Before Memories Fade Read online

  Luna had become convinced Gertrude Durham was Irene Southerland and was now living in Buckhorn. Did she still have the half-million-dollar stolen brooch? Luna certainly hoped so. She wanted her father, who was ready to retire, to end his career on a high note by retrieving the brooch for the insurance company that had insured it.

  Even now, Luna couldn’t believe that she’d gotten Gertrude in her chair. Now she held her breath as she waited for the woman’s reaction to what she’d done with her hair. She couldn’t believe how anxious she was that Gertrude would like it.

  * * *

  GERTRUDE HAD REGRETTED doing this the moment the young woman had begun to wash her hair. She might have gotten up and left except she didn’t want to be seen walking down the street with her hair dripping wet.

  She clenched the handle of the mirror tightly and tried to swallow back her fear. Why had she agreed to this? She should have just met Ike at the café this evening looking like she always did—overalls and trucker’s cap over her wild gray hair. It wasn’t as if she was trying to impress him. He knew her. Intimately. And she knew herself only too well.

  Better yet, why hadn’t she gone with her first instinct and run?

  Slowly she lifted the hand mirror and felt such a start that she feared she’d made a sound. She blinked and swallowed again. She looked like her old self—though older. The shock brought back memories that flooded her with regret and longing. It amazed her that just doing something with her hair could take years off her face. She stared at herself as if seeing not a stranger—but her real self after all this time.

  “The longer bob accentuates your high cheekbones and is becoming, don’t you think?” Luna asked as if she couldn’t stand the suspense any longer.

  All Gertrude could do was nod as Luna swiveled the chair so she could see the back as well. “You put something on it.” The words felt as if she was speaking around a mouthful of pebbles.

  “Just a light rinse that took away some of the harshness of the gray,” the young beautician said. “Do you like it?” The woman sounded hopeful.

  Gertrude nodded again and handed back the mirror. “You did a good...job.”

  Luna smiled, bringing sunshine into the room. “I’m so glad.”

  Her enthusiasm, while contagious, also made Gertrude suspicious. The woman had practically roped and dragged her down here to the salon.

  “I hope you’ll mention it to your friends. You’re a walking billboard for my salon.”

  Luna’s words made Gertrude relax. Of course she wanted to start with the worst-looking woman in town to kick off her new business. But surely Luna knew that Gertrude didn’t have any friends. Nor was she planning on making any.

  That thought came as a sharp reminder of her dinner date with Ike. She likely wouldn’t have a future after tonight. Even if Ike didn’t have a team of agents waiting for her at the café, how could she stay in Buckhorn? The FBI couldn’t be that far behind Ike. Just the thought of where she might go, what she might do, made her ache. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted to stay in one place until she’d painted the little house behind the garage yellow and white. She’d actually been thinking about planting some flowers. Maybe even a tree or two. She’d wanted to put down roots for the first time in her life.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  JAXSON COULDN’T HELP being nervous. He hadn’t dated in more than three years. He wasn’t sure exactly how this date had even happened. He told himself it was too soon and yet he couldn’t wait to see Luna again. Not that he didn’t feel guilty—maybe especially because Luna was nothing like his late wife.

  Amy had been blonde, petite and shy. He’d practically robbed the cradle since she’d been six years younger, a mere twenty to his twenty-six. It had been two years since she’d died.

  Even after all this time, dating had been the furthest thing from his mind. It was just dinner, he told himself. But that wasn’t what really bothered him. It was Luna and the way she made him feel. Just the thought of her stirred a desire in him stronger than any he could remember.

  He arrived at the café twenty minutes early and pretended to study the menu. He’d eaten here enough that he had it memorized. Like most small Montana town cafés, the most exciting entree on it was chicken-fried steak. Fortunately, that was his favorite. He wondered what Luna would order. He expected to find out she was a vegetarian. Then again, the woman could surprise him. The thought made him smile and he was just starting to relax when she walked in—ten minutes early.

  * * *

  LUNA HAD SEEN how pleased Gertrude had been. At one point the woman had teared up before she paid and left. It surprised her how much that had touched her. She’d also forgotten how fulfilling it was to make someone happy by simply cutting and fixing their hair. Her mother would have understood why Luna was feeling conflicted.

  She’d come here to expose Gertrude and see the woman headed to jail before the statute of limitations ran out. And with luck, get the brooch back. Not that she wasn’t going to go through with it. She was doing this for her father, even though he’d fought her for a while, afraid it was too dangerous.

  But as she watched Gertrude head down the street toward the gas station and garage, she almost wanted her to get away with all of it.

  The townies began to show up all afternoon with the coupon specials she’d handed out, keeping her busy until closing. She barely had enough time to go upstairs to her apartment and dress for her date when her phone rang.

  She’d forgotten about taking Gertrude’s fingerprints off the wine glass and texting the impressions to her father after the woman left the shop. It amazed her what could be done by computer.

  “Is Gertrude Durham also Irene Southerland?” she asked as she answered the phone.

