Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 3) (12 page)

Dressed in a dark business suit which probably cost more
than Ridge’s paycheck, Doyle smelled of cigars and money. He leaned back in his
seat and stretched out long legs in front of him, crossing snakeskin boots at
the ankle. “Lounell told me it has to do with the loan I gave Jay Roy. So what
do you want to know?”

Sizing Doyle up, Ridge decided he didn’t like the man.
Lawyers were the worst people to question. Not only did they know the law, they
knew how to get around it. “How much did you loan him and now that’s he’s dead,
what happens to the debt?”

“A hundred thousand dollars and if it’s not paid within
thirty days of the due date, I take his estate. Pretty cut and dried, and it’s
legal.” Doyle offered a fake smile. “Now, if you’re insinuating I killed him
for the land, you’re wrong. I’d rather get my money back along with interest
than a piece of worthless property.”

“Then why make the loan if you thought the collateral
useless.”

Doyle’s expression didn’t change. “Jay Roy applied for a SBA
loan and once approved, he’d pay me. I talked to his banker, and he felt sure
it would be approved. Jay Roy got in a bind. I wanted to help him. We’d been
friends since grade school.”

“Out of the goodness of your heart.”

Doyle put both feet flat on the floor, rested an elbow on
the chair arm and leaned into it. “That was part of it. I’d make money on the
deal, but you can’t hold that against me. That’s good management. I gave him a
rate a half-percent lower than what he could get anywhere else. Don’t forget,
he came to me. I didn’t con him.”

“Now that he’s gone, the SBA loan is a non-factor, so I
guess you’ll get his homestead.”

“No guarantee of that.” Doyle studied the ranger. “Jay Roy
may have enough life insurance to cover it. I’ll talk to his dad after the
funeral.”

“The longer you wait, the closer you get to the due date.
Don’t play me for a fool, Mr. Patton. I pulled up the tax roll. Jay Roy’s farm
is worth quite a bit more than a hundred thousand dollars. Even in a slow
market, you’ll come out way ahead if you foreclose.”

Doyle shifted in his seat, then squared his shoulders. “I
don’t care if it’s appraised at ten million dollars, if you can’t sell it for
estimated value, then it’s worthless. It may be good on paper, but I won’t get
anywhere near the assessed amount. Matter of fact, I could be stuck with paying
taxes on it for years. How long do you think it’d take to eat up any profit I’d
make? Bottom line . . .” His dark eyes narrowed. “I didn’t kill Jay Roy for his
land. I’m as sad as anyone over his death. We were friends.”

“Let’s move on. Can you furnish an alibi for Wednesday night
between nine and midnight?”

“Lounell and I were home. Went to bed after the ten o’clock
news. Got up the next morning at seven.”

Ridge made notes and decided to shift the conversation in
another direction. “How did you feel about Jay Roy dating the girls in
Lounell’s class?”

Doyle chuckled. “Oh, so we’re going there? I’d never kill
anyone for sleeping with my wife a couple of times before I married her. Hell,
if every man did that, there’d be more murders than Rangers to investigate.”

Ridge flipped back through his notes to refresh his memory
regarding the mayor. Three hundred thirteen orange ribbons.
A couple of
times my ass. Damn, I should tell him and bring him down a notch or two.
“Well,
that’s enough questions for today. If I come up with more, I’ll be in touch.”

When Ridge stood, so did Doyle. Ridge followed the lawyer to
the door and watched him leave, then issued a new request to Rita. “Do some
digging and find out if any gas or oil companies contacted Jay Roy in the last
year. Can you do that?”

“Sure. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want
first?”

“Give me the bad. It’s better to end on a positive.”

“They have a real stickler for the rules at the toll
authority. He won’t release the video without a subpoena.”

“Shit. I hate it when that happens. Friday is not the best
time to get one. Most judges go home early. We’ll do it Monday. And when I say
we, I mean you.” He chuckled.

“Already on my list. Now, the good news is the traffic
camera was a breeze. They’re going to send a copy.”

“Great.” He returned to the interview room, gathered his
notes and began to transfer the info to his iPad. He heard the slap of Rita’s
sandals approach.

