The Knife Before Christmas

by Jamie Lee Scott

  I didn’t acknowledge him.

  “What’d he say?” Hector asked.

  “Nothing. Go on,” I said.

  “My brother, Mario, he’s living la vida loca. He’s happy to have me out of the way, because he thinks he’s next in line. He ain’t, but he thinks he is. I think he killed my Zhen and set me up. He was out with us that night, but he wasn’t drinking. I think he was still in love with her, and he saw his chance. But she didn’t want anything to do with him.”

  “If he still loved her, why would he kill her?” It didn’t make sense.

  “Oh, he still wanted her, that’s for sure. But if he couldn’t have her, no one could.”

  “But you’d been together for years, right?”

  “Yeah, but Mario is patient. He’s stalked people for months before killing them.” He thought about this for a second. “I probably shouldn’t have said that. Please strike from the record.”

  I almost laughed, but the situation wasn’t funny.

  I hoped Charles was getting all this down.

  “Start naming names,” Charles said.

  “I need a list of the people who were out with you that night. And I need contact information for everyone, including Zhen’s family and your family. We can start asking around.”

  Hector shook his head. “That ain’t gonna happen. You got a death wish? Start asking around about me and my dead fiancée, someone will cut you.”

  I was taken aback. How were we supposed to investigate? “Then how can we help you? Our job is to ask questions.”

  He shrugged. “Why would I kill her? We were going to pay cash for a new car, drive to Vegas next week, and elope. Then we were going to drive Route 66 and get lost. Just drive until we found a small town, then stop.”

  “You don’t think someone would have followed you? Tracked you down?”

  “We had plans.” He leaned even closer to the window, his nose almost touching. “Look, no one knew. And still no one knows. Me and Zhen, we didn’t tell no one. Not even my attorney knows. Besides, he’s not my attorney, he’s hired by Norteño. They find out, I’m as good as dead. No one leaves, especially not at my age and rank.” He leaned back. “As it is, I don’t sleep. I want to be out of the general population, but they keep me with all of the fools.”

  “What about bail?” I asked.

  He laughed sardonically. “You know who I am? You think they’re going to let me out on bond? That’s hilarious.”

  I hadn’t thought about that. Being in a gang meant he had the ways and means to disappear. But he’d planned to disappear anyway, hadn’t he? If he killed her, why would he scream and still be there when the cops showed up?

  “I’m telling you. My brother set me up. I’m not a killer, but he is.” Hector leaned back against his chair.

  Tap, tap, tap. “Money. We need money.”

  I swiveled the stool around. “You want to ask the questions?”

  Without preamble, Charles took the phone from me. We both stood, and he put the receiver between us, so we could both hear.

  “How are you going to pay us?” Charles asked.

  “I have money. It was my getaway money.”

  “Dirty money?” Charles said.

  I covered the mouthpiece. “Who cares? Money is money.”

  “Not if it came from sex trafficking,” Charles said.

  Hector must have read his lips. “No, man, the only people moving we did was illegals over the border. No sex trade. That’s the Soreno gang does that shit.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “I’ve got plenty of money. I’ve been skimming and saving for a long time. This gang stuff is good money at my level, and I run a tight crew. Better than working a real job. But it’s deadly, you know? Always watching my back. Besides, Memo has plenty of money to pay you. He’ll get it back from someone.”

  “If we don’t get paid, there won’t be anywhere on earth you can hide,” Charles said.

  Hector’s eyes went wide. “You think you scare me, old man?”

  Oh, shit, this wasn’t going to end well.

  “It’s the people you least expect who can slice your throat or snap your neck before you smell them coming, so I suggest you learn some respect, little boy.” Charles’ voice was calm and even.

  “I get you. But dude, I’m Hector Varga, and no one threatens me and lives. This one’s between us.”

  Charles just laughed. A hearty, deep laugh.

  It was time I stepped in.

  “Where do you want us to start?” I asked.

