I was too tired and stressed to play along. “Do you know something that you want to tell me?” I asked.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Know something – perhaps. Tell you – I’m not sure yet.”
“Does it have something to do with Land picking up some freelance work on the side? One of the things that the police are holding against him is the fact that he was doing some off-the-books surveillance.” I wondered how much Trent had paid for this endeavor. How much did a good sleuth net these days? I usually worked for free – to obtain something, like Land’s freedom, that I wanted. The idea of getting paid as well made me curious.
“Land said you were a nosy one. He was right,” Sabine said, sitting down across from me. She offered me nothing to drink or eat. She just sat there. “No, it has nothing to do with Land’s
Maybe it was my Irish temper or my ginger appearance, but I’d frankly had enough. “Sabine, what do you know? If I want to get Land out of jail before I’m 40, I have to find another motive and another killer. You can help me, or you can tell me nothing, but I will find out. I guarantee you that.”
“But Land –” she began.
“I don’t give a damn about what Land wants at the moment. He can be humiliated. He can feel exposed, but he’s damned well going to do it in my presence and not sitting behind bars. What do you know? Why was Land taking on outside jobs?” I knew exactly how much Land made, and despite his penchant for sports cars, he lived frugally for the most part. So he should have a sizable amount saved. Of course, a lawyer would take a big chunk of his savings, but he had to have several thousand stashed away – for what?
Then it hit me. The one reason that Land would not want to tell me why he needed money would be if it was for me. The thought that both thrilled me and scared the crap out of me was that he was saving for an engagement ring.
Sabine didn’t speak for a long minute and then looked me straight in the eye. “I didn’t tell you a thing. When you tell Land and I’m guessing that you’ll have to, you tell him that I refused to speak a word about it.”
I nodded. They would already be in trouble for going through Land’s thing. Dropping a bomb like this on me would likely get his family cut off forever. “Has he bought it yet?” I asked, wondering what it would look like.
“No comment,” she said plainly.
“He told you?” I asked, thinking that it was uncharacteristic of Land to tell people his private business.
Sabine smiled. “In a way. We found the receipt when we were going through his place. He really needs to be more careful with his things.”
I thought about what David had said and what the police thought. “Did you leave the receipt for the police to find?” I asked. I thought that Land being more serious about me would make for an even greater motive for jealousy.
“Of course not. It’s in my purse,” she said with a smile. “I figured out in about two seconds that Green was going to try to use the hot Latin lover angle. It’s really insulting these days. Such a stereotype. So I wasn’t about to help her uncover a damned thing to help her case.” Sabine threw her head back and looked remarkably like Land’s twin for a moment.
“Good. That’s one thing taken care of,” I said.
From the next room, an older man stepped into the living room. “You must be Maeve Kinkaid,” he said without emotion. “We need to talk.”
I felt trapped at the moment. I wasn’t sure what was going on. Sabine had no idea that I was coming over, and yet there was a man here who wanted to talk to me. I stammered out a reply. “Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m Mike Vinton, Mr. Mendoza’s attorney. I was here discussing the case with Ms. Mendoza and you arrived. I had specifically wanted to talk to you about Mr. Mendoza’s case.”
“Can you do that?” I asked, remembering that I had no standing in the legal world. Girlfriends fell into the same category as the accused’s garbage man in terms of legal standing.
“Yes, Mr. Mendoza has told me that I may. He trusts you implicitly, he says.” The man’s countenance showed no expression, so I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not in his opinion.
“Good, because she’s likely to be Mrs. Mendoza soon,” Sabine piped in.
“What do you need?” I asked, hoping that I would be given some task to help Land get out of his current predicament.
“Mr. Mendoza asks you to stay out of this. He doesn’t want you to get hurt. Barring that, when you find evidence, you’re to give it to Detective Jax Danvers and allow him to handle the details of admitting it into evidence. Don’t try to take too much on by yourself.” He stopped. I waited a minute to see if he would continue, but he just stood there, still as the furniture in the room.
“Did Land suggest any particular evidence that I should be looking for?” I missed having Land make suggestions and listen to my suppositions. Even if it was second-hand, I was hoping for the chance to work with him on this case.
“Break the story about your reputation and having sex with David. He did not believe it to be true, and he suggested that you try to trace the rumors to their source. That might point you to who was involved in the murder.” Vinton looked like he was swallowing cough medicine as he spoke.
I nodded and looked at Sabine. I had been wanting to find an opening, trying to approach my next subject. I needed a helper for tonight’s party. I was going to spy on the gathering of bridesmaids and groomsmen at Gina and Trent’s home, and I needed eyes and ears that I could trust. I could have asked Carter, but he was already taking care of Basque in the Sun by himself, by which he meant he’d made Aaron take off work to handle the money.
“I’d do anything to help my brother,” she said with her dark eyes flashing.
I explained what I needed from her. She jumped at the chance, expressing her desire to save Land from whatever fate befell him. I wasn’t sure from her wording if that was either an engagement to me or imprisonment.
