Fire Mountain

by Vickie McKeehan

  Despite his apprehension, Lando unzipped the bag and found it contained a couple of T-shirts, some cash banded together in hundred-dollar bills, another driver’s license in yet another name, and a passport using the same photo. “I think we just found Woodson’s go bag.”

  “But it wasn’t with him on the plane,” Zeb pointed. “And look what we have here. Membership cards tucked away in the side pocket to a host of hotels along the Vegas Strip, along with high-end casino chips. There must be five thousand dollars’ worth here.”

  “What the hell was this guy into? Aren’t some of those from local casinos here in California? I recognize the logos.”

  “A few, yeah. Why wouldn’t he cash in these chips? Why would he cart off chips after a gambling spree without cashing them in first?”

  The questions hung in the air until both men stared at each other long enough for the answers to pop on the radar.

  “Counterfeit coins turned into fake chips,” Lando murmured aloud. “Could our own Kenny Painter be part of all this?”

  “I’d be shocked if he isn’t. But finding fake chips in Woodson’s locker hardly implicates Painter. We’ll need more to nail him than this.”

  Lando scratched the side of his face where a slight stubble had grown because he hadn’t bothered to shave that morning. “I’d say we need a lot more than Painter meeting Woodson in a pub for drinks. Let’s gather all this up and lay it out back at the station. But you should take the chips. If they were used at the casino, that’s not in my jurisdiction.”

  Zeb ran a hand through his hair. “Depends on where the counterfeiting took place, though, doesn’t it? Was it on the Rez or in Woodson’s house?”

  “Good point. Joint task force then?”

  When the door opened to the locker room, Lando whirled around expecting to see the nosy manager had returned. But he was surprised to see Gemma standing in the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

  “Suzanne told me where you’d gone. I know you guys are involved in this Woodson thing. But I just got off the phone with a woman named Jennifer Wheeling, who claims Brandt Lewis married her sister five years back. Her sister’s name was Felicia Lewis. Jennifer says Felicia mysteriously drowned in a rural pond down in Humboldt County after being married to Brandt Lewis for less than eight months. She says no one’s done anything about Felicia’s death. But if it’s true, I’ve underestimated Talia’s husband. I think someone needs to check out this woman’s story.”

  “We’re ready to go anyway,” Lando said, picking up the canvas bag and the other evidence. “I’ll call her back, get her to go over the details again. Did she mention the coroner’s findings? How did he rule her sister’s death?”

  “Accidental drowning.”

  Lando and Zeb exchanged looks, but it was Lando who shook his head. “Nothing’s ever easy, is it?”

  Zeb started tossing the chips back in the shaving kit. “Nope. It’s been my experience that this job will have you pulling your hair out if you let it.”

  10

  The curious thing about Brandt Lewis was that women kept dying around him. A more in-depth background check revealed his own mother had succumbed to a mysterious virus at the age of fifty-four, leaving her only son a modest one-hundred grand inheritance.

  “It doesn’t mean Brandt gave her some kind of bug that made her sick enough to die,” Gemma cautioned.

  “Just coincidental then?” Lando tossed back. “Do you really think that?”

  They’d been going back and forth for the last thirty minutes while cooking dinner. While Lando diced tomatoes to go in a beef and rice casserole, Gemma browned the meat.

  The ringing doorbell was the only thing that kept the conversation from getting more heated. Lando put down his knife, barely beating the dogs to the front door.

  Luke and Lianne rushed past him into the house. Lianne began to apologize for the intrusion. “Sorry to interrupt whatever you have going on, but I overheard a rumor in the shop today that I think you might find interesting.”

  “Might as well come in and have supper,” Lando offered, leading the way back into the kitchen.

  Gemma turned from the stove. “Hey, what are you guys doing here? Have you eaten?”

  Luke sniffed the air. “Whatever you’re making smells good.”

  “We wouldn’t want to impose,” Lianne said.

