by Curry, Edna
Candi asked, “How am I going to explain you guys? Do I tell Mom who you are? “I mean, she might accept one friend accompanying me, but not two.”
“Sure, tell her we’re investigating Jolene’s death. If we’re still being followed, they need to know, so they’ll be careful. I don’t want to scare them unnecessarily, but forewarned is forearmed, as the old saying goes.”
“Okay. But they’re not going to like what Jolene was mixed up in. They can be a bit judgmental.”
When they arrived at Maggie Lewis’s house, Luke was surprised to see a small, neat, two bedroom rambler probably built in the sixties, a simple box with an attached single garage. Young palm trees grew in the boulevard beside the street.
He wondered why he’d expected something grander, and realized Candi had mentioned her mother sold expensive real estate. He ought to know better than to assume selling it meant she owned some herself.
“You men will need to stay at a hotel,” Candi said. “Mom doesn’t have much room and Grandma is already here. I’m sure more relatives will arrive soon. She waved a hand at the two cars, a red Chevrolet and a blue Volvo that already filled the concrete driveway.
“No problem,” Luke said, relieved. Always slow to get acquainted when meeting new people, he much preferred staying in an impersonal hotel to staying with strangers.
“I’ve already booked us at a hotel close by,” Curt said, again glancing at his the rear view mirror. He swung into the driveway and parked.
“You’re always the efficient one,” Luke returned with a grin.
“Did you spot that tail?” Curt asked quietly as they got out of the car. He glanced at Candi lifting Jessie out of her car seat.
“I saw a dark sedan a couple times, but couldn’t be sure it was the same one. You think it was?”
Curt nodded.
Damn, Luke thought. It wasn’t over, then. Well, they hadn’t expected it to be, or they wouldn’t be with Candi and the baby in Florida, would they? They’d have been called back to Las Vegas by now. So the boss didn’t think it was over, either.
They walked inside. Candi hugged her mom and grandmother, and then introduced the two men. “Mom, Gram, this is my friend, FBI agent Luke Mazinger and his partner Curt Wilson. My mom, Maggie Lewis and grandmother, Amanda Lewis. Luke and Curt are investigating Jolene’s death.”
“Oh, my,” Amanda said. “FBI? Investigating the death of our Jolene? But—why aren’t the local Chicago police doing that? It was just a mugging that went too far, wasn’t it?”
A sharp woman. As they shook hands, Luke sized up the two women. Maggie Lewis was a tall, young-looking, gray haired woman with a friendly smile. Amanda Lewis was short and chubby, with intelligent clear blue eyes and a no-nonsense, down-to-earth way about her. Not much got past this woman. Would she have some insight about her late son’s activities? He had to find a way to talk to each of them alone. But not now, before the memorial service.
“The Chicago Police are investigating. But we’re involved too, because Jolene’s murder may be connected to another case we’re working on,” Luke explained smoothly. He glanced at Curt who was frowning. Damn, he didn’t want the women all upset. He nudged Curt to signal him not to explain further.
But he needn’t have worried. The women had lost interest in talking about the investigation and were cooing over Jessica.
Candi took her out of her carrier and handed her to Maggie, who examined her carefully, as though not sure she was real.
Amanda stood by, ready to pounce for her share of the cuddling, but then glanced at the men and said, “Come into the kitchen and sit down. I made a pot of coffee.”
She walked in and began fussing with a cookie jar and cups. Maggie trailed behind, still talking baby talk to Jessica. “She has dark hair, but her eyes and chin look like Jolene’s, don’t you think, Mom?” Maggie asked.
“Mm hm,” Amanda said. “And her eyes are the same color blue as mine. Jolene’s were, too.”
Candi set the diaper bag on a corner of the counter and went to help her grandmother. She set out cups and napkins and poured coffee for everyone, then sat next to Luke, her brown eyes darting between her mother and grandmother. She sent Luke an apologetic little smile. He reached over and squeezed her hand under the table.
Maggie settled down across from them with Jessie on her lap. She wiped away tears, and said, “She’s such a pretty thing, isn’t she? Just like Jolene, except for the dark curls. Those look more like Candi’s when she was little.”
