The marriage between the two named parties is dissolved…
The Plaintiff is authorized to resume the use of her maiden name or other former surname…
A tear leaked from my left eye and fell onto the page before I could stop it. Five years of marriage, the last two pure hell, were over. Colin and I were no longer husband and wife.
I blew out a sigh. Thank God for small favors. Colin was free to sleep with whomever he wanted to now. Oh, wait. He'd already done that—while we were married.
A horn tooted behind me. I glanced into my rearview mirror to see a middle-aged woman stepping out of a black Chevy Cruze. I gave my eyes a final swipe with the back of my hand, stuffed the papers back into the manila envelope, and opened my car door.
She was slightly taller than me, about five feet, four inches. Her short, dark hair was perfectly coifed, and the ivory-colored linen suit she wore immaculate for the ninety-degree day. Dressed in my usual outfit of a white T-shirt and jean shorts, I figured I probably didn't look like the type of prospective buyer she was hoping for.
"Hi there, are you Sally Muccio?"
I nodded and held out my hand. "You must be Miss Tenley."
"Please, call me Kara," the woman smiled. Her handshake was firm and direct. She glanced around. "Isn't Josie meeting us here?"
"I think her sitter was running late." Josie Sullivan and I had been best friends for the past twenty years. She was one of the main reasons I decided to move back to my hometown after the divorce. "I'm sure she'll be here shortly."
Kara reached into her handbag and produced a square, greyish-colored keypad with large, raised numbers on its surface. "Why don't we go ahead and take a look at the building? Josie can come in and join us whenever she gets here."
I followed her up three steps to a wide porch painted white with thick, wooden beams. I ran my hand over the railing, thinking how great a couple of tables with umbrellas would look out here. Okay, stop it Sal. Don't get too far ahead of yourself. You don't even know if you can get a loan yet.
Kara held the keypad up to the electronic lockbox that was wrapped around the doorknob and entered some numbers. A beep sounded, and she pulled out the shackle from the lockbox, producing a key for the front door. She inserted it into the keyhole and motioned for me to go inside.
The place needed some cosmetics but overall was in better shape than I dared hope for. A stench of fried food lingered in the air, and the walls were in desperate need of a fresh paint job. Grease stains blotted them everywhere. The blue-and-white-checkered vinyl floor was scuffed and torn in several places. It would need new laminate, but I didn't think that would be too costly and probably could be completed in a day or so. I was already making notes to hire a construction worker for some other odds and ends as well.
I walked into the back room, which I assumed had been used as the kitchen. A large butcher-block table, double-bowl sink, and several cabinets. Nothing else. I already knew there were no appliances included, but hey, one can always hope.
Kara sniffed at the air and wrinkled her nose. "It used to be a Chinese restaurant. I swear I can still smell egg rolls." She grinned. "What were you girls planning to do with the place?"
"A bakery," I said. "Well, actually a specialty storefront. Homemade cookies only."
"Isn't that cute!" she cooed. "You know, the restaurant did well. This is a very good location for eateries. Did you ever dine here?"
I shook my head. "It went in after I had left the area."
I'd noticed the place a couple of times when I'd been back in town visiting my parents. Colin and I had left our hometown of Colwestern, New York and relocated to Florida three years ago when a friend offered him a permanent job bartending there. Before that, he'd only managed to land part-time gigs. The full-time job had quickly turned into unemployment when Colin started screwing up. I'd been working over fifty hours a week at a Starbucks in Tampa just to keep our heads above water.
My Sicilian father's words echoed in my head. "Something's wrong when a young guy like that can't find steady work. Get rid of that loser, Sal."
Kara was looking at me expectantly, and I realized I'd missed something she said. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"The owner of the restaurant died of a stroke. Instantaneous. Such a tragedy." She clucked her tongue in dismay. "His children weren't interested in running the place without him. And there's the lovely apartment upstairs that he lived in alone. It would be perfect for you—or a couple. Are you married?"
