Murdered by Country Music: A High Desert Cozy Mystery

by Dianne Harman

  “I can see where he’d feel that way. It sounds reasonable.”

  “Yes, it did. A few months ago he told me he suspected that Jacques was using again. He also told me his wife, Rita, was strongly opposed to him working with Jacques, because she was afraid he would be a bad influence on Ned and that sooner or later, Ned would start using again. Ned told me they had bitter arguments about it.”

  “That’s not hard to understand,” Marty said.

  “Well, it went beyond that. She started threatening Ned that if he didn’t stop working with Jacques, she’d make sure one way or another that he did. Ned told me she’d started acting strangely, and he was concerned about her.”

  “My friend who’s a suspect had worked with Ned. He’d met Rita and said she was the reason Ned had gotten off drugs,” Marty said.

  “She was. Rita told him she was going to leave him if he didn’t get clean. It’s not the first time a spouse has been responsible for someone getting off drugs, and in Ned’s case it worked. The two of them were devout attendees of NA meetings. If you’ve heard that Ned is intense about NA, multiply it by a factor of ten, and you’ll get a sense of Rita’s intensity.”

  “I didn’t know that. So, what you’re telling me is that Rita threatened to do something if Ned didn’t end his involvement with Jacques,” Marty said.

  “Yes. That’s the history of them and their involvement in NA. Rita called me last week because I’m Ned’s sponsor, and she told me she was really concerned about the problem, as she called it. I became worried she was going off the deep end, if you know what I mean. She didn’t sound at all rational. I didn’t want to alarm Ned, so when I saw him the night before he went to the music festival I didn’t say anything. I wish I had.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I don’t think Ned had anything to do with Jacques’ murder, but I’m not so sure about Rita.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You said Jacques was murdered in his motor home. Do you know if there were any signs of a forcible entry?” Chuck asked.

  “My fiancé is a Palm Springs police detective. He was at the festival with me. As a matter of fact, our motor home was next to Jacques’, so he was one of the first people at the scene of the crime. Evidently Ned had gone to Jacques’ motor home Saturday morning because Jacques hadn’t met him at the French Food Obsession food truck at the agreed upon time. He was the one who discovered the body. My fiancé said nothing about forcible entry. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I’m talking off the top of my head here, but in my former life I was a private investigator for a very large law firm in Detroit. I’ve seen my share of things like this and whether or not there’s been a forcible entry can be huge, because if there wasn’t one, that means the victim knew the person and opened the door. Jacques would have opened the door for Rita.”

  It was Marty’s turn to be quiet as she sat digesting what he was implying. “That’s certainly a possibility, but it also could have been Ned himself. A friend of mine says to always look at who has the most to gain when someone is murdered. In this case, Ned had a lot to gain.”

  “I can’t believe it was Ned. He had too much going for him to risk losing it all by killing Jacques. No, I can’t accept that as a possibility.”

  “Chuck, if Jacques died, Ned would get the food truck all to himself. They’d been in business long enough that it had a following, probably because of Jacques’ name. With Jacques gone he’d get rid of the temptation to do drugs again. In other words, he had a lot to gain.”

  “No, absolutely not,” Chuck said rising to his feet, clearly agitated. “No, Ned would never do something like that. I sponsor a lot of people, and I’ve become a very good judge of character. I’m sorry, this conversation has really upset me. I think you need to leave.”

  “I will, but I want you to know how much I appreciate your time and your insights. And please, don’t ever regret anything you told me,” Marty said as she walked to the front door.

  “As a matter of fact, I sincerely wish I hadn’t said anything. I feel that I’ve betrayed a friend, and I don’t like the feeling. Good day.”

  Marty walked to her car, sorry for the turmoil she’d caused Chuck Weston. When she got in her car, she took her phone out of her purse and called Jeff.

  CHAPTER 21

  “Hi, Marty. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call? It’s pretty rare that you ever call me when I’m at work. Is everything all right?” Jeff asked.

  “Yes, everything’s fine. I found out a few things concerning Jacques’ murder, and I’d like to run them by you. Are you terribly tied up right now, or could you take a little time off for a cup of coffee? I’m in North Palm Springs.”

  “You picked the perfect time. The captain just left for the day, and I’m getting ready to do some paperwork. We’ve met in the coffee shop next door to the station before. How long will it take you to get here?”

  “I can be there in about ten minutes. See you then.”

  She was driving up to the condominium guard gate when her telephone rang. She pulled over to the side of the road and answered it, not recognizing the caller’s number. “This is Marty.”

  “Marty, it’s Jeb Rhodes. I’m still planning on you doing the appraisal, but I’d like to talk to you first. Is there any chance we could meet for a drink somewhere around six this evening?”

  She thought for a moment and then said, “That would be fine. I have some business in Palm Springs, so let’s meet at the Golden Truffle. It’s pretty centrally located and shouldn’t be too busy that early in the evening.”

  “Great. Thanks for being so accommodating. I know exactly where it is, and I’ll see you at six tonight.” She ended the conversation and drove to the coffee shop to meet Jeff.

