“Oh, hush up,” I answered. I looked down at myself, and watched the overskirt settling down around me much like a slow-leaking balloon. “Well, when this shindig is over, I can burn the dress in effigy. I suspect the other bridesmaids will join me. I see big bonfires in our future.” We both laughed. “You know it’s not so much the color--”
“Yes, it is,” he interrupted.
“I think it’s really the volume,” I continued.
“It’s both, darling. You need to face it. Be brave. Be strong. I’ve seen more sedate costumes at a Drag Queen Show.”
When it comes to quips, I can never top Douglas, so I gave up. I turned to him, studying his face. Between the wedding and dealing with every level of bureaucracy known to man on both sides of the border, we hadn’t had much of a chance to converse since the night at the hospital.
“How are you doing? How’s Estaban? Care to talk about it?” I asked.
His smile wavered a little before he said, “He’s being released from rehab next week.”
“That’s a good thing,” I encouraged.
“Yes. There’s been little permanent nerve damage to the shoulder. With continued therapy, he should regain full use of his arm.”
“Another good thing.”
“He’s managed to scrape together the bail–he wouldn’t take any money from me–so he can come home until the trial.”
“You’re trying to work things out with him?”
“I think so. We’ll have to see how it goes,” he said, looking down for the moment. “Estaban didn’t know about a lot of it, being in Europe most of the time. I mean, of course, he knew about the cave and the antiquities from when he was a child, but he always tried to stay on the fringes of it. He looked the other way, I guess. He said he came back from Spain hoping things had changed or the stash had been played out. He thought he was going to run the gallery legit.” Douglas stopped for a moment, staring out, deep in his own thoughts. Turning back to me, he said, “It’s funny the things we tell ourselves just so we can get through the day, isn’t it?”
I nodded, and we sat in silence for another moment. The mariachi band was playing Cielito Linda in the background and people were talking, dancing, and laughing. Douglas took a deep breath and went on, “To his credit, when you called me in Napa, and he heard you asking me if he had been with me all day, Estaban knew what had happened. You saw Julio in San Miguel and thought it was him.
“Then he confessed to me that Julio had seen your picture in the apartment several days before. He knew you were the one I’d given the necklace to. It had accidentally gotten into a box of replicas, and he wanted it back. When Julio recognized you on the street in San Miguel, he phoned Estaban, demanding to know everything about you. He was convinced you were out to destroy the family legacy.”
“I guess I was, even though I hadn’t put it together yet.”
“The man had a real vendetta against you that Estaban says he couldn’t talk him out of. Then he’d learned Julio killed their other cousin and his wife the day before, execution style, in Mexico. Estaban was terrified Julio would hurt you, so he insisted we go to the gallery and try to stop him. He knew Julio would be there.”
“That would be Eduardo and Eva,” I explained. “They were pilfering from the Mendez family.”
“That’s when he realized how far Julio would go. He was telling me this on the drive back from Napa, but I couldn’t take in everything he was talking about, you know?” His eyes searched mine. “I was so blind, Lee. Like about the knife. When I was telling it to the police, the words coming out of my mouth sounded so thin. What an imbecile I was.”
“No, no you weren’t,” I said, taking his hand. He looked at me, arching an eyebrow. “Well, maybe a little.” We both laughed.
“I noticed the knife was missing the day after Estaban moved in, Lee. I had read the newspaper accounts of the murder in the Sunday Chronicle, but I didn’t put it together.”
“The police never released the information of it being a ceramic knife, Douglas. They just said a knife. They wanted to keep that bit to themselves.”
“Ah! I see,” he said. “I feel a little better. That Saturday Julio had been helping us carry in and unload boxes. I remember he’d gotten a phone call right in the middle of everything and took off. That must have been when he took the knife, because later on that day Estaban and I noticed it missing. He phoned Julio, and Julio said he’d dinged it when he was putting things away in a nearby cabinet and threw it away. He offered to replace it. Estaban told him not to bother, we’d get another one. We hadn’t gotten around to it yet.” He rumpled his hair and let out a sound of exasperation. “Sounds stupid when I say it, doesn’t it?”
