Long Island Iced Tina by Maria DiRico

Author:Maria DiRico [DiRico, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2020-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

“You’re a museum security guard?” Mia repeated, stunned.

She immediately regretted blurting this out, but O’Dwyer didn’t seemed fazed. “Yeah, believe it or not. The museum figured, who better to keep people out of a museum than someone who broke into one?”

“I can see that,” Mia said. “I’m happy to come meet you in Manhattan.”

“I live in Queens. I hear you do too, so why don’t we meet there?”

“Sure. Do you know the Aquarius Diner on Ditmars?”

“I’ve been known to take advantage of their early bird dinner specials on my days off. You wanna say seven?”

“Perfect. I’ll see you in about an hour.”

O’Dwyer signed off. Mia placed the phone on the desk. “I’m breaking bread with the one guy who went to jail for the Miller heist. Score.”

“You’re meeting at the Karras diner?”

Mia nodded. “I know it and all the people who work there, which gives it a safety factor, like you said before. Plus, I can get some intel from Ron. I want to know how Nicole’s doing, of course, but he can also tell me what airline Tina flew for.”

Ravello gave Mia a ride to the diner, then drove off to Manhattan for a date with Lin. It was six-thirty, a half hour before O’Dwyer was scheduled to show up. This would give Mia the time she needed to ferret some valuable information out of Tina’s widower.

Mia walked into the Aquarius, which ticked off all the archetypal boxes of diner décor. A counter with fake wood paneling on its underside and a light-blue Formica countertop stretched the length of half the room. The counter seats were upholstered in dark blue Naugahyde, as were booths arranged in a sideways u-shape around the room. Four-top and six-top tables filled the center of the restaurant. While the entry and path that ran alongside the counter sported a flooring of tile made to look like fieldstone, the rest of the dining area was covered with carpet featuring an ornate design of seashells and mermaids, in keeping with the Aquarius theme. The air was perfumed with a blend of scents from lemons to oregano.

Ron Karras was behind the counter, dishing out a bowl of rice pudding for a patron. Mia caught his eye and waved. He delivered the pudding, excused himself, and came out from behind the counter. Knowing he was perceived as the bad guy in the breakup of his marriage, Ron responded to Mia with a tentative warmth. She responded with a big hug, and he relaxed. “How’s Nicole?” she asked. “I’m trying not to bother her.”

“Doing well,” he said. “Still on bedrest, but everything is good with the baby.”

“I’m so glad to hear that.” Mia placed a hand on the diner owner’s arm. “How are you doing, Ron? You’ve been through a lot lately. Nicole . . . Tina’s death.”

Ron waved to a waitress. “Alexa, watch the door for me,” he called to her, then said to Mia in a low voice, “let’s talk.”

Mia followed him to a tiny office overwhelmed with stacks of paper and old menus.

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