Wedding at Cardwell Ranch

by B. J Daniels

  “There is nothing to forgive. Megan and Sarah took advantage of the fireworks show and the wedding.”

  “What were they thinking? Did they really believe they could get away with keeping her?”

  “I suppose they thought I would come unglued, which I did, proving that I was unbalanced. If it hadn’t been for Jackson...” She really hadn’t meant to go there.

  “Is Natalie all right?”

  “She didn’t even realize anything was amiss. Apparently, they told her they were taking her to me, but when they reached Megan’s motel room, they told her I was going to meet them there. Nat ended up falling asleep. So she had no idea what was going on.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “I’ll drop Nat off on my way, if that’s okay.”

  “That’s wonderful. We can’t wait to see her. Tell her to wear her boots. We’ll go for a ride.”

  * * *

  “YOU NEED TO take the hint,” Hayes said as he and Jackson drove away from Allie’s cabin. They’d dropped off the van, Allie had thanked them and that was that, so Jackson knew what his brother was getting at. “Allie is handling all of this fine. I’m not sure there is anything you can do from here on out.”

  “You think she had him killed?” Jackson demanded.

  Hayes shrugged. “I don’t know her as well as you think you do. I don’t think she paid anyone to do it. But if she gave Drew any kind of opening with her, I think he would have killed his brother for her—and the insurance money.”

  “She wasn’t in cahoots with Drew. And stop doing that,” he snapped as his brother shrugged again. “Do you realize how cynical you’ve become? Worse, does McKenzie?”

  Hayes smiled. “Speaking of McKenzie... I’m opening a private investigator business here.”

  “You think that’s a newsflash?” Jackson laughed. “We’ve all seen that coming for a mile. So when is the wedding?”

  “I’m thinking we might elope. I’m not sure the family can live through another Cardwell Ranch wedding.”

  “Which reminds me, still no word from Austin?”

  “You know our brother when he’s on a case. But I am a little worried about him. I really thought he’d make Tag’s wedding.”

  “Yeah, me too. Maybe I’ll give a call down there. Knowing him, he probably didn’t list any of us as emergency contacts.”

  * * *

  ALLIE TRIED TO get comfortable in the chair the homicide detectives offered her. The room was like any office, no bare lightbulb shining into her eyes, no cops threatening her. But she still shifted in her chair.

  On the drive here, she’d tried to concentrate on who might have killed Nick. Belinda had been up that trail with Nick when the two of them had been dating. Drew usually went hunting with his brother. Had Drew gone this time, as well, gotten in an argument with Nick and killed him?

  She shuddered at the path her thoughts had taken. Did she really think someone in Nick’s own family had killed him?

  Better that than to think that her stepsister, Megan, had. Allie felt sick at the thought. Her sister had called this morning but Allie hadn’t picked up.

  “I need to explain,” Megan had said on voice mail. “I did what I did for Natalie’s sake. I love you and my niece. I really believed I was protecting you both. I had no idea Mildred and Sarah were doing those things to you, making you behave the way they told me you were. Please call me so we can talk about this.”

  The larger of the two homicide detectives cleared his voice. His name tag read Benson. “We need to know where you were the weekend your husband went up into the mountains.”

  “I was home that whole weekend.”

  “Did you talk to anyone? Anyone stop by?”

  Allie tried to remember. Her mind was spinning. They thought she’d had something to do with Nick’s death? Of course they did, given the insurance policies and her mother-in-law’s rantings and ravings.

  Just yesterday, she’d been sure that Nick was alive. Jackson had been convinced, as well. She’d been even more convinced when she’d heard his voice at the séance. Nick’s voice accusing her of killing him. She shivered at the memory.

  “Mrs. Taylor?” the smaller of the two, whose name tag read Evans, asked.

  She blinked. No one called her Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor was Nick’s mother. “Please, call me Allie. I just need a moment to think.” Had anyone stopped by that weekend?

