Crime Tells: Cady's Cowboy

  CADY’S COWBOY

  An Ellora’s Cave Publication, May 2005

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

  1337 Commerce Drive, #13

  Stow, OH 44224

  ISBN MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-4199-0180-X

  Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned):

  Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) & HTML

  CADY’S COWBOY Copyright © 2005 JORY STRONG

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. They are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Edited by Sue-Ellen Gower.

  Cover art by Syneca.

  Warning:

  The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. Cady’s Cowboy has been rated E–rotic by a minimum of three independent reviewers.

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (E-rotic), and X (X-treme).

  S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination.

  E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as “fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature.

  X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles, stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

  Crime Tells:

  Cady’s Cowboy

  Jory Strong

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Starbucks: Starbucks U.S. Brands

  Chevy: General Motors Corporation

  Harley: Harley-Davidson Motor Company

  Jeep: DaimlerChrysler

  Winchester: Olin Corporation

  Gulfstream: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

  Jack Daniels: Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc.

  Volkswagon: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft

  Jockey: Jockey International, Inc.

  Chapter One

  Cady Montgomery shuffled the cards and prepared to deal. If they’d timed this right, then their grandfather, Bulldog Montgomery, would call them into his office just about the time someone was raking in the all-or-nothing jackpot.

  Her eyes moved from the pile of chips in the middle of the table to the office door, then back to her two sisters. It usually didn’t take Bulldog very long to sum up a potential case and decide whether he wanted to take it on.

  Until he’d semi-retired, Bulldog was one of the most sought after detectives in the gambling business. Casinos all over the country hired him when they thought they were being ripped off, either by gamblers or their own employees.

  He still worked those cases occasionally, but when he did, he usually took at least one of his grandchildren with him. These days, Bulldog’s focus was on spending more time with his family. That’s why he’d started Crime Tells—tell being a gambling term for the clues or hints that players or dealers unknowingly give about the cards they control.

  Now Bulldog took on a wide variety of cases, anything that grabbed his interest or seemed like something his grandchildren would enjoy working on. Besides Cady and her sisters, Erin and Lyric, Crime Tells also employed their cousins, Shane, Braden and Cole. And there were plenty of other Montgomerys and Maguires waiting in the wings for their chance to work for Bulldog.

  Cady grinned. Could it get any better than this? She got to work with her family and also build a clientele as a professional pet photographer. That was another great thing about working for Bulldog—he was flexible.

  She dealt the cards. “Anybody see who went in?”

  Erin pushed some of her blonde hair back from her face. “No. I was in the darkroom when Bulldog paged.”

  Lyric reached for her cards, the movement dropping a curtain of black curls onto the table. “Alex Martin.”

  “Valley Training Center. Two-time Olympic medal winner in dressage. That Alex Martin?” Cady asked.

  Lyric nodded. “You know him?”

  “I’ve done some photo shoots over at his barn.”

  Erin wrinkled her nose. “Lucky you.”

  “Let’s sweeten the pot,” Cady said before she picked up her cards.

  “Winner goes down to Starbucks and gets us some mochas?” Lyric’s voice was hopeful.

  Cady laughed. As much as she and her sisters were different, they were also very much alike. “No. Winner gets to be lead on the case.”

  Erin laughed. “You’re still sore from the stakeout.”

  “Yeah.” Cady’s body ached just thinking about all the hours she’d spent sitting in the car on Erin’s last case. “You guys in?”

  “I’m in,” Lyric said.

  Erin nodded. “Me, too.”

  Their timing was perfect. Just as Cady laid down the winning hand, their grandfather opened his office door. “We’ve got a case here. Who’s lead?”

  Cady pushed the wild mass of brown curls back from her face. “I am.”

  Bulldog nodded. “Take it then.”

  They moved into the office and headed for their usual seats, though Cady had to relocate a dappled dachshund from her favorite chair to the cedar bed behind Bulldog’s desk before she could sit down. Thanks to one of Lyric’s pet detective cases, there were now a lot of miniature dachshunds in the Montgomery and Maguire families.

  As soon as the introductions were made, Cady directed her attention to Alex. “Even though you’ve already talked to Bulldog about the case, we’d like to hear it straight from you.”

  Alex nodded. “I can’t provide very many details, but I can give you an overview. A friend of mine is a trainer over at Bay Downs. Last week she had five horses test positive for cocaine. All five of them raced on the same day and won. The racing officials took her license away, but Adrienne is innocent.”

  He cut a quick glance over at their grandfather. “Because of your connections to the gambling industry, I came here for help. I want you to find out who drugged the horses and why, and gather enough evidence so that Adrienne can get her license back.”

  Cady’s eyebrows drew together. “Will the racing officials be investigating this? Five in one day is pretty suspicious, and I’d guess that cocaine is not the usual drug of choice.”

