Borrowed Identity (20 page)

“That one word floated into my dreams. I remember feel
ing safe.” She rolled her eyes. “If only I’d known what was really happening around me.”

“Well,” Michael said, “let’s get this over with.”

They went into Margo’s house without knocking. Kelly didn’t feel right about it, but she followed Michael’s lead. He searched the place thoroughly. She was amazed at some of the places he looked. He turned over drawers to expose the bottoms. He felt the top of every door, running his fingers along the ridges. He even went through the refrigerator and stared into each individual ice cube as if something important might be hidden inside.

Kelly watched in stunned silence.

Eventually her mind wandered, and she became lost in thought. She saw her dreams swirling down the drain. Gone were the future children she’d hoped to have. Just last week she’d been happy, ready to marry and start a family. Now she was left with nothing but could-have-been.

Michael dumped a second ice tray and started to crush each cube.

“What are you looking for?” She had to ask. “Aren’t we supposed to be searching for maps or something? I doubt they’re small enough to fit into ice.”

“I don’t want to leave a single stone unturned,” he replied briskly. “If there is a clue here as to exactly what happened to Margo and who did it to her, I want to find it.”

“What do you mean ‘who did it to her’? We don’t know for sure anything happened to her.”

“Actually, we do.” Michael left the icy mess on the countertop to stand beside Kelly and look into her eyes. “I didn’t tell you about this before, because I didn’t want to scare you. But I see how I hurt you with my lies and my silence. So I want to tell you everything now.”

“Everything?” Fear clutched her throat.

“I found a picture of Margo. I’m sorry, Kelly, but your neighbor is dead.”

Kelly gasped. “No! Not Margo. She was so kind.”

“I know. I am sorry. If there was anything I could do to change it, to spare you this, I would.”

“But why?” she asked. “Who would do something like that to a nice old lady?”

“I think Margo was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Michael took Kelly by the shoulders as if he needed to hold her steady—keep her from bolting. “Maybe the killer needed somewhere to hide. Or perhaps he knew about the diamonds and wanted the plans. That could be why I haven’t found them yet. They might not be here anymore.”

Kelly shook her head in disbelief. What was happening? She had lived at Moore House for years without any trouble. Now, all of a sudden, people were being killed all around her.

Her gaze focused on Michael. Things had been normal until he and his brother had come into the picture. She realized she had only Michael’s word for any of this. What if his badge was a fake and the whole thing was a setup? They could be trying to drive her away from Moore House so they could search for the missing jewels.

Suspicion reared its ugly head once again. She had a choice. She could believe in him, accept his protection. Or she could find a way to get rid of him. The police might be interested in hearing a murder had been covered up in their jurisdiction.

“I found it!”

Michael’s yell caught her attention. He was bent down, peering under the kitchen sink. He had a roll of papers in his hand.

“What is it?”

Michael’s happy grin lit up his dark eyes. He spread the papers out on the table in front of her.

“Don’t you recognize it? It’s a few crude drawings of Moore House. Maps, if you will.” He bent his dark head and studied them for a moment. “Look. Here.” He pointed at a corner with his finger. “According to this, there is an opening in the study somewhere along the wall. If I can just figure out how it opens…”

“The map doesn’t tell you?”

“No, angel.” Michael smiled at her. He grabbed the papers, holding them against his chest. “Let’s get back to the house and check it out. If I’m right, we’ll find a secret door in your bedroom, as well.”

Kelly shivered at his prediction.

If he was right, anyone could enter her bedroom as she slept and—

It was too horrible to even think about.

Chapter Twelve

Back in the study at Moore House, Kelly was feeling like a fool. She ran her hands down one side of the bookcase, groping for something that shouldn’t be there, while Michael repeated the action on the other side. Nothing happened. Splinters would be her only reward if she kept this up much longer.

She wasn’t surprised. She didn’t expect a magic door to suddenly burst open. Regardless of what Michael insisted the papers hinted at, there weren’t any secret passages in her house. She would have found them by now if there were.

“My mother is in the hospital for a reason, you know,” Kelly said. “I can’t believe you took her seriously when she talked about hidden passages. There aren’t any.”

