Yellowstone Investigations: Complete Series: Yellowstone Investigations

By Clara Kendrick

Enjoy all FIVE books from the series. Contains over 399,000 words of romantic suspense.

 

In the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, there are five rugged men who will risk everything to do the right thing even when the people who hire them aren't always exactly what they seem…

 

BOOK ONE: MOTHER MAY I

Spring thaw often brings out those looking for something that might have been lost during the winter. I'm not worried. My dogs can find anything I ask them to. Then Mary shows up with a twenty-year-old diary and a story about her missing mother and I realize I might be about to bite off more than I can chew.

 

BOOK TWO: PICK UP STICKS

Wild animals behaving badly, children running wild all over the park—lately, Yellowstone has turned into a circus. But my team and I aren't going to leave those kids out there any longer than we have to. So, when the mother lies and the father is clueless, the only one left to listen to is the teacher. It doesn't take me long to realize that Shannon knows exactly what happened to those kids. The only real question left is why.

 

BOOK THREE: LEAPFROG

Trying to change an official cause of death from accidental to homicide doesn't happen very often. This crazy reporter thinks she's going to get me to help her do it anyway. At first, I only go along with Frankie to keep her from getting herself into trouble. The longer I listen to her insanity, the more sense she starts to make. By the time I realize that Frankie isn't crazy at all, we're in this thing so deep I'm not sure I can get us out.

 

BOOK FOUR: FOUR SQUARE

I can't put my finger on exactly what's going on with this family. They're rich, and maybe that's why they're so weird. But there's something happening here, and Ariana is convinced that her brother is about to commit murder. Maybe my job is to make sure she doesn't get herself killed trying to do what's right.

 

BOOK FIVE: HANGMAN

When I first came to Yellowstone and started my business, I was licking my wounds. My wife had been murdered. The man who did it was still roaming free and flashing his FBI badge all over town. I was disgraced and pretty sure that it was all over. And that included the strange and confusing relationship I had with a fellow psychological researcher named Laura Selway. Now Laura's here in Wildcat because that murderer is on the move again, and she's determined that we're going to chase him down.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clara Kendrick
• Release date: May 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9798224726981

Clara Kendrick

Discover the captivating world of Clara Kendrick's romantic suspense. With her masterful storytelling and skillful blend of intrigue, romance, and passion, Kendrick draws readers in and keeps them hooked until the very end. Get ready to be swept away by her thrilling and steamy tales of love and suspense. Signup and follow at: Books2read.com/ClaraKendrick Facebook.com/AuthorClaraKendrick

Book preview

Chapter One

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Dallas!

Dallas Masterson jumped so hard that his boots fell right off his desktop. The movement sent him flying forward with such force that he nearly flew out of his leather chair. His cowboy hat toppled right off his head and hit the floor. Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, Dallas managed to focus on the very angry face of Holly Jackson.

"Dallas Masterson, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?" Holly was the secretary at the Yellowstone Investigations office and had been since the small firm had opened its doors nearly five years before.

Dallas yawned, stretched, and glanced over at the clock before reaching down to scratch his belly. He was freaking tired, so he was taking a nap. That was what he was doing. He tried to focus on Holly. The redhead was usually pretty good-natured—for a redhead. At the moment she resembled a fire-breathing dragon with her green eyes flashing fire and her hands propped angrily on her full hips.

I’m sorry, Holly. Dallas tried to keep his tone nice and cooperative. There was no need to give Holly a reason to castrate him like a spring calf. Did you need help with something?

"I need help with your dogs!" Holly said through gritted teeth.

My dogs.

She turned in the doorway of his office and stabbed her finger toward the front of the building. The little log and stone structure had once been a house here in Wildcat, Montana. When Callum Mackenzie had set up the Yellowstone Investigations office, he had gutted the place and created a set of tiny offices and a nice front reception room where Holly had her desk and separate workspace.

Holly’s green eyes narrowed to slits. Let’s just say that your decomposition-sniffing dogs have found something very decomposed.

Is that right? Dallas still didn’t quite understand what the problem was. What did they find?

Deer? I don’t know! How am I supposed to know? Holly’s voice was rising in pitch until she sounded almost frantic. "But it’s in my office!"

Dallas shot to his feet. What in the hell was she talking about? The dogs are right... His voice trailed off as he realized that his Anatolian shepherd and his Great Pyrenees were both missing from their bed in the corner of his office. Dammit.

Yes. Holly stomped out of his office. That’s pretty much what I said when I saw the mess!

Dallas groaned. He could only imagine what those damn dogs had gotten into now. Their noses were absolutely incredible. In fact, Harry and Sally were easily the best cadaver dogs that Dallas had ever trained. Unfortunately, they used their noses for just as much evil as they did good.

The smell became almost unbearable as soon as he exited his office. In fact, Dallas wasn’t really certain how the stench of whatever the dogs had found hadn’t woken him out of a sound sleep. Holly was pinching her nose closed and fumbling in her desk drawer for a lighter. She struggled to light the pine-scented candle sitting on the corner of her computer table.

Sometimes I don’t know why I keep this job, Holly muttered to herself.

Dallas shot her a dirty look but didn’t bother responding to that little comment. The easy answer was that jobs in Wildcat, Montana, weren’t exactly easy to come by, and Holly had landed a full-time, year-round gig that paid pretty decent money and wasn’t dependent upon the parks service down at Yellowstone National Park.

Turning his attention to the pile of remains that were currently sitting in the middle of the reception area floor, Dallas glared at his dogs. They were both munching away on the mostly decomposed carcass of what appeared to be a deer. Not unusual in this region, but definitely not something you wanted inside your office.

Harry! Dallas snapped at the Anatolian shepherd. What in the hell were you thinking?