  Fighting all her conflicting thoughts, she tried to remember. Nick had left early, having packed the night before. He’d seemed excited about the prospect of going alone on this hunt. Why hadn’t she noticed that something was wrong right there? It was the first red flag.

  Had anyone stopped by? No. She frowned. She’d tried to call Belinda but hadn’t been able to reach her, she recalled now. She’d wanted to tell her what Nick had said about making some changes when he returned from his hunting trip. She’d had misgivings about the trip even then and she’d needed to talk to someone. Had she worried that he might be thinking of killing himself?

  “I don’t remember anyone stopping by,” she said, trying to keep her thoughts on the question. She ticked off everyone on her fingers. “I couldn’t reach my friend Belinda.” Had she tried Megan? “Or my stepsister, Megan. And my in-laws. I think that was the weekend that Mildred and Sarah went on a shopping trip to Billings. Drew... I don’t know where he was. I didn’t talk to him.”

  She looked up to see that both detectives were studying her. They were making her even more nervous.

  “I was alone with my daughter that whole weekend.” She had no alibi. But they didn’t really think she’d followed Nick up in the mountains and killed him, did they?

  “Was it unusual for your husband to go hunting alone?”

  “Very. I didn’t think he had. I thought he was having an affair. I was surprised when I learned that he really had gone into the mountains.”

  The detectives shared a look before the lead one asked, “Did you have any reason to believe your husband was having an affair?”

  “No. I guess it was wishful thinking. It would have made it easier for me.”

  The two shared another look. “Easier?”

  She met the smaller detective’s gaze. “I was going to leave Nick.” Why not admit it? They probably already knew this after talking to her in-laws and Belinda and Megan. “But I didn’t want him dead. You asked what I was doing that weekend? I didn’t leave the house. I had my five-year-old daughter to take care of that weekend and I was busy packing.”

  “When were you planning to tell him?” Benson asked.

  “As soon as he returned.”

  Evans picked up a sheet of paper from the desk. “Mrs. Tay— Excuse me, Allie, you own a .45 pistol?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The gun. What had she been thinking when she’d bought it? Had she really thought that pulling it on Nick would be a good idea? She’d wanted something to protect herself for when she told him she was leaving.

  Now she saw how ridiculous that was. Nick would have taken it away from her, knowing she couldn’t shoot him and then he would have been so furious....

  “Yes, I bought the gun for protection.”

  Benson raised a brow. “Protection? Against whom?”

  “I was planning to leave my husband. My daughter and I would be alone—”

  “But you hadn’t left him yet,” Evans pointed out. “So why buy a .45 pistol only days before your husband was to go on his hunting trip?”

  “I...I...was afraid of how Nick was going to take it when he returned and I told him I was leaving him. Sometimes he scares me.”

  The two detectives exchanged another look.

  “But it was impulsive and silly because Nick would have known I couldn’t use it on him. He would have taken it away from me
and...” She swallowed.

  “You were afraid of your husband,” Benson said.

  “Sometimes.”

  “Where is the gun now?” Evans asked.

  “I don’t know. When I heard that Nick had been killed with a .45, I looked for it, but it was gone.” Allie could see the disbelief written all over their faces. Hadn’t she known when she looked that it would be gone?

  “I think someone is trying to set me up for his murder,” she blurted out and instantly regretted it when she saw their expressions. Apparently, they’d heard this type of defense before.

  “You’re saying someone took the gun to frame you?” Benson asked. “Who knew you’d bought it?”

  Allie met his gaze. “I didn’t tell anyone, if that is what you’re asking.”

  “Who had access to your house?” Evans asked.

  “It’s an old cabin. I don’t know how many people might have a key. Nick was always going to change the locks...”

  “Your in-laws? Did they have keys?” Benson asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Friends?”

  “Belinda and my stepsister, Megan, know where there’s a key to get in.”

