Cardwell Ranch Trespasser

by Daniels, B. J.

  Dana shot her friend a look, then picked up the shotgun. “Be very quiet. We’ll be back in just a minute, okay?” Both children nodded and touched fingers to their lips.

  Hilde stepped out of the stall and looked down the line of stalls. The light was dim and cool in the huge barn. Dee could be anywhere.

  As they moved away from the stall with the children inside, Dana whispered, “Maybe it is just a game.”

  Hilde bit back a curse. Dana was determined to see the best in everyone—especially this cousin who’d ingratiated herself into their lives. But Hilde had to admit whatever game Camilla Northland was playing, it didn’t make any sense.

  They both jumped when they heard the barn door they’d come through slam shut. An instant later, they heard the board that locked it closed come down with a heart-stopping thud.

  “She just locked us in,” Hilde said, her voice breaking.

  Dana had already turned and was racing toward the back door of the barn. Hilde knew before she saw Dana reach it that she would find it locked.

  Only moments later did she smell the smoke.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I’m about ten minutes outside of Big Sky,” Colt said when he’d called Hilde’s phone and gotten voice mail. “I don’t know where you are or why you aren’t picking up.” He didn’t know what else to say so he disconnected and tried to call her at the shop.

  His anxiety grew when the recording came on giving the shop’s hours. He glanced at his watch. Hilde was a stickler for punctuality. If she’d gone to the shop, there was no way she would be thirty minutes late for work unless something was wrong.

  When his phone rang, he thought it was Hilde. Prayed it was. He didn’t even look to see who was calling and was surprised when he heard Hud’s voice.

  “I can’t get into all of it right now,” he told Hud, “but I have proof the woman at the ranch isn’t Dee Anna Justice, and I can’t reach Hilde at the shop or on her cell. I can’t reach the ranch, either.”

  “I’m on my way home from West Yellowstone,” Hud said. “I haven’t been able to reach Dana, either. I was hoping you had heard something.”

  “I’m five minutes out,” Colt said. “I’m going straight to the ranch.”

  “I’m twenty minutes out. Call me as soon as you know something.”

  He hung up and called the office, asked if there was any backup, but Deputy Liza Turner Cardwell was in Bozeman testifying in a court case and Deputy Jake Thorton was up in the mountains fishing on his day off.

  “Liza should be back soon,” Annie had told him.

  Not soon enough, he feared. He tried Dana’s brother Jordan. No answer. No surprise. Jordan was busy building his house and probably out peeling logs.

  He disconnected as he came up behind a semi, laid on his horn and swore. The driver slowed, but couldn’t find a place to pull over and the road had too many blind curves to pass.

  Colt felt a growing sense of urgency. He needed to get to Cardwell Ranch. Now. All his instincts told him that Hilde was there and in trouble. Which meant so were Dana and the kids.

  Mentally, he kicked himself as the vehicles in both lanes finally pulled over enough to let him through. He shouldn’t have told Hilde what he found out in Oklahoma. She must have gone out to the ranch to warn Dana. He wouldn’t let himself imagine what the woman calling herself Dee Anna Justice would do if cornered.

  * * *

  ALONG WITH THE smell of smoke, Hilde caught the sharp scent of fuel oil. She could hear the crackling of flames. The barn was old, the wood dry. Past the sound of fire they heard an engine start up.

  For just an instant Hilde thought Dee might be planning to save them—the way she had her at the falls and possibly the way she had tried on the river.

  But they heard the pickup leave, the sound dying off as the flames grew louder.

  They rushed back to the children. Hilde dug in her pocket for her cell phone, belatedly realizing she’d left it in the SUV when she’d jumped out. She looked up at Dana. “You said you haven’t been able to find your cell phone?”

  Dana shook her head. The smoke was getting thicker inside the barn. Hilde could see flames blackening the kindling dry wood on all sides. It wouldn’t be long before the whole barn was ablaze.

