A Murder State of Mind Boxed Set Read online

  Ajax’s eyes flared and his mouth twisted into a nasty scowl. “I catch the bastard near them kids, it’ll be the undertaker attending him, not the cops.”

  “How do you figure you’re going to make sure that isn’t happening while you’re locked up in here?”

  “I have my ways. But let’s get back on track. Say I’m willing to go along with you. Just how are we supposed to find out which Brother is hooked up with this creep? If, as you say, he’s trying to undermine our organization, then it stands to reason he’s keeping his association with this Sam character on the quiet.”

  “That’s true. But the cops are betting, and I’m inclined to go along with them, that it won’t take you too long to sniff out the rat.”

  “Okay. So exactly what’s the deal?”

  “Simple. As soon as I leave here and make a phone call, the wheels will be set in motion. You should be turned loose by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Will I have to deal directly with the cops?”

  “Nope. Your release will be handled as a standard release of a non-violent, model prisoner necessitated by overcrowding. There won’t be any chance of a leak because no one will know it’s anything out of the ordinary.”

  “And I’ll get in touch with you directly if I have information to pass along?”

  “That’s correct. I’m giving you my cell number. By the way, my name is Kelly McWinter. No reason for you to blab that around, but if you need to get in touch with me at Central, that’s who you ask for. It’s not commonly known that I’m in any way involved with the cops. Which I’d like to keep that way. Agreed?”

  “Hell yeah. No way I’m saying anything about working with a snitch.”

  Kelly shoved back his chair. “Let’s be straightening this out right now. I told you I ain’t a snitch. I used to be in the narcotic business. That’s personal and it’s been over for half a decade. Now I’m private, and I’m helping out a friend. I don’t think helping the cops nail that perverted piece of crap is going to damage your reputation any, and it might just earn you some points that’ll come in handy on down the line. Let’s face it, we aren’t none of us getting any younger.”

  “Okay.” Ajax lifted his hands. “Can’t say I wouldn’t be on board even if it did require working one-on-one with the cops, but this is a helluva lot more to my liking.”

  * * *

  After making sure everyone had their jobs sorted out for the day, Gillian left Mike in charge while she went to check on Angelina. The girl had been released from hospital and Mrs. Morales had called with an update the evening before. According to her mother Angelina was feeling fine and wanted to return to work. Gillian had her doubts about that, but she promised to stop by in the morning and talk with the girl.

  The Morales’ lived in a small frame house in Haltom City. The neighborhood had a large Mexican American community and it was evident from the array of get well cards covering the hall table that the family was well liked and being given lots of support.

  “She’s in the family room, if you want to go right back,” said Mrs. Morales

  “Thanks.” Gillian smiled at Mrs. Morales and then headed down the hall to find Angelina.

  “You’re looking a lot better than the last time I saw you.” Gillian bent to give the girl a hug.

  “I’m feeling good.” Angelina hugged Gillian back and her smile supported her words.

  “So what’s this I hear about you wanting to come back to work already?”

  “Oh, please.” Angelina put her finger to her lips and whispered. “You’ve got to let me come back to work. Mama is driving me crazy. She won’t let me out of her sight for five minutes.”

  Gillian chuckled and lowered her voice. “She’s still frightened. It was very scary for her—for all of us, but especially for your mother.”

  “I know, and I love her to death, but please, she’s suffocating me, I really, really need to come back to work.”

  “Okay. Let’s give it the weekend. Let you get your full strength back, and you can come back to work on Monday. Is that a deal?”

  “Oh yes. Thank you so much.” Angelina’s face lit up in a brilliant smile. “I’m missing everyone. It’s bad enough thinking about Larry, but not being able to see my friends is so hard. I’ve talked to Mike and Robin on the phone, but it’s not the same. I need to be back there working with them. We all need each other right now.”

  “I understand. We’ll get it worked out. I’ll talk to your mom before I leave. I do have a couple more questions. Maybe now that you’ve had time to think about things, and you’re feeling better you could help me recreate what happened that day. Between the two of us we might be able to come up with something that doesn’t quite fit.”

  “I have thought about it—a lot. I’ve gone over and over things trying to remember anything that Sam or Larry might have said that could have resulted in something like this. I don’t know. I didn’t like Sam. There was something creepy about him, but I never thought of him as a criminal, never mind a murderer.”

  Angelina’s face crumpled and, suspecting imminent tears, Gillian squeezed her hand and spoke softly. “We know that honey. No one expected this. I saw him around the property, and like you, I didn’t like him, but I certainly didn’t think of anything like what happened. Are you okay? Would you rather I waited until you come back to work to ask you anymore questions?”

  “No. Please, I’m okay. I want to help and I’m not going to break down. I promise. It’s just every once in a while I think about Larry and wonder if I could have done anything to stop what happened.”

  Gillian shook her head. “You had no way of knowing. None of us did. We all feel the same way. If we’d have known we’d have done something, but we didn’t, so now we have to concentrate on helping Detective Graham and Kelly find the killer.”

  “Are they sure it’s Sam then?”

