Abby pushed her dessert around on the plate. “And Cami, what about her?”
Bobby got up to refill their coffee. “I don’t know, Abby. I’m trying to sort through her story. I keep coming back to one question—who would Henson agree to meet in the wee hours of the morning?”
“I know, I was thinking the same—but Cami, I just can’t see her as a killer, and especially not a killer such as that, a garrote for heaven sakes.”
“People kill with what’s handy sometimes, Abby.”
“But if you set up a victim in advance, a meeting, then wouldn’t you come prepared if you wanted to kill them?”
“Maybe the meeting was not to kill him, or wasn’t meant to, and things went wrong somehow?”
Abby paused to take a sip of her coffee and ponder that thought. “Are we back to a crime of passion again?”
“More or less. I can’t see all the pieces just yet. Something is missing. I need a motive, Abby. I need a strong motive, one that would make someone run the risk of killing him at that time, at that place.”
“Surely you have many more suspects with better motives than Cami, right?”
“Let’s talk about something else, shall we?” Bobby stood and went around to Abby’s chair.
Abby stood and Bobby bent to kiss her. She felt little ripples of pleasure start in her chest and work their way down her body. She stepped back when Bobby released her. “Oh, okay, what do you want to talk about?”
Bobby took her hand and led her into toward the family room. “Let’s talk about you and me.”
Abby could feel her stomach flip-flopping as she considered those words. Bobby led her to the big overstuffed sofa in the family room. “Here, shoes off, feet up, and relax. I’ll going for more wine.”
“Oh, no more wine, I have to drive home.”
“Well, you don’t actually,” Bobby said.
Abby’s phone pinged before she had time to respond. She took it out of her jacket pocket. “Oh, it’s Cami again.” She looked up at Bobby and shrugged.
“Again?”
“Yes, I was going to tell you—well I think I was. I’m so confused. Cami sent me a text before. She wanted to meet and talk, and well—did not want me to tell you.”
“Abby, you can’t get in the middle of this. It’s bad, it could be obstruction even. Let’s not even think about that. Please, stay out of this.”
“I didn’t respond to her, Bobby. I’m not dumb, but she is my oldest friend. Put yourself in my place.”
“I get that Abby, but this is a murder case.”
“But what if she has something important to tell me that could help the case?”
“Then she needs to tell me, not you.”
“I can’t just ignore her, Bobby. What do I say or do here?”
“Just tell her you can’t get involved in the case and urge her to tell me what she knows.”
Abby looked down at her phone again. “She says she must meet me and tell me something, it’s urgent.” She held the phone so that Bobby could see for himself.
“Okay, let’s do this. You agree to meet her, but you will record the conversation with your phone.”
“I guess I can, but I feel sort of awful doing that, Bobby.”
“It protects you, Abby. In case this comes up, you will be cooperating, not obstructing. And you wanted to be involved. Well, now you are.”
Abby sighed and sent Cami a text to come to the ranch at nine the next morning and put the phone back on the table. “About that wine—”
Bobby laughed and poured her a glass. “This sofa is comfortable. If you dose off, I’ll just cover you up and wake you in the morning.”
“I will not dose off, as you put it. I’m 33 not 83. But it is comfy.” Abby patted the cushions. “Come sit with me and let’s think about motives.”
“Oh, Abby, for goodness sakes!”
“I’m a mood killer, right?”
Bobby sat beside her. “Seriously. But okay, let’s talk motives.”
Abby woke on Bobby’s sofa, sprawled out across those comfortable pillows, skirt hiked up around her hips. She looked around and moaned. Her phone was on the floor next to a pad and pen that she and Bobby had used to write out their theories. There was no sign of Bobby, but she thought she caught the odor of brewing coffee. She sat up and ran her hands through her hair and imagined what she must look like as she made her way to the nearest bathroom to access the damage.
