Texas Pride

by Gerry Bartlett

  “Maybe. Don’t wait to follow me. Go ahead. I’m going to sit here and read my email while I eat.” He kissed her one more time then watched her drive away. He sat in his car and devoured the breakfast sandwich. It helped. He had a long drive ahead of him and some thinking to do after he read the file Albert had sent him.

  Background information on Rupert and financials for Evelyn. He hadn’t thought to look at the woman’s money trail but Albert had. It made for interesting reading. What he did with it depended on how his meeting with Rupert went this afternoon.

  It made him crazy that things in this case hadn’t come together yet. Usually he was more confident when putting together a defense. He never went into court without the knowledge that he had right on his side. It helped him face a jury convincingly. Without it? Well, Rupert wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance.

  * * * *

  “Rupert, how are you doing?” Billy had offered the man a drink and they both settled into chairs with bottles of water. He figured they could probably compare notes on how to deal with insomnia. The grieving widower had bags under his eyes too and seemed to have aged since they’d last met.

  “How the hell do you think I’m doing? I’m facing a murder charge. Unless you’ve got good news for me, I’m ready to hire myself another lawyer. One who earns the fortune I’m paying him.” Rupert twisted the cap off the water and drank half of it down.

  “I’ve had my investigator working on your case nonstop since the hearing. He’s been digging into financials for the Greenes who I considered the most likely suspects.” Billy set his bottle on the corner of the desk. “But then that digging brought out some interesting information we hadn’t expected.”

  “What? Did they do it? Hire a hitman?” Rupert’s eyes filled. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Calm down, Rupert. We need to concentrate today.” Billy got up and walked around to sit behind his desk. “Let’s start over. Where did you meet Evelyn Greene?”

  “What?” Rupert grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”

  “Humor me.” Billy opened the file Mai had printed for him. “Give me a timeline. When and where you met for starters.”

  “I think you must already know.” Rupert drank more water. “I was working at M.D. Anderson. Evelyn was a patient. She was taking chemo treatments in my unit. It’s a long, drawn-out process. I admired her spirit and she…” He sighed. “Well, she hit on me. I was young, flattered, and it didn’t hurt that she was rich and beautiful. When she made me an offer, I accepted. I moved in as her private nurse. One thing led to another and we got married. That was almost ten years ago.”

  “And did you know her cancer had come back recently?” Billy had double-checked that autopsy report. The medical examiner had estimated Evelyn had only a few more months to live at most when that bullet had killed her.

  “Of course I did!” Rupert burst into tears. “I know you think I was just using her, but I loved her. We were planning that cruise as our final trip. I promised to give her the meds she’d need to keep her comfortable.” He bowed his head. “She decided not to have treatment this time. It wouldn’t have done much to prolong her life anyway. Chemo is so harsh. The side effects.” He shuddered. “She refused to go through it again.”

  Billy gave Rupert time to pull himself together. His grief seemed genuine. The man was a caregiver. Maybe he’d taken advantage of a rich older woman, but she’d used him too. Evelyn had enjoyed Rupert’s handsome looks and adventurous spirit. He’d looked good on her arm and satisfied her needs. Then, near the end of her life, she had a companion who would take care of her. Billy had just learned that knowing someone cared could enrich your life in ways he’d never expected.

  “What about Evelyn’s will? Did you know she was changing it?” Billy threw this question at Rupert when he reached for another tissue.

  “She told me. She wanted to leave most of her money to the cancer center. They gave her ten years more than she might have gotten otherwise. She was grateful. It was the right thing to do. And she hated the Greenes. Didn’t want them to run her late husband’s company into the ground—her words.” Rupert mopped his face. “It was complicated, arranging that new endowment. It was large enough that I hoped we could get a wing or maybe an oncology suite named for her after her death.” He sighed.

  “She didn’t sign it before she died.” Billy had prepared a subpoena and Mai was messengering it over to the court today. But he’d seen the new will, thanks to Albert’s snooping.

