Chapter 7
Nikki met Andrés at
the sheriff ’s main office for Sonoma County, located in Santa
Rosa.
McCall greeted them.
“She’s being booked down at the jail. I’m afraid that you can’t see
her until tomorrow morning at the arraignment.”
“What about an
attorney? If you read her her rights, didn’t she call an attorney?
You obviously brought her in for questioning and for that, she is
entitled to have an lawyer present,” Nikki said.
McCall shrugged.
“Guess she’s going to need one. And, yes, we offered her one when
we asked her to come in for questioning. However, she
refused.”
“You asked her to
come in, and she came willingly? Doesn’t that say something about
her innocence? This is ludicrous. Isabel wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Nikki could hear the anger in her voice and tried to shove it down.
It wouldn’t be to anyone’s benefit to get emotional with the
detective. Aunt Cara had taught her that in retelling many of her
case situations over the years. Always keep your cool, especially
when dealing with authority.
“Maybe it says
something about her guilt,” McCall replied.
“What kind of
evidence do you have against her?” Andrés asked, his face almost
the color purple. Nikki wanted to calm him down, but she knew of
his deep love for his sister and figured he had to be boiling over
with rage.
“I can’t discuss this
with you right now. You’ll have to speak with her and her
attorney.”
“She doesn’t have an
attorney yet.” Andrés clenched his fists and raised his voice an
octave, between gritted teeth he said, “And you won’t let us see
her.”
McCall crossed his
arms in front of him and rocked back and forth on his long legs. He
eyed Nikki, who took it as a warning.
She placed a hand on
Andrés’ arm. “Let me talk with him, okay? Just settle down, go grab
a cup of coffee. No, water, definitely water.” Right now, caffeine
wouldn’t be a good option for her friend.
“Settle down?
Ay, este idiota no mandeja a mi hermana.
Pendejo.” He pointed at McCall.
Nikki understood
enough Spanish to know what Andrés had said, and by the looks of
McCall he caught the gist as well. It was far from a
compliment.
“Trust me, go and get
some water.”
Andrés stormed
off.
Nikki sighed heavily,
and looked back up at the detective. “He’s understandably upset.
I’m sorry. Think about his position for a moment. There’s no way
Isabel could’ve murdered Susan. It’s impossible. What evidence
could you have against her? Can’t you please tell me, so we know
what we’re dealing with and can talk with an attorney?
Please?”
“We have protocols,
Miss Sands. There are visiting hours at the jail and they are
fairly stringent. In the morning she’ll be provided with a public
defender who will meet with her, and then I assume she can meet
with you. That is, unless Mr. Fernandez or Miss Fernandez herself
hires a defense attorney on their own.”
She took a step
closer toward McCall, and against her better judgment put on her
bad-acting hat. She touched his arm and smiled. “I realize it’s not
normal procedure, but you have to understand Isabel isn’t from
around here, she’s not even from this country. You saw her. Does
she really look capable of murder?”
McCall shook his
head. “She may be a pretty woman, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t
kill Susan Jennings. Trust me, I’ve arrested other beautiful women
before.”
“Right. Well, can’t
you give me some indication as to what she’s facing?”
He sighed. “Here’s
the deal. Mrs. Waltman was poisoned. The autopsy showed that she
had enough of a poison called Sodium Fluoroacetate in her system to
shut it down within minutes.”
“How do you think she
got it into her system? If it’s a poison, are you thinking food,
drink, what? If that’s where you’re headed, you know as well as I
do that Isabel Fernandez was not the only one preparing the meals
that night. For that matter, there were a ton of people who had
contact with Susan that night.” If this was what they were basing
Isabel’s arrest on, Nikki already knew there was no way it would
ever stand up in a court of law.
“We received a call
this morning from the trucking company that Isabel Fernandez
contracted for the Waltman wedding. Seems they were cleaning out
the trucks and they found a vial of some white powder. The climate
around the world being what it is, the man I spoke with, didn’t
know what he’d discovered and thought it might be cocaine, but
admitted it could be something else. We ran it through the lab and
discovered that it was the poison that matched with Mrs. Waltman’s
toxicology report.”
“How can you pin that
on Isabel? There were several drivers and workers using the trucks
that day.”