  “No, they’re not sure at all. Right now they just want him for questioning. It’s not just because of Larry’s murder. We found something in one of the lockers—the one Larry gave to Sam.”

  “He gave Sam a locker? I never let him do that. Honest Gillian, I’d never have given Larry permission to let Sam keep anything at the stables.”

  “I know you didn’t. It’s one of the things about Larry that none of us knew about. Apparently Sam was giving him money. At least that’s what we’ve figured, and it looks like Larry might have been selling drugs for him.”

  Angelina dropped her head. “I wanted to believe Larry when he said it was all innocent, but deep down I think I knew better. I guess he lied when he said he was going to come clean when you came back.”

  “Not necessarily. I do believe that Larry cared a lot for you. It’s very possible that he intended to keep his word, and that could be why he was killed. Even though he lied to you about his own part in selling the drugs, he could have told the supplier that you knew and that he was getting out of the operation and that they needed to shut it down and get out before I returned from vacation.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “I think it’s possible. Larry probably didn’t realize he was dealing with killers. He probably thought if he told them you knew and he was going to come clean, that they’d skip town and you’d never find out about his involvement.”

  “I guess I got him killed.” Angelina swiped at her eyes.

  “No, you did not get him killed. His decision to get involved in an illegal drug operation probably got him killed. You cared about him, and you didn’t want to see him going to prison like his brother. Obviously Larry respected you and cared about you too. He wanted to change and make a difference, but that’s what happens when we choose the wrong path. We mean to make things better but too often it’s too late.”

  “I hope what I’m telling you helps catch the killer. That way at least I’ll know I helped Larry get justice.”

  “That’s the way to think. We can’t undo what’s been done, but we can do everything in our power to help Gus and
Kelly catch these people.”

  “What about the locker? Did you find anything in there?”

  Gillian nodded. “There were pictures in there and they aren’t very nice.”

  “The pictures weren’t of Larry were they?”

  “No. They were of several young boys. I’m afraid it’s pretty ugly. The pictures make it clear that Sam was involved in child pornography.”

  Angelina shook her head. “Larry would never have had anything to do with that. He loved kids. He was always talking about his nephews and how he intended to see that they had a better life than he and his brothers.”

  Gillian nodded. “We don’t think Larry was involved. In fact, we’re sure none of the boys at the stable were aware that Sam was involved in anything as sick as child pornography.”

  “There was one thing that happened. I never thought about it at the time, but maybe it’s connected.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It was the week before this happened. Sam came to the stables one day and he had this biker looking guy with him. I was in the office and I saw them making their way to the stables. I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t sure what to do. You weren’t here and I was waiting for you to come back to see if we could ban them from coming onto the property. I should have gone ahead and done it myself, but it didn’t seem like my place, and I knew you’d be back in a few days.”

  Gillian smiled. “You did what you thought was right. Don’t second guess yourself. Do you know what Sam and this biker wanted?”

  “To see Larry. I saw them go around the back towards the tack room, and I went across to see what they were up to. I was going to tell Larry to get rid of them, but they weren’t talking to Larry, they were talking to Dr. Morgan.”

  “The vet?” Gillian frowned. “What would he have to do with the likes of Sam?”

  I don’t know, but I overheard part of their conversation, and it wasn’t nice. Sam was talking I didn’t really listen but I heard some of it, they were talking about making videos of old guys doing young chicks, it was ugly, and they were all laughing—even the doctor. Larry showed up and they changed the subject. I didn’t want to look at them anymore, and since Larry was there I went ahead and left.”

  “Could you tell if the doctor was part of the conversation or was he just listening?”

  “I think he was just listening, but he laughed—just like the other guy. I thought they were all pigs.”

  “So you left them in the tack room.”

  “Yes. I’m sorry, that wasn’t very responsible of me. I never dreamed they were murderers or I’d never have left Larry alone with them.”

  “You did fine. Thank you for telling me about this incident. I’ll pass it on to Kelly. I hope our vet isn’t connected, but I’d like to know what they were talking about that day, and who that biker was. Did Larry seem to know him?”

  “I don’t think so, but I didn’t stick around. Once Larry came I figured it was up to him to deal with them and I just wanted to get out of there.”

  “That’s fine. He was probably just someone along with Sam, but I’ll tell Kelly about it and he and Gus can decide if they need to follow up, or maybe they even know who it was.”

  “I hate all this. It’s so ugly. Do you need me to look at the pictures?”

  “Not the bad ones. Just a couple of shots of the boys—to see if you recognize any of them.”

  Angelina griped the sides of her face with her hands and squeezed. “I hope I don’t. It would be too horrible.”

  “Okay. Take your time. I’ll get them out and you tell me when you’re ready to look.”

  “I’ll just go to the bathroom, okay?”

  “Of course. I’ll wait for you.”

  “Thanks. I want to stop and make sure Mama’s still busy in the kitchen. I don’t want her to know about any of this.”

  Gillian smiled encouragement. “We’ll try very hard to keep her from finding out. Believe me I don’t want anything like this connected with the stables. But I have to be honest with you, Angelina. If the media gets wind of this none of us are going to be safe from prying eyes and ugly speculation.”

