Chapter Four

 

Kelly leaned back, stretched his legs under the front seat and treated himself to a yawn. He much preferred taking a red-eye because he seldom had a seatmate. He closed his eyes and let his body go limp. He’d grab a few winks and be in Nashville in no time.

The plane rolled onto the runway, picked up speed, lifted into the air and minutes later leveled off to cruising altitude. The lights dimmed and a stewardess moved down the aisle distributing pillows. Most of the passengers dozed or chatted quietly. The swishing of the air conditioner and the murmur of whispering passengers hummed through the cabin. Kelly drifted off to sleep and didn’t awaken until the captain announced their descent into Nashville. He’d carried his case, so he bypassed baggage, stepped out the automatic doors and flagged a cabby.

“The Hampton Inn,” he said, climbing into the backseat.

It was still too dark to see much of the landscape and Kelly leaned back with his eyes closed. The pre-dawn traffic was light into town and it seemed to Kelly that he’d barely closed his eyes when the cabby swung into a circular drive and stopped. Kelly handed over a ten spot to cover the meter and tip. At the front desk, he filled out the registration and accepted the key to 206.

In the room, he set his bag on the dresser, picked up the phone to ask for an eight- thirty wake-up call and stretched out on the bed. His appointment with Mark was for ten o’clock, so he’d catch a couple hours of sleep and still have time for a bite to eat before grabbing a cab downtown.

 

* * *

 

An attractive brunette took Kelly’s business card, gave him an appreciative smile and led him into a medium-sized, no-frills office. Mark came as a complete surprise. Kelly’d had a mental vision of a slight, owlish young man with an intense air and serious eyes. In contrast, the man who greeted him was a hulking six footer with a thick mop of blond hair, fair skin and crinkling blue eyes.

Kelly stepped forward, stuck out his hand to receive a knuckle testing handclasp accompanied by a broad grin. “Kelly McWinter, the miracle worker,” Mark quipped, putting the full force of his personality behind the grin.

Kelly smiled. “I see Stella’s been doing my PR again.”

Mark’s grin broadened into full-blown laughter. “Damn, you’re one hell of a relief. I was expecting a cross between Sir Galahad and King Arthur.”

Kelly joined Mark’s laughter. “Stella shared your dossier with me—compliments of your mother—so you can guess what I expected.”

“Well, now we’ve passed the preliminaries, let me give you a rundown on the latest,” Mark said, motioning Kelly to a seat. “I suppose you realize the cops kind of knocked me on my ass when they sent down to Houston for Marcy after feeding me that line of shit about preliminary details.”

“Stella mentioned that you got a bit of a shock when she called you to say they were at the door.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Thank God, she had sense enough to call me. You’ve met Marcy, haven’t you? That girl’s a trooper.”

“She was about done in when I met her but I was impressed. The poor kid’s got enough on her plate right now with a baby on the way, without having to deal with this bullshit. How do you feel about her story?”

Mark’s eyes flashed and he straightened up in his chair. “Of course, you realize since she’s my client, I’d be in her camp no matter how I felt but as a matter of fact, I’m absolutely convinced she’s innocent.”

Kelly nodded. “I got the feeling she might be soft-pedaling a bit on Wyatt’s character but other than that, I think she’s giving it to us straight.”

Mark propped his elbows on the desk. “The problem is she doesn’t have a shred of an alibi. She’s loose for the entire time frame. The only possibility we’ve got of corroborating Marcy’s story is a clerk at the 7-Eleven where she filled up before leaving town. Marcy remembers telling the girl she was headed for Houston and we’re hoping she’ll remember the conversation. She’s off until Monday morning but I’ve already scheduled someone to check her out as soon as she gets to work.”

“Good.” Kelly nodded his approval. “I was hoping you’d have a local guy to check out some of this stuff. I’m at a big disadvantage, this being foreign turf and all and I’d like it just fine if you had somebody to take care of this end and let me see what I can dig up back in Dallas.”

“We’re on the same wavelength,” Mark said. “I’ve got a friend, Chris Thorne, who’s a PI here in town. Matter of fact, I’ve set up a lunch date with Chris so the two of you can get acquainted. He’s a go-getter and a sharp investigator. The logistics on this thing are complicated, what with Wyatt living in Dallas and getting killed here in Nashville.

“What I had in mind was for you to check things out in Dallas and Chris can work it from this end. Among the three of us, I’m hoping we can get a line on something in Wyatt’s background that’ll lead us to his killer.”