  “Your instincts were right on. It’s her. But we still don’t know that she was the getaway driver or that she has the brooch,” he said. “But your part is over. You hear me? Leave it up to the law now.”

  “I have to go. I have a date.” Before he could say more, she disconnected. The clock was ticking. If she wanted to get the brooch and have Gertrude arrested before the statute of limitations ran out, she’d have to do it soon—no matter what her father said. She couldn’t chance that Gertrude might suddenly run.

  But while she now knew that Gertrude Durham had gone by the alias Irene Southerland and been involved with a man deep in money laundering, she had no proof that Gertrude had been the getaway driver. But the woman in the security photos from the heist and the money-laundering bust, and the woman who’d sat in her salon chair earlier looked alike. Not to mention the fact that a piece of jewelry had been dropped off at a church not that far from Buckhorn by a woman who’d matched Gertrude Durham’s description.

  Luna checked the time. Jaxson would be waiting for her at the café. Just the thought of him had her going through her closet looking for something fun to wear. She felt sexy tonight. It had been a good day, starting with Gertrude. She’d made quite a lot of money as well and met more of the local women.

  Not that she was staying once this was over, she reminded herself. But it was nice to be welcomed to the community anyway.

  She chose a yellow sundress with spaghetti straps and a modest neckline. The dress was flirty with a swing skirt that hit her a good six inches above her knees. She chose strappy heels and fluffed her hair instead of spiking it. Standing in front of the mirror, she smiled at her reflection. Tonight she just wanted to enjoy herself since it was probably the only date she would have with Jaxson.

  He was already waiting for her in a corner booth when she walked in. She felt his gaze lock on her as she headed toward him.

  “Hey,” she said as she smiled at him and slid into the opposite side of the booth. Jaxson had dressed up for the date in a button-down pale yellow shirt, which made her smile broaden. The man really was gorgeous.

  “You look beautiful,” he said and cleared his throat.

  Bessie Caulfield, the owner and wife of war hero Earl Ray, came over to say hello to Jaxson and asked how Luna’s first day at the salon had gone.

  “I might have to do something with this mop of mine,” Bessie said, touching the long gray braid hanging off one shoulder.

  “I’d love to help you if you decide you want something new,” Luna said, realizing how true that was. Bessie was a beauty inside and out from what she could tell. Saying that their waitress would be right with them to get their drink orders, the woman moved on to another table.

  Luna smiled over at her date, wondering how this night might end.

  * * *

  JUST AS SHE’D FEARED, Gertrude caused a stir when she walked into the café a good five minutes before seven. Fortunately most people in town this time of year ate early and had already left. But the few that were finishing their meals looked up in surprise. In fact, it took some of them a while to even realize who she was.

  Gertrude had spent years avoiding attention, but she had to admit it was rather fun shocking some of the old biddies in town. She saw Luna sitting in a booth with a good-looking young man. He wasn’t wearing his deputy marshal uniform, but she still recognized him for the cop he was. She hoped he wasn’t here because of her. She’d hate to spoil Luna’s date. She felt almost affectionate toward the young woman.

  As she took a booth facing the door, she touched her hair and, realizing what she was doing, quickly picked up a menu from behind the sugar container against the wall. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know what to order, but it had been a long time since she’d eaten anywhere but at home.

  It surprised her that he wasn’t already waiting for her in the café. He’d always had this thing about being early because his parents had always been late.

  It was well after seven and she’d been thinking he wasn’t going to show when she heard the door open. She could feel her heart pounding in anticipation of seeing Ike again. Or was it drumming because at any moment the café could fill with armed FBI agents? Had he turned her in? Was this dinner just to throw her off guard so they could take her without a fight?

  She looked up, half-afraid it would be the latter. Ike walked in and stopped. She heard the café quiet as the locals took in the stranger in town. Ike, even older, was the kind of man who drew attention. There was an intensity about him as well as a physical presence. He was beautiful and always had been.

  His gaze fell on her and he smiled, the smile going to his eyes, as he started toward her. Gertrude thought her thrashing heart might bust from her chest. She felt such a stab of longing. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this man. Or how good it was to see him. Even if only once more.

  CHAPTER NINE

  IKE SLID INTO the booth. She’d done something to her hair and changed out of the overalls. Not that it mattered to him, but it made him hopeful. He saw below the surface when it came to her. He’d always liked what he’d seen even when he’d known he should cuff her and take her in to jail.

  “You look just like you did the first time I saw you,” he said, meaning it.

  She shook her head, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. “What are you doing here, Ike?”

  “Having dinner with you, Gert.”

  She gave him an impatient look as she slid his menu over to him.

  He wasn’t interested in food, but at least they could talk while they ate. It had been a huge relief to see her sitting here waiting for him. “I was afraid you might have run again,” he admitted as he opened his menu.

  “And yet here you are.”

  “I’d hoped you wouldn’t.” He met her gaze over the menu and held it. He hadn’t been sure of what he would do if she’d taken off again.

