Chocolate Cherry Cheater Read online

  I needed no time to think of an answer. “No thanks.”

  I wouldn’t waste my words explaining all the reasons why I didn’t want Daniel to use me or his deceased girlfriend to advance his career. In fact, now that Maria was in jail awaiting her trial, I had hoped never to see him again. Even Abuelita kept her distance despite the lure to her of appearing on TV again.

  Sanchez walked into the shop, taking her sunglasses off and looping them at the top of her shirt.

  Daniel turned his beaming smile on her. “Agent Sanchez—” he began.

  She interrupted. Holding up her hands, she said, “I know exactly who you are, and unless you are buying a dozen doughnuts, I suggest you leave.”

  Hugo almost dropped his camera in his effort to control his laughter. I stood back and enjoyed watching the show.

  Daniel, the man with a silver tongue, stuttered before he replied, “My intention in coming here is to offer you the opportunity to do an exposé on a national news channel. You could make your department look very good.”

  Sanchez looked down her nose at him. “Not as good as Jessica and I would make you look. Don’t forget, Daniel de la Calle, I did a complete investigation into your past. You wouldn’t want to risk me revealing certain little secrets you want to keep hidden on your show, now, do you? Or, even better, since you have your camera here, I could end your career in television right here and right now. What do you say? Still want to bother me about that interview?”

  Daniel was out of my shop before I could even blink.

  Hugo extended his hand to me, and then to Agent Sanchez.

  Sanchez told him, “If he ever makes your life difficult, you call me. I can tell you things that will keep him in his place.”

  Hugo turned and left, and Sanchez leaned toward me when the door closed behind him. “Hugo’s a good guy. He grounded Christina while Daniel fed her ambition in a way that ultimately got her killed. He won’t last long without her. He’s too self-interested to notice office politics. Nobody at the station likes him.”

  I didn’t know what to make of this chattier version of Agent Sanchez, so I offered her a doughnut.

  She paused long enough for me to add, “A real doughnut, this time. No poison, I promise.”

  She smiled and made her way to a table Tia Rosa cleaned.

  “If that’s the case, then I gladly accept. I will warn you, though, that I have heard such high praise about your doughnuts, my expectations are high. I am difficult to please.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?” I asked aloud, then clamped my teeth over my tongue unless another sarcastic comment escaped my mouth.

  Abuelita put a cup of hot coffee in front of Sanchez, and Tia Rosa sat beside her. Whether or not she wanted it, Sanchez was going to have company while she ate her doughnut.

  She looked down at her watch, and commented, “The rest should be here any moment. I hope you don’t mind, but I invited everyone over so I could give them a rundown of what happened. Considering the Jimenez family’s involvement, it’s only fair.”

  “That’s nice,” I said, plucking the special flavor of the week out of the display and setting it in front of Sanchez. The chocolate cherry doughnut version of Mammy’s cupcake recipe that Fernanda had aptly named Pretty Please.

  “The case is closed. I can afford to be nice now,” Sanchez replied.

  If I’d met this version of Agent Sanchez from the start, we might have become friends.

  Jake and Adi came into the shop. Sylvia followed closely behind.

  I ran into the back to have one of Martha’s helpers take over the register and another to take orders while I joined Sanchez around her crowded table.

  She took a bite. The Pretty Please was my favorite flavor of the week. Like a giant, gooey chocolate-covered cherry.

  Sanchez closed her eyes and chewed slowly.

  My legs bobbed up and down, waiting for the verdict. Did my doughnut live up to its reputation?

  Washing her bite down with coffee, she dabbed her mouth painstakingly slow with the napkin — without smudging her dark red lipstick.

  I was dying. Did she like it or not?

  “What do you think?” I blurted, unable to wait another second.

  “I want you to pack half a dozen for me to take back to the main office. I’ll present them as a gift from you to General Bolivar. Maybe they’ll soften him up. They’re that good,” Sanchez replied.

