by Tegan Maher
"Yeah, she came by this morning with the kids. She grabbed some fabric and paint samples and wanted to get some measurements and talk about some ideas she has, but we have to go and work at the cafe this morning. It seems the sheriff is picking Jeremy up for real this time but was nice enough to give me a heads up before he did so, so the cafe wouldn’t be left unattended." She scowled. "Never mind the fact that he has absolutely no evidence against Jeremy. I swear he plans on harassing him and bringing him in for long interrogation sessions until he finally confesses or does whatever the sheriff asks him to do to make it all stop. I’ve heard desperate cops do desperate things like that. And then it takes years for the person convicted to clear their name." Dee’s voice got faster and higher as she spoke.
I really didn’t know how to help her. I seemed to be at a loss for the right things to say, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. "Wasn't he sending Jeremy's gun in for ballistics testing? That should clear Jeremy quick enough."
Dee gave a derisive snort. "Apparently they couldn't make a conclusive decision on that any more than they can on the rest of the evidence in this hot, steaming pile of crap. It seems the bullet fragments they pulled out of Frank shattered or something and made it so they couldn't run an accurate test. So the comparison is inconclusive.”
"What about the casing or something?" I didn’t know jack about guns, but I did watch my fair share of NCIS. Surely there was some evidence they had found that could clear Jeremy. “And did they ever test Jeremy’s hands for gunpowder residue?”
Dee shook her head. "The sheriff said something about gunpowder residue only being on something for four to six hours, and it had been longer than that so he was sure they wouldn’t find any on Jeremy’s hands anyway. They claim they never found a bullet casing, so those bullet fragments they pulled out of Frank were Jeremy's only hope."
My shoulders sagged with the weight of this new information. "What are we going to do? How can we help Jeremy?"
The sound of small feet pounded across the floor above us. I raised a brow and Dee glanced at the stairs leading up to the second floor. "Well, right now you're going to watch Annie’s kids so she can waitress, and I'm going to run the cafe. We have to hope we catch a lucky break at some point, but right now it isn't looking too good. Do you mind if I borrow the SUV?"
"It's all yours," I said, handing her the keys. “But I don’t know anything about kids.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “You’ll be fine. They’re good kids.”
"Is there anything I need to know about taking care of them? Like, don’t feed them after midnight or get them wet?" I asked, following her as she left the kitchen.
She laughed as she opened the door. "No. They’re just two normal kids. Don’t let them burn the house down or kill each other.” She paused to look at me. “I’m really sorry to dump this on you, but I don’t know what else to do other than close the cafe for the day. Apparently, Annie’s ex is simply too busy to keep them.” She curled her lip at that. She shook her head as she filled her cheeks with air and then blew it out. “Anyway, Annie said when we get off, she’d like to take a look around and help plan out new ways to make this place look better if that's alright? She made some sketches and picked up some fabric samples for curtains and paint samples for room colors this morning. This is a huge thing for her and she’s so excited to help."
"Absolutely. She has phenomenal ideas and I'd love to pick her brain some more and see what she’s come up with since we last spoke about decorating."
Dee offered me a smile, but I could tell it was just forced, but not because of Annie or the decorating.
I reached out and touched her arm. "Everything is going to work out. You'll see."
She gave me a quick nod. "I hope you're right. And I hope this gets figured out before the sheriff finally makes a move."
She jogged down the steps and toward the SUV. She was just climbing in when she paused and shouted, “If the kids get hungry and want a snack, there are some cookies in the fridge in a Ziploc bag.”
“Thanks,” I called back. I watched her pull out and drive down the driveway. When she was out of sight, I closed the door and took a deep breath before I jogged up the stairs to see what the kids were up to. I knew absolutely nothing about kids. My entire base of knowledge stemmed from my own memories of being a child. Hopefully, that would be enough.
I plastered a bright, friendly smile on my face. At least, I hoped it looked bright and friendly. Not terrified or, worse yet, terrifying. "Do I hear a couple of hide-and-seekers up here?"
