Stripped Bare (31 page)

Baxter wheezed. “The important thing is that, a couple of weeks ago, Carly came across some of Brian's papers. There was a bank statement and I don't know what else. She brought it to Eldon and he tried to dismiss it. But Carly wouldn't be put off and Eldon was afraid for her. If someone had killed Brian, they'd kill Carly if she began investigating.”

That's why Carly had seemed so distracted. “Did Eldon have any idea who it might be?”

Baxter didn't look good. “If he did, he didn't tell me. Except he felt sure that one or more of the people involved were Carly's relatives.”

I sat back. “That's crazy.”

Baxter folded his arms across his chest. “Is it? You're related to half of Nebraska, and there are probably a few cousins, aunts, or uncles who've ventured into the world at large.”

“Why did Eldon think Foxes have something to do with it?”

Baxter shrugged. “My guess is that something in the papers Carly discovered held a clue.”

Why hadn't I looked at that blue folder? “How are you involved?”

“When he first called me, he wanted to find out where Brian got the money, and if someone had killed him to get it back. I urged him to wait until I…” For the first time, Baxter lost a bit of his overpowering confidence. “Until I felt better and could put more effort into helping. But he wouldn't be put off.”

More of Eldon's stubbornness. “So what were you supposed to do?”

“I thought Eldon was delusional. Brian knew a lot of men from Kilner. Many are successful. He probably could have attained a loan from any one of them.”

“You don't think so now?”

“Of course I think so. But Brian was my brother. I felt duty-bound to humor his father. Eldon's plan was to make people think he was selling the Bar J. He assumed that whoever wanted the money Brian stashed wouldn't want Eldon to sell, because then he'd lose all chance of recovering the cash.”

I must have had a disbelieving expression.

Baxter nodded and drew a labored breath. “I know. It made no sense. Eldon was an old man and, dare I say, paranoid and reactive. I'm certain he was in the early stages of dementia.”

I was ready to cross Baxter off the suspect list, but I had another question. “What did you and Eldon fight about at the Bar J, the day of the shooting?”

He leaned his head on his hand for a moment. “I need to return to Chicago for medical treatment. He wanted me to stay on.”

“Rope said Eldon threatened you with a gun.”

Baxter brushed that off. “Small towns and their rumors. I went to see Eldon that day and caught him as he stormed out of the house with that rifle.”

“What was he doing with the gun?”

Baxter shrugged. “He seemed extremely upset, scared even. He talked about protecting Carly. He said he was giving Carly a stack of cash and sending her away from the Bar J for her own good. He asked me to keep an eye on her.”

That night Ted had seen her on the porch, she'd been arguing with Eldon. He wanted to send her away, and she'd fight against that.

Baxter drew in a wheezing breath. “Of course I'd do whatever I had to do to help Carly. She's Brian's daughter.”

My mind whirled with questions. “Then who killed Eldon, and why is Carly gone?”

“This harebrained scheme of Eldon's got him killed. Someone actually believed he'd sell the Bar J. It's got to be someone local. Who has the most at stake?”

It took less than a second to come up with the answer. “Rope Hayward.”

I hesitated. “If Rope killed Eldon because he thought Eldon was going to sell the ranch, then he assumed Carly would inherit it and wouldn't sell.”

Baxter sat up straighter. “What if Carly figured out that Rope was Eldon's murderer? Would she go to the police?” Even Baxter knew the answer to that.

“She'd try to avenge her grandfather.”

My mind raced. Why had Danny wanted Carly with him right after the shooting? Why had he talked about protecting her?

Because he knew his grandfather was the murderer.

Now Danny was missing. But maybe he hadn't gone far. I remembered Nat's near-panic when I asked about Danny. Her abject fear when Rope appeared.

The fresh tracks leading from Eldon's house to the calving lot. Only Danny would drive through there. “Carly and Danny are at the Bar J.”

Baxter shook his head. “Rope wouldn't allow that.”

“Rope doesn't know.”

 

28

The cabin closed in around me and I sucked in air, trying to settle my brain. I don't know how I got from the kitchen to the front door, but Baxter's words grounded me.

“Where are you going?”

