Page 52 of Murder at Rescue Ridge

Outside, the sun was a little brighter this morning. He hesitated for a split-second on the porch, then reminded himself that he had his freedom again. No more monitoring. No more ankle device.

At least suspicion had been cast away from him, where it belonged. The real killer could be found now that law enforcement had widened the search to include Lukas and possibly Beau.

But, Beau? Was he capable of killing Harrison?

What did they really know about Beau’s background? How he had grown up? How he had been treated? Had he been abused? Or had his mother truly cared for him? Had his life been hard? Beaumont had taken responsibility for his kid in death. What about in life?

Untangling Beaumont’s financial dealings would take time. The man had offshore accounts and dummy corporations. He had made deals that weren’t meant to see the light of day by the government for tax collection purposes or anyone else for competitive reasons. He had made deals with some of the wealthiest folks in the south, betting on the future offspring of his best racehorses.

Half the reason the family hadn’t put up a bigger fight to remove Harrison Guidry as counsel was to pick his brain. He knew more about the ins and outs of Beaumont’s business dealings than anyone else.

Had he been trying to make side deals now that Beaumont was gone? Profit from their ignorance?

These were all good questions to track. Finding answers would prove to be the tricky part.

Conrad retrieved the bag from the backseat, and the note from the cupholder. He walked inside the main house, wondering if it would ever feel like home if Nikki wasn’t there. Because last night, he’d felt a shift.

“I wrote this for you,” he said to her as she polished off the last bite of toast. He dropped the piece of paper on the table.

She picked it up and smoothing out the edges. “Thank you for wanting to check to make sure I was okay. Believe me, getting back to you was my first priority.”

He would lead her to her father’s murderer. She wanted to figure out who killed Harrison as much as Conrad wanted to.

She excused herself to go change and returned fifteen minutes later while he was on his second cup of coffee.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“I’m free to roam around,” he said. “Are you?”

“Not as long as there’s a reward for my safe return.” She bit down on her lip. “I should make a call to Heath. Tell him to call off the dogs.”

Conrad held out his cell. She stared at it like it was a bomb about to detonate.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. “He’ll have your phone number.”

“Only until my other phone is returned from the sheriff’s office, which should be any time now that I’m no longer the lead suspect,” he stated.

“Okay,” she said after sucking a breath. She took the offering and tapped the screen. “He won’t answer a strange number, so I texted him to call this number if he wants to speak to me.”

The cell almost immediately buzzed.

“First of all, I’m okay,” she said into the phone, turning her back and walking over to the window. She paused for a few beats, and he could swear he heard her stepfather screaming from across the room. “You need to cancel the reward,” she said calmly when he quieted. “Now, Heath.” Another pause. More screaming. “I’m safe. Isn’t that the most important thing here?” She took in a slow, deep breath. With her free hand, she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m serious. You’re putting me in more danger than you real—”

She must have been cut off because she stopped mid-sentence.

“Heath, listen to me,” she finally cut in. “No. You don’t need to know where I am. Suffice it to say that I’m safe. I’m calling to let you and my mom know that I’m okay and you don’t have to worry about me.” Another beat paused. “I’m not with a killer. For your information, Conrad isn’t—”

Cut off again.

“He’s been—”

Third time. Was it the charm?

A sharp breath later, she said, “I’m ending this call because we’re going around in circles, and you’re not hearing me.” With that, she lowered the phone and tapped the screen. She stood there for a long moment, staring outside.

“I don’t know who he is anymore,” she said.

Those words struck a chord. How far would Heath go?

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