I started to nod then stopped myself in time. "Uh, no, not anymore."
Kara's face filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry."
I winced inwardly, not wanting anyone's pity. I guessed I'd be hearing a lot of that in the near future. "Thank you, but it's for the best."
The front door opened and Josie walked in, followed by my Grandma Rosa.
"Hey, girlfriend," Josie greeted me. "Your grandma wanted to see the place too."
I glanced from my best friend to my grandmother. "I would have swung by the house to get you. Why didn't you say something earlier?"
Grandma Rosa shook her snow-white head at me. She was in her mid-seventies, with olive skin a tad darker than mine. Her face was devoid of wrinkles except for a few around her large brown eyes that now stared at me with concern. "You needed to be alone."
An enormous lump formed in my throat. She must have seen the envelope when she'd brought the mail in that morning and chosen not to say anything.
Josie winked and gave me an encouraging smile. From the way they were both looking at me, it wasn't hard to assume I'd been the main topic of conversation during their drive.
Josie's long auburn hair was pulled back in a single braid, and she wore white shorts paired with a lacy pink top. She'd had a baby about two months ago, but her slender figure revealed no clues.
She shook hands with Kara. "Nice to see you again."
"You too. How're Rob and the boys?" Kara asked. "Congratulations on the new baby. Time to try for a girl?"
Josie's blue eyes shone with merriment. "Ah, I don't think so. Four's enough. And everyone is great, thanks." She glanced at me. "Well, what do you think, partner?"
"I like it. This is a perfect setup for us." I pointed at the front window. "We could put in a couple of tables here. And a few on the porch as well."
Josie nodded. "Plenty of room for a display case too."
Kara looked pleased. "I knew you'd like it. Come on, let's go upstairs to see the apartment."
We started up the wooden staircase, the air stifling from the heat. "Any window units still hanging around this place?" I asked hopefully.
Kara laughed. "Afraid not. And you'll definitely want some with the ovens going all day."
I'd done some recent research on the price of bakery equipment and knew a freezer and the ovens I wanted might cost me several thousand dollars. My parents had agreed to cosign a loan for me, but I had very little money to get me started. Josie had even less, with four little boys under the age of ten as her top priority. I could ask Grandma Rosa for money, but was hesitant. I wanted to do this on my own, although right now I couldn't picture how it would all work out.
The apartment was adorable. A small kitchen held dark green Formica countertops and oak cabinets. A white fridge and gas stove occupied most of the space, much to my delight. Two more things I didn't have to buy. A large, combined dining and living room area branched off of the kitchen. A door led to the one bedroom with a huge cedar closet and adjoining bathroom. It was really all I needed. The walls were papered in a light floral pattern, and the carpet under our feet was a cream-colored shag.
I would have preferred a darker color, but since I had no children, this would work out fine. My heart ached at the thought. The one thing I had wanted out of marriage—besides a faithful and loving husband—was a baby. Now that dream was gone too.
I walked back into the kitchen, opened a couple of cabinets and then a sliding drawer where I guessed silverware was kept. It was
as clean as the drawers in my grandmother's kitchen, and I sighed in relief. If there was anything I hated, it was re-papering shelves.
A packaged fortune cookie sat alone in the corner of the drawer. "Hey, look at this." I chuckled and held it up for everyone to see.
Kara beamed. "Oh my, that's a good omen. Like finding a lucky penny. Go ahead and open it."
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Of course," she answered.
I tore the plastic wrapper off and snapped the cookie in half. I tried to hold back a laugh as I read the strip of paper. "It says, 'More cookies are in your future.'"
Josie's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God. It's a sign."
Amused, I stared at my friend. "Do you know how many fortune cookies probably say the same exact thing?"
She waved her hand in the air dismissively. "That settles it. We've got to have this place."
I turned to Kara. "It was with the option to buy, correct?"
She nodded. "The family has reduced the building for a quick sale. If you just want to rent for now it would be $1400 a month."
