Horse of a Different Killer (32 page)

“Hoxha,” Cowboy shouted. “You got her?”

He must have seen us struggling and assumed Kai was his partner.

“Yeah,” Kai called back.

I grabbed his arm to stop him from saying more and whispered, “Hoxha's from Albania, he has an accent.”

Kai nodded and moved to the center of the tree where its trunk split into two huge branches. I wouldn't have been tall enough to see anything, but Kai could.

While Kai looked through the crook of the tree, I scanned the area around us. Aside from Heart, munching on a thick patch of grass near the corner of the house, nothing stirred.

I checked on Moss. My dog was sleeping through the whole thing. I shook my head, not as surprised as I should have been.

“He knows I'm not his partner,” Kai murmured. “He's going back into the barn. Closing the doors.” He turned to me and took my arm. “Come on, I've got to get you out of here.”

“Wait. Boomer's in the barn.” I kept my voice a whisper. “He's hiding but we can't just leave him.”

“Didn't you just do that?” Kai asked with a pointed glance at Heart.

“Yes. But I thought Cowboy would come after me. I hadn't expected him to say in the barn. Nelly's in there, too.”

I'd taken a second to focus on her and knew she'd already recovered from her spell and had rolled to her feet.

“Maybe we should—” I stopped when I felt Nelly's interest fixate on something.

A light. Not very bright, but goats see better than humans in the dark.

“I think Cowboy's using the light from his phone to look around the barn.”

“How do you know that?”

“Nelly.”

There was a long pause. Leaving one mental thread connected to Nelly, I turned and blinked up at Kai. It was too dark to see his expression, but I knew the wheels were turning as new questions about my ability cranked through his brain.

They would have to wait.

“What if he finds Boomer?” I asked.

“Where is he pointing the light?”

I reached out through the tendril to once again push into Nelly's mind. “The wall,” I said, my voice sounding strange, “and the floor.”

“He's probably looking for another way out.”

I hated to tell him, but there wasn't one.

Then I saw something on the edge of where the glowing light penetrated the darkness. Standing with his back against the same wall Cowboy was searching was Boomer. He was feeling along, touching each garden tool one after the other as if looking for one in particular.

Nelly's vision allowed me to see better than Cowboy, but in a few seconds, the light would catch Boomer and the jig would be up.

“Boomer,” I whispered, then took a deep breath and yelled, “Hey, jerkface!”

Cowboy's attention snapped back to the barn door.

“Yeah, you!”

“Grace.” Kai's voice was a harsh whisper. “What are you doing?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and held up a hand. I didn't have time to explain and was stretching the limits of my ability by using Nelly to keep track of Cowboy and keep an eye on Boomer. Not to mention think of something to say to get him to turn the light away from where Boomer was standing.

My head had already started to pound. It was going to be splitting later.

Assuming we all lived that long.

Cowboy edged back toward the door, tripped over something, and cursed. Boomer used the opportunity—not to run or hide, but to move closer.

Dammit, Boomer, don't be a hero.
The thought made Nelly
baaaa
in concern.

Cowboy spun to shine the light on her. Then he cursed and muttered something that sounded like “Freaking stupid goat” before turning back to the barn door.

Again, Boomer used the opportunity to slide closer. He'd found his weapon of choice: a polo mallet.

If you can't beat 'em, help 'em.

“Your partner's dead. But we can still make a deal,” I called.

“Why's that?” Cowboy shouted, creeping up to the gap in the door to peek out.

“Logan and I need a buyer. That's what you do, right? Broker deals?”

Boomer eased closer as I spoke.

“Do we even know what he's looking for?” The voice wasn't Kai's.

Straining, I opened my eyes, turned, and saw Logan had appeared from somewhere to join the party. I nodded and muttered, “LaPointe, water bucket.” Knowing it made no sense, I couldn't bring myself to care. Being in two places at once was taking its toll. My right eye wouldn't open all the way, so I closed it.

“Hoxha said you have someone lined up,” I yelled to Cowboy. “Do you?”

“If I do?”

“Then we want to do business. Come out, we can talk about it.”

“Does this bitch think I'm stupid?” he muttered to himself.

“
Psst
,” Boomer said.

Cowboy started to turn but Boomer had whipped the polo mallet around and whacked him solidly across the face.

The light dropped out of sight; Cowboy crumpled.

I gasped and released my connection to Nelly. Blinking back the swirls of light that danced in my vision.

I hadn't realized Kai had been holding both my upper arms to support me.

“He got him. Cowboy's down.”

We hurried around the oak tree and ran toward the barn. Every step sent a jolt of pain slicing into my skull.

The light in the barn came on and Boomer opened one of the doors, smiling when he saw me. I tried to smile back but the world tilted suddenly. Everything went red in a weird flash—then nothing.

I awoke the next day in a freaking hospital bed.

My mouth felt dry enough to be populated by Jawas. I blinked and looked around for one of those miniature insulated water pitchers that seem to exist solely in hospitals. I spotted it across the room.

