Colton's Secret Investigation

by Justine Davis

  “I’ll get somebody to show him around while we talk, if that’s okay with you,” the tall, lean man with bright blue eyes and rather shaggy brown hair said.

  “Please, Dad?” The boy was practically dancing with excitement.

  “That would be great,” Stefan said. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  “After what you did for us?” Kelsey said. “Not a chance.”

  Once Sam was set up, they went inside. The newlywed couple’s first words were congratulations—and thanks—that they’d cracked the Avalanche Killer case.

  “Word gets around fast,” Stefan mused.

  “For all the glamour, underneath Roaring Springs is still a small town,” Fox said with a smile.

  “And that is huge news,” Kelsey added, with a wide smile.

  Daria had been a little surprised at first, at the woman’s immediate and enthusiastic offer of any and all help, but then she recalled Stefan had used his connections at the FBI to rush through the DNA testing that had proven the paternity of the baby that had been abandoned literally on Fox’s doorstep.

  Besides, Fox had gone through a shock of his own recently, discovering his dead father had not really been his father after all. So he understood how she was feeling and was thoroughly empathetic to her plight.

  As it turned out, Kelsey, who was an equine geneticist, was of the most help. She was much more used to deciphering genetic reports, had gotten out the one that had proven who Fox’s real father was, and had already started sorting through what they had and begun comparing it to the report Daria had accessed for her.

  “Things settle down for you at all?” Stefan asked Fox.

  The man shrugged. “My parents—or rather, my father and my aunt—said this morning that they’ve separated. I think... Dad needs some processing time.”

  The correction, and the way he’d hesitated over the word Dad told Daria he was still adjusting to the idea that his father wasn’t just alive, but was Russ Colton...the man who’d actually raised him. She wondered how long it would take her. She supposed it would depend on what she learned in the next few minutes. Assuming there was enough here to tell her that.

  She didn’t pace while Kelsey continued to pore over the papers spread out on what she guessed was Fox’s desk, but it was an effort. When she finally straightened up, she gave her a sympathetic look.

  “It’s there,” she said. “The number of markers is undeniable.”

  “So,” Fox said, turning to look at her. “It’s official. You’re a Colton.”

  Chapter 33

  “How close?” Stefan asked since Daria couldn’t seem to find her voice.

  “I can’t be sure. I can only extrapolate from what I’ve got here,” Kelsey said. She glanced at her husband. “This looks close to Russ, but she’s not your half sister. That much I can say.”

  Fox let out a relieved breath, then looked rather guiltily at Daria. “Not that I’d mind if you were, I mean, but—”

  “It would mean your father made it a habit,” Stefan said gently.

  “Exactly.”

  “Maybe your uncle Whit?” Kelsey asked.

  “He’s got the track record for it,” Fox agreed. “But could it be?” he asked, gesturing at the reports.

  “I don’t know. If there was one more marker either way... I’d need a genetic test from him to be sure. And one from Earl wouldn’t hurt.”

  “At this point, I want everybody in the damned family tested,” Fox muttered. “As if life as a Colton wasn’t already complicated enough.”

  Stefan was quite aware Daria still hadn’t uttered a word. He turned to face her, reached out and gently grasped her shoulders. “What do you want?”

  She looked up at him. He saw the rapid-fire emotions in her expression, guessed she was feeling pretty tangled up right now. Probably even wishing, with some part of her, that she’d never found this out. But he also knew what was at the core of her and knew what her answer would be. And after a long, silent moment, it came.

  “I want the truth.”

  He’d known she would. And the fact that he’d known, that he’d been so certain she would want exactly that, proved to him that this woman was exactly who he thought she was. That he knew who she was to the core.

  “Then we’ll find it,” he said softly, in that moment meaning it more than he had ever meant any vow in his life.

  Fox looked back at Stefan and Daria. “We were already set to make a trip to the Manor. I think we should go now, and you’d better come with us.”

