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Shandra took a cup of tea into Ruthie.
As she set it on the bedside table, Maxwell stood. “Ruthie, why don’t you get cleaned up and I’ll make some dinner.”
She nodded. When Shandra started to leave the room, Ruthie called her back. “What isn’t Maxwell telling me?”
Shandra stood by the bed, gazing down at her friend. She looked like a doll some little girl had dragged around everywhere she went.
“Take a shower and get out of your ruined dress. The world will look better when you’re cleaned up.” Shandra patted her friend’s shoulder and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Her phone jingled. A text from Ryan. Be there shortly.
She walked into the kitchen, which was larger than the living room. Maxwell was busy cutting vegetables. “Ryan’s on his way.”
Maxwell stabbed the knife into the cutting board. “Why did I have to be so stupid as to drag her past, a past she wanted to forget, to her wedding?”
“You can’t blame yourself. You didn’t abandon her. You have been by her side for years. You’ve proven your love for her. Help her through this and she’ll realize it even more.” Shandra felt for her friends. She’d had a dysfunctional childhood and understood the anger and animosity Ruthie had. But she also understood Maxwell’s actions. He’d grown up in a loving, caring family and drew his strength from that family, just as she’d learned to do since reacquainting herself with her father’s family. If not for Aunt Jo, Uncle Martin, and all her cousins, she wouldn’t know the strength of family. But she did, and she knew why Maxwell had asked Ruthie’s mother to the wedding. He’d hoped they could start their life together with Ruthie having mended her family fences.
But who had told her father? A man that supposedly left her and her mother?
“Had you heard anyone mention knowing where Mr. Kerby was all these years?”
He shook his head. “Ruthie never mentioned him. I don’t think she even cared. I didn’t ask her mother when I contacted her about the wedding. I asked if there was an uncle or anyone to give Ruthie away and she said there wasn’t.”
“Both Ruthie’s mom and dad were only children?” Shandra understood that, having grown up as an only child, but given the large families she’d witnessed in Huckleberry since moving here, she found in interesting that the Kerby’s didn’t have family.
“As far as I know. I could ask my dad, I think he was in school about the same time as Mr. Kerby.”
She made a mental note to ask Lil as well. “What about Mrs. Kerby? Where has she been living?”
“Over in Cotton.”
Shandra had made enough excursions in the area to know Cotton was a small rundown town at the far end of the county. “Does she work?”
Maxwell shrugged. “I didn’t ask. I just told her about the wedding and invited her.”
There was a loud knock on the building door.
“I’ll get that,” Maxwell said.
Shandra nodded and took stock of the food he’d laid out to discern what he’d planned to make. It appeared to be a salad. She grabbed the head of lettuce and started cleaning it up.
Maxwell and Ryan walked through the door as Ruthie stepped out of the bedroom in a T-shirt and lounge pants.
“Am I being arrested for running away from my own wedding?” she asked, her voice a bit shaky.
Ryan walked forward. “No. Ruthie.” He swallowed and Shandra moved to her friend’s side.
“I’m sorry to tell you, your father, Donald Kerby has been found—”
“No!” she exclaimed and started to crumple. Maxwell was by her side, scooping her up in his big arms and cradling her.
“Shhh. It’s okay,” he crooned, rocking her in his arms.
“Now, I’ll never know,” she muttered.
“Never know what?” Ryan asked.
“I’ll never know if he was lying or my mother was all these years,” Ruthie said. Slowly, she regained her composure and kicked her legs. “Put me down Maxwell, you big bear.”
Maxwell set her feet down but kept an arm around her waist.
Ruthie wiped her face with the bottom of her shirt and stared Ryan in the eyes. “How did my father die? Was it a car wreck?”
Shandra shifted closer to Ryan. She knew while he had a job to do, he had as much affection for Ruthie as she did. They were all friends.
“I’m afraid it was a homicide.”
Ruthie’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in disbelief. “Some-someone killed him?”
Ryan nodded. “Behind Shandra’s barn.”
Her gaze riveted on Shandra. “Did you know this when you came over?”
“Yes. Ryan sent me to be with you when he came over. We knew it would be a shock.”
