by Rayna Morgan
“That’s a step in the right direction. I’m sure your mother would be as relieved as I am.”
• • •
A short time later, Dan calmed his nerves with a stiff shot of bourbon while Tom took Gavin into custody.
He’d been certain Gavin wouldn’t shoot but playing Russian roulette with someone with an itchy finger and poor eyesight wasn’t his idea of a fun evening.
The two men conferred away from Gavin’s hearing.
“I’m not going to press charges over what happened tonight,” Dan said. “I’ll talk to Lea to see what she wants to do about the damage caused by the fire he started but it’s covered by insurance. Still, I’d like to use this opportunity to scare the living daylights out of him. He’s a good kid but he needs to wake up and stop wasting his life regretting events over which he had no control.”
“From what I hear, you need to follow your own advice.”
Dan managed a half smile. “You could be right. I’ll take that under advisement.”
Tom looked in Gavin’s direction. “Spending time in the clinker won’t do him any harm. I’ll keep it off the books to keep his record clean. Does this mean you don’t think he’s the shooter after you?”
Dan shook his head and repeated Gavin’s denial of the shooting incident near the islands.
“Do you believe him?”
“At that point in our conversation, he had no reason to lie. If anything, he would have insisted he missed on purpose as a matter of pride.”
“So we still have an open case?”
“I’m afraid so.”
After Tom left with Gavin in custody, Dan called his friend to report the aborted attempt on his life.
“So you don’t think he’s the one who spoiled our day of boating?” Woody asked.
“I’m certain he’s not.”
“Then tell me how it feels to know more than one person would like to see you dead.”
“Less than comforting, to say the least.”
“What you said about things beyond our control gives me an idea of how to catch your predator.”
“I’m all ears.”
“So far, the game’s been played on your stalker’s terms and in his choice of settings. It’s time we draw him onto our playing field.”
“Great idea but how do you suggest we accomplish that?”
“By using a target he can’t resist to entice him into a situation we control.”
“How can you be sure he’ll take the bait?”
“By making you the target he can’t resist.”
“That’s the best you can come up?”
Woody chuckled. “Sleep on it. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
After hanging up, Dan poured himself a nightcap and considered his friend’s plan.
The way I see it, any number of things can go wrong. Still, with any luck I can put this whole sorry mess behind me.
He considered calling Lea for her input but decided against it due to the lateness of the hour.
It’s also too late to make amends with Stacy. I may as well try to get some shut eye.
The rocking motion created by the waves gradually soothed his nerves. He was drifting off to sleep when he suddenly bolted upright in bed.
The attack on my boat. I know why the man wearing a hoody seemed familiar. He’s the guy I had thrown out of the restaurant for hassling Stacy. I’m sure he’s one of Tony’s thugs spying on her.
Now that he knew who was trying to kill him, they could use Woody’s idea to prove it.
Tony sent his men the first couple of times and they failed. This time, he’s bound to come himself.
With that thought in mind, he fell into an uneasy sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
In the conference room, Lea and Dan listened as Warren summarized the status of their case. “We know a drug operation is being carried out at the ranch but we’re still in the dark as to who’s behind it.”
“There’s something I don’t understand,” Dan said. “If telling the truth would save his hide, why is Carl so defiant about turning on Wolf? He clearly doesn’t like the guy.”
Warren rubbed his chin. “Maybe Richard is not the Wolf the manager is defending.”
Lea leaned forward. “He was around Dottie the whole time she grew up on the farm. Could she be the woman Carl called the love of his life?”
“He told us the woman chose someone else. If what you’re saying is true, Richard is the someone else he referred to. Still, I can’t imagine Dottie being the brains behind the drug distribution.”
“Don’t underestimate her,” Lea warned. “Maddy and I both have seen surprising sides to her. From what I’ve heard, she was ambitious in her own right before she married Richard and let him take over the ranch. I imagine she can be treacherous if she’s crossed.”
“Lea may be on to something,” Warren said. “People do illegal things for either love or money. Dottie is known as a woman with expensive tastes. If she suspects Richard is being unfaithful, she may use drug money to maintain her expensive lifestyle and to punish her cheating husband by getting him blamed.”
Dan’s face clouded. “In that case, we have our eyes on the wrong player. Instead of watching Richard and Carl, Dottie is the one we should be after.”
Warren nodded. “If our current theory is true, she’s been one step ahead of us the whole time. Once she got wind we were closing in on the drug business, she devised a plan to frame her spouse.”
Lea shook her head. “Hold on, you two. This is nothing more than conjecture. We don’t know which of the three is culpable.”
“The only way to sort this out is to dictate the guilty party’s next move.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
“By pressuring them to move the drugs and catching them red-handed.” Warren paced the floor in his excitement. “Dan, you take Richard to the ranch to show him proof of what’s going on. Make sure the manager knows you two are coming. In the meantime, I’ll enlist Roberto’s help in setting up a camera. If Carl is guilty and he hears you’re on your way, he will be desperate to get rid of the drugs. I’ll be there to catch it all on film.”
