by Dana Mentink
“Are you saying Blaze is lying?”
Danny got up when a nurse entered. “I’m saying we’ll look more, but on the surface it would appear money is not a motive for Angela Robertson.” He leaned closer, speaking low. “And she isn’t the one who’s been playing dead for five years.”
Or threatening Dory with pictures of her child. Their child, he corrected before he filled Danny in on that little tidbit.
Danny had listened carefully and Chad’s head pounded as he watched him leave. So, if Angela was after Blaze, she wasn’t acting out of greed. But money wasn’t the only motive in the world. He needed to speak to Angela face-to-face.
When the nurse left with promises to return in a couple of hours, he quickly called Liam on the bedside phone. His brother showed up twenty minutes later with a dry set of clothes.
“Uncle Gus and Aunt Ginny retrieved your truck from the bridge and snagged your phone from the front seat.” He handed him his cell phone. “The room you’ll be looking for is three oh seven,” he said with a wink.
Chad arched a questioning eyebrow.
“Dory’s room. I figured you were going to do some reconnaissance. Ginny’s on her way up to demand a full doctor’s report, so you don’t have much time.”
Chad hadn’t even got out the “Thank you” before Liam was gone. How was he always one step ahead?
He pulled on the clothes. Ignoring the network of aches in his limbs, he headed for Dory’s room. He knocked, feeling suddenly hesitant, as if he was still lost in the grip of the water. He felt again the overwhelming crush when he’d thought she had not made it. Then the incredible heart rush when she’d moved ever so slightly under his touch.
The thought of a world without her nearly flayed his heart wide open. It confused him. Why? She’d been out of his life for five years. It must be because of Ivy, he told himself. He could not stomach the thought of his little girl losing her mother like he had. Right. It was all about Ivy.
As he stood paralyzed, Dory turned to face him. Her skin was pale, short hair dried in platinum waves that framed her face. A square bandage adhered to her neck. Suddenly his tongue seemed to tangle up and he wondered what exactly he’d been planning to say to her in the first place.
“The doctor said you’re stable” was the best he could muster.
She smiled. “Is this what it feels like to be stable? Like I’ve been put through the heavy-soil cycle of the washing machine?”
“I didn’t know washers had ‘heavy-soil’ cycles.”
Surprisingly, she giggled, and it transformed her into that incandescent high school girl who’d rocked his world. He found himself holding his breath.
“That’s because you dump everything in at once and hit the start button, don’t you?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I do.”
Silence unrolled between them and her smile faded. “Thank you. For getting me out of the water.”
He shrugged. “Mostly Liam. If he hadn’t come along with the dogs, we’d both have drowned.” He paused. “I think Meatball has assigned himself as your life companion.”
“I could do worse.”
She had. With him. What was with the guilt? She’d done him and his father wrong. Nothing had changed in that regard. Had it? He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “Danny said Angela’s got plenty of money, so the inheritance isn’t a motive for her as much as it is for Blaze.”
Dory frowned. “I’ll look into it. See what I can find out.”
“Mitch is digging, too. Liam called him.”
She snagged her lower lip between her teeth. “I’ve been running it through in my mind. I think it would be a good idea to go through the old investigation notes in my dad’s office, to reexamine the evidence from the sinking.”
“You think Blaze is telling the truth? That it wasn’t an accident?”
“I honestly don’t know, but I’m going to check it out tomorrow if they spring me from the hospital.” She paused. “I want to see Ivy, too.”
His daughter. The one he’d never even clapped eyes on. Anger tightened his gut until he noticed the gleam of wetness in her eyes.
She heaved a big breath in and out. “I...I think it’s time you met her.”
His jaw fell open. “You do?”
She looked away. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I really did. But I now realize that maybe it was more to punish you than to take care of Ivy. I’m ashamed of that and...I’m sorry.”
