Murder Likes It Hot

by Tracy Weber

  “The weather was awful that night, and my clothes were soaked. I left my coat here, remember?”

  How could I forget? I still felt guilty about it.

  “Once I got back outside, I was freezing. I needed to get somewhere dry. I was fresh out of options, so I caught a bus to Aurora and started looking for Jace.”

  “I thought you two had broken up,” I said.

  “We had, but I hoped that when I told him my stepfather found me, he’d help me out anyway. We have history, you know? I didn’t realize how truly pissed he was at me until I saw Echo. I’m dead to him now.”

  “What happened between you two?”

  She scoffed. “Heroin happened. And oxy. And meth.”

  “Jace uses drugs?” Michael asked.

  “Worse. He’s a dealer.” Rainbow shuddered. “I hate dealers. Heroin destroyed my mom. Jace claimed he hated drugs as much as I did. We both swore when we left Tacoma that we would never get near anything stronger than alcohol or nicotine. Ever.” She laughed. “What a crock. Jace still doesn’t use, but he started selling to the kids outside Teen Path HOME a month after we got here. That’s slimier than dealing to junkies outside an NA meeting. At least I put a stop to that.”

  “How?” I asked.

  Her face turned pink. “The specifics don’t matter. I amped up the pressure enough to make him uncomfortable. It didn’t work for long, anyway, at least not the way I wanted it to. Jace kept dealing, and the kids at Teen Path HOME kept buying. He just moved his operation to Aurora.”

  Bella nudged Rainbow’s hand, and the teen absently stroked her fur. “Jace and I had a huge fight the day before Gabriel was killed. I said something stupid and he figured out that I was the person who’d made things so hot at Teen Path HOME. I knew Jace would be pissed if he found out, but I never dreamed he’d pull up camp and ghost me.”

  “You said you looked for him on Aurora,” Michael said. “Did you find him?”

  “No. If he was dealing that night, I didn’t see him. I wandered around for about forty-five minutes until I saw Echo get out of a car. She’d just gotten done with one of her … Well, you know. One of her clients. She was pretty messed up, but she said she’d let me spend the night in her tent if I paid her twenty bucks. So I did.”

  “If you hate drugs so much, how can you stand being around Echo?” I asked.

  “Echo’s an addict, like my mom. It’s a disease. Dealers like Jace are the problem. Besides, I was freezing, and it was only supposed to be temporary. I was going to give Dean a day or two to lose interest, then I was planning to get out of Seattle. But then Gabriel got killed and the police started looking for me. After that, I was too scared to go anywhere. Echo told me the rent had gone up, so I gave her the rest of the money I stole from Teen Path HOME.” Rainbow’s jaw clenched. “Lot of good that did. She sold me out to you two the first chance she got.”

  I paused for a moment, thinking. Rainbow’s story made sense. Not that the police would believe it. “I have a couple more questions, then we’ll call Dale. When the police found the gun, it had been wiped clean. Did you do that?”

  “No. Why would I? I wasn’t planning to leave it behind.”

  I glanced through my notes to make sure I hadn’t missed anything important. Mouse flattened herself to the floor and slinked past me. Rainbow made clicking noises with her tongue and reached out her hand. The calico tentatively leaned toward the teen, sniffed her outstretched fingers, then jumped on the couch and curled up between her and Bella. The sound of contented purring filled Michael’s and my shocked silence.

  “I don’t believe it,” Michael said. “That cat likes you.”

  Rainbow smirked. “Believe it or not, some people actually think I’m pretty cool.”

  “Of course they do. That’s not what I meant. I figured the other night was a fluke. Mouse doesn’t like anyone but Bella, and Kate and I have the scars to prove it. What are you? A cat whisperer?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve always been good with animals. When I was little, Mom told everyone I’d been kissed by St. Francis. That’s why I wanted to be a veterinarian.”

  There was that use of the past tense again. At the age of sixteen, Rainbow had already written off her future. I would have corrected her, but the way things were going, it seemed she might be right.

