“Your best friend?”
Violet nodded. She knew Simon and Elana had briefly interacted at Moonshiners that first day he was in town, but she had yet to introduce them formally. It would have to happen sooner or later. She wasn’t sure how long Simon was going to be in town—he didn’t seem to have a firm answer—and she would need someone to talk to about him when he was gone.
Then again, he’d likely meet pretty much everyone at the wedding, which was just two days away.
“So what comes next? Once you decide to do a story? Is there a process? Or do you just wing it?”
“There’s a process,” he said, chuckling softly. “Definitely a process. As with any story you’re tellin’, you’ve got to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. We’ll develop the arc. Decide what we want to lay in so we can get that information.”
“Lay in? You mean like interviews?”
“Yeah. Paige is already pullin’ up all the public records and tryin’ to get her hands on interrogation and interview notes. We’ll need to talk to the family. Problem is, this won’t work unless I’ve got someone who can give me insight.”
“Like the police?”
Simon was quiet for a moment. “I was thinkin’ more along the lines of Max Adorite.”
Violet’s head snapped over. “The mobster? Why? Why do you need to talk to him?”
“You’ve listened to a podcast, right?”
“Well, yeah.” She felt her cheeks warm. “Yours, anyway.”
“Okay. What part of my podcast intrigues you?”
“The depth of inside information,” she said without thinking. “And the soundbites that tie it all together. Oh. Right. And to get that, you need to go to a murdering psychopath.”
Simon laughed, then took her hand and opened the restaurant door, letting her go in first.
Violet walked inside, a little shaken by the idea that Simon was going to talk to an infamous mob boss.
“I can assure you, Max Adorite is not a psychopath.”
Funny how he didn’t dispute the murderer part.
“How do you know?”
“Nothin’ in his profile leads anyone to believe he’s not exactly who he portrays himself to be. An enigmatic, charming businessman.”
“Can you call him a businessman if his businesses are illegal?” she retorted.
“You can.”
“Table for two, please,” Violet told the waitress, her mind still thinking about Simon being in the same room with someone as … as … she wasn’t even sure what Max Adorite was. She only knew what she’d seen on the news. And yes, from what she’d heard from the rumors that swirled around these parts at one time. She knew her cousin Travis was friends with the man, and because of that relationship, gossip had ensued.
She’d also heard—though, like everything else, it was unsubstantiated—that Max Adorite had sent a hitman after Juliet Prince. So maybe the guy didn’t get his hands dirty, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t as guilty as the guy who offed her.
Violet looked around, trying to ground herself in the present. The diner was relatively empty, though it wasn’t all that surprising since it was Thursday.
Once seated, the waitress took their drink order and gave them time to look at the menu.
Violet didn’t need time. She knew what she wanted so she took the opportunity to pry more information from Simon. “So what happens if you approach Max Adorite and he doesn’t agree to talk to you?”
Simon looked up at her. “He will.”
“How do you know? What if he gets offended and kills you? Then dumps you in the river with cement shoes. To sleep with the fishes.”
Simon chuckled. “I think you’ve read one too many gangster books.”