“I don’t get it,” Michael said. He went to the desk and lifted the paper with the study drawn on it. “According to this, the door should be right here.” He gestured to the bookcase.

“Hey,” he exclaimed, “I saw a movie once. The mechanism to spring the door was dressed up like a book. It was made of wood or something and when it was pulled out, the door opened.”

She sighed in frustration. There wasn’t any use in arguing with him. He’d made up his mind. Since she couldn’t convince him, she decided to help him. Together, they moved
each book out an inch or two. When nothing happened, they went to the next book. On and on.

Kelly heard the front door slam. Someone had come inside, probably Wade.

“Kell? Are you here?”

It
was
Wade.

Relief swept over Kelly, easing the tension, until she saw the look on Michael’s face. He didn’t like or trust her friend. She gave Michael a reproachful glare, hoping he wouldn’t attack Wade the second he saw him. She was certain Michael wouldn’t hurt Wade physically—he wasn’t that type of person—but even a verbal assault could scar her sensitive friend for life.

“I’ll handle him,” she said. “You can finish looking for your mysterious door.”

“Maybe you should ask your buddy Wade if he knows where the entrance to the passages are. He hangs out here often enough. He probably knows more about this place than you do.”

“I doubt that.”

Michael’s attitude left a lot to be desired. Wade was a good person. At least he didn’t lie to her. When it came to Wade Carpenter, what you saw was what you got. He couldn’t deceive someone if his life depended on it.

“You are far too trusting,” Michael said, reminding her of the way his brother had gotten into her house and through her defenses. She wanted to wipe that smug look from his face, but she didn’t have time. She had a guest waiting for her.

Kelly hurried to find Wade.

He was in the kitchen, surveying the damage with damp eyes. She knew exactly what was going through his mind. They had worked so hard on the room. In fact, the only room they had put more time and effort into was the master bath.

She reached up to place a hand on Wade’s solid shoulder.

He glanced down at her, smiling through the sadness. “I’m sorry, Kell.”

“What are you apologizing for? It’s not your fault.”

Wade shrugged without further comment.

His eyes widened and he lowered his voice to ask her a question. “Michael here?”

“Yes, Wade. He’s here. But don’t worry. Michael is not a bad guy.” At his expression of disbelief, she added, “He works for the government. He’s trying to catch a killer, and he’s not the man who treated you badly. That was his twin brother, Jimmy.”

“There are two of them?”

“There were two of them,” she said. Was she giving Wade too much information? Michael was undercover, after all, and Wade wasn’t known for being able to keep secrets. On the other hand, who was he going to tell? Most people treated him like a fool. They wouldn’t listen to him if he said the sky was blue. “Michael’s brother was killed in this house. Michael is pretending to be his brother right now, though, so we need to keep quiet about it.”

“I don’t like him,” Wade announced. He folded his arms like a petulant child. He struck his head against the wall. “I wish he’d go away.”

“If you got to know him, you would like him. He’s a great guy.” She smiled, hoping her true feelings didn’t shine through. She still hadn’t forgiven Michael for lying to her, and she doubted she ever would. “Do you think I would lie to you?”

“No. Never. Friends don’t lie.”

Kelly swallowed hard, mentally numbering all the lies Michael had told her since his arrival. Each and every one for her own good, of course. Wade had a nice, unrealistic view of the world.

“Your box is in the back of Michael’s car.”

Wade gasped. “Michael’s car? Did he see it?”

“Relax. Michael didn’t look in the box. You trusted me with it, and I wouldn’t betray you like that.” She paused, knowing he wasn’t going to like her next suggestion. “But I think you should show him the contents of the box yourself.”

“No!”

Kelly was startled by Wade’s reaction. She hadn’t heard him shout before.

“Wade, Michael is like a cop. There might be something in that box that can help him figure out who killed his brother.”

“I don’t care.” Wade pouted, sticking out his lower lip. “I don’t like him. He’s mean.”

“Someone is trying to hurt me, Wade. Do you care about that?”

“Yeah. I like you, Kell.” His expression changed in an instant, filling her with regret. Wade took everything to heart. She had to be gentle with him. “Who wants to hurt you? Michael?” he asked.

