by J. D. Griffo
“I apologize for barging in like this, Owen,” Joyce said. “But as someone who lives alone, I know that it can be challenging to get certain things done if you’re not feeling well.”
“Please don’t apologize, Joyce, you’re one of the very few visitors I have had,” Owen shared. “Honestly, I’m the one who should apologize.”
“Why would you have to do any such thing?” Joyce asked.
“Because I have an appointment this morning, as well, which is going to prevent me from being a proper host,” Owen explained. “I do have time for one cup of tea, if you’d like to join me.”
“Owen O’Hara, you should know by now that I will never pass up a chance to have a cup of Earl Grey,” Joyce said.
“Then this, milady, is your lucky day,” Owen said. “If you could steer me to the hotplate, I’ll make us a cuppa.”
While Joyce was simultaneously keeping Owen engaged in conversation and navigating him to the back of the store, Alberta was slowly making her way down to the back room of the Tranqclockery, where she had last seen the grandfather clock. According to what Owen had told Father Sal, he was getting ready to transport the clock with him on his morning flight to Texas to deliver it to a customer, so it should be on the premises, waiting to be moved. She entered the back room, leaving the curtain open so she and Joyce would be able to see each other, and was thrilled that she was correct. There was a large wooden crate with the grandfather clock’s certificate of authenticity taped to it. What delighted Alberta even more was to see a second, slightly smaller crate, standing next to it, just as Owen told Father Sal there would be.
A few feet away Owen was boiling water on the small hotplate he kept in the back corner of the shop on top of an old-fashioned metal cabinet.
“Why don’t I take care of the tea?” Joyce suggested.
“Thank you, dear,” Owen replied. “You’ll find everything you need within arm’s reach.”
Joyce guided Owen to sit in the chair, deliberately turning it around so his back faced Alberta. Joyce rummaged through the cabinet until she found two cups and a box of teabags. While she was setting everything out on the surface of the cabinet, she continued making small talk with Owen and let him explain to her, yet again, how his ocular migraines had developed and worsened through the years. She also stole glances at Alberta to make sure she knew what her sister-in-law was up to. Thankfully, she had become a whiz at multitasking while working on Wall Street. She never realized she’d need to utilize her skills in her retirement.
Alberta caught Joyce’s eye and pointed to herself and then pointed to the empty crate, to indicate that this was how Alberta was going to sneak onto Owen’s plane. Joyce nodded that she understood, but had to turn away because the water started to boil. While Joyce was busy pouring tea, Alberta took the certificate of authenticity off the large crate and taped it onto the smaller one. Now came the hard part. Alberta had to get into the crate without being heard.
Once again, Alberta waited until she caught Joyce’s eye. When she did, she opened the door to the crate and released a silent sigh of relief that it didn’t make a sound. Joyce grabbed hold of the handle to the cabinet, and just as they did when exiting the Mercedes, they timed it so they each closed their door at the same time.
Breathing deeply, Alberta felt a small wave of panic start to rise from the pit of her stomach. Another way to describe the crate, which was her temporary home, was to call it a coffin. Or a casket. Or one of those metal compartments in the morgue. Alberta fought to control her breathing and not think about the fact that she was actually in the type of confinement that would be her final resting place. It was a morbid thought, but it was the truth. Even though death seemed to be all around her lately, she didn’t spend copious amounts of time thinking of her own mortality. She had her ailments, but she wasn’t infirm, she was old, but not elderly, and thanks to Jinx and the rest of her family she had a lot of living left to do. She never spent time thinking about her departure from this world. Until now.
Part of her thought she was making a huge mistake or, more accurately, the stupidest decision of her life. The other part of her remembered that she vowed to her sister Helen that she would bring Teri Jo’s killer to justice, and she wasn’t going to let her down. She remembered something her grandfather would always tell her: Un voto fatto non può mai essere infranto. A vow made can never be broken. If she had to hide out in a crate for a few hours and fight back the fears about her own eventual death in order to get the prime suspects alone and in a place where they didn’t have a chance of escaping, that was the price she would have to pay. If the rest of her plan went as smoothly as the first part had, Alberta wouldn’t have any further problems.
