by B. J Daniels
So when the sheriff walked in, he hadn’t known what to expect. Flint had wanted to fire him from day one. The only thing that had kept him employed was the fact that his daddy was the mayor.
“How are you feeling?” Flint asked. He sounded concerned, more concerned than he had in the past, that was for sure.
Harp licked his dry lips. The sheriff poured some water from a pitcher by the bed into a cup with a straw and handed it to him. He took a long drink before handing it back.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice froggy.
Flint grimaced, a familiar expression the sheriff used when Harp had done something that wasn’t according to protocol. “You don’t remember?”
He held his breath, feeling his career and all his dreams slipping away.
“You dug up a grave on your day off,” the sheriff said.
Harp let out the breath with a sigh of relief. It wasn’t last year. It hadn’t all been a dream. He’d saved the day a few times since then. He wasn’t a total screwup. Also, his memory was coming back. “Misty Dunn’s grave,” he said. “I just had this feeling...”
“Turns out that your instincts were correct.”
“It wasn’t her body in the wooden casket, right?”
Flint smiled. “No, it wasn’t. It was her father’s. According to the coroner, he’d been murdered. Sonny sent the slugs to the lab but he’s betting they will turn out to be from the same gun that killed the woman we thought was Madeline. Turns out the bones found in the creek were Misty’s.”
Harp frowned. His head hurt. “So someone killed the old man, and everyone thought it was Misty’s body in the grave... Wait, why would anyone do that?”
“The popular theory is that Misty was the woman Tucker met on the bridge that night and Madeline was the person waiting for her downstream. They possibly argued, and Misty ended up dead. But how did she explain what had happened to Misty when Madeline went home? Maybe another argument ensued, the father is killed and buried in the old cemetery and everyone is told it was Misty who died. No one sees Kell, the old man, and the family has left. No one knows the truth.” Flint looked at him. “Until you decided to dig up Misty’s grave.”
“How about that,” Harp said. “So where is this Madeline I keep hearing so much about?”
“That’s the million-dollar question,” the sheriff said.
“We have to find her,” Harp said, trying to sit up. “She’s the only one who can clear your brother.”
The sheriff gently pushed him back down. “You aren’t going anywhere. The doc says you’re here at least until tomorrow. You have a nasty bump on the side of your head. Fortunately, no concussion, though the blow must have been enough to knock you out.”
“Wait, how did you find me?” Harp asked, surprised he wasn’t still lying in that grave. He now remembered the feel of the dirt being shoveled over him. The thought made him shudder.
“Some old man named Ray said he met you at the bar. He got worried about you when you didn’t return his shovel and drove out to the cemetery.”
“I remember hearing the sound of a vehicle.”
“Ray must have scared your would-be killer away and saved your life. He took his shovel back. Said if you need it again, to let him know.”
Harp smiled, glad the sheriff was finding the humor in this.
“Once Ray called the sheriff you were brought by helicopter to the hospital here in Gilt Edge. By the way, Tucker found K.O. and one of the sisters, Melody.”
“Is that who hit me and knocked me into that grave?”
The sheriff shook his head. “They were miles away. We’re looking into who attacked you while you were grave robbing.”
Harp heard the chastisement in his boss’s words. He should have known a lecture was coming. “Probably should have let you know where I was.”
“You think?”
“But then again, you would have tried to stop me,” Harp said.
Flint nodded. “Something about protocol, yes.” But he smiled. “Good work, Deputy. Now, get some rest. Vicki is outside in the hallway and anxious to see you.”
“You tell her I’m a hero?” Harp joked.
“I figured you’d take care of that yourself,” Flint said, but he was still smiling. “I thought you’d like to meet your son.”
* * *
AFTER TUCKER DROPPED Kate at her SUV on the ranch, he showered and changed before calling the sheriff’s department. His brother answered as soon as the dispatcher put the call through.
“Are you headed back?” Flint asked.
“I’m at the ranch. I’d come down to the sheriff’s department but—”
“I’ll be right over.”
Good to his word, Flint pulled up not five minutes later. Tucker met him downstairs in the living room. He hadn’t seen Hawk or Cyrus, both apparently out working on the ranch. He felt guilty that he hadn’t done an honest day’s work since he’d been home.
“I called over to Hell Creek Bar,” Flint said without preamble. “Both K.O. and Melody cleared out this morning.”
That didn’t surprise him, though he had wondered if maybe K.O. was tired of running. What bothered Tucker was who exactly Madeline’s brother was running from. Was it her? Was she that evil? Or was there more to the story?
“By the way,” Flint said. “Where’s Kate?”
He told him about her father being admitted to the hospital. “She’s gone to Helena.”
“I have news,” Flint said after they’d sat down in the living room.
Tucker listened, not surprised that Deputy Harper Cole hadn’t found Misty Dunn in that grave up north. “It was the father?”
“Murdered. Slugs were found in the coffin as if he hadn’t been dead when he’d been put in there and was finished off.”
“Tell me it wasn’t my pistol,” he said.
