else?”
“As if Chester never went anywhere?”
Judith considered Renie’s comment. “I’m not sure. The Gundys, especially Mrs. Gundy, seem muddled.”
“Okay,” Renie said, “if Pepper is a Gundy, she must be related. Why else would she be checking on the Zs?”
“Right. She and Wayne were surprised to find the roomette occupied. Therefore, they must’ve known the Zs took off—with the older Gundys.” Judith studied the Post-it.
“Chester, born in 1936. He may be her father and the senior Gundys’ son. Where do we go from here?”
“If only we had a laptop, we could check it on the Internet.”
“Somebody must have one,” Judith said. “I’ll bet Matt does, but their roomette was dark when we went by.”
“Too bad Emily didn’t swipe one of those.” Renie leaned closer to the window. “The clouds are moving away. You can see the full moon.”
Judith was surprised that she could also see some of the softly rolling landscape. “It’s beautiful. Is this farming country?”
“I think so,” Renie said. “Wheat and cattle ranches. There’s a grain elevator. And a house. No snow.” She studied her Amtrak guide. “The Fort Peck Dam is around here. There used to be an air base, but it was closed several years ago. The Milk River runs through the town. Lewis and Clark thought it looked like a cup of tea with milk poured into it, but it’s that color because of glacial—”
“Shut up,” Judith snapped. “We’re slowing down,” she noted.
“This must be Glasgow. How long will we be here?”
“Not long. It’s another small town on what’s called the Hi Line that the Great Northern built through virtually unpopulated territory a hundred—”
“Shut up! All I want to know is how long we’ll be in Glasgow.”
“We’re almost stopped,” Renie said. “The station must be on the other side of the train. I can’t see anything but more grain elevators.”
Judith stood up. “I’m going outside to call Joe. He’ll still be up.”
“You won’t have time, you could get a bad connection. He might be going to bed early. Their flight tomorrow morning is at eight…”
Judith didn’t hear the rest of Renie’s protests. She grabbed her jacket and moved into the corridor. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, no one was in sight. The outer door was shut, but she was undaunted. As she grasped the handle, the train began to move again.
“Damn!” Frustrated, Judith felt the train pick up speed as it passed a closed farmers’ market, a vacant baseball field, and the serpentine curves of a murky river. Cursing herself for not moving faster and wishing Renie had stopped blabbing, she headed for the steps. Female voices floated down the stairwell. Judith recognized Maddie and Tiff before she actually saw them.
“You!” Maddie exclaimed from the next to the last step. “What did you do with our pictures?”
Judith took a deep breath, regaining her aplomb. “I kept them.”
“You’re a thief!” Maddie moved closer, her expression menacing. “We’re calling the cops.”
“Go ahead.” Judith remained calm. “You trespassed. I have a witness.” If Mother can remember who I am, let alone the so-called Santa elves. “It’d help your cause if you told me why you lied about the rental and came onto our property to take photos without permission.”
Maddie and Tiff exchanged quick glances. “You have no proof,” Maddie finally said. “We wanted pictures of the neighborhood before we talked to the rental agent. People in real estate do that all the time.”
“Then,” Judith said, “let me see the other photos, especially the ones of the rental and the rest of the cul-de-sac.”
Maddie’s blue eyes flashed with anger. “We don’t have them here.”
“You don’t have them at all,” Judith countered. “You shot the front of our house, but nothing else in the cul-de-sac. Let’s cut a deal. Tell me why you took the pictures of Willie and I’ll drop the charges.”
“Screw you.” Maddie nodded at Tiff. “Do it.”
Judith and Tiff were the same height, but the younger woman had a lean, willowy body and no apparent physical flaws. As Maddie stepped aside, Tiff grabbed Judith’s upper arms and shoved her back toward the outer door. Maddie was already there, trying to turn the latch.
Judith dug in her heels and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Hurry up!” Tiff urged.
“Somebody might hear her.”
Judith screamed again, but her struggle to loosen Tiff’s viselike grip was doomed. All sorts of hopes and fears raced through her mind. The door must be locked. Her fierce resistance could dislocate her hip. Someone would hear the commotion. Pain ate away