by B. J Daniels
Having been summoned, she’d ridden her bike the few blocks to Ariel’s house. She slowed as she saw the bright baby blue SUV sitting in the drive, an even brighter huge red ribbon balanced on top.
She’d been the first person to ride in the car, something Ariel never let her forget. “Being my friend comes with benefits. Remember that.”
* * *
BEING ARIEL’S FRIEND also came at a price. Ariel would sling an arm over her as they walked down the hall and smile at her. Lizzy had basked in that ray of brilliant light at first. She’d felt special being singled out. She was a part of the in-group for the first time.
Ariel had latched onto her the moment she walked through the doors of Progressive, the small private high school on the edge of town. The school offered more individual attention with smaller classes and a more imaginative curriculum. Lizzy had found it very different from the public high school—there were only twelve in her graduating class.
On Lizzy’s very first day, Ariel had insisted she eat with her and her friends. Soon, Ariel was telling her that they would be best friends forever. Ariel used to say it like a promise. Or a threat of what would happen if Lizzy pulled away.
The heavy equipment operator had wiped the slime off the driver’s-side window when he’d first uncovered the SUV so he could see inside. She moved to peer in now. She hadn’t seen Ariel or the car since their high school graduation party ten years ago. Yellow polypropylene rope was tied to the steering wheel on both sides. A pile of bones, among what appeared to be what was left of her clothing, lay in the driver’s seat, the seat belt still fastened.
Feeling sick to her stomach, Lizzy stepped back and cleared her throat again. “We’re going to need assistance keeping the area closed off,” she told the city cop. Word would get out soon—if it wasn’t already, she thought, looking up to see cars driving slowly past, drivers gawking.
She made the call to the state Division of Criminal Investigation. DCI would collect evidence at the scene to assist in her investigation. The SUV would be transported to the crime lab in Missoula. But crime scene tape needed to go up until the investigators could arrive and search the area, and that would have to be done by local law enforcement.
Not that it would stop people from driving by, staring at the pond and speculating. Locals had been wondering for ten years about Ariel Matheson’s disappearance. Now they really would have something to talk about.
As the cop walked away, Lizzy recognized the reporter making a beeline toward her.
“Interesting timing,” Brad Davis said as he joined her.
“Pardon?” she asked, wondering how he’d gotten in here. Davis had always been pushy even back in grade school when he’d taken her glue stick without asking. He’d ended up at Progressive as well, where he’d been the editor of their school paper and had later gone into journalism after graduating from the University of Montana in Missoula. He’d worked for a variety of papers before starting his own here in Flathead Valley.
“Your first day on the job. The high school reunion this weekend,” he said, looking over at her as if to see if she was kidding. “Interesting timing, get it?”
She got it.
“So you think she’s been here since the graduation party at my house? Wow. She didn’t get very far after the party, did she? This is all anyone will be talking about at the reunion,” Brad went on, enjoying this way too much. “But then again Ariel would have loved it. She couldn’t stand not being the center of attention, as you might recall.” He scratched his head with the corner of the notebook in his hand. “But she wasn’t the first one of our class to die. Remember Whitney Clark?”
She did. Whitney had tried to befriend her and warn her about Ariel. But Whitney had died so soon after that the friendship had been short-lived.
“I guess I don’t have to remind you that the driver who killed her in that hit-and-run accident was never caught. I hope you do better with this one.” Brad took a breath and then said, “So what have you got for me?” as he motioned to the notebook and pen he held.
She’d noticed as he was approaching that he had a camera slung around his neck, leaving her little doubt that he’d been taking photos. Page one news. Missing daughter of former ousted state attorney general found in pond ten years after disappearance.
“You know as much as I do at this point,” she said. “Probably more.” She would find out who’d let him in and give them hell.
“Congrats, by the way, on your successful run for sheriff.”
“Your paper didn’t back me. You backed one of my now deputies, I believe. Ace Turner.”
“The publisher is a dick, but you know that,” he said, laughing. “I bet on the wrong horse, so to speak. Hope you won’t hold it against me.”
She gave him her best smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
His smile faltered. “Seriously, I like a good working relationship with law enforcement.”
“Yes, I’m aware of your...relationship with former undersheriff Ward Farnsworth.”
Brad blanched. “Never saw that coming, although it does make good copy. Ward’s trial for his involvement in the former sheriff’s hit-and-run is going to be preempted for this though. Ariel Matheson is news. How do you think she ended up in the pond?”
She sighed and walked away. Not that she had anything against the media. She believed in the free press. She just didn’t like Brad.
“You aren’t going to use our past as a wedge between us, are you?” he called after her. “Lizzy—”
“That’s Sheriff Conners,” she called over her shoulder. “And if you don’t get out of my crime scene, I’m going to have you arrested.” She motioned to one of the officers to see Brad off the premises.
* * *
DEPUTY JOHN “ACE” TURNER finished helping put crime scene tape around the area as the SUV was being loaded onto the flatbed trailer to take it down to the crime lab in Missoula. He wandered over to the vehicle as it was being strapped down and climbed up on the trailer to look inside.
