Tiger cate, p.24
Tiger Cate, page 24
“Tell her I’m coming over to claim my estate. Tell her my lawyer is filing an injunction in civil court to invalidate any claim she or you or those two other monkeys might have concocted to grab the ranch. Got that? Oh, and one more thing: Tell Estelle the dudes who stole and trashed Bronnie’s Volvo have named her as their client.”
The last part had been pure fabrication, but she couldn’t resist. She watched Hugo press his lips into a line. Then he turned and fumbled with his key fob.
Now walk away, little sister, and don’t look back. She was shaking, but she set her shoulders and headed to Jimmy’s BMW. Behind her, a car door slammed sharply, and a luxurious engine rumbled to life.
When Jimmy opened the driver’s door a half hour later, his smile was both wide and sheepish.
“It, uh, dawned on me that the judge had been trying to get me to take the document he’d signed to the county registrar and fill out a form. Once that was done, it was simple to get the order of protection dropped, especially since,” he counted on his fingers, “he’d dropped all the charges and there was absolutely no proof you’d done anything beyond climbing a trellis at your family’s home. But it annoyed him that we didn’t know this.”
“So, this was a pissing contest?”
“Let’s just call it legal red tape.” He handed her a small packet of papers. “For your files, Sunshine.”
He put the car in gear and they headed out of the parking lot. Cate smiled at her friend and flicked his shoulder with her fingers.
“So, a pissing contest?”
“Yep.”
Chapter 51
Cabeza Valley
Rae
She loped the brown and white horse around the small pen like she’d been doing it her whole life. Leelee had shown her how and now it felt so easy. Her legs gripped his wide barrel and off they went, without a saddle or even a bridle. What a good horse he was. She was riding, and it was so much easier than she ever would have thought.
“Sit straighter,” Leelee called out. Her voice was high and sharp, and she held a long whip in her hand. From the center of the pen, the tall girl guided Cochise around, tapping the ground in back of him to go faster and in front to slow, stop, or turn him. They’d started at a walk so Rae could get over being nervous. Then they trotted, which was bouncy and scary at first.
“Put your hands down flat on the sides of his shoulder and push to smooth out the bouncing,” Leelee had instructed, with Rae trying to obey. It had felt strange at first, but it worked.
Next came the “lope,” as Leelee called it.
“Western cow horses lope and English jumping horses canter,” she’d explained.
Rae listened and nodded, trying to do it right. She felt her brain sucking up all the knowledge. She would always remember the moment she stopped being afraid and her heart soared with those red - tailed hawks overhead. In the distance, a herd of mule deer grazed next to the pastured horses with no one shooting at them and not afraid for their lives. She thought this might very well be hawk, deer, and horse heaven. It was her heaven for sure.
Rae had forgotten that Estelle was watching from the rail until she heard a cell phone ring.
“Hello? Yeah? What — tell me that again?” A pause. “Is that so?” Estelle’s laugh sounded angry, not happy. Sharp, like a whip cracking. Then she leaned over toward Leelee, but loud enough for Rae to hear. Her voice was friendly and scary all at once.
“Why don’t you and the girl come up to the house for some tea and cookies when you get done down here?” She shot Rae a grin and then headed up the hill, still talking on her phone. “Well, I don’t care if she mumble mumble … Great, let her come. I’ll be mumble mumble.”
Leelee had nodded, but her face had a fierce look as she watched Estelle walk away. Rae had thought they were friends, but there was nothing friendly about that look.
Leelee turned back to her and said, “Hey, Rae, when does Desi get back?”
That was a good question. “I don’t know. What time is it now?”
“Four o’clock.”
They would be making the long boring trip home from the dentist in Copper Valley. Shania would be whining that her mouth hurt or felt numb. Gregory would be playing games on his mother’s phone. Rae was glad she was here instead.
“Probably an hour. Can I ride ‘til then? I want to show them and Cate what I learned.”
Leelee looked toward the ranch house and bit her lower lip.
