Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch - B.J. Daniels [10]
He tried to remember if he'd heard his father talking about a missing person's case about fifteen years ago. Rodrick "Brick" Savage loved to brag about his cases—especially the ones he solved.
But then this one wouldn't have been one he'd solved. And fifteen years ago, Hud had been eighteen and away at college. He wondered if Dana had mentioned a missing woman in one of her letters to him. She'd written him every week, but the letters were more about what was happening on the ranch, I-miss-you letters, love letters.
Leaving the skull at the pickup, he went back to watch Rupert dig through the dirt on the well floor. The coroner slowed as he hit something, then stooped and shook dirt from what he'd found.
Hud felt his chest heave as Rupert held up a bright red high-heeled shoe.
* * *
AFTER THE BIRTHDAY party and in between customers, Dana defied Hud's orders and told Hilde about what Warren had found in the old dry well by the original homestead's foundation.
Dana was sure the news was all over the canyon by now. But still she'd waited, not wanting to say anything to anyone but Hilde, her best friend.
"He really thinks the bones are human?" Hilde asked with a shiver. "Who could it be?"
Dana shook her head. "Probably some ancestor of mine."
Hilde looked skeptical. "You think the bones have been down there that long?" She hugged herself as if she could feel the cold coming up from the well just as Dana had earlier.
"It's horrible to think that someone might have fallen in and been unable to get out, died down there," Dana said.
Hilde nodded. "It's just odd that you found them now." Her eyes lit. "You think the investigation will hold up the sale of the ranch?"
"Maybe, but ultimately the ranch will be sold, trust me," Dana said, and changed the subject. "Thank you for the birthday party. I love the purse you made me."
"You're welcome. I'm sorry you've had such a lousy day. Why don't you go on home? I can handle things here. It's your birthday."
Dana groaned. "I hate to imagine what other horrible things could happen before this day is over."
"Always the optimist, aren't you."
Dana smiled in spite of herself. "I think I will go home." She looked outside. Clouds scudded across the pale sky, taking the earlier warmth with them. The sign over the door pendulumed in the wind and she could almost feel the cold trying to get in.
Across the way from the shop, the top of the mountain had disappeared, shrouded in white clouds. The first snowflakes, blown by the wind, swept across the window. Apparently the weatherman had been right when he'd called for snow before midnight.
Dana would be lucky to get home before the roads iced over.
* * *
FROM DOWN IN the well, Rupert signaled for Hud to pull up the body bag. It was heavy, but mostly from the layer of dirt retrieved from the bottom of the well. The dirt would be sifted for evidence later at the state crime lab.
He put down the body bag, noting that the weather had turned. Snowflakes danced around him, pelting him on gusts of wind and momentarily blinding him. He barely felt the cold as he squatted near the edge of the well, pulling up the hood on his marshal's jacket as he watched Rupert finish.
The red high-heeled shoe had triggered something. Not a real memory since he couldn't recall when, where or if he'd even actually seen a woman in a red dress and bright red high-heeled shoes. It could have been a photograph. Even a television show or a movie.
But for just an instant he'd had a flash of a woman in a bright red dress and shoes. She was spinning around in a circle, laughing, her long red hair whirling around her head, her face hidden from view.
That split-second image had left him shaken. Had he known this woman?
The canyon was like a small town except for a few months when the out-of-staters spent time in their vacation homes or condos to take advantage of the skiing or the mild summer weather.
But if the woman had been one of those, Hud knew he'd have heard about her disappearance. More than likely she was someone who'd worked