“The only difference between Lorcan and Luca is one’s Irish and one’s Italian,” Dice said.
“Yes, Lorcan O’Shea is another person Ernie won’t want to mess with. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about where Ernie is concerned, and neither do I,” Tina assured me. “On that note, I’m going to go and let you get some rest. I’ll get started on everything tomorrow and give you a call with an update in a few days.”
“Thank you for everything,” I said.
“You’re welcome. I hope you feel better soon. Bye, Diablo.” When she said his name, he got up and walked over to her so she could pet his head. “You’re such a sweet boy.”
“It’s kind of scary how she goes from ball buster to super sweet animal lover in the blink of an eye,” Ink said once she was gone.
“I think it’s awesome. I want to be her when I grow up,” I said.
“Newsflash, you are gr?—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” I said.
“Yes, ma’am. I mean, my child.”
“I’m ignoring you,” I said and stuck out my tongue.
Tina had been gone less than ten minutes when the doorbell rang.
That time, it was Irene, Evie, and Edge. “We just came by to check on you and drop off food,” Irene said as Edge placed several bags of food on the counter. “I wasn’t sure what you could tolerate, so I brought a variety of things for you to choose from. I’m sure these two will eat whatever you can’t,” she said, indicating Dice and Ink.
“Thank you. I was able to tolerate broccoli and cheese soup, so I might try something solid next.”
“If you do, there’s a grilled cheese sandwich in there that might work,” she said. “If you need anything, I’m right down the road.”
“And Edge and I are right across the street,” Evie said.
“Thank you,” I said again.
“We’ll see y’all later,” Irene said as they headed for the front door.
“Who’s hungry?” Ink asked and started digging through the bags of food.
“I’ll give the grilled cheese a try,” I said and smiled when he brought it to me. “I could get used to being waited on like this.”
“Who couldn’t?” he laughed.
As we were eating, I realized Dice had been unusually quiet since Tina’s visit. “You seem deep in thought. Is something bothering you?” I asked.
“I was thinking about the situation with your lawyer,” he said.
“What about it?”
“I get why he continued to meet with you and charge you as if he was doing his job, but I don’t understand why he canceled the paperwork. Why not leave it as it was and drag out the next steps if he was trying to milk you for money? Seems like it would be harder to prove any wrongdoing on his part if he went that route.”
“My guess would be so that no one could pick up where he left off without starting over, like Tina assumed she would be doing,” Ink said.
“But why?” Dice asked.
“So she can’t get divorced,” Ink said simply.
“You think Sean is behind this?” Dice asked.
“Have we ever really thought he wasn’t? He’s the only one who could possibly gain something from this situation, even though we don’t know whatthatis, and then he goes missing right around the time someone starts harassing Daphne. What a convenient way to create an alibi.”
“I don’t know,” I said skeptically. “I don’t think I would call disappearing without a traceconvenient.”