At this point Sally realized that she and her cohort had made a bad decision. She was busy inching away from the carcass in an effort to act as though she were nothing more than a spectator. The big white Pyrenees mix was one of the most intelligent dogs that Dallas had ever trained. She was easily one hundred and twenty pounds with thick white fur that was wavy on her back and fluffy on her legs. Her tail even had a tiny curlicue at the end, which she was currently wagging at Dallas in a futile effort to gain brownie points.

No way, girl, Dallas growled. You guys have messed up this time.

Harry seemed to realize his danger. He stopped munching on the leg bone hanging from his mouth and gazed up at Dallas as though he were also completely innocent.

So you guys expect me to believe that this mess just appeared in the office? Dallas glared down at his dogs. You guys want to claim that Holly made the mess? Holly dragged this thing in here and then just let you guys chew away? I’m not buying it!

The front door was open because of the midday summer heat sizzling outside. All the doors and windows were open in the office in an effort to air the place out. That was how the carcass had been brought inside to begin with. Now Dallas realized that there was someone standing in the open front doorway.

Oh my!

Dallas lifted his head and knew that he was going to be lucky if Holly didn’t decide to castrate him anyway. This was obviously a new customer and the poor woman had just stumbled into a seriously stinky office filled with bits and pieces of the deer carcass complete with the pelvic region, hind legs, and even the bristly tail and some additional dried-out flesh hanging off what remained of the spine. It actually looked like the remains of some hunter’s kill post field dressing or butchering.

Holly was already going into action. She still had her hand up over her nose to cover the pungent sickly-sweet scent of death. "I am so sorry, Miss. This is not usually the way we greet our customers!"

Oh, well that’s all right. The woman removed a handkerchief from her purse and placed it against her face. Are those the cadaver dogs?

Holly’s wispy red brows shot straight up toward her hairline. "Uh. Yes. Yes, they are. Mr. Masterson here is the handler of these animals, which he is about to remove from the office."

Actually, you’re the one I want to talk to. The woman nervously addressed Dallas as though she was expecting him to send her packing. I need your help.

My help? He barely managed to stammer.

Ugh. Could he possibly sound any stupider? It was like he was reading a script guaranteed to make anyone think that he was an idiot. And Dallas was killing it. He cleared his throat. Suddenly his jeans and white T-shirt seemed underdressed. He had dust and other stuff on his scuffed brown cowboy boots. He looked every inch the redneck cowboy that he had been raised to be. He could practically hear his mother’s voice in the back of his mind telling him that no woman would ever look twice at a man who picked up his jeans off the floor for a second or even third day of wear.

Holly seemed to second Dallas’s disbelief. Oh, Dallas is just one of our many talented investigators, ma’am. If you can just step over here to my desk, we can chat a bit and find out how we can best assist you.

No. I really need his help. The woman was wringing her hands. See, my mother is missing.

I’m so sorry, Holly said immediately. She moved forward to take the young woman’s arm in an effort to steer her away from the deer carcass. Tell me what’s happened.

The young woman pulled away from Holly. She turned back to Dallas and pleaded. "Can you please help me? They say your dogs can find anyone."

His dogs. Dallas was starting to get a bad feeling about this. The woman appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. Dallas wasn’t so good trying to tell that stuff on women who were so obviously not from the area. There was a certain weathered look that a body got when they were out in the brutal UV rays in and around Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons. This young lady didn’t look like that at all.

In fact, Dallas could not help but notice that she was gorgeous. A pair of black leggings only emphasized the length of that muscular and very well shaped feature. A blue off the shoulder top gave a tantalizing glimpse of her strong shoulder and the bright pink strap of her camisole. The colors really set off her olive complexion. The girl didn’t look like she’d ever gotten a sun or windburn. Her sweet, heart-shaped face was troubled, and her blue eyes were enormous underneath her short mop of blonde curls. She looked like a model. So what was she doing in Wildcat, Montana?

Dallas cleared his throat. Was it really that hard to be coherent? He was acting like a total moron. I’m sorry, ma’am. When did your mother go missing?

She lifted a small, tattered pink and black book. He hadn’t noticed it until that moment, but it made his heart sink. It was obviously a diary of some kind. That was never good.

This is my mother’s diary. Her last entry was on March 31, 1995. She was planning to meet someone here in Yellowstone for a girls only hiking and biking weekend. The young woman was now gnawing her lower lip. She never came home.

Yeah. This wasn’t good. Dallas pursed his lips. He’d handled some cold cases. That wasn’t necessarily unusual in this area. Sometimes when hikers went missing in the fall they didn’t turn up until spring. But this wasn’t a few months.

Ma’am, you’re talking twenty plus years, Dallas pointed out.

Her expression told him in no uncertain terms that she was fully aware of how long it had been. Yes. Twenty years. That’s why I came here. You have cadaver dogs.

About that time Harry and Sally stuck their heads back in through the front door. Both dogs had beat a hasty exit when the opportunity had approached. Now they apparently thought it was a good time to return for their second hand kill.

The young woman brightened. She pointed to the carcass. If they can find that, they can find my mother!

Holly was biting her lip. It was plain to see that the young woman wasn’t going anywhere soon. Ma’am, I’m sorry but what’s your name? Dallas figured that was as good a place to start as any.

Mary Blythe. I’m from Kansas City. I drove in last night and rented a cabin in the park. I just found this diary yesterday morning in an old box full of my mother’s things. The woman pressed her hand to her chest as though she were a bit breathless from her rapid-fire speech. Sorry. I know I’m just belting this all out. You probably hear this kind of thing all the time.

We see some cold cases, Holly said hesitantly. Then she plopped down into her desk chair. "I can’t say I’ve seen any come across this desk that are quite this cold."

Ms. Blythe... Dallas began.

She quickly corrected him. Just Mary please. I’m a teacher and I feel like one of those old crotchety types when people call me Ms. Blythe.

All right. Mary. It felt strange to say her name like that. Or maybe strange wasn’t the word. It felt nice. Her name was nice. Mary. I want to be totally up front with you.

