Murder at the Mistletoe Ball

by J. D. Griffo

  “What do we do with all this information now?” Lisa Marie asked. “Do we share it with Vinny?”

  “Not just yet,” Sloan said.

  “Why not?” Alberta asked. “We made a pact with him to share what we uncover because working as a team with the police only strengthens our case.”

  “That’s what I want to do, strengthen our case,” Sloan said. “I don’t mean to point out a flaw, Berta, but Dr. Manzini’s assistant only said she had a sister, she never said her name was Natalie.”

  “I thought you were smart?” Lisa Marie asked. “Of course they’re sisters, the names Kylie and Natalie even sound alike.”

  “And what about the phrase Maria told me Kylie’s father used?” Alberta asked. “It’s the same phrase Natalie told me her father used to say—verbatim.”

  “The police are going to want more proof than that, especially if they haven’t been able to make this connection themselves, and if we expect them to question Dr. Manzini about this, we can’t go to Vinny with an anecdote, we need quantitative proof that Kylie is Natalie’s big sister, so the DA won’t be able to doubt the facts,” Sloan explained.

  “I swear to God, sometimes I hate you,” Lisa Marie said.

  “O mio Dio!” Alberta cried. “Leese, don’t talk like that, Sloan is only trying to help.”

  “I don’t hate him for that,” Lisa Marie said. “I hate him because he’s always right. Where the hell did you find him, Ma? The Land of the Silver Foxes?”

  “We met at the library,” Alberta said. “I went in to do some research on a case and, well, the rest, as they say, is history.”

  “It was one of the luckiest days of my life,” Sloan said.

  “Let’s see if your luck holds,” Lisa Marie said. “Do you happen to have a plan to convince the DA that Kylie and Natalie are sisters?”

  Sloan smiled smugly, folded his hands, and placed them on the table. He didn’t have to say a word for all the women to gather around and lean into him. He had a captive audience.

  “What are you ladies doing tomorrow night?”

  CHAPTER 25

  Cammina con attenzione sul ghiaccio sottile.

  Mistletoe Ball, take two.

  Ever since the first Mistletoe Ball became a tragedy instead of a triumph, the board of directors at St. Clare’s Hospital had been hoping for a do-over. They wanted the Ball to be remembered as a joyful event in Tranquility’s history and not the horrific moment in time it had become. It had taken a lot of bargaining and begging and a small bribe from Joyce to get the manager of the Tranquility Manor to allow them to rebook the Diamond room to restage the Mistletoe Ball. The only night available was a Wednesday, but beggars never got to choose, so Joyce and the rest of the board gladly accepted the weeknight slot. Not everyone got a second chance to make a comeback and they weren’t going to waste the opportunity.

  A small army of volunteers put back all the decorations to make the ballroom look exactly the way it had been originally decorated. The wreaths, the upside-down Christmas trees, the lights, even the winter woods display, complete with the ski chalet and Santa and his reindeer were taken out of temporary storage to turn the ballroom into a holiday landscape. However, out of a sense of decorum, the snowman was now a bachelor.

  Redoing the fundraising event would also give everyone a chance to wear their gowns and tuxedos again. Part of the festivity was to not only transform the venue, but to transform the VIPS as well. Top-shelf Tranquilitarians would get another chance to play dress-up. As Joyce often said, “When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you’re much more likely to donate money.” She always had her eye on the prize.

  And so did Sloan.

  He figured if the entire town and especially most of the medical community were going to be at the Mistletoe Ball redux, it would be the perfect opportunity for him to break into the new research lab to find proof that Kylie was Natalie’s sister. Sloan’s hope was that the lab would be empty of all personnel, and if there was a security guard patrolling the area, he wouldn’t be there all the time. All he needed to do was sneak in, hack into the HR computer, and search for Kylie Manzini’s records to see if there was any mention of Natalie.

