Tacked to Death (14 page)

"No." Camden shook a finger at her.
"You're not thinking. That is so stupid. Do you hear
yourself?"

"Okay, I agree, it doesn't rank up
there in the intellect department. But, come on, I don't know what
else to do."

"Wait for Joe. His muscle is enough to
make anyone quiver. Besides, think about it: Do you really think
Erin is going to slip up and say, 'Oh yeah, I took the dude out'? I
don't think so."

"All right." Maybe bringing Camden
along wasn't such a good idea, but she wasn't convinced yet that
going to see Erin was so dangerous. "Bear with me. We'll see if
she's even home and if so, we'll handle the makeup brush thing.
That's it. Let's go and see how she acts."

"Ridiculous, but you're not going to
let me out of this, are you?"

"No."

"Fine. For this, I may pick one of
those ugly bridesmaids' dresses."

"You wouldn't. And I thought I was the
maid of honor."

"I would. Hot pink with frills and
puffy sleeves à la 1990. And maybe I'll demote you."

"You're a bitch."

"Oh so true, so true."

They started laughing. "You know, I got
some snooping done for you," Camden said.

"You did?"

"Told you I would. And I found out some
interesting things about Sterling."

"Want to elaborate?"

"Looks like you were right and I am
easily snowed. Sterling had some trouble with the law back home in
Santa Barbara. I found a newspaper clipping from last summer. All
about big money, parties, and a dead girl. She supposedly was one
of Sterling's girlfriends."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And there's more." Camden sucked
in a deep breath. "Guess who's in the photo with Sterling? His polo
mates—Zach Holden and Tommy Liggett."

"So, those guys went to Santa Barbara
with Sterling last summer. I talked to Paige Nightingale earlier
and she told me Sterling's family tightened up the purse strings
with him last summer."

"That's about all I could find. The
story seemed to die out. The articles were vague. The dead girl's
name is Rebecca Woodson. She drowned after being at a party with
Sterling; the article names him as her boyfriend. It also said that
the two of them had been arguing and that this young gal left the
party, while Sterling stayed and hung out there with his friends.
There were conflicting reports. I guess that some partygoers said
Sterling followed Rebecca out. Some said they saw him leave with a
buddy."

"Wonder if that was Zach or Tommy? It
only said a friend, or did it say friends?"

"I'll give you the articles when we get
back, but I'm pretty sure it said a friend. Then I found an article
from a few weeks after this girl's death; she drowned by falling
off a nearby pier. Her family didn't buy it when Sterling was
cleared of any wrongdoing, and they filed a civil suit. I can't
find anything about it after that."

"Great. This is getting more twisted by
the minute, Cam. As if having enemies in the desert wasn't enough
for Sterling, the man had people in his hometown who might also
have reasons to want him dead. I don't know what you think, but if
the Woodsons think this guy killed their daughter, it seems
reasonable to me that someone in her family might have wanted him
dead."

"Sounds like a possibility."

"Here's our street," Michaela said. She
parked the car in front of a decent-looking apartment complex with
nice landscaping. "What number is her apartment?"

"Twenty-three."

"You ready?"

"No."

"Oh, what could happen? It's an
apartment building, for crying out loud. There are people all over
the place."

Camden gave her that funny look again.
"Sure, what could happen, she asks. We're only going to talk to a
psycho bitch capable of killing somebody. I don't know, what could
happen?"

Twenty

They stood outside Erin’s apartment.
“Dammit, we're here, knock," Camden finally said.

"I know. I'm rethinking
this."

Camden grabbed her arm. "Good, let's
go."

Before she could pull her away,
Michaela knocked. A few seconds later Erin opened it. "Oh. It's
you. I take it that you brought my makeup brushes?"

"Actually, no, we didn't."

"You didn't? Okay, then you're writing
me a check or handing me some cash for them?"

"Not exactly," Michaela
replied.

"Not exactly? What does that mean? Why
are you here then?"

Camden started to open her purse. "You
know what? I do have some cash here and I know how important good
brushes are, especially to a makeup artist—"

Michaela put a hand on her friend's
shoulder. "Okay, before any money is exchanged here, I've got some
questions for you."

"Questions for me? I don't know what
you might need to ask me and I don't care. Red here wants to pay me
for my brushes and that's what matters right now."

"No. What matters to me is that you
spent time in jail and you had a beef the other day with Sterling
Taber. And I'm sure that you know I've been arrested for his
murder—a murder that I didn't commit."

"That's what they all say. My time in
jail is none of your business, but if it makes you feel any better,
I do understand your problems. I spent that time in jail for
something that I didn't do. I sat there for nine freaking months
until finally my lawyer, who I paid out the yin-yang, found a
couple of chicks who really saw what went down in that bathroom.
Maybe you'll get lucky and someone will come forward for you,
too."

"I'm not counting on luck right
now."

Erin postured herself in the doorway.
She wasn't a big woman—not tall, anyway. But she was tough. The
kind of girl in junior high who Michaela would have steered clear
of. Right now, she wasn't even sure where she found her courage,
but she was hell-bent on getting the truth.

"I think we should go," Camden said. "I
can mail you the check. We'll get out of your hair."

"That's a good idea, Red."

"No. No it's not!" Michaela looked from
her friend to Erin. "I know Sterling was a jerk to you, but I'm
wondering if you knew him before Sunday."

"I told you, I saw him around. At
clubs."

Michaela noticed the woman tightening
her fists. Maybe it was a good time to leave. "At clubs. Right.
Okay."

