Page 74 of Silent Deception
Oh, the resilient innocence of childhood. “Yes, you can. Just keep it really low, okay?”
He found one of his favorites on YouTube, while she listened for sounds outside that shouldn’t be there, and prayed that their intruder had long since left with Scout snapping at his heels until he managed to reach his vehicle.
Within twenty minutes, the welcoming wail of a siren came up the highway, and soon flashing lights were spinning across the hillsides, painting them an eerie shade of red. A second patrol car arrived moments later.
Her heart still pounding, Kristin looked gratefully out at the circus of strobe lights and vehicles, then bent to give Cody a loving squeeze. “See, honey? We’re fine.”
He went to stand at the windows, his eyes wide. “Holy cow!”
Wade dispatched his deputy to search her house while he started taking a report from Kristin.
“Any ideas at all?” Wade asked, after taking down general information. “Did anyone in town say anything to you—threaten you in any way?”
“No one.” She gave Cody a reassuring smile. “Maybe you should go to your bedroom and watch your movie there. You don’t want to miss the best part, right?”
She waited until Cody left, then lowered her voice. “I haven’t had any personal threats, Sheriff. I don’t owe anyone money. I haven’t had any bad business deals. There’ve been no difficult patients at the clinic to speak of. I’ve been looking into my Dad’s death, but only you, my aunts, and I know about the fender, and that the report came back.”
“Have you talked to any locals about the accident? Made anyone edgy?” Wade frowned as he jotted notes on his clipboard.
“Max at the clinic knows I’ve been working on this, but he’s newer in town than I am. Buddy...but he could’ve hidden that fender instead of giving it to me, so he’s just been helpful. And Ryan—but he’s trustworthy.”
Wade looked at her sharply. “You told aGallagher?”
“Inadvertently...sort of.”
“Ma’am, if someone was after your father, who would be the most likely suspect?”
Clint Gallagher.But how could she be sure of that...and how could she explain that the man’s eldest son was different? “I...I’m working on it.”
The deputy came back with his own clipboard and frowned at Wade. “Just as she said, boss. I found TVs, a DVD player, and a digital camera, all in plain sight. A jewelry box on her dresser upstairs, and it didn’t look like anyone had pawed through it. But the den—the suspect was trying real hard to find something in those files.” He turned his attention to Kristin. “Any idea what he was looking for?”
“Money? Credit cards?”
“Then he would have taken other portable valuables, too. We’ll check for fingerprints, but that’s a long shot—local troublemakers wouldn’t be in the system, and a pro would wear gloves. If you can figure out what’s missing—or what someone tried to find—we’ll have a better chance.”
She shivered as she met and held Wade’s gaze. “Evidence about my dad’s accident?”
He nodded. “Given the circumstances, that’s my guess, too. Now we need to figure out who was driving the car that might’ve caused his crash.”
* * * *
KRISTIN LEFT ALL THElights blazing for the rest of the night. Long after Cody went to sleep, she worked through the papers that had been thrown about in the den.
The deputy was right. A random burglar would have taken valuables. Someone was after specific information, but the range of possibilities was frighteningly narrow.
Ted certainly wasn’t after anything to prove her less than competent as a mother—he wasn’t happy to have Cody for weekend stays and had never pushed for full custody.
No one could imagine, looking around at her spare furnishings and the condition of the house, that she would have secret treasures hidden away. Even in these days of identity theft and credit card fraud, it would mostly be online. Surely a common thief would pick on someone who appeared much more affluent.
And that left the possibility that her father’s killer knew about her quest...and wanted to either frighten her or take whatever proof she might have found.
Buddy and Wade had been nothing but helpful. Nora and RaeJean were certainly trustworthy...though RaeJean had a penchant for gossip and didn’t always get her facts straight, so she might have inadvertently said something to the wrong person.
And then there was Ryan. A man she’d loved all these years, whether she’d admitted it to herself or not. But what would he have to gain? The truth hit her like a fist slamming into her stomach, taking her breath away.
Millions.
She sat back on her heels. Years ago, she’d tried to protect him by breaking off their relationship. But then he’d gone ahead and defied his father anyway. He’d lost his inheritance, his future at the Four Aces, and his close family ties. Now, facing the possibility of permanent disability and the end of his military career, wouldn’t he want to regain the good graces of his father?
