Sam was having enough struggle to realize it was Faustina on the line, as she hadn’t identified herself.
“Margaret Contreras.”
“Lila’s …”
“Yes, her mother. She is driving up from Albuquerque and thinks we should get together. ‘We’re both grieving,’ she told me. I’ve never met the woman, and I have no idea how she got my phone number.”
That’s right, Sam remembered, the parents are coming to claim Lila’s body. She reached the house and went inside.
“What did you say to her?” she asked Faustina. “Did you agree to meet?”
“Not exactly. But I have a feeling she may show up at my door any minute now.”
“Any minute? Are you okay with that?”
“What choice do I have? I cannot be rude. But I’m here alone for the day because Pauline is volunteering at the church.”
Sam rolled her eyes upward to the ceiling. “Would you like me to come over?”
“Yes—I was hoping you would say that. Can you come now? She was calling from the Albuquerque airport, and that was nearly three hours ago.”
Faustina was right—Margaret Contreras could show up any moment. Sam felt for the older woman whose social upbringing wouldn’t allow her to just say no. She changed to a clean blouse and got into her car.
A white rental sedan sat at the curb when Sam arrived at the Flores home. It was eerily similar to the one Lila had been driving, same make and model. Sam ignored that and accidentally bumped her horn to give a quick heads-up.
Faustina met her at the door, looking overjoyed to see her. “Samantha, please come in and meet my visitor, Mrs. Contreras.”
The woman who stepped forward was close to Sam’s age, with dark hair and chocolate eyes behind fashionable eyeglasses. She wore a turquoise pantsuit that went out of fashion twenty years ago, but it was sharply pressed and brightly accented with a pink and turquoise scarf that draped over her shoulders.
“I’m Margaret,” she said, with a smile that failed to break through the grief in her eyes.
“I was very sorry to hear of your loss,” Sam said.
“Both of our families are suffering,” Margaret said. “My ex-husband and I are here in town for reasons we would have never imagined. I reached out to Sally before we left, and I just thought it would be kind to come and see Faustina and Pauline as well. I pray for all of you, for all of us.”
Bizarre. Reaching out to the family of the man accused of killing your daughter? Social niceties were one thing, but this seemed way off the charts. Sam felt her smile waver and sent a glance toward Faustina, who clearly didn’t know what she should say next.
Luckily Sam had reached for the first little gift she could think to bring, a bag of coffee from her shop. She handed it to her hostess, who made a much bigger fuss than necessary. They had moved into the living room and taken seats, although Sam felt ready to spring from her chair on a moment’s notice to escape the awkward situation.
“I’ve come straight from the airport,” Margaret said. “I thought I would offer to stay with you, Faustina, if you’d like the company. Sally is very upset about Danny and said you were too.”
Faustina’s eyes grew wide and her mouth flapped open and shut again.
“That won’t be at all necessary,” Sam said. “Faustina and Pauline have a huge number of friends here in town for support. Pauline is, in fact, at the church today with a lot of them.”
She gave Margaret a firm look. “I assume you wouldn’t have flown to New Mexico and driven all the way to Taos without a hotel reservation already booked? And if not, it shouldn’t be a problem to get one on short notice at this time of year. The Riverside Hotel is a nice place.”
“I believe Miguel booked rooms for us there already.”
Sam stood and held out a hand in Margaret’s direction, a clear indicator that it was time for her to go. The obtuse woman didn’t take the hint. Okay then, this is the perfect time to ask a few questions.
Sam walked toward the front windows and back, in her best Sherlock Holmes imitation. “You mentioned your ex-husband. He’s also in town now?”
Margaret cleared her throat. “Well, yes. He went directly to speak with the police—or is it the sheriff, here in Taos?”
Sam didn’t think she would reveal a whole lot to the family.
“He must have been close to your daughter.”
