“What’s this about arsenic?” Jason asked.
“Apparently, they processed silver ore with arsenic in the old days. The area around the mine is contaminated,” Ellie answered.
Jason lifted his brows at this new information.
“The lawyer, Mr. Jacobs, told me. I’m sorry, I meant to tell you. The area around the mine will have to be cleaned up before they can go forward. The majority of the investors decided to put the development on hold indefinitely.”
“I take it they were mostly financial fat-cats who don’t have cash flow problems?”
Ellie nodded. “Everyone but Tom was a multi-millionaire, at least.”
“And delaying the project effectively screwed Hendricks,” Jason said.
“I’m afraid so,” Ms. Muñoz agreed. “But Mr. Pontifore bought him out.”
Why would anyone want to kill such a decent guy? Jason leaned back in his chair. Why am I alive, and not Chris? Jason shook his head. There were no answers for questions like that. But one thing was clear. Maria was right, it wasn’t Hendricks. He had no motive.
There was only one other person he could think of who might have wanted to hurt Chris. He wasn’t looking forward to telling Ellie.
BETH ALMOST BOUNCED AS they walked to the car. They’d gotten information to clear Tom Hendricks, they were going to get the bank statements before the inquest, she hadn’t made any big mistakes, and she hadn’t had to sign anything. But they still didn’t have a clue as to who might have killed Chris and Ellie.
“Why didn’t you tell me about what the attorney said?” Jason asked.
“I didn’t mean to keep anything from you. I just started thinking about something else.”
She could see the wheels turning in Jason’s head. What, he was wondering, could have been more important than information about the Carlton mine deal? Fortunately, she had an answer. It was even the truth.
“It’s silly this early, I know, but something Mr. Jacobs said got me started thinking about names for the baby.” She and Ell used to imagine what they would name their kids together. Sometimes they’d been silly. Beauregard had been one of their favorites when they were twelve. As they’d gotten older they’d made more traditional choices. They’d fought over who would get to name the first daughter after their mother.
Jason looked chagrined as he opened the car door for her. “So what have you come up with?”
“If it’s a girl, Julia Christine, after our mother and Chris. If it’s a boy, Christopher Julian.” The thought of a new little person carrying those names forward made Beth almost wish she really was pregnant.
Jason got in behind the wheel. His jaw muscles were jumping. “Good choice.”
She needed to change the subject. “We’ve pretty much eliminated money and revenge as motives,” Beth said. “What about love? Or thwarted love. What about that old girlfriend of Chris’s?” What was her name? Ellie had told her once. “Connie Arenosa.”
Jason looked uncomfortable as he started the engine and turned on the AC. “He told you about her?”
“Some.” Ellie had kept Chris’s confidences private for the most part. “He said she was upset when things didn’t work out.”
“You could say that. I’m not one to buy into racial stereotypes, but Connie has the proverbial Latin temper.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“You remember? What happened?”
“She spat on me.”
He turned to face her, eyes wide. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Right there in front of the grocery store.”
“What did Chris do?”
“I didn’t tell him. This was a thing between women. I didn’t want him to fight that battle for me. Besides, I had Chris. I understood what a loss that was for her.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “I will never understand women.”
“Let’s go see her.” The words popped out as soon as the idea was formed. It was something Ellie would have thought of.
“What?” Jason stared at her like she was demented.
Beth grinned. “Let’s go see her. She’s the next most likely suspect, isn’t she?”
“Speaking of likely suspects, what about you? Do you have any spurned lovers hiding in the wings? Someone who wasn’t too happy about Chris sweeping you off your feet?”
“No, there’s no one like that in my past. Don’t change the subject. We were talking about Connie.”
Jason shook his head. “She spat on you the last time you met. You don’t need that kind of scene now. Let me take you home. I’ll go see her.”
“No. I want to do this. Besides, you’ll be able to observe her better if she’s talking to me. Or spitting.”
Jason opened his mouth, then shut it again. Finally he said, “It’s the middle of the day. Do you know where she works?”
Beth’s grin widened. “Copper Bell Realty. At least she used to.”
JASON HOPED CONNIE WAS out showing a property, but when he asked for her, the receptionist said she would be right out. He stood at the ready, wondering if he was going to have to intercede in a cat fight. Probably not. It had been over a year since Chris had dumped her, and this was her place of work. She’d keep it cool. He hoped. Of course he never would have predicted she would spit on Ellie.
Connie strode into the lobby on three inch heels, a petite bundle of business-like energy. She saw him first and smiled, reaching out with both hands. “Jason! It’s so good to see you again, even if it is under such sad circumstances. You’re in town because of Chris, I assume.” She spoke with only the lightest touch of an accent. And then she looked past his shoulder and saw Ellie.
Jason tensed. Surprise, embarrassment, and sadness flashed across Connie’s face, but no anger.
Ellie smiled slightly and came forward. “I hope you’ll forgive me for intruding on your workplace, but—”
“No! It is I who should ask your pardon! I behaved badly.”
Jason relaxed a little.
