The Lawman's Legacy (Love Inspired Suspense) (16 page)

“How about this guy, then?” Douglas handed her another photo, watching her intently as she studied it.

Blond hair. Blue eyes. Pale skin.

“It’s him.” She shuddered, handing the photo back.

“I thought so. I got a pretty good look at him last night. Two years ago, Tyrone took over as gang leader. The blond is his second in command. Kent Don. He dropped off the radar around the same time as Tyrone.”

“So Tyrone
does
know Tyler and I are here.”

“They know Lila is here. They don’t necessarily know you’re Lila. They were probably staking your place out, trying to figure out whether or not you’re the person they’ve been looking for. There’s something else. Boston P.D. said there were rumors after Nicole’s death. People on the street said she took something valuable from Rodriguez, and he wanted it back. That might have been the motivation for her murder. Unfortunately, rumors aren’t enough to convict someone of a crime.”

“Do you think Tyler was what he valued and wanted back?” She couldn’t imagine the man who’d murdered Nicole finding value in any life.

“Maybe, but I’m wondering if there was something else. Last night, Kent could have easily killed you. There’s no doubt he’s a good shot. Three bullets. Three tires shot out. If he’d wanted to hit you, he could have, but he didn’t aim for you. I’ve been wondering why not.”

“I don’t have anyth—” But she did.

She had money. She had the journal.

“You’ve thought of something.” Douglas leaned forward, the excitement in his eyes unmistakable.

“Nicole left a diaper bag with me. I was so scared, I took it and my purse and ran. A couple of hours later, I stopped to feed Tyler and I found twenty-thousand dollars and a journal in the bag.”

Douglas whistled softly. “That’s a lot of money.”

“I thought Nicole must have stolen it from Rodriguez, but I couldn’t go to the police with it. I was too afraid Rodriguez would hear about it and find me.”

“What about the journal? Was there anything in it?”

“Notes to Tyler. Thoughts about Nicole’s pregnancy and about her hopes for Tyler’s future.” Merry had read it only once. Nicole’s emotions were so powerful, so beautifully written that she’d cried for hours afterward.

“You still have the journal and the money?”

“Yes. The money is in a bank account, accruing interest. The journal is back at my place.”

“I’d like to have some people look through it, see if there’s anything you missed. Once they’re finished, you’ll get it back. We’d better head over there now. There’s a nor’easter blowing in, and I want you at my dad’s place before then.”

“What about you?”

“I have work to do.”

“But the roads might—”

“Remember what my aunt said about us being an item?” He tugged her to her feet, and her breath caught as she looked in his eyes.

“Yes.”

“I like the idea of it.”

“Of us being an item?” Her heart skipped a beat as he trailed a finger across her lower lip.

“Of us being a perfect match. There’s just something about you. There has been since the day I saw you in my sister’s store. I can’t ignore it, can’t turn away from it. So don’t worry about me working during a nor’easter. I have too many things I want to find out to let a storm ruin things for me.”

“What things?”

“Things like what you’ll look like without fear in your eyes. Like what it will feel like to walk in the moonlight with you by my side. To taste the laughter on your lips.” He bent so that they were a breath apart, and her heart raced with longing for all those things.

“Douglas—”

The door opened, and Ryan Fitzgerald walked in, his gaze jumping from Merry to Douglas. “Sorry. If I’d realized I’d be interrupting something, I would have knocked.”

“You should have knocked, anyway. What’s up?” Douglas hooked an arm around Merry’s waist, his fingers playing along her side, and she didn’t have the strength to move away.

“I have news about that toxicology report we were waiting on. It came out clear, and I need to speak with you. Alone. Sorry, Merry, but it’s business.”

“It’s okay.” She blushed, tried to move, but Douglas didn’t release his hold.

“Stay here, okay? No breaking for the border.”

“I’m done running,” she said and meant it even more when he smiled.

“Glad to hear it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He walked into the hall with Ryan, leaving the door open so she could see the hallway, hear voices, feel the presence of others.

She needed that.

Despite everything Douglas had said, despite his reassurance, she was afraid.

Of Tyrone.

Of Family Services.

Of Douglas and what she felt when she was with him.

She’d dreamed of those things years ago. Of butterflies in her stomach. Of sweet kisses and moonlit walks. She’d dreamed of marriage and kids and family, and then she’d given up on those dreams. Shoved them away, because she hadn’t believed they’d come true.

But maybe they could.

Maybe they would.

