• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Brick turned to look at him. "Why would I do that?"

"To keep me from marrying Dana."

"Falling for Dana Cardwell was the only smart thing you ever did. Why wouldn't I want you to marry her?"

"Then you did it to get to the judge. You just wanted me out of the way so you used me, not caring what it would do to my life."

His father frowned and turned back to the stove. The coffee began to perk, filling the small house with a rich, warm aroma that reminded Hud of all the mornings his father had gotten up to make coffee over the years, especially when Hud's mother was sick.

"Why would Stacy make up something like that?" Hud asked.

"Why does Stacy do half the things she does?" Brick turned, still frowning. "She said she did it to keep herself out of jail?" He shook his head. "I never picked her up for anything. Maybe she did something she thought she would be arrested for and someone found out about it."

"You mean, blackmail?" Hud asked. Clearly he hadn't considered that.

Brick nodded. "Hadn't thought of that, huh? Something else you probably haven't considered is who else had the power to make a threat like that stick." Brick smiled and nodded. "That's right. Judge Raymond Randolph."

Hud felt the air rush out of him. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would the judge get her to keep me out of the picture?" A thought struck him. "Unless the judge wanted to make sure you responded to the call."

His father raised a brow. "You think he staged it so I'd show up and then what? He'd kill me?" Brick shook his head. "I wouldn't put it past him. Especially since he was losing his mind. But that would mean it backfired on him if that were the case and, no matter what you think, I didn't kill the judge."

"It seems more likely that I was set up so someone could use it as a way to get to the judge," Hud said.

"I agree. But you're just barking up the wrong tree if you think it was me. No matter how strongly I felt about you not staying in law enforcement, I would never set you up to get rid of you. I'm sorry you believe I would."

"I hope that's true," Hud said, and realized he meant it. He started for the door.

"Sure you don't want some coffee? It's almost ready."

"No thanks."

"Son."

Hud stopped at the door and turned to look back at his father.

Brick stood silhouetted against the frozen lake through this front window. "Be careful. It sounds like you've got at least one killer out there. Someone who thought they'd gotten away with murder. It's easier to kill after the first time, they say." His father turned back to his coffee.

* * *

IN BETWEEN CUSTOMERS, Dana told Hilde about everything else that had happened, including Stacy's confession—and disappearance.

"I can't believe this," Hilde said. "I mean, I do believe it. I never thought Hud would ever betray you. He just isn't that kind of man."

"Why didn't I see that?" Dana said, still feeling guilty and ashamed she hadn't given the man she loved a chance to even explain.

"Because you were too close to it," her friend said. "Any woman would have reacted the same way. If I would have found my man in bed with another woman, I would have shot first and asked questions later."

Dana smiled, knowing that Hilde was just trying to make her feel better.

"Oh, darn," Hilde said.

"What is it?"

"Mrs. Randolph. She left her fabric package."

Dana laughed. "She came back to the shop again? Don't tell me. She was still looking for the perfect blue thread to match those slacks of hers."

"No," Hilde said on a sigh. "This time she bought fabric for some aprons she was making for some charity event. She said you were going to help her with it?"

Dana groaned. Had she volunteered to make aprons? "Let me run it over to her. I need to find out what I've gotten myself into this time."

"Are you sure? Didn't Hud say that you weren't to leave here alone?"

Dana shook her head at her friend. "I'm just going up the canyon as far as the Randolph house. I will be back in twenty minutes tops. And anyway, you have bookkeeping to do. It makes