“She’s cute all right,” Amanda agreed. “Poor little thing. What’s going to happen to her without a mama? Will her father claim her?”
Candi said, “We don’t know that, yet, Grandma.”
“Is Jessie’s daddy, I mean, Jolene’s friend George, coming to the memorial service? Does he even know about her death?”
Curt sent Luke a glance. “He’s been notified. We think he may come, yes.”
An angry gasp of protest flew from Candi’s mouth. Allow George at Jolene’s memorial service after how he’d terrorized Jolene?
Luke put in quickly, “We’ll just have to wait and see. He was her live-in partner and apparently is Jessie’s father.”
Maggie nodded. “I suppose we shouldn’t antagonize him, then. Especially if we want custody of Jessie.”
“Definitely,” Luke agreed.
Candi sighed in defeat. “All right. Let’s not worry about it now, shall we? I think we have enough to think about just getting through the memorial service.”
Amanda put in, “Your mama and I have that all worked out with Pastor Jenkins. He’s doing the service day after tomorrow at eleven. We’ve got visitation set up at the funeral home tomorrow night.”
“Visitation? But—but why have that without a body?”
Maggie said, “We’ll set up pictures. Amanda and I spent all morning choosing some from our albums and a couple of albums Jolene left here when she quit college. It’s a time to console each other and to remember Jolene’s life. We don’t need her body. Lots of services are held with closed caskets.”
Candi said, “You’re right, Mom. But hardly anyone knew Jolene here, so do we need that? I mean, you’ve only been here a short time. She went to school and college in Minnesota. Even there, her classmates are all scattered now.”
“But your mother and I know people here now,” Amanda said quietly. “They’ll come to comfort us, not because they knew Jolene. I called some of our relatives, too, and most of them are coming.”
“Of course.”
“We’ll take Jessica, so everyone can meet her,” Amanda said, eagerly reaching for her great-granddaughter. Maggie handed her over carefully, hovering until Amanda settled into her chair with the precious bundle in her arms.
Luke glanced at Curt. Should he ask his supervisor for extra help? He wanted to object to another public appearance, but knew he’d be outvoted by these determined women. It was their family business how they dealt with their loss, much as he’d like to interfere. He and Curt had no proof there was any danger, only their own intuition and instincts. Which could be wrong. Maybe. But were usually not.
If Candi is going to the funeral here and then back to Minnesota, Luke thought, I’m going too. Especially if she’s taking Jessie. I’m not letting either of them out of my sight until this is wrapped up. If the boss doesn’t agree that’s necessary, I have some vacation time coming. I can use that to stay with her.
He and Curt said goodnight and walked out to their cars. Earlier, they’d decided on taking turns keeping an eye out for whoever had been tailing them. Curt had the first shift. Luke stopped at Curt’s car before heading back to their motel.
Curt said, “I got a call a while ago. Agents Bill Lawrence and Randy Thompson interviewed George.”
Luke knew them both. He’d worked with them before and trusted both to do their job. “Did they learn anything interesting?”
Curt nodded. “From his reaction, they’re pretty sure George didn’t kn
ow about Jolene’s death. They’re keeping an eye on him. If he heads this way, they’re coming too. They’ve got my cell number and will let us know what’s happening.”
“Good. Then if the gang is planning something else here, we’ll have enough help.”
“In the meantime, get some rest. I’ll keep an eye on Maggie’s house.”
“Do you think they’ll try anything now?”
Curt shrugged. “More likely after George arrives. But we can’t be sure he’s the only game in town. If he didn’t know about Jolene’s death, why was she killed? We still don’t know enough details of what’s going on or even who’s the boss of this gang. If George is in Las Vegas, who’s been tailing us here? And why?”
Luke nodded. “I was wondering the same thing. We’ve been assuming it was George or someone he hired. But what if it wasn’t? What if something else is going on?”
“Yeah. And remember George claims Jolene was blackmailing people and thinks one of them might have killed her.”