Not a bad deal. But when you had no income currently coming in, like I did, that might be cause for a problem. I did have about two thousand dollars saved and had also filled out paperwork for a twenty thousand dollar loan. I'd have an answer tomorrow, hopefully.
Josie's eyes begged me to say yes, and the look on her face almost tore my heart out of my chest. I knew how badly she wanted this. Josie had grown up in poverty, and she and her husband struggled to make ends meet every month. While Josie couldn't contribute any funds, she was exactly what I needed for this business. She'd gone to culinary school and was a first class baker and decorator. We also knew how to stay out of each other's way. This business venture would work, I was sure of it. The jury was still out on the money part though.
Kara was watching me expectantly. I blew out a deep breath. "Would it be all right if I called you tomorrow with an answer?"
She looked surprised. "Of course. I should warn you, though, I'm showing the building to someone else tonight. It will have to be on a first-come, first-served basis."
"Yes, I understand."
We walked toward the front door and stood on the porch while Kara locked the door and re-deposited the key into the shackle. "I'll look forward to your call." She smiled at my grandmother and then addressed Josie. "Tell Rob, Gene's hosting poker night next week for the guys. You and I have to go for a beer when they get together."
Josie nodded. "Sounds good."
Kara got into her car, waved to us, and sped off.
I wiped away at the sweat collecting on my forehead and turned to my grandmother. "You should get in the car. It's too hot out here for you."
She scoffed. "Baloney. You come back to the house now. Josie will come too. We must talk."
I glanced at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"There is nothing wrong," Grandma Rosa said. "You must have this shop, and I am going to help you."
"But Grandma—"
She shook her head in protest. "No buts. Sally my love, I have the money, and you will take it. Thanks to your aunt Luisa."
I wrinkled my forehead and locked eyes with Josie. She shrugged, as mystified as I was. My great-aunt Luisa, grandma's younger sister, had passed away suddenly two weeks ago. With everything going on in my life, I had been unable to get home in time for the funeral. I'd felt awful about it, but my grandmother assured me she understood.
"What does Aunt Luisa have to do with this?" I asked.
She reached into the deep pocket of her housecoat and drew out an envelope, which she waved at me. "You are not the only one who got mail today. Luisa's life insurance policy came through. And I am the sole back factor."
Puzzled, I stared. "Do you mean benefactor?"
"That is what I said," Grandma insisted. "And I am giving the money to you and your sister."
"Have you told Gianna about this yet? She won't like it."
Grandma Rosa sniffed. "Well, that is too bad for her then. She has a mountain of student loans to pay back. I am giving each one of you twenty-five thousand dollars. You will rent the building with an option to buy, like the lady said. And you will use this money for repairs and to buy appliances."
Josie threw her arms around my grandmother's neck and burst out crying. "Rosa, you are wonderful."
My grandmother hugged her back—then it was my turn to kiss and hug her. "Thank you so much, Grandma. You don't know how I appreciate this."
"Prego," she said, using the word for you're welcome in Italian. Even though I was one hundred percent Sicilian, I didn't know much of the language except for some swear words my father often punctuated his speech with. "I want you to have this. You have been through enough hell and deserve some happiness. But you must do me one favor in return."
"Anything," I said. "What is it?"
Her dark eyes held mine for a long moment. "You must find out who murdered your aunt Luisa."
CHAPTER TWO
"Okay," I said to my grandmother as I drained my coffee cup. "Please explain to us why you think Luisa was murdered."
We were sitting at the round, teak table in my parents' kitchen, devouring Grandma Rosa's homemade cheesecake. It was my favorite dessert of hers, heaped with layers of ricotta. Ah, it was good to be home.
Grandma Rosa set another piece in front of me and I wished I'd worn sweat pants. There was no spare room in these shorts. Maybe I could let them out an inch, or ten. "She had a heart attack. The autopsy confirmed it."
The lines around my grandmother's mouth hardened. "She may have had a heart attack, but something else caused her death."