“Maybe a half hour more. Then I have to feed.”
“I can help. I know how ‘cause Cate taught me.”
Another angry look, this time at Cate’s name. Maybe she was just in a bad mood.
“I really think you should go home instead. Desi will be looking for you.”
Chapter 52
Copperton
Cate
With the criminal charges firmly in the rearview mirror and some help from Jimmy to cash her art gallery check, Cate decided a makeover was in the budget. At a walk - in salon in Copperton, she got a wash and cut for a small fortune and wondered what had happened to truly affordable haircuts.
Cate glanced in the mirror at her new look — a long layered bob brushing just past her shoulders, with a hint of the pink platinum kissing the ends. She liked her natural hair color — dark chestnut shot with natural highlights from days spent painting in the California sun. She felt more in control of her destiny than she’d ever felt in her life. Being an artist didn’t mean you had to look like you lived on the street.
On her way back to the truck she passed a tattoo parlor and, on impulse, circled back to walk through the door. Vintage rock wafted softly out of an equally vintage CD player — Counting Crows singing about lions and lambs.
An attractive flame - haired woman in her forties with elaborate sleeve and neck tattoos flashed a welcoming smile at Cate … ah, fresh canvas. After a brief chat, Cate pulled out her phone and brought up the image she’d drawn earlier in the week. The head of a tiger, eyes staring dead on at the viewer.
“Whoa, nice artwork,” the woman said in an Australian accent.
“Can you outline it on my back? Low and centered?”
The woman clicked a few buttons on Cate’s phone and soon the tiger image was emerging from the printer behind the counter.
“If you’ve got the time, I’ve got the ink. Let’s get started.”
#
Singing to the radio on the way home — a local station playing country hits from the early 2000s — she thought about the blank canvases neatly stacked in the camper and felt eager to get started on them. The music reminded her of mornings in California, awakening in the camper to scrambled eggs and conversation with an enigma named Levi. Would he like her new cut and body art? Would Bronnie?
Bronnie!
With the trip to the courthouse and her need for some personal time, Cate’s brain had neatly skipped over the fact that Bronnie was now missing a week. The angst that had been her constant companion through the last seven days peeked through the rosy curtains.
She’d left a message for Gomez, but apparently he had other cases on his plate. In her mind, it just wasn’t adding up that the sheriff’s posse wasn’t looking harder for Bronnie, let alone Margaret’s remains. She’d seen enough true crime shows to know they would need much more evidence to charge Estelle with murder.
Some kind of festival was happening in downtown Cabeza Valley as she approached its outskirts. Cate passed a banner that read, “Save the Rock! BBQ and meeting tonight.” It was the event Desi said Bronnie had been organizing before she disappeared. Cate turned off on a side street.
Ahead of her were cars parked haphazardly along the roadway, their owners making their way toward the Cabeza Valley Grammar School auditorium, which doubled as a community hall. A pickup truck pulled out in front of her and suddenly there was an empty parking spot. On impulse, she swerved into the space. Why not? She felt a thrill of adventure. This would be her first time mingling at a community event in over two decades.
Cate hopped out and joined the horde of people walking toward the auditorium entrance. To one side three well - dressed realtor types — a man and two women — sat at a table displaying brochures and sign-up sheets on clipboards for a raffle. Glossy, professionally-printed posters announced, “Cabeza Rock Estates — Put Our Community on the Global Map!” Perched on easels were the same architectural renderings from Estelle’s dinner party. Cate looked around, but neither Estelle nor her entourage were present. The crowd was mostly ignoring the Estates table in favor of the Save the Rock display.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, startling her — Deputy Miguel Gomez. Dressed in his off-duty black tee and jeans, he looked considerably more relaxed than the day he and Officer Friendly had come to search Bronnie’s house. Worry had creased his face that day, but today he was beaming. Cate did not return his smile.
“Did you get any of my messages?” she asked, feeling suddenly cranky. “I’ve left several.”
