“Bones felt so guilty about his daughter’s death that he couldn’t even bear to look at her son. Officially, Wilt’s body was never found. Unofficially, he was placed in a foster home under another identity. Wilt was too young to know about his real parents, or that he had a grandfather nearby who had disowned him. Bones sent the foster home money every month but kept it top secret. Wilt grew up knowing nothing about his real identity.”
“Then how...”
“Carla found out about the secret payments shortly after marrying Danny and wondered what they were for. She had an investigator look into the foster home. The payments went back decades, to around the time of the shootout that had killed Wilt’s parents, and supposedly Wilt himself. She had always wondered why the little boy’s body had never been found. Now it all made sense.”
“How could she be sure it was him?”
“That birthmark on his forehead is unique. It still looked the same as it had when he was a baby,” Aunt Pearl said. “You can imagine how all this went down when we reunited him with Bones.”
I gasped. “Carla confronted him?”
“Of course she did. She wanted Danny to acknowledge his grandson. She abhorred the idea that Wilt had grown up in poverty as a government ward, when just a few miles away, his grandfather lived in the lap of luxury.”
“And Bones—I mean, Danny—still wanted it covered up after all these years. He wanted to pretend that Wilt had never existed.” Maybe Wilt would have been better off having never known that Danny “Bones” Battilana was his grandfather. It wasn’t working out too well for him at the moment.
Aunt Pearl nodded. “Carla forced the issue with him, and he finally admitted Wilt’s existence. Of course that just made him look bad, and he didn’t want the news getting out.”
I frowned, realizing it also gave Wilt a strong motive to kill Bones. “Why did Carla wait decades to expose the truth?”
“She always felt guilty about it, and she was afraid of Bones. But as she got older, it bothered her more and more. She didn’t want Wilt to go through life never knowing. It ate her up inside, knowing that she could make things right. In the end, her conscience won out.”
Realization dawned on me. “That’s why Bones killed Carla, isn’t it? It wasn’t to gain control of the Racatelli business. It was because he wanted Wilt’s existence kept secret at all costs.”
Aunt Pearl nodded. “Bones strangled Carla, then put her in the pool to make it look like an accident. He got away with it too, since he will never be charged.” She glared at Christophe.
“He’s dead, so in the end he got away with nothing,” I pointed out.
“You give me enough proof, we can always reopen the case,” Christophe said.
Aunt Pearl pointed to the autopsy report. She handed it to Christophe. “Like the report says, Carla was dead before she hit the water.”
“There was no water in her lungs because she was already dead.” I pointed to the bottom of the page. “Her death was ruled a homicide, yet the police called it an accident.” I just hoped that what Aunt Pearl had provided was the real autopsy report and not something made up.
Christophe took the papers from Pearl. “I’ll follow up myself with the medical examiner.”
Aunt Pearl grew more and more uneasy as she talked. She kept glancing at her watch as a thin sheen of sweat covered her forehead. She was a definite flight risk and wouldn’t incriminate herself without a little encouragement. I kept my hand on her back and motioned for her to sit down on the sofa. “Keep talking.”
“I only know what Wilt told me,” Aunt Pearl said. “Wilt wanted to confront his grandfather once Carla told him the truth. He was heartbroken when he learned that his own flesh and blood grandfather had abandoned him. Unfortunately, Wilt had a gambling problem, and it just got worse. Before he even had a chance to confront Danny, he had rung up a huge gambling debt.”
“But you only met Wilt in Westwick Corners,” I said. “You told me we were going to Las Vegas for Carla’s funeral.”
“How do you think I heard of Carla’s funeral in the first place?” Aunt Pearl rose from the sofa and paced back and forth. “Wilt sought me out immediately after Carla died. She had secretly reunited with Wilt a few months ago.”
“Reunited? I don’t understand.”
“Carla was Wilt’s godmother. She was like a mother to Della, so she had been very attached to Della’s baby. She was the one who broke the news to Wilt about his true identity.” Aunt Pearl wiped a tear from her cheek. “Carla called me and asked if I would protect him if needed. Then she died suddenly. That’s when Wilt came to me. He witnessed Carla’s murder because he was staying right here in the suite.”
