Star Valley Winter

by RaeAnne Thayne

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Believe what you want. Makes no difference to me. I have to go out for a while. Are you hungry? I can pick up some dinner for you on the way back, if you want. How about a nice hamburger and some French fries from the drive-up?”

  Despite her fear, her mouth watered, since she’d been too busy talking about Cheyenne’s pony to eat much of the cafeteria’s chicken surprise at lunchtime. She wasn’t about to tell him that, though, so she kept her lips stubbornly zipped.

  The clown mask wobbled a little as the man sighed. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll be back in a little while. Maybe later, I can bring a TV in for you if that will help pass the time.”

  After he left, she wanted to throw a pillow at the door. What a jerk, if he really thought he could make everything all better by bringing her a hamburger and a TV.

  She wanted to go home and hug her mom and tell her she was sorry. She wanted to sleep in her own bed, not in some stinky cement room with moldy straw on the floor.

  There had to be some way to get out of here. But how?

  She spread one blanket on the floor, then sat down and crossed her legs and wrapped the other one around her. She could figure this out. She just had to put her mind to it.

  After a minute of thinking hard, a smile suddenly crept over her face, and she knew exactly what she was going to do.

  See, she had this plan…

  * * *

  Matt stood in the doorway between Ellie’s living room and kitchen feeling about as useful as a milk bucket under a bull.

  His brother had taken over as soon as he arrived, and now Jess was on the couch holding both of Ellie’s hands while he briefed her on what was happening. “The FBI handles kidnapping cases but they can’t get agents here from Salt Lake City for at least an hour or two,” Jess was saying.

  “That long?” Her voice sounded small, tight, not at all like the confident, self-assured woman he’d come to care about so much.

  “I’m sorry, Ellie. It takes time to mobilize a team and send them up here by chopper. In the meantime, I have every one of my officers and as many deputies as the sheriff could spare out interviewing anybody who might have seen her after school. They’ll keep in constant contact and let us know if anything breaks.”

  She drew in a ragged-sounding breath, and Jesse squeezed her hands. “Dispatch is getting call after call from people wanting to help look for her. Your buddy Steve Nichols has offered to head up the volunteer search effort and he’s getting plenty of support. Nobody in town wants to believe something like this could happen in Star Valley.”

  “Thank you so much for everything you’re doing,” she said softly.

  Jess’s mouth twisted into a reassuring smile. “We’ll find her, El. I promise.”

  Given the circumstances, Matt was ashamed of himself for the powerful urge raging through him to yank his little brother off the couch and shove him out the door.

  It really chapped his hide that she could sit there looking all grateful to Jess for what he was doing to help find Dylan and still go all prickly at Matt’s offer to help.

  She wouldn’t grab Matt’s hand if she were drowning, yet she seemed to think Jess hung the damn moon.

  All this time, he thought she just had a hard time letting anyone help her. Now he realized it was only him whose help she didn’t want. Why? Was it only his brother’s badge that made the difference?

  He cared about her a whole hell of a lot more than Jess did. They had a relationship, as stormy as it had been. So why did she continue to push him away?

  “You’ve been so kind,” she said to his brother, and Matt decided he’d taken just about all he could.

  “I’m going to call Rick about getting started on the ransom,” he said abruptly, daring either of them to argue with him. Her kid was a lot more important than his hurt feelings, and he needed to keep that uppermost in his mind. “I’ll use my cell phone so I don’t tie up your line here.”

  He stalked outside and noticed the temperature had dropped. A cold wind howled out of the south, promising an end to the January thaw. He barely felt it sneaking through his coat as he made his way to his truck, ashamed of himself for letting his temper get the better of him.

  Inside the truck, he quickly dialed Rick Marquez’s number. The bank manager answered on the second ring, and Matt quickly filled him in on Dylan’s kidnapping.

  “I just heard,” Rick said, his voice tight with shock. “MaryBeth just got off the phone with Janie Montgomery, whose niece works over at the police station. Any leads on what kind of an SOB would do such a terrible thing?”

  “Jess is working on it.”

  “How’s Dr. Webster holding up?”

  “Pretty shook up. Who wouldn’t be?”

  “It’s a real shame. Nice woman like that. Anything I can do?”

  “Matter of fact, Rick, there is. I need to borrow some money from my line of credit.” He cleared his throat. “Um, a hundred thousand dollars. Think you could round up that much cash by tomorrow morning?”

  There was a long, pregnant pause on the other end of the phone. Even though he was the meanest linebacker Star Valley High had ever seen and had fooled many an opponent into thinking he was just another dumb jock, Rick was as smart as a bunkhouse rat. “You’re giving Ellie the money for the ransom?”

  The speculation in his friend’s voice made him bristle. Would everybody in town have the same prurient reaction? Probably, if word got out. He blew out a breath, suddenly realizing at least one of the reasons Ellie objected to his help. People were going to read far more into it than just one friend helping out another.

  “Yeah,” he said gruffly. “Yeah, I am. You got a problem with that?”

  “You sure that’s a good idea, Matt?”

  He had no choice. Even though she would probably choke on her own tongue rather than admit it, she needed his help. And he was damn well going to give it.

