Page 171 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Hearing it stated so baldly made Becca wince. Could Tate or Shayna have killed her parents? They stood to gain from the elimination of competition for the money. “Not Molly, too?”

“Oh she’ll get something, but Gram will want Tate to have the house and the lion’s share.” Shayna laughed. “Don’t be so shocked. Why else would someone stay on this god-forsaken island with nothing to do? And Gram knows it.”

“What about Max? Is that why he’s here?”

“He could write anywhere. But as long as he makes sure Molly is close to Gram, he can be sure she’ll get a share of the estate. And it’s a big estate, I can tell you that.”

Big enough to kill for?Becca snatched the words back before they left her lips. She couldn’t believe that of Tate. He might drink too much, but he wasn’t a killer.

Mrs. Jeffries came to the door. “Becca, you have a phone call.”

“Coming.” The only people who knew she was here were her siblings. She jogged to the door and took the portable phone the housekeeper handed her.

Shayna wagged her fingers at her and went inside. Carrying the phone, Becca went to the table and sat where she could see if anyone approached. She didn’t want to be overheard.

“Hello,” she said.

“How are things going?” Jake’s deep voice came over the line.

Tears stung Becca’s eyes at the sound of her brother’s voice. She felt so alone here, isolated and vulnerable.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“You don’t sound okay,” he said sharply. “What’s wrong?”

She hesitated. If she told him what had happened this morning, he’d be on the first plane back to the States. “Nothing,” she said finally. “I’m just emotional at being here where Mom and Dad died.”

“Finding anything yet?”

“Just that practically everyone has a motive. Max wants his daughter Molly to inherit Gram’s estate, Tate is hanging around to make sure he gets his share, and Mrs. Jeffries hates everyone.”

“Sounds like a wonderful bunch of relatives,” Jake said with obvious disgust. “I think you should pack up and head home.”

“Gram is coming back in a few days. She’ll take one look at me and know who I am.”

“So you won’t have any choice. You can’t stay there if everyone knows you’re in line to inherit. Not if your theory is correct. I can’t lose you too.”

“I’m hoping to talk to Gram alone and get her to go along with me for now.”

“Fat chance of that from what I remember of her. She was a real stickler for telling the truth.”

“But she won’t have to lie, just keep quiet.”

“Good luck. I don’t see her going along with it.”

Becca didn’t want to talk about it anymore. It made her heart flutter in her chest. “How’s the dig?”

“Great. We should be wrapping it up soon. I’ll join you there once it’s finished.”

“Don’t do that! You’ll spoil everything. How would we explain you?”

“I could pretend to be your boyfriend or something.”

“Ick. I don’t think so.”

There was a long pause. “Good point. I could just be your brother coming for a visit.”

“Yeah, I guess that would work. We’ll see how it goes. Have you heard from Wynne?”

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