Danielle Delgado wandered over. “I’m sorry I threw in that part about sprucing up Main Street, but I just couldn’t help myself. It’s so ugly over there.”
“I’m glad you did,” Stump said. “Especially getting Mr. Barella involved. You made him look like a hero.”
Irv Wedlock tapped Stump on the shoulder. “Great job, Stump. We’ll see if we can’t plug your program on the news.”
Other people took turns patting Stump on the back and encouraging him as he moved back to the lectern.
A moment later, the outer doors burst open and the cameraman got the shot of the councilmembers as they returned, in single file like a jury, to their seats. Mayor Curtis checked his microphone. “Everybody please be seated. We’re already very late and we’d like to wrap this up. The committee has discussed the matter as proposed.” He pointed at Stump. “Now if Mr. Randolph here doesn’t have any additional jobs for Mr. Barella to do, can we proceed with the vote?”
Stump leaned into his microphone and grinned at Mr. Barella. “I was hoping he’d stand on the corner with one of those spinning signs and direct traffic to the meetings.”
The audience laughed and Barella wagged a friendly finger at Stump.
“Okay, then,” the Mayor said. “I will ask each panel member, one at a time, whether they agree that the City Council should promote and advise the community of the importance of upgrading their homes based on the terms and conditions we spelled out earlier, all of which is now of record.” He banged his gavel and looked to his right. “Let me begin with Victoria Hennretti. Do you vote yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“William Goode. How do you vote?”
“Affirmative.”
“It’s my turn, and I vote yes,” the Mayor said as he turned his head to his left.
“Carmen Torrez?”
“Yes.”
“And finally we come to tonight’s man of the hour. Mr. Michael Barella. And how do you vote, sir?”
Ever the showman, Mr. Barella grinned and stalled, enjoying the moment and the TV camera. A hush filled the room as everybody anticipated his reply. Then, “I don’t know how I got roped into all this, but I say, hell, yes.”
Wild cheers overwhelmed the room while the camera perused all the happy faces.
“It’s unanimous and the measure passes,” the Mayor yelled into his microphone. “Now let’s get to that party.”
Chapter Eighty-One
As soon as the meeting was over, a group of well-wishers encircled Stump. Naturally, Michael Barella stood wherever the camera was aimed. After the excitement wore off Myles offered to take his mother, Stump and James for a slice of pie. They called Detective Sanchez and invited her to meet them.
Once seated at the restaurant, Stump was able to see the door.
“I can’t eat that much,” Grandma Pauline said.
“You haven’t even seen the menu yet, Mom,” Myles said.
“They always give me too much.”
“Don’t worry, Grandma,” Stump said. “If they give you too much, I’ll help you.”
The waitress came by and Myles ordered apple pie for everybody.
“There’s Detective Sanchez now,” Stump said, pointing to the entry door. He waved her over and scooted around the booth to make room. James slid too, and Detective Sanchez eased into the new space.
“I’m surprised you could make it,” Myles said.
“I probably shouldn’t have, but I’m starving.”
“I hope you like apple pie. We all ordered the same thing.”
“Right now, I’d eat liver and onions.”
“Gross,” Stump said. “What happened to Manuel?”
“It was sad. After he heard we had the weapon and a chicken box full of his prints he folded like an old sheet. I think he was feeling pretty guilty and just wanted to get it over with.”
“Was Juanita in on it?” Stump followed up. “I wasn’t sure.”
“Don’t think so. She was pretty broken up. I had to get somebody to stay with her for the night.”
“Consequences,” Grandma Pauline said.
Stump turned her way, wondered if she knew she’d made a relevant comment.
“Dixon’s having a rough time,” Detective Sanchez said. “He thought he’d gotten away with that old case, but he’s mad as hell. He’s hired an attorney, but it isn’t going to do him much good. There’s too much physical evidence and too many witnesses.”
“Well, I can tell you this,” Myles said. “If Stump’s mom knew what he pulled off tonight, she’d be damned proud.” He looked sternly at Stump. “But you should have told Detective Sanchez or me what you were up to. The way you played it was too risky.”