“What do you want me to do, Dad?” Lea asked.
“Go talk to Dottie. Even if she’s blameless, I’m convinced she knows more than she’s told about Richard. Get her to confide in you.”
Lea smiled slyly. “I’ll confront her directly about her husband’s deceitful ways. I may drag Paul’s name through the mud to suggest we have cheating spouses in common but that should allow me to engage her in an empathetic woman-to-woman conversation.”
Dan rolled his eyes. “And you call her treacherous.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get Dottie to open up and learn the truth. Don’t worry, Paul would approve.”
Warren gave Lea a last word of instruction. “If she’s as unaware of Richard’s guilt as she claims, at least convince her to meet us at the ranch. If either Richard or Carl tries something crazy, she may be able to talk him out of it.”
Lea and Dan leaped to their feet to carry out their instructions.
“Give me an hour’s head start to go to the ranch and set up the camera.” Warren smacked his hands together. “We’re closing in. I feel it in my bones.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Dan was making preparations per Warren’s instructions when he received a call from Jewel at the Sterling Club.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said. I don’t want to cause problems for people here but I figure it’s worse if I get in trouble with the law.”
“You figure correctly. What do you have to tell me?”
“You’re right. The dead girl found at Rancho Hidalgo worked here.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t speak to anyone else until I get there.”
“There’s no one for me to talk to. We aren’t open for business yet. I’m the only person here except for the cleaning people.”
“Good. I’ll be there shortly.”
He poked his head into Lea’s office. “Jewel wants to talk. I’m going to the Sterling Club before I go to meet Richard.”
“What does she want?”
“No idea but she sounds rattled. I’ll let you know when I finish with her.”
• • •
Outside the Sterling Club, a landscape crew was busy trimming grass and watering plants. A woman wearing a uniform with the name Cox Cleaning Service cleaned the glass doors at the entrance. A man in a shirt with the same name skimmed the outdoor pool with a telescopic pole. Inside, the noise of vacuuming echoed through both levels of the building.
Other than housekeeping activity, the club was eerily quiet without staff members taking care of clientele and guests moving throughout the facilities.
Dan was right about Jewel’s emotional state. The minute he appeared, she hurried over to meet him.
“I’m having second thoughts about talking to you,” she whispered, devoid of her previous aloof composure.
“You said no one is here but cleaning people.”
“The manager rarely appears until later but he’s been in a terrible frame of mind since being released from jail. If he finds out I talked to you, I’ll lose my job.”
“Seems to me that wouldn’t be a bad thing. There are better places to work.”
“You could be right. I’ve already contacted an employment agency but these things take time.”
“I’m short on time myself. Tell me what you know about the murdered girl.”
She returned to her desk and took a deep breath. “On the night in question, the girl was scheduled to escort one of the club’s bigwigs to a shindig in town. She and her date spent an hour in our second floor lounge having cocktails before leaving for the event. That’s the last time I saw her.”
“You didn’t see her when she returned?” he asked, taking a seat across from her.
She shook her head. “She never went to the party. When it was time for them to go, he complained she was already drunk. He got mad and left without her.”
“What happened to the girl?”
“I was too busy to pay attention. I assumed she went to the private room provided for the girls and slept it off.”
“What did you mean calling him a bigwig?”
“Besides being an owner, he’s one of Wolf’s biggest contributors.”
Dan clapped his hands. “I knew Richard was involved. So this guy contributes to the congressman’s campaign?”
She shook her head. “I’m talking about Dottie Wolf, not Richard. This man is a major donor to the charitable organizations she supports. He also foots the bills for the fundraising events she hosts.”
Dan’s face flooded with confusion. “So Dottie Wolf, not Richard, has a connection to the Sterling Club?”
“She runs the escort service. I thought you knew.”
He sat back, stunned. “You’re telling me that Dottie Wolf is the person procuring the girls?”
Jewel nodded. “In fact, Dottie was here that night to tell him about her latest fundraiser.” She giggled. “We laugh behind her back at her desire to be seen as a philanthropist considering the business she runs here.”
He allowed himself a small smile. “Yes, I see the irony.”
“In return for his financial support, Dottie gives him special service.”
“What kind of special service?”
Jewel lowered her voice. “He has a predilection for roughness when he’s high on drugs or booze. It sometimes results in messes which she cleans up.”
“Sounds like a person I should talk to. Give me his name and tell me where to get hold of him. Also, a picture would be helpful.”
“His name is Greg Andrews. He owns the car dealership on Johnson Drive.” She turned to her computer and displayed the gallery of photos used during his visit with Woody. “I think he’s pictured at one of our pool parties.”
She flipped through several pages on the screen. “Yeah, here he is with a group drinking champagne.”
“That guy looks familiar.” Dan squinted his eyes and took a second look. “He’s the jerk I punched on the boat when we rescued Luisa.”
