Cardwell Ranch Trespasser

chapter Seven

After the horseback ride up to the lake, Hilde couldn’t wait to get home, shower and curl up in her bed. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Add to that everything that had happened to her in the past forty-eight hours and she knew she had good reason to be exhausted.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay and have dinner with us?” Dana had asked. “Hud is going to broil some steaks. I’m making a big salad.”

“I would love to, really, but the ride took a lot out of me,” Hilde said. She could see that her friend was disappointed, but Hilde had had all the Dee she could take for one day.

She gave Dana a hug, hugging her more tightly than she normally did, afraid for her friend. “Thank you for the offer, though,” she said when she let go.

“Once you get to know Dee you’ll see how vulnerable and sweet she...” Dana’s words died off as she must have seen something in her friend’s expression that stopped her.

“Be careful,” Hilde said. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Dana gave her a sympathetic look, and Hilde sensed that things had changed between them. It made her sad, but she couldn’t blame her friend. Dee was like a slow but deadly poison.

“Oh, Hilde, aren’t you staying for dinner?” Dee said all cheery, as she came down the stairs. She’d showered and now wore a sundress that accentuated all her assets—which were no small thing. “I know Dana has missed you. I’m afraid she’s getting bored with me. I’m not much fun.”

“You are plenty fun,” Dana said to her cousin. “I could never get bored with you.”

“Am I the luckiest woman in the world to have such an amazing cousin?” Dee asked with a too-bright smile. “I’m so glad she found me and invited me to Montana. I’m having a terrific time. I’ve missed having family so much.”

“I know that feeling, so I’m glad,” Dana said to her cousin, then turned to Hilde. “Change your mind about dinner.”

“Another time.” Hilde held Dana’s gaze. “Take care of yourself.” And she was out the door and headed for her SUV. It was all she could do not to run. She saw Colt glance up from where he and Hud were talking by the corrals. Concern crossed his expression, then his gaze went to the porch where Dee was standing, backlit by the light coming from inside the house.

Dee said something to the two men. Hud laughed and Dee started to come off the porch toward them. Dana called from the kitchen for her cousin. Dee hesitated, clearly disappointed, but went back inside to help Dana.

On the drive to her house, Hilde felt sick to her stomach. She’d never been violent. She was a forget-and-

forgive kind of person. At least she thought she was. But for a few moments back there at the house, she’d wanted to walk back to the porch and punch Dee in the face.

“I really need some rest,” she told herself, as she parked in front of her house. Once inside, she showered and changed into her favorite silk robe before padding into the kitchen for a glass of warm milk. She knew she couldn’t eat anything the way she felt right now.

Back in the bedroom, she finished the milk and crawled into bed with a book she’d been wanting to read—the same one Colt was reading. A book would be the only thing that could get her mind off Dee and her fears for Dana and her family.

She’d read only a few pages, though, when she must have fallen asleep. When the ringing of the phone woke her, she was lying on the open pages of the book, her cheek creased and damp. It took her a moment to realize what had awakened her.

“Hello?” she said, snatching up the phone. Her first thought was that something had happened out at the ranch. Her heart took off like a shot.

“I was afraid you were out with your boyfriend.”

She didn’t recognize the voice, but her heart was still pounding. “I beg your pardon? I think you have the wrong number.” She recognized the laugh, though, and sat up in the bed, trying to shake off sleep. “Rick?”

“One and the same,” he said with another laugh. “I’ve been sitting here having a few drinks, thinking about you.”

Hilde groaned inwardly, afraid where this was headed.

“I know your type,” he continued. “You like nice things but you try to hide the fact that you come from money.”

She was momentarily surprised by his insight.

“I like nice things, too, but I’m afraid I don’t come from money. Far from it.” Another laugh. “I’ll make you a deal. You want to know the scoop on Dee? If you can get your hands on ten thousand dollars, which I have a feeling you can without much trouble, then I will tell you things about dear Dee that will make your hair stand on end.”