  Alex shrugged. “They may make a stab at investigating, but they’re not required to prove Adrienne is innocent, not when the evidence says she’s guilty. The tracks operate under the Trainer Insurer Rule, something that was put into effect to keep the racing game ‘clean’. Basically it means that a trainer is absolutely responsible for their horses.”

  “So Adrienne stays suspended if she can’t prove her innocence?”

  “Yes.”

  “What does Adrienne say, besides not guilty?”

  “She swears that she has no idea who would want to ruin her.”

  “We’ll need to talk to her.”

  “Adrienne is expecting you.” Alex pulled a business card out of his pocket and quickly scribbled on the back before handing it to Cady. He shifted in his seat and for the first time, he seemed uncomfortable. “There’s a slight complicatio
n that I need to warn you about.”

  Cady groaned inwardly. One thing she’d learned since she began working at Crime Tells, there was always more to every story. “Might as well lay it on the table. What’s the complication?”

  “There’s someone else investigating the matter on Adrienne’s behalf.”

  “A private investigator?”

  “No. He’s not a PI, but he is in law enforcement—a sheriff to be exact, from some podunk town in Texas.” Alex’s face puckered as though he’d bitten into a particularly sour lemon.

  Cady’s eyebrows drew together. “This picture is not coming together for me, Alex. Why would a sheriff from some ‘podunk’ town in Texas be up here investigating something like a trainer’s license being taken away?”

  Alex shifted again, this time looking less sophisticated and more than a little worried. “Apparently Kix is one of Adrienne’s old boyfriends.”

  “Has the sheriff made any progress on the case?”

  Alex’s expression darkened. “Not that I’m aware of, though he says not to worry, that he’ll handle it.”

  “So you’ve actually met him?”

  “Yes.”

  Curiosity prompted Cady to say, “And?”

  Alex stiffened. “What I think of that cowboy sheriff isn’t important. What is important is getting Adrienne’s name cleared and her license back. Racing is her livelihood and her life.”

  * * * * *

  Kix Branaman sprawled on the antique couch, watching the ultrasophisticated Adrienne blush like a schoolgirl as she finished her conversation with Alex Martin. Love—it made fools of the best of them. Kix shook his head, glad his hide was as tough as an old range bull’s and he’d never suffered from that particular affliction.

  Adrienne gently set the phone down. “They took the case. One of Bulldog Montgomery’s granddaughters is on her way here.”

  Kix’s eyebrows shot up. “A woman PI? Maybe you should set Alex straight and tell him there’s nothing going on between us so he doesn’t waste his money.”

  Adrienne’s frown was severe. “Your chauvinism is showing and it’s not very flattering.”

  Kix put a hand over his heart. “You’re cutting me with your words, Addy. Take them back or I won’t be able to go on.”

  Adrienne shook her head. “I think Alex is right. It makes sense to have someone local helping you.”

  Kix snorted. “I know more about detecting than most PIs will ever know. And don’t tell me that Alex is doing this for my benefit. Soon as you introduced me, he acted like a stallion whose mare roamed a little too close to some other stud’s pasture.”

  A fresh blush washed over Adrienne’s face but she didn’t deny his charge. Kix grinned. Hell, he and Adrienne had gone out a couple of times. Why not? They’d known each other since they were kids. But there wasn’t any chemistry, no matter how much their families would have liked there to be, and how much easier it would have made things. You didn’t grow up in their world without developing a huge amount of cynicism about why people liked you, and what they ultimately wanted from you.

  The doorbell sounded and Adrienne rose from her chair. “That must be her now.” She shot Kix a look that was part haughty demand and part desperate pleading. “Please behave, Kix.”

  “Don’t you worry, Addy. I’ll behave and you’ll be back at the racetrack in no time flat.”

  * * * * *

  As Cady rang the bell, all she could think was, Damn, horseracing has been good to Adrienne McKay. The house in front of her looked like something right off the glossy pages of Architectural Digest. Cady half-expected a maid or butler to open the door. But the woman who did could only be Adrienne. Double damn. Adrienne looked like she’d walked right off the cover of a fashion magazine and next to her, Cady felt like someone who’d been speeding down the highway in a convertible.

  Adrienne stepped back and said, “Thanks for being willing to help. You look familiar. Have you been a private detective for long?”

  “Not that long. But you might have seen me on the track. I do some professional photography. I’ve been there a couple of times to do portraits.”

  Adrienne’s face cleared. “You did the portrait of Joe Metzger and Challenger. I saw it when I had dinner at his house. It’s beautiful—you really captured Challenger’s spirit.”

  Cady flushed with pleasure. “Thanks.”

  Adrienne waved Cady in, then led her through several rooms, all elegantly furnished and tastefully decorated. Cady was amazed by the sheer number of Faberge eggs. They were everywhere, some out in the open on jeweled stands, others housed in glass cases—all temptingly beautiful.

