“Sure. Just let me know when you’re coming in and I’ll set it up. So, what time is your flight tomorrow?”
“I think I’ll leave fairly early, around 7:00 or 7:30.”
Sam eyed him suspiciously. “Are you on a commercial flight?”
Luke looked up surprised. “No, I’m not. I came in my personal jet.”
Sam stopped eating and with wide eyes exclaimed, “No shit!”
Now she was going to have to find a good psychiatrist!
After lunch, Sam and Luke walked out of the restaurant and met Sheriff Olson and Ricky coming in.
“Hey Sheriff. Hi Ricky,” Sam greeted them.
“Hi Sam. I’m glad I ran into you. I need to ask you a few questions,” Sheriff Olson told her.
“Sure. Did you meet Luke Maguire? He’s Lance and Marietta’s nephew. He and his mother flew in for the funeral yesterday. Luke, this is Sheriff Olson and the best deputy in the county, Rick Montenegro.”
They shook hands and Ricky winked at Sam.
Luke’s eyebrows rose and Sam’s face flushed red.
“I went to school with Rick and his wife Sally,” Sam explained to Luke. She gave Ricky a deadly glare and he grinned.
“I’ve heard about you, Sheriff,” Luke said. “Lance said you did an excellent job in finding Marietta’s killer so quickly. It’ll be good for my uncle to get this all behind him. It’s been a stressful time.”
Sheriff Olson leaned back on his heels and gave Sam a candid look. “Well, we think we have the killer. Dr. Kendrick here poked some holes in our theory and pointed out we’re possibly missing some key evidence.”
“You didn’t find any wire cutters?” Sam asked suddenly perking up.
“No. Pablo Rodriguez didn’t have any in his possession and neither did any of the workers. We searched the field and area where we found Marietta’s body, but didn’t find anything. It’s possible the fence was already cut before Pablo got there that morning, but I want to make certain we have the right man so we’re doing some further investigation.”
Luke looked confused. “What’s all this about wire cutters?”
“The fence was cut close to where we found Marietta. We think Marietta saw the cut and stopped to fix it, and then was jumped from behind, murdered and robbed. She always wore expensive jewelry, even when she was out riding, but there was none on her body. Lance verified that her wedding rings and other pieces were missing. And most everyone around here knew her routine – she checked the fences almost every morning. You know the rest of the story about how we found the murder weapon and arrested Pablo. But Sam here saw the cut and knew it was clean and done by a cutter. Pablo couldn’t have done it with his knife because the cut would’ve been jagged. So, we’ve been searching for those wire cutters.”
“Good detective work,” Luke said to Sam with a smile.
“I’m still looking for Mitch and Marcus,” Sheriff Olson turned back to Sam. “I need to bring them in for questioning. If Pablo’s story is true and he was set up, then someone led us on a wild goose chase. I need to confirm their whereabouts on the morning Marietta was murdered.”
“If I hear from Mitch I’ll let you know,” Sam promised. She looked away from the sheriff. She felt guilty as hell now for not telling him about her meeting with Mitch earlier in the week.
“Those two caused a lot of problems at the ranch prior to Marietta’s death, so I consider them persons of interest in this crime.” The sheriff went on. “If they have solid alibis on the morning of her murder then I won’t have any doubt we have the right man.”
He shook his head. “Hell, Samantha, you know that fences get cut in this territory all the time. High school kids could have been out there for a party and clipped those wires to get to the stream. It happens all the time. The fence could have already been down and Pablo saw his chance to attack Marietta and rob her. But I don’t like going to the D.A. when I have a doubt so I need to question the twins.”
Sam let her breath out slowly and nodded her head. “Boy, I wish I knew where to find them, but I don’t. If Mitch tries to contact me again I’ll call you immediately.”
