by Aimée Thurlo
“Which means we have to comply with the will, at least for the time being. It’s the only way to buy time,” Nick said. “I’m in.”
“I vote we go along with it,” Jake said, then looked at Annie.
“Me, too,” Annie said, knowing she didn’t really have a choice with the baby almost due. She also didn’t want to deny the twins their inheritance, or go against Paul’s last wishes.
Nick stood. “Then it’s settled.” He walked back to the study where Kelly was waiting.
“At least by staying, we’ll get to finish what we started,” Annie said. “The fact is, we still have to find Paul’s killer and we can’t do that without each other, and the safety of being here among friends.”
“I need your help, too,” Jake said. “You know the people in my father’s life better than I do.”
They stepped back into the study and joined Nick and Patrick Kelly.
Kelly was pleased with their decision to comply with Paul’s wishes. “Good. Then life can go on as usual for all those depending on the ranch,” Kelly said, standing.
As Annie accompanied Kelly to the door, Nick glanced at Jake. “Your feelings for Annie are strong, but you both have a great deal of pride. Don’t let that keep you from reaching out to each other, Jake. No regret is harder to bear than the one that comes from something left undone.”
Jake heard the raw emotion in his brother’s voice. Whatever was bothering Nick was clearly painful to him. He waited for Nick to say more but he never did. Not wanting to press his brother to talk about it before he was ready, Jake backed off. Instinct told him that when Nick spoke of love lost, he spoke from firsthand experience.
“Dad’s attempt to make us do what he wants could backfire,” Jake said. “Dad never learned that if you force something to happen, it could end up falling apart. In an attempt to bring us all together, he may be driving a wedge between us, and Annie and I may pay the greatest price. I have to find a way around this will, Nick, before any more damage is done.”
Chapter Twelve
It was sometime after ten but, as usual, Annie was too restless to sleep. She lay in bed listening to the wind rattle long-dead leaves against the window pane.
Turning her back to the window, she tried to will herself to sleep, but her blood suddenly froze as the moonlight cast the silhouette of a man on the wall. A man with a shotgun.
Annie moved off the bed, heading for cover and reaching for the phone just as two loud gunshots echoed in the silence around her. Glass shattered and her pillow jerked twice, feathers exploding from the fabric. She heard the sound of screaming, then realized it was coming from her.
Huddled with her back against the wall, Annie dialed Jake’s number, but by then, he and Nick were banging at her door.
ONE HOUR LATER, after the sheriff had come and gone, Annie and Jake sat in chairs in the sala of the main house. A crackling piñon fire in the corner fireplace felt almost as comforting as having Jake there with her.
“Tomorrow you’ll move into the ranch house,” Jake declared. “I should have insisted after the poisoning attempt. This just confirms my father’s killer has chosen you as his next target. Something you know, or are certain to uncover, is a threat to him. We’ve got to find out what that is before it’s too late.”
Annie stood and walked over to the Christmas tree that she and Paul had decorated only a few days ago. Now Paul was dead, and she was next. “How could everything go so wrong so close to Christmas? What happened to ‘peace on earth, good will to men’?”
“We won’t have any peace until we catch my father’s murderer.” Jake moved to join her, and studied the ornaments. He cupped a hand-painted glass ball with the lifelike image of a black raven soaring over a solitary pine. “My mother made that for me when I was ten. See my name hidden among the tree branches?” Jake pointed to the spot.
“Your father hung that one on the tree himself, and another he said was Nick’s.” She looked around. “Here it is.” This ornament depicted a raven above a rocky mesa. She looked at Jake. “I wish you could have heard how soft Paul’s voice got when he spoke about those days when you were all truly a family. He told me those had been the best years of his life.”
She could see the emotions warring inside Jake as he struggled between the love he’d once felt toward his father and the bitterness he’d learned in his latter years. Then Jake looked up at the angel on the top. “That’s new, yet it looks very old. Did you do that?”
Annie nodded. “I made it a long time ago, but since I didn’t have a Christmas tree, I gave it to Paul to use because I knew he liked it.”
“My father was lucky to have you as a friend.”
“Sometimes friendships are so short,” Annie whispered. “I don’t know how many more loved ones I can stand to lose.”
Jake, standing behind her, pulled Annie tightly against him. “You’re not going to lose anyone, Annie. I promise. There’s love for you here, too. All you have to do is reach out.”
She shivered as his breath caressed her cheek. His strength tempted her to surrender, but she needed to stand on her own. “I’m afraid to reach out to anyone.” She slipped from his arms and walked to the fireplace, suddenly cold. “Life is just too uncertain, and my baby will need more than promises.”
“Christmas is a time for miracles, Annie. You’re carrying one inside you now.”
“I believe in miracles, Jake, but I believe in myself even more.” Annie forced herself to meet his gaze. “I can promise you one thing. My child will grow up knowing about the Black Ravens and their rare brand of courage, and what that meant to me at the time I needed them most.”
Jake watched her leave the room.
