Клео Коул - Espresso Shot

I filled Quinn in on the details, along with my conversation at the Journal with Randall Knox and the little toast I spotted him sharing with Neville Perry’s mother. When I finished, Quinn remained silent for a few seconds.

“Knox sounds wrong, Clare. He has a strong motive to be involved with a revenge scheme. So does Mrs. Perry. But you need—”

“Evidence—I know! Have you gotten anything out of Stuart Winslow yet? Maybe they’re all working together.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t have good news for you on Winslow.”

I groaned, forecasting the need for another doppio espresso. Rapidamente. “Tell me.”

“When we got him down to the Sixth, he started talking without a lawyer—ranting, mostly. But he wouldn’t admit to anything. After a few hours of questioning, he finally lawyered up and clammed up.”

“Where does that leave us?”

“I can tell you where it leaves him. Free as a bird. He’s on his way to being arraigned right now. He should be out on bail very soon.”

“Oh no, Mike. Isn’t there any way to hold him? Charge him with attempted murder?”

“We searched his apartment, but that single bottle of OxyContin that he handed you was the only narcotic we found.”

“What about the other pills he had? I saw them!”

“Other than a little more OxyContin, we found zip. We raided his closet, but the only items in there were the kinds of supplements and herbal products you’d find in any health food store. He must have his dirty stash somewhere else, most likely under another name. We couldn’t find it in his residence, and he wouldn’t talk. So the only charge that stuck to him was one count of intent to distribute an illegal substance.”

“No murder weapon, either? No gun.”

“No weapons of any kind in his apartment.”

“What about all the other things he’s guilty of?”

“The DA’s office can’t charge Winslow for the robbery in Queens, or Monica Purcell’s overdose, or attempted murder of his ex-wife, because he wouldn’t admit to any of those things, and there’s no evidence that directly connects him.”

“And the Rxglobal Web site?”

“That’s an angle we’re working with the DEA, but that will take time. No judge will hold him without bail based on the evidence against him right now. And your testimony against him is just about the only thing we’ve got to even make the first charge stick. The prosecutor’s office wasn’t even comfortable charging him with conspiracy to commit robbery.”

“But he agreed on the wire! We have it on tape!”

“The rings were never actually stolen, and he never accepted them from you, just agreed to let you steal them. The defense will cry entrapment. It’s not enough for the prosecutor to go forward, Clare.”

I rubbed my forehead, tried to figure out a next step. “Winslow couldn’t have been the mugger at the restaurant,” I reasoned aloud, “because he was still in custody then. But if he’s going to be free soon, he might try to hurt Breanne himself.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I’ll try to reach Breanne and warn her. I’ll try Matt again, too, but he’s been unreachable for hours.”

“Why?”

I sighed. “It’s too long a story to explain now.”

“Fine, but you better suggest to Breanne that she hire a bodyguard.”

“I will.”

We signed off, and I rang Breanne. By now, she was out of the ER and back in her Sutton Place apartment—no hairline fracture, no damage to her vocal chords. She was just bruised, sore, and shaken. Before I could ask her about Randall Knox, she asked me about Matt.

“Have you heard from him yet, Clare?”

Bree’s typical cool, clipped tone was gone. Her voice sounded vulnerable and human. For the first time since Matt had announced their engagement, Breanne Summour sounded like a woman in love.

“I’m sorry,” I said gently, “he hasn’t come back yet. I can’t reach him on his cell, either.”

“Neither can I. You’ll let me know when he shows, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

I told Breanne about my visit to Knox’s office, including the Miriam Perry appearance. I also warned her about gossip boy’s declaration that he’d be publishing a scandalous story on Monday, something that included an angle on the stripper Hazel Boggs.

“Whatever this story is, he promises it’s going to upset you a great deal. So brace yourself.”

Breanne had little to say after that, just thanked me for informing her. Finally, I told her about her ex-husband being released on bail.

“. . . and since Matt isn’t there with you, Mike Quinn strongly suggests you hire a bodyguard.”

“I already have,” she said. “He’s outside my apartment door right now.”

It’s about time. “Okay, Breanne, just make sure you show him a photo of your ex-husband, so he can stop the man the moment he comes near you. Would you do that?”

“Good idea, Clare. I’ll do that right now.”

I hung up, went back to the bar for another double shot, and sat back down near the fireplace to continue thinking things through. When the bell jangled over the door a few minutes later, I glance up and noticed an African American woman walking in.

“Janelle!” I waved her over.

Janelle Babcock waved back and crossed the wood plank floor, her ample hips smoothly negotiating the crowded café tables.

“Espresso?” I asked as she sat down across from me. “Latte?”

“No, thanks, Clare.” She smiled.

Like the city she hailed from, Janelle had a smile that was warm and easy. Her flawless skin was the shade of a lightly creamed cup of Sumatra, and her features were Creole, not surprising since she’d grown up in New Orleans. She’d learned French there, too, along with the building blocks of French cooking, which is what led her to her first professional bakery job and eventually to a plane ticket to Paris, where she’d studied at the Cordon Bleu.

“I’ve got to get back to my kitchen,” she said. “I just came to drop off some more samples...”

Beaming with pride, she pulled three white bakery boxes out of her large tote bag and set them on the marble-topped café table between us. We glanced at each other in silence, then I peeked into the first box with nearly infantile excitement.

“The anginetti ! Oh my God, Janelle, they look spectacular! What did you do with them since the last batch?”

“I adjusted the ingredients slightly, and instead of making the ring with a small rope of dough, I used a pastry bag. Now each cookie ring is made out of eight little mounds that touch. See...” She pointed to the delicate cookie. “During the baking, the small mounds create a single ring that looks just like a miniature coffee cake.”

“The white glaze and nonpareils really complete the effect.” I picked up one of the tiny cookies and examined it. “Amazing. It’s like a miniature work of art, but then all of your samples have been.”

“Thanks, Clare. You always say the sweetest things. You know, for fun, I pulled out my food coloring and made a few anginetti with purple, green, and gold glaze. See...”

She handed me one of the alternate samples.

“Oh my God! It looks just like a tiny king cake! You could sell these for Mardis Gras parties next year!”

“That’s what I was thinking. If I can figure out a few more novelty cookies, I could even set up a mail-order business online. But I really need more catering clients in New York first.” She squeezed my arm. “I can’t thank you enough for getting me this job on your ex-husband’s wedding. My whole family’s waiting for Trend to come out so they can see my name in the caption under our tablescape.” She sighed and smiled. “Imagine, my little pastries showcased around Nunzio’s Lover’s Spring , in the Metropolitan Museum of Art!”