Ellie’s mouth quirked up at the corner. “It was quite surprising.”
Connie stared for a moment, then smiled back, a little shamefaced. “You are not what I expected.”
Ellie got a funny look on her face. “I get that a lot.”
“Please come into my office where we can talk.” Connie led the way down the hall, her dark hair swinging around her shoulders. When they were all settled, she said, “I’m glad you came. I wouldn’t have had the courage to call on you. Now I can tell you how sorry I am about Chris and your sister.”
“Thank you,” Ellie said.
“You’re not angry anymore?” Jason asked.
“No.” She held up her left hand. A large diamond glinted with white fire on her ring finger. “If Chris hadn’t broken up with me, I would never have met Eduardo.”
“Congratulations,” Ellie said.
“Eduardo?” Jason asked.
“Eduardo Montenegro. We met at a fund-raiser in Tucson, not long after I, uh, ran into Mrs. Pontifore in front of the store.”
Eduardo Montenegro. There was something familiar about that name, but he couldn’t quite place it. “What does he do?”
“He’s an investor. Very successful. I thought it was just a fling at first, but then, well … Eduardo is wonderful.” Connie broke off, her expression of complete love changing to embarrassment.
Investor. That didn’t sound quite right for some reason. If I hadn’t been out of circulation for the last three months, I’d remember.
Ellie smiled sadly. “I understand.”
Connie’s expression was both grateful and ashamed. “I’m so sorry. Here I am speaking of my happiness when you are grieving. Please forgive me.”
“There’s no need. But there is one thing I would like to ask. Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Chris?”
Connie’s eyes widened in genuine surprise, Jason would swear it. “No! There is no one. Does the sheriff think that someone …”
“No,” Ellie said. “But I do.�
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Connie’s eyes narrowed. “And you thought that I might have been hateful enough to hurt Chris?” When Ell opened her mouth, Connie put up a hand to stop her. “No. I understand. The last time you saw me I was very angry. But I would have killed you,” she finished with a slight smile, “not Chris.”
Ellie chuckled and changed the subject. They chatted a few more minutes about the real estate market and wedding florists, then took their leave.
On their way back to the car Ellie said, “That was disappointing.”
“Disappointing? I thought it went very well.”
“But we’re out of suspects.”
“Not quite.” In most investigations, the cops would look hardest at the wife. He knew his objectivity was screwed, but he couldn’t believe that of Ellie. “We’ll just have to dig a little deeper.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
They were almost all the way back home when Jason slammed the heel of his hand on the steering wheel, making Beth jump.
“Eduardo Montenegro! I knew I recognized that name!” He pulled the Taurus into the driveway.
When he didn’t elaborate, she prompted, “So? Where do you know him from?”
Jason hesitated. He looked uncomfortable, and Beth wondered what he was hiding. She lifted her eyebrows at him.
“He’s connected to the Mexican cartels.”
“Oh my God! Do you think Connie knows? We’ve got to tell her!”
“That’s the last thing we should do. At least not right away. She probably doesn’t know. These guys tend to keep their business and family lives very separate.” Jason stopped the car in front of the house and turned off the engine. “With Connie’s temper, she’s likely to explode when she finds out, and that could get her killed.”
“So what are we going to do? We can’t just let her marry into the mob.” She choked off a laugh as they walked into the house. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not funny, but saying it out loud makes it sound like a bad movie.”
Jason smiled grimly. “Yeah. But you’re right. We won’t let Connie marry him.”
Something flashed through Beth’s memory. “Wait! Wait,” Something the lawyer had said this morning. One of the names. She ran down the hall to her bedroom, and grabbed the legal pad that she’d taken notes on. She heard the phone ring, and ignored it. Maria would get it.
She scanned the list of investors. Two thirds of the way down, there it was. Eduardo Montenegro. Did he vote with the majority to hold up development? Or was he unhappy about that decision?
She walked down the hall in search of Jason, and found him hanging up the phone in the library.
She waved the pad at him. “We’re not out of suspects after all. Eduardo was one of the investors in the mine.”
He raised his brows and smiled. “That makes sense. An old mine, especially one that needs to be cleaned up, would be a great way to launder drug money.” Then he frowned. “But that wouldn’t work if the development is on hold.”
In a soft voice Beth asked, “Do you think Chris knew? That Eduardo is connected to the cartels, I mean.”
Jason’s eyes widened, then he shook his head. “No way. You should know better than that. Chris would never have anything to do with those people. But that may have been the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“If his attorney put the deal together, and Chris only found out about Eduardo after the fact, he might have raised a stink about it.” Jason paced in front of the windows, then back to the desk. “Yeah, that makes sense. Chris called me about a week before he died. He had some questions about fraudulent contracts that he didn’t want to ask his own attorney, but he wouldn’t be specific enough for me to give him very good answers. This could be what he was talking about.”
“But why kill him?”
