Part 6 (1/2)
CHAPTER EIGHT.
Alex and Kate showed up at the house a little after noon with meatball hoagies from Guido's, one of Jordan's all-time favorite restaurants. She caught Alex's eye and smiled, thinking the dark circles and concern she saw there belied his attempt to appear unfazed by what he'd just watched his sister go through.
”I told you I'd make it up to you,” he said, trying to smile back.
”Alex?”
He turned to his mother whose forehead was creased with worry lines. ”Come have something to eat, Mom. These hoagies are better than Uncle Undo's. Let's eat them while they're still a little warm. Then we'll tell you all about this morning.” He directed her toward the kitchen table. ”It's not bad news. I promise. It's just complicated right now,” he added in an attempt to erase those lines.
”Unlike the TV shows, it may take weeks for the DNA samples to come back,” Kate said. ”Without that, the only thing Captain Darnell could do was ask me a few more questions.”
Natalie's face lit up with renewed hope. ”Maybe they won't find Marcus's DNA under your-”
”Yes, Mother, they will,” Kate interrupted. ”And when that happens, the police will pull off their kid gloves and come after me. But for now I don't want to think about it. I'm exhausted, and I'm starving.” She sat down opposite Natalie at the table and unwrapped one of the sandwiches. ”What do you have to drink, Alex?” she asked cutting off any further questions from her mother.
After they'd devoured the sandwiches, Jordan cleared the table, gently rebuffing Kate's attempt to help. ”You've had a horrific night. Why don't you lie down and try to catch a nap?”
”That's a great idea,” Natalie echoed, taking Kate's arm and guiding her out of the kitchen.
To everyone's surprise, Kate allowed her mother to lead her to the bedroom. As soon as Natalie closed the door behind Kate, she turned to Alex. ”You should get some rest, too, son. I'm counting on you to get Kate through this, and I need you at the top of your game.”
”You're probably right, but it's not my A game we need, it's Hamilton's.” He chuckled. ”A few times during the questions this morning I thought Captain Darnell might actually throttle him. As a cop I can tell you that lawyers are not our favorite people, especially ones who know their stuff. But as the brother of someone being interrogated, I felt d.a.m.n lucky to have him in the room and on our side.”
”Emilio wouldn't send a lackey,” Natalie said, shooting a quick glance Jordan's way as a reminder that their conversation the night before was not to be shared.
Alex yawned before turning to Jordan. ”What are your plans for today?”
Jordan knew better than to tell him she intended to snoop around over at the Plainville fairgrounds. He'd be all over that like a colony of ants on a discarded doughnut, insisting she keep her nose out of it. ”I thought I'd run over and interview some of the vendors at the festival for my column,” she said instead.
Okay, that part wasn't a lie.
”Good idea,” Natalie chimed in, rescuing her from Alex's searing gaze-one she knew meant he was trying to decide if she was telling the truth.
She cursed the fact that he could read her so well.
”Would you mind if I tagged along? That way the house will be quiet for these two, and they can get a good rest,” Natalie said.
c.r.a.p. It would be hard to do a little investigating with Alex's mother tagging along, but how could she say no without fessing up about her intentions? Besides, Alex was now grinning at his mother, probably thinking there was no way she could get in trouble with his mother around.
”I'd like that,” Jordan said. ”I don't plan on staying long, and I can have you back in a few hours, unless you want to run by the mall after that.”
Natalie shook her head. ”We'll see how I feel after traipsing around in the Texas sun all day, but there's really nothing I need at the mall. I'll probably be ready for a nap myself after we leave the fairgrounds.”
”My mother is saying no to shopping?” Alex whistled, bending down to kiss Natalie on the forehead. ”Somebody needs to check her temperature,” he teased before kissing Jordan's cheek. ”It's settled then. I'm heading to bed, and I'll see two of my favorite girls tonight.” He winked at them both before making his way to the bedroom.
”Come on,” Natalie said, pulling Jordan toward the door. ”I can't stand sitting around watching my daughter go through this without doing something-anything. Talking to the vendors with you might be the perfect opportunity to find out what goes on behind the scenes. Trust me when I tell you that the worker bees know all the really good gossip. Maybe somebody out there has some dirt on Marco that will help my daughter, and you're just the pretty face that it will take to dig it out.” She gave Jordan the once-over before saying, ”Put some lipstick on and get ready to bat those beautiful eyelashes of yours. We need information.”
Jordan stared at Alex's mother, positive the woman had read her mind. Like an obedient child, she retrieved the new coral lip-gloss from her purse and smeared it on her lips. Looping her arm through Natalie's, she said, ”Come on, Miss Marple, we have some sleuthing to do.”
