Chapter 9: Police Investigation/Sugar Pie Honey Bunch
"Oh, I can't believe my son has gone after that gangster!" Elena cried. She sat down on a chair. "Why did he have to be so stubborn?"
"Elena, Elena," Mama Coco spoke, gently. "Don't worry about your son. He's a strong man and knows how to take care of himself."
"Yes, but he'll still be killed by those brutes!"
"Indeed," Franco murmured. He turned to his daughter. "Gloria, are the police here yet?"
"Not yet, Papa," Gloria shook her head.
"I can't believe Frida got kidnapped because of Andres!" Natalia exclaimed.
"Did he say what he was using the love potion for?" Felix asked her.
"To use on another girl," Luisa J. answered.
"It's very obvious!" Isabella piped up.
"Like always," Dolores shook her head.
"Oh, what did I see in him?" Natalia grumbled. "Is he tender? No, he's not! Is he thoughtful? No, he's not!"
"Is he gullible?" Camillo whispered to his father.
"Yes he is!" Felix nodded.
"Calmse, Natalia!" Gloria said, gently to her friend. "There must be something about him you like!"
"Yeah!" Rosa nodded quickly, before pausing to ponder. "I think."
"Oh, that Andres!" Elena seethed. Her cheeks turned red and her hands tightened into fists. "Just wait until I get my hands on that numbskull when he comes home!"
"Yes, what you said, Mama!" Berto added, cracking his knuckles.
"In the meantime, we should take the children home," Carmen said, calmly. She was eager to get her sons home..
"Good idea, Carmen," Luisa agreed with her. She looked around for her only child. "Donde esta Miguel?"
"He must have been hiding!" Rosa suggested.
"Yeah!" Abel smiled mischievously. "He gets scared of the Princessa de Mafia!"
"What a wimp!" Camillo snickered. His best friend chuckled, too. They were both hit in the heads by their Abuelitas. Abel had to endure his Abuelita's shoe and Camillo got slapped by Abuela. "OW!"
"Knock it off you two!" Abuela said harshly. "That's not the way to talk about your primo!"
"Yes, Abuela!" Both boys stuttered. They quickly ducked in case their grandmas decided to slap them again.
"Miggy is not here," Antonio said, peeking out from the tablecloth.
"Miggy is gone!" Manny said.
"Yeah, gone!" Benny confirmed.
"What!?" Enrique and Luisa gasped.
"Where is he mijo?" Felix asked, picking his son up.
"Note," Antonio said, holding a napkin with pen writing on it.
Enrique slowly took the napkin so he wouldn't tear it. He read it out loud. His wife stood next to him, so she could read along with him.
"'Dear Familia,
I'm going to help Hector rescue Andres and Frida from the Princesa de Mafia. Don't worry, I'll be okay. We'll be back soon! Love Miguel"'
"No!" Luisa shrieked, putting her hand over her heart. "I don't want him to go over there either!"
"First, Hector!" Abuelita wailed. She put her hands to her wrinkled face. "And now, Miguelito!"
"We'll go and bring them back!" her husband said firmly.
"Uh, Senor Rivera, you and your wife will have to wait," Dolores said. Her voice sounded quiet and nervous.
"Por que?"
"The cops are here," Dolores made a nervous squeaking sound.
Right away, the police marched in through the restaurant.
The first person to walk on was a woman with short blonde hair followed by a short man with brown hair.
"Good evening Madrigals and Riveras, I'm Chief Jane Calhoun," the woman introduced herself, showing the families her badge.
"Lieutenant Felix McBrayer, at your service!" The short man said, showing his badge.
"I didn't know that cop had your name!" Camillo whispered to his father.
"It's a common name here," his father whispered back.
"We are here because the Princesa de Mafia attacked or threatened you here."
"Thank you for coming, Chief Calhoun," Julieta said.
The other officers had begun scanning the crime scene. Some took notes in their notepads of what they saw inside the restaurant. One cop took pictures with a camera.
Isabella had quickly evaporated all of the roses that she had demonstrated earlier and stood straight as if to prove her nervous innocence.
"While my men look for clues, we're going to ask you some questions," Chief Calhoun said.
Just then, the mayor of New Santa Cecilia, opened the front door and came dashing into the restaurant.
"My son, my son!" He cried. "Where is Andres? Where is he?"
"He is with the Princessa de Mafia," Berto answered slowly.
"What!?" the bald man cried. "I don't understand!"
"We're just about to ask them the story," Officer McBrayer said, taking his notepad out.
"Here's what happened," Alma sighed.
