They both looked toward the sound of an approaching car. Bobby looked at his watch. “That should be Ollie and Cami. They made good time. I’ll bet Ollie used his lights. He’s like a kid with that car sometimes.”
Abby turned to go into the house. “Why don’t you use the kitchen. I’ll go back to my bedroom and finish some things I started and give you privacy. Honestly, I need to re-group before I see Cami anyway. I’m still really annoyed with her and how she has acted lately.”
“Okay, but what about Sandy? I don’t want her coming in.”
“She and the cleaning crew won’t be back in here until one, and then they’ll be in the guest house first, and not here until noon.”
“Thanks, I’ll come say goodbye before I head out after my talk with Cami.”
“Yes, I know you’ll want to be on time for your interview with Teresa Moore at the department.”
Bobby laughed and started toward the arriving car.
Abby made a quick exit though she wanted nothing more than to hear what Cami would have to say to Bobby, but she knew that was not going to happen. If she could get over being mad at Cami, maybe the two of them could patch things up and Cami could explain her behavior over lunch, since she would be an overnight guest with her again. Though Abby had to wonder what her parents thought about her avoiding them so much. It was also annoying that Cami was using her home as a hotel.
Though Abby had fun kidding Bobby about Teresa Moore, she could feel herself getting an attack of jealousy when she thought of Teresa’s attraction to Bobby at the restaurant. It was plain to see. She felt sure Teresa would use all of her attributes if it served her purpose. Of course, Bobby would never tell her if she did try anything like that, but Abby did not trust Teresa. Now she wondered if Teresa Moore had a serious fling with Sam Henson at some point in the past. Even if that was true, why kill him? The motive was floating out there somewhere, and she hoped Bobby could find it. She picked up her phone and called Evan to pick his brain.
Evan answered on the second ring. “Hey, how is it out there? Guests gone?”
“Yes, and Mrs. Henson was very nice and told me she wouldn’t bad-mouth me to the world. So, I’m grateful. Bobby is questioning Cami now and Teresa Moore later.”
“About Teresa, Abby, I’m kind of sorry I recommended her to you now. Her rep is great for doing a good PR job, but not so great as a person as I warned you before.”
“Yeah, I believe the term man-eater was used.”
“She is that it seems, but I hadn’t thought she’d hit on Bobby. She always went for the rich business guys.”
“Bobby can take care of himself, and if that’s his type then he’s not mine, Evan.”
“Well said, cousin. Now, tell me, is Cami really a suspect?”
“I just don’t know anymore. I would have said, absolutely no before, and did say it, I think, but her behavior has been erratic and irresponsible, and downright selfish. She’s changed, Evan.”
“We all do, Abby. To be honest, she was always some of those things you named, but you didn’t want to see them.”
“She was my best friend for nearly 18 years Evan. How could I be that wrong about her?”
“I’m not saying she was a terrible person, Abby. I’m just saying you didn’t see her flaws, and you covered for her a lot.”
“Maybe. Oh, I don’t want to think about it. She is not a killer, Evan, I just know it.”
“Put your faith in Bobby, Abby. He’s no fool and was always a good judge of people. He had good instincts above all else, and he’s fair.”
“I have no choice but to let this all play out and hope the real killer is caught. And, I might add, hope that I still have a business after the dust settles. The sooner this is wrapped up the better for the Henson family too. It must be torture knowing someone is still out there who did this.”
“Take care of yourself, Abby, and call me if you need me. But be wary of Teresa. Some of what I hear is gossip for sure, but the consensus is there is not much she won’t do to get what she wants. The words, ruthless and sociopath were used, need I say more?”
“Well, that’s scary. I’d already decided to end my relationship with her, but that bit of news would have been the decider for sure.”
“Just handle it with care, Abby. If you make an enemy of her you will regret it, I’m afraid. So be very careful in ending the relationship.”
“Thanks for the advice, Evan. Come out to dinner this weekend if you don’t have plans.”
“I appreciate that, but I actually have plans with a lovely lady I met at the grocery store of all things. This is our third date and I still like her, and wait for it—she still likes me, imagine that.”
“Wow, that is something. I want the details next week. Come for lunch any day you want.”
“I’ll call you, cousin, and thanks for nudging me back to the dating world.”
“Ah, well, you kind of did the same for me, cousin.”
“Yep, and I want an update on that when I come for lunch too.”
“In-between an early and unplanned grand opening, attempted murder, and then an actual murder behind my stables, I’ve had precious little time to dwell on my love life.”
“I guess you have a good point. Still, all this will blow over, Abby, and you can get back to your business and back to Bobby.”
“Maybe, Evan.”
“I can hear that you need another pep talk. I’ll be out Tuesday noon for lunch so tell Sandy to go easy on the calories I have to look good in my swim trunks. I’m thinking of taking my new lady friend, Caroline Franklin, to Hawaii for her birthday next month. If all keeps going well, of course.”
“Oh Evan, that is so great, and so hopeful of you. You have turned a corner I think.”
“Yeah, well, maybe. Anyway, see you next Tuesday. Hugs to Sandy.”