“Ridge, I forgot to mention I’ve set up appointments on
Monday with Neely Simpson, Janie Sue Clifton, and Stella Chilton. They attended
the luncheon. That leaves Deborah Hessler and Mary Jo Whittaker from that
bunch. I’ll keep trying to get in touch with them.”

He smiled. “Have I told you how much I appreciate everything
you do for me?”

“Have I told you lately that I love you? Help! Help!”
Willie screamed.

Ridge and Rita laughed.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad to do it. Oh, and one more thing.
Vienna, from Gun Barrel City called and wanted to speak to you.”

He grimaced. “Shit. I don’t want to talk to her. Next time
she calls, take a message.”

“Okay.”

“Right now I’m having lunch with my wife. I’ll be back at
one to meet with Kassie Shields.”

~~*~~

Tizzy blew a long, slow, breath across her latte, and considered
lying, but thought better of it. She could spare Rayann hurt and disappointment
for a while, but in the end, the truth always came out. Staring at the mystery
woman’s picture, Tizzy rehearsed the way she’d break the news. Rayann, sit, I
have something to tell you . . . I regret to inform you . . .I’m so sorry . .
Oh, hell, Rayann. Bubba’s cheating and I’m going to help you cut his balls off.

Except for blonde hair, the woman in the photo was opposite
to Rayann. Blonde Bimbo was taller, rounder, bustier. Damn, the bigger boobs
would be devastating to her friend.

“You puttin’ a hex on that woman? You’ve been staring at her
picture for thirty minutes,” Jinx said.

She lifted the cup to her mouth and took a sip. “Putting in
an espresso machine may be the best decision you’ve ever made. As for the
picture, I can’t stop looking at her. She’s going to break my best friend’s
heart and there’s not a damn thing I can do.”

Jinx leaned across the bar and rested his arms on the glossy
wood counter. “What did we see?”

She cocked her head pondering the question, but before she
said anything, Jinx spoke again.

“I’m serious. We saw Bubba fishing and a woman bringing him
a drink. That’s it. Not much proof in my book.”

“It’s what we didn’t see when they went inside that’s
bothering me. God knows what they were doing in that rickety old boat.”

“Hey, I offered to stay, but you didn’t want to. If that
thing had started rocking . . .”

“NO!” Tizzy placed her hands over her ears. “Don’t say that!
God, it makes me sick to even consider it.” She dropped her hands and picked up
her phone again and stared back at the image. “You’re missing the main point.
Bubba is meeting a woman, apparently on a regular basis and lying to Rayann.
People don’t lie for no reason.”

“I agree. Deception is never acceptable, but give her just
the facts. We didn’t catch anybody in a compromising position.”

She straightened. “You’re right. It could be innocent. She
could be teaching him to play the guitar, or helping him write poetry. Maybe
she’s a jeweler and Bubba’s commissioned her to do something for Rayann. We
didn’t witness any physical contact, so we need to investigate more.”

“Oh, hell. Whataya got in mind?”

“Don’t worry. You did your part. I’ll take it from here.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Jinx craned his head as the door
swung open.

Ridge walked in. “Hey, Darlin’, I saw your car and thought
we’d get lunch together.” He pulled out the chair next her and sat. “You two
done following the cheating husband?”

“Turns out he may not be cheating,” Jinx said.

“Well, that’s good news, right?”

“I guess so,” Tizzy said.

“Oh, by the way,” Jinx said, “we covered the Nana problem.
My guy has already disposed of the stuff.”

Ridge raised his brows. “That was quick.”

“Hey, it’s somebody else’s problem now.”

“All we need to do is keep Om from replanting,” Tizzy said.

Jinx smiled. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

~~*~~

Back at Sweet Thangs, Tizzy swooped into the kitchen to make
lunch, leaving Ridge in a corner booth.

“Hey y’all,” she said.

Rayann laced her hands together. “Thank God you’re back. My
stomach has been in a knot all morning. Do I need to sit for the news?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m happy to report Bubba did go
fishing.”

Rayann collapsed onto a stool and put her hand to her chest.
“Thank God. I’ve been so worried. I don’t know what I would have done if you’d
said you caught him with a woman.”

“Well . . .” Tizzy started.

Synola rushed to her side. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Oh, no.” Rayann jerked her head up. “Is there more you’re
not telling me?”

