My excuse for dropping by was that Misty hadn’t returned my calls. And I needed to make sure frail Misty was all right with a killer on the loose. Should pass the laugh test.
One of the garage doors was open, so it was obvious someone was home. Because it was the middle of the afternoon, I hoped the lord of the manor was busy selling real estate.
My body ached and protested as I dismounted, but I’d been hurt worse before. Glanced inside the garage and spotted Misty’s snazzy little BMW convertible. That was good news.
Rambo was a well-trained horse. Even so, I tied him to a lamp post near the garage. He grazed on the Glickmans’ immaculately trimmed shrubs.
Boomer and I headed for the front patio, and I used their fancy knocker to announce our presence.
No response.
I knocked again, harder. It was always possible Misty was out walking the neighborhood. It was a lovely fall day. The garage could’ve been opened by a servant or worker, but somebody had to be on site.
When no one responded, I started to get worried. She wasn’t the type of woman who could fight off an intruder, and there were several ways to sneak into this development on foot.
The dog and I walked around the side of the house. The backyard was fenced in, but the gate had been left unlocked.
To my relief, I found Misty lounging in a skimpy pink bikini beside their not-so-skimpy swimming pool. She sat at a teak table under a bright yellow umbrella and flipped through a fashion magazine.
A Hispanic maid approached her, bringing her a glass of white wine. They both looked at me at the same time and froze.
“Oh, was that you banging on the door? Consuela thought you were trying to sell something.” Misty waved her servant away and grinned at me. “Sorry I haven’t gotten back to you, Hank, but I’ve been incredibly busy. Love your blouse, by the way.”
Willow had bought me the pale blue silk blouse that I’d thrown on. “My better half has great taste in clothes.”
“Yes, she does. You’re very lucky.” She showed me a peach-colored silk dress in her magazine. “Do you think this would look good on me?”
Misty talked with such charm. I almost let her distract me. Aspen’s trophy wives were the cream of the crop.
I did my best to lie with equal ease. “This isn’t really a business call. I took the afternoon off. Just happened to be horse riding in the neighborhood and wanted to be sure you were okay.”
She nodded as though she believed me. “That’s so sweet. As you can see, I’m bearing up under life’s sorrows as best as I can. May I offer you a glass of wine or a beer?”
I wasn’t technically working, and the drink would give me a good excuse to hang around for a few minutes. “Thanks so much. I’ll try what you’re having. Looks scrumptious.”
She motioned for me to sit across from her at the table and texted something on her phone. Then she said, “I’ve been dying to ask you about that property Willow just bought. Zack says it has lots of potential.”
What he meant was, it was a three-million-dollar fixer-upper. “It does, but you must’ve heard, we found a corpse buried on one corner of the lot.”
She nodded eagerly. “Must’ve been awful.”
I told her how the body had turned up and how I found the murderer. That’d been an exciting couple of days.
The maid brought out a plate of hors d’oeuvres and a glass of wine. I sipped it. No idea what it was, but it tasted great.
We talked about how hard it was to find good contractors in this area, and I waited for an opening to bring the conversation around to adultery.
My hostess asked about Willow’s renovation plans, and I did my best to explain the major changes she planned.
Finally, Misty said, “Since you’re here, why don’t you tell me why you called.”
“So, I’ve been investigating Sherman Blatter’s murder, and as part of the investigation, I’m talking to everyone he knew. According to his phone records, you and he seemed to have exchanged a number of calls over the last week or so of his life.”
That wasn’t the kind of thing most married women did with handsome, single men, and I expected her to deny everything. Wrong again, doofus.
I ate a cracker with cheese on it. They were great, so I tossed one to the mutt.
“Yeah,” she said, “I knew you’d figure that out. Sherm and I had a little thing going. Payback against my hubby. Of course, I’d prefer Zack didn’t find out. Sherm swore he’d never tell a soul.”
