Chicken Caccia-Killer Part 10

His eyes widened, and he put down the fork. "Who told you that?"

"The woman I interviewed for my column first told me about it, and then Georgette Calabrese's son himself confirmed it."

"Emilio has a son?"

"Stepson," Jordan clarified. "His name's Frankie O'Brien, and he's in his twenties. Anyway, he said that he and Marco weren't friends, but then he let it slip that they'd been business partners. When I called him on it, he denied saying that, but I know what I heard. When I mentioned he and Marco were about to be related, that's when he blurted out about his mother sleeping with his stepsister's fiance."

The interest in Alex eyes spurred her on. "And we heard Georgette talking to him when we approached. She told him that with Marco out of the way, it was a good time for him to stand up and impress Emilio with his business skills." She paused. "Okay, I'm paraphrasing here, but it sounded like they saw Marco's death as a way for Frankie to step up and show Emilio that he's capable of running the show."

"We?"

Jordan mentally slapped her head for that slip up. After everything she'd just told him, what were the odds that he'd pick up on that one little word? She was never any good at thinking on her feet, and now was no different. "Your mother and me."

"My mother knows this and didn't tell me?"

Jordan crossed her fingers under the table and hoped he wouldn't hold it against her for lying. But she'd promised Natalie she wouldn't tell in case Georgette decided to blab about her teenage love affair with Emilio.

"Remember when your mother went with me to the fairgrounds so you and Kate could take a nap after you got back from the police station?" When he nodded, she continued, "Well, she was off talking to someone else when I overheard Georgette and Frankie talking, and I didn't want to mention it to her until I had a chance to talk to you."

Please G.o.d, overlook this one little lie.

She watched Alex's face, relieved to see he had bought into it.

"So Georgette and Marco were lovers at one time. Hamilton will have a field day with that. And her son trying to find a way to impress Emilio makes me think that maybe Emilio was showing favoritism toward Marco and perhaps even considering him as his heir apparent."

"Exactly," Jordan interjected. "According to the lady I interviewed, Emilio thought his stepson was a loser and wanted him as far away from the business as possible. But with Marco dead, there's no one else in the family to take over. To me, that's a pretty good reason for wanting Marco out of the way."

Alex's lips curled into a smile. "Don't get carried away, Jordan. I'll admit that it does cast a nice net for reasonable doubt, but it's a far cry from proving anything."

"I thought introducing reasonable doubt was all Hamilton had to do. No jury in good conscience could convict Kate of the murder if they think there's a possibility someone else may have pushed Marco over the railing."

Alex reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "It is, love, and Jeff will be glad you got this information, but I'm wondering why he doesn't already know all this. As Emilio's lawyer, he'd have to be aware that his boss didn't intend to pa.s.s on his business to his stepson. As for Georgette having an extramarital affair, Hamilton may have known about that, too. h.e.l.l, Emilio himself might even know about it." He paused and rubbed his free hand across his forehead as if in deep thought. "Come to think of it, the night of the party, I remember Emilio cautioning Marco about his womanizing ways. Maybe that's what he was referring to."

"Or maybe he and Georgette had one of those open marriages where anything goes."

"Even if that were true, I can't see Emilio looking past his son-in-law sleeping with his wife." He released her hand and took a sip of his Scotch. "I wonder if Tina knows."

"Oh my G.o.d! I forgot to tell you about Tina."

"What about her?" Alex eyeballed her suspiciously. "I have a sneaky feeling you didn't get all this information from innocently doing interviews."

c.r.a.p! She had to come up with a good story-and fast.

"I went back over there to try to talk the woman I had interviewed earlier into giving up her recipes for my column." Jordan leaned across the table and licked her lips. "Yum! You should taste Carlita's Italian Cream Cake b.a.l.l.s, Alex. They almost melt in your mouth."

"I should've known there was sugar involved."

Jordan ignored that remark and pressed on. "I took Victor with me to interview Carlita's sister who makes the best chicken cacciatore I've ever tasted. Anyway, she took a liking to Victor and told him she'd seen another woman follow Kate up to Marco's bedroom suite that night."

"This was one of the vendors at the party?"

"Yes and no. She is a vendor for the festival, but that night she was a guest. Apparently, she's part of the planning committee. Anyway, she saw another women go up the staircase with Marco right before he fell to his death."

"Did the vendor tell you who this other woman was?" Alex voice couldn't hide his increasing hope.

"She did. It was Tina Calabrese. And since Kate insists that Marco was already up there when she arrived, it must have been another man with her."

He raised his gla.s.s to hers and clinked. "Now you're talking reasonable doubt." He motioned for the waiter, and when he arrived at the table, he said, "Can you bring this woman the biggest piece of tiramisu you can find in the kitchen?"

The waiter looked confused. "You mean after the meal, right?"

Alex shook his head. "No. Bring it now, please, and add a smaller piece for me. We're celebrating."

If it wouldn't have made a big scene, Jordan would have jumped up and kissed him right there. Instead, she settled for an air kiss and mouthed I owe you.

"Oh, yes you do, and I intend to collect," he replied before reaching for his phone which had begun to vibrate in his pocket. "Moreland," he said into the speaker, his eyes still staring at her and sending shivers up her spine for what they promised was to come later that night.