  If Alberta was right and Kylie was indeed Natalie’s big sister, then Sloan had a hunch that Kylie would have chosen Natalie to be her beneficiary. Most employees receive life insurance through their company as part of their benefits package and they have to choose someone to be their beneficiary in case they die while employed. Since Kylie wasn’t married, her parents were presumably wealthy, and she didn’t have any children, the logical choice would be Natalie. Who else would a big sister choose to leave her money to than her little sister?

  They knew that Kylie and Bambi would be at the Ball, and Carmichael was playing Santa Claus at the Winter Wonderland, so there was no risk in one of them catching Sloan in action. Joyce, of course, had to attend the Ball at the Manor because she was on the hospital board, and Jinx had to be there because Freddy was finally going to get his award from the Tranquility Business Association. Vinny would be there as a representative of the police force and Helen and Father Sal really wanted to go because they were dying to taste the peppermint chocolate mousse that was on the dessert menu. They convinced Lisa Marie that she should attend instead of spending the evening alone, worrying about Sergio, and she reluctantly agreed.

  The only ones left on the guest list were Alberta and Sloan. It was decided that they would make an appearance at the Ball and then drive to St. Clare’s, use Joyce’s temporary badge to enter through the back entrance, and take the service elevator up to the third floor, where the lab was being built. If they couldn’t find what they were looking for in an hour, they’d return to the Ball, tell Vinny everything they knew, and let the police take over the investigation.

  Everyone was in full support of the idea, and they knew that over the years Sloan’s hacking skills had improved tremendously, giving him the expertise needed to acquire the information they sought. Lisa Marie lived up to her role as the outlier in the group and was the only one who was skeptical. It wasn’t that she hadn’t come to trust Sloan’s motives or understand the gentleman possessed some ungentlemanly skills, she just didn’t understand why there wasn’t an easier way to determine if the women were truly sisters.

  “How hard can it be to disassociate yourself from your family?” Lisa Marie said.

  Everyone thought she was asking a rhetorical question. The person doing the asking was the same person who had packed up her family and moved a thousand miles away to do just that, disassociate herself from her family. Despite the blatant irony, she did have a point. In this age of rampant technology, where no data point, no matter how important or inconsequential, couldn’t remain hidden for very long, how was it possible that the police couldn’t find Natalie’s family?

  “There are lots of ways to scrub your identity from the Internet,” Sloan said. “There are services that will use advanced software to expunge a particular incriminating photo or embarrassing video from the Internet.”

  “But can they delete an entire family?” Lisa Marie asked.

  “Why not?” Sloan replied. “If Natalie or Kylie didn’t want the world to know they were sisters, they could get some company to erase any and all ties from the Internet.”

  “The two women would both exist, it would just appear as if they existed independent of each other and not as part of the same family,” Jinx said.

  “That seems pretty drastic,” Lisa Marie said. “I mean, how much do you have to hate your family to make them invisible?”

  “Maybe hate wasn’t the motivation, but fear,” Alberta suggested.

  “What do you mean, Berta?” Helen asked.

  “Natalie told me that she felt like an outsider in her own home and insinuated that the rest of her family was grounded, but she was never able to find her footing,” Alberta explained. “She blamed that on her father not being a very good man.”

  “You thi
nk she was afraid of her father?” Joyce asked.

  “Yes, but that’s not what I mean,” Alberta replied. “I don’t think her father physically abused her, but he definitely caused emotional damage. If this environment led Natalie to make some dubious life choices, like ultimately choosing to become a drug dealer, it could make her big sister very afraid. How could you focus on your career as a doctor if you were always waiting for your sister’s criminal activity to be revealed? Maybe Kylie decided to eliminate that possibility.”

  “By eliminating the fact that she had a sister,” Lisa Marie added.

  “Which is exactly what I think Kylie did,” Sloan said. “My hope is that there might be some remnant of the truth buried in her HR records.”

  “If there is, I know you’ll find it,” Alberta said.

  Less than twenty-four hours later, Sloan’s plan was in motion and his skills would soon be tested. But first there was a Ball to attend.

