* * *
After we got back to our room and had checked on Grandma Rosa and Nicoletta, Josie went down to the casino while I placed a call to Lena. It took a second for her to remember who I was.
"My apologies," she said. There was a murmur of voices in the background. "Sorry. I have some friends over for drinks and a dinner party tonight. What can I do for you, Sally?"
"I was wondering if the locket that was left to my grandmother had been found yet."
Lena was silent for a moment. "Oh! I almost forgot about that. No, it hasn't turned up. If it's any consolation, I don't believe it was valuable."
"We don't care about that. Your aunt might have hidden something inside it, so perhaps that's what the person who broke into Nicoletta's house and my apartment was looking for."
"I guess that's possible," Lena conceded. "I wish I could help but have no idea where it is. Let me know if you do find it, okay? I have to keep a record of everything."
"Of course, but I did have another reason for calling." I decided to keep my parents' names out of the conversation. "I was told by some of the neighbors that your husband and Allegra were heard shouting at each other last week."
Lena sighed heavily into the phone. "Well, it's no secret that they didn't like each other."
This admission surprised me. "Why is that?"
"Let's be honest, okay? There weren't many people who liked Aunt Allegra. She was always bugging Martin about things that he had no time for. God knows he tried to tolerate the woman for my sake, but she made it difficult. Aunt Allegra was like a wasp who kept flying around your face and wasn't afraid to sting you."
I hated to admit it, but her analogy was spot-on.
"The neighbors across the street should be locked up, there were too many potholes in the road, blah blah. Martin is not the Highway Department. He is a New York State senator, for God's sake! Why would she bother him about such trivial stuff? Aunt Allegra even called him to say that you—" Lena stopped suddenly.
Uh-oh. "Go on," I urged.
"Sally, I really don't think you want to hear this."
I braced myself for the unknown. "Just go ahead and say it, Lena."
She blew out a sigh. "Aunt Allegra asked Martin about how to deal with a dishonest landlord."
"What?" I shrieked into the phone.
"She told Martin that you guys had been stealing her equipment and were trying to evict her, even though she'd paid her rent and was a model tenant."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Stealing what? Her candy pans upstairs? She's the one who was stealing from me!"
"For what it's worth, I believe you," Lena said. "Want my take on it? I think she was looking for a way to take your building away from you. The day that she died—after you guys had the fight? It made me wonder if she'd planned to get you so angry you might push her, and then she could sue."
My rage had quickly increased from a simmer to a full-fledged boil, and I fought to stay calm. "I'm sorry your aunt is dead, Lena, but this is too much for me to absorb. I can't believe anyone would be that rotten." Or maybe I just didn't want to.
"You've heard the saying about the wolf in sheep's clothing, right?" Lena asked. "Well, that was a pretty accurate description of Aunt Allegra."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Our flight home was quiet and uneventful. Nicoletta still wasn't feeling well and slept for most of the trip. Josie also took a nap, while my grandmother crocheted, probably overjoyed for the blissful silence. I tried to read a book I'd brought but couldn't concentrate. It was difficult to keep from bouncing in my seat. Tomorrow I would discover for certain if I was pregnant. If the test was positive, how the heck would I manage to keep the secret for six more days until our actual wedding anniversary?
Our flight arrived ahead of schedule by ten minutes, and we wasted no time in collecting our luggage and Josie's minivan from long-term parking. We dropped my grandmother and Nicoletta off at my parents' house first. Mom and Dad weren't scheduled to return home for a couple more days, and once again, I found myself concerned for the elderly women's safety.
"We will be fine," Grandma Rosa assured me as she and I both helped Nicoletta out of the van. "No one knows we are here."
I kissed her cheek. "Promise me you'll call if you need anything."
She nodded. "Yes, I will do this. Now go home to your husband."
We waited until they were inside the house, and then Josie backed her van out of the driveway. Across the street, Carl Gardner was watering his lawn as the sun was starting to sink behind the clouds. He waved when the van drove past him.