Wishful thinking.
From inside the crate, Alberta couldn’t see anything, but she heard every word of the conversation Owen had with the moving men he hired to transport the grandfather clock to his plane. She did not like what she heard.
“Which crate are we taking, Mr. O’Hara?”
“The one with the certificate of authenticity on it,” Owen replied.
“Got it,” the man said. “I’ll just lock it up and it’ll be on the plane waiting for you before you take off.”
“Thank you so much,” Owen said. “Tell the pilot we’ll be there shortly. We’ll leave for the airport once Veronica arrives.”
Alberta held her breath, and she knew Joyce was doing exactly the same on the other side of the crate. They both realized that they weren’t as smart as they thought they were, because they had not planned on the crate having to be locked. But why wouldn’t it be secured? Owen was transporting an expensive item and he couldn’t risk the door to the crate opening up during the flight and having the grandfather clock fall to the airplane floor. His lucrative sale would be ruined.
Alberta heard the mover attach a padlock to the crate and snap it shut. Then she heard him repeat the process not once, but twice more. She was now stuck in a crate with three padlocks keeping it locked and secure. How in the world was she ever going to get to confront the suspect and solve this mystery?
Once again, fate was on her side. Sort of.
“The three locks have the same combination, Mr. O’Hara,” the man said. “I’ve written it down on this piece of paper.”
Owen reached his hand out, but he underestimated the distance between him and the deliveryman, so his fingers were clutching at the empty air. Joyce quickly stepped in and took the paper for him.
“Thank you,” Joyce said. “I’ll make sure Owen has the combination so he can unlock his precious cargo when he lands.”
The next thing Alberta knew, she was being jostled as the deliverymen prepared to move the crate from the shop onto their truck. Slowly she turned counterclockwise until she was horizontal, resting on her right shoulder, and then the men tipped the crate so Alberta was on her back. The men adjusted their grip, which gave Alberta a moment to get used to the new position and she happily realized she was physically comfortable.
“This must be some clock you got in here, Mr. O’Hara,” the man said. “It’s heavier than I thought.”
Emotionally, however, Alberta had just gotten bruised.
As the men were walking down the steps that led to the alleyway, they were greeted by Owen’s traveling companion.
“Owen, move it!” Veronica bellowed. “Let’s get on with this charade.”
Alberta wasn’t sure if the men stopped in their tracks because Veronica was blocking their exit, or because of the nasty tone of her voice. Once Veronica noticed Joyce, however, she corrected herself and Veronica sounded like she always did. Hearing this other side of Veronica made Alberta wonder which one was the real person, and to use Veronica’s word, which one was the charade.
“Joyce, good morning,” Veronica said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I stopped over to check in on Owen,” Joyce replied. “I didn’t realize the two of you were jetting out of town. How glamorous!”
&n
bsp; “Hardly. It’s an unavoidable business trip, we’ll be back by tonight,” Veronica said. “Unless we miss our flight, which we cannot do. Owen, are you ready to leave?”
“I am, but there’s been a change of plans,” Owen said.
Alberta grabbed her crucifix and said a quick prayer that she hadn’t been discovered or that Owen hadn’t decided to transport the grandfather clock in a cargo plane. She needn’t have worried, because Owen was doing exactly what she thought he would do.
“We don’t have time to make any changes, Owen,” Veronica said, her voice once again unpleasant and irritated. “They’re expecting us.”
“Don’t fret, Veronica, we’ll get there on time,” Owen said. “I’m not changing the flight plan, only the passenger list. Joyce, please say you’ll join us for the ride.”
“Owen, are you out of your mind?”
Alberta didn’t need to see Veronica’s face or body language, she could tell from her voice that she had abandoned all pretense. She wasn’t trying to appear friendly and cooperative; she was angry and she didn’t care who noticed. Alberta wasn’t sure if this was the real Veronica, but she knew it was a side of her that came naturally.
