Trouble at the Red Pueblo (17 page)

She touched her palm to his cheek. “It was all right. We didn’t go to Inchworm, just wandered around in the canyons. I’m thankful for the smartphone that Mr. Tremain gave me because I used the GPS to track our movements. I wasn’t sure Amy would be able to find the way home.”

Spider leaned back, his brows raised. “Wait? You figured out how to use the GPS?”

Laurie spread butter on a piece of bread. “Well, yeah. It’s very intuitive. A three-year-old could figure it out.”

“Huh.” Spider picked up his fork and stabbed at a piece of lettuce. “So, did you enjoy the day?”

“I did. It blew away a lot of cobwebs for me.”

They took a hiatus from talk and dedicated the time to their salads. When Spider was finished, he pushed his plate away and said, “I have to go to Mesquite tomorrow. Will you come with me?”

“Sure, but what’s in Mesquite?”

“It’s something I found in the files I brought home. First let me tell you how I got them.” He went on to tell Laurie about Leona Rippley and her struggling little business. He explained how she helped him out and what the files revealed. He told her about the visit to Annie and Frank Defrain and then about his visit to Austin Lee.

“No!” Laurie said, eyes wide. “You didn’t go visit him!”

“Yeah, I did. There he was, big as life, living in the house he had stolen away from the Defrains.”

“What did he say?”

“After I told him I knew what he’d done, he told me not to go hanging around in any dark alleys.”

“Did he really say that?”

“Yeah. And I can tell you something else. He is the one that’s taking Amy out. Which means he thinks he knows something about Jack that he can use to advantage.”

“You think so?”

“Yep. Jack has the land, and land is always the prize. Usually the owner has a precarious financial footing.”

Laurie shook her head. “I wouldn’t know about that, but I think you need to stop him before he can do anything to Amy or Jack.”

“I’m doing my best. Oh, and I stopped to talk to Linda on the way home, too.”

“What did she have to say?”

“She said jealousy was like lye, eating away at everything it touched.”

Her eyes twinkled. “It looks like you were having philosophical, jealousy-type discussions with everyone. What else did Linda say?”

Spider rubbed his jaw. “You know, I’ve been thinking about what she said. I don’t think she knew much about the second lawsuit, the one about the cache being returned.”

Laurie stared into the darkness beyond Spider’s shoulder as she processed that. “Let’s see. BMW Blonde came on site first. Then Austin Lee came and started making time with Linda, who didn’t like the fact that Matt was hanging on every word BMW Blonde said. Relations got strained, especially after they got word about the Goodman lawsuit. Only by then Linda and Matt weren’t spending any time together. She might have known they were worried about money because of a second lawsuit, but she might not have known particulars?”

“I think that’s right. We can run that by Matt and Neva tomorrow when we get back, but Linda didn’t know what Matt meant when he accused her of betraying the museum.”

“But did she? Betray the museum?”

Spider grimaced. “She did and she didn’t. She was bragging about the museum’s importance and said there was something valuable found with the cache that wasn’t on display. Then when she was with Austin one time, she let slip that she was researching Oscar Goodman. I don’t think he knew about the Lincoln letter, just that there was something valuable— a reason to sue.”

“I’ll bet she was sick when she realized what she had done.”

“Yeah.”

The waitress arrived with their dinners, and the rest of their conversation was confined to family matters. For long stretches of time they didn’t talk, sitting in easy companionship. When dinner was over, they wandered back to the hotel arm in arm, squeezing through the lobby entrance together and hurrying to catch the elevator before the doors slid closed.

“Want something sweet when we get back to the room?” she asked.

“You’re a tease,” he said, pulling her close and kissing her.

“I was talking about cookies.” Laurie laughed and straightened his Stetson which had been knocked askew.

The door opened, revealing Daisuke Ito and his two friends. Spider disengaged and bowed to the young Japanese. “Good evening.”

“Good evening,” they said in unison, smiling as they returned the bow.

Spider let Laurie get off and followed, holding the door momentarily, so the young men could enter. Just as the door was closing, he heard Daisuke call out, “Happy trails.”

“I met him this morning,” Spider explained as he walked Laurie to their room.

It took him three tries to get the lock to read the key card, but the light finally flashed green, and he pushed the door open. Laurie reached to turn on the light, but he covered her hand. “Leave it,” he said.

She turned and put one arm around his neck. Her other hand slid into his breast pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Using her thumb, she pushed the button sequence to turn it off and set it on the desk. “Now,” she whispered. “I believe we were talking about something sweet?”

SPIDER AND LAURIE
drove to the restaurant the next morning, figuring to head out of town from there. On the way, they noticed a crew blocking off Main Street on each side of the highway and another crew unloading a truck.

“Looks like they’re setting up booths for Western Legends,” Laurie said.

Spider drove slowly, observing the activity. “So what exactly is this celebration about?”

“They used to make a lot of movies here. Westerns, mostly. Some of the old movie stars come back each year.”

“Huh. I suppose there’ll be some cowboy poetry?”

Laurie chuckled. “Tomorrow night. After that there’s music. Jack and I are singing at eight o’clock.”

“You are? Great. I’ll come and listen to you.” Spider pulled in the parking lot behind the restaurant, and they went in the back entrance. Karam had been watching the front door from a booth in the dining room, so they surprised him. He stood as they reached his table, a broad smile on his face.

“Laurie! I am so glad to see you. Did you enjoy your ride?”

“Hello, Karam. Yes I did.” She slid into the bench opposite and made room for Spider.

When they were all seated, Karam opened a folder. “I have begun work on the Goodman line. I need a little more time on that. It would be good to have the address of Alyssa Goodman, so I make sure I am dealing with the right person on this end. However, I have found the Civil War soldier. The preliminary work I have done looks promising.”

