A Secondhand Murder (30 page)

Antoine and Rob dragged Spelling and Randolph out of the feed room. Randolph began a litany of denials.

“
I was only trying to help poor Constance get back her family's riches. I thought Dr. Phillips deserved another chance. He's a fine horse man.”

I was untying Madeleine and getting her to her feet when I overheard Randolph and I couldn't resist commenting on his lies.

“
Randy boy, you are so full of it.”

“
No, no, it's true. I thought Phillips was giving the horses enemas after the long trip at sea.”

I laughed. “You truly are a horse's ass. Enemas. How stupid are you?”

“
Well, douches, then,” he replied.

“
With his fists?”

Then began the pointing of fingers, as Spelling and Randolph blamed each other for the entire illegal operation. I found it interesting that neither said anything about Eduardo, but then again, he was still free and who knew what damage he could do to the two of them. Once he was behind bars, they might open up.

Several minutes later, Frida appeared in the barn accompanied by her partner and several officers from the West Palm County Sheriff's office. Soon after, my gang arrived. I was relieved to see that they hadn't been harmed.

Apparently, when Madeleine learned about our plan from Jerry, she begged to tag along. Why he had to tell her, I don't know. They had stopped by her place only to find her missing, so they went to my house, assuming she'd be there with me. When they saw my house was empty as well, they headed for the barns.

An ambulance carted Phillips off to the hospital. Randolph and Spelling were taken into custody and, because of the international drug smuggling component of the case, Frida notified the federal authorities. They would be waiting for their prisoners in West Palm.

“
Who gets to arrest Eduardo?” I asked.

“
The Feds,” said Frida.

“
Do you think they'll take Constance into custody, too?”

“
Maybe. We'll have to see what they do. I suspect that, between Eduardo's connections and his money, he'll bond out within twenty-four hours. The same goes for his wife, if she's arrested.”

I had twenty-four hours. That was good. This time I would work alone. I didn't want to get my friends involved in the mess.

I rode home in the back of Nappi's SUV, flanked by Madeline and Alex. It felt like a repeat of our ride up from the Keys earlier this morning. Had it only been this morning? It felt like days ago. The three of us were in the backseat, with Jerry and Nappi in the front. Nappi drove.

I looked at my watch.

“
Why do you keep checking the time. Something up?” There was suspicion in Alex's tone.

“
I can't believe it's been less than twenty-four hours since we drove back from the Keys. I didn't sleep well, and I'm beat. I need to hit the hay.”

Nappi laughed. “Got horses on your mind?”

I nodded. “I'm glad they're going to be all right. That horrible Phillips.” I hadn't shared with Alex, Jerry, or Nappi the details of how Phillips had intended to find the locket. They didn't need to know. Madeleine and I exchanged glances. I could trust her to keep silent. I was worried that they would counter violence with violence, and that was the last thing I wanted right now.

Alex tightened his arm around my shoulder. “I thought that maybe we could spend some time together, but I can see that this isn't a good time.”

I reached up and patted his cheek. “Thanks, sweetie.”

Alex walked me to my door and gave me a long, lingering kiss goodnight. My toes curled with passion and I almost gave in to my desire to invite him inside. But I was so damned tired that I'd probably fall asleep mid-foreplay. Plus, I had a previous engagement.

Once in the house, I stripped off my clothes, which smelled like hay, horse manure and fear, and stepped into a hot shower, lathering twice to remove the evening's horrors. Before I had a chance to really relax in the warm water, I turned the faucet to cold to wake myself up. A quick cup of coffee and I jumped into my rental. I had an appointment back at Eduardo's stables.

My drive to the ranch gave me a little time to think about what I was doing. I was certain I didn't want to involve any of my friends. Look at what happened to Grandy. Perhaps that wasn't directly my fault, but if I hadn't moved to Florida, Valerie wouldn't have been killed in my shop. The family's attention might have been diverted to other pursuits, such as reclaiming their lost money and drowning their financial woes in high-end shopping and maxed-out credit cards. They might have been too busy to remember the old family locket.

However, they probably wouldn't have been too busy to import horses with dope up their you-know-whats. I guess my nosiness had done some good. It had also almost got my friends killed. That's why I had given the cowboys and the gang the night off. I was after a killer.

I turned off the pavement onto the county road, then looked for the driveway leading to the ranch. Damn, it was dark out here with no lights. Okay, no friends, but was it smart of me to go meet a dead man? Or, rather, someone who was supposed to be dead?

E
ve,
I told myself as I climbed over the closed gate leading to the ranch,
you're quite safe now that Eduardo, Randolph and Constance are in jail.
I rued the decision to wear my signature stiletto heels as I slid from the top rail onto the drive. This wasn't a social occasion. It was simply a meeting with a dweeby little man who might have a lead on a killer.

I shivered a little at the thought of returning to this place. But who was left to bother me? Not Leon, Dwight's father. He'd called the cops and claimed that he had been mistaken about Jerry being my kidnapper. That was a good faith gesture, right?

One thing at a time. I had taken care of the locket issues earlier this evening. The people who were supposed to show for that wouldn't be out of jail until tomorrow, if ever. Now I had to consider Valerie's murderer. That meant my midnight meeting with Dwight. Why me? Because, as with Carlos, Dwight trusted me. Only me. Was it my compassionate nature or the generosity of my character? I shook my head. No. It had to be my tenacious and overbearing personality. Paired with my height.

I looked up at the moon, bright enough now to illuminate the way to the barns, but I heard thunder in the distance and knew that soon I wouldn't be able to count on lunar light to guide me. Besides, once inside the barns, I'd need a flashlight. I patted my pocket to reassure myself that it was still there.

