Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery Box Set

by Jamie Lee Scott

  “Oh, well, I…”

  There was a knock at the door. More like a pounding.

  “Stay here, please. I’ll be right back.” She pointed her finger at me, telling me I’d better not go into Bucky’s den while she answered the door.

  I didn’t even wait to hear who it was. As soon as she stepped away, I pulled out my phone and swiped it to photo mode. Who knew how long I’d have to get a look at what was in this room?

  Things were neat, but someone had been going through papers. And someone had been shredding. I took a photo of the shredder, not that it’d do any good, but what the heck. Then I got a picture of the documents laid out on the desk, and of just about everything I could find in the room that looked worth taking a photo. Then I heard the voices. It was Nick and Gabe. Right before I heard them walk into the hall, I saw a key. It was a safe deposit box key.

  WWCD? What would Charles do? I lifted the key, and put it in my pocket. I’d give it to Nick later, tell him I found it on the ground or something. Or I’d tell him the truth. I have no compunction against lying, but I find it hard to lie to him for some ungodly reason.

  I heard him say the warrant was for something small, which gave them permission to look in nearly every nook and cranny of the house, and in every room, so they could find whatever evidence they needed. Then something about a computer. Yes! I might even get the chance to go through Bucky’s computer after all. That was, if the police department hired me for the job.

  I tried to listen in, but my mind raced as to how to get into that safe deposit box. They’re a double custody item in the bank, and they required a signature to get into the room in the first place. There was no charming myself into this box. If Bucky had been a nobody at a nobody bank, it might have been possible. If his face hadn’t been plastered all over the signs.

  But then, the young, entitled, twenty-something working at the bank, may not have been into local politics and didn’t care who was running for county supervisor. I could’ve walked in, said I was Bucky, forge the I.D. and gotten in. What’s the worst that could happen, I didn’t get in? It’s not like this was a small town. Maybe Bucky didn’t even go to the bank much himself. And in person, he wasn’t nearly as good looking and charming as those pictures.

  “So, have you found anything to get you closer to finding my daddy’s killer?” Galynn’s voice had changed from that of a young lady to that of a little girl.

  “We’re getting closer. Just ruling some things out. It’s only a matter of time,” Gabe assured her. “Today we just need to go through some of your dad’s paperwork again. And maybe get a look at some of the medications he may have been taking. Log a few more things into evidence. In case there’s a trial.”

  “Absolutely. But I thought the crime scene guys took all of the photos and evidence they needed when they were here yesterday?” She sounded helpful, but unsure.

  “We may need to take a few things with us this time. Can we go look in your father’s office?” Nick asked.

  “Absolutely,” Galynn said.

  I met them in the hallway at the same time Rayna came from her bedroom. Rayna screamed. Nick jumped. I smiled, and Galynn nearly toppled over as Gabe stepped back.

  “What’s going on here?” Rayna asked.

  “The detectives are here to look through Daddy’s things again,” Galynn said, like she was speaking to a slow learner.

  “I’ll be in my room. Let me know if you need me for anything.” Rayna turned right back around and closed the door to her room.

  “She hasn’t been feeling well since Daddy, well, you know.” Galynn looked at the carpet.

  This young girl seemed tough as nails. She was holding it together while her mom was falling apart. I hadn’t seen any inkling that she’d been mourning the loss of her father.

  “What are you doing here?” Nick glared at me.

  “Nice to see you, too, on this lovely morning.” I responded. “Galynn, let’s go outside and talk while these men do their job. I still need to call for my ride.” I stepped past Nick and Gabe, nodding at Gabe and ignoring Nick as I did so.

  “Galynn, would you mind? I’m taking allergy medication that makes my mouth really dry. Could I bother you for a glass of water?” Gabe asked. “And Charles, I’d like to ask you a question while Galynn gets me that water.”

  I really wanted to go outside and wait. But I stood there like a good little boy awaiting my reprimand.

  “Sure, I’ll be right back. Ice?” she asked.

