by Leena Clover
“It’s real,” Adam said seriously. “But the café is full of civilians most of the time, including kids. Not a good place for guns.”
“I know you can protect me, Adam,” Jenny said. “The police station is less than a block away.”
“Speaking of … who do you think has a license for an automatic?”
Jenny quirked an eyebrow and waited for Adam to continue.
“Laura Bellini, the teacher’s wife.”
“What does she want a gun for?”
“I’m going to find out,” Adam said grimly. “I’m meeting her tomorrow to talk about it.”
“Does she carry it around?”
“We don’t know where the gun is. The local police in California are looking for it now.”
“Can you prove she brought it to Pelican Cove the last time she was here?”
“We need to find the gun first. Once we have it, we can run all kinds of tests on it. We’ll know if it was fired, for example.”
“Do you think it’s going to be that simple?” Jenny asked.
Her gut told her Laura Bellini was not a killer.
Chapter 13
Jenny was having lunch with Adam at the police station.
“I’m stuck, Adam,” Jenny sighed. “I’m hitting a wall wherever I look.”
Adam speared some more pasta salad on his fork and heard Jenny out. But he said nothing.
“How many people have you talked to?” he finally asked.
“I talked to people close to Petunia,” Jenny said, counting off her fingers. “I am still not sure about Peter Wilson. But he has no motive and he also has the strongest alibi.”
Jenny paused to take a bite of her chicken sandwich. Adam hadn’t scowled or barked at her since she came in. She hoped his good mood would prevail. She had crossed her fingers behind her back and proceeded to pump him for information.
“The same applies to her sons, Vinny and Charles. They have alibis and no possible motive.”
Jenny frowned as she pulled the lid off her salad container.
“I don’t trust Laura Bellini though.”
“Who else?” Adam asked.
“Actually, there is no one else. I’m going around in circles, evaluating the same people. I feel I am missing something. What about that man in the jacket?”
“We haven’t made much progress with that,” Adam said evasively.
He wolfed down the last piece of his sandwich and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. He was looking forward to eating the apple pie Jenny had brought along. She had baked it with the first apples of the season.
“Why don’t you let me talk to those people? They might remember something more.”
“Sure. They hid the real story from us. They are just waiting for you to come along, right?”
“Don’t be sarcastic, Adam. What do you have to lose?”
In Jenny’s experience, people were naturally intimidated while talking to the police. She encouraged them to talk about anything, often ending up with relevant information which everyone had missed.
“I’m willing to try anything at this stage,” Adam said, sounding dejected.
He wrote a few names on a notepad and tore the paper off, handing it to Jenny. He had added notes about where Jenny would find them.
Jenny went to the seafood market to shop for dinner. Chris Williams was nowhere to be seen. She realized Chris and Molly had their doctor’s appointment that day. Her face broke into a smile. A baby would bring new life with it. Jenny looked forward to being an aunt.
“Do you remember the first time you met her?” Jenny asked Star that evening.
They sat out on the patio at Seaview, sipping wine before dinner. Roses and gardenias perfumed the air, their scent mingling with the salty breeze coming off the ocean.
Star had a faraway look in her eyes.
“It was on that rocky beach on the south side of town. I had set up my easel there to paint a commission. It was a cold, windy day. The wind caught one of my rags and I ran after it. Petunia was sitting behind a rock, staring out at the sea.”
“Was she crying?”
Star thought a bit and shook her head.
“I think she was sad though. I asked her if she was new in town. She told me she needed a fresh start in life. I told her she had come to the perfect place.”
“What did you do then?”
“I invited her home for coffee. She said she needed to keep busy. I told her how the town needed a decent diner.”
“Was the café closed at that time?”
Star nodded.
“The previous owner, Millie, had died two years ago. Her son tried to run it for some time after that but he couldn’t handle it. The café had been shut up since then.”
“So she just bought the café?”
“She must have,” Star said fondly. “The next thing I know, Petunia is serving coffee and making soup. She asked me to think of a name for the café because it had been my idea.”
“And you thought of naming it the Boardwalk Café?”
“They were just building the new boardwalk at the time. It was supposed to be a big draw for the tourists. I thought Boardwalk Café sounded better than Millie’s. Millie was gone anyway. Petunia loved the name. I painted the first sign for the café, you know.”
“And you have been friends ever since?” Jenny asked, suddenly missing the warm, motherly woman who had never doubted her.
“We started meeting for coffee every morning,” Star said wistfully. “Betty Sue asked if she could join us. Heather had just come to live with her. In a way, she was starting a new life, just like Petunia.”
Jenny wondered if she would still be that close to Molly and Heather twenty five years later. At least she hoped to be.
“Petunia wasn’t just my friend,” Star said, her eyes welling with tears. “She was my sister. You need to find out who killed her, Jenny.”
Jenny rubbed Star’s arm, her gaze hardening with resolve.
“I’m doing everything I can,” she promised. “How would you like to join me tomorrow? I am talking to a few people who might have seen something.”
