Cardwell Christmas Crime Scene. B.J. Daniels

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      Paling, Hilde’s hand went to her protruding stomach and the baby inside her. Three years ago, a young woman claiming to be Dee Anna had come to the ranch. Dana, who had so desperately wanted to connect with a part of her family she hadn’t known even existed, had fallen for the psychopathic, manipulative woman’s lies, and they had all almost paid with their lives.

      But Hilde had suffered the most. Dana still couldn’t believe that she’d trusted the woman she thought was her cousin over her best friend. She would never forgive herself. The fake Dee Anna, it turned out, had been the roommate of the real Dee Anna Justice for a short period of time. The roommate had opened a piece of her mail and, since they resembled each other, had pretended to be Dee Anna. Dana had believed that the woman was the real Dee Anna Justice and almost lost everything because of it.

      “Why would he keep something like that from her?” Hilde finally asked.

      “Because his family had disowned him when he married a woman they didn’t approve of. He thought his family would turn both him and his daughter away, apparently.”

      “But now?”

      “Now, he said with Christmas coming, he hoped I would reach out to her and not turn her away as his family had done. She doesn’t have any other family, he said.” She saw Hilde weaken.

      “I told my uncle about the woman who pretended to be Dee Anna. He was so sorry about what happened,” Dana said quickly. “He said he’d never met DJ’s former roommate, but that he was shocked, and his daughter would be, too, to learn that the woman was capable of the horrible things she did.”

      Hilde nodded. “So, you’ve contacted her?”

      “No, I wouldn’t do that without talking to you first.”

      Her friend took a breath and let it out. “It’s all right.”

      “I won’t if it upsets you too much,” Dana said, reaching for Hilde’s hand.

      “You’re sure this time she’s the real Dee Anna Justice?”

      “Hud ran both her and her father through the system. She has been working as a travel writer, going all over the world to exotic places and writing about them under the pen name DJ Price.” One of the perks of being married to the local marshal was that he wouldn’t let anyone else come to visit without first finding out his or her true identity.

      “So Colt knows that the real Dee Anna has turned up?”

      The only good thing that had come out of that horrible time three years ago was Deputy Marshal Colt Lawson. He had believed what Hilde was saying about the fake Dee and had ended up saving her life as well as Dana’s and the kids’. Now the two were married, and Dana had never seen Hilde looking happier, especially since she was pregnant with their first child.

      “I talked to Colt first. He said it was up to you, but none of us wants to take any chances with this baby or your health.”

      Hilde smiled. “I’m as healthy as a horse and the baby is fine. As long as we’re sure this woman is the real Dee Anna and not a murdering psychopath.”

      The other Dee, the fake Dee Anna Justice, had set her sights on Dana’s husband, Marshal Hud Savage, planning to replace Dana. So Dana and her children had to go, and Hilde, the interfering friend in the woman’s mentally disturbed mind, along with them. Dana shivered at the memory.

      She had nightmares sometimes, thinking they were all still locked in that burning barn. “That Dee Anna is dead and gone.”

      Hilde nodded. “But not forgotten.”

      “No, not forgotten. It was a lesson I will never forget, and neither will Hud.” She smiled and squeezed her friend’s hand. “I’m just glad you and I are okay.”

      “We’re more than okay. I know how much family means to you. Contact your cousin and tell her she’s welcome. I would never stand in the way of you finding more of your relatives on your mother’s side.”

      “I want you to meet her. If for any reason you suspect anything strange about her—”

      Hilde laughed. “I’ll let you know if she tries to kill me.”

       Chapter Three

      Beau Tanner had always known the debt would come due, and probably at the worst possible time. He’d dreaded this day since he was ten. Over the years he’d waited, knowing there was no way he could deny whatever request was put to him.

      The sins of the father, he thought as he stared at the envelope he’d found in his mailbox this morning. The return address was for an attorney in San Diego, California. But the letter inside was from a California state correction facility prisoner by the name of Walter Justice.

      He wondered only idly how the man had found him after all these years, forgetting for a moment the kind of people he was dealing with. Beau could have ended up anywhere in the world. Instead, he’d settled in the Gallatin Canyon, where they’d first met. He suspected Walter had kept track of him, knowing that one day he would demand payment for the debt.

      The letter had been sent to his home address here on the ranch—instead of his office. So he knew before he opened it that it would be personal.

      Telling himself just to get it over with, Beau studied the contents of the envelope. There were two sheets of paper inside. One appeared to be a travel article about Eleuthera, an island in the Bahamas. The other was a plain sheet of paper with a printed note:

      Take care of my daughter, DJ. Flight 1129 from LA arriving in Bozeman, Montana, Thursday at 2:45 p.m. Dana Cardwell Savage will be picking her up and taking her to Cardwell Ranch. I highly advise you not to let her know that you’re watching out for her—and most especially that it was at my request.

      It was signed W. Justice.

      Under that he’d written, “Cell phone number for emergencies only.”

      Today was Thursday. DJ’s flight would be coming in this afternoon. Walter had called it awfully close. What if Beau had been out of town? If he’d questioned whether Walter had kept track of him, he didn’t anymore.

      He read the letter again and swore. He had no idea what this was about. Apparently Walter’s daughter needed protection? A small clue would have been helpful. And protection from what? Or was it from whom?

      Also, he was surprised Walt’s daughter would be coming to Montana. That was where their paths had crossed all those years ago. He thought of the dark-haired five-year-old girl with the huge brown expressive eyes and the skinny ten-year-old kid he’d been.

      He remembered the way she’d looked up at him, how he’d melted into those eyes, how he’d foolishly wanted to rescue her. What a joke. He hadn’t even been able to rescue himself. Like him, she’d been trapped in a life that wasn’t her doing.

      “Any mail for me?” asked a sleepy-sounding female voice from behind him.

      He folded the letter and article and shoved them into his jean jacket pocket before turning to look at the slim, beautiful blonde leaning СКАЧАТЬ