by HELEN HARDT
There was only one way for me to get Lacey out of this. I had to find out who had offed Derek Wolfe.
And I couldn’t do that from Canada.
Lacey wasn’t in the bedroom when I left the bathroom. I got dressed quickly in my riding garb, and then I went to my gun safe. I kept most of my guns there, all but the Smith & Wesson nine millimeter that I’d pulled on ex-Deputy Gore.
My Glock 23—the one I could easily conceal—was in the safe. It was going with me wherever I went from now on. Funny. It was the same model that had killed my father.
I carefully dialed the combination, and—
“Mother fuck.”
The Glock was missing.
46
Lacey
I knocked on the bedroom door again. “Rock?”
No answer. Was he still in the bathroom? I entered. Rock stood facing the wall. The painting on the wall facing the bed sat on the floor, and a wall safe was opened. Rock stared into it.
I approached. Several small guns sat in the safe. My heart jumped as a sliver of fear sliced into me.
“Rock?” I said again, this time more timidly. “Everything okay?”
He shook his head. “Everything’s not okay. Not even close.”
I gulped. “That’s a lot of guns.”
“One less than should be here.”
“Why would you— Oh. Shit.”
“Someone stole my Glock. The exact model that was used to kill my dad.”
“But your gun didn’t kill your dad, Rock. You’d know that by now.”
“You’re right. I know. But still, this doesn’t look good. Especially with my prints—”
“Your prints?”
“I know. It’s crazy.”
“You weren’t even in the state of New York when your father was murdered.”
He nodded. “I have an ironclad alibi. Except that no one was here with me.”
“Rock, you were on a plane the next day. That’s easily traceable.”
“I know that, damn it! I’m not a moron, Lacey.”
“Easy.”
“Sorry, baby. But this is a fucking mess.”
“No, it’s not. I’m sorry someone stole your gun, but you weren’t in New York. They can’t possibly implicate you. I’m clearly the one who’s been implicated, and I was in Manhattan that night. I’m the one without an alibi, Rock. I was alone in my apartment. I have no alibi.”
“Your doorman?”
“Maybe.”
“Someone is trying to get to me through you. Damned if I know why, though. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe my mother isn’t behind this. Who else would want me to rot for the murder of my father?”
“Do you have any enemies?”
“Only my father, and even he isn’t stupid enough to plan his own death to get me from beyond the grave. Though he did do just that with that damned will of his.”
I cleared my throat. I had to ask, though I knew he wouldn’t answer. “Just why is your father an enemy, Rock? What happened between you two?”
His lips were a flat line.
No response. Not that I expected one.
I cupped his cheek. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it. But if someone is implicating me—”
“I’ll protect you.”
I sighed. If only he could. Not even Wolfe money could get me out of this mess if someone had decided to frame me.
Why would anyone want to frame me?
Rock thought his mother might be behind this, but I didn’t even know his mother. She couldn’t possibly know Rock and I were together. We’d kept it pretty hush hush. Though if Roy and Reid knew…
Still, it didn’t make any sense.
Every lawyer instinct in me told me his mother wasn’t behind this. Of course, I’d never met the woman, and according to Rock, she was no saint.
My father had once cautioned me never to get involved with a man who had a bad relationship with his mother. “The way he treats his mother is an indication of how he’ll treat you,” he’d said on more than one occasion.
Boy, had I not heeded that advice.
Rock seemed to dislike his mother nearly as much as he disliked his father.
And there had been times in the few days since I’d met him that Rock had treated me less than nicely.
Oh, God…
“First thing we do is check with your doorman,” he said. “He’ll know when you came in and when you left. My father was killed during the night, so if you got home from work and then didn’t leave until morning, and the doorman knows that, you’re in the clear.”
“Someone could pay the doorman off.”
“I’ll pay more.”
“Damn it, I don’t want anyone paying anyone! This is crazy! I’m not guilty of anything.”
“I know, baby. I know. I’m going to make my mother or whoever it turns out to be pay for this.”
“Rock, I’ve been thinking. Why would your mother want to frame me?”
“Why does Connie Wolfe do anything? She’s a nut job.”
“She’s your mother. She created you. She can’t be all bad.”
He shook his head, chuckling. “She’s a mercenary, Lacey. She married my father for the money, lay in his bed for the money, and then, when he divorced her, she made sure she got plenty of his money for her troubles.”
“Does she even know about me? About you and me, I mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“If she doesn’t know about us, why would she have any interest in framing me?”
“She’s not trying to frame you, Lace. She’s trying to fuck with me.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because it’s what she does. If it made any sense, she wouldn’t be Connie Wolfe.”
I sighed. “Maybe we should fly home. This is a mess. I feel so out of control here. And now with your gun gone…”
“I’ll take you home if it’s what you truly want, but I promised you the ride of your life. You’ll love it.”
I kissed his lips. “All right. Let’s take that ride. I’d love to get my mind off of all of this.”
After a quick drive into the small Montana town to pick up riding gear for me, Rock strapped a helmet on my head, and we were off.
