Granny Apples 05 - Ghost in the Guacamole (17 page)

Jeremiah reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through it until he found what he was looking for, and passed it along to Phil. “These look familiar?”

Phil looked at the photo, then flipped to the next and then to a few others. He showed them to Emma, then said to Jeremiah, “You were snapping photos of me photographing Steve and Carlos?” He glanced down. One of the photos was of Emma driving the SUV right before Phil hopped into it.

“I was already there taking shots from farther away with a zoom lens when along comes some bald guy slipping in and out between cars to take his own pics.” Jeremiah picked up his mug and took another long drink of his coffee. “You guys were a big surprise, both then and in the restaurant. Add a ghost to the mix and you can bet I was curious.”

Granny got very close to Jeremiah, “So cough it up: Who's your client?”

“You're in my space, Granny,” Jeremiah said to the ghost in a calm voice.

“Granny's just asking the question on all of our minds,” Emma noted. “Who's your client?”

Jeremiah stared at Granny, waiting. When the ghost backed up a few feet, he said, “T.J. Mendoza hired me. He met me when I was working gangs while with the LAPD.”

“T.J. was in a gang?” asked Emma with surprise.

Jeremiah shook his head. “No, but his older brother was and was killed in a gun battle years ago.” He paused while the sad irony sank into everyone's mind. “Frankly, I don't think T.J. cared if the company got sold or not. He's a very bright guy. He would have landed on his feet no matter what. He wasn't invested in the company like the Ricardos, but he did care a lot about Rikki.”

“That's exactly the feeling I got from T.J. when I spoke to him,” Emma said. “So that's why you took off for Roble when we did, isn't it?”

Jeremiah shrugged. “At the time, none of us knew it was T.J. who'd been shot, but I had a very bad feeling in my gut and it wasn't the fish tacos. I also had a feeling Lucy would be right behind us and Steve would scatter like a roach, so no sense sticking around Santiago's.”

They sat quietly for a few minutes, each with their own thoughts, even Granny. “What's been bothering me,” Emma finally said, “is why was T.J. there or, more importantly, who knew he was there? Rikki said he dashed in unexpectedly and said he needed to talk to her. She made him wait until the lunch rush was over, then found him near death when she finally went to talk to him.”

“That's not sitting right with me either,” Jeremiah said. “If T.J. wasn't supposed to be there, did the shooter track him into Roble or was the shooter already in the restaurant and decided on the spot to kill T.J. when he saw him arrive?”

“Hold on,” Phil said. He went into Emma's guest house office and came out with a large pad of paper and a pen. When he returned to the table, he said, “Okay, let's brainstorm in an orderly manner.” Flipping the pad horizontally, at the top in capital letters he wrote:
T.J.
He put a
1
in the left margin and wrote:
Killer tracked T.J. into Roble?
He followed up by listing a
2
under that on the left side and writing:
Killer already in Roble?

“That's a good start,” noted Emma. “Next make a list each for Steve Bullock and Lucy.” Phil wrote both of their names at the top and drew lines between them to make columns.

“We know that Lucy didn't shoot T.J.,” Jeremiah said, “because she was at Santiago's with us. Same with Bullock.”

“True,” Phil said, “but what about having someone else do the shooting? We know Bullock gave Carlos money for something, and I definitely overhead Carlos say something about T.J. during the exchange.” Under both Steve and Lucy's names he wrote:
Hired shooter?
Under Lucy's name he also added:
Felix not father.

“But Carlos wasn't at Roble yesterday,” Emma pointed out. “Rikki told me he called in sick.”

“That doesn't mean he didn't have anything to do with it,” noted Jeremiah. “He could have arranged for the shooter to come in.”

Phil made another column and wrote:
Carlos Fuentes
at the top. “Fuentes was his last name, correct?” he asked the others.

“Yes,” Granny answered. “I remember that.” The ghost came behind Phil and looked over his shoulder.

“You can read, Granny?” asked Jeremiah.

Granny scowled. “Why are people always surprised at that?”

“Sorry.” Jeremiah held his hands up in a defensive gesture. “I meant no offense.”

“Granny already knew how to read some,” Emma said, giving the ghost an encouraging smile. “Now she's working with my mother to improve it.”

“Yeah,” said the ghost with a jerk of her set chin. “Turns out you can teach an old ghost new tricks.”