“Count me in,” Star said.
They went in for dinner, leaning on each other.
Jenny sat out on the deck of the Boardwalk Café the next morning. She had asked Heather to come in and help her with breakfast. She had already baked a few batches of muffins and made crab salad for lunch.
“I need to talk to a couple of people today,” she explained. “I’m hoping they will have some information for me.”
Star sat next to Jenny, drawing something in her sketch pad. A woman came into view, walking a golden retriever. Jenny recognized her.
“Hello there,” she waved.
The woman smiled uncertainly, pulling at the dog’s leash to make him stop.
Jenny skipped down the café steps and ran the few steps to the woman.
“Can we talk? Please?”
“Sure,” the woman shrugged. “Haven’t I talked to you before?”
Jenny invited her to sit on the deck. She offered her some coffee.
“No, thanks. I only drink green juice in the mornings.”
Star knew the woman well. They talked about a book club they both belonged to. The woman seemed to forget her hesitation after that.
“So what can I help you with?”
“It’s about Petunia,” Jenny began. “I hear you saw someone wearing a hooded jacket. Can we talk about that, please?”
The woman told Jenny what she already knew.
“Was there anything odd about that man? Anything that might have stood out?”
“All I remember is there was some kind of drawing on the back of that jacket. It was a bit frightening.”
“Can you describe it?” Star said. “Let’s see if I can come up with a sketch.”
The woman’s memory wasn’t very clear. Star encouraged her to share any tiny detail she could think of. Star’s fingers flew over her sketch pad as the wo
man talked. Finally, Star held up her pad.
“Was it something like this?”
Jenny’s face crumpled when she saw what Star had drummed up. The picture didn’t make any sense at all. The bottom part of it looked like a face or a skull. Feathers stuck out of the top, making it look like a bird of sorts.
The woman shook her head when she saw the drawing.
“That’s not it.” She shook her head. “Except for the feathers. You got that part right.”
“Was it a bird of some kind?” Jenny asked.
“I just remember the feathers,” the woman repeated.
Her dog began barking his head off.
“I need to go,” she said apologetically. “I’m here almost every morning in case you have more questions.”
Jenny thanked her for her time and waved goodbye.
“This looks ridiculous!” Star groaned as she stared at the picture.
“We have one more person to talk to,” Jenny said. “Let’s go.”
Jenny started her car and drove down half a mile to a gas station. A kid was working at the counter. He looked barely out of school. Jenny guessed he was eighteen or nineteen.
“I have a break coming up,” the kid told them. “Can you wait until then?”
Jenny and Star sat in Jenny’s car, fiddling with the radio until the kid came out. His name was Skinner and he was a high school dropout.
Skinner admitted he had noticed a man loitering around. He hadn’t seen his face clearly because of the hooded jacket.
“You said there was some kind of picture on the back of the jacket?” Jenny asked hopefully. “Can you tell us about it?”
“It was weird, dude. Like a turkey coming to get ya.”
“Can you describe it?” Star asked, pulling out a sketch pad. “I’m going to try and draw it.”
Star’s picture turned out to be a bird which looked very much like a turkey.
“You got the feathers right,” the kid said. “There was something else. Like pirate stuff.”
“You mean a skull?” Jenny asked eagerly.
“What’s that funny hat Captain Sparrow wears?”
“A tricorn?”
Skinner shook his head.
“I don’t know, dude. It wasn’t anything I had seen before.”
Jenny knew when she was beaten. She thanked the kid and drove back to the café.
“That was a waste of time,” Star grumbled.
“They were both sure about the feathers.”
“That doesn’t make sense at all, Jenny.”
“I am going to do some research on that,” Jenny said stoutly as they drove back to the cafe.
Jason came to pick up lunch.
“I’m going to the mainland for an appointment,” he told Jenny. “Can I get you something?”
Jenny shook her head absent mindedly.
“How about some Chinese food from your favorite place in town?” Jason smiled. “Looks like you’re in a funk.”
“I’m stumped,” Jenny admitted. “And Chinese takeout sounds perfect for dinner. I’ll bake some brownies for dessert.”
“Now you’re talking,” Jason said, giving her a high five. “Don’t worry, Jenny. We’ll talk about it when I get back. Can you hold the fort down until then?”
Jenny nodded. She always felt better after talking to Jason.
They made short work of the takeout Jason brought home. Jenny warmed the brownies and scooped generous portions of vanilla ice cream to go with them. She poured her special hot fudge on top and added a handful of chopped hazelnuts.
“I might have to run an extra mile tomorrow,” Jason said, “but I’m digging into this tonight.”
“Did you see those?” Jenny asked, pointing to the drawings Jason had been looking at. “Do they make any sense to you?”
“What are they?”
Jenny brought him up to speed.
“My guess is it could be a logo of some kind.”
“I thought that too,” Jenny said. “But who puts a skull on a logo? A tattoo parlor? A biker gang?”
“A gang!” they both cried together.
“Dial back a bit,” Jenny exhaled. “What are you really saying, Jason?”
