but he gave a quick smile to Dena, and turned the air vent toward his wet brow. “Let’s go.”
She drove out of the parking lot and turned onto the highway.
His hands still shook. “Damn, look at me, I’m a mess,” he said, after a few minutes had passed. He stared at his hands. “I wanted to punch his lights out.”
“Me too,” she said, and grinned over at him. “Want to talk about it?”
“Yeah, yeah sure, that might help.” He sat back in the seat and closed his eyes. He kept them closed while he filled her in on who said what.
“And can you believe it?” he asked, and turned his whole body to face her. “He said ‘my’ church like he owns St. Matthews.” Zeke shook his head in disgust. “He thinks he owns the whole damn valley.”
“Well, it’s nothing I didn’t already know,” Dena said.
“What? You knew about his attitude?”
“Sure. I questioned Manny about him. Plus, I have a file that has all kinds of info—”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“I tried last night, remember?” Dena frowned, and shook her head. “Calm down, Zeke. I think he’s been bad-mouthing you to the workmen. Little comments you’ll never be able to prove. You won’t get him for slander, but he’ll do a good job to keep undermining your business.”
“How?”
“Playing the race and religion cards. I’ll bet he goes that route with his new advertising, too. Latinos can often be superstitious. It’s only a guess but I’ll bet he’s paid off someone to spread the rumors amongst the workmen that your land is haunted by the ghosts of the dead women. Or, he’s made claims that their womenfolk and children aren’t safe there.”
“I never thought of that. I did wonder, after you’d asked if he could have had a hand in blackballing Three C’s—”
“He’s a businessman. He saw an opportunity and went for it.”
Zeke ran a hand through his hair. The family business was being run into the ground. It didn’t look like Rocky was doing much to—He turned toward Dena. “They all belong to the same church, St. Matthews.”
“I know. Irma, Manny, Rocky, Cyril, and all of the Latino family men who are permanent workers on the estates, and most of the young Latinos and the women who make part-time livings on the farmlands are all either members of the church, or their parents are.”
Zeke blew out a gust of air. He massaged his scalp. “So, what do we do?”
Dena smiled. “I have a plan. Give me two days and you’ll have all the workmen you need.”
“Okay,” he said. He doubted she could pull that off, but on the other hand knew her tenaciousness. If anyone could do that, it would be Dena. “I have to drive up to L.A. tomorrow afternoon and meet with my clients. I have a couple of out-of-state buyers who are on their way to Vegas.”
“Excellent.” She scrunched up her mouth and squinted. “Think he dyes his hair?”
Zeke frowned. “Who?”
“Cyril.” She grinned. “It’s unnaturally black.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. He’d be Mom’s age, late fifties.” He turned and frowned again. “Will you be okay, staying at Three C’s alone?”
“Sure.”
He swallowed hard. Was it right, safe enough?
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Stop worrying.”
How did she do that? How did she always know what he was thinking?
“Okay. Maybe I should put a safety-chain lock on the casita door. It does have a strong dead bolt, but just to make sure.”
“Fine.”
“Or, better still, you can sleep in the guest room at the hacienda.”
Dena shook her head. “The extra lock will be enough. Plus I’ll ask Manny to stay overnight at the hacienda.”
He pressed his lips tight. It was a show of good faith, Dena saying that. He was certain Manny was innocent. Rocky was acting weird, but in his heart he didn’t believe he could be guilty of hurting women, let alone murdering them. Both men would look out for Dena’s safety. He felt sure of that.
Chapter Thirteen
“I’m going to beg off lunch,” Zeke said, once they’d all congregated in the kitchen. “I’ll take coffee to the office and work on the books.”
“Come see me later, okay?” Dena asked.
“Sure.” He ambled over to the coffee pot and gave Irma, who still sobbed uncontrollably, wide berth.
Dena figured he didn’t handle tears well. What man did? His eyebrows rose when Irma let fly with a wail that could awaken the dead, then he backed out of the room and hurried down the hall. Manny shot Dena a look of apology.