A Dead Nephew

by Anna Celeste Burke

  “I’m a little jealous too, Tommy, but I’m sure you’re still her favorite dance partner,” I added.

  “I’ll bet she can dance. I’d love to see that,” Auntie Agnes chortled. “I used to dance when I was younger, but now I’m just happy to be walking. I think Anastasia follows me around so she can help me if I fall.”

  “Don’t say that, Agnes,” Bernadette chided. “You’ve been helping me in the kitchen for an hour. The handsome man sitting next to Tommy is Jerry Reynolds. He’s a private detective who works for Jessica’s law firm. Jessica is his boss now, but Paul Worthington’s still a big shot at the LA office, and he can help us if we need him.”

  “Nice to meet you, Jerry. Thank you for helping Jessica.”

  “Thank you for having the courage to speak up for Louie. I’m sorry about your nephew, but Tommy and I are going to do all we can to help Jessica get justice for him.”

  “Handsome and well-spoken, isn’t he, Agnes?” Tommy gushed.

  “He is, but please call me Auntie Agnes since I’m living here like family. Auntie Rosie has told me that Jessica has a way of surrounding herself with very fine men. I’m grateful to you both for being willing to help get justice even though the Cleaner Man is such a dangerous man. And, from what Jessica told me today, he may not be the reason my Sacramento is dead.” Then she paused. “Forgive me for bringing this up before we’ve eaten.”

  “There’s no need to apologize,” I said. “It’s on all our minds all the time at this point. I want you to meet two others at the table you don’t already know. Laura Stone has been my friend since we were kids. She’s a nurse at the hospital where they’re caring for Louie and Nick.”

  “And I’m bursting to share the information I’ve learned from a colleague who used to work at a hospital in San Bernardino. I don’t want to spoil the celebration for Kim and Brien’s engagement. Brien must be the other person you haven’t met yet. He’s good looking too, isn’t he?”

  “Oh, yes. Congratulations to you, Brien. Kim is little, like me, but I can tell she has a big heart and strong spirit. She’s a good choice as a bride.”

  “You said it better than I could,” Brien responded, smiling and tossing back a lock of blond hair that had fallen into his face. “I still can’t believe she said yes when I asked her to marry me. It must be her big heart.”

  “Come on, Brien. You’re going to make me a blushing bride any second now. Brien’s not only a hunk, but he’s mature beyond his years. That’s probably because he’s been taking care of himself since he was sixteen, so he’s not your typical twenty-year-old man.”

  “The hunk part is obvious, but I’m not as sure as you are about the mature beyond his years part. Brien’s as annoying as I am, especially when he’s channeling Sean Penn in that Ridgemont High movie with ‘dude’ this and ‘dude’ that.” Jerry cleared his throat, and Tommy shut up.

  “He doesn’t do that as much since he met Kim. Just like how you’ve become less annoying with Jerry in your life to kick you under the table.” That set off a round of laughter. “To Kim and Brien and all the good that love can do.”

  I raised my glass and toasted the happy couple, smiling but also wishing Frank was sitting beside me and holding my hand. At times, he was the charming, happy guy I’d known since I had a secret crush on him at fifteen, but I couldn’t help feeling there was something still bothering him apart from the persistent twinges of pain in his ribs. It’s hard to see him in pain for so long, even though worrying won’t make him heal any faster. Just then, he burst into the room with a grin on his face. The look in his eyes when he spotted me caused my heart to race.

  “Sorry that I’m late. I hear we’re going to have another wedding soon. Congratulations, Brien and Kim!” As he spoke, Frank—my Frank—slipped onto the chair next to me and raised his glass of champagne. Glasses clinked all around, and we dug into the food. We’d barely begun eating when the doorbell rang.

  “Don’t you dare get up, Bernadette,” I insisted. “I’ll get it. I have a sneaking suspicion George couldn’t wait for dessert. Anyone want to bet against me?”

  “Not me,” Brien said. “George is no ordinary donut and coffee cop now that Bernadette has introduced him to finer food.”

  I was right. When I brought him to the table, he tried to appear surprised that we weren’t already eating dessert. He quickly gave up the ruse and sat down.