  As she pulled into the coffee shop parking lot, she saw Jeff’s broad back just as he was walking into the shop. A minute later she entered and walked over to the booth where he was sitting.

  “Our air conditioning unit is having problems today, and I’ve been working in an overheated office most of the day. A glass of iced tea sounds like heaven to me. What would you like?” he asked as the young waitress walked over to their table.

  “I’ll have the same.”

  “We’re going to make this really easy for you,” he said smiling up at the young woman. “Two glasses of iced tea, and that will be it.”

  After the waitress left, he looked at Marty and said, “What’s going on?”

  “Jeff, I feel really unsettled. I met with Jacques’ ex-wife today, and I liked her a lot. She seems like a really nice woman who fell in love with the wrong man. I kind of felt like we were kindred spirits. She had posters of California Impressionist paintings on her walls and a lot of books on the subject from the library. I thought it was rather coincidental given that I’m going to be doing that big art appraisal for Jeb Rhodes in a couple of days. By the way, he called and wants to meet me this evening at six. When you get to the compound, tell the others to go ahead and eat if I’m not back yet. I’ll grab something when I get there.”

  “Why do you think he wants to meet with you? I thought you’d agreed on the price of your appraisal and when you were going to start.”

  “We did, so I have no idea why he wants to meet with me, but I’ll let you know after I see him this evening. Anyway, the other meeting I had was with Ned Billings’ sponsor, the one I mentioned last night whose name is Chuck Weston. He’s the reason I have this unsettled feeling. Here’s what he told me.” She spent the next few minutes telling Jeff about her conversation with Chuck Weston.

  “Yeah, I see what you mean. I think you’ve narrowed the list of prime suspects down to two people, however something just occurred to me while you were talking. Ned might very well have accused John and Max of murdering Jacques to shift suspicion away from him and/or Rita. Of course that doesn’t tell us which one, if either of them, did it, but it sure would make sense. I’m sorry this isn’t my case, because it certainly has
developed some interesting twists and turns.”

  “Here’s something else that’s troubling me. Do you think I should go the sheriff with my suspicions?”

  “Wouldn’t do you any good,” Jeff said. “I talked to him this morning, and he told me even though the murder was unsolved he always goes to the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the opening day of the trout fishing season. And guess what? Opening day is this weekend, and he’s leaving tonight with a bunch of guys. Said he’d been doing it for years, and it was pretty much written in stone. He laughed when he told me about it and said even if his wife was the one who’d been murdered, he’d probably still go.”

  “I don’t think that’s very funny, and I certainly hope you never say anything like that about me.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t. Plus, fishing has never been my thing. You’re safe there.”

  “Something else is bothering me, Jeff, and I don’t feel very good about it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I kind of shamed Chuck into telling me about Ned and his wife, and I think he really regretted saying anything at all to me. He’s very active in NA and while one doesn’t take a legally enforceable oath regarding anonymity, it’s a pretty sacred thing to them, and he broke it by telling me what he did. I feel badly about it, but I don’t know what else I could have done.”

  “Don’t waste your time regretting it. He’s a big boy, and from what you told me he made his own decision regarding whether or not to violate the unwritten pledge of anonymity. What concerns me is he might tell Ned that he’s told you. If Ned killed Jacques, or if he knew Rita killed Jacques, he might try to stop you from telling anyone.”

  “I think that’s a stretch, anyway, I’ve never even talked to Ned other than ordering food from him at the French Food Obsession the first day of the music festival.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. I guess we’ll just have to see what the next few days bring, although I do think the case is getting close to being solved. Ned or Rita? Interesting. Of course, there’s still the chance it was just a random murder, or Jacques’ drug dealer was the one who killed him.”

  “Jeff, Chuck asked me something that I answered, but I didn’t know if what I told him was in fact correct. He asked if there were any signs of forcible entry into Jacques’ motor home, and I told him no. I based it on the fact that you’d never mentioned it, so I assumed there weren’t any. Is that right?”

  “Yes, the sheriff noticed that right away, and it’s one of the reasons he has John and Max at the top of his suspect list. Jacques would have opened the door for them. Of course I imagine he would have opened it for Rita or Ned.”

  “Don’t forget about Jacques’ drug dealer. Certainly he’d open the door for him too. And probably for Jennifer, his ex-wife, although I’m pretty sure she didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “Tell you what,” he said looking at his watch, “I have to get back to the office and get my paperwork finished. Why don’t you talk to Laura and see if she’s got any more thoughts about the murder?” He put some bills on the table and said, “Bye sweetheart, see you tonight.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Marty had two hours before she was to meet Jeb Rhodes. She knew she could stay in Palm Springs and kill time, but she really wanted to see what Laura had to say. She decided to drive to the compound even though she’d have to make another trip back into Palm Springs to meet Jeb. As she parked in the driveway she looked over towards the gate. As usual, there was Duke, patiently waiting for her.

  Better take him for a walk before I do anything else. “Come on Duke,” she said as she opened the gate. “Bootie time.”

