Stranger in My House (A Murder In Texas)

by Mari Manning

  He rose to his feet. “Because Frankie asked her to.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Black bodysuit. Black boots. Binoculars hanging from her neck. Glock held steady and aimed at Kirby’s wildly beating heart.

  Frankie.

  Zack’s murderer was Frankie. How could it be? Why? And what about Charleen? Was she part of whatever Frankie was up to?

  “I don’t understand,” Kirby said dumbly. No other words came to her. No concrete thoughts. Just dumbstruck incredulity.

  Frankie’s green eyes watched Kirby like a cat watches a doomed mouse. “Set that rifle on down, sister dear.”

  The barrel of the Glock reminded Kirby of a snake. Black and hungry. Poised to strike.

  Kirby took a deep gulp of air and tried to steady her breathing as the realization slammed into her. Frankie meant to kill her. She had to think clearly. If she was going to get through this and bring Frankie and perhaps Charleen through whatever they’d gotten themselves into, she had to think clearly.

  “Are you going to shoot me?” Kirby asked.

  “That’s the plan.”

  “I won’t hurt you, Frankie. We’re family. We’re on the same side.”

  “Do what I say.” Frankie pulled back the slide on the Glock. “Don’t make me shoot this thing.”

  The lessons hammered into Kirby’s head on negotiating with armed and desperate perps—reassure, react with sympathy, above all saying anything that will defuse the situation—withered. This was different. This was her sister.

  How did you lie to someone you loved? How did you look them in the eye and tell them everything was going to be okay, when it probably wasn’t? How did you stay true to your oath against the demands of blood? They’d never taught that class at the academy, but she knew what Scott and the Tulsa Police Department, as well as the El Royo cops, would expect of a fellow officer. Uphold the law. Kirby eyed the brittle creature—her half sister and lookalike—holding a gun that she knew from experience could do serious damage at this range. “You don’t really want to hurt me, do you?” Kirby asked. “I’m your sister. I care about you.”

  “Right. You care about me so much you fucked Maguire after I told you to stay away from him. Does he call you Frankie when you’re screwing?”

  Kirby swallowed hard. “It was a mistake. You were right about him.”

  “I was?”

  “I don’t think he knows how to love, so he uses women.”

  “Love.” Frankie snorted. An acid smile curled her lips. “How cute. Did his dick shrink when you went all gooey eyed on him?”

  Pretty much.

  Why was she arguing with a murderer about who Seth freaking Maguire liked best? He’d shown his true colors, and Grandy was probably sitting on a cloud shouting I told you so at Kirby right now. A cloud she would soon be floating on, too, if she didn’t disarm Frankie. Oddly, the thought calmed her. Kirby straightened with renewed energy and determination. Get the gun out of Frankie’s hand and do whatever it took for them both to walk out of here alive.

  “Frankie, honey, let’s put down our weapons together and talk. I want to help you. We can go away from here. Find a new place. Start over.”

  Frankie took a step closer, although she was still out of range for a tackle. “Do what I say—put down the rifle.”

  “If you shoot me, Seth will hear the gun. So will Mr. Shaw and Miss Bea and all the others. They’ll come running.”

  “Then after I shoot you, I’ll have to shoot everyone on the ranch.” Frankie’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and her mouth curved into a sneer. “Of course, I might keep Maguire around. Is he good in bed? He is, isn’t he? I can tell by your face.”

  Her words hit Kirby like a gut punch. Frankie with Seth. He wouldn’t do it. Would he? She’d seen how his face twisted with pain when he told her to get out of his life. He’d never betray her by sleeping with Frankie. She knew that much was true, even if she didn’t know anything else. Not that it mattered. Seth wasn’t hers. He wasn’t anyone’s, nor did he want to be. Maybe he wouldn’t want Frankie, but there would be other women in his life and in his bed. Would he ever think of her when he was making love?

  Kirby tried to shove Seth out of her head. Frankie had gone off the rails, and Kirby’s first and only priority was getting that gun out of Frankie’s hands. Second priority, if she got that far, was figuring out what to do with Frankie. Could she live with herself if she turned her half sister in to law enforcement? Could she live with herself if she didn’t?

