by J. D. Griffo
Whoever Janine was, Jinx thought, she was more than just a former nurse. She was someone Carmichael had tried to help, someone he was emotionally connected to. She’d figure that out later, right now she needed to know her last name.
“What’s Janine’s last name?” Jinx asked.
Ignoring her, Carmichael continued. “She overstepped and did things we couldn’t ignore. You have to understand that Janine burned all her bridges, she wouldn’t listen to any of us, that’s why I had to let her go. Please understand, I can’t say any more.”
“Tell us her name and we’ll leave you alone,” Jinx said. “Otherwise I’m calling the police, and I think you know that the chief is a family friend.”
Carmichael looked at both women. There was true fear in his eyes, but he didn’t appear to be frightened by them, it looked like he was frightened of something far more dangerous. Jinx thought it could be Bambi, but she got the sense that it went deeper than that. She got the feeling that he was afraid of himself.
She remembered what Alberta once told her: Everyone had to take responsibility for their own actions. What had he done that would prevent him from uttering a woman’s last name? What made him so terrified that he felt he couldn’t trust anyone?
“You must understand, I’m an old man,” Carmichael said. “My wife is infirm, and I was trying to protect this woman, be a father figure to her.”
Don’t fall for his sob story, Jinx told herself. And yet it was hard to ignore the sincerity in his voice mixed with something else. Shame? Humiliation?
“If you give us Janine’s last name, I promise that we’ll help you in any way we can,” Jinx said.
A flicker of hope appeared in Carmichael’s eyes. It was the lifeline he needed, to know that someone might be on the other side of whatever he did who would help him. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly and when he opened them he gave them the information they requested.
“Janniken,” Carmichael said. “The woman I fired was Janine Janniken.”
They realized Carmichael had given them more than they ever expected. He’d just told them who J. J. was.
CHAPTER 24
Una situación de ganar-ganar.
On the other side of town another mystery was unfolding.
Alberta and Sloan were sitting in the waiting room outside Dr. Manzini’s makeshift office at St. Clare’s Hospital. She was ending her traditional practice and transitioning into a research position, so she had given up her office in the main portion of the hospital and was working out of her new office on the research floor. Since she would be spending most of her time in the lab, it made sense that her office be located close by to prevent multiple rides up and down the elevator each day. Bambi’s office was down the hall, and beyond that was the research lab, which was still under construction. It made for a noisy wait.
It was Sloan’s final routine follow-up appointment after he was involved in an altercation a while ago that left him in a medically induced coma. He was incredibly lucky that his injuries hadn’t triggered any long-range side effects, but medical protocol dictated that he check in with his doctor to make sure no unexpected complications arose. Thus far, Sloan had no strange symptoms that concerned him or could be traced back to the incident, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Or as Alberta put it, È meglio prevenire che curare. Different language, same message.
Alberta also wanted to make sure that Sloan got the message that she was not going to let him deal with this alone. She didn’t always know how to act like a girlfriend, but she knew how to act like a woman, and if a man went to see a doctor, his woman went with him. And Alberta was definitely Sloan’s woman.
“You know you’re not going to be able to come in with me to the examination room,” Sloan said.
“I’ll wait right out here,” Alberta replied. “If there’s an emergency, no one will go crazy trying to track me down.”
“That’s logical,” Sloan said. “But there’s not going to be an emergency, nothing’s going to go wrong.”
“Famous last words,” Alberta said.
“I’m sure someone in your family went in for a routine doctor visit and wound up being rushed into surgery,” Sloan said.
“You wouldn’t act so smug if you knew what happened to my Uncle Leo,” Alberta said.
“Are you going to make me guess?” Sloan asked.
“All you need to know is that it involved a four-hour operation, a three-week convalescence, and a very long catheter,” Alberta said.
Sloan scrunched up his face and crossed his legs. He’d had to ask.
