Background
A member of the crime team is drawn into a diabolical scheme by an ex-con, Vito Moretti, who spent eight years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Upon his release, he set out to get revenge.
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A massive iron archway across the thoroughfare welcomed tourists to Patron Square. Small, quaint shops mixed with restaurants lined both sides of the street. Tourists strolled the walkway, window-shopping, relishing their ornate finds, and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather. On a typical day, the shops would have drawn Emmy like a magnet.
As she waited for Hank, her eyes shifted from the activity down the street to the elaborate store signs and then back to the flashing lights. A few stores caught her attention, and she made a mental note to make a return visit.
Hank dropped several quarters in the meter before joining Emmy. Trays of tempting pastries in the bakery shop window and a massive wedding cake display slowed his progress for a moment or two.
“Wipe the drool from your chin, sweetie.” Emmy slipped her arm through his arm and playfully tugged it. “The crime scene is this way.”
“Are you sure? It seems to me, ignoring those sweet edibles would be a major crime. They are calling my name.”
“Death by chocolate?” Emmy laughed at her husband. “Though, that French cruller with the raspberry filling looks very tempting.”
“This isn’t exactly the crime scene I expected.” Garth’s voice startled the couple as he walked up behind them.
Surprised, they both turned to face Garth. Hank recovered first. “Perfect timing, my friend. Emmy was losing her battle with the pastry shop.”
Emmy’s eyebrow raised as she smirked at Hank. “Two more seconds, and Hank would have been buying out the store.”
Tango dodged a few cars as he zig-zagged across the street and joined the group. “Found a parking space about three blocks away. Quite a busy part of town.”
“Well, we aren’t sightseeing, so let’s go see what Sheriff Welcher’s crew might be willing to share.”
“With all this traffic, how'd you get here so fast? Tango practicing his California driving again?” Emmy nudged her elbow into the agent’s ribs.
“Nah, we were canvassing an area a few blocks away. Poppa said he’d been told lots of people in the film industry hang out in the area.” Tango’s eyes widened as three young women in mini skirts strolled past their group. “I might volunteer to interview all of them if they look like those three.”
“Put your eyes back in your head. We’ve got some investigating to do. You guys mingle with the crowd; see if you can learn anything. I’ll go find Sheriff Welcher.” Garth grimaced, “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see me at another crime scene.”
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Crossing the crime tape was more accessible than Garth expected. The young officer working the crowd recognized him from the airport and waved. Garth flashed his badge and introduced himself, and crossed the line without being challenged. The officer pointed down the alley and told him he’d find the Sheriff in that direction.
Garth nodded and smiled as he moved through the officers and their vehicles. Red and blue lights reflected in the store windows and lit the area like Christmas. As he passed by the officers and plain-clothes detectives, his ears tuned into their conversations.
“Guess she’s a wanna-be. Forensics found a movie script lying on the ground near her body.”
“Don’t imagine she thought her starring role would be a murder victim.”
“She was stabbed. Probably in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
A white sheet covered the victim’s body. Garth spotted her red hair, and his throat tightened. Thoughts of Jaz flashed through his mind as he approached Welcher.
“Hello again, Sheriff.”
Welcher’s conversation with the coroner abruptly stopped when he heard Garth’s voice. “Give me a second, Harold. It appears the FBI has arrived at the scene.” The sheriff turned and stared at Garth for a moment before speaking, “Mind telling me how you learned about the murder so fast. Are you monitoring our radios?”
“Nothing so underhanded, Sheriff. My team and I were canvassing the area for information on Jaz. We just stumbled onto your crime scene. All the flashing lights and sirens were a dead giveaway. Excuse the pun.”
“The victim might put a damper on your humor.”
“How’s that? Have you identified her?” Garth stared at the body. He waited for the Sheriff’s reply.
“Not exactly. Though she was wearing a locket that might interest you.” He opened his hand, exposing a gold heart-shaped necklace. “It’s engraved.”
Garth glanced at the necklace and then at Welcher. “You seem to be enjoying the suspense. Either tell me about the crime, the engraving, or anything, or I’ll question the forensics myself.”
“It might be a coincidence; one never knows.” The Sheriff shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not a common name around here.”