  “After all the years I’ve dealt with liars, I should be better at it. I honestly tried to get work done, but I kept wondering what you were having for dinner. It was so distracting I decided that was worse than inviting myself over for dinner—again.” He paused. “Where are my manners? Congratulations, Brien. Kim, I hope you know what you’re doing!”

  “You should be saying that to Brien because he’s not going to eat like this with me as his wife. I can’t cook.”

  “Brien knows that. He told me you’re a fast learner, though, like Betsy.” The women at the table stared at Peter, surprised that such a thing had come from him.

  “We clearly have more work to do to straighten out the men in our lives,” Betsy responded in a firm, calm voice. Peter gulped and then stuttered.

  “I, uh, I guess we should be thanking them for cleaning up the messes we make. I thought I was an orderly person until Betsy moved in.”

  “I already told Kim thank you for that. I’m dirt blind. I can’t see it.”

  “You’ll learn,” Kim muttered as she salsa marinated steak Bernadette had prepared onto her plate next to the vegan black beans and rice already on it.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to ask this,” Laura said after we’d gorged ourselves on dinner, “but could we have our discussion about Louie’s case now and eat dessert later?”

  “As long as I can get dessert to go,” George said.

  “Me too. I’m not staying in the desert tonight, so I’ve got to drive back to Perris.”

  Although I was unhappy that Frank was leaving early, I tried not to show it. The anxious feeling that something was wrong crept over me again. I glanced at Frank, who appeared to be anxious too.

  “Why don’t we clear the table and have our discussion right here. Auntie Agnes, you can join us if you’d like, or if you’d rather rest, that’s fine. There’s a television in your room if you have a show you don’t want to miss.”

  “What I don’t want to miss are any new clues you have about who killed Sacramento. I’m sitting right here,” Auntie Agnes said. “I like the idea of being hungrier when we eat the dessert Bernadette has sitting on top of the fridge.”

  “This isn’t just about Sacramento anymore,” George said. “Once we moved the body that we found in the date grove, we found one of those little white Bibles the Cleaner Man hands out underneath him. A few minutes ago, I was told he’d been injected with something. They’re sending samples of tissue, hair, and bone to the crime lab to see if they can determine what was in it and if that’s what killed him.”

  “How do they know he was injected with something?” I asked.

  “The County Coroner found part of a needle in his back. Someone used so much force when shoving the needle into his back that it chipped one of the vertebrae. That’s when the needle must have broken.”

  “Did he have any I.D. on him?” Frank asked.

  “We found an appointment card with a dentist’s name on it. When one of my officers checked at the dental clinic in Indio, they described him as a skinny man with awful teeth, and sparse reddish hair. They faxed his dental records to the coroner, who says they’re a match. Our John Doe has been identified as Gavin Fitzgerald, known to the folks at the clinic as ‘Fitz.’ I know you’re about to make the rounds of the shelters in the area and figured you could ask about him while you’re at it.”

  “The Bible and the needle tie him to the Cleaner Man. That’s better than nothing,” I said.

  “Yes. The criminal investigators also found the name—the Cleaner Man—scrawled on a wall inside the remains of a shack that
’s still standing on the property. It can’t possibly remain standing for much longer, so whoever did that, took a chance.”

  “Was it a warning or a tribute to the Cleaner Man?” Peter asked.

  “If I had to guess, I’d say it was a warning. I can get a photo if you want it. It’s not a very good one, but I’m sure you have access to a gizmo that will let you enhance it. I’ll send you a copy if you’ll let me know if there’s anything there that can help answer your question more definitively.”

  “Sure, why not,” Peter replied shrugging.

  “I spoke to Xavier and Louie today. Xavier said he hadn’t met him but had heard that Fitz was a very funny guy, who could tell a great story. I’m hoping that’ll make him memorable to staff or regulars at the shelters, although it didn’t help Louie. He’s never heard of the guy.”

  “How is Mr. Oliver doing?” I asked.

