As I was getting out my baking ingredients, the front door opened. I couldn’t imagine anyone voluntarily getting to work a whole hour early, so I went out to see who it was. It was Pete.
I frowned, jumping straight into the fight I was raring to get into. “You ratted me out when I was trying to help you. What’s up with that?”
He rubbed his forehead. “Juliet, you were out of control.”
“Oh, it’s Juliet, is it? I’m in big trouble now,” I said sarcastically.
“Yeah, you are,” he said, coming toward me. “If anyone besides Ryder had caught you, you would’ve been arrested for trespassing. And did you even stop to think that by using my key you made me an accessory?”
“You didn’t give it to me.”
“I’m a freaking felon! You think they’re going to take my word for it?” he cried.
“Pete, keep your pants on. You’re not a felon until after the trial.”
“Quit making a joke out of it! If you keep this up, you’re going to end up in jail or…or dead! You think I want that on my conscience?”
I fired back, “You think I want it on my conscience that I could have done something to keep you out of prison and didn’t do it?”
“It’s not worth it, Jules.”
That was something I couldn’t stand to hear. I closed the gap between us and took his hands. “Did you just tell me you’re not worth it?”
He looked down. “My life as I know it is over. You have a choice. Don’t ruin your life over a lost cause.”
A tear escaped from my eyes. “Stop that right now. I won’t give up on you. I won’t. And I won’t let you give up on yourself, either.”
He grabbed me and hugged me tightly. I clung to him, weeping quietly into his chest. I was so tired of crying, but I couldn’t help it. Once we broke apart, he wiped my tears away and smiled.
“So I take it I can’t change your mind about this, no matter what I say or do?” he asked.
I sniffed. “Not a chance.”
“Okay, then what can I do to help?”
“That’s more like it. I’ve missed having you as my sidekick,” I teased.
“What? I’m not the sidekick. I’m the hero. You’re the sidekick.”
—
Pete helped me make the bakery items for the day. While we worked, I filled him in on everything I had learned about Kent, Stan, Abigail, and her inheritance. Once the staff began showing up to start work, we moved our discussion into the privacy of the office.
After I was done with my story, he said, “I’ve got to hand it to you, Jules, you’re getting really good at this sleuthing thing. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks. I need to fill Ryder in on what I found out. Hopefully, there will be enough cause that he can take it to Cromwell, and they can haul Kent in and start finding you some reasonable doubt.”
He looked hopeful. “That would be fantastic. Hey, what’s up with you and Ryder Likeapony? Gertie said you guys are a thing.”
I smiled. “Yeah, we’re a thing.”
“Damn. I go to jail for a couple of days and miss everything.” He smiled. “I’m happy for you, Jules. Just as long as he doesn’t break your heart again.”
“Thanks.” I blew out a breath, not really knowing how to say what I needed to tell him. “Um…I have one more piece of information, and…I don’t know if you want to hear it or not.”
“If it’s about you and Ryder doing it, I don’t want to hear it.”
“No.” I laughed, but sobered up quickly. “It’s about Cecilia. I found out who she was having an affair with.”
“Tell me. I can take it.”
“His name is Alejandro Bastidas. He’s the one who redesigned her backyard. Evidently he’s been in a lot of women’s backyards, if you know what I mean.”
He grimaced. “Ah, yes. Alejandro Bastardo, as I like to call him. I guess I’m not surprised. He was all she could talk about when she was getting her yard done. She’d say”—Pete mimicked her in a squeaky voice—“ ‘Oh, Alejandro is so good with symmetry and feng shui.’ And, ‘Oh, Alejandro has such an eye for color. Pete, you can’t tell blue from black.’ And shit like that. Pissed me off.”
“I can see that.”
He went on. “That guy. Such a smug bastard. I met him a couple of times, and I didn’t care for the way he looked at Cecilia. I didn’t realize he was boning her, and half the town.” Shaking his head, he said, “I thought after her landscape project was completed they had parted ways, because I didn’t hear another word about him. I guess I was wrong.”
“Did she ever mention that he was violent toward her?”
“No, not that I remember.”
Even so, I still thought Bastidas was worth checking out. I stood up. “Well, boss, now that I’ve crapped all over your day, I need to get back to work.”
“Don’t sweat it—nothing is as bad as being in jail.”
“Too soon.”
When I exited the office, I noticed how eerily quiet it was. Normally you could hear the espresso machines hissing, plates clattering, and people talking, but not today. Once I got out into the front of the house, I realized the silence was due to the fact that there were literally no customers here. I looked at my watch, thinking maybe I had the wrong time and we weren’t open yet, but was eight o’clock, and we had been open an hour already.
I turned to Camille and Rhonda. “How many people have been in this morning?”
Rhonda was leaning on the counter, reading the newspaper. She fumed, “Three. How are we supposed to make tip money when we’re this slow?”
In my opinion, Rhonda never did anything to deserve a tip, so she didn’t need to be bitching. But then again, when we were really busy a couple of months ago and the tips were flowing, she bitched about that, too. Rhonda just liked to bitch.
