Heard it Through the Grapevine (13 page)

Colt turned as Flanagan and Rogers walked into the room.

“The night clerk said Porter left the bar alone around one-thirty this morning. The manager is pulling the security tapes now,” Rogers said.

“Shit!” Colt raced to the door and flung it open. Halfway down the hall, his suspicions were verified. The camera at both ends of the long hallway had been spray-painted black just like the ones on Lainey’s floor.

“Have our guys print the cameras,” he said as he walked back into the room, knowing it was probably useless. “Is that Porter’s?” He pointed to a cell phone in another forensics bag.

“Probably. It was on the desk.”

Colt picked up the plastic bag and turned it over, hoping to see something on the screen that might identify the phone as Porter’s. Only the date and time were displayed.

“Hand me some gloves,” he commanded. When he had the gloves on, he pulled out the phone and flipped open the receiver. He clicked Calls Sent. Along with several numbers with a Houston area code, there were a few with Dallas interchanges. The last call was made at one in the morning.

Colt hit redial and waited, tapping his finger on the desk.

“Hello,” a soft female voice drawled.

“This is Sheriff Winslow. To whom am I speaking?”

“Well, my goodness, Sheriff, you don’t have to be so formal. What can I do for you?”

“Who is this?” he repeated.

She giggled. “Everyone says my voice is sexy, Colt. I’m surprised you don’t recognize it.” When he didn’t respond, she continued, “It’s Roxy.”

Colt froze. Why in the hell was Porter calling Moretti’s house at that time of night? Then he remembered the pictures of Roxy and Porter they’d found on Tessa’s computer. A booty call? “Did you talk to a man named Quinton Porter last night?”

“Who?”

“I don’t have time for games, Roxy. I know you and Porter had a thing. I don’t care about that right now. I only need to know if you talked to him last night.”

After an awkward silence, she responded, the giggle in her voice
totally gone. “I heard the phone ring last night, but Jerry answered. You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

“Not unless I have to,” Colt said. “Was it Porter on the phone?”

“I don’t know. Jerry got out of bed and went into the living room to talk. I had a little too much to drink last night, and I went right
back to sleep.” She paused before asking, “What’s this all about, Colt?”

“Probably nothing,” he lied. The last thing he wanted was for Roxy to alert Jerry before he had a chance to question him. A person’s initial reaction to something like this was always priceless in an interrogation. “I’ll try to catch him at the office. Everything okay your way?”

“Peachy,” she said. “I’ll tell Jer you called when he gets home tonight.”

“You do that.” Colt disconnected and turned to his two detectives. “Where’s Landers and Romano?”

“Danny’s waiting to hear back from you. Said you wanted him to pull Jerry Moretti’s phone records for some reason.”

Colt sighed. “Damn!” He’d forgotten Maddy had told him Jerry was the one who delivered a bottle of wine to Tessa the night she was killed. He’d been about to call and ask him about it when he got the news of a dead man at the Conquistador.

He turned back to Mark Lowell. “You guys done here?”

“It’s all yours.” The CSI closed the container with his equipment and stood up. “I’ll call when I know something.”

When they were alone in the room, Colt barked out orders. “You two start interviewing the staff as well as the guests. I’ll have Maddy fax over a picture of Porter. See if anyone heard or saw anything this morning that might help.”

“On it,” Flanagan said, and then he and Rogers exited.

Colt flipped his phone open and dialed the station. “Send Landers over to the courthouse. I need a warrant signed for Spirits of Texas and Jerry Moretti’s house. Then have him and Romano meet me at Jerry’s office ASAP,” he said as soon as Maddy answered the phone. “We have probable cause.”

fourteen

The amusement in Carrie’s
eyes faded as Lainey’s thinly veiled threat to inspect the books registered. Her eyes narrowed as she took her hand off the receiver. “She said …” Carrie stopped as if she had been interrupted. Then she turned to Lainey. “Jerry is rescheduling his morning appointment. He’ll see you in a few minutes, Lainey.”

