Apples, Appaloosa and Alibis by Maria Swan (feel good novels TXT) 📕

Phoenix for cancer treatment. Either way, my life is over. I must make things right if I still can. Angelique lied about your father and about the wedding, she bribed people to help her with the lies. But more bad things are happening now, and you must know. Rogelio was to be seven years in prison. He only has one year left, and when he is out, he will come after you, Mr. Dumont, because Angelique told him if you die, she will inherit all your money. I beg you to protect yourself. I’m sending this letter to the young real estate lady so she can give it to you as I don’t know where you are or when you will be back.

Please forgive me for not doing the right thing sooner. All this is the truth.

Be afraid and save yourself from Angelique and Rogelio.

God Bless you.

Tristan pushed the letter away, no one spoke.

I waited for him to say something, anything. He obviously had a lot more self-control than I would. My hands shook, not sure why. I searched for soothing words, but honestly the ones lining up in my mind weren’t soothing, and they were all directed at the one person who seemed to fill the room with her absence. Angelique. I couldn’t even reach out and pat Tristan’s hand, afraid that would be the spark to start the fire and by fire, I meant all his bottled-up hurt exploding.

A phone rang somewhere in the next room. Still, no one budged.

Then Tristan looked up, directly at Detective Ross. Searching for some mysterious sign? Maybe it was a man thing because the detective responded to it.

“It’s true, we checked. Rogelio Avondo, two years younger than the victim. They shared the same mother.” He took a step toward the table where Tristan and I sat and handed each one of us a black-and-white photo of a man. “That’s Rogelio Avondo’s most recent mug shot. Look familiar?” he asked. “Take your time. It’s very important.”

The man in the photo staring back at me was maybe late-forties? His straight dark hair was combed back, his face a little on the chubby side. The only striking features were his eyes. I couldn’t say if they were blue, green, or gray, definitely on the light side, and they had a look of defiance. It was hard to explain, but a shiver ran up my spine, and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stiffen. The man exuded cruelty.

“No.” I gulped. “No, I’m sure I’ve never seen him. Didn’t you say he’s in prison? In Mexico?”

“Was,” Detective Ross said. “He was able to get an early release by using the family emergency. His brother-in-law’s and his nephew’s death, added to his sister, Silvia De Aguilar’s terminal cancer. We don’t know who he paid off to push that through. But he did, and now he could be anywhere. Even here in Phoenix.” He tapped his index finger on the edge of the photo.

I couldn’t get enough air. All these horrible things, one after the other. Why now?

Tristan stirred in his chair. “Do you think he’s the one? Would he kill his own sister?” He paused. “That would have put him in my home.” He kept his eyes on the detective. Hoping for a denial? His voice sounded calm, a weird calm. He had to be both hurting and mad as hell, especially at Angelique. OMG! This was horrible, mad at Angelique and probably feeling guilty about not being there for his dad when he needed him most. At least that’s how I would feel. So much betrayal.

“We didn’t find anything to support that. No fingerprints or DNA. Then again, when we went through your house, we didn’t know about Rogelio Avondo’s existence. Our plan is to send someone over to the residence for a more detailed search. I assume you’ll want to discuss this matter with your—wife, first?”

Tristan’s body stiffened, and he looked at Ross with such intensity that the detective averted his eyes. “No.” Tristan’s cool as ice attitude was back. “I don’t have to explain anything to Angelique. I’ll leave that pleasure to the detectives.”

Ross and Reid turned to look at him simultaneously.

“I will give you my lawyer’s phone number in case you have questions regarding Angelique’s present status in the United States. Feel free to search, interrogate, arrest.” He paused, a puzzling half smile. “Mi casa es su casa,” he added to the surprised expression on the detectives’ faces.

And just like that I knew they were all rooting for him.

“If it’s okay with you, I would rather drive down to the ranch and get my horse. The caretakers called just before you did, and they have concerns about missing money and the horses not being cared for. It’s my responsibility. I’m also concerned about Lois Thomas. She has been working for us for about three years and has always been very dependable. If she’s not answering her calls, something may have happened.” The way Tristan spoke I had the feeling he had already made up his mind about going down to the ranch before ever arriving at the police station.

“Hmm. I—I spoke to Brenda today, and she said she was packing her stuff and coming back to Phoenix.” Why did I say that? It suddenly seemed important for me to share.

“Perhaps I should go down to this ranch with them,” Officer Clarke said. And I felt like hugging him. Wait... he’d said “them.” Was he inviting me along?

“I’m sure Brenda would appreciate that,” I said. “She sounded very concerned when I spoke to her. She shared some of the things Tristan just mentioned. Missing money, horses not cared for and Lois’ absence. ”

“I’ll be driving the horse trailer back to Phoenix, and it’s not a leisurely type of ride.” Tristan stroked the back of my hand—was he talking to me? His amber eyes had surrendered the sparkle to that dark, deep sorrow I’d glimpsed once long ago when I visited