Chapter Twenty
Before Dub could call the sheriff, his phone rang. He grabbed it, hoping it would be Clancy.
“Is Clancy with you?” the sheriff asked.
“No.” He ground his teeth. “By the time I got back to the guesthouse, she was gone. There’s one set of tracks in and out. Whoever it was, they must have taken her with them. I don’t think she went willingly.”
“Why would you say that? Was there sign of a struggle?”
“None that I can see, but all of her things are here, including her purse.”
“She hasn’t tried to call you?” the sheriff asked.
“I don’t know. Tanner had turned off my phone and blocked Clancy’s calls.” He realized that Max must have called his father to get his number. “The only thing missing other than her and her phone is a pendant and a key that had been inside it.”
“The pendant and safety deposit box key are gone from the bag of jewelry Esther Mason put in her backpack?”
“She told you about that?”
“Dub, I have reason to believe that Sarah Brooks, the woman Clancy worked with at Shady Rest, might have her. If she has the key, she is probably headed for the bank to see what her aunt left her.”
“Sarah, her friend? She’s the killer?”
“It certainly looks that way. She and her family have been looking for that pendant. Do you have any idea where Sarah might have taken her?”
Dub wished he did. “I have no idea.”
“I’m going to try to catch Sarah at the bank as soon as I can find out where,” the sheriff said. “I doubt she would take Clancy with her. I suspect she’s left her somewhere, possibly with her cousins, the Wilson brothers.”
“I’ll go by the rest home and the convenience store and see what I can find out about where Sarah might have taken Clancy.” Dub doubted both would turn up anything, but he had to do something.
His hope was that if Sarah had planned to kill Clancy, she would have done it at the guesthouse. By taking her with her, Sarah seemed to have other plans for her.
All Dub had to do was find Clancy before Sarah could carry out those plans.
* * *
THE MOMENT MAX drove up into the Wilson yard, he knew the brothers weren’t home.
He hadn’t expected to find them here unless Sarah had brought Clancy out here for them to watch over while she went to the bank.
But then again, he figured they were all too smart to hold her here knowing it would be one of the first places he would look.
Getting out, he climbed the steps to the rickety porch and tried the door, not surprised to find it unlocked.
“Rural Montana,” he said under his breath.
He’d been surprised to learn that most of the farmers and ranchers around Dry Gulch not only didn’t lock their doors but couldn’t even remember where they might have a key.
Pushing open the door, he stepped in. The Wilson brothers weren’t neat. The place looked as if two bachelors lived there. He suspected the house hadn’t been cleaned since Mildred had been taken to Shady Rest—and probably long before. He moved through the house.
Max figured now that Sarah had the key, she’d be headed for the safety deposit box. He just didn’t know what bank or what city. He hoped to find that answer here in the house.
Vernon had given him what information he had on Sarah, but it hadn’t been much. Apparently, she kept to herself, so when she’d befriended Clancy it had surprised him. Other than that, Sarah had been a hard worker, was always up for a double shift and never complained, he said.
“I always wondered what she spent her money on. Certainly not her car or herself from what I could tell. I figured she was saving it for something.” Vernon had shrugged.
“But if Mildred did leave her a bunch of money…” He’d stopped as he remembered the two residents she’d killed. “I guess she can hire a good lawyer.”
Max found a desk in a small room at the back of the house. The moment he saw it, he knew this had been Mildred’s bedroom. It, unlike the rest of the house, was neat if a little dusty. Apparently, her sons had preserved it just as it was in her memory. Or they’d forgotten about the room.
Moving to the desk, he went through the drawers.
Mildred had definitely been neater than her sons.
He found a worn folder tied up with string.
Written on the outside in a tight script were the words Important Papers.
He drew it out, untied the string and began to go through the contents, aware this could be considered illegal search and seizure.
At first, he found nothing of interest. Mildred had painstakingly paid off the house and land after years at her telephone company job.
She’d been an operator until she was injured on the job.
After that, she’d used her disability check even though Max found that she’d settled with the company for a large amount of money.
Was that the fortune Sarah was looking for?
He quickly found the name of Mildred’s bank in Lewistown. One mystery solved. He could feel the clock ticking. The best way to find out where Sarah had taken Clancy was to catch her before she left the bank.
But as he was about to put everything back, he saw a copy of a land deed.
At first, he thought it was part of what Mildred was leaving her sons.
Then he saw Sarah’s signature on the bottom along with Mildred’s as co-signer.
It was dated years ago and marked paid. Mildred had helped her niece buy property?
When he saw the seller’s name, he felt a start.
Sarah had bought a cabin from Diana Turner, the cook at Shady Rest.
* * *
DUB HAD NO luck at the convenience store, so he headed for Shady Rest. He thought he’d talk to some of the residents. One of them might know where he could find Sarah.
Once inside, he found a few women sitting around visiting. “I’m hoping you can help me,” he said, not sure how much he should tell them. When they showed no interest, he said, “Clancy is missing. I think Sarah took her somewhere.”
That did the trick. At once they were concerned and did their best to be helpful. Unfortunately, they didn’t know where Sarah might have gone either. But as word spread that Clancy was missing, more residents gathered, wanting to help.
“What’s going on?” a dapper-looking man in his sixties with a bad comb-over asked as he came out of the office. He wore a name tag that read Vernon. Under it: Manager.
“He’s looking for Clancy,” the woman who’d introduced herself as Myrna told him. She lowered her voice as if it was a secret. “He says Sarah might have taken her somewhere.”
“Well, I doubt anyone around here can be of help,” Vernon said.
“We haven’t seen her since she took off without even letting me know she wouldn’t be back to work.
