Day Of Reckoning Part 19

"Andrew Lane?" Charity asked incredulously.

"Yes?" Now he sounded suspicious.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to find the attorney's son."

"My father is deceased."

"I'm not sure I have the right Andrew Lane. You have a sister Suzanne?"

"Yes?" More suspicion in his voice.

"Just tell me this. Has your mother Emily remarried?"

"No," he said. "What is this about?"

"I do have the wrong number. Sorry." Charity hung up with fingers shaking, as she quickly dialed Roz's cell phone. Out of the area or turned off. Charity felt cold inside and scared. What were the chances that there was another hotshot attorney named Andrew Lane with a wife named Emily and two grown children named Andrew and Suzanne? None. Nada. Nil.

Liam's new wife hadn't just pa.s.sed herself off as Emily Lane, she'd brought along two offspring. Hers? Or had she just borrowed them from some actor's school?

And the big question: Why?

For Liam Sawyer's money just as Florie had suspected.

Frantically, Charity started to dial Mitch's number but then she saw his patrol car go racing by.

Charity grabbed her purse and ran out to her car in hot pursuit.

THE LIGHTS of the patrol car cut through the darkness as Mitch raced up to the Dennison house. It was a huge house with white pillars, a Southern mansion in the wilds of Oregon. Wade had built it for his young wife. Off to the back were stables from when Wade had bought Daisy expensive horses. Directly behind the house was a large indoor pool and recreation room larger than any hotel.

The last time Mitch had been out here, the drapes had been drawn and he'd had to force Daisy Dennison to come to the door. She'd been a recluse for twenty-seven years. That was until a woman named Nina Monroe had come to town with a secret. Since then, Daisy seemed to have come back to life, kicking Wade out and, if local rumors were right, talking about filing for divorce, both of which had obviously set her husband off.

And that's what worried Mitch as he noticed this visit the drapes were open, all the lights on and the front door was standing ajar. The four-car carport off to the right was also open and empty except for Daisy's SUV.

On the way through town, Mitch had seen Desiree Dennison's little red sports car parked in front of the Duck Inn bar. Today was the maid's day off. She always went to Portland on her day off and was a creature of habit like none other Mitch had ever seen.

That meant Daisy had been alone.

Mitch swore as he parked beside Wade's Ford Navigator, got out and started up the wide steps to the veranda.

"Daisy? Wade? It's Sheriff Tanner." No answer.

He stepped into the foyer, broken gla.s.s grating under his shoe sole. A pane of gla.s.s from the front door lay shattered on the floor.

Mitch drew his weapon and moved deeper into the house. In the living room, he saw the remains of what appeared to have been a struggle. An overturned chair. A lamp base crushed on the floor next to it. More gla.s.s and- He froze, heart hammering. The wall was splattered with what at first appeared to be blood. A broken winegla.s.s lay on the floor in a puddle of red the same color as the spots on the wall. Mitch took a temporarily relieved breath.

"Daisy? Wade?" Still no answer. He continued through the lower floor of the house and had started up the wide staircase when he spotted the bright-colored scarf on the floor in front of a set of French doors that opened on the back of the house. Past it, he saw the lights were on in the pool house, shadows moving jerkily inside.

He ran to the pool house in time to hear the report of a gunshot echoing across the water. He didn't feel the pain until he was already pitching forward.

DREW PRESSED the hard, cold barrel of the gun against Roz's temple. "Stop here," he ordered.

She brought the sports car to a stop and leaned over the wheel, still fighting the heart-wrenching sobs that had made driving nearly impossible when he'd told her that her father was dead.

Drew reached over, turned off the engine and pocketed the key. A smothering darkness moved in quickly around them. The only sound was Roz sobbing softly.

"Come on."

She lifted her head, wiping her tears, anger stilling her sobs temporarily. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. He'd forced her to drive to a spot along the far side of the house, hidden from both the guest house and the front driveway.

He grabbed a handful of her hair. "Get out. Go slow. I'm coming with you."

She opened her door. She'd already looked into his eyes, seen the bottomless coldness she'd glimpsed in Emily's eyes. It was what had convinced her to go quietly with him in the hospital.

Drew had come up behind her as she had stopped in her father's hospital room doorway. He'd motioned for her to be quiet or he would kill her, then he dragged her back away from the door making it clear he wouldn't just kill her but Ford also if she screamed or struggled.

She'd gone with him thinking Ford would be safe. Once in the car, Drew had told her that her father was dead. That Ford hadn't gotten there in time to save Liam from Dr. Harris, a friend of Drew's mother.

