Never Con A Con Man (An Arizona High Country Mystery Book 1)

by Suzanne Floyd

  “I’m sorry we didn’t have much time to visit. Maybe we’ll have more time at Christmas.”

  “About that,” she hesitated. “I think I’ll skip the fun this year. It will be different when my sons give me some grandchildren to play with.” She lifted one eyebrow at me. I could feel my face heating up. It was clear that she wouldn’t mind if Drake and I got together. If what Drake hinted at the night before, she might get that wish someday soon after all.

  Sadness settled over me when she left. My own mom was on the other side of the country. I missed her more than I wanted to admit. While I was growing up, we’d been close. But she’d always been looking for something, or someone else, in her life. Hopefully, she would realize it wasn’t another man she needed. Maybe Ted would help her to find the One that would fill the void for her. I wanted her to finally be happy.

  An hour before closing Drake pushed open the front door. “Is there somewhere we can talk?” He stopped in front of my desk. From his serious expression I figured this was about police work, not us.

  I spread my hands out to indicate the entire building. “I guess this will do just fine.”

  When the meaning of my words sunk in, he took in the fact that the library was empty. “Where’s Linda?”

  “I sent her home a few minutes ago. There was no sense in both of us sitting here with nothing to do.”

  A slow smile spread across his rugged face. “We’re alone?”

  “We are.” I nodded. “What can I do for you?” I stayed behind my desk to avoid temptation, but it didn’t do any good.

  With predatory precision, he moved around my desk, a teasing smile on his lips. Pulling me out of the chair, he wrapped his arms around my waist crushing me against his hard chest. After several heart-stopping kisses, he let me sit back down. I was disappointed and grateful it didn’t go any further, all at the same time.

  Seated in the chair across from me, he grew serious again. “I just came from the hardware store. Did you know Dad has Hannah over there? Why isn’t Jane taking care of her?”

  I shrugged. “You need to ask your dad that question. I don’t think he trusts her with Hannah right now.” I paused for a moment before going on. “She probably didn’t spend the night at home. When she was in a while ago, she was wearing the same clothes she had on at dinner.”

  He shook his head, a look of disgust on his handsome face. “Was she sober?

  “I think so, maybe a little hung over.” I shrugged.

  “Why did she come here? She never appeared the least bit interested in reading a magazine, let alone a book.”

  “She actually came in twice. The first time she wanted to tell me what a bunch of hypocrites we all are.” I explained about her little tirade against everyone who went shopping at the mega store in the next town. “I don’t know if she is behind bringing that store here, but I do know she isn’t against it. The second time she was looking for Hannah. If she didn’t spend the night at home, what did she think Jim would do with her?” I tried to frame my next question without sounding nosy. “Do you think he’ll divorce her?

  “That’s anyone guess. He keeps his thoughts about their marriage private. If she’s sleeping around, I hope he does something.” He gave a hearty sigh, changing the subject. “How much longer before you can close up shop? It doesn’t look like you’re going to get a last minute rush to check out a book or look up something for a research paper.”

  Looking up at the big clock over the door, I sighed. “I still have a half hour before I can lock the doors.”

  “What’s stopping you from closing early? I’m off duty tonight. Can I talk you into dinner at The Steak House?” It was the one fancy restaurant in town. If you can call a western motif fancy, that is.

  “The one time I closed early is the one time Wally or some of his friends would be checking on me. I don’t want to give him something else to complain about.”

  “I doubt that he has many friends left. He’s managed to alienate nearly everyone in town. If he’s not careful, he’ll lose his business.”

  “I wonder how he’s feeling today. He was pretty drunk when he showed up at the ranch yesterday.”

  Drake gave a dry chuckle. “Babcock said he slept all the way to his house. That was a good thing. At least he didn’t puke in the patrol car. It took both of them to get him inside. He probably doesn’t even remember being at the ranch. If he hadn’t carried his grudge all these years, he could have a family by now. But it’s easier to blame someone else for your troubles than claiming responsibility for your own actions.” He shook his head.

  He looked up at the clock again. We’d managed to kill another ten minutes. “I don’t think anyone is going to complain if you close a few minutes early. Come on.” He pulled me out of my chair again. “I’m hungry.”

  I made one last round of the stacks to make sure someone hadn’t come in when I wasn’t looking. It hadn’t happened before, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I didn’t want to lock someone in overnight.

  Only a few tables were occupied when we arrived at the restaurant a short time later. Until there was enough snow on the slopes to open the ski lodge, things would be slow in town.

  “Hi, Drake.” The hostess smiled seductively at him as she escorted us to a table. “Can I get you something to drink?” She made a point of ignoring me. I guessed her to be about my age. I’d seen her around town, but I hadn’t met her.

  “Just two coffees right now, Wanda. Thanks.” Disappointed, she sashayed off.

  I wish I had that swing on my back porch, the refrain from middle school popped into my head. “A recent conquest?” I asked, lifting one eyebrow. I tried to keep the cattiness out of my voice, but it was hard with June and Jill’s tales of his dating habits filling my mind.