  Stefan blinked, felt Daria draw back slightly. “The Colton Manor?” she asked.

  “Yes. Speaking of my uncle Whit, his son Remy’s half brother, Seth, called a meeting. He’s got some sort of announcement to make. We should make it just in time.”

  Daria’s brow furrowed. “Seth Harris? I’ve talked to him. He works at The Lodge, right?”

  Fox nodded. “He manages the whole guest operation. He’s really good with the high-end clients.”

  Stefan remembered the slim, sandy-haired man who looked like he’d be more at home in New York City than the slopes of the Colorado mountains. He could see where the guy would make those high-profile sorts feel at home. Personally, he’d found him a bit over-the-top unctuous, while Daria’s conclusion had been a bit more forgiving, given the rough start he’d apparently had in life before his half brother had stepped in.

  “Why don’t you round up your boy and we’ll get ready to go,” Kelsey suggested. “There’s a playroom at the Manor with every video game known to man. Will that keep him occupied while we deal with all this?”

  “He’ll be in heaven,” Stefan replied.

  “What, exactly,” Daria said, rather carefully, “is the plan?”

  “Beard the lions in their den, as it were,” Fox told them cheerfully, and headed upstairs after his wife.

  Daria seemed to hesitate when Stefan turned to do as Kelsey had suggested and find Sam.

  “Second thoughts?” he asked.

  “They’re the power around here. Anybody would have second thoughts.”

  “This, from the woman who calls a former president Dad?”

  She looked startled, as if she hadn’t thought of it in just that way. “Point taken.”

  “And I see now why you like your place so much—partly, anyway. Got pretty tired of all the fuss and bother of the White House and a protection detail?”

  “I declined the detail, but it was still...a lot of pressure.”

  “Then this should be nothing. Besides,” Stefan added, “you’re returning the victor. The one who probably salvaged their entire year’s business by taking out the Avalanche Killer. They should bow down.”

  As he’d hoped, that got a low chuckle from her. “Right. Their savior.”

  He grinned at her. “Exactly.”

  She reached up and brushed her fingers over his jaw. His pulse kicked up instantly. “Thank you. For being here for me, through this. And making me feel so much better.”

  He leaned over and kissed her, then whispered a rather potent suggestion for how he could make her feel even better.

  “You’re supposed to be taking it easy, remember?” she said, but she was smiling now. Widely.

  “Yeah. In bed, like Sam said.”

  She laughed then and shook her head. “I’ll deal with you later.”

  “Promise?” he said archly.

  “Fervently,” she said, with a smile that sent a shiver of anticipation through him. “But now, let’s go find Sam.”

  * * *

  Colton Manor was as huge and sprawling as one might expect from this rich and influential family. Although from what Daria had gathered, the Colton children didn’t have much connection to it. She could understand that; the place wasn’t exactly a warm, cozy home.

  Essentially it was a massiv
e, eighteen-thousand-square-foot showplace for the senior Coltons, including the now rarely seen patriarch, and a staff she couldn’t even guess at the size of. She supposed the size of it had a benefit, however; Russ and Mara Colton could live completely separate lives under the same roof until they decided what their future would or wouldn’t be.

  “Ten bathrooms, I heard,” Stefan muttered as they went inside.

  “Eleven,” Fox corrected with a grin.

  “Obnoxious, isn’t it?” Kelsey said, also grinning.

  And Daria realized she quite liked both of them.

  The gathering was in the living room—one of them, anyway—with its high, vaulted ceiling and the view of the gondolas going upslope out the expansive windows.

  “Ever been on that thing?” Stefan whispered.

  She shook her head. “And after Molly Gilford’s experience, not likely to.”

  “Copy that,” Stefan said rather fervently.