  “Oh, no! Then those awful Greenes will get their way.” Rupert was up on his feet. “Do you see how this could be their motive for murder?”

  “Yes, of course.” Billy shook his head. “But, Rupert, she was supposed to meet with the lawyer and sign it days before. It was on their calendar, but she cancelled at the last minute. Do you know why?”

  “She had good days and bad. Pain would come and go. Honestly, she wasn’t always thinking clearly then. So she cancelled many appointments. Hair, nails. I guess seeing her lawyer was one of them.” He studied his own nails. “Truth be told, the Greenes would have had grounds for challenging the new will if they got wind of her condition at the end. I’m not saying she wasn’t right for changing her will, just that the cancer had moved to her brain too. It did affect her judgment at times.”

  “That’s interesting. But maybe Evelyn’s idea that the Greenes were ruining the company was also caused by her illness. So far my investigator hasn’t found solid evidence that they’ve done anything wrong at Greenespace.” Billy made a note. Not that he had to help another attorney. But if the Greenes were charged with Evelyn’s murder, their lawyer might be interested in what Albert had found or not found.

  “Paranoia. Well, it’s possible. But she convinced me those two were up to something. And I’m sorry she didn’t get to sign that new will.” Rupert seemed genuinely sad.

  “You come out well in both wills. Better in the first one though.” Billy tossed his copy of that one on the desk. “The house is yours too. You can move back in now if you wish. The police have released the crime scene.”

  “Wait. That sounded almost like you’re accusing me, your own client, of killing Evelyn.” Rupert was on his feet. “I need to know. Right now. Do you think I did it?”

  “I have a theory.” Billy walked around to face Rupert. “You say you loved Evelyn and I believe you. What I find hard to believe is that there was a hitman who tied you up. That you managed to get free but not in time to save your wife.”

  “I explained that.” Rupert glared at Billy, his face red. “You son of a bitch. What kind of lawyer are you?”

  “The kind who likes to have all the answers before I’ll defend a client in court.” Billy laid his hand on Rupert’s shoulder. As usual, the man was in an expensive suit and looked like an ad in GQ. “If the woman I loved was in horrific pain and had nothing but more suffering ahead, I might be tempted to help her.”

  “Help? You mean end her life?” Rupert reared back. “You think I participated in a mercy killing? Because she was dying anyway?” Tears ran down his cheeks. “No! I wanted every day I could get with that woman. I knew how to ease her pain. I was her nurse, by God. I took care of her.” He sank back into his chair.

  “Had she asked you to help her die?” Billy stood there, waiting.

  “I wouldn’t listen to such talk and she knew it.” He stared at the wall as if seeing his life with Evelyn. “And shoot her?” He looked back at Billy, his eyes very focused. “If I’d wanted to kill her, there were plenty of drugs in the house that would have provided a much kinder, gentler way for her to die than a fucking bullet.” He grabbed Billy’s hand and squeezed. “You’ve got to believe me.”

  “You know? I do.” Billy held Rupert’s hand then released it. “I finally do.” He picked up a paper. “I think you took such good care of Evelyn that you wou
ldn’t let her go. Even though she was ready to die.”

  “Shut the fuck up! What do you know about it?” Rupert jumped up, both fists on the desk. “Evelyn was a fighter. Okay, she said something to me. She was tired, that’s all. I knew she wasn’t serious, but I kept the pain meds locked away anyway. Just to be safe. Depression is to be expected in a terminal patient.” He wiped away a tear. “Listen to me, Pagan. She’d never really give up, not if she was thinking straight. My Evie? Ready to die? No way in hell.”

  “Then how do you explain her cash withdrawal of fifty thousand dollars the week before her murder?” Billy handed the paper to Rupert. “Looks like a payoff to me. Unless you remember seeing 50K lying around somewhere.”

  Rupert stared at it. “What are you saying? That she hired her own hitman?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Now all we have to do is prove it.” Billy sat behind his desk again. “But that’s the problem. Tracing a cash transaction is a bitch. I have my man on it, but it’s going to be tough to prove. We need evidence, Rupert. So you’re going to have to think. How would Evelyn go about hiring a hitman? Where would she go? Who could she ask about it?”