After washing her face and brushing her hair she felt more human and followed the smells to the kitchen where she found Bobby putting bacon onto paper towels. “Hey, lazy, come on and eat. We have to get you back to the ranch for your meeting, and I’m pretty sure you’d like to have on more suitable clothes.” He pointed to her now wrinkled dress with his fork.
“What time is it?” Abby pulled out a chair at the table.
“Just shy of seven so you have time to eat.” Bobby sat a large steaming mug of coffee in front of her. “Here, start on that.”
Abby was surprised how hungry she was and ate all of the eggs and bacon that Bobby had served her. Now she sat sipping on her coffee and thinking about her meeting with Cami at nine. She was going to record her oldest friend who was involved in a murder case. She shook her head as she wondered how things had gotten to this point.
“It’s all about Henson, Bobby.”
“What is?”
“I mean of course it’s all about him, he’s the victim, but I mean him coming here set things in motion. Someone was so upset about something that they followed him here to kill him.”
“Again, Abby, you can’t assume that. One, maybe they met him to make a deal of some sort and it went wrong. Two, maybe it was someone in his own group. But you are right, it is all about him in that he had to trust the person he was to meet, or if not trust them, he had to want to know what they had to say, or say something to them that was so crucial that the went out before dawn to meet them on the sly.”
“Wouldn’t that likely rule out members of his group? After all, they could pick another time, a better time.”
“I agree, Abby, but right now I can’t rule out anyone. I’m curious to see what Cami might know, but even more so about what she is so desperate to tell you.”
“Oh Bobby, you don’t think she wants to confess to killing him, do you?”
“I doubt that. If she did it, why would she confess it to anyone? I don’t think she would have confessed to shooting at him if she had killed him later. She’s not stupid. She had to know admitting that would put her in jeopardy immediately.”
“But she doesn’t have an alibi.”
Bobby stood and took the plates to the sink. “No one does. It was before dawn and unless you are the killer, or happened to have had a bad case of insomnia, who would be up and roaming around outside?”
“Motive, motive, and motive. Who has one?”
“Exactly, Abby. That’s my task, to find one. I sure hope Cami can shed some light there. She knew a lot about him, even if she didn’t know exactly everything about his personal life early on.”
“Okay, well, I need to get back home, shower and change, and make sure I know how to record on this phone.”
Bobby walked Abby out to the car. “Just act natural, listen, and ask questions you would normally ask, don’t sound like you’re quizzing her too much.”
“Yes sheriff.”
Bobby leaned in and kissed her, and this one was long and slow, and sweet. It took Abby’s breath away and she clutched the handle of her car door to keep steady.
“And be careful, Abby. I’ll be nearby.”
Abby found it difficult to speak so she nodded and got into the car and drove off. She tried to forget the kiss and concentrate on her mission—record Cami, ask good questions. But the kiss was still on her lips.
Things at the ranch looked quiet as she drove in and parked the car in the driveway at the side of the house. Abby looked at her watch, she still had an hour to get ready before Cami was due. She
made her way to the bathroom, took a speedy shower and put her hair on top of her head. She put on her most comfortable jeans and tee, and the minimal amount of makeup. She glanced at her phone, tested the record feature again, and hoped Cami didn’t notice she was clutching the phone when they talked. After all, she told herself, most people did walk around with one these days, especially on a working ranch.
Abby heard a car and went to the kitchen door. She saw Cami’s blonde hair shining in the morning sun as she got out of the car and looked around for a few seconds. Abby hit the record button and opened the door.
Cami looked tired and had dark circles under her eyes. Abby noticed she was chewing on her thumb nail, her nervous “tell” and Abby felt sorry for her. “Hey, how are you doing, Cami?”
“Good as I’m going to get today, I think. Thanks for meeting with me, Abby.”
“So, what’s so important that we are skulking around?”
