Justice at Cardwell Ranch (9 page)

Brittany shook her head. “His parents are still happily married and still live on the ranch. His friends were fine—well, that is, they were until last night.” She sighed. “There was the vandalism, though.”

“Vandalism?”
Liza asked.

“Tanner was staying in the cabin at the construction site in payment for watching over Malcolm Iverson’s equipment. There was a party at the cabin one night. The next morning, Malcolm discovered his equipment had been vandalized. Tanner blamed himself.”

“Enough to kill himself?”

“I didn’t think so at the time. Wyatt didn’t even blame Tanner. The party hadn’t been his idea in the first place. Tanner was really responsible, but everyone showed up with beer and things must have gotten out of hand. But who knows. Maybe Tanner was taking it harder than any of us knew. Wyatt talked his father into letting Tanner stay at the cabin even after the vandalism. So I really don’t think that had anything to do with Tanner’s death.”

“Well, thank you for the information,” Liza said.

“It’s kind of strange though. I heard Jordan Cardwell was back in the canyon—and that he was at the falls when Alex was shot?”

“Why is that strange if they were friends?”

“Because he and Alex had a huge falling-out the night of the party.”

Liza felt her pulse quicken. “Over what?”

“I never knew. I just remember Tanner refused to take sides. He said they’d work it out.”

“Did they?”

“Not that I know of. Jordan left right after graduation and seldom came back. I’m not sure he and Alex ever spoke again.”

“Could it have been over a girl?”

Brittany laughed. “Isn’t it always?”

“So who would that girl have been?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say Tessa Ryerson. Shelby’s BFF.”

Liza laughed. “Best friend forever? Is that still true?”

Brittany nodded and crossed her fingers. “Shelby and Tessa, they’re like this and always have been. I was surprised when Jordan went out with Tessa since he never could stand Shelby.”

* * *

D
ANA HAD DOZED OFF FOR A WHILE,
she realized. She woke to find Hud lying on the bed next to her. Listening, she could hear the sound of their children’s voices coming from the kitchen along with that of her sister’s. She placed a hand on her stomach, felt her two babies and tried to relax. Nothing seemed to be amiss and yet, when she’d awakened…

“What’s wrong?” she asked, turning her head to look at her husband.

Hud was staring at the ceiling. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“I’ve never thought you were anything but completely sane in all instances,” she joked.

“I’m serious,” he said, rolling over on his side to look at her.

She saw the worry etched in his handsome face. “What?”

“You aren’t going to want to hear this.”

“Hud!”

“Something’s wrong,” he said. “I feel it.”

She sighed. “Your marshal intuition again?” She felt her eyes widen, her heartbeat kicking up a notch. “About the murder investigation?”

“It’s your sister.”

She groaned and, shaking her head, turned to look at the ceiling. “What are you saying?”

“Have you noticed the way she is with the baby?” he demanded, keeping his voice down even though the bedroom door was closed.

Dana hadn’t noticed. Usually when her sister brought the baby in, she would hand Ella to her to hold.

“It’s as if she has never changed a diaper,” Hud was saying.

“She’s probably nervous because you’re watching her. She’s new at this.”

He shook his head. “She stares at Ella, I swear, as if she’s never seen her before. Not just that,” he rushed on. “She arrived with hardly any clothes for the baby and when she came back from buying baby food, I asked her what Ella’s favorite was and she said carrots. You should have seen her trying to feed Ella carrots—”

“Stop. Do you realize how ridiculous you sound?” She’d turned to look at him again. “I repeat, what are you
saying?
”

Hud clamped his mouth shut for a moment, his eyes dark. “Okay, I’ll just say it. I don’t think that baby is hers. In fact, I don’t even think the baby’s name is Ella. That baby quilt has the name Katie stitched on it.”

“Okay, you are
crazy,
” Dana said. “The quilt is probably one she picked up at a secondhand store or a friend lent it to her.”

“A friend? Has she received even one phone call since she’s been here?” He shook his head. “No, that’s because your sister doesn’t have friends. She never has.”

“You don’t know that she hasn’t made friends the past six years.”

