“That was my initial suspicion. That’s what I went to Cleveland to investigate. But when I got to Cleveland, I found evidence that sent me in a different direction. Last week I got a call from the Cleveland fire investigator. Cleveland CSIs found a fingerprint on the electrical panel where the fire started.”
“That’s good news. Those fingerprints could prove Ramona’s father set the fire.”
“Yes, they would, if the prints had come from Ramona’s father. But the prints came from a convicted arsonist named Howard Hopper. He lives in Houston.”
“Houston? Why would Ramona hire an arsonist from Houston?”
“She wouldn’t. The guy was hired by a Houston attorney named Leonard Lucas. This guy gives new meaning to the term ‘criminal attorney.’”
“How do you mean?” Simonetti asked.
“I mean Lucas not only defends criminals, he’s a criminal himself.”
“How do you know?”
“I went to Houston, found Howard Hopper, and I asked him who hired him.”
“Why would he tell you?”
I looked at Simonetti for a few seconds. “I said pretty please.”
The light dawned and he nodded. “And then I guess you went to talk to this criminal attorney.”
“Yes. I persuaded him to talk too. Lucas told me he was engaged by yet another person to hire someone to kill the half-sisters. The other person didn’t specify arson, he left the method up to Lucas. It’s just coincidence that Lucas hired an arsonist.”
Simonetti said, “Whoever’s behind this made sure no one traced the murders back to him.”
Don spoke up. “That’s right, Ike. That person wanted a long and indirect chain.”
“And who engaged Lucas?”
I said, “A Houston attorney with a big firm downtown.”
Simonetti placed both hands flat on the table in from of him. His face lost all expression. “Who was it?”
“Franklin Turbot.”
He frowned. “That name’s familiar. Do I know him?”
“He represented Lorraine before you were married.”
At first, Simonetti had no reaction. Then his eyebrows shot up. “I remember now. He was Lorraine’s attorney.” He stopped. “You think that Lorraine orchestrated that fire?”
I nodded. “Turbot was her attorney. And he still is.”
Simonetti continued. “Before we married, Frank Turbot represented Lorraine in drafting our prenuptial agreement, and he redrew her estate plan. Lorraine had significant assets from her first husband and lots of separate property. In fact, she was almost as wealthy as I was.”
Don asked, “Lorraine was married before?”
Simonetti nodded. “Oh, yes. Her first husband died before she and I met…” His eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. “Oh my God. He died of a heart attack.”
I nodded again. “My background check on Lorraine revealed that.”
Simonetti leaned back. “You did a background check on Lorraine?”
“I did one on you too. Routine on all clients.”
He frowned but said nothing.
I continued. “Lorraine went to Houston to see Turbot last September, right after Labor Day. That’s when she must’ve asked him to find someone to kill your half-sisters.”
“We went to Houston to visit family. She said she had Turbot change her will to add some charitable bequests.”
“Whatever else she hired him for, that gave her cover for the real purpose of the trip, which was to arrange your half-sisters’ murders.”
Don spoke up. “You see why we don’t want Lorraine to learn that we know all this.”
Simonetti paced the room. He stopped and gazed down at the street, spoke without turning around. “Guys, I don’t know what to do now.” He turned to face us. “What happens now?”
“Ike, there’s more,” I added.
Simonetti returned to the table and slumped into a chair. “What’s worse than my wife having three people murdered, plus her first husband?”
I said, “Ike, Lorraine is on staff at Port City Regional Medical Center.”
“So?”
“Sam was hospitalized there, treated there, and he died there. Lorraine can come and go as she pleases without suspicion—any hour of the day or night.”
Simonetti stopped me. “I don’t like where you’re going with this.”
“I don’t like it either, but you need to hear this. Shall I continue?”
I gave Simonetti a moment.
“We’ve been married for ten years. I’ve slept beside her almost every night. We have breakfast and dinner together almost every day. We’ve cried together over not getting pregnant.”
