Hard Rain (9 page)

“Maggie was almost five months pregnant when she was murdered.”

* * *

S
ARAH
HAD
NEVER
seen Buck this upset. “I knew I should have had the bastard cremated,” he swore as they left the sheriff’s office.

A baby.
She silently cursed Maggie for what she’d done to the Hamilton family. “Buck, you don’t mean that. Maggie is the one to blame for all of this.”

He stopped at the SUV and leaned against it for a moment as if to catch his breath. “What if it was
his
baby?”

Sarah didn’t answer. They both knew the answer to that. “The state would have to prove that he killed her.”

Buck looked up at her. She could tell that he was scared. His father had dropped out of the presidential race at the last moment without any explanation and only days later had died in a car accident. His car had gone into the Yellowstone River and, trapped inside, he’d drowned. At least they’d been led to believe it was an accident.

She knew Buck hadn’t missed the similarities between his father’s “accident” and her own. Except she’d gotten out of the car and survived. JD hadn’t. But had he purposely driven into the river because he couldn’t live with what he’d done?

“I think you were smart to give the sheriff your DNA,” she said as they approached her SUV. Buck reached for the keys to drive. She could see that he was still shaken as she climbed in.

He opened his door and slid behind the wheel like a man headed for the gallows. He’d aged since getting the call about Maggie McTavish’s remains being found on Hamilton Ranch. He looked defeated. She knew she had to do something. She couldn’t let this beat him. Worse, she couldn’t let him quit the presidential race.

“You aren’t your father,” she said as he started the engine. “No matter how all of this turns out—”

“Are you serious?” He let out a bark of a laugh. “You think I can continue the presidential race if it turns out that my father not only had an affair with a woman half his age but also killed her to hide the fact that he’d knocked her up?”

“They won’t be able to prove that he killed her.”

“It won’t matter. They will crucify him in the press.” He shook his head as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Can you imagine the damage this will do? And what about the girls? They will have to live with this.”

“You’re assuming he was guilty.”

Buck shot her a look. “Don’t be naive. Not even the sheriff believed that my father wasn’t guilty of at least having an affair with that woman.”

Sarah looked at the passing scenery as he drove them out of town and toward the Crazy Mountains. A spring squall bloomed over the peaks, promising a rain shower before the day was over. The landscape had begun to turn green. New leaves popped from buds on the trees, and early wildflowers broke through the dried fall grass.

She hated to be the one to tell him that there was another problem. “I think you should talk to Harper.”

Buck looked over in surprise. “About what?”

“Brody McTavish.”

“Brody McTavish?”

“He was with her when they found the body.”

“So what?”

“I think she likes him and has for some time now.”

He shook his head. “That is the least of my concerns. Harper’s too young to be serious about anyone.”

Sarah sighed. “She’s twenty-three. Have you looked at your daughter lately? She’s definitely not too young to be serious. She’s a
woman
, Buck. And Brody... Brody is a McTavish. He’s quite a bit older and probably more experienced. I suspect there is more going on between them than you might think. Worse, what happens when Flannigan finds out his nephew is interested in a Hamilton?”

CHAPTER NINE

“G
RACE
,
WHAT
IS
it going to take to make you happy?” JD paced the bedroom, his hands thrust deep into his pockets, his body rigid with anger.

She thought about when JD had been so in love with her, he would have moved mountains to make her happy.

“I want you back.” The words were out before she realized she’d said them.

He stopped pacing to stare at her. “What in heaven’s name are you talking about? Grace, I’m here.”

“I feel like I’m losing you,” she said, her words choked with tears.

He spread his arms wide. “Losing me? Grace, I’m here. I’ve told you I will never leave you. What more do you want from me?”

Clearly more than he could give, she thought as she looked at him through her tears. “I want you to believe me.” She saw his expression harden. “Why would I lie?”

“We both know why. You want your son all to yourself. You’d do anything to get rid of Sarah. Grace, you’re going to be a grandmother soon. I thought you would love that.”

She made a sour sound and looked away.

“If only you could find something that would make you happy,” he said.

“What would make you happy?” she countered.

He looked at her for a long moment as if considering that. “You being well and content again. You were once, weren’t you?”

“You make it sound as if I put myself into this wheelchair. I told you what happened.”

He looked away then as if he couldn’t bear to hear this again. He didn’t believe her and no matter how many times she’d tried to warn him, he refused to listen. “You have to stop telling these lies about Sarah.”

“She’s tried to kill me twice. Next time—”

JD shook his head. “Well, our son and his wife have moved out of the house so you should be safe and happy now.” His words were laced with sarcasm.

Buckmaster hadn’t believed her, either. She’d wanted to call the sheriff after the first time, but JD wouldn’t let her.