Maybe God had brought her to Fitzgerald Bay so that she could face her past, walk into her future.

And maybe Douglas was part of what that future would be.

She was almost afraid to think that, almost afraid to hope for it.

She’d been struggling for so long. She’d been alone with Tyler for so long. What would it be like to have someone in her life? Someone in their lives?

Someone Tyler could look up to.

Someone she could trust with all her secrets and her dreams.

She wanted that.

And she was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, God wanted it for her, too.

SIXTEEN

“Y
ou’re getting a little chummy with our star witness aren’t you, bro?” Ryan asked as they walked into the small conference room at the end of the hall.

“I guess I am.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t think it’s a bad one. Merry told us what she knows. She’s given us a key piece of evidence. Any relationship with her isn’t going to impact the case one way or another.”

“So you’re in a relationship?” Ryan raised a dark eyebrow, gave Douglas the look he’d been giving him since they were in grade school. The one that said,
I’m your big brother, and I know a lot more about life than you do.

“Jealous?”

“Hardly.” Ryan laughed. “Women are too much work. I prefer to put my time and effort into other things.”

“That’s what you’re saying today. Tomorrow, the perfect woman might walk into your life.”

“And I’ll tell her to walk right back out. I’ve got no desire to settle down.”

“We’ll see how that works out for you,” Douglas responded.

Ryan smiled.

“Back to business. Olivia’s cousin, Meghan Henry, called again. She’s talked to a few of Olivia’s friends in Ireland. No one there seems to know about a boyfriend. As I mentioned, I also heard from the medical examiner. The toxicology report came back clean, but we did get a match on the blood found on the rock. The medical examiner confirmed it’s Olivia’s.”

“We thought there were two blood types on the rock. Was that confirmed, too?” That was a piece of information they were keeping close to the cuff. No sense in letting a killer know he’d left behind forensic evidence.

“Yes. We had blood typing come back on both of them.”

“And?” Douglas had been praying the blood on the rock wouldn’t match Charles’s blood type, but the look in Ryan’s eyes told him the bad news before his brother spoke it. “It’s the same as Charles’s, isn’t it?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“And you think that’s good news?”

“I think it is. We’re going to run DNA tests. I’ve already called Charles in to give a sample. If DNA can be extracted from the blood on the rock, we’ll be able to prove to the gossip mongers that he wasn’t the killer.”

“Good, because I’ve already had a few people imply that we should have done more than bring Charles in for questioning.”

“They’ve probably been talking to Burke Hennessy.”

“What does Hennessy have to do with it?” Douglas asked, though he was pretty certain he knew the answer. A well-known lawyer, he’d served on the town board and had a reputation for having an arrogant disregard for the opinions of others.

“He was in the Reading Nook earlier. Fiona said that he heard that Granddad is retiring and asked her about it.”

“And?”

“He wants to be mayor.”

“Let him run. He’s had verbal altercations with half the town. I doubt any of those people will vote for him. Dad has nothing to worry about.”

“That’s not what concerns me. Hennessy told Fiona that the murder investigation isn’t being handled properly because Dad wants to protect Charles. If you’re hearing grumbles, I’d lay odds that Hennessy is behind them.”

“
He’s
talking about a conflict of interest? That’s ridiculous. There’s no evidence pointing to Charles. No motive.” Douglas paced across the conference room, looked out over the parking lot. He loved the community, but small towns bred big gossip, and it seemed the Fitzgeralds were currently caught in the middle of that.

“He didn’t use those words, but that’s exactly what he’s saying. It’s not something we aren’t aware of, so it’s not a surprise that others are noting it.” Ryan rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Look, I’ve got a ton of paperwork to do, and I’m already looking at a late night. How about we talk about this more at our next meeting?”

“When will that be?”

“As soon as I clear my desk enough to schedule one. Probably the end of the week.”

“Sounds good.” But Douglas couldn’t quite shake his frustration as he left the conference room.

His father had served Fitzgerald Bay for decades. The family had served the community for longer than that. They’d always conducted their work with integrity and honor. They were reared to do so. The idea of the residents whispering and speculating was like a dagger to the heart.

“You look upset,” Merry said as he walked into his office.

“Politics. They get to me every time.” He didn’t tell her everything. She had enough troubles without adding his into the mix.

“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who lets things like politics bother him.”

True. He wasn’t, but this was about family. It was about loyalty. It was about all the things that he’d been taught to value.

“Usually, I’m not.”

