Jailhouse Glock

by Lizbeth Lipperman

  “At two.” Deena looked up. “You’re still going with me, right?”

  “Absolutely. I would never let you do this by yourself.” She glanced at her watch. “I have something to do this morning, so I’ll drop you off at your house. Then I’ll pick you up around one.”

  “Where are you going?” Deena asked, leaning forward.

  Maddy wasn’t sure she wanted Jake to know she hadn’t yet given up sleuthing, even though she’d promised she would. He’d probably echo Colt’s warnings that it was too dangerous.

  Her plans today only included talking to an old lady and her son. How dangerous could that be, especially since she’d have her husband’s forty-five with her?

  “Well, where are you going?” Jake asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

  She decided to come clean. “To pay a visit to a man I believe was being blackmailed by Chrissy Rockford and Agostinelli.”

  “Does the sheriff know?” Jake asked.

  “No. He’d only try to talk me out of it.”

  “With good reason,” Jake said, still boring a hole into her with his stare.

  “I want to go with you,” Deena said, suddenly. When Maddy didn’t respond, she pleaded. “Please, Maddy, I’ll go crazy sitting home by myself trying to smile every time one of my well-meaning neighbors drops by with food that will probably never get eaten.”

  “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

  Deena’s eyes lit up. “It will keep my mind off everything else. I didn’t get to go with you and Kate yesterday, and now it’s my turn to have fun.” Her eyes turned defiant. “It’s probably a damn good thing I wasn’t with you and Kate yesterday. If I’d seen my husband with that woman, I might have killed the lying bastard myself right there in the restaurant.”

  Maddy couldn’t help it and laughed out loud. “Guess this is what they call the angry stage of grieving.”

  “Damn straight,” Deena said. “I loved Mike more than life itself, but it’s time I took off the blinders. The kindest thing I can say about him right now is that he was not a model husband.”

  “Well, it sounds like you ladies have your entire day planned, so I’ll just say goodbye and get on my way,” Jake said after he chugged the last of his coffee.

  For a minute, Maddy had forgotten that today was the day he was heading back to San Antonio. “Jessie and I will miss you,” she said, honestly.

  She really would miss talking to him at the kitchen table. And for the past few days she hadn’t had to nag her daughter to get her homework done. Jessie knew Maddy would never let her stay up with her and Jake if she hadn’t finished her schoolwork.

  “Me too,” Deena said. “And tell your mom I said her son can cook for me anytime.”

  He grinned. “Will do.” He stood and carried his empty cup to the sink. After rinsing it and placing it in the dishwasher, he turned back to Maddy. “Where did you say this guy lives?”

  “On Grand Avenue near Fair Park. Why?”

  “Just curious. That’s a rough part of town. You and Deena need to keep your eyes open.” He grabbed his luggage and headed for the door.

  Maddy followed behind. Before he walked out, he bent down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for everything. I hope you were serious about taking a drive to San Antonio real soon.”

  “As serious as a heart attack. There’s something about you that I find intriguing under that bad boy exterior, Jake Matthews, and I’m determined to discover what that something is.”

  This time his grin covered his entire face. “I hope you won’t be disappointed.” He walked down the driveway to his car, turning one last time to wave goodbye.

  You should never have let him go.

  Maddy was surprised to see Tessa beside her. “What could I have done? Locked him in his room?”

  For starters, yes. A man like that needs a reason to stay. Captivity works as well as anything, I guess.

  “Are you talking to Tessa?” Deena asked.

  “Yes.”

  Tell Deena I wish I could hug her.

  Maddy repeated Tessa’s words to her sister.

  “I know she would if she could. Say what you want about the Garcia girls, but we stick together, no matter how much we fight.” Deena turned to the sink. “I love you, Tessa.”

  Don’t bother telling her I’m right next to her, Tessa said. So what are we doing today?

  “Going to Dallas to confront a possible killer.”

  That’s just the kind of thing I need to do to make me forget how dead I really am.

