Justice at Cardwell Ranch (15 page)

There was also no sign that this was the spot where his best friend had taken his life. No log stumps. No rope mark on the large old pine limb. Nothing left of the tragedy even on the breeze that moaned in the high boughs. Jordan doubted the place’s owners knew about the death that had occurred within yards of their vacation home.

He felt a sadness overwhelm him. “Why, Tanner? Why the hell did you do it?” he demanded as he looked up at the large limb where he’d found him. “Or did you?” He feared they would never know as he looked again at the dried-pine-needle-covered ground. Did he really think he was going to find answers up here?

Too antsy to go back to his cabin, he drove up the canyon. When he saw his father’s truck parked outside The Corral, he swung in. He found his father and uncle sitting on their usual stools at the bar.

“Son? I thought you would have left by now,” Angus Cardwell said. “Bob, get my son a beer.”

Jordan noticed there were a few men at the end of the bar and several families at the tables in the dining area eating.

Angus slapped his son on the back as Jordan slid onto a stool next to him. The bar smelled of burgers and beer. Not a bad combination, he thought, figuring he understood why his old man had such an infatuation with bars.

“What have you been up to?” Uncle Harlan asked him.

“My twenty-year class reunion,” he said, figuring that would suffice.

“You actually went to it?” his father said with a laugh.

“I went with the deputy marshal.”

Both older men hooted. “That’s my son,” Angus said proudly.

Jordan had known that would be his father’s reaction. It was why he’d said it. He was just glad Liza hadn’t been around to hear it.

The draft beer was cold and went down easy. Heck, he might have a burger while he was at it. He settled in, listening to the watering hole banter, a television over the bar droning in the background.

“Your deputy figured out who killed that man at the falls?” his uncle asked him.

“Not yet, but she will,” he said with confidence.

His father smiled over at him and gave him a wink. “That what’s really keeping you in the canyon, ain’t it?”

Jordan smiled and ordered burgers for the three of them.

Later when he drove back to Big Sky and stopped by the Marshal’s Office, he was disappointed to learn that Liza hadn’t returned from West Yellowstone. He thought about what his father had said about his reasons for staying around. If he was being honest with himself, Liza definitely played into it.

* * *

L
IZA FOUND
B
RICK
Savage sitting on the deck of his Hebgen Lake home. She’d heard stories about him and, after he’d ignored her knocks at his front door, braced herself as she approached his deck.

“Mr. Savage?”

He looked up, his gaze like a piercing arrow as he took in her uniform first, then studied her face before saying, “Yes?”

“I’m Deputy Marshal Liza Turner out of the Big Sky office. I’d like a moment of your time.”

“You have any identification?” His voice was gravelly but plenty strong.

She pulled her ID and climbed a couple of steps so he could see it.

He nodded, amusement in his gaze. “Deputy Marshal. Times really have changed. I heard my son left you in charge of the murder case.”

“That’s correct.”

“Well, come on up here then,” Brick said and pushed himself up out of his chair. He was a big man, but she could see that he used to be a lot bigger in his younger days. There was a no-nonsense aura about him along with his reputation that made her a little nervous being in his company.

He shoved a chair toward her as she reached the deck and waited for her to sit before he pulled up a weather-grayed log stump and settled himself on it.

“I hate to take your chair,” she said, wondering about a man who had only one chair on his deck. Apparently he didn’t expect or get much company. Did that mean he didn’t see much of Hud and family?

“So?” Brick said as if his time was valuable and she was wasting it.

“I want to ask you about Tanner Cole’s death. He was a senior—”

“I know who he was. Found hanging from a tree up on the side of the mountain overlooking Big Sky twenty-odd years ago,” Brick said. “What do you want to know?”

“Was it a suicide?”

He leveled his gaze at her. “Wasn’t it ruled one?”

“At the time. Is it possible Tanner had help?”

“It’s always possible. Was there any sign of a struggle like scratches or bruises? Not according to the coroner’s report but if you did your homework, you’d already know that. As for footprints, there were a lot of them. He’d had a beer bash, kegger, whatever your generation calls it. He’d had that within a few days so there were all kinds of tracks at the scene.”

