by Leena Clover
Jenny led Heather out on the deck.
“We never talked about that night,” Jenny began.
“I don’t remember much, Jenny. I already told you that.”
“That’s not going to help you, Heather. Think!”
“I remember saying goodbye to all of you at The Steakhouse. Gianni wanted a drink when we got home. I had already had too much. The next thing I remember is waking up in my own bed.”
“Someone saw you walking out of Gianni’s house at 5 AM.”
Heather looked dismayed.
“I must have passed out.”
“Was anyone else there when you reached Gianni’s house?”
“I don’t think so. Wait, the door was open when we got there.”
“Do you mean it was unlocked?” Jenny asked. “Or was it wide open?”
“I don’t know. Gianni said something about changing the locks.”
Jenny thought furiously.
“Changing the locks? That means whoever opened the door had a key.”
“Tiffany had a key,” Heather cried. “You think she was waiting for us there?”
“Tiffany left for Delaware after her little altercation with you.”
“She could have come back?” Heather said hopefully.
“Speculation is not going to help us, Heather. Did you see her there?”
“I don’t remember.”
“That’s your answer to everything.”
“I’ve never been so drunk in my life, Jenny. And I’m paying for it now.”
“Gianni was bad for you, Heather.”
“I know that now, when it’s too late. I guess I just latched on to him on the rebound.”
“After dating a dozen other guys?” Jenny’s disdain was clear. “Why were you taking antidepressants, Heather?”
“You know about that?” Heather asked.
“The police know about it too. It’s another factor against you.”
“I wasn’t doing well, Jenny. All those guys I dated were just a ruse. I was all torn up inside. I couldn’t sleep. Old Dr. Smith prescribed those pills. They were a life saver.”
“Did you ever give them to Gianni?”
“Of course not,” Heather denied. “He didn’t even know I was taking those pills.”
“When did you really find out he had a wife?” Jenny gave Heather a stern look. “Was it really at The Steakhouse?”
Heather was quiet for a while. Unfortunately, she looked guilty.
“Gianni never told me about his wife. But I was beginning to have doubts. There were small signs – scent of perfume in the air, a lipstick in the medicine cabinet. I knew there was another woman. I just never dreamed he was a married man.”
“Weren’t you mad when you found out?”
“I was pretty mad,” Heather said, remembering. “He had been talking about taking me to the Caribbean, having a dream wedding. He was a cheat and a liar.”
“Why did you fight with Tiffany at the restaurant then? She was the wife. You were the other woman, Heather.”
“I don’t know what came over me,” Heather confessed. “And I was drunk. Less drunk than I was later, but drunk enough.”
“None of these things will work in your favor,” Jenny said sadly.
“Is there no hope for me?” Heather wailed again.
“Go to some quiet place, clear your mind and try to remember anything you can about that night. Your life depends on it, sweetie.”
“I need your help, Jenny. You helped catch so many murderers in the past. Can’t you do the same this time?”
“I’m trying my best,” Jenny assured her. “Meanwhile, you need to be brave. We will try to bail you out if they take you in.”
Jenny’s fears proved to be true. The Magnolias were sitting out on the deck later when Adam arrived with his deputies. He arrested Heather for the murder of Dr. Gianni Costa.
Betty Sue Morse was in shock. She fainted without a word, her face falling flat on the wooden table. Star fanned her with a paper napkin while Petunia loosened the buttons at her throat. Molly was about to leave to get the doctor when Betty Sue opened her eyes. She was inconsolable.
“You need to be strong, Betty Sue,” Jenny told her firmly. “I’m going to get Jason. We will have Heather back here soon.”
Jason was out of town on business and unreachable. Jenny left several messages, urging him to get back to town immediately. It was afternoon by the time he came back.
“I had an idea this was coming,” he told Jenny. “Don’t worry, I already have the papers ready. She should be out soon.”
Adam sat in his office with an inscrutable expression on his face. Jenny pushed open the door and went in, ready to give him a piece of her mind.
“Believe it or not, I’m just doing my job,” he sighed. “If I don’t do it, someone else will.”
Jenny’s anger deflated like a balloon.
“This is hard on all of us,” she told him. “Dr. Smith gave Betty Sue a sedative. Her blood pressure shot up. Star is sitting by her side, keeping her company.”
“Has anyone else come forward?” Jenny asked. “What about any new evidence?”
Adam shook his head. “You were looking at Gianni’s old files, weren’t you?” Adam asked. “Why don’t you go through them again? Your out of the box approach is Heather’s only hope now, Jenny.”
“You are actually encouraging me to keep on digging?” Jenny asked wondrously. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
“What are you going to do next, Jenny?” Adam asked.
“I don’t know. I’m plum out of ideas.”
Chapter 16
Jenny was lost in thought as she mixed the batter for banana nut muffins. She remembered how Heather had appeared on the deck one day with Gianni Costa. He had already set up his clinic in Pelican Cove at that time.
“You found Gianni on that dating site, didn’t you?” she asked Heather later that morning.