I flung the front door open to a blast of swirling snow. “The Bar J headquarters. Danny has Carly and Nat knows.”

He struggled to his feet, clearly at the end of his energy. “I don't understand.”

To clarify it for myself, I took the time to tell him. “If you didn't kill Eldon, then Rope did. Carly found out. She went to the Bar J to confront him. But Danny stopped her. He told me he'd always protect her. Nat said she'd always protect Danny. They're keeping her hidden so she won't turn Rope in but he won't find her.”

“I'll go with you.” He took a wavering step.

I took a gander at his pasty face and trembling legs. “You're in no shape.”

He might be a frail desk jockey, but he radiated frustration at not being able to help me. “There's no signal here, so I can't even call anyone for backup.”

I'd already opened the door, well on my way to ignoring him.

“Take my car. It's on the other side of the washout. Your pickup looks buried.” That would leave this sick man stranded at the isolated shack. He reacted to my hesitation. “I'll be fine. Go. Hurry.”

I dashed into the growing storm, moving slower than my brain. Rope. The man who went out of his way to point the finger at Baxter.

He'd been at the debate when I announced I'd find the killer. The next day, my tie rod was broken. Plenty of people had heard me say that, and anyone could have tampered with Elvis while he was parked in Hodgekiss that night. But only Rope had been standing with me outside of Roxy's when I repeated the vow, just hours before someone killed the calf.

Carly spent a lot of time at the Bar J. She and Eldon were close. He wouldn't tell her his suspicions about Rope, but she'd probably figure it out. I jumped into the tin can and looked for the key. When I couldn't find that, I cast about for the pull cord. I finally located the push button and the engine cranked up with a sorry little whine.

I cleared a skiff of snow from the windshield of Baxter's putt-putt car, with one swish of the wipers. I'd be lucky to get back to the pavement without high-centering on the ridge between wheel ruts. Running would be faster, except once I hit the pavement I could get up some momentum.

Damn it! Baxter had closed the gate again. I let out a string of cursing as I flew from the car and unhitched the wire. After an eternity, I finally turned onto the pavement. I raced down the highway, heading for the Bar J.

I found my phone in my shirt pocket and sailed all over the empty road while searching for Milo's number. After finagling a phone call out of the spotty reception from widely separated cell towers, and shouting over the rattling dishes in the café where Milo was drinking coffee, I eventually convinced him to meet me at the Bar J. He sounded reluctant but agreed to at least make the drive out. I only hoped he'd take me seriously and cut short his coffee klatch.

A band of steely dark clouds hovered along the western horizon. The last April storm, which would swoop in to murder baby calves minutes after they hit the ground.

I jerked Baxter's car off the highway and onto the Bar J road, a move that seemed sure to loosen some molars. Sweat dampened my flannel shirt. Despite the golf cart bottoming out on bumps and sliding on the narrow tires, I was able to think about what had happened that night.

It must have enraged Rope that Eldon skipped him and gave Danny land instead. He tipped over the sanity rim when Eldon planned to sell the Bar J and take away even Danny's promised share. Rope had hidden in Eldon's office and shot him. When Ted burst in, Rope had shot him, too.

If Rope killed Eldon and shot Ted, he might not hesitate to kill Carly. But Danny loved Carly and Nat loved Danny. I prayed that Danny and Nat had hidden Carly successfully. I gripped the steering wheel harder.

I bypassed the driveway leading to Eldon's and Roxy's houses and slipped behind the barn to the muddy and rutted cookhouse drive. I bounced through a puddle, the mud thudding on the underside of Baxter's car. I pulled up at the back of the barn and slammed on the brakes, sliding like a runner into first base.

The wind smacked me when I launched from the car. I glanced at the barn, wondering if Carly was hidden inside. I fought the biting wind to reach the cookhouse's rickety front porch.

Nat flew from the house and her flowered apron smock flapped in the wind. “What is it? What do you want?”

I pushed past her. “Where is she?” I hit the front door. “Carly! Carly!”

Nat ran after me, pulling on my shirt. “She's not here. What's wrong?”

I grabbed Nat by her shoulders, so much like chicken wings in my hands. “Nat, listen to me. Rope killed Eldon. We've got to grab the kids and get out of here.”

