Justice at Cardwell Ranch

“What are you saying?”

“Just … what if he didn’t do it? What if they killed him?”

“They? Who?”

“Don’t listen to me. I’ve had a few too many beers tonight. So, are you sure I can’t talk you into coming to the reunion? Even if I told you I have a theory about Tanner’s death.”

“What theory?”

“Come to the reunion. Call me when you get into town and I’ll tell you. Don’t mention this to anyone else. Seriously. I don’t want to end up like poor old Tanner.”

“That could have just been the alcohol talking,” Liza said when he finished.

“That’s what I thought, too, until he wanted to meet at the falls after dark. Something had him running scared.”

“With good reason, apparently. Alex Winslow is a former friend?”

Jordan nodded.

“You weren’t just a little suspicious, meeting in the dark at a waterfall?”

“I thought he was being paranoid, but I played along.”

“You didn’t consider it might be dangerous?”

“No, I thought Alex was overreacting. He was like that. Or at least he had been in high school. I haven’t seen him in twenty years.”

“Why, if he knew something, did he wait all these years?”

Jordan shrugged. “I just know that Tanner wouldn’t have killed himself. He was a smart guy. If anything he was too smart for his own good. I figured if there was even a small chance that Alex knew something …” He glanced over at her. “Apparently, Alex had reason to be paranoid. This proves that there is more to Tanner’s suicide.”

She heard the determination in his voice and groaned inwardly. “This proves nothing except that Alex Winslow is dead.” But Jordan wasn’t listening.

“Also it proves I wasn’t such a fool to believe Alex really did know something about Tanner’s death.”

She studied Jordan for a moment. “Did he say something to you before he was shot?”

His gaze shifted away. “I can’t even be sure I heard him right.”

“What did he say?”

“Shelby.”

“Shelby?”

He nodded. “We went to school with a girl named Shelby Durran. She and Tanner were a couple. At least until Christmas our senior year.”

HUD HAD JUST RETURNED with the kids when he got the call about the shooting.

“Go,” Dana said. “I’ll be fine. Stacy is here. She said she’d have the kids help her make dinner for all of us.”

He mugged a face and lowered his voice. “Your sister cooking? Now that’s frightening.”

“Go,” his wife ordered, giving him a warning look. “We can manage without you for a while.”

“Are you sure?” He took her hand and squeezed it. “You promise to stay right where you are?”

“Promise.”

Still, he hesitated. He’d been shocked to walk into the house and see Dana holding a baby. For a few moments, he’d been confused as to where she’d gotten it.

“Has Stacy said anything about where she’s been?” he asked, glancing toward the kitchen. He could hear the voices of his children and sister-in-law. They all sounded excited about whatever they were making for dinner.

“Southern California. She’s headed for Great Falls. There’s a military base located there so that makes sense since she says the baby’s father is in the military.”

“If Stacy can be believed,” he said quietly.

Dana mugged a face at him. But telling the truth wasn’t one of her sister’s strong suits. It bothered him that Dana was defending her sister. He figured the baby had something to do with it. Dana was a sucker for kids.

“Stacy seems different now,” she said. “I think it’s the baby. It seems to have grounded her some, maybe.”

“Maybe,” he said doubtfully.

“Go on, you have a murder investigation to worry about instead of me.”

“You sound way too happy about that.”

LIZA ALREADY HAD THE CRIME scene cordoned off when Hud arrived. He waved to the deputy on guard at the falls parking lot as he got out of his patrol SUV. The coroner’s van was parked next to the two police vehicles.

“The coroner just went in,” the deputy told him.

He turned on his flashlight and started down the trail. Hud couldn’t help thinking about his wife’s siblings trying to force her to sell the family ranch. They’d been like vultures, none of them having any interest in Cardwell Ranch. All they’d wanted was the money.

Jordan had been the worst because of his New York lifestyle—and his out-of-work model wife. But Stacy and Clay had had their hands out, as well. Hud hated to think what would have happened if Dana hadn’t found the new will her mother had made leaving her the ranch.

He smiled at the memory of where she’d found it. Mary Justice Cardwell had put it in her favorite old recipe book next to “Double Chocolate Brownies.” The brownies had been Hud’s favorite. Dana hadn’t made them in all the time the two of them had been apart. When they’d gotten back together six years ago, Dana had opened the cookbook planning to surprise him with the brownies, only to be surprised herself.

Two of her siblings were back in the canyon? That had him worried even before the call from his deputy marshal that there’d been a murder. And oh, yeah, Liza had told him, Jordan Cardwell was somehow involved.

Now as he hiked into the falls, he tried to keep his temper in check. If Dana’s family thought they were going to come back here and upset her—

Ahead he saw the crowd gathered at the top of the falls. He headed for the coroner.

Coroner Rupert Milligan was hugging seventy, but you’d never know it the way he acted. Six years ago, Hud had thought the man older than God and more powerful in this county. Tall, white-haired, with a head like a buffalo, he had a gruff voice and little patience for stupidity. He’d retired as a country doctor to work as a coroner.

None of that had changed in the past six years. Just as Rupert’s love for murder mysteries and forensics hadn’t.

“So what do we have?” Hud asked over the roar of the falls as he joined him.

Rupert answered without even bothering to look up. “Single gunshot through the heart. Another through the lungs. High-powered rifle.”

“Distance?”

“I’d say fifty yards.”

“That far,” he said, surprised. The killer would have needed the victim to be out in the open with no trees in the way to make such a shot. Like at the top of a waterfall. “Any idea where the shot came from?”

