Peter Decker 3-Book Thriller Collection: False Prophet, Grievous Sin, Sanctuary

“I don’t know …” Decker exhaled forcibly. “Call it a gut feeling, but I just don’t see Totes … fuck my gut feeling. Let’s see if we can find any paper on Totes. Any sudden influx of cash.”

Marge said, “I’ll keep digging. God, what a mess. We got Totes, Merritt, Ness—”

“You know Ness dropped by the place today. Said he came by to pick veggies, that he had done it before. He was awfully curious about what happened. He claimed he was at the spa all morning. Now the spa and the ranch are five minutes apart?”

“About.”

“Conceivably, he could have come down and dusted the horse’s fodder and slipped away unnoticed.”

“Totes was around—”

“Suppose Totes was in the corral working out one of the horses. Ness could have been in and out in five minutes. That would give him access and means for the crime.”

Marge said, “And talk about motivation, as in money. Ness is definitely buyable. When I talked to him, he frothed at the mouth at the thought of owning a spa like VALCAN.”

Decker asked, “Maybe Kingston Merritt was paying Ness and not Totes to drug the horse. Could those two be working together?”

Marge said, “You know, when the altercation occurred between Freddy and Kingston, Ness stepped in. He was talking to Kingston like he was a stranger … but in my mind, they looked like they knew each other.”

“Hey, it would fit nicely with my theory that the case was an inside job.”

“And I could see Ness giving a horse Angel Dust. He’d probably even think a stoned horse would be very humorous.”

“A stoned horse sending a message to Lilah?”

“Well, maybe he figured the horse would go crazy—like humans on PCP do. But not too crazy. Except, Pete, who knew that Lilah was going to ride Apollo except Totes?”

Decker grimaced. “True. So we’re back to Totes.”

“Hell, Pete, maybe they’re all in it together—used different people for different jobs. They used Totes for the horse and a bunch of lowlifes for the burglary. One of them got carried away and raped her. It’s happened before. If you figure Ness to be involved, maybe he was involved in the burglary/rape.” She smiled. “Despite Lilah’s imaging, the attackers were masked. It could have been Ness and she wouldn’t have known it.”

Decker said, “I don’t have trouble visualizing Ness as a rapist. He admitted wanting to fuck Lilah. Let’s get some tissue samples from him.”

“Why single out Ness?”

“You’re right. Let’s ask for samples from all of the male employees of the spa. We could also get Jeffers that way.”

“Jeffers the poker,” Marge said. “I see him as a sneak thief, not a rapist.”

“But if he was shielded behind a mask?”

“Yeah, he could do it. Once you’re a scumbag, nothing’s off limits. What about Totes? We should get a tissue sample on him, too.”

“Absolutely,” Decker said.

Marge sat back in her chair. “You know, Peter, Lilah, more than anyone, had access to her horse.”

“Lilah poisoning her own horse,” Decker said. “It crossed my mind. She liked being rescued the first time by me. Maybe she was hoping for a repeat. Except she didn’t know I could ride.”

“Maybe she didn’t expect you to rescue her. Maybe she gave her horse PCP figuring Apollo would keel over in the middle of the ride, proving her point that someone was out to get her.”

“Yeah, she seemed anxious to convince me that her power was real. I hate to say this, but when it was happening, I was almost convinced she did have some … supernatural thing.”

“Prophet Lilah.”

“False prophet Lilah.” Decker arched his brow. “She’s a strange woman. I’ll tell you this much—if she did tamper with her horse, she took a big chance. She almost died!”

“It’s still a valid thought—she’s unstable.”

“Agreed. Ever make contact with John Reed?”

Marge shook her head. “We’ve been playing phone tag. I’ll try him again. I did get a call back from Burglary. None of the jewels have come through any big fences. How about you and Lilah’s ex-husband … yet another iron in the fire.”

“Perry Goldin. I called his house. His tape machine said he was playing at the Bridge Emporium between five and seven today. If I leave now, I could make it there by six-thirty.”

Marge sat back and appraised him. “I don’t see you as a bridge player, Pete.”

“Hey, they didn’t call me the Slam Bammer in the army for nothing.”

Marge said, “I would have thought they called you that for other reasons.”

Decker frowned. “Maybe it was for other reasons. Hell, it was so long ago, I’ve forgotten.” He shook his head. “A sad commentary on life.”

Flying on the freeway when the RTO patched the call over the line. So much for daytime reverie. Decker picked up the mike and depressed the button, annoyed to hear his ex-wife’s voice. After Cindy turned eighteen, he felt he was finally done with Jan.

“What’s up?” he said.

“I’m sorry to call you like this, Pete. Your home number was disconnected. Are you moving?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you have a current address for sending Cindy’s bills.”

“Oh, God, Pete, do we have to go—?”

“Sorry, that wasn’t necessary. No, we’re not moving. I had our phone number changed. What can I do for you?”

“I was just wondering if tonight was a good time for Alan and me to drop off Cindy’s car?”

Decker hesitated. “Why would I want Cindy’s car? Am I suppose to lube it or something?”

“You don’t want it, Pete, but Cindy might want it over the summer.”

“Hold on a sec.” Decker slowed, then finally stopped the Plymouth on the right-hand shoulder of the freeway. He rolled down the windows and hot air wafted through the interior. Taking off his jacket, he picked up the mike, shouting to be heard above the traffic. “I’m missing something. Is Cindy staying with me this summer?”

“Peter Jedidiah Decker, don’t you dare futz out on me! Do you know how long Alan and I have been planning this trip? Not to mention the expense we’ve already shelled out on wardrobe and luggage—”

“Hold on, Jan. I’m not futzing out on anyone. I’m just confused.”

“So what else is new?”