Her eyes were glistening saucers of disbelief. “No. That's not true.”

“Danny's here, isn't he?”

She made mewling noises.

“Rope doesn't know, does he?”

She still didn't answer me.

“Where is Danny? You have to tell me before Rope comes home. We have to get away from here.”

Nat's eyes twitched and scanned the room, but she didn't focus on anything.

I pushed past Nat and tracked straight through the front room, heading for the kitchen.

She scurried after me. “He's not here. Danny's not…” She sounded more out of breath than the short trip warranted.

I stopped in the middle of the kitchen. A monster of a gas stove took up the majority of the far wall. The sink and fridge settled between counters that ran along two walls. I scanned the room, desperate to find any clue to Carly's whereabouts.

A spacious center island provided a breakfast bar, with three stools shoved under the lip of the counter. A cramped space beyond the bar made scant room for a listing La-Z-Boy, an afghan-covered couch, a boxy television, and a few trays that acted as side tables.

“Rope will be home soon. You shouldn't be here.” Anxiety tinted each word.

I pushed past the breakfast bar to the couch and leaned over, my hand closing around an Xbox control. It felt warm against my palm. I held it up. “You aren't a gamer.”

She paled.

I advanced on her. “Where is he?”

She backed against the fridge. “You should go.”

I took a few more steps. “Please Nat, tell me.”

A floorboard squeaked in the front room. Nat's eyes widened in alarm. I whipped my head around and leaped toward the doorway. Nat reached out, and her clawlike hand closed around my arm and clutched at my sleeve.

I jerked loose and thrust myself forward, in time to see the front door creak on its hinges as if someone had slipped out and hadn't closed it tight.

I ran across the room, knocking a chair with my hip.

“Stop!” Nat called behind me.

Through the door's window I saw jean-clad legs racing toward the barn.

I flung the door open, dashed across the porch, and jumped down the steps, eyes trained on the closing barn door. Snow fell in fat plops, splashing on the dirt. One landed wetly in my eye and I blinked. The slick soles of my cowboy boots slipped and I fell to one knee. I pushed myself up and kept running.

In seconds I hit the barn door and slammed the latch open. I rushed inside the dark alley and stopped, my ragged breathing blending with the huff of cows moving behind a few of the stall gates.

“Danny?” I called, trying not to sound threatening.

A cow let out a low moo, probably talking to her newborn. Something rustled in hay.

“Come on out.” Where was Rope? Not in the house. I prayed he wasn't lurking in the barn. He could be anywhere, from five miles away checking windmills to just outside in the calving lot.

Still nothing but the soft sounds that could be cattle or a teenage boy.

Every nerve stretched tight. My ears and eyes strained. “I only want to ask you some questions.”

The barn door banged open and Nat's silhouette was outlined in the swirling snow. She sounded out of breath. “Please leave us be.”

I turned away from her and faced the cavernous barn, which was dark and damp. My brain screamed at me to hurry, before Rope discovered us. “I promise to keep you safe. He won't hurt you again.” How would I make good on that promise if Rope crashed in on us now? I had no gun, no weapon of any kind. I prayed Milo was on his way.

The only light streamed from the white sky behind Nat. My eyes adjusted to the dim barn. Where was Danny? A ladder was propped to the haymow above us. I tried to keep the desperation out of my voice. “You aren't responsible for what your granddad did. But you need to help me. You need to help Carly.”

A soft footstep in hay and a creaking in a barn stall brought my attention to my left. I started for the sound, sure it was Danny.

The scarecrow figure of Rope stepped from the stall.

My heart jumped to my throat.

“Danny.” Rope's voice whipped around the still barn. “Come here.”

After a moment, a shadow disengaged from a stack of feed sacks in the dark corner. Danny crawled out and unfolded himself. His voice caught. “I'm sorry, Granddad.” His blond hair looked as if he hadn't washed it since Christmas. Red spots blotched his face, and dark circles puffed under his eyes.

Nat stood in the open door, behind me. With Rope and Danny in front of me, deep in the shadows, I stood between Nat and her baby. If she were a big boss cow, I would be worried.