I held on to Rock for dear life at first, especially when he took hairpin turns around the windy back road. But soon I was looking above at the big sky, enjoying the wind on my face and the beautiful scenery around me.
We stopped for a late lunch at a biker bar.
Yes, a biker bar. I, Lacey Nicole Ward, good girl extraordinaire, went into a biker bar.
“Rock Wolfe! Good to see you!” A burly and bearded man wearing a black Harley vest greeted us.
“Hey, Burke, good to see you too. Though I think you just saw me two weeks ago.”
“True that. But I heard you went off to New York.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“Word gets around,” he said. “How about a beer?”
“Not while I’m riding. But we’ll look at the menu for lunch.”
“Good enough.” He sauntered away.
“That’s odd,” Rock said.
“What?”
“That he knows I went to New York. I never talk about my family with these guys. They have no idea I’m part of that Wolfe family.”
“It wouldn’t be too hard to find out,” I said. “Just do a search for Derek Wolfe, and his children will be listed. How many Rock Wolfes are there in the world?”
He shook his head. “I smell a rat somewhere. Like I told Burke, I was just in here two weeks ago, before my father died. There was no reason for him to even know I’d been out of town.”
A tattooed server with three nose rings brought us water and menus.
“Honey, could you send Burke back over here?” Rock said.
I didn’t relish him calling her honey, but if he was attracted to me, no way would he be attracted to her. She was pretty, but I was as strait-laced as they came. No ink, no piercin
gs. Well, my ears, but that didn’t count.
“Sure, Rock.”
“You know her?”
“That’s Honey. She’s Burke’s sister.”
I nearly spit out the drink of water I’d taken. “Honey is her name?”
“Yeah…” Then he guffawed. “You thought I was calling her honey?”
“What else was I supposed to think?”
Rock continued to laugh.
“I don’t see anything funny from where I’m sitting.” I took another drink of water.
“Sorry, Lace. But Honey and I…” He continued laughing. “It’s just too much to even think about. Besides, she lives with two men. They share her.”
“They what?”
“It’s a threesome. A permanent ménage a trois.”
“Do the guys…? With each other?”
“I have no idea.” He shook his head. “Don’t want to know. But if they do, you can bet no one gives them any shit. They’re both the size of tanks.”
“And her brother…?”
“Burke looks the other way. What else can he do?”
“Oh my God…”
“Sweet little Lace. You’re so sheltered.”
“I’m not…” I stopped. “I can’t pull that off. I’m a Manhattan attorney. I was raised on Long Island. My parents are still married. I had a normal childhood. Yeah, I guess I’m a little sheltered.”
“You are, but that’s part of what makes you you.” Rock smiled.
God, that smile. It could melt the polar ice caps.
Burke sauntered back over. “Honey said you wanted to talk?”
“Yeah.” Rock cleared his throat. “I was just wondering… How did you know I was in New York?”
“Heard it from…Manny, I think? Or maybe Hoss.”
I couldn’t help a smile. “Manny and Hoss? Are we trapped in an old episode of Bonanza?”
Burke erupted in laughter. “That’s some funny little lady you got there. Sweetheart, Hoss is an attorney in Billings. Real name is Horace Stiers the third. Manny is Parker Manfred, a gynecologist. The two of them come down on the weekends.”
“Weekend bikers?” I said.
“Sure. Doctors and lawyers who pretend to be bikers on the weekend. Hoss and Manny are good guys, though. They’re around. I expect them in for lunch any time now.”
“How would they know I’d gone to Manhattan?” Rock eyed the menu.
“Don’t know,” Burke said. “But you can ask them yourself. They’re walking in the door.”
47
Rock
Manny’s broad shoulders and short, stocky build were a stark contrast to Hoss’s height and lankiness. We sometimes called them Mutt and Jeff. Both were bald as cue balls, Manny by choice, Hoss by genetics.
“Hey, guys,” Burke said, motioning them over. “Look who’s back!”
“Jesus, Burke. I wasn’t gone for long.”
“Hey, Rock.” Manny held out his hand. “Good to see you. Nice do.”
Right. My short hair. “Ha! Funny, coming from you. Sit down, guys.”
“Don’t mind if we do.” Hoss grabbed a chair, turned it, and straddled it. “Who’s this lovely lady?”
“Lacey Ward. She’s an attorney too.”
Hoss held out a hand to Lacey, and she shook it tentatively.
“You’re way prettier than any of the old stodges at my firm. We’ve got some juicy associates, though.”
Lacey reddened. She wouldn’t find Hoss’s sexist talk particularly amusing.
“Knock it off, Hoss,” I said. “I need to talk to you two.”
“Yeah? What about?”
“Burke says one of you guys told him I’d gone to New York.”
“That’d be me,” Manny said.
“Interesting. Exactly how did you know that? I didn’t tell anyone when I left.”
“A new patient,” Manny said. “She came in, and we were doing the requisite small talk while I was examining her. Anyway, she asked if I knew you, and I said yes. Then she said you were in New York.”
“Do you remember her name?”
“Not offhand,” he said. “But I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyway. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all.”
