Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery Box Set

by Jamie Lee Scott

  Rayna came running down the driveway. “Stop him. He’s a horse thief.”

  Galynn wasn’t running, but she was following after her mother. “Mom, just let him go. We’ll buy another horse.”

  Rayna turned to her daughter. “With what? My good looks? Because that’s not going to buy us anything. Bucky pissed away everything on this damn campaign.” She swung her arm at a campaign sign that still stood in the yard. “The tack is gone, most of the good horses are gone. And now the ranch is going to be gone.”

  Galynn shook her head. “No, that’s not possible. Daddy made sure the ranch was paid for. We own this place, Mom.”

  Rayna shook her head. “Oh baby, there’s so much you don’t know.”

  She hugged her daughter, but then she remembered why she was down here. “Skinner, he’s mine. Bucky bought him for me fair and square. Your fat cow of a wife couldn’t do him justice anymore, and Pam was too poor to even feed him properly. He’s mine, all mine. Now open the fucking trailer and get him out.”

  Whoa, Nellie, this was a whole new side of Rayna I didn’t see coming.

  “Mom!” Galynn grabbed her by the arm. “Get a hold of yourself.”

  Rayna jerked away from her daughter. “I won’t have everything taken from me. I let Bucky take my dignity all these years, the least I can do is have my horse.”

  Skinner finally put the pickup in park and got out. He marched up to Rayna and stood in front of her, leaning down. He got in her face, his hands on her shoulders. “I took you to that motel last night, so I could talk to you in private. I told you things that I didn’t think anyone else should know. You told me things, too. Keep this up, and I’ll air our dirty laundry right here, for the whole world to hear. Do you want that? Because I’m telling you, you selfish bitch, if you ever call my wife names again, I’ll make sure I air your dirty laundry from the rooftops. You think choosing Bucky was a mistake? I can guarantee you, he’ll be your second biggest mistake if I ever hear you trash talking my wife again.”

  Rayna didn’t back down. “Don’t you ever threaten me, Skinner Mathis. I have some pretty good dirt on you.”

  Skinner stood at his full height and laughed so loud it even scared me. “Lady, you only know the lies your husband told you. And to think, all these years, I thought you were too good for me. I never settled when I married Naomi; she settled when she married me. I’m just lucky she loved me enough to hang on. And I’m betting, scratch that, I’m one hundred percent sure, she never cheated on me. Never went back, just that one time, to see what she may have been missing. Can you say that, Rayna?”

  Galynn gasped.

  Rayna reached up and slapped Skinner across the face.

  I choked back a laugh. This was better than any soap opera I’d ever watched, I mean glimpsed. Who’d waste time watching those? Maybe I should learn how to ride, and get involved in this rodeo thing, since it seemed quite entertaining.

  “The horse is mine, Rayna. I bought him from Pam Brown, his rightful owner. Now I’m giving him back to my wife. He’s going home.” Skinner walked back to his truck, but stopped part way there. He turned and walked back to Cortnie, whispered in her ear, then back to his pickup.

  Skinner got in the truck, and Cortnie got in the Land Rover and moved it out of the driveway. I didn’t try to stop her, because I was standing as the barrier between Rayna and Skinner as he inched the pickup forward. When the trailer was in front of us, Rayna jumped on the back of it and tried to unlatch the door. But Skinner was smart enough to bring a lock. Frustrated, Rayna hung onto the trailer to the end of the property, then jumped off and stood at the end of the driveway as the trailer drove out of sight.

  Cortnie walked back to us and asked Galynn, “What happened last night?”

  Speaking low, she said, “I’m not sure, but my mom has been a basket case since Skinner brought her home. I guess they had a long talk about some things, and she didn’t like what Skinner had to say. She hasn’t spoken to me much since last night.”

  “Have the police been back out here since yesterday?” I asked.

  She looked at me. “I think they’re coming back out today to look through some of my dad’s things. They’re hoping to find something in his papers that will give them a clue as to who the killer is.”

  Mimi asked, “Have they shared anything with you? Do they have any idea who might even be a suspect?

