Justice at Cardwell Ranch

It seemed a lifetime ago. He could barely remember the man he’d been then. But he would be glad to get off the property before his sister and her husband returned. He planned to put off seeing them if at all possible. So much for family, he thought.

WHEN DANA OPENED HER EYES, she saw that they’d left the wide valley and were now driving through the Gallatin Canyon. The “canyon” as it was known, ran from the mouth just south of Gallatin Gateway almost to West Yellowstone, fifty miles of winding road that trailed the river in a deep cut through the mountains.

The drive along the Gallatin River had always been breathtaking, a winding strip of highway that followed the blue-ribbon trout stream up over the continental divide. This time of year the Gallatin ran crystal clear over green-tinted boulders. Pine trees grew dark and thick along its edge and against the steep mountains. Aspens, their leaves rust-reds and glittering golds, grew among the pines.

Sheer rock cliffs overlooked the highway and river, with small areas of open land, the canyon not opening up until it reached Big Sky. The canyon had been mostly cattle and dude ranches, a few summer cabins and homes—that was until Big Sky resort and the small town that followed at the foot of Lone Mountain.

Luxury houses had sprouted up all around the resort. Fortunately, some of the original cabins still remained and the majority of the canyon was national forest so it would always remain undeveloped. The “canyon” was also still its own little community, for which Dana was grateful. This was the only home she’d known and, like her stubborn ancestors, she had no intention of ever leaving it.

Both she and Hud had grown up here. They’d been in love since junior high, but hit a rocky spot some years ago thanks to her sister. Dana didn’t like to think about the five years she and Hud had spent apart as they passed the lower mountain resort area and, a few miles farther, turned down the road to Cardwell Ranch.

Across the river and a half mile back up a wide valley, the Cardwell Ranch house sat against a backdrop of granite cliffs, towering dark pines and glittering aspens. The house was a big, two-story rambling affair with a wide front porch and a brick-red metal roof. Behind it stood a huge weathered barn and some outbuildings and corrals.

Dana never felt truly at home until they reached the ranch she’d fought tooth and nail to save. When Mary Justice Cardwell had been bucked off a horse and died six years ago, Dana had thought all was lost. Her mother’s original will when her children were young left the ranch to all of them.

Mary hadn’t realized until her children were grown that only Dana would keep the ranch. The others would sell it, take the profits and never look back until the day they regretted what they’d done. By then it would be too late. So her mother had made a new will, leaving the ranch to her. But her mother had hidden it where she hoped her daughter would find it. Fortunately, Dana had found it in time to save the ranch.

The will had put an end to her siblings’ struggle to force her to sell the land and split the profits with them. Now her three siblings were paid part of the ranch’s profit each quarter. Not surprisingly, she hadn’t heard from any of them since the will had settled things six years before.

As Hud pulled into the ranch yard, Dana spotted a car parked in front of the old house and frowned. The car was an older model with California plates.

“You didn’t already hire someone—”

“No,” Hud said before she could finish. “I wouldn’t do that without talking to you first. Do you think the doctor called one of the women she told you about?”

Before Dana could answer, she saw that someone was waiting out on the broad front porch. As Hud pulled in beside the car, the woman stepped from out of the shadows.

“Stacy?” She felt her heart drop. After six years of silence and all the bad feelings from the past, what was her older sister doing here?

“SURPRISE,”STACY SAID WITH a shrug and a worried smile. Like Dana, Stacy had gotten the Justice-Cardwell dark good looks, but she’d always been the cute one who capitalized on her appearance, cashing in as she traded her way up through three marriages that Dana knew of and possibly more since.

Just the sight of her sister made Dana instantly wary. She couldn’t help but be mistrustful given their past.

Her sister’s gaze went to Dana’s stomach. “Oh, my. You’re pregnant.”

“We need to get Dana in the house,” Hud said, giving his sister-in-law a nod of greeting. Stacy opened the door and let them enter before she followed them in.

Dana found herself looking around the living room, uncomfortable that her sister had been inside the house even though it had once been Stacy’s home, as well.

