Montana Midwife (12 page)

“I have a change of plans,” Tab said. “My client’s water broke about a half hour ago, and her husband just got to the café to pick her up. I think she’s ready to go into labor, so I need to go back to the ranch, get my stuff and meet her at her house.”

He couldn’t have been more pleased. Tab was off the case. “A real shame,” he drawled, “you won’t be able to do any more investigating today.”

“Babies come first.”

“Do you need to hurry? Is this an emergency?”

“Not really,” she said. “It’s a first baby. I’d expect her to be in labor for hours.”

Turning back to the van, he squatted to check out the tires and the tire wells. Dried weeds were stuck in the treads and wedged behind the mud flaps. “This van was driven off the road. It might be the vehicle David used yesterday.”

“And the shooter drove it back,” she said. “He might have left his fingerprints on the car keys.”

“Even if he did, the prints can be explained if it’s one of David’s friends.”

“How can we find out who he was with yesterday?”

“We can’t go around asking those kinds of questions.” Aiden rose to his feet. “I’ll suggest to the sheriff that he might want to talk to David’s buddies about their whereabouts yesterday. Woody and Chuck are already in custody. Maybe they’ll say something useful, instead of being twin jackasses.”

She dragged her fingertip through the dust on the back window. “Apparently, David didn’t inherit his uncle’s obsessive neatness.”

He circled around to the front of the van. There was a bike rack mounted on the hood. Two mountain bikes with heavy-duty tires were locked in place. If Misty’s mystery shooter hopped onto a bike and rode through the foliage at the river bank, they wouldn’t have heard a car engine starting. Hiding a bike would have been far easier than ditching a car or a van.

“Take a look at this,” he called to her. “These are really nice bikes. Expensive.”

Another voice intruded, “And I’ve got first dibs.”

The man who sauntered toward them had a tanned complexion and sun-streaked hair that flopped casually over his forehead. He wore wraparound sunglasses and a lightweight parka with the hood zipped into the collar. His super-whitened smile flashed as he came even with Tab. This had to be Aspen Jim.

Chapter Eleven

Tab looked at dual reflections of herself in a pair of gleaming sunglasses. The man wearing them took her hand and raised it to his lips. “They call me Aspen Jim.”

“I’m Tab Willows.” When meeting new people, she tried to keep an open mind, but this guy creeped her out. He reminded her of a lounge lizard without the lounge.

He whipped off his sunglasses, revealing bloodshot brown eyes. “Why haven’t I met you before?”

“Just lucky, I guess.” She snatched her hand from his grasp. “This is Aiden Gabriel.”

“I know who you are. Misty’s brother.” Aspen Jim replaced his sunglasses on the narrow bridge of his nose. “I’m pleased to meet you, Aiden. How’s your sister doing?”

“As well as can be expected,” Aiden said, “after watching David die in her arms.”

“He liked her a lot, even after she ballooned up.”

“That’s a nasty thing to say.” Tab hated men who made snide comments about pregnant women. “Women are at their most beautiful when they’re carrying new life. Artists have always celebrated the pregnant form as a symbol of fertility.”

“Not me,” Aspen Jim said. “I like my ladies slim and sexy. Kind of like you, darling.”

“Have you ever made love to a pregnant woman?”

“No way.”

“Then you’re missing something spectacular. Several men have told me that it’s the most exciting sex they ever had.”

“Why would they tell you?”

“I’m a midwife.” She looked at her wristwatch. “And I need to get going.”

“Hold on a sec.” Aiden stepped forward. She noticed that his lips barely moved when he spoke, and she suspected he was gritting his teeth to keep from snarling. “Mind if I ask you a couple of questions, Aspen Jim?”

“No prob.” Blinded by arrogance, Aspen Jim didn’t realize that he ought to be nervous about Aiden’s questions. “I’m glad for the chance to talk to you.”

“First, tell me about these bikes.”

“They’re top of the line.” Aspen Jim turned away from her and went to the bikes and lovingly caressed the handlebars. “Titanium frame, dual suspension and hydraulic disc brakes, these bikes have it all.”

“Did they both belong to David?”

“Yeah, and he never really appreciated these super-fine machines, the little dipstick.” He winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. ‘Dipstick’ was kind of a nickname.”