Ruthie stepped out of Maxwell’s embrace and paced the room. “Why did he come to my wedding? How did he know?” She stopped and her head whipped around, her teary eyes stared at them. “Do you think his coming to my wedding got him killed?”
“I won’t have any answers for you until I research where he’s been and who told him about the wedding.” Ryan shifted his feet. “I have someone looking into his background now. I’ll have more answers tomorrow.” He shouldn’t let his friendship with Ruthie skew his investigation. But he couldn’t see the woman who greeted everyone in the community like family and never had a cross word for anyone other than her mother, hitting her estranged father with the anger and force of the blow the dead man had received.
“I need your mother’s address and your list of wedding guests.”
Ruthie’s eyes narrowed. “Maxwell knows where to find my mother. I’ll get the list. It’s in my bedroom.”
Shandra followed Ruthie into the bedroom.
Ryan turned his attention to the big man hanging his head, a lot like his father had done earlier. “I heard you stepped out of line today.”
“I thought once she saw her mother she’d forget all the resentment she had and be happy the woman was there for her wedding.” He snorted. “Guess I don’t know my Ruthie as well as I thought.”
Ryan laughed. “It’s not Ruthie, it’s all women.”
Treat’s big goofy grin and the snap in his eyes were back. “Ain’t that the truth!” He walked over to a notepad on the counter and pulled out his cell phone. “I have the address here.” He glanced up, all mirth gone from his expression. “You don’t think she did it, do you? I mean him coming back after all these years and all?”
“I don’t know what to think. I just need to talk to all the guests at the ranch this afternoon and see if anyone saw or heard anything.” Ryan knew better than to make guesses at this stage of the investigation.
Treat wrote down the address and handed it to him. He leaned close. “The house is a hovel. You might want to send someone to bring her to you.”
Ryan glanced over at Treat. “She was dressed in nice clothes.”
Treat grimaced. “I had my mom take her shopping for an outfit for the wedding.”
“Does your mom know Mrs. Kerby?” Ryan already had the Treats on the top of his list to question from the mortician’s comments.
“I don’t think so. Dad met mom in college and moved her back here. All of her family live in California.” Treat moved to the kitchen and started tossing chopped vegetables in a bowl. “You and Shandra want to stay for dinner?” he asked.
“Shandra can, I need to—”
“Find out what happened. I get it.”
The women walked out of the bedroom.
“Here is the list,” Ruthie said. She glanced at Ryan and Shandra. “When you learn more about my father, I’d really like to know where he’s been all these years. Saying he left because he couldn’t get along with mother and thought it would be best for me sounds lame.”
“Of course, we will.” Shandra put an arm around her friend.
Ryan nodded but knew she wouldn’t learn a thing from him until the investigation was over. “I have to go.” He glanced at Shandra.
“I’ll come, too,” she said, moving away from Ruthie.
“You can stay. I’m going back to work.”
“No. I need to get back to the ranch.” Shandra hugged her friend and patted Treat on the arm. “I’ll talk to you both tomorrow.”
They nodded and Ryan led Shandra down the stairs to the quiet kitchen and out the back door, making sure it pulled shut and locked.
Shandra handed him a paper. “This is the list of guests.”
He took the list and put a hand on her cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”
“I know, it’s just, if her father was telling her the truth, someone has been lying to her, and him, for a lot of years.”
Ryan nodded. That’s the part that had him thinking it was the mother. If he was paying her money and she didn’t have his daughter, how did she make him think she did? And even if he was in the army, he could have checked on her or had someone check on them both. He wasn’t liking the thoughts barraging his mind.
“I don’t know if I’ll be home tonight,” he said, opening her Jeep door.
“I’m getting used to that when you’re on a case. Just let me know how it’s going, please?” She stepped into the Jeep and peered into his eyes.
There was little he could deny the woman. They’d set the wedding date for next June. It couldn’t come soon enough for him, but Shandra wanted to have a traditional Nez Perce wedding and a Catholic wedding. She had set up for them to go to the reservation and learn the marriage dance from her aunt and cousins.
“I will let you know what I can.” He kissed her briefly and shut the door.
She started up the vehicle and pulled out of the alley. The tail lights disappeared around the corner and he called dispatch. “I need Mrs. Velda Kerby, 219 Pine Road, Cotton, brought in for questioning.”