He felt a small thrill rocket through him when he saw the yellow ski rope tied to the steering wheel. Murder. He would have given anything at that moment to be sheriff. He’d run for the job but the county had voted in a woman. A young woman with less experience than he had. It made no sense. He would have sworn that the election was rigged.
But he knew that the reason he’d lost was because of retiring sheriff Sid Anderson. The man had put his support behind his favorite—Lizzy Conners. Sid had completely overlooked Ace and gone with his neighbor girl. Ace didn’t think he would ever get over that. Sid had clearly lost his marbles. Seriously, maybe his hit-and-run accident had knocked something loose upstairs.
Whatever the reason, Lizzy got the job and this murder—and on her first day as sheriff. It was so unfair. There were so few murders in this part of Montana and this one was one that would get a lot of press. A young woman tied to her steering wheel so she would drown slowly after her SUV was pushed into the pond. Brutal way to die.
Add to that the scandal surrounding her father, who was still doing time in prison in Deer Lodge. It was the kind of murder he could sink his teeth into. The kind that would make a name for a man like him who had higher aspirations than just being a deputy sheriff.
Ace considered who might have done it. What type of mind came up with this particular way of snuffing someone out? he wondered as he jumped down. The trailer began to pull away. He’d seen enough. The pile of bones and clothing in the driver’s seat. What was left of the victim. Grisly stuff.
He would have given his eyeteeth to even be involved in this case, but he knew Lizzy would keep him on the periphery. She wouldn’t let him near the important stuff. Hell, she had him putting up crime scene tape. Any idiot could do that.
As he headed for his patrol SUV, he told himself that he would get his chance. He had to believe that. In
the meantime, he’d find out everything he could about the deceased—behind the sheriff’s back.
CHAPTER TWO
LIZZY HADN’T BEEN in her office long when she looked up to find Shade Sterling standing in her doorway. They’d crossed paths over the past ten years since high school graduation but only spoke in passing. After high school, they’d each gone their own ways, her off to Montana State University, then the police academy, him off to the University of Montana.
Now, looking into his handsome face, she had to admit that she’d thought about him over those years. Some men just got under your skin in a way that you couldn’t forget. Shade was like that.
Mostly she’d thought about the stolen kiss they’d shared at their high school graduation party—the same night that Ariel Matheson had disappeared. He and Ariel had just broken up. Lizzy’d had a crush on Shade long before that but would never have dreamed of acting on it because of Ariel.
The night of their graduation party, Shade had sought her out, grabbed her impulsively and kissed her, saying he’d been wanting to do that for a very long time. There’d been fireworks, enough to make the kiss something she hadn’t forgotten.
She’d seen him again after that, but only when he’d stopped by the house where she lived with her aunt Gertie asking if she’d seen or heard from Ariel. Ariel’s mother, Catherine, was going crazy with worry.
That had been ten years ago. After a week without any word from Ariel, Catherine had called the police. Everyone just assumed that Ariel had run away and would come home once she ran out of money.
But as time went on, the police began to suspect foul play. They had questioned Shade at length since he’d been Ariel’s boyfriend. Also by then, they’d heard about the fight Shade and Ariel had had at the graduation party before she left. But nothing more had come of it. Until now.
Lizzy cleared her throat and rose to her full height of five-five. The cowboy stood at six-three, his broad muscled shoulders filling her doorway. “Shade,” she said, not surprised to see him. She’d known that once he heard about Ariel, he’d come by.
What surprised her was the small jolt she felt at seeing the handsome cowboy again. The past ten years had added maturity to his rugged good looks.
He removed his Stetson and stepped in, his long legs covering the space in two strides. He smelled of the outdoors, a mixture of sweet pine and mountain air. Blue eyes twinkled in a face chiseled by a master sculptor. “I was out riding this morning on the ranch when I saw the car being pulled out of the pond. It’s Ariel, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
He bowed his head for a moment before looking up at her again. She’d forgotten how blue his eyes were, how intense his gaze. “I feel terrible. I should have stopped her.”
“Stopped her?” Lizzy asked, confused.
“That night at the party when she stormed off,” he said. “I knew she was drunk, which was bad enough. But in the mood she was in...” He shook his head. “I tried to stop her so she couldn’t leave drunk and mad and throwing one of her tantrums. But you know how she was. She probably wasn’t paying attention and in the state she was in, missed that turn and crashed into the pond.”
Lizzy stared at him. “You think she drove into the pond because she was impaired?”
“Drunk as a skunk. I tried to talk her out of driving that night. She was in one of her moods and had had too much to drink on top of it. But Ariel being Ariel, she wouldn’t listen. I even tried to take her keys. She fought me like a wild woman and later took off in a hail of gravel. It’s just lucky she didn’t kill anyone but herself.” He raked a hand through his hair. The sun had streaked his dark hair with gold. “All this time she’s been in the pond.”
Lizzy took a breath and let it out slowly. Ariel had turned up all right. Deceased. Ariel’s reign of terror was truly over. One person in particular had seen to that.
