“Juan doesn’t speak English. As far as I know, Adrienne didn’t appear to speak Spanish, so I would guess not,” Carmen said.
“Could we talk to him?” Stella asked.
Mattie was glad that the detective hadn’t decided to dismiss her concern about boots and cigarettes.
“But he doesn’t speak English,” Carmen said.
“I can translate,” Mattie said.
Carmen looked at her and nodded. “Then of course. I’ll go get him.”
As she left, Mattie noticed Robo sniffing at the doorway of the stall Juan had been cleaning. Spotting a cigarette butt, she snatched a plastic baggie from her utility belt, turned it inside out, and picked the butt off the ground without touching it with her hand. After zipping the bag shut, she stuffed it into her pocket. She also saw where Juan had left a boot print, clear and clean. Mattie took out her pen and laid it on the ground beside the print.
“I’m going to take a picture of this, just in case,” she told Stella, taking her phone out to snap the photo. By the time Carmen returned with Juan, both phone and pen were back inside her pocket.
The hired man trailed behind Carmen. His eyes darted from Mattie to Stella, looking like a mouse caught in a dodgy situation between two cats.
Ears pricked, Robo took a step toward Fiero as he approached, and the man froze, eyeing her dog. Mattie took note of Robo’s reaction, wondering if there was something about the man’s scent that alerted him.
In Spanish, Mattie told Juan that they would like to ask him a few questions. At that point, she assumed the role of translator, allowing Stella to take over.
“We need to talk to you about Adrienne Howard, Mr. Fiero,” Stella said. “I understand you worked with her here on the horses.”
Fiero glanced at Carmen, and she nodded encouragement for him to answer.
“Si,” he said.
“How long did you work together?”
“Three times,” he said, holding up three fingers.
“What was your role when she came here?”
“I held the horses.”
“Did she show you how to massage them?”
He looked at Mattie, telling her he didn’t understand. She rephrased the question to: “Did she teach you how to rub the horses?” and moved her hands in a circular motion.
“Oh,” he said, nodding at Stella. “Si.”
“How many horses did you work with?” Stella asked.
“Four.”
“How many hours would you work with the horses together when she came?”
He appeared to think prior to responding. “Two hours.”
“Did you get to know her?”
“Si.”
“What did you think of her?” Stella asked.
He spread his hands. “Smart lady. Very good. Very kind.”
“Were you attracted to her?”
He frowned in a quizzical way when Mattie translated. She rephrased using the word love. His expression changed to shock. “No, no. I’m a married man.”
Carmen shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the tack the interrogation had taken. “Why are you asking him this? He had nothing to do with this woman’s death.”
“Is your wife living here with you?”
His eyes darted to Carmen. “No,” he said.
“Where does she live?”
“Mexico.” He paused and then added. “Juárez.”
“Do you have family? Children?” Stella asked.
“Four kids.”
“I bet you miss them,” Stella said.
He glanced at Carmen again. “Yes, very much.”
“When will you go back to Juárez?”
He shrugged, and his eyes traveled to Carmen, evidently passing the question to her.
“He has a one-year work visa,” Carmen said. “We’ve been here three months.”
“Are you two related to each other?” Stella asked Carmen.
“No, we are not.”
“How did he end up here working for you?”
“He worked for my family in Juárez.”
Stella continued to focus on Carmen. “Who has ownership of this operation?”
“I don’t see how that applies to this business of Adrienne Howard,” Carmen said.
“Humor me. I can find out with a simple computer search.”
Carmen shrugged. “My uncle owns the stable. I’m in charge.”
“What’s your uncle’s name?”
Carmen shifted her feet. “Javier Santiago.”
“So let me see if I understand this right. Mr. Fiero worked for Mr. Javier Santiago prior to coming here on a work visa to work for you?”
“Yes.” Carmen said.
“And are you from Juárez, too, Ms. Santiago?”
“My mother is a United States citizen, as am I.”
Stella nodded slowly and then focused her attention back on Juan. “Where were you Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Fiero?”
“He was here, working,” Carmen said.
Stella shot a glance at Carmen. “Please let Mr. Fiero answer the questions that I ask him.”
Carmen frowned, waving a hand toward Juan.
After Mattie translated the question, his reply echoed Carmen’s almost exactly. It made Mattie wonder how much English the man actually understood.
“Mr. Fiero, do you know anything about the death of Adrienne Howard?”
He looked toward Carmen even before Mattie could translate.
“Please forgive me for interrupting again, Detective,” Carmen said, her face consumed with apprehension, “but this man has nothing at all do with Ms. Howard other than to hold horses for her to work on. I must express my concern at your line of interrogation.”
“It seems to me that he knows Ms. Howard better than you think,” Stella said. “Were you with them the entire time she worked on the horses? The full six hours during the three visits?”
Confusion mixed with the concern in Carmen’s expression. “Not entirely, I suppose. I was riding the horses to warm them up before the massage. But the two of them don’t speak the same language. How well could they know each other?” Looking at Mattie, she held her hands out in a helpless gesture.
“He might know more English than he lets on,” Mattie said, observing Juan to see his reaction. His expression became a mask as he stared at the ground.
“Ms. Santiago, do you know anything about Ms. Howard’s death?”
“Absolutely not!” Anger chased surprise across her face. Taking a deep breath, she visibly worked to control her emotions, and she spoke with conviction. “We work here with the horses every day. We don’t even go into town. I was as shocked as anyone by Adrienne’s death, and neither Juan nor I know anything about it. I’m sorry, because I would like to help you with your investigation, but I cannot.”
Stella studied the woman while she took her time extracting a business card from her pocket. “All right, Ms. Santiago. I appreciate your cooperation. If you think of anything that might help us, please call me.”
Mattie saw nothing but sincerity in Carmen’s steady gaze. “I will. But I assure you, we barely even knew her. We can offer no help.”
Mattie and Robo followed Stella out of the building. While Mattie loaded him into his compartment, Stella stood beside the SUV, scanning the property and taking in the layout of track, house, barn, and outbuildings. Then they climbed into their seats.
“What do you think?” Stella asked Mattie, as she fastened her seat belt.
“There’s a strange dynamic between Carmen and her hired man. It’s almost like she’s protecting him from something.”
“Maybe an immigration issue?”
“I don’t think so. She brought up the work visa. I don’t think she would have mentioned it to a couple cops if she didn’t have her paperwork in order.”