Beneath the Silk Read Online Free PDF

talk about his father’s death and the dark years prior to it. His father’s diabetes had been a nightmare for all of them. “How’s the knee, Ma?”
    “Like new.” She swung her leg out from under the table to show him how easily her knee could move without pain.
    When she’d had surgery a year ago, Jackson had returned to Chicago for a week. That had been the one and only time he’d been back since he’d relocated to New Orleans.
    “Tell me about your partner.”
    Jackson hadn’t mentioned Mac to his mother, outside the fact that he had a new partner. She still didn’t know he was a dog. “Mac made the trip with me.”
    “Then this is a field assignment, not a vacation?”
    “I guess you could call it that.”
    “You guess? Either it is or it isn’t, Jackson.”
    “Okay, Ma, it’s work related.” His mother was studying him with one raised eyebrow. “What?”
    “This assignment, can you talk about it?”
    “It has to do with the Tandi murder, Ma. But that’s not for public discussion, okay?”
    “You know I never talk to anyone about your work.”
    He knew that, and that’s why he always felt free to bounce ideas off her. “Okay, here it is. Sunni Blais is my boss’s daughter. I’m here to clear her name.”
    His mother’s eyes widened with surprise. “That woman is your boss’s daughter?”
    “What about the old scandal, Ma? Could Milo’s death have something to do with the old feud with Frank Masado?”
    “It’s true the scandal has never really died out. People still talk, still speculate where Grace is buried. But the rules Vito and Frank play by have never changed. It seems more likely that this woman killed Milo. The evidence is pretty convincing.”
    “But she’s innocent, Ma.”
    “A few minutes ago you asked me what I’ve been hearing, like your mind wasn’t made up. Now you say she’s innocent.” Lavina shook her head. “I can tell you this much, she doesn’t look like a victim.”
    Mouth-watering curves outlined in red silk flashed behind Jackson’s eyes. No, he decided, a woman showing off smother-me-please breasts to the degree Sunni had tonight didn’t look like a victim. But did being beautiful and owning a million-dollar chest make her a murderess?
    “Women who look like that are dangerous, Jackson. Look what happened to Frank Masado. Grace Tandi was the most beautiful woman alive. Frank knew better than to sleep with his best friend’s wife, so why did he? I’ll tell you why. Because Grace tricked him into thinking with his Johnson instead of his head.”
    Jackson grinned. “His what, Ma?”
    “You know what I’m talking about.” She scowled when Jackson chuckled. “Maybe you should warn Joey to be careful. And take a little of that advice for yourself.”
    Jackson snorted. “Warn Joe? Like he would listen to me any more than Lucky would.”
    “You underestimate yourself, Jackson. I can still picture you boys lined up on the couch in the living room watching cartoons. You three used to belly-laugh together so hard that you would turn blue and almost stop breathing. You camped together. Went to movies. Shared spaghetti off the same plate. Slept out in the rain together in that old leaky clubhouse in the backyard. Those two boys had a hand in shaping you, and making you who you are today. And contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t Frank who made Joey and Lucky who they are. Who they really are, anyway.” Lavina patted her son’s arm, then pushed his coffee cup toward him and raised hers in a salute. “Friends forever, Jackson. To the end and beyond.”
    Jackson raised his cup, then downed the strong coffee and stood. He’d left Mac asleep on the couch, and more than likely something in the apartment needed rescuing by now—the desk chair, the bedspread … his T-shirt. “So if I get a chance to pick you up a pair of underwear at Silks in the next day or two, what color do you fancy, Ma? Widow-spider black, or chili-pepper, too-hot-to-handle