“You hit Mr. Andrews?” she asked, astonished.
“I had no choice but I understand what you said about his tendency to play rough.” He waited while she printed a copy of the picture. “Do you remember anything unusual happening that night besides Greg dumping the girl as his escort?”
“That’s the reason I called you.” She glanced nervously from side to side.
“No one here is interested in what you have to tell me,” he assured her.
“Not long after the incident with Greg, two laborers carrying a trunk walked in and said they were here to see Dottie. When I buzzed her on the intercom, she wasn’t at all surprised. Told me to send them right up.”
“Why did you consider that unusual?”
“She typically makes herself invisible when she’s here and doesn’t receive guests of any kind. She limits her visits to nights when Richard is out of town and never shows her face here during the day.”
“Did she give an explanation for the visitors?”
“Not at the time.”
“Did any fact other than the lateness of their delivery cause suspicion?”
“That’s just it. They didn’t leave the trunk. After going to see Dottie, they brought it back downstairs, got in their van, and drove away.”
“Did anything else strike you as unusual?”
“It may have been my imagination…”
“Don’t stop now. Tell me what seemed strange.”
“They had no trouble carrying the trunk up the stairs but bringing it back down, they were stooped over and winded.”
“So the weight of the container had changed. Weren’t you curious about the contents?”
“It wasn’t my place to ask questions. If there was anything Dottie wanted me to know, she would have said. I didn’t give it much thought until you showed up and got me thinking.”
“What answers did you come up with?”
“None I care to put into words.”
He stood to leave. “Thanks for getting back to me. You did the right thing.”
“Be careful when you talk to Greg. He’s no one to mess around with.”
“You’re the one who needs to be careful. Find another job as soon as you can.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Dan parked at the car dealership and walked onto the lot where half a dozen polished new cars were on display. A salesman was talking to a young couple, pointing out features of the model they were admiring.
“Excuse me, folks,” he said, stepping in front of the sales associate. “Where’s your boss?”
The man nodded toward the showroom. “Large office at the front. His name is—”
“I know his name,” Dan replied brusquely.
He walked past more shiny cars on the main floor and barged into the front office.
The owner looked irritated by the unannounced intrusion but quickly replaced the fleeting look of annoyance with a broad smile. “Welcome to Andrews Auto Sales. We have a great sale going on right now. Perfect time to put yourself behind the wheel of a brand new automobile. Let me call a salesperson to show you around.”
“I’m not interested in buying a car.”
As recognition registered in his eyes, the big man rose to his full height. “You’re the guy who attacked me on the Admiral. Nearly broke my nose.”
Rather than being angry as Dan expected, the man appeared cordial. He walked around his desk to shake hands. “Let me offer a proper introduction. I’m Greg Andrews.”
Dan ignored the outstretched hand, assuming it was for the benefit of customers milling about.
Without appearing offended, Greg continued. “I asked the kid checking the invitations of people boarding the boat. He told me you were looking for your daughter. You should have let me know. I have a teenage girl myself. I understand how worrisome they can be.�
��
“You’ve got things wrong. That young woman isn’t—”
Greg rushed on before Dan could finish. “I swear, I didn’t touch your daughter. I was merely coaxing her into dancing with me.”
“I don’t believe you but it doesn’t matter. That girl isn’t my daughter.”
His response caught the man by surprise. “Then why are you here?”
“I told you I’d come after you if I heard of you treating another woman abusively.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The girl found dead at Rancho Hidalgo. Her death is under investigation as a homicide.”
Greg moved quickly to close the door. “I heard something on the radio but what does that have to do with me?”
“It seems she was employed by the Sterling Club. The same place that arranged your date with Luisa for the party on the boat.”
“That’s news to me.”
“It shouldn’t be, since you’re an owner of the club. In fact, the dead woman was assigned as your escort the night she died.”
Color drained from the man’s face. “It can’t be the same girl. I don’t believe you.”
Dan held out the picture Jewel supplied. “This is the girl you chose to accompany you to some fancy bash that evening. But she never went with you. You complained she was intoxicated and left without her.”
“I wasn’t lying. She was drunk,” he sputtered. “I carried her to the room reserved for the girls. She was sleeping it off when I left.”
“Are you sure you didn’t get into an argument and kill her?”
Greg’s face turned purple. “How dare you suggest such a thing!”
“You have a reputation for getting rough with your dates. And I beg to disagree, but you were doing more than asking for a dance when I saw you on the Admiral.”
Without offering further explanation, Greg studied Dan carefully. “If I’m under suspicion, why are you here instead of the police?”
“I’m privy to information they don’t have their hands on yet but it’s only a matter of time. If you have anything to say in your defense, you better tell me now.”
Greg leaned forward with his arms on the desk. “Look. I’m telling you the truth. The girl was alive and well when I left, other than setting herself up for a monumental hangover.”