"Mother wants to see you," Drew said now as he slid out of the car behind her, still gripping a handful of her hair and pressing the gun barrel against her temple.

Roz hadn't said a word since Drew had forced her from the hospital and into his car. She'd cried but done as he ordered, all the time feeling the grief turn to rage.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could make out the crest of the house over the top of the trees. Drew let go of her hair to pull a flashlight from his jacket pocket. He gave it three short flashes, all pointed toward the house.

An instant later, a light came on in the attic near the widow's walk and Roz saw Emily waiting for them.

AS MITCH fell to the pool house floor, the thick scent of chlorine filling his lungs, he saw Daisy and Wade on the other side of the lap pool struggling for the gun.

He saw the intensity of the struggle in Daisy's face just before he hit the tile floor hard. Pain shot up his side and he thought he would black out. "Put down the gun, Wade," he ordered weakly.

It was an idle threat as he watched his own weapon dislodge from his fingers and skitter across the tiles to come to rest under one of the lounge chairs.

Mitch tried to rise, realized it wasn't going to happen and rolled over onto his back. He clutched his side, his uniform s.h.i.+rt soaked with what he knew was his own blood.

Daisy was screeching now.

Another shot reverberated through the pool house. More pain. In his left leg this time. The screeching sound ended in a loud splash.

"Daisy?" His voice came out a hoa.r.s.e whisper. He turned his head. He could see her in the water now, Wade standing over her on the edge of the pool on the other side, the gun in his hand.

"Wade, don't kill him!" Daisy cried as she surfaced and began to swim toward Mitch. "Kill me. That's why you came up here. Kill me!"

"Don't do it, Wade," Mitch said gritting his teeth against the pain. Tiny dark spots danced before his eyes and he willed himself not to pa.s.s out. "You okay, Daisy?" He could hear the lap of water next to him. "Daisy?"

"She's just fine," Wade said, his voice sounding strange even to Mitch's ears. Closer than he'd expected, too. He was standing over Mitch, looking down at him. Wade's jacket bloomed with blood from a bullet hole, shoulder-high.

"Oh G.o.d, Wade, what have you done?" Daisy said weakly from the edge of the pool.

"Shut up," Wade bellowed, his voice echoing across the water as he swung the gun on her. "I should should kill you. You shot me. You're trying to destroy me." kill you. You shot me. You're trying to destroy me."

Daisy pushed a lock of wet hair back from her face and looked up at her husband with hatred in her eyes. "Destroy you?!" she screamed. "Destroy you you after what you did to me?!" after what you did to me?!"

"Shut up!" Wade bellowed and closed his eyes, grimacing as if in pain. "I loved you. I loved loved you." you."

Mitch caught movement behind Wade. His heart stopped as he saw Charity creep into the pool house unnoticed. She carefully picked up one of the oars that decorated the wall over the pool door.

"Take it easy, Wade," Mitch said, his voice raspy with pain. Neither Wade nor Daisy had seen Charity edging toward Wade with the oar. "You don't want to kill anyone."

Wade wagged his big head. "You think I shot you? That's what she wants you to think. She set me up. Told me to come to the house to talk about things and then pulled a gun on me and shot me."

"Wade, no one's going to believe that story," Daisy said, sounding tired and depressed. "Everyone in town knows your temper. I shot you to defend myself. You were trying to kill me."

He was shaking his head. "I loved loved you." His voice broke. He sounded close to tears. "I would have done anything for you. you." His voice broke. He sounded close to tears. "I would have done anything for you. Anything. Anything. Even raised another man's child." Even raised another man's child."

Mitch thought of his own mother and felt a chill as he looked at the venomous way Daisy glared at Wade. This is what he feared in a relations.h.i.+p. That love could turn to hate just like that.

Wade opened his eyes and pointed the gun at her head. She didn't even blink.

"Go ahead, Wade. Put me out of my misery. Do it. Kill me!" Daisy cried up at him. "You weak b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You can't even do that."

Charity swung the oar. Wade didn't know what hit him. The force of the blow dislodged the gun from his hand. It fell into the water as he went sailing out over the pool past Daisy, belly-flopping on the water and sending up a huge splash.

Mitch closed his eyes and lay back.

"Oh, Mitch." Charity was crying as she jerked off her s.h.i.+rt and wadded it up against the wound in his side. He could hear the sound of an ambulance and knew she had to have called when she heard the first shot. "You'd do anything to get out of marrying me."

He opened his eyes and tried to smile.