"That's it. Now, I'm going to be nice
because you two paid me well the other day and you seem to be
having a rough time." She nodded at Michaela. "Forget the check.
I'll write it off, but also, don't bother me again." She slammed
the door in their faces.

"That was a real party," Camden said.
"Now can we please go?"

"Yeah, we can go. But she's lying to
us."

"What do you mean?"

"I think she knew Sterling. I don't
know how, I don't know what the deal is, but my gut says that she's
full of it, and I want to know the truth."

"And I want a margarita."

They got back into the truck, Camden
wishing for tequila, lime, and salt, Michaela determined to figure
out what Erin Hornersberg hadn't told them.

Twenty-One

When they got back to the ranch, Camden
gave Michaela the articles she'd printed up. Camden sipped a
margarita while Michaela had a glass of wine.

"I still can't believe that you—I mean
we—did that," Camden said. "Erin seems real shady to me. You need
to be careful."

"Erin is shady and I know to be
careful." She set the articles back down on the kitchen table.
"This is it? This is all you found?"

"Yes. But I think it could be
something. Sterling being in trouble with the law might have
something to do with what happened to him."

"It might."

"Are you going to his funeral service
tomorrow?"

"Sterling's funeral? It's tomorrow?
That was fast. Wow. How did you know?"

"It's in the paper."

"I don't know. Maybe. Hey, where's
Dwayne? I meant to ask you earlier, but we got sidetracked." She
wanted to change the subject. Thinking about going to Sterling's
funeral at that moment made her mind swirl with anxiety.

Camden brushed her hair back behind her
ears. "He needed some time to think. I told him about me and
Sterling."

"You did? How did he take
it?"

She shrugged. "He's a quiet man. He's
philosophical and he understands that I am a changed woman. I'm not
the ditz who used to go around screwing anything that looked good
in tight jeans. But I think he needed some time to let it settle
and then move past it. I want this to be different between me and
Dwayne. I love him and I believe that we are meant for each other.
I couldn't keep this from him. I know it's my past, and he gets
that…but my past isn't so great."

Michaela hugged her. "You did the right
thing. You're a good person, okay? I love you and he loves you. And
I know Dwayne; he's not a jealous type and he's not one to dwell in
the past. You're right, he will recognize why you told him the
truth and the two of you will be stronger for it."

"I know. I think he went to get
something to eat and go a bookstore or the movies. He likes to do
that once in a while."

"Yeah. It'll be okay. Well, it's
getting cool and if he left earlier, I want to be sure that he
blanketed the horses. Thanks for going with me tonight. You're a
good friend."

As Michaela reached the barn, she saw
Dwayne's truck pull in. Camden stood in the doorway of the
guesthouse. She watched as Dwayne hurried to Camden, throwing his
arms around her in a tight hug. She knew that Dwayne wouldn't hold
Camden's past against her, and a knot of emotion tightened in the
back of her throat. That was love.

An echo of whinnies traveled down the
barn row when she entered. Dwayne hadn't blanketed the horses, so
she went around to each one and took care of it. Leo, her
two-year-old, turned and nibbled lovingly on her back as she
buckled the straps underneath his belly. She stood up and scolded
him. "No, no." He looked injured and went back to the few scraps he
had left from his dinner. She knew that his nibble was harmless,
but being mouthy like that was a bad habit to let him get
into.

Once she'd blanketed the last of her
animals, she hung out in Rocky's stall for a few extra minutes. So,
Sterling's funeral was tomorrow. She knew it would be scandalous
for her to go, considering the circumstances, but she really had
to. She wanted to see the faces and reactions of everyone who knew
Sterling, many of whom had been there the day he was murdered,
particularly those guests she suspected might have had something to
do with his death. She also wanted to see if a black Ford Explorer
would be in the parking lot.

She turned off most of the lights in
the barn and started back to the house as Joe's minivan barreled
down her dirt road. He pulled up next to her and rolled down the
window. "Go and put some black on—a sweatshirt if you got one, and
some pants that you can get around in."

"What are you talking about?" Michaela
asked.

"I'll explain after you get changed.
Now hurry up."

"Okay." She rushed into the house, did
as she was instructed, and met Joe outside.

"Where are we going?"

"First we're gonna drive through a
Cotija's taco shop, because Marianne's put me on this diet and it's
killing me. I'm wasting away."

"Joe, Marianne would not be happy about
you having a burrito. You don't need to cheat."

"Once. Only once. I do a lot for you,
Mick. All I want is a carne asada burrito. They can leave the
cheese off. And I'll do a diet soda. But I need meat."

She frowned, but let him drive through
the taco shop. While waiting for the order she said, "Okay, what is
this all about?"

"The letter. The one that you heard
Zach and Juliet talking about?"

"Yes."

"We are going to find it."

"Wait a minute. How do we plan on
finding this letter?" She stared at him as he turned into a parking
lot in front of a row of high-end townhomes. "Oh no, no. I see now.
We can't. Is this where Sterling lived?"

"Follow my lead and keep your mouth
shut."

"Oh no, we are not breaking into his
place. I won't do it."

"You got a better idea?"

"Joe…" she implored.

"You coming or what, Mick?" Joe got out
of the van and started walking.

Michaela found herself following him
with the knowledge that she was about to become an everyday common
criminal. But what the hell, she'd already been arrested for
murder.

Twenty-Two

“
Joe, I don’t think this is
such a good idea,” Michaela whispered as they stood outside the
front door of Sterling's town house, while Joe took out a tool and
jimmied the lock.