Cowgirl Up! (18 page)

Sam nodded her head yes.

“That was a real hard time for us,” he said sadly. “Right before she passed she told us that she’d contacted Lance Wilson and he had agreed to keep an eye on us and help us out if we needed it. Marcus was angry with that. He didn’t say anything to mom, but he swore to me that he’d never ask Lance Wilson for anything. He hated the Wilson’s.”

Sam sipped her Coors. “Go on,” She said.

Mitch took a gulp of his brew. He smiled weakly at her and continued.

“Marcus and I worked for several years and remodeled the little home my mom left us. We got a good price for the place and then we both moved up here and started school. Marcus was accepted at CU and you know all about me. Lance found out where I was and called me a few times. I kept in touch with him and then in January I asked if he needed any help around his place. That’s when he hired me. He asked me not to say anything to Marietta about who I was because he didn’t think she’d want me around. Marietta was real jealous of Lance and was always suspicious there was something going on between him and my mom. I knew she wouldn’t recognize me but I tried to stay out of her way for the most part.”

The waiter delivered their food then and Mitch stopped talking. Sam looked at her sandwich, but her appetite was gone. Mitch didn’t look too hungry either.

“Everything was fine until Lance and Marietta decided to sell off half their property to developers,” Mitch continued. “Marcus was furious about it. He’s involved with that environmentalist group and vowed he was going to stop it somehow.”

Mitch shook his head slowly. He looked up at Sam and she could see his eyes fill with tears.

“When those notes started coming and the horses were injected with Salmonella, I got to thinking about things. Marcus and I are identical twins but I wear my hair short and am clean-shaven. Marcus had long hair and a beard. Or at least he did until a few months ago. I stopped by his place right before spring break and I noticed he had shaved and cut his hair. He told me he had to because he was going to start interviewing for jobs and no one wanted an accountant that looked like a hippie’s grandson. It made sense to me then, but when you found that syringe and it tested positive with the Salmonella virus I got suspicious and checked on some things.”

Sam pushed her food around her plate and looked at Mitch.

“Let me guess. Marcus dressed up in your clothes and got into the lab at Northeastern and stole the virus. He was probably able to move around the ranch freely because everyone thought he was you, and when he saw his chance he injected the horses. Am I right?”

Mitch nodded his head yes. “I checked the records at school. I was working at the Lazy W on the day someone used my ID and entered the school lab.”

Sam didn’t say anything for a minute and watched Mitch. He put his head in his hands and looked miserable.

“I was so angry at Marcus for doing such a cruel thing to those horses.” Mitch ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I went to his place in Boulder and confronted him. He sneered at me, called me a wimp and we got into a huge fight. We exchanged a few punches and I left. We’ve never fought like that before. It was horrible. I knew Marcus had to be involved with those notes too. I started watching for them and took them out of the Wilson’s mailbox whenever I could. Unfortunately, Marietta caught me that day and you saw what happened.”

“Do you think Marcus had anything to do with Marietta’s murder?’

“Oh God, no! He’s bitter and wanted to cause them problems, but I know he didn’t kill Marietta.”

“So it was Marcus I saw that day in Boulder demonstrating against the annexation of the Wilson property and not you. I wondered why you didn’t recognize me.”

“Marcus told me he saw you. He recognized your name from the sign on your truck and made himself scarce when you tried to follow him. He was afraid you’d figure out what was going on if you knew I had a twin.”

Sam took a deep breath. “Mitch, you need to go to Sheriff Olson and tell him everything. You’ve protected Marcus long enough.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t. He’s my brother, Sam. He’s the only family I have. He may have done some stupid and mean things, but I know he’s not a killer.”

“Maybe you can talk some sense into him and you can both go in and see the Sheriff at the same time.”

Mitch reached over and grabbed her hand. “I’ll try but I doubt he’ll listen to me.”

Sam looked at Mitch and sighed. “What a mess.”

When Sam got home that evening she was drained. She checked to see if she had any phone messages while she was out, but was disappointed to find the message light wasn’t blinking on her answering machine. She picked up her novel and tried to relax by reading a bit before she turned in for the night, but Seth and Sienna didn’t interest her. She finally gave up and went to bed.

Sam arrived at her office the next morning and was greeted by Melanie’s smiling face.

“Have you heard the news?” she asked her.

“What news? I haven’t heard anything.”

“They found Marietta’s killer.”

Sam was stunned. “You’re kidding!” Her heart was in her throat. “Who did it?”

“Some migrant farm worker. The detectives found a knife in the field next to where Marietta was killed. Turned out it was the murder weapon. It was one of those knives the farm workers use so they started investigating all the men that worked in the fields that day. I can’t remember the guy’s name but it’s all over the news on the radio. He killed her and took her jewelry.”

Sam rushed into her office and turned on the radio.

It wasn’t long before the news came on and she heard about the arrest of Pablo Rodriguez. She listened to the radio while she checked her messages and schedule for the day, but didn’t learn anything more than what Melanie had told her.

“Are you going to Marietta’s funeral this afternoon?” Melanie asked as Sam came out and headed for her truck.

“Yes, I’m going with my parents. I plan to work till noon and then go home to change. Are you and Doc going?”

“Yeah. I think we’ll just close the office for the afternoon. Guess we’ll see you there.”

Sam was on her way to her first appointment when her cell phone rang. It was Isabella.

“Did you hear the news?” she asked when Sam answered.

“Yes, I just heard. I’ve been listening to everything on the radio.”