“Grace, this obsession you have with breaking up Buck’s marriage, it has to stop. That girl did not push you down the stairs or off the porch. You did this to yourself and look where that has gotten you.” He motioned to the wheelchair.

“She hates me and wants me dead,” Grace cried. “I’m trapped in this wheelchair. What if next time she succeeds?”

He only shook his head in disgust. “Stop. Just stop. I can’t take much more of this.”

“Don’t you think I know she’s been talking to you about running for president? She wants to get you off the ranch, out of this house, away from me, so she can finish the job.”

He’d walked away from her and, later, she’d seen him ride off toward the Crazies. When she’d asked him what he did up there, he said he fished.

“But you never bring fish home.”

“Because you don’t like me frying it and stinking up the house. Isn’t that what you always say?”

Was it? She couldn’t remember saying that, but maybe she had only because she resented the time he spent in the mountains away from her fishing or whatever else he did.

* * *

H
ARPER
SHOULDN
’
T
HAVE
been surprised when, after she returned home, Brody showed up at the ranch house demanding to see her father. News of his return traveled fast. Often there would be more reporters outside the ranch gate. Everyone was looking for a story. How soon before they picked up on what could soon make horrible headlines?

“I just got home myself. He isn’t here,” she told him.

“Or did he tell you to say that?” He tried to look past her into the living room.

“You think I’m lying? Or that he told me to lie? You don’t know me or my father.”

“When will he be back?”

“He and my mother have gone in to talk to the sheriff. I don’t know when he has to fly back to DC or what his plans are while he’s home.”

“I should have known,” Brody said angrily. “Your father is going to try to quash this investigation. He can’t let the truth come out.”

Her own anger spurred her words. “You’re assuming that my grandfather had an affair with your cousin and then murdered her.”

“It’s a damned good assumption. He was the one who had the most to lose if the truth came out. She was half his age.”

“And if you’re wrong and he didn’t have an affair with her? Didn’t kill her?”

He met her gaze. His angry look softened. “I know this is hard for you and I’m sorry. But I need some answers.”

She raised a brow. “I thought you already
had
all the answers.”

Brody swore and, taking off his Stetson, raked a hand through his dark hair.

“If Maggie was as beautiful and desirable and as wild as I’ve heard, then I’m betting she broke some man’s heart other than my grandfather’s.”

“You don’t know that she broke his heart.”

“That’s my point,” she said haughtily. “We know nothing of her life. But I am going to make it my personal mission to find out
everything
.”

He shook his head. “And if I’m right and all your investigating leads you to your grandfather?”

“Then so be it.”

“Even if it hurts your father’s chances of being president?”

“I would hope voters wouldn’t condemn him for something my grandfather might have done.”

“You really aren’t that naive, are you?”

She glared into his handsome face. “At least I don’t jump to conclusions based on circumstantial evidence.”

He laughed. “Circumstantial? She was buried on
Hamilton
land.”

“If my grandfather was guilty, I would assume that he was smart enough to bury her far from the ranch.”

“Unless he was so arrogant that he thought he would never get caught, which is what happened.”

She shook her head. “You really are impossible. While you’re busy pointing fingers, I’ve been working to find the truth just like I told you I would.” She stepped back and started to close the door.

Brody caught the door in his large hand. “Your father already
knows
the truth. Ask him why JD pulled out of the presidential race when he did. There’s your answer right there. My cousin Maggie disappears, your grandmother dies and your grandfather drives into the river. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.”

“Just a mule-headed cowboy, apparently.”

“You think your father didn’t know what was going on?” he scoffed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls out of the race now because he knows he was part of it.”

She was so furious she could hardly speak. “You’d like to see that, wouldn’t you?” she demanded angrily. “Is that the justice you’re talking about? The son paying for his father’s mistakes? Would that make you happy?”

“No.” He suddenly looked bereft. He put his hat back on and glanced away for a moment. She felt her own temper cool, as well.

“If you had seen my uncle when he heard about us finding his daughter’s body... Maggie was his life. To find out that she’d been murdered and lay in an unmarked grave all these years...” He looked away again and she felt a piece of her heart go with him.

“I want the truth, too.”

“Are you sure about that?” he said, meeting her gaze with a pained one of his own. “All I see is this ending in more heartbreak.”

She nodded. “This situation hurts us already. I can’t see how the truth is going to be any worse.”

He seemed to finally notice what she was holding in her hands. “What is that?”

“It’s copies of photos from the high school yearbooks the years Maggie attended.” She’d had her finger holding her spot in the pages when he’d knocked at her door. Now she flipped them to the sheet with the photo of Kyle Parker and Will Sanders and handed it to him. “Check out the way they’re looking at your cousin. I’d say there was no love lost between them.”

“This doesn’t mean—”

“There are also photos of her with other boyfriends. On top of that, the librarian is married to one of those boys in the first photo. Boy, did she get upset when I told her what I was looking for.”

