Saddled With Trouble (29 page)

“
He can stay the night. It’s getting dark and I can drive you home.”

“
No. A night ride won’t be too bad and God knows he could use the exercise. Thanks anyway.”

The house smelled like spaghetti and garlic bread. She walked into the kitchen and saw Cynthia standing over the stove. Cynthia turned, looking startled to see Michaela. “Hi. I didn’t know you were coming by. I’m glad you did.”

Something about her demeanor had changed. She didn’t appear angry any longer with Michaela. Almost the opposite— happy to see her. “I came by to talk to Dwayne.”

“
He’s had a bad couple of days. He told me everything.”

“
Do you believe him?”

Cynthia nodded. “The man wouldn’t hurt Lou. Not in a million years.”

“
Then what do you think happened?”

“
I think that Brad was involved.”

‘
That’s what Dwayne thinks,” Michaela replied.

“
And you? What do you think?”

“
I don’t think that Dwayne had anything to do with the scam. I have my doubts about Brad.” She paused. “But I didn’t come here to talk about that.”

Cynthia turned back to stirring the spaghetti. “Finished. Will you join me? I couldn’t eat all of it.”

“
I don’t have a lot of time. I rode over here and I’m losing daylight.”

“
You sure?”

Michaela nodded. “Cynthia, I know you were upset with me the other day, at the funeral. Why?”

Cynthia sighed. “Sit down.” Michaela joined her at the table. “You’ve spoken with the attorney? The wills and trusts guy?”

“
Today.”

“
Well, I spoke with him the day before the funeral and he told me how Lou had adjusted his will.”

She hadn’t been angry over her telling Davis about the pregnancy.

“
I had no idea that he’d changed it, and at first I was angry. Very angry.”

“
Understandable.”

“
I was angry at you. Him. If it had been up to me and I’d inherited this place, I would have probably sold it off in the future. It’s a lot of a ranch for me, and that Kevin Tanner has already tried to call me to discuss the possibility of buying the ranch.”

Bastard! “You wouldn’t sell this place.”

“
I’ve got to think about me now, but you’re right, I won’t be selling the ranch, because it’s all yours. I’ve had time to think about that. Lou did the right thing. He left me plenty of money. No, not the ranch, but I know and he knew that I can’t handle this place and would likely sell. I don’t love horses the way you do.”

“
You’re really okay with all of this?” She couldn’t help but feel a bit angry at the thought that Cynthia would even consider selling this ranch that her uncle had loved and devoted his life to.

She shrugged. “I have to be. I don’t have a choice, and what good would it do me to be mad at you, or at Lou? He was only doing what he felt was right. Granted, I wish we could have discussed it, but maybe this place was never mine.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Your parents and Lou raised you to take on a ranch. I need to go home. My parents are in Seattle and I need to start over. I’m having a baby.”

Michaela couldn’t act surprised. “I know.”

“
You
know
?” Her eyes widened.

“
I saw the pregnancy test in your trash the other day. I threw a tissue away and missed and . . . well, anyway, I saw it.”

“
And, you assumed the worst, didn’t you?”

“
Yes.”

“
That cop. Davis. You’re the one who told him I was pregnant?”

There was no sense in denying it. “Yes.”

“
That explains it. He’s a thorough detective. He’s even gotten a court order that the baby have a DNA test when he or she is born to compare it with the donor we used. But I assure you, as I did him, that I don’t have a problem with it. I never cheated on your uncle, and he wanted this baby as much as I did. We didn’t tell anyone I was trying to conceive because we didn’t know if I’d even get pregnant, and besides, we didn’t want the criticism we thought we might receive. With Lou being sixty-one, it was a risky thing for us, but I knew he’d make a great father, and I knew that he would live to be a hundred. At least, I believe he would have.”

“
Cyn, I’m sorry.”