  “Just a friend,” he dismissed her actions as business as usual, and picked up the menu. The green-eyed monster had a grip on me. As though reading my troubled thoughts, Drake reached across the table to take my hand. “Nothing ever happened between us. She might have wanted it to, but I didn’t.” He raised my hand to his lips, placing a kiss in my palm.

  Taking a deep breath, I tried to slow my heart rate down. He continued to hold my hand as we looked over the menu. After giving our order to the waiter, we fell silent for a few minutes. He played with my fingers, and the teasing smile on his face said he knew the effect he was having on me.

  Looking around the restaurant, I searched for a safe subject. “This is a nice place. If memory serves, there was a different restaurant here when I was a teenager. How long has it been here?” During my other visits over the years, I had only gone to the diner.

  “Yeah, there have been several different ones here. I think this one will last longer than some of the others. Bill and Susan moved here from California about three years ago. They wanted a quiet life, but Pine Mountain was completely alien to them.” He chuckled at the memory. “They were like fish out of water for a while, but they’ve managed to assimilate into the way of life around here just fine.

  “They tried their hand at winemaking before they opened this place. So far it’s been a hit. The food’s good, and the wine is not too bad either. Wanda is their daughter. She moved here with them, but goes back to California every few months. Pine Mountain is a little too tame for her.”

  Another silence stretched out. This ‘getting to know the adult us’ was more difficult than I expected. We knew each other, but there was still a lot we didn’t know. I wasn’t sure what questions I should be asking.

  Wanda led a single man to a nearby table, drawing my attention. When she flirted with him as well, I decided that she flirted with all the men. Maybe she hoped she’d get a good tip or something. The man looked familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I’d seen him before. “Do you know who that is?” I whispered, nodding at the man.

  Drake looked over at him, giving a shrug. “No. Should I?”

  “I don’t know.” I frowned. “He looks familiar.”

  “H
e’s probably a tourist. If he lived here, I’d recognize him. I might not be on a first name basis with everyone in town, but I do know most of them by sight.”

  My gaze kept wandering over to where he sat. I couldn’t get over the feeling that I’d seen him somewhere before. I spend most of my time at the library. That isn’t a place tourists frequent. Going over the places I’d been recently, the memory remained just out of my grasp. When realization hit me a few minutes later, I gasped. “He was at the ranch last night,” I whispered.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That man, he was at the ranch. He met your mom as she was leaving. I think they know each other.”

  “Okay,” he shrugged. “She’s a big girl. Maybe she had a date after dinner last night.” He didn’t seem worried about it.

  “But she wasn’t expecting to leave so early,” I argued, looking over at the man again. “I’ve seen him somewhere else.” I was thinking out loud, trying to remember what other place I’d seen him. I gave a startled jump when Drake took my hand again.

  “Don’t worry about it. It wouldn’t be the first time Mom brought a friend up with her when she visits, a male friend,” he qualified. “Maybe they had agreed to meet after the dinner. When things started to fall apart she might have texted him. It’s no big deal.” He turned his attention back to playing with my fingers.

  That didn’t explain the fact that he was at the ranch. “Why would he be at the ranch if he was meeting her in town?”

  “What are you getting at?” A frown drew his eyebrows together.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve seen him some place other than the ranch. I just can’t remember where.”

  We were almost finished with our meal when my memory kicked in. I reached for Drake’s hand across the table. “I know where else I saw him.” My voice was barely above a whisper. I didn’t want the man to know we were talking about him.

  “What? Are you still talking about that guy?” He had already dismissed the man from his mind.

  “Yes,” I sent a cautious glance in the direction of the other table.

  “Okay, I’ll bite. Where did you see him?” His lips curved up in a teasing smile.

  “Never mind.” I resented his patronizing tone. Pulling my hand from his, I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly.

  “Oh, come on. Don’t be that way. Tell me where you saw him.”

  After a moment I gave in. It was important for him to know. “That day I talked to Fred Brewster,” I started. When his eyes darkened, I rushed on before he could say anything, “Wally was arguing with a man in the lobby when I was leaving, that man,” I emphasized.

  “Wally argues with everyone,” he interrupted. “You know that. He was probably drunk.”

  “Will you let me finish?” I frowned at him, and he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Wally was talking about that big store coming to town. He got right in the man’s face. I thought he was going to attack the guy. The manager had to come out and break things up. I think he works for the company trying to build that big store here.” I related what I’d overheard. It wasn’t much, but more than we’d had seconds ago.

  “So you think the man Mom met last night is working for this corporation. Are you saying she’s involved with this deal somehow? Why would she have anything to do with that? She doesn’t even live here.”

  “That’s not what I said. I’m just saying he met her outside as she was leaving. Did you know she went back to Phoenix today?”

  “Yeah, she told me Wednesday when she first got to town. She has a big job coming up. What are you accusing her of?”

  “I’m not accusing her of anything. I’m just telling you what I saw. That’s the man Wally was arguing with, and I’m almost positive he’s the man Mona met as she was leaving the ranch.”

  “Almost positive being the operative words here,” he said. “I still don’t understand where you’re going with this.”