Feeling more alone than ever, he placed another log in the fire, and sat in the chair. Without Annie, he’d never really be warm again.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING Jake had Rick and the other ranch hands install lights with motion detectors against each exterior wall of the house, for extra security. The locks on the house were changed, as well.
Though Jake, Nick, and Martin were doing the heavy work, it took several hours to move Annie’s things from the bunkhouse to the main house.
“Annie, I think you should reconsider the room you chose last night. There’s no doubt someone is out to kill you,” Jake reminded her. “It would be easier for all of us to watch each other’s backs if we at least stay in the same section of the house.”
“Jake makes a good point, Annie,” Nick added.
“With the new dead bolt in the kitchen, and that massive front door, any intruder would make a lot of noise getting inside this house,” she answered. “And if they try to approach a window, the motion detector lights will come on. I’ll stay downstairs.”
Knowing he’d get nowhere insisting, Jake conceded. Annie had a will of iron that was a match for his. He was used to having his own way and whenever she challenged him, every masculine instinct he possessed came to the forefront. But it was hard to fight someone who stood her ground with such quiet dignity. He had no defenses against someone such as her—a gentle but indomitable spirit with a mind of her own.
Annie walked to the doorway of the two adjoining rooms she’d chosen, then gestured inside. “This larger one will be my bedroom,” she said. “The other, the nursery. But I’ll also need a room to work in, something with much more light than either of these.”
“I already have something in mind for that,” Jake said. “There’s a room at the end of this hall that served as my mother’s greenhouse. The south wall is all windows, but they can be shuttered at night.”
Annie followed Jake, checked out the greenhouse, then nodded. “I’d noticed this room from outside the house but I’d never been in it until now. It’ll need to be cleaned out, but it’s perfect.”
It didn’t take long for the men to set up the beds and position the furniture in the bedroom and nursery. Once the task was finished, they left, giving her the privacy she’d asked for. Annie spent the rest of the d
ay fixing up the nursery, and trying to make the rooms seem like home.
ANNIE WOKE UP EARLY the next morning. She felt a momentary stab of fear as her eyes opened and she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. Then, remembering she was in her new room at the ranch house, she forced herself to relax.
Dressing quickly, Annie went to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat, enjoying the quiet of the early morning.
Jake came in a short time later. “Good morning, Jake. You’re up early,” she greeted.
He looked at her and smiled. “How did you know it was me and not Nick? Did Nick already come through here wearing different clothes?”
“No, but I can tell you apart.”
Jake said nothing, but the smile he gave her left her body tingling.
Annie watched him as he prepared his breakfast, aware of everything about him. His shirt hung open, exposing his muscular chest and strong build. Sensing her scrutiny, he looked back at her, his eyes dark and intense. Small fires raced up her spine as awareness shimmered between them.
She tore her gaze from his, trying to make the effort look effortless and casual. “What are you doing up so early? Nobody else is up yet.”
“I didn’t sleep very well,” he admitted, growing somber. “I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the theft of my mother’s diary. I have no evidence, except for the pattern of dust, but I suspect it was hidden at one time in the spot we recently discovered inside my father’s room. That means the blackmailer must have had both access to this house and plenty of time to search. And he must have been nothing short of fearless, or driven. The doors to the house were usually kept unlocked, but there was always someone around—ranch hands, Martin, or even Dad himself.”
“Okay, let’s assume the blackmailer is someone who normally had access to the house, or knew the layout well. Who does that include... Martin, me, and more recently, Nick and you. But if any of us had wanted to search for something, we would have done it more carefully. We have unlimited access. And, of course, none of us could have been responsible for the break-in the day of the releasing rite since we were all together at the time.” She remembered then that Martin had come back before any of them to finish preparations. Annie was about to remind Jake of that, when he continued.
“There’s also Virgil Lowman. He was my mother’s friend and my father’s trusted associate. And don’t forget my uncle, or the wranglers who work here regularly. Then there’s Iris, my father’s former housekeeper and cook.”
“You think she might have taken the diary when she was fired?”
“She could have, though we really have no clear motive to indicate why she’d do that. So the main question remains unanswered. What kind of evidence did my father have that made someone forego blackmail and commit murder instead?”
“You’re assuming the thief and the killer are one and the same.”
“I am,” he admitted. “I’ve known most of the people on this pueblo all my life. I have difficulty believing that there are two crooks of this caliber so closely linked to my father—one a vicious killer and the other a patient thief. Our tribe is made up of gentle, peaceful people.”
He’d used the word “our” and that surprised her, but not as much as the love and respect that had resonated through his words. “You have some fond memories of your life here. They’re not all bad ones. Do you realize that?”
Jake nodded. “I’ve come to realize that lately. I’ve tended to remember the things that brought me pain more than the things that brought me happiness.”
“That’s natural but don’t forget the good times. If you do, you’ll only end up cheating yourself.” Annie washed her empty cereal bowl and placed it in the drain rack. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to finish setting up my studio. I’ve only got four days to finish my carvings.”