“No, Wade. Michael is trying to help me. He wants to catch the bad guys before they
can
hurt me.”

“Okay.” Wade headed for the front door. “I’ll get the box. You can let him see it.” He stopped abruptly. “I’m not in trouble, right? Bobby Watts says if I keep finding stuff the cops are gonna lock me away somewhere and throw away the key.”

“Bobby Watts is an idiot. Why do you listen to him? I promise that showing Michael the box won’t get you into any trouble. Do you trust me?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

Wade left to retrieve the box and Kelly raced to the study to retrieve Michael. This could be the breakthrough they needed.

M
ICHAEL AND
K
ELLY WERE
standing in the doorway when Wade brought the box inside. Michael remembered how Kelly had struggled with that same carton that very morning as they left the hospital. He’d offered to help her, but she hadn’t wanted him anywhere near the box. Now he knew why. She had been protecting her good friend Wade.

The man was a muscular ox. He could probably bench-press his own body weight. Michael thought about the night Kelly had been attacked in her room. Wade would have snapped her neck like a flimsy stick. He couldn’t be the person they were tracking.

On the other hand, Michael still didn’t trust him. For all they knew Wade could be working with Jimmy’s killer.

Wade reluctantly set the box on a side table in front of Michael. “Here,” he said.

Kelly poked Michael in the ribs with two fingers, reminding him in her subtle way to be nice.

“Thank you,” Michael murmured, forcing out the words.

He opened the box and peeked inside. What a collection of junk! He didn’t know where to begin. There were rocks, marbles, a clothespin and numerous other miscellaneous items. There wasn’t anything in here that could possibly help him figure out the identity of his brother’s killer.

And that was when he saw it.

Glittering at the bottom of the box like fool’s gold, it sparkled in the light and instantly caught his attention. Michael carefully plucked the chain from the carton. He held it up to the light. A round black charm hung from an expensive gold chain. There was something engraved into the charm. He had seen this necklace many times before, in photographs, but this was the first time he’d seen it in person. He held it up and studied the engraving with a sense of awe.

“Does it mean something?” Kelly asked, “It’s a strange design.”

“It’s not a design,” he corrected her. “It’s Arabic for Zu.”

“Who?”

He glanced from her to Wade. Michael didn’t want to talk about Zu Landis in front of Wade. He waited, staring at Kelly until she made the connection between the name and the assassin he’d mentioned before.

Her mouth formed a pretty O as she remembered the conversation. She took the necklace from his hand, carefully, as if she feared it would crumble into dust.

“What does it mean?” She asked the question with a fearful frown.

“Well…” He chose his words carefully. “If Landis isn’t here now, he was at one time. This is the proof.” He took the chain from her and held it high. “He killed my brother. He must have.”

With huge eyes she glanced around her. She hugged herself, looking as if she was going to jump out of her skin at any second.

“Do you think he’s still here? Could he be watching us right now?”

“I don’t think so.” Michael’s hand went to her spine, stroking her back in an effort to comfort her. Wade’s jealous scowl did not go unnoticed by him. “Landis is a professional. If he saw I was alive, it would take him all of two seconds to remedy the situation.”

Kelly shivered, and Michael cursed his choice of words. She was frightened enough without him compounding the emotion.

“What do we do now?”

Before he could reply, the front door swung open after a heavy knock. The door was unlocked. Paddy entered with a broad grin on his face. His warm eyes immediately went to Kelly. He stuck out a meaty hand with all of the grace of a charging bull.

“You must be Kelly Hall,” Paddy said. “It is a pleasure to meet you at last, my dear. I work with Tag here.”

“Tag?” She stared at Paddy as if she didn’t understand English anymore.

“Taggert. I call him Tag for short. We go way back. When he hired me to find his brother, I was afraid I would discover the man conning a sweet young lady like yourself.”

She frowned. “You didn’t seem to mind enough to warn me. You could have saved me a great deal of trouble.”

“Hold on there,” Paddy said. “Tag was paying me to do a job. He specifically told me to hang back, so I did. It’s not like I was enjoying watching that boy play games with you.”