Tracking Game

by Margaret Mizushima

  “Could I look at that paperwork?”

  “Now?”

  “Now would be good,” Stella said. “Especially if you’re sure that Nate had nothing to do with the drug trade.”

  “Of course he didn’t.” Kasey sounded offended as she stood, the bit of anger apparently giving her renewed energy. “Let me see if I can find it in our box of receipts to be filed. I’m behind on things in the office, too.”

  Mattie decided now was as good a time as any to ask. “Kasey, one more thing. Would you give me permission to bring my dog in here to make sure there’s nothing—”

  Indignant, Kasey interrupted. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  “I was going to say to make sure there was nothing that Nate might have hidden from you. You wouldn’t be the first wife who learned about her husband’s shady business after his death.” Mattie raised both hands in a wait-a-minute gesture as Kasey opened her mouth to protest. “I’m not saying that’s what’s going on here, Kasey. I’m saying we need to eliminate that possibility if we’re going to do a thorough investigation and find Nate’s killer. If we find nothing, then we won’t need to search your property any further. Right?”

  “Oh, good grief.” Kasey dropped her shawl on the sofa and turned to march toward the doorway that led to the back part of the house. “Go ahead. You won’t find anything.”

  “I need to have you sign a consent form,” Mattie called after her.

  Kasey stopped and turned, looking as if a thought had just occurred to her. “That’s no problem, but my sister came over last night to stay with me and didn’t go to sleep until after sunrise. She’s asleep in my bedroom. Do you need to go in there?”

  “I’m sorry,” Mattie said, “but I’ll need to do a thorough job, the bedroom included.”

  “Poor kid, she was exhausted. I hate to wake her up.” Kasey turned left at the hallway before going out of sight.

  “I’ll help Kasey dig into her files,” Stella murmured, “if she’ll let me. See if I notice anything useful.”

  Jasmine was in the red Kia playing music when Mattie stepped outside. The music ended abruptly, and Jasmine opened the car door to get out until Mattie raised a hand. “We’re almost done, Jasmine,” Mattie called. “Just a few more minutes.”

  Jasmine frowned but settled back in her seat, closed the door, and turned her music back on.

  As always, Robo appeared ecstatic when Mattie put on his narcotics search collar and let him out. She made sure he did his business outside the yard, sacrificing her own car tire, before putting him on a leash. After grabbing a consent form, she led him up the porch steps and let herself back into the house, Robo at heel.

  Her short hair smashed against her head, Eve came through a doorway that was straight ahead on the other side of the hall, and Mattie glimpsed a bathroom beyond the open door. Eve’s sleepy eyes widened when she saw Robo. “What a gorgeous shepherd.”

  Mattie smiled and gave a nod of acknowledgment. “I’m sorry to wake you up.”

  “That’s okay. I should get ready to go home and help Mom anyway.” She headed toward the kitchen. “But first … caffeine.”

  “Is Kasey back there?” Mattie asked Eve, gesturing toward the hallway.

  “Yeah, the room on the right.”

  Mattie followed the sound of Kasey’s voice into a room taken up for the most part by an old oak desk, and caught the tail end of the conversation.

  “I have to go through with this fishing trip Nate scheduled,” Kasey was saying to Stella. “The clients paid for the trip in advance. We’ve put a lot of money into equipment for the business and I couldn’t afford to refund their payments, so Tyler said he’d run the trip for me.”

  Kasey was sorting through a stack of papers, but when she glanced up, her eyes were drawn to Robo. She slumped in her chair and audibly exhaled as if all her steam leaked out with her breath. Tears filled her eyes. “He’s beautiful. We just lost our dog last winter, an Old English sheepdog.” Kasey took the permission form, signed it without reading it, and handed it back to Mattie. “I’m afraid you won’t find anything to help with your investigation here in my home, but you’re welcome to look.”

  Mattie folded the form and tucked it into her shirt pocket. “We’ll start in the bedroom. Robo, come with me.”

  As she left, she heard Stella ask a question that should be asked of any spouse in a murder investigation. “Did your husband have life insurance that will help with your expenses?”

  Stella had couched the question in nonchallenging terms, and Mattie slowed to listen for Kasey’s reply.

