“Vinnie, can you call Carlos and fill him in? See if he can give us any new information with what we now know?” I asked. “It also wouldn't hurt to call Patty and ask him to reach out to some of his contacts. I want to put faces to the names we have on the wall.”
“Of course,” Vinnie replied as he got up and walked out of the room. I knew he was doing that so he could talk more freely with Carlos. Talking in front of a police detective and a DEA agent didn't allow such freedoms.
“I hope this isn't out of place, but who is Patty?” Detective Sparks asked.
“Patrick Flannigan,” I replied. “He used to run the Irish mob out of Chicago.”
The man's eyebrows lifted.
I smirked and said, “Patty and Lany have a blood bond.”
It was fun watching Sparks pale. “Your husband has a blood bond with the former head of the Irish mob?”
I patted him on the shoulder. “How's that heart?”
Sparks coughed while rubbing his chest. “Painful.”
“I suggest drinks, lots of them.” Jerry let out a little snort. “Seems to work for me.”
“You're more than likely going to hear a lot of things here that will make your heart stop, but what you need to remember is that we really are working for the good guys. We just have to sometimes go outside the lines to get what we need to move our investigation along.”
“How can you do that and still take it to court?”
“Twenty-five percent of police work is on-the-ground investigation. The other seventy-five percent is working hunches. As a detective, you know this.”
Sparks nodded.
I pointed to the storyboard. “If we showed any investigator or prosecutor our storyboard, they'd only see what we've found during our investigation. That's why we have the different colored yarn. They show the difference between what we do know, what we want to know, and what we think we should know. All of it is admissible in court.”
Sparks frowned as he glanced at the storyboard. “I guess I never thought of it that way.”
“Getting information from these sources is no different than using a confidential informant. Ours just happens to run the mob.”
“That is not admissible in court,” Jerry stated.
Yeah, no, we'd never get that through the court system.
“Sal, you need to see to Lany,” Skip called out. “He needs some food, and then he needs to go to bed. He's starting to fade.”
I glanced at my baby. Skip was right. Lany's eyes were starting to droop, and he was swaying just a bit. I walked over to him and swung him up into my arms before starting out of the room. “We're going to go eat,” I told everyone. “Mrs. Martinez made dinner for everyone if you're hungry.”
I didn't wait for anyone to reply. I just carried Lany out of my office and down the hallway to the dining room. We had a much bigger table now after replacing the one that had been damaged in the explosion awhile back. It could easily fit all our guests and our family at the same time.
I set Lany on a chair near the head of the table and then went to the kitchen to inform Mrs. Martinez we were there to eat. I smiled when I saw the cupcake tower.
Lany would be so happy.
I gestured to them. “Don't let Lany see those until after he has something to eat.”
Mrs. Martinez chuckled. “Keep him out of my kitchen then.”
Pretty sure Lany could smell them anyway.
“Can I carry anything out for you?”
Mrs. Martinez pointed to a stack of plates and utensils. “You could carry those out for me. I'll get the rest.”
“Yes, ma'am.” I grabbed the stack and carried it into the dining room. People were just starting to walk in as I set everything down on the table. I went back to the kitchen to get Lany a glass of milk. He didn't need anything stronger.
