one would notice. I wrapped the now badly torn shawl around my shoulders so the rip was hidden, kind of, and I told myself the mud smear was hardly visible.
I was doing fine as I made my way around my mom’s car to check out the Tundra until I realized that my open-toed heels were sinking into the dirt and with each step I could now feel the grit between my bare toes.
Telling myself this was a naive move, that if the local Sheriffs couldn’t find the Tundra after Jade gave them a detailed description, the odds of me running into it out in a parking lot were a million-to-one. The driver probably had it stashed away in some secret garage or was busy getting a new paint job down in Mexico.
I couldn’t see inside without pulling myself up on the running board, which was no easy task in heels when the door was still closed, but I somehow managed, using the side mirror for support.
And there on the front seat, in the glow of possibly the worst imitation of a street light in all of Sonoma, sat the million-to-one cowboy hat and Chanel shades.
Our road warrior was hiding in plain sight, and now all I had to do was pick him out of a couple hundred people at the ball. Which shouldn’t be too difficult, considering not many of my family members attended this shindig.
Headlights from another car hit the side mirror I was holding on to and startled me. I let go of the mirror, lost my footing, bounced off my mom’s car right behind me, slid down into the black dust, and some poky thing bit me right in the ass.
“You look like hell, sweetie,” Lisa said, as I hobbled up to the front door of Cougar’s. A wide grin spread across her perfectly made-up face.
My ass was aching, my shoulder still felt tight, my dress was essentially ruined, my red shoes were now the color of mud, and a fine layer of dirt had totally covered every inch of bare skin. Olive oil was great for dry skin, but not so great if you didn’t wipe off the excess. Everything clung to it, especially dirt.
Despite all of this, I was feeling somewhat optimistic that I could correct all of my cosmetic challenges with a quick stop in the ladies room.
“Yeah, but I found the black Tundra in the parking lot.”
“Get out.”
I nodded. “I parked right next to it.”
“We should call Nick right now and tell him.”
“Not yet,” I said. “I want to look around a little and narrow down the pool of suspects. If we call Nick and he picks up this guy, it’ll throw off our search for the killer. Let’s just see who might be inside.”
She gave me the once over. “But what if Mr. Tundra leaves? Maybe we should go out there right now and watch his truck. Do a little surveillance. I took a course on it a couple summers ago. I know just what to do, how to hide, where to locate your car in front of someone’s house. It’s fun, especially when you catch the bad guy doing something stupid.”
“Trust me. Mr. Tundra won’t be leaving any time soon. He wouldn’t take the chance of pulling that thing out on the road without having some kind of game in mind. I think he’ll stay put for awhile, at least until he does what he came to do.”
“And what might that be?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t involve body parts or hand guns.”
“Okay, I won’t call Nick . . . yet, but what’s up with the limp?”
“I sat on something sharp.”
“You need a shot.”
“One won’t be enough. For or five might be better.”
“Not that kind of shot.”
“Oh, you mean like a tetanus shot? That’s no fun. I already had one of those last year when I scratched my arm on a rusty metal rake out in the orchard. I was hoping for a shot of something a bartender might pour, tequila preferably.”
I opened the front door of Cougar’s.
“Maybe this is a bad idea,” Lisa warned. “After the raid on your apartment, and now seeing the Tundra in the parking lot, you seem a little vulnerable.”
I turned to her and pasted on one of my mom’s phony smiles. She didn’t know the half of all that had happened today. “Moi? I’m a rock. All I need is a little soap and water and I’m as good as