  _____

  The ride to Dallas took longer than Maddy expected due to construction in the canyon near downtown. It was already after ten when they pulled up to the curb at the address Francis Montero’s wife had given them the day before.

  I’m wondering why anyone could possibly believe this guy has enough money to pay a blackmailer, Tessa said. This house is a dump.

  “Don’t be so quick to judge,” Maddy said, before repeating Tessa’s words to Deena.

  “She’s right. It is pretty bad,” Deena said, glancing around as she got out of the car in front of the house. “Are you sure this is the right address?”

  Maddy checked the card with the address once again. “Yep. Like I said, this doesn’t mean Montero doesn’t have money. His wife kicked him out, remember? This is his mother’s house, and I’ll bet she’s lived here all her life.”

  “Was his house in any better shape?”

  Maddy thought for a moment. “Not much. Tessa may have a point.”

  Walking up the porch steps, Maddy nearly tripped over a loose board. After the second knock, the door swung open, and they were greeted by the shortest Hispanic woman Maddy had ever seen.

  “Are you Mrs. Montero?” Maddy began, checking out the woman as she spoke. Standing about five feet tall with dark hair pulled back into a bun, the overweight woman looked off-balance as she held onto the doorjamb.

  “Yes. And who might you be?”

  “I’m Madelyn Castillo, and this is my sister Deena. We work for the Census Bureau, and we need to speak to your son Francis.”

  A look of surprise, then anguish, crossed the woman’s face. “Junior isn’t here right now.”

  “Junior is Francis Montero?”

  The woman nodded. “His daddy was Francis Senior.” She sighed. “I’m sorry I can’t help you, but I have no idea when he’ll be back.”

  She was about to close the door when Maddy stuck her foot inside to stop her. “You can answer the questions for him. May we come in?”

  When the woman hesitated, Maddy added, “It’s urgent that we get your son’s records completed as soon as possible. It may affect his income tax return this year.” She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that lying to this woman wouldn’t be judged too harshly up above.

  Mrs. Montero opened the door and motioned for them to come in. Once inside, she directed them to the small living room off to the right. Both Maddy and Deena took a seat on what looked to be a brand-new leather couch.

  Tessa flopped down between them. So, it’s true. You should never judge a book by its cover, she said, putting her nose next to the leather and sniffing. This is the good stuff.

  “How can I help you?” the woman asked, sitting down in the matching leather chair opposite them.

  “Mrs. Montero, do you—”

  “Call me Alicia,” she interrupted.

  Maddy smiled. This might be easier than she thought. “Alicia, do you know if your son was having financial problems lately?” She held her breath. No way a Census Bureau employee would be asking that kind of question. She hoped Alicia didn’t know this.

  The woman never blinked. “Junior was always having money problems of some kind.”

  “Is that why he lives with you?” Deena asked, scooting forward on the couch.

  Alicia looked surprised by the question. “That’s part of the reason. He and his wife separated awhile back, and Junior’s been here with me ever since.”

  “When do yo
u expect him back? I’d really like to talk to him,” Maddy said.

  The older woman’s eyes turned sad, and she swallowed before speaking. “I don’t know.”

  The detective in Maddy immediately made note of the way the woman had lowered her eyes and picked at her fingernails. Alicia Montero was lying, but why?

  She decided to be blunt. “Was your son being blackmailed, Alicia?”

  You always were as subtle as a jackhammer, Tessa teased. I used to … Oh my God!

  “What?” Maddy said, before she remembered that no one else could hear Tessa.

  Look over there. Tessa pointed to the mantle above the fireplace.

  There in the center was a colorful insulated lunch bag, exactly like the one Mike had used to bring Thanksgiving leftovers to the police station the night Agostinelli was killed. The one that was nowhere to be found when they’d looked for it a few days ago.

  Was it a coincidence there was an identical one in the house of a man who very well might be Agostinelli’s killer?

  Before Maddy had a chance to ask about it, the front door opened and a well-dressed Hispanic man walked in.