“You sound drunk.”

“Not yet.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because I know she tried to kill you on the river. I’m betting it wasn’t the first time she put a scare into you.”

“You would sell out your own girlfriend?”

He chuckled. “That’s the other thing. Dee and I have a complicated relationship. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here. How she sold my soul to the devil a long time ago. You’d better hurry before I get too drunk, though. I’m starting to feel the effects of this whiskey.” With that he hung up.

* * *

COLT WAS AT the marshal’s office when the call came in. He saw the dispatcher look in his direction then said she would put the call through to Deputy Marshal Colt Dawson.

The woman on the other end of the line sounded hysterical, and for a moment he didn’t recognize Hilde’s voice. “Where are you?” he broke in, hoping she would take a breath.

“At the Lazy T Motel, room 9. It’s Rick Cameron. He’s dead. She killed him, Colt. She killed him because she knew I was coming here tonight.”

Colt wondered why Hilde was going to Rick’s motel room, but he didn’t dare ask right now. “Step outside the room. Take some deep breaths. I’m on my way.” The moment he put down the phone he called Marshal Hud Savage, then he headed for the Lazy T, siren blaring and lights flashing.

Hilde was standing outside, just as he’d told her to. She wore a pair of jeans, a blue-and-tan-print blouse and nice sandals. Her hair was piled on top of her head. Had this been a date?

Jealousy bit into him like the bite of a rattlesnake, filling him with its venom. “What are you doing here, Hilde?” he asked the moment he reached her.

“Rick called. He said he’d tell me about Dee for ten thousand dollars. She killed him. You know she did.” The words came flying out, tumbling all over each other.

“Easy,” he said and drew her to the side, away from the motel room doors. They had opened, and guests were looking out to see what was going on. “You were going to pay him ten thousand dollars?”

She nodded. “I was asleep when he called. I dressed as quickly as I could.”

He had to smile. Only Hilde would grab a matching outfit to come pay off a con man. She’d even taken the time to pull up her long hair into a do that made her look like a model on a runway.

“Stay here, okay?” he said, holding her at arm’s length to look into her face. She’d been crying, but she still looked great. As he stepped to the door of the motel, he heard Hud’s patrol pickup siren in the distance.

Several more guests stuck their heads out to see what was going on.

“Please go back inside,” Colt told them. Inside the motel room he found Rick Cameron sprawled on the bed. There was an empty bottle of whiskey on the floor and an empty bottle of prescription pills under the edge of the bedspread.

He checked for a pulse. Hilde was right. The man was dead. Still when the EMTs arrived seconds later, they attempted to revive him without any luck.

“Looks like an overdose,” one of the EMTs told Hud as he came in the door.

Colt stepped out to Hilde, but she’d already heard. “No,” she cried, trying to get past him to talk to Hud. “This wasn’t an accident. He knew I was on my way over.”

The EMTs brought out the body and loaded it into the ambulance. Hud came out after them and walked over to Hilde, clearly unhappy to see her there.

“Dee killed him,” Hilde said before the marshal could speak.

Hud raised a brow but didn’t respond to the accusation. “I’m going to have to ask you a few questions. Why don’t we go down to the office?” He turned to Colt. “Stay here and talk to the motel owner when he gets here.”

Colt nodded and didn’t look at Hilde as she and the marshal left. The lines had been clearly drawn now. Hud had made that point by telling him to stay there and wait for the motel owner.

He and Hilde were alone on their side of that line, and from Hud’s disappointed look as he left, they were on the wrong side.

* * *

HILDE FOLLOWED HUD in her SUV the few blocks to the marshal’s office, her mind racing.

Rick had been ready to tell her the truth about Dee. Surely Hud would realize it was too much of a coincidence for him to overdose right before she got there. She said as much as she followed him into his office.

“I’ve seen enough of these where the victim mixed alcohol and heavy-duty pain pills. It looks to me like an accidental drug overdose,” Hud told her.