“We considered that,” James said, “but Stump wanted to give the TV station a scoop.”
Stump shrugged. “I know I didn’t do everything just right, but it was the only way I could force them to listen to me.”
“Gotta admit it worked out well,” Myles said. “What made you think of getting the TV station there?”
“You taught me about giving people what they want. So I thought about Mr. Barella and the others. What’s the one thing they want more than anything?”
“To get reelected,” James said.
“Right. It’s all about image to guys like that, so the best way to get their attention was to give them what they craved, and the best way to get the cameras there was to give them something they wanted too.”
“Look how fat that guy is,” Grandma Pauline said, pointing to a customer in the next booth.
Detective Sanchez cringed while Myles shushed his mom, and then turned back to Stump. “You said my mom helped. What did she have to do with anything?”
“Two ways. First she was the only one who knew that there are grants available for people to upgrade their houses.”
“Did you know Ted and Sheila?” Grandma Pauline asked Detective Sanchez.
“No ma’am. I haven’t had that pleasure, but we’re all glad you knew them.” She turned to Stump. “What was the other way this smart woman helped?”
Stump smiled at Grandma Pauline and looked at Myles. “When she first arrived from Oklahoma, she was thinking about changing her will without your sister ever knowing about it. Her idea was, by the time your sis figured it out, it would be too late. She called it a Ruby.”
“Where is Ellen anyway?” Grandma Pauline asked. “She never comes around anymore.”
“She’s at her house, Mom,” Myles said. Back to Stump. “A ruby?”
“She was talking about Jack Ruby, the guy who killed Oswald for killing JFK. I had to look it up.”
“Jack Ruby?” Grandma Pauline said. “He was one of my students.”
Myles patted her hand.
“What about Ruby?” Detective Sanchez asked.
“There are several theories surrounding the President’s death. One of them was that the mob tricked Oswald into killing JFK. But they didn’t trust Oswald to keep his mouth shut, so they hired their loyal friend, Jack Ruby, who ran a bar in Texas, to kill Oswald.”
Myles nodded. “I saw that on TV, but I thought a committee proved Oswald acted alone.”
“There were several theories, but none of that matters for our purposes. The relevant point has to do with Ruby’s health. He was very ill and expected to die within a year. Other than the mob, nobody knew the details of the assassination except Oswald and Ruby but Oswald was already dead and Ruby wasn’t going to be around very long because of his illness so he had nothing to lose by killing Oswald. It was brilliant.”
“But Manuel wasn’t ill,” Myles said.
“No, but Mr. Kraft was.” Stump said. “Manuel hated Dixon, but couldn’t do anything about it without becoming a prime suspect. But then word got out that Mr. Kraft was dying. The first time I met Manuel he told me that he’d seen his own uncle suffer through the same thing and he didn’t like it. Manuel figured he could carry out a mercy killing on Mr. Kraft and frame Dixon all with one
swing of a heavy board. If he was lucky, he and Juanita might even get Dixon’s job, or at least get paid what they were worth.”
“It almost worked,” Detective Sanchez said. “If Stump hadn’t seen Manuel’s out-of-place chicken box...”
Stump nodded. “And the scar on the fence. After James and I checked that out and found the support board from the bed frame, I knew Manuel had the means, opportunity and motive to kill Mr. Kraft.”
“A MOM,” James said.
Myles nodded and said to Stump, “I still wish you wouldn’t go off on your own like that.”
“To be perfectly honest,” Detective Sanchez said, “Stump found out some things nobody else knew, like that Mrs. Quintana had been raped recently. More importantly, he persuaded her to talk about it. That enabled us to arrest Dixon and find out about that old case. I’m not sure we could have done all that without him.” She looked directly at Stump. “Regardless, I’m glad we all got reunited.”
“When I figured it out, I wondered why I didn’t recognize you earlier, ’cause I always thought you were, well, you know.”
