Page 93 of Crosshairs

“Looking for this?” He held out her clutch.

His deep baritone sent a tremor through her heart. No matter how hard she fought it, she was drawn to him. Ainsley took the purse and fished her key out while Linc waited.

“May I come in?” he asked when she pushed the door open.

“Linc...” she started.

“I’m not leaving you alone. Have you forgotten Maddox is still on the loose? Either I come in, or I’ll spend the night in the Tahoe.”

She leaned against the door. “Probably a good idea for you to come in.”

Ainsley pushed the door open, and Linc followed her inside. Had she totally lost it? Why had she gotten so caught up in trying to prove to herself her dad’s guilt when Maddox had morereason to kill her than anyone? She reset the alarm, then joined him in the library.

“I want to apologize.”

Ainsley turned around and stared. She’d been ready for anything but an apology. And she should be apologizing to him ... and her father “For?”

He propped himself against Cora’s desk. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was dismissing your suspicions. I just want you to keep an open mind.”

“No, you’re right. I’m not thinking clearly.”

Surprise showed on his face. “Then how about we examine the situation?”

“Okay.”

“I’ve been thinking ... you believe your father stole the diaries, and I’m not so sure.”

She really didn’t think her father was trying to kill her, but she wasn’t so sure about the diaries. “I—”

“Hear me out. First, if your dad had asked Cora for the diaries, would she have given them to him?”

“I don’t think my aunt would have given them to anyone.”

“I agree. Suppose he came over and asked her for them Thursday night, and she refused. Can you really see him shoving her down and then leaving her on the floor to maybe die?”

Would he?It was really hard to believe her dad would ever leave Cora unconscious and injured.

Why did she think he was the type who would hire someone to kill her? She pressed her fingers tightly against her temples as though the pressure would clear her muddy thoughts. She paced in front of the fireplace.

“Maybe his ambition to be governor changed his core personality.” When he started to object, she stopped pacing and held up her hand. “I need to follow this thought to a logical conclusion. Let’s look at this a different way.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“It’s easier to see the motivation behind a crime when you don’t know the people involved, like we do in this instance. Can you pretend you have no connection to anyone in this case?”

“I think I can do that. Can you?” A tiny grin quirked his lips.

“Of course I can.” Heat crept into her cheeks as she remembered those lips on hers. Ainsley forced her thoughts back to the topic. “Let me lay out the motive, means, and opportunity of my case. My father has two motives—the diary and my trust. He definitely has the means to hire someone since he is, after all, a criminal defense lawyer. The political rally created an opportunity.”

When he didn’t object, she said, “Let’s start with the trust—”

“Totally circumstantial. If he wanted your trust money, he wouldn’t wait until the year before you receive the trust to kill you. He especially wouldn’t want to draw that kind of attention when he’s running for office.” He tilted his head to one side. “What about Maddox?”

Ainsley sank onto the sofa and pressed her hand to her mouth as she tried to still her whirling thoughts. It made much more sense that her assailant was the escaped convict.

So why couldn’t she get rid of this niggling thought about her dad? “Okay, let’s say Maddox shot at me tonight. That still leaves whoever broke in here Thursday night.”

“And you think it’s your dad,” he said. “Tell you what. There’s one way to ease your mind about that.”

---