“I’ll make it worth your while,” I said.
“Rock, if you think I’m the kind of guy who’d sell his integrity—”
“Then you’re right!” Hoss slapped his knee.
“Thanks, ass munch. Nice, coming from my lawyer.” Manny chuckled. “I can’t help you, Rock. I’m sorry.”
“Fuck.” I shook my head. “This was a new patient, you say? A woman?”
“Men don’t usually have gynecological issues,” Manny said.
“Funny.” I searched my mind. It couldn’t have been my mother. She only let her own personal physician and plastic surgeon near her. One look at Manny’s shaved head and beer belly, and she’d have hightailed it out of there. Besides, I’d interacted with her on a nearly daily basis since I’d returned to New York.
Who else would know I’d gone to New York? And why would she mention it to her gynecologist?
“Look, Manny,” I said. “I get the confidentiality thing, but I need to know who this person is. I’m investigating my father’s murder.”
Manny reddened.
“Shit,” I said. “She told you something else, didn’t she?”
“I’m sorry.” Manny shook his head. “I can’t. It’s not worth my license. I shouldn’t have told Burke you were in New York. It has nothing to do with her treatment, so I’m probably in the clear, but I should have kept mum.”
“Agreed,” Hoss said.
I turned to Lacey. “Is there any way around the confidentiality thing?”
She shook her head. “I’m afraid not, unless you subpoena his records. But to do that the records would need to be relevant to some sort of legal claim. A civil lawsuit or a workers comp case, for example.”
“Damn.”
“I’m real sorry, man,” Manny said. “I should’ve kept my big trap shut.”
“You’re not going to lose your license over this,” Hoss said. “Hell, I’ve seen doctors who fuck their patients get off. Gotten a few off myself, as long as they pay their bills.”
“What does it matter, anyway?” Manny asked.
“I told you,” I said. “I’m investigating my father’s murder.”
“And that has to do with my patient…why?”
“Maybe nothing, but I’m following every lead. Why would some new patient of yours know anything about me?”
“Maybe she read about your father’s death.” Manny took a drink of the beer Honey had set in front of him.
“No,” I said. “You said she asked you if you knew me.”
“Look,” Manny said. “Can we just not talk anymore about this? I’m really uncomfortable.”
“Damn,” I said again.
A woman. And she’d told Manny something else, something he was loath to tell me. Manny was a good guy. He probably was truly concerned about doctor-patient confidentiality.
Who the hell was it?
Nieves? She’d found out somehow. But Manny knew Nieves. She wouldn’t be a “new” patient. And Nieves would never let Manny near her.
No, this was someone else.
Someone here in Montana—or who’d come to Montana—knew I’d gone to New York when I hadn’t told anyone I was leaving.
It could be completely innocent.
Yeah, right. There was something more here—something only Manny and his patient knew.
And I aimed to find out.
I opened my wallet and slid a hundred dollar bill—courtesy of my new ATM card that accessed the Wolfe troves—over to Manny. “There’s a lot more where that came from. We’ve known each other for years, Manny. You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“I get it, but I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“Especially not in front of his attorney,” Lacey said. “And yours.”
Easy enou
gh to read between the lines. I needed to get Manny alone. If I promised to be discreet, I might be able to convince him to give me the woman’s name. I didn’t relish the idea of leaving Lacey in the company of Hoss, a serial misogynist, but I had to try.
“Care to step outside, Manny?” I said.
“Not at the moment.”
Okay. So much for that idea.
Honey brought our meals, and we ate in silence, my mind churning. This could be nothing. A complete dead-end.
Or it could be a clue I needed.
Lacey clearly thought Manny could be bought, but she didn’t know him. I did. He was a good guy, but even the best guys could sometimes be persuaded by the green god himself. Money. Manny made a great living, but he had no idea the kind of money I now wielded.
I signaled Honey for the check. “It’s on me today.” I placed bills on the table.
“Thank you, Rock,” Hoss said.
“Obliged,” Manny agreed.
I stood, offering my hand to Lacey. “You know where I am if you change your mind.” I led Lacey out the door.
“Okay, baby,” I said. “We’re taking another ride. A long one. A gorgeous one. I want you to free your mind and enjoy it. Because tonight I need you to use that beautiful brain of yours and figure out how we can get Manny to spill his guts.”
“I don’t think he will,” she said. “He seems pretty principled. His attorney, on the other hand…”
“Hoss?”
“Yeah. I don’t get a good vibe from him.”
“Probably because he’s a sexist pig.”
“Well, that. Yeah.” She smiled. “But more that he admits to defending doctors who screw their patients.”
“He’s an attorney. It’s what he does.”
“True. Part of the reason why I went into trusts and estates. I can’t stand working with shitty people.”
“You worked with my father.”
“Yeah. When I got into the trusts and estates, I realized my error. There’s no area of the law where you don’t deal with shitty people, but I do see less than some.”
“Hoss, huh?”
“I’m not telling you to bribe someone,” she said. “But if you choose to do something like that without my knowledge, Hoss is where I’d start.”