  She massaged the fur between Mouse’s ears, leaned down, and gave her a kiss. Michael lifted his hand as if planning to pet the cat himself, then reconsidered and lowered it to his lap.

  “I only have one more question,” I said.

  “Go for it.”

  “Did you see anyone besides Gabriel at the center?”

  “No. No one. I didn’t hear anyone else, either.”

  I glanced at Michael. “Anything else you can think of?”

  He shook his head.

  I placed my hands on my thighs and stood. “Okay then, Rainbow. Hang out here for a minute while I make a call. It’s time to bring in Dale.”

  Luckily, Dale answered his cell phone. He was scheduled to judge a goat agility event that evening, but given the gravity of Rainbow’s situation, he decided to head back up to Seattle right away. Dharma agreed to take over his duties at the festival and rent a car to drive back to Orcas the next day. She would have preferred to come to Seattle with Dale, but one of them needed to go home to manage the rescue. Dale claimed it was no problem, but it sounded like a major hassle for both of them. Reason number 326 why I counted myself lucky to have them as family.

  Rainbow was exhausted, so I gave her some private time upstairs in Michael’s and my bedroom. Bella and Mouse opted to join her. I would never have been able to nap in Rainbow’s situation, but then again I’d never been on the run. I doubted she’d slept much since Wednesday.

  Tiffany had already worked well past the end of her shift and there was nothing left to do now but wait, so Michael went back to Pete’s Pets to take over until closing. I paced the living room, shoulders knotted like tennis balls.

  Two hours later, I heard Dale’s rattletrap Plymouth pickup pull into the driveway. Four loud taps on the door followed.

  Bella tore down the stairs on full German shepherd alert, but not in her typical I’m-about-to-murder-the-mailman manner. Instead, she yelped with glee and performed her trademarked open-the-door-and-let-him-in dance. Rainbow rubbed her eyes and trudged down the steps behind her. Mouse was nowhere in sight, no doubt hiding underneath the bed.

  I grabbed Bella’s collar and pulled her away from the door. “Okay, girl, I get it.” I teasingly raised my voice loud enough for Dharma to hear in Olympia. “The crazy goat man is here.”

  I flung the door open with a dramatic flourish. Bella planted both front paws on Dale’s shoulders and covered his white beard in slobbery kisses. Rainbow paused in the middle of the stairway and eyed Dale warily.

  Dale returned Bella’s greeting with a hearty neck scratch and tossed her a goat-shaped cookie. He spoke in his affected Southern twang. “Well hey there, Missy Bella! It’s good to see you, too. It’s only been three days, you know.” He wore overalls, a flannel plaid shirt, and a Stubborn Old Goat baseball cap. The smell of goat manure emanated from his work boots. He tilted the cap my direction and played along with my joke. “Read the hat, Miss Kate. I may be stubborn, but I ain’t crazy.” Dale’s eyes then fixed on Rainbow. “I take it this young’un here’s my client. Nice to meet you in person, Ms. Rhodes. I hear you’ve gone and gotten yourself in a heap of trouble.”

  Rainbow wrinkled her nose, crossed her arms, and scowled. She wasn’t fooled by Dale’s affectation. Then again, not many of us were. Playing Southern goat farmer was Dale’s way of putting strangers at ease. With Rainbow, it had the opposite effect. I mentally kicked myself. I should have warned her about Dale’s alternate persona. Better yet, I should have told Dale not to assume it. He was already one strike down and the inning hadn’t even s
tarted.

  “What’s with the Beverly Hillbillies impersonation?” Rainbow grumbled. “Are you really a right-wing whack job or do you just get a kick out of acting like one?”

  Dale took off the hat and tossed it onto the couch. The slouch disappeared, but the smile on his face was genuine. When he spoke, the twang had vanished. “Actually, you’re only half right. The accent’s real enough, or at least it was. I grew up in the South. Marlington, Kentucky, to be precise. I lost the drawl in law school, which was a couple of decades before you were born. As for my political affiliations, they’re none of your business.”

  Rainbow didn’t reply. Bella glanced back and forth between them, confused by the tension between her two favorite humans.

