Page 50 of Setup In Montana

Clancy heard the vehicle pull up in front of the cabin. A moment later, the engine died and a door opened, then closed with a thud. Her heart took off like a galloping horse. Why would Vernon be looking for Sarah? He had to have found out from Max that she was missing. He’d come here to save her! But he didn’t stand a chance against the Wilson brothers who were both armed.

She heard the creak of the rest home manager’s weight on the steps. She swore she could smell the cloying scent of his cologne even before Abel opened the door and stepped out. She could hear their voices, but not what was being said.

Then one word seemed to float on the air. “Clancy.”

Vernon was looking for her. He had come to rescue her. The sheriff must have told him, and Vernon had known about the cabin. Luther still had the gun, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was watching his brother talking to Vernon.

She had to do something. She couldn’t let Vernon leave.

* * *

THE SHERIFF DROVE in silence for a few minutes. “You’re trying to tell me that Vernon killed both women. Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know, but it’s the only thing that makes sense,” Sarah said. “There were four people in that doctor’s office. Two people with type O negative blood. If not Diana and the doctor…and it explains what I saw the night of the murder.”

Max glanced back at her. “What did you see?”

“When I was doing my rounds, I saw Alice Chambers in the laundry room. It was almost one in the morning, and she was a loading a bloody shirt into the washing machine.”

“What? If true, why am I only hearing about this now?” Max demanded.

“At the time, I thought she’d had another of her nose bleeds, but then I didn’t know about either of the murders,” Sarah said. “It wasn’t until you told me about the vials being switched that I remembered—and realized I recognized the shirt she was stuffing into the machine. It was Vernon Vance’s.”

“Why would Alice be washing Vernon’s shirt?”

“They’re lovers. They think no one knows. Everyone knows.”

“Even if true, the evidence is gone. Yet I still have the threatening notes you sent to Esther in your handwriting.”

Sarah scoffed at that. “I heard Vernon just happened to find them and show them to you. He’s been trying to make someone else look like the killer. First it was Clancy, now it’s me.”

“Even if you didn’t kill anyone, you have admitted that you abducted Clancy and took her by force to your cabin, where you say you have your two cousins holding her there against her will. Am I wrong about that?”

“She thinks I killed Esther and Jane and there wasn’t time to try to change her mind. I had to get to that safety deposit box and find out if the money was even there. Now that I know it is…I have plans for it.”

“I bet you do. If I hadn’t stopped you at the bank, you could be headed for an airport right now,” the sheriff said.

“Leave Montana? Never,” she said. “There’s enough money in there for me to fix up my cabin, help my relatives and make it where I don’t have to work double shifts at the rest home. I’d like to have a little free time to enjoy life. But first I have to make sure my friend and my cousins are all right. Call the rest home and make sure Vernon is still there.”

Max hesitated, but only for a second. The moment someone answered at Shady Rest, he asked for Vernon. The sheriff could see how anxious Sarah was as she waited to hear.

“He’s not here,” the person who answered said. “He left.”

He met Sarah’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “How long ago did he leave?” Sarah looked worried.

“I don’t know for sure, maybe thirty minutes or so, maybe an hour.”

“When is he expected back?”

“He didn’t say. Said he had an urgent matter to take care of.”

“Would you please have him call Sheriff Max Lander when he returns?” He disconnected. “You heard.”

“Do you believe me now?” Sarah demanded. “We have to get to my cabin.”

He would have loved to argue that they didn’t know that was where Vernon had gone, but he heard something in her voice that sounded a lot like the alarm now going off in his own head.

“Call the home back,” she said. “Ask for Myrna. She always knows what’s going on.”