She knew all this and wondered if she’d wasted her time driving all the way up here. Past him she could see the deep green of the lake, feel a cold breeze coming off the water. Clouds had already gathered over Lion’s Head Mountain, one of the more recognizable ones seen from his deck. Add to that the sun had already gone down. As it was, it would be dark before she got back to Big Sky.

“I can tell you this, he used his own rope,” Brick said.

She nodded. “What about Jordan Cardwell?”

“What about him?”

“You found him at the scene. Is there any chance—”

“He didn’t kill his friend, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“You’re that sure?” she said, hearing the relief in her voice and suspecting he did too. She’d started to like Jordan, suspect or not. She knew it was a bad idea on so many levels, but there was something about him…

“What did you really come up here to ask me?” Brick demanded.

“I guess what I want is your gut reaction.”

“My gut reaction isn’t worth squat. Do I think he killed himself?” The former marshal shrugged. “Strangulation takes a while. Gives a man a lot of time to reconsider and change his mind, but with all his body weight on the rope, it’s impossible to get your fingers under the rope and relieve the pressure.”

She looked at him in surprise. “Are you telling me he—”

“Changed his mind and clawed at the rope?” He nodded.

“Why wasn’t that in the coroner’s report?”

“It’s not uncommon. But also not something a family member ever wants to know about. I would imagine Rupert wanted to spare them any more pain.”

Liza shook her head. “But couldn’t it also mean that Tanner Cole never meant to hang himself? That someone else put that rope around his neck?”

“And he didn’t fight until that person kicked the log out?” Brick asked. “Remember, there were no defensive wounds or marks on his body.”

“Maybe he thought it was a joke.”

The elderly former marshal studied her for a moment. “What would make you let someone put a noose around your neck, joking or otherwise?”

That was the question, wasn’t it?

“You think he killed himself,” she said.

He shrugged. “Prove me wrong.”

* * *

H
UD SPENT A GOOD TWO HOURS
canvassing the area for his sister-in-law before he put out the APB on her vehicle. He checked with the main towing services first though, telling himself her car could have broken down. All kinds of things could have happened to detain her—and maybe even keep her from calling.

But after those two hours he knew in his gut that wasn’t the case. Stacy had split.

At the office he did something he’d hoped he wouldn’t have to do. He began checking again for kidnappings of children matching Ella’s description and realized he needed to narrow his search. Since Stacy was driving a car with California plates…

He realized he should have run her plates first. Feeling only a little guilty for having taken down her license number when he’d first become suspicious of her, he brought up his first surprise.

The car had been registered in La Jolla, California—but not to Stacy by any of her former married names or her maiden name of Cardwell.

The car was registered to Clay Cardwell—her brother.

He picked up the phone and called the family lawyer who was handling the dispersing of ranch profits to Dana’s siblings.

“Rick, I hate to bother you, but I need to get a phone number and address for Dana’s brother Clay. I understand he’s living in La Jolla, California.”

Rick cleared his voice. “Actually I was going to contact Dana, but hesitated when I heard she’s on bed rest at the ranch pregnant with the twins.”

News traveled fast, Hud thought. “What’s up?” he asked, afraid he wasn’t going to like it.

“Clay. He hasn’t been cashing his checks. It’s been going on for about six months. I just assumed he might be holding them for some reason. But the last one came back saying there was no one by that name and no forwarding address.”

Hud swore under his breath. Six months. The same age as Ella. Although he couldn’t imagine what the two things could have in common or why Clay hadn’t cashed his checks or how it was that his older sister was driving a car registered to him.

“I think we need to find him,” Hud said. “I’d just as soon Dana didn’t know anything about this. Believe me, she has her hands full right now. One more thing though. Stacy. Did she give you a new address to send her checks?”

“No. She’s moved around so much, I wait until I hear from her and usually send them general delivery.”

“Well, could you do me a favor? If you hear from her, call me.”

“I thought she was here in the canyon.”

