“Do you tell them why you’re working in all the departments?”
“No. Not outright. At first they think I can’t make up my mind about what I want to do. That, or that I’m just doing the bare minimum to get what’s mine.”
“They don’t believe that for long, though, do they?”
“No. I seem to have a hard time pulling back from doing what is necessary. I take every job seriously. I want to do it right. Mediocre just seems . . .”
“Half-assed,” he supplied.
She smirked and nodded her agreement. “Yes. Still, my uncle thinks I’m nothing but a waste.”
“When you take over, is he out?”
“No. That’s the thing. Nothing would have changed for him, including the massive salary he’s paid. He’d still answer to the executive staff. We join that team, but no one person holds all the power in the company. This whole bizarre plot is about money and power and control. It’s just so stupid and ridiculous. If he wanted more money, Lela and I would have given it to him. He sold the paintings probably for millions. He stole the money you paid for the ranch. Why? How much is enough? Does it have to be everything?”
Gabe didn’t get it either. Ella and Lela by all accounts were kind women. He believed if their uncle wanted more, they’d have given it. For nothing more than because he was family.
He changed the subject back to the business. “Is the company public?”
“No. It’s privately held. We own more than seventy percent of the business.”
“How is it that your company does small appliances; restaurant, farm, and manufacturing equipment; and botanical cosmetics? That’s an odd mix.”
“If my father had lived, I don’t doubt he’d have added several other odd enterprises. He bought the restaurant appliance business a couple of years after he started running it for my mother’s family businesses. You know all those coffee houses with cappuccino machines that spit out lattes and caramel macchiatos? My favorite, by the way. Well, most of those machines are Wolf. We also make ovens, freezers, refrigeration units, stuff like that. My father expanded the business by partnering with another company that made small appliances. They made quality items, but lacked the business leadership to mass-produce and market their goods.”
“Your father steps in and Wolf appliances are sold in every major department store in the country. I have one of your can openers and a coffeemaker.”
“I noticed.”
“Yet you can’t cook.”
“I can make the coffee and open a can. I know how to use every product we sell.”
“What about the makeup stuff?”
That earned him a smile and a giggle. “We started the makeup stuff. I vacationed in Vermont with friends and found this cute little shop in a small town. I needed some lotion and lip balm. It’s cold there, like it is here.”
“Dries out the skin,” he finished for her.
“Exactly. I loved the products and spoke with the owner. Turns out to be two sisters who started the company, making the products in their kitchen. Everything is organic, high-quality, natural ingredients.”
“The two sisters reminded you of you and Lela, so you made them an offer,” he guessed, earning him another of her elusive smiles.
“Yes. They didn’t have the capital to bring the business into the mainstream and compete with other major companies. We launched the products in a few markets last year and sales are booming in those areas. We have a huge marketing campaign and rollout of the products scheduled for the week of our birthday.”
“Your coming-out party.” Gabe hated the way her eyes went soft and sad, filling with more unshed tears, thinking about everything her sister would miss. They’d worked together to create their own niche in the company, add to it like their father did before them. Just when they were about to announce their new product and take their place at the company, Lela was murdered, leaving Ella to uphold the family dreams by herself.
“You wanted that business.”
“I like it and enjoy working on the products. The colors and scents.”
“Seems right up your alley. The news showed you at Fashion Week in New York and Paris.”
“With my friends, it’s hard not to get caught up in fashion and makeup and all the trends.”
Yeah, in her circle, all of that would be important. Still, she didn’t seem quite that shallow.
“The thing is, Lela and I wanted the cosmetics business to prove to our uncle that we deserved to run the company. He was always so hard to please. Nothing we did ever seemed good enough.”
“So you divided to conquer. Lela would have the school background and you’d have the company experience. Then you decided to get the MBA too. When you took over in a couple of months, you’d show him you earned it just as much as Lela.”
“With my parents gone, I wanted him to be proud of us.” She laughed bitterly.
Gabe rubbed his hand up and down her forearm. To keep her from falling back into despair, he changed the subject. “Can you run a combine tractor?”
Pride lit her eyes. “Yes. I can. I spent a month at the plant in Indiana.”
“Where you now attend school.” He put together the pieces.
She laughed, and this time the smile brightened her eyes. “Yes. I worked at the plant, and test-drove all the equipment.”
“So you could be a farm girl after all.”
“I said I test-drove it, so I’d know how to operate it. I didn’t say I was trading in my Manolo Blahniks for rubber boots.”
That made him laugh. “City girl.”
“Cowboy.”
“Hey, you own over one thousand head of cattle. That’s more than me.”
“I didn’t know about them, which is odd because I worked in that division and audited everything they oversee. If the cattle fall under Jim, why didn’t I find any records on them?”
“Maybe that’s what your sister discovered in addition to the missing paintings. Maybe your uncle has been supplementing his income with the money you make on the cattle.”