  “Frankie—”

  “Put it down, sister. This is your last chance to save the others. If you do exactly what I say, they’ll go on living.”

  “Why me, Frankie? I’m family. I want you to be happy.”

  Frankie raised her arm and pointed the gun at Kirby’s head. There was no mercy in her face. “Put down the gun. Then I’ll tell you.”

  Kirby laid the rifle on the grass, close enough to grab when the time came. “Sure. No problem. I just came up here to help you.”

  From a million miles away, Seth’s voice drifted on the hot wind. “Kirby! Where the hell are you?”

  Kirby’s heart twisted at the sound of Seth’s voice. She’d been so eager to help Frankie, so trusting, so colossally naive. Seth had tried to warn her, but she hadn’t listened.

  Why had she ended up hundreds of miles from home facing the business end of a gun? Because she wanted to belong. Hell, she wanted to be loved, and she’d assumed that Frankie—and Seth—would love her if she made them happy. When it came to the wrong turns she’d made these past few weeks, naive barely covered it. If she got out of this mess, she’d go home, tell Scott good-bye and find someone as wonderful as Seth who’d love her back…if she got out of this mess.

  “Kirby. Answer me,” Seth called again.

  Frankie’s head tilted up, her forehead creased. “What was that?”

  “What was what?” Distract. Debrief. Drag out. And if you get the chance, run like hell. Her first patrol partner, an old-timer named Mike, told her that. “Where’s your momma got to, Frankie? Do you know?”

  Frankie jerked her head at the quarry. “Down there.”

  “Down where?”

  “In the water.” Frankie lifted an eyebrow.

  Kirby let her eyes drift over the black pool. Could it be true? But she knew it was. No wonder Zack looked like he’d seen a ghost when she suggested he drink the water. Fingers of panic crept close and brushed against Kirby. Frankie had killed her own momma. She wasn’t going to think twice about killing a half sister she barely knew. “What happened?” Kirby asked. Her voice was too high. Too bright. She needed to pull herself together. Concentrate.

  “I killed her.” Frankie shrugged matter-of-factly. “The hardest part was getting sweet Mama to climb up here at night so no one in the house would see where she went.”

  “So how did you get your mama to go for a midnight hike?”

  “I told her Zack was up at the quarry with a friend. A young, hot friend. You should’ve seen her light up.”

  Hurry, he’s this way. “Sarah Slade heard you.”

  Frankie grinned. “The she-hawk accused me of corrupting that stupid bird.” She put a hand on her hip and pinched her mouth until her lips disappeared. “‘Your loose ways are upsetting the household, Miss Frances.’ I almost laughed my panties off. Like I would waste my time corrupting a bird.”

  “So what happened when you got up here? Were Zack and his friend waiting?”

  “Zack was. He conked her on the head for me. Then the stupid dumbass got scared. He wouldn’t help me roll her into the water. ‘I’m just an accessory.’ That’s what he said. ‘They can’t put me on death row for that.’ But he stuck around and watched.” Frankie winked. “I promised him a little reward.”

  Keep her talking. “Did, uh, Zack get his reward?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think you killed him.”

  “He said he was going to Louisiana to work on the oil
rigs. But he didn’t, so what else could I do? It was just a matter of time before he got drunk and started running his mouth about Momma. Besides, he figured out there were two of us when I showed up at the bunkhouse. I couldn’t let him live after that.”

  KI. Not kill or killer. Kirby. “He wrote K-I on the floor. He was trying to write my name. You were the only one who could have told him about me.”

  “Didn’t help him much.” She straightened her arm and brought the gun up to Kirby’s head. “Didn’t help you much, either.”

  Kirby’s stomach twisted, and she sucked in a breath to calm herself. “Charleen should have floated to the top by now.”

  “She did. That first day you came. That’s why I shot at you. I figured Dudley Do-Right would try to protect the womenfolk and take you back to the barn. After you both ran off, I stuck rocks in Momma’s clothes. Watched her sink for good.”