  “Hello, Mrs. Castillo,” he said with a look so evil that Maddy shuddered.

  Maddy looked confused. If she had met the attractive man before, surely she would have remembered. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

  Although he was still smiling, there was no glee in his eyes. “Not personally, but I’m sure you’ll remember Greta.”

  A woman stepped from behind him and walked into the living room. Dressed in a pair of jeans so tight they could have been sprayed on and a sweater that showed off her generous assets, the attractive redhead smiled.

  “She knows me as Jezebel.”

  For the first time since Agostinelli’s murder, Maddy felt a ripple of fear course through her body, and she cursed herself for not heeding Colt’s warning to stay out of the investigation.

  She wracked her brain to come up with a reason why the woman she’d seen having lunch with Mike yesterday, just hours before his death, would be standing in front of her right now.

  The only thing that popped into her brain was a red flag, and she gripped her purse with the weapon.

  She and her sister were in big trouble.

  twenty-three

  “Eduardo, do you know these women from the Census Bureau?” Alicia Montero asked her son.

  His eyes turned cold. “Is that what they told you, Mama?” When she nodded, he huffed. “They lied to you so you’d let them into your house. They’re here to rob you—or worse.”

  “That’s not true.” Maddy attempted to get up from the couch before the redhead shoved her back down with enough force to jar her entire body. She turned to Alicia. “It’s true. We’re not from the Census Bureau, but we didn’t come to steal from you. I’m a cop, and this is my sister Deena. We came to see Francis—Junior—to find out if he was being blackmailed by a man who was killed in a jail cell under my watch last week.”

  Alicia’s eyes widened. “Why would you think Junior was being blackmailed? He left over two weeks ago, and I haven’t heard from him since.” The sadness in Alicia’s eyes was hard to miss.

  Maddy blew out a frustrated breath. If what Junior’s mother said was true, there was no way the man could’ve killed Agostinelli. She was back to square one again.

  “What makes you think Junior was being squeezed?” Eddie Montero asked, before moving to the chair beside his mother and sitting down.

  Maddy debated whether to tell him about the picture, then decided if she could get this man to understand why she and her sister has shown up on his mother’s doorstep asking questions, maybe he’d let them leave without an incident. She promised herself if she and Deena made it back to Vineyard, she’d give up nosing around in the investigation and leave it up to Colt and her buddies at the police station to clear her name.

  When she picked up her purse to show him the picture, both Eddie and the redhead reacted. Greta reached her first and snatched it from her hands. Quickly, she opened it and searched. A smile spread across her face when she pulled out Robbie’s forty-five.

  “And what do we have here?” Greta twirled the gun in her fingers before pointing it at Maddy’s head. After a minute she lowered it and stepped closer to Alicia to show her the weapon. “Eddie was right, Alicia. They were going to rob you.”

  “No, we weren’t,” Maddy argued. “They’re the ones lying to you.”

  Greta spun around and slammed the gun into the side of Maddy’s face, causing her to fall sideways into Deena. She moaned as the pain made her lightheaded. Deena immediately wrapped her arm around her to keep her from falling any farther.

  “Greta, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Alicia shouted. “Put that gun down now.”

  Greta made eye contact with Eddie. When he nodded she walked over to the fireplace and laid the weapon on the mantle next to the lunch bag.

  Maddy knew right then that the older woman had at least some influence over both her son and the woman. She decided to use that to her advantage. “Alicia, Deena and I are convinced that Junior didn’t have anything to do with killing the man in Vineyard last week. So, if it’s okay with you, we’ll just get out of your way and let you visit with your son.”

  “Not so fast,” Eddie said, jumping up from the chair. “You still haven’t told me why you thought my brother was being blackmailed.”

  “I tried to do that, but your girlfriend grabbed my purse, remember? I have a picture of him in there.”

  Eddie scowled. “That’s impossible.”

