Kate’s blood ran cold in her veins. Maybe none of the three of them were married to him, since there wasn’t anything in the report about him legally changing his name. Now wouldn’t that be a royal kick in the butt?
She heard the crunch of gravel and then a vehicle door slam. She hurriedly gathered all the letters, plus the will, into a pile and shoved them into her suitcase.
Waylon was in the living room when Kate arrived. His biceps filled out every bit of the sleeves of a blue chambray work shirt, and bits of straw and hay stuck to his jeans. His sunglasses had slipped down on his nose, probably due to the sweat she could see at his hatband. He removed them and hung a stem in his shirt pocket.
“What are you doing here?” Kate asked.
“My partner called from Dallas. Do any of y’all know an Estrella Gonzales?”
Kate shook her head. “Is that who killed him?”
“Name sounds familiar. Does she live in Wichita Falls?” Amanda asked.
“There’s a little girl in Gracie’s class room named Estrella Gonzales. That’s a really common name,” Jamie said.
“Why are you asking?” Kate asked Waylon. “It must be important for you to leave the farm and come here to ask us when you could have called.”
“I wanted to see your expressions, and I was coming through town on my way to Seymour for a load of feed anyway,” Waylon answered. “The name Estrella Gonzales came up in the investigation when my partner went back to talk to the florist again. I thought he was holding something back, and he finally confessed that Conrad sent flowers to the woman at least once. I wanted to know if she might be a friend, especially of yours, Jamie.”
“Why?” Jamie narrowed her eyes. “Because of the Hispanic name? You think all Mexicans know one another?”
Waylon took a couple of steps backward. “Just puttin’ together a case. Y’all have a nice day.”
Victor and Hattie stepped up on the porch with Gracie between them at the same time that Waylon opened it to go outside.
“Hello, Waylon,” Victor said. “Looks like you been hard at work on the ranch today.”
Hattie gave him a smile and a nod.
“Mama, guess what?” Gracie skipped across the room. “I got a new friend and her name is Lisa and guess what, I got a mommy and she’s got a daddy. My daddy is dead and her mommy is dead. And guess what? Her house burned down. She lost all her Barbies and it made her sad, so I told her that she could come and play with mine anytime she wants to. Is that all right?”
“Of course it is, sweetie. I’m glad you made a new friend, but I’m sorry she’s lost her house and her mommy.” Jamie pulled Gracie close for a hug.
Gracie giggled. “And guess what else, Mama. Lisa is the same age as me.”
“That’s wonderful.” Jamie beamed.
“I’ve got to go tell Snugglies all about my friends.” Gracie danced down the hallway.
“Snugglies?” Amanda raised an eyebrow.
“The teddy bear that she’s slept with since she was a tiny baby,” Jamie explained.
“Got any new stuff on the murder? We really need a name so we can send the person who done it a thank-you card,” Victor asked Waylon.
“If they get convicted, I’ll take them a chocolate cake to whatever jail they are in once a year on their birthday,” Hattie said.
Waylon chuckled. “Y’all keep talking like that and you’ll go on my suspect list.”
“We’d have as much right to be there as these three women,” Victor told him.
“Be seein’ you.” Waylon tipped his hat and left.
Kate motioned Victor and Hattie into the kitchen. “Y’all want a glass of sweet tea?”
Victor removed his snap-bill hat, tossed it on a rocking chair, and followed her into the kitchen. “I would love one. Jamie, we’ve known Lisa since she was born, and she’ll be a good friend for Gracie. They hit it right off. Lisa lost her mother last year after a six-month battle with cancer. Her daddy is the vo-ag teacher at the school.”
“And I babysat her before she started school.” Hattie bustled about in the kitchen, helping fill glasses with ice.
Kate made a fresh pitcher of tea and set it on the table. “Victor, do you or Hattie know an Estrella Gonzales? She might have come to the cabin with Conrad recently.”
“Or maybe she lives around here,” Jamie said.
Victor pulled out a chair and slumped down into it. He downed half of his tea before he came up for air. “Never heard that name, and I know everyone in these parts. Kids get younger every year and I get older. And believe me, they ain’t all as well behaved as Gracie and Lisa.”
“It’s a different name. If I’d heard it I would remember,” Hattie answered. “And Victor, quit your complainin’. We both love to be a part of Bible school, don’t we?”
“Yep.” Victor nodded. “Who is this Estrella Gonzales?”
“All Waylon would say is that her name came up in the investigation when they talked to the florist,” Amanda said.
“You know Conrad didn’t associate with none of us. Kept to himself after Iris died.” Hattie sipped her tea. “He might have had this woman up here, but we never heard no names. Poor Iris. She’d turn over in her grave if she knew all this stuff.”
“No, she wouldn’t.” Victor laughed and pointed at the ceiling. “She’s so happy, she’s doing a jig on the golden streets right now. And I bet Darcy is dancin’ with her.”
“Darcy?” Amanda asked.
“She was Iris’s daughter who died not long after Iris,” Hattie said.
“Did Darcy have children?” Kate asked.
Hattie shook her head. “Poor little thing never married and never had kids. Iris wanted grandbabies so bad. Me and Victor tried to share ours when they came to visit, but it wasn’t the same.”
“So you and Victor have lived here your whole lives?” Kate asked.
“Yep, and been best friends since we was little kids in the church nursery. We’ve been fightin’ and tellin’ each other our secrets for over eighty years,” Hattie said proudly.
“And you never dated?” Amanda raised her eyebrows.
“Lord, no, darlin’. I wouldn’t date this old fart.”
“And I couldn’t date her. She knew too much about me. Wouldn’t be no fun in that.” Victor laughed. “Thanks for the tea, but we got to get going. Got to get my lawn mowed this afternoon. Y’all want me to ride my mower up here and take care of yours?”
“How much do you charge?” Amanda asked.
“Well now, I reckon if you’d make up another pitcher of tea and maybe if you brought out some homemade cookies that would be plenty of payment.” He grinned.
“You make the tea, I’ll bring the cookies, and we’ll have a front porch visit,” Hattie said. “Say about three o’clock?”
“Sounds great to me, but do you have to ride yours up?” Jamie asked. “Maybe there’s a mower here.”
“There’s not,” Victor said. “Conrad had it done by someone out of Seymour, but now that things have changed, I’ll be glad to take care of it for you this summer.”
“He’s got a new riding mower. One of them zero-turn things and the new ain’t wore off yet,” Hattie teased. “You know what the difference between men and boys is?”
Kate thought they were the same, especially the ones she’d met.
“What?” Amanda asked.
“The price of their toys.” Hattie giggled.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kate almost didn’t answer the phone, hearing a ringtone she’d rather avoid. But on the fifth ring, she relented. “Hello, Mother.”
“I hate to do this to you as you are trying to get all this crap sorted out, but there’s one small project that you were working on that we can’t finish without a couple of hours of work from you. If I e-mail it, can you—”
“Yes,” Kate butted in, “I’ll take care of it.” She paused a moment. “I probably should tell you that both of his other wives showed up here the same day I did.”