  “Where did you keep the gun that someone could have found it? You have a five-year-old. I assume you didn’t just leave the gun lying around,” Benson asked.

  “Of course not. I put it on the top shelf of the closet. It wasn’t loaded.”

  “But there were cartridges for it with the gun?”

  She nodded.

  “When was the last time you saw it?” Evans asked.

  “The day I bought it. I put it on the shelf behind some shoe boxes... I’d forgotten all about it with Nick’s...death...and all.”

  “So you were just going to leave him,” Evans said. “This man who you said scared you sometimes, you were going to allow him to have joint custody of your child?”

  “It hadn’t gotten that far. I guess it would have been up to the court—”

  “Oh, so you’d already seen a lawyer about a divorce?” Benson asked.

  “Not yet. I couldn’t afford to see one until I got a job and Nick wouldn’t allow me to work.”

  The detectives exchanged looks.

  “Was your husband abusive?” Benson asked not unkindly.

  Allie hesitated. “He was...controlling.”

  “And he scared you,” Evans said.

  “Yes, sometimes. What is it you want me to say? He wasn’t a good husband or father to our daughter. And yes, sometimes he scared me.”

  “Mrs. Taylor, did you kill your husband?” Evans asked.

  “No. I told you. I could never—”

  “Did you get your brother-in-law, Drew, or someone else close to you to do the killing for you?” Benson asked.

  “No! I didn’t want to be married to Nick anymore but I didn’t want him dead.”

  Evans leaned forward. “But look how it turned out. Nick is no longer around to scare you, even sometimes. Your daughter is safe from him. And you are a wealthy woman thanks to his insurance money. Better than a divorce and a lengthy battle over your daughter, wouldn’t you say?”

  Allie felt as if the detectives had beaten her as she stumbled out of the police station. For a moment she forgot where she’d parked the van. Panic sent her blood pressure soaring before she spotted it. There it was, right where she’d left it. And there was...

  “Jackson?”

  He pushed off the van and moved quickly to her. “I had to see you before I left.”

  She frowned, still feeling off balance. “I thought you weren’t flying out yet?”

  “It’s my brother Austin. He’s a sheriff’s deputy in Texas. He’s been shot. He’s critical. I have to fly out now. Franklin and Mom already left. Hayes, Laramie and I are taking the corporate jet as soon as I get to the airport.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jackson. Does Tag know?”

  “We weren’t able to reach him. He and Lily wanted their honeymoon to be a secret... Ford is staying with Dana until I get back. But I couldn’t leave without seeing you. Are you all right?”

  She started to say she was fine, but she couldn’t get the lie past her lips. Her eyes filled with tears. “They think I killed Nick. Everyone does.”

  “Not me,” he said and pulled her into his arms. “When I get back, we’ll sort this out. I’m sorry I have to go.”

  She pulled back, brushed at her tears. “I’ll say a prayer for your brother.” As he ran to his rented SUV, she turned in time to see Detective Evans watching her from the front of the building. He looked like a man who’d just received a gift he hadn’t expected. Jackson Cardwell. Another motive as to why she’d want her husband gone for good.

  * * *

  THE JET OWNED by the corporation was waiting on the tarmac when Jackson arrived at the airport. He ran to climb aboard and Laramie alerted the captain that they were ready.

  “Have you heard any more from Mom or the hospital?” Jackson asked as he buckled up.

  “I just got off the phone with Mom,” Hayes said. “Austin’s still in surgery.” His tone was sufficient for Jackson to know it didn’t look good.

  “Do we know what happened?” he asked as the plane began to taxi out to the runway.

  “You know how hard it is to get anything out of the sheriff’s department down there,” Hayes said. “But I got the impression he was on one of the dangerous cases he seems to like so well.” He raked a hand through his hair. “There was a woman involved. He’d apparently gone into a drug cartel to get her out.”