While Jeremiah shook his head in amusement at the ghost, Phil kept writing, adding new information to each list as he remembered it. “Okay,” he said. “We know that Carlos was out yesterday and that Steve paid him for something that might have to do with T.J. We also know that Lucy wasn't at the restaurant yesterday, but could have had a part in hiring a shooter. We also know that Felix wasn't her father but we have no clue who is.”

“One of the things I overhead discussed between Lucy and Steve,” Jeremiah said, “was what her role would be at Fiesta Time after the sale.”

Emma pushed away her plate with the half-eaten muffin and looked at Jeremiah with surprise. “Both Rikki and T.J. were under the impression that after the sale Lucy wanted to leave the area and go off and paint and live a simpler lifestyle.”

“No way was that her plan,” Jeremiah said with conviction. “That might be what she told them, but the truth was that Ramon Santiago would retire after the sale closed and Lucy would become president of Fiesta Time with Bullock as CEO and chairman of the board. I also heard her say she hoped T.J. would join them.”

“Interesting,” noted Phil. “But do you think T.J. would go with them after they sandbagged Rikki? He was going to marry her after all. Might cause some pretty tense family holidays.”

“That could be why T.J. hired me,” Jeremiah said, refilling his coffee mug again. “He wanted to make sure if the sale went through, it was on the up-and-up. If he found out about any dirty dealings, I don't think he would have gone along with them, and I think he would have joined forces with Rikki to stop them. From what I've seen, T.J. Mendoza is the opposite of Steve Bullock. T.J. believes business is a game of strategy played fairly and with integrity. He's helped Rikki implement a lot of changes at the restaurant that have increased business and their public brand. Bullock also believes it's a game, but no holds barred. It's like Olympic boxing versus street fighting.”

“What about the girls' mother?” asked Emma. “Did you know that Elena Ricardo took off about the time of the shooting?” Phil made a column for Elena Ricardo and under it wrote:
Whereabouts?
Followed by
Involved?

Jeremiah nodded. “Yeah. I heard Rikki tell Espinoza that. That poor girl's family is breaking apart all around her.”

“Rikki said her mother was going back and forth about the sale, depending on which daughter talked to her last,” Emma said. “But the last I knew, Elena Ricardo had sided with Lucy on selling the company. Rikki also said her mother seemed fine when she and T.J. stopped by there yesterday to tell her about the engagement.”

“We need to find that woman,” said Phil.

“They did, sort of,” Jeremiah told them. “I spoke to Aaron already this morning. He's also an early riser, though I doubt he got much sleep last night to begin with.” Jeremiah got up from the table and stretched his legs. “The mom slipped across the border into Tijuana yesterday afternoon. Who knows where she is now?”

“Can't they track her vehicle?” asked Emma.

“They can and did,” Jeremiah said. “The car was left in one of the U.S.-side parking lots. She walked across the border and melted into the crowd, taking public transportation or even a taxi to wherever she was heading. They're checking her phone records now, both landline and cell, but if she's smart, she's discarded the cell and got herself a burner phone.”

“She probably planned to take off,” said Emma with disgust. “She was all hearts and flowers with Rikki that morning knowing she was going to leave. What kind of mother does that?”

“Another possibility,” noted Jeremiah, “is that Elena heard about the shooting on TV and took off, knowing the shit was going to hit the fan. She could have easily thrown clothes together and made it to the border by the time everything got sorted out and people started looking for her. Aaron is going to contact the authorities in the town her family is from and a few others in the area to see if she shows up, but Mexican
policia
are not known for being cooperative with American cops, especially if those cops want information about a Mexican, American-born or not. Hopefully, through some miracle, Aaron will learn something. I doubt the mother shot anyone, but I'll bet she could be a big help in sorting some of this out.”

“Do you think Detective Espinoza will tell you if he learns anything?” asked Phil.

“He'll tell me as much as he can about what he can,” Jeremiah answered. “I've told him everything I know, including about the cash handoff. It won't be the first time I've helped him out. He owes me and knows it.” Granny floated back and forth behind Emma and Phil as if on a track. Jeremiah noticed. “Careful, Granny, or you're going to wear a hole in that air.” Granny ignored him.

“She's a pacer when she thinks,” Emma explained.

Finally, Granny stopped and returned to hover behind Phil again. “Did any of you geniuses think that maybe T.J. wasn't the target yesterday?”

E
MMA
repeated Granny's comment for Phil, then he, Jeremiah, and Emma went still, their eyes darting from one to the other as they considered the possibility.