“Well, you’re wrong.” She hated the way her voice broke. Even to her own ears, she sounded close to hysteria. Why wouldn’t he believe her?

“Hilde, you’re upset. You’ve been under a lot of strain lately—”

Of course Dana would have told him about her breakdown on the river. “Are you telling me you can’t see that people have a lot of accidents around Dee?” she snapped.

“Why don’t you tell me how it is that you’re the one who found the victim,” Hud said, as he settled into his chair behind his desk.

She’d known Hud for years, ever since she’d moved to Big Sky and met Dana. He was like a brother to her. But when he’d sat down behind his desk just then, she saw him become the marshal, all business. She felt the wall come up between them and had to fight tears of frustration and regret.

Taking a breath, she tried to calm down. But she was at war with herself. She knew he wasn’t going to believe her, but at the same time she had to try to make him see the truth.

“I was asleep. Rick called me.” She told him about the conversation, recalling as much as she could of it.

Hud nodded when she finished. “You said he sounded as if he’d been drinking. He said he would give you ‘the scoop’ on Dee. His words?”

“Yes and the way he said ‘Dee,’ I got the impression she might not really be Dee Anna Justice.” She instantly saw skepticism in Hud’s expression. No doubt Dana had also told him that she thought Hilde was jealous of her cousin. “There is something wrong with Dee. I feel it.”

She quickly regretted blurting it out when Hud said “Hilde” in a tone that made it clear she was too biased against the woman to be credible.

Thank goodness Colt believed her.

“Hud, you have to admit it’s suspicious that he calls, ready to tell me about her, and ends up dead.”

“You said he sounded drunk. He might have already taken enough drugs to kill him. Which would explain why by the time you got there, he was already dead. Also, you have no idea what ‘the scoop’ on her might have been. He was a disgruntled ex-boyfriend.”

“Was he?” she asked. “All we have is Dee’s word on that. I assume she has an alibi?”

“She was at the house. Hilde, she was there all evening.”

She knew Dee was behind it. Maybe she’d put something in the bottle of bourbon that was beside the bed. Or hired someone to kill him. But there was no doubt in Hilde’s mind that she’d killed him.

“Rick was addicted to prescription drugs,” Hud said with a sigh. “Dee said it was one reason she’d broken up with him. She was also worried that he might hurt himself because of the breakup. Apparently she told him after the horseback ride to the lake that they wouldn’t be getting back together.”

Hilde smiled, not surprised that Dee had covered her bases. Again. “She set that up nicely, didn’t she?” she asked, unable to keep the amusement out of her tone.

“Hilde.” His voice reeked with impatience.

She got to her feet, giving up. She’d cried wolf too many times without any proof to back it up. No one believed her. Except Colt. If he was telling the truth. She groaned inwardly at the thought that he might just be indulging her because he liked her. Liked her? Or just wanted to get her into his bed because she was a challenge?

“If those are all your questions...”

“Did you see anyone leaving the motel when you drove up?” Hud asked with a sigh.

She shook her head.

“The motel room door was unlocked?”

She nodded.

“Did you hear anyone going out the back as you entered?”

Why was he doing this? He believed it was an accidental overdose. Was he just trying to get her to see that she was wrong? “I didn’t see anyone. I really can’t tell you any more.”

Hud gave her a regretful look. He knew she was angry that he didn’t believe her, but there was nothing she could do about that.

“She’s after you, Hud.”

“Who?” he asked, frowning.

“Dee. She wants you.”

He got to his feet, angrier now. “Hilde, I don’t know what’s gotten into you. You of all people know how I feel about Dana, about our family.” He shook his head. “Go home and get some rest.”

She nodded, seeing that there was nothing more she could say. “If you have any more questions, you know where I live.” With that she left.

* * *

COLT HAD A pretty good idea how things had gone the moment Hilde answered the door. He’d thought about waiting until morning, but he was worried about her. If things had gone as he suspected they had, she would be upset and might welcome company.