  “Follow my brother. He done it. I know he done it. He was still in love with Zhen, and he hated she picked me. But he was the younger brother, and I had all the power. With Zhen gone, he wins two ways. I go to prison, and he doesn’t have to see Zhen in love with me anymore. Like I said, he didn’t want anyone else to have her.”

  The more I thought about it, the more none of it added up. If anyone wanted Zhen dead, why not stage it to look like a drive-by? Or it could have just been a random drive by. These guys used guns, not knives.

  “I still need a list of names, Hector,” Charles said. “I can take care of myself. I’m not worried about cowardly gang members.”

  Hector winced. “You got it. I’ll make a list and have my attorney bring it to you. They won’t let me give you anything.”

  “Want to just name them off? I’ll write them down,” I said.

  “Sure. Even better. The less Memo knows, the safer I am.”

  Hector went on to name the people he remembered from Lulu’s party. Then he gave us the names, phone numbers, and addresses of his family members. “I’d prefer you kept this on the down low for now. If talking to my family doesn’t get you anywhere, then expand the circle. Cool?”

  “We’ll see what we can do,” I said. It was a non-answer.

  “I think that’s it. I need this to be in confidence. I’d ask Memo to do the legwork, but I don’t trust him. He’s not doing this for me, he’s doing it for the family. He takes care of all the dirty work. Good lawyer but not so by the book. If he does something to get me off the hook, then I owe him for life. If you do it, I just owe you money.”

  “Have you seen Zhen’s parents?” Charles asked.

  “They were on a two-week cruise to the Mediterranean or something like that. I don’t even know if they know their daughter is dead.” He hung his head. “I feel so bad for them. This is going to be a horrible shock.”

  If he was acting, he was good. He looked genuinely disturbed by his fiancée’s death.

  I couldn’t think of anything more to ask, so I deferred to Charles. He didn’t have anything, either.

  “We haven’t decided on taking you as a client yet. Our agency will have to have a general meeting being that you’re part of a notorious gang. I’m not sure we want to be associated,” Charles said.

  “But I told you, I still want to disappear. I’ll pay whatever it takes. I’m telling you, I have lots of money. When this is over, if you prove me innocent, and I do mean innocent, not just not guilty, I want your services to help me start a new life.” He sounded hopeful and desperate at the same time.

  “We aren’t in the witness protection business,” Charles said.

  “Let us talk,” I said. “Then we’ll get word to your attorney by the end of the day. Will that work?”

  Charles dropped the phone to his side and glared at me.

  I took the phone from his hand and put it to my ear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Will that work?”

  Hector nodded and said, “Thank you.”

  Five

  MIMI

  It only took fifteen minutes to get from the jail to the office. The fog had rolled in and hung heavy in the air and on the windshield as if it were raining. Charles called Uta to tell her to set up an agency meeting, and to make sure Cortnie was available.

  I felt for the guy. He looked genuinely innocent. I’d think a gang member would try to look less vulnerable. He’d laid it out for us, and on
the drive home, we decided even though we were the owners of the company, it had to be a unanimous decision to take the case.

  Charles let me out in the driveway, then parked the Jeep in the garage behind the building. I walked in through the back door and was assaulted by the smell of gingerbread. Assaulted may not be the right word because I love gingerbread. ‘Tis the season and all.

  Lola came trotting down the hall wearing a holiday bandana around her neck. Charles would flip when he saw the green fabric with holly all over it. Lola stepped up to me, and I scrubbed her behind the ears. As I was scratching her, she rubbed against my leg like she was trying to remove the bandana. I knew I should take it off, but I wanted to see Charles’ face. And Lola deserved it for being a spoiled brat.

  “You’ll be fine. It’s not even itchy. It’s a nice soft cotton,” I said.

  “I washed it and used fabric softener before I put it on. I had a hat for her too, but she didn’t like it over her ears,” Uta said.

  “I think it’s adorable, even if Lola looks like she’s in pain,” I laughed.