Oh please don’t say no! Mary actually started moving toward him as though she were going to grab Dallas by the front of his T-shirt or something. Just don’t say no. Say maybe. Say you’ll look into it. Say you’ll try. My mother’s disappearance has gone unresolved for more than twenty years! She disappeared when I was ten years old. I don’t know what happened or how it happened or even why. My father keeps saying she ran off with someone else and that she didn’t love me enough to even tell me goodbye. Mary’s voice broke over those words. "I just want to know what happened. I need closure!"

How many times had Dallas heard those words? People talked about closure like it was something they could buy on sale at the store. They didn’t realize the cost though. Or at least that had been his experience.

Holly was giving Dallas the look. Of course by shooting him the look, Holly was reminding him that Callum Mackenzie was going to kill Dallas when or if he found out that Dallas had taken this case. It was a classic no-no for Yellowstone Investigations. They didn’t tie up cadaver dogs or any dogs on cold cases without clear boundaries. A cold case was a bit like a rabbit hole. You never knew how deep or how twisted it was going to get, and this one was probably going to wind up being crazier than most.

Twenty plus years was a long time. There could be absolutely nothing left of Mary’s mother’s body. It could have been torn apart by animals and spread across the whole park. Or it could be lying underneath something or in some protected spot just as fresh as the day of the murder.

Assuming it was murder.

Holly seemed to have the same thought. Has anyone looked into your mother’s disappearance? You said it had gone unsolved or unresolved, but has anyone actually investigated it? Local police? State police? FBI?

Mary made a wry face. That’s just it. Nobody considered her missing. They figured she had run away. That was what my father told them. Why look for a grown woman who ran away from her family and her responsibilities? No. They never looked for my mother. They just judged her and then forgot about her.

Dallas thought of his own domineering mother. If anyone could understand mother issues it was him. This was different, but he could still understand the need to find that elusive sense of closure. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to feel a little less as though he were going to really come to regret what he was about to say.

Please? Her voice was so full of desperation and pleading, he could not possibly have found the gumption to say no.

All right. Dallas had a very strong suspicion that this was going to be a lot more involved that he was ready for. Why don’t you come back in an hour, and I’ll have a contract and some other details ready to go. Holly and I need some time to put together a plan for such an unusual case.

Chapter Two

Mary Blythe felt flushed. So far, the last twenty-four hours had been such a whirlwind of insanity that she could have simply chalked it up to that. She’d found the diary while going through a box of her mother’s things. It had been shocking, but it had also spurred her into the kind of furious fluttering action that often resulted in her feeling frazzled and out of balance. This wasn’t exactly unusual for her to experience. She’d just never had to account for someone like Dallas Masterson.

Stepping out of the Yellowstone Investigations office, Mary finally felt as though she could draw a deep breath. The air was clean and despite the summer heat it was cool. She lightly took the three steps from the front porch to the dusty ground. The offices of Yellowstone Investigation had obviously once been a house. And from what she’d seen so far Wildcat, Montana, didn’t have a lot of those.

She put her hands on her hips and stared out across the wild terrain. The scenery out here was incredibly beautiful. She had never seen anything like it. The sky was so blue. It wasn’t this blue back in Kansas City. In fact, on most days it was more of a pale grayish color. And the mountains! Every direction she turned provided the sort of vista you saw on a computer screensaver.

I now understand the phrase purple mountain majesty.

It was a whimsical and slightly desperate thought. Mary was starting to feel just like that. When she’d asked around the main Yellowstone visitor center, everyone had told her to find Dallas Masterson at Yellowstone Investigations. They were an independent firm. Dallas had dogs. Lots of dogs. Bloodhounds for searching out live quarry and cadaver dogs for finding the dead. Go find Dallas, they told her. And she had.

Mary pressed her palms to her face. Turning, she spotted a huge kennel area to one side of the Yellowstone Investigations offices. She had noticed them when she drove in, but she’d been far too distracted to pay much attention. Now she found herself curious. How did a cowboy like Dallas keep his dogs?

Glancing back at the office door, Mary listened to the low voices deep in conversation. The receptionist and Dallas were still having a very serious talk about the contract they were going to have her sign. Mary didn’t care. She’d sign an agreement for services. That was a no brainer. They needed parameters and expectations. She got that. She just hoped that the money wasn’t too extreme. Mary did have plenty of money. But most of it was tied up in trust funds and her father had always been very controlling when it came to that sort of thing. The last thing Mary needed was for her father to decide he needed to get involved with this search. Elias Blythe was in no hurry to find his wife.

Mary minced her way around the side of the house. The grass was growing higher than her knees back here. It was like a wild prairie. The whole place looked as though the thought process behind their landscaping involved a purely natural approach.

The dogs started barking as she got closer and closer to their kennel. And it was most definitely a kennel. Not that Mary had much experience with such things. She lived in downtown Kansas City and had ever since her father had moved from Colorado Springs after her mother’s disappearance. Mary loved dogs. She’d had a Labrador retriever as a child, but when her mother left there were no more pets in their family. Elias Blythe did not like animals. As a teenager Mary had taken riding lessons at a local barn, but that had been the only exposure to animals she’d had.

The kennel was huge. There had to be at least ten runs all made out of huge slabs of chain link fencing and covered as though someone were afraid the dogs would climb out. Mary walked a little closer and realized that even though the hounds were barking, their tails were wagging furiously as though they were just waiting to make friends.

Hi there, Mary crooned. Aren’t you pretty things?

Their coats ranged from bright red to black and tan or deep russet. Their bodies were lanky and they looked as though there were tight muscles packed beneath all of that baggy skin. Their faces were so very saggy and adorable with their big jowls flopping and their silky ears hanging like ponytails on either side of their face. They were wiggling and dancing and acting as though they were just so very excited to see her.