“How could she? She moves around all the time. At least that’s her story. And what does she do for money, huh?”

“She didn’t go to college or learn a trade so of course she has a hard time supporting herself.” Dana knew she was grasping at any explanation, but she couldn’t stop herself. “One look at Stacy and you can see she doesn’t have much. It’s probably the best she can do right now. And you know babies can change their food likes and dislikes in an afternoon. As for diapering…”

Hud shook his head stubbornly.

“Is she helping with the kids?”

“Sure, she seems right at home with a four- and five-year-old.” He sighed. “I still have a hard time trusting Stacy.”

“I know. She stole five years from us, breaking us up with one of her lies so I understand why you would question everything about her now.” Dana didn’t want to admit that she had felt the same way around her sister. But when she saw her sister with Ella—

“Okay,” Hud said. “After dinner I might check in with Liza and see how the investigation is going.” He placed a large hand on her belly and waited for their twins to move as if needing reassurance.

She could see that it was hell for him having a murder investigation going on while he was home playing Candy Land and Old Maid. But she saw something else in his expression, as well. “You’re going to your office to do more than check in, aren’t you? You’re going to investigate my sister.”

“I just want to do some checking on her. Just to relieve my mind.”

She knew there would be no stopping him no matter what she said. “I want to get to know my niece. After everything that has happened between us and Stacy, it wouldn’t take much for us to never see her or Ella again.”

“If Ella isn’t her baby—”

“You’re wrong. So go ahead and see what you can find out.”

He bent down to kiss her before getting to his feet. “You’re probably right about everything.”

Dana nodded as he left the room. But she hated that she didn’t feel sure about anything right now. To make matters worse she was trapped in bed, her children were out making clay with a woman who her husband thought might be a kidnapper and meanwhile, her brother Jordan was involved in a murder case.

All she needed right now was for her younger brother, Clay, to show up.

Her babies moved. She splayed her fingers over them, whispered that she loved them and did her best not to cry.

Chapter Seven

Jordan hadn’t been back to the cabin long when he heard a knock at his door. He put his unfinished sandwich in the small kitchenette refrigerator, then peeked out the window. He was in no mood for company.

“You’ve been holding out on me,” Liza said when he finally opened the door.

He’d let her knock for a while, then had given up that she wasn’t going to take the hint and leave him alone. He was in no mood after his run-in with Tessa and no longer sure about Tanner’s death any more than he was Alex’s.

“I beg your pardon?” he said.

“Tessa Ryerson Spring. You dated her at the same time Tanner was dating Brittany.”

He sighed and stepped back to let Liza in, not wanting to discuss this on the cabin stoop. “I’d forgotten I dated her.”

“Uh-huh.” The deputy marshal came into the small cabin and looked around. “Why did you and Alex fight over her?”

Jordan shook his head and laughed. “I don’t recall.”

She smiled. “Try again. It sounds as if it was quite the fight. Didn’t speak to each other for years. Does that refresh your memory?” She sat down on the end of his bed and crossed her legs, leaning back on her hands, her gaze on him.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he said sarcastically.

“I thought this might take a while.”

He sighed and pulled out a chair from the small table that constituted the dining room. He straddled it and leaned his arms on the back as he looked at her. The woman was like a badger burrowing into a hole.

“Fine. It isn’t something I like to talk about but since you’re determined… Shelby talked Tessa into breaking up with Alex and going out with me so we could double date with Tanner and Brittany.”

“Tessa was a spy?”

He nodded.

“But it doesn’t explain why you dated Tessa. Or does it?” She grinned. “Brittany. You wanted to be close to her. Wow, what a tangled web we weave.”

“Happy? When I found out what Shelby had done, I told Tessa off.” He shrugged.

“Which explains why you and Alex got into a fight over her how exactly?”

“I might have called her some names. Alex took offense. When I told him how far Tessa would go to do Shelby’s dirty work, he took a swing at me. I swung back. We were in high school. Stuff like that happened.”

“Alex had forgotten all about it when he called to talk to you about Tanner?”

