Deadly Desperados (17 page)

Mandy grinned. “You had me at spa.”

“Okay, I’ve put my credit card on file and told them that you guys are authorized to do whatever you want to do,” James said. “You can be rubbed, steamed, waxed … you name it. Have a good time.”

“I thought you wanted us to act as spies and question Nadine,” Mandy challenged, shifting in the back seat so she could meet James’ steady gaze head on.

“I want you to have a good time first and foremost,” James countered. “If you happen to find yourself with gunk on your face and Nadine in a chair next to you, don’t hesitate to ask questions. Just … don’t show her our hand.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Ally snorted from the passenger seat of Jake’s rental. “It means he thinks we’re going to tell her everything Grady found out about her husband and ruin their ambush on Mark Nixon.”

“That’s not what I meant and don’t cause problems,” James ordered, wagging a finger in Ally’s face. “Try to get her to open up to you. Don’t tell her what we know.”

“I’ve got it,” Mandy said, reaching for her purse.

“Just let Nadine do all of the talking if it’s possible.”

“James, I’ve got it,” Mandy said. “I think we can handle one unhappy woman who used to be the Paris Hilton of her time. I’m not an idiot.”

“I didn’t say you were an idiot,” James countered. “Just … this is important.”

“And because we’re women we can’t possibly handle something important,” Ally muttered. “You guys are so sexist.”

“What did I do?” Jake protested. “I was just sitting here thinking how beautiful you are.”

“Nice,” James said.

Jake shrugged. “Hey, I don’t want my angel to be mad at me,” he said. “You and Mandy get off on fighting and making up. I like the making up without the fighting.”

“You and I are going to have a talk while the women are being pampered,” James said. “I’m going to beat you like you’re one of my brothers.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Jake said. “Ally, I know you’re capable of questioning Nadine without tipping her off to what we’re doing. I have faith in you. You’re the smartest and most beautiful woman in the world.”

James rolled his eyes. “I’m definitely going to beat you.”

“What are you guys going to do while we’re here all day?” Mandy asked. “Are you going back to Lakin to question Nixon?”

“We’re staying here,” James replied. “We don’t want to drive back and forth and … well … if you guys get anything we want to be able to incorporate it when we question Mark. We’re probably only going to get one shot at it.”

“What are you going to do, though?”

“We’re going to look around, probably eat some lunch, and think about how lucky we are to have the two of you in our lives,” James answered.

“Smooth,” Jake snickered.

“I have a feeling we really are going to fight later,” Mandy said, leaning forward so she could kiss her husband’s cheek. “You can look forward to that all day, too.”

James grabbed Mandy’s chin and forced her face back for a more lingering kiss. When they separated, his eyes twinkled and his smile broadened. “I’ll look forward to the making up.”

Mandy rolled her eyes but returned the smile. “I love you.”

“I love you, baby,” James said. “Have fun.”

“We definitely will,” Ally said, planting a hot kiss on Jake’s mouth and then hopping out of the rental. “I love it when I get to go undercover. Next time I want to wear black leather.”

“DO
you think they’ll get anything?” Jake asked an hour later, leaning back in the booth at a local diner and sipping his coffee. “I worry that Ally gets a little too gung-ho about these things.”

“I have no idea,” James replied. “It’s worth a shot, though. As long as they don’t volunteer our information then we have nothing to lose. If Nadine really does have loose lips when she drinks – I checked and the spa serves wine, so that might be a factor – then she might tell Ally and Mandy something good that we can use against her husband.”

“I still don’t understand why she stays with him,” Jake said. “He’s an asshat and she’s a sad woman with a lot of money. She could do better. Or … well … she could make a lateral move. With that much money she would have plenty of people interested in her.”

“Not if she’s really a nutcase,” James countered. “Maybe Mark moved in on her because he knew she was a loose cannon and he wanted to control her. If she has a reputation for being loony, she might not make an attractive mate for someone who would actually be good for her.”

“I guess,” Jake said. “Still … it’s sad that she’s so miserable and yet she has the means to move away from a life she clearly hates.”

“I do feel sorry for her,” James said. “She seems to despise her life and Mark apparently doesn’t care that he’s hurting her already fragile mental state. I wonder if he and Jessica have some plan to move her out of the picture once they get the money from this land deal.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Mark. I think the parallels in Garvey and Charlie’s deaths are too much to be a coincidence.”

“I agree,” James said. “Either way, we’re going to talk to Nixon first thing tomorrow morning.”

The two men lapsed into amiable silence for a moment. Jake was the first one to break it this time. “Do you want to talk about what happened yesterday?”

James stilled, surprised. “What?”

“About me seeing Mandy,” Jake prodded. “I swear it was an accident.”

James chuckled. “Do you really believe you would still be alive if I didn’t think it was an accident?”

“How was she after I left?”

“She came out of the bathroom and pouted for a little bit,” James replied. “She had her boots on – and nothing else – so I was fine watching her. By the time Mary dropped off dinner she was back to herself.”

“She was mortified. You should’ve seen the look on her face.”

“I don’t think she was the only one,” James teased. “You seemed a little mortified yourself.”

“I stood there like an idiot for about five seconds and then the urge to run overcame me,” Jake admitted. “I slammed into the doorjamb and I swear I thought I was going to pass out from the mixture of pain and the sound of your voice. I was sure you were going to come in swinging.”

“I understand about mistakes,” James said. “If you remember correctly, I walked in on you and Ally naked once, too.”

“Yes, but you’re Ally’s brother,” Jake countered. “You seeing her naked doesn’t fill me with dread because you’re related. Although, to be fair, that was one of the worst moments of my life.”