  “He did, but I’m not sure how much. His parents have the policy. You’ll have to ask them about it.”

  Mattie went into the bedroom. A king-size bed dominated the floor, and its tangled taupe satin sheets looked nothing like the strips of white cotton used in the Molotov cocktail. She clipped Robo’s leash to the dead ring on his collar and led him in a counterclockwise sweep of the room’s perimeter, taking only a couple minutes for him to slink around, sniffing wherever she indicated, before heading out to the other rooms.

  In the living room, a small bench sat beside the front door, boots and shoes scattered on the floor nearby. A pair of work gloves made of leather lay on the bench seat, and they appeared to be a size-small women’s glove. Mattie picked them up to keep them from sliding off and tilted open the seat to peer into the compartment. Gloves and hats of all kinds filled the storage space, but none of the gloves matched the one found at the roadside.

  When she took Robo through a different internal doorway into the kitchen, she found a quaint and cozy room filled with older appliances, a retro gray-topped Formica table, and four red plastic chairs with aluminum ladder backs and legs. There was no room for a dishwasher in the small space, and dirty dishes filled the sink and cluttered the countertops. Like the rest of the house, the kitchen spoke of the couple’s attention being turned toward something other than housework.

  Eve sat at the table drinking a cup of coffee. “Should I leave?” she asked.

  “Not necessary. Just stay put, and he’ll sniff around you.”

  Mattie and Robo worked the small room in a matter of seconds, swept the office and bathroom, and in the end Robo proved Kasey’s prediction to be true—the entire house was free of narcotics.

  By this time, Stella and Kasey had come out from the office, Stella carrying paperwork that Mattie assumed belonged to the van.

  Mattie made eye contact with Kasey. “You were right. Robo didn’t hit on anything here in your home.”

  Her face filled with sorrow, Kasey nodded, apparently receiving the news graciously. “Do you need anything more from me?”

  “Not now,” Stella said as she walked toward the door to leave. “I’ll be back in touch after I visit with the medical examiner.”

  Eve came from the kitchen just as Mattie was about to follow Stella through the door. “Can I pet your shepherd?” she asked.

  While Stella went ahead and stepped outside, Mattie stayed for a minute, letting both Eve and Kasey pet Robo before going out the door. Just as she stepped onto the porch, a silver Lexus pulled up next to her SUV and parked. A guy with white-blond hair and a ruddy complexion jumped from the driver’s side and jogged up the sidewalk. Kasey grabbed her shawl while Mattie stepped aside on the porch to give him room as he charged up the steps. Stella stayed below in the yard, one brow quirked in her bemused expression.

  “Kasey!” He embraced her, both arms wrapped around hers while she clutched the shawl around her body. “Aw, Kasey, I’m so sorry. This is terrible.”

  Kasey turned her face away from his chest, trying to pull away. He let go reluctantly and stepped back to gaze at her with a wounded expression, one hand outstretched for a second before he let it fall. “I came as soon as I heard.”

  Kasey held the shawl closed at her chest, its edges bunched in her fists. “Thanks, Wilson. But there’s really no need.”

  That felt like a strange response. The
whole picture seemed like sort of a shutdown, and Mattie wondered who this Wilson guy was and what was his relationship to Kasey.

  He looked hurt but tried to hide it. “I wanted to see if there’s something I could do to help.”

  Kasey shook her head, looking downward as if avoiding eye contact. “There’s nothing anyone can do.”

  She sounded lost, hopeless, and Mattie decided to intervene. She introduced herself and Stella. “We’re from the Timber Creek Sheriff’s Department. And your name, sir?”

  “Excuse me, my head’s not on straight. This is all such a tragedy.” He offered a handshake, pumping Mattie’s arm twice with a firm grip before moving on to Stella. “I’m Wilson Nichol. I’ve known Tyler and Kasey since we were kids.”

  Pulling on a jacket over her pajamas as she stepped out onto the porch, Eve stood beside her sister, looking at Wilson with a frown. Jasmine came from her car to join the group.

  “Hey, Jasmine,” Wilson said to her.

  “Wilson,” she replied, going up onto the porch to flank Kasey, she and Eve looking like bodyguards.