  “I have the reception area set up for your meeting. I’ve been baking cookies, so I put some out, along with a carafe of fresh coffee. There’s also a small Yeti with creamer. I thought it best to keep it cold since I didn’t know exactly when you’d arrive.”

  Uta was a gem. She was efficient, loved to bake, dressed like a thirty-year-old business woman, even though she was in her sixties and kept up on all the latest tech stuff, including social media.

  “Thanks for putting everything together on such short notice. You’re expected to attend too, so you can switch the phones to auto answer. Is my mom here?”

  Uta had moved past me and into the kitchen. “She’s in reception, setting up the laptops.”

  We’d recently switched from PC to MacBooks for the office, and a few of us (me) were still getting used to the change. I patted Lola on the head then walked into the living room, which was our reception room.

  The room was decorated with detailed directions from Charles. He hired a decorator, so it would look tasteful and professional. He’d visited Pebble Beach the previous year for a holiday party and loved their decorations, so he asked around and was introduced to the head of the floral department, who handled all the décor for every season. She was nice enough to give Charles some contact information.

  The theme he chose was silver and gold. No way was Charles going to have his place of business all spruced up with green and red. On the hearth, which was covered in soft angel hair, was a huge, clear glass ornament filled with miniature silver and gold ornaments. On either side was a wreath of twigs painted gold with silver accents.

  The same twigs were used to make a swag for the hearth, and Charles had a custom ivory colored stocking made for everyone, including Lola. I hoped he’d fill them generously on Christmas Eve, but I doubted it.

  Hanging from the drapes were long, thick silver ribbons with a giant peppermint candy at the bottom. Only the peppermint candy was white and gold, not red and white. The furniture had been moved away from the front window to make room for the fifteen-foot tree. The tree was actually the only green thing in the room. A wide silver ribbon wrapped around it, pearl white snowflakes, silver icicles, tiny gold pine cones, which I suspected were actually redwood cones, and several dozen snow globes were carefully placed. I knew in the back of the tree, somewhere deep in the greenery, was a pickle ornament. It was a tradition with German families. Charles’ grandparents always had one, and Uta insisted on having one. The tradition held there would always be one extra present under the tree, and the person who found the pickle ornament would get the present.

  In all, the décor was tasteful and not overwhelming, other than the boxes under the tree, which were wrapped in shiny gold and silver paper. A little over the top, but Charles said he loved it.

  I was just happy Lola hadn’t considered the tree a back-scratching post and knocked it over yet. I suspected it would happen before Christmas. And the best part was I hadn’t put any of it up, and I wouldn’t have to take any of it down.

  “What’s going on?” Lydia asked when I walked in.

  “We have a possible new client, and we want to talk with everyone about it first.” I reached down and grabbed a frosted sugar cookie from the tray.

  Lydia slapped at my hand. “Hey, wait until the meeting.”

  I responded by taking a huge bite out of the delicious cookie.

  “Have you talked to Rhett yet?” I asked.

  She had bitten into a cookie, too. She waited until her mouth was empty then said, “Not yet. I decided I’d introduce myself at the apartment and not at his place of work.”

  “Let me know how it goes.” I stuffed half a cookie in my mouth.

  My mouth was full when Cortnie walked in the door with Gabe and Nick trailing behind her. Gabriel Garcia was Nick’s partner in the homicide division at the Salinas Police Department, and he was also Cortnie’s husband.

  “It smells yummy in here,” Cortnie said. Then she bolted, “I’ll be right back.”

  “What’s going on?” Nick asked. “Having a party without us?”

  “Meeting,” Lydia said before I could answer.

  I walked over and gave Nick a kiss on the cheek. “What brings you here?”

  He wiped crumbs from my kiss off his cheek. “We just got back from a crime scene and ran into Cortnie. We’re looking for Charles.”

  “Why?” I might possibly be jealous of Nick and Charles if I’d been the jealous kind.