“Why didn’t you mention any of this to the police before?” Now I understood why Wilt preferred to stay in the RV rather than the suite.
“Bones always did whatever he wanted, and there were never any repercussions,” Aunt Pearl said. “I didn’t want to put Wilt in danger because Bones wouldn’t knowingly leave any witnesses. Of course, none of that matters now.”
“Maybe, but he’s dead now, so he didn’t exactly get away with murder.”
“No, but poor Wilt’s days are numbered, even with police protection.”
“Wait a sec—if Carla died first, and Bones, her legal husband, died second, doesn’t Wilt become the surviving heir, rather than Rocco?”
Aunt Pearl nodded slowly. “Now you see my problem? This isn’t over by a long shot.”
Chapter 37
Two uniformed police officers led a dejected and exhausted-looking Wilt into the suite. “You sure you want us to bring him here?”
Christophe nodded. “I want to check out a few things first. You guys stay in the foyer and watch the elevator. I don’t want anyone coming in here, got it?”
The older of the two officers nodded and they stepped back out into the foyer, guns drawn.
Wilt held up his handcuffed wrists. “It was an accident. I just pointed the gun at Danny, but then he fought me for it. We wrestled and it went off. I never meant to kill him.”
“No more talking till we get you a lawyer.” Aunt Pearl made a slicing motion across her throat, before throwing her cell phone at me. “Cen, call one.”
I caught my aunt’s cell phone and scowled. “You could have let me borrow your phone earlier.” She had kept it from me on purpose.
“It’s not all about you, Cen.” Aunt Pearl turned to Christophe. She glared at Christophe. “It was self defense. Any fool can see that.”
Christophe ignored her. “Why’d you do it, Wilt? Why did you wait all these years?”
“I didn’t wait. I had no idea I had any living relatives until Carla told me a few days ago. She felt it was my right to know that I was a Battilana, even if Danny denied it.”
Aunt Pearl held up her hand. “Wilt—stop.”
“No, I want to talk, lawyer or not. I want to clear things up.” Wilt took a deep breath. “I was sleeping upstairs the day Carla died. I awoke to yelling and screaming coming from the patio. I recognized Carla’s voice, and she was arguing with a man. The argument escalated so I ran outside to the patio. But it was too late. I couldn’t save Carla.”
Christopher scribbled furiously in his notebook, then fiddled with his phone. “Mind if I record this?”
Wilt shook his head. “I’ve got nothing to hide. By the time I got outside, Danny had his hands around Carla’s neck. When he let go, she went limp. She wasn’t breathing, but I tried CPR before Danny pulled me off.”
“Poor Carla,” Aunt Pearl said. “I told her not to, just to leave things be. But she insisted it was the right thing to do. That’s the real reason Bones strangled her.”
Suddenly it all made sense. Wilt’s sudden appearance at the Westwick Corners Gas & Go. He had come to Aunt Pearl, Carla’s closest friend, for help. Unfortunately for Wilt, Aunt Pearl didn’t always think logically. Her crazy plan just made things worse, to the point that they had escalated almost out of control.
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“What happened next, Wilt?” Tyler asked.
“The next few moments are a bit of a blur. Danny hit me over the head with a chair, and I blacked out. When I came to, he was dragging Carla into the pool. That’s when I grabbed the gun from the desk over there.” He pointed to the ornate French provincial desk a few feet away from the patio doors.
“I only grabbed it to scare him. I didn’t even know whether the gun was loaded; I had no time to check. Danny came after me and wrestled me to the ground. The next thing I knew, the gun had gone off. For a second I thought it just shot into the air, but then Danny collapsed on top of me. I knew then that the bullet had hit him.”
“That’s when you called me,” Aunt Pearl said. “It was self defense.”
My eyes met Mom’s and I saw she was thinking the same thing. Aunt Pearl was potentially an accessory to murder. She had almost certainly helped Wilt dispose of the body.
Strangely, Christophe didn’t ask about that. Instead, he walked out to the foyer and said something to the uniformed men. Seconds later they departed in the elevator.
