her.”
“That’s not what we heard,” Nico said, which wasn’t entirely true but he didn’t need to know that.
“Oh, yeah?” he asked, his amusement evident.
Nico and Mal entered the living room and sat in chairs opposite the man. Nico lowered his gun, letting his arm hang between his knees so the barrel pointed at the floor. Mal followed suit.
“We heard you had a problem with her a few months ago,” Nico said. “A problem big enough that Leo had to intervene. Rumor has it you don’t know how to take no for an answer.”
Frankie tilted his head, giving them the same smirk his brother had given them less than an hour ago. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but I mean just what I said. I don’t know her. I have nothing to do with the counterfeit stuff. I deal with real money.”
Mal frowned. “Real money meaning…”
“Our gambling facilities. My brother deals with his silly little handbags. I bring in the real cash.”
“You guys are running underground casinos, too?” Nico asked.
Frankie laughed. “Don’t look so scandalized. My brother’s purses can bring in decent money but they take time. You can’t mass produce that kind of a product with the detail needed to fool experts. Sure, one bag can bring in a few grand—hell, maybe even several thousand—but the casino can make that in hours.”
Nico glanced at Mal.
He studied Frankie, expressionless. After a moment, he said, “Okay, but just because you don’t work with her doesn’t mean you weren’t harassing her. Someone was assaulting her.”
Frankie frowned, his confusion obvious. “Me? Assaulting her? Are you crazy?”
“We have a witness,” Nico bluffed.
Frankie was still for a beat, then he started to laugh…hard. So hard tears began to form. “Well, they’re lying. I would never assault anyone, but her?” he managed through gales of laughter. “Honey, no. She’s not my type.”
His laughter died, and he gave them a pointed look, like he was waiting for them to connect the dots.
“So, you’re not bi, you’re gay. Like…gay-gay,” Nico said stupidly.
“Gayer than RuPaul’s closet,” he confirmed drolly. “So, I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but they either lied to you or deliberately misled you. Someone might have had a problem with that girl, but it wasn’t me.”
“Did you ever hear anything or notice anything unusual?” Mal asked. “It’s important that we find her.”
Frankie looked irritated but appeared to think about it. After a minute, he said, “I do remember Leo saying she was off-limits, but he wasn’t talking to me.”
