Corpse in the Crystal Ball (20 page)

I looked down at my outfit. “Oh this? Jo helped me pick my disguise out.”

“That explains everything.” He tried for a scowl, but he couldn’t fool me. I saw his eyes soften at the mention of Jo’s name the same way she had turned to mush around him. Both of them were just too stubborn to ever admit it.

“Whatever, Romeo.” I patted his chest.

“Huh?”

“Never mind. The reason I’m here is because I’m working Isabel Gonzales’s murder case.”

“I remember from the hardware store. Why the Song Bird?”

“Well, there’s this new guy in town.”

Cole glanced at my cleavage, cleared his throat, and said, “I figured it had something to do with a guy.”

I puffed up a bit with pride. Maybe I didn’t look so bad after all if I could affect a tough-as-nails guy like Cole. “Anyway,” I continued, wagging my brows, “he’s right over there.” I pointed to the man standing in the circle of women. “Have you ever seen him before?”

“Who, the player in the middle of the swooning ladies or your boyfriend?”

My jaw unhinged. I slapped my hands on my hips. “Detective Stone is hardly my boyfriend.”

“Again …could have fooled me. And if he’s not, then the man’s an idiot.”

This time I flushed and cleared
my
throat. “You know who I mean. So, have you seen the guy or what?”

Cole looked out on the floor and studied Ted Baxter. Lean and lanky build, with wavy auburn hair sporting golden highlights and styled to an artful perfection. “Yeah, I’ve seen that guy around town, trying to cozy up to anything in a skirt. Guess he figured he’d try the Song Bird since more outsiders come here. Word is that Isabel Gonzales was the love of his life and that he’s in mourning.”

Cole’s brow pinched and a flash of pain covered his forehead, but then he quickly masked it. “If he truly loved that Gonzales chick, there’s no way he’d move on that quickly. You don’t just forget about the love of your life in a couple of days.”

“I agree.” I touched his forearm. “You don’t have to ever forget about the love of your life. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop living. Who’s to say you won’t ever love again?”

He looked down at my hand for a long minute, and then shrugged, giving me the same lighthearted mischievous smile I’d seen when I’d first walked into the Song Bird
tonight. “Anything’s possible I guess,” he said, and for the first time, I think he actually believed it.

“Good. Glad to hear it,” I replied just as sincerely.

“Well, I guess I’d better go. They’re flagging me down for my next song.”

“Good luck.”

“You too.”

I turned around to check out Ted, but he was gone. I kept searching left and right, but couldn’t find him.
Darnit!

“Looking for someone?” a husky voice asked from behind me.

I jumped and stumbled once more. Two large hands steadied me once again, only these hands sent shock waves throughout my system from a simple touch. “Detective Stone, fancy meeting you here,” I said without so much as turning around.

“Fancy that. You didn’t answer my question, Miss Meadows.”

“We’re back to that, are we?” I turned around in his arms, and the heat of his palms singed the bare skin at my sides. God, he smelled amazing. And he looked so good in jeans and a T-shirt instead of a sport coat and tie.

He dropped his hands on a scowl and stepped back. “Why are you here, Sunny?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business, Detective. The real question is what are you doing here?” I poked him in his chest and admitted his pecs were pretty impressive as well.

He brushed my finger away like a piece of lint. “It’s a free country.”

“Yes, well, you might not be free much longer if you don’t stay out of this case and let me do my job.”

“
Your
job?” He scoffed. “I thought your job was reading people’s fortunes, not their Miranda rights.”

“Be that as it may, I am doing this to clear your name, you knucklehead. You’re just too stubborn to see that. If you keep this up, you’re going to get us both in trouble.”

“News flash. I didn’t ask for and I don’t need your help. No offense, but I am a hell of a lot more qualified than you to solve this case.” He poked me back in my chest.

I gasped, then growled, “News update, Spanky. You do need my help, and you don’t have a choice in the matter. Go home, Detective. I’ve got this.” I turned around and marched away from him to the dance floor, which was exactly where I expected to find Ted Baxter.

Ted hadn’t met me yet, so he had no clue who I was. I tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me. May I cut in, sugar?”

