Deadly Inheritance

by Jeulia Hesse

  How long could she last in here? No food or water, no clothing to protect against the cold. She pushed the thoughts from her minds.

  As she wrapped herself in the materials, she knew they would not be enough to keep her warm. She needed to stay awake and keep breathing and hope – hope that someone would come along and find her.

  The cave was black as night. She thought she could see shadows occasionally, but knew it was her eyes trying to adjust to the light. It almost made no difference to her if her eyes were opened or closed due to the absolute darkness. She knew it was going to be a fight to stay awake. So, she started to think about the details of that morning.

  Jeremy had been the one coming through the orchard. It was his picture that popped up on her text messaged from the new game cameras. She wondered if it had been him that had been messing with Jim’s cameras all along – but why would he do that? He had access to the inn until she had fired him, and that had not kept him fully away. Daniel had grabbed her in the back as she was fleeing Jeremy, so it was likely Daniel that hit her in the head with the axe.

  But Jeremy? He had told her to stay down in the front room and to not anger him further. Daniel? And then Jeremy untied her while Daniel was digging her grave. She shivered, pulling the blanket tighter. What was it he had been spouting while he dug? She tried hard to recall his words.

  He had killed Annie.

  He really had hated her and the fact that Ada and Annie had inherited the inn and not he and Jeremy. He had killed Annie so Jeremy would inherit the inn, but then Ada had left it to her. He was planning to kill her as well for the same reasons. Jeremy appeared to have been involved in the whole sickening thing, but it was not clear to what extent. Her head swam with the thoughts and her injury compounded the spinning sensation.

  There was something that came back to her from when Daniel was sputtering – something about killing Annie when he found out she was knocked up. Had Annie been pregnant when she died? Daniel referred to Shawn as ‘that bastard,’ as it was likely his child. Shawn caused a load of trouble when they were younger and may have vandalized some of Daniel’s equipment at one time or another, which had clearly sealed Daniel’s dislike for the boy.

  Christina’s thoughts whirled to back just before Annie had been missing. She had been so in love with Kevin, and Annie and Shawn had recently broken up. She recalled that the circumstances of their breakup were a little vague as Shawn had been the initiator. Annie had been withdrawn and not herself.

  A sudden realization hit her. She’d found Annie early one morning, vomiting in her bathroom. She had blamed it on the wine coolers they routinely consumed over the summers and complained about being awakened early from the construction equipment in the yard working on the rock walls. The very walls where her body had been found.

  Christina’s thoughts whirled. No one had mentioned that as a possibility of a child when they were searching for Annie. How did Daniel find out? Did Shawn know? He had never mentioned it at all. How awful that not one, but two young lives had been wasted. So many lives ruined for greed.

  Tears slipped down her dirty face in the deep darkness of the cave. Outside, the rain poured down, and the temperature began to drop.

  Chapter 37

  Kevin was back in the clearing, organizing another search party now that the early round had come back empty handed. A couple of trained search dogs and their handlers had been engaged in the search since dawn. They wanted to catch the best scent they could while the ground was still damp. They were fighting the heavy rain and the other environmental factors. They had picked up Christina’s scent apparently, but had lost it. They were going to give it another try after some rest and water.

  He was impatient, he knew, but as time ticked on with the colder weather snap, the more likely she would die from exposure to the elements. Hypothermia was a killer. Even in moderately cold temperatures, people died. Kevin pulled his jacket closed and shivered. It had dropped to 32 degrees overnight and was now hovering at 40. The day would warm up into the 60’s, but it may be too late for Christina. He prayed that she had found some shelter somehow, and that she was not injured enough to be unable to care for herself.

  His stomach fell every time the radio squelched, or another search team came in. More volunteers were on their way, and they would have enough people to do a full grid search and expand it from their targeted searches with the dogs. They would start in the area that the dogs had lost her scent. It was likely they would have picked it up again if the rain had not washed everything away.

  A jeep pulled into the clearing that he recognized as Layla’s. She and Jeff likely came to volunteer in the search party. He hoped Layla was well enough to participate and was glad when he saw she had brought food and water for the volunteers.

  “Glad to see you guys!” he called over to them.

  Jeff opened the door and the dog bounded out to greet Kevin. “Oh, sorry man. I didn’t know what to do with him. He’s been frantic all night.”

  The dog licked Kevin’s hands eagerly in a greeting, and then proceeded to bark at him in earnest. “I see what you mean,” Kevin said. “Better get a leash on him. We’ve got some other search dogs in the area, and we can’t have him running wild through the crime scene.”

  Jeff grabbed the dog by his collar and hooked a leash on him. “Crime scene? Sorry man, but what’s happened? I can only really guess, between the chopper evac, coroner and now a ground search for Christina.”

  “How’d did you know we were searching for Christina?” Kevin asked.