“Who’s Mitch?” Luke asked when they got back in Sam’s truck
“He used to work at the Lazy W. Marietta fired him last week when she caught him with one of the threatening notes they’d been getting. He said he found it in the bunkhouse mailbox and was just putting it in theirs, but she didn’t believe him. He has a twin brother, Marcus, who belongs to some radical environmental organization that’s been trying to stop your uncle from selling his property to developers. The Sheriff has been looking for them since the murder but they’ve been laying low.”
“So what’s your connection with Mitch?”
“I really don’t have a connection. Mitch is a student at Northeastern Colorado Ag. He’s going to graduate next month as a vet. He was with me when I had to put the mare down. After he was fired, he called and wanted to talk to me about what happened. Cheyenne found out about the call and told the Sheriff so now I guess he thinks I have some special connection to him, but I don’t.” Sam was keeping her mouth shut about her meeting with Mitch. At least for now.
Luke’s cell phone rang and he quickly answered. Sam could tell he was talking to his office in San Francisco. After a short conversation he disconnected and sighed.
“Well, I need to be at a meeting bright and early in the morning. I’m going to have to go back this evening and prepare for it. I was going to ask you to have dinner with me tonight but it looks like I’ll have to postpone that until my next trip,” Luke smiled. “Unless you can take off and join me in San Francisco for a few days. Can you do that? Then I can show you my ‘stompin’ grounds’. I’ll send you back in my jet any time you need to get home.”
Sam’s eyes widened in disbelief. What an offer! She bit her tongue before she said ‘no shit’ again. Then she remembered Doc was going to be out of the office on Thursday and Friday. He was doing some training sessions in Boulder and she was going to have to cover his calls.
Sam gave Luke a disappointed look. “I can’t. Doc is going to be out and I have to handle the office while he’s gone. But thanks – what a great offer. I’ve never been to San Francisco before. Shit, what am I saying? I’ve never been out of the state!”
Luke looked disappointed too. “Well, promise me that when I return you’ll take some time off and come back with me to San Francisco.”
Sam couldn’t believe her ears. “I’ll try, but this is a little overwhelming for me. I’ve never been asked out on a date to San Francisco before. “
Luke’s laugh woke up Dundee and he stuck his sleepy head over the seat just as they arrived at the Lazy W. Sam stopped in front of the house and Luke got out and walked around to her door as she rolled down the window. Dundee quickly climbed into the front seat to his shotgun spot.
“Thanks for lunch,” Sam told him. “And the date offer. This will definitely go in my diary!”
“I’ll give you a call soon,” Luke said. Then he leaned over and gave Sam a soft kiss on the lips. “Bye Sam.”
He turned and walked into the house.
“Holy shit! Can you believe it?” Sam exclaimed to Dundee as she pulled out of the driveway. “I’m living my romance novel! How cool is that? I’ve got to call Isabella and tell her all about this.”
Sam picked up her cell phone and dialed her friend.
After Sam finished her call to Isabella and they agreed to meet for dinner that night, she rushed over to her parents to tell them the news about
Dakota
.
“Guess what?” Sam exclaimed as she bounced into their kitchen.
“What?” Her mom asked looking up from a recipe book. Her dad walked in and poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Lance Wilson gave me a Paso Fino gelding. Can you believe it? He said it was in appreciation for my work in saving his stallion. I didn’t want to take him but Doc told me to do it, so I did!”
“That is so generous of him! Is it the horse you took out on that trail ride with Cheyenne?” Sam’s mom asked.
“Yep, the same one. Now I can ride with you and Mason, Dad, the next time you go out. I’ll need to borrow the horse trailer on Saturday so I can pick him up.”
“Not a problem,” her dad said. “Let me know if you need any help.”
“So when does Grandpa get back?”
“Tomorrow,” her mom answered. “I’m going to get a pass to go to the gate to meet him. He gets so confused. I don’t want him wandering around DIA getting lost. Millie is giving the airlines special instructions so they’ll know to put him in a wheelchair and wait for me. He’s had a good time, but I think he’s ready to get back home.”