“Good theory, Granny,” Jeremiah said. “And one Aaron floated by me briefly yesterday. It could be that the target was Rikki and the shooter found T.J. in her office. Both were surprised and the shooter tried to take T.J. out.” On his note pad, Phil wrote under T.J.'s name:
Wrong victim?
He also made a column for Rikki and wrote:
Target?

“Granny makes a great point,” agreed Emma. “T.J. made a surprise visit to Roble, so unless the shooter was following him, he wouldn't have known he was there. And if the shooter was someone working at the restaurant, he would have been surprised, too.”

Jeremiah leaned against the low brick wall that bordered a section of the patio. “Aaron's people searched the entire restaurant from top to bottom, including personal lockers, cupboards, drawers, even the sacks of flour and other food items, looking for the gun. Nothing. He also said everyone was accounted for. People vouched for each other. No one working could remember anyone leaving their post for even a few minutes from the time T.J. arrived until Rikki found him. Several saw T.J. go upstairs, but said it was way too busy for anyone to take even a bathroom break.”

“That rules out Carlos as the shooter,” Emma noted. “If he had called in sick and then showed up, he would have been recognized and remembered.”

“Very true,” Phil agreed, “but that still doesn't mean he didn't assist in it. We really need to find out more about that money and what it was for.” Phil turned to where he thought Granny was hovering. He was wrong but Granny moved into his sightline. “Granny, do you think you could zero in on Carlos Fuentes and see where he is?”

“I could try,” said the ghost.

“And if you can't,” added Emma, “how about trying to locate Felix again? Didn't you say he was up there at the time of the shooting?”

“I think he was, or at least he was there when Rikki found T.J.,” Granny said.

“We have to get Felix to talk,” said Emma. “He might have seen everything.” With a salute, Granny was gone.

The remaining three all gave the situation more thought. Jeremiah returned to the table, and both he and Phil each reached for another muffin. It was getting warmer but still not hot. Emma went into the house and returned with a pitcher of cold water and glasses, along with her cell phone. “I received a text from Rikki,” she said after putting the water down. “I texted her this morning to see how T.J. is doing.” She looked down at the message. “The surgery went well but he's in very critical condition and not out of the woods yet. She also says the police haven't been able to question him because he's too weak and drugged up.” She read further. “She also said that Chef Lupe's surgery went well.”

“That's good news,” said Phil. Jeremiah, his mouth full of muffin, agreed with a nod.

Emma poured herself a glass of water. While she was drinking, she pieced together another theory. “One thing everyone agrees on is that the place was busier than usual because of that tour bus, right?”

Phil nodded. “Didn't Rikki say they weren't expecting it?”

“Yes, she did,” Emma said. “Rikki said they were surprised by it showing up. I don't think it's unusual for tour buses to come and go at Olvera Street, but I would think most of those would be scheduled stops by the same companies, not something spontaneous. A good tour company would want to make sure there was enough seating and service for everyone.”

Jeremiah put down his muffin. “That's a very good point. I wonder if anyone caught the name of the tour bus.” He picked up his phone and started texting. “I'm sure Aaron's people would have asked about it. Let's see if they got any information he's willing to share. In the meantime, I need to get off my butt and start talking to people.”

Phil ripped off another sheet of paper and started writing, making a list of names. “Why don't we make a list and divvy up the names. It will go faster.”

“Normally,” Jeremiah said, “I'd put my foot down on civilians being involved, but we need to work fast on this.” He looked from Emma to Phil and back to Emma. “And my research showed some interesting facts about you two, especially you, Emma.”

Phil stopped writing. Emma put down her water glass. The two of them looked at each other, then at Jeremiah, but said nothing.

Jeremiah laughed. “Don't play coy with me. Besides what I turned up, Aaron confirmed that you've been involved on the solving end of a couple of crimes in the past few years, most recently in Las Vegas, and before that the mess with Max Naiman's family. I'll bet Granny was involved in those, too.”

“I was just helping friends out, Jeremiah,” Emma told him firmly. “That's all it was.”

“I have no doubt.” Jeremiah looked at her a long while, then pointed at Phil's list. “What do you have there so far, Phil?”

Phil looked down at his list of names. “We need to talk to Hector Gonzales. He might remember something since he was at the restaurant and could be directly impacted by the sale.”

“And his daughter, Ana,” Emma added. “She might have seen something, especially the tour bus or the name of the company. She stands right outside the entrance all day.”