“The vial fell out of
a sweater that was in the truck. The sweater was part of a uniform
and across the chest was Isabel’s name.”
This was not good at
all, but still possibly circumstantial. Wasn’t it?
“I can’t say any
more.” McCall nodded his head toward the desk clerk.
Nikki got the
picture. “Thanks. But can I ask you one more favor? Can we at least
say hello to her and let her know that we’re here for
her?”
McCall frowned and
shook his head. He paused for a moment, looking at her, arms
crossed in front of him. Nikki put on her “poor, pitiful me”
face.
“I’ll see what I can
do. Maybe I can pull some strings over at the main detention
facility. However . . .” He held up his hand. “You need to explain
to Mr. Fernandez to pipe down. I know exactly what pendejo means.”
An hour later,
McCall’s string pulling had worked and they were facing Isabel at
an interview table inside the jail. She was in handcuffs, her face
tear-stained with black mascara running down it. Nikki gasped at
the sight of her and her throat constricted to keep from crying
out. She wanted to hug her, but McCall had instructed there’d be no
touching. Andrés’ face grew taut and his eyes welled with tears at
the sight of his sister, an anguished, stricken look accompanying
the orange jumpsuit she’d been made to wear.
In Spanish, Andrés
told his sister how much he loved her and not to
worry.
“I did not kill her,”
Isabel said. She placed her face in her palms and
wept.
“Of course you
didn’t. We’re going to get you out of here,” Nikki replied. She
wanted to be strong for her friend, but it was difficult,
especially seeing her like this. Broken down and lost. Nikki
recognized the signs and knew that Isabel was suffering from
shock.
“I promise to you
both, that I would not do this deed they accuse me of.” She slumped
back in the chair she was in, tears continuing to stream down her
face.
“I have an attorney
coming to see you in the morning. He couldn’t get over here
tonight, but he’ll be by early before the arraignment. I was told
he’s the best defense attorney in this county. It’s going to be
okay,” Andrés said.
Nikki could tell that
Andrés was trying hard to remain strong for his sister, as she
wanted to. He was doing a much better job than she was, however,
and Nikki knew that it couldn’t be easy.
After a few more
minutes of trying to console Isabel, McCall told them they had to
go.
Once inside the car,
Andrés fumed, swearing about the injustice and how wrong it all
was. “What could they have on her? Why arrest my sister? She
wouldn’t kill Susan Jennings.”
“No, she wouldn’t. I
spoke with the detective and he gave me some info about why they
arrested her.” Nikki went on to explain to Andrés what McCall had
told her back at the station. Her information only infuriated
Andrés even further and he began swearing again in his native
tongue.
Nikki touched his
arm. “You have to calm down and be rational for Isabel. It’s
dinnertime. I know a great place close by where we can get a bite
to eat and we can maybe come up with something, at least a strategy
for Isabel.”
“I don’t think I
could eat. I’m too upset.”
“I’m with you, but if
we take some time to try and relax a minute, you might be able to
get yourself together and concentrate on the problem here, instead
of getting yourself all worked up. That won’t solve anything, and
it certainly won’t get Isabel out of jail. We can’t do anything
tonight about this, other than talk and think.”
He nodded, took a
deep breath, and took her directions to Capri Ristorante in
downtown Santa Rosa. The restaurant was an Italian place with an
eclectic setting, both rustic and contemporary, done in brick,
chrome and cobalt blues, with high ceilings that sported skylights.
It was definitely Nikki’s favorite when she got over into Santa
Rosa on occasion, not only for the atmosphere and delicious fare,
but also for the owner, Luigi—a charismatic, old-school Italian
with all the airs of a romantic. As they entered the restaurant,
Luigi greeted them, kissing Nikki on both cheeks.
“I’ve missed you,
Bella. Why you no come by before now?” He took both of her hands in
his and held them out openly.
“I’m sorry. Life gets
crazy.”
“Never too crazy for
a good food and a little of romance.” He winked at her and turned
to Andrés. “This is your boyfriend, no?”
She shook her
head.
Luigi took Andrés
hand and pumped it. “He should be. He’s a fine, strong man. You two
take a table by the window. I will be over in a moment, and bring
you a vino that is special to me.”
Andrés tried to be
more cheerful, but as he sat in the seat across from her in the
restaurant, he could only stare out the window. She let him wind
down before again bringing up Isabel’s situation.