“Maybe. Are those the boxes of paperwork from my father’s office?” She cocked her head in the direction of the front door.
“Yeah. That’s everything. The thing is, I packed up those boxes myself. I didn’t see anything about paintings or the cattle. Most of it is the bills and insurance on the ranch. Nothing stood out.”
“Well, I’ll take a look and see what I find. I might notice something you didn’t. After all, you weren’t looking for anything.”
“No, not specifically, but I tried to scan all the files in case something important popped up. Your uncle wanted the stuff in storage, and he didn’t seem inclined to want to go through anything, so I thought to let him know if something important needed his attention.”
“His MO is to let others do things for him. He’ll probably send someone to go through the contents of the storage locker at a later date.”
“Lockers. The house took up five huge lockers.”
“Um, okay. I forget how big that place is. I haven’t been there since my father died in the plane crash.” Her eyes went blank on him.
“Hey, sweetheart, where did you go?”
“Why would Detective Robbins cover up a murder for my uncle? What else has he helped cover up?”
“Maybe the sale of the paintings. I imagine it’s easier to find a buyer in New York than out here.”
“I searched the Internet for any news reports that tie the detective to the art world. Nothing. None of the newsworthy cases he’s worked have anything to do with that scene according to what I found, but that doesn’t exactly rule it out.”
“Let’s start with what we know and work from there. Tell me what happened to your sister.” She needed to talk about it, but he hated to make her relive it.
Ella told him the whole story, her voice soft and infused with anguish. His heart throbbed with the pain he felt in every detail she described from the horrendous images in her mind. “My uncle stood there
, my sister dead at his feet, and told the detective to find me, put me in a hotel room, and stage an overdose. Everyone would believe it, right?”
“Except you don’t do drugs. The people who really know you wouldn’t believe it.”
Her eyes went wide with surprise that he’d know that as the truth. “No, they wouldn’t.”
He reached out and swept his thumb over her wet cheek, cupped her face in his palm, and stared into her lovely, sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Ella. I like your sister. She had your strength and grit.”
For a moment, she leaned into his touch, then pulled away, her eyes reflecting her guilt. “I’m hiding in your house. I haven’t done anything to see that he gets what he deserves.”
“You found out about the paintings. The cattle business. The sale of the ranch. We’ll find the proof you need.”
“We?”
“No one fucks with my life and gets away with it. Besides, you keep holding on to me, and I’ll keep holding on to you.” He squeezed her hand to indicate their connection.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to let go,” he admitted. Feeling exposed, he added, “Not until I know you’re safe.”
The silence between them stretched, but it never turned uncomfortable.
“They talked about her murder like it was nothing.”
“They talked about killing you like it was nothing,” he reminded her. “Are you sure he doesn’t know where you are?”
“I can’t be a hundred percent sure, but I’ve turned off my cell phone. I used cash at the airport, and haven’t used my credit cards since I left New York. I used your phone to call Mary to make the funeral arrangements. Mary will erase the caller ID and keep that a secret.”
“But you’re having your sister brought here to be buried.”
“Yes, but what difference does it make if her body is stored here or in New York? She can’t be buried until the thaw anyway. My parents are buried on the ranch. It would be strange if she isn’t brought here and buried with them.”
“You’re taking too many risks. He’ll find out and send someone after you—or even come here himself.”
She knew the risk and took the chance anyway to see her sister buried, resting in peace with their parents. Gabe didn’t like it, but changed the subject. What was done was done. He’d watch out for her if Phillip’s henchmen came calling.
“How will you prove he killed your sister?”
“That may be a bit more difficult, but not impossible. I have a couple of ideas. Also, my uncle took something from my sister’s body. I want it back.”
“What if he got rid of it?”
“I don’t think he did. There was something in the way he looked at the necklace and tucked it away in his pocket. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Like he needed to keep it and remember what he did?”
“Yes. Something very nearly like that. Odd. Disturbing, but he seemed to covet that item.”
“Your uncle is a psycho. What was he like to you growing up?”
“Distant. Uninterested. We lived in the same house, but you’d think we didn’t know each other at all. The only time he took an interest was when I was in the papers and tabloids.”
“He didn’t like your public image.”
“He believed what the papers wrote about me and my sister. When we were younger, she was by my side at most of the events before school took over her life.”
“Maybe your public life will save you.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Look at the media surrounding your sister now and the elaborate means he’s had to go to cover it up. You’ve got wealth and status. The longer you stay missing, the harder it will be for him to pull off his plan to get rid of you. I caught a couple news reports on the radio. People are already speculating about your absence in New York.”
“I didn’t think about that. My friends would expect me to step up and make a public announcement of some sort.”
“The people you know would look for you, try to contact you. They’d raise questions about your sudden disappearance, especially after your sister is found murdered.”
