Dangerous Inheritance (Love Inspired Suspense)

by Barbara Warren

  She had the new locks, the alarm...no one could get in. Right? A shiver of fear rippled up her spine. Had someone managed to get a key, after all?

  Would she ever be safe in this town?

  A folded piece of paper fell out of the handful of pictures she had scooped up. She didn’t remember seeing it earlier. Macy dropped the pictures and reached for the piece of paper, wondering where it had come from. She was sure she hadn’t overlooked it.

  She unfolded the paper, staring in shock at the words written there.

  This is your last warning. Get out while you still can.

  THIRTEEN

  The next day, Nick drove by the Douglas house hoping to find Macy at home. On opening the door she greeted him with a smile that warmed his heart. It seemed as though she got more beautiful every day. They went to the kitchen as usual, settling at the table with cups of freshly brewed coffee. Today she wore a blue T-shirt and jeans, her hair hanging loose around her face. She smiled at Nick and he grinned, relaxing and enjoying the moment. Life didn’t get much better than this. What a shame it couldn’t be this way all the time.

  He pulled himself together and handed her the sheaf of papers. She accepted it and raised her eyebrows at him. “What’s this?”

  “A transcript of the trial. I want you to go over it, looking for anything that doesn’t sound right. Just glance through it a couple of times, taking notes if you think something seems a little off, or if you have a question.”

  Macy took the papers and thumbed through them, her expression intent. Nick leaned back in his chair, watching. She glanced up at him, smiling her thanks. “I’m glad to have this. I’ve wondered about the trial. But I warn you, I’m coming to this with my mind already made up. I believe he was innocent. I’ll try to be fair, but I can’t turn off the way I feel.”

  “I understand that, and I don’t want you to. Read through it, mark the places where you have a question, take notes. I’ll do the same, and so will Sam. Then we can put the three together and see what we come up with. You might catch something I won’t, and I might see something that wouldn’t mean much to you. Have you had any luck looking for the diary?”

  Macy shook her head. “No, I’ve searched, but a house like this has a lot of hiding places. Neva’s looking, too, but so far we haven’t found anything. I’m reasonably sure if it’s here I’ll find it, because I won’t stop looking until I do.”

  Nick nodded. That was no more than he would expect from her. She never gave up. But he had a feeling she might be taking on more than she could handle. “Did I tell you that I was talking to Sam and he got up to get the file on your dad’s case and it was missing?”

  “Missing? You mean it was misplaced or what?”

  “I mean it was gone. We haven’t found it yet, so I’m assuming it’s not at the police station. No one seems to have seen it, which isn’t surprising since it’s an old file and there’s no reason for anyone to have it out looking at it.”

  “But you have no idea when it disappeared? So it could have been gone for a long time. Wonder what happened to it.”

  Nick heard the skepticism in her voice, as if she didn’t believe him. Like she thought someone, maybe Nick, had hidden the file so it couldn’t reveal information about her father’s arrest. So she still didn’t trust him. He was surprised at how much that hurt. What would it take for her to realize he was on her side?

  “No, it hasn’t been gone very long. I’d been looking at it recently, but I put it back where it belonged. I’ll keep searching for it, but it might have gotten tossed out by mistake.”

  She just looked at him, not even bothering to answer, which upset him even more. She might as well call him a liar and be done with it. “Look, Macy. No one in the police department took that file, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe someone from outside walked into the police department and took that certain file and walked out with it, and no one saw them? That doesn’t speak very highly of our police force, does it? And how would that person know where to find the file in the first place?”

  “I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I just mentioned it, and I wish I’d kept quiet. You’ve already convinced yourself the police are guilty, but in an investigation, it’s a good idea to keep an open mind. You can overlook important clues otherwise.”

  She stared at him for a minute, and he could see she was trying to get herself under control. He needed to do the same. Sounding off at each other would get them nowhere.

  After heaving a sigh, she started talking. “Look, Nick. I’m sorry if it sounded as if I was blaming the police. It’s just that I don’t know what to think and it all seems to be closing in on me. Very few people want to help and some of them, like Anita and Garth Nixon, are verbally attacking me whenever I see them. It’s wearing me down.”

  He could see that, and maybe he needed to calm down a little. “I can understand. It’s getting to me, too. But don’t give up, Macy. Keep trusting God, and have faith He’ll help us learn the truth about it all.”

  Macy changed the subject. “The other day when we were looking at the photo album, did you happen to see a few photographs spread out on the kitchen table?”

  Nick stopped to think. “I may have, why?”

  “Oh, nothing probably.”

  “No, that doesn’t work. You brought it up. So start talking.”

  She shrugged. “I had some pictures I’d found in the corner cabinet and I meant to look at them later, so I left them on the table. One picture showed a group of people. My mother and father, and me, and I didn’t recognize the rest. There was a blonde woman who seemed to think she was something special. Something about her looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember who she was. When I was getting ready to shut up the house for the night I put the pictures away, and noticed the group picture was missing.”

  “Missing? So you think someone took it?”