“The slugs match your pistol, but that’s the good news,” Flint assured him. “You had no reason to kill Kell Dunn. Also, you have an alibi. You were still on the ranch before the Dunns buried who they said was their sister Misty. Apparently whoever had killed the father thought his body would never be found.”
Tucker couldn’t believe this. “What do you mean whoever? Who was left in that house? K.O. and Melody had already cleared out. Misty was dead. The way I see it the only person left was Madeline.”
“Except Madeline couldn’t have killed her father, built him a coffin, put him in it and buried it at the old cemetery all by herself.”
“So there has to be someone else involved.” Just as Kate had been saying all along. The mysterious accomplice that she was determined to find.
“You sure K.O. didn’t stick around long enough to help Madeline?”
Tucker shook his head. “I honestly believe he’s afraid of her.”
“Sounds like he has good reason.”
“How are you going to find her?” Tucker asked.
Flint met his gaze. He looked upset. “I think she’s going to come looking for you—that’s why I’m going to lock you up. If Kate comes back still determined to play detective, then she’s going behind bars with you.”
“I like the sound of that,” Tucker said.
“Not with you. Just in the same jail.” His brother gave him the eye. “Something happen in Hell Creek?”
“I’m in love with her.”
Flint lifted a brow. “That was quick.”
“Not with this woman. She’s...” He shook his head. “She’s so much that I can’t even list all the things about her that drive me crazy, that make me laugh, that make me want her like I’ve never wanted anything or anyone in my life. She’s...everything.”
His brother laughed. “You do have it bad. That’s another reason you should be locked up for a while.”
“Flint, if you really want to find Madeline Dunn and end this
, then you have to let me go. Like you said, she will find me—but not if I’m locked up in jail. Also, you can’t prove I left the county.”
“Are you serious? You called and told me—”
“I was drunk.”
His brother rolled his eyes. “If we’re right, then Madeline already tried to kill you once. You know what this woman is capable of.”
He nodded. “But she doesn’t know what I’m capable of. I used to be putty in her hands and her sister Misty’s, as well. I’ve grown up. You need to let me do this.”
“I can’t lose you again,” Flint said. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I do. It’s my neck on the line. Madeline tried to frame me for murder. She’ll show herself with me free and you know it. Otherwise, why would she come forward?”
His brother raked a hand through his hair, a gesture all the brothers shared, he realized. “You see her, you even get a glimpse of her, you call me. Is that clear?”
“Absolutely. I have your number on speed dial. But there might be one problem.”
“Kate,” Flint said.
“She can’t be in the picture. Right now she’s in Helena at her father’s bedside.”
“The moment she heads this way, I’ll have her picked up.”
Tucker hated to do that to her, but he had to know she was safe. And now more than ever, he wanted this over. He couldn’t live without Kate. But first he had to deal with his old girlfriend.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
AS THE BATCH of brownies came out of the oven, Billie Dee made a plate to take into the bar to Ashley Jo. She didn’t know how much longer she could wait for the DNA results. Every day being around Ashley Jo, she saw more of her daughter in the young woman.
Picking up the plate of brownies, she fought to get control of her emotions as best she could and walked out to the bar.
Ashley Jo was busy cleaning a table of four that had just left.
Billie Dee took a seat at the bar, her knees knocking. “I thought you might need a treat,” she called to the young woman.
“Brownies? The smell coming out of the kitchen was about to do me in,” she said as she finished washing the table and returned behind the bar with the dishes and cleaning supplies.
Billie Dee watched her wash her hands and dry them. She’d always heard that you can tell a lot about a person by their hands. She realized Ashley Jo’s weren’t the hands of a professional bartender or barmaid. Far from it. They were manicured, not red and chapped from being in water all the time. While Ashley Jo had learned how to make drinks and serve them, she hadn’t been doing this long.
“These look wonderful,” the young woman said. She picked up a brownie but, before taking a bite, said, “Are you all right?”
Billie Dee started. “Sorry, woolgathering. How are you today?”
The young woman met her gaze as she took a bite of the brownie. She swallowed and grinned. “Billie Dee, these are amazing. Can I get your recipe?”
“Ashley Jo, there’s something I’ve been meaning to—”
“I forgot to tell you.” She reached in her pocket and brought out a folded piece of newsprint. Wiping her hands on a bar rag, she unfolded what appeared to be something she’d torn out of a magazine.
“It’s a cooking contest,” Ashley Jo announced. “When I saw it, I thought of you. You don’t have to actually cook. You just have to send in a recipe to win. I thought your chili would win hands down.”
Billie Dee couldn’t help being touched. “That is sweet of you, but I couldn’t—”
“Are you kidding? The way you cook? You will win this.”
“That is sweet of you, really. Ashley Jo, I can’t help but notice that when you get excited your Texas accent comes out. It makes me a little homesick. You said your father was in the military, but you must have spent quite a bit of time there to pick up such a distinct accent.”