His smile was replaced by a guarded look. “Eh, I’ve had to be out of town … but I did hear that D.J. hasn’t shown up at any of the ports of entry. They’ve got an APB out for him in Phoenix. Oh, and congratulations on your assault charges being dropped in court today.”
“Wow, some news travels fast.”
“County clerk is a friend of mine from New York. You got the order of protection lifted, too, I see.”
“Yep, free to go kick in the front door at Casa Finley and get myself shot, I guess.”
He stared back with raised eyebrows.
“Oh, my God, I’m kidding.”
Big grin. “I knew that. Just messing with you. You’re probably a lot savvier now than you were a couple weeks back.”
“I am. For instance, I’m just itching to ask you a question right now.”
“Me? Okay, go ahead.”
She folded her arms and scrutinized him.
“Where is she, Miguel?”
He returned her stare, then slowly his face melted into a sheepish grin. “Pardon?”
“When the crime scene techs didn’t show at the cottage after your visit — didn’t show all week, in fact — I thought it was weird. But seeing you right now? I know how devoted you are to your friends — how far you would go to protect them. You’re too damn calm and happy for Bronnie not to be alive and well.”
Suddenly, Miguel was grabbing her wrist and leading her toward the empty playground. Cate’s heart pounded furiously. It had been a hunch, born of frustration. People hadn’t been telling her all they knew about Margaret’s disappearance, or about Bronnie’s.
“So, where is she? Someplace safe, I hope.”
Silence, but he looked like he was working up to something.
“Miguel, I’m staying at her place and caring for her animals, just a stone’s throw from where my sister’s probable murderer is hiding in plain sight. Please let me in on anything you know—for my own protection.”
He held his hands up to quell her rising volume.
“Okay, okay.” He looked at the ground a moment. “She’s safe.”
Cate opened her mouth to speak and he held up a hand.
“Last Sunday, I was worried and just about to put a bulletin out on her when she called my cell. Said her car had been stolen from the hospital and she’d taken a cab to a motel in Copper Valley. She was thinking about leaving town — grabbing a shuttle to Phoenix and flying east. Margaret’s death and then the car theft — it really got to her. I told her I could find her a safe house in the area. That way she could, you know, say goodbye properly to everyone, if that’s what she wanted to do.”
Cate noticed that Miguel had started to blush and mumble a bit toward the end of his speech. So, they were definitely more than just friends. Probably had been for a while. As if reading her mind, he spoke again.
“Bronnie and I, we have history — back on the East Coast. She was a nurse in Boston and came in to help triage people when 9/11 happened. Lots of guys on the force were getting smoke injuries.”
“And you were K - 9 … search and rescue?”
He nodded
“We sort of bonded during all that. We were, um, even married for a while. Yeah. In the end, not the best plan for either of us, but we’re good friends now.”
There was an awkward moment while Cate tried to envision them as a younger couple. Mic feedback from an outside stage set-up brought her back to her question.
“So, where — ?”
“At a friend’s place in Paulson, about an hour north — ”
“I know where Paulson is located. I grew up here, remember?” she snapped before she could stop herself. All this subterfuge was irritating.
“Okay, well, there’s a weapons training retreat out there, very low profile.”
“Don’t tell me it belongs to another buddy of yours.” He nodded and hurried on. “Bronnie’s got a story you need to hear. I don’t know all of it, but I’ve heard enough to agree she shouldn’t have kept you in the dark this long.”
It was starting to sink in that Bronnie was indeed safe. Alive and in hiding, but at least not another victim of the psycho Amazon. She felt her anger subsiding.
“So, what about the car over the cliff?”
“That was a message to her, apparently. Cate, Bronnie’s in hiding because she’s pretty sure she’s next on Estelle’s list.”
A tingle in her backbone. “You sure she isn’t after me next? Show of hands — who’s been in both the ER and county lockup thanks to that woman?”