“What if it’s not true? What if he’s blowing smoke to make us look at someone besides him?”
“I agree. Well, see you later, like six a.m.?”
Luke groaned, but nodded.
He drove to their hotel, checked in and stowed his stuff.
Luke set his alarm for five so he’d have time for a shower and some coffee before going to relieve Curt. Then he dropped onto the bed, covering his eyes with his arm. If only he could be sure what was going on. Was Candi in danger? If killing Jolene hadn’t satisfied whoever was following them, what would? What did they want?
He was too tired to think. Maybe after some sleep, he could figure it all out.
He wished he’d been able to stay with Candi. Or have her stay with him. He smiled ruefully. His rule of not getting involved with suspects had gone out the window this time. His memories of their lovemaking in the Chicago hotel warmed him and he grew hard wishing she were here now.
He had strong feelings for both Candi and Jessie already. Were those feelings coloring his judgment? He didn’t think so. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where Candi was involved in those Las Vegas jewelry robberies or the murder. It just didn’t compute. His gut said it wasn’t possible and he trusted his gut.
By midmorning the next day, they received word from the other agents that George was in town. Luke and Curt decided it might be best if one of them was in the house with the women when George arrived, just in case he tried anything.
Luke talked to Candi and she agreed he should visit just before George arrived. The other agents, Bill and Randy, were tailing George and keeping them informed as to when he would arrive. They were pretty sure George wouldn’t know who Luke was. He’d have to warn Maggie and Amanda to just treat him as Candi’s friend and not let George learn he was an FBI agent.
Chapter 10
Candi and her mother and grandmother had spent most of the day dealing with visitors. Various cousins, friends and neighbors stopped by or called. The stress of explaining details repeatedly wore on all of them. They still had the visitation to go through.
So later in the afternoon, when George rang their doorbell and introduced himself, no one felt sociable.
Candi stood holding the door open and eyed the man. Of medium height, trim figured, he wore an expensive black suit. The remaining brown hair on his partially bald head had been cut short and his neatly trimmed beard had gray streaks. Brown eyes met hers from behind wire-rimmed glasses. Jolene had called him handsome and debonair. To Candi, his steely gaze said he didn’t like them much.
The feeling was mutual, Candi decided as she invited him in and reluctantly introduced everyone.
“You may not remember,” George told Maggie as he shook her hand, “but we met when you visited Bart in Las Vegas years ago.”
Maggie hesitated a long moment. “Oh yes. We were eating dinner at a restaurant in some casino, I believe. You stopped to tell Bart you wanted him to drive you somewhere.”
George smiled. “Yes, the Top Notch Casino where Jolene and I have a suite. I mean, where she did live, before—.”
“I see.” Maggie’s voice dripped ice, telling George she’d disapproved of her daughter’s choice of lifestyle.
Candi hid a smile at Maggie’s reprimand. George’s tight lips told her he’d gotten the message loud and clear. He ran a finger around his neck, attempting to loosen his white shirt collar.
She and Maggie sat in the living room opposite George. Luke took a chair off to one side. Amanda brought them iced tea and cookies, then sat near the door.
George politely asked about when the service would be and where and Maggie gave him the details. He noted them in a PDA, tucked it back in his shirt pocket, and said, “I’m puzzled by something. Jolene left Las Vegas unexpectedly. She wrote me a note saying she went to visit her mother.”
“Oh?” Maggie said, raising an eyebrow. “How strange. She didn’t call to say she was coming here. Nor did she come here.”
“Yes, odd,” George agreed. “Especially because she was killed in Chicago just a few days later. What was she doing in Chicago?”
“I have no idea,” Maggie murmured, sipping her tea. “I’m not acquainted with anyone in the Chicago area. She didn’t confide in me. Jolene hasn’t lived at home for two years, not since her high school days. I haven’t a clue whom she’s met in the meantime.”
“True. Are you sure she didn’t come here first, even if you didn’t see her? Maybe she dropped off something with you before going on to Chicago?”