  “Let’s try to break through the side of the barn,” Hilde said, grabbing up a shovel. She began to pound at the old wood. It splintered but the boards held.

  Dana joined her with another shovel.

  Hilde couldn’t believe Dee thought she could get away with this. But at the back of her mind, she feared Dee would. Somehow, she would slip out of this, the same way she had as a kid. The same way she had killed her brother and gone free. And it would be too late for Hilde and Dana and the kids.

  “I can’t believe she would hurt innocent children,” Dana said, tears in her eyes.

  “What’s wrong, Mommy?” Mary asked.

  “Is the barn on fire?” Hank asked.

  Hilde and Dana kept pounding at the wood at the back of the stall. If she could just make a hole large enough for the kids to climb out.

  The wood finally gave way. She and Dana grabbed hold of the board and were able to break it off to form a small hole. Not large enough for them, but definitely large enough to get the children out.

  What would happen to them if Dee saw them, though? They’d heard the sound of the pickup engine, but what if she hadn’t really left? The question passed silently between the two friends.

  “We’re going to play another game,” Dana said, crouching down next to Mary and Hank. “You and your sister are going to crawl out. I am going to hand you Angus and Brick. Then you’re going to go hide in that outbuilding where we keep the old tractor. You can’t let Dee see you, okay?”

  Hank nodded. “We’ll sneak along the haystack. No one will see us.”

  “Good boy,” Dana said, her voice breaking with emotion. “Take care of the babies until either me or Daddy calls you. Don’t make a sound if Dee calls you, okay? Now hurry.”

  Hilde looked out through the hole. No sign of Dee. She helped Hank out and Dana handed him Angus. Mary crawled out next and took Brick. They quickly disappeared from sight.

  The smoke was thick now, the flames licking closer and closer as the whole barn went up in flames.

  “Oh, Hilde, I’m so sorry for not trusting you,” Dana cried, and hugged her.

  “Right now, we have to find a way out of here.”

  The two of them tried to find another spot along the wall where they could get out. The barn was old but sturdily built, and the smoke was so thick now that staying low wasn’t helping. They could hear the flames growing closer and closer.

  With a whoosh the back of the barn began to cave in.

  The rest of the structure groaned and creaked. But over the roar of the flames and the falling boards, Hilde heard another sound. A vehicle headed in their direction.

  * * *

  DEE HAD LEFT Dana a note. “I couldn’t find you and the kids when I got ready to leave for the airport, so I borrowed your pickup. Thank you for everything. I’ll leave the truck in long-term parking. Dee.”

  Then she’d taken the keys from where she’d seen Dana hang them on a hook by the door and left.

  After they’d finished their horseback ride yesterday, Hud had unsaddled the horses and put everything away. Then she’d heard him go upstairs, his boots heavy on the steps, as if he dreaded telling his wife about her cousin.

  She’d listened hard but hadn’t heard a sound once he entered his and Dana’s bedroom, confirming what she’d suspected. That he hadn’t awakened Dana last night to tell her.

  Earlier this morning when Dee had come downstairs, she’d seen Hud and Dana with their heads together. He had definitely told her something. She’d seen how reluctant he was to leave his wife. They’d done their best to act normal. But she could tell they were counting down the hours until she left.

  She’d helped herself to a cup of coffee. Dana had made French to
ast and sausage for breakfast and offered her a plate. Dee ate heartily as Dana took care of the kids and nibbled at the food on her plate. “You should eat more breakfast,” Dee told her.

  “I’m fine. Anyway, I still need to lose a few pounds after the twins.”

  But this is your last breakfast, Dee had wanted to say. She hoped on her last day on earth she ate a good breakfast, since she would never be eating again.

  As she drove away from the ranch, she glanced at the barn. Flames were licking up the sides. She looked away, thinking how sad it was that things hadn’t worked out differently.

  She looked back only once more as she drove past Big Sky. Smoke billowed up into the air across the river, an orange glow behind the pines. She gave the pickup more gas. She had a plane to catch, and there was no going back and changing things now.