  “Can you get the money or not?” he asked, impatience sharpening his tone.

  “It will take a lot of wrangling tonight, but I think I should be able to get my hands on that much.”

  “Good. Let me know as soon as the papers are ready and I’ll come sign them.”

  After a moment, Rick ventured into risky waters again. “Is there something going on between you and Ellie Webster I should know about?”

  Other than I’m crazy in love with her? The thought rocketed into his head, and he stared out the windshield as the wind rattled the skeletal branches of her sugar maple tree.

  Love? No way. He didn’t love her. He couldn’t. He just didn’t have that in him anymore. Not after Melanie.

  On the other hand, what else could he call it when he suddenly couldn’t imagine a life without her?

  Yeah. He had it bad. He was only shocked it took him this long to figure it out.

  “Matt?” Rick’s voice yanked him back to the conversation.

  “We’re friends,” he finally said.

  “Pretty darn good friends if you’re willing to cough up a hundred Gs for her.”

  “Look, I don’t need a lecture. Her kid’s been kidnapped, and I’m only trying to do what I can to make sure she comes back safely. Just get the money, okay?”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  He clamped his teeth together. It would have been easier to hold up a damn train. “I’ll call you later to find out how it’s going,” he snapped.

  He was getting ready to hang up when a thought occurred to him. “Wait a minute,” he said to Rick. “You have your finger on the financial pulse of the whole valley, right? You probably have a pretty good idea who might be in need of a little cash, don’t you?”

  “Some.” Rick drew the word out slowly, warily.

  “So you could maybe point out a couple of people who might have a financ
ial incentive to do something like this.”

  “I could. Of course, then I’d lose my job for handing out confidential bank information. I’m sorry, but I happen to like my job, Matt.”

  “A couple of names. That’s all I’m looking for.”

  “No.”

  “What I can’t figure out is why somebody would want her to leave town so badly they’d be desperate enough to risk fifteen to life on a federal offense like kidnapping. We’re talking some major time here.”

  “Leave town?”

  “Yeah. That’s one of the conditions of him returning Dylan. Seems to me that was just as important to the kidnapper as the money. More, maybe. So who would benefit with Ellie out of the picture?”

  “Even if I had any ideas, I couldn’t tell you. You’re not even a cop!”

  “I can have Jess on the line in two seconds. Or better yet, why don’t I call back and tell MaryBeth all about that little blond buckle bunny who followed you clear down from Bozeman after the college rodeo finals?”

  “Hey, that was way before I got married.” Despite it, Matt could hear the panic in his old friend’s voice.

  He pushed his advantage. “As I recall, you and MaryBeth were almost engaged. Man, that blonde was one hot little number, wasn’t she?”

  There was a long, drawn-out pause, then Rick sighed heavily. “I don’t know what you’re looking for. But I can maybe give you one name of somebody who might have a motive.”

  “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

  As soon as Rick mentioned the name, his heart started to pound. This was it. He knew it in his bones.

  CHAPTER 16

  Ellie sat at the kitchen table drinking the glass of water Jess had forced on her.

  This had to be a nightmare. But if it was, it was a pretty surreal one. Matt’s brother sat beside her barking orders into the phone while the doorbell rang again with yet another concerned neighbor bearing food.

  The Salt River grapevine worked fast. She’d received the ransom call less than forty-five minutes ago, and already she had at least four casseroles in the fridge and a half-dozen plates of cookie bars.

  How did people whip these things up so fast? And did anyone really think tuna noodle bake with crushed potato chips on top was going to make everything okay?

  Food seemed to be the panacea for every trouble in Star Valley. She wondered if there was some secret cookbook spelling out the best way to handle every situation. Betty Crocker’s Crisis Cuisine?

  Your neighbor’s kid gets busted for growing pot? Take over banana nut bread. Your best friend’s husband walks out on her for some secretary he met over the Internet? A nice beef pie ought to do the trick.

  Your veterinarian’s little girl is kidnapped walking home from school? Pick your poison. Anything was apparently appropriate, from soup to nuts.

  Fortunately SueAnn had rushed right over to run interference at the door. There was nothing left for Ellie to do but sit here obsessing about what kind of monster would steal a nine-year-old girl.

  She couldn’t think about it. If she did, she would go crazy imagining Dylan’s terror. Her mind prowled with terrible possibilities. Every time she started to think about it, she wanted to fall apart, to disintegrate into a mindless heap, but somehow she managed to hold herself together.

  Still, when Matt burst into the kitchen a few moments later she had to fight with everything in her not to jump up and burrow against that strong chest.

  She’d been so horrible to him, it was a wonder he would even stand to be in the same room with her. She had seen the hurt in his eyes when she pushed him away, when she rejected the comfort he wanted to give. She hated herself for it, but she couldn’t seem to bend on this.

  The need to lean on him, to let him take this terrible burden from her, was so powerful it terrified her. She couldn’t, though. This was her burden and hers alone.

  She had to be strong for her little girl.

  Once she started down that slippery slope and let herself need him, it would be so easy to tumble all the way to full dependence. She was afraid she would lose herself in the process. And then what good would she be for Dylan?

