B.J. Daniels the Cardwell Ranch Collection (17 page)

Dana stared in shock as Kitty brought out a .38 and pointed it at her. Dana glanced toward the front door where her shotgun was leaning against the wall as the phone continued to ring.

“I wouldn’t if I were you, dear,” Kitty said, leveling the gun at Dana’s heart. “Let’s take a walk.”

The phone stopped ringing. “A walk?” Dana said into the deathly silence that followed. What if Hud had been calling to say he was running late? “Mrs. Randolph—”

“Kitty. Call me, Kitty, dear.” The hand holding the gun was steady, the glint in the twinkling blue eyes steely. “Get your coat. It’s cold out.”

“I don’t understand,” Dana said as she carefully took her coat from the hook, afraid she understood only too well. The shotgun was
within reach but it wasn’t loaded. Even if it had been, she suspected she would never be able to fire it before Kitty Randolph pulled the trigger.

“I’ll explain it to you on our walk,” Kitty said agreeably as she jabbed the gun into Dana’s back. “We really need to get moving, though. It gets darks so early in the canyon, especially this time of year. We wouldn’t want to step in a hole, now would we?” She laughed as Dana opened the door and they descended the porch steps.

Dana suspected she knew where they were headed long before Kitty motioned her up the road toward the old homestead—and the well.

“Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the judge taught me how to use a gun,” Kitty said. “I’m sure he regretted it since I was a much better shot than he was.”

As they walked up the road, Dana saw that a vehicle had been up the hill recently. The same person who’d ransacked the house? Her mind raced. Was it possible Jordan was up here planning to pull another stunt to scare her into selling the ranch?

She couldn’t believe it had been Jordan—didn’t want to believe it. But right now, she would love to see any member of her family.

“Ginger was a tramp, you know,” Kitty said as they walked up the road. The older woman was surprisingly spry for her age. “Your mother wasn’t the least bit phased by her. She knew your father would never have left her for a woman like Ginger Adams. For all your father’s flaws, he had better taste than that.”

Dana wouldn’t have bet on that, she thought
as she looked up at the homestead chimney. Had she seen movement up there? Twilight had turned the sky gray.

From the highway she could hear the hum of tires. Hud was on his way. He’d said he would meet her at the ranch house before she got off work. Except she’d come home early. Still he should be here soon. Unless he really had been calling to say he was running late.

“The judge, the old fool, thought he was in love with Ginger,” Kitty was saying. “He thought I would give him a divorce so he could marry her. He forgot that the money was all mine. But even then, he would have left me for her and lived on nothing, he was that besotted with her. After thirty years of marriage. Can you imagine? She was just a
child
.”

Dana heard the pain in the older woman’s voice and looked up, surprised they had reached the old homestead in record time. No wonder, with Kitty nudging her along with the gun.

“He begged me to let him go, the stupid old fool. But I had insurance, something I knew he’d done that could get him disbarred, disgraced and leave him penniless so he wouldn’t be able to support his precious Ginger and their baby.” Kitty sounded as if she was crying. “We couldn’t have a child, you know. But this tramp…I remember the night he brought me that red high-heeled shoe. He was sobbing like a baby. ‘Look what you made me do,’ he kept saying. ‘Oh, God, look what you’ve made me do.’ As if he didn’t have a choice.”

Dana stumbled and turned to look at Kitty, shocked by the revelation. The judge had killed
Ginger Adams on his wife’s orders?

“Oh, don’t look so shocked,” Kitty Randolph said. “Imagine what I would have done that night if I’d known he’d given her my ring? It was the only decent piece of jewelry he’d ever bought me. It never meant that much to me because I’d had to force him to buy it for our anniversary. But even if I never wore it, it was mine and he gave it to that woman. And then to hear it turned up in your well—with
her
.”

Dana was too stunned to speak for a moment.