“Shade, Ariel didn’t accidentally drive into the pond because she was intoxicated or in one of her moods,” she told him. “She was murdered.”
He froze. “What?”
She nodded as she watched all the color drain from his face.
He lowered his lanky frame slowly into a chair across from her desk. “Murdered? Are you sure?”
Lizzy nodded as she took her own chair, realizing what the past ten years must have been like for him. Since graduation night when Ariel disappeared, a black cloud had hung over him. What he didn’t realize yet was that cloud was now a major thunderstorm.
He balanced his Stetson on his knee and rubbed the back of his neck for a moment before his blue-eyed gaze met hers. “I knew Ariel had enemies, but I never thought anyone would... I’m trying to imagine someone who could have despised her more than I did at the end.”
Chilling words, Lizzy thought, then reminded herself of how she’d felt about Ariel at the end of their senior year. No love lost there, that was for sure.
“I’m going to be talking to everyone who knew Ariel, especially everyone who attended the party that night,” she said.
He nodded, clearly in shock. “Just let me know. I’ll tell you what I can remember.” He retrieved his Stetson and, turning the brim in his sun-browned fingers, rose to his full height. The long sleeves of his Western shirt were rolled up, exposing strong muscular forearms that were also tanned below a fuzz of blond hair. She remembered those arms around her and how she’d once yearned to feel them around her again.
But today she was the brand-new sheriff and she had a murder to solve. She got to her feet as he started to leave.
He stopped and turned to look at her. That grin of his still had the power to weaken her knees. “I hate that it’s under these circumstances, but it’s good to see you, Lizzy.”
She nodded. “You, too, Shade.” With that he was gone.
Lizzy stared at the empty doorway before it was filled with former sheriff Sid Anderson’s familiar shape.
“Was that Shade Sterling?”
She could just imagine the wistful look he’d caught on her face. She felt herself flush as she dropped back into her chair.
“Looks like your first day as sheriff has been interesting,” Sid commented.
“That was my number one suspect who just left,” she said with a groan. “He doesn’t realize it yet.”
Sid said nothing for a moment. “What does your gut tell you?”
“To not let Shade Sterling distract me from doing my job.”
He chuckled. “That’s not bad advice. Any other suspects?”
“Too many to mention. Even though our senior class was small, Ariel alienated all of them in her own unique way. Myself included.”
“I thought you were best friends,” Sid said in surprise.
“A lot of people did. I hate to admit it, but I was afraid of her. I’d seen her destroy anyone who got in her way.” Looking back, she could see that Ariel had probably suspected that Lizzy’d had a crush on Shade. Ariel had probably known before she did. “She made my senior year a living hell. Worse, I let her.”
“She sounds delightful.”
“I actually thought that was why she disappeared on graduation night. She wanted everyone to think that Shade had done something to her. She was vindictive that way.” Lizzy let out a bitter laugh. “Instead she was at the bottom of that pond.”
“Not a bad way to start your new career, though—with a murder.”
Lizzy groaned again. “Shade said something interesting. He said that given the way he felt about her, he couldn’t imagine who might have hated her so much that the person killed her. It was like we all wanted her gone, but everyone was too afraid to stand up to her. Until someone just lost control?”
“And killed the town bully,” Sid said.
“Ariel controlled us all but she did it in a way that was so...calculatingly sweet. You never knew where you stood with her. You
just knew to be very careful.”
“Did I hear that your class was holding its ten-year class reunion this coming weekend?”
She sighed. “We put it off until fall because everyone was too busy during the summer tourist season. One of the joys of living next to Glacier National Park.”
“How large was your senior class at Progressive?” he asked.
“It was one of the smaller ones,” she said. “Twelve originally. The reunion is going to be held at Sterling’s Montana Guest Ranch. It’ll be a good opportunity to get everyone together in the same place. I’m just hoping someone saw something that night that will help find Ariel’s killer.”
“Are you thinking one of them was Ariel’s killer?”
She felt a chill at the thought. “I suppose it’s possible, but at least it’s a place to start. These were the people closest to her. They would have known her best. I’m hoping to get a chance to talk to each of them separately.”
“The timing is interesting,” Sid said.
Lizzy nodded. “You aren’t the first person to point that out.”
CHAPTER THREE
AS SHADE WALKED out of the sheriff’s department, he was thinking how good it was to see Lizzy again. He’d thought about her over the years. He knew he would have pursued things further after their kiss at the graduation party if Ariel hadn’t disappeared. He’d always thought that she’d planned it that way.
Now he felt guilty. If he’d insisted Ariel not leave the party that night. If he’d physically kept her from it... But he’d tried and she’d turned on him, scratching his face. He’d backed off, telling himself he didn’t give a damn whether or not she killed herself. He’d had no idea that before that night was over, she would be dead.
As Shade walked into the ranch house the family owned in the valley, he could see that everyone had already heard the news. His brothers, Will and Garrett, looked up as he came into the living room. Clearly they’d been waiting for him to return.
