by B. J Daniels
“No. Rebecca only told me that Marc was dangerous and she needed Andy to be safe until she could come get him. She doesn’t even know where we are. I was to tell her only when she called.”
“Good. I don’t need to know either. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that Andy is with you and safe. But did Rebecca give you a message to pass on to me if I called?”
“She did mention that it was possible you would call.”
So her sister had feared she wouldn’t be able to call herself. Gillian felt sick.
“Becky said that if you called to tell you she forgives you for the birthday present you gave her when she turned fourteen and that she is overcoming her fears, just as you suggested. Does that make any sense to you?”
Gillian tried hard not to burst into uncontrollable sobs. “Yes, it does,” she managed to say. “That’s all?”
“That’s it. Whatever is going on, it reminded me of how much your sister always loved puzzles.”
“Yes. I’m just grateful that Andy is with you and safe. Give him my love.”
She disconnected, still fighting tears. “Andy’s safe.”
“I heard. Your sister left you another clue?” he asked.
Before she could answer, she saw that she had a message. “The hospital called.” She hurriedly returned the call, praying that it would be good news. Please let Becky be all right. Please.
“Yes,” the floor nurse said when he finally came on the line. “We called you to let you know that your sister is doing much better. She has regained consciousness.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“I’m sorry. The doctor gave her something for the pain. She’s asleep. Maybe in the morning.”
Gillian smiled through fresh tears as she disconnected. “Rebecca is better.” She gulped the cold night air. “And I think I know where she hid the ledger.”
* * *
MARC HUNG UP from his call to the hospital, still shocked that Victor had failed. Rebecca was alive. Didn’t that mean he had a chance to reason with her? He knew it was a long shot that he could persuade Rebecca of anything at this point. But if she realized the magnitude of what she’d done, given the criminal nature of his associates, maybe she would do it for Andy’s sake...
He wished he’d explained things in the first place instead of losing his temper. He thought of Victor, Mr. Cool, and began to laugh. Victor must be beside himself. He was a man who didn’t like to fail.
Would he try to kill Rebecca again? Marc didn’t think so. It would be too dangerous. He was surprised that Victor had decided to do the job himself. That, he realized, showed how concerned the man was about cleaning up this mess—and how little confidence Victor had in him.
I’m toast.
If he’d had any doubt that Victor wouldn’t let him survive, he no longer did. Now he had only one choice. Save himself. To do that, it meant going to the feds. But without the ledger...he couldn’t remember names and numbers. He’d been told he was dyslexic. But he knew that wasn’t right because he’d heard dyslexics had trouble writing words and numbers correctly. He thought it had more to do with not being able to remember. He could write just fine. That’s what had him in this trouble.
When Victor had asked him why he’d done something so stupid as to write everything down, Marc hadn’t wanted to admit that there was anything wrong with him. He’d hired someone else to handle the details at his auto shop.
But he couldn’t very well do that with the criminal side of his work, could he? He told himself it was too late to second-guess that decision. He had to get his hands on the ledger. He realized there was a second option besides turning it over to the feds. He could skip the country with it. The ledger would be his insurance against Victor dusting him.
Without the ledger, though, he had no bargaining power.
Sure he knew some things about Victor’s operation, but not enough without the ledger. It contained the names and dates, names he knew the feds would love to get their hands on.
Rebecca! What did you do with that damned book?
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been suspicious that she was up to something in the weeks before. He’d actually thought she might be having an affair. But he’d realized that was crazy. What would she have done with Andy? It wasn’t like she had a friend to watch their son. No, he’d known it had to be something else.
He wondered if she’d taken up gambling. He didn’t give her much money, but she had a way of stretching what he did... No, he’d ruled out gambling. Unless she won all the time, that didn’t explain her disappearances.
He had started making a habit of calling home at different hours to check on her. She was never there. Oh, sure, she made excuses.
Andy and I were outside in the yard. I didn’t hear the phone. Or she didn’t have her cell phone on her. Other times she was at the park or the mall. She would say it must have been too noisy to hear her phone. He told her to put it on vibrate and stick the thing in her pocket.
“Was there something you wanted?” she’d asked.
He hadn’t liked the tone of her voice. She’d seemed pretty uppity. Like a woman who knew something he didn’t. He’d said, “I was just making sure you and Andy were all right. That’s what husbands do.”
“Really.” She’d actually scoffed at that.
Not only had he resented her attitude, he’d also hated that she acted as if she was smarter than him. Or worse, that she thought for a moment that she could outwit him.
That’s why he’d started writing down the mileage on her car.
He had checked it each night after that since he usually got in after she and the kid were asleep, and then he would compare it the next night. It had been a head-scratcher, though. She had never gone far, so while he’d continued to write it down, he hadn’t paid any attention lately.
He fished out the scrap of paper he’d been writing it down on from his wallet and did a little math. At first he thought he’d read it wrong. She’d gone over a hundred miles four days ago. The day before she’d drugged him with his own drugs, stolen his ledger and hidden his son, she’d driven more than fifty miles that morning alone.
