Love Inspired Suspense December 2015, Box Set 2 of 2 (29 page)

Her eyes grew wide, and she jammed her fist against her lips to keep from screaming. A woman, her blond hair soaked with blood, lay in the entry of the mansion.

“It looks like someone didn't want us to talk to Christine Abbott,” Lucas said.

Mia looked once more at the still body and then ran to the edge of the porch, leaned over and proceeded to lose all the ribs she'd eaten earlier.

CHAPTER TEN

A
s soon as he'd viewed the body, Lucas had recognized Christine Abbott from the pictures of her with Kyle Lockhart. He'd seen enough death when he was a navy SEAL to know that she'd been dead for some time.

“I-is that Christine Abbott?” Mia whispered when she returned to his side.

He settled his mouth in a grim line and nodded. “Yeah.”

“What do we do?”

Lucas pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “We call this in to the police, then we go to the car to wait for them to arrive.”

“But don't we need to see if she needs help?”

He glanced over his shoulder at Mia. Her eyes held a glazed aspect, and it was if she couldn't look away from the scene in front of her. He took her by the hand, led her down the steps and opened the car door.

“Stay in here where it's warm until the police get here.”

Mia's chest heaved with short gasps as she stared past him to the front door of the house. “But what if she's still alive? Maybe we can do something.”

“Look at me, Mia,” he ordered. She might have been deaf for the reaction his words had on her as she breathed heavily and gazed at the front door without blinking. Afraid that she was about to hyperventilate, Lucas grasped her chin with his fingers and directed her eyes to him. “Mia, I said look at me.”

Her chin trembled, and he relaxed his hold a bit. She blinked and glanced up at him as if seeing him for the first time. “Lucas,” she murmured.

“Listen to me,” he said. “There's nothing we can do for Christine now, and we need to stay away from her body. If we go in, we may contaminate the crime scene, and that will only cause problems for the police. Now, please, get in the car and let me call this in.”

She didn't move for a moment but then nodded. “Okay.”

Without looking at the house again, she climbed in the car and closed the door. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him through the window as he punched 911 in his cell phone.

A dispatcher answered right away. “911. What is your emergency?”

“This is Lucas Knight. I'm at 567 Lakeshore Drive. I found the owner of the home dead in her entry. We need police and an ambulance.”

“They're on their way, sir.”

“Thank you.”

He hung up and waited for the police. It was less than five minutes before he heard the sirens in the distance. Two police cars and an ambulance skidded to a stop in the driveway. One of the policemen ran toward him.

“Did you make the 911 call?”

Lucas nodded. “Yes. I'm Lucas Knight. When Ms. Lockhart and I arrived, I noticed the front door was ajar. After pushing it open, I saw Christine Abbot lying in the entry. I could tell she was dead, so I backed away and made the call. Didn't want to contaminate the crime scene.”

“Thanks,” he said. “We'll see what we can find.” He glanced at the EMTs who were getting out of the ambulance and called out to them. “Let us check the house, guys, and I'll let you know when you can come in.”

Lucas watched as the officers fanned out around the building and began their search of the premises. Two of them entered the front door, and he could hear them discussing the condition of the house. From what he could tell, it had been ransacked just like Mia's.

Another car pulled into the driveway, and Lucas watched as Ryan and his partner, Mac Barnes, climbed from the car and stopped next to him. “Hey, Ryan. Jessica said you were working today. Did you guys get this case?” Lucas asked.

Ryan nodded. “Yeah. And I hear you made the 911 call. That right?”

Lucas tilted his head to one side and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. The front door was ajar, and we spotted her in the entry.”

Ryan's eyebrows arched. “We?”

The car door opened at that moment, and Mia stepped out. “Hi, Ryan.”

Ryan's mouth gaped, and he turned to stare at Lucas. “You brought your client along on the hunt for Chapman?”

Lucas chuckled and shook his head. “I didn't have much choice—she needs protection around the clock. Chapman is determined to kill Mia. She's had several close calls, and then we get here and find the woman we want to question dead. Chapman would be at the top of my suspect list to be the murderer.”

Mac frowned and glanced at Lucas. “I don't think I've met your client, Lucas. Why don't you introduce us?”

