From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone

by Eckhart, Lorhainne

  “So when someone who buys one of these homes pisses Dan off, he can evict them at any time, and then they have to find a way to move a house? A house they can’t just up and move to any mobile home park? Sounds like people being screwed to me.”

  Richard felt the heat rise in his face. For some reason, he’d managed to block out the faces of people. Actual people. He took the personal out of it. But Sam just ripped open that wound and was not allowing him to sit quietly by on the sidelines. “Fuck Sam, what do you want from me?”

  “Can you honestly tell me you’ll be able to sleep at night knowing you’re responsible?”

  “I’m not responsible. I didn’t set out to screw people. I’m just trying to get my money back and protect my family. And sleep? I haven’t slept since my little girl was mangled on the road in front of my house.” His voice cracked, and he turned his back on Sam to pull it together. He focused on the shuffling behind him as Sam cleared his throat.

  “Richard, if you sit by and allow a bully to hurt innocent people and do nothing to set the record straight, you’re just as guilty as Dan.”

  He didn’t turn around as Sam’s heavy footsteps echoed across the concrete and out of the barn. He balled his fist and then slammed it into the cover of the electrical panel. “Fuck!” he yelled and shook his scraped-up knuckles. Why did Sam have to put this on him? Rage seeped through him, and with one angry sweep of his arm, he sent a handful of tools flying off the workbench. He yelled and pounded the electrical box again and stumbled against the wall, sagging to the floor with no choice but to face the truth.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Maggie stood alone on the dark porch as Diane left with Sam, Marcie, and a sleeping Kyla. When Sam returned from the barn, his face held an edge she hadn’t seen since first meeting Sam at the hospital after Marcie’s accident.

  Sam didn’t reply when she asked him if he found out what was going on with Richard and Dan. He only nodded, and then packed Marcie and Kyla up, and gestured to Diane in their cop talk way of knowing what each other was thinking.

  As she stood watching the light drift out of the barn, she understood Sam’s frustration. Richard could be a stubborn jerk. And he’d always been a secretive and selfish bastard who never shared when it came to handling his problems. And those were the words he always used, “his problems.” He’d never ask for help—ever. And even when something came back to bite him in the ass, he still wouldn’t ask for help.

  She went inside and closed the door. It was after nine on a school night, and Ryley should be in bed. She kicked off her shoes and treaded over the Berber carpeting the hallway and stairs. As she approached Ryley’s closed door, her heart was pounding so hard she found it difficult to breathe. She stopped and peeked at the light flickering from under the door, and then it suddenly went dark. He knows I’m standing outside his door.

  She shuddered through her fear and made herself knock softly. Without waiting for him to answer, she opened the door and stared at the huddled form snuggled under the quilt. “I saw your light go out, so I know you’re still awake.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “I love you, Ryley. I just came to say good night.”

  “Where’s Dad?”

  It hurt, his need for his father. She wondered for a moment if he hated her. He didn’t want to be alone with her. What did she do to him? “He’s in the barn; he’ll be in soon. Do you want me to have him come up and say goodnight?”

  “No.” He released a loud breath as if he’d been holding it, something that sounded too much like relief.

  Maggie started to close the door. “Mom? Goodnight.”

  Her blood tingled and bubbled up through her heart as she shut her eyes offering up a silent thank you. Maybe all was not lost after all. “Thank you, Ryley. Have a good sleep.”

  She left the door open a crack and treaded back downstairs. This time her steps felt lighter, as if she’d overcome a major obstacle.

  Richard rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a beer. She never gave him a chance to twist off the cap. She walked right up and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head against his chest. The soft cotton of his T-shirt smoothed against her cheek. She listened to the clank as Richard sat the bottle on the counter and held her. “He said goodnight to me.” Her voice cracked as she tilted her chin up, and rested it against his chest.

  “Who said goodnight?” Richard appeared confused and distracted by her response.

  “Ryley. He said goodnight to me.”

  Richard swept his fingers through her hair. The hint of a smile broke though the heavy strain visible on his face.