  “I don’t know. You evidently didn’t take it, Neva says she didn’t, I was upstairs part of the time when she was here and then I went to the grocery store. Maybe someone came in and took it. But there was a threatening note in it.” She got up and walked to the cabinet and brought it to him.

  He read through the note and looked up at her. “This was in with the pictures?”

  She nodded. “It wasn’t there earlier, but when I started to put them away I found it.”

  “Are you sure Neva didn’t take the picture?”

  “Why would she want it, and if she did, why would she lie about it?”

  He didn’t have an answer for that, but he’d rather believe Neva took the picture than to think someone walked in and left that note, or even worse, entered the house after it was locked.

  “Could I look at the rest of pictures? Maybe I’d know some of the people.”

  She got up and walked to the corner cabinet, returning with an envelope of photos. Nick spread them out on the table. Pointing to the people he recognized and calling them by name. Macy leaned over his shoulder and he could smell her perfume, something light and spicy, making his senses reel.

  Nick forced his attention back to the pictures. “I can’t see anything here that would be important enough for anyone to take. Wonder why someone would want that one and why leave a threatening note?”

  Macy slumped down in a chair across from him. “I don’t know. But I really think someone took it. I just don’t have any idea who it could have been.”

  And that worried him. She didn’t have any business staying here by herself. Didn’t she have any idea what it would to do him if something happened to her? No, probably not. After all, he’d never given her any reason to know.

  “Look, Macy, you have to keep that door locked at all times. You’re keeping things stirred up, I’m running around asking questions and someone could be getting very nervous. You’re the key to this thing, and whoever it is, he has a strong reason to silence you.”

  He could see the fear in her eyes, and somet
hing else. Anger. Macy Douglas was a fighter, and he loved her all the more for it.

  Nick stopped to think about that. Love? All right, he’d finally admitted it. What he felt for Macy was the kind of love a man and woman could build a life on. He wasn’t sure how she felt about him, but he knew for sure how he felt about her. This was the wrong time to tell her, though. First he had to figure out a way to keep her alive.

  Nick placed his hand on her shoulder, wishing he could take her in his arms and keep her safe, but he knew she would never really be safe until they had unraveled the puzzle of what had actually happened in this house that night.

  “Keep in touch, okay? And if anything looks just the little bit wrong, call me.”

  She nodded. “I will, and thank you for all you’ve done for me, Nick. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  He smiled down at her, thinking how vulnerable she was. He’d check back later, just to make sure she was all right. It seemed that he was always walking away from her, but what else could he do? He couldn’t learn anything sitting here. If he was going to solve this case he had to get out and do some investigating. The fact that it was an old case closed out years ago wasn’t helping. But if there was anything to be found, he’d find it. He had to. Both he and Macy were too personally involved to just turn their backs and forget all about it. There was too much at stake.

  * * *

  Nick had been gone only a few minutes when Hilda Yates dropped by. They sat in the living room and Macy thought about how nice it was to have one friend in this town who would stop by just to visit.

  Hilda sat down in the chair and stretched out her legs. “So how have you been getting along?”

  “Okay, I guess.” Macy hesitated, then decided to go ahead. “Hilda, my grandmother Douglas always believed there was something rotten going on with the police department concerning my father’s arrest. That they knew he was innocent but they arrested him and let a killer go free. Did you ever hear anything like that?”

  Hilda looked thoughtful. “You know there was some talk about it, but I guess most of us just thought it was some of the political junkies stirring up trouble. Tell you what, why don’t you ask Nick? His father was a policeman back then.”

  Macy stared at Hilda, feeling as if someone had just knocked the breath out of her. Nick’s father was a policeman? Why hadn’t he told her? She’d mentioned this to him a few times and he’d brushed her off, even defended the police. In fact, he had gotten upset when she questioned his version of the missing file. Just when she thought she’d found someone she could trust, she learned he’d been deceiving her the whole time.

  “You mean Nick’s father might have been part of the cover-up concerning my parents? He certainly never mentioned to me his father was with the police. Wonder why?”

  Hilda swung her head around to look at her. “Now, Macy. Get that look off your face. Nick had nothing to do with what happened back then. He was just a boy.”

  “No, but I’ve brought this up, and he just sort of ignored me, pushed it aside. Maybe his father was involved. I believe Nick Baldwin has some explaining to do.”

  Half an hour later, Hilda left, still protesting that she was sure Nick hadn’t been trying to hide anything from Macy, and stressing that she was sorry she had brought it up. Macy let her go without arguing, but she had something to discuss with Nick Baldwin. If he came by this afternoon, the way he usually did, he was going to tell her about his father, whether he wanted to or not.

  She spent the rest of the day alternately working herself into frenzy and then attempting to calm down until she heard what Nick had to say. The trying to calm down part didn’t seem to be working well so far.

  When he arrived shortly after he got off work, she met him at the door. She’d listen to what he had to say, but it had better be good. “Let’s sit out here.”

  He raised his eyebrows, and she knew her tone of voice and probably her expression had warned him that something was wrong. She took a chair, and waited until he sat down before starting in. “Hilda was here today.”

