Cardwell Ranch Trespasser(24)

It still amazed her that anyone would believe Dee. But look at the extremes the woman would go to. She was insane. How else could Hilde explain it? Insane and desperate. This was a ploy to keep Hilde from getting her fingerprints run. Which had to mean that Dee really wasn’t Dee Anna Justice—just as the now deceased Rick had insinuated.

But none of that helped Hilde right now, she thought, as she looked across the marshal’s big desk. He was on the phone and had been for several minutes. From his tone of voice, she suspected it had been Dana who’d called, but Hilde now thought that Dana had put Dee on the line.

“I do understand,” Hud was saying. “But I’d prefer that you came down here and we discussed this before you made any—” He listened for a moment, his gaze going to Hilde, before he said, “If you’re sure. I would strongly advise you against this.” More listening, then he said, “Fine,” and hung up.

Hilde hadn’t realized that she’d been holding her breath toward the end of his conversation until she let it out as he hung up.

Hud sat for a moment before he turned to her. “Dee is dropping the charges. I can still hold you, if I want to, and I’m certainly considering it.”

She could tell that Dana had fought for her. Why else would Dee have dropped the charges? She felt tears sting her eyes. She knew better than to argue that she hadn’t done anything to Dee. She’d already tried the truth and that had gotten her arrested, so she waited.

“Dee is filing a temporary restraining order that is good for twenty days. I assume you know what that is,” he said.

A restraining order? It was all she could do not to scream. “It means I can’t go near her.” Which meant she couldn’t go near the ranch or Dana. Her tears now were of frustration. Dee kept maneuvering her into impossible situations where Hilde always came out looking like the villain.

“That’s going to be hard to do in Big Sky. Hilde,” he said with a sigh. “Think about taking a vacation. Go see your mother in Chicago. Or go lay on a beach for a couple of weeks. Get out of here.”

“For twenty days?” Wouldn’t Dee love that. “Or maybe she’ll make it a permanent restraining order, since she doesn’t seem to be leaving, does she?”

“Hilde, I’m trying to help. I’d think you’d want to get out of here for a while.”

“You don’t know how tempting that is, Hud.” She felt as beat-up as Dee was. She’d lost control of her life. She’d certainly lost her friends, her shop had been vandalized and she was losing faith that she would ever be able to fix any of this before things got worse.

“Dana is worried about you,” he said, and she heard some of that old caring in his voice.

“And I’m worried about her. I wish I could leave, but I can’t, Hud. I can’t leave Dana knowing what’s living in your house right now. I’m sorry,” she said when she saw his expression harden. “So can I go now?”

He nodded. “Hilde? Stay away from Dee.”

“Believe me, I’m doing my best. For the record, do you want to actually hear the truth?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “I came out of the shop after locking up to find I had a flat tire. I should have suspected something then, but I’ve never been a suspicious person. I started to walk home, no big deal, that’s when I saw Dee. She called to me, said she had some news. When she got close, she told me she was leaving. She said she was sorry for what she’d done to me.”

Hilde stopped for a moment, smiled and said, “You know I actually believed her. She is that good. And then she grabbed my hand, raked my fingernails down her face. I was so shocked I couldn’t move. I jerked my hand back. That’s when she picked up a chunk of broken sidewalk from the side of the street and hit herself in the face. I know,” she said, seeing his disbelieving expression. “I had the same reaction. Right after that was when she began to rip her clothing. She said no one would believe me. So far, she’s been dead-on, hasn’t she?”

With that she turned and walked out, leaving Hud frowning after her.

* * *

ONLY A FEW miles out of Big Sky, Colt got the call that Dee was refusing to press charges, deciding to take out a temporary restraining order instead. He swore, anxious to get to Hilde and find out what had happened.

He found her at her house. She hadn’t been home long when she opened the door. He saw that she had a stunned look on her face. Stunned and devastated. It was heartbreaking.

Without a word, he took her in his arms. She was trembling. He took her over to the couch, then went to her liquor cabinet and found some bourbon. He poured her a couple fingers’ worth.

“Drink this,” he said.

“Aren’t you afraid what I might do liquored up?” she asked sarcastically.

“Terrified,” he said and stood over her until she’d downed every drop. “You want to talk about it?” he asked, taking the empty glass from her and joining her on the couch.

She let out a laugh. “I hardly believe what happened. Why would I expect anyone else to?”

“I believe you. I believe everything you’ve told me.”

Tears welled in her brown eyes. He drew her to him and kissed her, holding her tightly. “I’m sorry you had to go through this alone.”

She nodded and wiped hastily at the tears as she drew back to look at him. “You’re my only hope right now. We have to find out whatever we can about this woman.” And then she told him everything, from finding the shop vandalized to what led up to her being nearly arrested.

When she finished, he said, “We shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Surprised? I’m still in shock. To do something like that to yourself...”

“You knew Dee was sick.”

Hilde nodded. “What will she do next? That’s what worries me.”

Colt didn’t want to say it, but that worried him, too. “Maybe Hud has the right idea. Isn’t there somewhere—”

“I’m not leaving. Dee told me that I’ve never had to fight for anything. Well, I’m fighting now. I’m bringing her down. One way or another.”

“Hilde—”

“She has to be stopped.”

“I agree. But we have to be careful. She’s dangerous.” He felt his phone vibrate, checked it and saw that his boss had sent him a text. “Hud wants to see me ASAP.” Not good. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“I’ll be fine. Dee won this round. She won’t do anything for a while, and I’m not going to give her another chance to use me like she did today.”

He heard the courage as well as the determination in her voice. Hilde was strong and, no matter what Dee had told her, she was a fighter.

“Would you mind if I came by later?”

Her kiss answered that question quite nicely.

* * *

HUD WAS WAITING when Colt arrived. He motioned him into his office. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he said the moment Colt closed the door and sat down.

“I beg your pardon?” He had a pretty good idea what the problem was, but he wasn’t about to hand him the rope to hang him.

“Tell me about the unauthorized request to run fingerprints you sent to the crime lab,” the marshal said.

That’s what Colt figured. Someone had caught his friend. He hated that he’d gotten the man into trouble. Sticking out his own neck was one thing. Sticking out someone else’s was a whole other story.

“They’re the woman’s now staying at your house, the one you call Dee Anna Justice,” he said.

Hud swore and slammed a hand down on his desk as he sat forward. “What the hell were you thinking sending an unauthorized request to the crime lab?”

“I was trying to protect you and your family.”

“That isn’t going to wash and you know it. Well, let me give you the news. There are no prints on file.” Hud let that sink in. “That’s right. Dee has no record. Satisfied?”

So she’d never been arrested. That didn’t surprise him given what he’d seen of her maneuvers so far.

“This is about Hilde, isn’t it?” Hud demanded. “You did this for her. This is so you can get closer to her.”

Colt got to his feet. “If that’s what you think—”

“You’re suspended.”

This, too, didn’t come as a surprise. He met Hud’s gaze. “If you really think I would use law enforcement resources to try to get a woman in bed, then I think you should fire me.”

“Damn it, Colt, you’re a fine deputy marshal and I don’t want to lose you. Two weeks without pay. Get out of here.”

He left Hud’s office, knowing there was nothing he could say. He’d taken a risk. It had cost him. Worse, it had only made Dee look more innocent.