Hoosier Hoops and Hijinks

by Brenda Stewart

  So what’s a hot shot P. I. from Chicago doin’ goin’ to Indy and talkin’ about basketball, you ask? I’ll tell ya why, but it’s a long story, so pull up a chair and relax.

  My younger brother, Donatello—we call him Donnie—lives there with his wife, Theresa, and their three beautiful daughters, Maria, Katie and Gabriella. Maria is a cheerleader at North Central High School and they’re playin’ Zionsville in the final game of the 4A Basketball Sectional. Maria insisted I come down and watch the game. Ya see, she’s not just my niece; she’s my goddaughter, so how could I refuse? She’s got those beautiful brown cow eyes that melt my heart like butter on a hot fryin’ pan. At least it wasn’t snowin’ like it usually does this time of year.

  So I get down to Donnie’s house, we have a nice dinner, a little vino and go to the game. North Central wins. Maria’s screamin’ her lungs out with the rest of the cheerleaders. Her sisters are jumpin’ up and down, grabbin’ me around the waist, one on each side of me nearly knockin’ me over onto the poor sap in front of me. My sister-in-law’s wavin’ her pom pom and my brother’s raisin’ his hands in the air shoutin’ like a fool. Like I said, they don’t call this Hoosier Hysteria for nothin’.

  By the time we get back to Donnie’s place, I’ve got a headache about to split my head open enough for my brains to fall out. I take two aspirin and go to bed. Next thing I know, eleven-year-old Katie’s shakin’ my shoulder sayin’, “Uncle Vito, Uncle Vito, wake up.”

  I open one eye to see her worried little face and sit straight up in bed. “What’s wrong, Katie?” I asked, yawnin’.

  “Uncle Vito, Maria isn’t home yet,” she said, eyes fillin’ with tears. “She should have been home by midnight.”

  “Time is it?” I asked, startin’ to feel the same anxiety I could see in her face.

  “It’s 2:00. This isn’t like her.”

  “What did your dad say?”

  “I didn’t wake him,” she said, lookin’ at me like I was nuts. “He’ll be so mad at her for staying out this late.”

  “And you don’t think I’m mad at her?”

  She gives me one of those sweet little smiles of hers. “Well… it’s just that you won’t get anywhere near as mad as Daddy will. Besides, didn’t you take a vow or something when you took the godfather job? Aren’t you supposed to protect her or something?”

  “That’s only if your folks croak,” I said without thinkin’, ‘cause the next thing I know she’s scowlin’ at me. “Okay, I’ll go look for her. Got any ideas where I should start?”

  “I made you a list of her friends and their addresses.”

  I looked at her in amazement. “You got a list for me already. How long you been up?”

  “I don’t sleep very well when everybody’s not home,” she said, lowerin’ her eyes. “I’m worried something might have happened to her.”

  I was beginnin’ to think so, too. Maria was a very responsible girl. I asked Katie to go in the kitchen and make me a cup of instant coffee to wake me up, and I got dressed. On my way to the kitchen, I heard these quiet little female voices. There was Gabriella whisperin’ to Katie. Boy did these girls stick together. I never seen sisters who were so close.

  “Uncle Vito,” Gabriella said in a low soft voice. “You will find her, won’t you? She’s never been more than ten minutes late for anything!”

  “Hey,” I said, but they immediately shushed me.

  “No disrespect,” said fifteen-year-old Gabriella quietly, “but we don’t want to wake Mom and Dad.”

  “Okay,” I said quietly. “Where’s my coffee?”

  Just as Katie handed me the nasty instant brew, we heard the doorknob to the garage turn and saw the door open slowly. It was Maria, whose face turned to shock at the sight of us. She shut the door gently puttin’ her keys and purse on the counter, cell phone still in hand.

  “Where have you been?” Katie said in an agitated tone then threw her arms around her sister. Maria hugged her and Gabriella joined in. She was lookin’ at me with those beautiful, but very sad brown eyes.

  “Okay, break it up,” I said doin’ my best to sound tough. I wanted to stomp down the softy image they had of me. “This isn’t like you, Maria. What’s goin’ on?” I put the coffee cup in the sink. No point torturin’ myself with it at this point. We all sat down at the kitchen table.

