Free Janine Marie - Rigging a Murder 01 - The Single Shoe Mystery by Janine Marie Page A

Catherine came back to the table to gulp her champagne down like water.
    “Now what?” Steph mouthed.
    I gave her a slight shrug of my shoulders, then turned to Catherine, who was sitting beside me, and asked her if she was sleeping on her boat tonight, as we were.
    “No,” she slurred, it coming out more like Noooth. “Iths still impounded in Canada by the police.”
    “Oh, right, but you’re not driving?” I asked, anticipating the standard drunk response of “I’m fine.”
    “John is driving” was her response, much to my relief. But it was short-lived given her next words—“John has been so sweet and supportive since Lorenzo’s death, he has helped with everything…,” here she stopped to refill her glass.
    “John and Stella have been staying with you this whole time?” I asked, taken by surprise. “What about your family?”
    “I don’t have any,” she replied, looking very sad. Having no good response, I just patted her hand.
    “Papa died a few years back,” she continued morosely. “My mom died when I was very young, so I have no siblings, and we were unable to have children” she finished.
    “Oh,” was all I could manage.
    “But John has been wonderful,” she said, as tears ran down her perfectly made-up cheeks.
    I gave her a hug and said I would find John and Stella to take her home.
    “She has no one,” I said to Steph later, as the evening wrapped up. “It’s no wonder she is clinging so hard to John. I’m extrapolating here, but it sounds like she was doted on by both her father and Lorenzo and never really grew up.”
    “Well, that might explain her helpless and childish behavior.”
    “I’m tired; where has Thomas disappeared to?”
    We found Thomas and Greg in the games room in the middle of a pool game. We sat and watched for a short time; then, realizing that they were going to be a while, we left them to their game and headed back to our respective boats.
    “Where is Katie tonight?” Steph asked as we walked down the dock.
    “At a sleepover with her BFF Alix; see you tomorrow.”
    “Brunch at 11 o’clock?”
    “I’ll definitely be there!” I replied, “I can’t speak for Thomas, it depends on how long he spends playing pool,” I added, laughing.

Chapter Ten
     

    Brunch at the Club
     
    S urprisingly, both Thomas and Greg were up in time for brunch. We had fun exchanging stories over eggs benny and lattes in the Yacht Club’s casual downstairs restaurant. I didn’t have much to relate as I had been trapped with Catherine for the night, but I was able to share her sad family history and we all expressed gratitude that John and Stella had chosen to stay with her; it must be very lonely to have no one.
    “I do find it strange that Catherine doesn’t seem to have any friends of her own,” I expressed.
    “I heard that Lorenzo was very domineering,” said Kevin. Kevin is a good friend and one of our group.
    Kevin always reminded me of Fred Flintstone, not in his appearance, as he is of normal height and build with thick blond hair and grey cynical eyes, but in his personality, which is huge. You always know where Kevin is. He has a loud, carrying voice and booming laugh and he has no “inside voice” or filter. If he thinks it, he says it. As you can imagine, this has caused offense to many club members and staff, but if you take the time to get to know him he has a heart of gold and is extremely generous. He will drop everything to help a friend.
    “Really; how do you know that?” I inquired, not really needing an answer because Kevin always seemed to be the first to know anything that was happening at the club. How he came by his information was a mystery to me, but his gossip is always good and fairly accurate, and I was interested to learn more about Lorenzo’s and Catherine’s relationship because we seemed to have been pulled into her life through Lorenzo’s murder.
    “My sources are confidential,” he replied, with a big billowing laugh.