  “Just water is fine. But a glass if that’s okay, I have a thing about drinking from plastic cups,” Gabe said.

  I looked at him. What?

  “Why are you here?” Gabe asked, not nearly as nicely as Nick had.

  “I’m waiting for my ride to come pick me up.” Sorta true.

  “But why are you here in the first place?” Gabe asked.

  “I’m hanging out with Galynn.” He really needed to learn to ask more specific questions.

  “Cut the crap, Charles. What the hell are you doing here at all? How did you get here, and why on earth would you be hanging out with Galynn?”

  Nick was better than Gabe at the question thing.

  “Mimi left me here while she went to go talk to Emmet Hollister. I stayed to talk with Galynn and Rayna, just for shits and giggles, and hoping maybe one of them would give me a ride home, but then you showed up. Now, I guess I’ll hang out with her until I can get a hold of Mimi to pick me up, because I don’t think they’ll want to leave you two alone in their house.”

  I turned to walk away as Galynn came back with the water. Nick and Gabe walked into Bucky’s office, and I heard Gabe say, “Thanks so much, Galynn. Can you please just sit it on the desk? I’ll drink it in a little bit.”

  “Okay, I’ll be out on the porch with Charles, if you need anything.”

  I hustled out to the porch and sat on one of the Adirondack chairs, pretending I’d been waiting. I pulled out my phone and sent Mimi a text to come and pick me up.

  I wanted to be in the bedroom-slash-office with Nick and Gabe so bad I could taste it. But I thought I’d chat with Galynn a bit and see what I could find out about her relationship with her dad.

  “Sorry about that. They need to go through my dad’s things and see if they can find anything that will help them with the investigation.” She plopped down in the Adirondack chair next to me.

  “Did you travel with your mom and dad a lot when you were a kid? I saw quite a few pictures of you when you were young, up there on the walls.” I hoped to get her talking about herself, and reveal something about her dad.

  “Are you kidding? That’s all we did was travel. My mom would get my homework assignments from my teacher in elementary school, and I’d do my work on the road. I didn’t have a real childhood. I played in the dirt at rodeos, and played hide and seek in horse trailers and horse stables at the rodeo grounds. Different towns every week, and many times several towns a week. I was driving when I was fourteen, so Mom and Dad could sleep. It was our life.” She didn’t look at me when she spoke. Instead, she looked down at the barn, at the horses sticking their heads out of the stalls.

  “When I was little, I didn’t even know that what we did wasn’t normal. And when I got older, hell, it was what it was. I have it in my blood, you know? So when my dad broke his leg, and slowed down a bit, I wasn’t ready to slow down. I was just getting started.” Now she looked at me.

  “When did he break his leg?” This was the first I’d heard of this.

  “I don’t even know how many years it’s been now.” She thought for a few seconds. “It was right before I got my WPRA permit.”

  “WPRA?” So many acronyms.

  “Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. You have to be a member to participate in barrel racing at pro rodeos.” She smiled, trying not to be condescending at my lack of knowledge.

  “It’s okay, I’m not going to be following the sport any time soon. I’m not a big fan of things with fur that w
eigh more than I do, but I’m interested in your life, and your story.” I forgot why I was listening to her blabber on about her life.

  I mean really, I hadn’t been listening that long, and I was already bored. Maybe not bored, but distracted. I’d hoped to hear something from Max this morning, but nothing. I sure wasn’t going to be the first to reach out.

  “When I finally got serious about pro rodeo, my dad slowed down. He became more interested in politics, and so my mom and I traveled without him. I couldn’t believe how much nicer it was.” She smiled. It was a faraway smile at a distant memory.

  “Didn’t you and Bucky get along?”

  She looked directly at me now. “I’m not sure anyone, except possibly Skinner, who is just like him in so many ways, actually got along with my dad. He’s a difficult man, unless you’re doing exactly what he wants, exactly the way he wants it.”

  “And here I thought he was ‘my man.’” I threw his campaign words out, having no idea what else to say.