“
Don’t be,” she said. “It’s better this way. Makes it easier to leave. You loved your uncle and he loved you. Why wouldn’t you assume the worst of me?” Michaela tried to apologize again, but Cynthia shrugged her off. “I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. I’m leaving next week.”

Michaela nodded and left her uncle’s home—
her
home, feeling like a real jerk and knowing she’d lost a friend.

THIRTY-FIVE

SAM SHOWED UP AT MICHAELA’S PLACE RIGHT AT seven A.M. She’d had enough time to feed and pack after getting up early. She hadn’t slept well; the confrontation with Cynthia still weighed on her. She was just finishing out at the barn when Sam got out of his truck and asked to use her restroom. “I figure long ride, better go.”

“
No problem. It’s the first left down the hall. Use the kitchen door. It’s unlocked. In fact, do you mind grabbing my stuff? It’s right there next to the door, and then lock the bottom lock? Camden might be up, but I doubt it, and I don’t want to leave it unlocked.”

She thought about Brad, and about Camden punching him. If he was the scumbag Michaela thought he was, then locking the door for her friend was prudent. After riding Booger home last night, she’d called Davis to tell him about her talk with Dwayne and what she thought Brad had done. She had to leave a message. Then, when she checked her messages on the house phone, he’d left her one saying that his daughter had broken her ankle at ballet class and that he was in the emergency room with her. She tried his cell, but it went to voicemail. She’d call again during the drive to Vegas and tell him about Brad, as well as check up on his daughter. Poor kid. What a bummer.

While Sam used the bathroom, Michaela locked up her office and then walked around the back of the trailer to make sure all the latches were securely locked down. She was sure Sam had already done so, but it was a habit. When she’d been a kid, her dad had forgotten to lock the latch on the trailer and it flew open while they were on the highway, nearly causing an accident. Thank God there weren’t any horses on board. They were on their way to pick up a few, just as she and Sam were today. It turned out to be a good thing that she checked the latch, because she could see that one of them wasn’t down all the way. She retrieved a hammer from her office and locked up again. Then she pounded the latch down. Once done, she climbed into the truck as Sam appeared. She put the hammer in the side pocket of the truck, figuring it would be good to have once they loaded the horses. The damn latch was tough to get down even with the hammer.

Sam handed her the overnight bag. “Thanks,” she said.

“
No problem. This is good of you to come out with me like this. I feel so bad for Dwayne, you know. Guy is heart-broken. Tol’ me to go watch some of the events tonight. Gave me rodeo tickets. He’s a good man. Don’t deserve this. He did not do anything wrong.”

“
I’m glad and I can go with you and help out.”

* * *

MICHAELA KNEW SAM WAS A TALKER. BUT GOODNESS, who knew he could carry on for hours! He talked about the rodeo, horses, Hawaii, girls he’d loved, and of course good food. He was still talking over halfway into their six-hour ride.

“
Man, tough week, huh? Losing Lou and then Bean. It’s hard to lose loved ones.”

“
It sure is. Dwayne mentioned that you lost your mother a couple years ago. The other night at the Chinese restaurant when you mentioned your folks, I guess I thought they were both still living.”

“
Nah. My mom died, but you know, I still sometimes think she’s around. Too bad. She a good woman. She didn’t have much love for me though.”

His words caught her by surprise. “Why?”

“
Oh you know, I be a big disappointment to my folks. Say I got no motivation. I got to follow my cousin and not be my own man.”

“
Ouch.”

“
Yeah. But I’m good. It’s not true. I got plenty motivation. Like I say, I want to start my own luau now. I could have done it already, if my mom left me some money.”

“
She didn’t leave you anything?”

“
Nah. All go to Dwayne. But I get it. He a good guy and helps me out. He could have helped me out to get my restaurant back on Maui, but you know he believe my folks saying I no good with the green stuff. That’s fine. I find a way. I think we gonna have to get some gas.”

Sam pulled off at the next exit and filled the truck. “You need to go to the bathroom?”