Both families told the mayor, Chief Calhoun, and Lieutenant McBrayer everything that took place. The only elements that they left out were the Madrigals' magic.
"Oh my son, my son!" The mayor ran into the restaurant like a cheetah. He darted his eyes around looking for his only child. "What did he do? What did he do?"
Natalia was about to answer him but the mayor held out his hand.
"Don't tell me! He was flirting with a girl and she happened to be the gangster that ruled the East Side! Am I correct?"
"Well, uh…," Natalia began, only to be interrupted.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" The mayor fussed. He plopped down on one of the chairs. Surprisingly, it squeaked a bit, despite his large size. The mayor took out his handkerchief and wiped his bald head.
"That's not what happened, Mayor Smith," Alma said, seriously. "It was something else."
"Why did she kidnap him and Frida?" The Mayor asked.
"Yes, that's what I like to know, too!" Officer McBrayer added, taking out his notepad. He quickly listed his questions. "Why did the Princessa de Mafia kidnap Andres Smith and Frida Madrigal?"
The Madrigals were hesitant to talk. They did not want to tell the mayor or the police anything related to their magic.
"Why did she kidnap them?" Pepa repeated the question in her own words.
"Well-I'm-you see-what happened-" Agustin stuttered. "Er, that is-"
"My lieutenant just asked you a question!" Calhoun barked. She was beginning to become irritated.
"It was a love potion!" Enrique answered.
The rest of the Madrigals widened their eyes. Why would Agustin's best friend do this?
"A love potion?" Lieutenant McBrayer asked, stopping in the middle of writing down the answer.
"Love Potion Number Nine," Enrique clarified. If the police weren't present, he would have given Agustin and Julieta a wink. "That's the full name."
"Frida makes a line of perfumes and creams," his wife quickly jumped in. Luisa finally figured out that her husband was covering for the Madrigals. "They're her specialty!"
"Yes, and Love Potion Number Nine is the name of Frida's new perfume." Enrique concluded.
Their friends breathed a sigh of relief.
"That still doesn't answer our question," Calhoun frowned, getting impatient.
"Frida made the perfume for Imelda but had given it away to Andres by accident," Alma quickly explained. "He had requested the exact same potion, too, much earlier. He took Imelda's bottle thinking that Frida made it for him! So Imelda came for her perfume but because both Frida and Andres lost it, she took them away."
"And she won't give Frida and Andres back to us, unless we find the perfume for her!" Dolores added.
The Mayor let out a big wail like a baby, and fell out of his chair. He laid there still as a log.
"Quick, somebody get this man water!" Alma cried.
"No problemo!" Camillo volunteered.
He and Abel both grabbed two pitchers of cold water that were on nearby tables. The water was cold with some ice. The boys poured them all over the Mayor's face. They snickered when the bald man quickly woke up with a yelp.
"Yes, he's all right!" Abel smiled, oblivious to the bald man, hyperventilating.
"Why does the Princesa de Mafia want the perfume so badly that she had to cause chaos here?" McBrayer inquired.
"It's very special to her," Pepa said, trying her best to think of clear skies.
"Imelda is the type of woman who knows what she wants and she'll get it!" Augustin said.
"Yes but why?"
"Imelda's a woman!" Felix spoke boldly. "Do not question a woman's feelings about perfume!
"But-"
"You heard what they said, McBrayer," Calhoun said. "Don't question a woman's feelings about perfume!"
"Okaaay," McBrayer, said, still feeling a bit confused.
"Oh, I can't believe this!" Mayor Smith moaned. "My son got himself into trouble because of that monster! Oh, I hate that Princesa de Mafia!"
"Have you met her, Mr. Mayor?" Chief Calhoun inquired.
"No, but I have met her father," Mayor Smith said. "He used to rule the East Side before she did. I had tried to reason with him but it was impossible! Now I pity anyone who lives over there!"
Juan was sitting down on the couch in the living room, playing checkers with Stephanie. He was losing, not because he lacked skill and experience but because his mind was somewhere else.
"Tio, why are you so sad?" his niece asked. She was winning. The girl would have relished in her game if her uncle did not have a long face.
"Imelda decided to kidnap someone," he sighed. "Somebody from the West Side."
"Oh no!" Stephanie gasped. "She wouldn't!" The tween did not take part in any criminal activities that her guardian led. Her guardian and uncle believed that it was best that she have the life of a normal child. Other than doing chores, Mirabel always found time to do something such as sewing, reading books, or playing with her doll. From what the little girl vaguely knew, the kind of crimes her guardian had committed were only limited to robbery, bribery, and scams. Never kidnapping.
