Diamond in the Rough (Precious Gems) (2 page)

She has been with him for twenty five years though
, he told himself but something about it struck him odd.

“You said secrets
, as if there were more than one.” Brian chided. “Is there anything else that would help our investigation?” 

Maria looked like the cat
that ate the canary.  “No, nothing that would pertain to your investigation but it may make a good novel someday.”  Brian could not suppress a chuckle but quickly regained his composure. 

“What led him to decide to never contact
his daughter? It makes no sense to come to that decision with no reasoning behind it.”  

  “Her mother was the victim of a robbery.
She died as a result of it.  Before that, Charles was going to contact his daughter when she turned eighteen, but after the incident, he decided to not contact her at all.  He thought long and hard about reaching out to her after her mother’s death, but decided that the pain and shock of losing her mother would be too much for anyone to bear, and the addition of a father who had come out of nowhere might be an even bigger shock.  Especially when the father was a target of sorts thank to his wealth. He did not want to add any additional trauma to her life by showing up out of the blue.  Like I said before, I did not agree with it but he was a stubborn man.  He lived his life the way he saw fit and no one could tell him any different.” 

              “Do you have any information on her?  Any way to contact her?” he asked.  She reached into her pocket and removed a small piece of paper. Detective Russell looked down at the paper.  Cheyenne Wingate was her name.  “Can you tell me if Mr. Wingate had any enemies?  Anyone who may have wanted to see serious harm done to him?” he asked.

“
The only enemies Charles had were home grown.  He had been receiving threats for the past year, but ignored them.  I always thought that Jason Turner had something to do with the threats.”  She said as she sipped her tea.

“What type of threats?” He asked. 

She hesitated for a moment before answering.
  “Run of the mill threats, I guess.  He was never really specific about them.”  After a few more inconsequential comments, Detective Brian Russell thanked her for her help and walked toward the door.

 
He swung his truck around in the elegant drive and headed for the office.  He knew the Chief would not be happy with his progress.  He was not too happy with his own progress.   Grabbing a cup of coffee he walked to the Chiefs door; he was still thinking to himself before taking a drink of the stale coffee and made a face as the taste hit him.

“
Great, spend half the morning trying to decipher a crime scene and no one had the decency to brew a fresh pot of coffee,” He grumbled to himself.

The Chief did not look pleased as he hung up the phone.  “Russell, please tell me you have something.  The mayor is breathing down my neck on this,” The older man exclaimed as he popped two aspirins in his mouth. 

Detective
Russell informed him of all the current developments, some of which made the Chief’s eyebrows rise up in wonder, and then he broached the subject of Charles Wingate’s daughter.

“I
feel like she should be notified in person.  I could drive there and be back before my next shift.  I think she might be instrumental in piecing this together,” he said as he took another drink of the stale coffee.  “I would like to run a check on her before leaving though.  The maid said that her mother had been murdered and you know how I am.  I like to know the answers before I ask the questions.”  The Chief gave a knowing nod as Brian left the office to get to work.

Hmmm…five foot five, one hundred and thirty pounds, blonde hair and green eyes.  No speeding tickets, no record criminal record.  
Cheyenne Wingate was squeaky clean; however, her mother’s criminal history was littered with petty crimes.  According to the report, she had moved over fifty times during Cheyenne’s childhood.  Her murder case was still unresolved but had been classified cold in the last five years.  Something caught the curious detective’s eye.  Cheyenne apparently had a younger brother.  He was stunned that the maid, who seemed to know everything about everyone, had failed to mention him. Feeling confident with the amount of information he was able to gather, Brian tied up his loose ends at the office and left to find Cheyenne Wingate.

Brian Russell was a loner
.  At thirty-four, he was on track to advance in his career, which was all that he had at this point.  He had no family to speak of and preferred it like that.  In his line of work, he figured the less collateral damage the better.  He could do his job freely without worrying about anyone else. His last relationship had been six years before and did not miss the constant pull to leave the force.  Not many women could handle the stress that comes with a job such as his.  He was content with the solitude of his life and planned to keep it that way.

             
Detective Russell arrived in Slidell, Louisiana, right at three o’clock.  He quickly found her address.  Looking down, he noticed that his knuckles had turned white against the pressure of his grip in the steering wheel and his stomach was doing somersaults.  He realized that within the next few minutes he would be unraveling this poor woman’s life.  Any stability she had known previously would be gone.  With words that would cut like a knife, he would inform her of her father’s death.  He would take something away from her that she never even had.  Brian Russell searched in vain for a delicate way to tell her.  Deciding that sticking to the facts was the only way to go, he exited the truck and approached the front door.  He knocked on the screen door and waited for a response from inside.  Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.  He saw her at the barn and walked back toward his truck to get a better view.

             
Cheyenne Wingate was at the barn saddling her favorite horse when he first saw her.  He watched as she swung onto the back of the paint pony and tore out across the field, clearly loving the feel of sheer power between her legs.  The freedom that came with riding complemented her.  It looked as though it would help anyone forget their troubles, temporarily at least.  She did not seem to have a care in the world when she was on his back.  Detective Russell watched in amazement.  She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.  Temporarily forgetting his grim duty, he absorbed the sight of her in her natural environment.  Her long hair was pulled through the back of her cap and bounced down her back as she rode with wild abandon.  He could tell that she was an experienced horsewoman.  The sight of seeing her astride this large beast turned him on.  He had not felt this type of a stir in his body for quite a while.  
Focus Brian!  You aren’t here for a sightseeing trip, you have to inform this poor girl that her father has been murdered,
he coached himself.