He looked around the table. “And now you think she murdered my father.”
Vicky put a hand on Simonetti’s arm. “Ike, we don’t know that Lorraine murdered your father. We know she had the skill and the opportunity. Chuck just discovered Turbot’s connection to the fire last weekend.”
“That’s right, Ike. I still have a lot to investigate. We wanted you prepared for the worst. Can you keep this knowledge from Lorraine? Can you act as if nothing’s happened?”
Simonetti stood up. “I’m not an actor. I can’t sleep beside a woman who had three people killed and maybe her first husband. I can’t do that, Chuck. I can’t go home.”
“Ike, you can go fishing.”
“What?”
“Go fishing. Go to Alaska or Canada or anywhere you’ll be out of touch.”
“I can’t run away from this, Chuck. I have to do something. I can’t just hide.”
I raised my hand like a traffic cop. “Stop and think for a minute. You have done something; you hired me. Let me do my job.” I waited until I had his attention. “Ike, I do this stuff for a living. I have Vicky and Don and Tom Collins to help. But, Ike, you’ve got to go somewhere, and you can’t go any place where Lorraine expects you to Skype with her every night. You’ve got to be incommunicado in a way that doesn’t arouse suspicion. An Alaskan or Canadian fishing trip is perfect.”
Simonetti turned to Don. “What do you think?”
“Makes sense to me.”
Simonetti stoked his chin. “If I go to Alaska, what’re you gonna do while I’m gone?”
I answered, “I’ll try to find out if Sam was murdered. If he was, I’ll liaise with Lieutenant Joyce Weiner of the Port City Police to find out who did it.”
Simonetti raised a finger. “What about Lorraine’s first husband? If she killed him, I’m in danger too.”
“All the more reason for you to leave town. While you’re gone, I’ll get things rolling with the Houston police department to look into the death of Lorraine’s first husband. There is no statute of limitations on murder. Second thing to do is consider Gloria. My contacts in Mexico are working to prove that Ramona killed three husbands. After they do that, what about Gloria?”
Simonetti’s jaw clenched. “Ramona named Lorraine and me as Gloria’s guardians. That doesn’t require we be blood relatives, does it, Vicky?” He glanced at Vicky.
“No, she could name a family friend or anyone as guardian.”
Simonetti said, “So if Ramona and Lorraine both go down for murder, I become her guardian.”
I nodded. “I’ll try to help the Mexican police make their case.”
Chapter 48
Felix answered on the second ring. “Hola, gringo. Whose house do you want me to burgle?”
“Felix, I have news about Ramona Gomez.”
“Great. I have news too. Let me hear your news first.”
“I’m afraid it’s not good news.”
“Like the song says, ‘You can’t always get what you want.’ Tell me.”
“We can’t get Ramona for murder here in the States. She didn’t use her father to burn down the house in Cleveland. A torchman from Houston did it. Lorraine Wallace’s attorney found him. We figure Wallace set up the fire.”
“Lorraine Wallace is your client’s wife?”
“Yeah.” I told him the background on the case. “Felix, you have news?”
“I continued my investigations in Leon, Veracruz, and Ensenada. I have enough to charge Ramona and her father with murder if I can get my hands on them.”
“You won’t be able to extradite her because she has a baby who’s an American citizen. Hmm.”
“Yeah, I thought of that. But I heard you say ‘hmm,’ I know that ‘hmm.’ You’ve got something in your sneaky little mind.”
“You bet your ass.” And I told him. After a little back and forth, we worked out the plan.
“Okay, Felix. You know what to do.”
Chapter 49
I called Ramona from my Carlos Calderone phone. “I hope you enjoyed the flowers.”
“I got them last week after our date. That night I had a sexy dream about you. When are you coming over?”
“I apologize for taking so long to call you. I’ve been in Mexico City visiting my parents. I hope you will forgive me.”
“Of course, Querido, but only if you come see me again.”
“How about this afternoon?”