The resulting feeling of being welcomed was so foreign to Mary that she had to stop and think about it for a moment. She was a teacher. Her students were middle schoolers who were already so far into their rebellious stage that they hated pretty much anyone in an authority position. That wasn’t the rule, but it certainly fit most of the population of her classes.

She lived alone in a tiny apartment behind her father’s large home. Elias had married again, and again, and again, and his wives were quickly approaching the point where they were the same age or younger than Mary and so vacuous and frivolous that they did not make good friends. In the case of her father’s current wife Mary couldn’t even have a conversation with the woman.

Moving hesitantly closer to the door of the kennel on the very end of the row, Mary noticed that there was a cement walkway that went along the front, back, and sides, of the enclosure. On the far end there was a building that probably provided storage for food and other supplies. The dogs all seemed to have an inside portion to their runs and the outside part had a sunshade strapped down to the roof that allowed half sun and half shade against the intense UV rays that streamed out of the sky.

You are just so adorable, Mary murmured as she knelt in front of the dog run. Look at you!

She didn’t stick her fingers through the diamonds in the chain link because that seemed as though it would have been extremely foolish. But she did lightly brush her fingers over the noses that the two dogs were shoving at her through the fence. The black button noses were cold and damp. The dogs kept bouncing and dancing behind the gate as though they were begging her to open it.

Ms.—I mean Mary?

Mary spun around so quickly that she nearly fell over. Dallas Masterson stood about ten feet behind her with a slightly confused expression on his handsome face. Or rather his face wasn’t exactly handsome. That word didn’t come anywhere near being able to describe the rugged, good-looking man. This was a face that had seen sun and wind and probably more UV rays than were politically correct these days. He had a few days stubble along his jawline and his hair was longer than was fashionable. But the bleached blond hair spilling out from beneath his cowboy hat was artlessly tousled and looked so very touchable that she had to clench her hands into fists to keep her mind from spinning endless fantasies about this guy.

He was built like a raw-boned, blue-collar, working type. Mary could not help but compare Dallas to the white-collar, slim-hipped, narrow-shouldered guys who populated her life in Kansas City. They could not even be bothered to open a door for a woman. A few times Mary had wondered if their skinny baby arms were actually too weak to perform such a mundane task. They didn’t do anything but run on the weekends when they weren’t busy kissing her father’s ass at his accounting firm.

Dallas wasn’t like those men. He was all alpha male, big ropy muscles, thick veins standing out on his powerful forearms, and hands that were calloused and tanned. Her gaze lingered on those hands. What would it be like to have them cup her face? Would it feel good? Would it tickle? Would it tickle if she touched the stubble on his jaw?

Mary?

Oh! She felt her cheeks heat up as she realized that she had been standing there staring at him for more than just a few moments. I’m sorry. I was just looking at your dogs. They’re so cute. And they look as though they have wonderful personalities.

He cocked his head at her. The battered cowboy hat shaded some of his expression from her view, but she could tell that he looked contemplative. Then he reached out and slipped the latch on the dog run. Do you like dogs?

Very much. Marry felt her heart speed up as the two dogs bounded out of the pen. I don’t have experience with owning dogs, but there were plenty of them hanging around the barn where I took lessons as a kid.

The two dogs appeared to be on a collision course with her legs, but at the last second, they checked their bounce and sat obediently right in front of her as though they were just dying for her to make the first move.

Mary was fascinated. She put out her hand so that the dogs could take a sniff. They eagerly inhaled her scent and then enthusiastically licked her fingers. She reached out tentatively and stroked their silky heads. Their fur was like velvet. They were warm and they smelled earthy and maybe a little bit dirty. She didn’t mind. In fact, she liked it.

Unable to resist, Mary knelt down and put her arms around the animals. She buried her face next to their silky ears and nuzzled them as though they were her own. The love they lavished right back at her was so incredibly soul satisfying that Mary could not have described it if she tried.

Dallas lightly touched the head of the dog on the right. This is Cal. He moved his hand to the one on the left. And this is Fornia.

Cal, Fornia? Mary started laughing. That’s really funny. Did you name them yourself?

Yeah. He scratched the back of his head and looked almost uncomfortable. I raise all my own dogs from pups. It makes them easier for me to handle.

I didn’t mean to trespass back here. Mary suddenly realized that she probably didn’t belong back here at all. This wasn’t exactly public property. But I saw the kennels when I drove up and I was curious.

Mary glanced behind Dallas and realized that the two dogs that had been chewing contentedly on that carcass in the office were now lying on their sides with their eyes closed in the sunshine perhaps a few yards away from Dallas. The carcass was now sitting on the ground not far from the dogs. Presumably that poor receptionist still had to clean up the carpet a bit.

How come you don’t keep those two in kennels like these? Mary wondered out loud. Don’t they run off?

Harry and Sally? He shook his head. His eyes were blue. Not just blue, but Montana sky blue. It was so disconcerting. Nah. They’re like my kids. They just follow me around all day. I only shut them up if I have to take the other dogs out and they aren’t tagging along.

So these dogs search out live quarry? The process of this dog training and usage fascinated Mary. How do you even teach them to do that?

I have dogs who do better with finding men. Others who can find children. And a few others who seem to be more inclined toward women. He gestured to Cal and Fornia. Like these two. And I also have dogs that can find anything or anyone with just a scrap of scent. It’s kind of a process of trial and error. But I don’t like to wear out my dogs. So I don’t take them out in a huge pack. Just one or two at a time. I guess you’d say that they work in teams.

Mary stood up, but she kept her hands on the silky heads of Cal and Fornia. So you think that Harry and Sally will be able to find my mother?

He rubbed his jaw. He wasn’t hiding anything from her. It was refreshing. What you saw was absolutely what you got. Mary wasn’t used to that at all. She was used to people hiding everything. They didn’t show emotions. They didn’t say what they felt. And they never admitted that they could not get something done. The notion of being unable to do even an impossible task was tantamount to admitting failure.