“Not really,” said Frank, who’d sneaked up on us. We both jumped and looked at him. “Mind if I join you?” He sat down beside me, looking quite elegant in his black suit, grey shirt, and grey and black silk tie. I forget sometimes Frank was a clotheshorse in his younger days.
“Julio only had a matter of minutes to get to the meeting place and grabbed the first weapon he could find. At least, that’s what we’ve pieced together.”
“That’s right,” I agreed. “How could anyone possibly have suspected him? I sure wouldn’t have.”
Douglas took my hand and kissed it, saying, “You’re so sweet to say that, Lee, and such a liar.”
“Excuse me?” I said, drawing myself up to my full height in the chair. Frank laughed and took a sip of his champagne.
“You know and I know, you’d have figured it out a lot sooner, if you had been in my place,” Douglas said. “But that’s you, generous and forgiving to the end. For the record, darling, if it were me, I’d be annoyed as hell you hadn’t put two and two together and had caused me all that trouble, darling.”
“You didn’t cause any trouble, darling,” I said, imitating him. “You were an innocent victim, whose only mistake was in believing in the person you loved. I understand Estaban’s turning state’s evidence in exchange for a lighter sentence. Over fifty people have been indicted so far, both here and in Mexico. Isn’t that right, Frank?”
He nodded. “You know the kid in the cave, the one who came up in the truck? He was the son of the two people shot on the Garcia property.”
I stared at him. Somehow, knowing I had taken a picture of the youth, and he had lost both his parents in such a way, made this seem all the more horrible. I could tell by Douglas’ expression he felt the same.
Frank looked down at the half-filled glass in his hand and swirled the champagne around. “The kid didn’t know Julio killed his parents until we told him. The only good part about it was that once he found out, he couldn’t talk fast enough. He didn’t know much, but he could certainly point us to the right people.”
“That poor boy,” said Douglas, shaking his head.
“Makes you not so sorry that bastard has to wear a prosthesis on his leg for the rest of his life. With him spending his life in jail, he won’t be doing much walking, anyway.” Frank drank the last of his champagne.
“They’re talking about eighteen months jail time for Estaban, maybe less,” said Douglas. “Then we’re going to see where he and I are.”
“Good. Maybe it will work out for you.” Frank gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and got up. “I’ve got to go and find Abby. They’re playing a salsa. That’s her favorite dance.” He waved goodbye and was lost in the crowd.
“I thought I’d found my knight in shining armor,” my friend said quietly after a moment.
“Don’t give up hope, Douglas. Maybe he just needs a little polishing.” I grabbed his arm and stood up, trying to shake the mood. “Let’s forget about all of it and dance. I do a wicked salsa,” I said, grinning at him.
We took to the floor and were making some great moves until a woman put her heel through one of the folds of my hem, nearly pulling me over. Secretly delighted, I flitted into the kitchen looking for the poultry shears I’d noticed earlier when I was checking on th
e caterers. Now that this ha-ha creation had been damaged, I figured it was open to all kinds of changes. I grabbed the scissors, went into a nearby restroom and locked the door.
I pulled the dress off over my head, stood it up in a corner, and squirmed out of the stiff crinoline petticoat. One brief glance at the small trashcan under the sink convinced me to open the overhead window and shove the ghastly thing through a little at a time. I did. It fell noisily to the ground and I could only hope it didn’t take out a passing dog.
Armed with the shears and grim determination, I turned to the gown. I whacked at the overskirt near the waistband. Within seconds, it was relieved of its behemoth outer layer. Out the window that went, too, sounding like a flock of geese flapping over a waterway. Being environmentally conscious, I vowed to deal with the disposal of the ex-glad rags after the party. When no one was looking.
