How stupid was he to lose half his inheritance? His lawyer had warned him not to sign it over, but Tessa had sweet-talked him one night during a hot and heavy make out session that left him crazy when she pulled away. She’d warned their love would never last forever if she wasn’t an equal.
As far as he knew, four years didn’t qualify as forever in any book he’d ever read, and they weren’t even together that long. He didn’t count the last eighteen months before the divorce as a marriage. More like hell.
Soon after the wedding, Tessa had convinced him to build an apartment behind the office so she could sleep there on the nights when she worked late.
Another mistake.
After a year of marriage, she’d worked late so many nights that finally, she had moved all her things to the small apartment. That forced him to seek female companionship wherever he could get it. A man has needs, and Tessa certainly hadn’t offered to take care of his.
When she’d discovered his little liaisons, she’d used it as leverage in the divorce. Then she made sure to align herself so tightly with all their buyers that no one wanted to deal with him anymore.
But that wasn’t all bad. In the two years since their divorce, sales had increased almost forty-five percent. Spirits of Texas was poised for a record-breaking year, and it was only March. Any idiot could see that was the direct result of Tessa’s creative ways of enticing new buyers to stock their products. Their wines were now available at most of the exclusive restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the international demand was growing.
Despite it all, he’d somehow talked Roxy into marrying him, promising to buy Tessa out within two years. He’d convinced his new wife if she signed a pre-nup, he’d promote her to Vice President of Marketing, giving her access to their day-to-day operations.
Yeah, like that was ever gonna happen.
Number one, Roxy was a high-school drop-out. Number two, half the men in the country had seen her doing what she did best, making it look like every dick she sucked was some goddamn cherry popsicle.
Shit!
He shoved his hand under the blanket and grabbed himself, moving to a rhythm that increased with every thought of what was to come. When he’d nearly reached the edge, he slid over, causing another tsunami, and pulled the remaining covers off Roxy, thanking the gods his wife slept in the buff. The woman was built like a freakin’ brick house. A faint scent of the high-dollar perfume she’d insisted he buy her tickled his nostrils, turning him on even more.
With one swift movement, he positioned himself over her face as she opened her sleepy eyes. “Show daddy how much you love him, sweet thing.”
When she didn’t respond, he added, “Come on, baby. Today’s a big day for me. I’m gonna make you very rich before you climb back into this bed tonight.”
Her lips parted as the smile spread. “Bananas are my favorite fruit,” she cooed as her mouth swallowed the length of him.
All thoughts of meeting Colt vanished as the woman worked her magic on him. Silently, Jerry applauded himself for using Tessa’s death to his full advantage. As he exploded into Roxy’s mouth, he knew his life was definitely going to get better now with Tessa out of the way forever.
_____
Lainey stood beside the rental car for several minutes staring at the small rundown house, trying to decide what she would say. She nearly jumped out of her skin when her cell phone suddenly blared.
“Hello,” she answered, grateful for the delay.
“Lainey, are you okay?”
She’d meant to call Dan when she’d returned to the hotel last night after spending the day with her sisters and her mom, but it had been too late. She sighed. That wasn’t entirely true. Although it was late, she’d purposely put it off. He wouldn’t be happy that she intended to stay in Vineyard an extra week.
“I’m fine. I would have called last night, but I got back to the hotel way late.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
Dan Maguire knew her too well. Since the day he’d hired her as an intern on the morning show, he’d been able to see right through her. Tall, handsome Dan with his warm brown eyes and curly hair, now graying at the temples. Ten years older than her, he had been her mentor long before he became her lover.
“I am, really. The funeral was worse than I imagined, but I got through it.”
“How about your mom and your sisters?”
Good ole Dan. Always worrying about everyone. He was a keeper, definitely. A sudden sadness washed over her. Then why didn’t she want to keep him?
“Last night was hard on everyone, especially when Colt …” she paused. “When the sheriff told us Tessa had been poisoned before the explosion.”