Jordan watched his face grow serious.

"Mother, calm down, and tell me exactly what he said."

Jordan waited patiently, her overactive imagination going wild with the possibilities of what had Natalie so upset.

Finally, Alex clicked off the phone and looked up at her.

"Jeff called Kate at the concert in Dallas. The Plainville police are waiting to talk to her tonight. My sister is no longer a person of interest. She's a full-blown suspect. And if we don't get some hard evidence to clear her name soon, she could very soon be an accused murderer on her way to jail."

CHAPTER TWELVE.

With the desserts in takeout containers, they left the restaurant before Alex had time to explain any further details. Once in the car, Jordan stole a glance his way. The concern that she'd seen earlier on his face had now turned into fear, and she felt helpless.

When they were on the Interstate on their way home, she couldn't stand it any longer. "Alex? What does all this mean?"

He swallowed hard, his hands white-knuckling the steering wheel. "I'm not sure. We expected the DNA sc.r.a.pings to prove Kate had scratched Marco before his death. That's enough to bring her back for further questioning, but it's not sufficient to actually charge her with his murder. She admitted scratching him in self defense when he threw her on the bed. Couple that with the injury to her face, and it should have been enough to keep the cops at bay." He shook his head. "They've got to have something else."

"What?"

A tense silence filled the car. "I don't know. I'm racking my brain for what it could be, but I keep coming up empty. Except for the DNA, there's really nothing else that suggests Kate was anywhere near Marco when he fell over the railing."

Just then his phone rang, and he dug it out of his shirt pocket. "Moreland." For a few minutes he listened intently before he finally said, "That's not what the guy said that night."

Jordan tried but couldn't figure out what that could mean. After another few minutes, Alex hung up and turned slightly to meet her gaze for a moment before focusing back on the highway.

"That was Jeff Hamilton. He got a call from Captain Darnell about an hour ago. Do you remember Darnell telling us that when they'd initially questioned the hotel valet he said he'd been standing in the middle of the driveway and looked up when he heard screams?" When she nodded, he continued "At first, he told the police he was too far away to see much of anything."

"I remember," she replied. "He said he only saw a shadow."

"Well, apparently, he's changed his story. He's now saying that since he's had time to think about it, he distinctly remembers looking up at the balcony and seeing a woman, although he's unable to positively ID anyone."

"Isn't it a little strange that he's so sure of that now?"

"You would think so, but it's not all that unusual for a witness to remember something days later. Usually, it's some minor detail, though, and not something this big. I have no clue how he suddenly got enough clarity to not only identify another person on the balcony with Marco but also to be so sure it was a woman from twelve floors below," Alex commented.

"Could it be that the police pressured him? You hear about that sort of thing happening all the time. I once met a woman who told me that after three days of relentless interrogation, bright lights, and no sleep, her son confessed to killing his cousin. When the truth finally came out, they discovered he was just as much of a victim as the dead girl." She remembered the agony on the woman's face when she'd related the story.

"When his mother asked why he'd confessed, he said the policeman promised him everything would be okay if he told the truth-the truth being the way the cops told him it had happened. Even though he had nothing to do with the crime, the police officers kept telling him he did. The kid was so confused he would have said anything to go home."

"Unfortunately, that happens more often than I'd like to think. I'll be able to get a better sense of it all after I talk to Kate's lawyer and Darnell. But even if it were true, the cops wouldn't admit to it."

"If the valet can't positively say it was Kate he saw on the balcony, why would the police think they had the smoking gun now?"

"With the DNA evidence still pending, the witness accounts of Kate fighting with Marco, and now the valet's story coming to light, they must think there's enough circ.u.mstantial evidence to formally charge her with the murder." He sighed. "She must be freaking out."

"I'm sure she is. None of us really believed it would get this far. We know she didn't kill Marco and a.s.sumed it wouldn't be too hard to prove."

When he pa.s.sed the exit to Plainville, Jordan leaned toward him. "You don't have to take me home, Alex. You should be there when Kate and your mom arrive at the police station. It's a given your sister will need you by her side. I'll wait with you and then drive your mother home in their car."

He reached out and squeezed her hand. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, Jordan." He exited the Interstate and drove to the turnaround.

She smiled. "Do you want me to take your mother to your house and stay with her until you get back from the police station? She must be frantic."

"I think she'd like that. She's taken a shine to you these past few days."

Jordan heard the catch in his voice and knew his heart was breaking for his sister. She concentrated on staying strong for his sake. "Then it's settled. I've got your mother covered. You take care of Kate."

They drove the rest of the way in silence until they pulled into the Plainville police station.

"We can sit out here until Kate arrives. By my calculation it will take her another ten or fifteen minutes to drive from downtown Dallas." He reached for the bag the waiter had given him. "You must be starving."

Up until now she'd completely forgotten that they hadn't eaten, but now that he'd mentioned it, sudden hunger pangs made their presence known. "I am a little hungry, but I don't think I can eat right now."