  Thinking of the sweet, good-natured woman reminded her rather forcefully that while Roaring Springs no longer had a serial killer haunting its environs, there was still a murderer on the loose—the one who had killed Molly’s sister. She had made a brief call to the woman, who had just had the baby now named after that sister, and in view of that had broken the news as gently as possible that Shruggs had not killed Sabrina Gilford. Molly had been understandably upset, but at Daria’s vow it was not over and Sabrina would not be forgotten in the hubbub about Shruggs, she had calmed a little.

  Daria had suggested to Fox that they wait with Sam in the game room, since whatever Seth’s announcement was, it appeared to be a family affair, but Russ Colton spotted them first. His voice boomed out in the room, congratulating them for finally catching the killer. The buzz through the gathered group, many of whom she recognized, but some she did not, was loud and exuberant. Mara was there, Daria noted, but carefully on the opposite side of the room from her husband.

  Daria was more interested in observing the rather intense look shared by Fox and the man who’d raised him and who had turned out to also be his biological father. And she was honest enough to admit that she was watching because she was wondering how she would feel if somehow this new discovery led her to her own father.

  “He looks a bit miffed,” Stefan whispered again.

  She looked up, realized he meant the man who’d called this gathering. Seth was indeed frowning a bit, as if they’d stolen his thunder. But when he saw them looking at him, he managed a creditable smile. And proceeded with his announcement, which turned out to be his engagement to Vanessa Fisher, the tall, dark-haired woman who stood rather shyly beside him. She noticed the woman was slouching slightly, wondered if it was because she was taller than the man beside her. Daria knew Vanessa was the daughter of a wealthy investment banker, but not much more.

  Some of the people gathered looked surprised, some not, but the most loudly congratulatory was Russ Colton himself.

  “A great match,” he exclaimed. “Just wonderful. A wonderful addition to the Colton family,” he added, smiling widely at Vanessa, who looked as if she were a bit uncomfortable in the spotlight. Then he turned to Seth. “I see a very bright future for you with The Colton Empire.”

  Seth fairly beamed, while Daria was inwardly rolling her eyes at the grandiose name, although she supposed it fit what the man had built here.

  “I wonder where Remy is?” Fox muttered. Daria knew he meant Remy Colton, the director of PR at The Chateau.

  “Maybe getting his first sleep in months,” Kelsey suggested. “He’s had his hands more than full trying to cope with the ton of bad press from the Avalanche Killer.”

  “Or working, glad to not be spinning for a change,” Daria said.

  Stefan nodded in agreement. “I’d guess now’s the time to trumpet the return to normalcy, and get reservations back up.”

  Fox smiled at them. “You two ever want to change jobs...” His smile faded. “I still can hardly believe Shruggs pulled this off right under our noses. All those women...it’s horrific.”

  Daria liked him even more for that. The Lodge.

  Kelsey said something quietly to Fox, who then looked at Daria. “I’ll go get... Russ,” he said, clearly still having trouble adjusting to the change in their connection. “I think we’re going to need his cooperation on this.”

  “Will you get it?” Stefan asked.

  Fox’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “He wants a relationship with me, so yeah, we’ll get it.”

  When he’d headed across the room toward Russ Colton, Daria looked at Kelsey. “Your husband is quite a guy,” she said quietly. “Going to this length to help someone who’s practically a stranger.”

  “Yes,” Kelsey agreed as she watched him go, the love clear in her expression. “Yes, he is.” Then she looked back at Daria. “But I hope you don’t stay practically a stranger, whatever we find out. All of you,” she added with a glance at Stefan. “Especially that adorable kid of yours.”

  Stefan smiled. “Speaking of kids, how’s little John doing?”

  That sent Kelsey off into new parental joy, and she happily told them about the baby who would be theirs as soon as the paperwork was done with Fox’s cousin Mason.

  And then Fox was back with his father. Russ Colton was still an impressive figure and an obvious power broker.

  “So what’s this all about?” he asked briskly.

  “Not something I think you want to discuss out here,” Fox said.

