“I just don’t want to go to jail,” she implored.
Jessie wondered if this might be the time to jump in, fearing theymight be about to scare her off. But Peters gave an imperceptible shake of hishead so she held her tongue.
“I can’t tell you what to do,” he said. “I am a law enforcementofficer. There’s always some risk in these situations. But unless you killedGabby, you’re almost certainly better off being straight with us.”
Melissa Ferro took a big gulp of her hot toddy and wiped her mouth. Sheseemed to have come to a decision.
“His name is Alejandro,” she said quietly, barely audible over thewhipping wind. “Everyone calls him Jandro for short. He works at the golf clubnext door. When Rich and I play, he’s always my caddy. He’s very knowledgeable.Rich says he should be a club instructor. Sometimes he’ll give me…privateinstruction. That’s what he was doing last night when I went up to my room.”
“What time was that?” Peters asked matter-of-factly, not lingering onthe details of the instruction.
“I know I told you earlier that I got to my suite at eleven fifteen.But that wasn’t true. We agreed to meet there at ten forty-five. I went up alittle before that, around ten forty, to get into something comfortable.”
“Did you see Gabby when you went up?” he pressed.
She shook her head.
“Did you see a room service tray beside her door?” Jessie asked,interjecting for the first time since sitting down. Ferro thought for a moment.
“I was pretty drunk but I don’t think so. I feel like I would havenoticed it since her suite was so close to ours.”
Jessie made a mental note that if Melissa Ferro was being honest, someonehad taken the tray into the Crewe suite between 10:36, when Esteban/Tex theroom service waiter dropped it off, and 10:40. Did that mean Gabby was alive atthat time or that she was already dead and her killer had brought it inside?The latter seemed like a risky move. What if someone in the hall saw him orher? She glanced over at Peters and could tell that he was asking himself allthe same questions.
“What time did Jandro leave your suite?” he asked.
“He was contracted for a half hour—er, I mean…”
“It’s okay,” Peters assured her. “We’re not worried about that part. Wejust need the times.”
“Right,” Ferro said. “He left at around ten after the hour. I cleanedmyself up and went to see what Gabby was up to. Like I told you last night, itwas about eleven twenty. That’s when I saw that the door wasn’t quite closed.You know the rest.”
“That’s very helpful,” he told her. “One more question: did Gabby tellyou if she was going to be having a rendezvous of her own that evening?”
“No, but I didn’t ask.”
Peters looked over at Jessie to see if she had any additionalquestions. She shook her head that she didn’t.
“Would Jandro be on the golf course now?” he asked, standing up. Jessiedid the same.
“It’s where I’d look,” Ferro said, seeming to lose her focus now thatshe knew she was no longer under their spotlight. They walked across the roofand into the elevator.
“I should have come clean with you earlier,” Peters muttered afterseveral seconds of silence. “We’re probably going to be able to eliminate halfour suspects through their partners last night. I wasted so much time.”
“Spilled milk,” Jessie told him as the doors opened to the lobby. “Let’sjust maximize what we have left.”
Peters nodded, leading the way to the door connecting the hotel to thegolf clubhouse. When they entered the pro shop, Jessie looked around. The placewas small, but it was filled to the brim with all manner Catalina-centrictchotchkes, from balls to tees to cheesy polo shirts. Peters caught the eye of theman behind the pro shop desk.
“Where can we find Jandro?” he asked.
The guy pointed through a glass door, where three young guys in khakisand long-sleeved white shirts were sitting on a bench, joking around. It wasn’tclear who the pro shop guy was referring to.
“Which one?” Peters asked.
Before the man could answer, one of the guys glanced in theirdirection. He took one look at Peters in his Sheriff’s Department uniform, thenleapt up and started running.
“I guess we have our answer,” Peters said, breaking into a run.
Jessie was right behind him.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jandro was already halfway down the first fairway by the time theylocated him.
Peters started chasing him before Jessie could say anything. Lookingaround, she saw a golf cart plugged into a charging station and headed for it. Sheunplugged it, hopped in, and hit the accelerator. Within seconds, she’dovertaken the detective.
“Want a ride?” she asked, pulling up next to him.
Short of breath, he got in without a word. Jessie tried to keep a levelhead and not jump to conclusions. Just because Alejandro had taken off theminute they saw him didn’t mean he had done anything to Gabby. But it sure wassuspicious. It was hard to imagine he wasn’t involved somehow. Jandro washeaded toward a patch of trees just beyond a sand trap where the fairwaydoglegged left. Beyond that, there looked to be a steep drop-off.
“There’s a ravine just past the trees,” Peters said, finally able tospeak and apparently reading her mind. “It’s overrun with thick brush. If hegets down there, it’ll be hell to find him.”
“Then let’s not let him get down there,” Jessie said, veering aroundthe bunker to try to intercept the caddy before he reached the trees and theyhad to follow on foot.
They reached him just as he got to the woods. The trees were still farenough apart that Jessie felt comfortable going in, though she had to slowdown.
“Alejandro,” Peters called out. “We only want to ask you some questions.Don’t make me chase you into the bushes. Unless you killed someone last night,you’re better off not running. If you stop now, we can let this go. But if youdon’t, I will throw the book at you.”
Jandro didn’t stop but Jessie had no choice. The trees were now
