No Getting Over A Cowboy

“There are some in a few of the dressers and trunks, but I doubt he undressed and put his things away.”

“No. Unless he was staying there. That’s possible, of course, but it’s more likely that someone moved the clothes.”

She was glad he didn’t spell that out for her, but Nicky’s mind began to race with some really bad ideas. Like maybe the clothes had been blood-soaked or had bullet holes in them.

“If there’s no ID and you can’t get his prints, how will you figure out who he is?” she asked.

“I might not. That’s the way these things turn out sometimes. Of course, I’ll keep looking through the missing person’s database. The Ranger lab might be able to do facial reconstruction, too. Until then, I’ll keep following what little evidence I have. The guy didn’t have any unusual dental work, metal plates or prosthetics, but he was wearing a wedding band.”

That got her attention. She certainly hadn’t noticed a ring when she’d seen the body, but then she hadn’t lingered around for a long look. “He was married,” she mumbled.

“Sure looks that way. The band was yellow gold,” Clay continued. “And it had the words forever wrapped around you engraved inside it.”

Nicky felt her heart flutter. Not in a good way, either. Because those were lovers’ words. Unless it referred literally to the ring, that is. But she doubted it. No, this was likely a declaration of love.

“He was really married,” she repeated. Nicky hadn’t meant for there to be that much emotion in her voice. Emotion that Clay must have noticed.

“Are you okay?” Clay asked.

She quickly tried to regain her composure. Also quickly tried to figure out how to get this conversation back on track. A track that didn’t include transferring her own feelings onto this situation. “I’m fine. I was thinking, though, that his being married could be a motive for murder, right?”

“Could be. Maybe a jealous wife. Maybe a lover who got fed up waiting for him to get a divorce. I’m interviewing some folks today who knew Matilda. That doesn’t mean she had anything to do with this. Won’t know that until the ME can come up with a time of death.”

Yes, that would certainly help narrow down the list of people who might have had something to do with this. Unless the John Doe was just some trespasser. One who’d gone into the house, stripped off most his clothes and gone into a closet to die.

“By the way, I just told Garrett all of this,” Clay added. “He’s not giving you any updates?”

Nicky hesitated. “No.”

Even though it was only a one-word response, the chief must have filled in the blanks. “He’s still not too happy about you and the other widows being there.”

Bingo. “There are a lot of us.”

“Well, don’t take it personally. Garrett just has a lot on his mind these days. Plus, he might be having flashbacks when he sees your daughter.”

“Flashbacks?” she blurted out.

Silence. Followed by some mumbled profanity. “I’ve said too much. I’ll call you if I get any other information on the case. Oh, and first chance you get, I need you to drop by my office and sign the report on the dead guy. Loretta’s already come in, but I’ll need you to, as well.” And before Nicky could say anything else, Clay hung up.

She stared at the phone and glanced outside again. Gina was obviously trying to coax Kaylee away from Garrett, but her daughter had something in her hand that she was showing him. Nicky saw it then. The look on his face, the need to detach from this situation. Did that have something to do with the flashbacks the chief had just mentioned? If Clay hadn’t added her daughter to that slipped remark, Nicky might have thought this had something to do with Meredith’s sex tape, but it had to be more than that.

Nicky scrolled through her recent calls and texts. Two missed calls and three unanswered texts from Meredith. Maybe it was time to quit skirting around the woman, especially since Meredith might know what was going on. Nicky didn’t feel especially good about contacting the woman simply to pump her for information, but she wanted the big picture of what she was up against here. If her being here was causing Garrett real mental anguish, then she needed to find a way to get all the widows, herself included, out of there ASAP.

She made another check out the window first. Gina had Kaylee by the hand and was leading her back toward the house. Garrett was still there. Not alone, though. One of the women was talking to him.

Lady Romero, the prescription drug overdose widow, who owned a tow truck business. One that specialized in tacky slogans.

Lady was young, beautiful and, on the surface, didn’t seem to be mourning as much as her fellow widows. In fact, at the moment she didn’t seem to be mourning at all. She was smiling and touching the front of Garrett’s shirt, and even though Nicky couldn’t actually see the woman’s face, she thought maybe some eyelash batting was going on.

Oh, well. Garrett was a big boy and could take care of himself. He definitely didn’t need her to come to the rescue.

Meredith answered on the first ring, and she obviously knew who was calling. “Nicky, thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“Sorry, I’ve been really busy—”

“Yes, I heard about the dead man in Z.T.’s house,” Meredith continued. Which was probably a good thing because that prevented Nicky from whining about everything that’d gone on. “You must have been terrified.”

“More shocked than anything else—”

“I would have screamed my head off.” Again, the interruption was good because Meredith didn’t need to hear about her dignity-reducing stomach issues. “It’s awful, just awful. Does this mean you won’t be opening the Widows’ House?”

“I’m still waiting to hear what the police chief has to say, but I think the widows and I will be able to move in soon. Why—?”

“Clay,” Meredith said. “He’s the police chief, and he’s engaged to Sophie. You remember her, right? Yes, I’m sure you do even though she was four years younger than us. I always felt as if Sophie was more like a sister to me than a sister-in-law.”

This time the interruption wasn’t so welcome because Nicky had been about to ask her the critical question—what the heck was going on with Garrett?

But Meredith remedied that when she continued. “Have you talked to Garrett since you’ve been at the ranch?”

“A couple of times. Not for long, though. He was at the house when one of the widows found the body.”

“Loretta,” Meredith provided. “When you didn’t answer my call or texts, I phoned one of the Ellery sisters, and she filled me in. Poor Loretta. Poor you! My God, your daughter didn’t see that, did she?”

“No.”

And this conversation was sounding a little too friendly for Nicky. Not that she minded friendliness, but it felt strange coming from Meredith. Over the past seventeen years, they’d seen each other three times. Once at a fund-raiser. Then a second time when Nicky had run into Meredith in a restaurant. That’s why it’d surprised her when Meredith had shown up at the widow’s support group.

It surprised Nicky even more, though, when she’d found out what Meredith had wanted.

The woman made a sound of relief over Kaylee not seeing the body, and this time it was Nicky who interrupted her. “Look, Meredith, I’ve considered what we talked about at the support group meeting, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay at the Widows’ House.”

Silence. For a long time. “I see.” More silence. “I know I’m a divorcée and not a widow, but I can promise you I need the therapy and quiet time as much as the rest of you. I’ve been through a lot, Nicky.”

She didn’t doubt that, and Nicky wasn’t immune to the emotion she heard in Meredith’s voice. A nasty divorce was a nasty thing. But Nicky also knew Meredith had brought some of that nastiness on herself. Unless...

Nicky went back to what Clay had said about the flashbacks.

She hadn’t exactly spent much time combing the internet for info about Garrett and Meredith. A friend had sent her the sex video, and Nicky had read some articles about the troubles with the Granger family business. Trouble that had now been resolved, apparently, but she’d purposely avoided anything personal. Maybe that had been a mistake.

“Do you think Garrett will have any trouble being around Kaylee?” Nicky came out and asked. It was an out-and-out fishing expedition, and she didn’t expect much. She got plenty though.

“Maybe,” Meredith said right off. But like before, she paused. “Garrett hasn’t said anything about our daughter?”

Daughter? “Uh, no.”

“Well, he probably won’t. We lost her, you see. Stillborn. And Garrett was never the same after that. Neither was I,” she admitted, and Nicky thought the woman might be crying or close to it. “Anyway, Kaylee and our little girl would have been about the same age.”

Mercy. Yes, that definitely explained the flashback comment. “I’m so sorry,” Nicky said.