“Oh, yes. Lila was always something of a daddy’s girl.” Margaret sniffled and reached into her pocket for a tissue, the most emotion Sam had yet seen from her. “When he and I separated, I chose to stay in Nuevo Laredo. Lila insisted on moving to San Antonio with Miguel. She’d finished school and thought the larger city would offer more career opportunities.”
“Oh? What was her career?” Sam didn’t recall anyone mentioning one. Lila worked in a mall and after hours seemed to be the party girl who’d followed Danny everywhere he went.
“Fashion. She took online courses for a certificate, and she was on her way to becoming a very successful designer.”
San Antonio didn’t exactly seem like a perfect match for that, but Sam only nodded.
“I suggested that she branch out, go to New York or L.A. to get a foothold in the industry,” Margaret said. “I just thought … well, her talents could really shine in those places.”
Her job at the mall must have been a great stepping stone.
“Miguel didn’t see it that way at all. He always let Lila have her way, and she was skilled at getting it.”
Not very nice words from a mother. Apparently, the bitterness toward the ex ran deep.
Sam glanced up to see movement outside the window, a car pulling into the driveway. Pauline got out, toting an armful of lilies and trailing some white ribbons along. She walked over to open the front door for her.
“Sam! Hi, and thanks.” Pauline stepped inside and came to an abrupt stop when she spotted Margaret. Faustina filled the gap with a quick introduction.
Pauline offered the obligatory “sorry for your loss” and Margaret went into the same “I thought I’d offer condolences to you” that she’d gone through with Faustina, but both of the Lopez women seemed baffled by the presence of their uninvited guest.
This time, because Margaret was already standing when Sam held out an arm, the visitor picked up her purse and jammed her arm through the handles as she was escorted toward the door. People handle grief in many different ways, Sam realized. Margaret still seemed to be in denial.
Faustina practically collapsed as they watched Margaret get into her rental car.
“Oh, thank goodness you were here, Sam. She was driving me crazy and she’d only been here fifteen minutes.”
“Why did you let her come, Mama?” Paulina walked to the dining table where she carefully set the flowers down.
“I don’t know … I can’t be rude. I wish I could sometimes.”
“Mama, it’s not rude to tell someone you aren’t up for company. Especially someone like her.”
Sam edged toward the door. “I’ll just …”
“No, no, no, Sam. You’re fine. I’m so glad you came when Mama called. I hear that you spoke with Danny’s attorney.”
Pauline ushered her back to the center of the room and Faustina offered to make coffee, rushing into the kitchen before Sam could decline.
“Yes, actually I talked to Delia this morning. She’s asked me to go to San Antonio and see what I can learn from Danny’s friends. Maybe others will corroborate what he’s told us about Lila and the relationship.”
Pauline pulled a large glass vase from the nearby hutch and stuck the massive bunch of lilies into it. When she came back from filling it with water in the kitchen, she said, “Be sure you talk to Patsy.”
Danny’s sister who’d become such great friends with Lila. Now that might have interesting results.
“If nothing else, Patsy can give you a list of their friends. She and Danny weren’t exactly hanging out all the time, but she would know who did.”
“Great idea. I’ll do that.”
Faustina came from the kitchen, promising coffee in just five more minutes. Sam gave a glance at a big clock on the dining room wall and begged off. “I need to get home and look at travel plans.”
Pauline hugged her. “I’m so glad you’ll be helping the attorney. We need everyone we can get on Danny’s side.”
“I know. I feel that way, too.”
Faustina gave her a hug with arms that felt like twigs around Sam’s shoulders. She rubbed the older woman’s back. “I’ll do my best.”
If only my best is good enough.
Chapter 25
Although she’d used the excuse of getting home to make her travel plans, Sam realized her chances to catch Miguel Contreras and ask questions would be limited. Presumably the couple would identify Lila and make arrangements to go back to Texas fairly quickly. She was on Paseo del Pueblo Sur anyway, and it was easy to stop at the hotel on her way home.
She parked in the lot and walked into the lobby, stopping to ask at the front desk. The young clerk began tapping computer keys.
“Contreras … did you say Margaret?”
