Once I was back at the house, I pulled out my pen and pad of paper and sat down at my kitchen table.
Now that I was stuffed and fully caffeinated, it was time to draw up the plan.
I doodled on the piece of paper while I tried to figure out how my DNA got into the murder scene. Had Rainy somehow set me up? If only I knew what the evidence consisted of, maybe I could explain it. Hopefully, Trevor would find out from his friends at the station soon.
- Stevie – ask Rainy about him. Did she know Kevin was in financial trouble?
- Has Trevor ever heard of Stevie? Bald, green eyes. Nose leans to the left.
- Call Vic and find out who Knuckles is. Can I talk to him? Maybe ask Trevor about him as well.
- Interview Rainy again as if she was a suspect… or setting me up to take the fall.
- Rose. Find out more about her and Kevin.
As I stared at the list, I shook my head. There were some scary people involved. Anyone named Knuckles most likely knew how to use them. And Stevie, walking around with a gun and possibly speaking about himself in the third person… he sounded like a psychopath.
Frankly, if Rainy was trying to set me up for this murder, I wouldn’t be surprised. She reminded me of a cat. A little cute on the outside, sometimes nice, but she could strike at any time to draw blood.
And then there was the angry soon-to-be ex-wife, Rose. She’d admitted to throwing a knife at him and had said she would’ve been happy to stab him if he’d dropped the divorce news while they were alone. She was either innocent and had nothing to hide or had everything to hide and hoped to throw up a smokescreen by coming clean with her actions and secret wishes of a dead husband.
But what did she gain from Kevin’s death?
Nothing tangible. They were in financial trouble, and I imagined Stevie would go after her for his missing money. The sweet taste of revenge was Rose’s prize in Kevin’s death.
I had no idea where to start.
Trevor would most likely tell me to mind my own business, especially since I was dealing with such unsavory characters. But I called my brother, Vic.
“How’s my little sister?” he asked after the second ring.
I smiled. Our relationship had become so much better since he’d straightened his life out. “Good. What’s going on with you?”
“I got a postcard from Mom and Dad yesterday,” he said. “Did you get one?”
“I’ll have to check.” Since most of my bills came via email, it was rare that I actually ventured down the driveway to my mailbox. “Where are they?”
“Italy. Mom says Dad has become quite the wine connoisseur.”
Grinding my jaw, I couldn’t bring myself to call the woman who gave birth to me “Mom.” She’d abandoned us. I would forever refer to her as Brandy.
The fact my parents were on a month-long cruise using money they’d stolen from a murderer’s home also bothered me. “I’m glad they’re having fun,” I muttered.
“So, what’s up, Gina?”
“I was wondering if you knew a drug dealer named Knuckles. I think he rides with the Sedona biker gang.”
“Maybe. Why?”
“I’d like to speak with him.”
A long beat of silence ensued. “What do you have to say to him?” he asked.
Closing my eyes, I sighed. I could tell by the tone of his voice Vic had moved into “big brother mode,” where he’d sweep in and protect me from all forces of evil, both real and imagined. “I have some questions about his business dealings at Hold Your Horses. That’s it.”
“He’s not a nice guy, Gina. None of the biker gang members are.”
“I’m well aware,” I replied. “But I just have a couple of questions and I’d like an introduction if you know him, which I’m assuming you do since you’re aware of his less than stellar demeanor.”
The noise of his boots crunching against the dirt as he walked sounded through the phone while he whispered a curse. “I feel like I’m not getting the full story here. What have you got yourself mixed up in?”
“Why can’t you just do as I ask?” I spat. Being combative seemed to be the best way to pivot the conversation. I didn’t want my brother to know I was trying to solve a murder where my DNA may have somehow ended up at the scene of the crime. He had this idea that I should mind my own business, and I agreed with him. However, Kevin’s death had become my problem.
“Gina? What’s going on?” he asked softly.
I’d expected a fight, not this caring tone. He’d thrown me off my game and all I could do was stutter until the truth finally came gushing out of me.
“Kevin Cox was killed and I need to find the killer because somehow, my DNA may have been found at the murder scene.”
