Murdered by Country Music: A High Desert Cozy Mystery

by Dianne Harman

“Thanks,” he said, holding her hand a beat more than was necessary to retrieve the napkin. “I’ll call you in the morning. Maybe we could even do it tomorrow.”

  “I’m free. Now, I better get your orders, or the bartender will report me. What would you like to drink?”

  “We’ll both have a glass of chardonnay wine,” Jeb said. Jennifer wrote the order down and walked away from the table.

  Well, when I said I’d see what I could do about finding her a sugar daddy, didn’t think it would happen so fast, but Jeb Rhodes just might be her sugar daddy. I think I just witnessed the beginning of a blooming romance. Woohoo! Couldn’t happen to two nicer people.

  “Jeb, you asked me to meet you regarding the appraisal. What did you want to talk to me about?” she inquired as Jennifer returned to their table and set their wine glasses down in front of them, smiling at Jeb.

  “I’ll get to that in a moment, but thanks for introducing me to Jennifer. She’s quite a beautiful woman, and if she’s interested in California Impressionist art, that’s a huge plus.”

  “Jeb, I don’t know much about her, but all my instincts tell me she’s a very good person. I think you heard that Jacques Rushon was a drug addict. Jennifer was married to him during that time, but divorced him because of his addiction. When he died he owed her a lot of money for back child support. I only bring it up because she hates drugs, and I know the trouble you’ve had with Brianna and drugs. It looks to me like you and Jennifer certainly have more than art in common,” she said with a knowing smile.

  “Thanks for telling me. Actually, that’s part of why I wanted to meet with you. Brianna came home last night, or rather some people brought her home, and she was totally wasted. This morning I made the decision to put her into a drug rehabilitation facility. It kills me to do it, but it’s my last resort. I don’t want to lose my daughter to a drug overdose, and if I don’t do something like this, there’s a good chance I will. I’m taking her to a facility I’ve selected in a few hours. Her best friend is helping me. She’s as worried about Brianna as I am,” he said with a look of pain clearly etched on his face.

  Marty reached across the table and put her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, but I think it will be for the best. I don’t know what I can do to help, but if you think of something, please let me know.”

  “Thanks, but that’s not the reason I wanted to meet with you. Well, actually it is part of the reason. I don’t want Brianna or Gigi to know I’m having new trusts drawn up, and while I don’t think either one of them would connect an appraisal with a new trust, I’d like you to do the appraisal while Gigi’s at school. She leaves for school at 8:00 in the morning and gets home around 3:00 in the afternoon. I know it means you’ll probably have to spend more days at my home then you may have scheduled, but you asked if you could do anything for me, and this is something you can do.”

  “Of course, that’s not a problem. When would you like me to start?” Marty asked.

  “I’d like you to begin Monday of next week. That will give me time to get Brianna situated and see if there are any problems with her at the facility. The facility recommended, based what I told them, that she spend two months there. It’s a long time and a lot of money, but given what the alternative could be, I’ll consider it money well spent.”

  “Yes, Monday will work fine. I’ll be there shortly after eight in the morning. I was planning on spending two days at your home, but with the time restrictions, I think I’ll have to make it three days. Is that okay?”

  “Yes, that’s fine with me. I’ll be curious to see what values you place on the paintings. I used to know to the penny what they were worth, or at least what comparable items were bringing at auction and in the galleries, but with the problems I’ve had with Brianna during the last year or so, I’ve sort of lost touch.”

  “That’s my job,” Marty said, looking at her watch. “Jeb, I need to go, or I’ll be late for dinner. It’s a long story, but we have a chef where I live, and although he’s a wonderful chef, he’s not very nice to be around if someone is late to one of his dinners. I told everyone to go ahead and start without me, but I think I can make it if I leave now. Thanks for the drink, and I’ll see you next Monday.” As she was walking to the door she noticed that Jeb had motioned for Jennifer to come over to his table.

  I wonder if he wants a refill or wants to confirm lunch tomorrow. I’ll be very curious to see where this leads.