“Manny La Manna’s been arrested for money laundering and racketeering,” Christophe said. “Other charges are pending, but I’m not at liberty to say what those are right now.”
“Where’s Rocco? Is he okay?” I envisioned a Rocco-Manny standoff, and I wasn’t sure that Rocco would come out unscathed.
Christophe nodded. “He’s fine. He’s been helping us for quite some time in our La Manna family investigation. Unlike Carla, he was never involved in any criminal activities. He never wanted to be a part of the Racatelli crime organization, but like it or not, he was born into it.”
“Why isn’t he here?”
“He will be, once he’s finished being interviewed. It was his idea for you ladies to stay here. He was surprised when all of you showed up, and he was worried for your safety.”
The intermingled crime families confused me enough, but the marriages baffled me even more. “But what about Carla’s marriage to Manny? Won’t he, as Carla’s husband, inherit Carla’s estate?”
“No,” said Christophe. “Their marriage was real, but it was also null and void, since Carla was already married to Danny. Her fake marriage to Danny ended up being real after all.”
Mom gasped. “She was a bigamist. Then who is Carla’s heir? If it’s still Bones—I mean Danny, then everything goes to Wilt.”
Wilt waved his cuffed hands. “I don’t want it.”
“You won’t get it. Bones can’t inherit because he killed Carla. Therefore Wilt couldn’t inherit from Bones. Once all the legal stuff is sorted out, Rocco will be the sole heir. Just like before,” Aunt Pearl said.
“You’re sure Rocco didn’t—” The elevator bell sounded and my voice caught in my throat. Manny had been arrested, but maybe he had sent one of his henchmen for us.
Nobody else seemed concerned but me.
“Yes, I’m sure,” said Christophe. “We had him under twenty-four-hour surveillance in the weeks before Carla’s death, which continued up until this moment. Speaking of which, here he is.”
Rocco strode into the suite, beaming. “I’m so relieved all this is finally over. I need a stiff drink.”
Aunt Pearl tilted her head towards Christophe. “Chris, do the honors.”
Mom rose from her seat and limped towards the kitchen. “Let me. Christophe shared his drink recipes with me and I’m anxious to experiment. Back in a flash.”
“How about a margarita, Ruby?” Rocco smiled.
Mom limped to the kitchen and paused in the doorway. “Forget the margarita. I’m making you Christophe’s special wine spritzer. You know, the one that incapacitates people.”
Mom winked at me. “That drink is super handy in a pinch. I can already think of a few ways to use it.”
Chapter 38
Aunt Pearl, Mom, and I sat at neighboring slot machines. I was sandwiched in the middle and felt trapped. I was stuck with them, at least until Tyler returned from the police station. He had accompanied Christophe down to the station to provide a little more background on the events of the last few hours and, I assumed, say hello to some of his former colleagues.
I robotically pulled the handle down, hoping for that elusive three of a kind. We had been here for over an hour, and I had nothing to show for it. Aunt Pearl, on the other hand, seemed to be on a winning streak.
She leaned closer to me. “I used a spell on Manny to neutralize him.” Aunt Pearl winked at me. “Just like I did on you and Rocco."
"I knew it! All those weird feelings I had for Rocco made no sense. And I’d hardly call that spell neutral.”
“Okay, red hot.” Aunt Pearl laughed.
"You manipulated me. How could you do such a thing?" Aside from being downright devious, it threatened to sabotage my developing relationship with Tyler. Of course, that was exactly what Aunt Pearl wanted. The idea of me dating the sheriff had her knickers in a knot.
Or did it? I suddenly had doubts about Tyler and me. What if he wasn’t really attracted to me? What if instead of his feelings, it was one of Aunt Pearl’s spells?
How would I ever know what was real and what was contrived?
It would be the ultimate revenge, a twist of cruelty. “Did you do any other spells on me?”
“Like what?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Any other love spells?”
“Relax, Cendrine. If you practiced your witchcraft at all, you would have immediately caught on to the spell. You could have counteracted it. It's really your own fault."
