Lethal Deception (9 page)

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Susan’s last words still rang in her ears. “You haven’t heard the last of this. Alexis should be mine to raise. I want her. I love her. I don’t know how you convinced Kara and Jacob to do this, but it’s not over.”

April 6

Thursday afternoon found Gabe staring out his kitchen window. His boat rocked gently against the side of the dock as the water rose and fell. The sun burned brightly. It would be a beautiful day for a ride on the lake. He wondered if Cassidy and Alexis would like to take a spin on it one day soon. Then he wanted to kick himself for thinking about her again. Why did his mind insist on replaying their days together?

He had blue skies, warm weather and three weeks of vacation left. He should be relaxing and enjoying life. Instead it just meant that he had way too much time to think.

He needed to keep his distance. Micah McKnight’s memory kept popping up too much lately. Probably because of Cassidy. Once he started thinking about her, he started thinking about Micah. And when he thought about Micah, he thought about Cassidy. It was a vicious cycle he couldn’t turn off. He knew he should stay away, but what if she was still in danger?

So far, Cassidy hadn’t had any more problems since she’d arrived home, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen. Unfortunately, Gabe knew he should continue to keep his distance from her as secrets had a way of coming out when you let your guard down. And when he was around Cassidy, she tended to sneak past his emotional armor.

But he owed her an apology.

Gabe reached around and pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in her cell number. He wondered if she’d answer.

“Hello?” She sounded distracted. Good.

“Hi, Cass.”

Silence from her end didn’t reassure him. He cleared his throat and tried again. “So, what are you doing?”

“Checking my e-mail. Obviously not checking my caller ID.”

Gabe choked back a surprised laugh. “I, uh, called to apologize. I was a jerk.” There. No dancing around the topic.

“Yes. You were.” Apparently, she wasn’t in the mood to dance, either.

“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”

Her sigh reached his ear. “I suppose I should. After all, you did save my life.”

“Yeah, you would think that would count for something these days.”

That earned him a weak chuckle. Progress.

He turned serious. “Listen, Cass, I’m really sorry. I thought about what you said, and you’re right. I was judgmental. I was just…I can’t really…” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Okay, Gabe, you’re right, you were a jerk and I was mad, but I forgive you.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Silence.

Gabe asked, “Does God forgive like that?”

“Of course. If He didn’t, I sure wouldn’t be able to.”

He gulped. “Do you think you’ll be able to forgive me about Micah?” Maybe they’d salvage a friendship.

More silence. Then she said softly, “I’m working on it, Gabe. Mentally, I understand how the military works. It’s my heart that has a hard time accepting it. And his body was never found, which gives me this irrational hope…”

Gabe sighed again and decided to change the subject. He knew Micah was dead. His injuries were too severe. “Cassidy, we need to figure out who set you up to be snatched from that orphanage. And we need to figure it out fast before they strike again. You need to keep bodyguards close by.”

“Gabe, I’m surrounded with security. This place is well protected, although I suppose when we leave, I’ll have to consider the bodyguards. Especially in light of the will.”

Gabe mentally smacked his head. He should have thought to ask about that. He’d come back to the security issue in a minute. “Yeah, I meant to ask. How did the reading go?” Silence from the other end. “Cass?”

A deep sigh whispered across the line. “It went. Let’s put it that way.”

Gabe wondered what she wasn’t saying. “Tell me, Cass.”

“Alexis inherited some money and her aunt and uncle were not happy about not getting custody. It’s not over yet. They’ll sue. To be honest, I think Susan really does want Alexis. But Kara was adamant that she didn’t want Brian around the child. Kara loved her sister, but hated the way Brian came between them.”

“Ah, man, I’m sorry. Not only could you have a fight on your hands to keep Alexis, you might still be fighting to stay out of a killer’s way. We need to figure out how to keep you safe.”

“Well, why don’t you join me for dinner tonight and we’ll see if we can do some brainstorming about who could possibly benefit with me out of the picture—and how to avoid that happening.”

