Murder at the Mistletoe Ball

by J. D. Griffo

  “I need to speak to Sergio,” Alberta said.

  “You can after I do,” Vinny replied.

  The words Vinny shared with Sergio were not nearly as comforting as the ones Alberta would have used, but given the circumstances, she knew that protocol took precedence over compassion. They listened in disbelief as Vinny read Sergio his Miranda warning, the young man not looking at the cops but straight ahead at his girlfriend’s lifeless body less than twenty feet away. Alberta and Jinx, with their family and friends behind them, waited for Vinny to finish so they could wrap their arms around him. But Vinny wasn’t done just yet.

  He turned to face the crowd and raised his arms over his head to get their attention.

  “No one is allowed to leave this room,” Vinny shouted. “I need you all to please take your seats and sit quietly.”

  “What’s going on, Vinny?” Wyck asked. “We have a right to know.”

  “No, you don’t,” Vinny said.

  Alberta wasn’t surprised by Vinny’s tone and curtness. If he didn’t take charge and show the guests who was in command, pandemonium would reign, which would have been almost as disastrous as what had already taken place: the reveal of a dead, clearly murdered body at what was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Alberta shook her head and thought, Non così buon Natale. It was definitely not a merry Christmas. Especially for Natalie.

  She couldn’t believe the young woman who last night sat in her living room sharing memories of her childhood was now dead and covered in blood. There was the possibility that the glimpses into her past that she spoke about were fabrications, but Alberta had believed her. She also believed in her grandson’s innocence, though it appeared that not everyone shared her opinion.

  Tambra crossed in front of Sergio, who would not take his eyes off Natalie’s unmoving body, and approached a waiter coming out from in between two pine trees. The waiter looked terrified, her face pale, her eyes wide open and unblinking behind her thick glasses. With one hand she readjusted her glasses like Lisa Marie often did, and with her left she handed a plastic bag and some latex gloves to Tambra. The waiter stood still after Tambra thanked her, and for some reason Alberta was drawn to the woman. It might have been a trick of the light or because the woman’s body was trembling, but it looked like her blond curls were bouncing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that she wasn’t the only one transfixed by this woman. Kylie, Bambi, and Carmichael were all staring at her as well. Though Alberta couldn’t be sure if they were fixated on the woman or the transaction that had just taken place. The spell, however, was broken when Alberta saw what Tambra did next.

  She had seen the young cop wriggle her fingers into blue latex gloves before, but now the action seemed surreal because the gloves clashed horribly with her strapless, canary yellow gown. With one hand Tambra held Sergio’s wrist and with the other she grabbed the handle of the blade and inserted the knife into the plastic bag. She quickly sealed the bag and took a few steps back, allowing Vinny to take over.

  “Sergio Maldonado,” Vinny said. “You are under arrest for the murder of Natalie Vespa.”

  The crowd ignored Vinny’s previous command to remain quiet and their loud voices, filled with shock, disbelief, and even excitement, grew into one cacophonous sound. Alberta and Jinx gripped their hands tighter and they couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. How could Vinny do this? How could he arrest a member of their family? The answer was quite simple—their grandson and brother had been found holding a bloody knife near a bloodied dead body. Open-and-shut, case closed. Alberta and Jinx both knew that wasn’t the end of the story.

  “Sergio,” Alberta said. “Look at me.”

  Slowly, the young man’s eyes moved from Natalie’s corpse to his grandmother’s face. He looked heartbroken, as if he had just seen his future yanked from his clutches. The life he had dreamed of had been viciously ripped away. Would the couple have lasted more than a few more months? Would Sergio turn from Natalie once all her lies were exposed? None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was what was in his heart.

  “I didn’t do this, Grandma,” Sergio said. “I didn’t kill Natalie.”

  “We know,” Alberta said. “And we’re going to set things straight.”

  “Sergio, what happened?” Jinx asked. “How did you get the knife?”

  Jinx asked her questions with good intentions but failed to realize if Sergio answered them, there could be grave consequences.

  “Don’t say a word, Sergio,” Sloan said.

