Jorge.
“Yes, we were kind of hoping you could answer some questions about… the body,” she began, her voice dropping to a whisper at the end. Miguel excused himself to go outside and smoke, but not before Stacy noticed the look of nervous anticipation on his face.
“I cannot tell you that much, caridad. He was the boyfriend of the bride, but not the one her daddy wants her to marry. That’s all I know about him.”
“What is this, feudal England? Is her dad marrying her off to secure his treaty with the French or something? It’s crazy! Nobody does this in the 21 st century!” Nathan shouted, suddenly indignant for the poor hapless bride. Stacy put a reassuring hand on his arm.
“But I just spoke with AnaMaria this morning. She seems perfectly happy about the whole thing. Wouldn’t you expect a girl whose true love is dead and whose groom was hand-picked by her father to be a little more distraught?”
“Oh no, Stacy! Not AnaMaria… the other one. Caterina.”
“Oh god, the one who’s studying in Europe?” Stacy cried out, stricken at the image of Caterina finding out when she arrived in town that her secret love was dead and that her father had a hand in it. “The poor girl!”
Jorge nearly choked on a sip of his wine. “Europe? Oh no, my dear, the girl is not in Europe. And studying? The only thing that one ever studied was the price of shoes, when she was sober enough to look down at her feet, that is.”
Stacy and Nathan looked at each other in confusion before pressing Jorge to continue.
“Caterina is the wild child of the family, and that’s saying something when you consider what her father does for a living…”
“What exactly does he do for a living?” Nathan asked. Jorge only pressed a fingertip to his lips in warning, shrugged, then continued.
“Anyway, Caterina is safely tucked away with her father’s sister’s family until this whole wedding goes down. You do know she’s the reason he bought the country club and moved them down here, right? Because of the baby?”
“What?” Stacy and Nathan demanded in unison. Miguel stuck his head back inside, but seeing the looks of complete shock on their faces, he ducked back outside in a hurry.
“Yes! Last year, she had the baby… it was this boyfriend.”
No one spoke for several very long seconds. An illicit romance that their families disapproved of, a baby secreted away somewhere, a young girl sent away, a young man drowned… it was a lot to wrap their heads around.
“You were almost on the mark today, Nathan,” Stacy said with finality. “We need to talk to the bride, but not AnaMaria… we need to talk to Caterina.”
“You want us to talk to a mobster’s daughter about his plans for her? I’ve got an idea, we can just go ahead and book a tour through Giant’s stadium while we’re at it so his goons don’t have to work so hard to hide our bodies. We’ll give your regards to Jimmy Hoffa, Jorge.”
“Sarcasm is an ugly, ugly thing, dear,” she said with a smile. “Think of this trip as the honeymoon we didn’t really have time to take.”
“We went to Barbados for our honeymoon, you know. Two whole weeks. Glad it was memorable ,” Nathan protested. Jorge just laughed.
“It doesn’t count because we went to coordinate a vow renewal ceremony! It was a workingmoon!” Stacy stuck her tongue out at him and shot him a smug look.
“Already you two argue like an old married couple. It’s perfect! I’m so happy for you both. But speaking of old married couples, Miguel and I have to get going. The boss is having a business meeting in the morning and we’re serving breakfast.”
They said their goodbyes, and Stacy was at her computer before their car turned out of the driveway. She sifted through the contracts to look for any sign of where Caterina might be staying.
“She’s in Benton, Florida,” Nathan said, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. She whirled around in her chair to
“Yes, we were kind of hoping you could answer some questions about… the body,” she began, her voice dropping to a whisper at the end. Miguel excused himself to go outside and smoke, but not before Stacy noticed the look of nervous anticipation on his face.
“I cannot tell you that much, caridad. He was the boyfriend of the bride, but not the one her daddy wants her to marry. That’s all I know about him.”
“What is this, feudal England? Is her dad marrying her off to secure his treaty with the French or something? It’s crazy! Nobody does this in the 21 st century!” Nathan shouted, suddenly indignant for the poor hapless bride. Stacy put a reassuring hand on his arm.
“But I just spoke with AnaMaria this morning. She seems perfectly happy about the whole thing. Wouldn’t you expect a girl whose true love is dead and whose groom was hand-picked by her father to be a little more distraught?”
“Oh no, Stacy! Not AnaMaria… the other one. Caterina.”
“Oh god, the one who’s studying in Europe?” Stacy cried out, stricken at the image of Caterina finding out when she arrived in town that her secret love was dead and that her father had a hand in it. “The poor girl!”
Jorge nearly choked on a sip of his wine. “Europe? Oh no, my dear, the girl is not in Europe. And studying? The only thing that one ever studied was the price of shoes, when she was sober enough to look down at her feet, that is.”
Stacy and Nathan looked at each other in confusion before pressing Jorge to continue.
“Caterina is the wild child of the family, and that’s saying something when you consider what her father does for a living…”
“What exactly does he do for a living?” Nathan asked. Jorge only pressed a fingertip to his lips in warning, shrugged, then continued.
“Anyway, Caterina is safely tucked away with her father’s sister’s family until this whole wedding goes down. You do know she’s the reason he bought the country club and moved them down here, right? Because of the baby?”
“What?” Stacy and Nathan demanded in unison. Miguel stuck his head back inside, but seeing the looks of complete shock on their faces, he ducked back outside in a hurry.
“Yes! Last year, she had the baby… it was this boyfriend.”
No one spoke for several very long seconds. An illicit romance that their families disapproved of, a baby secreted away somewhere, a young girl sent away, a young man drowned… it was a lot to wrap their heads around.
“You were almost on the mark today, Nathan,” Stacy said with finality. “We need to talk to the bride, but not AnaMaria… we need to talk to Caterina.”
“You want us to talk to a mobster’s daughter about his plans for her? I’ve got an idea, we can just go ahead and book a tour through Giant’s stadium while we’re at it so his goons don’t have to work so hard to hide our bodies. We’ll give your regards to Jimmy Hoffa, Jorge.”
“Sarcasm is an ugly, ugly thing, dear,” she said with a smile. “Think of this trip as the honeymoon we didn’t really have time to take.”
“We went to Barbados for our honeymoon, you know. Two whole weeks. Glad it was memorable ,” Nathan protested. Jorge just laughed.
“It doesn’t count because we went to coordinate a vow renewal ceremony! It was a workingmoon!” Stacy stuck her tongue out at him and shot him a smug look.
“Already you two argue like an old married couple. It’s perfect! I’m so happy for you both. But speaking of old married couples, Miguel and I have to get going. The boss is having a business meeting in the morning and we’re serving breakfast.”
They said their goodbyes, and Stacy was at her computer before their car turned out of the driveway. She sifted through the contracts to look for any sign of where Caterina might be staying.
“She’s in Benton, Florida,” Nathan said, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. She whirled around in her chair to
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