  Since no one seemed happy to see this old friend, Mattie thought she’d better find out more about him. Could he have had something to do with Nate’s murder? “Do you live nearby, Mr. Nichol?”

  “I live over in Willow Springs,” he said, taking out his wallet to hand her a business card. “I own Western Colorado Realty there. We specialize in farm and ranch properties.”

  While Mattie reached for his card, Wilson’s eyes were drawn back to Kasey. Mattie recognized a quality in his gaze that she’d seen lately when Cole looked at her—a spark that went beyond friendship. Meanwhile, Kasey’s eyes remained downcast.

  Eve was several inches taller than her older sister, and she placed an arm protectively around Kasey’s shoulders. “Wilson, Kasey and I haven’t had a chance to clean up yet, and we need to go over to Mom and Dad’s house. Thanks for stopping by, but we don’t have time to visit.”

  Wilson stared at Eve for a few beats before he looked at Kasey. “I’ll come by later then. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Nate. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “I will.” Kasey turned to go inside with Eve while Jasmine stayed on the porch.

  As Wilson passed by on the way to his car, Robo sniffed at him, and his movement toward the man caught Mattie’s eye. Did her dog smell something that interested him, like gunpowder or dope? Or was he merely taking a whiff of a stranger?

  She led Robo to her SUV, walking him past Wilson’s car to see if he would alert on something. Robo had done hundreds of vehicular drug sweeps since he’d come to work with her in Timber Creek, and it was routine for him to take a free sniff whenever he walked past a car. If Wilson’s SUV had transported drugs recently, Robo would tell her.

  Her dog walked past the Lexus without interest, so she loaded him up in her unit. Stella had already settled into the passenger seat. But the scowl on Jasmine’s face as she watched Wilson turn around and drive away made it impossible for Mattie to leave without finding out what Kasey’s friend was thinking.

  As Mattie walked back toward her, Jasmine lost the scowl. “Yes?”

  Mattie thought she might as well just come right out with it. “I noticed you weren’t happy to have Wilson stop by.”

  Jasmine shook her head. “Was it that obvious?”

  Mattie nodded.

  Jasmine sighed. “Wilson had a thing for Kasey in high school. They dated for a while, but Kasey ended it when she went to college. He’s still Tyler’s friend, though.”

  When Jasmine paused, Mattie prompted her. “And?”

  “I suppose Wilson thinks he can move back in on Kasey now that Nate’s gone, but she’s not interested. The sooner he figures that out, the better off we’ll be.”

  Mattie was glad she’d stayed to ask. Jealousy was a strong motive, and it gave them a good lead to follow. She thanked Jasmine for her candor and left.

  As she climbed into her SUV, Stella glanced up from the documents she’d been reading. “What’s up?”

  Mattie told her about what she’d seen between Wilson and Kasey and what Jasmine had to say. “It strikes me as significant. Here’s a man looking at the new widow with love in his eyes. Seems like a motive to me.”

  Stella pursed her lips and stared out the windshield as she thought about it. “Well, well. I’ll call Brody and see what he can find out about Wilson Nichol online. Then let’s figure out a time we can go talk to him.”

  TEN

  When Mattie and Stella cruised by the motel on their way through town, the Cadillac SUV was still absent, so they picked up sandwiches at the grocery store and then drove on to the station. Mattie took Robo to the staff office to call Cole. She’d been hesitant to contact him in front of Stella in case the conversation drifted to personal subjects.

  He answered on the first ring. “The doctor just left, and I was about to call you.”

  “How is Garrett doing?”

  “Better. Looks like there’s been no more bleeding in his brain. He’s sleeping off and on. Still has vision problems, but the doctor is hopeful that will resolve.”

  That news came as a relief. “Sounds good.”

  “It’s the best we can hope for right now.”

  She wondered when they might be able to interview Garrett and Leslie. “Does the doctor consider him stable?”

  “Yeah, I’d say so.”

  “How is Leslie holding up?”

  “She’s exhausted, but relieved. She was dozing in the chair when I left the room.” Cole paused. “I need to figure out a way to get her vehicle over here so she’ll have transportation.”

  “I might be able to help with that.” Mattie thought about it for a moment. “Stella and I need to talk with both Garrett and Leslie. Maybe one of us could drive her truck over to you.”

