Jewel shook her head in derision. “Justin’s mom lives in Lantern Hill, but his dad is Western Pequot, so he comes to the reserve a lot. They lived here for a while when the boys were younger. But Justin, they say has cleaned up his act. Still, I don’t like the influence he has over them.”
“I can understand why.” He cleared his throat, he was about to go in for the kill. “Drinking is one thing, and bootlegging can be serious, but . . .,” he paused to make sure he had her full attention, “I also kind of wanted to know because, after I drove you home, I was called to the Casino. Something happened last night.”
There was confusion on her face. He surged ahead. “We had some more break-ins at The Mystic. The Mohegan’s security called earlier too, they had a few that night, too. And, well, Justin was spotted on tape at both places.” He didn’t tell her that her brothers were at Mystic Nights. He wanted to see her reaction to that first.
Jewel’s hand flew to her mouth. She could not hide her gasp, “You don’t think?”
He interrupted her. “The tapes don’t show who it is. But after you told me what you did about his character, and I recognized him from both places, I don’t know, I’m just trying to put two and two together.” Her reaction was one of complete shock. And that soothed him somewhat. He was reluctant to admit that her brothers were there too, at Mystic Nights, but felt in his heart she deserved the truth. He also hoped that the two PIs listening in didn’t think that he was giving too much away.
“The tapes we have show or indicate it is some kind of ring doing the thefts. And Jewel, I hate to say it, but after your brothers left us, they went to Mystic Nights. They were on the tapes too.”
Her voice was shrill when she spoke. She was shaking her head in denial. “No. No way! Joseph, whatever you are thinking, it isn’t true. They had nothing to do with the break-ins. They wouldn’t dare.” Her anger and fury were swift. She blanched, threw her crumpled napkin on the table, and stood abruptly. “I’ll be in the car.” And with that she stormed out.
Joseph knew the morning was a bust. If she knew about it she wasn’t giving anything away. But her answers and her reactions hadn’t given him much more to go on. He didn’t know if her anger was righteous, or put on. But he did know that Justin was someone they needed to look into. He quickly paid the bill, and after leaving a generous tip on the table, he followed Jewel’s same path to the car.
At the car, he saw her sad expression. “Jewel, I’m just trying to be honest with you. You know my feelings, and good or bad, I just thought you had the right to know.” He saw her nod, but she remained quiet.
Joseph drove her home in silence, but after fifteen minutes he had to speak again. “Jewel, I know you are upset right now. But if you know or suspect anything, you need to tell me.” She remained stonily quiet for another minute. “Jewel, are you sure they were studying last night.”
She snapped then. “You tell me. You seem to know a lot more than your saying.”
He didn’t respond. He wanted her to talk. And he didn’t want to voice his concerns about her possibly being involved. It would destroy them if she wasn’t. And he wasn’t prepared for that yet, wasn’t sure he’d ever be.
Her voice sounded pained when she finally did speak as he pulled into her driveway. Again, no sign of the boys was present. “If you saw them on the tapes, then they were there. I don’t know why, but I’ll find out.” When she looked at him he saw the stark pain in her face. He also saw fear. That scared him.
She opened her car door then and made to get out. He stopped her by placing his hand on her knee. “Jewel. Please let me know. I . . . I need to know the truth. Maybe I can do something . . .”
Her eyes cut to him, and he saw they were brimming with tears. “They can’t be involved. But, if they are,” she looked so shocked, so confused, “I’m sorry,” she murmured quickly and then got out of the car rushing towards the door of the trailer.
Joseph let her go. There wasn’t much he could do now, not until the PIs had a chance to do a little digging. He turned the car back on and backed out, and headed back to The Mystic. Something in him still refused to believe she was involved. Her expression had been so bleak. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something still missing. A piece of the puzzle that had yet to fall in place.
Joseph was nearly back at the casino, when he made a quick U-turn. He was just so confused. And when that happened, he knew the only thing that helped him clear his head was talking it out. And the only person he could think to help him clear away the confusion was his mother. He felt like a lost teenager once more. Jewel just couldn’t be involved in this. Her brothers? He didn’t know. But her, well, he couldn’t be that wrong about someone. He just couldn’t.
Checking the clock on the dashboard, he knew his mom would be home. On Sundays she always went to church with his grandmother, and then she cooked for whatever family was coming over later, and the girls. He knew if he hurried, he’d be able to get her alone for a bit, and he needed that right now whether he wanted to admit it or not.
Chapter 20
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