“They kill for a lot of reasons. A botched deal. An affront to their honor. Maybe Chris threatened to tell Connie. Maybe he persuaded the other investors to hold up the development because Montenegro refused to pull out of the consortium. It could be any number of things. Montenegro certainly would have access to hired killers.” Then he frowned.
“What?”
Jason chewed his lip. “The cartels are not known for their subtlety. If they kill someone, they usually put their signature on it. That’s how they keep people in line. Chris wasn’t executed. His death looks like an accident.”
They stood there for a moment in gloomy silence until Beth said, “But if Eduardo killed Chris to keep his secret from Connie …”
Jason’s expression brightened. “Yeah. Everyone knows the cartel is active in the area, but he wouldn’t want a murder, especially the murder of a well-liked and prominent local, to get people thinking about it.”
Beth felt exhilarated. “Now we have something to take to the inquest!”
Jason came and rested his hands on her shoulders. She hated the way her whole body tingled at the innocent touch. She fought the zing that raced down her spine and concentrated on what he was saying.
“I’m sorry Ellie. All we have is a theory, and his name on a list of investors.”
“But he’s a criminal!” she protested. Then she paused. “How did you know that?”
He dropped his hands and stepped away. “I came across the info during one of my cases. Proving it is something quite different. If the Feds had something they could make stick, he’d already be in jail. With no proof, accusing him would be slander, not to mention we’d be making a serious enemy.”
She refused to be discouraged. “It’s more than we had before! We don’t need to find a smoking gun. All we need is to give the judge enough evidence to make the sheriff investigate.”
Jason pressed his lips together, then nodded. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we can get him on murder, even if we can’t get him for everything else he’s done.”
Beth smiled. For the first time since she’d come to Jimson Weed, she felt a spark of hope. Ellie wasn’t crazy, and neither was she, for helping her twin. Someone had killed Chris. And now they had a good idea who it was.
“By the way,” Jason said, “the trustee of the estate phoned while you were looking for that list. I took the call for you.”
Beth froze. Oh no. What now?
“Jackson sends his condolences, and he wants you to know that there’s no need to move out of the ranch right away. He’s already cut the first check of your widow’s stipend, as provided for in the trust, and he’ll continue to pay all the ranch’s operating expenses, of course.”
Beth nodded, and held her breath. So far, so good. But she could tell that there was another shoe coming.
“He’s in a little bit of a bind, though. Because the assets of the trust can only convey to blood relatives, the ranch and all of Chris’s holdings in the trust should go to his cousin Palmer.”
“I know. We talked about that when we discussed him as a suspect.”
Jason nodded. “Jackson would just as soon save himself the work of transferring title of the assets to Palmer and then back again when the baby is born. He says if you send him a copy of your doc’s pregnancy test, that will be enough to hold things until Chris’s heir arrives.”
Beth’s hands grew cold. This is not a big deal. It doesn’t matter that Ellie never made it to her doctor. I can handle this. “Okay. I’ll give her office a call.”
“They’ll probably have to fax you a form to sign. Physicians can’t release any information without a signature these days.”
Beth felt herself nod. “I’ll take care of it.” I can handle this. She wouldn’t have to sign a release form. She wouldn’t even have to ask for the records. All she had to do was drag her feet until Tuesday. She’d come clean at the inquest, and then the trustee could do whatever he wanted with the estate.
Jason looked at his watch. “You’d better call your doc now. It’s almost four.”
She was cold all over now.
Jason peered at her. “Are you all right? You look kind of pale.”
“I—
I’m fine. Just tired. I need a nap.” Beth pushed her bangs off her forehead. They flopped right back. “Nothing is going to happen over the weekend. I’ll call on Monday.” Then she escaped down the hall, into Ellie’s room.
JASON WATCHED HER GO with a worried frown creasing his brow. She doesn’t look good. That was hardly surprising. She was pregnant, had been in an accident, hadn’t been sleeping well, and was under an ungodly amount of stress. He couldn’t imagine the pain of losing the two people she loved most in the world. That would knock anyone off balance. And it would explain a lot about her recent behavior. Maybe he shouldn’t have pressed about going to the bank today. But she’d wanted to go, he argued with himself.
There was so little he could do for her.
He looked at his watch again. It was nearly six in Austin, but Renton would still be there. He might be able to find out something about the current state of the investigation on Montenegro. Jason shoved a roll of maps of the Carlton mine aside and reached for the phone.
Renton picked up on the second ring. “How’re things in Arizona?”
“Complicated. My friend Chris, the one who died, may have been murdered.”
“No shit? Damn. How’re the locals handling it?”
Jason hesitated. He didn’t have any specific complaints about Connor. “The jury’s still out on that. It’s possible that Eduardo Montenegro may be involved. Can you give me some intell on him?”
Renton groaned. “We don’t have anything current. DEA hasn’t sent anything new over since before you were shot.”
Jason sighed. “Thanks anyway.”
“Uh, there’s something else.”
Jason tensed. This wasn’t going to be good.
“CIA made a deal with Babinevich. He gave them his contacts. He’s on his way to Argentina.”
VEILED MIRROR Page 13