“Now Pearl...” Mom’s protests fell on deaf ears.
Of course, I had caught onto the spell, but had decided to play dumb. With Aunt Pearl it was often better to play your cards close to your chest. She was completely unpredictable. But she was right about one thing.
I should respect and develop my natural talents. Maybe if I had the time, if I wasn’t kept so busy extricating Aunt Pearl from multiple disasters and fiascos. But it was up to me to make time, and I intended to do exactly that.
If I tried hard enough, I could probably even put a spell on Aunt Pearl to keep her out of trouble. That spark of an idea energized me, and I could hardly wait to get back to my witchcraft. Only this time, I planned to do my lessons in secret, without Aunt Pearl as my instructor. I’d show her up.
I realized with a start that I was doing exactly what Aunt Pearl wanted me to do in the beginning. But rather than my aunt’s imposed witchcraft lessons, I was doing it of my own free will.
“I don’t get you, Pearl,” Mom said. “You’re already a millionaire. Why are you even playing the slots?”
“Heck, I could buy this place,” Pearl said. “I’m richer than all of you combined.”
I glared at her. “You don’t need to rub it in our faces.”
Aunt Pearl laughed. “I won’t have it for long. Whatever’s left after Wilt’s legal bills will go to my favorite charity.”
“Oh? What’s that?” Mom asked.
“The Westwick Corners Revitalization Society.”
“But we don’t have a society.” All we had was elbow grease. Aunt Pearl’s constant complaints about tourist interlopers seemed contrary to the idea of sprucing things up to attract people. The idea that she would contribute to bringing visitors to Westwick Corners defied logic. I simply didn’t believe her.
I felt eyes on me and turned around to face Rocco. The physical attraction I had felt earlier was gone, but it was replaced with something new. Instead of the dislike I had for the old Rocco, I now felt a genuine warmth. Age and distance had changed both of us, and now that the spell was gone I felt something I had never felt for him before.
Friendship.
“Who’s up for a nice steak dinner?” Rocco motioned towards the street. “There’s a nice little Italian restaurant nearby.”
“Will there be gangsters?” Mom asked.
“Can’t guarantee anything, but I certainly hope so.” Rocco stared wistfully towards the bar.
“I’m gonna miss this place, but not the gambling and crime that goes along with it.”
Aunt Pearl squinted. “Oh no, look who’s coming.”
I met Tyler’s gaze and smiled. “He can join us for dinner.”
“Do you really have to invite him?” Aunt Pearl scowled. “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”
I suddenly had the urge to try out the friendship spell I had secretly been practicing.
I snapped my fingers twice, then whispered the spell under my breath. “Let’s go.”
Aunt Pearl beamed as Tyler slipped his arm into hers. “What could be nicer than dinner with such a handsome escort?”
Tyler winked and I smiled back.
Aunt Pearl wasn’t the only one with a trick up her sleeve.
Chapter 39
With Carla’s murder solved, and Wilt behind bars for the murder of Danny “Bones” Battilana, there was no reason to stay in Las Vegas any longer.
Aunt Pearl was unlikely to cause much more trouble, but I couldn’t rest until I knew she was safely out of town. I insisted that Aunt Pearl and Mom book commercial airline tickets back home. Once that was done, we headed straight for the airport.
Tyler walked ahead of us through the bustling Las Vegas airport, loaded down with Mom and Aunt Pearl’s luggage on each arm. Mom clutched a folder full of Christophe’s drink recipes, while Aunt Pearl carried a small bag. I had no idea what it contained, but I decided not to ask. Sometimes it was better not to know, especially when it concerned my aunt. She had to pass through security, so I wasn’t too worried.
I widened the gap until we were out of earshot in the noisy airport. “Remember, no witchcraft on the plane. You don’t want to freak out the crew or passengers. There could even be undercover Air Marshalls.”
“Don’t use your scare tactics on me, missy.” Aunt Pearl’s jovial mood had vanished. “I’ve already resigned myself to captivity in that airborne sardine can. You don’t have to rub it in.”
In a weird way, it felt good to see Aunt Pearl back to her normal cranky self.
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