  Dale sighed and scratched his beard. “Sorry if my little charade offended you. Frankly, most people enjoy it. Let’s start over.” He moved to the stairway and reached out his hand. “I’m Dale Evans. You, my smart young friend, must be Rainbow.”

  Rainbow hesitated, but she eventually gave Dale’s hand a cautious shake. “You’re an attorney?”

  “I am. And if what Kate tells me is correct, you need one.”

  Rainbow’s scowl spoke volumes.

  I understood her reticence. The first time I met Dale, I was taken aback by his appearance, too.

  I moved past Dale and approached her on the staircase. “Rainbow, you said earlier that you trusted me. Is that still true?”

  She nodded.

  “Then trust me on this: Dale’s right. You need an attorney, and there are none better.” I gestured to the couch. “Can we at least sit down and talk?”

  She didn’t reply, but she trudged downstairs and perched on the sofa. Dale commandeered the chair across from her, with Bella snuggled on top of his feet. I hovered behind Dale, nervous. If Rainbow refused his help, what would happen to her?

  Dale got right to business. “Let me be straight with you, Rainbow. If everything Kate told me is true, you’re in a lot of trouble. But before you give me your side of the story, you need to retain me as your attorney. Do you want to do that?”

  Rainbow studied him seriously. “You don’t look like an attorney.”

  He waved a hand over his informal attire. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover? I drove straight here from a farm animal fundraiser. I have a monkey suit in the truck, and I’ll put it on before we leave the house. I’ve been a defense attorney longer than you’ve been alive, and I’ve successfully represented hundreds of clients, most of whom I liked a lot less than you. Honestly, though, you have choices. There are lots of good attorneys out there. If you don’t want me to represent you, you can hire someone else.”

  “I’m only sixteen.”

  “Your age doesn’t matter. Everyone has a right to legal representation. You can have an attorney assigned to you, or you can hire one. Generally, your parents would be responsible for finding you a lawyer, but according to Kate, they’re not likely to be of much help.”

  “Lawyers are expensive, right? I don’t have any money. I gave everything I had to Echo.”

  That was my opening. “Actually, you do. Have money, that is.” I told Rainbow and Dale about the letter Rene had pilfered from Dean’s end table. “I have no idea how much money is still in your trust fund, but it has to be more than ten thousand dollars. I called the executor’s office, but it’s closed until tomorrow.”

  Rainbow’s eyes flashed with a mixture of surprise and betrayal. “You mean that trust fund was mine all along? Mom lied to me? Why would she do that?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “Maybe she felt betrayed by her parents. Maybe she felt guilty for using the money. Maybe she didn’t want you to know that your good grades supported the whole family. That’s a lot for a kid.”

  Rainbow scoffed. “More likely she was afraid that I wouldn’t let her use my money on booze and drugs.” Irritation morphed to confusion. “I still don’t get it, though. How could I have stopped her? I’m a minor.”

  “You might have more control than you think,” Dale said. “I won’t know until I get a hand on those trust documents. That is, if you’ll give me permission to talk to the executor.”

  “Yes, of course. How else would I pay you?”

  Dale smiled. “I’m not worried about payment. That money was set aside to secure your future, and I’m not about to take it. But I do want to look at the documents. Later on, if I need to hire a private investigator or by some miracle a judge grants you bail, that cash might be helpful. Does that mean you’re retaining me?”

  For the first time since I’d recommended Dale, Rainbow looked certain. “Yes. Absolutely.”

  “Great.” Dale slapped his hands on his thighs, stood, and faced me. “Kate, that means it’s time for you to leave the room. I need to have a confidential conversation with my client.”

  nineteen

  I took Bella for a long walk around the neighborhood to allow enough time for Rainbow to tell Dale her full story. By the time I returned home, Dale had contacted Detective Martinez and arranged for Rainbow to turn herself in. He sent Rainbow upstairs, ostensibly to grab her backpack, and sat me down on the couch. Bella padded upstairs behind her.

  Dale waited until he heard the door close behind them, then spoke. “I asked Rainbow to give us a few minutes.”