  Galynn kicked at the rocks in the gravel. “Nothing. They said they might have more for us today. I don’t get it. I mean, my dad wasn’t the nicest guy in the world, but he wasn’t the worst, either. Who would do something like this? On our own ranch?” She looked around. “It had to be someone who knew Dad pretty well, or at least knew the layout of our place.”

  “Do you mind if I go down and take a look at the spot where your dad died?” Mimi asked.

  I wondered what the hell she was up to. “Mimi?”

  “I’m sure the cops have already done this, but I just wanted to see something.” To Cortnie, she said, “Can you go up to the house? Stand on the deck, near the kitchen window. At least I’m assuming that’s the kitchen.”

  Rayna walked back to us as Cortnie walked up the hill. “What’s going on here?”

  “I’m testing a theory,” Mimi said. “Do you mind?”

  “Depends what the theory is.” Rayna kept looking down the road, like she was expecting Skinner to come back.

  “Let me do this first, then I promise I’ll tell you,” she said to Rayna. “You two can go back up to the house, and Charles will come with me.”

  I looked up to see that Cortnie was almost to the house, and I followed Mimi to the arena.

  “What’s up, buttercup?” I took a few long strides and caught up with her.

  “He was killed on the ranch, right? And she said someone had to know the ranch, and be quite brazen to kill someone in broad daylight. So, I’m wondering if this was an argument with Bucky, and someone just completely lost it, picked up a piece of pipe and hit him with it, or if it was premeditated.”

  I was following her thought process, but only to a point. “So, what you’re saying is that if it was premeditated, someone had to have set up the scenario. The situation, the pipe, or the person had to sneak up behind him and bash his head in. But do we know if he was hit from the front or the back?”

  “Not only that, is the person left or right handed?”

  We went down the stairs to the area where Bucky was found. I have to say, it was lower than I remembered. And how tall was Bucky? I didn’t think he was as tall as Skinner, if I remembered correctly. I think he stood under six feet. It was the pink fabric that stood out.

  “What was it that caught Cortnie’s eye, and how close were you to the arena when she saw his body?” I asked.

  “It was that bright pink shirt, and we weren’t that far. I was parked about twenty-five, maybe thirty feet away, and I was coming toward her. She’d stopped only feet from these steps when she told me not to come any closer.”

  We were down in the bowels of the bucking chutes. And I do mean bowels, as it smelled like manure and who knew what else. I hadn’t noticed the smells when I was with Nick yesterday, but then Nick does tend to distract me. I looked up. I could only see the roof of the house, and part of the horse barn.

  Mimi pulled her phone from her pocket and punched a speed dial number. “Hey, can you see me?”

  I heard Cortnie say, “No, I saw you go down, but I don’t see you now.”

  “Can you see Charles?”

  “I can see the top of his head.”

  I’m well over six feet tall, so that made sense that she’d see me and not Mimi. I said, “Keep her on the phone.”

  “Hold on,” Mimi said.

  “I’m going to stand here.” I stood approximately where Bucky might have been. “You stand there.” I pointed to where I thought the killer night have stood. “Now stand on your tips of your toes.”

  Mimi did as I said. “Now what?”

  “Raise you
r hands and swing your arms high, like you’re going for my head.” I yelled toward Mimi’s phone. “Cortnie, are you watching?”

  “I’m watching and listening, but the only thing I see is your head, Charles.”

  That was it. “Okay, Cort, come back down here. I want to talk to you.”

  “Good, because I want to talk to you, too. I have something crazy to tell you.”

  We walked back up the steps.

  I offered, “But she was on the porch. The kitchen window is about a foot higher, at least.”

  Mimi replied, “But someone would have to have been looking at that very moment. And how long could it have taken?”

  “True. Rayna said Galynn was in the shower, or someone did.” I couldn’t remember the exact conversation, but that girl had wet hair when she came down to the barn, so maybe I just assumed she was in the shower.

  “I wonder if he was hit on the left or right side of his head?”

  I thought about what Bucky looked like laying on the ground yesterday. My experience told me he’d been hit from behind, and on the left side of his head. At least the hit that bashed his skull. The hits to the face seemed to be after the fact. I closed my eyes to take in all of the gruesomeness again.

