Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch - B.J. Daniels [73]
"You are so thoughtful."
"Listen to me, I do care about my sister," Jordan said. "If I didn't put some stupid doll down in the well to scare Dana, then who did? That person doesn't seem to be behind bars in your quaint little jail."
Hud was silent for a moment, thinking this might be the first time he'd ever believed anything that had come out of Jordan Cardwell's mouth. "Did you steal a ring and give it to Ginger Adams?"
"What? Look, Ginger and I didn't last a month. As soon as she found out I didn't have any money…"
Hud pulled the list of registered .38-caliber gun owners out of his pocket as he drove. It was starting to get dark in the canyon. He had to turn on the overhead light in the SUV, taking his attention off the road in short glances as he scanned the list again.
He found the name he'd feared would be on the sheet. He hadn't even thought to look for it before. Probably because it never dawned on him to look for Judge Raymond Randolph's name. What were the chances he would have been killed with his own gun? The same gun that had killed Ginger Adams?
Hud threw down the sheet, snapped off the light and said, "Let me talk to the deputy." He told Norm to keep Jordan locked up and to get over to Kitty Randolph's and make sure she didn't go anywhere.
Then Hud tried Dana's number again, driving as fast as possible. He had to get to Dana. Every instinct told him she was in trouble.
* * *
DANA FELT A SENSE of disquiet settle over her as she stared at Kitty Randolph. "The judge's father drilled the homestead well?"
The phone rang.
"The judge knew every well his father had drilled," Kitty said proudly. "He took me to most of them when we were dating. Most women wouldn't think that very romantic nowadays. But the judge never wanted to forget where he came from. Common well drillers. But that was one reason he was so cheap. The judge was the only one in his family to go to college, you know."
The phone rang again. Mind racing, Dana barely heard it as she watched Kitty move around the room, picking up knickknacks, touching old photographs, admiring antiques that had belonged to Dana's mother's family. The older woman still had the shoe box tucked under her arm.
"Your mother, now there was a woman," Kitty said as she circled the room. "I admired her so much. Your father put her through so much and yet she never complained. She proved she could make it without him just fine. I wish I had been more like her."
Another ring. "I need to get that," Dana said, but for some reason didn't want to leave Kitty alone.
"Have I told you how much you look like your mother?"
"Yes, you've mentioned it," Dana said, thinking again about what Kitty had said about the judge's family drilling the old homestead well.
"It's funny, for a moment earlier today when I saw you standing behind me at my house, I thought you were your mother," Kitty said, then gave her head a light shake. "Sometimes I am so foolish. Your mother was such a strong woman. I admired the way she took care of her problems."
Dana felt a chill crawl up her spine as she recalled a comment Jordan had made about how their mother had been capable of killing Ginger Adams and dumping her down the old well.
"Is there something you wanted to tell me about my mother?" Dana asked, frightened of the answer and suddenly afraid of what was in that shoe box under the older woman's arm.
"Oh, Dana, don't be coy with me," Kitty said, her smile shifting ever so slightly. "I know you saw the shoe."
The shoe? The phone rang again. She realized it might be Hud. He'd be worried if she didn't answer it.
"I don't know what shoe you're talking about." Dana had seen a lot of shoes on the floor of Kitty's bedroom and the older woman digging in the closet as if looking for more. She wondered if the older woman wasn't getting senile as she glanced