  Did she look as appalled as she felt? That could be dangerous. But the words tumbling out of Kirby’s mouth gave her away. “Frankie, sweetie, why would you murder your own momma?”

  “She was going to tell you the truth.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “About this place. You’re so stupid, sister dear. Going around acting holier than thou, people falling over themselves to give you everything you ask for, and you don’t even care.”

  Kirby ignored the insult. Besides, it was exactly what she’d always thought about Frankie. “The truth about this place?”

  “Everything you’re looking at. It’s supposed to be mine. When Eenie finally checks out, I’ll be a millionaire.”

  “That’s wonderful. You’ll be able to go anywhere you want. Buy beautiful clothes, a nice house, anything.”

  Frankie shook her head. “Daddy was Eenie’s heir. I lied to you when I said it was my momma, but it was Daddy. Momma said not to worry about you because they didn’t know he’d been married to your momma. But then she changed her mind.”

  Kirby was so stunned, it was all she could do to echo Frankie’s words. “Changed her mind?”

  “Momma was always begging me for money, so I told her I didn’t want her around anymore. She got pissed and told Eenie to look for a second daughter.”

  She didn’t want to end up at the bottom of a quarry because of this nearly comatose ranch. Frankie could keep it, and everything that went with it, including Seth Maguire. “The ranch is all yours, Frankie. If they try to give me half, I won’t take it.”

  Frankie tilted her head and studied Kirby. For a moment her gaze turned speculative, and Kirby felt a frisson of hope. Then Frankie’s eyes hardened. “You’re just saying that.”

  “Think about it. What’s a cop all the way up in Tulsa going to do with a big old ranch like this? Besides, I got Grandy’s house.”

  “People will say anything when they know they’re going to die. Zack said he loved me. So did Momma.”

  How could this have happened and no one noticed? How could Frankie have gone off the deep end and no one noticed? Kirby grimaced. Miss Bea had noticed, but no one listened. Keep Frankie talking. Wear her out and hope she lets down her guard.

  “Why did you leave the truck in the field?” Kirby asked.

  She was rewarded by a visible relaxing of Frankie’s shoulders. “I had to make a liquor run. Little me is no match for Zack.” Frankie smiled. “But little me and liquor. That’s another story. But stupid Maguire stood outside half the night staring up at your window like a lovesick puppy. By the time I got the hooch and finished with Zack, it was almost light. Someone might have seen me if I parked by the barn and walked through the fields.”

  Kirby inched away from the edge of the quarry. “Now that I know you’re safe, I’m going to pack my bag and get on back to Tulsa where I belong. You can stay here at the ranch, the one and only heir to Shaw Valley. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

  Frankie stepped backward and reached into a cluster of catclaw. “Already packed your bags, so to speak.” She pulled the Louis Vuitton case from the bushes.

  “How did you get my suitcase out of the house?”

  “Eenie has a secret door. Goes right out into the woods. And I had all night to get the case up here since you and Maguire were screwing in the coach house.” She snickered. “Did you like my little surprise?”

  “The knife?”

  “You were supposed to stay away from him. I warned you.” She shoved the bag at Kirby. “Open it up.”

  “It’s locked.”

  “I found the key in the dresser next to this gun. And removed the Taser, in case you had any ideas.”

  “Frankie. Can’t we talk a little more? I’m sorry you’re upset with me.”

  Frankie straightened her arm and aimed the Glock at Kirby’s head. “Do it.”

  Kirby stooped down and pressed the latches, talking as she opened the case. “You’re my sister, Frankie. I would never do anything to hurt you. You have to believe me.”

  She wanted to say she loved Frankie, because in a way she did. But since it hadn’t worked for Charleen or Zack, it was unlikely to work for her. “Take out the handcuffs.”

  “Frankie.”

  Click, clack, click, clack. Frankie’s boots echoed on the stone as she moved into impossible-to-miss range, but still too far away for Kirby to pounce. The Glock glowered at Kirby’s forehead. “Take out the fucking handcuffs.”

