Cold Case at Cardwell Ranch

by B. J Daniels

  He held out two old-fashioned keys, each attached to a faded plastic orange disk. “Rooms 2 and 4 upstairs. Bathroom is down the hall. The lock’s broken, so knock before entering.” His gaze sparked for a moment as if he thought the two would be sharing more than the bathroom before the night was over.

  Ella snatched a key from the man’s hand and, with her backpack slung over her shoulder, started for the stairs. She heard Waco on the creaky steps behind her, his tread heavy and slow. She could feel his gaze warming her backside and wished she’d let him go first. Earlier, he’d looked at her...funny. She shook off the thought. The detective was too single-minded to even think about anything but finding Stacy.

  The wooden landing groaned under her footfalls, making her hope the whole place didn’t cave in before she could get out of town. She’d taken the number two key and now stopped to insert it into the lock. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Waco stop at the next door down.

  From what she could tell, the place was deserted. They were the only guests. She thought about the bathroom door lock that didn’t work and groaned inwardly. Right now she would love a shower, but wasn’t up to even seeing how awful the unlockable bathroom might be. She didn’t have high hopes as she pushed open the hotel room door and saw the marred chest of drawers and the sagging double bed with its worn cover and dust-coated window behind it.

  “It ain’t the Ritz,” Waco said with a chuckle from next door as he took in his own room. “Let’s hope we aren’t here long. Hey,” he said to her before she could disappear into her room. “If you need me, just pound on the wall. Not too hard, though. I’m sure it’s thin.”

  She said nothing as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. Immediately, she rushed to the window, hoping it opened. It didn’t. But there was a hole in the glass where it appeared a rock might have entered and that let in some fresh air. She opened the dusty dark drapes all the way to let the night and air in and looked down on the side street.

  A man stood below. His hair was dark, curling at his neck. When he looked up in her direction, she felt a start. She stepped back from the window. What was there about the man that had given her a jolt? She’d only gotten a glimpse of him, but he looked familiar. Had he been one of the men in her mother’s photo albums?

  Sliding the backpack off, she set it on the creaky wooden chair next to the bed, already debating how to slip out later without Waco following her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Waco listened to Ella moving around in her hotel room next door. He realized that he’d been so busy trying to keep her alive—and himself, as well—that he’d forgotten his main objective. He needed to find Stacy before someone else did—especially her daughter.

  Why was he convinced that Stacy Cardwell’s trouble was more than just running from the law? Maybe even more than murder? He had no idea. Just a gut feeling he couldn’t shake. Coming here made him all the more worried that they would find her too late.

  He opened the door to his room and stepped to Ella’s. Tapping, he said, “It’s me.” Like that would open doors for him with her. “I’m hungry.”

  There was nothing but silence behind the door. If he hadn’t known better, he would think she’d already given him the slip. A floorboard creaked on the other side of the door a moment before it opened.

  He grinned at her. “I thought food might be something we could agree on.”

  Grudgingly, she smiled. “I have my doubts about finding anything to eat in this town, but I’m willing to try. I’m starving.”

  “My kind of woman,” he said with a laugh. Seeing her expression, he quickly added, “Sorry. Just an expression.”

  They went down the stairs and out into the twilight. Fortunately, the small shop next door hadn’t closed yet. A bell jangled over the front door as he opened it and let Ella lead the way. Narrow aisles cut through tall rows of food staples, clothes and gifts. He didn’t see the rocks until they made their way to the checkout counter off to one side of the store. A box of ordinary-looking rocks were marked $1.00 each.

  The elderly woman standing behind the counter didn’t seem at all surprised to see them. Word around town probably spread on the ceaseless wind that now rattled the front windows. Behind the counter, he spotted the milkshake machine and a microwave. On the wall was a sign that listed microwavable sandwiches.

  Waco glanced over at Ella. “Name your poison.” They both went for the ham-and-cheese grill and chocolate shakes.

  “You can sit up there by the window or take it back to your room,” the clerk said, pointing to a couple of small tables at the front of the store. “I’ll bring it to you when it’s ready.”

  “My kind of woman, huh?” Ella asked when they were seated. “What exactly is your kind of woman?”

  “It’s just an expression.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said, holding his gaze with her steely green one. “So you don’t have a woman in your life.”

  He laughed, seeing that she was enjoying giving him a hard time. He felt a spark between the two of them that should have surprised him, but didn’t. He held that gaze, feeling the heat of it.

  “I suppose there’s a man in yours.” He realized that he really wanted to know. But their sandwiches arrived straight from the microwave and the moment was lost.

  Heat rose from the sandwiches, the steam making them impossible to unwrap. She seemed relieved to have the diversion. They looked at each other in terror as they peeled back the wrap and ate greedily as if neither of them had had a meal for hours.

  Waco suspected it was true of Ella since she hadn’t stopped for anything that he’d seen other than gas. He knew it was true for him. When the milkshakes arrived, he and Ella slowed a little on their sandwiches.