  “Do you really want that beer?” She traced her hands lightly up the front of his chest and then back down over his waist. His eyes filled with a whisper of light, and his touch promised closeness with maybe a moment to put aside their differences.

  He shook his head as he reached for her hand and led her upstairs to their bedroom.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  The cool sheet drifted over her bare skin and slid down to her waist. Richard’s heavy breathing remained uneven. Maggie knew he couldn’t sleep. His body remained tight against her. His arm rested above his head, and she instinctively reached out and linked her fingers with his. She kissed his bare chest. He must not have known she was awake because he touched the back of her head and caressed her in a tiny circle.

  “Where are you?”

  “Hmm?” Even in the darkness she could see the distraction in the lines that pulled around his face.

  “Go to sleep, it’s late.” He slid his hand away and roughly ran his fingers through his hair. His wall. At one time she believed it was to shelter her and the children, but now knew it was meant to keep her out. She rolled to her side, rose on her elbow, and placed her hand on his rigid chest.

  “Stop pushing me away. What happened with Sam tonight?”

  “What did he say?” He rolled toward her in a demanding way, and she sensed he was worried about what Sam might have said.

  “Well, that’s the thing. He didn’t say anything. He came in, gathered everyone up, and left. He seemed off.”

  A sigh escaped as Richard dropped his head down on his pillow. It almost sounded like relief to her. “Richard, please don’t shut me out. At some point, you need to trust me again. I’m standing here by you. And yes, I called Sam because I know you’re in trouble and because you and your stubborn pride refuse to ask for help. I love your strength, but dammit, sometimes you make me so angry with this arrogant attitude, like you believe you can do anything. And if you have a problem, only you can fix it. By yourself. You won’t—”

  He pressed his hand against the back of her head, pulling her close, and capturing her lips with his. His tongue teased her bottom lip. He pressed her back and followed her down, holding his weight above her. When he slid his hand over the curve of her hip, she slipped a little farther before bracing both hands flat on his chest and pushing him away. “Stop it. You’re not going to distract me this time. I need to know what’s going on.”

  He rolled away and sat up. His back stiffened.

  Before he could leave the bed, she grabbed his arm. “Don’t run away. Please, Richard. I’m trying here, but you keep blocking me. Whatever it is, whatever you’ve done, it doesn’t matter. I won’t leave you. I won’t turn my back on you. You stood by me, if it wasn’t for you…”

  He lowered his head like a defeated man. “Maggie, what do you want from me?”

  “The truth.”

  He didn’t turn around, but as Maggie leaned against his naked back and slid her arm around his waist, he covered her hand with his. “Okay.”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  It was eight-thirty the next morning when the car horn honked in front of the house. “Ryley, your ride’s here.” Maggie handed Ryley his backpack and hurried him out the door, waving at Mrs. Bellman in her small red sedan. Her daughter was in Ryley’s grade and sometimes they shared a ride. “Don’t forget, I’m p
icking you up from school today.”

  “I know, Mom.” He didn’t linger; he hopped in the backseat of the idling car. She waved again as they drove away and hurried back into the house. Richard was loading the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. She touched his arm and then reached around him for her mug of lukewarm coffee.

  “I called Sam,” Richard said. “I’m meeting him in Sequim this morning at his new office. It’s next to the state trooper detachment, so if it doesn’t go well, I won’t have far to go when I’m arrested.”

  Maggie instinctively rubbed his arm. “Sam won’t turn you in. You were railroaded by Dan.”

  “No Maggie, it was of my own free will. I chose to help him for money. It may have been his idea to dump the truck in the lake and collect the insurance money. But I went along with it. He owed me the money, and it was only way he was going to pay me. I was in a real bind when all the loans came due.”

  She didn’t say anything. She was grateful he opened up to her last night about the stolen truck and why the sheriff appeared on the doorstep. Dan owed Richard a lot of money for his share of the building materials purchased for the final homes they were building on the Gardiner property.

  “You know what I can’t figure out?” Richard closed the dishwasher. “How does he appear to be doing so well. He screams he’s always broke, but then somehow, he suddenly comes up with the money for other things. It’s a game with him. He hoards his money. Lives like a pauper, but then all of sudden, he has cash to throw around.”