“Yes, I found his profile attractive. I didn’t know he lived right here.”
“Did he ever talk about his earlier life? Like where he went to college or medical school?”
“He had a bunch of certificates up on the wall in his office,” Heather said with a shrug. “But I never paid much attention to them.”
“I think we need to find out more about Gianni,” Jenny declared. “What do his patients say about him, for example? Did any of them catch on to his scams?”
“Aren’t there websites where people post reviews on doctors?” Molly asked. “Doctors have a score based on the ratings patients assign them.”
“I generally check those scores before going to any specialist,” Jenny nodded. “Looks like I have some work to do on the Internet.”
Jenny went straight home after work that day and started her laptop. Her search yielded surprising results. Gianni had been popular with his patients. Most people had written glowing reviews about how gracious the doctor was, and how he actually listened to them. Some even went on to say he was the best doctor they had ever come across.
Jenny decided Gianni had paid someone to write fake reviews. Then she looked a bit closer. The reviews started two years ago. There wasn’t a single review for Dr. Gianni Costa before that. It was almost as if he hadn’t existed.
She dialed Tiffany’s number.
“Hey Tiffany, got a few minutes?”
“What do you need?” Tiffany asked rudely.
She was in a bad mood.
“You don’t sound so good.”
“The authorities have frozen all of our bank accounts. I don’t have five dollars for a cup of coffee.”
“What? I am so sorry to hear that.”
“What did you tell them, Jenny?” Tiffany shrieked over the phone. “What am I going to do now?”
Jenny was glad. It seemed that the authorities were pursuing other lines of investigation. That was good news for Heather.
“I’m sure it’s just temporary,” Jenny tried to placate her.
�
��Are you calling to gloat?”
“No, of course not! I had a few questions about Gianni. Do you know how long he had been living in Delaware when you met him?”
“Didn’t he always live there?” Tiffany asked.
“Apparently not. Did he move there from some other part of the country?”
“If he did, he never told me about it.”
“What about medical school?”
“What is this, an inquisition? There’s a bunch of certificates hanging up on the wall in his clinic. I never really noticed them.”
“Can you do me a favor?” Jenny pleaded. “Can you take some photos of all those certificates and send them to me? It might be important.”
“Why should I do that?” Tiffany demanded. “The police confirmed my alibi for the night Gianni died. I’m in the clear.”
“You won’t have access to your money until the case is solved. You want that, don’t you?”
“Whatever!” Tiffany said churlishly. “I guess I can take a few photos.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much, Tiffany.”
Jenny tapped her foot and stared at her phone every few seconds. She hoped Tiffany would send the photos right away. She didn’t relish the thought of having to plead with the woman again. Jenny was just about to go out in the garden to get some fresh air when her phone pinged.
She connected her phone to her computer and downloaded the photos Tiffany had sent. Jenny was surprised to see Gianni had graduated from a prestigious medical school in the area. Why had he set up his clinic in small towns with a degree like that? He could have had a job at the finest city hospitals.
Jenny didn’t have much luck when she called the medical school office. Any information about students was private. She could get a transcript if she was a prospective employer. Otherwise she had nothing.
Jenny sat on her patio, breathing in the scent of the roses, staring at the gurgling water fountain. She remembered all the alumni association meetings her ex-husband had gone to every year. She went in and opened her laptop again. She had some calls to make.
Adam grinned from ear to ear when he spotted Jenny on the beach that night. Tank was running in circles around her, nudging her with a stick in his mouth. Jenny took the stick and threw it in a wide arc. Tank leapt after it with a joyous bark.
“I didn’t get any complaints about you today so I am guessing you are staying out of trouble.”
“Not exactly,” Jenny confessed.
She thought of the talking down she had received from some of the men she had called earlier. She decided to keep it to herself.
“I thought the twins were bent on giving me a hard time, but you take the cake, Jenny.”
“I’m doing it for a good cause,” Jenny said woodenly.
“So are you going to tell me about it?”
“I tried to reach some of Gianni’s friends. I looked up his alumni association and called a few people. None of the people I talked to remember him.”
“I have never spoken to a single person I went to college with,” Adam grumbled. “I doubt any of them will remember me.”
“I’m sure plenty of them will,” Jenny argued. “You are not easily forgettable.”
“That’s not the point, Jenny,” Adam sighed. “Not every person is a member of their alumni association.”
“My ex went to every alumni function.”
“You’re saying Gianni didn’t.”
“I don’t care if he was a member,” Jenny said. “I’m saying no one remembered him.”
“How many people did you talk to?” Adam asked.
“Plenty,” Jenny said with a grimace. “All of them were from his graduating class. None of them remembered a fellow student called Gianni Costa.”
Adam was quiet for a few minutes.
“You’re saying Gianni put up a fake degree in his office.”
Jenny shrugged.
“He could have easily forged a document.”
“I think you are shooting in the dark,” Adam said bluntly. “Are you saying Gianni wasn’t really a doctor?”
“I don’t know what to make of it,” Jenny said glumly.
