the news he’d just received, and the fact that they were so close to the site, it would be best to wait with explanations.
Her chest tightened. Nancy’s right ear twitched and muscles rippled along the horse’s sides.
Did Nancy react to something else out there, something hidden, or did she pick up on her anxiety?
Dena stroked Nancy’s neck to calm them both.
Chapter Four
Five minutes later, Zeke and Dena reined in the horses on a small rise. Zeke looked down at the main road through the scrubby bushes then to the citrus groves, and then all the way back to the hacienda. It was damn amazing land. As a teenager he’d loved riding José along this ridge, but he’d hardly been out this way since he’d returned home. He cleared his throat and waved in the direction of the tall wire fence.
“Those are the tops of the girders, of the hotel.”
Dena nodded. “Do you know exactly where Carli…where her body—?”
“Near where the pool will go in, construction’s been held up for months, they only resumed two weeks ago.”
Below them, a car barreled along his private drive and he turned to check it out. He couldn’t hear the boom of the bass on the radio, but knew it would be thumping. A mile or so behind the Honda, a telephone repair truck kicked up some dust.
“Who is that?” Dena asked.
“Irma’s son, Manny.” Zeke shook his head and smiled. Manny had a back entrance and a shady tree where he parked his car. His garage, he called it. “Damn. I forgot the phone company hadn’t finished their work.”
“Do you need to go back?” Dena asked.
“No, I guess not. Irma or Manny will take care of it. Bob Carmine knows what he’s doing. He had to return to the office for some supplies.”
Dena’s expression turned serious and she seemed to lose color. She sat astride the horse, her back ramrod straight.
“Do you know this Bob Carmine very well?”
“He’s a young guy, a friend of Manny’s—”
“Does he ever call himself Bobby?”
Her gaze flitted from the road to him, and then back down to the truck again. Zeke could sense an element of panic. Nancy gave a snort and moved a little. He reached over, stroked her neck. What had Dena all fired up over Bob?
“His little boy might go by Bobby.”
“He’s married?”
“Yes.” He narrowed his eyes. “What’s this about?”
Dena’s body relaxed. “I thought I recognized the name, that’s all. But the guy I know goes by Bobby.” She shrugged. “And he isn’t married.”
“Oh, okay.”
He didn’t believe her, although she gave him a smile. She intended to leave today. He had enough worries with his own investigations, and the last thing he needed was an amateur sleuth on his property. Still, he was alerted to her interest in Bob. The cops had never mentioned anything about anyone with that name.
Dena turned and looked around. “Is all of that your citrus farm?”
“No.” Zeke stared toward the rows of citrus trees beyond the hotel property line. “West Coast Citrus’s property butts up against the hotel land, over there, and then it runs behind the edge of those low lying mountains behind my property.”
“Do you get along well with West Coast?”
“We do okay.” Her questions had started to annoy him. Why did she ask him about his competitor? He needed to get this done and get back home. Maybe quiz Bob.
“I’m going over.”
“What?” Zeke frowned “There’ll be caution tapes everywhere.”
“I’ll be fine. I tried to get on the property last night.”
“Are you crazy?” The woman aged him by the second. “You could be in jail today.”
She huffed. “I know. But I thought it worth the risk.”
His mouth twitched. A determined woman. “So, what happened?”
“The coyotes came.”
He laughed, and she turned toward him, her face serious.
“It wasn’t funny,” she said. “And some furry animal scared me.”
“Sorry.” Zeke couldn’t stop the grin though. “It was most likely a feral cat. My mother used to feed them. She liked the black ones. And the coyotes would have been miles away.”
“I don’t think so—”
“There are fences everywhere,” he said, and swept one arm wide. “Besides, coyote voices carry in the still of the night.”
“Fine,” she said abruptly, and shifted in the saddle. “But I ran.”
“Smartest thing you’ve done since you got here,” he muttered, and stared at the no trespassing signs. “Maybe we should get permission. I know the developer.”
“And what if the answer is no?” Dena asked. “I was turned away when I tried before. Anyway, we’re here now. I’m going over. I’ll