Tossing back the covers, I started to get up, but noticed a black cardigan folded on the arm of the visitor's chair. In the seat was a well-worn book. And a pair of cat-eyed reading classes.

I froze.

Mom.

On the other side of the privacy curtain, I heard the door open.

I shoved my legs back under the blanket as I heard Wes say, in a quiet voice, “I'll be here if she wakes up.”

“Thank you, sweetheart, we won't be long,” my mother said.

The door closed and a second later, Wes appeared.

“Hey, you're awake.”

“Water.” I pointed. He poured me a cup.

“My parents?”

“Got in late last night.”

“The doctors?” It should tell you something about the force of nature that is my mother that I asked after the well-being of the hospital staff before anything else.

Wes, having known my mother since we were in grade school, understood my question.

He smothered a grin. “Everyone is taking good care of you.”

I sighed. The giant round clock on the wall read half past seven. “They went to get a bite to eat.”

“Breakfast?” As soon as I said the word, I was starving.

Wes read my mind and stepped out to ask one of the orderlies for something to eat.

Without success, I tried to remember what had happened, so I asked Wes. “The doctors are saying you had a blood sugar issue. Kai seemed to think you had overtaxed yourself. There was some concern when you didn't wake up, but the brain scan was clean.”

“I had a brain scan?”

“And it was
normal
. I know, who would have thought . . .”

I threw my straw at him.

Wes looked at the door and lowered his voice. “We need to go over a few things before your parents get back. The police are going to want your statement.”

“Okay.”

“And it's going to have to match Kai's.”

I learned the official version was that Kai had gone with me to return Nelly to R-n-R. We'd stopped by Boomer's on the way. Kai had been walking back to Bluebell when the bad guys showed up. I had told them a tall tale, which gave Kai a chance to get the jump on Mr. Jingles, at which point I'd run, distracting Cowboy long enough to let Boomer whack him with a polo mallet.

Logan's involvement had been left out, which simplified things and kept Kai out of trouble.

“What happened after I passed out?”

“Kai came with you to the hospital, as soon as the police got there.”

“Wait.” I felt a flutter of panic. “Where's Moss?”

“I took care of Moss. He's at the condo with his kitty cat and a very cute little papillon.”

“Nelly?”

“Happily reunited with her true love, according to Boomer.”

I relaxed. “Thanks, Wes.”

He nodded and went on to tell me both Cowboy, whose real name was Ricardo Sandoval, and Mr. Jingles, AKA Erjon Hoxha, had been arrested.

The men had turned on each other faster than you can say “honor among thieves.”

Hoxha admitted to hitting Tony Ortega, though he maintained he hadn't meant to kill him. Both men blamed the other for Dr. Simon's—or Simone's—death. The police were still going over the crime scene, and no charges had been filed yet.

The men the cops picked up driving the car were talking, too. Saying Cowboy had paid them to drive the car north and dump it into the Okefenokee Swamp. The two geniuses, having no idea there was a body in the trunk, decided it would be fine to cruise around town for a couple of days before heading to Georgia.

“Is Emma being released?” I asked.

“The state attorney is dropping all charges. She'll be out later today.”

I smiled up at Wes and we shared a celebratory hug.

“What about me? I'm getting out of here soon?”

“Last I heard. But I'll check.”

•   •   •

My sister ended up making it home before I did, though not by long.

Not surprisingly, we both wanted the same thing—a shower. So after hugs and a very quick chat, we went to get clean.

The first visitor arrived before I'd finished drying my hair. By the time I'd dressed, there were five extra people in the house. Wes, my mom and dad, Hugh, and Uncle Wiley.

Before long, the number of well-wishers swelled and we were in the middle of an impromptu party.

My mom, who is one of those people who can whip together a dozen hors d'oeuvres with little more than mustard, crackers, and sheer determination, set about feeding the throng.

Champagne was poured, a toast was made, and I took my glass and slipped out back for a bit of fresh air.

“Taking a break?” I looked over my shoulder to see Kendall stepping outside.

“Yeah,” I said, turning back to look at the gray-blue of the ocean as it blended into the darkening sky. “Parties tend to wear me out.”

She came to stand next to me at the rail. “I remember. Grace, I want to apologize.”

“For ignoring my phone calls or lying to the cops?”

“For not realizing why you really needed my help that first night. Has Emma told you about our little pact?”

“We haven't had much time to talk.”

“Maybe I should let her explain her side, then. I want you to know this—she and Mary saved my life. You've looked at the USB?”

“Password: Kendall,” I said, tipping my glass to her.

“That's because the hospital photos in it are mine.”

I turned to her. “You mean you and Tony . . .”

“No. I never dated him. My sister did.”

Well, that sounded bad.

“It was after Emma divorced him,” Kendall said. “Carly's actually my half sister. We had different dads. But we were as close as sisters can be.”

Kendall was using a lot of past tense.

“What happened?” I asked.

“She met Tony. He did his thing. Played the handsome millionaire, swept her off her feet. Carly finally realized what kind of person he was and called me.”