I couldn’t stifle a laugh. “Really, Misty? You believed him? I thought you were smarter than that. He couldn’t wait to brag about doing you to his tennis buddies.”
Her face flushed red. “I didn’t think you’d be so snarky about it.”
“I’m no saint. But come on! Sherm was flakey. You have to admit it.”
She leaned forward and tapped her carefully manicured fingernail on the teak surface. “Okay, maybe he was, and maybe I wasn’t as careful as I should’ve been. The thing is, Zack promised me three weeks in Tahiti this fall. Then, right before we were scheduled to leave, he told me he was too busy. After I’d bought this little number to entice him on the beach.” She spread her arms to show her suit. “I’d researched the islands there, made lots of plans, all for nothing.”
Of course, she was disappointed. “It’s a fantastic suit, girl, I have to say that out loud. You could be in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. What the fuck was Zack thinking?”
She shrugged. “Instead of enjoying French Polynesia, I’m sitting at home, alone, while he’s making more money than Midas. How much dough does a guy need, Hank?”
I threw up my hands. “You’re asking the wrong gal. I got along great on sixty grand a year until Willow spoiled me rotten. When she kicks me to the curb, I’m gonna have a helluva time settling back to that old life.”
I blew out a deep breath as I tried to shake off that fear. “Anyway, let’s just get this over with. When did you start having sex with Sherm?”
She checked her phone. “Twelve days ago, I met him at a party, him and his bimbo. She immediately started bending Zack’s ear about buying a home around here. He saw dollar signs in her eyes. They sat down at a table in the dining room, and he pulled out a tablet with his listings on it.”
I groaned. “Some people never stop working.”
“Tell me about it. Anyway, Sherm made some sarcastic remark to me about my idiot hubby, and it hit home. Then Sherm told me flat out I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Actually, a lot of men have said that over the years, but this time, it sent a thrill through me. After talking to him for a few minutes, I thought he’d be perfect for a casual affair. The word around town was he’s good in bed, and he was.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
I wasn’t there to judge her but to find a trail to a jealous husband. “Maybe Zack found out.”
She snickered. “Not a chance. He’d go nuclear. I’m basically his property, and he doesn’t share. But for some reason, he thinks it’s fine for him to bang other women. I smell them on him when he comes home sometimes.”
I wasn’t surprised at that news. I’d heard rumors for years about her husband’s philandering ways. “What was he doing last Saturday afternoon?”
She checked her phone again. “He attended a closing on a property in Snowmass Village at noon. I went with and met my friend Karen Wolf at the Stonebridge Inn for lunch. The other realtor was Sally Ivins. Then, at three, Zack and I played our regular mixed doubles match with the mayor’s daughter and her husband. Drinks afterwards at Limelight.”
Solid alibis we could easily confirm. “Last question. Did Sherm seem distracted while he was with you? He was suffering from cancer.”
“Definitely didn’t act like it. Full of life. Each time he came over, he was so crazy happy to see me. Said all the right things. Very enthusiastic in bed. I really miss him, even if he was an oddball.”
I couldn�
��t think of a response, so I just thanked her for her time and tried to hide my disappointment. It was certainly possible Zack had paid someone to kill Shermie, but Misty was a sharp lady. I doubted he could keep his anger hidden from her.
But all wasn’t lost. I still had a chance of finding a jealous guy around Pauline. Some men went nuts for her.
-o-o-o-
By the time I got back to the place where we were horsesitting, I realized I needed to call Mom. Every time she heard news about me getting banged up, she worried. Luckily, she wasn’t as tech-savvy as Willow, so news about me didn’t get to her as quickly.
Mom sounded like her old cheerful self. During my last big case, we’d turned a corner on our relationship. She wasn’t happy that I chose to be gay, at least that was how she looked at it, but we’d agreed to put that issue aside. Otherwise, we could have a normal mother-daughter relationship.
Dad was a whole different story. He literally hated me for something I couldn’t change. I never understand why Mom stayed with that stiff-necked, judgmental, and depressed bastard. Hell, she not only stays but finds good things to say about him.
