The Lawman's Legacy (Love Inspired Suspense) (10 page)

She didn’t want to keep covering one lie with another and another.

She just wanted him to accept what she said and go away.

But he wouldn’t.

Douglas wasn’t that kind of guy.

“Merry—”

“I need to get some air.” She shoved past him, running across the kitchen and out into the backyard, inhaling huge gulps of frigid air. If not for Tyler, she would have kept running, but Tyler needed her more than she needed to be free of Douglas. More than she needed to be free of the heavy burden of guilt she carried every moment of every day.

She skidded to a stop in the middle of the yard, dropped down onto one of the old vinyl swings. She’d planned to fix the swing set in the spring. Put new seats on the swings, clean the slide and put a sandbox next to it. She’d been saving money for months with that in mind. She’d be using that money for a deposit on another home instead.

Elbows on her knees, she stared at the blanket of snow beneath her feet, so tired she wasn’t sure she’d ever get up. Tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of partial truths and half lies and always looking over her shoulder.

Just plain tired.

But at least she and Tyler were alive.

That was more than Olivia had. It was more than Nicole had.

Alive with a son she loved and siblings who cared.

It was enough, and she would be thankful for it.

TEN

H
e needed a new approach.

Obviously, pushing Merry was only making her run, and having her run wasn’t what he wanted.

What he wanted was the truth. All of it. Not the little pieces she kept feeding him.

He pulled off his coat as he walked across the backyard and dropped it onto her shoulders. “You’re going to freeze out here.”

“Thanks, but now
you’re
going to be cold.” She offered a half smile, her lips nearly colorless.

“Neither of us will be cold if we go back inside.” He sat on an old swing, wincing as the rusted chains creaked under his weight. “I don’t think this swing set is made for someone my size.”

“I don’t think it’s meant for someone my size, either,” she responded, pushing against the ground with her feet.

“
Your
size? A stiff wind could blow you away.”

Her eyes widened, and she laughed, the sound spilling out into the quiet yard, a tinge of color staining her pale cheeks.

“That’s better.”

“What?” She hooked a lock of red-gold hair behind her ear, and he wanted to reach out and touch the silky strands that fell around her shoulders. She compelled him in a way he couldn’t explain, drew him in and made him want to stick close.

“You’ve got some color back in your cheeks.”

“Cold will do that to a person. Sorry for running out like that. I guess I’m a little overwhelmed with everything that’s happened. The past twenty-four hours have been really stressful, and you…well, I can’t answer your questions. I don’t have any answers to give you.”

“I think you have answers. I think you just don’t want to share them.”

“What if you’re right? What if there
are
things I don’t want to share? What does it matter? It’s nothing to do with Olivia or her murder. I can promise you that.” She shifted uncomfortably, her feet digging into the snow, her head bent so that he couldn’t read her expression.

“Finding Olivia’s murderer isn’t the only thing I’m concerned about. I told you that I’m concerned about Tyler. I’m concerned about you.”

“You don’t have to be. We’ve been going it alone for four years, and we’ve been just fine.”

“Someone is hunting you, Merry. Stalking your house. Shooting at your windows. I’d say that’s a far cry from fine.”

“I’m cold. I’m tired. I need to get some rest. Can we finish this tomorrow?” She didn’t acknowledge his comment, didn’t pretend to answer it.

“Sure.” He tugged her upright, led her to the house, acted like he really thought they’d pick up the conversation the next day.

Only, he didn’t think she planned to be around. He’d seen a small suitcase sitting on the floor in her room. She planned to run.

No way was he going to let her. Running wouldn’t solve her problems. It wouldn’t keep her safe. She needed to stay in Fitzgerald Bay, stay close to people who knew her and cared about her.

And he did care.

Too much to accept her lies and cover-ups.

If she wasn’t willing to tell him what he wanted to know, he’d simply do what he’d threatened. A background check. He’d taken her fingerprints. If she’d come to Fitzgerald Bay to hide from the law, he’d know it soon enough, but he didn’t believe that was the case. She was hiding from something else. Someone else?