“I just wanted to be sure you were all right.”

She shook her head and motioned him inside. “Dee had an alibi. Not that she needs it. No one believes me anyway. She set this up so perfectly, telling Hud and Dana about Rick’s drug problem and that she was worried he would do something terrible to himself.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I believe you.”

“Do you?” She met his gaze with a fiery one of her own. She was good and mad, and she’d never looked more beautiful. He’d only glimpsed this kind of passion in her before tonight. “Or are you just trying to get into my pants?”

He laughed. “As tempting as that offer is, I like to think I have a shot without being forced to lie to you. I believe you, Hilde. It’s too much of a coincidence that he should overdose when you’re on the way to his motel room. She got to him. I’m not sure how, but she got to him.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Why can’t Hud see that?”

“Because Dee’s good at hiding her true self and Hud operates on proof.”

“Colt, I don’t even think she is Dee Anna Justice.”

He raised a brow.

“It’s the way Rick called her ‘Dee.’ I heard him do it on the horseback ride up to the lake. Is there any way to find out if she’s even the woman she says she is?”

Colt gave that some thought. He wasn’t sure he believed Dee was pretending to be Dana’s cousin. He wasn’t sure how she could have pulled that off, but he was willing to put Hilde’s mind at rest and his own.

“I’ll see if I can get her fingerprints. I might need your help.”

“You know you have it,” she said. “Would you like something to drink? I have some wine.”

“You’re tired. I should go.”

“I could use the company. Just one drink.”

He smiled. “If you had a beer...”

“I do.”

He followed her through the house to the kitchen. Her house was neat as a pin and nicely furnished. But not overdone. He realized they had that in common: a minimalistic view of the world.

She handed him a beer, poured herself a glass of wine and led him into the living room.

“Dee already told Dana that Rick had been depressed and she was worried about him, since she told him it was over after the horseback ride,” Hilde said. “I swear she must have been planning to drug him right from the moment he showed up.”

“It’s proving it that’s the problem,” he said. Sitting here in Hilde’s house seemed the most natural thing in the world. “I want you to stay away from her unless I am there to make sure she doesn’t try to kill you again.”

Hilde looked up in surprise. “You can’t believe she would try again. She couldn’t get away with another murder.”

“Rick’s death will probably be ruled an accidental overdose,” he reminded her. “Consider how it would look if something happened to you now. You’ve been having a streak of bad luck. Plus you’ve been...overwrought.” She started to object, but he held up his hand. “I’m just saying how Dee would spin it. You got careless, you haven’t been yourself. You get the idea. That’s why I want you to give the woman a wide berth until she leaves.”

“She’s not leaving.”

“Well, she can’t stay forever.”

“She can if she finds a way to get Hud all to herself,” Hilde said. “I told Hud that Dee was after him.”

Colt groaned. “I can imagine how he took that.”

“He needed to be warned.”

Colt couldn’t argue that. He just hoped it wouldn’t have the opposite effect and make Hud more sympathetic to Dee.

“She knows we’re onto her.” Hilde drained her wineglass. “What scares me is what she’ll do next. I’m afraid for Dana and her family. If she makes a play for Hud... I have a feeling Dee doesn’t take rejection well.”

Colt agreed that the whole family could be in danger. “I wish there was some way to get her out of that house.”

“I doubt dynamite would work, even if Dana would let you blast her out. Dee has completely snowed Dana.”

He could hear her disappointment. “I know it’s frustrating seeing Dana and even Hud taken in like this. But you have to admit, Dee is good.”

“She’s playing this perfectly, too perfectly,” Hilde said. “Which makes me think this isn’t her first time she’s done this.”

“Whatever this is,” Colt said. “I’ll see what I can find out about her. Meanwhile, I’ll see what we can do about getting her fingerprints.” He’d have to be careful. He couldn’t let Hud find out that he was investigating his wife’s cousin. If Dana wasn’t so happy having found a cousin she never knew she had, then Colt was sure Hud would be suspicious of Dee by now.