“No! I mean, no, it’s Miguel Contreras I need to speak with.”
“Ah yes. Please step to the house phone there and I’ll connect you.”
The phone rang six times and Sam began to itch. She should have asked Margaret for her ex-husband’s cell number. He could be anywhere in town right now, most likely still at the sheriff’s department. She was about ready to hang up when a male voice answered.
“Yeah.” He sounded out of breath and Sam pictured him hearing the phone from out in the corridor and making a mad dash for it.
“Miguel Contreras?” She turned her back to the curious clerk and quickly introduced herself. “I wonder if I might have a few minutes of your time to talk about your daughter? I’d be happy to buy you a coffee, or a drink. The hotel has both a coffee shop and a bar, right here off the lobby. Please. I’m sure you won’t be in town long.”
There were shuffling sounds over the line, as if he was wrestling his way out of a coat or maybe bending to untie his shoes. But something in what she’d said must have struck a note—he agreed to come back downstairs and meet her. Sam thanked him and hung up the phone. She turned toward the coffee shop and spotted Margaret Contreras coming out.
Definitely not someone she wanted to get tied up with, especially with her bitter ex headed downstairs at this moment. She wished for a magic portal to another world, but nothing like that appeared. She settled for a tall, polished stone sculpture of an Indian corn maiden and ducked behind it.
Margaret was staring down at her phone screen with a scowl on her face. Gone was the fakey-caring woman who’d offered to stay with Faustina for comfort. This one would be little comfort for anyone. Sam stared from beneath the corn maiden’s armpit and saw Margaret head for the elevator and press the button.
When the doors slid open, the man who stepped out muttered something, and Margaret glared at him. Uh-oh. It seemed the couple weren’t bothering to be polite with each other even in their time of grief.
Sam edged around the opposite side of the sculpture and quick-stepped over to the coffee shop entrance. When the man walked up behind her, she turned and put on a smile.
“You must be Miguel.” When she said his name, his tight-lipped mouth went into a smile, and Sam caught a glimpse of Lila’s expression in the straight, white teeth and curve of the lips.
He was about two inches taller than Sam, balding, with a dark fringe of hair above the ears. His café au lait skin was smooth except for squint lines around the eyes and the beginnings of jowls that went along with the extra twenty-five pounds he carried around his midsection. He wore jeans, a leather belt with a large silver and turquoise buckle, and a button-down white shirt with narrow blue stripes. Someone must have told him vertical stripes were slimming, but it didn’t quite work on him.
They were shown to a table and she went through the usual condolences and mentioned she’d met Lila’s mother earlier at a friend’s home.
A grimace crossed his features, one Sam read to mean: Ugh, Margaret, what a pain.
They ordered coffee, although it was the last thing Sam wanted.
“I should let you know; Danny Flores works for my husband at our ranch north of town,” Sam said. “Beau used to be the sheriff of Taos County.”
He held back whatever opinion he held about Danny. “So, what’s this, a condolence call or an interrogation?”
Sam went for a light mood, chuckling slightly. “I’m no interrogator. Beau and I befriended Danny and I met Lila once. It’s sad what’s happened, but I truly don’t think Danny had anything to do with your daughter’s death. The reason I’m here, and the reason I’m talking to people who knew them both, is because his attorney and his family have asked me to.”
He stirred four packets of sugar into the mug the waitress had set in front of him.
“Okay, fair enough. I always thought Danny was a nice kid, well-mannered, polite. Not much of a go-getter, frankly. I wasn’t sure what Lila saw in him, but she seemed crazy about him.”
Or just plain crazy.
“She said they planned to get married,” Sam ventured, “but Danny didn’t seem quite so sure about that.”
Miguel started to say something, thought better of it, raised his cup to his lips.
Sam went on. “There were a lot of text messages between them, and they sounded like Lila was getting very pushy on the subject. Apparently, Danny was very uncomfortable with her tone. He said he moved here to give himself some space.”
“Oh yeah? Uncomfortable enough to harm her? Space enough to get rid of her?”