  “He seems happy as a clam, and I haven’t had any reports that he’s caused any trouble. Not that he’s offered us any new information except that he was in rehab in San Bernardino the first time he heard of the Cleaner Man. That was a few years ago. When I stopped by to see Louie, he said he had a good visit with you today. His nurse, Peggy, was about to leave for the day, but insisted I thank you again for settling him down.”

  “Louie and I did have a good conversation. I learned a few things I didn’t already know about the letter and a woman or two in Sacramento’s life. George, do you want to tell everyone what happened at the hospital this morning first? Then Kim and I can pick it up from there.”

  “That won’t take long. Most of the people at this table were in the hospital lobby this morning,” George replied. He started with the decision to move Louie, his bizarre reaction to the idea, and the trouble that occurred a while later when Billy Castro showed up apparently intending to kill Louie. “Billy Castro didn’t tell us much. He’s as well-trained as his partner, Timothy Ridgeway, to say ‘lawyer.’ Before the lawyer arrived, he tried to make us believe he wasn’t going to kill Louie but wanted to scare him into telling the truth about the letter.”

  “Did he say what was in the letter or why it was so important to get it?” I asked.

  “Heck, no. He made some smart-aleck remark about not reading other people’s mail. His lawyer is raising a ruckus about police misconduct and trying to get him out on bail. I doubt that’ll go as easily for Billy Castro as it did for Timothy Ridgeway. The hospital’s lawyers are hollering almost as loud as Louie was this morning. They don’t want Billy Castro released back into the community until the incident can be fully investigated.”

  “The hospital lawyers will win a shouting match with Billy Castro’s lawyer, won’t they, Jessica?” Laura asked.

  “They should unless John Lugo or someone else involved with the Tribal Authority has friends on the Hospital Board,” I replied.

  “I’m not worried about hanging on to Billy Castro,” George argued. “Speaking to Timothy Ridgeway is a different issue. We haven’t been able to locate him at his apartment, office, or the casino. I figure that means his lawyer has him stashed away somewhere for safekeeping. Unless there’s a startling new development in the case, or we have a reason to file new charges, I doubt I’ll speak to Timothy Ridgeway again until his arraignment. That’s almost a week away.”

  “Let’s hope Billy Castro gets sick of sitting in jail and gives you a reason to have Timothy Ridgeway brought in for questioning before his arraignment,” Jerry commented.

  “He may be begging to speak to you, Jessica, or even to George if the jerk finally wakes up to how much trouble he’s in,” Tommy added.

  “Billy Castro and Timothy Ridgeway are errand boys, and they never stay in jail long,” Auntie Agnes added nonchalantly. “Everybody knows that about those two. They might not speak up because they run errands for John Lugo and his important friends. Have you checked Timothy’s mother’s house?”

  “No. He told us his mother lives with her sister in Arizona.” Auntie Agnes shook her head no.

  “I can tell you where she lives. Don’t call her, just send someone to her home to see if he’s there. Watch the backdoor and the windows.”

  “Thank you, Auntie Agnes. You’ve been such a big help to us today.” I briefly explained what she’d helped us do at Sacramento’s house, including finding some of Louie’s belongings. Kim jumped in and described what we’d found hidden in the vent near Sacramento’s bed. When she got to the point at which she’d found the turquoise pendant, she hesitated.

  “It’s okay, Kim. I’ll explain what happened next,” Auntie Agnes offered. “Kim found a valuable pendant made from rare turquoise. It’s been in the family for generations, and Sacramento’s mother said it was stolen. I took it back for now. If you need it, you know where it is, George.”

  “So far, it’s none of our business. I’d rather stay as far away from more Lugo family problems if I can.” George paused. “The same thing goes for any information you get that Sacramento was fooling around with his mother’s friend—whether it’s the very helpful Belinda Morgan or someone else.”

  “What are you saying? Fooling around with a married woman could be a motive for murder,” Laura exclaimed. “Maybe one of Timothy Ridgeway’s errands was to put a stop to the affair by stabbing Sacramento to death.”

  “I get it,” George responded gruffly. “If you’d let me finish, Laura, I was about to add ‘unless you come up with evidence that he was having an affair with the wrong woman and someone ordered a hit on him.’”