  CHAPTER 23

  When Marty returned to the compound, the residents were all sitting at the table enjoying the early spring evening. Just as she sat down to join them in the courtyard, Jeff let himself in through the gate. John and Max were at the picnic table as well.

  “John, you look more relaxed than I’ve seen you in a long time. Something good happen today?” Marty asked after she was seated at the table.

  “I agree with Marty,” Jeff said. “Did you finally get some sleep or did you score some huge catering job? Of course if that was the case you’d probably be looking stressed. I know how seriously you take those gigs,” he said laughing.

  “You’re both right. I feel the best I’ve felt in several days, mainly because I called the sheriff’s office today to see if they’d found out anything new on the case, and when I got through to him the sheriff told me he was leaving for a few days to go on his annual fishing trip. He also told me he hadn’t found out anything more that would cause him to arrest either Max or me,” he said as he took a sip of his wine.

  “And yes, I did get a new catering gig. The woman who hired us to prepare appetizers for her cocktail party tonight was so pleased with them she asked us to cater her husband’s birthday dinner next month. She’s invited two hundred guests, and it’s really a big deal. Her home is huge. There’s a swimming pool, a theater, tennis courts, a putting green, and a guest house. If the guests are as wealthy as she is, and if we can pick up some business from them, I really might have to seriously think about renting a kitchen in town and hiring some staff. As you know, I’ve been flirting with doing just that for quite a while. Like I said, maybe it’s time to get serious about it.”

  “That’s wonderful, John,” Laura said. “You mentioned earlier we were going to be the recipients of some of your appetizers tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing what you made for her.”

  “Let me go in and start the oven. A couple of them need to be heated. I think you’ll be happy with them. We’ll eat in about half an hour.”

  “Take your time, John. No one would dare leave without eating whatever it is you’re making,” Les said laughing.

  An hour later after they’d consumed every last one of the appetizers, Marty said, “Those were fabulous. I really liked it that you had such a variety, and the fruit sticks were a nice touch to cleanse the palate.”

  “I could personally make a meal on those bacon waffle coins. Next time, just make the waffles a lot bigger, and I’ll be happy,” Jeff said.

  “As always, my pleasure. It’s great to have such an appreciative audience. Thank you.”

  “I’m going to have to say good night,” Les said as he stood up from the table. “The painting muse has been sitting on my shoulder all day, you know that inner voice that gives you guidance once in a while, and I’d like to continue working on a painting that’s been quite difficult for me. It will probably be an all-nighter, since I can finally see the painting begin to take shape. See you all tomorrow.” He walked around the table and kissed Laura lightly on the cheek. They’d been seeing each other exclusively for ten years, but had never married.

  Les had been married in his early twenties, and when the marriage ended, he made a vow to never get married again. Laura had made peace with the situation, and even though they hadn’t gone through the ritual of marriage, they were as committed to each other as if they had.

  “Les, you may have the painting muse, but I’ve got an inner voice that keeps telling me I should have stayed at work and completed the paperwork I was trying to finish. I think I
’ll go back to the office and get it done once and for all,” Jeff said.

  “I’ll walk you out to your car,” Marty said. “I’d tell Duke to stay, but there’s no reason to since he won’t go out there anyway.”

  When Marty walked back into the courtyard, the lights on the tree had been turned off, and the courtyard was quiet. Everyone had retired to their house for the night after enjoying another one of John’s fabulous meals.

  CHAPTER 24

  Ned walked into his house and called out, “Rita, where are you? I need to talk to you.”

  “I’m in the den. Today was really busy at the salon, and I’m chilling out watching TV. I thought you were going to a meeting before you came home.”

  “I was, but I got a call from Chuck. He asked me to meet him at a coffee shop.”

  “What did he want?”

  “He felt guilty about something he did today and decided he’d better tell me about it.”

  “Well, that sounds interesting. What was it?”