Pushing that mystery aside, I gave Mom a summary of the attack and assured her that I was fine. And before I rang off, I reminded her that any media reports to the contrary were fake news exaggerated to boost ratings. We made plans to have lunch next week, and I couldn’t wait to see her again.
-o-o-o-
Willow arrived back home, and Linda walked her inside the house before leaving.
I gave the woman of my dreams an accurate summary of what really happened in the drive by attack. Finished with, “A miss is as good as a mile.”
Instead of being comforted, Willow yelled at me, “I can’t believe you were stupid enough to step in front of a speeding car.”
That stung. The car had been stopped when I crossed the road. And I wasn’t going to admit a mistake while I was under attack. “Not my fault, but I’m not ever doing that again.”
She sobbed. “I can’t stand hearing about these close calls. You mean too much to me.”
This was getting out of control. “I’m going to be lots more careful,” I said, without knowing exactly how.
That seemed to satisfy her—for the moment—but I knew this discussion was far from over. Cops led dangerous lives, and some partners couldn’t handle the fear.
A chill ran through me. The thought of losing Willow made my stomach churn, almost to the point of hurling. The thought of losing her was far scarier than facing that fucking Mercedes.
To get ahold of myself, I tried to change the subject. “Alex should be here soon. What do you want to tell him?”
She didn’t speak for a moment. Then, she said, “You’re the expert. What do we need?”
I let the suggestion that I needed anything pass. “Mostly, we need to be able to sleep at night without worrying that someone will try and blow the place up.”
The former Army Ranger rang the doorbell, and the three of us spent an hour developing a security plan.
-o-o-o-
The night passed quietly with two guards and a Rottweiler keeping us safe. I’d been looking forward to sleeping late for a change, but our dispatcher called me at 6:19 a.m. “The district attorney’s office has cleared you for duty, Hank. Report to your cabin to investigate a suspicious death.”
That was ridiculous. “Who visited my property so early in the morning?”
“Your neighbor, Sally Randolph, ran out of baking powder for her morning biscuits. She hopped over to your place, hoping you’d have some. Didn’t make it inside your cabin because she noticed a dark lump by your gate. Turned out to be a body wired in place. Randy’s already en route.”
After I hung up, I told a bleary-eyed Willow the latest.
She said, “You have the worst job I’ve ever seen. You’ve got to find better work.”
I’d rather lose my other foot, but I didn’t say so. “This latest corpse has to be connected to the attempted hit on me yesterday. I expect this happened because the bastard missed me. On the plus side, I’ll get the chance to drop by the cabin and make sure everything’s okay. Don’t get out that way much lately.”
Boomer, as always, was eager for action. We wolfed down a quick breakfast and headed over to the office. My departmental SUV wouldn’t handle the road, but there was probably too much snow for any four-wheel-drive vehicle. I’d have to use my snowmobile to make it up the last mile. And I took my personal revolver in case Randy didn’t have my service pistol with him.
-o-o-o-
When the mutt and I reached the doubletrack that led to my cabin, I parked in my garage there and fired up the snowmobile. The dog ran alongside. At least one person had gone before us in a snowmobile recently and one person had hiked up on snowshoes.
We didn’t get far before the mutt barked to alert me. He’d found a few drops of blood on his side of the road. And the rest of the way up, Boomer regularly alerted to more red spots. I noticed that the snowmobile before me had been pulling a sled. That was presumably how the killer had gotten the body up to my property.
The chief deputy met me outside my wrought iron gate. Someone had used a bat or similar weapon to beat the shit out of a Hispanic man, and, apparently not satisfied, the killer had sliced the man up with a sharp blade. But the man’s face was unharmed.
He was stocky and short. His black hair was flecked with white. The man wore several gold rings, including a couple with diamonds. His body had been leaned against my gate and kept in place with bailing wire around his upper arms and neck.
