Page 4 of Setup In Montana

If no one had entered the facility after lockdown, then it limited the pool of suspects to someone inside Shady Rest.

* * *

CLANCY TRIED TO still her growing panic. What did it matter that the killer had seen her? It wasn’t like he or she had any reason to come after her.

Unless… The thought sent her spiraling again. Unless the killer thought Clancy had recognized him and could identify him.

But she couldn’t. She hadn’t gotten a good look at the silhouetted figure at the window, but did the killer know that?

Her mind whirled. She realized she had no choice. She had to run. Max was a great sheriff. He’d find the real killer once she was gone. Hopefully before the killer found her, but she couldn’t count on that.

Shakily, she called her boss. “I’m sick. I have to leave. Can you please come right away?” Grass Range was small enough that her boss wasn’t far away, thankfully. She promised herself she would call the sheriff from down the road and tell him everything.

The moment her boss arrived, Clancy picked up her backpack and headed for the trailer she rented out back. It didn’t take long to pack what little she owned. She tossed a few things into the back of her car, keeping her backpack up front with her.

The sky had darkened with the impending thunderstorm. As she climbed behind the wheel, she feared someone would try to stop her. The wind whistled through the crack in her car doors. She checked her mirrors, unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched.

But as she started the engine, she saw no one. She glanced at her gas gauge. She had enough to get to Roundup, the small town not far outside Billings. She would call the sheriff from there.

Pulling away, she didn’t look back, still afraid the killer would be coming for her. But as she turned onto the highway, she did a quick check of the rearview mirror, and didn’t see anyone in pursuit. No one watched her go—at least no one that she saw.

She held her breath as she sped up. Ahead, there was nothing but the two-lane highway all the way to Billings and hardly any traffic this time of year. No cars followed her. Her rearview mirror remained empty.

Clancy gripped the wheel as she tried to breathe. She’d left. She’d done it. And before her twenty-fifth birthday. If she had needed a sign that it was time to move on, this was it.

* * *

WHILE THE SHERIFF suspected the killer was someone inside Shady Rest, he still wanted to check on the place’s security. If it was possible to get in without setting off an alarm, he wanted to know.

When asked about that, Vernon quickly shook his head. “The doors are locked at ten p.m. each night. Anyone who comes in after that has to be let in. Each person is required to sign the book at the door. According to the book and the person on duty,” Vernon said, “no one was allowed into the building last night.”

“Who is on duty at night?” Max asked.

“I live here on the premises, so I’m always around at night, but we also have a staff member on duty.”

“Who was on duty last night?”

“Sarah. Sarah Brooks. She’s worked here since Shady Rest opened,” the manager said. “She is one of our most valued employees.”

As Max considered that, he glanced toward the residents huddled outside Vernon’s office, and saw two women with their heads together. They seemed to be arguing over something. “Excuse me a minute,” he said and stepped out of the office in time to hear a snatch of their conversation.

“We should say something,” the larger of the two residents said, sounding angry.

“It wasn’t her,” the other resident said in a small but firm voice. “Don’t go getting her into trouble.”

Max walked over to the two women. “Is there something I should know?”

The smaller of the two pinched her lips together and shook her head at her companion. He looked to the other one. “If you have information that could help me with my investigation, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“I’m not saying Clancy had anything to do with this, but—”

“Myrna!” the tiny woman hissed.

“He asked for our help, Jane,” Myrna snapped back. “Everyone heard them arguing the afternoon before the murder.”

Max frowned. “Did you say Clancy?” He knew his wife’s cousin was in Grass Range, but Goldie had said she was working at the convenience store on the highway.

“Everyone hated Esther,” Myrna said, letting it all out. “She was a hateful person and a thief.”