  “He’s growing dope again. So why hasn’t the sheriff caught him?” She dumped her cold coffee down the sink.

  “Because he’s too smart. He shuts it down when he gets a whiff of trouble and moves it. Most likely to some low life friend in the area.” Some of the hardness in his face lifted, maybe because he finally shared his burden.

  “I better go.” He hesitated until she stepped toward him, and then he slowly leaned in and kissed her, holding her close for a few seconds before leaving.

  She flattened her hand on the counter and tapped her fingers when Richard slipped on his black leather jacket. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

  “No. Stay here. I’ll leave you the truck so you can pick-up Ryley. I don’t know how long I’ll be.” He went out to the barn, and a few moments later, came out with his Harley. He fired up the engine and pulled on his helmet. She lingered on the porch wearing just a navy sweatshirt and worn blue jeans. She leaned against the smooth porch railing. He didn’t wave, nor did he look back when he drove away. She couldn’t help but be amazed at the mountain he’d appeared to have overcome since last night after he’d finally shared the hook Dan held on him. She’d been speechless, but forced herself to listen without judgment… even though she wanted to jump up and down and yell.

  He hadn’t told Diane the full story about the truck, only enough for her to realize it was best left alone. Dan couldn’t sell the truck, so he was going to collect the $30,000 insurance money on it. After they dumped the truck in Buckhorn Lake, Dan filed a report that the truck was stolen outside a Seattle hotel. If you thought about it, what were the chances of a search and rescue team accidently discovering a truck in that deep lake? And when the divers went down and matched the serial number to the stolen truck, one of the biggest questions was how the truck got all the way back here if it was stolen on the mainland. The problem now was, Dan signed the truck registration over to Richard without telling him, and passed him the registration the day before the sheriff arrived. Ownership questions now dangled in the wind, and that created a very big problem. With no insurance money paid, under the current investigation, it was now unlikely to be forthcoming. Because of Dan’s stupidity, Richard would be the registered owner, and Richard’s insurance would technically pay for the truck. The problem was Richard didn’t have insurance on the truck, and registration papers hadn’t been filed at the DMV. When the sheriff spoke with Dan, he concocted a story similar to the facts, but thoroughly massaged for his own benefit. He played the bad boy, confessing to the officers that they’d caught him. He owed Richard money, and Richard had forced him to sign the truck over to him—but had then taken the truck from Dan. Then Richard demanded cash, and also forced Dan to file a report saying the truck was stolen, which Dan thought it was, since Richard told him the truck was missing. He said he was just trying to help Richard out because Richard didn’t have the vehicle insured yet. Richard was his business partner, but Dan had no idea what he did with the truck. After Richard took the truck, he’d not seen it again.

  The question in Maggie’s mind was if the sheriff believed Dan. Such a brilliant liar. Confess to a smaller crime, and it was apparently enough to sway the officers to look harder into Richard’s financials. When Richard spoke to the officers, he told them he never had possession of the truck. He did tell them Dan gave him the registration the day before the officers appeared to question him. He urged the sheriff to check with the DMV. The fact he didn’t register the vehicle in his name or insure it should tell them Dan was not disclosing all the facts. Richard pointed out he wasn’t the one who filed the stolen vehicle report and then said nothing further to the officers.

  This morning, Richard was going to tell all of this to Sam to get his help. At this point, it didn’t look as if Richard would see the money from Dan unless he took Dan to court. And Richard wanted to steer clear of court. Too many spotlights would shine directly on his own financials. Add in Dan’s ability to spin a tale and think quickly on his feet, shifting a story to benefit his cause, and it was enough to make Richard take a step back and reevaluate.

  Maggie could see Richard was scared. The heat Angie managed to stir up in Dan’s direction had shaken Richard because the attention was focused on Dan and all his properties… including the one he owned with Richard. Richard didn’t want any investigator looking too closely at the applications, let alone the approving officer who’d overlooked many of the details.

