Here Comes Trouble (27 page)

"Good, she's got some callin' to do...I want
her calling every law office in Dallas and Amarillo to offer them
discount packages for corporate groups. When she finishes with that
she can start on doctors," she told Terri then her face lit up.
"I'm going to tell my husband how the cow ate the cabbage too, and
we'll have a full house by week after next. He runs his people at
that oil company ragged and he needs to pay for them a
break--
here
. No discounts for him, though," she said then
threw her head back and laughed. "He'll be investing in this ranch,
one way or another."

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Somehow Terri had survived the craziness that
had been her weekend. Between Curly and Chase she was almost
certifiable. Curly wanted what she wanted, and Chase danced like a
monkey to make it happen, both for her and for his
brother.

Terri had done her share of dancing too. When
her brother had called back to say that he'd only been able to get
seven guys together, she held firm that he couldn't get the
discount unless he got ten. Two hours later, he had ten together,
and she had ten credit card numbers for a package she'd jacked up a
few hundred dollars for each person when she quoted him a price. It
was sneaky, but desperate times called for desperate
measures.

Matt and Dylan had worked all weekend,
supervising the installation of the equipment and checking it out
for safety. The livestock was delivered this morning, and they were
out in the corral testing them out.

She'd watched them for a little while, and
Dylan was damned good. He sat on that bull like he had glue on his
ass. Terri wondered why he wasn't riding professionally anymore, he
seemed to be having a blast. Matt was on a horse in the outdoor
arena with Dylan to help distract the bull, so Dylan could run to
safety when he got thrown.

There were a couple of close calls that made
Terri sure she would have a patient before the day was out. Those
guys were just crazy, and her brother was going to be doing that
tomorrow. Fear shot through her, but she tamped it down. He was a
big boy and he did stuff like this all the time. He'd be fine, she
assured herself.

Insurance!
Holy hell, none of them had
even thought about that, Terri suddenly realized. She ran back in
the house and tracked Curly down in the living room where she was
talking to Chase. "We forgot something!" she told them.

"What?" Chase asked.

"We need to make sure the insurance on the
property covers bull and bronc riding...and what about a liability
release?"

"Oh, shit," Chase said and stood up. "I'll
call the insurance agent and my lawyer," he told her and walked
toward the kitchen with his phone to his ear.

"Good catch, sugar," Curly said and patted the
seat beside her on the sofa. Terri walked over and sat down. Terri
wanted to melt into the supple leather with Curly's next words.
"Now, let's talk about your feelings for Joel. I think he's going
to be released in the morning."

A whimper escaped Terri and she covered her
mouth. "They're letting him out?"

"That's what I hear...but I'm not counting my
chickens just yet. Jack called the coroner and he promised the
autopsy would be finished some time today. As long as nothing ties
Joel to the murder, they'll cut him loose."

"What happened? Did they figure out he didn't
do it?" Terri asked with excitement building inside of
her.

"No, but they figured out they couldn't use
your statement to hold him. The rookie didn't get you to sign it,
and the judge wasn't too happy."

Terri's breath came in short gasps and she
tried to slow it down. "Oh thank, God!"

"They're sending those CSI people back out
here to go over her car and the bunkhouse too. They missed that as
well."

"The bunkhouse?" Terri asked hoping she could
keep Curly away from the 'your feelings for Joel' track.

"Joel let her stay at the bunkhouse, because
she didn't have anywhere else to go the night she was killed. Thank
goodness the FBI group is staying up here at the house, so nobody
has been out there. Her car is still out behind the bunkhouse. They
think she might have been killed out there and brought up to the
house to frame Joel. That's what his attorney thinks
anyway."

The night he let his ex-wife stay at the ranch
was the same night they'd made love by the creek, the same night
they'd gone to the hospital, and then made love again the next
morning when they came home. After he had assured Terri he didn't
care bout Karen any more, that he cared about her, because Terri
had been mad after catching him hugging his ex-wife in the living
room.

What a fucking liar he was
.
And what
a damned fool you are
.

You don't offer a woman who you care nothing
about a place to stay because she broke up with her boyfriend. You
offer your estranged wife a place to stay if you're thinking about
reconciling with her, because she broke up with her boyfriend and
begged you for another chance. You give her a place to stay if you
want
another chance with her.

You don't however, tell the woman you're
having sex with that you plan on reconciling with your wife, if you
want to have sex with her again, before you do.

Which about summed up his motivation and
actions in her mind.

Except if he wanted to kill Karen, he
certainly wouldn't want a reconciliation. Maybe he just wanted
Karen to think he was considering reconciling with her, to keep her
close and convenient to kill her. Terri's mind was awhirl with
contradictions and wild conclusions.

In her heart though, she knew that last part
was not true, she just wasn't feeling very charitable toward Joel
Rhodes at the moment. No way did she believe Joel could kill Karen,
he just wasn't capable of it.

Terri shook her head to clear it. What the
fuck did she care if he killed Karen or not? She wasn't going to
stay around here long enough for him to murder her either
physically or emotionally that was for sure. Joel could find
himself another nurse for his ranch, and another fool to believe
his lies. Terri was done here.

Terri had been through the cheating circus,
hell she was the fucking ringmaster, and she wasn't going there
again. Craig might have pulled it over on her, but Joel wasn't
nearly as slick as he thought he was, and she was a lot smarter
than he gave her credit for.

"My feelings for Joel?" She said and looked at
Curly. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she told her
then managed a tight smile. "He's my boss."

That's all he was to her now. Any warm and
fuzzies she'd harbored for Joel Rhodes had just left the building.
Just like she was going to do, as soon as the weeklong adventure
she'd talked her brother into was over.

