“Agreed. Does that boot print look the same as the partial we have?”
“It’s hard to tell, but I’m inclined to say yes. But most cowboy boot prints look alike.”
“If it matches for size, let’s see if we can get a warrant. There’s something about this place that makes me want to jump right in and search.”
Robo poked his nose through the heavy mesh of his cage when Stella said the magic S-word.
Mattie nodded toward him. “Robo agrees with that,” she said, starting up the Explorer and shifting it into gear. “Let’s go back and send the photo of this print to your lab.”
Chapter 26
It seemed like breakfast had set a good tone for the day, better at least than the fiasco from yesterday. Angela had shown up at the table dressed appropriately, though she made a show of saying very little and eating even less. Cole tried to bring her into the conversation but soon gave it up. He could lead a filly to water but could not make her drink. The last thing he’d said to the girls as they left was a promise to meet them after school, like he’d done yesterday.
The morning went by quickly, and as he finished up in the exam room, Tess put a piece of paper on the shelf at the pass through. “Your lab results on Diablo are in.”
“Thank you.” He scanned the results, searching first for the Clenbuterol screen. He felt a tug at his stomach as he read the number, seeing it was well above therapeutic level. Shit. Trace was right—this horse was evidently toxic from dosing with Clenbuterol. And this blood had been drawn several days after Carmen presumably stopped dosing the poor horse. How high would the number have been if he’d tested for it on the first day?
“Did we get that medication order I put in this morning?” he asked Tess, referring to the drug Trace had recommended to counteract the adrenergic effects of the Clenbuterol.
“Yes, the pharmacy courier just dropped it off.”
“I need to take it with me. I’ll grab some lunch, go up to Dark Horse Stable, and be back by three to meet the kids when they come home from school. Office hours again from four ’til six?”
“You caught a break today. They’re only ’til five.”
“Great. Feel free to go home when you’ve finished your work here.”
Cole drove down the lane to the house. After parking in front, he dashed in to grab a late lunch. Mrs. Gibbs had already made a sandwich for him, and she was setting it on the table when he entered the kitchen.
“Thank you, Mrs. Gibbs,” he said, going to the fridge to grab a soda. “I appreciate you more than I can say. I’m on the run, but I plan to be back in time to meet the kids after school. Office hours are only until five today, so I shouldn’t be late for dinner like I was yesterday.”
Mrs. Gibbs came to the table and took a seat opposite from him. Cole knew she wanted to say something, but he didn’t have the time to sit and wait for it. She’d have to say her piece while he ate.
“I know our young miss is still angry with me. I’m afraid she doesn’t want me here,” Mrs. Gibbs said.
“I think she’s more mad at me right now than she is at you. Today was a little better than yesterday. Maybe she’ll have cooled off by this afternoon.”
She rested her chin on her hand, evidently pondering that for a moment. “Maybe so. I want to work through this, but I don’t want to overstay my welcome if it’s not working out for you.”
“I hope you’re not thinking of leaving us.”
“What I’m saying is, I can leave if you think I’m creating more grief for Angela than it’s worth.”
Cole sat back in his chair, finishing up the last bite of the sandwich that he’d just inhaled. “Let’s put it this way: you’re worth a lot to me. Our house is running smoothly, for the most part. If this puts too much stress on you, I’d understand if you wanted to leave. But I’d hate to see you go.”
“Ach! I raised two daughters, you know. I’m used to their hysterics. But I do worry about Angela and wonder where her head is in all this turmoil she’s facing.”
“I do, too. In fact, I think I’ll talk to her school counselor about it. See if she has any advice for me.”
Mrs. Gibbs face lit. “That’s a fine idea. She might help us with a way to connect with her.”
Cole stood up from the table, picking up his soda can to take with him. “I’m sorry I have to eat and run, but I better get on the road if I’m going to get back by three. I’ll call if something comes up and I can’t make it. I promised Angela that I would last night, and I intend to keep that promise. I might not be able to spend as much time here at home as I’d like, but I can at least keep you posted if something comes up to change my schedule.”
Mrs. Gibbs stood, following him to the sink as he carried his plate to it. “Raising children is not easy, Dr. Walker, and I can see you’re working hard at it. You’re doing a fine job. You should know that.”
Cole paused a moment before going out the door. “Thank you, Mrs. Gibbs. I appreciate you saying that. Sometimes I feel like I can’t win for losing.”
She chuckled. “Some days are like that, I think. See you at three.”
As Cole climbed into the truck, he counted his lucky stars. He’d found a diamond in Mrs. Gibbs. He hoped he could work through this rough patch with Angela and keep them both happy.
The hard plastic chair supported Mattie as she slumped down at the table with Stella and the sheriff. Robo circled and lay down at her side. Things weren’t going quite as they’d expected.
“Ramon Vasquez passed the lie-detector test with flying colors,” Stella said. “That alone doesn’t prove he’s innocent, but I also heard back from my lab. The boot print we have on file doesn’t look like a match for either pair of boots we sent in.”
“He might have disposed of the boots he wore at the gravesite,” McCoy said.
“True. But my tech said his boots both appear to be wider through the toe than the partial Mattie found. They still haven’t compared the print we just sent in for Fiero. They’ll get to it as soon as they can.”
“So we don’t have enough hard evidence to press charges against Vasquez for Adrienne Howard’s murder,” McCoy said. “We’ll have to set him free.”
“What about the bow we found at his place?” Mattie asked.
“The medical examiner believes it could be the weapon if it was used at close range, but he can’t testify that it was the exact cause of death. We don’t have the arrow that killed her, so we can’t match it to his supply.”
“Jack Kelly from Green Thumb Organics learned about Adrienne’s death from Jim Cameron,” Mattie said. “And he confirmed that he’s the one who broke the news to Vasquez. He says Ramon took it hard.”
The door opened in the back of the room, and Mattie turned to see who it was. Brody, frustration wrapped around him like a cloak, entered the room and approached the table.
“I need to talk to you. All of you,” Brody said, his eyes an icy blue that sent a chill through Mattie when they touched her.
“What do you want to say, Deputy?” McCoy asked.
“You can’t shut me out like this. I need to be a part of this investigation.”
“After your behavior yesterday, I think it’s best that you be excluded from these briefings,” Stella said, locking eyes with Brody. “I’ll meet with you afterwards to update you.”
“That’s bullshit. My duty logs and GPS covered my alibi, so I’m off the suspect list. I can help.” His eyes softened slightly as he turned away from Stella to appeal to the sheriff.
“I need to help. I’ll control my temper.”