Tab didn’t believe that for a minute. Aspen Jim was the kind of guy who used his friends and bad-mouthed them behind their backs. She was beginning to feel sorry for David Welling with his alcoholic father, his cold-as-ice uncle and a friend like Aspen Jim.

“The bikes must have been expensive,” Aiden said.

“David got them in trade for doing mechanical work on a Ferrari for some rich dude in Billings. We used to take them out and ride all over. It’s important for me to stay in good condition for skiing.”

“Were you out riding yesterday?”

“The weather’s been great—didn’t want to miss it.” Aspen Jim hesitated, perhaps realizing that he’d stepped into what might be a stinky alibi situation. “It was early, like ten in the morning.”

Smoothly, Aiden asked, “Where did you go? There’s a lot of nice, wide open land on the rez.”

“I don’t know the boundaries. We might have gone there.”

“Did anybody see you leaving town or coming back?”

Aspen Jim lowered his chin, and his sun-bleached bangs flopped over the frames of his sunglasses. When he looked up, his glistening smile had vanished. “I wasn’t with David when he got killed, if that’s what you’re trying to figure out.”

“Tell me what happened.”

Tab was duly impressed with Aiden’s questioning. Though he didn’t have the credentials to demand information, he showed enough authority in his voice and manner that Aspen Jim was beginning to sweat.

“Me and David took the van with the bikes out in the morning after we had pancakes at the café with Woody and Chuck. We rode the bikes for a while, and then headed back to town. David was kind of mopey.”

“Why?” Aiden asked.

“He couldn’t decide whether he should stay here in Henley, or go back to Billings and live with his dad. Then he spotted Misty in Clinton’s Jeep, and he said it was a sign. He was going to talk to her. If she said he should stay, he would.”

“But he didn’t have that kind of relationship with my sister. They didn’t chat, didn’t text each other.”

“Only in David’s head,” Aspen Jim said. “He was always planning to talk to Misty. She was his dream girl.”

“So he followed the Jeep,” Aiden said.

“That was his plan. I didn’t stick around. I took one of the bikes and rode the rest of the way home.”

“Did you hook up with Woody and Chuck again?”

Aspen Jim shook his head. “It was my day off. I took a long shower, watched some TV, played a couple of computer games. Then I brought the bike back here and left it with Bert.”

“What time was that?”

“Maybe three o’clock, I don’t remember. Bert probably can tell you down to the minute. He’s precise.”

Tab was disappointed to hear that he had an alibi. If Aspen Jim was here at the gas station, he couldn’t have committed the crime. Too bad.

“When you dropped off the bike,” Aiden said, “was David’s van here?”

“No, it wasn’t. That’s why I handed the bike over to Bert. I didn’t hear what happened to David until around seven when I went to the Last Stand Tavern.”

“You should have gone to the sheriff right away,” Tab said. “Your information might have been useful to him.”

“I don’t much care for the law. I don’t have anything to hide, but I don’t want anybody getting into my business.”

“But you’re willing to talk to me.”

“That’s correct.” He stuck out his chest. “I’m glad for this opportunity to meet you.”

“Is that so?”

“I have a business opportunity you might be interested in. I’m looking for investors.”

Disgusted, Tab rolled her eyes. Aspen Jim really was a piece of work. His friend hadn’t been dead for twenty-four hours, and he was figuring out how to cash in. Brusquely, she said, “We don’t have time for this.”

“Here’s my idea,” Aspen Jim said. “I want to provide river rafting expeditions on the Little Big Horn. When the tourists show up for the reenactment of Custer’s Last Stand, this gives them something else to do.”

“There’s white-water rafting on the Yellowstone,” Aiden said, “because that river actually has rapids. The Little Big Horn rolls along, slow and lazy.”

“So it’s perfect for families. Hey, here’s a thought. We could hire locals to stand on the banks and act out scenes from the Old West.”

Tab groaned.

Aiden asked, “How much do you know about rafting?”

He flashed the super-white smile. “I worked as a guide with a rafting crew on the Arkansas River near Aspen. Think about it, Aiden. With your cash and my expertise, we could have the business up and running by next summer.”

Tab had heard enough. She clamped on to Aiden’s arm. “We really have to go. Now.”

