Luck of the draw, p.23
Luck of the Draw, page 23
That she wanted to spend this birthday with them though did make him wonder. It also made him sad. She deserved better, always had. He felt as if he’d failed her in so many ways. But at least he could give her this one final request before his job as guardian was over.
He’d thought Amethyst had left until he heard her voice from the doorway. “You’ve spoiled her just like her father did,” Amethyst accused, getting the last word in before she departed.
As the door closed behind her, Alistair knew it was true. He’d had a soft spot for that frightened traumatized five-year-old he’d inherited. He still did.
But this time he wasn’t sure he would be able to save her from herself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“I’M GOING TO need your help.”
Undersheriff Ward Farnsworth got up from his desk to close his office door so no one overheard this phone call. Since their last phone call, he’d tried to figure out who his benefactor was. He’d learned that the Jane Doe’s name was Monica Wilmington and her guardian’s name was Alistair Vanderlin. He’d looked him up online. The former businessman had done quite well for himself—as had Monica’s father before he was murdered. Ward wondered if his caller was Alistair. He was looking forward to meeting him one day so he could find out, because he was pretty sure the soft-spoken voice was a man’s. “Just tell me what you need.”
“You said we could be honest? I don’t have a lot of faith in your sheriff.”
Ward couldn’t agree more. “It’s a good thing he’s retiring. It’s definitely time.” He just wished Sid had retired last year. He knew he would be a better sheriff than Sid was right now.
“I’m sure you’ve heard that Garrett Sterling has kidnapped Monica. Do you have any idea where they might be?”
This was news to him. If it was true, then why hadn’t the FBI been called in? Why wouldn’t there be a BOLO out on Garrett? Because Sid was protecting him. Ward didn’t have much respect for the man, but this proved it was time for a sheriff who didn’t play favorites.
“The FBI needs to be called in,” he said into the phone.
“I don’t want to do that. I was hoping you could help me keep this out of the press. I’m sure by now you know that Monica...well, because of who her father was... You understand. We don’t want the bad publicity. If you could just let me know if she turns up. I really want to try to keep this quiet.”
“I understand,” he said, even though he hated it. He would have loved to call the FBI, have Garrett arrested, have Sid removed from his position, become acting sheriff until the election.
“Also, let me know if the sheriff is still investigating this case. I feel like nothing is being done.”
“I can certainly do that.”
“You have been so helpful. I hope I can repay the favor. In fact, I’m even more convinced you should be sheriff. I’m going to send along some campaign contributions from some friends of mine. But I may need your help again soon.”
“Just name it.” Ward hung up, thrilled. Maybe being sheriff was too small a dream. Maybe he should consider getting into real politics, become a senator. With the right backing...
In the meantime, he had to do something. If he was in charge, he knew he could solve this case. But Sid wasn’t letting him near it. Then again if Sid had some reason to step down as sheriff...
* * *
“WELL, AT LEAST we know the law isn’t looking for us—not yet anyway,” Joslyn said the next morning as they drove into the outskirts of Whitefish. They’d both been exhausted last night and anxious this morning to get to the ranch to prepare for their guests who should be arriving this afternoon.
They hadn’t talked much on the drive back to town. Garrett had worried about the plan Joslyn had set into motion. In the clear light of day, he had his doubts, but when he broached the subject with her, she’d made it clear that she was even more determined.
“It’s the only way I will ever be free of Monica,” she said, then grinned at him. “I don’t have a split personality. But that name is so much about my poor little rich girl past that I’ve had to live with for twenty-five years. Who wouldn’t want to shed it and start over fresh?”
He hoped that was what would happen after all of this. He wanted that fresh start as desperately as she did. But thinking of the countdown to her birthday and the people who were coming to the guest ranch today, he feared it might not be in the cards. Midnight wasn’t that far away. They were taking one hell of a gamble. They’d been lucky so far. He just hoped that their luck held.
“I checked my credit card purchases on your phone this morning,” she said. “The last time I used my card was to refuel at a convenience mart not far from here. Can we swing by there? With my Jeep being red, it shouldn’t be that hard to spot if it’s around there.”
“Good thinking,” he said. Billy was right. He really did need to join this century. He’d mostly used the cell phone as a phone and little else. But then again, there still wasn’t service at the guest ranch or a lot of other places in Montana so it was no wonder that he’d found the device fairly useless. “That means that your car should be somewhere around here, depending on where you crossed paths with Leon Sheffield.”
“Yes. Before I killed him.”
He heard the catch in her voice. “Leon was a hardened criminal. A man who’d burned his fingerprints off with acid.”
She shuddered, no doubt realizing how close she’d come to dying. Garrett still saw it all in his sleep. He wondered if he could ever get the image out of his mind—even though it hadn’t been the woman lying in the deep weeds. It could have been Joslyn he’d found dead on that mountainside. She could still end up dead and that was what haunted him in his dreams.