I’m willing to try, Dallas told her slowly. We need to talk about expectations though. And we should probably go through some of the history of how this all came about. Would you mind doing that?

No, not at all. Mary sighed and put her arms around her body. She felt cold all of a sudden. It was as if the sun could not touch her as she stood here thinking about her mother. I don’t suppose there’s very much information to tell.

Was there a file opened by your local police department?

No. They never actually filed a missing persons report. Mary shivered. She would never forget how angry her father was with her when he found her putting up homemade MISSING posters. He had been furious! My father was very angry with my mother for deserting us. Or at least that’s how he thought about it. I think it hurt his pride. He had to do a proxy divorce and that was really complicated. Once it came through, he sold the house in Colorado Springs and moved us to Kansas City so he could start over.

Did he remarry?

It was odd, but Mary could tell that this wasn’t really a question. Dallas already knew the answer.

Yes. He’s remarried several times. Mary cleared her throat. This was always rather embarrassing to explain to people. Like four times actually.

Dallas gave a low whistle. I’m sorry, Mary. That’s got to be rough.

It was odd. She gazed up at him and wondered how it was possible for this stranger to offer her such sincere empathy when the people she had known most of her life seemed incapable of it. Most of the time people said they felt bad for her, or they were sorry, or that it must be hard, but she had the distinct impression that they were laughing at her.

Thanks, Mary told Dallas softly. I really appreciate that. It is hard. In my mind I’ve never really been able to believe that my mother is dead. It’s like she’s still alive somewhere.

But you don’t really believe that. His low rumbly voice was warm and almost comforting. Plenty of people go through that same thing. That’s why everyone talks about closure. You know? We all need it.

Mary took a deep breath. All right. Let’s talk contract. Shall we?

Sure. He shrugged and then pointed to the open dog run. Kennel up, Cal, Fornia.

The dogs obediently trotted back into their enclosure and turned to give Mary and Dallas some more happy doggy grins. Sometimes Mary could not help but feel that it might be better to be a happy-go-lucky dog than a human who had too much understanding of the nature of life in general.

Chapter Three

Dallas tried not to stare at Mary as they walked back toward the snug little Yellowstone Investigations building. But she was really fascinating and he almost could not help himself. Her blonde curls seemed continually on the move. His hands itched to touch them. He wanted to see if they were as soft as they looked. He suspected that they were actually softer. That would have made sense. She looked so damn kissable and touchable and huggable and yet she was a client, and those thoughts were forbidden.

Dallas cleared his throat as he practically tripped his way up the steps into the building. Dammit. Maybe this would serve to make her completely uninterested in him anyway. He would just be ridiculous and make a total fool of himself and then she’d tell him that he was a dork and that would be it. Problem solved.

Don’t step in the wet spot! Holly’s frantic words stopped Dallas right in the doorway. Holly was holding up her hands. I’m trying to get the grody stuff off the floor!

Okay. Dallas gingerly stepped around the huge damp spot on the wood floor. He did feel bad about what had happened. You know you could leave it. I’d be happy to clean it up.

No. I want it done right. Holly was glaring at him so hotly he could swear that the ends of his hair were getting scorched. Your contract is on your desk. Just go in there, please?

Right. Dallas sighed and led Mary around the messy spot on the floor to the door of his office. Mary, feel free to have a seat anywhere that looks comfortable. I don’t stand on ceremony in here.

Damn. Could he sound more cavalier and just plain weird? It was almost like he was a teenage boy with a confidence issue. He sank into the chair behind his desk and tried not to stare at Mary as she got comfortable in one of his other chairs. They were both pretty hard-backed plain affairs. He’d put cushions on them, but the only people who generally took a seat in here were his coworkers. He didn’t do a lot of consultations. He generally just showed up wherever Callum asked him to with whatever dogs were going to be necessary.

So. Dallas looked at the contract. It was probably pretty straightforward, but at the moment it looked like Greek. You can, uh, read this through if you want. He pushed the contract across the desk. It’s our standard contract, but we’ll need to adjust the times a bit, I think. Usually, a cold case takes a bit longer than the average service agreement.

Right. She seemed perfectly comfortable with the contract thing. S was reading it through as though she were a speed reader and probably a lawyer to boot. It looks pretty simple. So can we talk about how long you think this will take?

Great. This was where it got a bit hairy. Dallas really should have been talking to Callum before committing his time. Maybe he’d just have to use personal time for some of this. That would work. Right? It wasn’t like he had any pups to train right now. The dogs were generally fine, being exercised a few times per week and there wasn’t much to do in Wildcat, Montana.

Tell you what, Dallas drawled. Can you tell me a little more about your case? Then I might have a better idea how long this could take. Where do you think your mother was when she went missing?

Mary pulled the battered pink and white book out of her bag once again. This is what brought me here. The very last entry is pretty blunt. My mother says that she needs time to think before she makes a final decision about filing for divorce from my father. She states that he’s been cheating on her. She gives the name of the woman he’s been sleeping with. And then she says that she’s called her girlfriends Brenna and Tiffany. They planned to go mountain biking in Yellowstone. She mentions Mammoth Hot Springs specifically as if they were taking a trail in that area. She also said that she was afraid of letting my father know that she’d found out about his cheating.

So you think what? Dallas prompted. He grabbed a yellow legal pad and started scribbling notes. Dallas was going to have to go back to the trailheads and see if they had visitor logs back that far. He needed to find out where Mary’s mother might have started out on her bike trip. Tell me what your take on this is. What prompted you to think that you needed to come here for a cold case search? Why not just assume that your mother made her decision while she was here in Yellowstone, decided it was easier just to leave instead of go through a divorce, and then she decided to never go home.

Mary half came out of her seat. Dallas sat back as he watched the emotions spill across her pretty face. He’d made her mad. He felt bad about that of course, but it needed to be done.

She didn’t just leave! Mary said fiercely. She wouldn’t have left me like that!

