CHAPTER TWENTY.

"The police think Frankie O'Brien killed Marco and Georgette?" Jordan paused to rub her forehead. "Wait a minute. I thought your wife died of a heat stroke. How can they blame Frankie for that?"

Emilio walked over and sat down next to Natalie on the couch. "Apparently, the tox screen confirmed Georgette actually died of a heroin overdose before the heat of the car could take its toll."

"Heroin?" Natalie had been sitting quietly but now turned to face Emilio and asked the question that was also on Jordan's mind." Did you know she had a drug problem?"

He shook his head adamantly. "That's just it-she didn't. Georgette may have enjoyed an occasional c.o.c.ktail or two, but that's as far as it went. She wouldn't even take ibuprofen for a headache. Said she didn't need chemicals to make her feel better."

"I'm still confused about why the police think her son killed her. Granted, if what I'm thinking about his import business with Marco is true, he may have had access to some serious drugs, but it makes no sense for him to kill his own mother. You said yourself that she'd coddled him." Jordan thought back to when she'd first met Frankie. Although he came across as a loser, he'd never given her any reason to suspect he might also be a killer.

"Jeff said Frankie had a knock-down, drag-out fight with Georgette the night before she went missing. He was overheard saying he was tired of her constant nagging-that no matter what he did, it wasn't ever good enough for her." Emilio's voice cracked, and he lowered his head into his hands. "Oh G.o.d. She loved that boy so much, and no matter how badly he screwed up, she stuck by him. She was always on my case about giving him more responsibilities in the company."

"I heard her arguing with someone that night," Jordan said, remembering how she'd tried to get closer to hear better when she was at Dezi's food booth. "Although I couldn't see who was on the receiving end of all her anger, I was able to make out the words 'outsider' and 'suck up.' Why would she say that to Frankie if she was trying so hard to move him up the ladder in the family business?"

Emilio shrugged. "The police picked up Frankie about an hour ago, and they're questioning him now. He admitted being in an alcoholic black-out that night and can't remember killing her, but he swears he never left his hotel room." His forehead wrinkled as if he was in deep thought. "I may be able to prove he's telling the truth."

'How?" both women asked.

"Georgette was worried about him-thought he might be in trouble. I decided to check it out myself and had the hotel install a security camera in his room. That should prove his innocence."

Natalie touched his shoulder gently. "What if it doesn't?"

He scrubbed his hand across his face. "Then I'll deal with that, but for now I have to believe he wouldn't hurt his mother."

"Is Jeff at the station with him now?" Natalie asked.

Emilio met her gaze and held it before shaking his head. "Jeff can't represent Frankie because he's already on Kate's legal team. Even though she's been cleared of all charges, we were afraid it might be a conflict of interest, especially because he's the one who overheard the argument between Georgette and Frankie. He pulled some strings, however, and lined up one of the best criminal lawyers in Dallas. The man's on his way to the Plainville Police Station as we speak." He rose and walked over to look at the clock on the nightstand. "I'll need to get down there myself to..." He got choked up and couldn't finish. Swallowing hard, he said, "Georgette would want me to be with him."

"Definitely," Natalie said. "I remember how relieved I was when I heard that you'd sent your own lawyer to make sure Kate didn't say anything that might incriminate her. I also remember how frightened my daughter was, even though she's a lawyer herself and how I wished I could have been with her. No matter what, Frankie needs you right now, so go get dressed. We'll find our own way out." Natalie motioned for Jordan to follow as she started toward the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you," Emilio said, stopping halfway to the bathroom. "Jeff and Kate had a long morning at the police station, and he brought her back to the hotel for a quick lunch before taking her home. She's down the hall with him in his room."

Natalie's eyes lit up at the thought of seeing her daughter. "I'll keep all of you in my prayers, Emilio. Let us know if there's anything we can do."

"Other than keeping the news of my ALS a secret for now, I can't think of a thing anyone can do. And Natalie, I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time about Kate killing Marco."

She waved him off with a flick of her wrist. "Don't give it another thought. We were both trying to protect our daughters." She whirled around to face Jordan. "Ready?"

Jordan swiveled around and fell into step behind her as she walked out the door and down the hall to room 828.