"Oh yes, she would…," her uncle said in a sing-song voice.
As in right on cue, the front door swung wide open. The gangsters all stride inside. Bubo, Vinny, Audrey, and Mole stride inside, dragging a woman whose hands were tied up in a rope. The woman looked familiar to Stephanie.
"Tia Frida!?" the little girl gasped. She never expected to see one of her aunts again! Stephanie tried to run up to Frida but was blocked by Bubo's arm.
"Frida!" Juan gasped, as well. Anger bubbled inside him. How dare his mistress actually kidnap his sister! He was going to have a long talk with his mistress about this matter.
The gangsters led Frida into the living room and forced her to sit down on a couch.
The woman also made eye contact with the girl, her mouth agape. Her mouth had been gagged with a white cloth. The only sound she could make was a "mmph!" If Frida was not being restrained by her ropes and kidnappers, she would have run over to her long-lost niece immediately.
The second group of gangsters, Wilhelmina, Cookie, Dr. Sweet, Oscar and Felipe marched in carrying a sack. Although Juan and Stephanie don't know what it's inside, they knew it to be a body, judging by the weight of the bag.
Finally, Imelda strutted inside as if she were royalty and shut the door behind her. She sat down on her grand sofa and faced everybody else.
"Imelda, why?" Stephanie said sorrowfully. "Why did you kidnap a woman? Por que?"
"Now, now, sweetie," Imelda said gently but firmly. "I only brought this woman in because she was being a bad girl."
"What did she do?"
"She made the love potion," Audrey answered.
"What!?"
"Turns out that somebody got hold of the marigold flowers for her," Vinny said.
"You won't hurt Frida, would you?" Stephanie pleaded.
"Don't worry," Imelda assured her while gently patting the girl's thick curly hair with a gentle smile, now that she was focused on the girl. "She'll be in good company."
"Imelda, how could you!?" Juan started. "This is not what I had-"
"Callate Juan!" Imelda snapped. "Say one more word and I'll throw dynamite down your pants!" She turned to the others. "Bring me the sack and open it."
The others dragged the sack and left it on the floor.
"I can't wait to get his collar cuffs!" Mole said in a giddy tone.
"How much money does he have in his wallet?" Vinny asked.
"Does he have a gold tooth?" Cookie wondered.
"I am claiming for his pocket watch!" Audrey shouted.
"No pickpocketing!" Imelda ordered with a stern glare, since she wouldn't waste a kidnapping on so trivial a task.
The rest of the gang groaned and backed up. Mole laid his hands on the sack.
"Mole…," the mafia boss said in a warning tone.
The overweight French man groaned as if he didn't get candy for Halloween. He reluctantly backed up as well.
Bubo snipped the string with scissors and quickly stepped back.
A figure climbed out of the big sack. He rubbed his eyes as droplets of pink glitter fell from his eyes.
"Okay, what do we have here?" Imelda said, as she observed the short man in blue.
Juan's eyes widened. He remembered this man as Andres, one of his former friends. 'Looks like he hasn't changed.' He thought.
The minute Andres laid his eyes on the Princess of the Mafia, his pupils dilated. His irises changed from blue to hot pink. A grin spread over his face and broke out into a song.
"Sugar pie, honey bunch!"
"What?" Imelda scoffed. That was not the reaction she was expecting.
"You know that I love you!"
He made his way over to her, while the others stared at him. They have no idea what was going on.
'Of course, he hasn't!' Juan rolled his eyes, half-smirking. He remembered the times that he and Hector had to protect Andres from embarrassing himself with a random girl in public. If it weren't for his sporadic visions, Juan would have never had the guts to tell Andres right away whether his crush of the week was already promised to someone. 'I wonder why he is flirting with Imelda.'
"I can't help myself!" Andres serenaded so sweetly to Imelda.
"I love you and nobody else!"
"You're joking, right?" Imelda challenged him, standing up from her couch.
"No, silly!" Andres chuckled, before he continued singing. He grabbed Imelda by her hands and swung her around.
"Sugar pie, honey bunch!"
"Stop that!" the boss lady barked while pushing him away.
"You know that I love you
"I can't help myself!"
Before Imelda could step away from Andres, he grabbed her by the waist and gave her a dip. "Let go of me!" the gangster snapped. She pushed him away and fell down. "Oh!"
"I love you and nobody else!"
Imelda scooted over to the edge of the couch and lifted herself up. Suddenly, she felt her hand being grabbed again. Terror grew in her. 'What was happening?' She wondered as the blonde man forced her to dance with him.
"In and out my life
"You come and you go
"Leaving just your picture behind
"And I kissed it a thousand times!"