  At that moment, Shawn joined them. He had been side by side with Kevin the whole time, guiding his team and coordinating the incident command that the state troopers had organized. The FBI was on its way, which was something that he wasn’t sure they needed, as it wasn’t exactly a kidnapping and more in line with an abduction. Shawn reacted at Kevin’s question and immediately, they knew how Jeff knew they were searching for Christina.

  “Hey Jeff. Do you mind unloading that water and food over by the squads?” Kevin asked. Jeff nodded in agreement, leaving Layla with the two men.

  Shawn turned to Kevin to diffuse the intensity of his question. “Heard it on the scanner, like the rest of the county. You okay to be out here?” Shawn asked. She nodded her reply.

  “Do you know something that would help us?” Kevin murmured so that no one else would overhear.

  “I really don’t know anything definite, but I think the dog may be able to help.” She whispered.

  Both men looked at the dog being held on a leash. The mangy mutt had tried to protect Christina and from the looks of Jeremy, he got a good bite in before they shut him in the office at the inn. Kevin knew Shawn couldn’t get over the resemblance to the dog Annie had when they were little kids. They were running out of time, and they knew it. It would be at least an hour before the fresh search group would be there. They may already be too late. They would take whatever help was offered.

  “Here, let me hold the dog. He seems pretty worked up,” Shawn said.

  The dog immediately responded to Shawn’s command over his leash and gave him his full attention. Shawn appeared to think better of letting the dog lead him through the rough terrain. It was not his usual place to be in the woods, and he likely felt a bit out of his element. Instead, Shawn took the dog’s leash and shoved it into Kevin’s hands. He put a police radio in his other hand. “Trust me,” he said to his friend, “I’ve got the search well in hand, so radio me if you find anything.”

  Kevin looked surprised, but grabbed his pack at the last minute as Shawn urged the dog, “Show us where she is boy!”

  The dog took off in a solid direction, pulling Kevin along behind him. They moved quickly, past where they had found Christina’s bare footprint. The dog did not hesitate. He kept his forward momentum and did not stop to sniff a single tree or bush. Kevin saw he was following along a ridge, moving in and out of the undergrowth. If she had been following this route, it was clear she was tryin
g to evade someone behind her. He realized with a chill that she had been trying to evade being killed as she was being shot at. The trail they were following zig zagged from cover to cover. It’s harder to hit a moving target.

  What horror she had been through, he thought as he kept moving behind the dog. He prayed she was still alive. That was all that mattered to him – that she was not dead. He did not think he could face it if she were dead. It would destroy him. They had to find her.

  They went through the woods. The dog pulled him further and faster over rises and boulders. His tongue hung from his mouth as he ran without stopping. His injured paws left bloody pawprints as his wounds reopened from the activity and still, he did not falter. Kevin begged the powers that be that she be all right, as he struggled to keep up with the animal’s pace.

  They must have traveled about a half mile or more through the woods at a breakneck speed, and then the dog slowed his pace. Kevin took the break to swig some water and offer the dog some. He noticed then what had gotten the dog’s attention. It was the other two search dogs and their handlers.

  The dog barked to them with short, pointed barks that were returned by the other dogs. Kevin waved to them to acknowledge their presence as they took a brief break. The others moved toward them as Kevin watched. The other search animals appeared to be excited by Chipper’s presence.

  “Hey, I didn’t know you had a search dog,” said one of the handlers Kevin recognized from other searches on the trail.

  “Yeah, he’s a stray. Christina’s been watching him,” he replied, taking a swig of water.

  He felt a bit ridiculous now, letting the crazed animal lead him on a wild trail at top speed through the woods. There were other animals that had training and gave them a better chance at finding Christina. What the hell was he doing?

  “Hey, your dog is pointing.”

  They all looked at the dog. He had one paw up and his nose directly pointing in one direction. “What?”

  One of the handlers reached down and unhooked Chipper’s leash. The dog bolted forward, and they all followed suit, chasing him for a hundred yards or so. He ended his run at a gathering of bushes and rocks. He stood there, barking, and waiting for the men and dogs to reach him.

  At first, they could not see what he was barking at, but he was relentless. He barked and urged them to action as he dug into the rock beneath. At further study of the area, Kevin could see an opening hidden in the terrain. “Christina?” he shouted down the small opening, but only silence followed.

  The dog suddenly started howling. It was an eerie, soul-wrenching sound. Goosebumps rose on his arms.

  “I’m going in there,” Kevin announced to the handlers.

  They took charge of the dog as Kevin lowered himself gingerly down the hole. He knew this was reckless, relying on a stray dog and going sight unseen down a hole in the ground. He landed hard on his feet into the cave and immediately flashed his flashlight around, shouting her name.

  He almost missed her. She was just a small figure wrapped in a filthy blanket, covered with leaves. His heart leapt as he approached her. She was so cold, and his heart dropped as he felt for a pulse. At his touch, her eyes flickered open, and he rejoiced.

