“You’re such a nice girl,” Pirro said, then turned to Rafe. “She’s such a nice girl. You hang on to that one.”
Rafe shook his head, knowing the older man would get off track if he let him. “Do you want to go inside to talk?”
“No!” Pirro waved a hand in the air. “I don’t want Vivian to hear any of this. She’s upset enough, and this will only send her over the edge.” He inhaled a long, tortured breath.
A look at his tired, wan face told Rafe his suffering was real. “What’s going on? Talk to us.”
“Maybe we can help,” Sara said.
“I hope so, because I’m at my wit’s end. How could such a simple act of kindness lead to this kind of thing?”
Rafe placed a hand on Pirro’s shoulder. “Why don’t you start at the beginning.” Maybe then he could make sense of the problem.
“Right. Okay. You see, when I married your aunt, I discovered she was…how do I say this delicately?”
Rafe winced, knowing exactly where this conversation was headed. “Just say it fast and keep going.”
“My Vivian is insatiable. It takes a real man to keep up with her. I was afraid I would disappoint her, and so I spoke to my doctor, who gave me a few samples of Viagra.”
Rafe’s cheeks burned. He really did not want to have this conversation with his aunt’s husband.
“Go on,” Sara said, encouraging him and ignoring the embarrassment factor.
“It worked, but I couldn’t fill an actual prescription. I mean, can you imagine if Gertrude at the pharmacy got hold of that kind of information?” The older man shuddered. “A friend told me about a friend who had a friend that had access to an unlimited supply in Canada. He hooked me up, and soon I was…in the groove whenever I needed to be.”
Rafe remembered the comments outside the barber shop and realized he’d been right about Pirro taking Viagra. “But what does this have to do with you sneak ing around town at odd hours?” Rafe asked, frustration building along with the accumulation of useless information. He wished Pirro would make his point.
“I’m getting there!”
“Take your time,” Sara said, shooting Rafe a warning glare.
“I shared my little secret with my friends at poker, and they asked me to get them some, too. So I contacted the guy, and soon we had a regular thing going. I’d meet him to place orders and pick up the pills.”
Rafe raised an eyebrow. “And that’s where you go when you’re ducking out on your wife?”
Pirro nodded. “That, and sometimes the guys want to meet privately to place or pick up their orders. Either they don’t want the other guys to know they’re using, too, or they’re afraid of being overheard at home. Plus, they shared the news and my customer base grew.”
“You’re dealing in Canadian Viagra. And that’s what has you so upset?” Rafe asked, appalled.
“That’s not all.” Pirro shoved his hands into his pockets and shifted from foot to foot.
“You’ve come this far,” Sara said, her voice soothing. “You can tell us the rest.”
“Two men approached me at the festival and told me they wanted access to my supplier so they could traffic real drugs from here to Manhattan in the Spicy Secret’s delivery trucks,” Pirro said, his voice cracking. “I said no, of course. I’m not a drug dealer!”
Rafe figured now wasn’t the time to argue semantics. “So…”
“First my Angel’s pie stand burned down, and they made it clear they could get to my family if I didn’t cooperate, so I agreed. I bought myself some time, though. I told them I couldn’t reach my supplier until our scheduled meeting, which was a lie. They came to me and said I had until Friday to put the deal in motion. Or else.”
Rafe wondered how in the world this simple man had gotten himself involved with something so dangerous.
“You did the right thing telling us,” Sara reassured him. “Rafe and I will figure out a plan.”
“They said it would be a pity to hurt her…but I don’t think getting your brother out of the way would bother Biff and Todd so much. I’m so sorry!” Pirro trembled as he spoke.
“Biff and Todd are drug dealers?” Sara’s voice rose into the night.
“Shh!” Rafe reminded her. “Boy, you really stepped in it,” he said to his uncle.
Pirro, looking like an old, beaten man, met Rafe’s angry gaze. “I said I’m sorry!”
“You should have come to me immediately.”
“And have you look at me like you are now? At first I thought I could say no and they’d go away.”
Man, he was naive, Rafe thought.
“And then I thought I could stall them long enough to think of something. But most of all I was afraid you’d send me to jail, and how long do you think I’d last with a cell mate named Big Al?”
Rafe glanced at the starry night sky, praying for strength. “I’m glad you told me.” Now he had to come up with a plan. “Today is Tuesday. We have four days.”
Sara placed a hand on Pirro’s shoulder. “There’s nothing more you can do now. Why don’t you go inside and get some rest?”
“And reassure Aunt Vi, while you’re at it,” Rafe said. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you!” Without warning, Pirro launched himself into Rafe’s arms.
Rafe awkwardly patted the man on the back. “We’ll figure out a plan,” he promised him.
He and Sara locked glances. She inclined her head, her subtle way of letting him know she had an idea. He wasn’t surprised she’d thought of something so quickly, and, not for the first time, he was damned glad she was here.
BACK AT RAFE’S HOUSE, Sara put a call in to her uncle Jack, who really wasn’t her uncle but was a good friend of her father’s from his police academy days. Uncle Jack was a retired DEA agent and still had contacts in the Drug Enforcement Administration and would tell her who to contact for help.
She hung up Rafe’s cell phone and walked back into the kitchen to find Rafe pouring himself a tumbler with Scotch.
She didn’t blame him.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded. “I just can’t believe Pirro’s been supplying Viagra to the old men in this town.” He shook his head in disbelief.
Sara laughed. “He’s a character, but I truly believe he meant well.”