  Maddy forced herself to stay calm. There was a very real possibility that either Eddie or Greta—or both—had murdered her brother-in-law. But if she and Deena were going to get out of this house alive, she’d have to pretend that thought had never entered her mind.

  Eddie reached for the purse Greta still held in her hands and rifled through it before handing it back to Maddy. “Show me.”

  She dug for her cell phone, wondering if she could hit the speed dial number and call the Vineyard Police Station before she pulled it out of her purse. But Eddie must have been thinking the same thing. He reached in and ripped it from her hand before she had a chance to do anything with it.

  “Where is it?” he asked, impatiently.

  “Click on the photo icon,” she answered, bummed that he’d thwarted her attempt to call for help. She didn’t have a backup plan.

  Quickly, he scrolled through the pictures until he found the one he was looking for. After studying it for a few minutes, he looked up. “Where did you get this? I have the originals and all the negatives.”

  A shiver ran up Maddy’s spine as she realized the meaning of what he had just said. The only way he could have them in his possession was if he had stolen them from Chrissy Rockford’s purse. It also meant he’d probably killed her. She shifted nervously on the couch. The situation was dire and growing more critical by the second. She had to think of some way to get out of there with Deena, but at the moment, she was coming up blank.

  She decided to be honest with the man. “I found these in the purse of the woman having sex with your brother. I took a snapshot with my phone.”

  “And when exactly was that?”

  She wondered why that was important. “The day before she was murdered.”

  He stood directly in front of her. “There was a small notebook in the woman’s purse along with these pictures. Did you take that, too?”

  So it was his book she’d found. That’s probably why he’d torn Chrissy’s apartment to pieces after he’d killed her. Maddy shuddered, thinking if she hadn’t taken the book, if Chrissy could have handed it over to Montero, she would still be alive today. Then she realized that Chrissy had been a dead woman from the very moment Eddie walked into her apartment, just like she and Deena would be if she told them where she’d stashed the book. It was her only leverage with him.

  “I never saw a notebook,” she lied.

  He studi
ed her eyes, and then suddenly belted her across the face, sending her once again to the back of the couch.

  Alicia jumped up and slapped her son’s face. “You will not hurt this woman in my house. Do you hear me?” Before he had a chance to respond, she lashed out at him again. “You were always cruel, especially to your older brother. I tried so many times to get your worthless father to take you with him when he left, but even he didn’t want you. I spent my whole life protecting Junior from becoming just like you.”

  Maddy watched Montero’s eyes turn sad at hearing his mother degrade him like that. Then they reflected a rage so intense, she shivered.

  He must have forgotten about her for a moment because he turned to his mother. “You never tried to love me, no matter what I said or did. No matter how many times I saved Junior’s sorry ass from one situation or another. He was the one who was worthless. Not me.”

  “Don’t say that about him,” she shouted. “I don’t know what I did to deserve an evil child like you. When Junior comes home, we never want to see you again. Do you hear me?”

  Eddie threw his head back and laughed out loud. “I hear you, Mama, but don’t hold your breath waiting for Junior to come home anytime soon. I made sure that wouldn’t happen.”

  Alicia screamed. “What did you do, Eddie?” Tears were already forming in her eyes.

  He smirked. “Let’s just say he’s with the fishes, and leave it at that.”

  “Oh God, tell me you didn’t kill him. What did he ever do to you except love you no matter what?” Her voice pleaded with him to tell her he was lying.

  Eddie cocked his head and smirked. “The lady cop’s right. Junior was being blackmailed. Seems he was caught on film in a compromising position with a hooker.” He tsked. “You remember how hard he was trying to talk Ronda into taking him back after she’d thrown him out the last time? He was afraid if he didn’t pay up, they’d send the picture to her like they’d threatened. She would never have allowed him back in her house after that.”

  “He should have come to me. I would have found a way to give him the money,” Alicia said, now sobbing.

  Eddie shook his head. “And where would you have gotten it, Mama? What little you get from Social Security doesn’t even pay your bills. You would’ve come to me, and I would’ve rescued him like I always did.”