Blue Smoke

too far, and I was thinking of calling the cops. If he couldn’t teach his kid any better, the cops would. We yelled at each other.”
    “He said you were a fucking do-gooder asshole who should mind his own goddamn business.”
    “Catarina!” Bianca’s tone was razor sharp. “Don’t you ever use that kind of language in this house.”
    “I’m just saying what he said. For the report. He said Dad was raising a bunch of snotty, whining brats who couldn’t fight their own battles. But he said more swears. Dad said some, too.”
    “I can’t tell you exactly what I said, or he said.” Gib pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t have a tape recorder in my head like Reena. But it was heated, and it was close to getting physical. Might have, but the kids were standing out in front of the shop. I didn’t want to start a fistfight in front of them, especially since I went over there about violence in the first place.”
    “He said somebody ought to teach you a lesson, you and your whole family. With swears,” Reena added. “And he made swear signs when Dad and Pete walked away. I saw Joey when we were all out because of the fire. He smiled at me. A nasty smile.”
    “Do the Pastorellis have any other children?”
    “No. Just Joey.” Gib sat down on the arm of his wife’s chair. “You want to feel sorry for the kid because it looks like Pastorelli’s pretty hard on him, but he’s such a bully.” He looked at Reena again. “Maybe worse.”
    “Like father, like son,” Bianca murmured. “He beats his wife, I think. I’ve seen her with bruises. She keeps to herself, so I don’t know her well.They’ve lived here nearly two years, I think, and I’ve rarely had a conversation with her. The police came once, right after he was laid off. Their next-door neighbors heard shouting and crying and called the police. But Laura, Mrs. Pastorelli, told them nothing was wrong, and that she’d walked into a door.”
    “He sounds like a charmer. The police will want to talk to him. I’m sorry this happened.”
    “When can we get in, start cleaning up?”
    “Going to be a little while yet. Arson team’s got to do their job. Structurally, the place held up pretty well, and your fire doors stopped it from spreading to the upper floors. Your insurance company’s going to need to look at it. These things take time, but we’ll do what we can to expedite. I’ll tell you, it would’ve been worse without Eagle Eye here.” He gave Reena a wink as he rose. “Sorry about all this. I’ll make sure you’re kept informed.”
    “Will you come back?” Reena asked him. “So you can show me what’s in your toolbox and what you do with it?”
    “I’ll make a point of it. You’ve been a really big help.” He held out a hand, and for the first time her eyes went shy. But she put hers in it for a shake.
    “Thanks for the lemonade, Mrs. Hale. Gib? You mind walking me back to my car?”
    They walked out together.
    “I don’t know why I didn’t think of Pastorelli. I still have a hard time believing he’d have gone this far. In my world, you’re that pissed off at a guy, you take a swing at him.”
    “Direct approach. If he was involved in this, it could be he wanted to hit you where you live. Your foundation, your tradition, your livelihood. He’s out of work, you’re not. Hey, who’s out of work now?”
    “Well, God.”
    “You and your employee confront him. Your kids are standing out in front of the restaurant watching you confront him. Neighbors, too, I imagine.”
    Gib closed his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, people came out.”

    “Attack and destroy your place of business, it sure teaches you a lesson. You want to point out his house?”
    “There, on the right.” Gib nodded. “The one with the drapes drawn. Hot day to close the curtains. Son of a bitch.”
    “You’re going to want to steer clear of him. Push down that urge you’re feeling to confront him over this. He got a car?”
    “Truck. That old Ford there. The blue one.”
    “About what time did the two of you go a round?”
    “Ah, sometime after two, I guess. Lunch crowd was about done.”
    As they walked, several people stopped, or opened doors, or stuck their head out a window to call out to Gib. At the Pastorelli house, the curtains stayed closed.
    There was a small crowd gathered on the sidewalk near the restaurant, so John stopped while they were still out of earshot. “Your neighbors are going to want to talk to you, ask questions.