“We’ll lunch by the pool again. Come over at 1:00.”
“I’ll be there, Little Flower.”
###
Howley opened the door. “Good afternoon, Señor Calderone. Madam is expecting you.” He winked.
Ramona entered the foyer as Howley showed me in. This time she wore a rather modest (by her standards) white silk sun dress with spaghetti straps and a gold chain belt to complement gold sandals and a gold necklace. “Welcome, Carlos.” She kissed me on the mouth and I felt her breasts against my ribs as she hugged me.
She frowned when she felt my shoulder holster and stepped back. She raised one eyebrow. “Carlos…” she began, but I held up my hand. I tipped my head to indicate Howley standing nearby and then shook my head.
She raised both eyebrows and winked. She led me toward the pool. “Today, Carlos, I thought I would serve a grilled grouper salad.” She turned to Howley. “Howley, we won’t need you for a while.”
“Very good, Madam.”
When we were seated, Ramona turned to me. “Carlos, why are you wearing a gun? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No, but you and Gloria may be. I have come to protect you both.”
Instinctively, she put one hand over her mouth and the other across her breasts. “What kind of trouble?”
The cook came from the house with a pitcher of Bloody Marys and two glasses. Ramona glanced up. “Thank you, Melissa. Bring the salads when they’re ready.”
She watched Melissa until she was back in the house and then turned to me. “What do you have to protect us from?”
“From Lorraine Wallace.”
“Lorraine? Why?”
“First, there are things about me you need to know. I’m not just a Chilean miner. I have other interests—a ranch in Mexico, a marina in Fort Lauderdale, a piece of a casino in New Jersey, and another in the Bahamas. Because of those interests, I often carry a gun.”
Ramona took a sip of Bloody Mary and gazed over the rim of her glass at me. “Carlos, are you involved in something illegal?”
I shook my head. “My businesses are one hundred percent legal. But let me tell you the rest, okay?”
Ramona nodded. “Go on.”
“I’ve had several investments in common with Sam over the years. As a result, I know Ike and Lorraine quite well. Did I ever mention that?”
“No, that never came up.”
“I’ve learned that Ike and Gloria each inherit half of Sam’s estate.”
“That’s what Sam’s attorney, Vicky Ramirez, told me. Did she tell you this?”
“No, I got my information from Ike. He told me Sam used to have two daughters who lived in Cleveland.”
“Yes, Melinda and Danielle. I guess you know what happened to them.”
I nodded. “When Ike told me how they died, I became suspicious. I deal with many types of people, both good and bad, honest and dishonest. An innocent girl like you—you’re a trusting person. I’m not. When Ike mentioned this so-called accidental fire, I decided to look into it.”
“But why? That’s police business.”
The cook returned with our lunch. She dished up our salads and put the remainder on the table near us.
“Thank you, Melissa. Bring out the grouper as soon as it’s ready.”
I waited for the cook to leave. “As you say, the fire is police business, little flower. But the fire investigators in Cleveland classified the fire as accidental and closed the case. I checked into it anyway.”
“Carlos, why would you do that? It’s not your affair.”
“Querida, I’m blessed with great financial success. Having many resources allows me to pursue anything that interests me. I’m interested in many things other than business.” I took both her hands in mine. “One thing I am most interested in is you…and Gloria.”
Ramona started to say something, but I placed my forefinger across her lips. “Please, Querida, let me continue. I don’t want anything bad to happen to either you or Gloria. It would be a pain I couldn’t bear.” I leaned back. “I hope that’s okay?”
Ramona blushed. “Carlos, I’m flattered you care about me and Gloria. But why investigate this fire?”
“Your stepdaughters’ deaths were too convenient for Ike and Lorraine. I checked when the fire occurred. Ike and Lorraine would not have known you were pregnant. His half-sisters’ deaths would increase Ike’s share of Sam’s estate from one-third to one hundred percent as far as he and Lorraine knew. That’s a lot of money.”
