by Cindi Myers
Dylan slid back his chair and rose. “I’ll see what I can do, Abe, but I’m not making any promises.”
He left to confer with Graham, but on his way he stopped by Carmen’s desk to speak with Kayla. “Anything interesting?” she asked, nodding toward Abe.
“I think he found out being part of Metwater’s ‘family’ isn’t the laid-back paradise he was picturing when he signed up. He gives Metwater a solid alibi for the morning Asher was killed, though. Apparently he was in plain sight of most of the Family members from sunrise on.” Dylan leaned over, one hand on the back of her chair. “I need to stay and interview him and Zach some more, and talk with some other people. I’ll find someone to take you home and stay with you at your place.”
“I don’t need anyone to stay with me,” she said. “I mean, you have the guys who hit us in custody now.”
“They weren’t specifically after you, anyway,” he said. “Just dumb and ticked off, trying to scare us a little.”
“They succeeded there.” She stood and he walked with her to the door. “Do you think they’ll give you any useful information?”
“I don’t know. But we have to try.” He squeezed her shoulder. “You’re sure you’ll be okay alone?”
“I can look after myself. I’ve been doing it a long time.”
“I’ll probably be here late, and in the morning I have to go to Denver. It may be a while before I see you again.”
A hint of a smile touched the corners of her mouth. “I can wait.”
Maybe she only meant the words politely, but he took them as a promise of more. A promise he intended to collect on when he returned.
Chapter Fourteen
Midnight had come and gone by the time Dylan and the other Rangers sent Abe and Zach to cool their heels overnight in the Montrose County Jail. Ethan and Simon were going to continue the interviews the next morning in hopes of getting something more useful out of them, but beyond a hint at some questionable financial practices, the two had so far produced no evidence of a serious crime.
Dylan sent Kayla a text before he left town. Have a good day and be careful, he typed.
You, too.
As romantic words went, they weren’t much, but she wasn’t resisting him the way she once had, so he took that as a good sign. He checked out a new Cruiser from the Ranger Brigade fleet and made the drive to Denver in a good mood despite a short night’s sleep, and a little after noon he found the house in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch the Ashers called home.
Veronica Asher was a tall, curvy woman with dark skin who wore her black hair in dozens of long braids that hung past her shoulder blades. She answered the door of the stone-and-cedar home with a toddler on one hip and two other children peeking from around her legs. “Yes?” She eyed Dylan skeptically.
“Mrs. Asher? Dylan Holt, Colorado State Patrol.” He held up his credentials. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m investigating your husband’s death and I need to ask you some questions.”
She held the door open wider, then shifted the baby. “Frankie, you take your sisters to the kitchen and tell MeMaw I said you could have ice cream.”
“Okay, Mama.” The boy eyed Dylan warily, but took the baby from his mother and left the room.
Mrs. Asher watched them go, then turned back to Dylan. “The FBI has already been to see me,” she said.
“They may be conducting their own investigation, but I’m part of a task force charged with dealing with crimes on public land. Since your husband was killed in the Curecanti Wilderness Area, a federal preserve, we’re looking into his murder.”
She sat on the sofa and smoothed her skirt across her knees. Her beautiful face bore the marks of grief in her haunted eyes and drawn expression. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told the Feds,” she said. “I don’t have any idea what Frank was doing out there in the middle of nowhere. He told me he had to work on a case—for his job. But the FBI tells me he was on personal leave.”
“So he lied to you,” Dylan said.
“It wasn’t the first time.”
He studied her—a beautiful, weary woman who had been betrayed by the man who had promised to love and care for her. Was that enough for her to have left those children and driven five hours across the state to murder him? “Mrs. Asher, you say you don’t know what your husband was doing out there in the wilderness area, but do you have an idea? Any suspicions?”
“Maybe he went to see that girl he was sneaking around with.”
“What girl?”
“I don’t think you made it to lieutenant without being a better investigator than that,” she said.
“What girl, Mrs. Asher?”
She looked away, her body rigid, as if it took everything in her to hold back the rage—or the tears. “Frank was having an affair with a girl young enough to be his daughter. Senator Pete Matheson’s daughter, Andi.”
“So you think Frank arranged to meet Andi in the wilderness area?”
“No, I think he arranged to meet her in a hotel. That’s what he usually did. I have no idea how he ended up in the desert with his head blown off. Maybe he had another side dish I didn’t know about and she had a jealous husband or boyfriend who followed Frank out there and did him in.” She looked at him again. “If you find out who did it, be sure and let me know so I can shake his hand.”
“Mrs. Asher, where were you on August 14?”
“I was right here. I took my older children to school and my baby to the pediatrician. I had lunch with my mother and bought groceries in the afternoon, and after the children went to bed I drank half a bottle of wine and cried myself to sleep, trying to decide whether it was worth putting my children through losing their father in order to divorce my cheating husband. What I was not doing was driving halfway across the state to shoot him.”
“I have to ask,” Dylan said.