  She turned on the radio and began to sing along. She had no idea where she was going or what she would do when she got there, but she had Dee Anna Justice’s trust fund check and options. She would find another identity and disappear.

  What amazed her as she left the canyon was that she’d ever thought she could be happy living on Cardwell Ranch with Hud.

  * * *

  COLT SAW THE smoke and flames in the distance the moment he came out of the narrow part of the canyon. He felt his heart drop. He raced up the highway, calling the fire department as he went, and turned onto the ranch road.

  At first he thought it was the house on fire, but as he came up over a rise, he saw that it was the barn. For a moment he felt a wave of relief. Then he saw Hilde’s SUV parked in front of the house. Dana’s ranch pickup was gone. Maybe they’d all left to take Dee to the airport. Maybe they were all fine.

  But his gut told him differently.

  When he saw the stroller lying on its side in front of the barn and the door barred, he knew. Holding his hand down on the horn, he hit the gas and raced toward the burning front door of the barn.

  The bumper smashed through the burning wood as the expensive rental SUV burst into the barn. Pieces of burning wood hit the windshield, sparks flew all around him and then there was nothing but dark thick smoke.

  The moment the SUV broke through the door, he hit his brakes. It’s too late, he thought when he saw the entire shell of the barn in flames, the smoke so thick he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. He leaped from the rig, screaming Hilde’s name. The heat was so intense he felt as if his face were burning. He feared the vehicle’s gas tank would explode any moment.

  Then he heard her answer.

  She and Dana came out of the smoky darkness silhouetted against the walls of flames.

  “Where are the babies?” he yelled over the roar of the flames.

  “They got out!” Hilde yelled back.

  He shoved them both into the SUV and threw it in Reverse. The heat was unbearable. He knew if he didn’t get the rig out now...

  The hood of the SUV, the paint peeling and blackened, had just cleared the edge of the barn when he heard the loud crash, and the barn began to collapse.

  If he’d been just a few minutes later...

  He wouldn’t let himself even imagine that as he slammed on the brakes back from the inferno. Hilde and Dana were coughing and choking, but he could hear fire trucks and the ambulance on its way.

  “My babies,” Dana choked out.

  “They’re in that outbuilding,” Hilde said, pointing a good ways from the burning remains of the barn.

  “Where’s Dee?” he asked them.

  “She left after she started the fire,” Hilde said.

  “I heard her take my truck,” Dana added. She was already getting out of the SUV to go after her children, Hilde at her heels. Colt ran ahead and found the children all safe, huddled together in a back corner of the outbuilding.

  Later, as the fire department and EMTs took care of Hilde and Dana and the kids, he told Hilde, “I have to go after Dee. I can’t let her get on that plane.”

  “I’m fine,” she told him. “Go!”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The ride to the airport outside of Bozeman was the longest one of Colt’s life. He called ahead and asked that Dee Anna Justice be detained, but he was told that she’d already gone through security. Two airport officials were looking for her, but so far they hadn’t found anyone matching the description he’d given them.

  Camilla’s plane was scheduled to board within twenty minutes.

  “Don’t let her get on that plane,” Colt ordered. “Hold her there until I get there. Consider her armed and dangerous.”

  “Armed? She just went through security. I’m sure if she was—”

  “You don’t know this woman. She’s dangerous. Have your officers approach her with extreme caution.”

  He was just outside of Belgrade when Hud called.

  “I’m on my way to the airport,” Hud said. “Make sure that woman doesn’t get away, Deputy.”

  “I’m doing my best,” Colt said. “But I’m on suspension.”

  “Your suspension was lifted hours ago,” Hud said. “About the time you saved my wife’s life. We’ll talk about that later. Where are you?”

  Colt told him he was turning onto the airport road. He was only minutes away from confronting Camilla Northland.

  * * *

  DEE LOOKED INTO the women’s restroom mirror, appraising herself. She’d brushed out her hair. Since it was naturally curly, it flowed around her head like a dark halo.