  “Uncle Vito, you remember my best friend, Olivia?” asked Maria.

  “Sure I do. She’s the blonde with the straight do that barely covers her ears. Green eyes. Cheerleader.”

  “Yes, that’s her,” she says. “Well, tonight we were all going to meet after the game at Applebee’s, but she never showed. I tried to text her, she didn’t answer. I tried to call her, and it just rang and rang until the voicemail answered. That means her phone is on, right?”

  I nodded. This didn’t sound good, but I tried to keep a calm demeanor for Maria’s sake. The other two girls were lookin’ at Maria in shock. Katie’s eyes were tearin’ again. I guess I am a softy. They was breakin’ my heart.

  “So what did you do?” I asked her.

  “We got in our cars and went driving around trying to find her. The last text I got from the others was at 2:00 and no one saw her.” She paused. I could see she was tryin’ to keep from cryin’. She’s like her dad; she tries to keep it under control. “I tried calling her boyfriend, Jason. He’s the shooting guard on the team. Olivia said she was going to talk to him and then meet us at the restaurant.”

  “You get a hold of him?”

  “No, his phone went straight to voicemail. Karen told me she drove by his house. It was all dark and his car was in the driveway.”

  Then Katie pipes up. “You don’t think something bad happened to her, do you?”

  “I don’t know,” said Maria pullin’ Katie into a shoulder hug. “All I know is Brenda’s boyfriend, Paul, drove by the school parking lot. Her car’s still there.”

  “Okay,” I said. “So, she meets up with the boyfriend after the game. He drive his own car to the school?”

  “We all go to the games in our own cars because we have to be there at different times. Olivia wanted to talk to Jason about something important,” answered Maria. “Last time I saw her she was waiting outside the locker room for him.”

  “Did any of you guys call her house to see if she was there?” I asked. Maria shook her head. “Don’t ya think somebody should? Maybe this Jason character drove her home and she’s gonna pick up her car tomorrow.”

  “I didn’t think about that,” said Maria. “We just didn’t want to get Olivia into trouble.”

  “So, I’m gonna assume you kids didn’t contact the police either,” I said.

  Marie shook her head her expression becomin’ more frantic.

  “We gotta call her parents. If she’s not there, they’ll need to call the police and report her missin’.”

  Maria used her cell to call Olivia’s house. Olivia’s father must have answered the phone, because Maria said, “Hello, Mr. French.” After a couple of minutes, I could see he was givin’ her a hard time so I took the phone.

  “Hey, Mr. French,” I said. “This is Maria’s uncle. Apparently, your daughter Olivia was to meet up with her boyfriend after the game, and then go meet Maria and her friends at Applebee’s. Unfortunately, neither Olivia nor the boy showed and Maria’s worried sick about her. Did she come home?”

  I could hear a woman’s voice in the background askin’ what was goin’ on.

  “I’m sure my daughter is in bed,” he said. The phone became muffled like he’d put his hand over the mouthpiece. He was probably tellin’ his wife to go check Olivia’s bed. Next thing I hear is a woman’s very loud voice tellin’ him Olivia wasn’t there.

  “Mr. French,” I said tryin’ to get his attention. “Mr. French, one of the boys went back to the school and found your daughter’s car around 2:00 this mornin’.”

  “Why didn’t they call the police?” he shouted.

  “Because they tho
ught she was with …” I looked at Maria who mouthed the name … “Jason.” And you know kids, they were afraid they’d get her in trouble.”

  “Get her in trouble?” he shouted, clearly angry. “Why didn’t she just go over with the group like she usually does?”

  “She told Maria she had something to talk to Jason about and that’s why she didn’t leave with the rest of them. Since neither she nor Jason showed, they thought they’d gone somewhere together.”

  “I hope you don’t think me rude, Mr. uh…”

  “ “Mazzara, Vito Mazzara.”

  “I’ve got to call the police and try to find my daughter.” That was it. He hung up before I could say goodbye. Can’t say I blame him.

  I gave the phone back to Maria whose face had fallen. I didn’t have to tell her Olivia wasn’t home.

