The Second Sister

by Dani Sinclair

  “Yet,” she muttered.

  Gavin’s lips twitched. “Stop fretting. I want to be sure he’s alone first. Then we’ll have a little conversation with him. Sit back and let me handle it.”

  Leigh didn’t like the sound of that at all. As Gavin took a series of side streets, several signs indicated they were heading toward the racetrack. It would be closed to the public at this hour since the horse-racing season didn’t start there until some time in July.

  Her frown deepened as they bypassed the road that led to the track. Leigh had no idea what he was doing, but obviously Gavin had a destination in mind. She stared out her side mirror and fretted.

  Gavin made several more turns until a dark green car was the only vehicle left behind them. It dropped back when the driver became aware that he was now clearly visible. At least it wasn’t a red truck like the one that had run them off the road the other night.

  She hated remembering the way Keith Earlwood and Martin Pepperton had leered at her all those years ago. She’d often wondered exactly what would have happened if Gavin hadn’t come along when he did. Of the three men, Keith had seemed the least threatening at the time. He was certainly no match for Gavin.

  She realized Gavin had circled around to the back side of the park. Stable roofs could be glimpsed through the treetops. As he turned onto an empty stretch of road that eventually led to a fenced gate, he sped up.

  “Brace yourself.”

  That was the only warning she got. He threw the car in reverse and backed down a rutted side road she hadn’t even noticed. The car jolted to a halt, pitching her against the seat belt. Trees and shrubs lined either side of the road. Seconds later, the green car rolled past.

  “Gotcha,” he said with a satisfied grin.

  Gavin pulled across the road, effectively blocking the street. The other driver hadn’t yet realized his mistake. He stopped his car in the middle of the road a few yards ahead of them, but well short of the gate. He appeared to be talking on a cell phone.

  “Stay in the car and stay down,” Gavin ordered. He stepped out, ignoring her protest. Opening the rear door, he pulled an aluminum baseball bat from the floor of his car. Leigh gasped.

  Earlwood still hadn’t seen the trap. Gavin watched him put down his phone and reached for the gearshift. Gavin flung open the driver’s-side door.

  “Get out of the car, Keith,” he ordered.

  Earlwood’s lanky form had filled in some over the years, but Gavin figured he had a least twenty pounds on the other man. Earlwood started like a rabbit, gaping up in shock. His eyes grew almost comically wide at the sight of the baseball bat in Gavin’s hand.

  “What are you going to do?” Fear made his voice shrill.

  “We’re going to have a little chat.”

  Earlwood cringed back against his seat. “You can’t hit me! You’re a lawyer!”

  Gavin bared his teeth in a smile meant to intimidate. “Is that what Ducort told you? Put the car in park right now unless you want to see how shatterproof your windshield is.”

  “I’ll have you arrested,” Keith sputtered.

  “Hard to do if you can’t talk.”

  Gavin stepped back and tapped the bat against his open palm. He knew exactly how menacing the action appeared, but it was the fastest way to get cooperation from someone like Earlwood.

  “You’re bluffing.”

  Gavin lowered his voice to a gravelly purr. “Let’s find out. Shall we?”

  “All right, all right!” Earlwood put the car in Park.

  Once in a while, it helped to have a bad-boy reputation, Gavin decided. Too bad Leigh wasn’t as easily intimidated. He heard her get out of the car. He should have known she wouldn’t stay put. Later, he’d chew her out for not following a simple order. Right now, he couldn’t afford to spare her a glance. He kept his attention on Earlwood.

  “Aren’t you a little old to still be running Ducort’s errands, Keith?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  His gaze shifted nervously toward Leigh. Her appearance seemed to boost a return of his confidence. He managed a sneer.

  “You’re all talk, Jarret. You aren’t going to do anything with her here.”

  “On the contrary,” Leigh said pleasantly. “I just came to watch him work. I don’t like you, either.”