  “What a load of bullshit that slogan was.” She laughed, and it went all the way to her eyes. “Mom came up with that one, and Dad loved it. Mostly because it was a load of bullshit, and he knew it.”

  “How did your mom feel about the politics?” Here was the real meat of the situation.

  “She hated having to be the perfect wife, but she was good at it. She also loved that it kept Dad busy, so he couldn’t travel with us. And when you’re going for the gold, you’re on the road more than you’re home. She never really said much, though. Mom never said anything bad about my dad; she just never said much about him at all. When he wasn’t with us, it was like he didn’t exist.”

  How strange. Out of sight, out of mind? Happy to pretend he didn’t exist for a while?

  “Did they fight a lot?”

  “Never,” she said, a bit too fast for my taste.

  “Really?” I prodded.

  “Not fight, exactly, at least not until this last campaign. This was the biggest yet for him, and it was costing us a lot of money out of our own pocket. Dad said his campaign contributions would pay for most everything, but it hasn’t turned out that way. Without asking, he sold off trophy saddles, bridles, and lots of other tack. We used to have three really nice gooseneck trailers, so we could all travel separately, and now we just have the one.” She looked around, as if to see if anyone might be in earshot. “I heard them arguing about a second mortgage on the house. She refused to sign the papers. Said he could take everything else, but he wasn’t taking the roof from over her head.” She looked around again.

  Mimi texted me back that she’d dropped Cortnie off at the office and was on her way to pick me up.

  “So they argued about money.”

  “But not like other couples do. My mom was afraid of my dad. Hell, everyone was afraid of my dad. I’ll bet you even the cops in there were afraid of my dad when he was alive,” she said, and shivered.

  “Was he violent?”

  “Only with his words.” Galynn squeezed her eyes shut and didn’t say anything for almost a minute. “That man could kill a person with his words.”

  “Did you love him?”

  Her head jerked up, and she frowned at me. “What kind of question is that? Of course I loved him. He’s my dad.”

  “I only ask because you don’t seem too sad about his passing, or worked up about the murder.” Calling a spade a spade.

  “I shed my tears. I have to be strong for my mom. Does she look like she needs a daughter who is going to break down any minute? No. And I have to be there for her, like she’s been here for me all these years.” Galynn stood. “I have to go check on my mom. I hope your ride comes soon, or maybe those cops can get you home.”

  She walked into the house and left me on the porch with my thoughts. And my thoughts led me to the bank, and how I was going to get into that damned deposit box. I got up and walked back into the house. I didn’t knock, figuring the cops were there anyway. Galynn would either kick me out, or she wouldn’t even notice I was there at all.

  Damn, if the stars were aligned in my favor. I grabbed one of the pre-signed photos of Bucky Cox and put it with my photo of Galynn. Now I had his signature. I could practice it on my way back to town. They probably wouldn’t ask me for I.D., just my signature on the card, and if it matched close enough, I was in.

  120

  Mimi

  I was about sick of driving all over the county and it wasn’t even noon yet, or maybe it was. Fine, it was after noon. When I turned off Highway 101, onto Pesante Road, a cop car came flying up behind me. Damn it, I thought, I’d only been going seven miles per hour over the speed limit. Charles regularly ran at least fifteen over and never got pulled over. And I was coming to pick him up. He’d be paying this ticket.

  Relief flooded me when the cop went around me and sped off around the first turn. I found it a bit strange that a Salinas Police Department vehicle was so far out of the city corporate limits. I’d have figured this to be sheriff’s territory, but then it was still Salinas. Sort of.

  I stayed right at the speed limit all the way to the end of Pesante Road. I didn’t want a ticket, and that was too close for comfort.

  When I arrived to pick up Charles, the car that had passed me was up at the house. Nick, Gabe, and Charles stood in the yard in front of the Cox home. Rayna was being put into the cop car, hands cuffed behind her back.

  I drove up and got out of the car. “What’s going on?”

  “Rayna has been arrested for the murder of Bucky Cox,” Charles said. “They are taking her to the pokey.”