Candi glanced at Luke. Did George think Jolene had left Jessie with her mother here in Florida? But Jolene had thought George followed her to Minnesota. If so, he knew Jolene had given Jessie to her. Confused, Candi wondered, if not George, who had followed Jolene? Who had killed her in Chicago and why? Candi pulled her thoughts back to the conversation.
Maggie frowned at George. “Drop something off? Like what?”
“Some of her things, like luggage? The police said they didn’t find anything with her, or in the last motel where she’d stayed.”
Candi stared at George. “What do you want? If you’re talking about the diamond necklace you gave Jolene, she told me she hocked it for traveling money. So check the pawn shops in Las Vegas close to where you lived.”
George frowned. “No, not the necklace. I’m aware she hocked the necklace.”
“Money?”
He sat up straighter and said stiffly, “Of course not. I have plenty of money. I always paid for Jolene’s needs as well. She had only to ask if she wanted anything.”
“Then what do you want? What did happen to Jolene’s things?” She’d never thought to ask. She looked at Luke, but he gave her a little shake of his head indicating they’d talk about this later.
George said, “I asked the Chicago police. They didn’t find them, so I wondered if she’d left them with you.”
Maggie insisted, “Why would she travel to Chicago and leave her luggage in Florida? She’d need her clothes and stuff, wouldn’t she?”
A red flush ran up George’s face. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I never saw Jolene, nor did anyone leave anything here with us. Why would she come here and not stay long enough to visit her mother and grandmother after we hadn’t seen her for two years? No, I’m sure she didn’t come to Florida. Jolene may have been a bit flighty, but she loved us.”
Amanda murmured agreement, wiping her eyes. “She wouldn’t come to town and not see us,” she assured George. “Jolene was a good girl. She loved all of us, especially her Daddy. She was his favorite. She got so upset when he died, she dropped out of college and ran off with her boyfriend, Charles.”
Maggie reached out and patted her mother-in-law’s hand.
Jessie announced her presence with a loud wail from the bedroom. Amanda excused herself to tend the baby.
George started at the sound. His eyes narrowed and his face hardened. “That’s Jessie, isn’t it? So, you lied. Jolene was here. How else did you ge
t Jessie?”
Uh, oh, Candi thought. So George hadn’t been sure they had her. Maybe he’d thought social services had the baby. Now he knew they had her, and wasn’t happy about it. Was Jessie what he wanted after all?
Quickly Candi told him, “Jolene brought her to me in Minneapolis and asked me to take care of her.”
“Yeah?” George swung around, glaring at her. “Why would she give Jessie to you?”
Oh, he meant to play dumb? Anger surged through Candi and she snapped, “You tell me! She was on the run from you! Were you mean to her?”
“Me? Mean? Of course not!”
“Then why did she run? Why was she afraid of you?”
“Afraid of me? What a ridiculous thing to say,” George scoffed. “I was the one who took her in when she was broke and trying to get away from her free-loading boyfriend. She came to me asking for protection because I was her father’s friend. She said she couldn’t go home. She wasn’t afraid of me.” George narrowed his eyes at Candi as though daring her to object to his claim.
Candi laughed derisively. “I think she was. In fact, she as good as said so.”
“Nonsense. I’m Jessie’s father and I can prove it with a DNA test, if necessary.”
She threw Luke a panicked glance, her heart pounding at the idea of losing Jessie and failing her sister’s trust. “I’m sure the judge will want one. Testing takes time. In the meantime, we have custody.”
George frowned. “You have custody? Says who? Who gives you the right to my baby?”
“A judge granted me temporary custody right after we identified Jolene’s body,” Candi told him. Thank God for Curt’s help. She’d had no idea of what to do.
“I’ll talk to my lawyer.” George’s face turned red. He stood, sputtering, “Fathers have legal rights!”
Luke and Candi immediately stood as well. Luke moved closer to Candi, signaling George he was prepared to protect her.
Candi lifted her chin. “I’m sure a judge will decide what’s best for the child. I will tell the judge Jolene didn’t want you to have Jessie.”
“He won’t believe you. I have a good lawyer. I’ll get custody.”