Same with her friend Clancy. The sheriff now has evidence that Sarah was the one who killed both Esther and Jane.
If Clancy’s with her…” He pursed his lips.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the two were in cahoots. ”
“In cahoots?” Myrna snapped and snorted, turning away from the manager and shaking her head at Dub as if to say, Don’t pay any attention to that fool, we don’t. “I don’t believe any of that.”
Dub realized he wasn’t getting anywhere.
As badly as the residents had wanted to be helpful, they didn’t know any more than he did.
He could smell food cooking but couldn’t put his finger on what it might be.
It did, however, remind him of grade school.
He hoped Clancy wasn’t going hungry. That she wasn’t injured. That she was still alive.
His cell rang. He saw it was the sheriff.
Stepping away, he took the call, hoping there was news.
There was. He had just disconnected when a woman dressed in a white uniform came out of the kitchen to announce that lunch was served.
She seemed surprised to see everyone gathered around him.
He could see that she was limping a little and favoring her right side.
Once the word lunch hit the residents’ ears, there was no holding them. They took off toward the cafeteria. A few told him goodbye and wished him luck. “We always liked Clancy,” Myrna said. “Hope you find her and that nothing has happened to her. I can’t believe Sarah would hurt her.”
“You’re looking for Clancy and Sarah?” the cook asked after everyone but Dub and Vernon had gone into the cafeteria.
“Diana, I just told him—” But Vernon didn’t get to finish whatever he was about to say.
“I know what everyone is saying about those two, but they’re wrong,” the cook said over the manager with force as she gave Vernon a narrowed look. “Neither of those girls hurt a soul and you can take that to the bank.”
“I think something is burning in the kitchen, Diana,” the manager said pointedly. “Maybe you’d better see to it since that’s your job.”
“You’re Diana Turner, right? I just spoke with the sheriff. He told me you might have sold a cabin to Sarah?” Dub asked. “I think Clancy might be there. I have to find her.”
“Why don’t you come in my kitchen,” Diana said and shot a look at Vernon. “Don’t you have some work to do in your office?”
The manager looked as if he was going to say more, but ignoring him, Diana told Dub, “Come in the kitchen. I can help you.”
Dub followed. When he looked back, Vernon was straightening some of the chairs the residents had vacated.
“He’s the worst busybody I’ve ever seen,” Diana muttered under her breath, indicating the manager.
“He thinks everything is his business.” She shook her head before turning her attention to Dub again.
“Sarah did buy my old cabin north of town. I can tell you how to get there. Better yet, I can draw you a map.”
He watched her go to a small counter at the end of the kitchen and pick up a pen and paper. “The cabin isn’t much, but she might have fixed it up some. I can’t promise you’ll find Sarah and Clancy there. But if they’re hiding out, then it would be the perfect place.”
* * *
MAX HIT THE lights and siren as he raced toward Lewistown. He told himself that once Sarah had the key, she would be anxious to get to the bank and see what was in that box.
He checked the time and felt anxious. His fear was that she could have already been in and out with whatever she’d found and be gone before he arrived.
As he drove, he watched for her vehicle.
He knew he could be wrong about all of this.
Maybe that key opened a box at a different bank.
Maybe Sarah hadn’t stashed Clancy somewhere first. But she would have been smart to.
He told himself that Sarah would also want to keep Clancy alive until she was sure she had the right key.
He doubted Clancy had a safety deposit key of her own or would have thought of switching them.
Still, if Sarah was smart, and he suspected she was, she would cover her bets.
She’d come this far, killing two people to get here.
He doubted she would lose sight of the prize at the end.
He held out hope after finding that copy of a property deed that Sarah would have taken Clancy there.
The cabin her aunt had helped her purchase might be ideal for keeping Clancy under lock and key.
He thought about Sarah’s cousins and would bet his silver star that they were involved.
The problem was, he had no idea where the cabin was. Dub would try to get the information from Diana, but it might not even be where Sarah had left Clancy.
That was why Max had to catch Sarah at the bank. Once he had her in custody, he would make sure she led him to Clancy. He figured it might depend on what Sarah found in that safety deposit box whether or not she planned to return to wherever she’d left Clancy.
If he missed catching her before she left the bank, he would have to wait until law enforcement picked her up and that might be too long for Clancy to survive. All he could hope was that Dub had gotten the information about the cabin from Diana.
Too much was riding on finding Clancy before it was too late. He tried to convince himself that Sarah wouldn’t have hurt her—not until she had the money.
He just hoped he hadn’t missed her. It was his only thought as he roared into Lewistown and headed straight for the bank.
Within a couple of blocks, he cut the lights and siren.
If Sarah was still inside the bank, he didn’t want her to know he was coming.
He had to catch her before she got away with the cash—if it existed.
The manager at Shady Rest had certainly been skeptical about Mildred having any money—let alone leaving it to Sarah.
Pulling into the bank parking lot, he jumped out and rushed to the door. It appeared to be a quiet day with few people inside. He headed straight for the first teller and flashed his credentials. “Is Sarah Brooks inside the security boxes room?”
Wide-eyed, the teller nodded. “She just went in.”
“Show me.”
They went down a short hallway before the teller opened a door with a key.
“I’ll take it from here,” the sheriff said quietly and stepped in, closing the door behind him. It smelled like every security bank box room he’d ever been in.
He heard a sound deeper in the narrow room and moved toward it.
Sarah had the large box under her arm as she headed for a chair and table at the end of the room.
He stopped to watch her put the box down on the table.
For a moment, she just stood looking at it, as if afraid to open it for fear she wouldn’t find what she wanted.
After a few moments, she slowly she opened it and looked inside.