“Any idea who he is?” I asked.
Randy held out an evidence bag with a black passport inside. “The killer made it easy. He dropped the guy’s passport at his feet. I dusted it for prints, but no luck. He’s Manuel Rodriguez. Lives in Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.”
“Shit! I’ll give you odds his son is Federico Rodriguez, the guy I had the displeasure of meeting at Candy’s condo.”
“Why would his murderer bring him here?” Randy asked.
“To send me a message. No idea what it is, though. And why pound the shit out of this poor man but leave his face alone?”
“I’m sure you’ll let me know,” Randy said, “when you figure it out. Another oddity—Manuel has no defensive wounds on his hands. He must’ve been immobilized. Nobody takes that kind of beating without doing everything possible to stop it.”
“The guy must’ve been killed somewhere else. Almost no blood here. Boomer found a few drops along the double track, but that’s it.”
Randy nodded. “The kill site must be painted bright red, given all of this guy’s wounds. My guess is that the murderer was furious at you for staying alive. He took his anger out on this man for some reason. Maybe he was just a target of opportunity.”
I doubted it. Too coincidental and too much fury. “We better wait for the ME before unwiring the body.”
I carefully examined the trampled snow surrounding the gate. On the inside, I could see Sally’s tiny footprints where she’d come close. I’d have to interview her and apologize. Although the retired vet had seen plenty of death during her career, I doubted she’d seen many brutally beaten corpses.
Randy and I surveyed the area but didn’t find any more evidence. All the while, I’d kept a tight rein on the mutt so he didn’t start licking blood from the dead man’s body. Boomer would be happy to snack on any stranger’s corpse.
A few minutes later, someone else with snowshoes walked up the four-wheel-drive road. As he came closer, I recognized Doctor Dan’s distinctive gait.
“Hey, I didn’t get to bed until after midnight,” he said, “thanks to a multicar pileup right outside of town. Apologize in advance if I’m a little grumpy.”
That was nice of him. I rarely apologized, and never in advance of pissing someone off.
The coroner examined the body for a few minutes. “Based on the temperature, the degree
of rigor, and the state of lividity, my preliminary opinion is he died around eleven p.m. somewhere else. A surprising lack of defensive wounds, just as with Blatter. Both men must’ve been heavily sedated. Still no results back on the blood work for our first victim, but it’s only been a couple of days. In light of these repeated vicious murders, I hope we get higher priority.”
I hoped so, too, because we knew so little about these murders.
One by one, more law enforcement folks arrived. I asked Randy, “Do we know anything about this guy, other than the fact that he could afford a mansion in Starwood?”
“I didn’t even know that much,” the chief deputy said. “Not surprised. Lots of rich Mexicans own property in this area. I’ve been to Juárez, by the way, and it’s one of the hellholes of the world. Right across the Rio Grande from El Paso. My guess is that anybody making big money there has to be doing something illegal. You should ask the Feds about this guy. Special Agent Carson is supposed to arrive later today to check out the attacks on you.”
He was an older, FBI guy who’d been very helpful in dealing with organized crime in the past. “Excellent. In the meantime, would you mind asking someone else to contact the son about this death? Federico and I aren’t on the best of terms, and there’s no point in aggravating him more.”
“I’ll tell Simon to do it. Find out what you can here, then interview your neighbor. She might’ve heard or seen something overnight.”
I doubted it. Sally’s ranch was about a mile away, on the other side of a thick band of forest. But we needed to cover all the bases. A serial killer was on the loose.
Boomer and I finished snooping around the gate then walked up to my cabin to make sure it remained secure. I saw no evidence that the killer—or anyone else—had broken in.
Next, the dog and I hiked north along a trail that led from my cabin to Sally’s old ranch house.
Chapter 10
As I expected, the little old lady was bundled up on her front porch with her rifle, looking for outlaws. The temperature was in the low thirties, but she had a much better view of her property from the porch.
Perverted Justice Page 9