  She seemed to relax, considering where she was and why. He wondered if she thought staying around here was a good idea in any way. The man who’d chased them out of town was the perfect example of how dangerous it could get. Waco figured the others back at the bar shared the man’s feelings. These people didn’t like strangers. Especially strangers who asked a lot of questions. In such an isolated spot in the state, these people were used to handling their own problems. He and Ella were problems.

  “I suppose you wouldn’t want my advice,” he said and saw the glint in her green eyes. Still, he plowed ahead. “Whatever your mother might have been doing here—if she even came here—”

  “She’s here.”

  “As I was saying, people in some parts of this state don’t like anyone asking a lot of questions. They might not even know your mother. Just on general principle, they aren’t going to cooperate. So continuing to ask questions could be really bad for your health.”

  Ella smiled at him. “Has anyone ever taken your advice?”

  He chewed at his cheek as he studied her for a moment. He couldn’t help smiling. Everything about this young woman was refreshing. She intrigued him and he couldn’t remember a woman who had ever interested him more. The problem was how to keep her alive. “I suspect you get your stubbornness from your—”

  “Whole family. But if you’re asking if my mother is stubborn...” Ella frowned and he saw a crack in her composure. “No more stubborn than me, I’d say, but then again...” She looked away, her eyes shiny. “Before you showed up, I would have said I knew my mother.”

  “But now?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure I ever knew her. That’s why I’m determined to find her and get some answers. No matter where it takes me. Or who I have to deal with.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Even you.”

  “Even if it gets you killed?” Her green eyes flared. Before she could speak, he raised both hands in surrender. “Sorry, it’s an occupational hazard, trying to keep people alive.”

  “That and dispensing advice?”

  He gave her a nod in acknowledgment of her jab. “Can I ask why you’re so certa
in your mother is here? Did she tell you on the phone—?”

  “No. She pretended that she didn’t know where I was, but I’m sure Helen told her I was in town.” She seemed to hesitate. He could tell something was on her mind, something she had been debating telling him.

  “Someone ransacked my mother’s cabin back on the ranch. My aunt stumbled onto the man. He’d been going through my mother’s photographs. He took several, knocking my aunt down as he left. She’s all right,” Ella said before he could ask.

  “All he took were photographs?” He was surprised at that and the fact that she’d shared this information with him. She seemed a little surprised that she had, too. “Any idea what he wanted with them?”

  Ella shook her head. “I didn’t even know Stacy had an album of older prints hidden in her closet.”

  He saw her swallow and caught the flicker of pain. How many more of Stacy’s secrets would come out before this was over? Some worse than hiding a photo album of old snapshots in her closet, he figured.

  Waco didn’t know what to say. He had no doubt that she was strong and determined and capable. But still, she was out of her league, and he had a feeling that she knew it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to stop her.

  “Whatever the reason someone took the photos...” Again she hesitated, her eyes coming up to his and locking. “It’s how I found this place. That’s how I know she’s here. It’s...where she comes.”

  He stared at her. “This is where your mother comes when?”

  Ella pulled her gaze away to stare out the window. With the descending night, darkness had settled among the buildings of the town, making the place look even more desolate, if that were possible. “My mother has always disappeared for a few days every few months. I never knew where she went—until I looked through the albums.” Her eyes came back to his. “She came here. Apparently, she has been living a secret life for years when she comes here.”

  He looked out the store window at the dark, dying town. “Why?”

  “That I don’t know,” Ella said with a shake of her head. “Evidently, she knows these people well, especially Helen, and they know her. Helen recognized me, so I would assume my mother has shown her photographs of me over the years. The thing is, whoever broke into my mother’s cabin and took the photos must have realized they were important. He could come up with the same conclusion I had and show up here.”

  Waco had no idea what to make of this. “Do you have any relatives up this way?” She shook her head. “Helen is older than your mother.” But he supposed they could be friends from way back. “You’ve never met her before today?” Again she shook her head.

  “I think maybe my mother comes here because of a man she wanted to keep secret.” He raised a brow at that. “Okay, I shared with you,” Ella said. “Now you tell me about the key.”

  He didn’t think he’d reacted, but he must have, because she smiled knowingly. “How did you hear about the key?” he asked.

  “Mercy Hanover Davis. She wondered if my mother had it. It would explain why someone ransacked my mother’s cabin. So?”

  “Sounds like you know as much as I do.”

  She laughed, an enchanting sound he thought he could get used to. “Was the key in the bottom of the well?”

  “It was, but I have no idea what it belongs to. Did Mercy mention—?” She was already shaking her head and looking disappointed.

  “She mentioned money.”

  Waco nodded. “Yes—apparently, that is what is at the forefront of the entire family’s minds these days.”

  “My mother doesn’t have it, nor any of their mother’s jewelry.”

  That he already knew from Lorraine. “She hasn’t spent the money if she does have it,” he said, giving her that much.

  “I can’t imagine the money is here. Can you?” she asked and looked away. She did have the most amazing green eyes.

