Free Extra Sensory Deception by Allison Kingsley

car,” Stephanie said, nodding at the two dogs. “He could have started a riot with those two.” She sniffed the air. “I can smell bacon.”
    “And coffee. Just as well we already had breakfast.”
    “I’m still hungry.”
    “You’ll have to wait for lunch.”
    The two rodeo women were inside the corral now, watching the horses. Clara slowed her step. She wished now she’d rehearsed her speech. How do you go about asking a woman if her dead friend was having an affair?
    Reaching the fence, she muttered, “I’ll do the talking. You jump in if things get awkward.”
    “What else?” Stephanie waved at the women, who had turned to look at them. “Hi, there! Nice horses.”
    The two women glanced at each other, but neither answered Stephanie’s greeting.
    “This is going to be fun,” Clara muttered to Stephanie as she forced a smile. “We’re friends of Wes Carlton,” she called out. “Could we have a word with you?”
    Anita said something to the other woman, then walked slowly toward the fence. Her freckled face was taut with suspicion, and her full lips were clamped so tightly together Clara doubted she’d ever get a word out of her.
    Anita Beaumont had the strong, slender build of an athlete, though that heavy mop of red hair made her look more like a shampoo model. The wariness in her hazel eyes betrayed her uneasiness, and she paused in front of the cousins, waiting in silence for them to speak.
    Clara decided to take the soft approach. “I’m so sorry for your loss. I know Lisa Warren was a good friend. It must be hard, going on with the show without her.”
    Confusion flashed in Anita’s eyes. “Who said she was my friend?”
    Clara stumbled over her words. “Er . . . Wes did. I think.”
    Anita’s thin brows drew together. “Wes said that?” She shook her head. “I knew her, sure. Most of us regulars on the circuit knew Lisa. She was with the rodeo for years before she went to work for Paul Eastcott. She’s no friend of mine, though, and Wes knows it.” Her expression changed to one of guilt. “Of course I’m sorry she’s dead. No one deserves to die that way.”
    “Exactly.” Clara smiled. “We’ve been wondering who could have possibly done this terrible thing.”
    Anita’s frown deepened. “Did you know Lisa?”
    Clara hesitated and Stephanie answered for her. “No, but we know Wes, and we don’t think he was capable of killing anyone.”
    “So what exactly do you want from me?”
    “Just some answers.” Clara leaned an elbow on the fence in an effort to look nonchalant. “Like if anyone else might have had a reason to get rid of Lisa.”
    Anita’s chin came up. “Okay, that’s it. Just because I used to be jealous of Lisa doesn’t mean I killed her. I know the cops found that e-mail I sent her, threatening her if she didn’t stay away from Wes, but that was months ago, when Lisa was still on the circuit and long before she moved to Mittleford. Besides, I have an alibi. The cops already cleared me, and I don’t talk to reporters, so you can just take your questions and—”
    “Whoa, wait a minute.” Clara held up her hand. “We’re not accusing you of anything. And we’re not cops or reporters. We’re just good friends of Wes who don’t want to see him go to jail for something he didn’t do.”
    “She’s right,” Stephanie put in. She briefly laid a hand on Anita’s arm. “If you care at all about Wes, you’ll help us find out who did this.”
    Anita stared at her from under thick, dark, mascaraed lashes. “Who exactly are you?”
    “We told you,” Clara said, giving Stephanie a grateful nod. “We know the police chief and he’s convinced Wes is guilty. We’d like to show him how wrong he is about all this.”
    Now Anita looked worried. “But the cops let Wes go.”
    “It doesn’t mean they won’t arrest him later. They’re trying to dig up more evidence against him right now.”
    “Well, they won’t get anything out of me.”
    Clara