Waco listened to Ella moving around in her hotel room next door. He realized that he’d been so busy trying to keep her alive—and himself, as well—that he’d forgotten his main objective. He needed to find Stacy before someone else did—especially her daughter.
Why was he convinced that Stacy Cardwell’s trouble was more than just running from the law? Maybe even more than murder? He had no idea. Just a gut feeling he couldn’t shake. Coming here made him all the more worried that they would find her too late.
He opened the door to his room and stepped to Ella’s. Tapping, he said, “It’s me.” Like that would open doors for him with her. “I’m hungry.”
There was nothing but silence behind the door. If he hadn’t known better, he would think she’d already given him the slip. A floorboard creaked on the other side of the door a moment before it opened.
He grinned at her. “I thought food might be something we could agree on.”
Grudgingly, she smiled. “I have my doubts about finding anything to eat in this town, but I’m willing to try. I’m starving.”
“My kind of woman,” he said with a laugh. Seeing her expression, he quickly added, “Sorry. Just an expression.”
They went down the stairs and out into the twilight. Fortunately, the small shop next door hadn’t closed yet. A bell jangled over the front door as he opened it and let Ella lead the way. Narrow aisles cut through tall rows of food staples, clothes and gifts. He didn’t see the rocks until they made their way to the checkout counter off to one side of the store. A box of ordinary-looking rocks were marked $1.00 each.
The elderly woman standing behind the counter didn’t seem at all surprised to see them. Word around town probably spread on the ceaseless wind that now rattled the front windows. Behind the counter, he spotted the milkshake machine and a microwave. On the wall was a sign that listed microwavable sandwiches.
Waco glanced over at Ella. “Name your poison.” They both went for the ham-and-cheese grill and chocolate shakes.
“You can sit up there by the window or take it back to your room,” the clerk said, pointing to a couple of small tables at the front of the store. “I’ll bring it to you when it’s ready.”
“My kind of woman, huh?” Ella asked when they were seated. “What exactly is your kind of woman?”
“It’s just an expression.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, holding his gaze with her steely green one. “So you don’t have a woman in your life.”
He laughed, seeing that she was enjoying giving him a hard time. He felt a spark between the two of them that should have surprised him, but didn’t. He held that gaze, feeling the heat of it.
“I suppose there’s a man in yours.” He realized that he really wanted to know. But their sandwiches arrived straight from the microwave and the moment was lost.
Heat rose from the sandwiches, the steam making them impossible to unwrap. She seemed relieved to have the diversion. They looked at each other in terror as they peeled back the wrap and ate greedily as if neither of them had had a meal for hours.
Waco suspected it was true of Ella since she hadn’t stopped for anything that he’d seen other than gas. He knew it was true for him. When the milkshakes arrived, he and Ella slowed a little on their sandwiches.
She seemed to relax, considering where she was and why. He wondered if she thought staying around here was a good idea in any way. The man who’d chased them out of town was the perfect example of how dangerous it could get. Waco figured the others back at the bar shared the man’s feelings. These people didn’t like strangers. Especially strangers who asked a lot of questions. In such an isolated spot in the state, these people were used to handling their own problems. He and Ella were problems.
“I suppose you wouldn’t want my advice,” he said and saw the glint in her green eyes. Still, he plowed ahead. “Whatever your mother might have been doing here—if she even came here—”
“She’s here.”
“As I was saying, people in some parts of this state don’t like anyone asking a lot of questions. They might not even know your mother. Just on general principle, they aren’t going to cooperate. So continuing to ask questions could be really bad for your health.”
Ella smiled at him. “Has anyone ever taken your advice?”
He chewed at his cheek as he studied her for a moment. He couldn’t help smiling. Everything about this young woman was refreshing. She intrigued him and he couldn’t remember a woman who had ever interested him more. The problem was how to keep her alive. “I suspect you get your stubbornness from your—”
“Whole family. But if you’re asking if my mother is stubborn...” Ella frowned and he saw a crack in her composure. “No more stubborn than me, I’d say, but then again...” She looked away, her eyes shiny. “Before you showed up, I would have said I knew my mother.”
“But now?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure I ever knew her. That’s why I’m determined to find her and get some answers. No matter where it takes me. Or who I have to deal with.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Even you.”
“Even if it gets you killed?” Her green eyes flared. Before she could speak, he raised both hands in surrender. “Sorry, it’s an occupational hazard, trying to keep people alive.”
“That and dispensing advice?”
He gave her a nod in acknowledgment of her jab. “Can I ask why you’re so certain your mother is here? Did she tell you on the phone—?”
“No. She pretended that she didn’t know where I was, but I’m sure Helen told her I was in town.” She seemed to hesitate. He could tell something was on her mind, something she had been debating telling him.
“Someone ransacked my mother’s cabin back on the ranch. My aunt stumbled onto the man. He’d been going through my mother’s photographs. He took several, knocking my aunt down as he left. She’s all right,” Ella said before he could ask.