Uh-oh. This was taking a nasty turn.
Miguel leaned forward, hands wrapped around his mug, forearms on the table. “I know this. My daughter did nothing wrong, and if their relationship went south, it was his doing. She was devastated when he suddenly moved away without telling her. She moved heaven and earth to figure out a way just to talk to him about it.”
There was another side to every story, Sam realized. Maybe Lila truly had believed she and Danny were meant to be together and by coming here she was merely trying to talk to him. But her father clearly didn’t know about the many calls and texts, and Lila had obviously not told him that Danny broke it off with her.
Parents have blind spots when it comes to their kids. Everyone does. Sam knew she would never convince this man that his daughter had problems, much less that she was a deranged stalker. Nor should she. He needed his memories to be positive ones.
But Danny’s family had needs too, and their need to know the truth about Lila’s killer was going to outweigh Miguel’s need to believe his daughter was an angel. Sam couldn’t sit by and see Danny tried and convicted for something he didn’t do, and right now it seemed as if she was the only one out there looking for proof of his innocence.
Sam thanked Miguel for meeting with her, placed money on the table to cover the coffee, and left. She arrived home to find an email from Kelly with their travel arrangements all done. They would be heading for the airport in the morning.
Chapter 26
Living in the northern part of New Mexico had plenty of charms, but one of them was not about the ease of air travel. The almost three-hour drive to the airport had to be factored into every trip, so Sam and Kelly were on the road shortly after five a.m. the next morning, Virtu and Manichee riding along in their carry-on bags. By eight-thirty they were in the boarding line at gate A-23.
And that’s when Sam spotted the Contreras parents. Not together. Margaret wore a pink pantsuit, which might have been the other-color twin of the one she’d had on yesterday at Faustina’s home. She was sitting primly upright on her seat in the waiting area, a magazine spread across her lap and a vacant look in her eyes. Miguel was already in the boarding line—of course he’d paid for a premium spot so he wouldn’t have to take a less than choice seat—staring at his phone
screen and giving an occasional glance toward the head of the line.
Sam pointed them out to Kelly. “I’m going to lay low since I don’t especially want them to know I’m heading to their city.” She diverted to the coffee kiosk on the other side of the large space.
Twenty minutes later they were aboard, Kelly having walked down the aircraft aisle ahead of Sam. They chose seats farther back than either of Lila’s parents.
“I suppose this means Lila is also on board,” Kelly said in a somber voice as she pulled out the inflight magazine for a quick browse.
Sam glanced at the floor. Kelly was probably right—the casket must be somewhere here beneath their feet. She wondered if the parents were having the same thought.
The flight was a short one, they didn’t see either of the Contrerases in the San Antonio terminal, and everything went smoothly at the car rental desk. By noon, they had settled into their hotel at the edge of the famed Riverwalk and were walking along the lovely shaded riverside sidewalk, deciding on a place for lunch.
“So, during the flight I organized the contact info I put together for the people I want to talk to,” Sam said, taking her seat at Joe’s Crab Shack. She pulled out her phone. “I think we owe it to Danny’s parents to talk with them first. Faustina gave me their phone number and address. I’m going to see if they’re available after lunch.”
Kelly pointed out the sampler platter on the menu and they opted to share it. When the server walked away, Sam dialed the Flores home and Sally answered right away.
“Oh, Sam. Yes, I was told you would be in town today. I’m almost ready to put lunch on the table if you can get here right away. It’s beef tacos and beans.”
“That’s sweet of you, but we’re good on lunch. How about if we come by around one-thirty?”
The plan was set, the seafood lunch was just what two ladies from the mountains were hungry for, and they found the Flores home without any trouble, using the rental’s GPS. The brick home sat in a well-maintained middle class neighborhood, and Sally had evidently inherited Faustina’s love of gardening. Brilliant red hibiscus flowers, pale yellow columbine, and purple salvia adorned the front yard.
Deadly Sweet Dreams Page 11