Miguel’s steady gaze gave her the feeling she’d said something incredibly stupid.
“Cate, when Estelle had a gun on you at the house, she could have shot you as an intruder. Happens all the time. Do you know why she didn’t?” Cate had no answer. “Bronnie can tell you.”
“Great, Miguel. What fun. I can’t wait.”
A moment went by as they stared each other down. Then Cate gave him a faltering smile. “I’m … I’m glad she’s okay. Let her know the house and animals are doing well. Oh, and more kittens showed up.”
Cate thought about all the emails she’d read in the past day. Missing details about her hospitalization and recovery in New York.
“Tell her I look forward to … to getting some questions answered.”
She turned, feeling the tears coming, and headed back toward Max. As she passed the tables, she saw a small crowd had gathered in front of an empty podium with a mic setup. It looked like the Estates agents were preparing to speak to the crowd.
The sight fanned the hot anger she’d been trying to suppress all afternoon. Those people — Cabeza Valley Estates AKA Estelle Parker — were not going to win. Before she was aware, she had sprinted up to the podium and stood looking out at the crowd. Then she leaned into the mic and began to speak.
“Hello, Cabeza Valley, I’m … I’m Cate Finley.”
Some cheering erupted and she spied Desi’s husband, Pastor Jake, standing to one side with a small group of people who were all smiling and waving at her.
“I just want to say that Finley Ranch is definitely not for sale and won’t be part of this development deal or any other deal. Not while I’m still breathing.”
Louder cheering greeted her as she waved, stepped down, and ran toward her truck. As she passed Miguel, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back around, his expression tense again.
“Listen. We’re closing in on an arrest warrant for Estelle. Do not go up to the house and try to confront her. This is rapidly coming to an end, but, in the meantime, be smart and don’t give her a reason to hurt you, Cate.”
“You men,” she said, thinking of Levi’s comment before he left. “No worries, I won’t do anything stupid. Just … don’t dawdle.” She brushed past him. “Have Bronnie text me about a meeting.”
Her phone read five-thirty when she turned onto Loose Cow Lane. At the cottage, Cochise was munching contentedly in his immaculate pen. Cate saw Rae’s small form racing across the pasture to the pink house, where Desi stood waiting with Samson.
A rare peacefulness enveloped Cate as she greeted Bronnie’s multitude of meowing kittens on the porch with open arms and poured cat food into their dishes. Was this the new normal? She’d gladly take it, for now.
Then a text from Bronnie appeared on her phone.
Cate, I am so sorry. Come to Tonto Ridge Tactical Training 340 Rd. 5N in Paulson 2morrow at Noon. Will explain everything.
Chapter 53
August 20, TRTT, Paulson, Arizona
After a restless night, Cate dragged herself through the morning feeding and cleaning up after animals, checking her art supplies inventory, and straightening the house. Now she was headed north to the little town that sat just south of Interstate 40, wishing she hadn’t skipped breakfast.
An hour later, arrowed signs bearing TRTT in block letters began appearing at intersections. Following the arrows, Cate finally spied a long fort - like building the color of mud and perched on a low hill in the distance. A low profile at first, it grew more substantial as she approached. This had to be Tonto Range Tactical Training.
Then she saw Bronnie, standing in the sparsely filled parking lot, dressed in a heather gray t-shirt with the black TRTT logo, khakis, and some chukka boots that looked new. The woman approached the truck and as Cate emerged she threw her arms around her, whispering “I’m sorry” incessantly in her ear. Finally, she led Cate around to the back of the building, which looked to be part hotel, part institution. Everything was contained inside the walls with no attempt at landscaping the exterior.
They ducked through partially opened gates, past a guard who nodded at them, and finally came to an RV parked against the back wall, well out of sight of the main road. Bronnie opened the door, and they both climbed in. A breakfast nook to their right held water bottles and sandwiches. Bronnie gestured to sit and Cate did, folding her hands in her lap. Bronnie sat opposite, looking uncertain.