Abby had just ended the call from Evan when she heard the tapping at the door. Thinking it was Bobby coming to say goodbye she opened the door ready to tease him about his upcoming interview with Teresa. Yes, it was Bobby, but he had on his sheriff’s face. Abby stepped back, afraid. “What is it, what now?”
“Cami just confessed to shooting at Sam on the trail. It was her.”
“What? I don’t believe it.”
“She said she just meant to scare him, and she didn’t even know he had fallen off the horse until later. But she denies killing him.”
“Oh no, what are you going to do?”
“I have to take her in for a formal statement now, and she may face charges for shooting at him. She asked that you call her parents and ask them to post bail for her later.”
“Bail? Surely you can let her go, Bobby, you know her.”
“I used to know her, Abby. And she confessed to this, and I have no choice. Her reckless behavior caused damage and it could have been worse. Now, she is under suspicion for the murder as well, just because of this.”
“What? No, Bobby, murder, no way she did that. Oh, how on earth can I explain all this to her parents?”
“Just leave out the murder part for now, maybe that will be easier for them. There’s no need in going that far right now. That may change later, but let’s take one step at a time.”
“Where is she?”
“Ollie is taking her to the station now. I have to go on too. The sooner I get her formal statement and make the charge, the sooner she can post bail and go home. She won’t be allowed to leave town until this thing is settled, Abby.”
“Right, okay, I guess I’d better figure out what to tell her parents. I’m sure they will insist she stay with them and not come back here.”
“It is likely that will be a condition of bond, and that will get you off the hook if she wants to be here instead, which I think would be a bad idea,” Bobby said.
“Yes, well, I just don’t know what to say or think.”
Abby walked Bobby out to the car and felt she had truly crossed over into some alternate universe, and into someone else’s life.
Abby wasn’t sure how she got through the rest of the day. She went about her duties, talked to Danny, Leon and Sandy about her plan to continue to try to get more guests, and then locked up the guest house. Somehow, time went on, and she looked at her watch, and realized it was dinner time and she had no appetite at all. She wandered through the house and ended up in the kitchen eating cereal at eight o’clock. She kept looking at her phone, no news from anyone. She sent Evan a text to let him know what happened. He responded with a confused face emoji saying he was at a dinner and would call her the next day for an update. She only hoped she’d have one to give him.
By nine o’clock she was fighting off the urge to text Bobby. Had Cami gone home? How was the Teresa Moore interview? Surely, he would know she would like an update. She tried to take her mind off it all by reading a new murder mystery she had brought with her from San Antonio. It had been on her nightstand waiting for her. Now was the time.
She had read three pages when her phone pinged. It was Bobby finally.
The message was short: Cami made bond, Teresa Moore interview, part two tomorrow. Will explain tomorrow night, dinner my place, 7?
Abby’s reply was even shorter: Yes.
She tried to go back to her book but now all her thoughts were on the real murder that had happened on her property. Abby gave up on the book and got up to find her laptop. She typed garrote into the search bar. She told herself it was just for more knowledge, but what she was really looking for, and she hated to admit it, was if a woman could use it to take down a larger man. The answer was, yes.
Abby pulled a notebook and pen from the drawer in her nightstand. Maybe if she wrote everything out a motive might reveal itself, or the lack of one might help her eliminate people. She made a list of everyone involved except herself and her staff, column one. Then, column two, she tried to think of any and all motives. Finally, knowing that Cami had been the one who tried to shoot Henson, or shot at him for her own reasons, she focused on who he would have agreed to meet in the early morning hours behind the stables, and why. That was the hard one to figure because of the unknown relationships that Henson had. Who were his enemies? She had no idea, so she concentrated on those close to him. She reasoned an outsider would have a harder time finding the ranch and coming in unseen. Once on the ranch, it would have been dark and hard to tell one building from the next. She concluded it had to be someone who knew the ranch, someone who had at least been to the ranch before. She just couldn’t see an outsider picking that way to kill him off. It had to be someone who didn’t want to wait for him to return home for some reason. Or was it a crime of passion, of opportunity? Where did they get the rope? At midnight, she gave up and turned out her light. Abby felt no closer to figuring out who the killer was than when she started. She hoped that Bobby was having more luck.
Chapter Seven
The next day greeted Abby with stormy weather and sultry, humid air. The staff was grumpy and tired, and everyone, herself included, seemed to be crashing after the adrenalin high of the last week. Danny called her to say that he and Leon were going to clean out the stables and then clean the saddles. Sandy had asked for the day off, so the house was quiet and free of the good smells of coffee and baking she had come to expect. After she ate her usual bowl of cereal and had two cups of coffee, she made her way to the shower wondering what she should do with her day.
After getting dressed Abby checked her emails and was thrilled to find they had three requests for information about time at the ranch. She pulled up her calendar and looked at the dates. One couple wanted the last week in July, and a family of four wanted the first week in August. The last request was from a writer doing research on Texas ranches and wanted seven days July 5th through 12th. She noted them all on her calendar and responded to each with cost and information about booking. She closed her laptop and did a little dance. Maybe she wouldn’t sink the ship after all! If they all confirmed, she would be in fair shape for a first summer and could hope for some autumn business in the future.
