CHAPTER XXVIII" THE PLAN - HALF-BAKED BUT ALL WE HAD

I slept more than a bit fitfully that night, as did Rico. We banged and crashed and snorted our way through it knowing we NEEDED our sleep, but even more we needed to know what was behind the murders amongst us and the chaos they were causing.

We as I said were optimistic that our plan would smoke out something tomorrow, but we had not a clue if it would work...at all. Sigh.

We were an odd bunch at breakfast the next morning. Half wild-eyed optimism and half omg, we are doomed heah...as Feelie would put it. But we got through the juice and fixin's as Billy Ray put it, threw the remains in the disposal and the dishes in the dishwasher, and as they say...AWAYYYYY WE WENT.

Sorta.

It was shortly after 9am when we got to the Giordano house, and Rose knocked on the door. 

After a minute or two, there was movement and a creak...and Marcus appeared from the darkness.

"Mawnin' Honey," Rose told him.

"Back atcha," he replied.

"Need to talk to you Marcus, please."

"Ok, and with that he emerged as he did yesterday and he and Rose and I sat.

"Marcus, I need to know. Where is your brother?"

"Right now, I am not sure."

"You have a hunch and more, I would bet.

Marcus, he may or may not be in a world of hurt and he needs us to help. Believe me, we NEED and HE NEEDS US."

Marcus looked most intently at Rose, then at me, then around the group...and I suspect he was thinking and mulling, trying to decide how much to cooperate or not. Should he 'rat out' or not? Finally he sat up a bit straighter, looked dead on at Rose and began...

"You're right. Rick Longworth is dead. I don't want that to happen to Frankie."

"I would think not, Marcus," I told him.

"You gotta promise you will do everything you can to help him."

"You have my word and all of us, Marcus. By the way, I am Derek Mathiesen and I am the head of the FBI in Memphis. Trust me, you can believe all of us. We only want to help."

Marcus took that in, and after a minute nodded.

"Ok. I'll be right back," and with that he got up and went back in the house. We sat waiting.

"Whatcha think, hawney? We scored?"

"I think so Feelie, Jake and Zeke said simultaneously as Teddy nodded. 

We waited.

After a good ten minutes, the door re-opened and two people came out. They were OBVIOUSLY brothers...looked so much alike, but several years apart in age. 

"Guys, this is my brother Frankie."

I noted that he too was tall, even taller than Marcus and to boot BUILT like the proverbial brick shithouse. Slender and solid and splendidly laid out so to speak. Black hair, slightly wavy...with BIG blue eyes and a crotch bulge large enough to make you wonder. I of course am totally immune to that sort of thing so I just noticed everything else.

Yeh right but to be honest Frankie Giordano was just about the sexiest human being I had ever seen, short of Rico who definitely IS, no question. Rico on the one hand always seems totally obvlivious to just how hot and sexy he is while Frankie I surmised was VERY aware of how sexy HE is and while that could be very offputting with him it sorta wasn't. It seemed to be just a casual acceptance of his own natural sexiness, nothing more nor less. Whatever, it worked.

We all got up and shook hands and then sat back down.

Marcus and Frankie Giordano stood, as if waiting for the guillotine to fall. We hoped that would not be the end result of all this.

"Frankie," Jake began...

"You had a very close friend as we understand it, Rick Longworth."

Franie nodded assent.

"He is dead, and not by accident. His body washed up on the riverbank in front of the house that Dylan and Rico here bought recently. It is the house his father Garrett built.

Frankie nodded again at all of that.

"Since then 2 more bodies have been discovered...2 twin boys who were friends of Rick's."

Frankie nodded as did Marcus

"Yesterday, there was another ATTEMPTED murder at the same house. This is becoming a bit redundant, but it would appear that all of these victims bear a relationship to Rick. You and he were close, and that would lead me to believe you may be in considerable danger and I for one think YOU KNOW THAT."

Frankie suddenly hung his head, slowly nodding.

"Now we can help to keep you alive but ONLY if you tell us EVERYTHING YOU KNOW, including even conjecture, and we will do whatever it takes to make sure the murders stop short of making YOU another statistic."

Frankie looked up finally, nodded, and began...

"Mister Mathiesen, I will tell you what I know but I don't know how much it will help."

"You tell us Frankie and let us be the judge of how much it helps. I have a hunch a lot. You appear to be a very bright young man. You now have a chance to prove it."

That got a grin from Frankie, a giggle from Marcus, and a laugh from Teddy. (So much for his quietude. Knew it wouldn't last forever).

"Ok, then."

"Wait. Marcus, let's get some more chairs," 

and they both disappeared to do just that.

CHAPTER XXVIX