What the hell? Marc realized that he hadn’t seen his son that day. Had she already hidden him away somewhere the day before? He tried to remember. He’d gotten home late that night. He glanced into his son’s room. He hadn’t actually seen the boy in his bed. It could have been the kid’s pillow under the covers.
He let out a string of curses. Where had she gone? Not to her family cabin, he’d already checked it. Then where? He refused to let her outsmart him. He pulled a map of Montana from the glove box. It was old, but it would do. Suddenly excited, he drew a circle encompassing twenty to twenty-five miles out from Helena. Rebecca thought she was so smart. He’d show her.
Chapter Twenty-One
“What do you want to do?” Laramie asked his brothers. They were all sitting around the large kitchen table at their cousin Dana Savage’s house on Cardwell Ranch. They’d just finished a breakfast of flapjacks, ham, fried potatoes and eggs. Hud had motioned his wife to stay where she was as he got up to refill all of their mugs with coffee.
“I hate to put off the grand opening of the restaurant,” Tag said.
“Can’t it wait until Austin can be here?” Dana asked.
Jackson got up to check on the kids, who were eating at a small table in the dining room. “We might never have a grand opening if we do that.”
“Jackson’s right,” his brother Hayes said. “We know how Austin is and now apparently he’s gotten involved with some woman who’s in trouble.” He looked toward Hud for confirmation.
The marshal finished filling their cups and said, “He got involved in a situation where he was needed. That’s all I can tell you.”
“A dangerous situation?”
Dana asked.
Hud didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. His brothers knew Austin, and Dana was married to a marshal. She knew how dangerous his line of work could be.
“This is the woman he met in the middle of the highway, right?” Laramie shook his head. “This is his M.O. He’d much rather be working than be with his family.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Dana said in her cousin’s defense. “I talked to him. He can’t just abandon this woman. You should be proud that he’s so dedicated. And as I recall, there are several of you who are into saving women in need.” She grinned. “I believe it is why some of you are now married and others are involved in wedding planning.”
There were some chuckles around the table.
Laramie sighed. “Some of us are still interested in the business that keeps us all fed, though. Fortunately,” he added. “Let’s go ahead with the January first grand opening. I, for one, will be glad to get back to Texas. I am freezing up here.”
His brothers laughed, but agreed.
“Maybe Austin will surprise you,” Dana said.
Laramie saw a look pass between Dana and her marshal husband. He was worried about Austin. Last July, Austin had been shot and had almost died trying to get some woman out of a bad situation. He just hoped this wouldn’t prove to be as dangerous.
* * *
MARC WENT TO an out-of-the-way bar. He hadn’t seen a tail, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one again. In a quiet corner of the bar, he studied the map and tried to remember any places Rebecca might have mentioned. He had a habit of tuning her out. Now he wished he’d paid more attention.
They’d gone to a few places while they were dating, but he doubted she would be sentimental about any of them, the way things had turned out. He had never understood women, though, so maybe she would hide the ledger in one of those places because she thought it was a place he would never look.
Just trying to think like her gave him a headache. He wanted to choke the life out of the woman for putting him through this. He realized he hadn’t heard from Victor demanding an update. Which he figured meant he was right about one of Victor’s men tailing him again.
He’d lost the tail the first time, but maybe Victor had put someone like Jumbo on him. Jumbo was a more refined criminal, not all muscle and no brains, which made him very dangerous.
Marc folded the map and put it away. He couldn’t do anything until daylight. Between songs on the jukebox, he put in another call to the hospital with his brother story. He knew he was whistling in the dark. He’d be lucky if he even got to talk to Rebecca, let alone convince her he was sorry. But it was a small hospital and he doubted the cops had done more than put security outside her room, if that, since Victor had circumvented whatever safety guards they’d taken.
Still to his amazement, he was put through to Rebecca’s room.
“Hello?” she sounded weak but alive. “Hello?”
“Becky, listen,” he said once he got past his initial shock. “Don’t hang up. I have to tell you something.”
Silence.
“Are you still there?” He hated that his voice broke and even more that she’d heard it.
“What could you possibly want, Marc?”
Humor. He bit back a nasty retort. “That book you took, it doesn’t just implicate me. The people I work for... Rebecca they won’t let you live if I don’t get that book back.”
“Don’t you mean they won’t let you live?”
“Not just me. They’ll go after your sister, too.” He could hear her breathing. “And Andy.” His voice broke at the thought.
“You bastard, what have you gotten us all into?”
“Hey, if you had left well enough alone—”
“What is it? Drugs?”
“It doesn’t matter what it is. I was only trying to make some money for Andy. I wanted him to have a better life than I had.”
“Money for Andy? You are such a liar, Marc.” She laughed. It was a weak laugh, but still it made his teeth hurt. “You hid that money for yourself.”
