Happy Ending (Fisher Brothers 4)

Frank and Nick both opened their mouths, but before they could say exactly what I had been thinking, I held up a hand.

“I know, I know. It’s the exact opposite, and I tried to explain that to her, but she said after everything we went through and how we both almost died, we didn’t get that luxury. We don’t get to keep secrets and leave each other in the dark. She made me feel about yea big.” I closed my finger and my thumb together until they were almost touching.

“They have a way of doing that, don’t they?” Frank asked. “Claudia chewed my ass.”

“I guess we had it coming.” Nick dropped his chin into his hand like he was tired of waiting. “Speaking of, is this jackass ever gonna show up?”

The second the words left Nick’s mouth, sunlight poured in through the front doors, followed quickly by the absence of it. The door slammed shut but no one walked through it, and the sound of thumps and shouting replaced the quiet.

My brothers and I hopped over the bar top and sprinted toward the door, unaware of what was happening on the other side of it. I tried to push it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Something’s blocking it,” I exclaimed. “Help.”

Frank and Nick both put their shoulders against the door, readying to push, but hard pounding came from the other side.

“Stop!” called a voice from outside the door. “It’s the police. Stop pushing.”

We did as they asked and exchanged glances, dying for answers we didn’t have.

“The police must have been waiting for him,” Frank said.

“Maybe they know where the money came from?” Nick wondered out loud.

“Maybe they know who he is?” I added.

We moved away from the door and told the agitated customers who had gathered behind us that everything was fine. Pasting on big smiles, we offered everyone a drink on the house, which made them forget the entire ordeal. Free drinks tended to make people happy.

The door opened and the two police officers from last night walked in. Nick and Frank ushered them over to a quiet area of the bar while I finished making and serving the free drinks we’d promised our patrons.

Once I was free, I joined my brothers. “Fill me in,” I said, wiping my hands on my towel.

One of the cops looked directly at me. “I was just telling your brothers that a member of the Luchessini mob family had been skimming off the top of his heists for years, back in the forties. Taking a little here and there and never getting caught. He got cocky. The only reason we have a record of any of this is because the items found in your safe were from just one heist, instead of smaller amounts from a bunch of them. You follow?” he asked me.

“Yeah, I follow.”

“So this theft was so large that it ended up screwing the family he stole from for years. And it’s how he got caught and eventually whacked by whoever he worked for. He wouldn’t give up the location of the money and jewels, and they’ve been looking. All this time.”

“It’s been over seventy years, and they’re still looking?” I asked, unable to believe it.

The cop nodded. “The story has been passed down through the generations. And each time someone new in the family hears the story, they start doing research and asking questions. Each one of them adds to the previous person’s notes. It’s extremely convoluted.”

“So the guy outside . . .” Frank gestured toward the door. “Is he part of that family?”

“No,” the cop said with a chuckle. “Which is crazy, right? He worked with some guys that Luchessini stole from originally. He knew that there was money hidden. He said he knew Sam Jr., and Sam recently confessed to him on his deathbed about the money being in the bar somewhere, but he wouldn’t tell him where exactly.”

“That’s why he wanted to tear it down,” I said, everything finally making sense.

“So, what happens now?” Frank asked.

The other cop chimed in. “We return the money to the rightful owners. The remaining living relatives in Vegas will be getting a rather large check and enough in jewels to provide for a lifetime. You’ll be happy to know that the family needs it, and it will make a huge difference in their lives.”

I smiled. “That does make me happy, actually.” It wouldn’t be satisfying to know that the money was going to someone who already had a fortune. I would have understood, though, because it had been theirs in the first place, but there was something about it actually making a difference that felt good.

“That guy isn’t going to come after us, right?” Nick asked, frowning.

“Nah. You guys are fine. He only wanted the money, and you don’t have that anymore.”

“But he’s going to jail because of us.”