Oh, she’s pissed!
Tessa said, standing up when Lainey did.
I know that look
.

Lainey stopped at the door to Jerry’s office and turned back to Carrie. “Let’s do Happy Hour one day this week. I’d love to catch up.” Despite Carrie’s smile, Lainey recognized the unmistakable flash of anger in her face.

Her eyes moved beyond Carrie to the wall behind the beverage bar. No pictures! That was what was different about Tessa’s office. Someone had taken down all the photos of Tessa and Gracie, and that angered Lainey. Her sister was barely in the grave—actually, she wasn’t, but still, it was a bit early to ditch her things.

“I’d like to have the pictures you took off the wall.” Lainey didn’t wait for Carrie’s response. She turned and reached for the knob just as the door opened.

Her surprise at seeing Tessa’s lawyer leaving Jerry’s office was as obvious as his unmistakable look of a cat caught with the family bird in his mouth.

“Nice to see you again, Miss Garcia. I was just going over some things with Jerry about Tessa’s will.”

Why did he feel an explanation was needed? “Nice to see you too, Mr. Prescott.” She extended her hand. When he reached for it, she glimpsed the look that passed between him and Carrie.

“I’ll need to come by later this week to finalize what we talked about the other day,” Jerry shouted out to him.

Prescott cleared his throat. “Call the office anytime,” he mumbled, placing his hat on his head and walking out without telling Carrie or Lainey goodbye.

Strange
, Lainey thought as she walked into Jerry’s office. Why was Tessa’s lawyer having a conversation with Jerry without her there?

A quick scan verified Jerry had the bigger office since Tessa had split hers to build the apartment in back. Tessa had definitely been the better decorator.

Whoever picked out this office décor must have been high
, Lainey thought as her eyes moved from the orange-red couch in the corner to the solid orange chair in front of Jerry’s massive ornate desk.

Jerry glanced up and smiled, motioning for her to sit in the chair that up close looked like someone had barfed after eating a dreamsicle. “So what was so God-Almighty important that it couldn’t wait until after lunch? Charlie and I were going over some legal stuff that needed to be taken care of immediately.” Despite the smile, his cheeks were flushed with anger.

Lainey perched on the edge of the ugly chair and Tessa moved behind it. “First off, I know you’re not happy with Tessa’s decision to leave me half this winery.”

“Damn right, I’m not.”

I don’t know what makes this guy so stupid, but whatever it is, it works.

“Regardless of your opinion, I intend to take my responsibilities seriously.”

The smile faded. “And you think your experience in front of the
camera qualifies you to waltz in here and pretend to know what the hell you’re doing?”

About as much as watching naked women on your computer qualifies you, ass wipe.

“I’m a fast learner.” Lainey moved forward in the seat. “I didn’t come here to discuss that, Jerry. I came to find out if you had anything to do with my sister’s death.”

The smile disappeared completely. “What kind of jackass question is that? I admit there were times I wanted that woman out of my life, but killing isn’t my style.”

Oh, please. Like you have a style.

Lainey decided to jump right to it. “What was in the bottle of white wine you dropped off at Tessa’s the night she was killed?”

His face flamed. “I was nowhere near your sister’s house that night. Working with her eight to ten hours a day was more than anybody should have to tolerate. I sure as hell wouldn’t let her ruin my evenings, too.”

Lainey forced her lips to part in a curved stiff smile. “We both know that’s not true, Jerry. You brought her a bottle of the new batch of Viognier, but conveniently, you didn’t stay to taste it with her.”

He jumped up, his knee connecting with the edge of the humongous oak desk. “How the fuck would you know that?” He grimaced as he rubbed his knee.

Lainey cringed under his rage and slid back into the chair. Had she miscalculated what he might do? She began to rethink her decision to question him by herself.

Tell him Paul Ridley told you.

“Paul told me.” Lainey had no idea who Paul was.