Still she did not look at him. The honesty of it set him back on his heels. Would he have had the courage to own such a thing? He’d been stone-cold furious for years, and only a few times had he allowed himself to consider his own brutal treatment of Dory. What kind of a man did that? He cleared his throat. “I guess I gave you reasons.”
She plucked at the blanket. “I’m not sure how it will go. My dad...”
“I know.” He shoved down the irritation. “We’ll deal with it.”
“And I don’t know how the future will pan out. I mean, we’ve got a stable life and I don’t want to upset her too much. I...”
Chad grazed a finger along her arm. Her skin was so soft, so gloriously warm, and sprinkled with freckles like bits of flaked bronze. “It’s enough for now to meet her.”
Her honey irises held currents of emotion that he could not interpret. Fear? And perhaps a tiny glimmer of hope? He let his touch linger for another moment, wondering if maybe he could catch hold of some of that hope, as well.
He was going to meet his daughter.
He prayed Ivy wouldn’t be disappointed.
ELEVEN
Dory spent a restless night juggling thoughts of Blaze and nightmares about bullets and drowning. Mixed up in it all were thoughts of Ivy. She awoke with one memory spinning in her consciousness.
Chad’s touch on her face, featherlight.
Come back to me, Dory.
The combined pain and pleasure of hearing him say what she’d craved for years made her eyes fill. Chad wanted her, but she knew it was not the truth. He’d been speaking from a place of fear, not love. That was only the silly fantasy she’d allowed herself to think about over the years when she desperately missed him. She’d given that up, given him up, or so she’d believed.
Had she made yet another mistake inviting him to meet Ivy? Their close call in the gorge had cast a new light on the situation. If she prayed to God to forgive her sins, wasn’t she required to extend that same forgiveness to Chad whether or not he asked for it? And she could no longer deny her secret-keeping about Ivy had a lot more to do with anger and unforgiveness than she’d admitted to herself before. She blew out a breath. Why was forgiveness something she craved but found so hard to offer?
Her cell phone was somewhere at the bottom of the gorge, so she’d made a call to her mother on the hospital phone. She’d not mentioned her near drowning; there was no reason to cause unnecessary worry. She’d promised to be there by late afternoon, relieved to find out her father would be away.
She didn’t know exactly how he would react when she showed up with Chad, but she suspected it would not be a pleasant encounter. Best to introduce Chad and Ivy beforehand.
The release papers were finally executed close to lunchtime. She dressed in yet another set of clothes Ginny had provided: underclothes, jeans a shade too long and a gloriously soft flannel shirt. Each tug and twist shot pain through her battered body. She wondered if Chad was similarly uncomfortable. He and Aunt Ginny were waiting for her when she was rolled in a wheelchair to the hospital exit. Her body pulsed with discomfort, but she smiled at her escorts as they helped her out of the chair.
She felt the blush creep into her cheeks. “I’m so sorry...”
“To be a bother. I know,” Aunt Ginny said, waving her off. “But you’re not, and you’re going to be feeling so much better after a hot shower and some c
hicken soup. Just cooked up a pot with extra dumplings.”
“I...”
“Pleeeeaaaaase,” Ginny said, stretching out the word. “Chad hasn’t eaten a proper meal since the canyon collapse, and he was skin and bones before that. If you will join us, he’ll have to put some food in his mouth out of sheer good manners. Besides, Mitch wants to talk to both of you.”
Dory sighed. “To be honest, you had me at hot shower and dumplings.”
She grinned. “I am nothing if not persuasive.”
“That’s for sure,” Chad said.
Ginny aimed a glance at him. “Did you have something to add, young man?”
“No, ma’am. Nothing.”
“That’s what I thought,” Ginny said with satisfaction.
Chad presented Dory with a new cell phone. “Programmed with our contacts and Danny’s number.”
She wanted to protest. Instead she took it. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he said.
An hour later, freshly showered, she eased into the chair that Chad pulled out for her. The savory steam from a bowl of chicken soup made her mouth water. Mitch absorbed the details of their adventure as they ate.