As soon as Jeff opened the door and Natalie saw Kate by the couch, she rushed over and encircled her in her arms. "Oh my G.o.d! Is it really over?"

Kate hugged her mother back and tried to smile but not before Jordan noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "Captain Darnell said we can leave for Houston anytime we want."

"That can't happen soon enough. It's hard to believe that less than two weeks ago I was looking forward to coming to Ranchero to see Alex, meet his new girlfriend, and enjoy the festivities. Now, all I want to do is go back home and try to forget what you've been through-what we've all been through." Natalie was unable to keep her voice from cracking.

"I know, Mom." Kate pulled her closer and rubbed her back as if she were consoling a small child.

"This calls for a drink," Jeff said, motioning for them to sit down on the couch. "What can I get for you ladies?" When they all shook their heads, he walked over to the minibar and bent down. "Normally, I don't like to drink by myself, but it's been one of those weeks." He reached in and pulled out two mini bottles of Scotch and poured them into a gla.s.s from the counter. After taking a long sip, he looked up and smiled. "Why is it that liquor always seems to make things better?"

"I don't know, but I agree," Natalie said. "Unfortunately, I didn't have breakfast this morning, and I'm afraid that alcohol on my empty stomach wouldn't sit too well."

"Do you want to have lunch with Kate and me?" he asked, walking over with his now half empty gla.s.s and sitting on the chair next to the couch.

"Oh, Jeff, can I take a rain check on that lunch?" Kate asked. "All of a sudden I feel so exhausted and-" When she heard a ring, she leaned over and grabbed her purse. Reaching in, she fished out her phone and put it up to her ear. "h.e.l.lo." Turning to her mother, she mouthed the word Alex. "You won't believe the news. The police have charged Emilio's stepson in both Marco's and Georgette's murders and cleared me of all charges. I'm here in Jeff's hotel room with Mom and Jordan, but we're just about to leave."

She handed the phone to Jordan. "He wants to speak to you."

It would be good to see the sparkle come back in Kate's eyes, Jordan thought as she reached for the phone. "Hey, you," she said, loving the way her entire body tingled when she heard his voice.

"We're getting ready to move in and make the arrests down here. It should be over in a few hours, and then I thought maybe all of us could go out for celebratory dinner before Mom and Kate go home in the morning." He chuckled. "That's when the real fun begins for you and me. Last night wasn't nearly enough for my Jordan fix."

She was glad he couldn't see the way his words had sent a flurry of pink up her cheeks. Glancing around to see if his mother or sister had noticed, she was relieved to see them standing by Jeff's bed looking at a picture he'd taken from his wallet. "I can't wait, either," she whispered into the phone.

"Gotta run. The bad guys are waiting. Love you."

There it was again. The "L" word. Before she could respond, he hung up, leaving her wondering once again what it all meant. After laying the phone on the table near their purses, she went over to the bed to see what they were looking at.

"When in the world do you find time to train for something like that?" Natalie asked. "I know Emilio must keep you busy all the time."

Jeff laughed. "He knows how important it is to me." When he noticed Jordan approaching, he handed her the picture in his hand.

"You ran the Boston Marathon?" she asked incredulously, staring at a picture of Jeff at the finish line in athletic shorts and a tank top. She'd noticed his chiseled body when she'd first met him, but he'd never given any indication that he was a runner.

"The Boston and the New York Marathon," he corrected. "Next on the list is Chicago. I've discovered all that alone time with the wind in my hair is just what I need to bring me down after a long day dealing with the struggles of my job. It's a cheap form of therapy for me."

"I could certainly use an outlet like that for my own stress," Kate said. "Maybe I'll give running a try when I get back to the firm in Houston." She frowned. "That's if I still have a job."

"They wouldn't dare fire you over this, but if they try, let me know. We'll go after them with a vengeance, and if nothing else, you'll walk away with one h.e.l.luva severance package."

Kate stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough, Jeff. You gave me my life back."

"Glad I could help," he said. "Are you sure you won't stick around and have lunch with me? The hotel makes a mean open-faced steak sandwich."