Tizzy wanted to get it out as quickly as possible. She
reminded herself to stay positive. She sucked in a deep breath. “We followed
him to Lake Palestine... there was a houseboat... he went fishing...but then a
woman came out and brought him a drink... they never touched each other…I have
her picture...and I’m so sorry…her boobs are bigger than yours.”

When Ridge arrived back at the station, he found Kassie
Shields waiting. He escorted her to the interview area, then went back to Rita.
“This may be a long shot, but call Turn Fork Liquor store and find out if they
remember selling a bottle of R&R Reserve to anyone matching the description
of the mystery guy. He could have made the purchase anywhere, but since it’s
the closest one to town, we might get lucky.”

“I’ll take care of it. Oh, and Ridge? That Vienna called
again. Wouldn’t leave a message. Said she wanted to talk to you.”

“Dammit!”

Rita pursed her lips. “Who is she?”

“A pain in my ass. I’ve been as blunt as I can with her and
she still can’t get the message.”

Now, Rita’s eyes went wide. “Oooooh, I see. What do you want
me to tell her the next time she calls?”

He clenched his jaw and considered his answer. “You can put
your eyeballs back in their sockets, Rita. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing has
gone on between that woman and me. I’ve made it clear I’m happily married. I
thought I had it handled, but apparently not.” He ran his hand along his
jawbone trying to relieve the tension. Pain radiated over to his ear, up to his
temple and down his neck. He sighed. “Just keep taking her messages. If I
ignore them long enough, she’ll stop calling.”

He headed toward the interview room flipping pages in his
notebook and stopped when he reached the one labeled ‘Kassie Shields,’ #1. No
sooner had he entered the room, she spoke.

“Why am I here? I thought after our conversation at Sweet
Thangs, we were done.”

“I had a few more questions I wanted to go over—like, how
long were you and Jay Roy married?”

“Two years.”

“What caused the break-up?”

Kassie crossed her arms under her breasts and grunted.
“Molly Hix and Deborah Hessler.”

“Jay Roy was having an affair with both of them?”

“Correct.”

“Did each of them know about the other?”

“Maybe.”

The pain in his head increased. “We can go at this all day,
Kassie. Me asking questions and you giving short answers—or you can make it
easy on both of us and tell me the story.”

Kassie sucked in air and rested her arms on the table. “It
started eighteen months into our marriage. At least that’s when I got
suspicious and hired a private investigator. Turned out, while I was at choir
practice, book club, having my nails done, buying groceries, pretty much
anything I did on a regular basis, Jay Roy was playing ‘hide the pickle’ with
one of them. When I confronted him, he didn’t deny it. He couldn’t. I had
pictures to prove it. He didn’t even say he was sorry.”

“Who’s sorry now?”
Willie Nelson screeched.

Kassie whipped her head around, and pointed to the wall. “Is
that a bird in there?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I should have told you.”

“Sorry! Who’s sorry now?”

Kassie stared at the table top a moment, then picked at her
fingernail. She looked back at Ridge, sat up straighter, her face tense with
worry and he didn’t know if it was from reliving Jay Roy’s infidelities or
grief over his death. “I loved him and wanted him to love me back. He promised
he’d stop seeing them. But he didn’t. Two months later, the investigator
brought me more proof, so I filed for divorce. End of story.”

“I see from my notes, you got even by having an affair with
him while he was married to the other two. Is that true or did you say that the
other day to upset them?”

“It’s true. He was my first true love and he broke my heart.
But Molly and Deborah were two of my best friends and they hurt me even more.”

“About the ribbons. Did he wear one every time?”

“He was insane when it came to those damn ribbons. Truth is,
sometimes he had difficulty getting—aroused, without them.”

Ridge’s stomach knotted. It was awkward discussing a man’s
erection. Especially with a stranger. Hell, he’d be uncomfortable with a woman
he did know, even Tizzy. “Are you saying he used it as an aid—like to trap the
blood?”

“No. I’m saying the idiot had a ritual. That’s what excited
him.”

“Were you and Jay Roy still having an affair?”

Color rose in her cheeks. She averted her eyes. “Of course
not.”

Ridge waited for her to look at him. When she didn’t, he
moved on. “Well, I still need to check your alibi, but for now, that’s all the
questions I have. Thanks for coming in and I’ll be in touch.”