  He stood behind Alberta and whispered, “Sergio shouldn’t answer any questions in front of the police, especially without a lawyer.”

  “Ah Madon,” Alberta said. “You’re right.”

  “He has to tell the truth and clear his name,” Jinx said.

  Freddy came behind Jinx and wrapped his arm around her waist. “He’ll do that, but not here and not now.”

  Jinx nodded and held on to Freddy’s hand. She had been thinking like a big sister and not the reporter she was. If Sergio spoke now, no matter what he said—truth, lies, some hybrid of the two—it would be used by the police against him. Or, eventually, by the legal team who would try to put her brother behind bars for the rest of his life. She closed her eyes tight and inhaled. She knew when she opened her eyes she would still be standing in the middle of a nightmare, but at least she would be equipped with a clearer head.

  “Sloan’s right, Sergio, don’t say another word,” she said.

  “I have to explain!” Sergio protested. “I didn’t do this.”

  “We know that, honey,” Alberta said. “But you must keep quiet until we get you an attorney.”

  Alberta had been a witness to this scene many times before, she had known some of the people who had been arrested for murder, had personal connections to them, but never had someone in her own family been accused of such a vile crime. The Ferrara family tree was filled with its share of colorful characters, some possessing questionable morals, but no one—at least to Alberta’s knowledge—had ever committed murder. She did not believe that had changed and she vowed to herself she would prove that.

  “Sloan, please call Bruno,” Alberta said. “I know he’s out of town, but tell him we need him.”

  “I will,” Sloan said.

  “Joyce,” Alberta said. “Call your bank and make sure you have enough money for bail. I can pay you back, but you take care of these financial matters much quicker than I do.”

  “I can transfer funds on my phone,” Joyce said. “And you most certainly will not pay me back.”

  “Freddy,” Alberta said. “I need you to find my daughter and her husband.”

  “Already on it,” Freddy replied. “I haven’t reached them yet, but I won’t stop until I do.”

  Freddy pulled Jinx’s cell phone out of his pocket to check if she had any texts, but no one had reached out to her. He was about to give the phone to Jinx when he noticed she was staring off into space.

  “Baby, are you all right?” Freddy asked.

  Jinx grabbed her boyfriend’s hand but didn’t turn to look at him. “I’m surveying the area, trying to take a mental picture of the scene of the crime.”

  “Dude, why don’t you just take pictures with your camera?” Freddy asked.

  Suddenly, Jinx did turn around and looked into Freddy’s eyes, light brown with the faintest flecks of gold, and felt a deep and profound love. Now was not the appropriate time to tell him how she felt—she would wait until the air around them was calmer and not thick with fear and anxiety—plus, her boyfriend had some work to do on her behalf.

  “Start snapping,” Jinx said. “Don’t think, just click.”

  Freddy didn’t take time to reply. He started taking photos of the entire ballroom with Jinx’s phone as inconspicuously as possible. It helped that several other members of the police force and paramedics arrived to take the suspect and victim away, which created a diversion. It was also about to create even more chaos.

  A cop Alb
erta didn’t recognize walked up to Sergio and told him to put his hands behind his back. Sergio stared at the man as if he was speaking a different language. Alberta thought at first that her grandson was frozen with fear, but then she saw his fists clench and realized he was filled with rage.

  “Berta, do something before things get worse,” Helen said quietly so no one but her sister could hear.

  “Do what the man says, Sergio,” Alberta commanded. “Everything is going to be all right, but Grandma needs you to cooperate.”

  Sergio looked at Alberta, and the fury that consumed him only moments earlier seemed to rush out of his arms. His fingers uncurled and pointed straight to the floor, and after a second he placed his arms behind his back. Crisis averted.

  “We’ll meet you at the police station,” Alberta said.

  Vinny turned to face Alberta and the others, and he dropped his professional veneer so he could talk to his friends. “I hope you know I had no other choice.”

  Alberta was too emotional to speak. Instead, she nodded her head and clutched Vinny’s hand. The others added their acknowledgment. They knew Vinny had been conflicted, but they also knew he had a job to do. Unfortunately, his job was not yet done.

