Page 56 of Setup In Montana

“I still don’t understand how she recognized Vernon as a dirty cop and cop killer from Florida,” Sarah said.

“Esther had dozens of pen pals from the state penitentiary in Florida,” Max explained. “One of the inmates was doing life without parole because Hanley had set him up. The inmate, stuck in prison for the rest of his life, became a pen pal with women across the country. He sent them each a photo of the cop who’d disappeared, asking for their help in finding him.”

“Esther recognized him, but instead of letting the inmate know, blackmailed him,” Clancy said with a groan.

“No wonder he never did anything about her,” Sarah said.

Max nodded. “She had the run of the place. From what I can tell, she wasn’t even paying rent on her apartment. She would have bled him dry, and I think Vernon aka Hanley realized it had to end. More than likely, the argument you had with Esther, Clancy, made him realize it would look as if you had killed her. When that wasn’t working, he produced the threatening notes Sarah had sent her.”

Sarah shook her head. “And switched the blood samples. Too bad he didn’t know I was O negative.”

“Who would have suspected everything that was going on at Shady Rest,” Clancy said. “I never thought the job would be that dangerous. Fortunately, I made a good friend who saved my life even when I accused her of murder.”

Sarah reached over and took Clancy’s hand. “You wanted a more exciting life. Guess you got it.” They shared a smile. Max was glad to see that they were friends again.

“What happens to Vernon… Hanley now?” Sarah asked.

“He’ll be returned to Florida where I’m sure he’ll try to make a deal,” the sheriff said. “Then he’ll be sent back here to stand trial for Esther Mason’s and Jane Cooke’s murders and the shooting of Abel Wilson and Dub Crawford. I’m sure he’ll plead out. He’ll spend the rest of his life in prison.”

“Can you imagine what the Shady Rest residents are saying right now?” Clancy said with a chuckle. “Sarah, you’re their hero.”

Sarah shook her head. “I’m only filling in as manager until another one can be hired. But then I’ll probably stay on part-time.” As if noticing their surprise, since she no longer needed the income, she added, “They’d miss me,” she joked.

“What about you?” Max asked Clancy.

She shrugged, but smiled. He realized he hadn’t seen her this happy. Or was it content? “I think I’m going to stay around for a while. I have a good friend here and I promised Dub I’d give him a ride home from the hospital.”

“What about that world out there?” Sarah said, pretending to be shocked. “Aren’t you worried you’ll miss something?”

Clancy shook her head, smiling. “I think I’ve found what I’ve been searching for right here.”

* * *

DUB TOLD HIMSELF not to worry, but this could be the first of the best days of his life. Clancy was meeting with the sheriff this morning, then coming by to give him a ride out to the ranch. He wasn’t worried that she wouldn’t show. He was worried what he would say to her and what her answer would be.

He’d had a lot of time to think about the future, lying in this hospital bed and healing from what his father called his near-death experience. He knew he’d scared him, but he also knew how proud his father was of him.

“Made any big decisions about your future?” John Crawford had asked the last time he visited him at the hospital.

The question had surprised him, but apparently his father knew him better than he thought. John Crawford had never made a secret of wanting him to stay on the ranch even when Dub had told him about wanting to work as an architect, maybe even having his own business.

“The reason I’m asking is that I never told you this, but your grandmother left you and Tanner a pretty nice nest egg. I know I should have told you a long time ago, but she set it up where you were to receive the money on your thirtieth birthday, so I didn’t see any hurry.”

“What are you telling me?” Dub asked.

“That if you’d like to pursue architecture, you could. Or I could give you a few sections of the ranch that would be all yours and you could build a house for your bride.”

He stared at him. “My bride?”

His father rose to his feet. “Up to you, son. For the record, I really like Clancy.” He reached into his pocket and came out with a small velvet box. “It was your grandmother’s. She would have wanted Clancy to have it.”

Dub didn’t know what to say for a moment. “Thank you. What about Tanner?”

His father looked down at his boots for a moment. “He’ll be stopping by before you leave the hospital. I don’t blame you for being furious with your brother. I guess I always hoped the two of you would work it out.” With that, John Crawford put on his Stetson and turned to leave, saying over his shoulder, “See you at the house.”

The door didn’t even get closed before his brother came in, hat in hand. Dub noticed that Tanner had a hard time looking him in the eye. “I came to apologize.”

“Don’t bother. I know Dad made you come here.”