Justice at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels Page B

senior year, I guess.”
    “But the two of you broke up?”
    “I can’t understand how that—”
    Liza gave her one of her less-than-perfect-toothed smiles. She’d been born with a slight gap between her front teeth that her parents had found cute and she had never gotten around to changing. “Humor me. I actually know what I’m doing.”
    Shelby sighed, making it clear she had her doubts about that. “Fine. Yes, I dated Tanner, I don’t remember when we broke up.”
    “Or why?”
    The yoga instructor’s eyes narrowed in challenge. “No.”
    “Here’s the thing, I’m trying to understand why Tanner killed himself and why now one of his friends has been murdered.”
    “I’m sure there is no possible connection,” Shelby said with a mocking laugh as if now she knew Liza didn’t know what she was doing.
    “So Tanner didn’t kill himself over you?”
    “No!”
    “So you weren’t that serious?”
    Shelby fumbled for words for a moment. “It was high school. It seemed serious at the time.”
    “To you. Or Tanner?”
    “To both of us.” She sounded defensive and realizing it, gave a small laugh. “Like I said, it was high school. ”
    Liza looked down at her notebook. “Let’s see, by that spring, Tanner was dating Brittany Cooke? Wasn’t she a friend of yours?”
    Shelby’s mouth tightened. “Tanner was sowing his oats before graduation. I can assure you he wasn’t serious about Brittany.”
    “Oh? Did she tell you that?”
    “She didn’t have to. She wasn’t Tanner’s type.” Shelby straightened several things on her desk that didn’t need straightening. “If that’s all, I really need to get back to work.”
    “I forgot what you said. Did you date Alex?”
    “No, and I’d lost track of him since high school.”
    “That’s right, he’d moved down to Bozeman and had only recently returned to Big Sky for the class reunion?”
    “I assume that’s why he came back.”
    “You didn’t talk to him?” Liza asked.
    Shelby thought for a moment. More than likely she was carefully considering her next answer. If Liza had Alex’s cell phone in her possession, she would know who he called right before his death—and who’d called him.
    “I might have talked to him since I’m the reunion chairwoman. I talked to a lot of people. I really can’t remember.”
    “That’s strange since you talked to Alex five times in two days, the last three of those calls just hours before he was killed.”
    Shelby didn’t look quite so put-together. “I told you, it was about the reunion. I talked to a lot of people.”
    “Are you telling me he didn’t ask you about Tanner’s alleged suicide?” Liza said.
    “ Alleged suicide?”
    “Apparently, Alex had some questions about Tanner’s death.”
    Shelby shook her head. “I might have heard that, but I wouldn’t have taken anything Alex said seriously.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice even though they were the only two people there. “I heard he had some sort of breakdown.” She leaned back and lifted a brow as if to say that covered it.
    “Hmmm. I hadn’t heard that.” Liza jotted down a note. “Whom did you hear this from?”
    “I don’t—”
    “Recall. Maybe one of your friends?”
    Shelby shook her head. “I really can’t remember. I’m sure you can find out if there was any truth to it.”
    Liza smiled. “Yes, I can. What about Brittany?”
    “What about her?” Shelby asked stiffly.
    “Do you still see her?”
    “Big Sky is a small community. You’re bound to see everyone at some point,” Shelby answered noncommittally. “She and her husband, Lee Peterson, own a ski shop up on the mountain. Now I really do need to get to work,” she said, rising to her feet.
    “Did you see Tanner the night he died?”
    “No. As you are apparently aware, we had broken up. He was dating Brittany. If anyone knows why he killed himself, she would, don’t you think?”
    “Even though she and Tanner weren’t that serious about