Kelly stretched out his legs and leaned back in the chair. “I’ll tell you, Mark, it’s one hell of a relief to find out you’ve got your head screwed on the right way.”

Mark grinned. “Same here.” He got up and crossed to a counter. “Coffee?” Kelly nodded. “Thanks. Just black.”

“Let’s move to the table.” Mark strode over to a worktable piled high with file folders and scattered with scratch paper, sticky notes and yellow pads. He selected a folder from the stack and handed it over. “Here’s an outline that gives you a time sequence of events the night Alex was murdered.”

Kelly took the folder, laid it open on the table and scanned the timetable.

“As you can see, after Marcy left, Alex moved into the bar where he stayed until about one-thirty,” Mark pointed out. “According to Marcy, she was long gone by then. There were at least five other people who left the restaurant while she was waiting for the cab to show up.”

“How long was she out there?”

“She claims not more than fifteen minutes. She was close to hysterics and standing outside where folks could stare at her just made it worse, so she took off down the street. There’s a bus stop a couple of blocks from the restaurant and she grabbed a city bus and took it home.”

“Have they managed to track down the bus driver?”

“Yep but that’s no good. He was a substitute on the route and he claims he was busy trying to keep his mind on the traffic. He says he didn’t pay any attention to who got on and off at each stop.”

“So we’ve only got Marcy’s word for the time she actually left the restaurant.”

“That’s right. The cab driver claims he got there within fifteen minutes of the call and the maître d’ backs him up. He went to the door and asked about his passenger and when he couldn’t find her inside, he walked clean around the building looking for her.”

“I imagine the cops jumped on that.”

“They sure did. As far as they’re concerned, the reason the cab driver didn’t see Marcy when he searched the lot was because she was hidden in the backseat of Alex’s car waiting to club him with the tire iron.”

“So they’ve settled on the tire iron for the murder weapon.” “Oh, yes. No question about that.”

“How do they figure Marcy got into the car? And wasn’t the tire iron in the trunk? How did she get in there?”

“She had a key. She’s already admitted that to the cops and anyway it was common knowledge at Wyatt Recording. Alex and Marcy have been seeing each other for a couple of years and Marcy ran all his errands for him.”

“Did they find any prints on the tire iron?”

“Yes and they all belonged to Marcy.”

Kelly blinked and Mark nodded. “They had a flat on the way to dinner and Alex changed the tire. Marcy says he asked her to hand him the tools and when he was done, she wiped them all down. She must have grabbed them with her bare hands to put them back in the trunk because hers are the only prints on the iron.”

Kelly let out a low whistle. “Which means that whoever killed him must’ve worn gloves and the bastard just lucked out that Marcy had already left her prints all over the murder weapon.”

“That’s how I’ve got it figured but as you can imagine, the cops aren’t buying Marcy’s story for a minute.”

“So where do we go from here?” Kelly asked, closing the folder.

Mark stood up and crossed to his desk. “We might as well go catch Chris down at the Huddle House. Maybe the three of us can put our heads together and lay out some kind of a program.”

“Good idea. I could do with a bite to eat.”

The Huddle House, a popular eatery for the legal crowd, was jammed with suit and-tie types. Mark got a welcome smile from the hostess, who seemed to know where he was headed without having to ask. Kelly followed them down a long row of booths to the back of the room. At the end of the row, they stopped at a booth occupied by a sandy-haired young man with tortoiseshell glasses, bushy eyebrows and a welcoming smile.

He stood up and grasped Mark’s hand.

“Chris, glad you could make it,” Mark said, returning the handshake. He motioned to Kelly. “Kelly McWinter, meet Chris Thorne.”

“Nice to meet you.” Chris smiled and offered a hand to Kelly.

“I’ve been hearing some good things about you.” Kelly returned the handshake and the smile.

“Have a seat.” Chris, looking pleased, motioned them into the booth.

A waitress handed out menus, filled the water glasses and asked if they wanted coffee. They all nodded and while she went after the pot, they studied the menu.

“The luncheon steak’s pretty decent,” Mark offered.

“Sounds good. I’ll give it a try.” Kelly closed the menu and settled back in the booth.

“Make it three?” Mark asked and Chris nodded agreement.

The waitress returned with the pot, filled their cups and took the orders.

“I’ve given Kelly a rundown on the case,” Mark said, turning to Chris. “I’ll fill you in, then the three of us can do some brainstorming and see where it gets us.” Mark took a sip of coffee and started to bring Chris up to date.