  They ended up in Adrienne’s office and Cady’s throat went dry at the sight of the man sitting there. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a “Sexy Cowboys of the West” calendar. Lean, lanky, gorgeous—and unfortunately well aware of his effect on women. The smile he aimed at Cady was lazy, inviting and had her nipples beading up against the thin barrier of her shirt—not to mention her insides turning into a warm, sticky mess.

  “Well, darlin’, you’re just about the best-looking PI I’ve come across,” he drawled as he unfolded himself from the sofa in Adrienne’s office.

  The photographer in Cady appreciated everything about him, from the tousled sandy-blond hair, the warm chocolate-brown eyes, straight nose and full lips—to the lean, no-fat-allowed body and the jeans that were faded, most notably where they stretched tight over his very noticeable erection.

  His chuckle when she got to that area of his body sent fire across Cady’s face. She jerked her eyes upward and got treated to a perusal much like the one she’d given him. “Well now, working with some local talent is starting to look mighty fine to me,” he murmured.

  Adrienne said, “Kix, this is Cady Montgomery. Cady, this is Kix Branaman.”

  The cowboy stepped forward and took Cady’s hand. She prided herself on not melting into a puddle at his feet when the smell of his cologne wrapped around her. Damn! He was a walking pheromone time bomb as far as she was concerned.

  Kix figured that just about every drop of blood in his body had gone to his cock. Whoa, but helping Adrienne out had just gotten a whole lot more fun. He was rock-hard and hurting just looking at the woman in front of him. And her scent… Well, he was fantasizing about burying his face against that gorgeous little body and…

  Adrienne fought to keep from laughing out loud at Kix. He looked like a barn cat that’d found the cream. Oh, he might make jokes about his hide being as tough as an old range bull’s and how love made fools of the best of them, but she knew that was just because he hadn’t met the right woman. Until now, maybe? Adrienne sighed. If something good came out of this nightmare… She sat down in a chair, almost forcing Cady to take a spot on the couch.

  Kix grinned and sat down on the couch next to Cady. Yes, sir, this little vacation was looking better every second.

  “How much did Alex tell you, Cady?” Adrienne asked, getting right to the point.

  Cady made herself stop thinking about the male distraction next to her and concentrate on gathering information. “Not very much. He said that you lost your trainer’s license after five of your horses tested positive for cocaine in one day.”

  “Well, unfortunately that’s about the whole story. It’s every trainer’s worst nightmare. I can’t be with the horses twenty-four hours a day! Anyone could have slipped those horses the cocaine.”

  “As a performance enhancer?”

  Adrienne nodded. “It would be, but no one in their right mind would use it. Everyone knows it’s a drug the track tests for. You don’t have to have a criminal mind to figure out that the trick to drugging a horse is to find something new, something that the tests don’t pick up yet. That’s common knowledge these days—you only have to turn on the news to sports or watch the Olympics!”

  “How often are horses drugged?”

  Adrienne shrugged. “Occasionally you hear rumors. But let’s face it—having a hors
e that moves fast or is drugged so it doesn’t realize how much its body hurts is just one part of the equation. If it breaks out of the starting box poorly, or gets boxed in behind other horses, it could still lose the race. There just aren’t any guarantees in horse racing. And then to top it off, any suspicious or high dollar betting is reported to the race officials right away.”

  “Do you have anyone watching the horses at night?”

  “Yes, Don. He’s a retired cop. Kix has already talked to him. Don swears he didn’t see or hear anyone bothering the horses.”

  Cady forced her libido down and risked a glance at Kix. “What do you think about the guard?”

  Kix gave Cady a smile that made her think of smooth chocolate and how she always licked the bowl clean whenever she made cake. “Well, darlin’, I think he might be guilty of sleeping on the job, but that’s about it.”

  She turned her attention back to Adrienne. “When did the horses race?”

  “Thursday. And before you ask, I’ll tell you the same thing I told Kix. The horses I run are owned by family members, or by me. As far as I know, no one in the family is either mad at me or in trouble financially and hoping to score big by winning at the racetrack.”

  Cady’s eyebrows shot up before she could stop them. It wasn’t just Adrienne who was rich. She had to have come from a family with money—lots of money—if they all owned racehorses. “What about fired employees and jealous rivals?”

  “No fired employees. Jealous rivals…” She shrugged. “I hadn’t thought so.”

  “This doesn’t come across as a random act.”

  “Believe me, I’ve been racking my brain. I just can’t come up with anyone who hates me this much.”

  Cady risked a glance at Kix—surprised, and a little unnerved, by his mostly silent presence. Damn! He was distracting. Her nipples were still so tight that they ached, and all she could think of when she looked at him was how she’d like to pretend he was chocolate and eat him up. No wonder Alex was worried about competing with Kix. The man was just plain delicious. She refocused on Adrienne. “How long have you been a trainer at Bay Downs?”