By the time Jordan pulled her Camry into the fairground's parking lot, she and Natalie had forged a fast friends.h.i.+p. On the twenty-minute ride over, Jordan had discovered so many new things about Alex she hadn't known, including his refusal to leave the family pet alone when the old yellow Lab was dying. According to Natalie, they'd had to pry his little body away from the animal long after the dog had taken its last breath.
Then there was the time during his soph.o.m.ore year when Kate had begged him to play Mrs. Doubtfire in the school play. No other guy would do it, and according to Natalie, Alex had taken a lot of flak from his football buddies. But he adored his older sister, so he'd made the most of it. Wearing a fat suit and a wig, he'd turned in a memorable and hilarious performance. Was it any wonder that Kate adored him back?
Jordan had always known that Alex and his sister were tight, but it was fun finding out how he'd managed to grow up surrounded by all that estrogen and still turn out so macho.
”How should we work this? Do you want to take the lead, or do you want me to?” Natalie asked, sliding out of the pa.s.senger side of the Toyota.
Jordan thought about it for a moment before responding. ”Let's just play it by ear. Some of these folks may respond to you better because you're Italian, and others may open up to me if they think there's a chance of getting some free publicity out of it.” She giggled. ”They don't have to know I only write the culinary column.”
She locked the car and the two of them headed toward the fairgrounds which had been turned into a ma.s.s of tents, booths, and trailers. Scattered among the melee was a motley crew of men and women with leathery looking skin from too much sun, setting up the rides.
For a second Jordan was reminded of the Texas State Fair, held at Fair Park in downtown Dallas each autumn. A ginormous figure known as Big Tex was suspended above the entrance and bellowed a Texas-sized welcome to the fairgoers as they came through the gate. Unfortunately, the big guy had electrical problems and had gone up in smoke the year before. A replacement now stood in his place.
Here, instead of Big Tex, a huge balloon shaped like an Italian flag flew high in the sky above the entrance.
The fairgrounds were set on ten acres of farmland on the outskirts of Plainville and were the site of a monthly huge flea market. In between, many big corporations held their annual company picnics there and usually offered horseback riding and hayrides. Off to the right Jordan spotted a fenced-in area that she'd bet would house those very same horses.
As they got closer to the actual area where the vendors were setting up, Jordan recognized a few faces she'd seen at the party in Marco's suite the night before.
She was determined to do everything in her power for information, and she nudged Natalie forward. ”Okay, let's see if we're any good at this.”
She followed a step behind as Natalie walked up to the first booth where a fortyish woman with jet black hair pulled back into a bun was busy setting up.
”Hi,” Natalie began. ”Can you spare us a few moments of your time? We have some questions we'd like to ask.”
The woman stopped long enough to make eye contact with Natalie and to brush at a stray lock of hair that had escaped from the tight bun. ”Sorry. It's already ninety-four degrees and supposed to hit triple digits today. I want to finish up before I melt.”
Natalie stepped back and motioned with her hand for Jordan to give it a try. Like the other half of a wrestling tag team, Jordan inched forward.
The lady gave her a fleeting glance before turning around to hang a sign on the back wall of the booth. CARLITA'S ITALIAN CREAM CAKE b.a.l.l.s. Jordan had no idea what an Italian Cream Cake Ball was, but just the thought of a sugar treat right now had her mouth watering like Pavlov's dog.
Although she had no intentions of taking notes, she pulled out a pad and a pen from her purse for show. ”I'm Jordan McAllister from the Ranchero Globe, and I'll be here all week interviewing vendors like you for my column.” When the lady's head shot up, she felt Natalie squeeze her arm. But before she asked the important questions, her curiosity got the best of her. ”What's an Italian Cream Cake Ball, anyway?”
”You're from the newspaper?”
Jordan flashed her press pa.s.s. ”And I a.s.sume you're Carlita?”
The woman dried her hands on a rag she pulled from under the counter, moving closer to them. ”That would be me. Carlita Bruno. I'm from New Jersey, and my sister and I've been coming to the festival for a lot of years. I try to bring something new and different to sell every year.” She pointed across the way where a much younger woman who resembled her was busy setting up a booth. ”Ginny's Chicken Cacciatore usually sells out on the first day, even though she brings more every year. And her pepperoni bread doesn't even make it that long.” She reached back under the counter and brought out a tupperware bowl. ”This is my latest concoction.” After opening the bowl she took out two sticks with what looked like a huge chocolate bonbon on the end of each.
Both Jordan and Natalie took a step closer to get a better look.
”Go ahead and try it,” Carlita prompted after handing each one a stick.