  “I can’t imagine.” Rupert looked stunned. But it was clear he was thinking. “Do you put an ad on Craigslist? How the fuck should I know?”

  “She was your wife for almost ten years. Think about her habits and if there’s anything she did in those last days that might help us figure this out.” Billy sent a text to Albert. “We need to talk to your housekeeper. I know she’s a hostile witness, but the key word here is witness. She knew Evelyn better than almost anyone. Maybe she can help us.”

  “Help me? I wouldn’t count on it.” Rupert pulled out his own phone. “But I’ll give it a try. Maybe we can set up a meeting.”

  “That’s a start. Let me know when it will be. I have to be there.” Billy got up, ready to walk Rupert to the door.

  “What else can I do?” He frowned at his phone. “I’ll let you set that up. She won’t answer my call. Thinks I’m a murderer.”

  “Okay, leave it to me. Give Mai the number.” Billy squeezed Rupert’s shoulder. “And prepare to be your own star witness. You just convinced me you loved Evelyn and would never hurt her. I want you to do the same to a jury if it comes to that.”

  * * * *

  Shannon usually looked forward to the Ballet Ball all year long. With everything that had been going on, she realized she’d given it little thought this time. Yes, she’d arranged the large donation from the Calhoun Petroleum and Pagan Law Firm alliance that had helped sponsor the event, but the actual details had been left to a committee she had resigned from once she discovered the company was in trouble. Her friends had been shocked that she’d given up the chairmanship that was her right. She’d worked her way up to that senior position. But now that she had a day job, she’d realized devoting hours every week to a volunteer position just wasn’t practical.

  Of course, the real reason she’d dropped her committee memberships for all the charities and volunteer organizations she supported was that she knew once word of her father’s double dealing came to light, she’d be asked to resign anyway. She’d seen it happen before when scandals broke. Shannon Calhoun, volunteer of the year, head of this committee, founder of that outreach program, would be whispered about, maybe pitied because her daddy had been a cheat and a liar.

  Shannon looked longingly at the decanter of bourbon sitting on her dressing table. When had she gotten so dependent on the booze that she’d moved it in here? A bad sign. She refused to give in to the urge to splash some into a glass and ease this tension that was giving her the start of a headache.

  Stop it. No one knew yet that Calhoun was on the brink of collapse. Letters had gone out to the injured parties, Billy called them, and they were going to work on settlements. As long as they could keep things quiet and the price of oil kept going up, why things might just come out all right. She should try to stay positive. Certainly her job tonight was to keep the Calhoun name shiny and bright.

  So she and Billy would go to the ball. Dance. Yes, he’d said he could tango, hadn’t he? Okay, then. They’d have fun. Act like sponsors who had the money and prestige to support the arts in Houston generously. It was one of her favorite causes. Time enough to worry about the company and the future later.

  She dressed carefully in the dress her mother had sent her. Last year she’d had her personal hairdresser and a makeup artist come to the house the day of the ball. No way could she afford that now. So she did her hair and makeup herself. Looking in the mirror at the end of her huge closet, she had to admit she looked pretty damned good. Billy liked her hair down anyway and he’d have hated the airbrushed makeup guaranteed to last through a wind storm or crying jag. Not that she was anticipating either of those tonight.

  She practically flew downstairs when Janie called and told her Billy was waiting. Sky high stilettos tonight, so when she walked into his arms, they were almost eye to eye.

  “Wow. You are gorgeous.” He pecked her on the cheek. “Guess I’d better not mess up your lipstick.”

  She picked up her jeweled clutch from the table in the entry. “Go ahead. I can fix it in the car.” She raised her lips and pulled down his head. “You look pretty gorgeous yourself.”

  A wolf whistle broke them apart. Shannon laughed and faced her brother in the living room doorway.

  “You clean up well.” She approved of his tux. She couldn’t remember that he’d ever worn one before.