“I know I’m under suspicion, Abby, but I wanted to look you in the eye and tell you it was not me. Yes, I shot at Sam, but it’s not like you think. I got up that morning and decided I’d hunt him down on the trail. I knew he’d stay off the path the group was taking, and I knew there was only one other trail he’d take, so I went after him. I wanted to see his face when I rode up, and I wanted to have it out with him once and for all. I wanted to get him out of my life. But he was not alone on the trail. He was with a woman, a blonde. She was standing beside her horse at the edge of that tree grove. I saw him get off his horse and they started kissing and then they talked for a minute and then they got back on their horses. The next thing I knew I had the gun in my hand. I had picked up the rifle in the stable, you know, the one that Leon takes out when he checks fences. I knew that area had snakes and coyotes and I wanted some protection. Anyway, after I saw what they were doing, knowing he was still after me, and cheating on his wife, well, I just saw red, and I shot at him. The blonde left him behind, took off on her horse in the opposite direction and Sam’s horse must thrown him when I fired the shot. But I had taken off too, on my way back to the ranch so I didn’t know he got hurt, Abby.”
“Who was it, the blonde, do you know?”
“I’m not sure—exactly. They were too far away for me to see her face clearly. I’m not even sure she knew he was thrown because I didn’t know. After she took off, I did as well. It all happened in seconds.”
“And you didn’t go down to see if he was okay?”
“No, I knew I didn’t hit him. I wasn’t aiming at him. I didn’t realize that his horse took off or that Sam’s leg was injured. Like I said, it was seconds, and I just wanted to get out of there. I realized what I had done and that it was stupid. I hadn’t slept for days, I wasn’t making good decisions, Abby.”
“No, you were not. Did you tell all this to Bobby?”
“Well, not as such. I mean, I didn’t dwell on the part about seeing him with another woman and feeling like a fool. It would make me sound even more guilty of killing him.”
“Bobby is not stupid, Cami. He’ll put it all together eventually, so it’s best to tell him everything so that he can find the real killer. Oh, and back up, what did you mean by you aren’t exactly sure who the woman was?”
“I know this just makes me sound more like a jealous idiot, but I think it may have been Teresa Moore, your PR lady. They had business connections, or at least they knew each other through business or social contacts. In fact, I saw her in Hawaii when he was there, but I didn’t know who she was at the time.”
“Did you tell Bobby?”
“No—because I was afraid that he’d think I was just trying to cast blame to take the pressure off me, and I can’t be sure it was her, Abby.”
“Cami, really! You can’t keep things like this from Bobby. It’s not high school, this is real, it’s a murder investigation.”
“I know, Abby. That’s why I wanted to talk to you about it. I need to know what I should do now. You know Bobby best, so what will be do if I tell him?”
“Just be honest with him, Cami. He’s not out to put the blame on an innocent person. He wants to find the real killer, not just close a case.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll call him when I get home and make arrangements to go in to correct my statement.”
“Good thinking, and Cami, no more evasion. Anything else you need to say, now is the time, and the place is when you are meeting with Bobby. For your own sake, you have to be as honest as you can. Even if you saw something you don’t think matters, it could. Bobby knows things we don’t. So, tell him everything you can think of related to Sam Henson.”
“I will, and thanks again, Abby. I know I’ve been a real pain and been immature and selfish. It’s been me-me-me, for a long time now. It was all about my image, what I wanted, and when I had to admit to myself that I was just one of many women in Sam’s life, it really crushed me.”
“You are a strong, smart, and accomplished woman, not to mention, beautiful, Cami. You’ll bounce back, I have no doubt. Go on home and call Bobby, okay?”
“Going now, and thanks again.”
Abby sent Bobby a text telling him that Cami should be calling him to set up a time to correct her statement, and that she had the recording whenever he wanted it. Bobby replied that he’d listen to her statement before he came to hear the recording. Abby invited him for dinner at seven.
Though she was happy that Cami had told her about what had happened, Abby couldn’t help but think that blaming Teresa was convenient. Then she hated herself for being suspicious of her old friend. This week was making her doubt everything and everyone.