“Let’s get this over with,” Kitty said, and jabbed Dana with the gun, prodding her toward the well opening. Kitty’s voice changed, sounding almost childlike. “You don’t want to get too close to the edge of the well, dear. You might fall in. It’s only natural that you would be curious. Or perhaps you’re distraught over the news about your mother. Sorry, dear, but after you’re gone it’s going to come out that your mother killed Ginger. Mary wouldn’t mind, after all she’s dead.”

Dana balked. “You wouldn’t blame my mother.”

“I’ve given it a lot of thought,” Kitty said matter-of-factly. “Your mother was afraid, living out here alone, and I lent her the judge’s .38. I’d completely forgotten the gun was in the closet until the marshal called to say that Ginger had been killed with the same gun the judge was.”

“No one will believe my mother killed Ginger Adams—
and
your husband.”

“You are so right, dear. Your sister, the common thief, took the gun while it
was in your mother’s possession and killed the judge. I’ll work out the details later. But when it comes out about your sister stealing fund-raiser money and me having it all on video…”

“
You’re
the one who forced Stacy to make it look like she and Hud had slept together.”

“Oh, dear, you are so smart,” Kitty said as she backed Dana toward the well. “I was quite the mastermind if I say so myself. First I hired the Kirk brothers to mow my lawn and then I planted the judge’s cuff links and pocket watch in their car. I said I’d be at my sister’s that night. With cell phones, no one can tell where you are. Aren’t they amazing devices?”

As Kitty backed her into the darkness, Dana could feel the well coming up behind her.

“The judge was at his stupid Toastmasters. I called and told him I thought I’d left the stove on, then I waited until he was on his way home before I called those awful Kirk brothers and told them I’d left them a bonus and to stop by the house and pick it up. The door was open. It was all too easy. You should have seen the judge’s face when I shot him twice in the chest.”

Dana grimaced. If she’d had any doubt that Kitty would shoot her, she didn’t now.

“The Kirk brothers arrived right after that,” she continued. “They reacted just as I knew they would when they heard the sirens. Hud’s father had been trying to get the goods on them for years. I knew he’d chase them to the ends of the earth. And he literally did. All I had to do was make it look as if the Kirks had broken into my house and
then go to my sister’s and wait for the terrible news.”

Dana stopped moving. She could feel the well directly behind her. One more step and she would fall into it. “Why set up Hud with my sister?”

“Stacy had to do whatever I told her and I knew how badly Hud’s father wanted to put those awful Kirk brothers away. He was more apt to believe they had robbed my house and killed my husband than your boyfriend.” Kitty smiled, pleased with herself. “Anyway, by doing that I freed you up for my nephew.”

“Your
nephew?
”

Something moved by the chimney and Dana watched as a large dark figure came out of the shadows behind Kitty. Jordan. Let it be Jordan.

“Step back, dear,” Kitty said. “Let’s not make this any more painful than we have to.”

As the figure grew closer, Dana saw the man’s face. Not Jordan. “Lanny, be careful, she has a gun!”

Kitty began to laugh, but didn’t turn as if she thought Dana was kidding. Then Dana watched in horror as Lanny made no attempt to disarm Kitty.

He leaned down to plant a kiss on the older woman’s cheek. “Why would I hurt my dear auntie? Really, Dana, I can attest to how irrational you’ve been the last few days.”

“Kitty is your aunt?”

“By marriage twice removed, but Dana you know that half the people in the canyon are related in some way, you shouldn’t be surprised,” Lanny said.

“Say your
goodbyes, Lanny,” Kitty said.

“You aren’t going to let her do this,” Dana said. “You and I were friends.”

Lanny laughed. “Friends? But you are right about one thing, I’m not going to let her do it. I’m going to take care of you, Dana, because quite frankly I’d rather see you dead than with Hudson Savage.”

He reached for her and in the twilight she saw the hard glint of anger in his eyes—the same look she’d seen at the restaurant the night of her birthday.

She dodged his grasp and felt one of the stones around the well bump against her ankle as she was forced back. She looked over her shoulder, estimating whether or not she could jump the opening. Maybe if she had a run at it, but the hole was too wide, the snow too slick around it.