“Uh, no,” said the woman he was dancing with.

Ted looked me up and down, must have liked what he saw, and let go of the woman he had been holding. “Sure thing, darlin’.”

The woman stomped her foot, then marched away. I gave him a sultry smile and stepped into his arms. “You’re new in town, aren’t you?”

He instantly looked wary. “Who wants to know?” He sniffed.

“Take it easy, honey. I was just wondering. I would have remembered if a hunk like you lived around these parts.” I fluttered my lashes at him like a rapid-fire assault weapon, and he relaxed.

“Just passing through on my way to see my sister,” he purred.

“Oh, bummer. I would have loved to spend a little time getting to know you”—I ran my fingertip down his chest—“if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I know what you mean.” He slid his palms down to my lower back and pressed me closer until I got to know him a whole lot better. “But we still have tonight, baby.” He sniffed again.

“You’re leaving tomorrow, then?” I fought the urge to pull away.

He hoisted one shoulder in a noncommittal way. “Soon.”

“What’s keeping you here?”

“Sure as hell not you,” boomed a deep voice from behind me, stunning me senseless. “Excuse me, pal, but I believe this one is mine.”

“This dance?” Ted asked, bewildered, as he rubbed his nose and sniffed yet again.

Mitch leaned in close and his jaw hardened. “This
one
,” he ground out, then proceeded to bend over and lift me onto his shoulder like some barbarian caveman.

“What are you doing?” I snapped out of my stupor. “Put me down, you big oaf.” I pounded on his back, but he didn’t stop until we were outside.

He didn’t set me down until we were by my bug. “Go home, Sunny.”

“You go home!” I snapped, whacking him on the shoulder and then rubbing my hand. He didn’t so much as flinch, the rat. “I’m a big girl,” I added.

“A big girl who doesn’t know what she’s getting into. Don’t you think I checked that guy out before I came here?”

“Duh. So did I.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Right. And did you see he has a rap sheet a mile long?”

My prissy pose wilted. “Oh …well, not exactly.”

“Exactly as I figured.
Duh
,” he mimicked, shaking his head. “You have no clue what he would have done to you had he gotten you alone. Especially dressed like that. What were you thinking, Tink?”

“I wasn’t thinking. I was desperate! Time is running out, Mitch. Everyone has an alibi, and we’re running out of suspects …other than you,” I pointed out. “Don’t you care what happens to you?”

“Of course I do. I’m fully aware of the details of the case. Why do you think I’m here?”

“I get it, but do you know what will happen if the mayor finds out?”

His face turned to granite. “I don’t care—”

“I do,” I said softly, and his bluster left as quickly as it had arrived. He traced the features of my face with his gaze and then touched my cheek with the palm of his hand. “I know.” He dropped his hand and sighed. “Please go home. For me. I can’t take having anyone else to worry about.”

This time I stared at him. At the fatigue that was emanating from his every pore. “Okay. For you. But I’m not going to stop looking until I find the person who really killed Isabel.”

His lips curved into the faintest of smiles. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. Just promise me you’ll wait until Fuller is with you before you do any more
looking
.”

“Good-bye, Mitch,” I said, and climbed into my car, not daring to make a promise I might not be able to keep for long.

He just stood there with his hands on his hips, looking frustrated and adorable as all get-out.

Tuesday morning Detective Fuller and I finally cornered Ted coming out of the Divinity Hotel. Fuller stepped forward and flashed his badge. “Mr. Baxter, I’m Detective Fuller and this is my assistant, Sunny Meadows. We’d like to ask you some questions.”

Ted’s steps faltered when his gaze landed on me. My strawberry highlights had already faded and the tight clothes I had worn were replaced with sensible cotton pants and a blouse that showed no skin. His eyes narrowed. “You!”

Fuller’s eyes sprang wide. “You two know each other?”

“I was out dancing last night and ran into him.” I quickly spouted the words I’d rehearsed.

“Hit on me is more like it,” Baxter accused.

Fuller scowled at me. “I thought I told you no more investigating on your own.”

