“You coming, Kasey?” Cody called out.
“I’ll be out in a second.” She started the dishwasher, and by the time she walked outside Jake was already sitting in the driver’s seat of the bus. He honked the horn and just as she waved, Scott pulled into the driveway in his sheriff’s car.
She walked out to meet him. “Hey, Scott. This is a nice surprise. You said you had to work all day.”
He glanced over at the bus as he got out of his car. “Where’s the other one? Cody leave town?”
“No. The guys drove up to Roanoke Rapids for some supplies.”
The door opened on the bus and Jake yelled out to Scott, “Hey, look at me! I’m driving.”
Kasey waved enthusiastically. Scott barely gave Jake a nod. It wasn’t like Scott to act so uninterested.
Scott turned and looked her square in the eye. “Heard about Tuggle’s outburst at that party last night. I didn’t know y’all were going together.”
His tone smacked of sarcasm. “We weren’t. We didn’t. It was a surprise to me when he showed up there too.”
Scott didn’t look convinced. “What happened?”
“They had an argument. It was practically over before anyone realized it was happening.”
Scott lifted his chin toward the bus. “Why do those star types think they can get away with that kind of behavior?”
“It wasn’t like that, Scott.”
“If it was such a little argument, why is it on the news?” Scott looked smug.
“I didn’t know it was.” Cody must not either. He’d have mentioned it for sure. His publicist usually called as soon as something like that happened. “Reporters love a good scandal, and if there’s not enough excitement they’ll amp it up. It happens all the time.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Well, I was there, and I’m telling you it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“Are they still planning to leave tomorrow?”
Before Kasey could open her mouth and respond, Riley came down the stairs of the bus and joined them. “I swear I could live on that thing,” Riley said. “Have you been in there?” she asked Scott. “That’s nicer than most people’s houses.”
“Probably cost a lot more than most people’s houses,” Scott said.
“How much does one of those things cost?” Riley asked.
“I have no idea,” Kasey said. “It has to be a lot.”
Cody climbed down from the bus with Jake up on his shoulders, and then grabbed his hands and flipped him down to the driveway.
“Do it again!”
Kasey called Jake over. “Come on, buddy. It’s all fun until someone gets hurt.”
“Good to see you again.” Cody reached out and shook Scott’s hand.
“You might not say that in a minute.”
Kasey straightened. “Scott?”
The other bus pulled into the driveway.
“Excuse me a sec.” Cody walked down the driveway at a fast clip toward the bus.
Scott started to say something then stopped. His jaw tensed.
Kasey wasn’t sure what was on Scott’s mind, but her heart was picking up its pace in reaction to his mood, and she had a feeling something was about to go terribly wrong.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The last thing Cody needed was for one of his buses to clip Calvin’s cruiser. He jogged over and guided the driver, then waved him off when he was in a good spot to shut it down.
Pete came barreling down off the bus. “Cody. We need to talk.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s Arty.”
Cody raised his hand. “I’m not taking his calls.”
“No. You’ve got to—”
“Look, you don’t know what all is going on. I said I’m not taking his calls. End of discussion.” Cody turned to walk away, but Pete grabbed him by the arm.
Cody gave him a have-you-lost-your-mind look.
Pete’s jaw set and his eyes widened. “Listen to me. No one is taking Arty’s calls.”
“Good. Then we don’t have a problem.” Cody strode off. He was in no mood to talk about Arty Max.
Pete jogged two steps forward to catch up with Cody. “We don’t have a problem,” he said. “But he does. He’s dead.”
Cody stopped so quick that his body lurched forward before he turned around with his mouth hanging half-open. “What?”
“It’s all over the radio.”
Cody raced back over to Pete. “What happened? I just saw him last night.”
“Yeah. That’s all over the radio too. Sounds like y’all had one hell of a fight.”
Scott walked up behind Cody. “I need to talk to you,” he said.
Is anyone going to give me any good news anymore? The last thing I need is a smitten cop with a confidence problem on my ass. “I just got some bad news. Can it wait?”
Scott put his hand on his hip just above his gun. “No.”
Whatever. “Fine. What ya got?”
“Arty Max—”
Cody cut him off. “Yeah. I just heard he died. I can’t believe this. Do you know what happened?”
“Some folks want to talk to you about that,” Scott said.
“Me? Okay, sure. He seemed fine when I left. Was it a heart attack?”
“No. It definitely was not a heart attack.”
Cody glanced over at Pete, then back to Scott. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying someone killed him. We’ve got some questions for you.”
Cody jerked his head back. “Wait. What? Killed?”
“Apparently so. Can you come down to the station with me?”
“Yeah. Absolutely. Did it happen at the estate?” Holy shit. Dead?
“Let’s talk at the station.”
Cody fell in step behind Scott. “I can’t believe this. That place is a fortress. There are cameras everywhere. No one could sneak in unnoticed. Do they have a suspect?”
Scott’s eyes narrowed. “You?”