She put out her hands, bracing her feet, ready to take Lanny down into the well with her if he grabbed for her again.

“You can make this easy on yourself, Dana. Or fight right up until the end.” Lanny smiled. “Makes no difference to me.”

“But it does to me,” Hud said from out of the darkness.

Both Lanny and his aunt turned in surprise. Dana saw her chance. She dove at Lanny, slamming her palms into his chest with all of her strength. He stumbled backward, colliding with his aunt Kitty, but managed to grasp Dana’s sleeve and pull her down, as well.

The air exploded with
a gunshot and Dana couldn’t be sure who’d fired it as she fell to the ground next to Lanny.

She scrambled away from him but he grabbed her ankle and crawled, dragging her, toward the well opening. She noticed that his side bloomed dark red and she realized he’d been shot. But his grip on her ankle was strong.

She tried to latch on to anything she could reach but there was nothing to hang on to and the snow was slick and she slid across it with little effort on Lanny’s part.

More gunshots and Dana saw now that Kitty was firing wildly into the darkness. Dana couldn’t see Hud, wasn’t even sure now that she’d heard his voice. Lanny had a death grip on her leg.

The black gaping hole of the well was so close now that she felt the cold coming up from the bottom.

This time the gunshots were louder, echoing across the hillside. Dana saw Kitty stumble, heard her cry. Out of the corner of her eye, Dana watched Kitty start to fall.

Dana kicked out at Lanny with her free leg. His grip on her ankle loosening as his aunt tripped over him, but managed to remain standing.

He let go of Dana’s ankle and for an instant they were all frozen in time. Kitty was looking down at her blue slacks. One leg appeared black in the darkening light. Dana scooted out of Lanny’s grasp and was getting to her feet when she heard Hud order, “Put down the gun, Mrs. Randolph.”

Kitty looked up, her spine
straightening, her chin going up. “I had a bad feeling when you came back to town, Hudson Savage.” She smiled and Dana watched the rest play out in slow, sick motion.

Kitty dropped the gun, but Lanny grabbed it up and started to turn it on Dana. She saw the crazed look in his eyes as he gripped the gun and frantically felt for the trigger.

Hud’s weapon made a huge booming sound in the deafening silence. The shot caught Lanny in the chest but he was still trying to pull the trigger as another shot exploded and he fell back, his head lolling to one side on the edge of the well.

Dana wrenched the gun from his hands and crawled back away from him and the well.

Kitty was still standing there, head up. The one leg of her slacks looked black with blood. She didn’t seem to notice Lanny lying on the ground next to her.

Dana turned as Hud came out of the shadows, his weapon still pointed at Kitty. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the movement and heard Hud yell, “No!”

Dana turned in time to see Kitty Randolph smile as she stepped back and dropped into the well.

A few seconds later Dana heard the sickening thud as Kitty hit the bottom. But by then, Hud was pulling Dana into his arms and telling her he loved her, over and over again. In the distance she could hear the wail of sirens.

Hud parked by the Hebgen Lake
house and got out, noting that his father’s vehicle was in the garage and there were no fresh tracks.

But when he knocked at the door, he got no answer. He tried the knob, not surprised when the door opened in. “Dad?” he called. The word sounded funny and he tried to remember the last time he’d said it.

As he moved through the house, it became more apparent that Brick wasn’t there. Hud felt his pulse start as he reminded himself how old his father had seemed the other day, then recalled with shame and embarrassment what he’d said to Brick.

But Hud knew the panicky feeling in the pit of his stomach had more to do with what he hadn’t yet said to his father.

“Dad?” he called again.

No answer. He glanced into the bedrooms. Both empty, beds made. Hud had never expected his father to keep such a neat house. Hud’s mother had hated housework.

The kitchen was also empty, still
smelling faintly of bacon and coffee. But as he looked out the window across the frozen white expanse of the lake, he spotted a lone figure squatting on the ice.