  Matt spared her one quick glance, then turned to his brother. “I think I know where she is. Come on, let’s go get her.”

  Jess stared at him like he’d just grown an extra couple of appendages. “Lou, I’m gonna have to call you back,” he said into the phone. “Yeah. Let me know as soon as you hear from the Feds.”

  He hung up the phone and frowned at his brother. “Are you completely nuts?”

  “I just got a lead I think you’ll be interested in. Did you know Steve Nichols is delinquent on payments to the Salt River bank to the tune of about ninety-five thou? He’s up to his eyeballs in debt and is just a few weeks away from foreclosure on that fancy new clinic he just built.”

  Ellie stared at him, trying to process the information. “Steve? You think Steve took Dylan?” She wouldn’t have been more shocked if he’d accused Reverend Whitaker.

  “It makes sense, doesn’t it? Somebody’s been trying real hard to run you out of town. Who would benefit more if you left Star Valley than your main competition?”

  “I hardly have a practice anymore! I’m not much of a threat to him.”

  “If he’s only breaking even by the skin of his teeth, maybe you’re what stands between survival and failure.”

  “But…but we’re friends. He even offered to head up the search effort for Dylan.”

  “Think about it, Doc. Whoever left those notes for you had access to two things—dead animals and needles. Doesn’t it make sense that it might be another vet?”

  She couldn’t believe it. Not Steve. He had welcomed her into town, had treated her as a respected colleague and a friend.

  “That’s not enough for an interview, let alone a search warrant,” Jess snapped.

  Matt stared him down. “I’m not a cop, little brother. I don’t need a warrant.”

  Jess glared for a moment, a muscle working in his jaw, then he picked up the phone again. “Lou, patch me through to Steve Nichols, will you?”

  A minute later, he growled into the phone. “What do you mean, he’s not there? I thought he was coordinating the civilian searchers.”

  After another pause, he hung up. “Lou says he had to take care of some business at his clinic. She said he told her he’d be back in an hour or so.”

  “Then that’s probably where he took Dylan, to his clinic.”

  “You don’t know that. It doesn’t mean a damn thing.”

  Matt shoved on his Stetson. “I’m going, Jess. You can come along or you can sit here on your duff and forget we ever had this conversation. Your choice.”

  “I think you’re crazier than a duck in a desert,” Jess growled. “But I’m not about to let you head over there by yourself in this kind of mood.”

  “I’m going, too.” Ellie jumped up from her chair.

  Both of them looked at her with the exact same glower. “Forget it,” Matt said. “It could be dangerous.”

  She glowered right back. “This is my child we’re talking about. I’m going with you.”

  “You’ll stay in the truck, then.”

  Not likely. She pressed her lips together, and Matt finally sighed. “Come on, then.”

  They took Jesse’s big department Bronco so he could radio for backup if necessary, but he drove without sirens or lights.

  Steve’s clinic was a low-slung, modern facility on the other side of town. Ellie had always thought it looked more like some kind of fancy assisted living center than a country vet’s office, with a porte cochere and that long row of high, gleaming windows.

  The blinds were closed, but she could see the yellow glow of lights inside. If Dylan wasn’t there—and Ellie wasn’t nearly as convinced as Matt seemed to be that she was—Stev
e would be hurt and outraged when they barged in and accused him of kidnapping her.

  She couldn’t let it bother her, she decided. In the scheme of things, when it came to her daughter, the possibility of hurting Steve’s feelings didn’t matter at all.

  “Let me do the talking,” Jesse said after he drove under the porte cochere and turned off the Bronco.

  “Sure, as long as you’re getting answers.”

  Jess rolled his eyes at his brother, and Ellie felt like doing the same thing when Matt turned to her and ordered her to stay put.

  She thought about obeying for all of ten seconds, then waited until they were at the front door of the clinic before she climbed out of the vehicle and followed them.

  Matt scowled when he saw her but said nothing. As they walked inside, she thought she saw just the slightest movement behind the long, low wall separating the reception desk from the waiting area.

  Before she could react, the men both tensed and moved together, their shoulders touching so they created a solid, impenetrable protective barrier in front of her.

  Jesse’s hand went to his sidearm. “Nichols? Is that you?”

  Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and the only sound in the room was their breathing. She couldn’t see what was happening over their broad shoulders, so she stood on tiptoe for a better look as a small, frightened face peeked over the wall.

  Ellie didn’t know who moved first, her or Dylan, but an instant later she had shoved her way past the men and gathered her daughter into her arms.

  Sobs of overwhelming relief welled in her throat as she held the small, warm weight. She forced them down, knowing she would have time later to give in to them. Right now her daughter needed her to be strong.

  Dylan held tightly to her mother. “I’m so glad you’re here! I was just calling nine-one-one when I heard a car outside. I thought maybe someone else was helping Dr. Nichols and I got really scared and tried to hide under the desk, then I heard Lucy’s uncle. How did you know where I was?”

  She couldn’t seem to hold her daughter close enough. “It doesn’t matter, honey. Are you okay? What happened? Where’s Steve?”