“It’s fine. I’m sure people are just busy this time of year. Or maybe the rain is keeping them home today,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as them.
Eyes wide, Camille asked hesitantly, “Is Pete okay? He seemed a little…upset this morning.”
“He’s fine,” I assured her. I couldn’t tell if she was concerned about him or afraid of him. “He’s going to stay in the back most of today to avoid any…um…you know…gossip or whatever.”
Rhonda went back to reading her newspaper, and Camille stood there looking nervous. I obviously didn’t need to help behind the counter or in the kitchen, so I took a seat at a table and called Savannah.
She answered with, “I heard Kent beat up Stan last night.”
“Wow. News travels fast. And yes, it’s true. Stan’s face is not so pretty right now.”
“I also heard Stan dumped you and ran straight into the arms of Jenny Vaughn.”
I laughed. “Something like that. Stan and I are cool.”
“I hope you’re not calling about doing any more snooping around. I’ve hung up my detective cap for good. It took me two glasses of wine and a Valium to get to sleep last night.”
I cringed. “Again, I’m so sorry about yesterday. The reason I called is that I found out who Cecilia was seeing on the side.”
“Ooh. Who?”
“Alejandro Bastidas.”
She gasped. “Oh, no! I didn’t know he’d hit on her, too. That’s shameful.”
“Sounds like your customer wasn’t the only one. But, maybe she was the only one who had a problem with it.”
“I should report him to the Better Business Bureau,” she said exasperatedly.
“Could you hold off on that for a bit?” I asked. “I want to meet with him, and I figure the easiest way is to pretend I’m a potential customer. Can I just walk into his office and demand a meeting, or do I need a referral or something?”
“With new clients, he normally makes house calls. That way he can look at the space he’s going to be working with.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t have a ‘space’ for him to work with. Now what?”
“I don’t know, maybe leave
the investigating to the police?”
I winced. “Ouch. I probably deserved that one.”
“Oh, Juliet, I’m sorry. I think I’m still on edge. I had a rude client call me this morning and berate me for the wallpaper she chose being on back order. And it’s for a place her family only uses a few weeks out of the year when her husband is in town on business. This woman has more money than sense or manners.”
Savannah usually didn’t get ruffled over demanding clients. This was definitely leftover angst from last night. As she was telling me her woes, though, a plan started formulating in my head.
I said tentatively, “I’m sorry you’re having a rough day. Um, I hate to ask, but would you maybe do another teensy favor for me?”
She let me sweat a moment before answering. “Is it something I could get arrested for?”
“No, I don’t think so.” At least not if I didn’t rat her out if I was caught.
“Okay, shoot.”
“Do you have many clients who aren’t currently living in the houses you’re decorating for them?”
“I have a few. Why do you ask?” She sounded suspicious, but who could blame her?
“Well, I thought maybe I could…borrow one of their houses for a while so I’d have a yard for Bastidas to come out to see.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Are you still there?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“So will you help me?”
“No.”
“Please? I need to talk to this guy. Pete’s really having a hard time with the murder charge looming over his head.”
“Oh,” she said softly. “Well, in that case…”
“You’ll do it?”
She hesitated. “Well…okay.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I’m working on a new construction in Brentwood for one of my clients. I could let you in there, and you could pretend to be the owner. They’re from out of town, so no one knows them.”
I exclaimed, “That’s perfect!”
“I’ll warn you, though—it’s not easy to get an appointment with him. But, if you tell him you want to spend a half million on landscaping, he’ll probably come running.”
“A half million dollars? Damn.”
“It’ll certainly get his attention. Just call his office and say Abigail referred you. Oh, and please don’t mention me. He won’t give you the time of day.”
“Got it. Perfect. Thanks, Savannah. Hey, what’s my name and address?”
She replied, “Rosalie Ballard, 365 Silver Lake Drive. Let me know when you’re meeting him, and I’ll come early and let you in the house. And be careful, please.”
“I will.”
After hanging up with Savannah, I blocked the outgoing caller ID on my phone so I could call Bastidas Enterprises incognito. In my best snooty rich lady voice, I gave my spiel to Bastidas’s guard-dog secretary, who obstinately insisted on penciling me in for next month until I mentioned the five hundred grand. In under a minute, I had an appointment scheduled for this afternoon.
“One o’clock would be perfect. It was so kind of you to find the time to fit me in,” I said sweetly before ending the call.
I sent Savannah a quick text with the meeting time.
“Who were you talking to?”
Nearly jumping out of my seat, I turned around to find Ryder standing behind me. “My gynecologist,” I retorted.
His eyes bulged out. “Never mind. Sorry I asked.” He looked around at the empty room. “I see you’re here hanging out with all of your friends.”
“Ooh, you’re witty this morning,” I said, getting up.
He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close to him. “I take it you’re still mad about yesterday.” He kissed my neck.
Never able to concentrate too well when he did that, I murmured, “Maybe.”
Grinning at me, he said, “You do know that you don’t have a free pass to break the law just because I’m your boyfriend, right?”
The only thing I heard in that sentence was “boyfriend.”
“You said the b-word.”
“I did. Is that okay with you?”