“
No. I’m good.”

“
Want a Coke or something?”

“
Water. Thanks.”

“
Yep. You mind getting my meds out of the glove compartment? I gotta take some now.”

“
Sure.”

She watched as Sam entered the convenience store. That must have been tough growing up in Dwayne’s shadow. But Sam seemed to have a good attitude about it. Still, she could sense there was some pain. Maybe he’d stuffed it all down— literally. She was aware that eating the way Sam did could sometimes be due to painful emotions. Maybe she could get him to talk some more. It might make him feel better.

She opened the glove box and took out the pill container. “Topomax?” She’d never heard of the medication but then, she didn’t have diabetes and didn’t know anyone else who did. She read the label, which contained an alcohol warning, and she noticed that the prescription was from a Dr. Verconti. Wait. That was the same doctor who’d prescribed the Ativan for Uncle Lou. The pill pusher. Sam must have recommended him. She’d definitely be asking him what he knew about her uncle’s anxiety issues again. Sam had told her that Lou needed a vacation, but it looked to her like he knew more, especially if he’d told Uncle Lou to call this doc.

Sam was walking back to the truck when her cell rang. Joey said, “I got some info for you. And you ain’t gonna like it.”

Sam climbed into the truck and she handed him the pills. He swallowed one and pulled back onto the highway. She smiled at him and pointed to the phone. He nodded. “What do you mean, I’m not going to like it?” she asked.

“
Get this. The checks were all being transferred from a Washington Mutual account in your uncle’s name into an account with The Los Angeles Grand Cayman Trust company. And, let me tell you, that place is hush-hush. All transfers were made online. But I got a cousin who has a friend who’s married to the sister of one of the bigwigs at that trust company. That’s how I got this info.” Thank God for Joey and the million cousins. “The account at WAMU was set up online, like I suspected, but you can’t do that with the trust company. They do banking in large sums. They have the L.A. branch, but all deposits wind up in the Caymans and it’s under Cayman law once the money is out of the United States, which means no taxes and very difficult to trace.”

“
You say you can’t open an account online with them?”

“
Nope. You got to go in and do it. Your friend Dwayne may not be the one who put this thing together. Everything I’ve been able to find says his hands are clean on this. But his cousin, Sam, he’s one bad dude. He’s the one who opened the account. And get this: The guy did time a while back on the islands for forging bad checks and for identity theft. He knows what he’s doing.”

Michaela gasped. “Are you sure about this?” Sam glanced at her. She mustered a smile. Oh no, what if he could hear their conversation? She tried to adjust the volume on the phone.

“
Positive. That guy has stolen over half a million dollars from your uncle. You better call the police and tell them, ’cause I’m betting he’s planning to get the hell out of Dodge soon. Looks like he made another transfer yesterday, and he bought a ticket from Vegas to the Caymans. Know what else? That dude caught a flight from Vegas at 11:30 the night before your uncle was murdered. Got him into John Wayne Airport a little after midnight. Then he caught a flight back to Vegas the next morning. Early. At seven. He was back in Vegas before eight that morning.”

“
Oh my God.”

“
Yep. You better find that guy.”

“
Already have, Mom. Thanks for telling me. I’ll take care of it when I get back. I’m actually on my way to Vegas to pick up some horses. You know Sam Yamiguchi, right?”

“
Mick? Did you here what I just said. What the hell is wrong with you?” Joey asked.

“
Yeah,
that
Sam. Anyway, I’m with him and I’ll be back in town tomorrow, so maybe I can stop by and see you and Dad then.”

“
Oh, shit. You’re with Sam right now?”

“
I am. Yep. Like I said, be back tomorrow and I’ll stop by. Maybe you can make some of those cookies I like. You know, the ones you gave to Detective Davis the other day.”

“
You want me to call this Davis?”

“
That would be good. Well, I better go. We’re traveling through the Mojave now.”

“
Got it. Be careful. I’m on it.”