  “Oh baby!” he shouted as he carefully examined her, shouting up to the dog handlers that she was found.

  He knew he immediately needed to warm her up, and he proceeded to take off his clothes to wrap around both their bodies as he got her skin to skin. She was barely conscious as she resisted him taking off her clothes to expose her skin to his. He murmured to her as he did so, thankful she had been found alive.

  Above ground, rescue was getting organized. It would be a challenge to get them both out of the hole in the ground. As he felt her body start to absorb some of his warmth, he flashed his light around the room. She was covered in a dirty old Power Rangers blanket and wrapped around her head was a sweatshirt with a familiar school logo. A dirty backpack lay on the floor, and a pile of dirt lay against one wall.

  He jumped as his light hit what appeared to be a half buried human skull on the other side of the cave.

  Chapter 38

  “Come back to bed,” she murmured to him.

  It was early morning and the sun was just coming up. The early morning fog was lifting from the fields. It was quiet and peaceful; at this hour, everyone was still asleep getting those last few winks before their big opening day.

  He got back into the warm bed, snuggling up to her naked buttocks. Her cast dragged heavily across the sheets as she settled into his arms. It was the only outward evidence of the past few weeks. He pressed his lips against the back of her neck and inhaled her scent. This was the compass for his life. He felt truly blessed to have her in his arms after all they had been through, not only in the past few weeks, but in the years they were apart.

  Recalling how close he had been to losing her forever had shaken him. He shivered and she pulled the blankets more closely around them.

  She had been lucky that they had found her when they did. She had been hypothermic and barely arousable. He pulled his arms more tightly around her. The events of that day replayed clearly in his mind.

  Daniel had shot himself, apparently after he thought he had killed Jeremy, his only child. Jeremy had attempted to help Christina get away and had stepped into the line of fire. Daniel’s intent that day was to kill Christina and pave the way for Jeremy to inherit the inn. He had admitted to killing Annie.

  According to Shawn, off the record of course, the evidence was being compiled against Daniel, but the police did not have probable cause for an arrest. Apparently, he, Jeremy and Shawn were their main suspects in Annie’s death. They had been keeping tabs on all of them but hadn’t expected what happened that day.

  Jeremy was recovering in the County Jail from his wounds. It had been discovered that he was involved in a money laundering scheme connected to a local drug ring. He had been running money through his father’s construction company and the inn, as Ada had left him in charge of the business as her health and interest in the property declined. When Christina had come and hired her attorney, they found some suspicious activity and had alerted the bank, who were still conducting their investigation, but things did not look good for him. He was looking at several years in jail.

  Jeremy did provide additional information on his father, saying when his father started drinking again, he told Jeremy about murdering Annie. He also said his father had tampered with Ada’s insulin, and that he’d caused the accident that killed his brother. He had always been so envious of not inheriting the inn, he felt it was his to own and he had wanted to pass it to his son. It had been a deadly inheritance for everyone else because of Daniel’s jealousy.

  There had been a vindication for Jeff in the whole ordeal. The backpack Christina had found in the cave had been Jeff’s from all those years ago, when he was lost on a camping trip. The skull they found in the cave was part of an entire human skeleton that had been there for many years. There was speculation that it could have been Paula Weldon, who had gone missing in the 1950’s from Bennington College. They would have hard evidence soon.

  It was all over now. The past was the past and would no longer define their lives going forward. They were together and that was all that mattered to him. He would follow her anywhere if she chose to leave this place. He was glad that she had decided to stay for the time being. She and Gina had a wonderful business plan and would do well with the inn and the restaurant. With Jeff’s horses added to the mix, they would offer further amenities to attract patrons.

  Life was looking up for all of them. There was one more thing however – one last step that would solidify their future. He reached in front of him to slip a ring on the left hand of the dozing woman in his arms.

  She stirred. “What are you doing?”

  She looked down at her hand, waking from her dozing and saw the diamond ring on her finger. She was speechless and turned in his embrace to face him. “Is this what I t
hink it is?” she whispered finding his mouth with her lips.

  Tears slipped down her face as she pulled back from the kiss.

  “Is that a ‘yes’?” he asked.

  She laughed as she felt him stiffen against her thighs as he covered her body with his. She smiled as she gazed into his eyes. “I love you so much. Of course, it’s a yes!”

  His heart soared. Happiness filled his soul. He watched her face change from love to passion as he gently entered her. Together, they moved toward ecstasy as joy filled their hearts and they rejoiced in the promise of their life together.

  Author Connect

  Hello Reader!

  Thank you for reading Deadly Inheritance, I hope you have enjoyed it.

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  If you liked this story you will like Killer Recipe – This is Shawn and Gina’s story – Book Two of the Stone House Inn Series.

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  All my best,

  Jeulia

  Did you love Deadly Inheritance? Then you should read Killer Recipe by Jeulia Hesse!