  “Oh?” He looked wary. “That’s nice. Is that what got you riled up?”

  She pinned him a straight look. “No, I told her that my grandmother thought the police were involved in railroading my father, and she just happened to mention that your father was a member of the police force back then. Funny you never bothered to bring it up.”

  His expression turned thoughtful, and he nodded his head. “I figured that would come up sometime. I didn’t mention it because I wanted to see what I could find out first.”

  “And did you find anything?” Macy heard the skepticism in her voice and knew he caught it, too, but she didn’t care. Right now she felt betrayed by someone she was beginning to believe she could trust. She watched as he shook his head.

  “No, not yet, but I’m still looking. If it’s out there, I’ll find it.”

  “I don’t doubt it, but will you make it public, or will it just be your little secret?”

  He stared at her. “Is that what you think of me?”

  “Right now I don’t know what I think. If you were playing it straight it seems like you would have told me the truth.”

  His expression hardened. “Why would I do that? You obviously had already decided that anyone connected with the police department was corrupt. Would you have been willing to listen to reason?”

  Macy stiffened. “I am a reasonable person. I believe I’d have listened.”

  “Not if it concerned your father, you wouldn’t. You have your mind made up and you’ve found the police here guilty without any proof. Well, this is my father, and I have a right to defend his memory just like you do with yours. If I learn he was involved in any kind of cover-up, I’ll tell the truth. Until then I won’t listen to anyone run him down.”

  She stood up. “Fine. I believe we understand each other. I’ll keep searching for the truth, and if it involves your father, so be it.”

  Nick got to his feet. “That works for me. I’ll keep looking, too, and if I find your father was guilty, that’s the way it will be.”

  He strode down the steps and toward his car.

  Macy stared after him. What had she done? She should have been more polite, more subtle, instead of behaving as if she thought he had deliberately lied to her. But then on second thought, he hadn’t been honest. He had hidden the truth from her, knowing how she felt.

  Nick Baldwin had betrayed her. He deserved every word she had said, and more.

  So why was she crying?

  * * *

  Nick sat in his living room with the TV blaring the evening news, not really hearing or seeing anything on the screen. Hands wrapped around his coffee mug, he stared blankly into space, reviewing his confrontation with Macy in his mind.

  He understood how she felt, understood her blind, unswerving devotion to her father, but he couldn’t betray his father, either. Before he could bring accusations against his own kin for anything, he had to have proof. Yes, his dad had been a policeman, a good one. None better. He’d stake his life on that. Angus Baldwin had left the police force the year after Megan Douglas was killed.

  Nick paused, struck by that. Why had his father stopped being a police officer? Did it have anything to do with Megan’s death? Three years later his father had been killed in a sawmill accident. Nick was sixteen years old, and he could still feel the agonizing pain of losing the man he’d loved and looked up to.

  He turned off the television and stepped out on the deck, staring up at the sky. A full moon showered the world with silver light. Stars gleamed in a dazzling display. A soft breeze brought a hint of honeysuckle. He stared at the beauty of the night, knowing he was in over his head. This case was turning way too personal. Was his love for his father blinding him to reality? Could the police actually have been playing dirty back then? No, he couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it without absolute proof. To do otherwise was totally unthinkable.

  What would
he do if he actually turned up the proof? Could he indulge in his own cover-up? No. He couldn’t. Nick sent a silent prayer upward. God, help me learn the truth about what took place back then, no matter how much it hurts.

  He wished nothing had happened to stir up this mess. But then he wouldn’t have met Macy. Just knowing her, being with her, had enriched his life more than he would have believed possible. And now they were in danger of being torn apart by the secrets of their past. Somehow he had to unlock those secrets, find out exactly what had happened, including the parts both their fathers had played.

  Nick leaned on the railing, staring at the shadowed yard, praying God would show him the way. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake. If he was the one who turned up evidence proving Steve Douglas had killed his wife, he could lose Macy...if he hadn’t already. No, he couldn’t let that happen. She was right. He should have told her the truth earlier. Somehow, he’d make it up to her.

  Something sailed past his head, thudding on the floor of the deck. Nick dropped to the floor, reaching automatically for the gun he’d left in the living room. A rock lay about two feet away from him with something tied to it. He reached for the rock, closing his hand around the rough exterior. His pocketknife made short work of the string, and he unfolded the paper, reading the scrawled words.

  If you’re smart, you’ll stay away from Macy Douglas. I don’t want to hurt you.

  FOURTEEN

  Macy threw back the covers, unable to sleep. She kept seeing Nick’s face, hearing the things he’d said...and the way she had reacted. She understood how he must feel about his father, but she had a father, too, one who had died in prison.

  She wandered through the upstairs, lonely and a little intimidated by the silence. The house was more familiar now, but she still didn’t feel completely comfortable here, especially at night.

  Macy paused in the doorway of her parents’ room, thinking about going in, then changed her mind and moved on to Grandma Lassiter’s room. Nothing in there held her interest, so she stepped down the hall to the child’s room, the room that had been hers once upon a time. Back when life was good, and she was a young girl wrapped in her parents’ love.