  Darting a glance in her direction, Gavin managed to swallow his surprise. She’d picked up his softball. Now she tossed it lightly in her hand. Her expression was unexpectedly hard and cold as she regarded Earlwood.

  The woman amazed him. He couldn’t tell if she was serious or just trying to back his play, but the ball, he decided, was a nice touch.

  “I don’t like being spied on,” she told the confused man darkly.

  Gavin realized he needed to get control before the situation spiraled out of hand. “Neither do I, Keith, so why don’t you tell us what’s going on. What does your old pal want you to do?”

  “Nothing!” He looked around wildly. Seeing no help in sight, he managed a shrug. “Nolan just asked me to keep an eye on the two of you, that’s all.”

  “And you still do whatever Ducort tells you to do.” Gavin shook his head. “Not smart, Keith. Not smart at all. Why does Ducort want you to follow us?”

  “I don’t know. It’s the truth! Look, I’ve had a few setbacks at work recently. The economy, you know? Like everyone else, I need a little cash infusion for my dry cleaning businesses. Nolan offered to make me an interest-free loan if I’d follow the two of you around for a couple of days. I’m just supposed to call and tell him what you’re up to, that’s all.”

  His Adam’s apple slid up and down his long neck, but for all his nervousness, Gavin sensed Earlwood was telling the truth. The economy was tough, especially for the small businessman, and Ducort made a habit of gobbling up businesses in trouble.

  Keith looked to Leigh for support. “It’s the truth, honest. I don’t need any trouble.”

  “Then you ought to get yourself a new set of friends,” Leigh told him coldly.

  Seeing no support there, he turned back to Gavin. “I swear I don’t know any more than what I’ve told you, man. Nolan was real upset when I told him that the two of you came here to the track after dinner.”

  Gavin gazed around the still-empty stretch of road. They were pushing their luck. Any moment now someone could come along and interrupt.

  “Why did that upset him, Keith?”

  “Beats me. He wanted me to climb the fence and find out where you went. Do you believe it? I told him no way.” Earlwood spread his hands. “I’m not climbing any fences and getting myself arrested for trespassing just to follow you around.”

  “What were you supposed to do if we split up?” Leigh asked.

  The question caught him off guard, but Gavin realized it was one he should have asked himself.

  “I was supposed to stay with you,” Earlwood told her.

  The admission infuriated Gavin, particularly when Keith continued with a sly expression.

  “Nolan’s always had a thing for you and your sister. He’s a little crazy if you ask me.”

  “No one’s asking you,” Gavin told him gruffly. He needed to leave before he gave in to the temptation to forget he was an officer of the court. Reaching past Earlwood, he grabbed the man’s car keys from the ignition.

  “Hey! What are you doing?”

  Gavin walked to the side of the road and tossed them into the woods. Earlwood’s face pinched in fury. He took a couple of steps forward and stopped.

  Gavin started back toward him. He skittered back several steps.

  “You don’t want to follow us anymore,” he told the man. “I’d hate to have to have another conversation to make you understand that I’m real serious about that.”

  “If you need a loan,” Leigh put in, “try a bank next time.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m out of it. But I’d watch my back if I were you,” he warned. “Nolan has hated your guts for years, Jarret. A
nd he’s been acting real weird since Martin got killed.”

  Gavin stopped moving. “What do you know about Pepperton’s death, Keith?”

  “Nothing! Hey, man, I don’t know a thing. I haven’t seen Martin in months. That’s the God’s honest truth! We don’t exactly move in the same circles anymore, you know?”

  That protest rang true as well. Ducort might have gotten Keith to help him with something, but Gavin couldn’t see them sharing confidences. He reached inside the car and retrieved Keith’s cell phone.

  “Hey, what are you doing? Wait! I need that!”

  He flipped it over and tore off the battery. “Just a suggestion, Keith. It might be a good idea for you to disappear for a couple of days. I don’t think Ducort’s going to like you a whole lot right now, either. Nice chatting with you.”