"We might need to stop at the emergency room and have a doctor check you out," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Missing lunch and turning down dessert all in the same day has to mean..." He stopped talking when Kate and his mother pulled up beside him.

Alex got out of the car and walked around to the pa.s.senger side to open the door for Jordan. Then he did the same for his mother and sister. One look at Kate was all it took to know that she was more than a little rattled. As a lawyer herself, she had to know that things were about to go from bad to worse now that her status had changed from being a witness in a murder case to actually being a suspect.

Alex took a couple of steps toward her and pulled her to his chest. "Whatever we have to do to clear your name, we'll do. I promise you."

Watching Alex cradle her in his arms and hearing him promise that everything would be okay should have been rea.s.suring to Jordan. And it would have been except that she heard the sadness in his voice and knew he was genuinely scared for his sister. She hoped Kate hadn't picked up on it as well.

"Alex?" Natalie moved up alongside Kate and cast a questioning look her son's way.

He opened his arms to allow her to be part of his coc.o.o.ning embrace. "Hamilton will be able to punch holes so deep into the valet's statement it will be useless. Without that testimony, the police have very little right now."

His eyes connected momentarily with Jordan's, and once again she saw the fear. She forced herself to give him a rea.s.suring smile, but both of them knew it was going to be a long night.

They all turned as a dark sedan pulled up alongside Kate's car and screeched to a halt. The door bolted open and Jeff Hamilton emerged, looking like he'd just stepped out of the shower. His sandy-brown hair, normally coiffed in a modern style, was still wet and slicked back off his forehead.

"Don't worry, Kate," he said when he approached. "They're grasping at straws here. I'll have you back in your own bed by morning."

Kate wiggled out of Alex's arms and attempted to smile at her lawyer. "I hope you're right."

"Are you ready?" Jeff grabbed her elbow and led the way after she nodded.

The others followed behind. Jordan made sure she stayed close to Natalie in case what awaited them inside the station proved to be too much for her to bear. It would be very difficult for a mother to watch her daughter booked for a murder she didn't commit.

As soon as they entered the police station, Alex, Jeff, and Kate approached the desk and announced their arrival to the sergeant on duty. Almost immediately, the police captain who had interrogated Kate the night of Marco's death, sauntered down the hallway.

"I see you made it back from the concert," Captain Darnell said to Kate when he stopped at the desk. "I'm glad we were able to do this without a scene."

"You'd better have a d.a.m.n good reason for dragging my client down here at this time of night, Darnell." Hamilton moved in front of Kate. "Something a little more incriminating than a young valet who just happens to remember that he saw a woman on the ledge with Petrone. A tad coincidental that just when you realized you have no case against my client, the kid suddenly has a total recall moment, don't you think?"

Darnell stared hard at Hamilton making it obvious there was no love lost between the two. "It was enough to get a warrant against your-"

"For now," Jeff interrupted. "I'll have her out of here before the judge has time to finish his first cup of coffee in the morning."

"That may be true, Mr. Hamilton, but right now, I'll need to proceed." He turned to Kate. "Ms. Moreland, you're being charged with the murder of Marco Petrone. My officers will take you to the back, read you your Miranda rights, and then book you."

A flash of panic crossed Kate's face, and Alex reached out to touch her shoulder. She hugged him, then turned to her mother, who was fighting back tears. "Mom, I'll see you in the morning. Please don't worry."

Neither woman wanted to let go, and it was only after Darnell cleared his throat that Kate finally pulled out of her mother's embrace. Then, like an obedient lamb being led to slaughter, she followed the officers down the hallway.

"I still can't believe you arrested her on the word of a young man who admitted on the night of the murder that the balcony was too high for him to see anything. Now all of a sudden he says he saw clearly enough to make out the image of a woman, and you buy into it like you had just found the murder weapon."

"Witnesses have been known to remember things the first few days after the crime," Darnell said with a smirk on his face.

"Just because he said he saw a woman doesn't mean it was my sister, Captain. There were plenty of other women at the party that night, and from what I understand, several may have had a good reason for wanting to harm Marco Petrone." Alex nailed the police captain with a smirk of his own.

"Again, this may be true, Mr. Moreland, but none of these other women were upstairs when the man was shoved over the balcony."

"And that's another thing, Darnell," Jeff interrupted. "The toxicology report I received this morning from your office showed that Marco Petrone's blood was loaded with more than enough alcohol and cocaine to suggest there's a good probability the man accidently fell over the rail himself. With that amount of depressants in his body, any jury would agree that he would have had to have been more than a little unstable on his feet." He shrugged. "It isn't too much of a stretch to imagine him wandering out to the balcony after he hit my client and then leaning over a little too far, is it?"

"It wouldn't be if we didn't have an eyewitness who said he saw a woman out there with him, and according to everyone we questioned at the party, your client was the only woman upstairs at the time."

Alex glanced toward Jordan and she gave him the okay with a bob of her head. Turning back to Captain Darnell, he locked his hands across his chest. "There was at least one other woman up there with Petrone when he fell that night."

Both Darnell and Hamilton's head snapped around to face Alex.

"And how would you know that, Mr. Moreland?" the captain asked.

"Someone mentioned it to Ms. McAllister during an interview."