Gus shook his head. “We’re gone for a few hours and you two nearly end up drowned in the river.”
“Nah,” Liam said. “Me and the dogs got ’em way before they went under for the third time. At the moment, Jingles and Meatball are both having an extra nap at the house. Maggie wanted to give them a proper brushing down, and I believe there are some chew sticks in the offing.”
The doorbell rang. Aunt Ginny answered it, escorting Tom and a sixtysomething woman inside. Her neat chignon was caught in a barrette at the back of her neck. She wore black jeans and a cardigan thrown over a pink blouse.
Tom shifted hesitantly. “Apologies for arriving unannounced. This is Angela Robertson. She’s a friend of mine and I convinced her to come and talk to you. She needs help.”
“Please sit down, both of you,” Aunt Ginny said. All the men stood as Angela joined them at the table, carrying with her the fragrance of floral perfume.
Angela smiled hesitantly before she fixed a look at Chad. “I am sorry to barge in. Tom told me that you saw Blaze.” Her mouth twitched. “I can hardly believe I’m saying this. I already talked to the police, but Tom was insistent that I should share with you. It all seems so unreal. I’ve lived such a private life, it’s almost painful to have to discuss it. Maybe it would be better if I spoke to you privately?”
Chad’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Ma’am, all due respect, but my family knows everything about the situation. They’ve been trying to help untangle it all. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind sharing with them, also?”
Dory was impressed with Chad’s speech. She remembered him as a young teen who could hardly be heard mumbling the grace over dinner when asked by his father. Well, why not? she thought. She’d grown from a selfish teen into a mother, hadn’t she? Why did it surprise her that Chad had matured just as much?
Angela glanced around the table. “All right. Is it true, that you’ve seen Blaze? He’s alive?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Chad said. He introduced Dory. “We’ve both seen him.”
Angela huffed out a ragged breath and, for a moment, Dory thought she was going to cry. “It’s just so incredible. Part of me is elated. All these years, I thought my nephew was dead. But the other part...” She trailed off.
Chad shot an uncertain look at Mitch, who cleared his throat.
“Ms. Robertson, I’m Chad’s brother Mitch Whitehorse.”
Dory noted the flick of confusion as Angela sorted through his different last name and physical appearance. Mitch was a hulk of a man, wide-shouldered, the tough-as-nails look enhanced by the scar grooving his cheek. There were no similarities between Mitch and Chad, save for the dark eyes, and less so between Chad and his red-haired, Southern brother, Liam. Mitch did not bother to explain the family dynamics. “I’m a former US Marshal, ma’am. Liam here is a retired Green Beret. We’ve both been assisting. What can you tell us about Blaze?”
After a moment, Angela seemed to come to a decision.
“My sister Mary met Scott Turner, Blaze’s father, at a memorial service for my parents. They were killed in a car wreck thirteen years ago. Scott and my sister were married shortly thereafter. Blaze is Scott’s son, technically, but Mary loved him from the first day she met him. He was twelve when they got married. His mother died from breast cancer when he was an infant, and Scott passed away from a heart attack a few months before the boating accident. He’s suffered several tragic losses.” Her lips thinned. “But plenty of people carry on after tragedy without...”
She accepted a cup of coffee from Ginny with a grateful nod. “Blaze was a difficult child, and Mary often didn’t know how to handle him. She had little experience with kids and Scott was away on business constantly. I tried to help, but honestly, I’m no good with kids, either, especially preteens. He got wilder and wilder, but Scott wouldn’t see any of it. When he got in his rages, he’d shout and break things.” She shook her head. “Ruined a beautiful family portrait, one time.”
Dory’s heart squeezed. It must have been difficult for Angela to lose her parents and sister so close together. Families were such fragile things, she thought, struck with a pang of longing to be with Ivy.