And now she had a large portion of it. She’d hidden that, too, he reminded himself. He felt his blood pressure go through the roof. He still couldn’t believe she’d done this to him. If he could have gotten his hands on her... He took a breath, trying to regain control, as he reminded himself that he needed her help.
“Rebecca, honey, you just didn’t realize what you were getting in to. But we can fix this. I can save you and your sister and our son. These people...sweetie, I need to know what you did with the ledger. Did you mail it to the police?” Her hesitation gave him hope. “I know I reacted...badly. But, honey, I knew what would happen if that ledger got into the wrong hands. These people aren’t going to stop. They will kill you. I suspect one of them has already tried. You didn’t happen to see a man dressed as a pastor, did you?”
Her quick intake of breath told him she had “A blond guy, good looking. He was there to kill you.”
She started to say something, but began coughing. He could hear how weak and sick she was.
“He isn’t going to give up. The only way out of this is the ledger. I can save us both. Honey, I’m begging you.”
“Begging me?” She sounded like she was crying. “You mean like I begged you for a divorce?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll give you a divorce. I’ll even give you custody of Andy. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just tell me where the ledger is so I can make this right.”
“I don’t think so,” she said, her voice stronger. “It’s over, Marc. I never want to see you again. Once the police arrest you...”
He swore under his breath. “I’ll get out of jail at some point, Rebecca.”
“Not if I have my way.” The line went dead. As dead as they were both going to be, because if he went, she was going with him one way or another.
* * *
“SO SHE TOLD you where we could find the ledger?” Austin asked as he and Gillian walked back to the motel. She’d grown quiet after the call. He wondered if this last clue was one she didn’t want to share. Was she worried she couldn’t trust him?
When she said nothing, he asked, “Is something wrong?”
She looked over at him, her dark eyes bright. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
Her words touched him more than they should have. There was something about this woman... He smiled, his heart beating a little faster. “So am I,” he said, taking her gloved hand.
As if the touch of her had done it, snow began to fall in thick, lacy flakes that instantly clung to their clothing.
Gillian laughed. It was a wonderful sound in the snowy night. “Andy is safe, my sister is going to be all right and Marc Stewart is going to get what’s coming to him.” She moved closer to him as they walked. “How do you feel about caves?”
“Caves?” he said, looking over at her in surprise.
“Assuming my sister was in her right mind, she hid the ledger in a cave.” She repeated the so-called clue Nancy Baker had given her.
“And from that you’ve decided the ledger is in some cave?”
“Not just some cave. One up Miners Gulch near Canyon Ferry Lake. Rebecca is terrified of close places, especially caves. It’s a boy’s fault we ended up in one on her fourteenth birthday. I had this horrible crush on a boy named Luke Snider. He was a roughneck, wild and unruly, and adorable. I was sixteen and dreamed of the two of us on outrageous adventures. I thought I would see the world with him, live in exotic places, eat strange food and make love under a different moon every night.”
They had almost reached the motel. He hated to go inside. The night had taken on a magical quality. Or maybe it was just sharing it with Gillian that made him feel that way.
“You were quite the romantic at sixteen.”
She la
ughed. “I was, wasn’t I? It didn’t last any longer than my crush. Luke graduated from high school, went to work at his father’s tire shop. He still works there. I bought a tire from him once.” She smiled at that. “I definitely dodged a bullet with Luke.”
He laughed as he let go of her hand and reached for the room key.
Gillian turned her face out toward the snow. He watched her breathe in the freezing air and let it out in a sigh. “If I’m right about this clue then my sister is getting even with me for being such a brat on her birthday that year.” She seemed as reluctant as he did to leave the snow and the night behind, but stepped inside.
“I suspect caves have something to do with Luke and your sister’s birthday,” he said.
Gillian shook snowflakes from her coat. As she slipped out of it, he took it and hung her coat, along with his own, up to dry when she made no move to go into her adjoining room.
“I overheard Luke and his friends say they were going to these caves in the gulch. I knew they wouldn’t let me go along, but if I just happened to run into them in the caves... I didn’t want to go alone to look for them, and my friends could not imagine what I saw in Luke and his friends. You know how it is when you’re sixteen. Just seeing him, saying hi in the hall, could make my day. I wanted him to really notice me. I figured if he saw how adventurous I was in the caves... So I told my sister I had a surprise birthday present for her.”
He shook his head, smiling, remembering being sixteen and impulsive. He’d also had his share of teenage crushes. He hated to think of some of the things he’d done to impress a girl. He offered her the motel chair, anxious to hear her story, but she motioned it away and sat down on the end of his bed.
“Rebecca is claustrophobic so the last place she wanted to go was into a cave. I told her she needed to overcome her fears. Her message she left with Nancy was that she was now overcoming her fears.”
“She mentioned this birthday present, so you think she put the ledger somewhere in these caves?”
“If I’m right, I know the exact spot.” Gillian gave him a sad smile. “The spot where Rebecca totally freaked that day.” Tears filled her eyes.