  He slid the battery into a pocket and tossed the disabled cell phone to the man. “Get in the car, Leigh.”

  For once she obeyed. Earlwood shot him a look of pure malice before hurrying to the side of the road to retrieve his keys.

  “Save the lectures,” Leigh said as he climbed in beside her. She chucked the softball over the seat and clicked her seat belt into place. He did the same with the bat and his belt. Putting the car in gear, he turned it around in a spray of gravel.

  “I don’t take orders from anyone,” she told him. “And in case it slipped your mind, you work for me.”

  “You’re even more formidable than your sister when you get riled.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It was still a stupid thing to do,” he told her, pulling out into traffic.

  “I’m glad we agree. It would have been a little awkward if racetrack security had shown up to ask us what we were doing there.”

  “I’ve no doubt you’d have come up with an explanation.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think they’d have bought the idea of a pickup softball game,” she said wryly.

  He found himself wanting to smile despite the annoyance lingering in his mind. When he glanced over at her, he realized she was shaking. Her words had been sheer bravado.

  He covered her hand with his own. She jumped at the contact, another indication of just how tense she really was.

  “A man could do a lot worse than have a woman like you to cover his back.”

  Her lips parted soundlessly. He released her to steer around a delivery van.

  “I find it interesting that Ducort has been acting strange since Pepperton’s death, don’t you?”

  “I wonder how Keith could tell,” she muttered.

  “Good point.”

  “You were right about Nolan.”

  “Yeah. Looks like he and I need to have another talk after all.”

  “Don’t!” She grabbed for his arm, her fingers cool against the warmth of his skin. “Please, Gavin. Let the police take care of Nolan.”

  “I’d love to, but unfortunately, they can’t do anything until he does, and I don’t intend to give him the opportunity.” The thought of Nolan anywhere near her was untenable.

  “While I appreciate the sentiment, I’m not going to let you do anything foolish to protect me.”

  “Worried about me?”

  “Yes. I don’t want to have to break in a new lawyer.”

  A grin edged up the corners of his mouth, but the thought of Ducort coming after her made him swallow the smile. “We need to see about getting you some professional protection.”

  “You mean a bodyguard? Absolutely not.”

  “You just had a glimpse of how dangerous Ducort can be, Leigh. Even Earlwood’s nervous about him.”

  “I don’t see you hiring a bodyguard.”

  “Ducort doesn’t want me.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, especially after today.”

  “You’re the one he’s been targeting.”

  “Maybe I can borrow R.J.’s dog. His size alone would scare most people.”

  Gavin considered that. “Maybe you should.”

  “I was kidding.”

  “I’m not.”

  She subsided against the seat and closed her eyes. “What are you going to do with that battery you took from Keith?”

  “Put it in his mailbox later tonight, why?”

  “Because it occurred to me that if he goes to the police, your having the battery would support whatever story he tells them.”

  “Earlwood won’t go to the police.”

  She opened her eyes and turned toward him. “How do you know that?”

  “He doesn’t want to look like a fool, Leigh. I won’t be surprised if he really does take his family on an unplanned vacation tonight. He’s starting to wonder if Ducort had anything to do with Pepperton’s death. And he’s going to start wondering if he may be next.”

  “You’re guessing.”

  “Nope. I’m making an educated assumption based on what I know about the three of them. I find it interesting that Ducort was upset because we’re here in Saratoga Springs.”

  “You don’t really think Nolan shot Martin, do you?”

  “Anyone will kill if the provocation is strong enough.”

  “Okay, but even if he did, why would he care that we’re here? We aren’t detectives. We aren’t even asking questions about him.”

  “Does he know that? Didn’t you say the man who approached you in the restaurant wanted you to give some vet a message?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if the man has some sort of connection to the racetrack?”

  “So what?”