  “That sounds just like Austin,” Jackson said with a sigh as the jet engine roared and the plane began to race down the runway. “Did he get her out?”

  “Don’t know. Doubtful, though, since some illegal immigrants found him after he’d been shot and got him to a gas station near the border.”

  Hayes shook his head. “Some of the same illegal immigrants his department is trying to catch and send back over the border. What a mess down there. I’m glad I’m done with it.”

  His brothers looked at him in surprise as the plane lifted off the ground.

  “McKenzie and I signed the papers on a ranch in the canyon not far from Cardwell Ranch. When I get back, we’re eloping. She’s already looking for some office space for me at Big Sky to open a private investigation office up here.”

  “Congratulations,” Laramie said.

  “Have you told Mom?” Jackson asked. “I’m wondering how she is going to feel losing another son to Montana?” The plane fell silent as he realized she might be losing another son at this very moment, one that not even Montana got a chance to claim.

  Speaking of Montana, he thought as he looked out the window at the mountains below them. He’d hated leaving Allie, especially as upset as she’d been. He promised himself he would return to the canyon just as soon as he knew his brother was going to be all right.

  He said a prayer for Austin and one for Allie, as well.

  * * *

  DANA HAD CALLED to say she was taking the kids on a horseback ride and that Allie could pick Natalie up later, if that was all right. Ford apparently was very upset and worried about his uncle Austin, so Dana was trying to take their minds off everything for a while.

  Not wanting to go back to an empty cabin, Allie had busied herself with errands she’d put off since the wedding preparation. It was late afternoon by the time she got home. She’d called the ranch only to find out that Dana and the kids had gone to get ice cream and would be back soon.

  Allie was carrying in groceries and her other purchases when she heard the vehicle pull up. She’d hoped to get everything put away before she went to pick up Natalie. She carried the bags into the cabin, dumping them on the kitchen counter, before she glanced out the window to see her mother-a
nd sister-in-law pull up. She groaned as the two got out and came to the door.

  For just an instant, she thought about not answering their knock, but they must have seen her carrying in her groceries. Mildred wasn’t one to take the hint and go away.

  “I just got back from the police station,” she said as she opened the door. “I’m really not in the mood for visitors.” She couldn’t believe either of them would have the gall to show their faces around here after what they’d done. Well, they weren’t coming in. Whatever they had to say, they could say it on the front step.

  Allie had already talked to Hud this morning. He’d questioned all of them last night, but had had to let them all go. Maybe they had come by to apologize, but Allie doubted it.

  “I just got a call from the police,” Mildred said indignantly. “Why would you tell them that Sarah and I went to Billings the weekend my Nicky was killed?”

  “I thought you had.” She knew she shouldn’t have been surprised. No apology for what they had tried to do to her.

  “We’d planned to go, but Sarah was sick that whole weekend.” She sniffed. “I was alone when I got the call about my Nicky.” She glared at her daughter for a moment. “Sarah had taken my car down to the drugstore to get more medicine since her car was in the shop. I couldn’t even leave the house to go to Drew.” Mildred sighed.

  “I’m sorry you were alone, Mother. I came right back. I couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes after you got the call,” Sarah said.

  “That was the longest five minutes of my life,” Mildred said with another sniff.

  “I guess I had forgotten the two of you hadn’t gone to Billings, but I’m sure you straightened it out with the police,” Allie said. “And Sarah couldn’t have known that would be the time you would get the call about Nick,” Allie pointed out.

  Sarah gave her a grateful smile, then added, “I hate to ask, but do you happen to have a cola in your fridge?”

  “Oh, for crying out loud, Sarah, how many times have I told you that stuff is horrible for you?” her mother demanded.

  “Help yourself,” Allie said, moving to the side of the doorway to let her pass. She saw that the sun had disappeared behind Lone Mountain, casting the canyon in a cool darkness. Where had this day gone? “I hate to run you off, but I have to go pick up Natalie.”