  “He was hit in the back of the head, and on the left side, with a metal pipe. If I had to guess, he was hit by a left handed person, who was strong enough to knock him out, or kill him with the first blow. The rest of the blows were anger, plain and simple. Hatred,” I said.

  There was blood splatter, but not a lot. No more than the innards of a pumpkin if you smashed it with a baseball bat, and maybe even less, since the skull holds our brain in better than pumpkin flesh holds in its seeds.

  “The person had to know they wouldn’t be seen down here. “ Mimi looked back up toward the house. “I wonder if Rayna and Galynn can see us? No way they had no idea.”

  “I don’t want to speculate, because the cops are already doing that, and I’m sure Gabe and Nick have already done what we’re doing now.” I knew they had, because they were smart cops. Did they know who the killer was, and just needed more evidence? I wanted to know more, but I didn’t have a way to find out. I had access to Bucky’s computer, but not everything in a person’s life is on a computer.

  “Well, we aren't the cops, but I’d bet if they find us down here, they’re going to slap us with obstruction or something. We’d better get a move on.” Mimi looked scared.

  “What? You afraid Nicky-poo will withhold sex if you jump in the middle of his murder investigation again?”

  She flipped me off.

  We headed back to the car. This had been a waste of time, other than to escort our client off the property. And at this point, I guess he was no longer our client. He got what he wanted, and he was on his merry way. But wait, is this all working out a little too peachy keen for Skinner?

  Cortnie met us at the top of the stairs. As we walked back to the car, she said, “Skinner told me that Emmet’s kid is definitely Bucky’s. He said we might want to go have a word with her.”

  “Seems like Skinner has us on a wild goose chase. He’s getting what he wants, and he’s sending us all over the county.” I was beginning to think Skinner was as much a snake as Bucky had been. But hadn’t we been warned? Isn’t that what Pam told Cortnie and Mimi?

  “So, do we talk to Emmet, or stay out of it?” Cortnie asked.

  “We still haven’t earned all the money he gave us,” Mimi said. She grinned.

  I liked a good puzzle as much as the next person, but didn’t we have other viable cases we could be working on? Weren’t there a hundred cheating spouses we could be spying on? What the hell was I saying? Those were boring as hell, just plain white vanilla cases. This was Jamoca Almond Fudge mixed with Pistachio Cookie Dough, and I’d rather have that ice cream any day.

  “To Emmet’s it is. All for one, and one for all. The Three Musketeers ride again.” What the heck had gotten into me? I smiled. Max. Need I say more?

  Only I had no intention of going with Cortnie and Mimi to talk to Emmet. That pixie chick rubbed me the wrong way, and I had no intention of standing in the same room with her for a minute, much less several of them.

  “You go ahead without me. I’m going to stay here and work my Charles charm without you two ladies to weigh me down.” I had an idea. I hoped it worked.

  “How will you get home?” Mimi asked.

  “If I can’t charm Rayna or Galynn into a ride, I’ll call you.” Dear Lord in Heaven, please don’t make me have to call Mimi, or I’ll never hear the end of it.

  “What do you have planned?” Cortnie asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know, win Galynn’s heart?”

  Hell, I had no idea, I just needed to get into that house, and maybe get those ladies out of it.

  118

  Mimi

  I was surprised when Cortnie told me Emmet’s address. It was in an apartment complex in South Salinas. We drove to town, and headed out Blanco Road, where she lived in a nice complex that was older than I was, but well maintained. The architecture had the definite 1970s look, and was painted a dark army green.

  “We should have called first,” I said.

  “If we miss her, we miss her. It’s just a social call, right?” Cortnie didn’t seem too concerned.

  “What do you think about what Charles said, about Skinner sending us on a wild goose chase? Do you think he could be the guilty party? I mean, so far, he’s coming out smelling like the sweetest rose in this.”

  “Makes me wonder if he knew the original contract deal with Bucky and Pam all along. But that’s so convoluted, and we don’t have the details to go on. I could look up the court documents and read through them today, if you want.” Cortnie looked down at her phone for her notes. “Apartment 89.”

