Free Fatal February by Barbara Levenson Page B

were busy raising children and making our homes run smoothly. Lots of Hispanic women still find that very fulfilling,” Angelina said.
    “A number of Hispanic women who I went to law school with are practicing law or running businesses in Miami. That’s the nice part of being female. There’s something that suits everyone. Don’t you think?” I said. I smiled, trying to conceal my annoyance.
    “I suppose. What is it that you want to know about Elite? I really don’t know all that much about those people. I know they asked me on to the board because J.C. has connections to retail wine merchants in the Hispanic community, and he has connections to some of the South American wineries. This is a Chilean wine that you are drinking now. Isn’t it delicious?”
    “Yes, it’s very nice. What did you think of Gary Yarmouth? You must have observed him at board meetings.”
    “Oh, sure. He was the kind of guy that you eitherloved him or you hated him. Lillian adored him. She hung on every word out of his mouth.”
    “Who hated him?”
    “Marian Brandeis, Jack’s wife. She was on the board too. I think she resented him. She mostly voted ‘no’ for anything he suggested. She always lost.”
    “What did you think of Gary?”
    “He was a real charmer, a lady’s man. Always complimenting me on my clothes or jewelry. Always putting an arm around the women, even the secretaries. It was a bit much, but it didn’t bother me. It didn’t even seem to bother Lillian at all. I would have been livid if he were my
esposo.
Jack always looked a little annoyed. Jack’s a solid guy. He’ll be good for Elite. I assume he’ll be taking the presidency at the next board meeting. There isn’t anyone else.”
    “There’s Lillian. She must own a large part of the company.”
    “That’s ridiculous. She’s not a business person, and besides she’s accused of murder right now.”
    Carlos and his father came in, and the conversation stopped. It was time to go to dinner, and time for me to face the Martin family review board. I gulped the rest of my wine hoping to withstand the inspection.
    Dinner was a noisy and festive affair. The various cousins were actually a collection of distant relatives and closer friends. For instance, Marielena was thecousin of Angelina’s sister-in-law, but everyone called her Auntie. Walter was an old friend of J.C.’s uncle in Argentina and spent part of his time helping Carlos’s younger brother who ran the cattle ranch in Argentina that had belonged to Carlos’s grandfather. I was going to need a chart to keep everyone straight. I concentrated on just remembering their names for the evening.
    I was enjoying the gregariousness of this group, and found myself getting into the kidding and jokes. Then Marielena moved over next to me during dessert. Carlos had gotten up to procure another bottle of wine. Marielena slipped into his empty seat.
    “Did you actually meet Carlos at a car wash or was that just Carlos kidding us?” she asked.
    “No, no joke. We met at a car wash, after he rear-ended my car,” I said.
    “So it was like he picked you up. Is that the expression?”
    “It wasn’t at all like that. Actually, I ended up representing him in a legal matter.” I tried to hide my irritation the way you try to hide a spot on your shirt. I covered my face for a moment.
    “Carlos told his mother he was going to marry you.”
    “Maybe that was a little premature. We haven’t known each other very long.”
    “You know, Mary, sometimes it’s hard for Anglogirls to fit into Spanish families. I hope you won’t take offense. Carlos has already gone through one divorce. I just want to see him happily settled.”
    Now I was angry and I didn’t care if it showed. Marielena was a busybody, and a prejudiced one. “If I remember correctly, Carlos’s original wife was Hispanic, so I guess marriages fail for reasons beyond ethnicity. That’s correct, isn’t it?” I said in my best cross-examination