  “We’re planning a night out,” Gabe said. “First time we can enjoy a boys’ night and thought Charles might want to join us since he’s flying solo these days.”

  Charles walked in from my office. “I’m so not flying solo. I’m just alone for the time being, however long that may be. Undercover work sucks when you’re the one left at home.”

  “We’re going out for a few beers and some man time. You want to join us?” Gabe said.

  Charles looked at me, eyes wide. “How about Daphne’s in San Juan Bautista?”

  “They have a great shuffleboard table. Daphne’s is perfect,” Nick said.

  “I’m in,” Charles said. “Sounds like fun.”

  “Beer and shuffleboard?” I looked at Nick.

  “You know I’m only invited because they need a designated driver.” Nick was a recovering alcoholic.

  “What time?” Charles asked.

  Nick said, “I’m not driving around town like a chauffeur, so you both meet at my house at seven.”

  “What about getting them home?” I asked.

  “We have spare rooms if they can’t drive.”

  “Those spare rooms better have extra-long beds with Egyptian six-hundred count or better cotton sheets,” Charles said, “or I’ll call an Uber to take me home.”

  Nick grinned and rolled his eyes at the same time. “You’ll be too drunk to care.”

  Charles stood a bit straighter and clapped his hands to command attention. “We have a meeting, so off with you for now. See you at seven at your humble abode.”

  Cortnie still hadn’t returned, so Gabe said, “Tell Cort we had to take off.”

  I went to Cortnie’s office to tell her we were starting, but she wasn’t there. I saw her exiting the bathroom.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve been slightly nauseous for a couple of days. Not sick, but not feeling well. I checked and I don’t have a fever.”

  I wiggled my brows at her.

  “Don’t even go there,” she said. “I’m not ready for that.”

  I shrugged.

  “We don’t even have a dog, but Gabe wants one. Maybe I’ll get him one for Christmas, even though I think it’s too much responsibility.”

  I liked that idea. “From the SPCA?”

  “The only way,” she said, and we walked back to the living room.

  Charles was seated in a club chair, Uta and Lydia were on the couch, and I pointed to
the love seat for Cortnie. I wasn’t going to sit next to her in case what she had was contagious. I grabbed a chair from the dining room and sat.

  Without preamble, Charles began. “Mimi and I just returned from the jail. We were asked to visit an inmate to see if we’d be interested in taking his case.”

  “But…” Cortnie tried to interrupt, and Charles held up his hand.

  “Just listen. The possible client is accused of murder and being held without bond. He asked us to find the real killer because he says the police are sure it was him and are no longer investigating.”

  Now Cortnie didn’t hesitate. “They must have pretty solid evidence if they arrested him and have closed the investigation.”

  “Not to mention, what if the murder investigation belonged to Nick and Gabe, then what?” I’d just thought of it.

  “If you’ll let me finish,” Charles huffed. “This is something we’ll have to look into, but we have something more pressing. The accused is a high-ranking member of the Norteño gang.”

  You could have heard an icicle drip. I think everyone stopped breathing.

  “What are you thinking? That’s not smart, getting involved in gang business. No. Not good at all,” Cortnie said.

  Lydia leaned forward on the couch and reached for a gingerbread cookie. “Tell me more. What would we be doing?”

  “I’m not sure what your role would be, Mom, but we need everyone to be on board. Saying no to Hector Varga may be more dangerous than saying yes. We are his best hope of being released.” I wasn’t sure why I was advocating for this case, except Charles and I had decided we wanted to investigate.

  Cortnie asked, “Why would it be dangerous to say no?”

  “Because they probably don’t take no for an answer very well. He could just shrug it off, but somehow I think we’d be taught a lesson,” Charles said.

  “I don’t think that would happen,” she said. “Besides, when were you ever afraid of anyone or anything?”

  “I’m not, but I’m also not here all of the time,” Charles said.

  “Who knows? It can’t hurt to see if he’s really guilty,” I said.