  “Don’t be silly. There’s plenty. It’ll take another thirty minutes in the oven, though.”

  Luke made himself at home and snatched a beer from the fridge. “That’s fine, we’re in no hurry.”

  Lando eyed his brother. “What was the rumor?”

  “You start,” Luke urged, turning to Lianne and grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl.

  A little breathless, Lianne took a seat at the table. “It’s like this. Natalie Henwick was having a conversation with Harry Ashcomb and Tully Beacham as they all three came into the shop to order lattes and chocolate. It seems Natalie rented a house on the outskirts of town to Tiffany Ringgold.”

  “The same Tiffany who’s blackmailing our sister,” Luke provided.

  “I get it,” Lando said as he finished his slicing task, then handed off the tomatoes so Gemma could use them as a topping.

  “Natalie verified that Brandt Lewis has been seen spending time out at Tiffany’s rental. And get this. Brandt and Tiffany both knew the guy whose plane went down.”

  That information made the hairs stand up on the back of Lando’s neck. “They said all that?”

  “Natalie mostly. But Tully seemed worried about Natalie blabbing about all this, especially in a public place. Tully told her to lower her voice. After that, I couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation.”

  Lando opened the refrigerator and took out another beer. “I hope Tully isn’t involved with Woodson’s illegal schemes.”

  Luke popped a cherry tomato in his mouth. “The fire chief? Why would he be mixed up in this?”

  Gemma leaned over to grab the bowl before Luke ate all the garnish. “I’ve heard that Beacham likes to gamble. Suzanne told me this afternoon that he used to fly up to Vegas with Woodson.”

  “And you never thought to mention this before now?” Lando asked.

  Gemma slipped the casserole into the oven. “Excuse me, but it slipped my mind what with the call from Jennifer Wheeling suggesting another victim.”

  “Another victim?” Lianne prompted. “That sounds bad.”

  “Seems Brandt Lewis is a very unlucky guy when it comes to his wives,” Gemma explained, relaying the phone conversation from earlier.

  Luke clucked his tongue. “That doesn’t sound good for your faith in him.”

  Gemma swatted Luke’s arm. “My faith in him was always fluid. And since there’s a question about his first wife’s death…”

  “And the affair,” Lianne supplied. “Gemma didn’t know about those things when she first got her vibe.”

  “Thanks for defending me but I’ve come to realize I’m not always right. Plus, I like to think I can keep an open mind when it comes to murder. If Brandt and Tiffany were having an affair though, who’s to say Tiffany didn’t do the deed instead of Brandt?”

  Lando cocked a brow. “How long has this affair been going on? We should find that out. Maybe Tiffany was around when the first wife died in that pond. Something else to consider. What caused Brandt to pick Talia out of a list of online profiles? What was it that made her more attractive to a con man than any of the others?”

  “Money,” Luke offered. “It’s the only thing Lewis cared about.”

  That wasn’t good enough for Lando. “But how did he know Talia was well set? What inside information did he have about Talia that he couldn’t have easily obtained from the others? Why Coyote Wells? The link to Coyote Wells is definitely Tiffany Ringgold. She grew up here.” He snapped his fingers. “Maybe that’s why Peter Woodson settled here and not some other place. Maybe his link was also Tiffany.”

  Gemma began to throw together a salad that w
ould feed four. “Did you run a background check on Tiffany? That might come in handy for Friday night.”

  “I’ll get Dale to start it now. How hard would it be to counterfeit casino chips?”

  Luke finished off his apple and tossed the core into the trash. “Hard to tell that since the gaming commission keeps a tight lid on that type info. But I would think it’d be almost impossible due to the RFID tags embedded inside them. If the large denomination chips are removed at any time from the casino, security simply deactivates them all, making the chips worthless.”

  “But not for lack of trying to do it, right? I think Woodson had a good run with counterfeit coins and decided to try his luck with fake chips. Maybe he found someone willing to alter the RFID technology because Zeb and I found enough evidence in his locker at the airport to suggest he was at least attempting to do it.”