"Back up the van," I said to Josie.
Puzzled at first, she then nodded in sudden understanding. "Ah. You want to talk to him."
"Only for a minute. Do you mind?"
"No, it's all right. I'll go with you."
She backed the van up to the curb in front of the Gardner residence, and Carl watched with interest as we approached. He looked about my age and was tall with a burly frame, sandy blond hair, and ruddy cheeks. Eyes as black as tar smiled at us from behind the thick designer bifocals he wore.
"Hi, Sally," he said and then extended his hand to Josie. "Carl Gardner."
She smiled back. "Josie Sullivan. I work with Sally."
He turned the hose off and set it aside. "What can I do for you ladies?"
Okay, Sal. Start with dear old dad and slowly work your way in. "My father said he's been spending a lot of time over here with you and Rachel. I wanted to make sure he wasn't…ah…overdoing it."
His face creased into a broad grin. "Not at all. We like having him around. He's quite the character."
That was one word to describe him. "I'm sure you heard about Allegra Fiato by now."
Carl's face sobered. "Yeah, that's awful. Did they catch the creep who mowed her down yet? I haven't seen Nicoletta in a few days. She's not my favorite person, I'll admit, but I hope nothing's happened to her as well. Why do people have to drive so fast? Driving isn't an entitlement. I try to be extra careful, what with my vision problems and all."
"No, they haven't found the person yet." He didn't need to know that Allegra's death was no accident. We couldn't afford to trust anyone. "Mrs. Gavelli—err, Nicoletta is fine. Sorry about your eyesight."
He took his glasses off and polished them on the bottom of his shirt. "Glaucoma. It runs in my family. It usually hits people who are older, but the pressure in my eye has been terrible for quite some time now. The doctor started me on medication a few months back."
Here was the opening I was looking for. "It must be terrible to deal with—especially the pain. I understand you had a run-in with Allegra about your glaucoma, so to speak."
A muscle ticked in Carl's jaw. "Yeah. She was nosing around our house one evening, and I told her to get lost."
"She saw you smoking a joint and called the cops, right?" Josie asked.
The dark, piercing glare that he shot her made me want to flee his doorstep in a hurry. "Are you here for information or to lecture me?" Carl seethed.
Yikes. "My father mentioned that Allegra reported you to the cops."
"That's true enough. I got arrested for possession, thanks to that witch. She blabbed to the police that I was endangering the life of my child. Rachel was furious and went over to tell her to mind her own business. Then she had the audacity to push my wife! Well, that was the last straw. No one's going to treat my family like that. I went over there myself, and she wouldn't open the door. All talk, no action. Anyhow, why are you asking? Do you think I'm the one who ran her over?" He gave a bitter laugh.
Josie and I laughed too, but mine sounded a bit shaky to my own ears. "Of course not. She was our tenant remember, so naturally we're very upset about this."
"We are?" Josie asked. "Oh, right. We are."
"Sure," Carl said in a disbelieving tone. "Her daughter asked me where the shop was. They wanted to see her business while they were in town. She made candy, right?"
Josie s
nickered. "Well, she said it was a candy shop. Turns out she—"
I held up a hand and fervently wished my friend would stop talking. "When did you see Allegra's daughter? At the service?"
Carl shook his head. "Nope. Last Saturday, the day she died."
Shell-shocked, Josie and I both stared at him. "Are you sure?"
He paused a moment to think. "Yep, it was definitely Saturday, midmorning, because I had just gone down to the mailbox to get the paper. Enzo and Andrea, right?"
"Anna," Josie corrected.
Carl snapped his fingers. "Yeah, they were looking for Allegra and didn't know which house belonged to Nicoletta since there's no number on her mailbox. So they came here and asked me if I could point them in the right direction."
Holy cow. Anna, Enzo, and Violet had all been in town the day their mother died. What the heck was going on?