Mia turned to Lucas, and he nodded toward Mac. “Mia, this is Mac Barnes. He's Ryan's partner and worked with my sister, Jessica, too, when she was on the police force. Mac, this is Mia Lockhart, Kyle Lockhart's widow.”

The lines in Mac's face deepened as he took Mia's hand in his. “I'm sorry about your husband, Mrs. Lockhart. We're doing everything we can to bring Tony Chapman to justice.” He glanced at Lucas. “And if you have the Knight Agency helping you, I'm sure he'll be back behind bars in no time.”

Mia smiled at Mac and squeezed his hand. “I'm looking forward to that.”

He released Mia and turned to Lucas. “Want to give us your story before we go in and check the crime scene?”

Ryan and Mac both opened notebooks and began to write as Lucas recited the events that had taken place since he and Mia had driven up to the Abbott house. When he had finished, Mac looked back over his notes and pursed his lips. “And you didn't see anybody near the house when you arrived?”

Lucas shook his head. “No, and it appeared Ms. Abbott had been dead for some time.”

Mac exhaled a deep breath and closed his notebook. “I guess that's all we need for now. If I have any questions, I know where to find you.” He reached out and shook Lucas's hand. “Tell your folks and Adam and Claire hello for me.” Then he smiled and turned to Mia. “And it was good meeting you, Mrs. Lockhart. Maybe we'll meet again soon.”

“I hope so.” She glanced from him to Ryan. “Good luck with the investigation.”

“Thanks,” he said with a smile and then turned to Lucas and slapped him on the back. “Seems like you've had your share of bad luck over the past few days. Try not to get yourself killed before Christmas. I'm looking forward to my first Christmas in the Knight family, and I'd hate to see you mess it up.”

Lucas grinned and punched Ryan on the arm. “I knew I did the wrong thing when I told my sister to take a chance on you. Better watch your step. I still have a lot of influence over my twin.”

Ryan and Mac both laughed as they walked up the steps to the house. When they stepped inside, Mia turned to him, and he sucked in his breath at the sadness flickering in her eyes. “You're so lucky, Lucas, to have a family that loves each other and enjoys being together.”

He swallowed and reached for her hand. “You'll have that, too, someday.”

“Maybe,” she said and then turned and climbed back in the car.

He closed the door for her and headed to the driver's side. As he rounded the back of the vehicle, he stopped and clenched his fists at his side. The longer he was around Mia, the more his old feelings for her were emerging, but he'd seen no indication that she felt the same way. She'd gone so far as to tell him they couldn't be friends.

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. This day had been filled with a lot of excitement. They'd been shot at from a speeding car and found a woman's body in her home. Maybe the best thing would be to call it a day, go home and get some rest.

With that decision made, he climbed back in the car and drove toward his parents' place. “I didn't sleep well last night,” he said. “I'm going to take you by my parents' home and see if my mother's there. If she is, you can stay with her, and I'll go on to my house to get some rest.”

She glanced at him and nodded. “Okay, if that's what you want to do.”

Lucas concentrated on the traffic as he drove but glanced at Mia from time to time. She had her head turned and stared out the window. She didn't speak on the entire ride. When they pulled into the driveway, she swiveled in her seat.

“Are you coming in?”

“Yes, I'll check...” The ringing of his cell phone interrupted him, and he pulled it from his pocket. “Hello.”

“Mr. Knight, this is Janet Williams at Shackleford's Imports. I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time.”

“No, Ms. Williams. It's fine.”

“I got an email from my friend in London and thought you would be interested in what he told me.”

“It's Janet Williams,” he whispered to Mia.

Her mouth formed a small O, and her eyes grew wide. He turned his attention back to the phone. “And what did he say?”

“As you know, I had described the pieces of jewelry I saw. He said it sounded very much to him like a collection of artifacts that were unearthed in England a year or so ago. They were digging to put in a foundation for a building and discovered the remains of a house with some earthenware containers filled with coins and gold jewelry buried underneath it. This was in an area where a Roman settlement had been destroyed by the locals about AD 61, and the theory is that the owners of the house had buried the jewelry and coins for safekeeping. The treasure was taken to a local museum, but the museum was broken into about six months ago, and the pieces were stolen.”