“You’ve done all you could for Heather,” Adam consoled her. “I think you should let the police do their work now. I would focus on getting her a good lawyer.”
“Are you saying I should just give up?” Jenny’s temper flared. “Jason would never tell me that.”
“I’m not Jason,” Adam said haughtily. “Don’t ever confuse me for him, Jenny.”
“How could I? You don’t have a kind bone in your body, Adam Hopkins!”
Jenny whirled around and stomped back to Seaview. Tank followed her for a while and then turned back when Adam whistled at him.
“Gianni was a doctor alright,” Jason said when Jenny visited him the next morning.
She had told him about her latest theory. Jenny had been mollified when Jason didn’t reject it outright.
“Think of the scam he was running,” Jason mused, scratching his chin.
He had day old stubble and his eyes were red. Jenny hoped he wasn’t staying awake thinking about Kandy.
“Couldn’t anyone have done it?” she asked.
“We can talk to Dr. Smith about this if you want. The scam Gianni was running required advanced knowledge about medicine and the system. Only an experienced doctor could have done it.”
“Why would he put up fake credentials?”
“Because he didn’t want to use his real ones?” Jason guessed.
“Wait a minute, could he have lost his license?”
“That’s possible,” Jason nodded. “He might have practiced in some other state before he got here.”
“You won’t believe it, but he has some great reviews from patients. But they only go back two years.”
“What?” Jason started.
He looked at Jenny with wide eyes.
“What if it’s not just the wrong medical school? What if it’s the wrong person?”
“What do you mean, Jason?” Jenny asked, her heart speeding up.
“Gianni Costa could be a fake identity, Jenny. We don’t know how long he was running his scams. Maybe he moved from state to state and took up a different name every time.”
“New name, new credentials and new women,” Jenny said softly.
“Didn’t you say Tiffany came from a simple background? That’s why he must have chosen her. He wanted someone who would be wowed by his money and wouldn’t ask too many questions. He just wanted a wife to look respectable.”
“What about Heather?”
“He needed her to build some credibility in Pelican Cove.”
“Why did he get greedy, opening a clinic in two states at a time?”
Jason shrugged.
“Maybe he wanted to retire early? It’s also the unique position of the Shore. He could easily live in two places at once.”
“Heather dodged a bullet,” Jenny said.
“We don’t know what he was planning for her,” Jason said seriously.
“Should we tell Adam? He’s going to call this farfetched.”
“Let me take care of it, Jenny. We need Adam’s help to investigate further.”
Jenny’s phone rang, interrupting them. Her face lit up when she saw who was calling.
“It’s Nick,” she smiled.
“When are you coming home, Nicky?” she asked.
Jason looked on indulgently while Jenny spoke to her son. In his late forties, Jason had given up any hopes of ever being a father. But he loved watching the special bond Jenny shared with her son.
“He’s coming home tonight,” Jenny said happily as soon as she hung up.
Then her face clouded over. “He has something to tell me.”
“Relax. I am sure it’s good news.”
“You will come to dinner tonight, won’t you?” Jenny said briskly. “I’m going to make Nick’s favorites.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“Of cou
rse you won’t be intruding. Star and Jimmy will be there too.”
“Let me bring the wine then,” Jason said.
Jenny had a huge smile on her face as she worked through her chores. She rubbed the charms around her neck, thinking of her son. She fired off a quick message to him around lunch time, warning him to drive slowly.
“Why don’t you go home early?” Petunia said after they had lunch. “I can wrap up around here.”
“Thanks,” Jenny said.
She drove to the seafood market and picked up the catch of the day. She was planning to make Nick’s favorite fried potatoes with fresh rosemary from her herb garden.
She had barely finished unloading the groceries at home when Nick arrived. He gave her a bear hug and allowed her to kiss him.
“You look scruffy,” she said. “You do take a shower now and then?”
“Mom!” Nick complained. “I had a paper due today. I hit the road as soon as I turned it in.”
“I’m so happy to see you, Nicky.”
Jenny poured fresh squeezed lemonade in two tall glasses. She had muddled some strawberries and basil into them.
Nick drained half the glass in one gulp.
“I miss your cooking, Mom.”
“Stop flattering me and tell me what you wanted to talk about.”
She and Nick were sitting on a couch in the family room.
“I’m going to Europe in the summer,” Nick said. “It’s for a class.”
“That’s great,” Jenny exclaimed. “You were so young when we took you there the last time. Hey, maybe I can join you when you’re done.”
“There’s more,” Nick said, making a face. “Dad’s meeting me there. He’s planned a road trip for the two of us.”
“That’s good for you,” Jenny said, trying to hide her disappointment. “I’m glad your dad wants to spend some time with you.”
Chapter 17
The Magnolias were enjoying their usual coffee break on the deck of the Boardwalk Café.
“Do you have any new leads?” Heather asked Jenny.
“I’m working on something.”
That’s all Jenny would say. She didn’t want to reveal too much unless she was sure it was going to work in their favor.
“How’s your little project with Barb Norton coming along?”