“Yeah, it’s been kind of quiet around here without Grandpa. Well, I need to get going. I’m going to meet Isabella for dinner this evening.”
“Wait a minute!” Sam’s mom stopped her before she reached the door. “You didn’t tell us about Lance’s nephew. He seemed to latch on to you right away after the funeral.”
Sam smiled innocently. “Nothing to tell really. He’s a nice guy who took me to lunch today and is going back to California in his private jet tonight.”
“Holy shit!” Sam’s mom’s eyes widened in amazement. “He has his own jet?”
Now Sam knew where she picked up her favorite expression. “That’s what he told me. Gotta go!”
Sam raced out of the house. Imagine what her mom would do if she knew Luke had invited her to go back to California with him for a few days, Sam thought to herself with a smile. I’d be picking her up off the floor!
LATER THAT EVENING, Isabella and Sam were sharing pizza and beer in a Boulder pub discussing the events of the past two days.
“Luke is almost too good to be true,” Isabella told Sam. “I can’t believe he’s exactly like the hero in your novel. That is so weird.”
“Well, he’s not exactly like Seth. He doesn’t have a Scottish brogue. That’s the only thing he’s missing, except for a beautiful girlfriend who’s an artist. O damn! He may have that and I just don’t know about it. I could be a temporary diversion during a lull in his sizzling romance with some hottie for all I know. Oh shit, that’s probably it. Why would a rich, successful architect from San Francisco want anything to do with a small town vet? I am such an idiot!” Sam groaned and put her head down in her arms.
“I blame Cheyenne for all this,” Isabella said. “If he hadn’t been so jealous and bossy, you wouldn’t have argued and split. He literally threw you into Luke’s arms.”
Sam peeked one eye out above her arm. “That is so lame. Can’t you think of anything better?”
Isabella laughed. “Okay, how’s this. You underestimate yourself, girlfriend. I don’t believe you’ve lost Cheyenne and I don’t believe this fabulous Luke guy is just using you. I think you have two gorgeous hunks who think
you’re
the hottie.”
Sam looked up. “Why do you think I haven’t lost Cheyenne? I haven’t talked to him since Saturday night. Have you heard something I haven’t?”
Isabella rolled her eyes. “No, I haven’t heard anything. But I figure he’ll hear something - like you were out with Luke today. That will drive him nuts when he finds out. You know Suzanne is going to tell him the minute he calls in, unless Lance happens to say something about it first. What do you want to bet he calls you before this weekend?”
“What do I have that you want? I’ll bet anything but Dundee!”
“Oh well, shit. Bet’s off if I can’t have Dundee!” giggled Isabella. “How about a day at the spa of our choice?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been to a spa before, have you?”
“Once. I had a full body massage by this guy named Greg. It was luscious.”
“Okay. That’s what we’ll bet. A day at a spa. Now tell me what’s going on with you and Dr. Maxwell Chandler. Are you going out this weekend?”
“Oh yes. We’re going out for dinner and dancing on Saturday night. He asked me to wear my red dress again. You know, the one I wore at the auction last month.”
“Ooooh, that’s one sexy dress. Better remember the date rules, girl.”
“Date rules?” Isabella grinned. Those went out with the 90’s. By the way, while I’m thinking about it I want to thank you for telling me about the wire cutters. I know my dad and Estefan will try to use that in Pablo’s defense. They’ve been busy taking affidavits of all the men who worked in the field that day. Every one had the same story. Pablo rode to work in the farm bus that morning and when he got there and grabbed his pouch he noticed his knife was missing. The foreman had to find another one for him to use that day. They all swear he never left the group at any time. “
“I don’t have a good feeling about any of this,” Sam said. “My gut feeling is that Pablo was set up and that the real killer is still out there. Unless we find the wire cutters or some other clue pops up, he doesn’t have much of a defense.”
Isabella shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid what you’re saying is true.”
IT WAS LATE when Sam returned home and the message light on her phone was blinking. She pushed the button that told her she had 3 messages.