“You thought I was what?” Detective Sanchez asked while folding her arms. “In over my head?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“I know what he means,” James said. “He thinks you’re hot.”
Stump thumped James on the arm. “For an older woman, Dude. I said she looks good for an older woman.”
Detective Sanchez chuckled. “Older woman, huh? You don’t know how good that is to hear. If you weren’t Maria’s boyfriend I might just be tempted to scoop you up myself.”
Myles grinned and pointed toward the kitchen. “Thank God. Here comes our pie.”
“I can’t eat that much.”
“It’s not even here yet, Mom.”
Chapter Eighty-Two
It had been several days since Delores arrested both Dixon Browne and Manuel Alvarado. She’d had her fill of interrogations, reporters, paperwork and attorneys, but those weren’t her only problems. Except for a few quick phone calls, she’d essentially abandoned Carlton Fayes, the art teacher, which meant he’d had to attend to nearly every detail of what he came to refer to as The Great Cupcake Extravaganza.
All of this proved two things: one, Mrs. Carbone was correct when she said that Carlton usually did more than his fair share of the chores; and two, now that the day for the Extravaganza had arrived, Delores looked forward to it as much as any of the students did.
Delores took the afternoon off, donned some blue jeans and a short-sleeved pullover sweater, and arrived at the school just before two. Inside, she immediately noticed her yellow poster on the entrance wall along with several others, all of which boasted of the cupcake decorating party that was to be in the cafeteria right after school.
“I’m Detective Sanchez,” she said to the receptionist. “I’m supposed to meet Mrs. Carbone.”
The grin on the receptionist’s face was a little friendlier than Delores expected. “Oh, yes, we’ve heard all about you. Go ahead.”
As Delores wandered toward the cafeteria she noticed poster after poster, all with an A+, promoting the event. There had to be a spot in heaven for a guy who could inspire kids like that.
In the cafeteria, a handful of adults were busy taping balloons, crepe paper and additional posters to the walls. “There she is,” Mrs. Carbone said, pointing to Delores. “C’mon back. You can help in the kitchen.”
“I didn’t expect to see so many helpers,” Delores said as she smiled her way past the other workers.
“You don’t know the half of it. One of the ladies is from the office. The others are parents.” She grinned. “We’re going to need every one of them.”
“Why? Carlton and I should be able to handle—”
Mrs. Carbone waved off the comment. “It’s been a wildfire around here. When word of a cupcake party got out, all sorts of people wanted to come. We even heard from the superintendent’s office. She’s sending over a representative to check it out.”
“Oh my gosh, Mr. Fayes didn’t say anything to me about all of that.”
“Course not. He said you were tied up on that big case—congratulations, by the way.”
“Oh. Thank you, but I was just doing my job.”
“We’re expecting somewhere around 50-60 people and every one of them is supposed to make two cupcakes. Mr. Fayes calls one a Me Cake; the other one is a Friend Cake to give to somebody else. It’s about the pleasure of doing nice things for others.”
Delores’s eyes widened. “What a wonderful idea.”
“If you’d like, you can help me whip up the batter. We’re also making an extra fifty cupcakes, just in case.”
“Gladly. Where do I start?”
For the next hour Delores traded niceties with the helpers and mixed batter, cooked cupcakes and spread decorating utensils among the tables. Then for the final twenty minutes Mrs. Carbone showed everybody how to use the icing tubes so they could pass the information along to the kids when the time was right. “We’d like one adult at each table,” Mrs. Carbone said. “Don’t expect a lot, artistically. Our objective is merely to show these kids that school and learning and trying new things can be fun.”
Delores nodded. That was precisely what she’d hoped for the first day she met Carlton Fayes.
As the final bell approached, it appeared as if nearly everything was ready. “Don’t worry about the loose ends,” Mrs. Carbone said. “You guys just enjoy yourselves and spread that attitude to the children.”
It occurred to Delores that Mrs. Carbone was actually friendlier than she originally seemed.