  “Is she going to be okay?”

  “Honestly? I’m not sure. She’s a tough kid. A heck of a lot tougher than you led me to believe. I’m darned near positive that she’s telling the truth about what happened that night, but I’m not sure the prosecuting attorney will believe her. It may well come down to establishing reasonable doubt at her trial.”

  “And until then?”

  “Until then, no judge in his right mind is going to grant that kid bail. She’s a proven flight risk.” He paused. “Kate, you should prepare yourself. Even if I succeed in getting her a not guilty verdict, she might spend most of the next year in juvenile detention awaiting trial.”

  Part of me—the naïve part—wondered if that might not be a good thing. At least she wouldn’t be living on the street. In juvie, she’d have a bed, three meals a day, and the chance to earn her high school diploma. She’d have access to a library, a place to shower, and clean though not exactly fashionable clothes.

  Then I remembered who she’d be spending that year with. Rainbow hadn’t been immune to criminal activity and violence. Not by a long shot. But she hadn’t been confined with criminal offenders 24/7, either. After a year spent locked away in the under-eighteen equivalent of maximum security, she might never be the same.

  “Dale, a year in juvenile detention might destroy her.”

  “I know, Kate-girl, I know. Believe me, I’ll do everything in my power to prevent it, but some things are beyond my control. Getting bail for a runaway accused of a capital offense is one of them.”

  “Does she know?”

  “Yes. I told her. I’m always up front with my clients. She doesn’t like it—hell, I don’t like it—but she understands. She’s mighty mature for a kid of her age. I have a feeling she was forced to grow up fast.”

  I glanced up the stairway, toward the bedroom. “She can crawl out of the bathroom window up there. Maybe we should check on her to make sure she doesn’t—”

  Dale held up his hand. “She’s fine, Kate. She’s not going anywhere. She says she’s too tired to keep running.” He gestured toward the couch. “Before Rainbow and I head to the station, I need to talk to you about something else. Once this circus gets started, I’m going to be totally focused on Rainbow. But you and I both know she’s not the only person in this house who needs my help.”

  At first I was confused. Had Rainbow told him that I’d handled the gun used to shoot Gabriel? And why would it matter? I’d already told Martinez, and the gun had been wiped anyway. Then I realized that Dale wasn’t talking about legal hel
p. He meant the IVF treatments. I’d been so caught up in Rainbow’s issues that I’d temporarily forced my fertility struggles out of my conscious awareness.

  Dale sank onto the couch and patted the cushion next to him. I sat, but my body was anything but relaxed.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that you and Michael needed money for fertility treatments?” Dale asked.

  I avoided eye contact. “You’ve already done so much for us. It seemed wrong to ask.”

  “How could you think such a thing? Frankly, I’m a little hurt.” He shook his head. “I’m even more hurt that Dharma thought she needed to ask my permission before she said yes. We’re supposed to be family. Your baby will be my grandchild, too.”

  I liked his use of the future tense. “Dale, you and Dharma aren’t married. She couldn’t very well give away your money.”

  “It’s not my money; it’s ours. Dharma should know that. She’s my life partner. We would have gotten married long before Michael and you did if Dharma didn’t think it would hex us.”

  “Hex you?”

  “She claims marriage destroyed her relationship with your father. She’s convinced it would destroy us, too.”

  “What do you think?”

  “That she doesn’t give herself enough credit. I love Dharma, past mistakes and all, but she’s changed a lot since you were a baby. She would never leave a husband and child behind again. Still, when that woman makes up her mind … ” His white whiskers creased into a wry smile. “There’s a reason she ended up rescuing a herd of donkeys. They’re just as stubborn as she is. Fortunately, I’m old enough to have learned the fine art of compromise. Dharma and I have sworn to be ‘not married’ together for the rest of our lives. I drew up a no-nup agreement and everything.”

  “No-nup? Is that a thing?”

  “It is for Dharma and me. As for whether it would stand up in court? Well, that wasn’t the point. The point was that I would commit to Dharma in whatever way worked for her.” He shrugged. “This did.”