  “A woman asked someone she knew in NA if he would call Chuck and have Chuck call her. Chuck did, and he met with this woman earlier today. She wanted to know all about me and also about you. She knew Chuck was my sponsor.”

  “Why would she want to know about us? That’s kind of weird. Anyway, since he’s in NA, I’d be surprised if he said anything to her.”

  “Unfortunately, he did. That’s why he felt guilty. It was about Jacques’ murder.”

  She looked at him with a strange expression on her face. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. What did Chuck tell her?”

  “What it basically boiled down to was that he and she discussed whether or not either one of us was involved in Jacques’ murder. I know I didn’t murder him, but what about you? You’ve been angry about me working with Jacques ever since I bought the food truck, and we opened the French Food Obsession. I can’t even begin to count the number of times you’ve told me how worried you were that I’d go back on drugs just like Jacques did. Rita, please tell me you didn’t have anything to do with Jacques’ murder,” he said, looking intently at her.

  “Ned, I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation and that you’re asking if I was involved in his murder. Who is this woman? Why is she so interested in the case?”

  “Her name is Marty Morgan. That’s all I know about her. She told Chuck that a friend of hers was a suspect in the murder, and she wanted to clear his name. I’ve never heard of her before. She must be a friend of either John or Max. They’re the only two I know that are suspects. I used to work with John a long time ago. You’ve met him.”

  “I vaguely remember him. Why are they considered suspects?”

  “John owns The Red Pony. It’s a food truck that’s pretty popular. When we started out and before we developed a following, Jacques always parked the French Food Obsession truck as close to The Red Pony as possible, so we could get some business from people who didn’t want to wait in their long lines. Even after we’d developed quite a following on our own he still always wanted to park as close to The Red Pony as possible. I know it really irritated John. I told the sheriff he was the one who killed Jacques, because John didn’t want any competition from him.”

  “Have they arrested either of them?”

  “No. So far no one has been arrested.”

  Rita looked Ned straight in the eye and said, “Ned, you have to believe me. I had nothing to do with Jacques’ murder, but I can’t say I’m sorry it happened. You know how worried I’ve been that you’ll go back on drugs because Jacques did. With him gone you won’t be around his bad influence.”

  “Okay, Rita, I believe you. When I was talking to Chuck I told him you would never do anything like that. I’m glad I was right. All this has me feeling pretty anxious. I think I’ll go to a meeting. There’s one in half an hour on the others side of town. I’ll see you later. We can eat a little late tonight, and Rita, now that Jacques is gone, I think we need to work on our marriage,” he said closing the front door behind him.

  Although the television was on, Rita wasn’t even aware of it as she frantically tried to figure out what to do. A plan began to form in her mind, a way to make sure that neither she nor Ned would ever be associated with the murder of Jacques Rushon.

  CHAPTER 25

  Marty spent the morning cleaning her house and emailing a client who had questions about the appraisal she’d recently sent to him. His main question dealt with the high value she’d placed on his collection. He wondered if all insurance companies charged approximately the same premium for insuring property like his or if he should shop around and see if he could get a better premium quote.

  It was an appraisal that Dick, Laura’s boss, had asked her to do for one of their insureds, and she felt like she was in a bind. On one hand she felt very loyal to Dick for referring the client to her, but on the other hand her actual client was the man himself, not Dick. She wrote him back and said she really didn’t know the answer to the question and suggested he call several insurance companies and simply ask them what they would charge to insure his collection with the value she’d placed on it.

  She was debating what to have for lunch when her phone rang. She looked at the monitor and didn’t recognize the number. “This is Marty,” she said.

  “Hi Marty. It’s Rita Billings. You asked me to call you if I thought of anything regarding Jacques Rushon’s murder. Something’s come up, and I’d like to talk to you. Could you meet me at my house in an hour or so?”

  “Yes. Care to tell me anything about it over the phone?”

  “No. I’m not sure if my calls are being monitored. I’ll tell you when you get here.”

  “See you in an hour,” Marty said and ended the call.