She shook her head. "All I want to do is go home and wrap my head around my newfound freedom." She turned to Jordan. "Would you mind if my mother rides back to Ranchero with me? It seems like forever since I've had a chance to really talk to her."

"Of course not." Jordan waved them on. "I want to run over to the Dream Weaver Motel anyway to see if Carlita Bruno has heard anything from her sister."

"Is Ginny still missing?" Kate asked.

"Yes. I was over there the other day and talked to a hotel maintenance worker. He remembered seeing Ginny walk out of the lower-level into an alley with a man she apparently knew. I'm going to try to locate him again and see if he or one of his coworkers remembered anything else about the mysterious man he saw with Ginny."

"Like what?" Natalie asked.

"For starters, maybe someone noticed what was on back of the man's hoodie."

"You talked to someone at the hotel about the tape?" Jeff's brows were scrunched in question. "That's police business. Why would you do that?"

She sighed. "Because I feel responsible for her disappearance. If I hadn't told the police that she might have information about who was upstairs when Marco was killed that night, she might not be missing. Now that Kate's been cleared of the murder, I'm going to concentrate all my energy on helping Carlita find her sister."

"Hopefully, you'll find something that can help the police locate her," Kate said before turning to her mother. "Ready?" When Natalie nodded, she picked up her purse and then slipped her arm through her mother's. "Come on. Let's go climb into bed and catch up on our sleep until Alex gets home."

"He wants us all to go to dinner tonight to celebrate," Jordan said. "Let me grab my purse, and I'll walk out with you."

Before Jordan could do that, Jeff said, "Could you stay a few more minutes, Jordan? I'd like to hear about Ginny. Maybe I can help with your search for her."

She swiveled around to face him. "I'm not sure what we can do, but I'd love your help." Turning back to Natalie and Kate, she said, "Go get that much needed nap, and I'll see you two at dinner tonight."

After waving goodbye to them, she sat back down on the couch, once again declining an offer for a drink. "Here's what I know. Ginny disappeared shortly after I told the police about her sitting by the spiral staircase at the party the night Marco was killed. The maintenance man said it looked like she went willingly with the man in the t-shirt hoodie, which tells me she probably knew him."

He eyed her suspiciously. "Good point. What else?"

"The hotel worker also mentioned he saw the word ON written across the man's back. Like I said, I'm hoping one of the laundry workers might be able to shed a little light on the rest of the words on his shirt. If we're lucky, it will be a company logo or something that might narrow down the search considerably."

"Sounds like you've been doing a little undercover work in your spare time."

"I have, but don't tell Alex. I know I'm close. I just can't put my finger on some things that have been bothering me. So, how do you think you can help?"

"I'm not sure. Let me call her sister and find out if she's heard from Ginny." He picked up his phone and punched in a number. "Room 782 please." He tapped his fingers on the side of the phone while he waited. "Miss Bruno? This is Jeff Hamilton. I'm the legal counsel for Emilio Calabrese, and I'm standing here with Jordan McAllister." He paused and winked at Jordan. "Yes, she is a sweetheart and says the same thing about you. Anyway, we're both curious to find out if you've heard from your sister."

Jordan focused on the one-sided conversation, praying that the answer would be yes.

"That's terrific news." He turned to Jordan and gave her a thumbs up. "Of course. Let me write down that address." A search in the desk on the opposite side of the room produced a pen and notepad. "I'm ready when you are." After scribbling an address, he said, "Stay close to the phone, and I'll call the minute I'm there."

Jordan's hopes soared as she waited patiently until he disconnected. "Ginny's okay?"

"Seems she and another vendor went for a drive in the country. Ginny told her sister that the man had been drinking and was looking for more than a nice quiet drive. When she wouldn't comply, he dumped her off in the middle of nowhere and drove off with her purse still on the front seat." He stopped to take a swig of the Scotch. "Probably got home and after sleeping it off, either he didn't realize he hadn't gone back to get her or couldn't remember where he'd left her. If the latter was the case, my guess is that he was too afraid of the consequences if the police knew he'd been with her."

"But I got the impression from your conversation with Carlita that Ginny was okay? Right?" She prayed she'd heard him correctly.