Hud opened the back door and followed the well-worn footprints across patches of glistening wind-crusted ice and drifted snow, his boot soles making a crunching sound as he walked toward his father.

Dressed in a heavy coat and hat, Brick Savage sat on a log stump, a short ice-fishing pole in his gloved hands. The fishing line disappeared down into the perfect hole cut in the ice at his feet.

His father looked up and smiled. “Heard the news. You solved both murders. Figured you would.”

Just then the rod jerked. Brick set the hook and hauled a large rainbow trout out of the slushy water and up onto the ice. He picked up the flopping trout, unhooked it and dropped it back into the water.

Hud stood, trying to put into words everything he wanted—needed—to say to his father. Hud had been so sure that his father had set him up so he could kill Judge Raymond Randolph and frame the Kirk brothers. “Dad, I—”

“There’s an extra rod,” Brick said, cutting him off. He motioned to the rod resting against an adjacent stump.

“You knew I’d be showing up?” Hud asked in surprise.

His dad smiled. “I’d hoped you would.”

“There’s some things I need to say to you.”

Brick shook his
head. “Your coming here today says everything I need to hear.” He reached over and picked up the short rod and handed it to his son. “If you want, we could keep a few fish and cook them up for lunch. Or if you’re in a hurry—”

“No hurry. I haven’t had trout in a long time,” Hud said, taking a seat across from his father. “I could stay to eat trout for lunch.”

His dad nodded and Hud thought he glimpsed something he’d never seen, tears in his father’s eyes. Brick dropped his head to bait his hook and when he looked up again, the tears were gone. If they were ever there.

He watched his father, thinking he might call Dana after lunch to see if she’d like trout for dinner tonight. “I’ve been offered the marshal job,” he said as he baited his line and dropped it into the hole.

“I’m not surprised.”

“I heard you put in a good word for me,” Hud said, feeling his throat tighten.

“Rupert’s got a big mouth,” Brick said but smiled. “The canyon’s lucky to get you. Dana pleased about it?”

He nodded and hooked into a fish. “You know about Rupert and Kitty Randolph?”

“I knew he liked her. He’s taking it all pretty hard. He likes to think he’s smarter than most people when it comes to figuring out criminals,” Brick said.

“Kitty fooled a lot of people.”

“Yes, she did,” Brick said.

They spent the rest of the morning fishing, talking little. Later while Brick was frying up the trout for lunch, Hud called Dana and told her he
was bringing trout for dinner.

“You ask her to marry you yet?” Brick asked after he hung up and they were sitting down to eat lunch.

“I’m going to tonight,” Hud said.

Without a word, his dad got up from the table and returned a few minutes later with a small velvet box. He set it beside Hud’s plate and sat. “I know you bought her an engagement ring before. I couldn’t afford an engagement ring for your mother so she never had one. But I was wondering if you’d like to have your grandmother’s?”

Hud frowned. He’d never known either of his grandparents. His father’s parents were dead before he was born and from what he’d heard, his mother’s family had disowned his mother when she’d married Brick. “My grandmother…?”

“Christensen. Your grandmother on your mother’s side,” he said, and handed the small velvet box to Hud. “She left it to me in her will. I guess it was her way of saying she was sorry for making it so hard on your mother for marrying me.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I know your mother would want you to have it.”

Hud opened the small velvet box and pulled back in surprise. “It’s beautiful.”

Brick helped himself to the trout. “Just like Dana.”

Hud studied his father. “Thank you.”

“There’s some money, too,” Brick said. “Probably not near enough to pay off Dana’s brothers and sister and keep the ranch though.”

“I doubt there is enough money
in the world for that,” Hud said. “Jordan won’t be happy until the ranch is sold, but I’m sure he’ll be disappointed when he realizes how small his share is. He would have been much better off if his mother’s new will had been found. He would have gotten money for years from the ranch instead of a lump sum, and in the end come out way ahead.”

“But he wants it all now,” Brick said. “You think he found the new will and destroyed it?”

“Probably.”