By the time the final bell went off the whiff of chocolate cupcakes filled the room. Parents and students worked their way into the cafeteria. Some sniffed at the air. Others took seats. A couple boys grabbed the icing tubes and pretended they were laser pointers. Then Carlton Fayes walked in.
He deserved to make a grand entrance for all he’d accomplished but instead he simply eased in, apparently leaving the others to enjoy their moments. He moved quickly to Delores. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“Me too.” She said, tempted to kiss him on the cheek.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get this function going.” Carlton moved close to the kitchen and banged at the bottom of an aluminum pot with a large cooking spoon. “Wow!” he said in an outside voice. “We had no idea there would be so many of you here today. It’s so good to see you all. Before we start decorating I’d like to thank Mrs. Carbone and everybody who volunteered for the various jobs. Let’s all give each other a hand.” After the applause died down, he resumed. “Okay, the table captains will show you what to do. We’ll have a short hour to ice up our cakes before we call it a day. So everybody have a good time and don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
After the announcements, Delores took a captain role at a table facing Carlton, who sat at the next table over facing her. She showed the kids how to squeeze the icing tubes and spread the icing evenly, all along trading glances with Carlton and enjoying each new finished cupcake at her table. Icing globs found faces, hair and the floor. She hadn’t heard that much giggling and laughing in a long time. She silently thanked Dr. Moreno.
This was precisely the type of activity Delores needed to remind her that life is not all about bad guys and their victims. Then Carlton rose and Delores glanced at the clock. It seemed like mere minutes had passed but the hour was nearly over. He clanked on the pan again. Some whines of regret indicated that nearly everybody else was enjoying themselves as much as Delores was.
“Okay, everybody,” Carlton said once the noise subsided. “I don’t know about you people, but I’ve had a wonderful time. Before we start cleaning up we’ve got one more exercise and this should be the most enjoyable part of our afternoon.”
Kids quieted and looked his way as if it were difficult to believe that anything else could enhance the fun.
“This entire project was the brainchild of Det
ective Sanchez over there, but there’s a little more you should know about her. Not long ago, she arrested two very bad men and sent them to jail. This is the kind of thing she does every day. Then in between all of her dangerous work she came to our school, just to do something nice for all of us. Why don’t we show her how much we appreciate her and all these cupcakes?”
Carlton led the applause while Delores humbly rose and mouthed several thank yous to her new friends.
“Now, for that other exercise I spoke of,” Carlton went on. “In a minute we’re going to give away our Friend Cakes. To start things off, I’m going to give my Friend Cake to Detective Sanchez.” He showed his cupcake to the kids. “As you can see, I put a big gold star on top.” He walked over to Delores and handed her the cupcake.
She nodded, and mouthed another thank you.
Almost as if she’d been cued, Principal Haley rose and gave her Friend Cake to Carlton Fayes, saying, “You bring out the best in us.”
Just then the janitor joined the group and Mrs. Carbone grabbed one of the spare cakes and gave it to him. “Nobody ever thanks you, but you keep our school clean and we appreciate that.”
“Okay, everybody,” Carlton said. “You get the idea. Let’s take a few minutes to share our good feelings.”
The janitor took a bite out of his cake and grinned while students hurried around the room handing cupcakes back and forth. Carlton nudged Delores toward the batch of extra cupcakes. “Help me make sure every student gets at least one extra cupcake.”
Delores reached for the tray but was interrupted. “Here, this is for you,” a young girl who appeared to be about seven said as she handed Delores a cake covered in red, white and blue icing. “My mom says the police are heroes.”
“Take mine too,” one of the boys said handing a simple white-covered cake to her. “I’m not very creative.”
“It reminds me of a fluffy cloud,” Delores said. “I love it just the way it is.”
Before she knew what happened, Delores had a small stack of Friend Cakes in front of her and Carlton had drifted across the room where he was busy handing out the extra cupcakes and making everybody feel special. She took a deep breath and knew this was precisely the lesson Dr. Moreno wanted her to learn. This truly was an extravaganza.
Chapter Eighty-Three