Gabe thought that an excellent idea. Before supper, he’d do a little research of his own. After they said their goodbyes, he ran up the stairs to turn on his computer. He still had friends in high places. One of them was Craig Monahan, a detective with the local police force who had a lot of pull with the higher-ups in law enforcement.

C
assidy hung up the phone feeling better than she had in weeks. Amy had been a good listener over the past couple of days, and Cassidy appreciated her friend’s attentive ear, but settling things with Gabe definitely helped ease her mind.

Marguerite stepped into the room as Cassidy powered down her laptop. She said, “Your parents went out with Amy’s parents, so I just cooked up a casserole. One of your favorites. Chicken potpie.”

Cassidy smiled at the cook. “What a great idea. I invited Gabe to join us.”

Marguerite laughed. “That’s fine. There’s always plenty.”

“I know. Thanks, Marguerite.”

Three hours later the doorbell rang and Cassidy two-stepped her way to the door and then paused to get her breath and calm her racing pulse. When she pulled the door open, Gabe stood on the front porch wearing jeans and a black T-shirt that did wonderful things for him. She drank in the sight then remembered her manners. “Come on in, we’re in the kitchen going casual tonight.”

“Hi, Cass, you look great.”

Cassidy felt herself flush at the admiration in his eyes and smiled. “Thanks. Feeling safe agrees with me, I guess.”

He frowned. “Don’t remind me. We’ll talk about that later.”

Cassidy led the way into the kitchen. The enticing aroma made her stomach growl.

Alexis grinned when Cassidy stopped by the high chair to drop a kiss on the tot’s head. “Hi, my Cass-ty.”

“Hi, my Lexi.” She turned to Gabe. “It’s a game now.”

Alexis banged her spoon on the high chair and said, “Hi, Gabe. Kiss!”

Cassidy snickered and Gabe walked over to bow in front of the little girl. “Your wish is my command, little princess.” Then he leaned over and placed a kiss on her upturned nose. That sent her into peels of giggles and Gabe’s face softened to mush. He smiled and buried his face against her neck and blew raspberries until Alexis was breathless from laughing. At that moment, Cassidy knew what a great dad he’d be one day.

Gabe smiled a sad smile and said, “She sure does look like Kara with those blond ringlets and blue eyes, doesn’t she?”

Cassidy nodded. “Yeah, she does. She’s going to be beautiful, just like her mama.”

Alexis perked up. “Mama? Where? My mama?” She held up her little cracker-covered hands, palms up, as she asked the question.

Tears surfaced and Cassidy quickly blinked them back, but said softly, “She’ll forget her soon.”

Gabe lay a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll remind her.”

Cassidy nodded. “You bet. Okay, let’s lighten things up a bit. Marguerite, that smells wonderful.”

Cassidy noticed Marguerite take a sneaky swipe of her eyes with a paper towel before turning around. She’d known Kara as long as Cassidy had, but the cook put on a smile and said, “Thank you, darling. Here we go.”

Finally, everyone was settled around the kitchen table that seated twelve comfortably. Marguerite joined them for supper and Cassidy enjoyed catching up with her. Gabe seemed to enjoy the atmosphere also. Conversation flowed from topic to topic then Gabe finally said, “I did some research before coming over. We need to talk when you have a chance.”

Marguerite stood, her dinner finished. “All right, I can take a hint. I’ll get the little one ready for bed while you two chat.”

“Oh, but you don’t have to do that,” Cassidy protested.

Marguerite waved her off. “Please. I love doing it.”

Cassidy acquiesced. “All right then, thanks. Gabe, you want to move into the den?”

“Sure.” Gabe pushed his chair back and followed Cassidy into the plush, comfortable living area. Polished hardwood floor gleamed and the Oriental rug had Gabe wondering if he should take off his shoes. The plasma television that hung on the wall played the March Madness tournaments.

He gestured toward the screen as he took a seat on the couch. “You like basketball?”

Cassidy grinned. “Love it.”

“No way!” He leaned back, relaxed. Cassidy dropped beside him on the couch. Amusement gleamed in his dark eyes. “The princess is into sports?”