Cody took a step back. “No. You can’t be serious.”
Kasey ran up to them. “What’s going on? One of the guys just said Arty’s dead? We just saw him last night.”
Scott motioned Cody toward the car. Kasey jogged alongside to keep up with their long strides.
“You’re not going to make me sit in the back seat, are you?” Cody asked.
“No. Just get in.”
“What is going on?” Kasey asked.
“Just need to get a few questions answered,” Scott said.
Don’t be an ass to her. Cody opened the passenger door and propped a foot on the door sill. He made eye contact with a confused Kasey over the top of the car. “Someone killed Arty. They want to ask me some questions. It’s fine.”
“What?” Kasey ran to Scott’s side. “Why do you want to talk to Cody? I was there too.”
“The county police have listed him as a person of interest.”
She folded her arms and lowered her voice. “And how did you get involved?”
“I let them know where he was. I had information about the case. That’s my responsibility.”
Cody sat in the front seat, but he could still hear them.
“What?” Kasey stood still. “Why didn’t you come and talk to us first?”
“I’m just doing my job, Kasey.”
“It’s fine.” Cody motioned through the windshield to Kasey. “He’s doing his job.” Kasey was probably thinking the same thing he was—that Scott was enjoying this tough cop act a little too much. The sooner he got this over with, the better. He’d love to get me out of the picture, or at least out of his town.
Kasey walked to the front of the car and pointed at Cody. “I’ll follow you over there,” she said.
“No. It’s your birthday. I’ll get back. Go on and have your day.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“Please,” he said. Don’t ruin your day. Hell, by the look on her face it was a little too late for that.
>
Cody watched Kasey from the side mirror as they drove off. What’s going through your mind?
It was awkwardly silent in the car. Cody was thankful that it was just a short ride to town. He wondered if Scott would be the one talking to him. Would that even be legal with his relationship with Kasey, and apparent dislike for him? But then again, with him being the sheriff I guess he makes the rules.
Scott parked by the rear entrance of the station and got out. Cody followed alongside into the building and down a long colorless hallway to an equally bland interrogation room.
“Have a seat,” Scott said.
Cody sat in the cold metal chair and placed his hands on the table. “What happened?”
“I’m hoping you can help shed a little light on that.”
“Arty was very much alive when I left.”
“But you argued?”
“Yeah. We argued, but I don’t think that’s important in the scheme of things now.”
“What did you argue about?”
“It was personal.”
“Folks are saying you were pretty mad. Might have even thrown around a couple threats.”
“Yeah, I did, but Arty and I have been working together for years. It’s not like it was the first time we’d ever argued and no matter how mad I was, I sure as hell wasn’t going to do anything to him.” Cody sat back in his chair. “Do I need my lawyer?”
Scott mimicked Cody’s body language. “Guess that’s your choice. Do you have an alibi?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Let’s timeline your night. Start me off when you left Arty Max’s estate.”
“I got there about nine and was out of there by nine twenty. I’m sure the valet will remember. There was a hundred bucks in it for him.”
Scott took notes. “I’m sure he’ll remember that.”
“His name was Jace. I signed his hat.”
“Nice of you,” Scott said, but the words sounded condescending coming from him.
“I was at a truck stop at around eleven. Not sure what it’s called, but I could look at an atlas and figure it out. Actually, I have a placemat in my coat on the bus. I can get you the name.” Cody ran down the evening, at least up until the part where he was in the parking lot here in town. He didn’t care to tell Scott about being with Kasey. It wasn’t any of his damn business and if he had to guess, Scott’s reasons for bringing him in were more personal than business.
I have to ask. “Can I ask you how exactly you’re involved with all of this? I mean we’re a couple of hours away from the mountains.”
Scott put his pen down. “I saw the news. Knew you were in my town.”
His town?
“Gave them a quick call to see how I could help.”
Help them or help me? Help get me out of the way is how it feels. Am I just being paranoid?
Scott picked his pen back up. “So, you’re sitting here in Spratt’s Market parking lot. Anyone see you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe one of your deputies since it’s right next door. Are there cameras around here?”
“Nothing over there worth spending the money on to protect with that level of security.”
Great. “I went back to Kasey’s house from there.”
“Anyone besides your band members see you?”
“Kasey.”
“At one in the morning?”
“Yeah, I was back at her house by one fifteen or one thirty,” Cody said. Scott’s tone was starting to irritate him. He probably should’ve just called his lawyer and let them handle this.
Scott lifted his chin. “She saw you come back and get on the bus?”
“No. She saw me pull into her garage and walk into her house.” That will shut you up for a minute.
“I see. Until?”
Cody pulled his hands up and bounced his fingertips together. “Until you showed up.”
It would have been hard to miss the hitch in the last breath Scott took. “I see.” Scott practically choked out the words.
Cody watched Scott’s throat redden. Sorry, man. You asked. “I was in the guest room.” He’d have loved to have left the guy wondering, but that wasn’t right.