“I know. But while you’re at it, you ought to ask Andi Matheson what she was up to on August 14.”
“I’ve already spoken to Ms. Matheson. Why do you think she could have killed your husband?”
“Maybe he cheated on her, too. Maybe she got tired of his lies.”
“Did your husband lie to you about other things—things besides other women?”
“Haven’t you been paying attention? The man worked for the FBI. His whole job was telling lies—deceiving people and pretending to be someone he wasn’t in order to gather information. Too bad it got to be a habit he couldn’t break.”
“Do you know anyone else who might have disliked Frank enough to murder him?” Dylan asked.
“I imagine Frank made plenty of enemies, but I can’t tell you who they are.”
“Have you scheduled any kind of funeral service for your husband?”
“Why? Do you think all his enemies will want to come and gloat?” She looked away again. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. The service is Thursday. Grace Memorial Chapel, 6:00 p.m.”
An older woman appeared in the archway between the living room where they sat and the hall. “It’s time for Kendra’s nap,” she said, ignoring Dylan. “You know she always goes down better for you.”
“It would be better if you left now.” Veronica stood.
“If we learn any more about your husband’s death, we’ll pass the information along to you,” Dylan said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Oh, yeah, we’re all real sorry.” She ushered him to the door. “If you find out who did this, send me a report. I don’t promise to read it, but I can at least save it for the children. I’m sure they’ll have questions one day. Maybe it would be good to have some answers.”
Dylan sat in the Ranger Cruiser in the Ashers’ driveway and studied the neat suburban home. He couldn’t understand what would compel a man like Frank to betray his family the way he had.
Dylan’s own father would have cut off his arm rather than hurt his wife and children. Dylan intended to live his life the same way.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled to Kayla’s number. “Hi,” he said when she answered. “How’s your day going?”
“Okay.” She sounded suspicious as always. He wanted to remind her that she could trust him, but trust wasn’t something you could persuade people to do with words. Kayla would have to learn to trust him in her own time. “Are you in Denver?” she asked.
“Yes. I just talked to Frank Asher’s widow.”
“And?”
He glanced toward the house and thought he saw a curtain twitch. Mrs. Asher and her mother were probably wondering when he was going to leave. “I don’t think she killed her husband,” he said. “We’ll check her alibi, but I’m betting it holds.”
“Which leaves who—one of Daniel Metwater’s disciples?”
“Or Andi Matheson.”
“I’m not buying it,” Kayla said. “You know it could be some other person we haven’t even zeroed in on yet.”
“It could be. But what were they doing out in the desert that morning, so near Metwater’s camp?”
“I guess if you can figure that out, you’ll know who did it.”
“There’s a memorial service for Frank Asher Thursday. Want to come with me and see if anyone interesting shows up?”
“Is this your idea of a hot date?”
Was she flirting with him? That was a good sign, wasn’t it? “If you agree to come with me, I’m sure I could make it worth your while.”
“Are you expecting Frank’s killer?” she said. “I think criminals watch enough TV these days not to fall for that trap.”
“You never can tell. Do you want to come?”
“Sorry, I can’t.”
“What if I throw in dinner and a movie after the services?”
“You’re really tempting me, but I have somewhere else I have to be.”
“Somewhere more important than the funeral of a man you didn’t know?”
She laughed. “It’s just a meeting of the Western Slope private investigators, but I have to go.”
“They can’t have the meeting without you? Are you on the board? The guest speaker?”
“You’re going to make me tell you, aren’t you?”
“I’m very persistent.”
She sighed. “I’m getting an award.”
“Congratulations. What award?”
“It’s stupid. Western Slope Private Investigator of the Year. I’m sure it will just be some cheesy certificate or something.”
“It sounds like a big deal to me. I can’t believe you didn’t want to tell me.”
“Honestly, I don’t even want to go. I’d rather attend Frank’s funeral. But I don’t think I can get out of it without causing a fuss.”
“Go. Get your honor and celebrate. Congratulations.”
“Think of me while you’re at Frank’s service,” she said. “And let me know if anyone mysterious shows up.”
He ended the call and left the Asher house. He couldn’t believe Kayla had won this honor and hadn’t even told him. She probably hadn’t told anyone. She acted almost embarrassed at the thought of anyone making a fuss over her. Maybe her family hadn’t been one to celebrate accomplishments the way his had. His mom had even baked a cake to celebrate Dylan’s first touchdown on the high school football team.
His phone rang and he punched the button on the steering wheel to answer it. “Dylan, it’s Carmen.” The voice of his fellow Ranger sounded clear over the speaker. “Did you get anything from Frank Asher’s widow?”
“We’ll need to check her alibi, but it sounds like she was busy here all day with the family. As much as she feels betrayed by Frank, I don’t think she would have killed her children’s father.”
“Are you on your way back to Montrose?”
“I am.”
“Good. We’ve had a new development. Andi Matheson showed up here a few minutes ago. She’s pretty distraught. She says her father’s dead.”
* * *
“LARIMER INVESTIGATIONS. HOW may I help you?”