The waitress brought their steaks and Kelly gave his full marks—nice and crisp on the outside and lots of juice when he put his knife to it. Mark was still filling Chris in on details and while he ate, Kelly mulled over what he’d learned about the case so far— something he’d heard was niggling at him—and, as he chewed on the steak, his mind chewed over the case trying to put his finger on whatever it was that kept digging at him.

“So what do you think?” Mark’s voice broke into Kelly’s thoughts and brought him back to the conversation.

“Well, my first idea would be to do some digging into Alex’s business relationships. From what I’ve been able to learn so far, he impressed me as the kind of guy who wouldn’t be adverse to stepping on a few toes.”

Chris nodded. “I did some snooping around over at Wyatt Recording after I got the call from Mark and I’ve picked up a few things that might be worth checking into.”

“You’ve got my full attention,” Mark said.

“Well, for one thing, there’s been some bad blood between Alex and Wyatt Recording’s business manager, Mike Langley. Word is Mike’s been trying to buy out Alex’s interest in the company but Alex wouldn’t sell.”

“Interesting! It sounds like Alex’s death might be not be such a bad thing for Mike Langley.”

Chris nodded.

“Do we know what happens to Alex’s shares in Wyatt Recording?” Kelly put in.

Mark shook his head. “They haven’t released the details yet. My understanding is that Alex’s shares in Wyatt Recording were part of his own holdings, separate from Wyatt Enterprises. If that’s true, Alex and Mike could’ve had some kind of buyout arrangement. I’ll see if I can find out.”

“You mentioned a couple of things.” Mark turned back to Chris.

“This one’s just a rumor but it might be worth checking out. It seems Alex was a bit of a Don Juan where the ladies were concerned and word is that lately, his attentions had centered on the wife of one of Wyatt’s marketing reps.”

“That’s it,” Kelly slapped the table, grabbing both Mark and Chris’s attention.

“No, I haven’t gone nuts.” He grinned at them. “I just remembered what the hell it was that’s been nagging at the back of my mind.”

“Well give, man.” Mark turned his full attention on Kelly.

“I don’t know if Marcy mentioned it when she was talking to you,” Kelly said. “But when I was asking her about that episode in the restaurant, she told me that before they had their little scene, Alex had been visiting friends at some of the other tables.”

Mark nodded. “I remember. There was the guy who sent them a bottle of wine. Then... Oh, yes, Winn and Theresa Gordon. That’s right, she did say Winn Gordon worked for Alex.”

“That’s him.” Chris said. “And the scuttlebutt is he’s a maniac when it comes to his wife. Everybody at Wyatt Recording has been waiting for the blowup between Winn and Alex.”

“I’m not finished,” Kelly said. Their heads swiveled back.

“It was while she was telling me about waiting for the cab. She said something about it being the last straw when Winn Gordon attempted to put his arm around her.

She felt humiliated, knowing he’d witnessed the scene inside and that’s when she took off after the bus.”

Mark frowned. “So just where did Winn Gordon go after Marcy took off down the road?”

“Exactly,” Kelly said. “I’d say Mr. Gordon’s movements need some attention.”

Mark reached in his pocket for some bills. “It seems to me we’ve got our work cut out for us. Kelly, you’re going to head on back to Dallas and get started on that end and Chris, I guess you’ll be spending a bit more time with the Wyatt Recording folks.”

“We still haven’t got much to go on,” Mark said, joining Kelly out front. “But I feel a hell of a lot better now than I did before we all got together.”

“There’s my cab,” Kelly said, sticking out his hand. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you and Chris. I think we’ll make a damn good team.”

Kelly climbed into the cab and gave the driver instructions back to the Hampton Inn, where he asked the cabbie to wait while he grabbed his bag and settled his bill.

 

* * *

 

Kelly snagged a seat on the three o’clock flight, then he wandered down the concourse to a bank of telephones. He found an empty one, dug out his calling card and when he got the dial tone, punched out Cam’s number. Two rings later, he had a familiar voice in his ear.

“Indian Creek Hideaway. How may I help you?”

Kelly chuckled into the receiver. “Well, Stella, I see you’ve taken charge.”

“Kelly! We were just talking about you. How’s it going? Did you see Marcy? How is she? Have they let her out of jail?”

“Whoa, girl. One thing at a time. No, I didn’t see Marcy. They’ve still got her downtown but Mark expects she’ll be back home sometime tomorrow. She’s fine, though. And you were right about Mark. He’s an ace and you can rest assured he’ll take good care of Marcy.”

“So what are you going to do now? Have any of the gas station attendants remembered her?”