Cheyenne and her horse galloped through t
he gate toward him.  She slowed her pony to a trot as she approached the stranger.  He was about six foot tall and definitely wore his Stetson well.  As she got closer, her brow furrowed and it was clear that he had piqued her curiosity. His boots were scuffed but that only added to his rugged charm.  She slid to a stop in front of him and asked, “Can I help you with something?”  Her accent drove him wild.  It was a mix of a sexy southern drawl with just a hint of Cajun dialect.

“
I am a detective from the Houston Police Department.  My name is Brian Russell.”  Cheyenne looked perplexed.  He was sure that her mind was reeling and he wanted to calm her fears, but he was at a loss for words as he was confronted head on with her stunning beauty as she stood in front of him.

          “
What can I do for you?” she asked cautiously. Russell started out slowly and chose his words carefully. 

“I come bearing bad news.  I was called to the scene of a homicide this morning.
” 

As he spoke
he noticed her blonde flowing hair, falling in loose ringlets down her back now that she had taken her cap off.  The smell of sweet pea lotion in the air drove his imagination wild and he could imagine how soft her skin would be against his calloused palms.

“
Did you know a man named Charles Wingate?” 

Chey
enne shifted in the saddle in stunned silence as the blood appeared to drain from her face. 

“Detective, I have never seen my father.  Of course I know the name, but that is where my knowledg
e stops.  I am sorry but I don’t know what I can do for you.  I have not even heard his name spoken aloud in over fifteen years.  To be honest with you, I could have gone another fifteen without hearing it.”

“He was the victim of the homicide this morni
ng.” Detective Russell said.  

He watched her features closely to see any glimpse o
f loss forming and realized that he was not going to find any sympathy from Cheyenne.

“
My mother told me that he left us before I was born and he never looked back.  After my mother died when I was eighteen, I always hoped that he would come for me, save me.” Her voice trailed off. 

“My mom left me penniless with a little
brother to try and raise, but I couldn’t handle it.  After six months I had to send him to live with my mother’s best friend Edna, who adopted him. I found a job as a floral assistant and have been there every since. If you are watching to see if I suddenly develop a sense of longing for the father I never knew, you will be disappointed.  Can you tell me what happened to him, Detective?” She asked as she dismounted her horse.  

“He is being autopsied in the morning so we s
hould have more answers when it is complete, but I can tell you what I do know, Miss. Wingate.  I was called out this morning around four- thirty to the scene.  I found your father slumped over his desk with a single gunshot wound to his right temple.  I have interviewed everyone at his company and no one seems to know anything.”

“What company are you talking about?”  She asked
with curiosity in her voice. 

“Miss. Wingate, your fathers was one of the wealthiest men in Houston.  He owned Wingate Drilling.” he explained.  
  “As soon as you can, I would suggest you come to Houston.  You have a lot of affairs to handle and it would be much easier to do with you there.  You can even ride with me.”Brian Russell stated.   “I will call Maria and let her know that we will be on our way if you would like for me to do so,” he offered.  “Who is Maria?” she questioned. 

“I’m sorry.  Maria has been his maid for the past twenty five years.  I got the impression that she runs the house. Would you like for me to call her?” he asked again. 
Cheyenne looked perplexed for a moment.

“Miss Wingate, I don’t mean to rush you but Houston is a long drive.  Will you come with me?” he asked in his
most understanding tone. 

“
Detective Russell, I see no reason to lie to you.  I feel like I need to go with you, but I don’t like the idea of riding with someone I have only just me.  At the same time, I don’t feel like I have a choice.  My truck is not dependable enough to make the trip alone.  Also, part of me resents the hell out of having to take care of his affairs.  He never bothered to take care of me!”

“I understand your reservations but
I can assure you that you will not find someone safer and more reliable than me.” He replied with confidence. 

“As for your last concern, I can’t answer to that.  I can only sympathize with
what you have been through.”  Her honesty was refreshing but Brian knew that there was much more that she wasn’t saying.  Anyone who carried the pain and resentment that was evident upon her face did not walk away without some scars.

“That would be helpful.  We can leave right away.” she said as she walked inside to pack her bags. 

Brian waited on her front
porch for her return.  She did not take long, which surprised him.  Most women he knew would have taken forever to get packed and back out of the door.  As she locked the front door, he began loading her bags in his truck. Once she stabled her horse, they were on their way.  The detective called Maria, and they were expected later that evening.  Brian watched her closely as they drove out of Slidell.  Studying her, he learned several things rather quickly.  The trip to her father’s was evoking strong emotions.  As she sat in the passenger seat, she bounced her leg nervously while she chewed on her bottom lip.    Her lifelong expectations for meeting her father were not being realized it seemed.  And through the short time he had known her; it was obvious that life for Cheyenne Wingate had not been an easy one. 

“Over the next few days, you are going to come across people who believed that your father hung the moon.  Have you thought about how you would deal with that?” 

“Detective Russell, throughout my life I have been disappointed many times.  Some have been worse than others.  My mother was an alcoholic with many boyfriends.  Some were nice to me and some weren’t.  Many nights I lay awake and wondered if my life would have been different if he were in it.  Someone has taken that from me and now I will never know.  I honestly don’t know what kind of person he was.  But, even if he was the best person in the world, how would that matter to me?  He chose to never be anything in my life.  To make a long story short, I guess that I would handle it like I have handled everything else in my life.  I will smile and act as though it does not affect me.  In a nutshell, I don’t give a shit what other people thought of him.  Their opinions will never change what I know about him.”