It was over dishes of
veal with artichokes in a marsala sauce for Nikki, the pork
tenderloin for Andrés, and a bottle of zinfandel, that Nikki and
Andrés hashed out Isabel’s predicament and Nikki was able to file
away some interesting information that Andrés had.
“Wait a minute, you
actually overheard Susan and Kristof arguing the other
day?”
“More than an
argument. Those two were like a horse and a snake. It was out in
the parking lot at Grapes when they’d come by to sign off on the
contract with Isabel.”
“Do you know what
they were saying?”
“He was pretty much
telling her that she was being unreasonable and that he didn’t like
that side of her.”
“Hmmm.” Nikki took a
sip of her wine. “What else?”
“She yelled at him to
not marry her if he felt she was being unreasonable. I thought he
should have backed out when she said that. I would have. He told
her that maybe he wouldn’t marry her. Then she started to cry after
that and he hugged her. They made up.”
“What if they did,
but didn’t?” Nikki asked.
“I don’t
understand.”
“Maybe Kristof was
starting to see the real Susan in all of her phony
glory.”
“You think he
could’ve killed her?”
Nikki shrugged.
“Maybe him, or someone who loves him. Like his dad, or another
woman, even his aunt Sara.”
“Why not do the right
thing and not marry her? Why go to the extreme? Not only did he
have to commit murder, but then he also would have had to frame my
sister.”
“Someone did frame
your sister. We know that.”
Andrés looked out the
window again. “Yes.”
“It’s a good
question, why not just end the upcoming nuptials and be done with
her? Here’s a thought. The Waltmans are very rich people, from
their wines to the land they’ve developed in the county and on and
on. Rich people, well, all people really, usually have some well
kept, hidden secrets. What if the Waltmans have some juicy tidbit
lying around in their closet, and Susan stumbled onto that
skeleton? You can’t tell me that Kristof hadn’t seen the ugly side
of his future wife before the day you saw them
arguing.”
“It’s hard to
imagine. What kind of secret do you think they could
have?”
“No clue, but if
Susan knew what that secret was and was blackmailing Kristof, the
killer could’ve murdered Susan to protect Kristof.”
“The future bride
blackmailing the groom?” Andrés asked.
“There is quite a bit
to be gained for whoever does finally wind up with Kristof Waltman.
If there was no prenup, and down the line Susan decides it’s time
to cut ties and take that community property with her, well, I
guarantee she would’ve made out better than if she’d agreed to a
cash payoff from the get go. Plus, she’d have the Waltman name for
the rest of her life to get her through closed doors.”
“It’s a theory, I
suppose.”
“Yes, it is, and
maybe a feasible one. People have been known to kill over secrets.
And if there is one the Waltmans have been keeping, then I intend
to discover it.”
Pork
Tenderloin
with Port Wine Mushroom Sauce
with Alexander Valley
Vineyards Sin Zin
with Port Wine Mushroom Sauce
with Alexander Valley
Vineyards Sin Zin
This pork tenderloin
dish is delicious and easy to prepare, although it tastes so good
that your significant other will likely think you spent your day in
the kitchen. When ready to serve, open a bottle of Sin Zin from
Alexander Valley Vineyards. This is a great wine to drink with this
earthy dish as it contains mature fruit flavors of strawberry,
plum, and cherry blended with coffee beans, black pepper, and
peppermint.
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 lb cleaned, thinly sliced cremini or button
mushrooms
Fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste
1 clove garlic crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1⁄2 stick butter
1⁄2 cup of rich dessert Port wine
Over medium-high heat, heat olive oil in heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron. While skillet heats, make paste of black pepper, salt, and garlic, and rub this mixture into the tenderloin on all sides. Cook 2-3 minutes per side. Remove pork to platter and keep warm.
Add butter to the
skillet, scraping up the good seasonings as the butter melts. Add
the mushrooms and cook over medium heat until they begin to render
their moisture. Add the port wine and place pork loin back in
mixture and allow sauce to reduce by half. If you wish, you may add
1 tablespoon of flour to thicken the sauce.
Remove pork loin,
slice into thin slices, and pour sauce evenly. A good side is
grilled asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes. Bon
Appetit!