"Apparently only hungry and badly sunburned but otherwise fine. Ginny's sister got a phone call from some farmer who found her wandering around in his pasture."

"Thank G.o.d. That's wonderful news. Are the police on their way out there now to get her?"

He nodded. "Carlita said she was just about to contact me."

Jordan tilted her head, confused. "Why?"

"She's a little worried about the police questioning her sister. Asked if I could go out to make sure Ginny has someone by her side who knows how the police operate when they question someone." He walked to the dresser and grabbed his car keys.

"I want to go with you," Jordan said, excited that Ginny was okay. When he hesitated, she added, "Ginny doesn't know you. I think she might appreciate a friendly face."

He thought about that for a second before agreeing. "I'm sure Carlita would like that as well."

"Where exactly is she?" Jordan asked.

"About ten miles outside of Plainville. Come on. I'll drive. You can leave your car here, and I'll bring you back afterwards." He reached for his gla.s.s and drained the rest of the Scotch. "It looks like we have yet another reason to celebrate today."

When she walked over to get her purse, she noticed Kate's phone lying on the coffee table right where she'd laid it after talking to Alex. In the excitement, Kate must not have seen it there when she'd left. Jordan picked it up and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans, thinking she'd give it to her at dinner.

She walked out of the room and waited as Jeff followed and made sure the door was closed. Together, they made their way to the elevator, each lost in their own private thoughts. Her mind was on Carlita and how excited she must be that her sister was safe. She hoped Ginny hadn't been too traumatized by it all.

When they reached Jeff's car, he opened the pa.s.senger door for her. Smiling up at him, she slid in and waited for him to walk around the car and do the same. She debated whether to call Alex and tell him about Ginny, then remembered that he was in the middle of a drug bust.

For the next fifteen minutes, neither she nor Jeff said anything, both deep into their own thoughts. When he turned onto a dirt road several miles outside the city limits, Jordan was already planning what she'd say to Ginny and hoped the woman wasn't still holding a grudge because of Victor's mustache comment. She turned to him to ask how much longer when she noticed a crumpled shirt sticking out from between the seats.

After reaching down and pulling it out, she realized it was one of his running shirts and held it up to him. "You worked way too hard for this to have it end up in a ball," she said with a grin when she saw BOSTON MARATHON across the back. "Although I doubt you'll get a chance to wear long sleeves in this heat, you might want to make sure this doesn't get left behind in the rental car when you turn it in at the airport."

Her grin faded when she realized the navy blue shirt was a hoodie. As if a light bulb went off in her head, the image of Ginny Bruno walking out a bas.e.m.e.nt door into the alley behind her hotel with the man in a dark hoodie flashed across her brain. Although the back of the shirt had been partially obstructed from view, the janitor clearly remembered seeing the letters ON when the mystery man and Ginny had exited the building. A sudden chill ran up her spine as she realized that the word marathon ended in those letters.

Suddenly, other things that had seemed strange earlier now started to make sense. Like how Jeff had known where Carlita Bruno and her sister were staying, and how he just happened to have the hotel's number in his phone.

She stared out the front window as warning bells blared in her head. She was trying to make sense of it all when she heard him chuckle to himself.

"I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later."

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.

She decided to play dumb. "Figure what out?"

She glanced up at the pa.s.sing landscape, trying to decide if she should jump from the car, but they were already going too fast. The fall would probably kill her, and even if it didn't, there was no guarantee he wouldn't turn the car around and finish her off.

This time he laughed out loud. "You can't tell me in one breath how you're closing in on finding out who left the motel with Ginny Bruno and then pretend you have no clue. I'm a lawyer, remember? I'm trained to read faces."

"Where are you taking me?"

He met her intense stare momentarily, and for the first time, she saw evil radiating from his eyes. An involuntary shudder ran through her body. How could she and the others have been so totally taken in by this man?

"We're going exactly where I said we were."

So far, she'd only seen one other car on the road and figured her chances of catching someone's attention weren't good. She had to think fast and find another way to help herself.

She decided to play the dumb card once more. "Will Ginny be there like you said?"

"Oh yeah," he responded with a snort. "Unfortunately, she won't be much company for you."