Last Stand Ranch. Jenna Night
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she didn’t leave him and she never filed a police report. She decided to give him one more chance after he promised he would change. A week later Marion ended up in the hospital ICU, unconscious for two days.” Olivia’s voice caught, and she stopped talking for a few seconds to clear her throat. “When she regained consciousness, she claimed it had been a random attack. But later, she told me her husband had done it. She wouldn’t repeat that to the police, though, because Ted told her she wouldn’t survive if she did. He’d defended people in court who owed him favors. People who could make her disappear.”
Claudia reached over to brush the hair from Olivia’s face. “Honey, given the situation, no one can blame you for what you did.”
Olivia looked up at her. “If it hadn’t been for you...” Her voice trailed off and she shook her head. “I knew his alibi was a complete lie,” she continued. “I wanted to make any potential jurors question it, so when I testified before the grand jury, so they could determine whether the case would go to trial, I claimed I saw him at a time and place when I actually didn’t.”
“Oh, honey.” Claudia shook her head.
“I saw Marion in the hospital. I saw what he did to her. I was angry and I wanted to do something to make sure he wouldn’t be able to hurt her again.” Olivia shoved her hands in her pockets. “I regretted the lie almost as soon as I told it. A few days later I retracted my statement.”
She turned to Elijah. “Without enough evidence to move forward with the trial, the charges against Kurtz were dropped. Charges were filed against me, but they were eventually dropped, too. Marion had permanent hearing loss and some other physical issues, but she did file for divorce. Things looked like they were blowing over.
“Then three weeks ago Kurtz came up to me while I was walking down a sidewalk. I didn’t see him coming—he was just suddenly there beside me. He told me he was going to kill me. Things hadn’t blown over for him. Old rumors about him had taken on a new life. Stories that he was violent, that his hair-trigger temper made him unhinged. That he’d hurt people before.
“The law firm where he works has to maintain a thin veneer of respectability and they were angry with him for marring that. His future there is in question, even now. He told me that getting rid of me would send a message to the women he’s hurt in the past about the consequences of standing up to him.” Her voice was hard with bitterness now, and shimmering tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.
“That’s why you’re here?” Elijah asked. “To get away from him?”
Olivia nodded. “Aunt Claudia saw me on TV during the worst of it and called me. She invited me to come for a visit, but I could barely bring myself to leave my apartment.” She impatiently rubbed her eyes, smearing away the tears that lingered there. “I lost my job after I told the truth. I was hoping to start a new life here.”
Silence followed. Finally, Bedford spoke. “Are you sure you’ve told me the truth about what happened on the road?”
“I’m not making it up.”
“You do realize Ted Kurtz probably bills his clients in the neighborhood of a thousand bucks an hour? Can you really imagine him taking the time to personally trail you all the way from Las Vegas to Painted Rock just to bump your car a few times and drive you off the road?”
“I never said I was sure it was him. Maybe he hired someone.”
“What’s your theory?” Elijah asked Bedford. He wasn’t thrilled that Olivia had brought trouble to Claudia’s house, but it sounded as if she did have a good reason to fear for her life. Now Bedford wanted to dismiss everything she’d said, leaving her alone and vulnerable, just because she’d made a bad decision in the past?
Bedford held up a hand. “I don’t have a theory. I want to help.” He glanced at Claudia. “Right now I’m just collecting the facts. Trying to figure out what to believe. And Miss Dillon has a track record of not telling the truth.”
He was interrupted by a radio transmission and stepped away to respond through his collar mic. “Dispatch says a couple of calls have come in about someone driving erratically on the highway,” he said when he came back. “But given your history, I can’t ask Las Vegas PD to go to Ted Kurtz’s home to see if he’s there based solely on your word. Are you sure you can’t tell me anything about the driver or the vehicle?”
“It was a dark-colored truck. His lights were even with my back window. I don’t have any more details. I couldn’t see very well.”
“There’s not much I can do with that.” Bedford took a business card from his clipboard and jotted a number on the back. “Here’s your incident report number. You’ll be able to access the report by eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Olivia took the card.
“Good night,” Bedford said, and he left.
* * *
“I can stay here tonight if you’d like,” Elijah said to Claudia.
After Deputy Bedford drove off, they’d walked into the house. Olivia watched Elijah wrap an arm around Claudia’s shoulder as they stood in her kitchen. It was an easy gesture that made Olivia give herself a swift mental kick. She was the one who should have that relaxed, familiar relationship with her great-aunt. She should have visited Claudia years ago. She shouldn’t have waited until she had no other options.
“That’s okay, honey.” Claudia patted Elijah on the arm. “We’ve got the dogs, and they’re the best alarm I could have. Plus, Denise and Raymond are in the cottage out back.” She turned to Olivia. “They’re the couple I hired to help me run the place. Here, let me text them and tell them you’re here so you can meet them.” She picked up a phone and started tapping the screen. “Don’t worry,” she said, glancing up at Elijah. “We’ll be fine.”
“It wouldn’t be any trouble to stay,” Elijah said. “You know I’d like nothing more than to hang around here and take care of my favorite aunt.”
“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?” Olivia groused. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but where did he get off calling Claudia “aunt”?
Elijah grinned at Olivia and hugged Claudia tighter.
Seriously? That’s how it was going to be? After everything she’d been through tonight, he was going to needle her? He still looked tough, but now that they were inside and in better light, she could see a hint of mischief in his dark eyes. It was already getting on her nerves.
“I think we’ll be okay.” Olivia glanced at the windows she would lock and the shades she would pull before going to bed. She would go through the whole house, checking and double-checking that everything was secure. It was part of the ritual that helped her sleep at night.
“I don’t mind staying.” Elijah’s bantering tone was gone in an instant. The mischievous glint in his eyes was replaced with a look like cold black ice. “I’d love to be here if he decides to stop by.”
Olivia’s attention was drawn to the sound of a woman’s voice just before she heard a door open. It was followed by the sound of footsteps.
“That’ll be Denise and Raymond,” Claudia said, leading the way into the kitchen.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt your dinner,” Claudia called out to a woman with glossy, chocolate-colored hair, who stood holding a small basket heaped with corn-bread muffins. A man with shoulder-length, sun-streaked brown hair stood beside her.
“Oh, no.” The woman, who looked as if she might be a decade older than Olivia, smiled broadly. “Raymond and I finished eating a while ago. I baked a full dozen muffins when I made our supper and thought you and your guest might like a few of them.”
“Thank you.” Claudia took the basket and set it on the counter. “I’d like you to meet my great-niece, Olivia.”
“I’m glad to finally