A little blonde girl in pigtails was standing in the hallway and jumped at my voice. She spun around and looked at me, her hand over her heart. "You scared me," she said, her voice holding a note of accusation.
I chuckled. She was obviously a very dramatic child. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."
She brought her hand down and tilted her head. "Who are you?"
"I'm Toni. And who might you be?"
"I'm Katie."
"Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Katie." I stuck out my hand.
She walked forward and studied my hand for a moment before taking it lightly in her small fingers and shaking it gently.
"You, too."
I squatted down so I was eye level with the little girl. “How old are you, Katie?”
Katie lifted four fingers.
"So I take it we're searching for your brother?" I glanced around.
She nodded. "He's seven and he’s a real good hider."
"Well maybe if we work together, we can find him. If that's alright with you?"
She nodded her head vigorously. "I’d like that. He always wins, and for once, I want to win."
A girl after my own heart. It took us almost fifteen minutes to find her brother Mikey, who’d apparently cheated by sneaking downstairs to hide there. Honestly, from what I’d heard, they were great kids but I didn’t know how Annie did it. I could feel the dull throb of a headache that was determined to form, and with the octaves and decibels Katie was capable of reaching, I had faith that headache would fully manifest long before Annie arrived.
There was a knock at the door an hour later. "It's unlocked," I hollered, a little excited, hoping they’d resolved the Jeremy situation and Annie was there to fetch her spawn. Instead, Scout walked in. A sliver of disappointment sank through me, but I shoved it aside. Scout may not be Annie, but he was backup. And right now, with the dull thud I could feel vibrating in my skull, I needed backup if not full on relief.
He glanced from me to Katie, to Mikey. A broad smile split his face. "Is there's some party here that I wasn't invited to?"
Katie laughed. "No, silly. We're just playing."
Scout offered me a quick wink. "Even better. Do you guys mind if I played too?"
"Girls against the boys. And we’re going to win,” Katie said in her young, shrill, excited little voice.
“You guys can’t beat us at hiding.” Mikey scoffed and crossed his arms. “Katie doesn’t know how to stay quiet. Not like I do.”
We spent the next three hours playing hide and seek, tag, and cops and robbers before I decided I’d earned a break and put on cartoons. They both fell asleep in front of the TV, and I’d never been so happy for the blessed sound of silence in my life.
They’d just woken up when Annie tapped on the front door.
“Thanks a bunch,” Annie said as I opened the door. She dug in her oversized purse and pulled out a pile of white and blue lacey fabric. “I hope you don’t mind, but I stumbled across a really good deal on some lace this morning before we got called away and grabbed it.” She handed me the pile. “I actually had time before we got the news to whip up two sets of curtains, one white and one light blue.”
“How much do I owe you?” I dug in my back jeans pocket where I always kept a small stash of cash.
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture and shook her head. “It wasn’t that much and it took way less time than this last-minute babys
itting gig you had thrust upon you. Consider it payment for watching these two for me on such short notice.” She walked past me, giving a slight head tilt to Scout as she focused on her children. “You guys ready to go?”
Katie and Mikey groaned. “We don’t want to go yet,” Mikey said. “Scout said he could show us his horses, and he has a baby calf.”
Annie scrubbed her hand over Mikey’s hair. “Maybe next time. What do you say to Toni and Scout for taking care of you?”
“Thank you for the ‘ospita’ity,” Katie offered, stumbling over the word hospitality.
“Thank you,” Mikey said, looking totally bummed.
“Thanks again.” Annie said, “I would have hated to let Dee down, and I know you didn’t exactly volunteer.” Annie steered the kids toward the door, Katie waving and smiling at us and Mikey doing his best to dodge his mother’s guiding hand on his back.
“Can we go for ice cream?” he asked.
“No, you haven’t had your supper yet,” she replied.
He pulled away from her. “Dad lets us have ice cream. You’re just mean and don’t love us like he does.”