  A searing sense of déjà vu took hold of everyone as they walked into the Diamond room at the Tranquility Manor. The décor looked exactly the same as it had the night of the first Mistletoe Ball, except for the now taboo snowwoman, and they all prayed that the evening’s denouement wouldn’t be another bloodstained corpse. The night, however, had only just begun.

  The group gathered once again wearing their finest fashions, and to the rest of the attendees it appeared as if the Ferraras were having a fun family outing, not plotting to uncover evidence that would further cast doubt on Sergio’s guilt, if not free him entirely. Jinx still looked like the belle of the Ball in her exquisite fire-engine-red Versace gown, Alberta felt like a queen in her fuchsia Carolina Herrera, Helen’s sequined baby-blue ensemble was still a revelation, and Joyce’s emerald-green Yves Saint Laurent number didn’t fail to create some drama. This time even Lisa Marie got in on the fun.

  Her heart really wasn’t into attending the first Ball, so Lisa Marie picked out a simple A-line gown in navy satin. It was tasteful, but in comparison to the outfits worn by the rest of the women in her family, it was boring. She was lucky that all she did while wearing it was take a nap. This time, Lisa Marie decided to choose the gown of her dreams.

  Having been a teenager in the late ’80s, she had a fondness for padded shoulders, big hair, and leather. Realizing this was the only time she was going to get to indulge in such a fantasy—Jinx would never allow her to wear something as outlandish as the mother of the bride whenever that day might come—Lisa Marie embraced the opportunity to don the kind of gown she’d secretly wanted to wear to her senior prom at Immaculate Conception High School. Something Pat Benatar might wear in a video about teenage rebellion.

  Adrianna teased Lisa Marie’s hair into a poufy masterpiece and Joyce looked deep into the dark shadows of her closet to find a royal-blue strapless leather gown by North Beach Leather that had a matching bolero jacket with padded shoulders any quarterback would envy. Her accessories were minimal but chosen for maximum effort. A not-so-delicate streak of light blue eyeshadow, dark blue matte lipstick, and sapphire and rhinestone climber earrings that ran up the edge of her ears all combined to create a look that perfectly captured Lisa Marie’s personality. Hard-edged, in your face, and fun.

  When Tommy had seen what she looked like he’d thought she had lost her mind.

  “What are you doing in that get-up?” Tommy asked.

  Lisa Marie smiled into her camera while FaceTiming her husband and said, “My mother dragged me out to celebrate.”

  “Did they drop the charges against Sergio?”

  “Not yet, but if this night goes as planned, we’ll be one step closer to making that happen.”

  “I’ve been praying every spare second that you’ll find the real killer.”

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned being back here, it’s that when you have your family around you anything is possible.”

  “Are they there with you?”

  Lisa Marie positioned the phone so Tommy could see the entire entourage. His shriek of surprise was louder than the collective greeting they all gave him.

  “Holy moly! Y’all clean up pretty darn good, but Jinx, baby, you take the cake.”

  “Thanks, Daddy,” Jinx said. “When can you get back up here?”

  “In another day or so,” Tommy replied. “I’m about to finish up this job and should get back in time for Christmas, and maybe in time to see Sergio get his freedom back.”

  “Keep the faith, Tommy,” Alberta said. “We will.”

  “I hate to interrupt,” Sloan said. “But I think it’s time we got to work.”

  “I’ll keep you posted, honey,” Lisa Marie said. “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  The screen went black and the plan went into motion.

  Alberta excused herself and said she was going to the ladies’ room. Less than a minute later Sloan said he’d left his glasses in the car and wanted to retrieve them so he wouldn’t miss any of the ceremony. As part of the planning committee, Joyce had made sure Vinny and Tambra were seated at a separate table, their backs to the Ferraras, allowing Alberta and Sloan to leave unnoticed by either law enforcement officer. It would prevent the cops from getting suspicious at their elongated absence.

  Bambi stepped up to the microphone, once again swathed in gold lamé, her bosom working very hard to take the focus from her speech. She spoke about St. Clare’s history, its achievements, its future goals, its partnership with the Sussex Medical Center, it seemed like she would ramble on forever, but after a few minutes Bambi finally got to the point of her monologue.