"Que romantico!" Stephanie sighed, dreamily.
"What's gotten into him?" Juan wondered out loud.
"He's the town flirt," Bubo snickered. He rolled his eyes."What do you expect?"
"Yes, but he usually goes for the sweet type of girls."
Bubo took the cloth off from his prisoner's mouth, who took in deep breaths.
"Frida, what's going on with Andres?" Juan questioned her.
"I don't know what's going on," the prisoner shrugged, though her twinkling eyes begged to differ.
The Madrigal man crept closer to the singing prisoner so that he could get a good look at his eyes. But he kept missing the crazy man who was dancing around the room so much that it was hard for Juan to check his eyes.
"Get the heck away from me!" Imelda barked, snapping her fingers at Andres. The woman hid behind the couch, holding her shoe high as a warning.
"When you snap your fingers or wink your eye,
"I come running to you!
"I'm tied to you, baby!"
Immediately, Imelda bonked him on the head with her shoe. Instead of falling down as expected, the man kept singing! So the mafia hit him with her shoe again. And again and again. No matter how many times she kept hitting her shoe on Andres, he still kept on serenading her.
"And there's nothing that I can do!"
"Imelda's got a suitor, Imelda's got a suitor!" Stephanie sang in a sing-song voice. She giggled and giggled until her uncle gave her a disapproving look. "Sorry!" she squeaked sheepishly. The tween shrank a little bit and her cheeks turned pink.
"Sugar pie, honey bunch!" Andres belted out.
"I'm weaker than a boy should be!"
Juan grabbed Andres by the collar. He lifted him up and held a magnifying glass over the lad's face while leaning over him. He noticed that Andres' eyes were not his natural eye color, icy blue. They were sparkly hot pink.
"(Ooh)I can't help myself
"I'm a fool in love, you see!"
"Stop singing!" Wilhelmina cried, covering her ears.
"Shut it off, shut it off!" Mole whined, covering his ears. Slowly, he raised his hands a bit, pleased that it was quiet. As soon as Andres resumed singing, Mole quickly clamped his ears shut again.
"When I call your name!"
"What color were his eyes?" Frida asked Bruno smugly. Her twin had hurried back over to her, after his brief observation.
"Girl, it starts to flame!"
"Pink!" Bruno hissed.
"Burning in my heart
"Tearing all apart!"
"The potion!" Frida smirked. "No wonder!"
"Is that why he's acting like this?" Bruno questioned, furiously.
"No matter how I try
"My love I cannot hide (Ooh)!"
"Juan, Frida!" Imelda cried, still hitting Andres with her shoe, repeatedly. "Help me!" She gave up after realizing that her shoe was having no effect on him. The Mafia Lord began to run around in the living room. That didn't stop her unwanted suitor from chasing her.
"Sugar pie, honey bunch
"You know that I´m waiting for you
"(Ooh) I can't help myself
"I love you and nobody else!"
"What's she saying?" Frida asked him.
"I don't know!" Bruno shouted. "I can't hear her with all that singing!"
"If only I lost my hearing years ago," Wilhelmina grumbled.
"You and me both!" Cookie added.
"Sugar pie, honey bunch
"You know that I love you!"
"What are you fools complaining about?" Oscar said, snapping his fingers to the beat.
"This is catchy!" Felipe smiled, tapping his feet.
"I can't help myself
"I need you and nobody else
"No, I can't help myself
"No, I can't help myself!"
The Head of the Mafia backed into the corner, holding her other shoe at her unwanted suitor for defense. "Audrey, Vinny, Sweet, and Mole!" Imelda commanded. "Please lock this loco man up in one of our guest rooms!"
Dr. Sweet, Vinny, Audrey, and Mole were more than happy to obey her. The former two immediately grabbed the singing annoying man by his arms. The latter two snatched his legs. They all carried him away to one of the guest bedrooms.
"I LOVE YOU MY DESERT FLOWER!" Andres shouted.
"Ugh, he's crazy!" Imelda sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Of course, he's crazy!" Felipe said.
"Crazy in love!" Oscar cackled.
"When shall we plan-"
"The wedding?"
"Never!" Imelda snapped at them. "I hate musicians!"
"What should we do to him while he's here?" Cookie inquired.
"I can think of ten ways," Wilhelmina smirked. "Torture, whipping-"
"Ah, ah, ah!" The mafia boss chastised her. "Do NOT touch the man! He's our bait!"
"Bait!?" The twins both exclaimed.
"Have you forgotten about our plan?"
"Yes, but since that guy is in love with you-" Oscar started.