“I need to check on Tyler.” She hurried into the house, and he let her go, knowing he’d get little else out of her.

He’d let her try to make a run for it.

Maybe when he caught her fleeing and stopped her, she’d be more willing to tell him what she was running from.

“Douglas!” Owen rounded the side of the house, his dark hair mussed.

“Right here. What’s up?” He walked to his brother’s side, trying to push thoughts of Merry out of his head.

“We’re finished collecting evidence. Keira is bringing what little we found to the station.”

“Are you heading back there, too?”

“No. I’m going to see Granddad and try to talk some sense into him. At least, that’s what Dad wants me to do.”

“Some sense into him about what? His retirement?”

“Dad doesn’t think he’s ready.”

“In this instance, Dad’s opinion doesn’t matter. Granddad has been working hard for a long time. He deserves to retire.” Douglas walked to Owen’s car, his gaze drawn to the house’s second-story window. Was Merry packing? Did she really think she’d be able to leave?

There he went, thinking about her again.

Had he really thought he could push her out of his thoughts?

She’d been there since the first day he’d seen her. Lunches together hadn’t changed that. Her secrets hadn’t changed that.

“You don’t have to convince me,” Owen said. “It’s Dad who’s having issues with it. Maybe you’ve been too caught up in the murder investigation to notice, but he hasn’t been himself since Granddad’s announcement.”

“I was thinking Dad hadn’t been the same since Olivia’s body was discovered.”

“They both happened the same day, but Olivia wasn’t family. Granddad is.”

“So is Charles.” Douglas didn’t have to say any more. Owen had heard the whispers, and he knew exactly why the family had reason to be concerned.

“I guess that’s reason enough for Dad to be upset. Whatever the case, he wants me to talk to Granddad, and I’m going to do it. Don’t be surprised if he asks you to do the same.”

Douglas nodded. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Are you planning to work late tonight?”

“Yes, and I’ll probably be at the office early tomorrow morning. I have to take some time off in the afternoon, but I’ll be back in the evening.” And he’d be searching. For Olivia’s killer. For Merry’s secrets.

“Take some time off from what? You’re not scheduled to work.”

“We’re in the middle of a murder investigation, and there’s no way I’m
not
going to be at the office. If I hadn’t agreed to meet Aunt Vanessa for tea—”

“Tea?” Owen laughed as they walked out to his car.

“Yeah. Tea.”

“You know what that means, right?”

“It means she’s going to have a half-dozen eligible bachelorettes waiting for me at Connolly’s Catch.” And that made Douglas want to stay as far away from his uncle and aunt’s restaurant as he could. Unfortunately, he loved his aunt too much to keep sidestepping her invitations.

“It means that she wants to see you happily married. Like she is.” Owen smirked, his eyes flashing with humor.

“She wants to see
all
of us happily married, but I’m not in the mood for more of her matchmaking. Not with everything else that’s going on.” Besides, he was pretty sure he’d found his match.

“I hear you, bro. Our quiet town isn’t all that quiet anymore, is it?”

“No, and I don’t think that what happened today is the end of things.”

Not if they couldn’t find Olivia’s killer.

Not if they couldn’t stop whoever was stalking Merry.

“Do you think today’s perp is also our murderer?” Owen asked.

“I don’t know.” It seemed likely, but until they had more facts, it was impossible to say.

“Does Merry have any idea why someone would shoot out the window of her house?”

“If she does, she’s not saying.”

“That seems odd, doesn’t it? You’d think that someone in danger would be eager to provide as much information as possible in order to stay safe.”

“Yeah, you’d think so,” Douglas replied, glancing at the window again. Someone moved behind the curtain, and he was sure it was Merry. Was she peeking out, hoping they’d leave quickly so she could go?

“Have you run a background check on her?”

“I took her fingerprints today. We’re checking to see if she’s in the system. I don’t think she will be.”

“But?”

“I think she’s running from something, and I think there’s a lot she hasn’t told me.”

“Do you think she’s a killer?” Owen asked, and Douglas met his eyes, saw the intensity and focus that made him such a good police officer.

