Free Chicken Caccia-Killer (A Jordan McAllister Mystery) by Liz Lipperman

watching his bedroom?”
    Alex’s mother shrugged. “I saw Kate walk up the steps about ten minutes after she went downstairs to wait for a taxi. Since she’d already basically told me to butt out until she was ready to talk about her relationship with Marco, I did the only thing a mother could do—I kept my eyes on the door and waited, ready to pounce if I sensed trouble. Had I known the SOB was going to use her face as a punching bag, I would have killed him on the spot myself.”
    “And you’re sure no one else entered the bedroom?” Jordan held her breath waiting for Natalie’s answer. If another person had been in Marco’s room and could confirm Kate’s story, it might take the heat off her.
    But Kate hadn’t mentioned anyone else, either.
    Natalie shook her head. “Unfortunately, I didn’t even see Marco go up the stairs, so I figure he must have already been in the bedroom when Kate arrived. Like I said, I kept my eyes glued to that staircase except for the short time I walked over to the bar and shared a drink with Emilio.”
    “So it was only Kate and Marco?”
    “Yes. I knew I should have marched right up and pulled my daughter away. Had I known Marco and she were up there in bed doing God knows what, I would have.”
    Jordan hoped she hadn’t mentioned that in her interview with the police earlier and decided she didn’t want to go anywhere near a conversation about Kate’s sex life with Alex’s mother. She quickly asked, “And your daughter never came out of the bedroom?”
    “I don’t think so,” Natalie replied. “Everything happened so quickly, I don’t remember seeing Kate again until she came out screaming, and everyone rushed up to the second floor. Then I saw Tina in the crowd before she took off and ran down the stairs. I assumed she’d heard that Marco was dead and was running out the door to go to him.”
    “Hmm. I’m not sure what it all means if anything, but it is something to think about. Did you tell the police any of this when they questioned you?”
    She shook her head. “They didn’t ask, and I never mentioned it. Thankfully, no one knows I saw anything. And that’s the way I’m going to keep it. The last thing Kate needs is for the cops to use her own mother as a material witness against her.”
    “It’s probably a good thing you didn’t mention it then,” Jordan said. “I don’t have any experience with legal stuff, but in the short time I watched Emilio’s lawyer handle that police captain during Kate’s questioning, I picked up a few pointers. The most important is not to volunteer information unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
    “I’m glad Emilio had the presence of mind to send that man to represent Kate, even when it looked like she might be involved in the death of his future son-in-law. Although Alex was right there, she might have said something she shouldn’t have.”
    “My first impression of Emilio is that he’s a nice man, and I’m not surprised by his actions tonight,” Jordan said. “He seems to have taken a liking to you, too.” She hoped she wasn’t crossing a line, but she remembered how Alex seemed put off by Emilio’s attention to his mother.
    Natalie stopped to run her tongue over her dry lips. “Emilio and I go back a long way.”
    Jordan sat up straighter, wondering if Alex knew this wasn’t the first time his mother had met Emilio. She decided to probe, feeling a little guilty at first before thinking since Natalie had put her on the spot with a few personal questions at lunch, she shouldn’t be too upset for getting one fired back at her.
    “Did you meet Emilio at the Italian Festival last year?”
    Natalie stared into space for a few seconds then turned toward Jordan. Sure the older woman was about to nail her with a mind-your-own-business remark, she was surprised when instead, Natalie smiled.
    “I met Emilio right after I graduated from high school.” She paused, maintaining eye contact with Jordan before she