  I sincerely hope at some point in time this bootie fixation of his will become a thing of the past. I bet that’s why Jeff decided to live here when we’re married rather than at his condo. He probably doesn’t want anyone to see him walking Duke with his pink booties on. Probably thinks it would hurt his downtown image. Tough detective seen walking big black Lab who’s wearing pink booties. Yeah, that might not be so cool. He’d probably be the talk of the police station. Can’t really blame him for it.

  When she’d finished walking Duke, Marty saw Laura sitting at the table in the courtyard working on her laptop computer. She walked over and sat down across from her. “Are you doing things that can’t be interrupted, or can you spend a couple of minutes talking to me?”

  “You take priority over my laptop any time. What’s going on?”

  Marty told her about her conversations with Jennifer, Chuck, and Jeff. When she was finished, she sat back and waited for Laura’s response. After a few moments Laura said, “I’m getting a feeling you’re in danger. I think you need to be very careful.”

  “Laura, that’s not exactly what I wanted to hear. I would rather have you tell me who killed Jacques.”

  “I wish I could. I simply don’t know, but for some reason I’m sure it wasn’t his drug dealer. I’m not so sure he would have opened the motor home door for that person, knowing he owed him money. I have a strong sense it was Ned or his wife, or maybe both of them. Either way, I think you need to stay clear of them until this is over. Does Jeff know if the sheriff has found out anything more?”

  “I don’t think so. Jeff talked to him this morning, and the sheriff told Jeff he was going away on his annual opening day fishing trip. Nothing else was mentioned.”

  “Well, the good news about him leaving town is that neither John nor Max will be charged with murder while he’s away. They came back here after they finished up with their lunch crowd and spent a couple of hours cooking for a cocktail party they’re catering tonight. John said the hostess didn’t want them to be at the party, because she wanted her guests to think she made everything herself. Can you believe that?” she said laughing. “John said dinner would be at the usual time this evening.”

  “Did he mention what he was fixing for dinner tonight?”

  “Yes, he said it was hearty appetizers. My guess is they made more appetizers than they needed for the catering job, so we’ll be having the extra ones for dinner.”

  “Well, whatever John makes, it’s always delicious. Thanks for your words of wisdom. I need to go check my email, and then I have to go back to the Springs and meet with Jeb Rhodes. I told Jeff, but I’ll tell you too. I may be late for dinner, so start without me. See you later.”

  *****

  After driving back to Palm Springs, Marty pulled into The Golden Truffle parking lot. It was still warm in town and once again, she was glad she lived where she did. The temperature at the compound was always about ten degrees cooler.

  She opened the door of the popular restaurant and saw Jeb waiting for her. He turned to the hostess and said, “We’re not having dinner. We’re just going into the bar for a drink.” He motioned for Marty to follow him. Marty was amazed at the number of people who were in the bar this early in the evening. She remembered someone saying once that The Golden Truffle had the reputation for being the “go to” place after a round of golf. Judging from the crowd she thought a lot of people must have played golf today.

  Jeb walked over to a table in the corner, somewhat removed from the crowd. “I didn’t want to have to compete with the noise level coming from the people near the bar. I hope you don’t mind that we’re a bit farther away. What would you like to drink?” he asked.

  “I’d like a glass of chardonnay wine. Thanks.”

  “So, did you recover from the music festival?” he asked.

  “Yes, I finally got some sleep. And you, was your ranch a mess afterwards?”

  “No, not really,” Jeb said. “My manager hired a great crew that had everything cleaned up by noon the day after it ended. Actually, if you saw it now, you’d never know that thousands of people were on the property for three days. Back to business as usual.” He paused as the cocktail waitress walked over to their table.

  “Marty, it’s good to see you again,” the attractive waitress said. It was Jennifer Rushon.

 
“May I say the same. Jeb, let me introduce you to Jennifer Rushon. She’s the ex-wife of the man who was murdered on your property. Jennifer, this is Jeb Rhodes, the owner of the White Stallion Ranch.”

  They shook hands, and Marty had the distinct feeling that an electric spark had spontaneously passed between the two of them. For a moment she didn’t think either one of them even knew she was there. An idea began to form in her mind. “Actually, Jennifer, it’s quite a coincidence that I’m here with Jeb, because he has one of the finest California Impressionist art collections I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to be appraising it very soon.

  “Jeb, I was at Jennifer’s apartment earlier today, and she has posters of California Impressionist paintings all over her walls. I think she’s read every book on the subject she can find. You two certainly share something in common, a love of California Impressionist paintings.”

  “Jennifer, I know quite a bit about the subject, and I always enjoy sharing my paintings with people who enjoy them,” Jeb said. “Perhaps you could come out to the ranch and see them. If you’re here at this time of the evening, you probably work most evenings, so maybe you could come for lunch. I have an amazing chef who cooks for me. Why don’t you give me your phone number, and I’ll call you?”

  Jennifer looked at him with a megawatt smile that lit up her face. “I can’t think of anything I’d like more.” She wrote her telephone number on a cocktail napkin and gave it to him.