“This is Simon Woolridge with the Ranger Brigade.”
The familiar clipped voice set Kayla’s heart to pounding. She gripped the phone more tightly. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
“Andi Matheson is here at Ranger headquarters and she’s asking for you. I tried to tell her you’re a private detective, not law enforcement, but she’s emotional. Can you get over here and see if you can calm her down?”
“I’m on my way.” She shut down her computer and gathered her purse and car keys. Andi must be really upset if Snooty Simon had resorted to calling her. Had something happened at the camp? Or to her baby?
When she arrived at Ranger Brigade headquarters, she found Simon and a handsome BLM agent, who introduced himself as Michael Dance, clustered around a wailing Andi Matheson, who sat slumped in a chair. “Kayla!” she screamed when she saw her enter the room.
Kayla rushed to the young woman and bent to wrap her arms around her. “Andi, what’s wrong?”
Michael brought Kayla a chair and she slid into it. Andi clung to her, her whole body shaking with sobs. “She’s been this way for the last half hour,” Michael said softly. “Ever since she got here.”
“Andi, honey, calm down.” Kayla pushed damp hair away from the young woman’s tear-swollen eyes. “It’s not good for the baby for you to be so upset. Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“It’s Daddy. He’s dead!”
Kayla looked at Simon. He shook his head. “We don’t know any more than you do,” he said.
“Daddy’s dead!” Andi wailed.
“Andi, look at me.” Kayla grasped the woman’s chin and turned it toward her. “How do you know your father is dead? Have you seen him?”
“Daniel told me he’s dead. Daniel would never lie to me.” A fresh wave of sobs engulfed her.
“Somebody get her some water, please,” Kayla said.
Simon filled a paper cup at the watercooler by the door and brought it to her. “Drink this,” Kayla ordered, and held it to the young woman’s lips.
Andi obediently took a sip. “I can’t stand it,” she whispered. “I always thought I’d have time to see him again. I said such awful things the last time we were together.” She rested her head on Kayla’s shoulder and sobbed.
Kayla shook her gently. “Pull yourself together, Andi. Tell me exactly what Daniel said to you that has you so upset.”
Andi sniffed and sat up a little straighter, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Here, ma’am.” Simon handed her several tissues from a box that sat near the cooler.
“Thank you.” Andi blew her nose, then took a deep breath and turned to Kayla. “Daniel called me into his RV this afternoon and told me he had some sad news for me, but that I needed to be strong for the baby’s sake.”
“You are strong, Andi.” Kayla squeezed her arm. “Strong enough to tell me everything that happened.” She noticed Simon had grabbed a notebook from a nearby desk and was prepared to write everything down. “What did Daniel say?”
“He told me my father was dead. That I shouldn’t be sad because he was in a better place now.”
“Did Metwater say how he knew this?” Simon asked.
Kayla glared at him, but Andi didn’t seem to notice. “He said he saw Daddy’s body in a dream,” she said, her voice choked with tears. “He said there was blood all over him, and that he knew that meant he was dead.”
“Think very carefully,” Kayla said. “This is really important. Did Daniel say he saw your father in a dream, or just that he saw your father?”
“He said
he saw him in a dream.” She looked at Kayla, her blue eyes as wide and innocent as a child’s. “He’s a prophet. He knows these things. If he saw Daddy dead, it must be true.”
Kayla held her close, trying to comfort her. Someone needed to strangle Daniel Metwater and tell him to keep his phony prophecies to himself. What had he hoped to accomplish by upsetting Andi this way?
At last Andi’s sobs subsided. She sat up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I have to get back to camp,” she said. “It’s almost time for dinner and I have to help cook.” She squeezed Kayla’s hand. “I just wanted someone else to know. A friend.”
Kayla’s eyes stung, she was so touched by these words. “I’m glad you came to me,” she said.
“We’ll drive you back,” Simon said. “And while we’re there we can have a word with Daniel.”
“How did you get here?” Kayla asked.
“I hiked to the road and hitched a ride with a tourist,” Andi said. She stood and Kayla rose also.
“I’ll ride with you to the camp,” Kayla said.
“That won’t be necessary,” Simon said.
“Please let Kayla come with me.” Andi grabbed her hand and squeezed so hard she winced.
Simon scowled at her, then turned away. “Come on, then.”
Chapter Fifteen
Andi remained subdued on the ride back to the camp. She stared out the window in the backseat of Simon’s Cruiser. Kayla thought she might even have fallen asleep for a little while.
Up front, Simon and Michael didn’t speak, either. Kayla knew Simon resented her presence, but she didn’t care. Andi wanted her company, so she would do what she could to comfort her. Besides, she wasn’t going to miss the chance to see what Daniel Metwater had to say for himself. Had he really seen Peter Matheson in a dream, or did he know the senator was dead because he’d killed him?
They arrived at the parking area for the camp and Andi opened her door before the Cruiser had come to a full stop. “Thanks for the ride,” she said. “I have to hurry and help with dinner.”