Rupert had been crouched beside the body. Now he finally looked up. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s dark out. Once it gets daylight you can look for tracks and possibly a shell casing. And once I get the body to Bozeman for an autopsy I might be able to tell you more about the trajectory of the bullet. Offhand, I’d say the shot came from the other side of the creek, probably on the side of the mountain.”

“So either it was a lucky shot or the killer had been set up and waiting,” Liza said, joining them. “The killer either picked the meeting spot or was told where the victim would be.”

Rupert shifted his gaze to her and frowned. Being from the old school, the coroner made no secret of the fact that he didn’t hold much appreciation for women law enforcement. If he’d had his way, he would have put them all behind a desk.

Hud liked that Liza didn’t seem to let him bother her. His deputy marshal’s good looks could be deceiving. Small in stature, too cute for her own good and easygoing, Liza often gave criminals the idea that she was a pushover. They, however, quickly learned differently. He wondered if Jordan Cardwell thought the same thing about the deputy marshal. If so, he was in for a surprise.

“Which could mean either that the victim was expecting to meet not only Jordan Cardwell up here, but also someone he trusted,” she continued. “Or—”

“Or Jordan told the killer about the meeting,” Hud interjected.

Liza nodded and glanced over to the stump where Jordan was waiting. “That is always another possibility.”

“One I suggest you don’t forget,” Hud said under his breath. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll take our suspect down to the office.”

She nodded. “I want to wait for the crime scene techs to arrive.”

Hud hadn’t seen Jordan for six years. As he walked toward him, he was thinking he could have easily gone another six and not been in the least bit sorry.

“You just happen to come back to the canyon and a man dies,” he said.

“Good to see you again, too, brother-in-law. I guess my invitation to the wedding must have gotten lost in the mail, huh?”

“What are you doing here, Jordan?”

“I already told your deputy marshal.”

“Well, you’re going to have to tell me, too. Let’s get out of the woods and go to my office. You have a rifle you need to pick up before we go?”

Jordan gave him a grim, disappointed look. “No, I’m good.”

THE DOOR OPENED A CRACK. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” Stacy said as she peered in at Dana. “I brought you some still-warm chocolate chips cookies and some milk.”

“That was very thoughtful of you,” Dana said, sitting up in the bed and putting her crossword puzzle aside. Earlier, before her doctor’s appointment, Hud had made her a bed in the sunroom so she wouldn’t have to go up the stairs—and would be where she could see most of what was going on. She patted the bed, and her sister sat down on the edge and placed the tray next to them.

“I’m just glad you let me stay and help out. It was fun baking with Hank and Mary. They are so cute. Hank looks just like a small version of Hud and Mary is the spitting image of you. Do you know …” She motioned to Dana’s big belly.

“No,” she said, taking a bite of cookie. “We want to be surprised. Did you find out ahead of time?”

Stacy had cautiously placed a hand on Dana’s abdomen and now waited with expectation. The babies had been restless all day, kicking up a storm. She watched her sister’s face light up as one of the twins gave her hand a swift kick.

Stacy laughed and pulled her hand back. “Isn’t that the coolest thing ever?”

Dana nodded, studying her older sister. Stacy had changed little in appearance. She was still the pretty one. Her dark hair was chin-length, making her brown eyes the focus of her face. She’d always had that innocent look. That was probably, Dana realized with a start, why she’d been able to get away with as much as she had.

“So did you know ahead of time you were having a girl?” she asked again.

Stacy shook her head and helped herself to a cookie. “It was a surprise.”

“Speaking of surprises …” She watched her sister’s face. “Jordan is in town.”

“Jordan?” Had Stacy known? “What is he doing here?”

“I thought you might know.”

Stacy shook her head and looked worried. “I haven’t heard from him since we were all here six years ago.” She made a face. “I still feel bad about trying to force you to sell the ranch.”

Dana waved that away. “It’s history. The ranch is still in the family and it makes enough money that you and our brothers get to share in the profits. You know I think my lawyer did mention that he’d received notice that Jordan was divorced.”

“I wonder how much of his ranch profits he has to give to Jill? That woman was such a gold digger.” Stacy laughed as she realized the irony. “I should know, huh? Back then I figured if I was going to get married, I might as well get paid for it.” She shook her head as if amazed by the woman she’d been. “Have you heard from Clay?”

“No.” She helped herself to another cookie and sipped some of the milk. “He hasn’t been cashing his checks lately. My attorney is checking into it.”

“That’s odd,” Stacy agreed. “Well, I need to clean up the kitchen.”

“Thanks so much for giving the kids their baths and getting them to bed.” Mary and Hank had come in earlier to say good-night and have Dana read a book to them before bed. They’d been wearing their footie pajamas, their sweet faces scrubbed clean and shiny. They’d been excited about helping their aunt Stacy cook.

“Thank you so much for all your help,” Dana said, touched by everything Stacy had done.

“I’m just glad I was here so I could.” She smiled. “I didn’t know how fun kids could be.”

“Wait until Ella is that age. Mary loves to have tea parties and help her daddy cook.”

Stacy nodded thoughtfully. “Let me know if you need anything. Knowing you, I can guess how hard it is for you to stay down like this.”

Dana groaned in response. She couldn’t stand the thought of another day let alone weeks like this. “Thanks for the cookies and milk. The cookies were delicious.”

Stacy looked pleased as she left the room.

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