“Mr. Fletcher said the benefit on Nate’s insurance policy is for half a million dollars,” Stella said.
Kasey sat slumped as if tired, cupped by one of the room’s hard plastic chairs, but she maintained eye contact with Stella. “I was surprised it was that much. Nate and I had talked about taking a loan out on the policy to pay some bills, but we hadn’t done it yet.”
“So when did you learn the exact amount of the death benefit?”
“Just today, when Tom came to the house. He said he’d handle the details for me as soon as the investigation is over.” Kasey looked at Sheriff McCoy. “Do you have any idea when that might be?”
“These things take time,” he said. “It’s hard to say.”
“It’s just that …” Kasey glanced down at the table. “Well, I need the money.”
Wow. Mattie hadn’t expected that admission right up front.
Stella’s face remained passive, but Mattie could feel heat from the gaze she’d locked onto Kasey. “Yes, you mentioned you had money tied up in Nate’s business. Any other debt that’s troubling you?”
Kasey pressed her hands to her face and leaned forward, elbows to the table. Mattie read embarrassment, distress, both? “I hate to say this, but we have a lot of credit card debt. It’s been killing us.”
Strange word choice.
“Credit card debt?” Mattie prompted, jumping in where she could to keep the questions coming from all sides, another technique to ramp up the pressure.
“Yeah, I’m sorry to say this and I hope you’ll keep it confidential.” Kasey sighed, dropping her hands from her face but keeping her head bowed. “Nate had a problem, a gambling addiction.”
“It’s helpful for us to know these things for our investigation, Kasey,” McCoy said gently. “What else was going on with Nate?”
Mattie recognized that the sheriff was using a sympathy approach to keep Kasey talking. He was good at winning people over; she’d seen him use the technique many a time.
Kasey raised her eyes to meet McCoy’s. “He drove out to Vegas a lot. Told me he was going for supplies. I should’ve known better, but I believed him at first. Nate did the bookkeeping for his business, but a few months ago I found one of his credit card bills. There were more bills I discovered later.”
“That must have been difficult for you,” McCoy murmured.
“We went through a rough patch a few months ago, but we’d worked it out. We were in this together and we hoped to work through it.”
Kasey was saying all the right things, and they matched the time frame Nate’s parents had mentioned for when he’d told them he was having marital problems, but Mattie had to wonder why she was so forthcoming now when she’d avoided mentioning all this before. “Did Nate travel anywhere else in addition to Vegas?” she asked, wanting to see if Kasey would lie.
Kasey leaned back in her chair. “Yes, he would stop in Vegas to spend the night, but he usually went on to California. San Diego mostly, but sometimes Los Angeles.”
“I thought Nate got the bulk of his supplies in Nebraska. Why did he drive out to California?” Stella said.
Kasey glanced down at the table. “Oh, conferences, meetings with clients. He was working on some videos for advertising.”
Mattie noted Kasey’s break in eye contact and doubted these kinds of meetings were necessary for an outfitting business in Colorado. Clients would want to come here to see horses, the equipment, and the mountains for themselves, and people who were strapped for cash rarely attended conferences. If Kasey was innocent and really believed this about Nate’s whereabouts, Mattie had a wheat farm at the top of Pikes Peak she wanted to sell her. “Can you provide receipts from conferences and the video work for us?” she asked. “We need to pin down Nate’s travels and contacts prior to his death.”
For the first time, Kasey squirmed before answering. Was that a tell that she had been lying? Or was she about to?
“I’ll look,” Kasey said. “As you know, our office is a mess. I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thank you,” McCoy said. “Was there any other debt owed that we should know about?”
Kasey looked at him. “Not really.”
Stella leaned forward, subtly shifting Kasey’s attention from McCoy to her. “Maybe a loan from your parents?”
Kasey looked startled, and Mattie could tell Stella had dropped a bomb. She could read Kasey’s mind: How do they know about that?
“Well … we owe Mom and Dad some money, but they won’t press me for it.”
But Nate’s parents had indicated otherwise, making Mattie want to push for more. “They don’t need to be paid back?”
Kasey shifted in her seat as she turned toward Mattie. “Well, eventually maybe, but they know I can’t pay them now.”
Mattie pushed a bit more. Unlike Sheriff McCoy, she didn’t mind being the prickly one. “So you’ll pay when the insurance money comes in?”
Kasey’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, the only indication of her annoyance. “Yes, probably then.”
“Speaking of your parents,” Stella said, taking the conversation in a different direction, “do they have plans to sell the ranch?”
“Oh, gosh no,” Kasey said, looking relieved to turn away from Mattie and back to Stella.
“It’s just that we found blueprints to the ranch in Wilson Nichol’s car.”
“They plan to pass the ranch down to us kids. Why would Wilson have blueprints to our place in his car?”
“We’d like to know the answer to that, too,” Stella said. “So there’s three of you kids, and one ranch. Do any of you kids want to sell the place?”
“We love that place. It’s where we grew up. It’s our heritage. Selling it isn’t in the picture.” Kasey’s expression appeared sincere.
Mattie decided to slip in again with a follow-up question. “How about Tyler? Does he feel that way, too?”
When Kasey turned toward her, Mattie caught a glimpse of irritation on her face. “As far as I know.”
“And can a ranch like that support four families in the future, when in the past it only needed to support one?”
That appeared to strike a chord. Kasey straightened and didn’t try to hide her exasperation. “We’ll figure it out. That’s why Nate and I started our own business.”
“Yes,” McCoy said, “and it underscores the importance of the fishing trip. Where is Tyler now with that party? Where do you camp?”
Prior to the interview, they’d decided not to mention wildlife trafficking and their suspicions of a tiger hunt. If Kasey was involved, she could tip off Tyler, ruining any chance for surprising the hunting party.
“I don’t know where they’ve camped this time,” Kasey said. “It’s summer, so they’re going to a higher elevation than usual. Tyler even talked about riding the peaks above the BLM, just to give our customers a taste of the wilderness area. They could be anywhere.”
“One last thing, Kasey,” Stella said. “Have you thought of anything at all that might help us with our investigation of Nate’s death or the death of Wilson Nichol?”
Kasey sat with her head lowered for a moment before swiping a tear from her cheek and looking up. From Mattie’s viewpoint, it appeared she was looking back and forth to take in both Stella and the sheriff. “I’ve racked my brain, but I can’t think of anything that might help. I promise to call you if I do.”
“Good,” Stella said. “Could you open your cell phone to settings and show me its number, Kasey?”
Her eyebrows arched, surprised. “I can tell you my number.”
“I’d like to see it, please.”
Kasey’s mouth puckered slightly as if in distaste, but she fished her cell phone from her handbag, made the swipes, and handed it to Stella. Stella read the number aloud as she jotted it down—probably for Mattie’s sake as well as the recording—and handed it back.