"Rachel had taken the baby to her mother's house for a visit," Carl explained. "I showed them which house belonged to Nicoletta, and out of politeness, I asked about the business. Your grandmother stopped over the day before and told me that Allegra had a new shop. By the way, Rosa's the complete opposite of those two old birds. She brought me a cheesecake last week because your father told her it was my birthday."
Oh, I needed to have more birthdays. "My grandmother's cheesecake is the best."
Carl smiled. "She's a wonderful woman. Anyhow, I told Rosa I didn't especially like the new neighbor, and she said the candy store was going to be in the apartment over your bakery. I gave Anna and Enzo directions when they stopped by."
If Enzo and Anna had come into the bakery that day, I didn't remember seeing them. Had they been lying in wait for their mother and then plowed her over when she ran outside? No, that was insane. Or was it?
When we were at Lena's office for the reading of the will, she'd commented how the children already knew what they'd be receiving. Maybe they'd come here to confront their mother. But why kill her if they weren't getting anything?
Carl broke into my thoughts. "I stood here and watched as Enzo and Anna walked across the street and knocked on Nicoletta's door. No one answered. Then they started shouting at each other, got back into the car, and drove away."
"Any idea what they said?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Guess my eyes aren't the only thing that don't work so well these days. The daughter was holding a manila envelope when they came to my door. Sorry I can't tell you anything else." He pinned me with those dark eyes that resembled icicles again. "Rosa mentioned once that you've solved a few murder mysteries."
What was he getting at? "Uh, a couple," I hedged. "I guess I just have bad luck. I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Josie joined in the laugh with me, but Carl didn't even crack a smile. "I still don't understand why you're asking me all these questions since I didn't murder Allegra," he said.
So he did know her death was deliberate. But how? "Uh, it was a hit-and-run. You said so yourself."
"Right," Carl mocked. "That's why you were so interested to learn that her daughter and son were in town the day she died. I don't appreciate being questioned like I'm a criminal. It's probably best if you both left now."
"What the heck was all that about?" Josie said as we walked back to her van. "That guy's like a faucet—hot one second then ice cold. It makes me think he's hiding something."
My thoughts exactly. "If Carl wants us to believe he's innocent, he's not doing a very good job going about it." I fastened my seat belt and pulled out my phone.
Josie started the engine. "Who are you calling?"
I held up a finger as my grandmother picked up on the other end.
"Hello, cara mia. I see that you are across the street. Yes, we are still fine."
"Grandma, can you ask Nicoletta a question for me, please? Does she remember seeing Anna and Enzo at the bakery last Saturday—the same day Allegra was killed?"
"One moment." There was quiet for at least a minute as my grandmother's calm voice and Nicoletta's shrill one could both be heard in the background. Finally, my grandmother came back on the line. "She did not see them. Allegra never mentioned that she was expecting them for a visit either. Are you sure they were in town that day?"
"Yes," I said as Josie stopped at a red light. "We were talking to your neighbor Carl. He said they came to his door that morning. I'm surprised you didn't see them."
My grandmother sounded indignant. "What—do you think I have nothing better to do than stare out the window all day? I am not a fussy body, cara mia."
I scrunched up my forehead in confusion. "Do you mean busybody?"
"That works too. I am not sure why they would have come into town that day. Perhaps they knew about the candy store and were curious to see it."
Uneasiness washed over me like a monsoon. Maybe they had another reason for coming to town. "Violet was reported to be in New York that same day as well. Nicoletta didn't see her either?"
"I do not believe so, but let me ask." She put me on hold for another minute, and I cringed when I heard Nicoletta shouting at my grandmother this time. "No, she did not see Violet either. No more questions for now. She gets cranky if I bother her when the Kardashian ladies are on."
I blinked at the phone. "Nicoletta likes to watch the Kardashians?"
Josie's mouth twitched at the corners. "That's about the last thing I expected to hear."
"Yes," said Grandma Rosa. "She says they are all tramps, but she never misses an episode. She is nutsy cookie too. Ciao, bella." My grandmother clicked off.