The house was as it had been when her mother was alive. Original Western furnishings, a lot of stone and wood and a bright big airy kitchen. Dana, like her mother, chose comfort over style trends. She loved her big, homey house. It often smelled of something good bubbling on the stove, thanks to the fact that Hud loved to cook.

Dana preferred to spend her time with her children outside, teaching them to ride or watching a new foal being born or picking fresh strawberries out of the large garden she grew—just as her own mother had done with her.

As she looked at her sister, she was reminded of some of her mother’s last words to her. “Families stick together. It isn’t always easy. Everyone makes mistakes. Dana, you have to find forgiveness in your heart. If not for them, then for yourself.”

Her mother had known then that if anything happened to her, Jordan, Stacy and Clay would fight her for the ranch. That’s why she’d made the new will.

But she must also have known that the will would divide them.

“It’s been a long time,” Dana said, waiting, knowing her sister wanted something or she wouldn’t be here.

“I know I should have kept in touch more,” Stacy said. “I move around a lot.” But she’d always managed to get her check each quarter as part of her inheritance from the ranch profits. Dana instantly hated the uncharitable thought. She didn’t want to feel that way about her sister. But Stacy had done some things in the past that had left the two of them at odds. Like breaking Dana and Hud up eleven years ago. Dana still had trouble forgiving her sister for that.

Stacy shifted uncomfortably in the silence. “I should have let you know I was coming, huh.”

“Now isn’t the best time for company,” Hud said. “Dana’s doctor has advised her to get off her feet for the rest of her pregnancy.”

“But I’m not company,” Stacy said. “I’m family. I can help.”

Hud looked to his wife. “Why don’t you go. It’s fine,” Dana said and removed her coat.

“So you’re pregnant,” her sister said.

“Twins,” Dana said, sinking into a chair.

Stacy nodded.

Dana realized Hud was still in his coat, waiting, afraid to leave her alone with Stacy. “Are you going to pick up the kids?”

He gave her a questioning look.

“I thought you probably had more kids,” her sister said. “The toys and stuff around.”

Dana was still looking at her husband. She knew he didn’t trust Stacy, hated she’d been alone in their house while they were gone and worse, he didn’t want to leave the two of them alone. “Stacy and I will be fine.”

Still he hesitated. He knew better than anyone what her siblings were like.

“Stacy, would you mind getting me a drink of water?” The moment her sister left the room, Dana turned to her husband. “I’ll be fine,” she said lowering her voice. “Go pick up the kids. I promise I won’t move until you get back.” She could tell that wasn’t what had him concerned.

He glanced toward the kitchen and the sound of running water. “I won’t be long.”

She motioned him over and smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. At the same time, he placed a large hand on her swollen stomach. The babies moved and he smiled.

“You have your cell phone if you need me?”

Dana nodded. “The marshal’s office is also on speed dial. I’ll be fine. Really.”

Stacy came back in with a glass full of water as Hud left. “I’m glad things have turned out good for you. Hud is so protective.”

“Thank you,” she said as she took the glass and studied her sister over the rim as she took a drink.

“I would have called,” Stacy said, “but I wanted to surprise you.”

“I’m surprised.” She watched her sister move around the room, touching one object after another, seeming nervous. Her first thought when she’d seen her sister was that she’d come here because she was in trouble.

That initial observation hadn’t changed. Now though, Dana was betting it had something to do with money. It usually did with Stacy, unfortunately.

Years ago Dana had found out just how low her sister would stoop if the price was right. She had good reason not to trust her sister.

“The place hasn’t changed at all,” Stacy was saying now. “Except for the pile of toys in the sunroom. I heard Hud say he was going to pick up the kids?”

“Hank and Mary, five and four.”

“You named your daughter after mother, that’s nice,” Stacy said. “I thought you probably would.” She seemed to hear what she’d said. “I want you to know I’m not upset about mother leaving you the ranch. You know me, I would have just blown the money.” She flashed a self-deprecating smile. “And you’re pregnant with twins! When are you due?”

“Eight weeks.” When she finally couldn’t take it anymore, Dana asked, “Stacy, what are you doing here?”