I put the dress back on, reached behind me, grabbed the hem of the underskirt, pulled it up and began to wrap it around my body. Finally, I tucked the tip end underneath the belt and voila! I had an almost passable knee-length sheath. I applied more hot pink lipstick, hoping the color helped to equalize the greenish hue that currently lived upon my cheeks, and exited the bathroom. I dropped the shears on the kitchen table and reached out for the kitchen door. It swung open and there stood Gurn and his lopsided smile. I should have held on to the scissors.
Crap, I thought. I’d been avoiding him since the night at the gallery, but he just wouldn’t go away.
“Hey, Lee.” He smiled, coming at me. “You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you?”
“I have not! What an ego,” I said, taking on my mother’s tone of condemnation. “I’ve been very busy.”
How did he get an invitation, anyway, I wondered, as I was backing up from him? I guess in a fit of good will, Mira, Carlos, and Tex felt it was the appropriate thing to do. After all, he was partially responsible for the happy ending, although I think I could have handled those two goons by myself, given the opportunity.
“I’ve left three messages for you during the past two weeks, at home and at your office, and you haven’t returned a one.” He grinned, putting his arm around my waist.
“Look,” I said, extricating myself. “Between the American Consulate, the Mexican Consulate, the local authorities, the Mexican authorities, the Customs Departments of both countries, and all the grateful museums across the continent, I haven’t had much time to do stuff like return calls.”
“No?”
“No.”
“What about today?”
“I’m the Maid of Honor and the Wedding Planner. I have things to do.” I tried to pass him and go back into the reception area.
“Not any more. It’s done.” He grabbed me by the hand and pulled at me. “Dance with me. Right here, right now. I promise not to spill anything on you.”
“Stop that,” I said, slapping at his hand. “Boy, you can be one obnoxious pain in the butt, you know that?”
“No, I’m not, and you know it,” he answered. “I think we could have something special, you and I, if you’d give it half a chance.”
“Hold it right there,” I said, raising my arm with the palm of my hand toward him. “I just got out of a relationship, and I’m not anxious to start another one.”
“You got dumped, huh?” His eyes twinkled at me.
“I didn’t get dumped,” I sputtered. “Well, maybe a little dumped. All right, I got dumped.” He moved closer and put both arms around me, backing me into the wall. I continued blathering, “I’m very happy by myself. I don’t want anybody in my life. I don’t need anybody in my life. Just me, my work, and my cat.” I could feel his lips brushing my forehead and then his warm breath on the side of my face. He leaned down and nibbled on my ear. “Oh, Jeeesh,” I groaned.
“Say you’ll go out with me. At least once, tonight, after the reception’s over,” he whispered.
“On one condition,” I whispered back. He grunted ascent, I kept talking, and he nibbled away. “Tell me how you disabled the alarm at the gallery.”
He stopped, drew back, and looked at me. “You’re kidding.” I shook my head. “You’re not kidding?”
I leaned back against the wall. “That’s it. That’s the deal. Tell me how you did it, and I’ll go out with you.” Gurn started to laugh, hands on his hips, his head thrown back to the ceiling. “Well, I didn’t think it was that funny,” I said, crossing my arms and looking at him as severely as I could.
“Lee, I can’t tell you that.”
“What do you mean you can’t--”
“Here’s what I can tell you. It resembles a Palm Pilot, only it uses a magnetic signal, based on what the computerized sensors perceive to be the size and electrical output of the alarm. To simplify what it does, it’s able to lock a system into place for several seconds so it becomes incapacitated.”
“Incapacitated,” I repeated.
“Exactly. During that time, you can get inside. Then the system resumes, as if nothing has happened. You use it again when you want to get out.”
“But the system doesn’t send out a signal that it’s been messed with?” I asked.
“No,” he said shaking his head. “It can’t. It’s just been frozen in time. Neat, huh?”
“Okay, this begs two questions.”
“Only two?”
I ignored him. “One, how did you get hold of such a thing? And two, how come you had it with you?”