  “It’s Dad’s. I sneaked it out of his closet before you donated his things. Just fit.” Ethan looked a little sheepish. “Was it stupid of me?”

  “No, I think it was the right thing to do.” She walked up to him and straightened his black satin bow tie.

  “You two are getting an early start. We have a couple of hours yet before we have to be there.” He held a glass of bourbon in his hand, and it was all Shannon could do not to snatch it and take a drink. First, he looked like Daddy and now he smelled like him too.

  She shook her head, clearing it. No, her daddy might have sponsored the Ballet Ball, just for her, but she’d never seen him this young or, hmm, excited about going.

  “Command performance. We’re stopping at my grandmother’s first. She wants to take pictures of us. To show to her friends,” Billy answered when it became obvious Shannon wasn’t going to.

  “Yes, that’s right.” She took Billy’s hand. “What about you? Need a ride? We can take you with us.”

  “No, I’ve got a date. I’ll pick her up in a little while.” He stared down at his drink, not meeting Shannon’s eyes.

  “Who is it? Do I know her?” His usual dates were women who would look good in a ball gown but had boob measurements bigger than their IQs.

  “You’ll meet her at the ball. We’ll be sitting at the Calhoun table.” He set down his drink. “Guess you two had better take off.” He opened the front door. “Nice night anyway.”

  “A mystery lady.” Shannon punched him on the arm as she grabbed her silk wrap then breezed past him. “Now I can’t wait.”

  “Good luck, Ethan. This woman can be dangerous when she decides to focus her attention on you. I can vouch for that.” Billy almost bumped into her when she stopped short at the sight of the limo waiting in front of the house. A chauffer jumped out to hold open the passenger door for them.

  “What’s this?” She gave him a raised eyebrow.

  “We should arrive in style. We’re sponsors after all.” He grinned at her. “Stan is our chauffer this evening. We went to high school together. He actually owns a fleet of these. Stan, Shannon Calhoun.”

  Stan doffed his cap. “Good evening, Ms. Calhoun. Enjoy your evening.”

  “Thanks, Stan. I’m sure I will. I like your style, Mr. Pagan.” She let the chauffer help her into the car, then scooted over so she could make room for Billy. Once the d
oor was closed, she turned to him. “I see there’s a divider that can give us total privacy.” She ran a hand over Billy’s smooth jaw. He’d had a recent and very close shave and smelled deliciously like something subtle and spicy. “After the ball, I can imagine a celebration here. What do you think? Will Stan be scandalized?”

  “I bet Stan has seen everything. He’s driving us tonight personally as a favor, right, Stan?” Billy looked at the driver who had just put the car in gear.

  “I make it a policy to be deaf when I’m driving. Didn’t hear a word you said, Billy.” The privacy screen buzzed up, closing with a click.

  “A good friend, I think.” Shannon smiled.

  “You just made this event worth my while, Ms. Calhoun. And here I’d been dreading it.” He slid his hand over her bare shoulder. “I’d like for us to slip out of there as early as possible.”

  “Excellent idea.” She leaned back as the driver put the car in motion. “Can you imagine the stir this limo will cause in your grandmother’s neighborhood?”

  “Yes, I can. So I told Stan to bring his handgun. He’s ready for anything.”

  Shannon gripped Billy’s leg. “You did not!”

  Billy laughed and picked up her hand. “Relax, Shannon. We’ll be fine. But, yes, I did.”

  Chapter 14

  “I can’t believe you had her committed.” His grandmother was furious with him.

  Billy tried to distract her. “Gran, look at Shannon. Isn’t she beautiful?” He pulled her inside the house and slammed the burglar bars behind him.

  “Yes, yes.” Gran stopped fussing long enough to glance at Shannon. “Red. Now that’s a color that looks good on you, girl. Much better than all that black you wear. High heels too. Shows off your legs through the slit in your long skirt. Very pretty.”

  “Thanks, Gran.” Shannon looked uncomfortable. “Maybe I should wait in the car. If you two need to discuss something.”