Tacked to Death (9 page)

"My wife and I loved what you did for
our last party. You've got a knack for this, and when we open up
the restaurant in Palm Springs, your business will only
grow."

"I thank you for investing in this with
me. This will be good, Ed. And I plan to have my daughter helping
out in this restaurant here while Mario and I get the other one off
the ground, now that she isn't so distracted by…other things. My
apologies for that. I know Juliet was hurt by that incident with
Sterling."

"The good news is that neither of us
have to worry about Sterling Taber being a problem for us or our
daughters again."

"This is true." Pepe laughed. "Is the
Realtor meeting us at the restaurant?"

"Yes. She should be there before us. We
better get a move on." With that, both men climbed inside Ed's
Mercedes and zipped away as Michaela picked her jaw up off the
ground.

Eleven

Michaela remained in her studio on the
drive home. The question running through her mind was the obvious:
Did Ed Mitchell and Pepe Sorvino have something to do with
Sterling's murder? Neither one of them was upset by his death, that
was for sure. What was the ring all about? And the restaurant in
Palm Springs? Were they going into business together? It seemed
like an odd pairing to her, but Ed was a good businessman and
Sorvino's was a profitable restaurant. Oh boy, did she need to talk
to Joe—someone whom she could tell everything she'd heard, seen,
experienced. Maybe he could help her sort through this. She called
his house and got voice mail, then tried his cell with the same
result.

A wave of exhaustion hit her and she
felt like she was on autopilot for the rest of the drive home. What
she needed to do was think, and the best place to do that was on a
trail ride.

She parked over by the barn and went
into her office, where she kept an extra pair of riding jeans and
boots. Moments later, she had Rocky hooked up to the cross-ties.
She groomed him faster than usual, hoping not to have anyone notice
that she was back. She needed a game plan and she didn't need
anyone clouding her mind with their own thoughts.

Once up on her sorrel gelding, she and
Rocky headed out onto the trails behind her ranch. Passing by the
pasture that in the future she prayed would be home to champions,
she sighed and breathed in the fresh air. The sun was beginning to
set and its brightness cast shadows across the boulders on the
mountainside. Rocky stepped out, seeming to appreciate being able
to stretch his legs as much as she was to be free and away from the
insanity. Much of the time her riding skills and that of her horses
were expressed inside the arena, but there was nothing like getting
out on the trail to remind a person exactly what the meaning of
freedom was. Freedom. The clean, dry air perfumed by chaparral and
the earthen floor. The sweet songs of larks here and there. She
might even spot a predator bird looking for his prey; a hawk, or on
occasion a golden eagle, soared on by. She sighed and gave Rocky a
pat as she leaned slightly out of the saddle and forward while he
worked to climb up the mountain's crest.

But what if her freedom were suddenly
ripped out from underneath her? It had been, briefly…and what if it
got worse? What if Joe's cousin couldn't remedy things as he'd
insisted he could? She didn't see how any of this was simply going
to resolve itself. She had to tell Peters what she'd overheard
while in the shed behind Sorvino's. But what did it mean? She again
analyzed what she'd seen and heard. Neither one had actually said
that they'd done away with Sterling. They were pleased he wouldn't
be a problem anymore. So, if she went and explained this to Peters,
what would his likely reaction be? Probably the detective would do
nothing. Ed Mitchell was well known and a bigwig in town, one of
the wealthiest. The last thing the police would want to do would be
to rock the boat with one of the movers and shakers. And Michaela
still couldn't see Ed as a murderer…still, what about what Sterling
had told Camden, about being afraid of Ed? That was weird, too,
because Michaela couldn't see Sterling being intimidated by
anyone.

She knew she still needed more
information, and talking to Lucia was a must. She decided to make a
mental list of all the players and see what her brain could turn
up. She knew that Robert might have a motive and it was possible
that he'd had time, unless he'd been with his wife when Sterling
was killed. Then there was Zach and the way he'd looked after
Sterling; the vibes coming from him were nothing short of hatred.
Oh, and Lance Watkins. Sterling had been rude and disrespectful to
Lance. And, Erin Hornersberg—the makeup artist with an attitude—who
definitely was not happy with Sterling. Her strange behavior last
night in the parking lot bothered Michaela. What about Sterling's
pal Tommy Liggett? She knew Tommy, but not well. What was the old
saying—keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Right now
it looked as if that was what Zach was doing—for what reason she
didn't know, but what if Tommy had a reason, too? They always hung
out together. At the very least, she'd need to talk to Tommy since
he was Sterling's best friend. Maybe he'd know what had been going
on with Lucia and why she would lie about Michaela and
Sterling.

And Camden: She hadn't killed Sterling;
she'd only slept with him. Michaela squeezed her hands tight around
the reins. Rocky sensed her stress and sped up due to her shift in
the saddle. "I'm sorry, bud. It's not you. Definitely not
you."

They reached the top of the mountain
and stopped. Michaela got off the horse to let him rest. She rubbed
his face and he nuzzled her shoulder, his weight nearly throwing
her off balance. "Hey, easy buddy."

She looked down across the vista spread
below her, peppered with small ranches and homes—some plush and
green with horses in their pastures. A few were weathered, aged,
and in need of attention, but the landscape gave her a sense of
security. This was her home—where she'd grown up, and knew people.
It was where she belonged. She lingered there, taking it in, but
knowing she should get back. She realized that to get through this
she was going to need to suck it up and move forward. Typically,
moving forward would've meant that she would work with her
students, exercise her horses, and manage her ranch. Now, forward
meant unraveling a murder mystery.

Another thought weighing her down was
Jude. She didn't want him to come home to this mess. She should've
gone with him and Katie on this cruise. He'd asked, but the timing
had not been good.