"How do you know this?" Josie demanded.
"The teapot," Grandma Rosa answered.
Josie and I exchanged confused glances. "The one your mother left her in the will?" I asked.
Grandma Rosa pursed her lips together in a tight line, and I grimaced. This was not a subject she enjoyed conversing about. She and her younger sister had never gotten along. Only a couple of years apart, they had competed at everything throughout their lives. The final straw came when Luisa stole Grandma Rosa's boyfriend Antonio away. My grandmother had gone on to marry, and Luisa and Antonio had eventually tied the knot too. The bad blood had stayed between the sisters.
To make matters worse, my great-grandmother had always favored Luisa. She knew how much Grandma Rosa loved the antique teapot that had been in their family for over a century, yet still went ahead and willed it to Luisa. To my grandma, this was the ultimate act of betrayal.
"Yes. The teapot that should have been mine. My mother promised it to me and went back on her word." She shook her head in disgust. "Pazza."
Pazza, or crazy, was Grandma Rosa's favorite word to describe her mother and Luisa. Luisa, in turn, had referred to her sister as a whack job. I loved my grandmother to death. She was my last surviving grandparent and sometimes the only one to listen to my and Gianna's problems while we were growing up. She never judged and always gave sound advice.
Like all of us, she had her crosses to bear. And that's where Luisa came in.
The kitchen door opened and Gianna breezed inside, law books in hand. She was a recent graduate of Harvard Law School and taking prep courses for the upcoming bar exam. She ate, slept, and talked with the study materials at close range. Her current boyfriend seemed like a nice and patient guy, but Gianna had recently confided to me that even he was starting to get a little aggravated with her primary obsession in life.
She dropped the books on the table next to me and reached for the piece of cake Grandma Rosa had ready for her.
Gianna was both brilliant and gorgeous, with a delicate mouth and small upturned nose. We both had the same large eyes, similar to milk chocolate, but hers were almond shaped and accented with long lashes I'd always envied. She, in turn, said she preferred my short, curly ones. Her hair was chestnut colored to my ebony, slightly longer than mine, and falling around her shoulders in perfect waves.
> Unlike me, Gianna never had a bad hair day. I'd teasingly called her the no-frizz kid when we were teenagers. People always commented how we looked like twins. We were very close, and next to Josie, she was my biggest confidant.
Gianna dug into the cake with a vengeance. "Mm, I so need this today." She finished chewing a bite, caught our sobering looks, and put her fork down. She bit into her lower lip and stared at me. "They came, didn't they?"
She meant the divorce papers. I gave a slow nod, as she reached over to envelop me in a tight hug. "It's a good thing, really. You're free to get on with your life."
I gave her arm a squeeze, too choked up to say anything for a moment. "Actually, that's not what we're talking about. Grandma thinks Aunt Luisa was murdered."
Gianna glanced at our grandmother in alarm. "She died two weeks ago. Why are you just bringing it up now?"
"Bah," Grandma said. "I told the police, and they are convinced she died of a heart attack and then fell down the stairs. They said there was no proof, but I know she did not die in the manner they think." She placed her hand over her chest. "I can feel it in my heart."
"What does the teapot have to do with this?" Josie asked.
"It is missing," Grandma said. "I noticed it was gone the next day when I went to Luisa's to get her dress for the viewing."
I was seriously contemplating another piece of cake, then sighed and pushed my plate away. "Did you tell the police it was missing?"
Grandma Rosa snorted. "They say it could have been broken. I do not bother with them anymore since they treat me like a nut race."
Josie stared at her in confusion, but I was used to my grandmother's terminology. "You mean a nut case?"
She nodded. "Yes, that is what I said."
"So you think Luisa might have been robbed and then had a fight with the thief?" Gianna asked.
"I am positive the teapot was not broken. Alana said she was dusting it the day before Luisa died, and she yelled at her to be careful, as always." Grandma Rosa rolled her eyes at the ceiling.
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