  “No,” he said. “Only a fool would hide a fortune in a den of thieves.”

  “So at least we agree on that. Any idea how much money we’re talking about?”

  Waco shook his head. “The family said a fortune, but that’s all relative, isn’t it?” He could see the wheels turning as Ella looked across the street at the bar again. He hated to think what she planned to do next. “Can I ask one favor?” He rushed on before she could tell him he was owed no favors from her. “If you decide to go back to the bar, take me with you. I’ll try not to look so much like the law, if that would help.”

  “Good luck with that,” she said and took a couple of slurps of her milkshake.

  The cold chocolate ice cream clung to her lips for a moment before her tongue came out to whip it away. Those lips... He dragged his gaze away, tucking just the thought of kissing those lips away, as well.

  Waco had more important things to be thinking about, like keeping this cowgirl alive. They were both chasing a woman Ella wanted to believe was innocent while his gut told him Stacy Cardwell could very well be a cold-blooded killer.

  They eyed each other across the table in a standoff until she sighed. “Helen won’t talk with you here.”

  “You’re assuming she’ll talk to you at all. I have the option of taking her in for questioning.”

  “Good luck with that.” Ella’s gaze didn’t waver. “While you’re getting beat up, I can cry and get her sympathy.”

  He laughed as he watched her take another sip of her milkshake. “You already have mine.”

  She looked up sharply, and he saw that the last thing she wanted from him was sympathy. Pushing away her nearly empty glass, she rose. “Looks like neither of us is going to get the opportunity to talk to her.”

  He followed her glance as it shifted to the front window. Helen came out of the bar and quickly climbed into the passenger side of a Jeep. The driver took off, leaving Waco little doubt where they were headed. He wasn’t sure he could catch up to them. Still, he had to try. Ella was already heading for the door.

  “Let’s take my SUV. It’s faster,” he said, knowing that if they didn’t go together, she would try to catch Helen in her pickup.

  As they pushed out the door, he electronically opened the doors to the patrol SUV. Ella hesitated only a second before jumping in. He swung behind the wheel, started the engine and went after the set of red taillights disappearing in the distance.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The sky was black except for the pinpoints of light from the vehicle ahead of them. Ella glanced at the speedometer. One hundred and ten and gaining on the Jeep in the distance.

  She took in the strong angles of Waco’s face in the light from the dash, questioning what had possessed her to jump into his SUV to begin with. It had all happened so fast. She’d let those moments of intimacy in the store make her think for an instant that they were on the same side. They weren’t. Their reasons for finding her mom were miles apart. Now here she was. With him. Chasing after Helen and whomever was driving that Jeep.

  “I don’t know why I let you talk me into coming with you,” she said.

  He shot her a quick glance. “Because we’re in this together?”

  “We’re not in this together.”

  Waco seemed to concentrate on the road ahead and the taillights way in front of them without looking at her. “But we should be,” he said. “We both want the same thing.”

  “I highly doubt that,” she said, watching him gain on the Jeep. The detective had been right about one thing, though. His patrol SUV was faster than her pickup.

  Ella felt a surge of adrenaline. Earlier, she’d felt exhausted after the long day on the road. Her body ached as if she’d driven all over the very large state of Montana. The food had helped, but her conversations with Waco had affected her in other ways. Being around the man had been both intoxicating and exhausting as they’d parried. She’d felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire that w
as her mother’s past life, as if all Stacy’s mistakes were now about to come to a head.

  Now she felt the exhilaration of the chase. Helen was leading them to Stacy. It seemed too easy. What if it was a trap? Why else would Helen get into the Jeep right across the street from the hotel? Did Helen really think they wouldn’t give chase? That they wouldn’t be able to catch the Jeep?

  “I just had a thought,” she said as Waco kept the pedal to the metal. She didn’t get a chance to raise her suspicions before he spoke.

  “Seems too easy, right? Helen is either taking us to your mother or we’re racing into a trap. Or—”

  Ahead, the taillights blinked out.

  Ella braced herself as Waco hit the brakes. The Jeep had disappeared into the darkness.

  * * *

  WACO STARED OUT at the blackness. There was no light. Not from the sky now shrouded in low clouds or from any houses in the distance, because there didn’t seem to be any. He felt as if he’d driven into a black hole the moment the taillights had disappeared.

  He’d thrown on his brakes, worried that the Jeep had stopped in the middle of the road, the driver turning off the lights. He didn’t want to rear-end the Jeep and kill them all. Especially at the speed he’d been going.

  “There!” Ella cried, pointing to her left. “I see the taillights.”

  He did, too, then. The Jeep had turned off onto a narrow dirt road that Waco had almost missed. As the taillights disappeared over a rise, he turned off his headlights and followed. The road was straight enough and there was just enough light to see where he was going if he kept his speed down.

  Even as dark as the night was, Waco could see that they were now headed up into the mountains.

  “Do you think she’s going to my mother?” Ella asked, voicing the concern he’d had himself. “Or just getting us out of town so they can kill us?”