My heart broke as I watched her spine stiffen. “No, I love you more than you know. That’s why you’re not having ice cream for supper. And your dad shouldn’t let you either.”
“Dad said you’d say that,” he said, his voice carrying more bitterness than any seven-year-old’s should. My heart bled for her.
I watched as she wrangled them to her car and inside, relief washing over me. “Not that they aren’t great kids, but I’m sure glad that’s over. Thanks for sticking around, by the way.” I watched as Annie started the car and she and her kids drove down the driveway. I glanced at Scout. “So how is it that you know so much about kids?”
Scout continued to gaze out the window. “I had six siblings: four brothers and two sisters. I was the oldest so I helped raise them.” He looked over at me, his eyes glinting mischievously. “That and I remember being a kid, unlike some people apparently.”
I couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up through my chest. I patted Scout lightly on the chest and stepped away, walking back into the main room. “I guess I’m just a fuddy-duddy. But they sure were a lot of work.”
Scout fell back on the couch, spreading out as he sank into the cushions and relaxed. “Well, those kids are a special circumstance. They are the products of divorce, which really isn’t all that uncommon, but they have a Disneyland dad who is more interested in buying their love and being their friend than actually being a parent. That makes Annie’s job as their mother doubly difficult. She has to step up and be the only functioning parent, which is going to make her look a lot less appealing and fun to the kids. So the difficulty Annie is having raising those kids can be placed entirely in her ex’s lap. But one day, when those kids grow up, they’ll realize that their mom was the one who actually had their best interests at heart and was the one who truly helped guide and nurture them.”
I sank down next to Scout, leaning my head back and closing my eyes, the dull throb in my skull increasing its tempo. “Wow. I had no idea that she was having such a rough time. Now I can see why both Dee and Nikki really seem to dislike her ex.”
“Trust me, it isn’t just Dee and Nikki that have a problem with him. A lot of people around this town think he’s a really crappy father and an even crappier ex.”
I appreciated how decent my divorce had been compared to Annie’s. My ex and I had no children, so we were able to make a clean break with no entanglements keeping us bound together, and we had parted on fairly amicable terms. No, we didn’t hang out or talk or anything, but I knew that if we ever did run into one another again, it wouldn’t be awkward or hateful like so many other divorced couples. Well, it wouldn’t be hateful, anyway.
Chapter Twenty-One
I WAS JUST CLIMBING into my SUV after a full shift at the bar the next evening when my phone rang. I glanced at the number, which I didn't recognize. "Hello," I answered, my tone terse as I readied myself to give the solicitor a piece of my mind.
"Is this Toni?" asked a female voice I didn’t recognize.
"Maybe. Who’s this?"
"I hope you don't mind me calling you. This is Janie, Scott’s girlfriend. I got your number from Nikki."
“Hey, Janie,” I said, wondering why she was calling me. “What can I do for you?”
She paused for a minute, and I waited, my mind racing as I tried to say nothing until she was ready to continue. "Look, I know that you and your friends think Scott murdered Frank, or that maybe Beatrice had somebody do it, and I don't blame you for thinking that. I probably would think the exact same things if I were you. But I just wanted you to know that he didn't do it, but I think I know who did."
I straightened in my seat. "Who do you think did it?" In the back of my mind, I was almost waiting for her to say Helen did.
She blew out a breath. "Some suit who's staying out here at the hotel," she whispered.
I closed my eyes. So this must be the point in the game where she directs my attention to anyone other than her boyfriend. And who better than some anonymous stranger that nobody knows. "A suit, huh?" I tried to keep the skepticism out of my voice, but I wasn’t sure how successful I was.
"Look, I know I haven't given you or your friends any reason to trust me, but I swear I'm telling the truth." Her voice sounded somewhat shrill and desperate despite the near whisper she was speaking in. “Yes, I lied about Scott’s alibi, but this is different. Plus, I like Jeremy and don’t want him to go to jail for something he didn’t do either.”