“What did she say?”

“She was terrified. I could hear it in her voice. But every time I asked her what was wrong she just kept saying she missed me and she was sorry. Finally, she admitted being scared but didn't know how to leave.”

Kendall stared out over the water. A tear hung on her lashes for a long moment then tumbled down her cheek.

“I told her to get somewhere safe and that I was on my way. Big sister, coming to the rescue. It takes five hours to drive here from Atlanta. I was too late.”

“I'm sorry.”

She pulled in a deep sigh and nodded. “Tony told the police he'd noticed she'd been showing signs of depression, so he'd taken her to her favorite restaurant to try to cheer her up. When they got home they argued, and he went for a walk on the beach. He claimed when he got back, he found her, along with several empty pill bottles, on the floor of their bathroom. He called 911, but there was extensive damage. She would live, but she would never be the Carly I knew.”

“Saint Giles.” I remembered what Sonja had said about the saint and the chance that the sanctuary would be a long-term care facility.

Kendall nodded. “She has to have round-the-clock care. Carly's dad works in Alaska. Our mom passed away a few years ago.

“I quit my job and moved to Jacksonville, vowing to find evidence proving Tony Ortega had poisoned my sister and made it look like a suicide attempt. But there wasn't any. She'd survived, so the police came to the hospital, asked the doctor a couple questions, and that was it.”

“They couldn't treat it as a crime, because she didn't die?”

“I told the cops about our phone call, but they seemed to see it as more evidence that Carly was distraught. I pressed, but never got much traction.”

I understood all too well.

“I was trapped in a nightmare, until Emma contacted me. I was renting this fleabag apartment—every penny I'd saved went to Carly's medical bills.”

“Emma got you a job.”

“She did that and more.” Kendall turned to me. “Your sister showed me there were other ways to make sure Tony paid for what he'd done to Carly.”

“So you were blackmailing him.”

“No. We knew we couldn't be so overt.”

“Then what?”

“The greatest and most prolonged booty-block the world has ever known,” my sister said from the doorway.

“Language,” Mary scolded as she followed Emma outside.

I looked at the three women. “Meaning?”

“We used our combined resources to make sure Tony never kept a girlfriend for long.”

I stared at my sister, speechless. She lifted the champagne bottle, and I reflexively offered my empty glass to be filled.

“Mary was our inside woman,” Emma said as she poured. “She knew every bank account number, all his travel plans, even the names and contact info of his favorite call girls.”

My jaw dropped open.

“Kendall”—Emma turned to top off the young woman's glass—“did most of the recon and I worked in the button factory.”

“Button factory?” Was I hallucinating?

“Yep. Once Mary clued us in on a new target,” Emma said, “we would find out everything we could about the poor woman. Everyone has their buttons—I figured out the best way to push them.”

“In a way that facilitated a breakup,” Kendall clarified.

“You . . .” I looked from Emma to Mary to Kendall then back to Emma. “You formed a secret society whose sole purpose was sabotaging Ortega's love life? That's—” I wasn't sure my personal lexicon had the right word.

“Crazy?” Kendall asked.

I shook my head.

“Felonious?” Emma supplied.

“It's the most brilliant, bad idea I've ever heard,” I said. “I can't believe I wasn't allowed to participate.”

“That was my doing,” Mary said. “When I suggested the idea to Emma, I made her promise not to tell anyone. Kendall was involved for obvious reasons.”

“This was your idea?” That surprised me.

“After what happened to Emma, I started gathering as much information on Tony as possible. I didn't know what to do with it, but it seemed to be a good idea to have some ammunition ready. He met Carly in Atlanta. I'd only seen her a few times before he took her to Europe. There wasn't time to—”

Kendall reached over and took the older woman's hand. “You did everything you could, Mary.”

“When Carly”—Mary swallowed back tears and lifted her chin—“I wasn't going to stand by and let it happen again.”

“That's why you gave Jasmine such a cool reception when she moved here,” I said to Mary. “It was part of the plan. Make her feel homesick and unwelcome?”

“That,” Emma said. “And Kendall heard through her contacts in London that Jasmine's dad had an affair with their housekeeper, so we had Mary push that button, too.”

“I'd drop hints about how well I knew Tony,” Mary said. “Let her see me give him longing looks. Nothing over the top.”

“Still,” I said. “Yuck.” Which got a laugh.

I looked around the group and blew out a breath. “There's something I need to tell all of you. About the USB stick.” I glanced at my sister. “I kind of promised to give it to Logan if he helped catch the bad guys.”

“Who's Logan?” Mary asked.

“It's a long story,” Emma said. “Do y'all mind if I make the call on this one?”

Both women shook their heads, their trust in my sister evident.

“We'll see you inside,” Kendall said and went with Mary to rejoin the party.

Emma turned to me. “Spill.”

I explained that I'd accidentally kept the USB, hidden it from the police, and though I'd finally figured out the password, I was having problems understanding how I could use the information.