"This is strange," I said as Josie pulled into my street. "All three children were in town the day their mother died, but it appears they never saw Allegra—at least we don't think so. And let's not forget that my parents' neighbors hated Allegra's guts too. Are we forgetting anyone?"
"Lena's husband," Josie answered promptly. "He had a fight with her, remember. And I'll bet you dollars to cookies that Lena wasn't telling you the entire truth."
"Doughnuts," I said.
"Not in our case. But to be honest, is there anyone who actually liked the woman?" Josie pulled into my driveway, and Spike could be heard barking through my half-opened window.
I leaned over to give her a hug. "Well, I'm forgetting about Allegra for the rest of the night. I just want to be alone with my man and not think about anything else."
"I'm with you." Josie grinned. "I've even started to miss Rob. You said you're opening in the morning, right?"
A tingle ran through me as I remembered about tomorrow. "Yes, as long as you don't mind me taking off early."
"Only if I can be the second person to know the results," Josie said.
"What results?"
We both jumped. Mike reached over and opened my door for me. I hoped he hadn't heard too much. Hastily, I got out of the car. "Oh, a new recipe Josie's trying out." I gave her my best evil eye. "Thanks for driving."
Josie grinned at the both of us. "Anytime. You lovebirds have fun catching up tonight." She backed out of the driveway, and the van sped away.
As soon as we were inside and Mike had deposited my duffel bag on the floor, he locked the door and then wrapped his arms around my waist, his mouth closing over mine. "God, how I've missed you," he murmured as he kissed me.
I sighed contentedly when we finally came up for air. "I missed you too."
He surprised me then by lifting me off my feet and into his arms. If I'd gained any weight in the last few weeks, at least he didn't groan with exertion.
"Where are we going?" I giggled and threw my arms around his neck.
His answer was to place his hot, wet mouth over mine again, and I lost my senses. Slot machines, Persian cats, and my mother in fishnet stockings were all but forgotten as he kicked the door open to our bedroom. "I think you already know the answer to that question, Betsy Drew." He grinned at me.
"It's Nancy."
"As your grandmother would say, 'whatever.'"
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
&
nbsp; Business was slow at the bakery on Monday, so I managed to slip out the door a few minutes before four o'clock arrived. Josie had tried to persuade me take the test upstairs in the apartment and shout down the results to her, but I wanted to go home and make Mike a nice dinner first. I could follow recipes in the bakery with no problem, and of course I knew many by heart. When it came to cooking an actual meal though, my experience was sorely lacking. Since my marriage I'd made a valiant effort to prepare one home-cooked meal a week.
I stopped off at the butcher shop and picked up some center-cut pork chops. From there, I continued on to a local produce stand for fresh potatoes and broccoli. Maybe next summer I'd attempt to start my own vegetable garden—if I had time with the baby. Then I did a mental head slap. How would I still run the bakery and take care of an infant? Maybe we'd be able to hire some part-time help in the shop, or the child could sleep upstairs in the now empty apartment. I'd run back and forth between my baby and business all day. It would be exhausting but worth it. I'd figure something out.
After I'd started preparations for dinner, I gave Spike fresh water and food and went into the bathroom. My heart pounded as I opened the box that held the two tests. Hey, it never hurt to be prepared, in case one was defective. I put a hand over my chest to steady myself. This wasn't the first time I'd taken a home pregnancy test. The last time I'd used one, it had been a couple of days early, but I was too excited to wait any longer. The negative result had been a crushing blow. I'd even shed a few tears. Today I was confident that I'd see different results. My time had finally arrived—the day I'd longed for.
As I waited impatiently for three minutes to tick by, I remembered another time, years ago when married to Colin, that I'd suspected I was pregnant. The test had been negative, and even though I'd known it was for the best, it had still saddened me. Colin had been outraged when I'd told him about the possibility and flat out accused me of getting pregnant on purpose. I flinched when I thought of the cruel things he'd said to me at the time. No. Don't let the past ruin this moment. Mike wants a child as much as you do. The time is finally right.
Crumbled to Pieces Page 13