  “General Bolivar hates me. He’s waiting for me to mess up so he can kick me out of the country. Like you were constantly threatening during your stay.”

  “You’re still here, aren’t you?” She shrugged and took another bite of her doughnut as if she hadn’t been largely responsible for my stress of the past week.

  Maybe General Bolivar would get his free doughnuts after all. They worked miracles.

  Chapter 32

  Taking another sip of coffee, Sanchez said, “The reason I called you all in is because I thought you might be interested in Maria’s side of the story. When she realized how hopeless it was to insist on her innocence, she confessed to the whole thing. No doubt, she’s watched too many cop shows where criminals are let off easier when they cooperate.”

  Nodding at me, she continued, “As you were clever enough to get out of her, it was a simple case of jealousy. She did a lot to help Christina begin her career, and so Maria took it personally when UIO News rejected her in favor of Christina when her dream job was up for grabs. The network told Maria she was too old for the position, that they wanted a fresher face, a younger reporter who could stay with them over the long-term. Unfortunately for Christina, she bragged to the wrong woman at the wrong time. It was like salt in Maria’s wound.”

  “Better salt in wound than in the doughnut,” Tia Rosa mumbled.

  Sylvia glared at her mother before she responded to Tia Rosa’s comment, saying, “That must’ve hurt. Not that it justifies what Maria did.”

  Adi shook her head. “I don’t understand. If the network told Maria they didn’t want her, that she was too old, then why did she think murdering Christina would help her?”

  Sanchez swirled her coffee cup. “Let me back up to the events leading to Christina’s murder at Lake Quilotoa. Maria and Christina had gotten there at the same time with their news stations. They were both retouching their makeup in the ladies’ room—”

  Abuelita interrupted. “It cost fifty cent for the toilet no flush.”

  Tia Rosa bunched her cheeks impatiently. “We know, Bertha. You no let us forget. Next time, I let you go in the bush.”

  Sylvia gave her mom another silencing look.

  Agent Sanchez continued, “That’s when Christina told Maria she’d been hired to work at UIO News. She gloated about it, rubbing her success in Maria’s face after all she had done to help her get a foothold in the business. Maria was livid.”

  Okay, so that’s what the motivation was, but I was still curious how Maria had settled on framing Jake.

  Sanchez continued, “They talked to the representatives of the events and interviewed the Ministro de Turismo, but Maria kept her eye on Christina. When she saw the argument between Jake and Christina, Maria saw her opportunity. Later, when she saw Christina standing beside Daniel’s car — which so happened to be parked next to Jake’s Jeep — she couldn’t believe it. The chance to avenge herself had dropped into her hands. She went back to her van and grabbed the microphone cord, the microphone coming along with it when she couldn’t free it without asking her cameraman for help. Pretending to congratulate Christina for her recent success, she got close enough to strangle Christina with the cord and shove her in the back of the Jeep. She covered her with the tarp and dumped the cord in the bushes beside the bathrooms. Taking advantage of her knowledge of Christina’s death, she took a free day and went directly to the network in Quito to pitch herself just as they got the call that they’d lost their new reporter. Maria leveraged their reply in her favor by being in the perfect place at the perfect time and a
ppearing to save the day with her availability.”

  I sat back in my chair. That was just evil and conniving. Nothing Maria had told me could be trusted. “When I went to the station, she was in an argument with her producer and writer. She told me she was arguing in Jake’s favor to not show the footage of him coming up the trail alone and leaving in a hurry. I bet they were arguing over her new job. AmbatoVision would have had to replace her in a big hurry, putting her station in the difficult position of losing their senior reporter without a replacement.”

  Sanchez nodded. “I spoke with her producer, and he confirmed as much. The videos were given to her directly, and she was the one who edited them and insisted on airing them. She said it was in an effort to expose the truth about the death of her beloved colleague, but all she was doing was casting the blame off of herself. Effectively, if I do say so myself. She would have gotten away with it had you not started snooping around her station and asking questions. We never would have found the murder weapon attaching her to the crime unless you made her go back for it.”

