Page 47 of Setup In Montana

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.

Chapter Twenty-One

What Clancy desperately wanted to know was what Sarah and her cousins planned to do with her. Sarah had told Luther something he hadn’t liked before she left and handed him the gun. It was all Clancy could think about as she waited. It felt as if hours had gone by, though she didn’t think it had been that long. Still, the waiting and the silence that the Wilson brothers were determined to maintain were starting to get to her.

“Sarah’s not coming back,” she said. “She’s going to get that money, and it will be the last you see of her.”

Neither Luther nor Abel commented. Luther had already said that Sarah would be back. But why would they trust her? True, they were blood relatives, but still. Look how Clancy had trusted the woman. She suspected the cousins would never see a dime of the money—and maybe never see Sarah again.

Unless it was the wrong key.

Or if the security deposit box was empty and the whole thing a bad joke.

But where did that leave Clancy? Had Sarah already told them to get rid of her? There was really nothing she could use as a weapon. She realized that she was less afraid of the two men than she was of Sarah. Luther stood leaning against the kitchen counter and Abel sat in the straight-backed chair across from her. They were watching her as if waiting for her to try something.

She told herself that she had to be patient and bide her time. Eventually someone would come looking for her. If not, she would get her chance to get away. She had to, since when she really thought about it, how could anyone find her out here? She thought about Dub. He probably didn’t even realize she’d been abducted. Even if he wanted nothing to do with her, she hoped she hadn’t gotten him harmed.

“Did you do something to Dub Crawford?” she asked, unable to keep from worrying that she’d gotten him into this and now something bad had happened to him. “Did Sarah?”

The brothers looked at each other and frowned. “Dub Crawford?” Luther finally asked. “Why would we do something to him?”