If she didn't feel like she was letting Ethan
down by leaving now, she would. If she left she'd also have to
explain why, and Ethan would probably kill Joel. They'd had enough
murder at this ranch already, so she would stay until the week was
up.

Besides, she couldn't let Ethan down like
that, he'd paid good money to come here and spend time with her,
his friends had too. But when he left the R & R Ranch on
Friday, Terri would be with him.

"Rocky is giving the FBI people riding
lessons, so I'm going out there to watch and help if someone gets
hurt. Let me know if you need me," she told Curly and patted her
leg then got up and walked out.

Joel paced inside the cell waiting for word
that Ronnie was there. She had sent word she'd be there with news
at noon, and she was late. This jail thing wasn't working for him,
he had to get out of here, or he was going to go crazy. All he had
was time to think in here, and his thoughts were terrible company
these days.

He kept picturing his ranch deserted, all the
employees abandoning the place since they hadn't heard from him,
and didn't know when he'd be back. He knew his mother was out there
trying to help, but what could one woman do? His mama was tough,
but she was also sixty years old. Those ranch hands wouldn't listen
to her. And he had no idea how he would make payroll without the
money he was counting on from the settlement. They'd leave him
anyway.

And then there was Terri. Since he'd had time
to cool off and think, he realized that she wouldn't have said what
she did if that rookie Ranger hadn't badgered her the same way he
badgered Joel. Never having been exposed to that, he could
understand why she'd answered the questions the way she
had.

It didn't excuse her stupidity, but he
understood how it could have happened.

Judge, Cal and their interns hadn't answered
any questions, they'd lawyered up fast to buy him some time. He
didn't think he'd ever be able to repay them.

The hands basically answered only the
questions they were asked. Yes, they'd seen Karen there and yes,
she and Joel had argued. He'd already admitted that to them. Just
because he and Karen had argued, didn't prove that he'd killed
her.

They still hadn't interviewed Larry...they
couldn't find him. Larry's housekeeper told the police he was on
vacation and she had no idea when he would be back.

"Your lawyer is here," the guard told him and
unlocked the door. Joel walked out and spread against the wall like
he'd become accustomed to. It was a sad day when he was getting
used to the routine at a jail. Barring a few scrapes in college,
Joel Rhodes had lived a clean life. He was a goddamned attorney,
not a criminal, and he resented being treated like one. He didn't
deserve this shit.

After the guard cuffed him, he was led to the
same room he'd visited at least eight times, since his
incarceration last Thursday. He hoped this would be the last time
he had to visit Veronica in here, but he was fast losing hope. The
guard evidently knew the process too, because once Joel was inside
the room he uncuffed him, so he didn't have the wrath Veronica
rained down on him. The woman was a tiger, and he'd come to find
out everyone at the jail knew that and gave her a wide
berth.

Today, Veronica had on a red suit and
four-inch heels. The double-breasted low cut suit should have
looked slutty with the skirt being so short, but on her with the
horn-rimmed rectangular glasses she had on, she just looked like a
hot librarian. Joel didn't want her though, hot or not women
weren't on his radar these days. He didn't need anymore trouble,
and that's all they were.

Ronnie wasn't his type anyway. Her edgy
personality and sarcastic wit were funny from an outsider's
standpoint, but if he was involved with someone like her, he'd go
crazy. He could only take her in small doses. But damn, he sure
liked looking at her.

Besides, he'd met her kind many times when he
practiced law. She was hard because she had to be to compete with
the men courtroom, and advancing her career was at the expense of a
personal life. Veronica Winters was a work-a-holic and she was
ultra-competitive and lived for the win. Just like he had for too
many years.

The hours she'd put in on his case so far
proved that. Forget set hours, she'd been up here to see him
whenever she damned well pleased. Sometimes she pleased at two in
the morning, if she thought it was important.

Her red lips spread into a saucy grin as she
sat down at the table and folded her arms. "You ready to go home,
sugar?" she purred.

"Damn straight," he told her and his voice
shook.

"I got the autopsy report...took a little
flirting with the clerk at the coroner's office, but I got it," she
leaned down and opened her briefcase and pulled out the report,
then thumbed through it. "There's some very interesting things I'd
like to point out. I need to run it by the coroner to make sure my
conclusions have a basis in fact, but I think we've got this sewn
up," she told him then turned the report his direction so he could
see it.

"There was bruising on her throat, here and
here. On the left side, the coroner noted that the bruising was
deeper."

"What do you think that means?" Joel asked
her, not following her train of thought.

"What is your dominant hand, Joel?"

"I'm right-handed," he told her and a light
bulb went off. He grinned at her and said, "So, the killer is a
leftie?"

"Bingo, you win the prize."

"Larry is left-handed," Joel told
her.

Her eyebrows lifted, and she pulled out her
notepad and scribbled that down. "Does Larry wear cufflinks?" she
looked up to ask.

"He sure does...has a pair his mother gave him
when he graduated from law school. He wears the ugly things every
day."

"What do they look like?" she asked and pushed
her hair behind her ear.

"Well, they're gold...square or diamond shaped
and have an S in the middle," he replied.

She sucked in a breath and her eyes sparkled
with excitement. "I think we have ourselves a killer."

"Why did you ask about the
cufflinks?"

"The coroner thinks she was dragged from
behind with someone's arm across her throat," she got up and walked
around the table to put her arm across his neck. "Like this," she
said and demonstrated. "The cufflink left an impression in her skin
that showed up post mortem. He had no idea what caused it, so I was
guessing."