“She was, but right now she’s missing and she left a small…package at the house.”

* * *

I
T WAS DARK BY THE TIME
L
IZA
drove past the Fir Ridge cemetery, climbed up over the Continental Divide and entered Gallatin Canyon.

This time of year there was little traffic along the two-lane road as it snaked through pines and over mountains along the edge of the river.

She kept thinking about what Brick Savage had told her. More to the point, the feeling she’d had when she’d left him. He’d challenged her to prove Tanner Cole had been murdered. No doubt because he knew it would be near impossible.

And yet if she was right and Alex’s murder had something to do with Tanner’s death, then the killer had shown his hand.

Pulling out her phone, she tried Hud’s cell. In a lot of spots in the canyon there was no mobile phone service. To her surprise it began to ring.

“Marshal Savage,” he snapped.

“Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?” she asked through the hands-free speaker, wondering if he was in the middle of something with the kids.

“Liza. Good. I’m glad you called. Did you get my message?”

She hadn’t. Fear gripped her. Surely there hadn’t been another murder. Her thoughts instantly raced to Jordan and she felt her heart fall at the thought that he might—

“It’s Stacy,” he said. “She left the house earlier. No one has seen her since. She hasn’t called. I’ve looked all over Big Sky. She left the baby at the house.”

“What?”
It took her moment to pull back from the thought of another murder. To pull back from the fear and dread that had had her thinking something had happened to Jordan. “Stacy wouldn’t leave her baby, would she?”

“Knowing Stacy, I have a bad feeling the baby isn’t even hers.”

Liza was too shocked to speak for a moment. “You think she…stole it?”

“Something is wrong. I’ve suspected it from the get-go. Dana was hoping I was just being suspicious because it’s my nature, but I’d been worried that something like this would happen. I didn’t want Dana getting attached to that baby, but you know Dana, and Ella is adorable, if that is even her name.”

“Oh, boss, I’m so sorry.”

“So you spoke to my father?” Hud asked.

“He was the investigating officer at Tanner Cole’s suicide.”

“What did he tell you?”

“That it was Tanner’s rope.”

Hud let out a humorless laugh. “That sounds like Brick. Have you met him before?”

“Never had the honor. He must have been a treat as a father.”

“You could say that.” He sighed. “Look, Hilde’s at the house. I’m going to make another circle through the area to look for Stacy before I go home.”

“I’m about twenty minutes out. Do you want me to stop by?”

“If you don’t mind. I know you’re busy with this murder case…”

“No problem. I’ll see you soon.” She snapped the phone shut, shocked by what he’d told her. She was so deep in thought that she hadn’t noticed the lights of another vehicle coming up behind her.

She glanced in the mirror. One of the headlights was out on the approaching car. That struck her about the same time as she realized the driver was coming up too fast.

She’d been going the speed limit. By now the driver of the vehicle behind her would have been able to see the light bar on the top of her SUV. Only a fool would come racing up on a Marshal’s Department patrol car—let alone pass it.

And yet as she watched, the driver of what appeared to be an old pickup swerved around her and roared up beside her.

Liza hit her lights and siren, thinking the driver must be drunk. She glanced over, saw only a dark figure behind the wheel wearing a black ski mask. Her heart jumped, but she didn’t have time to react before the driver swerved into her. She heard the crunch of metal, felt the patrol SUV veer toward the ditch and the pines and beyond that, the river.

She slammed on the brakes, but was traveling too fast to avoid the truck crashing into her again. The force made the vehicle rock wildly as she fought to keep control. The tires screamed on the pavement as the SUV began to fishtail.

Liza felt the right side of the vehicle dip into the soft shoulder of the highway, pulling the SUV off the road. She couldn’t hold it and felt her tires leave the pavement. A stand of trees blurred past and then there was nothing but darkness as she plunged over the edge of the road toward the dark green of the river.

Chapter Twelve

Hud was headed home when he heard the 911 call for an ambulance come over his radio. His heart began to race as he heard that the vehicle in the river was a Montana marshal’s patrol SUV.