“What?”
“They think it was cyanide. They’re checking through the rubbish for clues, but they’re saying the gas explosion was only a cover-up.”
“Any suspects?”
“Not so far.” Lainey clamped her mouth shut before adding that even Tessa didn’t know.
“Honey, I’m so sorry.”
If she closed her eyes, she could see his face, caring, comforting. “There’s more,” she said, bracing herself for his reaction. “Tessa left me her half of the winery. She was afraid her partner who, by the way, is her second ex-husband, would try to screw her daughter out of her inheritance.”
“Why you?”
“I don’t know, but I have to stay in town a few more days to work things out with her lawyer. I need to make sure her ex plays fair.” When Dan didn’t respond, she continued, “Can Angie run the show a while longer?”
“Of course she can. She did a good job Friday with Paula DeMarco.”
Lainey frowned. “I’ll bet she did.” Angie Summers had been waiting in the wings for the past nine months like a cat ready to pounce, not only on Lainey’s job but on Dan as well.
“What do you think you can do there that you can’t do from Savannah?”
“Things will go a lot faster if I don’t have to depend on phone conversations.” Dan would think she had lost touch with reality if she tried to explain about Tessa, but he’d really flip out if he knew she and her sisters planned to launch their own investigation into Tessa’s murder. “I’ll wrap things up and head to Florida on Thursday. I’ll see you Friday night.”
Again, he was quiet. “You’re really serious about the Florida job?”
She heard the sadness in his voice. “If I don’t check it out, Dan, I’ll always regret it. It’s something I have to do.”
“I know,” he admitted. “I guess I’ll have to wait till then to find out how you really are. You’ve become too good at hiding things from me.”
Despite the softness of his voice, Lainey heard the thinly veiled sarcasm. “I’ll see you Friday night,” she repeated.
She closed the receiver and changed the ringer to vibrate. Then she sucked in a deep breath and walked to the front porch, knocking quickly before she lost her courage.
In less than a minute, the door flung open, and Lainey got her first glimpse of Carolyn Winters since leaving Vineyard so many years ago. In Carolyn’s younger years, she’d clerked at Servalli’s Grocery Store before old man Servalli closed the doors, but nine years had taken its toll on the once-pretty woman. Now she looked “rode hard and put up wet.”
“Can I help you?” Standing in the doorway in a sleazy robe, Carolyn’s half-smile quickly faded when her eyes widened in recognition.
“Carolyn, I’m Elaina Garcia, Tessa’s—”
“I know who you are. You look just like her.”
Lainey wrinkled her nose. What was this woman smoking? Tessa had been beautiful her entire life. “I was wondering if I could talk to you and Joey for a minute.”
Carolyn’s eyes narrowed, lines now creasing her forehead. “What for?”
Lainey shifted uncomfortably. How do you ask a woman if her son had anything to do with killing someone? “I’m only in town for a few days, and I’m trying to get some answers about my siste
r’s death.”
“Thought it was a gas leak or something.” Carolyn positioned her body in front of the door, effectively blocking the view as Lainey leaned forward for a look into the house.
No sign of Joey.
“It was,” Lainey explained, moving to the left slightly so she could see around the woman into the living room. From this angle, there wasn’t much that wasn’t cluttered. Everything from discarded takeout boxes to rumpled clothing strewn around the room, resembling the aftermath of a recent strip tease party.
Lainey’s gaze returned to Carolyn. “Tessa was poisoned before the explosion. It’s on the front page of today’s paper.”
“Poisoned?”
Do you honestly believe this skank reads the paper?
Lainey swung her head around as Tessa walked up behind her, a smirk on her face.
Seriously, Lainey.
Lainey covered her surprise with a cough and focused her attention back on Carolyn, who now looked puzzled and more than a little annoyed.
“What makes you think I know anything about that?” She locked her eyes on Lainey in a challenge.
The last thing Lainey wanted was to put this woman on the defensive. “I’m sure you don’t, but I’d still be really appreciative of any help you can give me. May I come in?”