“Tell me—what did you find? Surely Ike and Lorraine didn’t conspire to kill his own half-sisters?”
“No, not Ike; it was Lorraine.”
“How do you know it was Lorraine and not Ike?”
“I hired a private investigator to investigate the fire.” I told the rest pretty much as it happened. I stopped talking when the cook arrived with the grouper.
Ramona waved at her. “Thanks, Melissa. That will be all.”
I finished my tale about Cleveland. I didn’t mention the men who tried to kill me. “When I discovered that Lorraine’s sister was married to a mobster and that Lorraine’s attorney had hired the arsonist, I knew what had happened.”
Ramona caught on quickly. “Lorraine gains nothing directly because she is not Sam’s heir. But she benefits indirectly because Ike inherits a lot more money. If she is the mastermind behind this, then it makes sense she would try to kill Gloria, but only if I am dead. Otherwise, if anything happened to Gloria, I am her heir. Yes, yes, I see now.”
“That’s right. In order for Ike to inherit from Gloria, Lorraine must eliminate you first, then Gloria.”
Ramona’s face turned to stone. “And later she will kill Ike and inherit it all.”
I took Ramona’s hands “Querida, you and Gloria are in danger. I must take you away.”
“But, Carlitos, where can we go?”
“I told my parents about you—about us—when I visited Mexico last week. Even before I knew about Lorraine’s involvement with the fire, I told them that our relationship is new but promising. And when I returned to Port City, my investigator told me about Lorraine and about the danger to you and Gloria. I called my parents last night. They’ve invited all three of us to visit their ranch near Mexico City.”
“How long would we be gone?”
“A few days at most. My investigator will take his evidence to the police as soon as he ties up a few loose ends. They’ll arrest Lorraine soon. Then the danger to you and Gloria is over, and we come back. Will you come with me?”
Ramona’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, I will.”
“I don’t suppose Gloria has a passport?”
“She’s just a baby, Carlitos.”
“Infants have to have passports. Do you have her birth certificate?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, get me her birth certificate. We’ll improvise...”
I made a few phone calls. After lunch, I booked us three first class tickets to Houston and a suite at an airport hotel.
###
We flew to Houston, spent the night, and the next morning caught a nine o’clock flight to Brownsville. We took a cab across the border at one of the busiest crossings, which was good for the cabbie, because it ran up the meter while we waited in traffic. It was good for us because no one checked our passports as we left the States. We joined the hundreds of Mexicans who had been shopping in Brownsville and were returning to Matamoros.
Mexico doesn’t require infants to have passports so we had no trouble on the Mexican side with me using my Mexican passport. I found it interesting that Ramona had a Spanish passport. I wondered where she’d gotten it. I sighed with relief as we cleared immigration.
The taxi took us to General Servando Canales International Airport, where we had lunch before our next flight.
As the wheels touched down at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, Ramona turned to me with a big grin. “I can hardly wait to meet your parents. They didn’t need to come all the way to the airport to meet us.”
“Nonsense. It’s just 6:30. By the time we get our bags it’ll be time for dinner, and my parents have a favorite place to take us. It’ll be a big surprise.”
Our plane nosed up to the gate, and the seat belt light went out. We were the first ones off the plane. As we walked up the jetway, I carried Gloria in one arm and hugged Ramona with the other. “Just wait, you’ll be surprised.”
Felix stood at the end of the jetway with two uniformed Mexican police. He walked up to us, pulled out his handcuffs, and announced, “Ramona Elena Gomez, I arrest you for the murder of Alejandro Sanchez Velasquez.” He snapped the cuffs over her wrists.
Ramona looked at me with eyes wide. “What…?”
I smiled. “Surprise.”
Chapter 50
My phone rang after I got to Abuelita’s house. I glanced at caller ID, but the number had way too many digits. “Hello.”
“Chuck, it’s Ike Simonetti.”
Six Murders Too Many (A Carlos McCrary Mystery Thriller Book 1) Page 16