  “And you think Brandt and Tiffany were part of this?”

  “Maybe. But Woodson also spent time in Thackery’s Pub with his buddies. His contact here locally could’ve been Kenny Painter. Tully was also mentioned. And now we’ve heard about the trips to Vegas. Lucien Thorne was a regular in that pub. So who knows how many people Woodson might’ve recruited for his scheme.”

  Gemma shook her head. “But a scheme like that only works if the circle remains tight. This one is falling apart fast right in front of your eyes. It occurs to me if Woodson was involved with Lewis, Talia’s death might’ve kicked off a chain of events that was never supposed to happen. Her death screwed the pooch, so to speak, bringing to light the counterfeiting, the core of why they were here.”

  Lando leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips. “That’s why I love being married to you. Who needs your psychic ability when your logic is even better? I think you’ve just blown the lid off their conspiracy or at least the fundamental flaw in it. It makes sense that Talia wasn’t supposed to die. But when she did, things spiraled out of Woodson’s control. It all went sideways and someone in the group panicked and got rid of Woodson.”

  “We just have to figure out who,” Gemma added, taking out the bottle of red that Vince had given her and handing it off to Lando for him to open. “Since Talia died first, find whoever killed her and you’ll likely find Woodson’s killer as well.”

  The timer dinged on the oven and they all sat down to eat, chatting about the list of possible suspects.

  “Who do you intend to focus on the most?” Gemma wanted to know, trying a sip of the wine. “Huh. Vinny’s pride and joy tastes very good with a hint of spice and berry.”

  Lando tried a sip and made a face before pushing his glass toward hers. “It’s all yours. Too sweet for my palate. I’ll stick with a beer. As to who I think should top the list, it’s a tie between Kenny Painter and Tiffany.”

  “Really?” Lianne muttered, leaving her elbows on the table. “So the conversation I overheard doesn’t help at all?”

  “It does. But until I figure out if Tully was part of the counterfeiting or if he even knew about it, I’m sticking with Tiffany and Painter. Zeb is looking into the chip angle while I concentrate on the murders.”

  Luke cleared his throat. “Not to change the subject or anything, but does anyone want to address the elephant in the room? Do you think Leia and Zeb are in trouble? Anyone want to take bets whether or not they make it to the big day?”

  Gemma let out a sigh, drained her wine glass, then reached for Lando’s. “Starting off their lives together with a lie is risky. Even though, Leia’s right about Zeb. He is a tad on the pious side when it comes to taking the high ground.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if he’s as squeaky clean as he makes out to be,” Luke proffered. “I mean the guy is too good to be true.” Just as he was about to finish off his beer, he caught the look on Lando’s face and recognized it. “You know something, don’t you? You know him better than we do. What is it you know?”

  “I’m not stepping into the middle of this, not for a million bucks. Zeb is my friend. I like our working relationship these days. I’m not gonna go mess it up by sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  “Zeb may be your friend, but Leia’s your sister,” Gemma chided.

  “A sister who hates me,” Lando fired back. “You know it’s true, so don’t sit there and pretend otherwise.”

  “If you overlooked that little issue, though, would you help anyone else in this situation?” Luke pointed out as he dished up a second helping of the cheesy beef and rice. “Come on, give us something. Is Zeb hiding anything that might give Leia an equal footing?”

  Lando traded looks with his wife. “Look, the only thing I could possibly add to this is…what I heard…at the time.”

  “Go on,” Lianne prompted, picking up her own wine glass in eager anticipation.

  Lando cut his eyes to Lianne in disgust. “What? You too?”

  “Well, I do know Leia did something she’s not proud of but was she the first one to cheat? That’s the question, isn’t it? After all, Zeb was away at college, living away from home for the very first time. Was he as faithful to Leia as he wants everyone to think or not?”