"Why not just marry him?" Felip finished. They both received the end of Imelda's shoe. "OW!"
"Why should I, hermanos?" Imelda challenged them. "Give me one good reason why!"
"Oh boy!" Stephanie gulped. She had a dreadful feeling that the adults were going to fight. Stephanie shut her eyes and covered her ears. She felt a gentle touch on her arm, and opened one eye to see who it was.
"Hey, let's go and listen to the radio upstairs," Bubo whispered in her ear.
The teenaged boy and the tween girl quickly tiptoed upstairs, eager to get away from the argument before it became ugly. Luckily for them, they went unnoticed by Oscar, Felipe, and the adults.
"To fulfill our dying madre's wish!" Felipe argued.
"She doesn't want you to die alone!" Oscar continued.
"And neither do we!" Felipe added.
"Oh, boys!" Frida laughed. She laughed so loud and so long that someone had to check the Grandfather clock on how much time passed. "It's so hilarious to see you two trying and failing!"
"You're the one to talk!" Oscar spat at the prisoner. "Potion maker!"
"Yeah, potion maker!" Felipe scowled. "You and your stupid little science project that never works!"
"Some magic!" Oscar snickered to his twin.
"Some chemistry!" Felipe smirked back.
"My potions do work!" Frida crossed her arms. "And I wouldn't marry him, if I were her, boys," she firmly warned them. "What he's feeling is not true love but obsession and lust. The longer he stays like this, the crazier he'll become."
Imelda's face scrunched up. "How dare you bring this matter upon me!" Her voice was a mixture of anger and sorrow. "Frida, how could you break my promise? Especially after everything that happened years ago?"
"You can't tell me what to make or what not to make just because you wouldn't listen!" Frida sassed, crossing her arms. "It's not my fault! You are the one who caused this mess in the first place!"
"That's it!" Imelda screamed, before turning to right-hand man. "Juan, lock her up for breaking her word to me!"
"Wait!" Frida argued. Panic had replaced her sass. The Madrigal woman attempted her best to be as apologetic as she could. "I know, I know! I broke my promise and it was wrong! I promise, I won't do it again! I promise!" The woman drew an X on her heart and poked herself in the eye. "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye. OW!" She rubbed her eye, burning in pain. The woman glanced at her long-lost brother. "Ask Bruno, he will vouch for me! Bruno, tell her that I am sorry. You will take me back home. What do you say?!" She was ecstatic to see her long lost brother. She expected him to stand up to her ex-friend. She expected him to rescue her or at least plead for her mercy.
"Sorry, Frida," Juan said, coldly and emotionlessly.
"Que!?" Frida's blood ran cold. She did not expect this. "How could you!?"
"You knew the risk you were taking! Otherwise, you wouldn't be in this situation!" Juan's words pierced her heart. "Wilhelmina, take her to another guest room!"
Wilhelmina automatically obeyed him and led Frida away upstairs.
The youngest Madrigal twin looked back with watery eyes, and looked absolutely betrayed.
Juan had forced himself not to look into his long-lost twin's eyes. He had a job to do and he couldn't risk the town being ruined, again. 'This is killing me!' "Don't make me do that ever again!"
"Sorry Juan," Imelda sighed, wearily. "I know it wasn't easy but it had to be done."
"Maybe you should marry Andres!" he spoke coldly to her.
"Excuse me!?" the gangster shrieked. Since when does her best gang member talk to her like that?
"It will be your punishment for kidnapping my sister and my friend!" Juan spat. "I mean, how could you!? What were you thinking?"
"Oye!" Imelda grabbed him by the collar, baring her teeth. "Listen here, you idiota, I am the Mafia Lord! I'm in charge here! I rule this side of the town and I can do whatever I want!"
"Even ignoring my last vision!?"
"Yes, because whatever I say, goes!"
"You're not the boss of me!" Juan immediately regretted it when his boss stuck her shoe up in his nose.
"Who took you in when someone threatened you to leave your family?"
"You," The Madrigal man said, in a low tone.
"Who took you in when you pleaded for a job because you had a vision that I would be your boss?"
"You."
"And who took your niece in when your family drove her away?"
"You."
"Riiiight!" Imelda slowly nodded. She treated Juan as if he were a three year old that just learned the alphabet. "So, now that we are all in agreement, can you kindly please…,"(she hits her right hand man in the head with her shoe really hard) "SHUT UP AND DO AS I SAY!"
She hit Juan so hard that he fell back and landed on his back.
"Ouch," he muttered to himself, as he slowly lifted himself up. "I don't know who's crazier: my prisoner, or my boss."