“I tried. Mary tried. The school personnel tried. Even the psychologists—a string of them, but he had serious issues.” Angela pulled the cardigan tighter around her shoulders. “I loved my sister and I would have done anything for her, anything to ease her situation, but I just couldn’t think what to do.”
“The boat accident—can you tell us about it?” Dory asked.
She gazed into her coffee cup. “I have a lot of guilt about that. I arranged for the fishing trip as a nineteenth birthday present for Blaze. He’d been calmer, making plans to move out even, and I thought it would be a show of goodwill. If I had known...” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “Mary joined them at the last minute.” Her gulp was audible. “I lost my sister in that accident and I thought my nephew, as well.”
Dory saw Chad stiffen. She put a hand on his arm to restrain him.
He pulled away. “My father wasn’t drinking that day. Blaze said the accident was staged.”
Angela’s mouth opened in surprise. It seemed an eternity before she spoke. “I understand not wanting to accept what happened. I didn’t want it to be true, either, but Mary drowned and your father was in charge of her safety. That’s an undeniable fact.”
Chad’s eyes glittered. “Maybe the facts aren’t what they seem to be.”
Angela cocked her head. “My sister is dead. That’s a detail you can’t change.”
Chad’s mouth pinched as Angela continued.
“But one thing I know for certain is that Blaze has come back after all these years for a reason.”
Mitch raised an eyebrow. “What reason is that, ma’am?”
“To kill me,” she said.
* * *
Chad wanted to be angry at Angela for her blunt remarks, but he couldn’t be. She believed, the same as everyone else, what Dory’s father had helped prove. Rocky was guilty. Blood alcohol levels didn’t lie. He gritted his teeth. Your job now is to listen.
Fear enhanced the creases around her mouth. Tom put a hand on her shoulder.
Uncle Gus frowned. “Has he made threats, Miss Robertson?”
Aunt Ginny handed her a tissue box. She extracted one. “Call me Angela. There have been certain things happening, bad things, which I chalked up at first to accidents. My horses were let loose. Tom had just delivered a new mare and he secured the gate, yet the horse was wandering by the road when we found her. As I was trying to bring her back, a car almost ran into me.”
“She couldn’t make out the driver, and that gate was locked good and proper,
by the way,” Tom said.
Chad didn’t doubt Tom’s word. If he said the gate was closed, that was enough for Chad.
“There were broken windows. Looked like someone tried to force the kitchen door lock and it appeared like someone was trying to tamper with her brakes, but she refused to believe me. I finally convinced her to talk to the cops just this week,” Tom said. “She’s already spoken to Danny today and explained everything, but when I heard Blaze arranged to meet you at the gorge, I figured we should all get on the same page.”
Dory’s brow furrowed. “But what would Blaze gain by killing you? Do you think this is about the inheritance?”
Angela sighed. “No doubt. The irony is I would have been happy for him to have Mary’s portion, just like she intended for him. I don’t need the money. Mother and Dad were well-off, and I’ve never wanted for anything.” She heaved out a breath. “He would squander it, I have no doubt. That would have killed my father to see it.”
“Why would he need to threaten you, then?” Mitch leaned forward. “Isn’t he the inheritor of his mother’s estate just by virtue of his still being alive?”
“Certainly, but she and Scott were liberal spenders. There’s not an exorbitant amount of Scott’s money left for him. Our family money, on the other hand, is a far bigger pot. Mary put her portion aside in a trust for Blaze. He gets access when he’s twenty-five upon the event of her death. Like I said, he was welcome to it.”
Liam crushed his napkin into a ball. “Which is why he’s turned up again before he’s declared legally dead, but why doesn’t he go to the police? That’s what innocent people do—they go to the cops. He should be speaking up for himself. ‘I’m not dead after all, so can I have my share in the Robertson estate, please?’ Done deal.”
Dory chimed in. “The police want to question him about an ATM robbery. He could be afraid he’ll be arrested.”