“The tables and chairs will have to be moved in there to give you more space. Let me help you with that.”
As they entered the old greenhouse, bright and warm but full of clutter, Nick came to join them. “We’ll need to take some of this stuff out of here so you can have room to work. From the looks of it, I’d say it’s been used as a storage room since Mom died.”
Annie looked at the potting bench, then walked to the antique rolltop desk that stood against the north wall. “Why would anyone put a beautiful piece of furniture like this in a storage room?”
“Dad probably moved it in here after Mother died just to get it out of his way. He has a desk of his own.” Jake looked at Annie. “We’ll move it out for you.”
She sat on the wooden chair in front of it. “No, I can use it for my business papers. It’s really beautiful. I’ve always loved these big oak desks.” She pushed up the tambour lid and looked inside.
There was a sketchbook inside filled with drawings and studies of landscapes, animals and local structures around the pueblo. Each sketch was dated, but not signed, though it was obviously Saya’s work.
Jake came to stand behind her. “Based on those dates, Mom must have kept up her art even after Dad destroyed the bunkhouse, if only with sketches. The last date is just a month before she died.” Jake’s expression grew pensive. “This desk must have been her hiding-place. I wonder if Dad ever knew?”
“I think he probably found out after she died,” Annie said. “He must have been the one who cleared out this desk, since the only thing still in here is the sketchbook.” Annie searched through the top section, but found nothing at all. When she got to the small compartments in the center, one was stuck. She worked the small drawer, moving it from side to side until it slid open. “A piece of paper was wedged in the back corner. That’s why it wouldn’t open. The drawer’s not damaged.”
Out of curiosity, Annie unfolded the paper. “It’s a bank deposit slip dated twenty years ago. It has your mother’s name on it.”
Jake took it from her hand. “It’s not from a joint account,” he said after a brief pause. “It looks like Mom had a few secrets of her own.”
JAKE SAT in the office with Annie and Nick, studying the three deposit slips they’d found after searching through the entire desk. “There’s over four thousand dollars’ worth of deposits here. But I don’t recall seeing anything in my father’s financial records that indicated my mother had a personal account. From what I know about my father, too, it seems unlikely he would have allowed her to have one.”
“You should probably talk to Virgil Lowman,” Annie said. “He might be able to shed some light on this.”
Jake nodded. “I’ll call him as soon as the bank opens, which should be in another forty minutes.”
“This account was probably closed or turned over to Dad after Mom died,” Nick said. “But I can’t figure out why Mom had her own account. She didn’t have an outside job, did she?”
“Not that I know of,” Jake answered. “But maybe she sold other sketches, or found a way to paint in secret, and then sold her work so Dad wouldn’t find out.”
Nick paced around the room. “Give the deposit slips to Captain Mora and see if he can make anything of it.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t want to turn anything.over to Mora that isn’t linked to the murder. It makes no sense to give details of our family’s personal business to a stranger.”
“Good point,” Nick conceded, “but before you follow up on those deposits, there’s something else that needs our immediate attention. I was talking to the ranch hands earlier, and I found out that their paychecks are long overdue. They hadn’t said anything out of respect for our father’s death, but they depend on that money and we’ve got to take care of them. It’s only a few days now until Christmas and they need their checks. We’ll have to find their last month’s check stubs to figure out how much they should be paid, too, since the business records have been stolen.”
Jake looked at his brother in surprise. “I know the men need to get paid, and we’ll get to it right away, but how can you stay so focused on ‘business as usual’ when the death of our fathe
r is still unresolved?”
“I want to see justice done, but I also know that it won’t change anything.” Nick paused, then met his brother’s gaze. “I think that the real reason you’re concentrating on finding the killer is because, without Dad, there’s nothing for you to focus your anger on. Some part of you wants to prove that you’re better than him. So instead of looking around and seeing what needs to be done right now, you’re trying to right a wrong and catch our father’s killer—the only person Dad couldn’t control. I hate to say this, Jake, but, like Dad, you’re stuck on your own agenda and can’t see past it.”
Before Jake could reply, Nick walked out. His brother’s words had hurt him, but Jake was determined not to let Annie see how much. Yet as their gazes met, he realized she already knew.
“Nick is wrong about me,” Jake said, his voice hard. “I have to see to it that the man who took my father’s life pays for what he did, because it’s my duty as his son. Can you understand?”
“Yes, I can,” she said, her voice gentle. “But don’t be angry with your brother. Nick looks at things differently, but neither one of you is wrong.” She paused, then added, “If you two could find a way to work together, you’d be practically invincible.” She stood. “But I’m speaking out of turn. That’s something you two need to work out. And, on that note, I better get back to my studio.”
Chapter Thirteen
She had just finished changing the angle of her small carving desk for the third time when Jake walked into the studio. As she looked up at him, she saw frustration etched clearly on his features.
“No luck finding Lowman?” she asked.
“No. Have you noticed that whenever you really need to get hold of someone on the phone, it’s nearly impossible to do so?”