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.Everyone in the canyon knew about the bones.Once he started asking about Ginger, any fool would put two and two together."It was her bones that were found in the Cardwell Ranch well.""No kiddin'." Leroy seemed genuinely surprised."You ever date her?" Hud asked.The old cook let out a cackle."She wasn't interested in some cook.Not that girl.She was looking for a husband—and one who could take care of her.""Someone with money.""Money.Position.Power.And it didn't matter how old he was, either," Leroy said grudgingly."Like Angus Cardwell."Leroy nodded."He was old enough to be her daddy, too.Guess she thought the Cardwell Ranch was his.Dropped him like a hot potato once she found out Mary Cardwell wasn't going to let loose of that land though.""Know who she dated after Angus?" Hud asked.Leroy chuckled and took a sip of his coffee before he said, "Sure do.Went after the eldest son."Hud couldn't hide his surprise."Jordan?""Oh, yeah," Leroy said.He wondered why he'd never heard about this."You're sure? You said you could barely remember what you had for breakfast this morning….""I was here the night Jordan came by and the two had quite the row," Leroy said."They didn't see me.I was just getting ready to bust the two of them up when he shoved her and she fell and broke her arm."Hud felt a start.The broken wrist bone."Jordan broke her arm?" he asked in surprise."How, in this canyon, did something like that happen and not be public knowledge within hours?"Leroy flushed."Well, that could be because she was ready to file an assault charge against Jordan—until he promised to pay for all her expenses, including medical costs and lost wages.""He paid you off, too," Hud guessed.Leroy shrugged."Cooking is the most underpaid profession there is."So that's how Leroy started his nest egg to buy the café."So what were Jordan and Ginger arguing about?""Seems he thought they had something going on," Leroy said."She, however, had moved on to higher ground, so to speak."The waitress returned and slid a huge plate covered with thick-sliced roast beef and a pile of real mashed potatoes covered with brown gravy and a side of green beans and a roll."So they didn't patch things up?" Hud asked in between bites.Leroy laughed again."Not a chance.Jordan tried to make it up to her, but she wasn't having any of it.Nope, Jordan was history after that.""And this higher ground, you spoke of?" Hud asked.Leroy wrinkled his brow."I just knew Ginger.She'd found herself someone else, probably someone with more potential than Jordan.Ginger didn't go five minutes without a man.""But you don't know who he was?"Leroy shook his head."She took off time from the café while her arm healed.Didn't see much of her and then…she was just gone.I assumed she'd taken off with the guy.Her roommate said she packed up what she wanted of her things, even gave away her car, and left.""Her roommate?""A bunch of girls bunked in one of those cheap cabins near the café but you know how it is, some last a day on the job, some a week.Very few last a summer.I barely remember the one roommate that Ginger used to hang with.A kind of plain girl, not a bad waitress though.""This friend never heard from her again?" Hud asked as he ate.The food was excellent.Leroy shrugged."None of us did, but we didn't think anything of it.Girls like Ginger come and go.The only thing they leave behind is broken hearts.""Ginger have any family?" Hud asked."Doubt it or wouldn't someone have come looking for her? I got the feeling she might not have left home under the most congenial circumstances."Hud had the same feeling."Try to remember something more about this girl who befriended Ginger.""She didn't work at the café long." He slapped his forehead."I can almost think of her name.It was something odd.""If you remember it, call me," Hud said, throwing down enough money to cover his meal and cola."I wish you wouldn't mention this to anyone."Leroy shook his head, but Hud could tell that the moment he left, Leroy would be spreading the word."Wait a minute," Leroy said."There might be someone you could ask about Ginger." He seemed to hesitate."Ginger used to flirt with him all the time when he came in." The cook's eyes narrowed."You're probably not going to want to hear this…"Hud let out a snort."Let me guess.Marshal Brick Savage.""Yeah, how'd you know?" Leroy asked, sounding surprised.Hud smiled."Because I know my father." He had another flash of memory of a woman in red.Only this time, he heard her laughter dying off down the street.As Hud climbed into his patrol SUV, he turned south onto the highway and headed toward West Yellowstone and the lake house his father had bought on Hebgen Lake.He couldn't put off talking to his father any longer.Chapter Nine"I wondered when I'd be seeing you," Brick Savage said when he answered the door.The former marshal shoved the door open wider and without another word, turned and walked back into the house.Hud stepped in, closed the door, then followed his father to the back part of the house to the kitchen and small dining nook in front of a bank of windows
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