  I huffed, but didn’t say anything for several seconds. With a heavy sigh, I shook my head. “I’m not sure what I’m getting at either.” I leaned back in my chair. “Don’t you think it’s odd that the man working to get that store here was at your dad’s ranch, and he met your mom as she was leaving?”

  “Now you’re accusing both of my parents of being in cahoots with that corporation.” His temper was beginning to heat up right along with mine. “You’re not even sure he’s the same man who met Mom. It was getting dark when she left. Did you get a good look at his face?”

  “Not exactly.” I admitted. I was frustrated now. “If he is the same man, what was he doing skulking around in the dark? I think she was surprised to see him there. Has your dad been able to stop them from opening a store in town? Have you found out who initiated the contact with them?”

  “Every mayor and town council for the past twenty or more years has made an effort to keep big chain stores and restaurants out. That’s why this thing with the big box store came as a complete surprise. If they finally got the approval to build with a bunch of tax breaks, that would bring in more chain stores. It would kill a lot of the smaller businesses.” I noticed that he didn’t answer my last question. The only chains in town were the hotels. Without them there wouldn’t be anywhere for the tourists to stay during peak seasons.

  Small town America was a dying breed, I thought sadly. An entire way of life would disappear if things continued the way they were going. Some people, Mona included, hated living in a small town. That didn’t give anyone the right to ruin it for the rest of us. Not everyone enjoyed big city life. Still, I didn’t think she would do something like that.

  When the man finished his dinner, he stood up, coming over to our table. He held out his hand for Drake to shake. “Hello, Chief Cox.” He nodded his head at me. “My name is Ernest Fletcher. I work for Dynamic Corporation.” I frowned. That wasn’t what Mona had called him.

  Drake reluctantly shook the proffered hand. “What can I do for you?”

  Without waiting for an invitation, Mr. Fletcher pulled up a chair and sat down. “I’d like a chance to discuss my company’s proposal to build a store in town.”

  “I’m not the one you should be talking to.”

  “Maybe not, but you do have the ear of the mayor.” He chuckled, like he’d just made a joke. “He’s your father.” Did he think Drake needed to be reminded of the connection he had with the mayor? “Maybe you could put in a good word for me.”

  “I know who my father is, but I’m not putting in a good word for you. I don’t want your store here anymore than he does. In fact, very few people want your store here. It would put a lot of people out of work.”

  “Those same people, along with a lot of others, could find jobs in our store. Think about how many people one of our stores employs.”

  “Those people would go from owning their own businesses to being a minor employee of a big corporation. I’m sure those jobs pay minimum wage. That wouldn’t be a good bargain for those folks. How many mom-and-pop stores have closed because your store moved into a small town? I’m sorry, but I’m not going to help you. Now I think this conversation is over. Unless you’d like to explain what you were doing at my father’s ranch yesterday.” I was surprised he brought that up. I didn’t think he believed me.

  “Oh, um, well,” he stammered. “I’d heard your father had a party every year. I thought it would be a good time to meet some of the more influential people in town.”

  “It wasn’t a party. It was dinner with family and friends. Maybe you haven’t heard that my uncle was murdered recently. We weren’t exactly in the mood for a party.”

  “Um, yes, I have heard about that trouble. I’m sorry for your loss,” he added belatedly.

  “My uncle was also the one trying to stop your company from building here. Quite the coincidence about the timing of his murder and your visit, don’t you think?”

  “What are you suggesting?” Mr. Fletcher sat back in his chair.

  �
�Nothing,” Drake said mildly. “Just stating facts. Were you hoping to dig up some dirt on people in the hope of forcing them to sign onto your little deal? Is this how big business works?”

  “Certainly not.” He sounded indignant now. “Besides, your uncle contacted our company in the first place. Not the other way around.”

  “I don’t believe that,” I said. Drake’s expression clearly said he wanted me to stay out of this.

  “Were you hoping to sweet-talk my mother into helping you convince Dad to sign on to your deal?” Drake continued like I hadn’t interrupted. “I wonder what your company headquarters would think of your methods.”

  “Your mother? I don’t know who you’re referring to.” His eyes shifted away from Drake as he spoke putting the lie to his words.

  “Mona Gardener is my mother. I have it on good authority that you met her outside Dad’s house when she was leaving.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t aware she was your mother.” Once again he couldn’t look Drake in the face.

  “Really?” Drake’s brows rose slightly.

  “Um, ah, yes,” he stammered. “We bumped into each other at dinner Wednesday evening. We’re staying at the same hotel. I asked if she was here for Thanksgiving. She happened to mention that she was going to dinner at her ex-husband’s house.”

  “She doesn’t usually make a point of telling people that he’s the mayor. That’s something you already knew.

  Mr. Fletcher’s face turned a slight shade of pink at that. “All right, I knew who her ex-husband was. That just means I’ve done my homework.”

  “You knew her ex-husband is the mayor, but you didn’t know she was my mom? Either your research wasn’t very thorough, or you just lied to me. I don’t like it when people lie to me. It makes me wonder what they’re trying to hide.” Once again, Mr. Fletcher’s face flushed, this time from anger. “Were you hoping to use her to crash my dad’s dinner?” Drake was giving the man a hard time. I would hate to be a suspect in his custody. He was relentless.