The Master Plan (2009) (27 page)

"Go on, Teddy," his mother prompted.

"Anyway, we looked at the receipt and it turns out Lucky
sold the hammer. Lucky is one of those guys who talks to
everyone. When the store is busy, Mr. Hillman always tells
Lucky to sell more and talk less. So, Maureen calls Lucky
into the office and shows him the receipt and asks him if he
remembers anything about the customer that bought the hammer. And bingo! Lucky says he does because he asked the
guy what he needed it for and the guy said some home repairs and Lucky told him he should buy a smaller hammer
because the one he chose was too big for most jobs. The guy
insisted that this was the hammer he wanted so Lucky sold it
to him."

"I don't understand," Judy said. "How does that help
us?"

"It helps because Lucky remembers that the guy was
wearing a hat with an Arizona Cardinals logo and he asked
him if he was from Arizona and the guy said he lived there
for a while and used to go to the games."

"Is that a baseball team?" his mother asked.

"No," Judy said jumping to her feet. "It's a football team
and Dana Sloan called me a few days ago and asked me if Lucas knew any Arizona Cardinal fans. Then she sent our
lawyer some information on a guy her investigator talked to
at the pool hall who remembered a guy in an Arizona Cardinals hat in the pool hall the night Lucas was killed."

"Oh my God," Sally said, catching some of Judy's excitement. "This could be very important. We have to call
your lawyer right away."

"First I'm going to call Dana," Judy said.

Dana and Marianne were having dinner at Marsella's.
Dana hadn't been there since the night she and Bruno had
dinner with Casey and Tony. They were talking about how
that dinner had led to them finding out about Tony's past
when Judy Porter called.

The next morning, Dana went straight to her editor's office to fill him in on the new developments in the Porter
case.

"If nothing else," Sam said after he heard the story, "it
will allow Kimball to present reasonable doubt to the
jury."

"Yes, and we still have the possibility of tracing the fingerprint on the anonymous letter to someone"

"I wouldn't put too much faith in that, Dana. Most letters
like that come from cranks."

"I know that. We get them all the time, but with nothing
else to go on in the case, I think it's worth checking out"

"You're right. Keep me posted."

Dana took the elevator up to her own office. Marianne was
going through the morning mail and there appeared to be a
lot of it.

"I'm sorry I said anything about it being slow," Marianne
said. "Bruno called and wants you call him on his cell."

Dana hurried into her office and hung up her outer
garments before sitting behind her desk and reaching for the
phone.

"Good morning," she said when Bruno answered.

"Hi, sweets," he replied. "My mother wants to go to the
mall this morning and look for a dress for the dinner tonight.
You got any suggestions?"

"Marianne and I both found dresses at Terrell's but that
may be a little young for her taste. Have her try Gordon's.
My mom always goes there when she's in town. Can I say
hello to her?"

"No. She's cleaning my kitchen."

"I thought the service did that yesterday."

"They did, but not to my mother's liking. Are you free
for lunch?"

"I don't think I'm going to get lunch today," Dana said.
"We've got stacks of regular mail and e-mails to go
through and Marianne and I both want to leave early to get
dressed for the big dinner tonight. It starts at seven you
know."

"If you say so. Okay, we'll pick you up at six thirty."

"How was your dinner last night?"

"My sisters are both turning into clones of my mom. They
say the same things to their kids that ma used to say to us.
It's uncanny."

"Anything turn up on that fingerprint yet?"

"No. I'll call you if I hear anything"

Bruno clicked off and Dana looked through the other phone
messages Marianne had placed on her desk. One of them was from Troy Kimball and Dana decided to return the call
before Bob and Casey came in for the staff meeting.

The dress that Dana purchased for the dinner at Ventana
was a deep burgundy with a jeweled neckline and threequarter-length sleeves. It had tiny pleats that started just
below the bodice and then fell gracefully to the hemline.
Dana was grateful that all the snow had melted so she could
wear the black stiletto heels that made her feel tall and slinky.
She wore the simple strand of pearls that had been her
mother's with the matching pearl earrings.

By the time Dana had put the finishing touches on her
hair and makeup, her doorbell was ringing. She took a deep
breath and went to answer it.

Bruno was standing in the hallway alone. He looked at
her in the dress and motioned for her to spin around. When
she did, he whistled his appreciation.

"You look spectacular," he said.

"Where's your mom?"

"In the car. She said she'll give you a proper hug when we
get to the hotel, but I want to give you one now."

"Okay, but don't wrinkle the dress," Dana said.

Bruno pulled her into his arms and if the dress had not
been made of a wrinkle-free fabric, the pleats would have
been flattened. "Shopping with my mom all day was awful.
Next time you take her."

Dana laughed. "I give you credit for taking her at all. My
brothers refuse to take my mom and my dad only goes if she
promises to cook his favorite dinner."

"I know, he told me. So, tomorrow night, my mom is making spaghetti for us"

Dana laughed again and extricated herself from Bruno's
arms. "I'll get my coat"

"You have to take her to Sunflower or wherever she wants
to go to buy the ingredients."

"Where is she going to cook?"