Garth’s dark eyes were smoldering as he closed the space between Welcher and himself. “The name.”
Welcher snapped, “You don’t have to get so testy,” but he moved a step back. He handed the locket to Garth. “See for yourself.”
Garth opened the locket and saw the engraving “Jaz.” His throat tightened, but he refused to let Welcher get under his skin. He closed the locket and handed it back to the sheriff. “Can I see the body?”
“Don’t see why not.” Welcher called out to one of his officers, “Tom, our FBI friend would like to see the victim. Would you uncover the body?”
“Sure thing.” The officer stood between Garth and the body and lifted the sheet, blocking the view. Garth moved closer and examined the victim. A ripple of relief washed over him, but he gave no visible signs.
“Recognize her?” Welcher held a small purse, some folded twenties, a credit card, and a business card for a restaurant. “I’m guessing this is the credit card used at Haley’s Diner early this morning.”
Garth reached for the business card. “May I?”
“Yeah, sure. It looks like it’s for one of those Italian places over a few blocks. They hand them out left and right around here.”
“She looks like a working girl. Maybe—”
“This ain’t no red-light section of town. It’s all upscale around here.” Welcher shook his head. “What reason would a hooker have in this area? You think she’s working out of one of these boutiques?”
“My mistake, Sheriff. I wasn’t clear, I guess. I was referring to someone who might work in an office or as a hostess in a nice restaurant. She’s not dressed to attract men, and her nails are perfectly manicured.”
“Yeah, yeah, I saw that. Guess I got distracted by the blood and all those knife wounds. Probably a robbery went wrong.”
“You think it was a robbery? Hmm—the perp left the money, credit card, and the locket. Wonder what he took?”
The sheriff tossed his coffee cup in the trash. The contents splashed against the rim of the bin, barely missing Garth. “I don’t have time to stand around chit-chatting. I need to work this investigation, so if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to do.” Without another word, the sheriff walked away from Garth and started giving orders to his officers to search the area. “We’re looking for the knife. The perp might have tossed it.”
Garth saw Hank and Tango standing near the crime tape, so he headed in their direction. Emmy was standing with a group of women, smiling and laughing. She waved goodbye to the ladies and rejoined the group.
“Tell us it’s not Jaz.” Hank asked the dreaded question that all of them were wondering.
“It’s not Jaz. Though someone went to a lot of effort to make us think it was her.” Garth looked around at the shops. “Let’s go see if that pastry shop serves coffee. We can fill each other in while Hank gets his fill of everything in the store.”
“Sounds good to me.” Hank reached for Emmy’s hand. “You got enough money with you, darling. I’m mighty hungry.”
“Hank Armato, you are only getting two pastries, you hear me.” Emmy tugged on Hank’s sleeve, then looked at Garth. “The ladies are mighty friendly around here. When they learned the FBI was on the scene, they couldn’t wait to share some interesting information concerning their Sheriff.”
“Really?” Tango leaned closer to Emmy. “Was it something juicy?”
“Not exactly, but I’m sure you’ll find it quite interesting.” Emmy slipped her arm through Hanks. “I’ll fill you in over coffee; besides, if my darling husband doesn’t fill his mouth with a pastry soon, he might be too famished to walk there.” Emmy laughed and weaved her way through the crowd, with Hank following close behind.
Author Notes
Characters:
Vito Moretti - a black-hearted ex-con with vengeance in his blood
Charles (Charlie) Dubois - a childhood friend who enjoys living luxuriously
Marian Carrington - a star in her own mind and suffers from dementia
Henry and Tina Pagani - an elderly couple living on St. Simon Island
Cheryl - Personal maid to Lady Marian
Angel Bearrows - a wanna-be actress in the wrong place at the wrong time
Alyssa Shelton (Allie)- Investigative Journalist and unofficial FBI Agent
Jasmine Shelton (Jaz) - wanna-be-movie star and living on the edge of life
Garth Woodman - FBI Agent and Allie's love interest
Hank and Emmy Armato - retired detectives and current Private Investigators
Sheriff Ortiz - Hayden - Napa Valley Police Department
Sheriff Welcher - Savannah, Georgia Police Department
Tango and Poppa - FBI agents who work closely with Garth
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