“All he took were photographs?” He was surprised at that and the fact that she’d shared this information with him. She seemed a little surprised that she had, too. “Any idea what he wanted with them?”
Ella shook her head. “I didn’t even know Stacy had an album of older prints hidden in her closet.”
He saw her swallow and caught the flicker of pain. How many more of Stacy’s secrets would come out before this was over? Some worse than hiding a photo album of old snapshots in her closet, he figured.
Waco didn’t know what to say. He had no doubt that she was strong and determined and capable. But still, she was out of her league, and he had a feeling that she knew it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to stop her.
“Whatever the reason someone took the photos...” Again she hesitated, her eyes coming up to his and locking. “It’s how I found this place. That’s how I know she’s here. It’s...where she comes.”
He stared at her. “This is where your mother comes when?”
Ella pulled her gaze away to stare out the window. With the descending night, darkness had settled among the buildings of the town, making the place look even more desolate, if that were possible. “My mother has always disappeared for a few days every few months. I never knew where she went—until I looked through the albums.” Her eyes came back to his. “She came here. Apparently, she has been living a secret life for years when she comes here.”
He looked out the store window at the dark, dying town. “Why?”
“That I don’t know,” Ella said with a shake of her head. “Evidently, she knows these people well, especially Helen, and they know her. Helen recognized me, so I would assume my mother has shown her photographs of me over the years. The thing is, whoever broke into my mother’s cabin and took the photos must have realized they were important. He could come up with the same conclusion I had and show up here.”
Waco had no idea what to make of this. “Do you have any relatives up this way?” She shook her head. “Helen is older than your mother.” But he supposed they could be friends from way back. “You’ve never met her before today?” Again she shook her head.
“I think maybe my mother comes here because of a man she wanted to keep secret.” He raised a brow at that. “Okay, I shared with you,” Ella said. “Now you tell me about the key.”
He didn’t think he’d reacted, but he must have, because she smiled knowingly. “How did you hear about the key?” he asked.
“Mercy Hanover Davis. She wondered if my mother had it. It would explain why someone ransacked my mother’s cabin. So?”
“Sounds like you know as much as I do.”
She laughed, an enchanting sound he thought he could get used to. “Was the key in the bottom of the well?”
“It was, but I have no idea what it belongs to. Did Mercy mention—?” She was already shaking her head and looking disappointed.
“She mentioned money.”
Waco nodded. “Yes—apparently, that is what is at the forefront of the entire family’s minds these days.”
“My mother doesn’t have it, nor any of their mother’s jewelry.”
That he already knew from Lorraine. “She hasn’t spent the money if she does have it,” he said, giving her that much.
“I can’t imagine the money is here. Can you?” she asked and looked away. She did have the most amazing green eyes.
“No,” he said. “Only a fool would hide a fortune in a den of thieves.”
“So at least we agree on that. Any idea how much money we’re talking about?”
Waco shook his head. “The family said a fortune, but that’s all relative, isn’t it?” He could see the wheels turning as Ella looked across the street at the bar again. He hated to think what she planned to do next. “Can I ask one favor?” He rushed on before she could tell him he was owed no favors from her. “If you decide to go back to the bar, take me with you. I’ll try not to look so much like the law, if that would help.”
“Good luck with that,” she said and took a couple of slurps of her milkshake.
The cold chocolate ice cream clung to her lips for a moment before her tongue came out to whip it away. Those lips... He dragged his gaze away, tucking just the thought of kissing those lips away, as well.
Waco had more important things to be thinking about, like keeping this cowgirl alive. They were both chasing a woman Ella wanted to believe was innocent while his gut told him Stacy Cardwell could very well be a cold-blooded killer.
They eyed each other across the table in a standoff until she sighed. “Helen won’t talk with you here.”
“You’re assuming she’ll talk to you at all. I have the option of taking her in for questioning.”
“Good luck with that.” Ella’s gaze didn’t waver. “While you’re getting beat up, I can cry and get her sympathy.”
He laughed as he watched her take another sip of her milkshake. “You already have mine.”
She looked up sharply, and he saw that the last thing she wanted from him was sympathy. Pushing away her nearly empty glass, she rose. “Looks like neither of us is going to get the opportunity to talk to her.”
He followed her glance as it shifted to the front window. Helen came out of the bar and quickly climbed into the passenger side of a Jeep. The driver took off, leaving Waco little doubt where they were headed. He wasn’t sure he could catch up to them. Still, he had to try. Ella was already heading for the door.
“Let’s take my SUV. It’s faster,” he said, knowing that if they didn’t go together, she would try to catch Helen in her pickup.
As they pushed out the door, he electronically opened the doors to the patrol SUV. Ella hesitated only a second before jumping in. He swung behind the wheel, started the engine and went after the set of red taillights disappearing in the distance.