“It’s kind of a strange story,” her sister said, looking even more nervous.

Dana braced herself. If Stacy thought it was a strange story, then it could be anything. Her sister opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

From upstairs a baby began to cry.

“What is that?” Dana demanded.

“I haven’t had a chance to tell you,” Stacy said as she started for the stairs. “That’s Ella. That’s my other surprise. I have a baby.”

LIZA PARKED HER PICKUP ACROSS the road from Trail’s End and settled in to wait. She had a clear view of the small cabin Jordan had rented. Like a lot of Big Sky, the string of cabins were new. But it being off-season and the cabins’only view being Highway 191, she figured they weren’t too pricey. She wondered how Jordan was fixed for money and if that’s what had brought him back here.

Pulling out her phone, she called Hud’s cell. He answered on the third ring. She could hear the kids in the background and a woman’s voice. Hilde, Dana’s best friend. He must be at Needles and Pins.

“How’s Dana, boss?” she asked.

“Stubborn.”

She laughed. “So the doctor did prescribe bed rest.”

“Yes. Fortunately, I know you can run things just fine without me.”

“Probably more smoothly without you around,” she joked.

He must have heard something in her voice. “But?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she assured him. “But you might want to give Dana a heads-up.”

“Dana already knows. Stacy’s at the house right now.”

“Stacy?”

“Who were you talking about?” Hud asked.

“Jordan.”

She heard Hud swear under his breath.

“I saw him earlier on the ranch, actually at the family cemetery,” Liza said.

“What’s he doing in the canyon?”

“He didn’t say, but I found out where he’s staying. He’s rented a cabin past Buck’s T-4.” Buck’s T-4 was a local landmark bar and hotel. “I’m hanging out, watching to see what he’s up to.”

“Probably not the best way to spend taxpayers’ dollars, but I appreciate it. As far as I know, he hasn’t contacted Dana.”

“Let me know if he does. In the meantime, I’ll stick around here for a while.”

“You really need to get a life, deputy,” Hud said. “Thanks. Let me know if you need help.”

“So Stacy’s here, too?”

“We haven’t heard from any of them in six years and now two of them are in the canyon? This doesn’t bode well.”

That had been her thought exactly.

“I don’t want them upsetting Dana,” he said. “All we need is for Clay to show up next. This couldn’t come at a worse time. I’m worried enough about Dana and the babies. I have a bad feeling this could have something to do with that developer who’s been after Dana to sell some of the ranch.”

“The timing does make you wonder,” Liza said.

“I’m going back to the ranch now.”

“You stick close to Dana. I’ll let you know if Jordan heads for the ranch.” Hanging up, Liza settled in again. She knew it could be a while. Jordan might be in for the night.

The canyon got dark quickly this time of year. With the dark that settled over it like a cloak came a drop in temperature. She could hear the river, smell the rich scent of fall. A breeze stirred the nearby pines, making the branches sway and sigh. A couple of stars popped out above the canyon walls.

The door of the cabin opened. Jordan stepped out and headed for his rented SUV parked outside. He was dressed in a warm coat, gloves and a hat, all in a dark color. He definitely didn’t look like a man going out for dinner—or even to visit his sister. He glanced around as if he thought someone might be watching him before climbing into his rental.

Liza felt her heart kick up a beat as she slunk down in the pickup seat and waited. A few moments later she heard the SUV pull out. She started the truck, and sitting up, followed at a distance.

To her relief, he didn’t turn down Highway 191 in the direction of the Cardwell Ranch—and his sister’s house. Instead, he headed north toward Big Sky proper, making her think she might be wrong. Maybe he was merely going out to find a place to have dinner.

He drove on past the lighted buildings that made up the Meadow Village, heading west toward Mountain Village. There was little traffic this time of year. She let another vehicle get between them, all the time keeping Jordan’s taillights in sight.

Just when she started speculating on where he might be headed, he turned off on the road to Ousel Falls. They passed a few commercial buildings, a small housing complex and then the road cut through the pines as it climbed toward the falls.