“I wasn’t.” I couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “Can’t a girl have a social life? I was out having a good time.”

“By yourself?”

“No, she was with some big Tarzan guy who carried her off like a gorilla.”

“Excuse us for a minute.” Fuller grabbed my arm and pulled me a few feet away. “Are you crazy getting Detective Stone involved in this?”

“I didn’t. We just ran into each other.” At least that was the truth.

“This is your last warning, Meadows. Play by the rules or get out of the sandbox.” Fuller’s face looked stern and serious, the teddy bear personality all but obliterated as he marched away.

I dragged my feet as I joined him, hoping I hadn’t ruined things by my impulsive decision to crack this case last night. I had to learn to be more patient.

“Let me get this straight,” Fuller was saying to Ted. “Isabel was your girlfriend?”

I blinked. “Excuse me?” I sputtered. Fuller glared at me, in no mood for any more of my shenanigans. “Uh, yeah, excuse me. I swallowed wrong.” I pounded my chest. “I’m all better now. You were saying, Mr. Baxter?”

“Look. I met Isabel a couple of months ago. I fell for her hard. I thought we were in love, but when I asked her to marry me, she took off. I thought it was just cold feet, so I followed her here. She told me it was over. That she didn’t love me, never had, and never would. Apparently, she was in love with someone else. She broke my heart.”

“Then why did you stay?” Fuller asked.

“We argued that morning. I tried to get her to take me back, but she took off. I spent all night trying to find her. When she didn’t show up the next morning, I stayed behind, hoping she’d change her mind. When they found her dead, well, I just didn’t have the heart to leave just yet. I’m in mourning.”

“Is that what you call it?” I interjected. “Because that’s sure not what it looked like last night.”

“I’m drowning my sorrows in women.” He sniffed. “Can I help it they make me feel better? There’s nothing wrong with that. Isabel is gone. Nothing can bring her back, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love her.”

“And what about you saying you were just passing through? Going to see your sister?”

“I do plan to see my sister once I feel better.”

“And what about Isabel’s money?” Fuller asked.

“What money?” Ted asked innocently enough, but he didn’t look surprised in the least.

“The money she embezzled,” I spit out, tiring of this game. “If she was the love of your life, then you would know she’d been arrested for embezzlement and the money was never found. How else did you think she’d been living the high life since she got out of jail?”

“Oh, that money. I thought she had an inheritance.”

“I thought you knew her well, given that you asked her to marry you?” I added.

“I knew that I loved her.” He looked at me with evil eyes filled with contempt and hatred. “That’s all that I cared about.”

“Did she know about your rap sheet?” Fuller chimed in.

Ted’s shoulders slumped. “No. She had her secrets, and I had mine. Somehow it worked for us. Or so I thought. Look, I haven’t been in trouble for a long time, and I’ve been clean for a year.” He sniffed. “There’s no crime in falling in love and following someone to win them back.”

“Unless you’re lying and you knew about her money. Maybe you followed her to win her back, she said no, and you killed her for the money.” I nailed him with my most intimidating look.

He just scowled. “You can’t prove anything.”

“Neither can you, apparently.” Fuller checked his notes. “Where did you say you were again on the night of the murder?”

“Out looking for Isabel. I was worried about her.”

“Or killing her,” I mumbled.

“You little—” Ted lunged at me, but Fuller stepped between us.

“Don’t leave town until this murder is solved. Inherited or stolen, it doesn’t really matter. The fact is you knew Ms. Gonzales had money. She refused your offer of marriage, and you followed her to win her back. She said no. That’s motive. And you have no alibi for the night she was murdered. All I need is a murder weapon or some other hard evidence, and you’re screwed.” Fuller leaned into him. “I’d suggest you keep your nose clean and stay put.”

“What he said, bucko,” I added, thrusting out my chest. This time, they both took a step toward me. “I’ll, um, just wait in the car, boss.” I turned around and hightailed it to Fuller’s car, smiling all the way. It didn’t take a crystal ball to see that Ted was lying as sure as I was breathing. He was hiding something. I could feel it. And Mitch was no longer alone.

My official suspect list had just grown.