They left Aspen Jim standing by the van, paid for the oil change and climbed into the truck. As soon as they were under way, she let loose. “Do you believe that guy? I think he was lurking around, waiting to pounce the minute he saw you. Rafting on the Little Big Horn? Acting out scenes on the banks? Oh, please, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“But now we know why a flashy guy like him is hanging around in Henley.”

“He wants to con somebody into being his partner. What a jerk! I’ll bet he’s already screwed up his big money contacts in the ski areas.”

“He worked as a guide for a white-water rafting company. That means he knows about nautical knots.”

She wasn’t sure where Aiden was going with this. “So?”

“When I was talking to the sheriff…” His voice trailed off. “I shouldn’t tell you about this, Tab. But you’re the only one I can talk to, and I respect your opinions.”

Now they were making headway. He wasn’t shutting her out of his investigation anymore. “What’s important about the knots?”

“Both of the women who were killed were bound with bowlines and figure eights. Nautical knots.”

She hadn’t expected this twist. “Do you think Aspen Jim is the serial killer?”

“Knowing about knots isn’t enough to accuse him,” Aiden said. “But he did know Ellen Jessop. They worked together at the feed store.”

Staring through the windshield at the dried prairie grasses on rolling hills, she recalibrated her thinking to include the serial murders. Their trip into town to see Bert had been focused on David’s death, but they couldn’t ignore the possible link. Misty was clearly connected to both since she had argued with Ellen and had witnessed David’s murder.

“Next time you talk to the sheriff, you definitely need to mention Aspen Jim as a suspect.”

“Sheriff Fielding is already looking at Aspen Jim.” He shrugged. “I don’t think he seems like the serial killer type. He wouldn’t have a problem getting dates. A lot of women might like that sun-bleached hair.”

“Not me,” she said. “Aspen Jim is a misogynist, the kind of guy who hates women. Didn’t you hear what he said about pregnant ladies?”

“I sure as hell heard what you said.” He glanced at her and grinned. “Pregnant sex is spectacular?”

“So I’ve heard.” At the time she’d spoken, she’d been trying to make a point that an idiot like Aspen Jack would understand. She hadn’t considered how embarrassing her statement would sound. “I’m not an expert.”

“You’re a surprising lady, Tab. I’m learning that I don’t know much about your world and the work you do.”

When guys asked about her work, she usually retreated into her shell. They weren’t really interested, just being polite. But Aiden was different, and she wanted him to understand her. “How much do you want to know?”

“Everything,” he said.

“Starting with the sperm and the egg?”

“Especially about that part.”

When it came to flirting, her skills were nonexistent. She preferred saying exactly what she meant, but it was fun to play with Aiden. She keyed her voice to a low, sexy level and said, “I have a feeling that you already know a little something about the fertilization process.”

“I like it when you talk dirty.”

His jaw twitched as he struggled to keep from laughing out loud. When she punched his arm, he chuckled, and she joined in. A sense of humor wasn’t something she associated with the super-responsible Aiden, but here they were…joking around with each other.

It would have been nice to extend this time together. She almost wished she didn’t have to go to work, but there was no way to reschedule her client’s labor. The truck was already approaching the crossroads that led to Gabriel Ranch, and she’d have to jump into her van and leave immediately.

“We don’t have much time,” he said. “I wanted to get your impressions of Aspen Jim’s account of what happened yesterday.”

“It sounded pretty straightforward. And he’s got a solid alibi with Bert. The real question is who drove David’s van back to the gas station?”

“Chuck and Woody might have known where they were headed. It could have been one of them.”

“Could be.” Neither Chuck nor Woody seemed dangerous to her. Last night when they were forced to stop the truck, they both surrendered without hesitation. “Why would one of David’s friends shoot him?”

“We don’t know enough about David to come up with a motive.”

Aiden took off his hat and raked his fingers through his hair. When he gazed toward her, his eyes gleamed. For a moment, she forgot about investigating and murders and the baby she was about to deliver. His nearness consumed her, and she couldn’t think of anything else.

Until now, she’d done a pretty decent job of acting like an adult instead of a love-struck teenager. But there were these moments when she was with him that she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“What were we talking about?” she asked.

“Motives.”

“I’ve got nothing.”