“The second question is easy to answer. I had been following you, and just in case I needed to get into some place with an alarm system, I brought it with me.”
“Go on.”
“The first question I can’t answer. Sorry. National Security and all that.”
I was stunned. “I don’t get this. You keep telling me you’re an accountant.”
“I am, but I’m also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Navy Reserves. What I do when I’m there, I can’t tell you.” He leaned in on me.
I pushed against his chest with both my hands as hard as I could and turned to the door. “I don’t need someone like you in my life,” I yelled. “It’s complicated enough.”
He grabbed my arm, spun me around, and kissed me. Warm, soft, fiery, and hard, all or nothing. Oh, Jeeesh, I said to myself again, I’m done for. I kissed him back, damning myself the entire time.
When we broke free, I looked at him and said, “You’d better like cats.”
“I love cats. Got one of my own.”
I was pushing through the door to the main dining room when I heard a voice boom, “And there she is!” A spotlight flashed in my face, and I froze in my tracks, while every eye in the room turned toward me. Mira, stood at the other end of the great room with the microphone in her hand. She continued speaking with a bright smile on her face, “I don’t know how many of you are aware that this wedding wouldn’t have taken place without our wonderful friend, Liana Alvarez.”
Carlos jumped up, grabbed the mike from Mira and said, “Come on down here, Lee, so we can thank you properly!”
Feeling like I had just won a slot on The Price is Right, I looked around me and shook my head, slinking back inside the kitchen. Gurn grabbed at my waist and pushed me into the room in front of him. Then he came to the front of me, dragging me across the dance floor and toward the bride and groom’s table, which was facing the assembled guests. On my way around to the back of the long table, we passed Warren McFadden, who looked me up and down with shocked eyes. I gave him one of those ‘I don’t know what happened to my dress either’ looks and joined the newly married, standing in between Mira and Carlos. Both put an arm around me. I felt like an Oreo cookie about to go into a glass of milk.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” said Mira, taking back the mike from Carlos. “I don’t think Liana Alvarez needs any introduction to most of you, but for those of you who don’t know, Lee is the best friend a person could ever have. I owe my wedding and my entire future to her.”
“Mine, too,” chimed in Carlos.
>
“Well, let’s not be dramatic,” I muttered, waving it all away and trying to escape. They held fast.
“And that’s why, Lee, Carlos and I want to give you this,” she finished and handed me a silver box tied with a silver and white bow.
“You didn’t have to give me any--” I started to protest.
“Shush, Lee,” Mira ordered. “Just open it.”
I undid the ribbon and pulled off the top, sweeping aside white tissue paper. I lifted out a small, blue earthenware statue of a dog, about six inches tall, with an upturned tail and laughing face. Staring at it, I said, “This can’t…Is this?”
“Yes, it is,” said Mira.
“The statue that started the whole thing,” added Carlos.
I looked from one to the other. “How can this be?” I asked.
“Oh, it can be,” shouted up Richard sitting to the other side of the standing Carlos.
“But how? If this is real…” I began.
“It is real,” said Mira. “Very real, so be careful with it. It took us a lot of time and paperwork to get the Mexican Government to let us hand this to you, if only temporarily. It’s the way all of us wanted to say thank you for the work you did, not just Carlos and me, but an appreciative Mexican Nation.”
“Thank you, I think,” I said, confused. “You’re letting me hold this, but you’re not giving it to me?” I looked at both of them.
Carlos came forward laughing, and took it out of my hands, cautiously setting it on the table. “That’s right. It’s not ours to give,” he said. “It has to go back. See those two guards over there?” He pointed to a couple of serious looking men standing close by. I had taken them earlier to be watching over the wedding gifts.
“Those two men are here from the Museo de Antropologia to guard this little dog. Señor Manual Lopez, Head Curator of the museum, is watching out for it, too. Take a bow, Señor.” A rotund man from one of the tables in the back stood up briefly and waved.
Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries Boxed Set: Books 1-3 (The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries) Page 45