I switched ears as I turned the ignition on my SUV. "So what makes you so sure this suit did it?"
She paused before answering. Her breathing had changed, like she was walking briskly or maybe even jogging somewhere. "I was cleaning his room this afternoon, and I accidentally bumped this huge duffel bag that was sitting on the bed. He's sort of a jerk, and I didn't want him to think I was going through his things, so I picked everything up and put it back on the bed. There was a wad of cash, and a bunch of IDs with different names, and a box of nine-millimeter shells. I mean, all of that seems sort of suspicious, but there was a nine-millimeter handgun, and if I'm not mistaken, that's the same type of weapon that was used to kill Frank," she said breathlessly.
I perked up. She definitely had my attention now. "You wouldn't by any chance have a name for this suit, would you?"
"I think it’s Giuseppe Oreno," she said. "At least, that’s what he’s registered as here."
I started backing out of the parking lot. "You think?"
"Well," she hedged, "he has several IDs with several different names and all of them have his picture. There's also a bunch of passports and a crap ton of credit cards, all with different names, too. And he just bought one of those burner phones at a store. I mean, why would he do that? He was talking on a cell phone when he bought it, so it’s not like he needed it."
"How do you know he just bought a burner phone?"
"I know he bought the burner phone because I followed him. And no, I don’t know why but don't you think I found some useful information? I mean, you guys can stop thinking Scott did it and focus on this guy, because I swear to you, neither Scott or I had anything to do with what happened to Frank, and I don’t believe Jeremy did either."
Tension pulled through me, making me feel like a taut rubber band about to snap. "First of all, Janie, if this guy is a murderer, you need to stop following him, okay? I know you want to help, but it isn’t worth your life.”
Her end of the line was silent.
“Janie?” I called into the phone again.
“Just a minute,” she whispered. After a beat or two, she said, “Marnie just met him. I think they’re going to sign some papers on some property. She said the owners took the deal and the vacation house now belongs to his boss. They’re leaving together now.”
I frowned as my mind drifted back to the man at the café with Marnie the night Scout an
d I had gone on our date. “Did you think to take any pictures of the IDs or the gun?" Despite what common sense dictated, people, especially young people, tended to snap pictures of anything they found interesting. I was guilty of it at times, myself.
"No, I was too scared to even think about it. But I did snap a photo of him with my phone just now before he left with Marnie to go deal with that property. I can send that to you when we finish our conversation. Also, I remember one of the names on the IDs was Joseph Martinez, and another one was Michael Otto. That's really about all I know. I hope that helps. I tried to call the sheriff, but he’s not in the office and Linda wouldn’t patch me through to him even though I told her it was important. She said she’d pass the message along, for all the good that does me."
I sighed in disgust but had no doubt she was telling the truth. "Then thank you for calling me. I’ll do my best to clear Jeremy and Scott,” I said.
“No problemo,” Janie said. “But hurry. If he closed the deal, he probably won’t be here long.”
For the first time in ages, I felt truly hopeful. It was almost as if the sun had finally come out from behind the clouds. “Thanks, Janie. You’ve been a huge help.”
"Anytime. I’ll send that pic now." The line clicked dead, then my phone buzzed a minute later with an incoming text. I pulled up the pic, and sure enough, it was the rude guy who’d been having dinner with Marnie. I called the sheriff’s office and Linda said he wasn’t there. I asked for a cell for him, but she wouldn’t give it to me. Instead, I asked her to have him call me the minute he stepped in.
I rushed home and didn’t do anything other than kick my shoes off before I grabbed my laptop and searched for the name Michael Otto. Nothing. I tried Joe Martinez. Nothing. I tried the name he’d registered with: Giuseppe Oreno. Bingo. The man had suspected ties to some really bad people. Racketeering, prostitution, drug running, loan sharking, money laundering ... basically, if it was illegal, it was their schtick, and there were hints throughout the articles I found that he worked for them.