“Then why are you this time?” She stood and stretched, her hair falling nearly to her waist as she leaned back, and his stomach tightened, his senses jumping to life. He wanted to bury his face in her hair, forget the gossip and politics and trouble.

“How about we talk about it later?”

“Why? Because it’s okay for me share my troubles with you, but it’s not okay for you to share yours with me?” She frowned, her dark eyes flashing.

“That has nothing to do with it.”

“Of course it does. I’ve told you my deepest secrets, but you won’t even tell me why you walked in the room looking like you wanted to take someone’s head off.”

“You have enough to worry about, Merry. You don’t need to worry about my problems, too.”

“What I don’t need is for you to treat me like some delicate hothouse flower. I can handle trouble. I’ve been handling it for four years.” She stalked out of the room, her irritation obvious in every step.

He followed her into the parking lot, waiting until they were close to her car before he pulled her up short.

She swung around, mouth tight, obviously ready for a fight.

But he didn’t want to fight.

He wanted her, and he wouldn’t hide that. Not from his family. Not from himself. Certainly not from Merry.

“If you were a flower, you’d be a winter rose, and if I were a little smarter, I’d have told you what you wanted to know when you asked.”

“I…” she started to say. Frowned. “You don’t play fair, Douglas.”

“What would fair be?”

“You refusing to admit that you were wrong so that I could stew and grow resentful and find a reason to…”

“What?” He twirled a red-gold curl around his finger, let it go, watching as it sprang back into place.

“Forget my dreams again.”

“Dreams, huh? Do they include me?”

“They might. If you stop trying to protect me from everything,” she said, and he smiled, knowing that he’d been right when he’d said they were a perfect match. Not perfect people. Just better together than they would ever be apart.

“In that case, maybe I do need to start sharing my troubles with you, because I really like the idea of being part of your dreams.” He took car keys from her hand, opened the door to the station wagon.

“Then tell me. What’s got you so upset?”

“Not what. Who. Burke Hennessy.”

“He was in the Reading Nook this morning.”

“I heard. I also heard he’s been spreading the same trash talk all over town.”

“He’s an arrogant jerk, and everyone knows it.”

“People tend to forget who the good guys are and who the bad guys are when they’re in the middle of a gossip fest.”

“You’re worried about Charles, aren’t you?”

“Among other things. There’s talk that the department isn’t handling the investigation properly, and that we should be digging deeper into Charles’s life and motives.”

“You’re doing your job, Douglas, and you’re doing it well. Anyone who knows your family, knows that.”

“Like I said, people tend to forget.”

“
I
won’t. Now we’d better get going before my son tears your father’s house apart.” She started the engine, and he nodded.

“I’ll follow you to your place. Don’t get out of the car unless I’m there.” He closed the door, jogged to his SUV, worry for Charles, for Merry and for Tyler churning in his stomach.

The quiet town he’d grown up in was suddenly filled with drama and trouble. First, Olivia’s murder. Then the attacks against Merry. Now the gossip that seemed to be spreading like wildfire.

Nothing that had been found at the scene or in the apartment that indicated Charles’s presence at the time of Olivia’s murder. Not a hair. Not a footprint. Not a fingerprint. None of that would matter if people got word of the matching blood type.

Douglas needed the DNA tests to come back quickly, and he needed them to be conclusive. It was the only way to clear Charles in the town’s eyes and to clear the department of any supposed wrongdoing.

It was the only way to stop the gossip and Burke Hennessy.

He frowned as he pulled into Merry’s driveway, saw her getting out of her car.

“I thought I told you to stay in your vehicle until I was here,” he said as he grabbed her arm, surveyed the area, shielding her from the street as he led her up the porch steps. No sign of trouble, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

“You
are
here,” she countered, and he frowned again.

“Next time, wait until I’m out of my car. We don’t know if Tyrone or Kent Don are hanging around waiting for an opportunity to put a bullet through your skull.”

“Nice image, Douglas.” She unlocked her front door, and stepped into the foyer, froze.

“What’s wrong?” He stepped in behind her, saw the chair in the living room turned over, stuffing spilling from the slashed cushions. Sofa pillows lay on the floor, their insides exploding onto the ground. Books torn from the small shelf in the corner, their covers strewn across the floor.

Chaos.

Everywhere.

Adrenaline pumped through him as he surveyed the damage, his senses alive, every cell in his body straining for some sign that he and Merry weren’t alone.

“Stay behind me,” he ordered, but Merry broke away, racing up the stairs as if there wasn’t every possibility that the perp was still hanging around just waiting for her to return.