  “Every year the Tranquility Business Association picks one very special Tranquilitarian as the Small Business Owner of the Year,” Bambi said. “This year I’m proud to announce that the award goes to Freddy Frangelico, owner of Freddy’s Ski ’n Scuba Shoppe.”

  The crowd roared and one particular table jumped to its feet. Proud, yet a little embarrassed by all the attention, Freddy hugged Jinx tightly. “I couldn’t have done this without you.” Jinx refused to cry in Freddy’s presence—she didn’t want to look like an overemotional girlfriend—and she’d be damned if she was going to ruin the fabulous makeup job she’d paid for.

  At the mike, Freddy accepted the award from Bambi and, with less enthusiasm, accepted her bear hug. When he was finally able to release himself, he smiled at the audience. Laid-back as ever, Freddy hadn’t prepared a speech even though he knew in advance he was going to take home the prize, but he somehow managed to find the right words to express exactly how he felt.

  “Dude, this is way cool!”

  He held the Lucite award that bore his name high over his head. He had always maintained that he bought the business from his boss and expanded its services as a way to prove to Jinx that he was ambitious and the kind of guy worthy of her love. By the look of admiration in her eyes, it was clear that he had more than met that challenge.

  About a mile away, Sloan was about to find out if he would be equally as successful.

  As expected, most of the hospital staff was either at the Mistletoe Ball or away for the holiday, giving Alberta and Sloan easy access to the hospital. When they got to the third floor Sloan slowly opened up the service door and was relieved to see an empty workspace. Alberta pointed to the door marked Human Resources, and behind that door was where their search would take place.

  Alberta waited outside as Sloan sat behind the desk and turned on the computer. The moment it booted up he used his well-honed skills to bypass the password so he could access the computer as an administrator. A few seconds later he was in, and from there he searched the employment records until he found Kylie’s name.

  “I’m almost there, Berta,” Sloan said, unable to conceal the excitement in his voice.

  “Hurry up,” Alberta replied. “I think I heard a noise.”

  Sloan looked through the documents in her online folder, but only found her W-9, a copy of her passport, and confirmation that she had participated in St. Clare’s man
datory sexual harassment seminar. There was nothing in her folder that contained insurance beneficiary information or even who to contact in case of an emergency. He was about to pound the desk in frustration when he saw a file labeled Old Documents. He opened it up just as Alberta saw an old friend coming down the hallway. She pulled the office door closed behind her and walked as calmly as possible—without giving away the fact that her knees were shaking—toward the young man.

  “Luke,” Alberta said, loud enough so Sloan could hear. “What are you doing here?”

  Luke stared at Alberta and his trademark smile disappeared from his face. “I think I’m the one who should be asking you that, Mrs. Scaglione.”

  Alberta had known Luke for years. As the orderly assigned to the morgue, he was one of the first people she had met when she and her family started their exploration of the investigative arts. It might have been that they both shared a respect for the dead, but Luke and Alberta had immediately bonded. She had encouraged him to look for a more important position at the hospital and he had supported her sleuthing, often providing her with tips that helped them solve their cases. Alberta was about to put their friendship to the test.

  She remembered an old saying Italian mothers would tell their children. Cammina con attenzione sul ghiaccio sottile. Walk carefully on thin ice. She kept that in mind as she took her first tentative step toward talking herself out of this jam.

  “Do you trust me, Luke?”

  “Without question.”

  “Then you must know that I’m here for a very important reason.”

  “Can you tell me that reason?”

  “The less you know, the better off it would be for you.”

  “Does it have to do with Dr. Manzini?”

  Alberta realized Luke might already suspect there was trouble.

  “Yes, it does. We’re trying to find the proof before we go to Vinny.”

  “This has to do with your grandson and the murder of that girl, doesn’t it?”

  Alberta nodded. “I know that I’m putting you in a terrible position, Luke, and I understand if you feel the need to call security.”