“Not so far but they’ve got a lead on a gal who might have spotted her at a 7- Eleven. She’s been on vacation but she’s due back Monday and we’ll know more then. Meantime, I’m heading back home. Mark’s got a local man, Chris Thorne, who’s going to concentrate on this end while I check out the Dallas connection.”

“Oh, gee, I guess that means you’ll be wanting your place back.” Her voice sounded so forlorn that Kelly laughed out loud.

“Like it there do you? How about if I give Shorty a call and arrange for you to move into Anna’s place? He might charge you a couple of bucks for rent but it won’t be much. Will that suit you?”

“That’d be perfect. At least here I feel needed and back home I’d have nothing to do but worry about Marcy. You know Kelly, I haven’t had this much fun in years.”

“Great. Then that’s settled. I’m catching a three o’clock flight, so I’ll be home around six. Bubba’s got the key to Anna’s cabin and we can get you settled this evening.”

“Thanks, Kelly. I just hope I’m not putting you out too much.”

“My pleasure. Shorty will be delighted to rent the cabin and since I’ll be spending most of my time over in Dallas, it’ll be good to have you around to keep an eye on the dogs. How are Jake and Lucy making out?”

“They’re so adorable. Jake’s a bit aloof. I think he’s making sure I know that I’m only a temporary replacement around here. Lucy’s an absolute sweetheart. Gus stopped by here last night and he said to tell you Lucy’s owner was hanging on by a thread. I didn’t want to ask without talking to you but I’d love to have her if it turns out that she has to look for a new home.”

“That’s too bad about the old fellow. I hope Gus gets those punks. I’ll give him a call when I get back. Meantime I don’t see any reason Lucy can’t move in with you, at least until we know what’s going on with her owner.”

“Thanks, Kelly. We’ve gotten pretty attached and since I can’t seem to interest you in keeping me company through the long nights, at least I’ll have Lucy to keep my bed warm.” The mischief was back in her voice.

Kelly chuckled. “You’re really suffering, aren’t you, gal? I’ll bet you’ve already got poor Cam strutting around like a Rhode Island rooster.”

“Kelly McWinter, you’re terrible.” She bubbled with laughter and Kelly smiled to himself. He’d hit that one on the head all right.

“Okay. I’ll get everything set up and see you around six.”

“‘Bye, Kelly and thanks. You’re a sweetheart, you know.”

“Oh, sure, soft soap. I’ll talk to you later.” Kelly grinned, pressed the receiver down, got a dial tone and punched in Shorty’s number.

He was pleased about Stella. He had figured she’d fit in with the Creek folks and her job at the Hideaway was just the tonic she needed right now.

“You have reached Indian Creek Properties. Please leave your name and telephone number and we’ll return the call as soon as possible,” an electronic voice droned in Kelly’s ear.

“Hey, Shorty, this is Kelly. I’ve got a friend who wants to take over Anna’s cabin for a while. I don’t know how long she’s going to stay but I’d say at least a couple of months and maybe longer. Her name’s Stella Davis and yes, she’s one of Anna’s relatives. I’ll get a key from Bubba and take her over there tonight. Leave a message on the machine if you have any problem with that, will you? Otherwise, I’ll have her give you a call in the next day or so to work out the details.”

Kelly’s third call was a bit more personal. He leafed through his wallet for the paper where Gillian had scribbled the number of her riding stable, found it and dialed. He smiled and leaned against the booth while he waited for the connection. He was having a hard time keeping thoughts of Gillian out of his head and reminding her about their date for the Stagecoach gave him a good excuse to call. Maybe he’d even get lucky. With Stella settled at Anna’s, his cabin would be free and it sure would be nice to have Gillian around for the weekend. He hadn’t had that warm, cozy feeling of sharing his space with a special woman for a long time.

“Hello! Lake Country Stables.” Her voice, brisk and slightly breathless, sounded in his ear.

“Gillian, Kelly here. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Kelly, no. I’m glad to hear from you. Hold on a sec will you? I just came in from giving a lesson. Let me send her off to walk the horse.”

Kelly smiled. She sounded happy to hear from him. “Are you home?” Her voice was back in his ear.

“Nope, I’m in Nashville, at the airport. I’ll be flying in tonight, though. I thought I’d check and make sure we’re still on for Friday night.”

“You bet we are. I was wondering if you were going to make it this time.” She laughed, a pleased sound that made him glad he’d called to confirm the date.

“Nothing could keep me from it. I’ve a suggestion to make, if you’re up for a bit of togetherness.”