  She pulled free of his stare. “I thought about it.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  The waitress came to take their order. Gertrude pointed to the Cobb salad and said she’d like a coffee, black. Ike said he’d take the pork chops and coffee with cream and sugar. They closed their menus and the waitress tucked them back against the wall behind the sugar, salt and pepper containers.

  “Ike, please, what do you want?” Gert asked the moment the waitress was out of earshot. She sounded close to tears.

  He’d never seen her cry and didn’t want to now. He leaned across the table toward her. “What have I always wanted, Gert? You.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not the woman you knew back then.”

  “You’re that woman and so much more.”

  “What are you saying?” she demanded.

  “That we belong together.”

  She shook her head. “I was happy here.”

  He saw defiance in her look. He’d never met a more independent woman. He knew she’d grown up dirt poor. He’d seen in her a need to be someone else, which had led them both to this point. But he sensed the reason she hadn’t run was because that need no longer burned in her. Maybe, like him, she wanted just to be content and no longer chased by the demons of the past.

  “All right. Then I could be happy here as well.”

  She laughed. “You really don’t expect me to believe that you’ve changed that much, do you?”

  He looked past her and frowned. She turned, startled and afraid of what he’d seen. “Do you know them?” he asked quietly.

  “That’s the deputy marshal and Luna Declan from the new salon,” Gert said. “She’s the one who fixed my hair.”

  Ike felt his heart drop as he realized they had less time than he’d hoped.

  * * *

  LUNA HAD SEEN Gertrude come into the café to the surprise of the locals still having their dinners. She was surprised as well. She’d never seen Gertrude in the café in all the time she’d been in town. She liked to think it had been the new hairdo that had made her venture out.

  Jaxson asked her a question. She was in the middle of answering when the man walked in the door and headed for Gertrude’s booth.

  She felt a stab of shock. The man was older but still recognizable as former FBI agent Ike Shepherd. He’d been the lead investigator on the museum jewelry heist. Luna had studied the crime at university. Ike had even come to her class to talk about how the FBI handled the investigation.

  The two male thieves had been caught, but they’d never given up the female getaway driver. They’d both gotten killed in a prison break.

  She’d been fascinated by the story even before she found out that her father’s insurance company had insured the jewelry. Now all but that one piece—the diamond brooch the size of a teacup saucer—had been retrieved. It was a case that had haunted her father for years and intrigued Luna.

  It was Ike Shepherd who she’d seen earlier at the gas station, she realized. Had he come to arrest Gertrude before the deadline? Luna couldn’t explain the sudden protective feeling she had for the older woman. Luna had never cared about the deadline. All she’d come here to do was get the brooch back to the museum for her father.

  Now she feared that Gertrude had gotten rid of it after the former FBI agent had shown up at her gas station. Worse, if he came here to take her to jail—

  “Is everything all right?” Jaxson asked, turning his head to glance in the direction of Ike and Gertrude.

  “Fine, sorry. I was just admiring Gertrude’s hair,” she said. “She was my first customer today at my official opening and I have to admit, I love the way her makeover turned out.”

  He didn’t look as if he believed her entirely but seemed satisfied for the moment. He’d had to have seen her shocked expression at seeing Ike join Gertrude in the booth.

  “You were telling me how you got into law enforcement,” she said.

  “That’s boring,” he said. “I need to apologize to you.” He seemed to hesitate. “This is the first date I’ve had since my wife died.”

  In surprise, she said, “I’m so sorry.”

  He shook his head. “It’s been two years, but I just haven’t felt like...dating.” His gaze came up to hers. “Until I met you.”

  She was taken aback by his admission. “I’m...flattered.”

  He smiled. “I hope my telling you about Amy doesn’t ruin our date.”

  “No,” she said quickly and reached for his hand. “How long were you married?”

  “Just a year. She was killed in a car wreck.” He swallowed and pulled back his hand as their drinks were brought out by the waitress. She’d ordered iced tea. Jaxson had gone with a cola. They both took a sip, letting the silence stretch between them.

  Luna tried not to look in the direction of Ike and Gertrude’s booth. But when she did, Ike met her gaze with a surprised look of his own as if he wasn’t the only one who’d been recognized.

  CHAPTER TEN

  GERTRUDE DIDN’T THINK she could eat a bite. Why had she agreed to this? She wanted to believe that the FBI wouldn’t be raiding the café at any moment. That everything Ike was saying was the truth. Maybe she’d lived a lie for so long that she no longer recognized the truth.

  “You can’t be serious about wanting to live in Buckhorn,” she said, fiddling with the silverware the waitress had brought with their coffees.

  “Why not?”

  She chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t see you here.”

  He met her gaze. “I can see myself here. As long as I’m with you, Gert.”

  Gertrude warned herself not to get her hopes up that he wasn’t just stalling for time before the rest of the troops arrived and took her into custody. “Are you still with the FBI?”