“My voice mail box and email are probably full of messages, but I can’t check them. They’re probably tracing my phone. They’ve got my name and face splashed all over the TV. They need to find me and eliminate me to get away with Lela’s murder.”
“Which is why you were so cautious when we met. You were afraid I’d turn you over to your uncle and the police.”
“You suspected last night that I wasn’t Lela, even before you saw the news this morning, didn’t you?”
He sat back in his chair and smiled. “It started with little things. The way you reacted when I called you Lela. You didn’t remember meeting me. You played it off, but not well enough. It piqued my curiosity, so I paid attention. Your eyes are close, but just different enough that I noticed. You don’t smell like her.”
That earned him a smile and a halfhearted laugh. “I don’t smell like her? Why are you smelling us?”
“Don’t be shocked, but I like beautiful women.”
She gave him a mocking stunned face with her eyes wide and her mouth open. It only made him smile more. He liked this playful side of her. Relaxed with him, she settled into the conversation and opened up.
“When I met Lela, the wind kicked up. I smelled her perfume. Most women smell good. You smell amazingly good.”
“You liked her perfume?”
“Hers I liked. Yours is addictive.”
“Are you flirting with me?” she teased.
It surprised him too, because she wasn’t his type. Beautiful, smart, sexy as hell, yes, but a city girl at heart. Not the country girl he wanted. Still, he couldn’t seem to help himself and continued to hold her hand firmly in his. Lost in the conversation and the connection they shared, she didn’t realize her fingers rubbed against his skin in a hypnotic way that pulled him under her spell even more deeply than he cared to admit.
“I’m working on it. Maybe I need more practice.”
“Um, so you knew I wasn’t Lela because of my eyes and the way I smell.”
He took her change of subject in stride. They’d get to the personal stuff over time. Right now, they had bigger things to talk about and clear up.
“I didn’t know anything, except it seemed odd. I saw the news report this morning and it made sense. I met your sister, but I didn’t get to know her. I’m sorry for your loss and everything you’re going through. Whatever help you need, it’s yours, because your uncle will go down for what he’s done.”
“You mean that.”
“My father says if you aren’t a man of your word, you aren’t a man at all.”
“I like your dad.”
“I like him too.”
“Do your parents live around here?”
“About forty miles away on the family ranch. Dad’s getting older. He’ll retire soon and travel with Mom. We’re trying to convince Dane to come home and run the place. Blake lives a bit farther away. He’s a world-class racehorse trainer. Caleb just got married last month and lives with his wife on her family’s ranch in Colorado.”
“Where is Dane?”
“Last I spoke to him in Nevada checking on the cattle I bought.”
“I’m sorry, Gabe.”
“I know you are. You’ll make it right, but now we have bigger worries than my lack of funds and potentially losing my cattle, the horses, this place. You know, everything.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
He wanted to believe her. Part of him did, but if her uncle succeeded in killing her, he’d be screwed. No way he let anything happen to her for that reason, and some others he didn’t want to name right now. “How about we brighten things up? Dessert?”
“I loved dinner. I can’t imagine what you’ve done for dessert.”
“I picked up a double chocolate fudge cake from the bakery.”
“Well, now you’ve found my wea
kness.”
“Careful, I’ll exploit it,” he warned.
“By all means, I’d probably give up my fortune for chocolate.”
“I don’t want your fortune.”
“What do you want?”
“To get to know you better,” he answered honestly. “Looks like I’ll get the chance.” He cocked his head toward the window behind her.
“Oh my God, look at that snow.”
“We’re due for a couple of feet over the next three days.”
“Are you serious?”
“I never joke about snow.”
Chapter 13
Phillip sat behind his desk in the library now that the police had released the scene of the crime, his hand wrapped around a tumbler of bourbon, even though he’d like to wrap it around the cook’s scrawny neck.
“Mary, you took some clothes and shoes to the mortuary.”
Her gaze shot from the glass to meet his. “Yes, sir.”
“I’m still not clear what prompted you to take such initiative.”
“I’ve been with the girls since the day their parents brought them home. You are dealing with so much, what with the investigation into Lela’s death and Ella’s disappearance. It’s not right to leave Lela at the morgue. Friends and distant relatives have called asking about the services. I needed to do something.”
The tears gathering in Mary’s eyes didn’t affect him.
“Yet you didn’t set up a service. You instructed them to send the body to Montana when it’s released. Why?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Wolf are buried on the ranch property. It’s only fitting Lela is buried with them. I thought it better her body be stored at a mortuary in Montana rather than New York, so we can bury her as soon as her grave can be prepared after the thaw. Besides, we can’t have the service with the ongoing investigation and without Ella.”
Made sense, but she was still lying about something.
“Have you spoken to Ella?”
“No, sir.”
The lie rolled off the old bat’s lips so easily. She’d always been protective of the girls.
“You’d do anything for them.”
“Of course. It’s my job,” she added.
At Wolf Ranch Page 12