“It seems reasonable that I was abducted and taken into the mountains,” she said. “Didn’t you tell me that the sheriff found a map to your guest ranch in the wrecked car? Leon must have missed the turn and that’s how we ended up on the ridge across from your ranch—instead of at your ranch.” She shuddered again. “If he hadn’t—”
Garrett reached over and took her hand. Squeezing it gently, he said, “We’re going to get through this.”
She nodded, but he knew she had to be as scared and anxious as he was.
Garrett wasn’t sure what finding her car would accomplish, but he could tell that it was important to her. She was still trying to put the missing pieces of her abduction together. In the meantime, her family was on the way to the guest ranch. He wanted to get ready for them.
He glanced at his watch, assuring himself that there was time. Even if Alistair came on his private plane, he probably couldn’t get to the guest ranch before late afternoon.
“There might be something in my car,” she said, sounding as if she knew she was grasping at straws. He thought of the photo she’d said she remembered. If it didn’t exist... He didn’t want to think about it. There was little chance they would even find the car. They had no idea where she was abducted. Whitefish wasn’t large, but the area around it was.
Again, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Smiling to himself, he thought about what Billy said about luck. So far luck was with them. He was just thankful that she didn’t drive a neutral-colored SUV because there were dozens and dozens of them.
After finding the convenience store where she’d last bought gas, he drove around a few blocks and had started out of town toward the ranch, thinking if that was where she’d been headed, it would be the most likely place to find her car.
They hadn’t gone far when she cried, “There it is!”
The red Jeep was parked next to an empty lot. As he pulled to a stop, she was already out of the truck and rushing to the vehicle. He saw her try the door. Unlocked.
Reaching in, she disappeared from view, coming up with her purse, which she’d retrieved from the floorboard. He was amazed it was still in the unlocked vehicle or that the vehicle hadn’t been towed.
She seemed to be looking around for something else. He saw her disappear out of view again and come up with her car keys that had apparently fallen between the seats.
Whatever she’d found, she put it in her purse as she ran back to climb into the passenger side of the truck. “I was right,” she said, sounding excited.
He waited as she opened her purse and pulled out an envelope. He saw that there was no stamp, no return address, just a single word: Krystal.
The flap hadn’t been glued shut, either. He watched her lift the flap and pull out a single item. He blinked as she handed him the photograph. Looking down, he saw it was of the two of them. Just as she’d said. Just as she’d remembered. “This is what brought you to Whitefish.”
She nodded.
Had he believed there was a photo? Or was he still worried that she’d lied about why she’d come to Whitefish. She’d come here to save him. The irony of it didn’t escape him. She’d risked her own life for his—just as she’d said.
Garrett had to swallow the lump in his throat. How could he keep doubting this woman he loved? “You have no idea who left it?” he asked.
“None, but it looks as if it was taken with a telephoto lens from some distance,” she said, excitement in her voice. “It’s why I bolted, why I tried to get to you to warn you. They not only knew the name I was living under and where to find me, but also they knew about us. They wanted me to know that they knew about you. By threatening you, they knew I would bolt.”
He stared at the photo for a long moment before looking up at her again. Someone had wanted her to head to Whitefish to warn him. They’d wanted her out of the feds’ protection. They’d used him to get to her. And she’d risked her life in an attempt to warn him.
“I’m so sorry for doubting you.” He turned to her, his heart breaking. He’d been afraid to trust her, trust what he felt for her. She must have gone for the gun in her purse and Leon Sheffield took it from her, planning to use it on her once they reached the guest ranch. Only he’d gotten lost and the rest was history. “I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head, tears in her eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one who brought trouble to your door. I thought I was protecting you but...” Her voice broke.
He reached over and pulled her to him. “Joslyn.” He’d wanted, needed, her in his arms for so long. “Oh, Joslyn.”
Emotion boiled over in her eyes. Tears began to stream down her face as he kissed her softly on the mouth. A pleasurable sigh escaped her. He dragged her to him, taking her mouth with a passion that had always blazed between them. He lost herself in her lips until a horn honked on the street and they jumped apart.
For a moment, he’d forgotten just how much trouble they were in. All he’d wanted was to take her somewhere so the two of them could be together. For almost two years he’d yearned for this every day. Just being around her had stoked the flames of his desire. Kissing her... He didn’t want to let her out of his arms.
But a sense of survival kicked in that was almost as strong as the desire he felt for this woman. He had to keep her alive. Keep them both alive until her birthday and right now, he had no idea how to do that.
“We need to get to the ranch.”
“I’ll follow you in my car.” She was out of the pickup and running toward her car before he could answer. Reaching it, she turned to smile back at him. He felt an arrow of desire pierce his heart. All he could think about was getting to the guest ranch, the two of them alone, the two of them finally truly together. There would be time. There had to be time for them to be together before everyone arrived.