I felt a giddy flutter inside, but covered it by giving him an exaggerated shrug. “I guess…I mean, I did just break up with Stan Hollingsworth for you.”
Frowning, he said, “You got right on that, didn’t you?”
I smiled up at him. “I wanted to keep my options open.”
Ryder leaned down and kissed me, making me forget all of my troubles.
“Damn it, you two. People have to eat in here, you know,” a gravelly old voice said from beside us.
We broke our kiss, and Ryder joked, “You want one, too, Gertie? Get over here.”
Removing her old lady rain bonnet, she blushed. “Hell’s bells. I’d probably have a heart attack. Maybe next time.”
“Can I get you two some coffee?” I asked, getting back into work mode.
“Yes,” they said together, heading for their regular stools at the counter. I thought they both looked a little tired this morning, so I poured them each a big cup.
Since Gertie and Ryder were the only two customers, I let Camille and Rhonda take a break. “I think I can handle it by myself for a while. Camille, can you let Pete know that Gertie’s here?”
I didn’t need to tell Rhonda twice to take a break. Armed with her newspaper, she headed for the couch. Camille delivered my message to Pete and then wandered into the kitchen, to flirt with Wayne, no doubt.
Pete came out and gave Gertie a big hug. “Morning, Gert.”
She put her hand on his cheek. “Doing better today, dear?”
He smiled, taking the stool next to her. “Yeah. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
I poured Pete a cup of coffee and said to Ryder, “I have some information for you.”
“Did you find some clues, Scooby?”
“Shut up. Kent Fielding beat the crap out of Stan last night.”
“Stan probably had it coming.”
Pete piped in, “He’s not wrong.”
I griped, “You two need to give Stan a chance. He’s a nice guy.”
“You thought he was a murderer less than forty-eight hours ago,” Pete pointed out.
“And I heard something at the station about him being involved with a meth lab,” Ryder added.
“I’ll get to that later,” I said. “Anyway, Kent told Stan if he went to the cops and filed assault charges, he would have Abigail go back on her original statement and say that Stan pushed her down the stairs.”
“That’s blackmail,” Ryder said. “But it’s also Stan’s word against his.”
“Kent’s not the only one who’s blackmailing Stan. The guys making meth in Stan’s warehouses said if he turned them in to the police, they would say that he was a part of the operation. They also threatened to kill him.”
Ryder frowned. “That’s also Stan’s word against someone else’s. He’s had way too many run-ins with the law for them all to mysteriously not be his fault.”
“Stan’s making meth now?” Pete asked.
“You’re both so judgmental,” I said.
That got me a glare from all three sets of eyes staring at me across the counter, so I shut up. I wasn’t going to tell Ryder the name of Cecilia’s baby daddy just yet, because I wanted a chance to talk to him first.
Pete said, “Don’t forget to tell him what you found in Cecilia’s house.”
Gertie shook her head at me. “You used to be such a sweet girl, and now you’re breaking into people’s houses.” She gestured to Ryder. “What’s the matter, is he not putting his gun in your holster often enough? You need more excitement in your life?”
Ryder, Pete, and I all groaned simultaneously, and I hid my face in my hands.
Grossed out, Pete said, “Don’t ever say that again, Gert. Seriously. I can’t unhear that. Someone please change the subject.”
I said, “I will. I found Cecilia’s lif
e insurance policy, worth three million dollars. Abigail is the beneficiary.”
“Cecilia was easily worth four times that, counting her trust fund. Abigail and Kent are going to be rolling in it,” Pete said.
“Holy shit,” said Ryder. “That’s a lot of motive.”
“I told you so,” I said.
He got up. “I’m going to go have a discussion with Cromwell, but don’t get your hopes up. Just because someone has a better motive for murder doesn’t mean he’s a better suspect. No offense, Pete.”
“Thanks, man,” Pete replied.
Ryder leaned over the counter and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later, then?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Be careful out there.”
Walking out, he said over his shoulder, “It’s not me I’m worried about, Scooby.”
I was bursting to tell Pete I had an appointment with Alejandro Bastidas, but decided to wait until Gertie left. She seemed more unhappy than anyone about my detective work. Then again, she thought of me like one of her own, so I guessed she was just worried. A couple of customers came and went, but it was getting truly pathetic around here. I went back to the office to come up with a way to pare down my staff’s work schedules for the rest of the week.
I was in the middle of slashing Rhonda’s hours when Pete came in. Looking up, I said, “Hey, guess what? I have a meeting with Bastardo this afternoon.”
He grimaced. “Don’t let him seduce you. I hear he’s good at that.”
“That is so not going to happen,” I scoffed.
“How did you manage to get a meeting with a landscape architect? You don’t even have a yard.”
“No, but one of Savannah’s clients does. I’m pretending to be her, and Bastardo is meeting me at her house.”
He looked uneasy. “I don’t know, Jules. Do you really think he might be the killer? It could be dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine, Pete.”
“I don’t think you should be alone with him. What if I go with you?”
“You said you’ve already met him, genius. If he recognizes you, then he will figure out I’m lying.”
Mug Shot Page 19