“Ah, Gabe, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Sadness flickered briefly. “Yeah, I know. Maybe once we figure all this out, we can do something about that, huh?”

What did he mean by that? He was interested in possibly pursuing something between them? Romantically? Or just as friends? Fingers of hope danced along her nerves as butterflies took flight in her stomach. Somehow she managed to nod once and say, “Maybe.”

Gabe shifted and opened the folder he had brought with him. “So, here we’ve got some information on Brian and Susan Cooper, Alexis’s aunt and uncle.”

Cassidy frowned at him. “What kind of information?”

“Financial stuff.”

“Why would you need that?” Surely he didn’t think Brian and Susan had anything to do with her being kidnapped.

“Cass, someone is out to get you. I simply tried to think about who would benefit the most with you out of the picture. I came up with two names. Brian and Susan Cooper. If they got custody, they not only get the kid, but the money that comes with her.”

Cassidy sucked in a deep breath as she thought about that. “Yes, I suppose if something were to happen to me, a judge would most likely award custody to them. I don’t think the will ever actually stated that they
weren’t
to get custody. What else did you find out?”

“They’re swimming in debt.”

Cassidy felt her eyes go wide. “Really? Wow. How much? I know they just got twenty-five thousand. Surely that’ll take care of most of it.”

Gabe shook his head. “Not even close. We’re talking well over a quarter of a million.”

Cassidy felt as though someone had sucked all the air from the room. “But how?”

“Living way beyond their means…and gambling. Mostly gambling. And I bet Brian is in pretty deep with some not-so-nice characters. Which is probably why he needs the money that comes with Alexis.”

“Oh, no. Gambling?”

Gabe pulled out more papers. “Craig was able to get a court order and got copies of everything, from phone records to airline info. Tickets to Reno, Las Vegas, etcetera. Receipts for drafts on credit cards. Loans from the bank. They’re going to lose their home if something isn’t done fast.”

Cassidy felt sick to her stomach. It certainly sounded like a motive for a kidnapping to her. With Cassidy gone, the Coopers would no doubt gain custody of Alexis—along with her money.

“So, what do we do?” she asked.

“Keep digging. See if I can find some proof that the Coopers are behind your abduction. It’s a good theory, but without proof that’s all it is…a good theory. But—” he held up a finger and pointed to a stack of papers beside him “—Craig also got ahold of Brian’s and Susan’s cell-phone logs. Being a suspect in a kidnapping investigation opens all kinds of legal doors.”

“What does that tell us?”

“Not much at the moment, but there were an awful lot of calls made to the lawyer from Brian’s cell. Nothing much showed up on Susan’s.”

Cassidy shrugged. “So? He’s their lawyer. There’s nothing illegal about calling your lawyer a dozen times a day.”

“True, but the calls started up in earnest about a week after Kara and Jacob were killed.”

Cassidy rubbed her eyes. “So you think when Brian and Susan learned that Kara and Jacob were killed, they started making plans to get custody of Alexis—no matter the cost?”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, I do, and I think they came to the conclusion that if you weren’t a factor, they’d get Alexis. Plus, they knew you’d be in contact with Oliver Morgan about the will. So, my guess is, they were all working together. Maybe bribing Morgan to give them information on your travel agenda.”

“And arranged to have me disappear into the jungle. But what’s in it for Oliver Morgan?”

Gabe rubbed his thumb and fingers together for the universal sign for money. “I bet he got a nice little bonus added to his legal fees if all went well. Craig’s still looking into his activities. But it looks like the two men have known each other for a long time.”

“So that’s why the lawyer tried to say he never received the codicil?”

“He probably figured it was worth a shot. If you didn’t have a copy, there’d be nothing you could do. Of course, I’m sure they didn’t plan on you coming back to provide the copy. But since you did, he didn’t have a choice but to follow it. However, I bet they’re still trying to hatch a plan to get custody—and the money. Craig’s also going to request the guy’s computer hard drive and do a little investigating on that.”

Cassidy narrowed her eyes. “They can plan all they want, but Kara and Jacob entrusted Alexis to me. And nothing short of death will keep me from fulfilling my promise. Nothing.”