He watched her climb into the Jeep. A thought struck him like a brick. He threw open the door of his pickup, not realizing he was already screaming her name, as he ran toward the Jeep.
Reaching it, he threw open her door just as she was about to put the key into the ignition. He was screaming “NO!” as he’d grabbed her and tried to pull her out, but she’d already put on her seat belt. She was looking at him as the key went into the ignition and she turned it, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind, just moments before the first explosion.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
JOSLYN FELT HER seat belt release and Garrett’s strong arms pull her out as an explosion rocked the Jeep. She saw flames shoot up from under the hood as he ran with her toward his waiting pickup.
Another explosion boomed, this one much louder and stronger behind her. She turned in his arms to see the Jeep lifted up off the ground for an instant before the entire vehicle turned into a ball of fire. She could feel the heat on her face as he put her down next to the pickup and turned to look back.
People came running from around the neighborhood. She saw some of them making calls on their cell phones, others videoing the burning Jeep.
Joslyn stared at what was left of her Jeep, her legs suddenly weak as she leaned against Garrett, realization hitting her. Smoke rose into Montana’s big sky. In the distance she heard the sound of the sirens. Sid pulled up as the first fire truck arrived and motioned them over to his patrol SUV. She realized Garrett had called him.
“What was that?” he asked of the blackened shape now smoking in the side parking lot as firemen raced around to put out the last of the flames.
“It was my Jeep,” Joslyn said, her voice cracking.
“Someone had rigged it with what sounded like two separate explosive devices,” Garrett told him. “I should have thought of it before I let her get near that car, let alone start it.”
“You see why I have to do this?” she cried. “I have to know who’s trying to kill me.”
Sid was quiet for a long moment. “I’m trying to imagine how Leon Sheffield could have done that the same day he abducted her.”
Garrett shook his head. “He couldn’t have. And we know he couldn’t have come back that day to do it because he was dead.”
“It wasn’t him,” Joslyn said. “Right before I started to turn the key in the ignition, I had a flash of memory. I’d pulled over to that spot because I had something dragging from my car. When I got out, I saw that someone had tied a tin can on the back. I untied it and was getting back into the Jeep when he came at me from behind. I dropped my keys between the seats as he shoved a gun into my back and forced me into his car. I remember starting to scream. That’s all I remember until I woke up and he was pulling me out of the car again, only this time we were on the side of a mountain.”
She saw Garrett and the sheriff exchange a look.
“If Leon didn’t wire the Jeep with explosives...” Sid said. “The person who hired him? Not likely.”
“That person must have known where the Jeep was,” Garrett said. “When Leon bungled the job, they hired someone to make sure she never drove away. How did they know where the Jeep was though?”
She shivered. “They put a tracking device on my car.”
Garrett put his arm around her and pulled her close. She breathed in the male scent of him. It mingled with the acrid smell of smoke.
“I hope this is a wake-up call for the two of you,” the sheriff said. “Whoever wants you dead isn’t giving up.”
“We already knew that,” Garrett said. “And we suspect why. We just have to narrow it down.” He looked to Joslyn. “Unless you don’t want to go ahead with our plan.”
She shook her head, feeling anger replace her earlier terror and shock. “I haven’t changed my mind. If anything, I am more determined to find out who is behind this. I’ve already talked to Alistair. He said he would do his best to get them all to come to the guest ranch.”
Sid sighed. “I’ll take your statements so you won’t be held up at the police station.” A police car had just pulled up to the scene. “But I think you’re both making a mistake.”
“At the stroke of midnight, every dime of my father’s money will automatically go to the charities I’ve chosen,” Joslyn said. “All I have to do is stay alive that long.”
Sid shook his head.
“Are you sure about this?” Garrett asked. “We can still call it off.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything except...” She met his gaze and smiled. “I just want it over. I don’t want my father’s money. I never have.”
“Then why not give it to your family?” the sheriff suggested. “Let them kill each other over it.”
She shook her head. “I have to do something good with it. They would blow it and then be miserable again. This way they can get right to the misery.”
“You’re joking,” Sid said. “But this is serious. If one of them really wants you dead...” A weighted silence fell between them.
“I will be with her every minute,” Garrett said.
“If you’re able,” the sheriff pointed out. “You have my cell phone number. Call from your landline anytime day or night. I won’t be far away.”
Garrett thanked him. “But like Joslyn said, there is safety in numbers. All we have to do is get to midnight and the money issue will be moot. There will be no reason to kill her. It will be over.”
“I hope you’re right.” With Sid’s help, they breezed through the report and once finally dismissed, they headed for the guest ranch, both somber and silent on the ride. Even with the sheriff’s help, they’d lost valuable time.
“You saved my life. Again,” she said as the full impact of what had almost happened hit her. “How can I ever thank you?”
“Don’t thank me yet. But once this is all over...” He met her gaze, a promise in those blue eyes that gave her hope the two of them would make it through this and get their chance to be together at last.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