  Sylvia added, “But Maria couldn’t leave until after the evening news, letting us beat her to the lagoon.”

  “Exactly.” Sanchez ate the last of her doughnut. Our interview was coming to an end.

  Before she left Baños, I felt the need to make peace with her. “Thank you for your help,” I said.

  She swallowed in a hurry. “Why are you thanking me? I used you. I knew it was the reporter from almost the beginning, but I saw how much easier you could make my job, so I let you do all the work.”

  I didn’t know what to say about that. I heard a few snickers around the table.

  Sanchez continued, “Washo was right about you.”

  I was afraid to ask, but I was too curious not to. “What did Washo say?”

  “That you’re smart and very good at your job.”

  That was harmless enough. “I bet that’s not all he said,” I mumbled.

  “No, but it’s enough,” Sanchez said, rising to her feet and putting on her sunglasses.

  I watched her leave, wondering how she could wear those heels day after day without limping. She was one tough gal, and I was secretly rejoicing I hadn’t made an enemy in her.

  Mayor Guerra was outside with his entourage. He was doing an interview in the park, and I nearly dropped to the floor when his camera swung around to face my shop. I’d had enough interviews for the day. For a lifetime, really.

  Tia Rosa tugged me up. “You phone? Where you phone? We watch!”

  I pulled out my phone and unlocked the screen before handing it to her. Tia Rosa navigated Facebook like a pro. With a couple jabs of her finger, we huddled around my phone watching the mayor doing his live video. He extolled the virtues of Baños and praised the tight-knit community who stuck together during their trials. He closed by saying that his team had prepared a series of videos featuring some of the town's key citizens.

  A sense of foreboding overcame me as I scrolled through the videos. There was an interview with Christina’s mother — post diary, thank goodness. There was an interview with Abuelita and Tia Rosa. I recognized the smudges around Abuelita’s eyes from her makeup yesterday. So, they had been up to more than just the Salt Lick Doughnuts.

  I hovered my finger over the screen to select that video, but Abuelita slapped my hand away. “You watch that later. I want to see the video of Jake.”

  “What video of Jake?” I knew the answer, but I asked through my clenched teeth anyway.

  The two sisters grinned widely.

  “The one you make, Jessica,” answered Tia Rosa.

  Abuelita grabbed my phone out of my hands and scrolled down the list of videos until she found the one she wanted.

  I looked up at Jake and apologized.

  A picture of Jake wearing nothing but a diaper, his hair long and curly before his first haircut was the opening image.

  Adi laughed.

  Sylvia clutched her hand over her heart, saying, “You were such a beautiful baby, Jake.”

  And now the mayor’s thousands of followers all over the country and beyond knew just how cute a baby Jake was too.

  I should have known Tia Rosa and Abuelita were up to more mischief than I had given them credit for. But looking at them as they watched the video of Jake, seeing the pride on their faces and their loving smiles, made it difficult for me to be upset at them for using the video I had made for them public. I’d save that for Jake.

  For all this talk about not caring what people thought of him, Jake blushed. Of course, few people didn’t mind when their moms and grandmas pulled out the naked baby pictures.

  I apologized again. It was a sweet video, but it was clearly not meant to be shown beyond the boundaries of family. Had I known, I would have censored accordingly.

  Raising his bright green eyes at me, Jake said, “Join me for dinner, and we’ll call it even.”

  “Like a date?” I was embarrassed to ask, but I knew me. If I didn’t know exactly what Jake meant by asking me out to dinner, I would fret about it all day and read way too much into his words.

  His eyes never wavered from mine. “Yes. I want to date you, Jess. If that’s okay with you,” he added.

  Jake was even cuter when he was vulnerable.

  “Yes,” I practically shouted.

  Epilogue

  I video called my family before Jake had said he would pick me up. I had no idea where we were going, but he said I’d love it.

  Mom answered her iPad. "Wow, you look lovely, Jess."