  Sam was right. All the innocent people buying these homes didn’t know that if they pissed Dan off, he could legally evict them with little notice, and they would be required to move their home, which they’d discover was not as simple a task as when he sold it to them. They’d be forced to walk away, and lose their home—because, of course, it was on Dan’s and Richard’s property. And Dan and Richard would once again own the house. Richard was unsettled with the sloppy homework done by the property lawyers and the realtors who did not pick up on this minor detail. Nobody appeared to look at all the pitfalls anymore. A good lawyer could make a case for fraud if they put the time and effort into it. Why Richard had ever gone along with this scheme to begin with was problematic. Unless the polished version of the land deal was looked at. Two guys own a piece of land, have it rezoned as a mobile home park, apply to the community zoning board for approval for 25 manufactured homes with a twist, built on site to spec, and get themselves an edge on the market.

  For a moment, she wondered if it might not be better to just walk away from everything and start over fresh with no ties to Dan. But it would mean no money, bankruptcy. Say goodbye to their home where her children were born, raised, and where Lily died. As she breathed in the ache, the reality of the situation sunk in. She wondered for a moment about the choices Richard had made for all of them, and if she too would be able to sacrifice what they had left.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  “Nice digs. Don’t you find it a little unnerving parked this close to the sheriff?” Richard lounged in one of the worn second-hand office chairs in front of Sam’s desk in his dingy, tiny office with outdated brown paneling and one small window.

  Sam wore a five o’clock shadow, obviously having had no time to shave this morning.

  “It has its perks.” Sam watched Richard meticulously with a hardness that failed to loosen even a little.

  Richard couldn’t remember the last time someone made him squirm. “You’re not going to give me a break, are you?”

  Sam twirled a
pen between his thumb and index finger. “You called me, remember?”

  “I need to know something Sam, before I tell you anything. Will you use it against me?” Sam appeared to soften as he dumped his pen on the desk and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the pile of papers scattered across his desk. His eyes lightened with sympathy.

  “Richard, I told you last night I’m trying to help you. I’m pretty sure you didn’t kill anyone and need my help to relocate a body. Or do you?”

  “No, I didn’t kill anyone.”

  Sam opened his hands—an invitation to start talking. “Well, then; fill me in.”

  “You need to know first, what I did… I did to protect my family. When you’re in partnership with Dan, it’s like making a pact with the devil. Try breaking that tie; it’s damn near impossible. He’s got me over a barrel, Sam. He’s slick, and I was so wound up in my grief, and Maggie…” He stopped and looked away.

  “I know what you went through and why your head was out of the game. There’s no judgment from me. Talk, so we have a place to start.”

  He nodded. “Okay. Three months ago. The line of credit was pulled by the bank. I exceeded the limit too many times, and I was late with the payments. Dan stopped paying the subcontractors and suppliers. He stuck me with all the bills, which over the last year, amounted to $350,000. I tried to not pay for a bit, and then to pay my half. Except no one could find Dan to make him pay his half. And since I’m the partner who’s here, legal action was threatened solely against me. They only needed to make one of us pay. Whatever I’m out, I need to take legal action against Dan. But you need to serve him, and he’s such a cagey bastard, he won’t give out his address. He has no land line, only a prepaid cell phone, no internet, and no permanent residence, so find him first. He’s almost invisible. He knows how to live off the grid. He knew I’d be stuck. So I made the payments myself. I took out a second mortgage on my property. I’ve no equity left anywhere. The five houses that sold last year, I only got half the money. The lawyer handling the proceeds from the beginning set up two accounts to divide half of each sale. One half is placed in my account, the other in Dan’s. And because we shared our land lawyer, he couldn’t represent me and take action against Dan to get my money back. I had to get another lawyer, which went nowhere because we were unable to find Dan and serve him. Until three months ago, and then he shows up crying the blues. The lawyer I hired did a quick check on his bank accounts. He has no cash floating around, and his equity in his rental property is minimal. My lawyer’s advice was to negotiate and work out a deal. That was after I couldn’t come up with another $50,000 for his retainer.”