All right. Dallas spoke to her as though he were talking to one of his dogs. Then tell me what you think happened.

I think my dad found this. She waved the diary in the air. I think he was shocked by what he read on that entry and I think he went up to Yellowstone, found my mother, and killed her. Then I think he hid the body here and pretended she had just run off.

Do you remember that time? Dallas measured his tone and carefully selected his words. He’d dealt with plenty of distressed people during his time as an investigator. He knew how to be tactful without losing his seriousness. Do you remember the weekend when she left?

Yes.

What do you remember?

Everyone was tense. I didn’t understand why. I didn’t know why my father was so pissed off. He took me to visit my grandparents that weekend. His parents. They died about five or six years ago. While we were there, my dad left for a while. He said he had to go to work for a while, but nobody would really say much about it.

Sometimes the point of view that people developed over their life could be biased. It was absolutely possible that Mary might just believe everyone was conspiring against her mother when it was actually her mother that had been behind a conspiracy. Do you think your grandparents knew what was happening?

I don’t know. She sighed. I’ve tried to look at that before. I’ve wondered if that was why they were tense and really crabby that weekend or if they just knew that my parents were having marital problems. It’s totally possible that my father just told them he was going up there to confront my mother about her decision to file for divorce. He wouldn’t have mentioned anything about the cheating. They never believed that he was a cheater. Not even when my first stepmother caught him in the act. They thought their son was perfect.

Dallas considered that statement. There were two distinct possibilities for that scenario. So either they knew he committed murder, felt it was justified because he was so perfect, and covered up for him. Dallas felt that was probably unlikely. Or they were too convinced that he was perfect to believe that he could ever be guilty of something like murder.

I think they just thought he was perfect. Mary sighed and pressed the balls of her hands to her eyes. I hate thinking about this. I hate even considering the possibility that my father murdered her! Couldn’t he have hired someone?

That just makes the culprit harder to find, but yeah. Dallas grunted. Let’s just focus on finding a body. All right? We don’t have a murder until there’s a body at this point. Right?

Right.

So I need to do some checking around. We have to find some concrete record of your mother’s presence in this park. And it’s a big damn park so this might take some time. Dallas sighed. This was the part that people always hated when it came to cold casework. So you should probably go home and just relax and try to get back to your regular routine. I’ll update you weekly.

No.

Okay. Now what? Dallas wasn’t the type of person to just start ordering someone around. It was her choice. He chuffed out a big breath of air. It would really be better to go home, Mary. You’re going to be driving yourself crazy and you’re missing work.

It’s summertime, she said flatly. I teach middle school science.

Science? He felt a stab of interest. That was kind of fun. He shoved that aside. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that right now. Work. That was what mattered. Okay. So then I suppose that’s up to you. But I’m not going to be dedicating myself twenty-four-seven to this case. It doesn’t work like that. If we have acute issues with hikers disappearing and stuff, then that takes precedence over a cold case. Do you understand?

I get it. She shrugged. My mother isn’t very likely to be out there alive. I know that. I’m not stupid. I have logic. I have science. I just want to know what happened to her. And want a shot at making the person who did it pay. She bit her lip. Even if it was my father.

Dallas truly doubted that she could be anywhere near prepared for that possibility. Most people were not. They didn’t understand just how crazy fierce it was to feel as though someone you loved had murdered someone else that you love. Dallas had seen that scenario play out more than once. It was never pretty.

He stood abruptly and so did she. So I’ll be in touch then. He touched the contract. Did the fee seem fair?

Yes.

Dallas felt at a loss. He didn’t usually take care of this part. You can chat with Holly about that. If you want to come back tomorrow since you’re staying here in Wildcat. He frowned. I assumed that. Sorry.

No. I’m at the Wildcat Inn.

That was a pretty posh place. The hierarchy of cabins, hotels, campgrounds, and other accommodations was usually pretty strange around Yellowstone in general. Places like Wildcat were unincorporated towns that popped up just for that purpose. They were usually former ranches or otherwise that then turned into places to stay for the hordes of people who flocked to the park for vacation.

Dallas was beginning to wonder if there was a bit more to her situation than she was really telling him. All right, then I will contact you there. And please stop by tomorrow and have a chat with Holly. I’ll probably try to head over to the visitor center closest to the bike trails in and around Electric Peak that might have a record of your mother. Dallas glanced at his watch. I could probably do that today at some point.

Can I come with you?

Uh. Dallas didn’t know what to say about that. What was he supposed to say to that? He didn’t have a reason to say no. At least not really. He just felt like he shouldn’t have to have her tag along for this entire process. He didn’t like people. Not usually. I guess. That would be fine. I—uh—I have some stuff to do before I drive over there. How about I stop by the front desk at the Wildcat Inn when I’m ready? Will that be all right?

Sure! She sounded so relieved that Dallas felt like an ass for even considering the possibility of telling her no. That would be so great. Thank you so much!

Mary headed for the door. She was so pretty. She was so unlike anything here in Wildcat or Montana or pretty much anything else that Dallas was used to. He felt like he needed to somehow protect her from everything in this rough place. But before he could say a word, she was already gone and he was left staring out the door like an imbecile.

Harry and Sally came trotting through his door and plopped down on their bed in a heap of body parts. Dallas stared at the two dogs. He felt a sudden shot of anticipation mingled with actual nervousness. Could his dogs possibly find that body? It was over twenty years cold in whatever shallow grave it had been left in. If there was even a grave.

Turning in his seat, Dallas stared at the huge map of Yellowstone hanging on his wall. He stared at Electric Peak and then began identifying established bike paths and mountain biking trails that had been around for that long. Where was she? Where had she been? Where would three women go if they wanted to camp and bike in fairly rough territory?

The question bugged him for several reasons. Twenty years. It wasn’t necessarily unusual for someone to go missing here in the park and never be found. There were plenty of documented cases. Just like there were more than he’d like to hear of where hikers or climbers found more or less mummified remains. The terrain was unforgiving and did not give one inch for inexperience or stupidity.