  She’d applied makeup, especially eye shadow, mascara and blush, sculpting her face. It amazed her how different she looked from the woman who’d been staying at Cardwell Ranch.

  As she studied herself in the mirror, she liked what she saw. She’d been able to cover most of the damage she’d done to herself. But maybe when she got wherever she was going, she’d change her hair. Something short and blond. Yes, she liked that idea. A whole new her.

  That thought made her laugh. When she’d first left Oklahoma, she’d believed in her heart that she could put the past behind her, become whoever and whatever she wanted.

  She hadn’t realized then how deep the past had embedded itself in her. It ate at her like a parasite, a constant reminder that she was broken and while she might be able to put back the pieces, she would never be whole.

  One of the female security guards stuck her head in the restroom door. Camilla saw her out of the corner of her eye but continued to carefully apply another coat of bright red lipstick.

  “Excuse me,” the woman said. “We’re checking boarding passes. May I see yours?”

  “Of course,” Camilla said. She took her time putting the lipstick back into her purse. “Here it is.”

  The woman started to take it, her attention on the slip of paper. More important the name on the paper. No Dee Anna Justice but Amy Matthews.

  Dee Anna’s boarding pass was buried at the botton of the trash container.

  The security officer looked from the boarding pass to Camilla, then handed the paper back. “Have a nice flight, Ms. Matthews. I believe your flight is boarding now,” the woman said.

  “Thank you.” Camilla walked out and got into line for the flight to Seattle. In a few minutes she would be on board.

  She had hoped to catch an earlier flight, but it hadn’t worked out. Fortunately, she’d planned for this, making several flights in three different names. One in the name of Dee Anna Justice to New York. Another as Amy Matthews to Seattle. And a third flight earlier that day to Las Vegas under the name Patricia Barnes.

  Like Rick, she had three different identities ready. She’d just been smart enough not to get caught with them on her, though.

  She’d missed the flight to Vegas by only minutes. Finishing up her business at the ranch had taken longer than she’d hoped.

  Not that it mattered now. Within minutes she would be on her way to Seattle. No one was looking for Amy Matthews.

  She figured Hud must have come home sooner than expected. Or that deputy, Colt Dawson, had showed up.
Either way, it would be too late.

  It wasn’t as if she’d thought for a moment they wouldn’t suspect her given everything that had happened. But they had no proof.

  Anyway, she would be long gone before they could get to the airport. Even if they should somehow track her down, they still couldn’t do anything except get her for using an alias. Or yes, and pretending to be Dee Anna Justice.

  She’d cried her way out of more of those situations than she could remember. If tears didn’t work, then her life story definitely did. Of course she was messed up. Imagine living your life with such suspicions hanging over you.

  It had worked every other time. It would now, too, because without proof, they couldn’t touch her. With Dana, Hilde and the kids gone...

  She left the restroom and walked to her gate. The woman taking her boarding pass told her to hurry, her flight was about to leave.

  She hurried down the ramp and into the plane just moments before the flight attendant was about to shut the door. She’d timed it close, but she hadn’t wanted to risk sitting at the gate in case anyone she knew was looking for her.

  As she slipped into her first-class seat next to a businessman in a nice suit, she told herself her luck might be changing.

  “Hello,” she said and extended her hand. “I’m Amy Matthews.”

  “Clark Evans.”

  The flight attendant asked her what she would like to drink.

  “I’d love a vodka Collins,” she said. “I’m celebrating. Today’s my birthday. Join me?” she asked the business executive, taking in his gold cuff links, the cut of his suit and the expensive wristwatch.

  “How can I say no?” he said, already flirting with her.

  “Yes, how can you?” she asked, flirting back. “I have a feeling that this could be a very interesting flight.”

  * * *

  COLT RAN INTO the airport. The head of security met him the moment he came through the door.

  “Dee Anna Justice hasn’t checked in for her flight. It was supposed to leave ten minutes ago,” the man told him. “We’ve held it as long as we can. So far, she’s a no-show.”