“Restaurante Roble will be closed today,” Jeremiah noted. “It won't open again until the police release the crime scene, so we'll have to run down their addresses. Same thing with any of the waiters or cooks we might want to talk to. That information the police will not be sharing.”

“Obviously we need to speak to Carlos Fuentes when we locate him,” Phil said, reading the next name. He put a star by Carlos's name. “He's perhaps the most important one.”

“Granny has been to his home,” Emma said, “but she might not be able to give us an address. She's not good with geographic locations and distances, but she did say he went to a college that seemed not far from his home, and from her description, he lives in well-maintained blue-collar neighborhood with small houses.”

“Well, that leaves out UCLA,” Jeremiah said, making a sarcastic remark about the famous university plopped down in the middle of some of the area's most expensive homes. “I'm betting Carlos is getting a jump on his education at LA City College. They have an extensive summer program. As for his neighborhood, from the description that could be one of hundreds in that area. He could even have disappeared by now like Elena.”

“You mean run for Mexico?” asked Emma.

Jeremiah shook his head. “It would be easy for a Latino kid like him to melt into any crowd in LA.”

Phil looked at his list and added another. “If we find the tour company, we need to speak to whoever the guide was yesterday.” He pointed his pen to a name at the top of the list. “And we definitely need to pin down Steve Bullock and talk to him.”

“He's at his office already this morning,” Jeremiah told them.

“How do you know that?” asked Emma. “The day has barely started and you're here.”

Jeremiah smiled. “I have an associate who's keeping watch on him today.”

Emma studied Jeremiah, then said, “I'd like to go to Roble Foods. Rikki told me in her text that since T.J. is stable, she's going into the corporate offices today to calm down their employees.”

“Damage control is not a bad idea,” Phil said, “the sooner the better, especially since both the CFO and CEO are out of commission and she's now the only board member available.”

Jeremiah scratched his chin. Today he was clean shaven. “Does this give her full power now over Roble?” He aimed the question at Phil.

“Yes and no,” Phil answered. “She is the only available director and shareholder so people will naturally look to her for guidance in this emergency situation, but she can't take over the board on a dime unless they have some special clause in the bylaws for such emergencies, which I doubt.”

“But Lucy is in jail for attempted murder,” Emma pointed out.

“Yes,” agreed Phil, “and in California, directors can be removed for a felonious act, but only if convicted, not simply charged. The shareholders could remove Lucy as a director, but Lucy and Elena are both shareholders equal to Rikki. To remove Lucy and/or Elena from the board in other ways would take time.”

Emma mulled that over, then said, “I'd also like to talk to Isabel.”

“Who's Isabel?” asked Jeremiah.

“The executive secretary at Roble Foods,” Emma answered. “From what I can tell, she's been privy to a lot of heated arguments between T.J. and Lucy. She even gave T.J. a heads-up when Lucy charged over to the restaurant in a rage on Tuesday, so she might not be that loyal to Lucy.”

“How about you and Phil take both Rikki and Isabel today,” Jeremiah said. “It'll be one-stop shopping. I'll talk to Elena's maid and to Carlos if we locate him, and I'll check in with my associate on Bullock. I'm riding my motorcycle again today so I'll be able to cover more miles faster than you folks.”

“What about me?” asked Granny, who popped up.

“Did you find Carlos?” Emma asked.

“Yes and no,” the ghost answered. “I made a connection, but it wasn't very strong. First he was on that motorbike of his. Then I lost him. When I connected again, he was at a fast-food place getting something to eat and drink. That's where he is now. Just sitting outside eating as calmly as you please, but I couldn't tell where he was, just what he was doing.” Emma gave Phil the report.

“A fast-food place,” repeated Jeremiah. “Another needle in a haystack.”

“I did my best,” snapped Granny.

“I wasn't criticizing you, Granny,” Jeremiah said. “I'm just frustrated. Don't be so sensitive.”

“Welcome to my world,” Emma told him.

“Why don't you also try to find out more from Detective Espinoza,” Emma said to Jeremiah. “And if we find out the name of the tour company, we'll tackle that.”

“Sounds good,” Jeremiah said, looking at his watch. “It's about ten thirty now. Let's get a move on and check in with each other around one.”

A phone vibrated. Jeremiah and Emma both looked at theirs. “It's mine,” Jeremiah said. He looked at it. “Talk about timely. It's Aaron. He says the name of the tour company is Quickie LA. That's all he said.”

Phil wrote it down on the list of people. “Don't worry, we'll find it.”