  My mom was the sort who never left the house without full-face makeup and pearls on, so she must've been overjoyed to see me looking sharp.

  Dad pulled the iPad away so that his face filled the screen — what could be seen of it over his thumb anyway. He never could quite figure out where the camera was, and usually gave me a very good view of his thumb, his forehead, the ceiling … or my personal favorite (not), up his nostrils.

  He said, "She looks the same as she always does. Beautiful."

  Mom wrestled the screen away from him. "Give me that. All she can see is your thumb and the brim of your Panama hat."

  She fiddled with the camera (like a professional photographer would) until she had nestled it at the perfect angle to show both her and Dad.

  "Your father wants to stay in the southern states for the winter so he can wear his Panama hat every day." Mom grinned up at him.

  He tapped the brim of his hat. "It fits perfectly. I see why folks pay big bucks for these."

  All I could see behind them was a wood panel, so I guessed they were in their RV, squeezed on one side of the narrow dining table beside the kitchenette.

  Mom said, "I absolutely loved your pictures of the lagoon. It makes me want to visit you so badly. It's a fresh perspective that's just not available here."

  Dad smiled at her, then winked at me. "I went to another flight simulator the day before yesterday. I made it past the cockpit door," he said with such pride, it made my eyes prickle. My dad's fear of airplanes went far beyond your normal phobia. I loved it that he tried for me.

  The video wiggled until it fell back and I got a view of the ceiling, then of Mammy's orange fingernails and bright purple hair. "It's the first time he's been able to set foot inside the airplane. It's real progress!" she said, finally getting the camera focused on her so I could see her rouged cheeks, coral lipstick, and bright smile. She was the perfect example of big things coming in small packages.

  Dad said, "Next time, I'm going for the aisle. If I can step inside a plane, it's just a matter of time before I can come down and see my girl in her new home. I miss you, Cupcake."

  I think Mom made a grab for the iPad, because it wiggled and Mammy cast a withering glare at someone opposite her before the shimmying stopped to focus on Mom.

  She asked, "So, have Abuelita and Tia Rosa been behaving themselves?"

  I laughed. "Is that even possible?"

  A flash of orange and another wiggle of the
screen later, the video was facing Mammy. "Have you drawn any more comics for me? I met up with an agent who's interested in The Adventures of Jungle Jane."

  "Don't you dare! I only draw for you guys. My drawings are for family only!" I said, thinking of Jake’s baby pictures and knowing that just like with him, this was a battle I’d lose. Mammy would do whatever she wanted to do no matter what I said. She pinched her lips and grinned at me. Just like Abuelita always did.

  Deciding it best just to roll with it, I said, "I do have some new drawings I’m working on. I think you’ll like them."

  Mammy raised her eyes and looked at me knowingly. "So, what has Jungle Jane been up to lately?"

  I grinned back at her. Chasing a dog and a donkey up a dormant volcano rim, getting beaned in the head with a watermelon on the world’s worst bus ride, and watching a murderer get lassoed… "It's a doozy of a story," I said.

  Mammy winked. "Those are the best."

  I heard Dad say, "You’ve finally found your medium, Cupcake. I always knew you had the heart of an artist."

  Mom said, "Mediums, dear. Our Jess has more than one. Her doughnuts are glorious, and her comics are hilarious. I don't know how you come up with your crazy stories, Jess. Well, yes I do, too. I just prefer to think they’re not based on reality."

  Mammy winked at me again.

  They bickered over the iPad while they told me of their recent travels and gave me an update on my sisters. They had so much news, it was hard to believe it really hadn't been that long since I’d last talked to them. But that's how it always was with my family. And it's how it was with my adopted family in Ecuador, too.

  When Dad's roving thumb accidentally ended our call, I stood in the middle of my apartment, absolutely content. I was surrounded by wonderful people on two continents whom I loved dearly.

  When I went downstairs to meet Jake, and he smiled at me like I was the only girl in the world, I felt like I might burst with happiness … and anticipation.