“So, does he think the pieces you saw could be the missing Roman treasure from England?”

“He didn't know, but he sent me a picture that had been circulated on the internet in an attempt to get the word out about the theft. I've looked at it, and I'm certain that the jewelry and coins I saw are the same as the ones in the picture.”

Lucas exhaled a deep breath. “Then how do you think those pieces made it into the possession of Kyle Lockhart?”

“I can't say for sure, but remember how I said that I thought Mr. Lockhart traveled for work more than was necessary? If I'm remembering right, I think he was on a trip in England six months ago.”

Lucas raked his hand through his hair and bit down on his lip. “Janet, where are you now?”

“I'm at work.”

“Listen carefully to me. Forward a copy of that email to me, print off a copy for yourself, and take it to the police station now. You need—”

“I can't go right now, Mr. Knight. I'm the only one here at the showroom.”

“Then close the showroom and get to the police station right away. I've just come from Christine Abbott's home, and she's been murdered. If the killer knows you've gotten this information, you are in danger. Now do as I say and get out of there as soon as you can.”

“Okay, I just forwarded the email to your address, and I'm making the copy right now. Then I'm on my way.”

“Good. Call me as soon as you get to the police station.” He disconnected and stared at Mia. “It looks like Kyle was an international thief and smuggler. Let's go inside, and I'll tell you all about it.”

She started to open the door but turned back to Lucas. “You sounded worried when you told Janet to get to the police as soon as possible. Do you think she's in danger, too?”

Lucas gave a curt nod. “These people killed Kyle, Clyde Harper and Christine Abbott and have tried to kill you several times. I think at this point that anybody who's connected to this case is in serious danger. I just hope these killers can be stopped before somebody else dies.”

* * *

Mia could hardly believe what she was hearing as Lucas relayed what Janet Williams had told him on the phone. Her mouth gaped open as she listened and glanced across the kitchen table at Lucas's mother, who seemed just as stunned as she was. When he'd finished, no one spoke for a moment, and then she cleared her throat.

“So Janet thinks the jewelry and coins are the ten-million-dollar treasure that was stolen from a museum in England?”

Lucas nodded. “She does. Remember, Clyde was about to tell me something about smuggling when he was shot. Maybe Kyle and Chapman worked together. And...”

“Kyle and Christine got greedy and tried to keep the coins and jewelry for themselves,” Mia added.

“And when Chapman found out, he killed Kyle,” Lucas finished for her.

“But,” Mia held up a finger to interrupt him, “Kyle had already hidden the treasure.”

“And Chapman thought you might know where it was,” Lucas said.

“So that's why he came after me.” Mia crossed her arms and sat back in her chair.

Mrs. Knight got up and grabbed the coffeepot. As she poured more coffee in their cups, she glanced at Lucas. “Do you really think that's what this case is all about? A falling-out among thieves over some smuggled antiquities?”

He shrugged. “It makes sense. But right now it's just a theory. We won't be able to prove anything unless we can find where Kyle hid that treasure.” He clasped his hands in front of him on the table and leaned closer. “Mia, can you think of any place he might have put it?”

She shook her head. “I've racked my brain for days trying to think. Evidently it wasn't at the house, or Clyde would have unearthed it. Maybe Tony found it at Christine's house.”

“Maybe so, but I doubt it,” Lucas said. “From the conversation Janet overheard, it seemed like Kyle was the one who came up with the hiding place—a place even Christine didn't know about.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and a frown wrinkled his forehead as he stared at it. “Janet has had time to get to the police station. I told her to call me.”

“Don't worry,” Mia said. “She may be talking with the police. Why don't you call her?”

Lucas started to punch in her number but hesitated and then shook his head. “No, I don't want to disturb her if she's talking with the police. I'll just wait.”

Thirty minutes later they were still sitting at the table waiting for Janet's call. Mia pushed back from the table, picked up her coffee cup and walked to the sink. As she set the cup down, her gaze drifted down to the jeans she'd been wearing all day. For the first time she spotted a rip right below her knee.