“How in the heck did that happen?”
“I honestly don’t know.” I sighed and placed my forehead in my hand, my elbow on the table. “I obviously didn’t kill the guy. I think Rainy may have planted it.”
“Why would she do that? And how?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “The only thing I can think of is that when I took a sip of water and then had a coughing fit, I spit some out onto the bar.”
The crunching of the boots stopped on the other end. I imagined him out in the middle of a pasture at Diamond Ranch, staring into the distance, thoroughly confused about his sister’s antics.
“And how does that work?” he asked. “She somehow scooped up the water and placed it in the crime scene?”
I shrugged and shook my head. “Maybe? I have no idea.” Daisy laid her head on my thigh and gazed up at me with her big brown eyes. “For all I know, it’s not mine. Maybe it was a lab error or something. It’s being retested.”
“That’s crazy, Gina. Are you sure you didn’t have something to do with the murder?”
“Of course I didn’t,” I insisted.
“Do you have an alibi?”
I stroked Daisy’s soft head. “I was at home alone, with my dog.”
“Yes, you were,” she said, her eyes fluttering. “Just me and my human.”
“Well, that’s not going to stand up in court,” Vic muttered.
“I know. That’s why I need to talk to Knuckles. He had a beef with Kevin, the owner of Hold Your Horses, about selling drugs on the property. Maybe things got so out of control that he killed him.”
“He’s not going to admit to killing someone, Gina. Especially over a drug deal.”
“I know that, Vic. If he didn’t do it, maybe he’ll know who did. Or, maybe his behavior will be a good indication of whether or not he was involved and the police need to investigate him further. From what I understand, he was at the bar a lot trying to take over the drug business, so I’m sure he’s got a good idea of everything going on there.”
“What makes you think he’s going to tell you anything?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “My winning personality?”
He snorted, then muttered something under his breath. “You aren’t seeing him alone,” Vic said. “I can get you a meeting, but you’ll have to bring Trevor. I don’t want you alone with him.”
“He’s not in town.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” he replied. “But it sounds like Rainy needs to be spoken to again. I can’t believe she’d place your DNA at the crime scene. That’s some cold stuff right there. Why would she do that?”
I explained her affair with Kevin, and her inheriting the bar upon his death, then my thoughts on being set up.
“That’s reason enough to kill the guy,” he said. “She’s framing you.”
“We don’t even know if the DNA is definitively mine!” I reminded him. “It may be a lab error. We have to wait until the results come back, and in the meantime, I don’t want to sit on my hands waiting to be arrested. I must find the killer, Vic, so can we please focus on Knuckles?”
“Let me make some phone calls. I’ll get back to you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your help.”
He hung up and I set down my phone, while still caressing the spot in between Daisy’s eyes where she loved to be touched.
“Are you in trouble, Gina?” she asked.
“Maybe.”
“Can you get yourself out of trouble?”
“Maybe. I plan to give it my best shot.”
“That’s good. Because if you go away for killing Kevin, who will take care of me? Who will feed me? Who will rub that little spot between my eyes where I like you to pet me? Who will I talk to everyday?”
“It won’t happen, Daisy. Everything will be fine.”
“Maybe we should go back to the bar and I can see my friends. Maybe I’ll need to become a bar dog since I’ll be homeless again because you’ll be in prison. I don’t like being homeless. Yes, that’s going to be my Plan B for when you go to jail.”
“Daisy, I’m not going to prison. I’m going to find out who killed Kevin.”
“Well, it can’t hurt for me to plan ahead. Can we go to the bar now? If I’m going to live there, I want to make sure I’m going to be comfortable. I need to explore it a little more.”
I did want to speak with Rainy again, but first, I needed to gather more information. Walking in and accusing her of framing me would destroy the fragile friendship we had and frankly, I wasn’t quite ready to do that, especially if the so-called DNA evidence against me was a mistake. I didn’t make friends easily and only had a few, so I wanted to keep those that I had—unless they’d framed me for murder, of course.
If that were the case, I’d become Rainy’s worst enemy.