“I’m sorry, Joyce, but this is a business trip,” Veronica said. “We’re not flying down to Rio.”
“Maybe we will after we get done with our meeting,” Owen said, chuckling. “It’s my plane and I want Joyce to join us.”
“This is ridiculous!” Veronica cried. “Shamus and the others aren’t going to be pleased when they see that you’ve brought company to a company meeting!”
“Veronica, stop being such a prickly pear,” Owen demanded. “Don’t pay any attention to her, Joyce—honestly, I never do. Our meeting won’t be long, and you can relax on the plane until we’re done. Please say that you’ll take a ride with us, Joyce. It’s so rare that I get to share the friendly skies with, well, friends.”
Alberta was beaming inside the crate. Everything was going according to plan. She knew from the conversation she overheard between Father Sal and Owen that he and Veronica weren’t on the friendliest of terms and that Owen was hoping for a third wheel to join him on his trip to meet with the literal Third Wheel. She also knew that Owen had very few friends in town, and Joyce was one of the few people he liked. So Alberta had figured if she placed Joyce in the right place at the right time, Owen would take the bait. And she was right. She didn’t have to hear Joyce’s response to know that the second part of their plan was intact. Joyce would be on the plane and be Alberta’s witness when she revealed who the killer was.
“What do you say, Joyce?” Owen asked. “Are you up for a little adventure?”
“Owen, adventure is my middle name,” Joyce declared. “Texas, here we come!”
CHAPTER 25
L’aereo! L’aereo!
The third part of Alberta’s plan was unfolding at the airport without her. She didn’t worry that it wouldn’t be executed precisely as she had instructed, because Jinx, who was sitting in Helen’s Buick parked at the Morristown Airport, was leading the effort. Jinx was in the passenger seat, Freddy was in the back, and Helen, as usual, was in the driver’s seat, her hands gripping the steering wheel even though the engine was turned off. From where they sat they could see Owen’s Cessna Denali getting fueled up for their upcoming flight. A flight that, if Jinx did her job, would never get off the ground.
“You realize your grandmother has lost her mind,” Helen stated.
“I think Gram’s got a better hold of her mind than all of us,” Jinx replied. “She’s the one who figured this whole thing out.”
“I’m not talking about her smarts. My habit’s off to her,” Helen said. “I’m talking about her mental state. She’s crazy to think she can get away with this.”
“She isn’t doing it alone,” Jinx corrected. “She’s with Joyce and she has us, and once I get ahold of Vinny, she’s going to have the cops on her side too.”
“He still hasn’t called you back?” Freddy asked.
“No, and I’ve left three messages,” Jinx complained.
They watched the maintenance men disengage the fuel lines from the top of the wings and return them to their stationary positions. By the time they were finished with their job, Freddy had Vinny on the line.
“Dude, it’s Vinny,” Freddy said.
“How did you get him on the line?” Jinx asked.
“I called his cell,” Freddy answered.
“And he picked up?” Jinx asked, her voice about an octave higher.
“We’ve kind of become tennis buddies,” Freddy confessed.
“You play tennis with Vinny?” This time Jinx’s voice was so high it pierced Helen’s ears.
“Answer the phone already before we get attacked by a pack of wild dogs!” Helen shouted.
Yanking the phone out of Freddy’s hands, Jinx started the call in a fashion that could only be described as inappropriate, especially if you wanted the person you were speaking with to follow your orders.
“Why didn’t you call me back?”
“I’ve been busy investigating three unsolved murders, Vinny barked.
“What do you think I’ve been doing?” Jinx cried.
“I’m doing my job. You’re having fun and getting in the way.”
“Really? I’ll have you know that I’m sitting in the Morristown Airport waiting for the killer to fly out of town,” Jinx said. “So there!”
“You figured out who the murderer is?” Vinny asked.