  Kirby lifted the handcuffs from the nest of bedsheets and rocks. She’d never noticed how cold they were or how scratched. Above her, a mockingbird laughed, and hot wind stirred the pines. Under her feet, the limestone’s silvery veins twisted. Would these be her last memories? Come on, think of another question. Keep Frankie talking until she was worn down or close enough to tackle.

  “Why did you kill Bobby? It was you, wasn’t it?”

  “After Seth found the she-hawk’s gun, I had a genius idea. Frame her for Zack’s murder. Bobby was just a way to get everyone pointed in the right direction. Preponderance of evidence, so to speak.” She patted her binoculars. “I watched the police haul her away yesterday. I guess that worked pretty well.”

  She dropped her head. Her lips formed a disappointed moue. “I thought about adding you to her victim list, but there can’t be two of me, can there?”

  “Seth knows about the switch.”

  “He’ll tell a wild story. No one will believe him. Or I can kill him, too. What’s one more when my future is at stake?” Frankie’s face flushed. She was losing patience. “Cuff yourself to the suitcase. Both hands.”

  When she became a police officer, Kirby had wondered if she’d suffer a violent death. Cops got shot, they got ambushed, they got run over. There were a million ways to die in law enforcement. So she’d thought about how she’d feel if she faced death at the hands of a criminal. Would she be frightened or resigned, angry, outraged? She could never decide. Now all of those feelings and more crashed down on her. There was nothing to decide. It was all of the above.

  Kirby’s hands began to shake. So did her knees. And her jaw. Bile, bitter and useless, filled her mouth. She choked it back. You can’t break. You must stay calm.

  “Don’t do this, Frankie. You’d be committing first-degree murder and killing a cop.”

  “And solving my biggest problem. You.”

  “I’m not your problem. I’m your friend. I want to help you. I will help you. I promise.”

  “Help me? You? How do you plan to do that?”

  “You’re sick. I’m going to find someone who can make you better.”

  “You’re a cop. You’ll send me to jail.”

  “You need a doctor, Frankie. A psychiatrist to make you better.”

  “And lock me up.” Frankie leveled the gun at Kirby. “Go on now. Get those cuffs on good and tight. Don’t make me shoot your lover or Cousin Eenie and Bea. Isn’t there something about protecting the innocent in your oath?”

  There was. An ache started in the pit of Kirby’s stomach, so deep it seemed to hollow her out. Seth’s shouts ha
d died away. And the mockingbird’s laugh. Not even a gnat disturbed the quarry. She slipped the cuffs under the handle of the suitcase, clicked the left one over her wrist. A tiny burst of optimism ran through her as she did. Along with an idea. If she cuffed her wrists to the case, she could grab the handle and swing it around, using the weight to stun Frankie.

  “It’s not too late to change your mind, Frankie. You think this is a good plan, but you’ll get caught. They’ll find my body, and they’ll know what happened.”

  A sly gleam deepened the color of Frankie’s eyes. “Do you think I’m stupid? That’s why we’re up here. So they never find you.”

  “I won’t tell anyone about this. I swear on Grandy’s grave. And Daddy’s. So instead of a fifty-fifty chance of getting away, you’d have a one hundred percent chance. I’d help you.” It didn’t count as a lie. Not if you were doing your job…or trying to save your life.

  “You’re wasting time. Go on now, cuff your other wrist.”

  She didn’t want to be too eager to cuff her other wrist. Frankie might get suspicious and step out of range. “Frankie, please—”

  The cunning warp on Frankie’s face faded. She took a step closer. Her mouth twisted. “Do it. You think I care about you? I hate you. You’re the stupidest person in the world. They’re going to give you the ranch because they think you’re noble. I’ll be left out, just like with Grandy.”

  Kirby slid the other cuff around her wrist and pressed the metal together, struggling to keep her intention off her face. She shifted the case slightly, testing its weight. One chance was all she had.

  “In you go,” Frankie said.

  She lunged forward, and Kirby’s heart stopped. Everything stopped except the eruption of power in her shoulders. She heaved the suitcase off the ground. The rocks inside shifted, and she staggered back, losing precious seconds and the advantage of surprise.