  Russ looked at the young man he’d raised but had never known he’d fathered and quickly stated, “All right, let’s go up to my study.”

  They started up the curved staircase, and Daria saw the edge of what appeared to be an indoor pool on the level below. She wondered what other extravagance the place held and guessed it could be just about anything. Even the hallways were spacious, with niches here and there where artworks worth probably more than she made in a year were hung and seen only by those invited to the inner sanctum.

  Russ stopped at a set of carved wooden double doors and reached for the door handle. There was a sound a few feet farther down the hall—a set of footsteps and an odd sort of whooshing noise. Daria’s reaction was automatic; she turned to look. She saw a very elderly man in a wheelchair, pushed by a woman in a nurse’s uniform.

  Earl Colton, she thought. Even now, fragile and frail, he resembled the pictures she’d seen from the days when as a dynamic and clever young man he’d built what was now The Colton Empire, thanks to his penchant for slapping his name on everything he bought. She had heard he suffered from dementia now, and often talked to the wife who had been dead for fifteen years. She herself found that understandable; if he took comfort in that, he’d earned it, if only by surviving this long. Although she had to say he looked quite alert and aware now, and she heard him call the nurse by the name on her name tag, so he appeared to be coherent at the moment.

  He’d noticed them now, and his rather shaggy white eyebrows lowered as he stared at them.

  No, her. He was staring at her.

  His eyes widened, and his jaw went a little slack. And then, in a tone of shock, the old man spoke.

  “Ava.”

  Chapter 34

  He had pushed, Stefan had to admit, nearly as far as he could. He could feel collapse hovering, much as he hated to admit it. And no amount of telling himself his wound was minor was helping.

  But Daria had just received the shock of her life, and she needed support. And he wasn’t going to do her much good if he passed out on his feet. So he summoned up what reserves he had left and kept going.

  It was at that moment he realized just how far he would go for this woman he’d come to so admire. To respect.

  To love.

  He hadn’t really admitted it before, had shied away from the possibility even to himself, but now that he had, the truth of it rang like a clari
on bell. He had to resist the urge to tell her, right then. Even if she had recovered enough from the earlier shock, he doubted she would want to hear it just now, in front of this handful of strangers who she had just discovered were actually family.

  His brain was too weary at the moment to figure out the intricacies of her connection to each one, but only one really mattered. And that was that the old man in the wheelchair, Earl Colton, was her father. Because once the obvious shock in his lined face and weary eyes had faded, everything had come pouring out as the old man faced the woman he obviously thought was Ava Bloom.

  He swore he hadn’t known she was ill, and for a Colton fairly groveled for abandoning her and their child when he’d found out she was pregnant. He should have manned up, Earl had said brokenly. Alice would have understood. Stefan had his doubts about that, but there was no doubt that the Colton patriarch meant what he said.

  Lot of good that does Daria now.

  He was silently grateful when they finally made it into Russ Colton’s office and sat down to begin to sort it all out. It took some time for the chaos to settle, but in the end cautious welcomes were extended from some, happy and amazed welcomes from others. Russ Colton, Stefan suspected rather strongly, was calculating the worth of having the deputy who had broken the Avalanche Killer case in the family. Although, to his credit, he seemed as concerned as the rest of the Coltons that their cousin Sabrina’s case was still unsolved, and her murderer still out there.

  But most of them seemed cordial enough to the idea of Daria being one of them, and he got the feeling she would have a place here if she wanted it. For some reason Sam’s angry face flashed through his mind. An anger he hadn’t seen...well, practically since the boy had met Daria. He wondered idly how much of a difference it made to be an adult and have your whole world shift on you. It belatedly occurred to him that she might want some time alone with her newfound family, and he stood up, feeling stronger now that he’d been off his feet for a bit.

  “I need to go see my son,” he said when everyone looked at him. Nobody seemed to question that, and Daria smiled when he looked at her and added, “Take your time.”