“Well, I wonder if you could do me a favor. My dad is over at the Sheriff’s office with an attorney for Pablo. You may remember him. He was the one who stopped and shook hands with my dad at church. Dad knows Pablo really well and is very upset about the arrest. You know dad, when he gets excited he starts speaking ‘spanglish’, a cross between English and Spanish, and no one can understand him. I thought maybe you could stop by the Sheriff’s office and make sure he doesn’t get too worked up. You and your family know Sheriff Olson so I thought you might help mediate. I hate to ask you but I’m going into a class to take a test and I can’t leave until I’m through.

“Not a problem. I’ll drive over there now. I was only making rounds giving West Nile immunizations to horses this morning so I’m not doing anything urgent.”

“I’m watching Mason this afternoon while your parents go to Marietta’s funeral, so maybe we can get together afterwards.”

“Okay. I’ll be ready for a Margarita at Rosa’s by then.”

When Sam walked into the Sheriff’s station a short time later she could hear Jaime’s voice coming from Sheriff Olson’s office. The door was open so she knocked quietly on the doorframe and walked in.

“Hi. I don’t mean to interrupt but Isabella asked me to come over and see if I can help with anything.”

“
Chica
, I’m so glad you’re here!” boomed Jaime. “Let me introduce you to Estefan Torres. He’s an attorney with the farm worker’s union and is here to represent Pablo. They’re going to get Pablo now so he can talk to us and tell us his side of the story. I know Pablo, he is not a murderer.” Jaime turned and glared at Sheriff Olson.

Sheriff Olson nodded at Sam in greeting.

“I was just telling Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Torres that we found a knife in the field next to where Marietta was killed. The lab found traces of her blood on it so we know it’s the murder weapon. We also found Pablo’s fingerprints on it. When we checked his belongings, we found this watch hidden in a tool pouch.”

Sheriff Olson pulled out a plastic bag and Sam recognized the watch as the one Marietta purchased at the auction.

Jaime started talking excitedly in Spanish. Sheriff Olson held his hands up.

“English, please. I’m sorry but I don’t speak Spanish.”

A deputy came up to the Sheriff’s door and Sam recognized Ricky Montenegro.

“Hey, Ricky. What are you doing here?” She asked.

“I’m helping the sheriff out on my days off. He’s a little short handed at the moment. For a small town, we’re really busy.”

Sam nodded. “You got that right.”

“I have Mr. Rodriguez in the next room when you’re ready for him,” he told the sheriff.

Jaime and Estefan stood to follow Ricky. Jaime grabbed Sam and pulled her along.

When they entered the room Sam saw Pablo sitting at a table with his hands and legs cuffed. She could see the fear in his face.

Jaime went over, hugged him and started speaking in Spanish. Estefan opened his briefcase on the table and took out some blank papers and a pen. In a matter of minutes the three of them were talking rapidly in Spanish and Sam couldn’t understand anything they were saying.

Finally, Jaime stopped and turned to her.

“Pablo tells us that he did not kill Marietta Wilson. He was working in the fields that morning. Everyone saw him. Although he has an alibi and the other workers will swear that he was always with them and didn’t leave the field at any time, Sheriff Olson refuses to believe them. He thinks they’re covering for him.”

Jaime turned back and started talking to Pablo again in Spanish. Occasionally Estefan would ask a question or two. Jaime’s voice was escalating and Sam could tell he was getting upset.

“Bah!” he exclaimed and then turned to her again. “This whole thing is a set up. Pablo tells us that he did see someone around the farms that morning. They were working so they weren’t paying attention, but he saw some gringo come into the fields. He doesn’t know when he left but he remembered seeing a truck parked in the distance when they first arrived. Sheriff Olson doesn’t believe him.”

The men talked for several minutes longer while Estefan collected his notes and put them in his briefcase. Pablo embraced Jaime, then put his head on his shoulder and sobbed quietly. Jaime patted Pablo on his back and said a few more words of encouragement before Ricky came back into the room.

“I’m sorry about this,” Ricky whispered to Sam. “I know you’re close to both Jaime and the Sheriff so this must be hard on you.”

Sam smiled weakly. “Yeah, it is. Thanks.” She turned and followed Jaime out the door.

“Pablo‘s worried about his wife and his three children.” Jaime told Sam. “He’s not making any money while he’s locked up. I reassured him that we would take care of his family until he gets out and back to work.”

Jaime shook his head sadly. “How do we get the Sheriff to believe us,
chica
?”

Sam hugged Jaime. “I don’t know, Jaime. I wish I did.”

As they were walking out, Sam suddenly thought of something and stuck her head in Sheriff Olson’s office.

“Sheriff, can I ask you a question?”

He looked up with patient eyes. “Sure Sam. What’s on your mind?”

“Did Pablo have wire cutters in his tool pouch?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“Because I saw the fence that morning and it was cut with wire cutters. Pablo couldn’t have cut it with his knife because the wire would have been jagged. That barbed wire was snipped clean. If what Pablo is telling us is true, someone could have set him up to take the blame. They could have taken his knife and planted Marietta’s jewelry in his pouch. What if they wore gloves and then threw the knife in the field knowing you would find it later?”

“That’s an interesting theory. I’ll have to check with the deputies, but even if we don’t find any wire cutters it doesn’t alter the fact that we have the murder weapon with Pablo’s fingerprints on it. That’s pretty damning evidence in my book.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I know. Thanks Sheriff.”

After leaving the Sheriff’s station, Sam went on her rounds and made it back to her house by lunch. She quickly showered and changed into a simple black dress and brushed her hair so it flowed down her shoulders. She still had time to spare when she walked over to her parent’s house.

Her mom and dad were dressed and waiting for Isabella to get there. Sam told them about her morning with Jaime and what Pablo had told them.