The only person I expected to see was Dwight. Was I crazy to believe that little weasel? Maybe. Someone had tried to kill him, and I thought I knew why.

He had been standing by Valerie's car on the day of the murder and he must have seen something, something he had later decided to make the murderer pay for. Leon must have known that Dwight was in danger and that he would be safer if thought dead. Did Leon know who was gunning for his son?

The killer had to be Eduardo. If Dwight didn't already know that Eduardo was in jail, I wanted to tell him, so that he'd go to the authorities and tell them his story. Valerie must have found out about her son-in-law's drug dealings. That would have been motivation enough for him to remove her. So he stabbed her in my shop.

That sounded right. Now all I had to do was get Dwight to talk. Eduardo and associates would be in jail for more than drug trafficking. I still couldn't figure out the logistics of the stabbing, though. Well, that was up to the police.

I walked into the first barn, using the flashlight to find my way. All the horses were gone, removed by the authorities earlier tonight. Only the smell of manure, feed, straw and hay remained. I passed through the darkened stable and out into the night. Clouds rode across the moon, forcing me to rely on my flashlight as I headed toward the second barn. The same emptiness there. No horses. No stable boys. I strode through the barn to the other end, pausing in front of the spot where, earlier, a horse had saved our lives. On impulse, I climbed over the wooden rails and leaned into the now deserted stall as if I could somehow capture the essence of the horse that had saved us.

A hand grabbed my leg. Startled, I lurched backwards and dropped my flashlight.

“
Come down from there. You're already tall enough. I don't need to be talking to a giant.”

“
You scared the hell out of me, Dwight. Now I've dropped my light.”

“
What's going on? By the time I got here around eleven, all the horses were gone and everyone else, too.”

I told him about the drugs and the pending arrests. “I guess that should make you feel safer, huh?”

“
Eduardo will bail out by tomorrow morning, if he hasn't already. I need to get out of here and go someplace where he can't find me.”

“
You need to talk to the police. You could put him behind bars for a long time. Then you'd be safe.”

Dwight gave a snort of disbelief. “He's got a long arm. He could easily leave the country and then send some of his goons to have at me. Again.”

“
Eduardo doesn't seem like the type to tolerate blackmail. You saw something the day of Valerie's murder. Instead of coming forth, you decided to make some money on the side. I hate to say it, but you brought all this on yourself.”

“
So how did Eduardo manage it?” I went on. “I mean, how did he get into my shop to kill Valerie? I can't figure it.” Maybe if I got Dwight talking about what he had seen, he'd find it easier to repeat the story to the authorities. “Did he disguise himself as a woman? Use someone else to do the stabbing?” I was pushing him, but I had to know.

“
Eduardo? I didn't see him there,” said Dwight.

The moon came out from behind the clouds and lighted the entrance to the stable well enough for me to see his face. I didn't like what I saw.

“
I thought you were a lot smarter than that.” Dwight seemed disappointed.

“
Me too, but then again, she's just the granddaughter of a maid,” said a voice from behind me.

“
Constance. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in jail.”

“
No jail for me, the suffering little wife of the foreigner involved in drugs. We have unfinished business, you and I. So, after the arrest, I went to your house. You were just leaving. I followed. As for the drug thing, what did I know about it? Of course, I'll stand by my husband when he gets out. Our lawyer will take care of everything.”

“
Except the murder charge. Don't you care that he killed your mother? How can you support him knowing that?” I couldn't believe that she loved him enough to ignore murder.

She paused and then changed the direction of our conversation. “I'll tell you what, Dwight, brother dear. You help me get rid of the body, and I'll let you go. Deal?”

Had I made a mistake by trusting Dwight? He looked relieved at her offer. Her offer? Then I got it. Eduardo didn't kill Valerie. Constance did. Dwight had seen her leaving the store through the side door. What a fool I was.

I moved away from Dwight and toward Constance. I could take the bitch. I knew I could. Then out came one of those ugly guns. It looked ludicrous in her manicured hand, but still deadly. Her finger on the trigger was steady.

“
Drop the gun, Constance.” Her father emerged from the feed room and walked toward us. I turned to look at him, hoping that he was also armed. I didn't like guns, but right now I'd have given my little red Miata for one. I searched his hands. Nope. No gun. I'd have to fake it.

“
The three of us against you.” I might as well assume that Dwight was on our side, even though he hadn't been much help so far.

“
You can only shoot one person, maybe two before one of us takes you down.” I hoped I was right. I wanted to be the individual left standing. I was anxious to wipe up the barn floor with her.

“
You're not going to shoot your own father now, are you?” Leon held out his hands in a pleading gesture.

She'd already stabbed her mother, but I saw no need to state the obvious.

Without warning, she fired, hitting Dwight in the shoulder. She wasn't a very good shot, although she seemed determined. She let go with a second round. Her father grabbed his leg. Both men fell to the floor. I dropped to my knees beside them. To Constance it must have looked as if I was trying to offer aid. Instead, I snagged the flashlight off the floor and hurled it at her. It missed but was enough of a distraction to throw her off balance. I tucked and rolled, knocking her feet out from under her. The gun flew out of her hand. She scrambled to her feet and ran out of the stable.

A quick check of Leon and Dwight showed their wounds to be painful but not life-threatening. The shot had gone through Dwight's shoulder but the opening wasn't pumping blood, it was just leaking it onto the stable floor.

“
I'm fine,” said Leon. “Find my daughter before the cops do. You can talk her into giving herself up.”

I flipped open my phone and called Frida.

“
Better get out to the stables again. There's been a shooting here.”