“Promising how?”

“He had no issue. No children.”

“Wow,” Laurie said. “That looks more than promising.”

Karam smiled. “If I am correct, it is. As I said, I want to start from this end, from the woman who is bringing suit.” He picked up a paper and set it in front of Laurie and Spider. “If I have not missed something, and if her line goes through somebody else, I will give you a copy of what I have discovered, along with this.”

Spider looked at the page. “What is it?”

“My credentials,” Karam said.

“Great suffering zot.” Spider scanned the listing. Karam had a bachelor’s degree, two masters’ and a doctorate. The list of cases on which he had been expert witness covered half the page. Spider looked up and said, “You better not let people know you’ll work for a day’s use of a Yugo.”

“I don’t know,” Laurie said. “There aren’t many who can offer that.”

Spider tapped the paper. “If you are right, then the suit is full of holes. Right? It won’t hold water.”

Karam’s brow furrowed. “Holes? Water? What are you talking about?”

Laurie interpreted. “It means the suit has no merit. Is that what you’re saying?”

Karam nodded. “I will give you a correct pedigree chart for Alyssa Goodman and for the soldier Oscar Goodman. That and my credentials should put an end to it.”

Laurie reached across the table to give Karam’s hand a quick squeeze. “You’ve saved the Red Pueblo!”

Karam’s face was serious. “Not yet. I would not usually say anything without double checking, but I got excited about the other thing and called you too soon.”

“What other thing?” Laurie looked from Spider to Karam.

“Karam doesn’t think Tiffany is the real deal,” Spider said. “He doesn’t think she has the money she says she has.”

Laurie’s eyes got big. “Really?”

“I now know for certain she has not.” Karam drew another sheet out of the folder and slid it across the table. “Until recently, she had been working as a caregiver to an elderly gentleman in Modesto, California. The name of the man and his address are in the report. He died two months ago, and the family claims she took off with his car.”

Karam paused to check his notes. “She tells people she’s staying here with an old high school classmate. That much is true. Most of the rest is fabrication. She is divorced, but her former husband did not have a software company. He was, and is, a truck driver. For the divorce, they split their assets, and her half came to $3,412.52. You will find information about Wendell Wendt, the former husband, in my report as well as a copy of the divorce papers.”

Laurie leaned back into the corner. “So she’s not going to save the museum?”

Spider picked up the list of Karam’s credentials. “Maybe she doesn’t have to. With this suit going away, they may not need the donation.”

Karam held out his hand. “If you will let me have those papers back, I will give them to you in a folder when I finish. You will get me Alyssa Goodman’s address?” He straightened the edges of the papers and put them in his folder.

“I’ll call Martin and Neva, but I’ll wait ‘til after nine, so as not to wake them,” Laurie said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”

“Please, not a word to them about the Goodman issue. I do not want them to get their hopes up before I am certain. On the matter of Tiffany, go ahead and tell them.” Karam stood. “I must get back to work.”

“You’re not going to have breakfast with us?” Laurie asked.

Karam shook his head. “I ate at six. Will I see you either this evening or tomorrow?”

“We’ll call on our way back,” Laurie said. “Let’s have dinner together.”

Karam’s teeth shone white as he smiled. “I look forward to it.” He waved the folder as a good-bye gesture but stopped and took out his phone. “What was that about holy water?”

Spider laughed. “Not holy water. If something is full of holes or won’t hold water, it means it isn’t based on fact. It’s fraudulent.”

“Got it. Thanks.” Karam tucked his folder under his arm and slowly walked away, both thumbs working as he recorded the idiom.

Moments later the waitress appeared. “I didn’t want to interrupt your meeting. Are you ready to look at a menu, or do you want ham and eggs over easy again this morning?”

“You remembered.” Spider smiled up at her. “I’ll go with that, and my wife will have oatmeal and whole wheat toast.” He glanced at Laurie for confirmation.

“And orange juice,” Laurie added. “Milk for him.”

“Been married a long time?” The waitress stuck her pencil behind her ear.

“A few years.” Laurie watched her close her book and walk purposefully toward the kitchen. “Does it show?” she asked Spider.

His eyes twinkled. “Didn’t last night.”

Laurie blushed. “Shh.” Squeezing his leg under the table, she said, “Look at the video monitor.” She pointed to a flat-screen above the booth on the opposite wall that showed a group riding horses through country where the red rock had been carved into fantastic shapes by wind and rain. “This country is so unbelievably beautiful,” Laurie said. “We were out in stuff like that yesterday.”

They watched the changing images with little conversation, even after the waitress brought their orders. “I don’t know,” Spider said as he finished his breakfast and fished his wallet out of his back pocket. “Don’t you feel a little bit disloyal to Lincoln County, raving about how beautiful Kane County is?”

She shook her head as she took the last bite of toast. “It was your folks who settled there, not mine.”

Spider paid the tab, and they got in the pickup and headed to Fredonia, turning west toward St. George on the south end of town. As they crossed over Kanab Creek Bridge, Spider said, “Maybe you should make that call to Martin now because we’ll lose cell coverage in a few miles.”

Laurie pulled out her phone and dialed. Apparently Neva answered, because the conversation proceeded along feminine lines. Laurie said they had some information, but they had to go to St. George today. Spider would come by tomorrow and talk to them about it. What time should he come? She looked up at him and said, “Four o’clock?” and when Spider nodded, relayed confirmation.

“We need some information about the Goodman lawsuit,” Laurie said to Neva. “What’s the address of Alyssa Goodman, the gal who is suing the museum?” She wrote down what Neva told her and then asked how Martin was doing.

After finding out Martin was perking along pretty well, Laurie dialed Karam and read the address to him. She listened a moment and said, “Oh no! So does that mean you can’t work this morning? Okay, I won’t keep you. Bye.”