  Nick glared at Charles.

  Galynn stormed out of the house. “I’ve called our lawyer. You have no right to do this. My mother didn’t do anything. She couldn’t have done anything. This is crazy.”

  “Miss Cox, I need you to sit down and be quiet before I have another car come take you in.” Nick spoke softly and evenly. He kept his arms at his sides, and his body language loose.

  She pointed at me and Charles. “It’s you people, you crazy people, and that son of a bitch Skinner. You’ve all made our lives hell. If you’d have just stayed away, we could have handled this by ourselves.” Now she was screaming at the top of her lungs, tears pouring from her eyes.

  “Handled what, Galynn?” Charles took on the same demeanor as Nick.

  “Stay out of this, Charles,” Nick warned. “You don’t know everything.”

  “Everything? You mean like that fact that Bucky wasn’t even my fucking father?”

  Oh shit!

  Gabe’s face softened. “You knew?”

  “You know?” she screamed at him. She turned to go in the house.

  “Galynn, I need you to stay out here. You can’t go in the house unaccompanied.” Nick reached for her arm, but she jerked it away.

  “Or what, you’re going to shoot me?”

  Gabe said, “Yes.”

  “I don’t really give a damn, shoot me. My life is over anyway. I don’t want to be a bastard. The whole world will know my life has been a lie.” She slammed her head against the door frame. “How did you know? Did she tell you?”

  “The life insurance papers.” Nick handed her the folded up papers he had in his left hand.

  The fight left her. “That’s how he found out, too.”

  She leaned against the house and slid to the ground.

  “Found out what?” Good gracious, I’d missed out on a lot while I was in town with Cortnie.

  “The blood tests,” she whispered.

  Charles filled in the blanks. “So Bucky had life insurance taken out on the family?”

  “He said it was just in case something happened. He’d taken the second mortgage on the house.” She looked at Charles. “I know my mom said no, but he forged her signature and did it anyway. No one said no to my dad, or not my dad, and got away with it. He did what he wanted to do. And afterward, he got scared. What if something happened to him? He didn’t want me and my mom to lose the ranch.”


  Well, wasn’t that nice of him? Asshole had a heart, sort of.

  “No one thought anything of it. What was done was done, only when the blood tests were done and the papers came back, there was something not right. Bucky was O, Mom was A, and I was AB. See the problem?”

  Oh, shit. I saw the problem. It was impossible for a parent with O blood, either positive or negative to have a child with AB blood type.

  “And Bucky found out?” I asked.

  “Bucky went ballistic. He demanded to know who my mom had cheated with. But he knew, and it was only once. It didn’t matter that it was only once; he wanted nothing to do with my mom from that moment forward.” Galynn shook like a leaf in the breeze.

  “But they were still together,” I said. After twenty-five years of marriage, there had to be something left.

  “My mom reminded him of all of the times he cheated on her, and then she said something about rape.” I thought Galynn was going to vomit.

  “Emmet Hollister,” I said. Everyone looked at me.

  I volunteered the story. I told them everything, how she’d come to Rayna, and how Rayna denied it, and refused to help Emmet.

  “That doesn’t sound like my mom. I would have been twelve when that happened. I would have known. Wouldn’t I?” She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.

  “I don’t think that’s something you’d have known.” Nick assured her.

  “Well, when my mom mentioned the rape, my dad, I mean, Bucky, went apeshit on her.”

  I had to know, “When was this?”

  “He’d gotten the mortgage papers back last week, and then he purchased the life insurance. I’m not sure when he got the paperwork, but he saw the opened envelope on the dining room table yesterday morning, before we went out to get Mojo ready.”

  “Did you know your mom was going to go down to the bucking chutes and kill your dad?” Gabe asked.

  Galynn didn’t say anything for a moment. She rubbed her eyes again, then started to get up. Stopped. Got up. “She didn’t kill him.”

  “But our evidence shows that she did.” Nick said. He opened the file in his hand, the one he’d had the insurance papers on top of.