When I picked up Sabine two hours later, she’d gone all out. She was wearing a little black dress that caught my breath. She was stunning in it, and she wore short heels that made her appear even more svelte. Sabine would be the belle of the party. She wouldn’t fade into the background, but I was certain that she could get any man to confess to her.
I had spent the hours buying some hors d'oeuvres for the party. I wanted it to appear as if I’d spent the day cooking, even though I had not. I was dressed up as well, but the overall effect was different. I didn’t want to be seen as a seductress, which would only lead to more rumors and innuendo. I wanted to be seen as professional, but aloof. An image of purity and restraint would make the bridal party more inclined to see me as innocent, and I hoped that this image would lead to their testimony that I was not a cheater. I’d had enough experience in marketing to know how to display an appropriate image.
I arrived early. I’d stopped at Sabine’s and taken her with me. Not only was she going to be working with me, I wanted to use her as a shield to avoid any embarrassing questions. Plus she had to help me contain my excitement about an engagement ring. I kept wanting to tell Gina that the bouquet had been right, and I would be next. I didn’t need time to think. I knew my answer would be yes.
I wondered if Gina had known about the ring, which is why I’d felt she’d aimed at me. If that was the case, then the police likely already knew about the engagement and the stronger motive of a cheating fiancé.
I sighed as I took some of the appetizers out of the oven. Sabine arranged them on little trays to carry around.
“What exactly should I be looking for?” she asked. “Clues or confessions or what?”
I gave her a grin. “A confession would be nice, but I’m not counting on us having such luck. I’d really just like you to keep your ears open and listen for anything that might have to do with the wedding, Land or David. Anything that might be related could end up being important. Land suggested the source of the rumors about me cheating.”
She nodded. “I have a good
memory, so I’ll do the best I can to keep things word for word if I can.”
I nodded in approval. Just then the first of the guests rang the doorbell, and Sabine and I began moving around the kitchen at a rapid pace. I’d watched Land do this a thousand times, but frankly, he’d made it look easy. Now that I had to do it on my own, I saw it for the complex set of procedures that had to be timed more carefully than a military invasion. I sent Sabine out with the first tray of hors d'oeuvres.
I waited patiently while I scurried around, trying to get the punch finished. I’d picked a fairly easy recipe which included champagne, triple sec, and brandy. However, this crowd was in a festive mood, and I had to prepare two more batches of it in the first hour. At the same time, I had to prep two more trays of appetizers and finger sandwiches to soak up the booze being consumed. I crossed my fingers that the alcohol would loosen some tongues in the room.
By the end of the second hour, the kitchen activities had been reduced to clean-up, so I carefully stood by the kitchen door that led to the living room. I wanted to eavesdrop on any conversations that I could hear. Two women by the door were gossiping, and I chose to focus in on them. I was quickly unhappy that I had, since I was the topic of conversation.
“I can’t believe that Gina would invite her here. After what her boyfriend did to poor David, I’d think she would be ashamed to show her face at a wedding celebration.”
I couldn’t see either woman, but I could easily tell their voices apart. The one who had just spoken was louder and shriller. The other woman’s voice was barely audible, as if she didn’t want to be heard – or overheard. I smiled, thinking how right she was to be concerned.
“She didn’t kill anyone Women shouldn’t be judged for their poor taste in men.”
“I’ll drink to that – were you talking about the caterer or Christie? They both chose David for some reason.”
“More Christie, I would suppose. How horrible it would be to find out that your boyfriend was doing the caterer.” There was a hint of resignation in her voice, as if this was the status quo for male-female relationships. I knew that it wouldn’t be mine, though I had friends who had stayed with a cheater.
I also knew that most people didn’t treat the hired help like real humans, so I was hoping that Sabine and I would hear things that normally people wouldn’t share. I’d been privy to a number of conversations where the customer forgot that I was in earshot, just because I was serving him food.
“Someone told me that David bragged about having relations with the caterer at the bridal table at the reception. I don’t understand men who think that sex is some sort of conquest thing.” Since there had been nearly 100 people at the reception, I couldn’t see why anyone would believe that, but apparently these women did.
“Do you think that the boyfriend heard? Is that why he killed David?”
“It’s possible. I mean, David told Trent and Jason with Christie definitely in earshot. He wasn’t trying to hide it.”
I knew the groom and the victim, but the Jason person was new to me. I was unsure which guy in the bridal party he was, but I knew I’d try to find out more from him before the evening was up. I’d traced the rumors back another level to this man – or Trent.
I had to step back from my perch as Sabine entered the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow, which reminded me of Land. I felt immediately heartsick that he was in jail. I missed him, and seeing someone who had the same mannerisms only made my feelings more intense.
“What have you learned?” I asked, leaning in towards her conspiratorially.
“Not much. Everyone is talking about you, and most of the people are saying that someone named Jason told them what David had said.”