He glanced up from the sheets of paper she handed him and shook his head. “You are going to piss off the entire town.”

She let out a laugh. “I already have. Some guy in an old car chased me out of town and pelted my SUV with rocks as he flew past me. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I just assumed he was some jerk in a hurry. But, since then, I think he might have been Karen Parker’s husband, Kyle.” She pointed at him in the two photos she’d had copied.

Brody swore. “Are you crazy? You could have been killed. Isn’t it obvious the trouble you’re stirring up and how dangerous it is?”

“Exactly. You’re assuming the only people who have something to hide are in my family. This proves that isn’t true. More people than you think might have wanted to kill your cousin.”

“Oh, that’s great to hear,” he said sarcastically. “Tell me about the car the man who harassed you was driving.”

“It was old. Vintage. Blue and white with...” She made a sign with her hands.

He pulled out his phone. “Like this 1957 Chevy Bel Air?”

She nodded. “Only this one was blue and white.”

“Got it,” he said as he put away his phone.

“I’m going to talk to the boys she dated in high school and then—”

“What?” he demanded. “Are you just going to drop by and ask them if they killed her?”

“It’s better than what you’re doing. Maybe they know something. Or at least they can tell me who her friends were. Do you have a better plan? Oh, that’s right, you came by here to what? Demand answers from my father? If he knew anything, he would have already told the sheriff.”

He groaned under his breath. “I’m sure.”

“That’s just it, you’re not even considering that there might have been someone else in her life. What are you afraid of? That you might be wrong?”

“I wish I was wrong for a lot of reasons.” His gaze bored into hers. She felt heat rise up her chest to her throat. All he had to do was look at her like that and—

“Look, I’m sure the sheriff is already checking into everyone associated with Maggie. So knock this off, okay? I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

“You worry about me?”

He shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?”

She leaned against the doorjamb. “I have some ideas.”

* * *

“H
ARPER
.” S
HE
LOOKED
SO
damned sexy leaning against that doorjamb. Brody fought the attraction, telling himself that she just didn’t understand how bad it was going to get. He shook his head at her. “This can’t happen.”

“So you keep saying. But I know you want to kiss me again.”

He had to laugh. “Oh, yeah?”

She raised her chin. “I told myself when I was nine that I was going to marry you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “At the ripe old age of nine, huh? How many others have you planned to marry since then?”

“You’re the only one, but don’t let it go to your head.”

“What if I have other plans?” he asked, playing along because it felt good to pretend—even for a little while.

He saw her expression look doubtful. Until that moment apparently she hadn’t even considered that he might have a girlfriend, even a fiancée she didn’t know about.

“Do you?” she asked, straightening and looking worried.

He shook his head. “But let me give you a little piece of advice. Most men like to do the chasing.”

“Well, most men would have caught me by now.”

He looked into those big blue eyes. This woman really was impossible. “You are aware that our families hate each other, right?”

She nodded. “I’m getting that impression. Like Romeo and Juliet, except I’m not planning to kill myself.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

“Brody.” She caught his sleeve as he started to step away. He couldn’t keep doing this. It was killing him.

He turned to her. The look on her face turned his resolve to jelly. He stepped closer, wanting to take her in his arms and hold her tight. “Let’s get something straight. If I decide to kiss you again, you’ll know it.”

She smiled at that. “
When
you kiss me again,” she said. “I’m going to win your heart, Brody McTavish, against all odds.”

Harper already had his heart. “What can I say to make you stop playing detective?”

She tilted her head and gave him that crooked smile. “You could come with me to talk to Maggie’s old boyfriends.”

* * *

R
USSELL
CALLED
THE
sheriff after he left the nursing home. He’d taken the postcard he’d found in Millie’s room down to the office and asked for a color copy of both sides. The secretary who worked there was kind enough to comply and didn’t question why he would want a copy of Millie Hansen’s postcard.

“I talked to Millie,” Russell said when the sheriff answered.

“I warned you that she has dementia.”

“I guess I caught her on a good day. We had a nice chat about brain wiping. She said that Ralph just liked helping people. He even offered to help her forget about her husband’s death. She passed on his offer, then again, she didn’t really believe he could wipe brains. But she did tell me something interesting. Dr. Venable is back in the States.” He sensed the sheriff’s skepticism even though Frank hadn’t uttered a word. “As it turns out, she was right. He sent her a postcard. I had a copy made of it. I thought you might want to see it. I can be at your office within the hour.”

When he arrived, Frank was waiting for him. “Where was it sent from?” the sheriff asked anxiously.

“Miami.” He handed over the copy.

Frank inspected it for a long moment. When he looked up, he said, “You think he’s headed for Montana.”

“Don’t you? I suspect his work isn’t finished.”