The hard line of Scott’s jaw softened. “Do you know anyone who might’ve wanted to do harm to Arty Max?”
“You’re going to need more paper. He wasn’t the most tactful guy around.”
“See any of those people there last night?”
“I really was only focused on giving him a piece of my mind. I couldn’t even tell you who was there.”
“But Kasey was there.”
“I knew she was going to be, but I didn’t see her.”
“Did you leave anything behind?”
Cody nodded. “Not that I know of. I wasn’t there that long.”
“A bandanna?” Scott asked.
“No. I wear those mostly on stage. Why?”
“There was one in the room.”
“I’m sure Arty has a bunch of those things lying around. We order them by the pallet. They’re one of our best-selling items.”
“That probably won’t prove much then. Anything else you can tell me?”
Cody wasn’t sure whether he could trust Scott or not, but he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. “Look. I don’t know if you’re doing all this to help me or not, but I’ll tell you straight up. Arty did me wrong. I was mad, but I didn’t do anything to him. Once I left that party, I was heading this way. I hope you believe that.”
“If I didn’t, I’d find something, anything, to lock you up and keep you away from Kasey and Jake, but yeah… for now. I believe you. I’ll get one of my guys to take you back.”
“Can you tell me what happened to him?”
“They’re keeping that quiet right now.” Scott pushed his pen into his shirt pocket. “I’ll tell you what I can when I can.”
“Thanks, Scott.” Cody reached over and shook his hand.
An hour later, one of Scott’s deputies dropped Cody back off at Kasey’s house.
Cody went straight to his bus and called Annette. “Hey, girl. I’m surprised you haven’t already called me.”
“Not my job anymore. Arty fired me yesterday for helping you hook back up with someone from your past.”
“What? That was none of his damn business.” Jesus, can I catch a break? Is this guy going to screw up every single part of my life or what? “I’m sorry he did that. I didn’t know about it.”
“He was mad and he had the right to fire me since he was paying my fee. So, I’m out of the picture.”
“I need you, so you can just consider yourself rehired. Don’t worry about payment. You know I’m good for it.”
“It’s not that, Cody. I have a pretty ironclad contract with Arty and it includes a very clear noncompete clause, and that includes not working in any capacity for any of his acts for two years if we part ways.”
“Yeah. Well, he’s dead so I don’t think that he’s going to be giving you any trouble over that now.”
Annette’s voice went up two octaves. “Dead? You mean like really dead?”
“I can’t believe you haven’t heard. You always know everything before anyone else. I need you on your A-game, girl. They just hauled me in for questioning.”
“Are you a suspect? You can’t be. No one would ever think you’d do something like that.”
“Hell, I don’t know. A person of interest at the least after the way I showed my ass last night. Or haven’t you heard about that either?”
“Sorry. I’m a little out of the loop today.”
“They asked more questions than gave answers but I learned a few things. I need you, Annette. The press is going wild with this and since Arty and I had a big public blowup last night, I’m looking like a raging lunatic. I’m sure that I’m more than just a person of interest in their minds right now.”
“Suspect? He had a heart attack, right? I mean, you know how high-strung he was.”
“Yeah. That would have been my f
irst assumption too. But no. Arty was murdered.”
“How? When?”
“Last night. Sometime after the party, I guess. They aren’t giving any details. At least not to me. I’m hoping some of your contacts with the press can do a little digging that will help us get to the bottom of it and at least get the heat off me. I was probably pissed off enough to beat the hell out of the guy, but I never would have killed him.”
“I’m on it, Cody. I don’t know how much my contacts can learn about something like this. They’re more suited to tracking down gossip. Arty had a lot of enemies. I’m sure they’ll move on to someone else quickly.”
“He slept with someone else’s girlfriend and had a secret child? I doubt it.”
“We’re talking about Lou?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Cody.”
“Me too. Not as sorry as I would have been before I found out Arty screwed me over. Literally. I’ll admit I was mad, wished him dead for sure, but I didn’t kill him.”
“Where are you?”
“We’re all in Adams Grove right now, but we’re pulling out to head to Texas in the morning.”
“The truck commercial?”
“Yeah, and then I’ll be heading back to Hillcrest for a break and to get the final mix done on the record.”
“Okay. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks, Annette.” When he looked up Kasey was standing there on the bus. “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Hope you don’t mind.” She walked over and gave him a hug. “I couldn’t just sit in there waiting.”
“Are you kidding me? If I hadn’t come here last night, I’d probably be the number one suspect after that scene at Arty’s.”
“Well, thank goodness you called when you did.”
“Thank goodness you saw that text.” He shook his head. “I’m not so sure your buddy Scott was too happy I had an alibi, especially when it turned out to be you. I made it clear that I was in the guest room. He looked skeptical.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m sorry if me being here is putting a strain on your friendship with him. I’d never want to make things hard for you.”
“Stop. It’s fine. We’re adults. And friends. It’s all good.”
Pecan Pie and Deadly Lies (An Adams Grove Novel) Page 12