A buzzer on the receptionist’s phone console rang and she picked up the receiver. She nodded twice, then put the phone back in its cradle. She looked in Sloan’s direction and said, “The doctor will see you now.”
“Thank you,” Sloan replied. He gave Alberta a quick peck on the cheek and said, “I’ll be out in a jiffy and don’t you dare say a rosary while I’m gone.”
Alberta smiled and playfully slapped Sloan on the shoulder. When he opened the door to the doctor’s office, Alberta could hear Kylie greet Sloan, and it sounded as if she was genuinely happy to see him. Alberta was conflicted. She had nothing but respect for the doctor because as far as she was concerned, Kylie was the main reason Sloan was alive and had had no repercussions. However, she knew in her gut that Kylie was involved in Natalie’s death. She didn’t know how, but she vowed to find out. She touched the gold crucifix around her neck and made the sign of the cross, asking for guidance and forgiveness on the off chance she was wrong about Kylie. God wasn’t the only one who noticed her actions.
“Spanish or Italian?” the receptionist asked.
“Me?” Alberta replied. “Italian.”
“I’m Spanish, and the only people who make the sign of the cross in a doctor’s waiting room are either Spanish or Italian,” she said. “Filipinos too; they’re very Christian, but you don’t look like your people come from there.”
“No, we’re from Sicily,” Alberta said. “And you?”
“Both my parents are from Madrid,” she said. “I’m Maria, by the way.”
“I’m Alberta.”
“Don’t worry, your husband is in good hands.”
“Thank you, but Sloan’s not my husband. He’s, well, I guess he’s my boyfriend. I’m still not used to saying that.”
“Oooh, mírate! I always say that love is in the air this time of year.”
“That must be why there’s no one waiting to see the doctor. Everyone’s too happy to spend time in a hospital.”
“Dr. Manzini is slowly handing her patients off to other doctors because she’s going to head the lab. It should be a very exciting time for all of us.”
“Will you be working with the doctor in the new lab?”
“On the administrative side. I’ll be the doctor’s executive assistant.”
“Congratulations, that sounds wonderful.”
Before Maria could respond the phone rang and she had to get to work.
Alberta sat back in her chair as Maria spoke to a patient on the phone, and she suddenly felt ashamed. What could Kylie possibly have to do with drug dealers or anything involving illegal activity? She was a celebrated surgeon, she was about to start a whole new career to find a cure for cancer. Alberta didn’t know much more about the doctor other than that she had a sterling reputation and had never worked anywhere other than St. Clare’s. Bambi and Carmichael, they were suspicious and were definitely hiding something, but not Kylie. The more Alberta thought about it, the more she realized she was letting her imagination grow wild, a common by-product of being an amateur detective, and it was ridiculous to think that the doctor was part of whatever evil scheme the others were up to.
Alberta was suddenly parched from her rambling internal monologue and searched her pocketbook for a mint or one of those butterscotch candies. She popped one in her mouth just as Maria started talking on the phone. Whoever was on the other end of the call was long-winded bec
ause all Maria said was “Yes, sir” every few seconds. She finally hung up and finished copying down the information on a telephone notepad.
“Dios mio,” Maria said.
“I know that phrase in any language,” Alberta commented.
Exasperated, Maria shook her head. “I don’t know how the doctor does it. With everything going on at work, seeing patients, jumping every time Bambi barks, she also has to deal with her family.”
Alberta nodded. “Family is the one thing you’re forced to deal with no matter how hard life gets.”
“I have my own crazy family and I don’t have nearly the stress the doctor does, but even if I did, at least I know my family loves and supports me.”
“You don’t think Dr. Manzini gets the same love and support from her family?”
Alberta could tell from the way Maria was hesitating, she was reluctant to share too much information about Kylie’s personal life. But Alberta recognized a talker when she met one, and she knew Maria just needed a little gentle prodding to spill Kylie’s family secrets. Alberta didn’t speak fluent Spanish, but it was a romance language like Italian, which meant there were many similarities that would help break down cultural barriers.