  “Uncle Vito?” said Maria lookin’ at me expectantly. “How much do you charge to do an investigation?”

  I must have looked stunned, because all three girls were lookin’ from me to one another and back to me. Not sure how long it was before I spoke, but I finally asked her why.

  “Because we want to hire you,” she said while her sisters nodded. “You’re the best private detective in Chicago, aren’t you? We need the best. We’re just not sure we can afford you.”

  “Don’t you think the police should handle this one?” I said, hopin’ they’d agree. Instead, I saw a trio of disappointed faces starin’ at me. I had a feelin’ I’d just blown my best uncle ever image, so I said, “I’ll look for her on one condition. We have to wake your parents and tell them what’s goin’ on. Don’t look at me like that, Maria. It’s better to tell them now than to have them find out from Olivia’s parents, or worse, the news media.”

  Maria nodded. “You’re right, Uncle Vito. I’ll go get them, but you will help me tell them, won’t you?”

  “Of course I will,” I said.

  I only had about four hours of sleep under my belt, but I was wide-awake now. Already I was kickin’ myself for tellin’ those girls I’d stay and work the case. It’s not that I got a lot to do back home, there’s just a certain someone from the IMPD I didn’t want to run into durin’ my visit.

  I heard my brother grumblin’ all the way down the hallway. “What’s this all about, Maria? Why are you still dressed? You should have been in bed hours ago.”

  “Chill out, Donnie,” said Theresa. “She’ll explain in a minute.”

  “Hey there family,” I said as cheerfully as I could muster.

  Maria’s eyes flashed from me to her father beggin’ for my assistance.

  “What are you doing up?” Donnie asked me.

  I hesitated a moment. I promised Maria I’d tell him about Olivia, but wasn’t lookin’ forward to bein’ the buffer between her and her father. He did have a quick temper. Theresa started makin’ some coffee. She does that when she senses there won’t be any goin’ back to bed.

  “Hey, Donnie, Theresa, ya think I could hang out for a few extra days?” I asked. “I ain’t got much in Chicago needin’ my immediate attention.”

  “What?” Donnie said, total confusion and irritation written all over his face.

  “Sure, Vito,” said Theresa placin’ a hand on my brother’s shoulder. “We’d love to have you stay, but what’s this all about? You surely didn’t wake us up at 2:45 in the morning to ask if you can stay a few extra days.”

  I glanced at the girls then braced myself. “Well, I got a few things I need to check out. I’ve been hired by three beautiful women to look for a missin’ person.”

  “Really?” Donnie said raisin’ his eyebrows.

  “Okay, here’s the thing,” I said, standin’ and pacin’. “Maria’s friend, Olivia, went missin’. Maria, Gabriella, and Katie here hired me to look into Olivia’s disappearance.”

  Theresa plopped down in the chair next to Donnie who sat there with his mouth gapin’. He looked from Maria to Gabriella to Katie to me. He was kind of freakin’ me out.

  I gave them a rundown of everything Maria had told me. When I was finished, Donnie got this stern look then instead of blowin’ up, he looked at Maria with concern on his face. I was pretty sure he was thinkin’ thank God it wasn’t his little girl that went missin’.

  “Maria, do you think Olivia would have run away or something?” asked Donnie.

  “I don’t think she’d do that,” Maria insisted. “She wouldn’t leave her family and friends.”

  “People do things they wouldn’t normally in certain circumstances,” he explained. “I guess if your Uncle Vito is willing to stick around and help find Olivia then that’s a good thing.”

  Maria jumped up and went around the table to hug her father. “Thanks for understanding, Daddy. I’m so worried about her.”