  Angelina stood, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I’ll be right back.” The girl slipped out of the room.

  She’ll be okay. Gillian observed as she watched Angelina leave. Then, resolved to finish what she’d started, she reached into her purse and removed the two photograph copies that Gus had given her to see if any of her workers recognized the boys. “God I hope not,” she said aloud.

  “Is everything okay?” Mrs. Morales had entered the room so silently that Gillian jumped at the sound of her voice.

  “Oh. Sorry, you startled me.” Gillian put her hand to her chest.

  “I’m sorry. I wondered if you were finished with Angelina. Did she go somewhere?”

  Gillian smiled. “She just went to the bathroom. We’re nearly done. Thank you for giving us some time to talk.”

  The woman nodded. “I am glad. She needs to talk about what happened. She’s too quiet. To me she says nothing.”

  Gillian rose and approached the woman. “I’m sure it’s very hard on you, worrying about your daughter. She’s going to be fine. It’s not that she doesn’t want to share with you, it’s that she worries. You’re her mother and she wants to protect you.”

  “I know,” Mrs. Morales nodded. “That’s why I’m glad you came. She thinks I don’t know how she feels, but I do. Mothers and daughters. Some things can’t be shared. Thank you for being there. Will she return to work?”

  “Yes. I think so. I’ll make sure she doesn’t over do. I’ll make her stop and take a rest in the afternoon. She’ll get back to normal faster if she returns to her routine. Don’t you think?”

  “Yes. I am afraid, but I agree she needs to work. I’ll go now, before she comes back. If you need anything you’ll call me.”

  “That’s a promise. Please don’t worry. We’ll take care of her.”

  “Thank you.”

  The older woman left the room and Gillian sat back down on the sofa. She placed the pictures face up on the coffee table and waited.

  Minutes later Angelina returned and stood next to Gillian, bent over the table.

  “I don’t know them.” Her voice was nothing more than a whispered sigh. “I would have hated it if I had, but I’d tell you for sure.”

  “I know you would. I’m glad you don’t know them either. I don’t really think they’re from around here. No one that has been interviewed so far has any idea who the boys are, or why we’re asking about them.”

  “Do the others know?”

  “At the stable? No, I’ve shown them the pictures, but I haven’t told them why we’re looking. I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “I won’t say a word. I hope we never have to talk about it. I know that might be impossible. If it has to come out in order to catch Larry’s killer and the people making those horrible pictures, then I’ll do whatever you ask.”

  “Good. The sooner Kelly and Gus get rid of these monsters the sooner we can all get back to our lives.”

  Gillian picked up the pictures, put them back in her purse and Angelina followed her to the door.

  “Thank you for everything.” Angelina looked up with her bright eyes, and Gillian pulled her into a quick hug.

  “Of course, and thank you. Now you take care of yourself. Get lots of rest this weekend and I’ll see you Monday morning.”

  Once back in her car, Gillian checked the time and decided that if she hurried she just might get back to Lake Country in time to catch the vet before he finished making rounds. His routine was to stop by twice a week for a general checkup and if there were any horses needing special attention, he’d discuss their ongoing care with Gillian. Normally he’d take a break about two in the afternoon and whenever she had the time, Gillian would join him for coffee in the tack room. If she hurried she might get back in time for that ritual.

  * * *

  As hoped, Dr. Morgan had
finished in the stables and was helping himself to a cup of coffee when Gillian entered the lunch room.

  “Nice to see you Ms. Gillian. I hope you have time to join me for a cup.” The doctor lifted his cup in a salute and then sat down at one of the tables by the window.

  “Good to see you as well Dr. Morgan. I was hoping we’d have a chance to chat.” Gillian filled her cup and took the seat across the table from the vet.

  “This nasty business with Larry has upset everyone. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the horses are out of sorts.”

  “Yes,” Gillian nodded. “That’s why I'd like to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. You don’t mind if I ask you a few questions?”

  “Of course not. Matter of fact if you hadn’t come down here today I was planning on calling at the house to see if you could carve out a bit of time for an old sawbones.”

  Gillian laughed. “I haven’t heard that saying in a long time.”

  “A little poetic license. I believe the writer was referring to a people doctor. Still, as you know the animal members of this planet are every bit as entitled to good care as our humans.”

  “You won’t get an argument out of me on that point.” Gillian nodded to acknowledge his comment and then switched the subject. “I’ve heard that you had some conversations with this Sam character that the police are looking for, and I’m hoping you can tell me something about him. Angelina can’t quite remember—she still hasn’t completely recovered from the attack last week—but she thinks you had a conversation with him and a biker that was hanging around here.”

  The vet shook his head and set his coffee cup down a little harder than necessary. “I was not having a conversation with that moron. I was making it quite clear to him and his stupid friend that veterinarians do not dispense drugs to treat an animal they’ve never seen.”

  “That’s what they wanted?”

  “Exactly. Just like I’ve told the police. Because Larry was one of your workers, and prior to this incident he had always seemed reliable, I had previously agreed to give his friend some general advice regarding a horse that was apparently suffering from an unexplained stomach problem.”