“Spaniards and Italians, we appreciate family, we understand no one is an individual,” Alberta said. “Scandinavians, like Dr. Manzini’s father, aren’t like us.”
Maria’s eyes lit up and Alberta could tell that she understood. When she started to reveal more of Kylie’s history, she knew she had made a confidante. Alberta was hoping Maria would provide some tidbit that she could use to lead her to who really killed Natalie.
“No, they aren’t,” Maria said. “I know that Mr. Manzini is a widower, which can change some men, like my Tito Ricardo. He lost his wife shortly after the birth of their third child and he was never the same. El pobre hombre! Ricardo was loving and gentle, but after Graciela passed, he was bitter and angry, a completely different man.”
“Is that what Dr. Manzini’s father is like?”
“He’s not angry like a Spanish or Italian man gets angry, he doesn’t yell, he doesn’t raise his voice at all, but you can hear the disapproval and the—¿cómo se dice? The disgust in his voice. It’s as if nothing the doctor can do is ever good enough.”
“Ah Madon! What more could she do? She’s one of the best surgeons in the state.”
“I know! But if you think it’s bad for her, it’s worse for her sister. She’s not nearly as successful as the doctor, so she gets it worse. The things he’s said to me about her, Dios mio! I can only imagine what he’s said to her face.”
“A father should never speak to his child with anything but love.”
“Es verdad, pero . . . He said once that he used to tell his children, ‘If you can’t be perfect, it’s better to be nothing. ’”
Alberta almost choked on her butterscotch candy. Her heart skipped a beat, and for a moment she thought she might have to barge into Kylie’s office and have her resuscitate her. She wasn’t having a hard time breathing because she thought what Kylie’s father said was a horrible thing for a parent to say to a child, which it was; she was reacting so strongly because this was not the first time that she had heard that phrase. Natalie told her that her father said the same exact thing to her the night before she was murdered. Maria didn’t realize it, but she just told Alberta that Kylie Manzini and Natalie Vespa were sisters.
Just as Alberta was going to ask Maria to confirm the name of Kylie’s sister, the door to the doctor’s office opened and Sloan exited, followed closely by Kylie.
“Mrs. Scaglione,” Kylie said. “We meet again.”
“How’s our patient?” Alberta said, too nervous to make small talk.
“Sloan’s doing great,” Kylie replied. “I don’t see any reason for another follow-up; just make sure you don’t skip your yearly physical.”
“Berta wouldn’t let me if I tried,” Sloan said. “Thanks again, Doctor, and Merry Christmas if I don’t see you again.”
“Thank you,” Kylie replied. “Merry Christmas, to you too, Mrs. Scaglione.”
Alberta turned to face Kylie, and it was as if she was seeing her for the first time. “Merry Christmas,” Alberta said.
She threw on her coat and slipped her arm through Sloan’s. She needed the extra support as she walked to the hallway. From what she had just learned she felt light-headed. But she was also bursting at the seams because she couldn’t wait to tell the others what she’d found out. There was no way they could ever top this.
When they got in Sloan’s Land Rover he turned to Alberta before he started the engine. “Are you going to tell me what you found out while I was being poked and prodded?”
“How do you know I found out something?” Alberta asked.
“I’ve spent enough time around you that I can recognize how you look when you’ve uncovered a clue,” Sloan replied.
“It’s a whopper, but I want you to be surprised with everybody else,” Alberta said.
She was about to send a group text to the gang to tell them to meet her at her house when she received a group text from Jinx telling her to do the same. Jinx said she and Joyce had incredible news to share that no one would ever be able to top. Alberta knew they were all working toward achieving the same goal, which was to set Sergio free, but she wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.
“We’ll see about that,” she said. “Sloan, take me home!”
When she and Sloan entered her kitchen she was chomping at the bit to share her news and prove that what she had uncovered was untoppable. Helen and Lisa Marie were sitting at the table with Lola sparring with an imaginary fly in between them, while Jinx and Joyce stood on the opposite side of the kitchen, looking very excited to share whatever news they had discovered. Let the games begin.