“I want to help.”

“You are going to stay clear of the ranch unless I’m with you. Promise me.”

She promised, but he could tell her concern for her friend was weighing heavily on her. What worried him was that if Dee decided to make a move against her, she would use that concern and Hilde would fall right into the trap.

He finished his beer, saw how late it was and got up to leave. Hilde walked him to the door. As he opened it, a cool breeze blew in, ruffling her hair. He reached to tuck an errant golden strand behind her ear like he’d seen her do the few times she’d worn her hair down.

But the moment he did, his hand slid around to the back of her slim neck. His eyes locked with hers. Her skin felt cool to his touch as he drew her to him.

* * *

THE KISS WAS gentle and sweet and so unexpected. Just the touch of his lips sent a jolt through her. Colt must have felt her tremble because he pulled her closer. She could feel his heart hammering under the hard muscles of his chest.

Her lips parted and she felt a rush of heat as he enclosed her in his arms and deepened the kiss.

She felt light-headed. No one had ever kissed her like this. She leaned into him, into the kiss. For the first time in days, Dee Anna Justice was the last thing on her mind.

Colt pressed her against the wall. She could feel the passion in his kiss, in his body. She wouldn’t have been surprised if they had made love right there.

Headlights washed over them. Dana pulled in behind Hilde’s SUV. They both drew back as if the lights were ice water thrown on them.

“I should go,” Colt said. He touched her hand, his gaze locking with hers for a moment. Then he sauntered out to his patrol pickup and drove off.

“Are you all right?” Dana cried. “Hud told me what happened.” She turned to look after Colt. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No, it...” She waved a hand through the air. “I’m just glad to see you. Did you want to come in?”

“Just for a moment. I know it’s late, but we were out of milk and I couldn’t sleep without making sure you were all right,” Dana said as she stepped inside. “You’ve been through so much lately.”

“Haven’t I,” Hilde said.

“You found his body? That must have been horrible.”

“You have no idea.” She realized she couldn’t confide in her once best friend.

“Dee is a basket case.”

Hilde tried to hide a smile. “I’m sure she is,” she said.

But Dana knew her too well. “Hilde, the man was her boyfriend.”

“Was he? Or is that just what she told you? Dana, the only thing you know about her is what she’s told you. How can you be sure any of it is true?”

Dana stood in the middle of the living room, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “I know you don’t like her, but to be this suspicious about everything she says or does—”

“She’s playing you, Dana. You told her about the past six years that you didn’t have your family because of the fight over the ranch, didn’t you?” She saw the answer in her friend’s face. “You are so desperate to have family that you’re blinded by this woman.”

“I don’t understand why you’re acting like this,” Dana said, sounding close to tears.

Hilde tried to stop herself, but she couldn’t. She had to tell Dana everything, had to try to reason with her, to warn her.

“She tried to kill me, Dana. At the falls? She pushed me while you were getting your camera, only grabbing me at the last second before I fell.”

“Why would she—”

“Because she doesn’t want me around you.”

“That’s crazy,” Dana said.

“Yes, it is. And she’s living with you and your husband and your children.”

They stood only inches apart staring at each other, but Hilde felt as if there was a mountain range between them, one neither of them might be able to climb.

“I’m worried about you, Hilde.”

“Really? Because I’m scared to death for you. She killed Rick to keep him from telling me the truth tonight. He’d called me and said he’d tell me Dee’s secrets, but I got there too late.”

Dana was shaking her head and Hilde saw that her friend was never going to believe her. Until it was too late. “I should go.”

Hilde nodded. “Watch her, Dana. I think she’s after Hud.”

Dana gave her a disbelieving look as if Hilde had finally lost her mind, then she turned and left.

Hilde closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She hadn’t even realized she was crying until she tasted the salty tears.