“No.”

“She has an alibi for the night of Olivia’s murder?”

“Her neighbors insist she was home all night. I have various witnesses who saw her car in the driveway during the time the murder took place.”

“They could be wrong.”

“Merry doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, Owen. Even if she didn’t have an alibi, I wouldn’t believe she was a murderer.”

“Too bad. I was hoping we had a suspect.”

“Like I said, Merry isn’t a murderer,” he said forcefully, and Owen raised an eyebrow.

“You’re awfully protective when it comes to Merry.”

“I’m just making sure we don’t pin a crime on an innocent person.”

“Merry isn’t the only innocent person who might be implicated in this,” Owen pointed out.

“I know, but I’m not going to toss Merry to the wolves to throw them off Charles’s scent.”

“You know that’s the last thing I’d want to have happen. But I also don’t want to bypass a person of interest because she has a pretty face and a sweet smile.”

“I think you know that I would never let a pretty face or a sweet smile sway me,” Douglas responded without heat. Owen sounded as weary as Douglas felt, and for good reason. The law might dictate that a person was innocent until proven guilty, but in the minds of some of Fitzgerald Bay’s citizens, Charles was guilty until proven innocent. Without evidence to show that someone else had committed the crime, the whispers would continue and the gossip would spread.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I know the kind of police officer you are. I know the kind of
man
you are. I just want to make sure we’re not overlooking anything.”

“You and me both.”

“Let me know if anything comes up when you run Merry’s fingerprints, okay?”

“Will do.”

“I’d better go. Granddad’s expecting me. See you tomorrow.” Owen got in his car, and Douglas watched as he drove away.

Dusk had already fallen, draping the landscape in purple-blue light. Another day passed with no name or face to put to Olivia’s murderer, and Douglas felt the weight of that as he walked back to Merry’s house.

He didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door and stepped into the tiny foyer, his gaze jumping to movement at the top of the stairs.

Merry froze as their eyes met, her fists tightening around the boxes she clutched. Crackers. Cookies. What looked like a package of cheese.

“Didn’t your mother teach you to knock?” she asked, her voice breathless and filled with anxiety.

“Didn’t yours teach you not to bring food into your bedroom?”

She looked down at the food, frowned as if she weren’t quite sure how it had gotten in her hands. “It’s cold downstairs, and Tyler was hungry. I’m bringing him a snack.”

“He must be really hungry if you’re planning to feed him an entire box of crackers and a box of cookies.”

“I’m hungry, too.” She set the boxes and cheese on a small table that stood against the wall and walked down the stairs. “I thought you were gone.”

“Obviously.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her eyes were wide with fear, but she seemed determined to pretend that she really had been bringing Tyler a snack.

“I don’t think you’d have started packing to leave if you knew I was still outside.”

“I’m not—”

“You are, but if you want to stay safe, you’d better follow a few simple rules. First, keep your cell phone on you at all times. Do you have it?”

She frowned but pulled it from her purse.

Before she could shove it into her pocket, he snagged it.

“What are you doing?” She made a grab for it, but she was a head shorter with arms to match, and he held it out of her reach.

“Adding my phone number to your contact list.”

“There’s no need—”

“There’s every need. I live a few blocks away. If something happens and you need help quickly, call 9-1-1 and then call me. I can be here in minutes.”

“Douglas—”

“Second rule. Keep your doors and windows locked and your alarm on.”

“I always do that.”

Douglas’s backward glance at the front door he had just walked through discounted that statement. “Third and final rule. Don’t leave town.”

She froze, her entire body going rigid. “Why would I leave town?”

“Good question. Maybe you can answer it for both of us.”

“I need to get back to Tyler. What happened today scared him, and he doesn’t want me far from his side.” She headed up the stairs, but he grabbed the belt loop of her jeans.

“What you need is someone you can trust.”

“And that’s you?”

“Yeah. It is.”

“Douglas—”

“When you’re ready to talk, give me a call. And, remember what I said, don’t leave town.” He walked out into bitter cold, letting the air sweep over him, fill his lungs, clear his head.