  The policeman who handcuffed Sergio gave him a little shove to get him to start walking. Sergio stumbled a bit, but corrected himself. He was only able to take a few steps when he stopped, right next to the gurney that held Natalie’s body. He watched as an EMT covered his girlfriend’s face with a white sheet, and it was more than he could stand. His body bent forward and he started to shake, his face contorted into a grotesque resemblance of its normal self, his mouth opened but producing no sound. Until he wailed.

  His cry, raw and grotesque, filled the huge room and brought the chatter that had continued since Natalie’s body was first revealed to an end. No one spoke, no one moved, except Alberta.

  She grabbed her grandson by the shoulders, and the policeman holding Sergio attempted to keep her from making contact. Alberta was not going to let that happen but didn’t need to make a move to thwart the cop’s actions; Vinny did it for her. He held up his left hand, which was all the cop needed to see to let go of Sergio and back away.

  Sergio’s sobs continued, and the sounds coming from his body alternated between gruff moans and high-pitched screams. It was frightening to watch, and Jinx buried her face in her hands and leaned back to allow Freddy to support her weight. Father Sal put his hands over Helen’s, her rosary beads rubbing against the many rings he wore, and together they prayed. Sloan pulled the white handkerchief from his breast pocket and gave it to Joyce to wipe away the tears that were streaming down her face. They were all taking care of one another as a family should, and then it was Alberta’s turn.

  She hugged Sergio tightly and rubbed his back the way she had when he was a baby and suffering from colic. Her hand wrapped around the nape of his neck and she felt his sweat and the heat emanating from his body. She leaned his head to the left so it rested against hers and she spoke words that could only be borne from a grandmother’s love.

  “I need you to be strong, Sergio, and I need you to trust me,” Alberta said. “You have my word in front of God Himself that I will not rest until I prove your innocence. Because you are my flesh and my blood, and I know you are not capable of taking another’s life. I need you to remember that you are loved. You have your family, and your family will never let you down.”

  Alberta’s words acted as a salve, extinguishing the fire that was burning in Sergio’s heart and calming the thunder that pulsed through his veins. He took a few deep breaths and stood with his back straight, still terrified but proud to be joined to a group of people who loved him and would do whatever they had to in order to protect him.

  He looked at Alberta, his red eyes and cheeks still wet with tears, and made an attempt to smile. “Thank you, Grandma.”

  Alberta smiled and wiped the tears from Sergio’s face as best she could. She then stepped back to join the rest of the group and watched as Vinny placed a hand on her grandson’s shoulder and led him through the crowd of gawking onlookers. Some of them turned away as Sergio passed them, others gazed in fascination, some, like Benny, took a photo. We all have jobs to do, Alberta thought.

  When Vinny and Sergio left the Diamond room, the EMTs, with Pedro by their side, wheeled out the gurney carrying Natalie’s body. This generated another round of gasps and cries from the more sensitive members of the crowd, including, quite unexpectedly, Dr. Manzini and Sanjay. Death worked in mysterious ways.

  The court system, however, had its own set of rules that it didn’t like to stray from. Even on a Saturday night during Christmastime.

  “What do you mean, the district attorney won’t let Sergio out on bail?” Alberta cried.

  Vinny’s office was crowded. Alberta, Jinx, Helen, Joyce, Sloan, Freddy, and Father Sal were standing on one side of his desk while Vinny and Tambra were on the other. They were all still dressed in their Mistletoe Ball finery, but now that they were situated in an environment that was far less grandiose than the Tranquility Manor, they looked woefully out of place. None of them cared about the optics, what they cared about was getting Sergio released on bail to prevent him from having to spend the night in jail, but the powers that be weren’t cooperating.

  “She knows that I’m a friend of the family and she doesn’t want the public perception to be that she’s giving Sergio special treatment,” Vinny said.

  “I’ll take out an ad in The Herald claiming that the Ferraras hate your guts,” Helen said.