The young woman froze for a moment, then laughed. “You caught me. I thought I hid it so well... So much for that fancy finishing school my mother sent me to. But then again, you’re from Texas so of course you recognized it. Like I said, I was a military brat, but I’m Texas born and bred. Leave it to you to spot it. Between the fancy finishing school and university—”
“Where did you attend?”
“Texas A&M. Go Aggies!” She let out a nervous laugh. “I thought I’d gotten rid of my accent. Guess no one can get all the Texas out of a person, huh.”
“Where in Texas were you born?”
“San Antonio. I’m sure you’ve been on the river walk there.”
“I have.” San Antonio.
“How about you?” Ashley Jo asked conversationally.
“Houston.”
“I have friends from there. I love the old part of town. Can I get you something to drink?”
Billie Dee shook her head. “So what brought you to Gilt Edge?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I was just traveling through.”
Ashley Jo smiled, a look in her eye that Billie Dee couldn’t quite read. Was that a wariness? “Another thing we have in common. Unfortunately, I never learned to cook, though. I was hoping you might give me some pointers. I know you don’t have much time, like, to give lessons, but I was wondering...”
“I would be happy to,” Billie Dee said. “Any morning, just come by the kitchen before your shift or on your days off. Up to you.”
“Thank you. I’m excited and probably hopeless when it comes to the kitchen, but it will be fun spending time with you,” Ashley Jo said. “Since we seem to have so much in common.”
Billie Dee smiled but wondered about that. What had Ashley Jo really come to Gilt Edge, Montana, hoping to find? Certainly not cooking lessons. But she had seen the young woman eyeing Cyrus Cahill. Maybe she’d come looking for a cowboy...?
* * *
TUCKER WASN’T ONE to sit around and wait. He never doubted that he’d be seeing Madeline again, now that he knew she was alive. But he also figured she wouldn’t be coming alone. Madeline was the kind of woman who had a man doing her bidding for her—just as he suspected she had nineteen years ago.
Had it been Madeline who’d been waiting for Misty downstream that night? Or had Madeline sent the other person Kate had been looking for all these years?
Tucker walked into his lawyer’s office, right past the empty receptionist’s desk, as he followed the sound of raised voices.
He pushed open Jayce’s office door and stopped—just like the conversation did in the room in front of him.
Cal, Lonny and Jayce all turned abruptly. He shouldn’t have been surprised to see Jayce in his office with the two men. After all, the three of them had been best friends back in high school. So why had it sounded like they’d been having a heated disagreement?
More to the point, why did Tucker sense they’d been talking about him?
“I’m curious,” he said as he looked into their surprised and guilty-looking faces. “Do you have a receptionist, Jayce? I’ve yet to see anyone sitting out there.”
“She’s on leave. To go back to college for a few months. I promised to keep her job for her.”
“That was awful nice of you.”
Cal let out a snort, making him think that Jayce had something other than the young woman’s education going on with his receptionist.
Jayce rose. “Come on in. We’re through here. Cal and Lonny were just leaving.”
Cal looked as if he wasn’t finished, but he took his cue and said, “Come on, Lonny. I guess we better get back to work.”
Lonny didn’t even give him a look as he passed, but Cal gave a quick nod and the two were gone. Tucker closed the door behind them.
“What’s going on, Jayce?”
His friend shook his head and sat back down.
He
couldn’t help asking, “You still want to represent me, don’t you?”
“Of course. What makes you ask that?”
“Just when I came in...”
“The guys.” Jayce sighed. “You know what gossips they are. There’s a lot of stories going around.”
“Like what?”
Jayce motioned to a chair across from his desk, but Tucker declined with a shake of his head. “Your leaving nineteen years ago has people speculating that you killed her and ran. Now you’re back. Your brother is the sheriff. Madeline is nothing but bones...”
Tucker nodded. “They really think I killed her?”
“She was holding you up for money. The whole jumping-into-the-river thing, that sounds like someone planned to blackmail you for years.”
“I don’t believe I mentioned her jumping in the river,” Tucker said, his stomach sinking.
Jayce’s eyes widened in alarm. He swore under his breath. “You must have. How else would I know that?”
“My thought exactly.”
His friend held up both hands. “Easy, Tuck. It isn’t what you’re thinking.”
“Maybe you’d better tell me what it is you think I’m thinking. Or maybe just tell me what you and Lonny and Cal were arguing about.”
Jayce looked away for a moment. “We were arguing about how stupid it was to fix you up with Madeline.”
“I thought we already agreed on that. There something new I should know about?”
“Lonny. That’s how I knew about her jumping in the river or the creek or the lake after pretending she had a baby.”
“Lonny?”
“He’d gone through the same thing with Madeline.”
“And you still set me up with her?” he demanded, afraid he was going to reach across the table and thump Jayce at any minute.
“I had no idea. Not until all this shit with you went down. Lonny just told me. Only he went to Rip and Rip handled it so nothing ever came of it.”
Tucker studied Jayce for a long moment. “So Rip knew how to find her, how to...handle it? And Rip was how the three of you found out about Madeline to begin with, right?”