Only a few days earlier—last
Friday—Jude had taken her to dinner. They'd sat out on the patio at
the restaurant eating shrimp cocktails and each having a glass of
wine. The sun was setting, reflecting a myriad of colors across the
desert sky, and candlelight flickered in the tea lights on the
table.

The evening had been romantic from the
get-go. Jude had shown up with a dozen red roses in one hand and a
dozen pink ones in the other. Then he'd taken her to a gourmet
restaurant, and she'd figured that she was pretty much being swept
off her feet.

He had leaned across the table and
taken her hand. "I wish you could go with me and Katie on this
cruise."

"I wish I could go, too."

"Then come with us. Please. I'll pay
for everything. Come on. You deserve a break. And Katie would love
it. This is her week off with year-round school, and we've been
looking forward to this for months. It would be over the top for
her if you came along."

He smiled his devilish smile, which
made her heart skip a beat. His smile and the way his skin around
his blue eyes crinkled got under her skin in a very good way. She
sighed. "You know I can't. I have the charity match and we're
opening the store. I couldn't skip out on all of that. Plus I have
kids to teach. It would be irresponsible."

"For once in your life, you should try
on irresponsibility for size."

She laughed. "Sure. Come on, you know I
would go if I could."

"I know. I understand. Next time
though." He shook his head.

Jude had been right, because if she'd
for once hadn't been so responsibile she wouldn't be in this mess.
She climbed back up on Rocky and they eased on down the mountain.
She didn't know where things were headed with Jude, and now she was
more uncertain than ever. Not because she didn't have feelings for
him, but because she was in a hell of a lot of trouble, and she was
concerned how he might react. Maybe that was the real reason she
wasn't picking up the phone to call him. This wasn't her first
rodeo. She'd found herself in the midst of murder and mayhem in the
past and she really wished she could lead a quiet, simple
life.

Ah, so much for simple. As she rode
onto her property she knew simple didn't exist. Ethan's truck stood
out front, and the last thing he represented in her life was
simple.

Twelve

Normally Michaela would be happy to see
his truck parked in front of her house. But not this evening. Ethan
was waiting for her in the stable office, and he had Josh with him.
Michaela spotted him before he saw her. He'd set Josh down on a
blanket with some toys and was bending down, wiping something off
the baby's face.

She decided to bite the bullet. Ethan
never stopped by without a reason any longer. Michaela was pretty
sure that Summer was behind that. Back in the day, Ethan would pop
in after a long day of work and they'd have a beer together. They'd
talk about his cases for the day and how her training sessions had
gone. They'd known each other since they were three, and the
comfort level between them was both intimate and special. Not many
people had the kind of friendship that she and Ethan did. "Hey
look, it's my favorite boys."

"Mick, what is going on?"

"You've heard."

"Heard? It's all over the news. You and
Sterling Taber? I thought you were dating that
detective—Jude."

"I am! You don't believe that crap?
What, do you think I killed him, too?"

"No, of course not." He walked over and
put his arms around her. She sank into him, leaning her head on his
chest. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

"We? We don't have to do anything. I
have to find out who killed him."

"That's the cops' job."

"You would think, but I am apparently
the prime suspect and from everything I can tell, the cops have
zeroed in on me and think they have the killer."

"Oh come on, that's absurd. They can't
believe that, and you can't go around trying to figure this out,
Mick. The last time you got yourself involved in something like
this, you nearly got yourself killed."

She pulled away from him and threw her
arms in the air. "I don't know what else to do."

He shook his head. "The police have to
be looking at other folks. I know that guy was popular with the
women, but he also seemed to have enemies, or at least I know that
there were some people who didn't care much for him."

"Did you know him?"

"No. Other than playing that match with
him. I met him a few times before that and never thought much of
him. He was an ass; you know that and so do I. Look at the way he
acted out on the field with the other players."

"What do you mean though, about
enemies?"

"I don't know if you'd actually call
them enemies, but the day I was out there I overheard some of the
grooms grumbling about him, and we both know that Lance couldn't
stand him. Remember yesterday after the match the way Sterling was
talking trash about him?"

"I couldn't blame Lance for saying what
he did about him."

"Yeah, well, before the match I was
talking with Lance and he said that he couldn't wait until the
charity event was over. He said that Taber was a miserable SOB to
ride with. That the guy was always doing stupid stuff on the field,
like cutting him off when it was unnecessary and just being a real
ass to him. Then he caught him trying to flirt with his wife, who
Lance said blew him off, but he wasn't real happy about it. The
wife was pretty offended, too."

"I imagine. I think their dislike for
one another went both ways."

"Right, no love lost there, huh? But
that's what I mean; this Taber guy wasn't well loved by
everyone."

"Do you think Lance Watkins might have
killed him?"

Ethan shook his head. "You know, I've
known Lance for a long time. The guy doesn't strike me as having an
evil bone in him. He's always low-key. He's kind to his animals.
His wife and daughter are really sweet people. I can't see it. But
you never really know someone enough, do you? People will surprise
you. I only know him through treating his horses and we've had a
few beers together over the years, but no, I don't think so. Lance
is a good guy. I'm only telling you this because if Taber could've
gotten under someone's skin like Lance's, who knows who else he's
pissed off. I think the police have their heads up their
asses."

"Join the club."

"Tell me what you need,
anything."

She smiled. "I appreciate it, but your
plate is full." She pointed to Josh and bent down. "Hey, bubba,
what you doing besides growing?" She picked him up and kissed the
top of his head. "I've missed you. Ethan, why don't you take Summer
out for dinner this weekend and I'll watch him." She wanted to try
and divert him. She knew that his desire to help her would probably
cause a rift between him and Summer, and she didn't want that for
the baby's sake…or Ethan's. He'd made a commitment to Summer, and
Michaela wouldn't come between that.