“Sounds intriguing.”

“I hope so. I’m planning on hanging around the cabin this weekend and I sort of hoped you’d keep me company.”

“What about your house guest?”

“Stella? Oh, she’s moving into Anna’s cabin. She and Cam seem to have hit it off fine and she’s enjoying the Hideaway. She’s decided to stick around, at least until she knows where things stand with Marcy.”

“You’re quite the matchmaker, aren’t you?” Gillian’s laughter bubbled in his ear. “I’d love to spend the weekend. Want me to come Friday afternoon?”

“Terrific. I’ll throw something on the stove. Just don’t expect too much.”

“Deal. Although I’ve a hunch you’re pulling a fast one. You’ll probably pick up some takeout and then come Saturday morning, you’ll remind me it’s my turn to do breakfast again.”

Kelly laughed. “You’ve got my number already. I better get off the phone before my plane takes off without me. See you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.”

The warmth in her voice brought another smile to his lips and he headed for the ramp with an extra spring in his step.

The flight was fast and uneventful. He retrieved Old Blue from the Park N’ Fly and turned into the Hideaway’s front lot at exactly five-thirty.

The place was hopping. Kelly pulled open the door and caught a glimpse of Stella bent low over the pool table studying the cue ball. Across the table, Leroy leaned on his stick and swiveled his eyes between Stella’s elevated rear end and the ball she was lining up on the table.

Kelly glanced over at the bar, caught Cam’s eyes pinned to the same spot and chuckled out loud.

“Looks like things have livened up around here,” he said, his voice raised to compete with the twang of Willie’s guitar blaring out of the jukebox.

“Kelly!” Stella dropped her stick and flew into his arms.

“Ham,” he muttered against her hair. She giggled and winked at him. “It won’t hurt to keep him guessing.”

“Okay, tease, get back to your game.” Kelly grinned and left her to it while he joined Cam at the bar.

“How’s it going?” Cam asked, filling a cold mug and setting it in front of Kelly.

“Not bad. We worked out a few details. Tomorrow I’ll get over to Dallas and see what I can find out.”

“I’m glad you’re working on this, Kelly. Stella puts up a good front but I know she’s worried sick about her niece.”

Kelly nodded and picked up his mug. “I thought you two might hit it off.” Cam blushed. “Yeah, thanks.”

“I’m going to move her stuff over to Anna’s place as soon as I finish this beer.”

“Oh, that’s all taken care of. Shorty dropped by a couple hours ago. He gave Stella the key, so Leroy and Marty went down to your place and hauled all her stuff over to Anna’s.”

“Good deal.” Kelly took a swallow and set his mug back on the counter. “My ass is dragging a bit so it’s damn nice to know everything’s done. I think I’ll head on home and check in with Jake.”

“Okay. Will you be along later tonight?”

“I don’t think so, Cam. I want to get over to Dallas first thing in the morning. I kind of figured to kick back and watch a bit of the boob tube tonight. I got a question for you, though. What’s the chance of getting together a small shindig for Saturday night? Nothing fancy—just some grub and maybe a couple of guitar pickers out on the patio.”

“No problem. You know this bunch... any excuse for a party. What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion. Let’s just say I’m trying to impress a lady.”

Cam’s face fell and Kelly slapped him on the shoulder and laughed.

“I’m referring to Gillian. Stella and I are good friends, period! I’ve invited Gillian to spend the weekend with me and I’d like her to get to know some of the locals. Of course, we’re still getting acquainted but I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing quite a bit of each other.”

Cam beamed. “Hey, that’s great news. You bet I’ll get a shindig going. I’ll get Jackie and Bill and a couple of the other boys together and we’ll have us a regular old hoedown.”

Kelly laughed. “Whoa now. Don’t go overboard. Let’s keep it small with just a few folks. All we need is a bit of grub and a couple of boys to do some pickin’ and grinnin’. I’ll spring for the groceries and we’ll pass the hat for the boys.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get it set up.”

Kelly stopped at the pool table to give Stella a hug and promised to call if he heard anything more about Marcy.

Jake and Lucy were on the front porch when he pulled into the yard. Jake spotted Old Blue, leapt off the porch and raced Kelly to the garage, barking all the way.

“Hey, boy.” Kelly rubbed his hands along Jake’s back, rippling his fur and rubbing his muscles. “It’s good to be missed,” he said, reaching over and including Lucy in the rub. She shivered a bit at his touch but held her ground. She seemed to have lost some of her fear. No doubt Stella deserved the credit for that.