Chicken Caccia-Killer (A Jordan McAllister Mystery) by Liz Lipperman Page A

glance Natalie’s way and saw that she was also giving the tall, well-built woman who’d married her old lover the once-over.
    When the two men walked away, Georgette finally turned to Jordan. “Sorry about that. You asked how this event goes off without hitches.” She pointed to the delivery truck by the entrance. “It isn’t easy. Everything has to be right on schedule, or it throws things off. We’re still waiting on a liquor shipment that was supposed to get here a few days ago. That means a lot of people will have to hustle to make up for lost time when it does arrive. My job is to find out why that happened, and I’ll start by having a long talk with the distributor to make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s the kind of thing I need to stay on top of daily.”
    Natalie moved forward and asked the question before Jordan could. “And who is the distributor?”
    Jordan remembered that Emilio had asked Marco about the liquor at the party and that Marco had assured him it would arrive on time. And Alex had mentioned that Marco was the owner of the company supplying all the liquor for the festival. Obviously, Marco couldn’t take the heat for the late shipment, so who was Georgette going to “have a long talk” with?
    “The Petrone Brothers.”
    “Marco had a brother?” Jordan asked.
    At the mention of Marco’s name, a flash of sadness registered in Georgette’s eyes before she quickly glanced away. “Yes. Bernardo,” she said finally. “Their company is based out of New York City.”
    Finding out that Marco had a brother gave Jordan another avenue to pursue. Maybe there was sibling rivalry between the brothers or a long-standing family feud. That would definitely throw a little reasonable doubt Kate’s way if they could prove it.
    “I’m sorry about what happened to Marco last night,” Jordan began, thinking it was the perfect opening to see if Georgette could shed any light on his death. “I’ve heard you and he were close.”
    Anger lit up Georgette’s eyes. “Of course I was close to Marco. He and my husband were business partners, and he was about to marry my stepdaughter.”
    “Tina is your stepdaughter?” Natalie asked.
    Georgia bit her lip before replying. “Emilio’s first wife died of breast cancer when the child was five. I’ve raised her since then and love her as if she were my own daughter. Everything I do has been for her.”
    Including test-driving her fiancé before the wedding?
    Jordan stopped herself before blurting that out. What was the point in making this woman angry? They still needed information.
    “Was Bernardo at the party last night?” Natalie asked.
    Georgette narrowed her eyes. “Yes, he was, as were most of the people involved in the planning of the festival. Unfortunately, I had a business meeting in New York City that couldn’t be postponed and missed it. I only arrived in Dallas this morning.”
    “And did Bernardo have a beef with his brother?” Natalie asked.
    Georgette took a menacing step toward her. “They were brothers. Of course, they fought. Marco had a way about him that didn’t sit well with a lot of people. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it your daughter who was having an illicit affair with Marco and pushed him off the balcony last night?”
    Jordan reached out to keep Natalie from making contact with the younger woman.
    “For your information, my daughter had no idea the man was engaged. So no, there was no illicit affair on her part. Although I can’t say the same about you, since you were the one he sampled and tossed aside. I guess not everything you’ve done has been for Tina.” Natalie’s eyes turned defiant as she waited to see how Georgette would react to that remark.
    “We’re done here,” Jordan said, grabbing Natalie’s arm and turning her around. “I’ll be in touch, Mrs. Calabrese,” she said over her shoulder as she pushed Alex’s mother in the opposite direction from the irate Georgette, who looked