  That’s weird. I wonder what she wants. Well, maybe she can tell me something that will help John and Max. It’ll take me thirty minutes to get there, so I’ve got time for a quick shower.

  Twenty minutes later as she walked out of her house, she almost bumped into Laura. “Where are you off to?” Laura asked.

  “I just got a call from Rita Billings asking me to meet her at her house. She said she has something she wants to tell me. I shouldn’t be too long. If I get hung up, would you take Duke outside? My door’s unlocked, and his booties are on the chair next to the door.”

  “Marty, don’t go to Rita’s. I can’t tell you why, but I’m getting a strong sense that you shouldn’t go. Please.”

  “Oh, Laura. You’ve said yourself that sometimes your intuition is wrong. I’m sure this is one of those times. Rita’s harmless. I’ll be fine and be back before you know it. Honest. Don’t worry. See you later.”

  As she began the drive to Palm Springs, she once again thought to herself how glad she was she didn’t live there. Although most people saw the city as being quite beautiful, she felt its beauty was contrived with its golf courses and planned communities. She much preferred the natural beauty of the nearby desert that surrounded the sprawling Palm Springs urban area. She loved the desert’s natural landscapes and the play of color as it changed throughout the day. It seemed alive to her, while the unnatural beauty of Palm Springs seemed stagnant by comparison.

  There were only a few vehicles on the streets in the run-down neighborhood where Rita lived. Marty figured everyone was at work trying as best they could to make ends meet. This was not the type of neighborhood where women stayed home, cooked evening meals for their husbands, and children played. Marty parked in front of the house she’d been to the day before yesterday and walked up to the door. Rita opened it before she could even knock or ring the doorbell. “I’m glad you’re here,” Rita said. “Come in.”

  Marty walked into the house and followed Rita into the den at the rear of the house. “Have a seat,” Rita said. “I want to show you something.” She walked over to the desk and opened a drawer. She took a piece of paper out of it and handed it to Marty.

  Marty read the piece of paper which said “You got too nosy, and now
I’m going to kill you just like I killed Jacques. You know too much to live.” She looked up at Rita with a confused look on her face. “I don’t understand…” She gasped as she saw the gun in Rita’s hand. “What’s going on?” she exclaimed in a fearful voice.

  “I’m sure you don’t understand, but it really doesn’t matter. Chuck Weston told Ned about your visit with him yesterday. Chuck regretted telling you some of the things he did, and he wanted Ned to know that you suspected him or me of murdering Jacques Ruchon. Ned didn’t kill him, I did, but Ned can never know that. I told him I didn’t, and he believed me. You’ve learned too much, and I’m sure you’d never stop trying to dig up new evidence until you discovered I was the one who did it. I’m sure Ned would go back to using drugs if he found out. I can’t let him do that. His being free from drugs is more important to me than anything else in the world,” Rita said in an unnatural tone of voice, her voice rising with each word until she almost shouted the last words.

  Good grief. I think she’s having a mental breakdown right before my eyes. She’s going to kill me. Think, Marty, think. You don’t have much time.

  She remembered how insistent Jeff had been that she keep her gun in her purse, but it was on the floor next to her feet. There was no way Rita would let her get to it. She did the only thing she could think of to do. She pretended she’d fainted and fell to the floor, her purse under her.

  “Get up, you stupid woman! I don’t have all day.” Rita prodded Marty with her shoe. “Get up!” Rita reached down to pull Marty up, but as she did Marty knocked the gun out of her hand, and Rita scrambled to get it. When Rita had it in her hand she turned around and fired at Marty, the bullet hitting her in the shoulder.

  At the same moment, Marty reached into her open purse, took her gun out, and fired at Rita, hitting her leg and causing Rita to fall on the floor. Just then Marty heard a voice say, “Rita, stay where you are. I’ve got a gun on you.” Marty recognized the voice. It was Jeff’s. He began to speak into his phone, “This is Detective Combs. Send two ambulances and a couple of officers to this address immediately!” He listened for a moment and said, “Murder and attempted murder.” He ended the call.