I nodded, remembering what the two women had said to each other. “Did any of your people mention Trent?” I asked. I hated to think of throwing Trent under the paddy wagon, but I would tell the truth if he turned out to be involved in the murders. I couldn’t let Land take the blame for Gina’s husband.
“I’d heard a rumor that David had hooked up with a woman out by the restrooms. If we knew who she was, then we’d know more about other people with motives.”
Sabine shook her head. “No, from what I heard, David got sick and went to the restroom. I doubt that he was in the mood for any kind of sex after being ill.” She made a face.
I marked that off my list. Apparently the sex in the restroom story was as false as the stories about me. I wondered, not for the first time, if someone was trying to muddy the waters with all the rumors and stories about David. Most of them either came from Christie or this Jason guy and had been repeated often. That was so true of most rumors.
“What about the girl David called ugly? I heard that her brother wanted to fight him.” I was grasping at straws, hoping that Sabine had something that would help.
“No, the brother made up with David later on that evening. Apparently David had had too much to drink and was behaving badly.”
I wondered if the police had his blood-alcohol count. Perhaps the drugs had been introduced via his drinks, but that didn’t make sense.
Sabine continued, “I was hoping to hear if anyone found David out by the restrooms. We’d heard that he was there with a girl, and we’d also heard that he was arguing with some guy. So there may be truth to that rumor. That would give the person a chance to have killed him without anyone noticing.” I was impressed with her deductions and the way she was trying to make conversation into clues.
“Did you have any luck?” I asked, hoping for the best.
She shook her head. “The best way that I can figure that this worked is that when everyone went to look for David except his girlfriend. She stayed in the reception area. A few of the women were surprised that she didn’t go, but Christie said that she didn’t want to start any drama at the wedding. So she tried to play it cool.”
“So when did David go missing?” I asked, wondering about the timeline.
“David went missing towards the end of the reception, after the cake and the bouquet toss. His girlfriend put the word out with about fifteen minutes to go. A few people said that he looked like he was going to be sick. So most of the wedding party looked all over the park for him. No one would admit that they were near the crime scene, but it’s entirely possible. Just swerve over that way and poison him. It wouldn’t take all that long.”
I sighed deeply. “That’s the hard part of this. It was premeditated. That means that someone came to the wedding with cyanide in their pocket. It’s hard to believe that anyone would do that without provocation.”
Sabine started loading another tray of appetizers. “So do you think it’s a man or a woman behind this?” she asked. I honesty had to admit that I didn’t know. Stereotypically, poison is a woman’s weapon, but it seemed more likely that this crime was committed by someone with access to cyanide and wanted an alibi. That would require poison. Either could have killed David, either as the woman scorned or the cuckolded boyfriend or husband. He seemed to have a reputation for getting between couples.
“I honestly don’t know,” I said, feeling bad. I often had moments of clarity where I understood why something happened, but in this case, I couldn’t get past the fact that the killer had brought poison to a celebration. Had it been Christie who felt betrayed that another couple was marrying and she was stuck with a cheater? Or perhaps it had been one of the other married couples who had felt that their marriage was dead? It seemed odd to me.
“So why not look for the cyanide? Sabine asked, waking me out of my thoughts. “Someone had to get it.”
“Land had suggested that at one point, but there were a number of careers out there that use cyanide? It could be any of them.”
Sabine grabbed a sheet of paper from the counter and slid it into her pocket. “I’ll start chatting about finishing up my degree and work. Maybe I’ll find out some of the people’s careers around here. Then we can compare it to the list of careers. It seems easier than going at it fro
m the other way around.”
I nodded. “Thanks. That sounds like a great idea.”
Sabine headed back out of the kitchen with a determination in her step and a tray in her hand. I felt a little better now that she had a plan. There would be more information coming in about the bridal party.
I walked back over to the perch where I’d stood listening to the two women, but they were gone. I stuck my head out of the kitchen to look for them, but I had no idea who I was looking for. They could have been any of the women at the party.
Feeling somewhat defeated, I started to clean up the kitchen. Gina stopped out of the party to chat.
“Maeve, it’s been delicious here tonight. Thank you for everything.”
I just nodded as I cleaned the counters.
“Is everything okay?” she asked. I felt bad for not being in a festive mood, but I really wanted this murder to come to a conclusion, so that I could get my life back. I wanted Land to propose, which surprised me when the thought popped into my mind. While I had thought about the matter in the abstract sense, I’d never thought of it happening in the near future. I thought we’d have a few more trucks or perhaps a restaurant by then. Now that I knew he wanted to get married, I was shocked to find that I was equally ready.
“Yeah. I can’t say that we learned a lot here tonight. Not much progress.”
“What do you want to know?” Gina asked. “I can probably tell you anything you want to know.”
I told her about Sabine’s idea, and Gina nodded. “I can see that. Let’s see. I’m a part-time professor. Trent is a commercial photographer. Jason is some sort of artist type, I think. David was a stock analyst. Christie is a teacher. Does any of that help?”
FOOD TRUCK MYSTERIES: The Complete Series (14 Books) Page 87