“Yes! Well, no, my grandmother did, but what does that matter?” Jinx said. “You need to help us.”
“You Ferraras have been doing God knows what on your own since Teri Jo was murdered, and all of a sudden you need my help?” Vinny asked.
Vinny was shouting so loudly his voice echoed throughout the car. Helen, who could bicker with the best of them, had had enough of the bickering and knew that time was running out if she wanted to help her sister. She grabbed the phone from Jinx and told Vinny exactly what he had to do.
“Vinny, this is Helen, so don’t give me any back talk,” she said. “Get in your squad car and get to this airport now so you can stop Owen and Veronica from taking off in his plane. Otherwise, you’re letting a murderer escape.”
“One of them is the murderer?” Vinny asked.
“Stop talking and start driving!” Helen yelled.
“I’m on my way,” Vinny said.
Helen handed the cell phone back to Freddy. She turned to face forward and keep an eye on the plane, “He’s on his way.”
“Riddle me this, people,” Jinx said. “Freddy calls Vinny and he picks up immediately. Helen gives him an order and he complies. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Vinny likes me.”
“He doesn’t, sweetie,” Helen said.
“He’s used the words entitled and hothead when he talks about you,” Freddy said. “I’ve told him those are only parts of your personality. The whole Jinx is like a totally different person, and he’s starting to come around.”
“Dude! You are so lucky we’re on a stakeout right now or there would be hell to pay!” Jinx screamed.
“Keep your voice down, Jinxie,” Helen said. “We’ve got company.”
From their vantage point they saw Joyce’s Mercedes pull up near Owen’s Cessna, followed by a white van. They watched in silence as Joyce and Veronica got out of the car and they followed Joyce with their eyes as she walked around the car to help Owen out of the passenger seat. Veronica approached Owen and she could be seen saying something to him, but she must not have liked his response because she turned her back on him, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and started pacing back and forth between the vehicles.
They heard the side door of the van open up, but since it was facing the opposite direction they didn’t see the two men carrying the crate until they were a few feet from the plane.
“That’s Gram!” Jinx shouted.
“Keep your voice down, Jinx,” Helen said
. “You don’t want to give us away.”
“Sorry, I’m starting to freak out a little,” Jinx said.
They then heard a ping from Freddy’s cell phone, indicating that he received a text message.
“Is that Vinny?” Jinx asked.
“Tambra,” Freddy replied. “They’re about ten minutes away.”
“Tell them to hurry,” Jinx said. “They’re boarding the plane now.”
Veronica ran up the stairs into the plane, followed by Owen and Joyce, who were moving much slower. Joyce entered the plane last and waited while the staircase was wheeled away to pan the parking lot for Helen’s car. As the door was lowered into place, she held her hand up as a signal that she saw them. The next second the door closed and Joyce disappeared from view.
“Vinny’s not going to make it in time to stop the plane, Aunt Helen,” Jinx announced. “What are we gonna do?”
“The only thing we can do, Jinxie,” Helen said. “Stop it ourselves.”
Helen turned the key in the ignition and the Buick revved up. It was by no means a sports car, but it had served them well and had become an integral part of their detective work. She was praying the old baby wouldn’t let them down now, because she was going to take it—and herself, for that matter—out of its comfort zone. If David could stop Goliath, Helen thought, why couldn’t a Buick stop a Cessna?
They watched as the propeller began to spin until it was whirling so quickly they could no longer see the blades. When the plane started to turn to the right toward the small runway, Helen knew that she had to take action. If she was going to prevent Alberta and Joyce from being whisked away with someone who had already killed three times, she had to act now.
Helen slammed her foot on the gas pedal with such force that it threw them all back against their seats. “Buckle up!” she cried.
“Too late!” Freddy yelled from the floor of the back seat.
Doing her best imitation of Paul Newman crashing the Indy 500, she sped down the runway, gaining on the plane in the hopes of getting in front of it to block it from being able to take off. She wasn’t alone.