  It was a beautiful scene, but if I was gonna earn my keep, I knew I’d better get goin’. Olivia’s pop would have already called the cops by now and they was probably searchin’ the car. This would be the best place to start. Of course, I wasn’t sure what type of reception I’d get. Some cops don’t like P.I.’s hornin’ in on their investigations.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m out of here. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

  So, I grabbed my coat and headed for the school. When I pulled up, the cops had an area of the parkin’ lot roped off with crime scene tape. There was a tow truck waitin’ to haul the car away. A tall lanky guy was pacin’, runnin’ his fingers through his hair. I figured he was Mr. French

  Then I saw her—one of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s finest missin’ person detectives—Pepper Flannigan. Her given name is Patricia. Don’t know where she originally got the nickname, but I called her Pepper ‘cause I think she’s hot. We had a little thing goin’ one summer, probably three years ago now. I’d come down from Chicago on a case. The wife of some rich banker in Evanston had left him and went back to her family in Indy. After a few months, she disappeared and the banker got accused of disposin’ of her. He hired me to prove he didn’t touch the woman. Pepper and I worked together and found the wife alive and well, livin’ in Florida with her new guy. She didn’t want her family to know what she was doin’ and claims she didn’t think they’d report her missin’. Anyways, my client was off the hook and I made a pretty good buck.

  So me and Pepper tried the long-distance thing for a while. Those things never seem to work. Our jobs kept us from commutin’ and the flame sort of fizzled. Although, seein’ her flippin’ her beautiful, wavy auburn hair around, tryin’ to calm down Mr. French, kind of made those old feelin’s reheat. I approached her cautiously. I wasn’t too sure how she’d take seein’ me again.

  “Hello, Pepper,” I said.

  “Sergeant Flannigan to you,” she said, scowlin’ in my direction.

  Sergeant Pepper—decided I’d better not go there. She seemed a little grumpy. Maybe she should of been a firefighter since she knows how to put out a flame with a look.

  “Sergeant?” I said. “Congrats on the promotion.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Well, I’ve been hired to look into the disappearance of Olivia French.”

  “Who are you?” asked Mr. French.

  “I’m Vito Mazzara, Maria’s Uncle Vito,” I said extendin’ my hand. “We spoke on the phone briefly.”

  He took my hand. “Who hired you to look for my daughter?”

  “Maria and her sisters,” I answered.

  “Look,” said Pepper. “The police can handle this. There’s no good reason for you to take your nieces’ hard earned money.”

  “I ain’t really chargin’ ‘em,” I protested. What kinda guy does she think I am?

  “I don’t care. I don’t want you interfering with my investigation,” she spewed.

  “And I don’t care who is looking for my daughter,” said Mr. French angrily. “I want her found. If Mr. Mazzara here wants to help, let him! I’m going home to check on my wife and see if she’s found out anything from
Olivia’s friends.” He turned abruptly walkin’ towards his dark blue Beamer.

  Her back was to me, her hand on her hip, watchin’ Mr. French as he departed. I stood there for a minute waitin’ for her to club me over the head or somethin’. I decided to speak first.

  “So, there anything you can tell me about the crime scene?” I asked.

  She whipped around so fast it almost made me dizzy. “There’s only a minimum of information I can share with you, not that you deserve it. But I like Maria and I know this must be hard on her. Just don’t get any ideas, got it?”

  “Got it,” I said, flame completely doused.

  “First thing we did when we got the call, of course, was issue an Amber Alert.”

  “Did anybody find her purse, keys, anything?”

  “The car was locked. Her father brought us the extra keys. We didn’t find anything inside except some books, trash and a few CDs. Doesn’t look like she made it back to the car, but we’re taking it to the lab for a more thorough inspection.”

  “What about the boyfriend?” I asked. “Maria said she was meetin’ up with him right after the game.”

  “One of my officers went over there to make sure he was home since he didn’t meet the others either,” she said. “Says he was home in bed by 11:30 pm.”

  “After winnin’ the sectional?” I said skeptically. “You’d think he would be out half the night celebratin’.”

  “I’m going over there now to see if I can get any more info out of him,” she stated. “I think the kid knows more than he’s letting on. The game ended at 9:15 pm so he had plenty of time to get showered, meet the girlfriend and dispose of her before he got home.”

  “Can I tag along?”

  “You know how the Major feels about that. Besides you’re not licensed in Indiana,” she said, but I noticed a softenin’ of her brow. “Since you’re not getting paid, I guess it makes you a concerned citizen. Of course, if you happen to show up where I am, there’s nothing I can do about it.”