  “Honestly, I don’t think so,” Lando divulged. “During his first year at college, I know Zeb had a crush on this girl with money. She used to drive a fancy convertible. They went out…”

  Gemma didn’t wait for him to finish before her blood began to boil. “Wait a minute. Was this during the time the two were supposed to be exclusive? Like the fall in question?”

  “I think so. Look, the girl was snooty and dumped Zeb before Christmas. It might’ve lasted a month, not even that.”

  Gemma’s wheels were turning. “Doesn’t matter. If Zeb took the low road and dumped poor Leia back here at home, while she was pining for him after going after Snooty Girl, then…”

  “Come on, that fall Zeb left for college Leia admitted she was already thinking about doing it with the tuba player…” Lando pointed out.

  “French horn,” Luke corrected. “Taylor played the French horn.”

  “Whatever,” Lando began. “The point is, if she was cheating on Zeb with the guy from the band, shouldn’t it all equal out?”

  “You’d think so,” Gemma concluded. “But you didn’t mention this to her? Not a whiff of it. Why not?”

  “Why would I? The woman literally hates to be in the same room with me.”

  “Because she’s beating herself up, even falling victim to a blackmailer,” Gemma bellowed. “She’s clearly conflicted.”

  “What do you want me to do about it?” Lando fired back.

  “Tell her. Act like a caring brother. Or better still remind Zeb about his little indiscretion.”

  “What am I supposed to do, get Zeb by himself and ask about his fling with the woman—I don’t even know her name—that happened a dozen years ago?”

  Gemma drummed her fingers on the table, clearly thinking about how they could use that information. “Hmm. We need to find out her name. That’s the first step. Then, you could tell him that she’s been asking around about him, bring it up in casual conversation. That way you could measure his reaction. Is he worried Leia might find out about Snooty Girl? Is he wondering if Snooty Girl will disrupt his wedding?”

  “Good grief, woman,” Lando said, his voice rising. “You really do want to throw me under the bus, don’t you?”

  “It’s for a good cause. For love,” Gemma reasoned. “You need to get Zeb to see that he needs to be more flexible when it comes to that pious attitude of his. He’s not always right.”

  “I’m not doing it. This is something the two of them should work out by themselves. That’s what couples do. That’s why they should go to the cabin together. They don’t need any interference from me. Trust me, it will not be appreciated.”

  “But you know the truth. That has to count for something,” Luke tossed out.

  Gemma nodded in agreement. “Besides that, they need a nudge to get them to the same place.”

  Lianne picked up her wine glass
and held it high. “Meeting in the middle. It’s called compromise. It’s the foundation of every successful relationship.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake. That sounds like great advice in theory if it had been written on a blog somewhere, but you try bringing something like that up in everyday conversation.”

  “It has to be done,” Gemma said, looking directly at Lando. “You’re their only hope. Because I’m pretty sure you’re the only one Zeb would be willing to listen to. He respects you. You’re equals.”

  Lando pushed his plate back, his appetite gone. “Stop it. False flattery is beneath you. All of you.”

  Gemma patted his hand. “At least find out the woman’s name. Maybe the three of us will take it from there.”

  Luke slapped his brother on the back. “Don’t worry. If it goes well, we’ll make sure you’re the hero. If it goes south, then we’ll put the blame all on you.”

  Lando rolled his eyes and downed the last drops of his beer. “You guys will owe me big time for this. I want an agreement, here and now, on that one thing.”

  “Anything, bro. You have our undying word of honor,” Luke vowed, hand over his heart, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “How about I tell you where my favorite fishing spot is?”

  “You mean that creek that dumps into Spirit Lake? I’ve known that for years. You’ll have to do better than that.”

  Luke draped an arm over his brother’s shoulder. “All right. You want something big? Remember that time in the locker room when you thought Fleet Barkley was the one who stuffed cow manure in your cleats? That was me.” He started backing away from his brother as the bombshell sunk in.

  Lando reached out to seek his revenge, but Luke was faster, darting out past the sliding back door and into the backyard with Lando at his heels.