Abby looked at her phone for the third time but no word from anyone, not even Evan. She decided to finally unpack the boxes of clothes in the bedroom. She would be running out of things to wear soon and was tired of washing and wearing the same things. Later, feeling pretty good about herself and the booking inquiries, she finished up in the bedroom and went to fix lunch. She decided to wait until everyone confirmed the bookings before she told the staff, but it was hard to keep the news to herself.
Bobby called to confirm dinner and she had to bite her tongue to keep from asking him about the case. He seemed in a hurry and busy, and she told him she’d drive to his place and bring dessert. She went to the freezer now hoping there was a strawberry cheesecake left, and she was in luck. She heard her phone ringing but by the time she got back to the bedroom the call had gone to voice mail. She listened to the message and was surprised to hear it was from Cami, asking her to call back. Abby hesitated, something she would never have done before. She had to ask herself why—did she think Cami might have killed Henson? No, but she would not have thought she would have shot at him either. Still, she couldn’t quite see Cami luring Sam Henson in the stable yard, sneaking up behind him and strangling him. She wasn’t ready to talk to Cami just yet though, maybe later.
Abby had just put the phone down when it pinged with a text message. It was Cami, and the message was short and to the point: call me, I have to tell you something, but you can’t tell Bobby.
Abby put the phone back on the table. She had to decide how far into this she wanted to be. Could she talk to Cami without getting herself more involved, and making Bobby angry? Running her hands through her hair, she picked up the phone again, and sent Cami a text: can’t talk now, going to Bobby’s for dinner. Maybe tomorrow.
Rather than wait for any further contact with Cami, she concentrated on getting ready to go to Bobby’s house and pushing all other thoughts down. But there was one thought that Abby could not keep buried—what did Cami want to tell her?
Abby was relieved that Cami did not contact her again, and she began to relax a little as she drove to Bobby’s house later that evening. Though she had seen the old place many times, she had not seen it since Bobby bought the house and land and started his renovations. She turned down the dirt road that led to his property. She could see evidence of new fencing as she made her way toward the house. She turned the corner and there it was, a two-story house sitting on a slight rise. The yard like the house was a work in progress, but she could see Bobby had done a lot to both. To her untrained eye, the house looked finished except for painting. She pulled up to the side of the house and got out of the car with the dessert in her insulated bag.
“Hey, come on in.” Bobby opened the door and came down the steps toward her. “What do you think?”
“It looks wonderful, Bobby.” Abby could barely see the end of the fence line at the back of the house. “You’ve got a large plot here.”
“Yes, and I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the land. Come on in and I’ll get you a glass of wine.”
Abby followed him inside and handed him the bag with the strawberry shortcake. “I was amazed at how great the house looks outside, but wow, inside too. Bobby, this looks fantastic. Did you get a decorator?”
“Not really, well not a professional one. A friend from Dallas gave me some pointers. Basically, I just ordered what she told me to order. I can’t take much credit. Come on through to the kitchen. There, I do take credit.”
Abby could see what he meant as she walked into the huge country-style kitchen. A long table that could seat a dozen people was in the center of the room. The dark wood was shined to a high gloss.
Though the appliances were all high-end and high-tech, the look was like Modern met French-Country and they had a baby. “Geez, Bobby, this is impressive.”
“I wanted a kitchen I could live in, a place I could work, cook, have guests, a functional but comfortable place. I put that area in last week.” Bobby pointed to the far end of the room where there was a sitting area complete with fireplace, two chairs, and a wall-mounted television.
“Wow, you put my remodeled kitchen to shame, Bobby.”
“You have a working ranch, Abby. Mine is just a home or will be. I can’t see myself doing much ranching with my job. I just hated that cramped kitchen I had in Dallas and vowed if I ever had another place, it would be the one room that would be like I wanted.”
Abby ran her hands over the table. “This is some table.”
“I tried to use reclaimed wood when I could. I found a guy right in San Antonio who does these. He’s building bookcases for me now. Come on through and we’ll do the tour and then steaks on the grill.”
Wine in hand Abby followed Bobby through the two-story house, all furnished except two guest bedrooms. She resisted the urge to point out he had a lot of room for one man. Instead she complimented him on his taste and the house in general. By the time they made it back to the kitchen she was getting hungry.
Bobby kept up a flow of conversation as he went back and forth to the grill, and made the salads, resisting her efforts to help. Abby fought the urge to ask about the case almost as hard as she fought the urge to tell him about Cami’s text. By the time they got to dessert she couldn’t resist any longer. “So, anything you can tell me about the case?”
Bobby laughed. “I’m impressed, you made it to dessert before asking me.”
“Yeah, and don’t think that wasn’t difficult. So?”
“Nothing new, but we are working on some leads to outside associates. Teresa gave us some contact information for some of their mutual friends. We’re checking out a few things there, and other avenues. She is coming back in Monday for a second interview. I wanted time to get a bit more information about some things before I brought her back.”
Murder at the Dude Ranch Page 9