Apples, Appaloosa and Alibis Maria Swan (best affordable ebook reader .TXT) 📖

I thought about it the angrier I became. Was that possible? She set up her lover to take the blame—if she was alive of course? I went back to my desk.

While I mechanically stacked the pages of the report in the correct order, anger and sadness battled in my soul for dominance. All of this was getting to me. I heard Dale Wolf’s unmistakable laugh coming from somewhere... Sunny’s office? I looked up for a second and noticed a tall, lean young man in jeans and a soft leather motorcycle jacket walking by.

My heart somersaulted because for an instant I’d mistaken him for Tristan. But when our eyes met there wasn’t anything similar between the stranger and Tristan. Weird. Where was this guy going? I watched him head toward Sunny’s office. What was going on? I knew Sunny wasn’t here.

The office line rang; it was Kassandra. “Did you see him?”

“See who?” I said. “Oh, you mean the man with the leather bomber?”

“Leather what? Whatever. That’s him.”

“Him? Him who?”

“Alexander, Dale’s husband,” she whispered.

“Oh,” a little louder, “I get it. Interesting. Is it the first time he has come to the office?”

“No, he was here last week. Of course I didn’t know who he was. He’s so, so... I swear I nearly had an orgasm just listening to his British accent. Crap, all the best ones are always taken.” She sighed and hung up.

I found myself smiling. Kassandra had a funny way of keeping things real. Might as well head home. Someone tapped softly on my hand.

“Hi, Fiat.” Tristan’s breath—a whisper away from my temple.

I couldn’t find my voice. I think my eyes nearly popped from my sockets. “I—how did you get here? Oh, my God, are you okay?” I grabbed his hand and couldn’t let go.

“Alexander was chatting on the phone with Dale, and I found out you were at the office. What better way of saying hello without an audience? We made a slight detour, and here we are.”

I brought his hand to my face, my whole being trembling. I wanted so bad to hold him and be held. Valerie walked by. I didn’t glance at her, but I swear I felt the look of her disdain searing my skin. How easy we are to misjudge others.

“Tristan, did you talk to the detectives about...”

“Shhsss,” —his finger on my lips— “not now. We only have a few minutes, let’s not waste them on deplorable evil souls. Can I walk you to your car?”

I nodded and got up from my chair. Tristan put his arm around my shoulders, and we walked out of the office, barely nodding at Kassandra as the front door closed behind us.

TWENTY-ONE

I SAT IN the Pilot checking myself in the rearview mirror. Would they know? Could they tell? My hands shook a little, as did my whole being. And while I made it home safely, the drive was all a blur.

Did it really happen? I ran my fingers through my hair, right where he had stroked my head and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear before he kissed me. We stood between Brenda’s Honda and Alexander’s Jag in the parking lot of Desert Home Realty. Cars zoomed by, barely an annoying whisper against the thumping of my heart. His eyes were soft and tempting, and mine yearned to dive into the amber haze of his.

I had waited so long for this moment, I wanted, no, needed to take it all in, breath by breath, heartbeat by heartbeat. He found my lips and kissed me with such tenderness, my knees buckled.

But he had his arm around me and spoke into my hair. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first time I ran into you on the trail.”

The huskiness in his voice set my soul on fire. We knew we had stolen an unforgettable moment from the chaotic reality of the present.

He walked me to the driver’s side of the Pilot just as we noticed Alexander coming our way.

“I’ll do the proper introduction at a more convenient time.” He smiled. Kissed me quickly while closing the car door. “Buckle up and be safe.” He waived and headed toward the Jag.

And now I had to face Brenda and who else? Why? I looked around and made sure I had collected all my paperwork and personal items before getting out of the Honda. My rental car was parked on the other side of the shared garage, just as I left it hours and hours ago. I walked around it and heard Dior barking. That big goofball... couldn’t fool him.

Tucked in a corner, against the back wall of the garage was a motorcycle. Tommy’s Harley. What the hell was he doing here? Well, Brenda was his aunt, which is why, we were sort of related. Being Tommy’s ex-wife didn’t discourage Brenda from considering me family and vice versa.

I let myself into her home through the back door. Dior whined and scratched the bottom part of the Dutch door that kept him in the kitchen while allowing him a good view of us in the living room. Us meant Brenda, Officer Bob, Detectives Adam and Eve and me. No trace of Tommy. Good. A chorus of hellos welcomed me.

“Wow, is Brenda’s house becoming a satellite police precinct?” I joked.

Only Bob smiled. Brenda pointed to a spot beside her on the couch. “Get yourself a glass of pinot if you want,” she said, “The detectives are working, so they are drinking sparkling water.”

I shrugged and sat. “What’s going on?” I asked, hoping to shake the need to think about Tristan.

“We are trying to make a chart of who was where and when to see if we can get a better idea of the succession of the events as they unfolded,” Eve explained.

“Oh, and by events you mean...” I fought hard not to sound angry, but deep down I was. And I wasn’t sure why.

“Monica, we are going back to that Wednesday when you said you told Angelique about Silvia De Aguilar’s visit