  I pulled into visitor parking.

  It really did all seem too convenient. Skinner comes to us with a problem, wants us to help clear up his credit after this fraud scam of Bucky’s, and then he conveniently tells us about the horse deal. If he killed Bucky, why did he need us? I didn’t know that part yet. Maybe he really did want his credit cleared up, and his saddle back. But in the interim, he gets his horse back, his life back, and he proves to his wife that he really loved her all of these years. Now that part warms my heart. It made me smile for Naomi, but only a little. Was she married to a murderer?

  “Let’s do this thing.”

  We walked to Emmet’s apartment, neither of us in a hurry. I wasn’t sure I liked the woman. She wasn’t exactly pleasant with Cortnie the day before.

  Cortnie knocked on the door.

  We waited.

  Emmet didn’t look half as cute and sexy as she had at the Cox place the day before. Her hair was tied up in a scarf, and looked as if it hadn’t been washed in a few days. The sparkles were still on her skin, but looked slept in. With no makeup on, she had dark circles under her eyes, the sockets looked sunken and her skin sallow.

  “Cortnie?” Her voice held none of the venom from yesterday. “I’m sorry, come in.”

  “We don’t want to bother you. We just wanted to ask you a few questions.” Cortnie spoke quietly, like she thought someone might be sleeping in the other room.

  “The cops have already asked a ton of questions.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “I’m all questioned out.”

  “Where’s your daughter?” I asked.

  Emmet looked around the sparse, but immaculate apartment. “Oh, Kiley’s at school.”

  “So, you live here? Where do you keep your horses?”

  “Home sweet home, but the horses are out on River Road. We don’t have enough money to buy property around here, and besides, we travel so much. It’d be too much of a hassle to keep up a ranch, and go to rodeos. I can’t afford a kid, horses, and a farmhand.” She half smiled, but her heart wasn’t in it.

  “Rough night?” I asked.

  “You don’t know the half of it, and we just got back early this morning.” She shook her
head quickly, as if to rid her head of a memory.

  “So Kiley’s Bucky’s daughter?” Cortnie just came right out and said it.

  Hearing her daughter’s name made Emmet smile. “It’s not really a secret, unless you’re around Bucky and Rayna. I think everyone in the world knows it’s his, except Rayna, and maybe Bucky’s constituents. But it’s not like I hang around Bucky. Not in political realms, anyway.”

  “Do you mind telling us the story?” I looked for a place to sit down, hoping she’d be willing to give us the full story. I sat on a chair at the dining room table.

  The apartment’s public areas were all one space, so the living room and dining area were all the same. Emmet walked over and pulled out another chair. She looked happy to sit. Cortnie remained standing. I glared at her, and she took a seat.

  “First, I want to say sorry to you, Cortnie. I was terrible yesterday. I was so mad at Rayna, and I had no right to be mean. You looked lovely, and I was being nasty. I guess I haven’t changed all that much. I can pop some real zingers when I’m feeling threatened.”

  Cortnie nodded, but said nothing.

  “Funny thing, when the cops came by, they didn’t ask about Kiley. They only asked about my relationship with Bucky. Where I had been, if I’d been alone with him, and how I felt about him. I told them, if I was going to kill anyone, I’d have killed Rayna.”

  “Why is that?” I asked. This might get us somewhere after all.

  “Because her husband raped me.” Emmet let that hang in the air. “And when I went to her and told her, she denied that Bucky would ever do such a thing. I couldn’t believe she’d defend him. The man cheated on her at every turn. When he raped me, and I gave her a chance to get out, she threatened me with slander and libel if I ever said or wrote anything even remotely mentioning the situation again. So I dropped it.”

  Incredulous, I asked, “You didn’t call the cops?”

  Emmet smirked. “Really? The cops? I was just a kid, and he was Bucky Cox. It was his word against mine, and I’d left the bar with him. I was so drunk. Besides, like I said, he was Bucky Cox, still a big deal back in those days, you know? If I’d have accused him of rape, it’d be like accusing a Heisman Trophy candidate of rape; no one was going to believe me. The public would rally around him, and I’d be the outcast. No way. It was my cross to bear.”