“Me, Jarvis and Bella were close—and we grew more so when we went to live with our aunt Amelia—but we still have our differences.” He nodded at Leigh’s vehicle, which was a few cars in front. “They are headed in the wrong direction for the AAG
ranch.”
As he spoke, Leigh turned left. She was following the road toward Mesquite Canyon, a development of low-budget houses and apartments that had been hit hard by the earthquake.
“Are they on another recruitment drive?” Katrina asked.
“It’s possible they’re being more caring than that.” Spencer indicated a delivery truck that had pulled up outside a row of houses. Leigh stopped her car behind it and she and Micheline alighted. “We’ll get the best view from that incline over there.”
He drove past Leigh’s vehicle, turned around at the end of the short street and parked under a clump of trees. They watched as a few home owners emerged and shook hands with Micheline and Leigh. After a few minutes, more cars arrived and other AAG members, including Randall and Bart, got out. Everyone donned hard hats, then the truck doors were opened and kitchen fittings and appliances were off-loaded.
“I think we just spent a day trailing Leigh Dennings only to stumble on her and her fellow AAG members’ deepest secret. They’re rebuilding the kitchens of some earthquake victims,” Katrina said.
* * *
As they drove back along Mustang Boulevard, Spencer was lost in thought. If the AAG was a cover for something, he had no clue what criminal activity was being hidden. On the whole, Mustang Valley was a run-of-the-mill southern Arizona town. Crime rates were average for the region, although there had been a recent upsurge of unusual activity. The police force was busy, but not stretched beyond capacity.
Of course, hiding a criminal enterprise behind a respectable organization was a clever way of duping law enforcement. He’d have to check it out with his colleagues in other local police departments and find out if there was any new activity he should be aware of. Drugs, firearms, the usual organized-crime stuff...
“Stop!”
Katrina’s exclamation startled him out of his thoughts and he slammed on the brake.
“What is it?”
“That woman.” She craned her neck to get a better look at the house they’d just passed. They were almost out of town now, and the last few houses straggled along a final stretch of road with a clear view of the Mustang Valley Mountains.
Katrina turned to him with a stunned expression. “It’s Christie Foster, the woman who said she knew Eliza at the AAG ranch.”
The highway behind him was clear, so Spencer put the vehicle into Reverse and went backward until they were almost alongside the house she had indicated. There was a woman standing by the front gate, shielding her eyes against the sun as she looked along the road. A suitcase sat at her feet.
“Are you sure?” Spencer asked as he looked in the rearview mirror. “You said she looked nervous and bedraggled.”
From what he could see, the woman at the gate was well dressed and wore full makeup. She certainly didn’t look like the insecure waif Katrina had described.
“It’s her.” Katrina was already on her way out of the car.
“Hey—”
He was talking to a closed passenger door. With a resigned sigh, he followed her. Katrina was walking briskly toward the other woman. When she reached her, she stopped in front of her.
“Remember me?”
The woman at the gate flicked her a glance, then looked past her at the road. “No.”
Katrina’s outraged gasp lasted several seconds. “You pretended to know my sister. You pretended to be scared out of your wits. I felt sorry for you, Christie—”
“My name isn’t Christie.”
Spencer decided it was time to intervene. “What is your name?”
“I don’t have to answer that.”
“You can answer it here, or you can answer it down at the police station,” he told her. “I don’t mind which.”
She gave an exaggerated sigh. “My name is Cordelia Mellor. I’m an actress. I was hired to approach you and pretend to be this Christie Foster girl.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry about your sister, okay? I didn’t know that was part of the deal until I’d already agreed.”
Katrina shook her head. “You did it to trick me?”