"d.a.m.n you, don't you even think about dying on me," she said tearfully. "I swear I'll track you down in heaven."

He managed to smile up at her. At least he thought he did. She looked beautiful. Especially without her s.h.i.+rt. Along with the sound of the ambulance, he could hear the sound of a motorcycle coming up the road, h.e.l.l-bent. Jesse to the rescue. She'd called Jesse as well. What would he do without Charity? he wondered. He hoped he never had to find out.

He heard Wade come up sputtering from the deep end of the pool, all the fight gone out of him as he treaded water, his clothes billowing around him in the water.

Mitch glanced over at Daisy. She had disappeared under the water. He tried to sit up. Couldn't. Got out only the one word. "Gun."

Charity turned just as Daisy came up with the weapon Wade had dropped. She had it in both hands and was pointing the barrel end at Wade.

"I'm never going to have to fear you again," she said and pulled the trigger.

Wade didn't even try to duck the bullet. He just stared at her with a hurt look on his face as the bullet tore through the sleeve of his s.h.i.+rt and the flesh of his arm.

Charity dove into the water, coming up behind Daisy and grabbed her around the neck with one arm. As they struggled for the gun, Mitch called on every ounce of strength he had to drag himself over to the lounge chair, reach under it and come up with his gun.

He fired the shot in the air. "Drop the gun, Daisy. Now!" His voice boomed across the pool.

Daisy stilled. The weapon slipped from her fingers, made a faint splash, then floated slowly to the bottom of the pool. Charity released her hold on Daisy's neck as Jesse came racing in, took one look at the situation, pulled Mitch's weapon from his fingers and began giving orders.

Mitch lay back and closed his eyes again. He could smell Charity's perfume, feel her warm breath on his cheek, her wet hand brus.h.i.+ng his hair back from his forehead. He was overwhelmed with his love for her. "Marry me."

Silence. "What?"

He opened his eyes and looked into hers. Any doubts he had about him and Charity were gone like a puff of smoke. In some cases, maybe love could conquer all. All he knew was that he couldn't go on living without this woman. "Marry me." Unfortunately, he blacked out before he heard her reply.

ROZ LOOKED toward the house, her legs turning to water beneath her as she saw what Drew and Emily had planned for her. She'd been afraid at the hospital. Even more frightened in the car, thinking Drew was just going to take her out and shoot her. But now she knew that her death was to be exactly like her mother's. History was to repeat itself.

A tremor rattled through her. She fought back the terror that threatened to incapacitate her. She would die trying to avenge Liam Sawyer's death-and if she could, she would take Drew and his mother with her.

As Drew pushed her toward an opening in the dense garden behind the house, s.h.i.+ning the flashlight beam a few feet in front of her, she wondered where Suzanne was. Hiding in a bottle or had that, too, just been an act? Was Suzanne waiting for her as well?

Three against one. The odds weren't good and Drew had a gun. Roz knew she would have to be very lucky to come out of this alive. She didn't feel lucky right now.

"Was it only for my father's money?" she asked as he pushed her down the garden path that wound toward the house while he held the gun to her back.

Drew laughed. "You think Mother cared anything about your father? The man wears flannel s.h.i.+rts and work boots. A man with that kind of money and he dresses like a mountain man not even to mention the difference in their ages."

"So your mother planned to kill-" her voice broke. She couldn't say "my dad" without crying "-Liam from the very first?"

"Isn't that what you've always suspected?" he sneered as he prodded her forward with the gun.

It surprised her that her feelings had been so transparent. The hate she heard in Drew's voice threatened her resolve to fight until the very end. She thought about making a run for it. She knew Drew would shoot her in the back. That seemed far better than what Emily had planned for her in the attic.

But it also seemed the coward's way out. Given a little time, maybe she could turn the tables on her new family.

Her greatest fear though was that Ford would realize she was gone and try to help her as usual. She couldn't stand the thought of Drew hurting him, let alone killing him. That's what worried her. That and a worse thought. That someone had been waiting in her father's room, waiting to take care of Ford. That meant something had happened to Jesse, as well.

She had never felt so alone. She stumbled, fighting the horrible fear that, like her father, Ford was no longer alive. She couldn't bear the thought.

Drew shoved her again and she felt a cold, clear shot of anger race through her veins. He and his mother and sister weren't going to get away with this. She would bide her time. She would wait for an opening. She would try to keep a cool head and pray for a break.

And all this because her father had money and Emily and her family wanted it.

Roz must have said those words out loud because Drew snapped, "What would you know about being poor? Having nothing? You're a little rich girl."