“I think we are getting ahead of ourselves,” he said. “Have you looked this up online?”
“Not yet. I was planning to do that after dinner.”
“Let’s do it, then.”
Star and Jimmy decided to sit out on the patio. Jenny sat with Jason at the kitchen table, running searches on skulls and feathers.
Jason told her about some forums frequented by private investigators.
“They are pretty cool about sharing information. Why don’t you give them a brief description of what Star came up with? Add that it could be some kind of logo.”
Jenny registered herself on a couple of websites and posted her question.
“Now what?” she asked Jason.
“Now we wait,” Jason said. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
Jenny wanted to watch Downton Abbey reruns. Jason readily agreed.
“You’re the best, Jason!” Jenny exclaimed, giving him a hug. “What would I do without you?”
Jason hugged her back and planted a kiss on her forehead. He held her by the arms and stared deep into her eyes.
“If I have my way, Jenny King, you’ll never have to find out.”
Chapter 14
Jenny’s laptop pinged just as the second episode of Downton Abbey came to an end. She got up eagerly to check it out.
“A guy in Atlanta believes it could be a gang logo,” she told Jason.
“Can he be more specific?” Jason asked.
Jenny pursed her lips.
“That’s all he says.”
The computer pinged again.
“Oh wait. Someone else is writing a reply to my question. He calls himself TopNJPI.”
Jason stifled a yawn.
“What does this one say?”
“He says the feathers sound familiar. He wants me to send him a picture.”
“Do it.”
Jenny looked around for Star’s drawings. She had shoved them in a kitchen drawer. She clicked a photo with her phone and sent it on.
Jason came and sat next to Jenny. They waited impatiently for the man to respond.
Jenny read his reply off the screen.
“He says the feathers make him think of a local Jersey gang.”
“A biker gang?” Jason asked quizzically. “Is this guy sure?”
Jenny typed furiously, talking with a man she had never met or heard of before.
“He is asking me to look up the Purple Rooster gang.”
Jason pulled out his phone and started typing. Jenny did the same with her computer. They looked at each other at the same time.
Jason showed her the picture he had pulled up on his phone.
“It does look a bit like Star’s drawing,” Jenny said grudgingly. “But it’s not the same.”
“Nothing matches other than the feathers,” Jason said.
Jenny started pulling up information on the Purple Rooster gang.
“Oh my!” she exclaimed as her mouth fell open. “The Purple Rooster is a street gang in New Jersey.”
“What do they do?”
“They are involved in all kinds of illegal activities, mostly drugs. But that’s not all, Jason.”
“Get on with it, Jenny.”
“They are connected to some big crime family.”
“That’s not uncommon,” Jason said.
“This family is supposedly at war with the Bellinis.”
Jenny and Jason were both speechless.
“You don’t think this gang came here to kill Petunia?” Jenny asked haltingly. “She walked away from that life a long time ago.”
“But she was still a Bellini,” Jason said softly.
He tapped his fingers on the table.
“This is too big for you or me, Jenny. You need to take this to the police.”
“What about Vinny? Shouldn’t I tell him first?”
“There’s no telling how he will react to this,” Jason warned.
“This is all speculative,” Jenny argued. “I think we should talk to Vinny first.”
“Do you have his number?”
Jenny nodded.
Vinny offered to meet her somewhere. Jenny reluctantly invited him to Seaview.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Star asked.
“I’m doing it for Petunia,” Jenny said.
Vinny arrived with Enzo in tow. Enzo was wearing another track suit. Vinny was dressed in a cream colored suit tailored to perfection. Both men wore white colored fedoras. Six Pac and the guys stayed outside with the car.
Jenny didn’t waste any time in showing Vinny the drawings.
“What’s this, sweetheart?” Vinny asked, chewing on his cigar. “Some kind of art project?”
Jenny told them about the man in the hooded jacket.
“I did some digging. I think he was from the Purple Rooster gang.”
Vinny and Enzo both threw back their heads and laughed.
“What do you know about the Purple Roosters?”
“Nothing,” Jenny admitted. “But I thought this picture looked like their logo.”
“The feathers are a bit familiar,” Vinny conceded. “But they are not purple.”
“Aren’t you fighting with that gang?” Jenny asked.
Vinny and Enzo looked at each other.
“Not anymore,” Enzo said. “I had a beef with those boys thirty years ago. But I made up with them when I was in prison.”
“Wait. Are you thinking the Purple Roosters whacked my Ma?” Vinny asked.
Jenny was beginning to feel embarrassed.
“It was just a thought. I have no other suspects.”
“They wouldn’t dare put a hit on my girl,” Enzo whispered. “But since you brought it up, I am going to ask around.”
“Did many people know Petunia was living in Pelican Cove?”
“Most people thought she was dead,” Enzo whispered. “I let them think that. It was easier than answering questions about what happened to her.”
“Do you think Peter Wilson, err Fabio, could have told anyone about Petunia?”
Enzo looked at her coldly.