  “The DA is new at her job,” Vinny explained. “She’s being cautious, plus, she’s well within her rights given the circumstances.”

  “What do you mean ‘circumstances?’” Joyce asked.

  “Sergio was found near Natalie’s dead body with what is most likely the murder weapon,” Vinny started. “He doesn’t have an alibi and his history of running away makes him a flight risk. If it were up to me, of course I’d let Sergio out on bail, but this isn’t my decision.”

  “Is there no way to change her mind?” Jinx asked.

  “The DA sees this as a slam dunk, domestic violence gotten out of hand,” Vinny explained. “She believes Sergio and Natalie had a fight, it got out of control, and Sergio killed Natalie, then panicked and tried to dispose of the body.”

  “Please dear God in heaven, Vinny, tell me you don’t believe that too,” Alberta said.

  “Of course I don’t,” Vinny replied. “But this isn’t the unofficial Ferrara Family Detective Agency, it’s a real-life court of law, and we have rules that I took an oath to follow. Which doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue with the investigation.”

  “Neither will we,” Alberta said.

  “That’s what I’m counting on,” Vinny replied. “If we work together, I know we can find out who really killed Natalie Vespa.”

  “We have to, Vin,” Alberta replied. “My grandson’s life depends on it.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Il bacio mortale del vischio.

  It felt as if Tranquility had been turned into Somber-town, the setting of the Rankin/Bass Christmas classic Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town. No joy, no happiness, only gloom.

  Alberta was suddenly so exhausted she asked Sloan to drive her BMW back to her house. Helen, Father Sal, and Joyce were in the back seat. Karen Carpenter’s aching alto played on the radio, promising to be home for Christmas. It was a pathetic excuse for a holiday carol. They all knew she was lying, she was only going to spend Christmas with her loved ones in her dreams. If things weren’t bad enough already, Karen just made them worse.

  “Ah Madon!” Alberta cried. “This night has been an unmitigated disaster. Tale sventura.”

  “First, a dead woman pops out of a decoration,” Joyce said.

  “Then Sergio is standing there in a fake forest holding the murder weapon,” Helen said.

  “I kept looking around for falling locusts,” Father Sal said. “Or an angry mob of
frogs.”

  “Better chance of seeing them than watching Lisa Marie and Tommy make an entrance,” Helen said.

  “Berta, did they call you?” Joyce asked. “Do we have any idea where they are?”

  “No,” Alberta said. “They don’t even know that Sergio has to spend the night in jail.”

  “I think they’re about to find out,” Sloan said.

  He pulled the car into the spot in front of the house because the driveway was being taken up by Tommy’s Subaru.

  “I am sick and tired of my daughter’s disappearing act!” Alberta screamed. “She writes me and doesn’t show up! I call her, she doesn’t respond! She tells us she and Tommy are going to meet us at the Ball, they go AWOL! Lo giuro su Dio, su tutti gli angeli e sui santi! I have had it!”

  Furiously, Alberta unhooked her seat belt, but when she tried to open the car door, it was locked. She unlocked it, but by the time she pushed on the door to open it, it was locked again. Because Sloan had taken control of the locking mechanism from the driver’s seat.

  Alberta turned to look at Sloan. “Dio mio! What are you doing?”

  “Passengers should remain seated until we pass through this turbulence,” Sloan replied. “If you barge into your house to confront your daughter and her husband like some crazy Italian woman, you can kiss all the repair you’ve done to your relationship good-bye.”

  “Your boyfriend’s right, Alberta,” Sal said. “Better to swallow your rage now than spit it out like machine gun bullets to an unsuspecting congregation on Spy Wednesday.”

  “I know I’m not a born Catholic, but I thought I was up on all the lingo,” Joyce said. “What in the world is Spy Wednesday?”

  “It’s the day Judas betrayed Jesus,” Father Sal explained. “Also known as Holy Wednesday, but to my ear Spy Wednesday has a much better ring to it.”

  “Sal’s right, Berta,” Helen said. “Calm yourself down before today becomes known as the day Alberta betrayed Lisa Marie.”