Lainey’s mouth tilted at the corners as she held Carolyn’s stare.
Good one, Lainey. I had forgotten about your condescending smile. That ‘I’ll let you think you’re important if that’s what it takes to get what I want’ smile. I hated when you used it on me.
Lainey glanced sternly over her shoulder at Tessa before turning back to Carolyn with another convincing smile. “I’ll only keep you a minute.”
Reluctantly, Carolyn pulled the door open and stepped aside. “I have to be at work in an hour, and Joey isn’t home.” She gestured for Lainey to sit on the rundown gold couch which had definitely seen better days.
A dingy gray bra peeked out from between the cushions. Lainey wondered if Carolyn had gotten lucky the night before, but the belly protruding from the gaping robe as it opened when she walked quickly dispelled that notion. Plainly, life had not been good to this woman. Did she blame Tessa for that?
Before Lainey could speak, Carolyn plopped down on the chair opposite the couch, spilling the half full glass of liquid on the end table. She made no attempt to clean it up, glancing instead at the big clock above the TV. “What do you want to know?”
Lainey swept the empty bag of Cheetos aside before sitting down.
Tessa plunked down beside her, rubbing her hands together. This is gonna be good.
“Tessa was poisoned with cyanide,” Lainey began. “Since we know cyanide works quickly, it had to have been in something she ate or drank that night.”
“And you’re telling me this, why?”
Lainey ran her hand through her hair and then pushed a palm against her forehead. Dan called this her moving-in-for-the-kill technique, but she had to be careful. One wrong word would piss this woman off, and she’d end up with nothing. She took a deep breath, hoping that four years of guest interviews at KSAV would pay off now.
“It seems your son was the last person to see Tessa alive.” When Carolyn looked confused, Lainey added, “He delivered her dinner to her a few hours before the explosion.”
Carolyn leapt from the chair, her eyes blazing. “Wait just a minute, sister. Are you saying my Joey had something to do with that slut’s death?”
Takes one to know one.
If Lainey had learned anything from Dan, it was that angry people speak before they think. She moved quickly. “He certainly had a reason to, don’t ya think?”
Carolyn’s face flamed into the color of a plump strawberry. “Yes, he did, as a matter of fact. Your sister screwed around with his father. Did you know that?”
“Yes,” Lainey answered truthfully. “I also know she wasn’t the first person your husband cheated with, nor was she the cause of your divorce. Correct?”
Carolyn’s chin dropped to her chest, her lips pursed. When she looked up at Lainey, a lone tear puddled in the corner of her eye.
Quickly, Lainey reverted to a different tactic. “That really must have been a hard time for you and Joey, Carolyn. I apologize for my sister.”
Carolyn sighed, glancing once again at the clock. “How would you like to find out your husband was sleeping with the town whore?”
Lainey reached with her right arm to halt Tessa when she reared up to confront Carolyn.
Bullshit! I did her a favor.
When Carolyn’s eyes darted nervously at the sudden move, Lainey thought fast. “Sorry. When my bad shoulder freezes up, I have to jerk it loose.”
Besides, it was only one time. Off the dance floor, the man was worthless. His little pistol ran out of ammo long before the big bang. Tessa lowered her voice and leaned closer to Lainey. Come to think of it, there was no big bang. I was left to fend for myself. I—
“Tessa.”
Tessa’s mouth turned down in the little pout that used to get her anything she wanted.
Aware that Carolyn was looking at her like she had lost her marbles, Lainey continued. “Tessa did a lot of things she regretted. I would probably be as mad as you are,” Lainey continued, hoping Carolyn bought into this.
I can’t believe you’re gonna let that woman get away with calling me a whore. Where’s your family loyalty?
“It must have been especially tough on Joey, watching his parents go through all that and then the divorce,” Lainey continued, ignoring her sister.
Carolyn laughed. “Not hardly.”