"My kitchen now meets her high standards so we'll have
dinner at my place"

Dana breathed a sigh of relief. Having Angelina in her
kitchen, passing judgment on it would be unnerving.

"Hi, Mrs. Bruno," Dana said as she slipped into the car.

"Oh, no," Angelina told her. "It's Angie. I told you that
last time. After the wedding, then you call me mama"

Bruno closed the door and walked around to the driver's
side of the car. Through the windshield, Dana could see him
smiling.

"Okay, Angie. How was your shopping trip?"

"I found a nice dress. I hope you like it. Bruno said it
makes me look thin. That's why I bought it, but I think he was
lying just to get me out of the store"

"It was the twenty-fifth store we'd been in, Mama," Bruno
said defensively.

"Well, we'll see what Dana thinks of the dress. If she
doesn't like it, you will take me back tomorrow to buy a
different dress."

"I have to work tomorrow," Bruno told her. "And Dana is
taking you shopping for groceries."

"Oh, yes, Dana," Angie said. "My son had to be bribed to
take his mama shopping. All the years I had to take him shopping for clothes in the chubby departments"

"It wasn't chubby, it was husky," Bruno protested.

"He got the idea for the bribe from my father," Dana said.

The three of them bantered back and forth all the way to
the Ventana. No matter what Bruno said, his mother had an
answer for him and Dana was enjoying it.

"Such a beautiful place," Angie said when they pulled up
in front of the hotel. "I hope my dress is suitable."

The valet helped Dana out while Bruno got his mother out
of the backseat. Then, walking between Dana and his mother,
Bruno escorted them into the hotel.

The lobby of the new hotel was all crystal and gold with
a fountain in the middle of it. There was sign on a easel that
directed them to the ballroom where the charity dinner was
being held.

Just outside the door of the ballroom they checked their
coats. Bruno was wearing his devastating brown suit again
and his mother, who was a little on the plump side, did look
thinner in a two-piece silk dress. It was a lovely purple sheath
with a short orchard jacket with purple piping around the
collar and sleeves. Her black hair was streaked with silver
and cut short in a style that was very becoming. She had used
makeup to emphasize her dark eyes and bring color to her
cheeks.

"You look amazing," Dana told her as they hugged. "I
love your new hairstyle."

"I had a makeover. My daughters thought I looked dowdy
so they chipped in and took me to a spa. I liked it, so now I
go every month"

Dana laughed. "That's wonderful."

With their coats all checked, Bruno escorted them into
the ballroom. Marianne and Greg were already seated at a
table for six and waved them over.

Bruno introduced his mother to Greg and Marianne. Greg stood politely until Bruno had helped his mother and Dana
into their chairs.

Marianne looked stunning in an emerald green silk pantsuit
that matched her eyes. Greg was tall and broad-shouldered.
He wasn't what would be called handsome, but he had a nice
face and an easygoing manner. Tonight he looked very good
in a black pinstriped suit with a white shirt and a black tie.

Once everyone was seated, a waiter came around and
poured champagne into their glasses.

"I like the bubbles," Angie announced. "It's a happy drink."

Everyone laughed and they toasted one another. For a charity event the dinner was surprisingly good. After dinner there
were speakers interspersed with music from an excellent trio.

In between that Angelina kept them all entertained with
stories of her grandchildren, her work as volunteer at a
shelter, and gossip from the Bingo hall.

Toward the end of the evening, Lucille came by with her
husband in tow and greeted all the people who had purchased tickets from her and thanked them for coming.

"This is a wonderful thing you have done here tonight,"
Angie told Lou. "Bringing all these people together to help
the children. God Bless."

1've just been told that we have reached our goal and
they'll start expanding the children's wing as soon as the
ground thaws. They'll be announcing the details soon," Lou
told them softly. "Act surprised."

"Do they have many weddings in this ballroom?" Angie
asked suddenly.

"The hotel just opened a few months ago," Dana told her.
"But I'm sure there will be many weddings held here,
especially in the summertime when the garden is in bloom"

Angie turned to Bruno. "Maybe you should reserve your
date now."

"For what?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"For your wedding, of course."

"She hasn't said yes yet," Bruno reminded her.

"She will. Won't you, Dana?"

Dana felt the color rise in her cheeks. "That's a possibility," she said, then quickly picked up her champagne glass
and took a long sip.

Angie just smiled knowingly and turned her attention to
Marianne and Greg. "And what about you two? I can see
the promise of bambinos in those lovely green eyes. When
will you marry?"

Marianne looked at Dana for help, but Dana was studying the crystal chandelier, still sipping her champagne.

"As soon as I'm more settled in my career," Greg answered. "I'm not in a position to support a wife as yet."

Angie shook her head. "You young people, always want
everything perfect before you marry these days. Life does not
work that way. If you wait until everything is perfect, you will
be so old, you will need assistance to walk down the aisle."

"I've already got my walker reserved," Bruno said. "Come
on, mama. There are some people I want you to meet."

Bruno pulled out her chair and took her off to meet some
of the city councilmen who were seated a few tables away.

"You were right, Dana," Marianne said when they were
out of earshot. "She's quite a character. Now I know who
Bruno takes after."

"She scares me," Greg said. "Maybe we'd better get engaged before she comes back"