  “Lenny Morgan wouldn’t have liked it. Belinda is Tessa’s friend, and I don’t believe she was interested in a romance with Sacramento,” Auntie Agnes asserted.

  “If you think of anyone else Louie could be talking about, please let us know.” Auntie Agnes nodded.

  “In case you were wondering, we can tell you that Sacramento wasn’t gay,” Tommy added.

  “How do you know that?” I asked, sensing there was a story behind the offhand remark.

  “I might have mentioned that we’re working on Louie’s case to a few friends. One of them, Rick, knew Sacramento, and he said the awful tribal cops came after him one night at a local club. He overheard Timothy Ridgeway tell Billy Castro he was right about why Sacramento was always hanging out with his boyfriends—especially blankety-blank Louie Jacobs. Rick inserted the blanks instead of repeating the disgusting words Timothy Ridgeway used. He also said Sacramento couldn’t have been gay because he had dreadful taste in clothes.”

  “Rick didn’t say that,” Jerry objected. “He did say that, on occasion, Sacramento went with friends to gay bars, but it wasn’t because he was looking for love.”

  “To make sure Sacramento wasn’t hiding anything about his love life, I issued a ‘Tommygram’ asking for information. That’s where I picked up the catty remark about his clothes. There were lots of comments saying something like ‘a nice guy, but so not gay!’ So, Timothy Ridgeway is either a liar or a twit.”

  “I vote both,” George added.

  “Kim and I tried to find out who could have tipped off Billy Castro about Louie’s move to the hospital. Kim says no one related to Ridgeway or Castro appears to be employed at the jail or anywhere else in the detention center complex. When I asked one of the clerks who was notified when they moved Louie, she told me a member of his family, someone in Victims’ Assistance, and the lawyers. Since I made the request, I didn’t get a notice.”

  “That clears that up,” George said. “Andrew Clearwater didn’t have to go to any trouble at all to know where Louie was. I’m sure he didn’t keep that information to himself. Billy Castro must think he’s something to go for Louie so soon after shaking down Sammy Keanu for that letter.”

  “Maybe his neck is on the line because of what’s in it,” Kim said.

  “Or someone paid Billy Castro to get the letter or get rid of Louie,” Brien added.

  “Louie told me John Lugo used Billy Castro and Timothy Ridgeway to hunt down Sacramento and take him home lik
e the situation Tommy described. Asking Billy Castro to kill Louie is a pretty big request no matter who made it.”

  “Come on, Jessica, you know some people will do anything for money,” Laura said. “Listen to Brien.”

  “Crooks will, and they’re crooks,” Auntie Agnes added. “You can also tell from what Tommy said that they didn’t like Sacramento or Louie. Both did errands for John, board members, and big shots at the casino too. Sometimes it’s about business, like carrying important papers from John to the other board members when they need to be signed fast. Or watching to make sure no one steals deliveries that are made to the casino. That was like putting foxes in with the hens.”

  “Ay, yi, yi,” Bernadette commented, pursing her lips and folding her arms. “I’ll bet you’re right. The men hired to ‘watch,’ helped themselves to a box of steaks or a few bottles of whiskey since no one was watching them.”

  “That’s exactly what I mean. They don’t care if someone is watching. They did personal errands for John too, like picking up the dogs from the vet, or buying flowers for Tessa or his woman friend. Because they were close to John, no one would speak against them. No one except Sacramento.”

  “Ooh, a wife and a mistress. That couldn’t have worked out well,” Laura added.

  “Not this time,” Auntie Agnes observed. “Tessa’s forgiven him before. I already told Kim and Jessica that she’s gone to Reno for a divorce.”

  “Asking for a divorce must have caused fireworks,” Frank said.

  “John didn’t like it, but what could he do? Tessa’s a member in good standing of the tribe, and some people don’t approve of the way he’s treated her, including me. She no longer has a son as a reason to stay in the marriage.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s so hard when families fall apart,” Bernadette said, hearing the hitch in Agnes’ voice. Auntie Agnes reached out and took her new friend’s hand.

  “Thank you for understanding. You’re as wise as Betsy says you are.”