Liza pulled over, letting him get farther ahead. Had he spotted the tail? She waited as long as she dared before she drove on up the road. Her headlights cut a gold swath through the darkness. Dense pines lined both sides of the mountain road. There was no traffic at all up this way. She worried he had spotted her following him and was now leading her on a wild-goose chase.

She hadn’t gone far when her headlights picked up the parking lot for the falls. Jordan’s rental was parked in the empty lot. She couldn’t tell if he was still in the vehicle. Grabbing her baseball cap off the seat, she covered her dark hair as she drove on past.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the SUV was empty. Past it near the trailhead, she glimpsed the beam of a flashlight bobbing as it headed down the trail.

A few hundred yards up the road Liza found a place to pull over. She grabbed her own flashlight from under the seat, checked to make sure the batteries were still working and got out of the truck.

It was a short hike back to the trailhead. From there the path dropped to the creek before rising again as it twisted its way through the thick forest.

The trail was wide and paved and she found, once her eyes adjusted, that she didn’t need to use her flashlight if she was careful. Enough starlight bled down through the pine boughs that she could see far enough ahead—and she knew the trail well.

There was no sign of Jordan, though. She’d reached the creek and bridge, quickly crossed it, and had started up the winding track when she caught a glimpse of light above her on the footpath.

She stopped to listen, afraid he might have heard her behind him. But there was only the sound of the creek and moan of the pines in the breeze. Somewhere in the distance an owl hooted. She moved again, hurrying now.

Once the pathway topped out, she should be able to see Jordan’s light ahead of her, though she couldn’t imagine what he was doing hiking to the falls tonight.

There was always a good chance of running into a moose or a wolf or worse this time of a year, a hungry grizzly foraging for food before hibernation.

The trail topped out. She stopped to catch her breath and listen for Jordan. Ahead she could make out the solid rock area at the base of the waterfall. A few more steps and she could feel the mist coming off the cascading water. From here, the walkway carved a crooked path up through the pines to the top of the falls.

There was no sign of any light ahead and the only thing she could hear was rushing water. Where was Jordan? She moved on, convinced he was still ahead of her. Something rustled in the trees off to her right. A limb cracked somewhere ahead in the pines.

She stopped and drew her weapon. Someone was out there.

The report of the rifle shot felt so close it made the hair stand up on her neck. The sound ricocheted off the rock cliff and reverberated through her. Liza dove to the ground. A second shot echoed through the trees.

Weapon drawn, she scrambled up the hill and almost tripped over the body Jordan Cardwell was standing over.

Chapter Three

“You have a baby?” Dana said, still shocked when Stacy came back downstairs carrying a pink bundle. “I’m just having a hard time imagining you as a mother.”

“You think you’re the only one with a maternal instinct?” Stacy sounded hurt.

“I guess I never thought you wanted a baby.”

Stacy gave a little shrug. “People change.”

Did they? Dana wondered as she studied her sister.

“Want to see her?” Stacy asked.

Dana nodded and her sister carefully transferred the bundle into her arms. Dana saw that it wasn’t a blanket at all that the baby was wrapped in, but a cute pink quilt. Parting the edges, she peered in at the baby. A green-eyed knockout stared back at her.

“Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She’s breathtaking. What’s her name?”

“Ella.”

Dana looked up at her sister, her gaze going to Stacy’s bare left-hand ring finger. “Is there a father?”

“Of course,” her sister said with an embarrassed laugh. “He’s in the military. We’re getting married when he comes home in a few weeks.”

Stacy had gone through men like tissues during a sad movie. In the past she’d married for money. Maybe this time she had found something more important, Dana hoped, glancing down at the baby in her arms.

“Hello, Ella,” she said to the baby. The bow-shaped lips turned up at the corners, the green eyes sparkling. “How old is she?”

“Six months.”

As the baby began to fuss, Stacy dug in a diaper bag Dana hadn’t seen at the end of the couch. She pulled out a bottle before going into the kitchen to warm it.

Dana stared at the precious baby, her heart in her throat. She couldn’t imagine her sister with a baby. In the past Stacy couldn’t even keep a houseplant alive.

As her sister came out of the kitchen, Dana started to hand back the baby.