  “So, humor me a minute, I’m thinking out loud. Let’s say Ducort has a guilty conscience. Earlwood tells him you talked to some guy from the track. Then we drive straight over there after dinner. If Ducort does have a guilty conscience, he’s going to be feeling more than a little paranoid. Why do you think Ducort ordered Keith to climb the fence and follow us?”

  His cell phone chimed before he could finish his train of thought. Gavin reached for it automatically.

  “Jarret.”

  “Gavin? It’s R.J. Do you know where Leigh is?”

  “With me. What’s wrong?”

  Leigh straightened in her seat.

  “I found something at the house. I think the two of you had better get over here.”

  “We’re driving back from Saratoga Springs,” Gavin told him. “You want to give me a clue here?”

  “Not over the phone. You need to see this for yourself. I’ll wait for you at Heartskeep.”

  R.J. hung up. Gavin clicked off with a frown. “R.J. wants us to meet him at Heartskeep. He says he found something we need to see.”

  “What?”

  “He wouldn’t say.”

  DUSK CAST pale gray shadows over the imposing structure as they pulled up in front of Heartskeep. Gavin had only seen the house in the daytime with all the workmen bustling about. Now the house had a ghostly, deserted sort of look. R.J.’s truck was the only vehicle sitting out front.

  Lucky woofed a greeting from inside as they mounted the front steps. R.J. opened the front door before they reached it.

  “You made good time. Sorry to be so enigmatic on the phone, but I didn’t want to be overheard,” he said. “I had a small accident.”

  Gavin looked him up and down. “Where are you hurt?”

  “I’m not. The accident was to one of the undamaged walls upstairs. I put a hole through it.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Leigh said in obvious relief. “I’m sure you can repair—”

  “I can repair the damage okay, that isn’t why I called. It’s what I found on the other side of the hole that I thought you’d want to see.” An almost mischievous grin appeared, giving him a boyish look.

  “What’s going on, R.J.?” Gavin demanded, his concern giving way to annoyance.

  R.J.’s engaging grin didn’t fade. Unrepentantly, he turned to Leigh. “Does this place have a lot of secret passages and hidden rooms scattered around?”

  For a moment, she thought she had mishea
rd. “What are you talking about?”

  R.J. could barely contain his excitement. “Come with me.”

  Lucky streaked ahead as he led them inside and started up the front staircase.

  “I always double-check a work site before I leave for the day. Today I went through the whole house as soon as the crew left. The locksmith came out and changed all the locks, so I wanted to be sure no one was still lurking inside.”

  “Did you check the balconies?” Gavin asked.

  “Yep. You were right about an entrance through the linen closet. The door’s a little tricky, but it’s there. Anyhow, one of my guys had left some tools sitting out. I was ticked when I picked up the hammer and I wasn’t watching what I was doing. I bumped a loose board. I tried to grab for it before it fell and took down a whole pile of other stuff. In the process, the hammer I was holding went right through the wood paneling.”

  He moved the sawhorse and tape that had blocked off the left-wing corridor. A gaping hole in one wall served as an impromptu entrance to her grandfather’s suite now. The entire front portion of the room had been reduced to cross beams without flooring.

  “Technically, you two shouldn’t be in here, so be careful. Don’t touch anything, and watch where you put your feet. There isn’t a lot of solid flooring left.”

  He led them through the hole into what had been her grandfather’s bathroom. The plumbing was gone, along with the walls that would have separated it from the suite.

  “We finished ripping out everything forward of this point,” R.J. told them. “The flooring that’s left is perfectly stable, but be careful where you walk.”

  Though the fire damage had been removed, the odor of charred wood still lingered in the muggy air of the room. R.J. turned their attention to the undamaged wall. A small hole sat in the middle of the paneling.

  “Run your hand down that board,” he told Gavin.

  Leigh watched closely as Gavin did what R.J. instructed. He looked up with a startled expression.

  “Press it,” R.J. told him.

  There was a barely discernible sound. One entire section of wall abruptly sank back several inches as if on springs. It slid back to reveal a hidden entrance to a small room.