Brick handed him the plate of trout.

“I got a call from Stacy Cardwell this morning. She’s in Las Vegas. She said Kitty threatened to kill her when she stopped by the woman’s place the night before she left. I guess Stacy thought she could get some traveling money out of Kitty as if blackmail went both ways,” Hud said, shaking his head.

“It’s a wonder Kitty didn’t shoot her on the spot.”

Hud remembered Dana’s story about finding Kitty on her hands and knees digging in the closet. “Probably would have but she’d forgotten she still had the .38. There was a struggle though. Dana said Kitty had a bruise on her cheek.”

Brick nodded. “You could bring Stacy back to face charges.”

Hud shook his head. Both Lanny and Kitty were dead. It was over.

He and Brick ate in silence for a while, then Hud said, “I saw you with Ginger that night.”

His father paused, then took
a bite of fish. “I remembered after you were gone. I pulled her over that night. She’d been drinking. I thought about taking her in, made her get out of the car and go through the sobriety tests.”

Hud recalled the sound of Ginger’s laughter. As Hud had driven past, she’d been flirting with Brick, spinning around in that red dress and those bright red high-heeled shoes.

“I saw all her stuff in the back of her car,” Brick said.

Hud wondered if the judge or Kitty had gotten rid of Ginger’s belongings and her car. No one would have ever known about her death, if Warren hadn’t seen her skull at the bottom of the Cardwell Ranch well.

“She told me she was leaving town,” Brick was saying. “I told her to be careful. If I’d locked her up that night, she might still be alive.”

D
ANA STOOD
in the kitchen after Hud’s call, looking up the hillside. There was no old chimney or foundation anymore. It was as if there’d never been an old homestead up there. Or an old well. A backhoe operator had filled in the well. Soon after the land was cleared, it had begun to snow again, covering up the scarred earth.

Dana thought she could get used to the new view, but it would take time. She frowned at the thought, realizing she didn’t have time. After everything that had happened, she had given up her fight to save the ranch. Jordan was right. All she was doing was costing them all attorney’s fees and
eventually, she would lose and have to sell anyway. She’d told Jordan he could list the property with a Realtor.

She turned away from the window, turning her thoughts, as well, to more pleasant things. Hud. She smiled, just thinking about him. They’d been inseparable, making love, talking about the future. Even now she missed him and couldn’t wait for him to get back.

He was bringing trout for dinner. She was glad he’d gone up to see his father. Her mother had been right about one thing. Family. It
did
matter. Her own father was out of the hospital and planning to be back playing with Uncle Harlan in the band. They’d both offered to play at the wedding. Her father had promised to cut back on his drinking but Dana wasn’t holding her breath. She was just glad to still have him.

She smiled, thinking of the wedding she and Hud would have. That is, if he asked her to marry him again.

Since Kitty Randolph’s death, a lot of things had come out about the judge. Some of the things Hud had blamed on his father had been the judge’s doing.

Hud had even realized that his mother’s bitterness toward Brick was fueled by her family and that it had made Brick into the hard man he was when Hud was growing up.

The last few days had changed them all. At least Dana had decided she was ready to let go of all the old hurts and move on, whatever the future held.

She stopped in the middle of the kitchen as if she’d just felt a warm hand on her shoulder and it was as if she could feel her mother’s presence. Wasn’t this what her mother
had wanted? For her to forgive and forget?

Dana smiled, the feeling warming her as she moved to the cupboard that held all her mother’s cookbooks. Like her mother, she loved cookbooks, especially the old ones.

She pulled out her mother’s favorite and ran her fingers over the worn cover. Maybe she would make Hud’s favorite double-chocolate brownies from her mother’s old recipe. She hadn’t made them since Hud had left five years before.

As she opened the book, several sheets of lined paper fluttered to the floor. Stooping to pick them up, she caught sight of her mother’s handwriting. Her heart leaped to her throat. Hurriedly, she unfolded the pages.

Her heart began to pound harder as she stared down at her mother’s missing will.