  “I’ll be leaving here sometime today. We could time it so that I could give you a ride back home.”

  “We’ll work it out. I’ll call you back.”

  Cole sighed. “It’ll be good to see you.”

  Mattie felt a tug in her midsection. “Same here. I’ll call you soon and let you know our plans.”

  Mattie ended the call. Her body seemed to be pulling her toward Cole, even though it had been less than a day since she’d seen him. She missed him, but he was needed at the hospital. Cole was like family to the Hartmans. Thank goodness Leslie had him to help her at a time like this.

  Thinking of family made her remember her search for her own. She opened her email on her computer to see if she’d received one about her DNA results, but she was disappointed to find there was still no word.

  She joined Brody and Stella in the war room, where she chose a ham and Swiss on rye for lunch and Robo ducked under the table to lie down.

  Brody pulled up Kasey’s Facebook page on his laptop and turned the computer so Mattie and Stella could see the screen. “Lucky for us, hardly anyone uses the privacy settings. Here’s the most interesting thing I’ve found.”

  Kasey’s latest post had been made the previous week, and it was a shot of her from the past. Dressed in a pink tailored western suit and matching colored Stetson, she sat astride a handsome black-and-white paint horse, a banner proclaiming MISS TIMBER CREEK COUNTY stretched diagonally across her chest. Kasey’s caption stated, THOSE WERE THE DAYS! HERE I AM ON GOOD OLE BOSS, RODEO QUEEN MY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL.

  “Take a look at the comments,” Brody said.

  There it was, right at the top, a comment made by Wilson Nichol: HEY, GORGEOUS. LOVED YOU THEN, STILL LOVE YOU NOW.

  “Wears his heart on his sleeve, doesn’t he?” Stella muttered. “Wonder what Kasey and Nate thought of that.”

  “Kasey liked the comment,” Brody said. “From what I can tell, though, Nate didn’t use Facebook much. He’s got a business page, but there’s very little on it. He didn’t comment on any of Kasey’s posts, so he might not have even seen it. Go ahead and read some of the oth
ers. There seems to be a lot of love going around in that group.”

  Sure enough—many of the posts made by men and women alike expressed their love for Kasey. Mattie shrugged one shoulder. “Seems like most people love her. Friendship? Romance? Hard to say. But in Wilson’s case, considering what I saw and what Jasmine said, I’d bet on romance.”

  Stella scrolled down Kasey’s Facebook page. “Yeah, but did she love him back? Knowing that would make a difference.”

  “Jasmine says she doesn’t,” Mattie said.

  Nodding acknowledgment, Stella rose from her chair to go to the whiteboard that held notes about Nate’s case. She picked up the marker and started to write. “I contacted Cabela’s in Sidney, where everyone thought Nate had gone, and they were willing to cooperate when I explained I was investigating his homicide. According to their records, there’s been no activity on Nate’s business account for months. If he was at their store yesterday, he didn’t purchase anything. So why wasn’t he where he was supposed to be?”

  Mattie didn’t have the answer to that yet, but the question did stir up others. Had Nate been having an affair with someone? And what about Wilson? Had he killed Nate out of jealousy? Or did he know something about Nate that had enraged him enough to motivate him to homicide? “We’ve got to get to Wilson as soon as we can. Maybe he’ll give us some answers.”

  Mattie shared Cole’s news about Garrett’s condition, suggesting they drive over to Willow Springs to interview Wilson Nichol and the Hartmans as well as help Leslie by delivering their truck. “Then I can catch a ride back to Timber Creek with Cole.”

  “All right,” Stella said. “I’ll take my car so I can drive on to the autopsy afterward. We’ll talk to Wilson first and then Garrett.”

  Mattie felt anxious to be on the way. “I’ll call and make an appointment with Wilson Nichol. I don’t want to give him a chance to avoid us.”

  Stella gave her a nod. “Don’t worry. We’ll pin him down.”

  * * *

  Mattie swung by her house to drop off her vehicle and settle Robo in for the afternoon. She hated to part with him, but it was too hot to leave him in the car for long periods, even if he did have his own air conditioning in the back. After Stella picked her up, they went to get the Hartman truck so that Mattie could drive it to Willow Springs.