Jordan shrugged. “I assume so.”

Liza got to her feet and walked around the cabin for a moment. “You all talk about high school as if it was kid stuff.” She let out a chuckle. “You forget.
I
went to high school.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Jordan quipped.

“Then this probably won’t, either. I let mean things happen to other students. No, worse than that, sometimes I was part of those things. I ran into one of the girls who was terrorized recently. She told me that she still has scars from the way she was treated.”

He said nothing, afraid she’d been that girl. Liza would have been just different enough that he suspected she hadn’t been in a group like Shelby’s. He’d sensed a rebellious spirit just under her surface, a fire that the girls who followed Shelby didn’t have.

She suddenly turned to face him, her expression angry and defiant. “Don’t tell me that what happened in high school didn’t matter. It mattered to Tanner and now I believe it has something to do with Alex Winslow’s death, as well. What I’m trying to understand is what
happened.
”

“You and me both,” he said, feeling guilty because he’d been one of the popular kids. In his teens he hadn’t given much thought to those who weren’t. “If it helps, I saw Tessa today.” He held up a hand before she could berate him for getting involved in her investigation. “
She
sought me out. I went to get a sandwich and she came in. She either followed me or had been looking for me.”

“What did she want?”

“I don’t know. Maybe just information about Alex’s death. I thought at first Shelby had sent her. But then Shelby drove past and Tessa got all scared and left.”

“What did you tell her?”

“She asked why anyone would want Alex dead. I said it could have something to do with him asking around about Tanner’s death.”

The deputy sheriff let out an unladylike curse.

“I wanted to see her reaction.”

“And?”

“It spooked the hell out of her. She knows something. When I was talking to her I had a thought. If Tanner
did
kill himself, it would have had to be over something big. What if Shelby didn’t have a miscarriage? What if she lied about that, maybe as a test to see if Tanner loved her, who knows?”

“What are you suggesting, that she was never pregnant?”

“No, that she aborted the baby,” he said. “That she did it out of meanness to get back at him. To hurt him in a way that would haunt him to his grave.”

Liza said nothing for a few moments. “You think that little of Shelby?”

He met her gaze and held it. “Tessa is her best friend. She knows the truth. I also think she’s scared of that truth coming out.”

“Wait, even if you’re right and Shelby did do something to get back at Tanner, that wouldn’t be something that she’d kill Alex to keep secret.”

“Couldn’t it? Shelby is all about getting what she wants, whatever it takes, and Tessa and her other minions have always followed her blindly.”

“You don’t think they’d draw the line when it came to out-and-out murder?” Liza demanded.

“Not if they had something to do with Tanner’s death. What’s another body if Alex was getting too close to the truth?”

Liza nodded. “So your graduating class from Big Sky was small, right?”

Jordan reached behind him to pick up the crumpled piece of paper he’d left on the table. “This is the list of people who RSVP’d that they would be attending the reunion this weekend,” he said, handing it to her. “I marked the other two girls who ran with Shelby in high school. Ashley and Whitney.”

Liza considered the wrinkled-up paper in her hand, then looked at him quizzically.

“I had to dig it out of the trash before I flew out here. I wasn’t planning to attend—until Alex called. Then I was curious about who was coming.”

“Let me guess,” Liza said. “You’re planning on going to the reunion now?”

He smiled. “Not without a date. What do you say? Come on, this way you can get to see all the players in their natural habitat.”

Liza actually seemed at a loss for words for a moment. “I feel like you’re asking me to the prom.”

“If you’re expecting a corsage, a rented limo, champagne and a fancy hotel room afterwards…” He saw her expression and stopped. “You didn’t go to prom?”

“I’m not wearing a prom dress,” she said, ignoring his question.

“Just don’t wear your silver star or your gun,” he joked, hating that he’d been right. She was one of the girls who’d been tormented by girls like Shelby and Tessa.

* * *

L
IZA STOOD IN
FRONT OF HER
closet. She hated to admit how few dresses she owned—and what she did have were old and out of style, though hardly worn. Worse, she hated that she cared what she wore to the reunion.