“Grady has accidentally seen parts of Mandy when she’s naked,” James volunteered. “I don’t encourage it, but I’ve never thought he did it because he was being perverted. You’re my brother, too, Jake. I don’t think you hatched some dastardly plot to see Mandy naked. It just kind of … happened.”

“Thanks for that,” Jake said. “For the record, Mandy is beautiful, but I would never try to do something like that.”

“That’s why you’re still alive.”

“THERE
she is,” Ally whispered, a towel wrapped around her head and a green mud mask on her face. She pointed to a lounger in the corner where Nadine drank from a glass of wine and looked over a magazine. “Let’s go over there.”

Mandy, her hair and face fixed up exactly the same way as Ally, nodded. “Remember not to tip our hand.”

Ally made a face. “Does it ever bother you that they think we’re idiots?”

“Only most of the time,” Mandy replied. “Let’s prove them wrong, shall we?”

Mandy and Ally shuffled over to Nadine, bright smiles on their faces and faux surprise dripping from their words.

“Hey, it’s Nadine,” Ally said, taking the chair next to the perplexed woman. “What are you doing here?”

Nadine swallowed the mouthful of wine she’d just sipped. “I … what are you guys doing here?” Her cheeks were rosy, and if Ally had to guess she was bordering on tipsy. That would work to their advantage.

“My husband was sick of us complaining about having nothing to do out at the farm so he dropped us off here for the day,” Mandy replied, settling in the chair across from Ally and Nadine. “He left his credit card and instructions to make us pretty.”

“Don’t you just hate men?” Ally groused, leaning back in her chair.

“Almost all of them,” Nadine said, taking another sip of wine. “It’s nice that your husband paid for you to come here, though. It’s a perfect break from farm life.”

“My husband is always happy to throw money around,” Mandy replied, hoping she was playing the conversation the right way to propel Nadine to talk.

“Your husband seems to adore you,” Nadine countered.

“Oh, we get along,” Mandy said hurriedly. “He’s just busy with business a lot so Ally and I go to spas a lot.”

Nadine shifted her attention to Ally. “I thought you were excited about living a farming life?”

“As long as I have television I’ll survive,” Ally countered. “We’re not staying in the main house. We’re staying in cabins on the property. They don’t have any televisions or radios.”

“That sucks,” Nadine said. “What have you guys been doing for fun?”

“I’ve mostly been having sex with Jake,” Ally replied, guileless. “We made a whole day of it yesterday.”

Nadine snorted. “I remember those days,” she said. “Enjoy them while you can. Once the new car smell rubs off, men generally find something younger and prettier to fixate on.”

And there was their opening.

“What do you mean?” Mandy asked, feigning confusion. “Are you saying Mark cheats on you?”

“Mark has never not cheated on me,” Nadine said. “Well, maybe he didn’t cheat while we were on our honeymoon. I can’t be sure about that, though. He played an awful lot of golf for a guy who was supposed to be enjoying time with his new bride.”

“How long have you been married?” Mandy asked. “I’m worried James is going to lose interest in me one day. When did it happen for you?”

“Oh, Mark was never really interested in me,” Nadine replied, her tone bitter. “Mark always had one thing on his mind: making money. My father had a lot of money, so Mark latched onto me. By the time I realized that was the reason, it was too late. We were already married and my life was over.”

Mandy and Ally exchanged a dubious look. The wine had done its job, loosening Nadine’s lips so she would talk without thinking. Both women couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, though.

“Can’t you divorce him and take half of his money?” Ally asked, mentally reminding herself that they weren’t supposed to know that Nadine had access to the funds.

“It’s not just about the money,” Nadine countered. “I’m too old to start over again. I hitched my horse to Mark when I was twenty and still pretty enough to snag a man. I’m too old now and I don’t have the energy to go through it again.”

“But … if you really believe he’s cheating on you, wouldn’t you be happier walking away?” Mandy asked.

“Do you even love Mark?” Ally added.

“I’m not sure I ever loved Mark,” Nadine admitted. “He swooped in like a knight in shining armor when I was at a crossroad in my life. He seemed to know what he was doing. He had a plan for world domination, and I thought it sounded fun so I followed him.

“I’m not sure when the love died, but I’m pretty sure I was in love with the idea of Mark more than the actual man,” she continued. “It doesn’t matter now. He has his life and I have mine.” She took another long swig from her wine glass. “We’re stuck together.”

“Can I ask you something?” Mandy’s heart rolled as she watched the woman give up on happiness right in front of her eyes.

“Sure,” Nadine replied. “I’m an open book.”

“If you hate Mark so much, how are you going to share the same house out in the middle of nowhere when he buys his farm?”

Nadine snorted. “He’s not buying a farm to live on,” she said. “He’s buying a farm because he thinks he’s going to get some big government contract if he gets four of them in the same area. He’s convinced it’s going to give him enough money to live out the rest of his days like a king.”

“What kind of government contract?” Ally asked.

Nadine shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s some sort of factory thing. He told me once what it was, but I forgot. I don’t really care. Whatever happens, we’re not living here. We’re just stuck here until he can make his deal and then we’re going back to New York.”

Mandy worried her bottom lip with her teeth, another question on the tip of her tongue. She wasn’t sure how wise it was to mention it, but since they didn’t get the information from Grady, she decided to take the plunge.

“What about the woman Mark was with at the diner the other night?”

Nadine stilled. “Which one was that? I’ve lost track of his flings.”

“I think her name is Jessica,” Ally supplied. “We saw them together when we went out to dinner. They seemed … cozy.”

“She probably thinks Mark is going to leave me and marry her,” Nadine said. “They
all
think that. The problem is, Mark can’t leave me for financial reasons. He’s never going to marry any of them. Of course, he never tells them that before he beds them.”