As if she had conjured her up, her phone pinged with a message from Teresa Moore. She wanted to meet to discuss PR strategy and how to fix any damage that the recent events may have done.
Abby, curious to hear what Teresa might have to say, agreed to the meeting. She had to smile a little as she wondered who would be questioning who at the meeting. She had a feeling Teresa wanted to grill her about the murder details. Abby knew one thing for sure though—she wanted to end her professional relationship with Teresa Moore. She just wanted to make sure she did it the right way.
As she went about her duties around the ranch, Abby tried to rationalize her decision not to tell Bobby that Teresa was coming to meet with her. To be more accurate, her decision not tell him just yet. After all, it was a business meeting, her business. She knew he would not approve of their meeting, but Abby thought she could find out more about the case from Teresa in person.
Chapter Eight
Bobby arrived at seven, right on time, and with two bottles of her favorite wine. She had a twinge of guilt that she had decided to keep her upcoming meeting with Teresa a secret.
“Okay, you brought two bottles of my favorite wine and none of your beer, so you must be trying to get on my good side, sheriff.”
“From where I stand, all your sides are good.” Bobby gave her an eyebrow raise and a grin as he put the wine on the counter. “Now, what are you feeding me?”
“I see, so it’s to be eat first, drink wine and talk later kind of night.”
“We can do both, Abby, but to warn you, I missed lunch.”
“Very well, I give up, chili and cornbread as promised, coming up.” Abby dished up the chili in the bowls her mom had used so many times when she had served her own chili. “I’m using mom’s bowls as a good luck charm in the hope that I did justice to her recipe.”
“No offense but I’m so hungry anything would be good. But I am sure your chili will rival your mom’s.”
“Good Answer. You go ahead, I need to check my phone to see if Cami texted me back.”
Abby put the cornbread in front of Bobby who was already well into his bowl of chili.
“What’s going on with Cami? Is she trying to pick your brain about the case?” Bobby managed to ask between bites.
Abby looked at her phone and scrolled through a few messages, now from Cami. “I’m not sure. She wanted to talk, bu
t never confirmed with me. I can guess she’s going nuts feeling cooped up, still waiting on a hearing, and possible attempted murder charges though, so let’s give her a break, huh? Oh, well, nothing from her.” Abby put her phone down, dished up her own bowl of chili and joined Bobby at the table. “Hmm, this is not so bad.”
“Are you kidding? I’m ready for seconds.”
“Help yourself. I know you’re a growing boy and all.”
“Ha, I remember your mom used to make that comment every time I was over here. She was always feeding me.”
“I remember. They wanted a boy, both of them. I was a disappointment all the way around it seems.”
“Oh, come on, Abby. Your parents adored you.”
“I know they loved me, but they never came to terms with me wanting a life outside this ranch, this town. Maybe dad finally did at the end, but I always felt as if I had to do especially well to prove leaving here was a smart thing.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Almost all of our generation left here to go to college. Things change and making a living on a ranch was not such a viable option for our generation.”
“Tell me about it.” Abby got up to open the wine. “Anything new on the case?”
“I’ve got some follow-up to do tomorrow with Brian Foster, Henson’s brother-in-law and Jill Henson regarding Henson’s business enemies. Seems there are many of them. I’m meeting them at one of their attorney’s offices tomorrow in San Antonio. I should have some more information back on Miss Moore as well. She seems to have a lot of business irons in the fire too.”
“Attorney for the family, hmm.” Abby poured the wine. “Have you uncovered any hidden agendas that would put them on the list as suspects?”
“I suspect everyone, Miss Marple.”
“Even Cami? Is she still on your list?”
“It’s still a long list, Abby. I hope to narrow it down as soon as all the lab reports and CSI reports are available, which should be tomorrow.”
Murder at the Dude Ranch Page 10