So why would a woman who had come to the park with friends have disappeared by herself? What had happened to her friends? Had anyone even bothered to ask them? Had they filed a missing persons report with the park? It was almost as if there had been some kind of cover up going on. Had the police down in Colorado Springs been part of some good-old-boy network? Or had something more sinister been unfolding in Yellowstone over the last several decades?

Chapter Four

Mary paced back and forth in front of the massive fireplace inside the Wildcat Inn. The lounge area of the old log cabin-style structure looked like something out of an old western movie. The fireplace was made of stone and the hearth was so big she probably could have had a seat inside the thing. Even thought it was the beginning of summer there was a fire crackling away in the fireplace. The stone facade stretched up two stories and included a mantel that appeared to have been carved from an entire tree.

She rested her hand on the mantel and felt the smoothness of the wood. Had her mother come to a place like this? The diary said that Meredith Blythe had intended to camp. Mary had been ten years old. She didn’t remember her mother being the type of woman to even want to camp.

With a deep sigh, Mary took a seat in a huge leather chair. The brass tacks holding the leather together were enormous but the chair was surprisingly comfortable. Mary crossed her legs and sat back as she began to read the diary for what felt like the millionth time.

Ma’am?

Mary glanced up to see the tanned and weathered face of the front desk manager looking down at her with no small amount of concern. She tried to smile back, but she really wasn’t feeling all that friendly right now.

Ma’am, did you find the gentleman you were looking for? I believe you said you needed to find Dallas, right? The grandfatherly man looked very concerned for Mary’s welfare.

Yes. I did find Dallas Masterson, Mary told him with a friendly nod. Everything is just fine. I’m waiting for Mr. Masterson right now in fact.

Ah. That’s good then. He still looked troubled.

That bothered Mary for some reason. She found the older gentleman to be very charming. She didn’t like the idea that he was somehow worried or upset on her behalf. Do you know Mr. Masterson? Mary asked him. I mean, have you known him for a while or anything? It seems like this town is just so small that everyone must know everyone else.

You could say that. His warm smile was almost too nice. Was this what they often referred to as the casual warmth and hospitality of the West? The man lowered himself into another chair beside Mary’s. I’ve known Dallas since he was born. He grew up here in Wildcat. Back then this whole area was still wild. We’re downright civilized now.

Mary could not help but laugh. There’s almost no emergency services or public transportation or any other modern conveniences out here! How can you say it’s civilized?

Well now. We’ve got plenty of medics at the ranger stations. Why I think we’ve even delivered some babies around here. He was chortling and chuckling as though he’d just told the most marvelous joke. That’s how Dallas was born. Then he grew up running with the dogs and riding horses and pretty much roaming all over this park and Electric Peak in particular.

Mary could not even fathom such an existence or that sort of hedonistic childhood. Then he must be incredibly comfortable out there.

Most of those investigators are. The old man’s face clouded just a little. The man that owns the firm, Callum Mackenzie. He’s a little standoffish. But then most people come out to the middle of nowhere for a reason. Don’t they?

I suppose they do. Mary was thinking about her mother. My mother camped here in Yellowstone more than twenty years ago and that was the last time anyone saw her.

Was she on her own? His bushy gray brows lifted and he looked mightily concerned. No one should camp out here on their own.

No. She was with her friends.

The old man frowned. Well then, did her friends report her missing?

Mary suddenly realized that she did not know the answer to that. How odd. If her mother had gone mountain biking with her two best friends, why had the other women not reported her missing? Why hadn’t Mary even considered that? What if all of this was for nothing?

The man patted her knee. Dallas will help you figure all that out. You’ll see. He’s a bright kid.

Donal, are you telling tall tales again?

Mary swiveled her head around to face Dallas’s unexpected appearance in the lounge. The old man’s face broadened into a huge smile. Obviously he liked Dallas Masterson. Although Mary was hard-pressed to imagine anyone who would not. Dallas’s friendly and easygoing smile could probably put anyone at ease. He was handsome, rugged, and absolutely laid back. What else was there to ask for in a guy?

Donal stood up and clapped Dallas on the shoulder. The lady tells me you’re helping her to find her mother.

I’m going to give it the old college try, Dallas drawled. We’re heading over to the Ranger Station and the Medic at Mammoth Hot Springs to chat about their log books.

Donal’s eyebrows seemed to have a life of their own. They bounced and bobbled and waved as he seemed to be seriously considering everything that they had told him so far. Finally he took a deep breath and gave a serious nod. That’s probably as good a place as any to start looking. But you know your business better than I do.

I just hope old Harry Holloway is on duty, Dallas mused. That man has been a ranger here in Yellowstone practically since the park was made official. He might actually remember Mary’s mother.

Donal gave a sage nod. The man has a mind like a steel bear trap. That’s for sure.

All right then. Dallas looked to Mary. Shall we?

Yes. I’m ready. Mary picked up her jacket and her shoulder bag. She wasn’t a complete city girl. She knew that it was important to have water, adequate clothing, and a few other necessities when you went out into Yellowstone National Park. It had been known to snow up here in the middle of summer.

Dallas flashed her a quick grin. To Mary’s embarrassment, she felt her heartbeat quicken and her palms begin to sweat. She flushed red hot and tried to tell herself that she was being very silly. The guy hadn’t even expressed any kind of interest in her. He had just been nice. That was all. Nice. He wasn’t asking her out, professing his love, or otherwise trying to put the moves on her. Why was her body reacting in such a ridiculous way?

You two be careful now. Donal waved as Dallas and Mary left the lounge of the Wildcat Inn.

When they were safely outside, Dallas glanced down at Mary. I hope Donal wasn’t talking your ear off. He gets lonely out here. Most guests have no shortage of things they want to do while they’re here. People just don’t sit around and shoot the breeze much anymore. Donal has to go down to the mercantile in order to get any decent conversation and I don’t think he can do that as easily as he once could.