“Gram, thank God you’re here!” Jinx exclaimed. “You are not going to believe what Aunt Joyce and I found out at Carmichael’s office.”
“Sorry, lovey,” Alberta said. “You are not going to believe what I found out at Dr. Manzini’s office.”
“Berta, I hate to burst your bubble, but there is no way you’re going to top our news,” Joyce said.
“I’m sure whatever little thing you and Jinx found out will be helpful,” Alberta said. “But with all due respect, I hit the mother lode.”
“We hit the trifecta, Gram!” Jinx cried.
“I’m gonna hit you both across the side of your head with my pocketbook if you don’t tell us what you found out and right now!” Helen barked.
“I think I’m going to sit down while they duke it out,” Sloan said, sitting in the chair next to Lisa Marie.
“All right, lovey, you go first,” Alberta said.
“Nice try, Gram. If your news is so special, you go first.”
“That wouldn’t be fair,” Alberta said. “If I go first, whatever you say is going to pale in comparison to my earth-shattering news.”
Helen picked up her pocketbook from the floor and placed it on the kitchen table with a loud thud, momentarily interrupting Lola’s brawl. “I’m warning you girls, if one of you doesn’t start talking in three seconds, I start swinging.”
“Fine! I’ll go first!” Alberta cried. “Dr. Kylie Manzini is Natalie’s sister.”
The screams from the group, including Sloan, were as loud as Alberta had expected and enough to make Lola throw in the towel and scamper to the safety of the living room. Alberta waited until the screams subsided and conveyed how she found out the doctor was the dead Natalie’s big sister.
“That explains why Kylie was so emotional at the Mistletoe Ball after Natalie’s body fell out of the snowwoman,” Jinx said.
“It doesn’t explain why Vinny can’t find Natalie’s next of kin if she’s living right here in Tranquility,” Lisa Marie said.
“It does if Vespa isn’t Natalie’s real last name,” Alberta said.
“You think she’s even lying about her name?” Joyce asked.
“I’ve a
lways thought that Vespa sounded fake,” Alberta said. “Now we know it probably is.”
“Vinny’s been wasting his time looking for Natalie Vespa’s next living relative when he should’ve been searching for Natalie Manzini’s nearest family member,” Lisa Marie deduced.
“That still doesn’t explain why Kylie kept quiet about their family connection,” Helen said. “She was standing a few feet from her sister’s murdered body and she didn’t say a word.”
“I hate to say it, but the good doctor must not be so good,” Alberta said. “She must have something to hide and it must have something to do with drugs.”
“I don’t mean to be biased, but I don’t see how you two can top Berta’s discovery,” Sloan said.
“Sorry, honey, but I have to agree. Your grandmother came up with a humdinger,” Lisa Marie said. “Let’s hear what you and Aunt Joyce found out and then Aunt Helen, Smarty Pants, and I will judge who’s the winner.”
“It’s going to be close,” Jinx said. “Aunt Joyce and I found out who J. J. is.”
“You did!” Alberta screamed.
“Refresh my memory, I cannot keep up with you people,” Lisa Marie said. “Who’s J. J.?”
“J. J. is Rudy’s girlfriend,” Jinx said.
“The angry woman who got into Rudy’s apartment while Jinx and I were there,” Alberta added.
“Also too, she’s the nurse who used to work at both St. Clare’s and the Sussex Medical Center who Carmichael fired,” Joyce explained.
“They’re all the same person,” Jinx said. “Janine Janniken, J. J. for short.”
“I’m man enough to admit it, ladies,” Helen said. “That was quite a buildup, but you didn’t let us down.”
“I think we have to call this one a tie!” Lisa Marie exclaimed.
“This is what they call Una situación de ganar-ganar,” Alberta said.
“Yes, Gram, this is definitely a win-win situation,” Jinx said.