Slowly, Jerry lowered himself to his chair. When his eyes met Lainey’s again, she could tell he’d calmed down somewhat. “Our vintner is mistaken. We did taste the new wine together, but that was the night before.”

This SOB is lying like a rug.

Lainey shrugged, deciding to play nice cop. “People sometimes get confused about those kinds of things. It’s possible Paul mixed up the two days.”

The beginning of a smile again formed on Jerry face. “I’m pretty good at remembering things like that.”

Bullshit! You can’t count your balls and come up with the same number twice.

Lainey laughed out loud before she could stop herself. Picturing Jerry using his fingers to count was too much, and she giggled again. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I was just thinking I was pretty good at that myself.” She bit her lip to try to look serious again. “So, you’re saying you didn’t stop by Tessa’s the night she died?”

“Hell no!” He leaned forward. “My Roxy thought I still had a thing for your sister. I’m not stupid. I would never take a chance on getting caught at Tessa’s …”

Both he and Lainey turned toward the door as a male voice bellowed outside. Before either could speak, the door flew open and banged against the wall hard enough to rattle the picture hanging over the couch. Colt breezed past Lainey and stopped in front of Jerry’s desk.

He glanced first at Lainey, then Jerry, his blue eyes slit in anger. “Someone wanna tell me what this little meeting is all about?”

“She was just—”

“I stopped by to discuss my new role as partner.” Lainey finished Jerry’s sentence while returning Colt’s stare.

Jerry let out the breath he’d been holding. He looked relieved, probably thinking she wasn’t going to tell Colt about the wine. Her lips tipped in a smile before she quickly turned away. It might be fun watching Jerry squirm as Colt grilled him, but she was already running late for the lunch date with her sisters.

She stood up. “Unless there’s something else, Jerry, we’ll continue this conversation later.” She flashed him a grin then turned to Colt. “I’ll see you at the house.”

Colt reached for her arm and gently held her immobile. “Hold it, Lainey.” He squinted. “You’re sure this was strictly business?”

He was standing so close that when she looked up, she noticed a tiny knick on his chin. He must have cut himself shaving this morning. She zeroed in on his lips, afraid he’d see right through her lie if she looked into his eyes.

Big mistake! She found herself lost in those luscious lips, envisioning what it would be like to have them all over her face, her body.

“Lainey!”

She jerked upright, a rude ending to the wonderful fantasy. “Of course, it was business. What else could it be?”

He stared hard, as if searching for the truth beyond her eyes. Lainey gulped, knowing she was busted, waiting for him to blast her for interfering in his investigation.

Again!

When he didn’t, she pulled out of his grasp and walked to the door. Before she exited, she glanced back as Colt slammed a piece of paper in front of Jerry.

“I need you and Carrie to sit quietly in the front office. This is a warrant to search the place.”

Jerry’s mouth fell open wide enough that a quarterback could have used it to practice his throws. When his eyes met Lainey’s in an accusatory stare, she flipped her finger off her forehead in a salute and exited. She couldn’t wait to tell her sisters.

_____

By the time Colt and his men finished with Spirits of Texas, he was craving a long tall one. He glanced at his watch, wishing it was closer to the time he could actually indulge himself. Today had been one for the record books. He hadn’t seen this much action in Vineyard in the eight years he’d been on the force.

“Now that you’ve torn the place apart and found nothing, I suppose you’ll go on over to the house and tear that up, too,” Jerry snarled, his eyes sending daggers.

“Don’t need to. My men are there now.”

“Goddamn it, Colt! I told you I had nothing to do with Tessa’s death. Why can’t you believe me?”

Colt whirled around to face him. “Oh, I don’t know, Jer. Maybe because just about everything you’ve told me so far has been a lie. Makes it kinda hard to believe anything you say.”

Jerry opened his mouth, then must have thought better of it and slammed it shut, crossing his arms tightly across his chest instead. “I’m telling the truth, Colt. You can ask Roxy.”

“I already did.” Colt knew he shouldn’t enjoy watching the outrage spread across Jerry’s face as much as he did.