He seems very nice. Mary waited while Dallas opened the door of a white pickup truck in order to help her into the passenger seat. I enjoyed talking with him.

She waited for Dallas to get into the vehicle. He ran around the hood of the truck and pulled open the driver’s door. Once he was inside, it only took him a moment to start the engine and put it in drive. Mary bit her lip and wondered if she should tell him what she’d realized.

Mr. Masterson, I want to apologize.

For what?

She gave him a sideways look from the corner of her eye. He seemed utterly calm. I just realized that my mother wasn’t alone when she was here in Yellowstone. She had come with her two best girlfriends.

You mentioned that.

But if she’d gone missing while they were here, don’t you think they would have reported it? Mary felt so silly. It was like being back in school and missing all the easy questions on a test.

But Dallas only shrugged. You never know. It’s hard to say what their reasons were for keeping her disappearance a secret. Or maybe they filed a missing persons report. You never know. The Colorado Springs police never seemed to take any of this seriously. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t reports. It just means that nobody ever followed up.

Right. This was all starting to make a twisted sort of sense. Because my father didn’t want them to.

It sort of seems that way. It happens sometimes. Dallas was resting his right forearm on the open window of his pickup truck. When someone has motive and the authorities don’t have something like a body to spur on an actual investigation.

Because you can’t have a murder without a body, Mary muttered. She stared morosely out the window. I’ve heard that a hundred times.

That isn’t true. He seemed so matter-of-fact.

She turned to gape at him. You must be joking! How can you have a murder if there’s no body?

It kind of depends. It doesn’t have to be a whole body. He was warming to his topic and Mary realized that Dallas Masterson was the sort of man who thrived on forensics and science. If you can establish through DNA that there was enough blood at a potential crime scene that the person who did the bleeding could not possibly have survived the experience, then you can assume that there was a death even if the body is not present or accounted for. He picked up speed as they drove out of Wildcat toward Mammoth Hot Springs. Or you might have body parts. That’s usually enough. You don’t have to have the whole body. There have even been cases where murder was established just through behavior, motives, and circumstantial evidence. It’s tougher, but it can be done.

The idea of never finding her mother’s body was daunting. Mary wanted that closure. She wanted to know that her mother was dead and buried and at peace. She began breathing very quickly as she struggled to hang onto her composure.

Hey. Dallas reached over and lightly touched her forearm. Don’t worry. We’ll find something. All right? You never know. We might be heading for the crucial piece of evidence right now. It could be weeks or even months down the road. The point is to look and to keep looking until you establish some kind of truth that you are comfortable with.

His words were strangely comforting. For so long nobody had even believed Mary when she spoke of her mother’s probable demise. She was laughed off or told to just accept the truth. Her mother hadn’t loved her. Her mother had deserted her. Those possibilities hurt badly. But here was a man willing to look at the situation with new eyes and from another viewpoint entirely.

Have you ever been to Yellowstone before? Dallas asked suddenly.

Mary’s gaze was drawn to the window. The afternoon sun beat down on the breathtaking landscape. It was utterly wild and completely uncivilized and there were moments when Mary felt so absolutely insignificant that she almost could not imagine the enormity of this place.

No, she admitted. I haven’t ever been here before. It’s phenomenal. She thought about that for a moment. It’s really—dramatic. I think that’s the only word I can come up with and that feels too small. If I look out the window I sometimes cannot believe that there can be a place like this. It’s like nothing has ever touched it. Or like it’s stuck a hundred years ago in time.

It certainly can feel that way. Dallas chuckled to himself as he followed the signs for the Mammoth Hot Springs medical tent. Have you been to the Roosevelt Lodge? That could make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time for sure. I swear the place was decorated by Roosevelt himself and just left that way for the last few decades.

Don’t you think it’s quaint and very... she struggled for a description, I don’t know, historically significant?

Sure I do. He swung the truck down a smaller side road and Mary saw the outline of a huge building that had to be a hotel. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a bit of a trip to step back in time.

Is that the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel? Mary felt awed by the fact that she was currently riding toward a place mentioned so prominently in her mother’s diary. My mother mentioned that place. I kept wondering if that’s where she stayed.

What kind of financial situation was your mother in? His words were casual, but Mary sensed a wealth of important meaning behind that question.

Mary bit her lip. That’s kind of complicated.

What do you mean?

My mother was the one with the money. Mary sighed. "She came from a very wealthy family. When my parents married, my grandparents made some pretty significant contributions to the young couple, if you get what I mean. By the time my mother was considering divorce my father would have owed her a ton of money because my grandparents had died and left her everything. She had put it in the marital pot, so to speak. But I’ve spoken with several attorneys who all told me because it was inheritance from her family, it would not have been split in half as the rest of the assets gained during marriage."

Dallas’s expression was grim. So he had a mighty motivator and your mother would have had no qualms about paying for such a posh hotel in this place.

I feel like this is where she would have stayed. She liked to mountain bike, but my mother wasn’t the type of woman to rough it.

Dallas pulled into a spot in front of the medic station. It was almost like a tiny town tucked into the primitive and wildly beautiful landscape. There was a small grocery, the hotel, the medic station, picnic and camping areas and even a little post office. Mary marveled at all of the available amenities as she got out of the truck. This place was amazing and there were people roaming around everywhere. It looked like someone had taken the population of Kansas City and then dumped it on the terraces of the hot springs right here in Yellowstone.

Let’s head inside and have a chat with the medics. Sometimes old Harry Holloway hangs out in here. It’s either that or the visitor’s center. We can hit them all and then check the hotel too. They might have visitor’s records from that far back.

Mary felt a jolt of mingled surprise and perhaps a bit of anticipatory horror as well. This was it. She was about to find out if there was an actual record of her mother here in Yellowstone National Park. She had driven all night and struggled