Lainey straightened. “Not hardly?”
“As far as Joey was concerned, it was the best thing that ever happened.”
Told you.
Lainey bit her lower lip. This conversation had suddenly taken a twist. “That seems strange, considering the circumstances.”
Carolyn jumped up, giving Lainey another look at her belly straining against the black spandex, hip-hugger panties. “You gotta go. I have to get ready for work now.”
Lainey settled farther back into the sofa cushion. She’d come for information, and she wouldn’t leave without it now that Carolyn had dropped that little “not hardly” bomb. “Why would Joey be glad about that?” she probed.
Carolyn sniffed, pulling the robe tighter across her body. “The day Joe Senior walked out, Joey celebrated. He called it the best day of his life.”
Lainey leaned forward again and got right up in Carolyn’s face. “Why would he say that?”
Carolyn defiantly met Lainey’s stare. Lainey knew immediately this woman had never stopped loving her ex, no matter how much he’d hurt her.
“Because the SOB used to beat the hell out of him at least once or twice a week.”
SIX
COLT STARED AT THE pictures on his desk before glancing up at Danny Landers. “These came from Tessa’s computer?”
“Yeah, boss. They were in a file hidden among some old correspondence. If it wasn’t for Sean, we wouldn’t have found them.”
“Sean?”
The young deputy’s grin faded. “Don’t go getting mad. Sean is Flanagan’s computer-geek nephew who’s home on spring break. Just for fun, we had him take a look at the laptop in case we missed something.”
“You thought I’d be okay allowing a civilian access to evidence in a homicide investigation?” Colt slumped into his chair and reached for the picture again. He didn’t know if he was more pissed because his guys missed a crucial piece of evidence or because some techno nerd hadn’t.
A sheepish grin spread across Danny’s face. “Who needs to know we didn’t find it?”
Colt glared. Danny Landers was his youngest officer, joining the Vineyard Police Department straight out of the academy with a long list of recommendations. He was turning out to be a good officer, but every now and then his age showed.
Colt backed off, realizing the pictures were more important than who discovered the
m. “So do we have any idea about the guy in the photos?”
Danny shook his head. “Not so far. Flanagan and Rogers are on their way to the motel now to talk to the desk clerk. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find out the guy was stupid enough to use his real name.”
Colt chuckled. “And when we catch him, he’ll have an empty bottle of cyanide with Tessa’s name on it stuck in his coat pocket,” Colt retorted. “That motel is cash only, Danny. Nobody uses their real name.” His expression turned serious. “Where’s Tessa’s laptop now?”
Danny lowered his eyes and mumbled, “Sean’s still checking it out.”
Colt shook his head, then glanced once again at the pictures. There was no mistaking those gigantic boobs or that kinky, bleached-blond hair. Like every other red-blooded male in Vineyard, he’d taken a look at one of Roxy Moretti’s videos to see what all the fuss was about when Jerry brought his new wife to town. The woman definitely knew her way around the bedroom.
What was she doing in a fleabag hotel with a strange man?
Colt grinned. Okay, it was obvious what she was doing. The camera had caught Roxy with her hand on the guy’s crotch and his hands all over her fake boobs right before they entered the room. Apparently, they couldn’t wait until the door closed behind them to go after each other.
For a split second, Colt felt a pang of envy pulse through his body. He couldn’t remember the last time he was in that big of a hurry with a woman. Hell, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had sex, enthusiastic or not. Unless solitary sex counted.
He concentrated on the images, searching for something that might tell them the man’s identity and get his mind off his own lack of a social life. The big guy was wearing a nondescript shirt and jeans, but his face was hidden by an expensive-looking cowboy hat, probably a Stetson. No big clue there. Half the men in the county paid more for their boots and hat than they did for the rest of their wardrobe combined. Unless some miracle happened, and this dude was dumb enough to use his real name, Colt would have to confront Roxy about her afternoon tryst with the cowboy.
Heard it Through the Grapevine Page 5