“You can feed her if you want.”

Dana took the bottle and watched the baby suck enthusiastically at the warm formula. “She’s adorable.” Her sister didn’t seem to be listening though.

Stacy had walked over to the window and was looking out. “I forgot how quiet it is here.” She hugged herself as a gust of wind rattled the old window. “Or how cold it is this time of year.”

“Where have you been living?”

“Southern California,” she said, turning away from the window.

“Is that where you met the father?”

Stacy nodded. “It’s getting late. Ella and I should go.”

“Where are you going?” Dana asked, alarmed, realizing that she’d been cross-examining her sister as if Stacy was one of Hud’s suspects. She couldn’t bear the thought of this baby being loaded into that old car outside with Stacy at the wheel.

“I planned to get a motel for the night. Kurt’s got some relatives up by Great Falls. They’ve offered me a place to stay until he gets leave and we can find a place of our own.”

Dana shook her head, still holding tight to the baby. “You’re staying here. You and Ella can have Mary’s room. I don’t want you driving at night.”

LIZA SWUNG THE BARREL OF HER gun and snapped on her flashlight, aiming both at Jordan. “Put your hands up,” she ordered.

He didn’t move. He stood stock-still, staring down at the body at his feet. He appeared to be in shock.

“I said put your hands up,” she ordered again. He blinked and slowly raised his gaze to her, then lifted his hands. Keeping the gun trained on him, she quickly frisked him. “Where is the weapon?” She nudged him with the point of her gun barrel.

He shook his head. “I didn’t shoot him.”

Liza took a step back from him and shone the flashlight beam into the pines. The light didn’t go far in the dense trees and darkness. “Who shot him?”

“I don’t know.”

She squatted down to check for a pulse. None. Pulling out her phone, she called for backup and the coroner. When she’d finished, she turned the beam on Jordan again. “You can start by telling me what you’re doing out here.”

He looked down at the body, then up at her. “You know I didn’t kill him.”

“How do I know that?”

True, she hadn’t seen him carrying a rifle, but he could have hidden one in the woods earlier today. But how did he get rid of it so quickly? She would have heard him throw it into the trees.

“What are you doing here at the falls in the middle of the night?”

He looked away.

She began to read him his rights.

“All right,” he said with a sigh. “You aren’t going to believe me. I was meeting him here.”

“To buy drugs?”

“No.” He looked insulted. “It’s a long story.”

“We seem to have time.” She motioned to a downed tree not far from the body but deep enough in the trees that if the killer was still out there, he wouldn’t have a clear shot.

Jordan sighed as he sat down, dropping his head in his hands for a few moments. “When I was in high school my best friend hung himself. At least that’s what everyone thought, anyway. I didn’t believe he would do that, but there was no evidence of foul play. Actually, no one believed me when I argued there was no way Tanner would have taken his own life.”

“People often say that about suicide victims.”

“Yeah. Well, a few weeks ago, I got a call from …” He looked in the direction of the body, but quickly turned away. “Alex Winslow.”

“Is that the victim?”

He nodded. “Alex asked if I was coming back for our twenty-year high-school reunion.”

“You were?” She couldn’t help her surprise.

He gave her an are-you-kidding look. “I told him no. That’s when he mentioned Tanner.”

“Alex Winslow told you he was looking into Tanner’s death?”

“Not in so many words. He said something like, ‘Do you ever think about Tanner?’ He sounded like he’d been drinking. At first I just thought it was the booze talking.”

He told her about the rest of the conversation, apparently quoting Alex as best as he could remember.

“Man, it would take something to hang yourself,” Alex had said. “Put that noose around your neck and stand there balancing on nothing more than a log stump. One little move … Who would do that unless they were forced to? You know, like at gunpoint or … I don’t know, maybe get tricked into standing up there?”

“What are you saying?”

“Just … what if he didn’t do it? What if they killed him?”

“They? Who?”

“Don’t listen to me. I’ve had a few too many beers tonight. So, are you sure I can’t talk you into coming to the reunion? Even if I told you I have a theory about Tanner’s death.”

“What theory?”