“What’s going on here?” David Rivera asked as he pushed through
the front door. “Looks like every police car in Vineyard is parked out front.”

“Not all of them,” Jerry commented, sending more daggers Colt’s way.

“I called David to talk some sense into you, Colt,” Carrie said. “Why in the world would you ransack this office? What could you possibly be looking for?”

Colt acknowledged David with a nod before turning to Carrie and Moretti. “Did you know a purchase of cyanide was made from Tessa’s laptop two weeks ago?”

“I knew it,” Jerry shouted, jumping up from the couch. “The bitch went and killed herself just to spite me.”

Colt took a step toward Jerry who slumped back down on the couch. “That’s one angle. More likely someone used her computer and the company credit card.”

“Tessa would never kill herself,” Carrie said, standing up and moving
toward David. “You must be mistaken, Colt.”

“Oh, yes she would if she thought it would hurt me somehow,” Jerry said.

“Not everything is about you, Moretti,” Colt reprimanded.

“Are you through here, Colt?” David asked. “I’d like to take Carrie to lunch unless you have other plans for her.”

Colt met his stare. If there was ever any doubt whether or not David still held a grudge after all these years, his body language coupled with the double entendre made it crystal clear. Once best friends, they rarely spoke now.

Colt’s expression grew somber as he remembered the old David.
Six feet four, he’d been the star wide receiver, as well as district All-American point guard for the Vineyard Panthers. He had it all—good looks, decent grades, and the prettiest girl in Vineyard by his side. Then he blew out his knee in the state semifinals senior year, and suddenly, he was no longer a “big man on campus.”

Graduating with honors several months after Tessa and Colt’s wedding, David then moved back to Vineyard and worked his way up the city management chain. Colt had tried to rekindle the friendship, especially after he and Tessa divorced, but David wanted nothing to do with him.

Who could blame him?

“Carrie can leave,” Colt said, choosing the high ground and not commenting on David’s last remark. He turned to Jerry and flipped his thumb toward the office. “I need to talk to you in there, Moretti.”

“Come on.” David reached for Carrie’s arm. “Let’s allow the sheriff
to earn his salary.” His face curved in a grin, but his dark eyes remained angry.

Good thing the people of Vineyard voted me in as sheriff
, Colt thought.

If David was able to use his power as city manager to have a say so over the police department, Colt knew he would be out on his ass for sure. A disturbing thought crossed Colt’s mind as he realized he wasn’t trained to do anything else. He’d left school in the middle of his senior year after his father died, leaving behind his dream of becoming a veterinarian.

Before it was all said and done, he’d realized what The Rolling Stones sang about years ago—
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
—was true. He’d gone back to UT Arlington for his criminal justice degree and never looked back.

At the time, leaving his mother alone to struggle through the funeral and all the legal stuff that followed had not been an option. His mother had been lost, had no clue how to even pay bills.

He’d planned to go back to school the following semester after he’d taught her enough to survive until he graduated. That was before she fell and broke her hip. An only child, the responsibility for her had fallen squarely on his shoulders, not that he’d minded. He loved his mother and would have done anything for her.

But even his mother couldn’t help him through his grief over the loss of his father, couldn’t stop the loneliness that ate at his heart. While his friends were partying at school, he was stuck in Vineyard taking care of his mother. If it hadn’t been for Tessa also leaving school, Colt knew he would have gone stir crazy.

Waking up beside her after an all-night pity party had scared the hell out of them both and in the end, ruined their friendship. He’d found himself more alone than ever, responsible for an unborn child as well as an invalid mother and filled with resentment for having to give up his dream.

But he’d thrown himself into his own investigation to find the person who had run down his father on the back road by their house and left him there to die. After six months, he’d discovered
an out-of-the-way body shop and managed to get friendly with the
owner who bragged about getting paid double for doing after-hours
body work on a Mercedes in some guy’s garage. Colt found out the man was an attorney with two prior DWIs that had been pleaded down to misdemeanors.