Lethal Deception

by Lynette Eason

  “Brian wants it, though.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  Anderson entered the room and Cassidy looked up. After Alexis disappeared, Cassidy learned that Anderson had been in conversation with her father at the church. Distracted for half a minute. Which is all it had taken.

  Gabe followed him into the room and Cassidy felt her heart trip then skip into a faster rhythm. He’d come. But of course he would. Gratitude swam through her and she wanted to run to him and bury her face in his chest. She realized she often wanted to do that. He offered a weary smile although his eyes sparked when he saw her.

  Two FBI agents stepped in behind him. Cassidy had learned their names were Adam Greene and Mac Smith. Adam stood about three inches over six feet and had piercing green eyes. She had a feeling he didn’t miss much. He would also win any bodybuilding contest he entered. Mac was about an inch shorter and had close-cropped red hair and freckles. He looked to be an easygoing fellow with a sense of humor. When he wasn’t involved in a kidnapping.

  She stood and walked toward Gabe. Before she reached him, he was stepping around Anderson to pull her into his arms.

  She didn’t resist; she relished the feel of him, the comfort his touch held. Finally, she pulled back and asked, “Gabe? What is it?”

  He let her go and scrubbed a hand over tired eyes. “Nothing. I just needed a hug.”

  “And a nap.”

  “Yeah, that, too, but first things first.”

  “What?”

  “Come here.” He spotted Amy on the couch and said, “Hey, Amy, glad you’re here.” Amy scooted over to make room for Gabe and Cassidy. Anderson stood by the fireplace and the agents settled onto the love seat that faced the couch.

  Gabe pulled papers from his pocket and showed them to his audience. “Craig did some background investigating of the Coopers. I know he already gave you everything he found, but I dug a little deeper. On a whim, I did a search on Brian’s parents and their real-estate holdings. I hit the jackpot. A house in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. According to Brian’s father, Susan uses it more than anyone else in the family. I’m guessing this is where she’s run to.”

  Mac leaned forward and took the papers from Gabe. He asked, “You got an address?”

  “Right there on the back.”

  “I’ll get on it.” Mac left the room to use his cell phone.

  Adam scooted to the edge of the couch. “And her bank records show she withdrew five thousand dollars on Friday afternoon.”

  Cassidy gasped. “So she was planning this!”

  Adam nodded. “Maybe. Probably. I don’t think she meant to snatch the kid this soon but was just watching you. Going places she knew you would go. And, like we said earlier, when she saw a golden opportunity Sunday morning, she couldn’t let it pass by. I don’t think she knew about the cameras or she would have been a lot more careful. This is the act of a desperate woman.”

  Cassidy felt the tears clog her throat again and forced them back.

  Mac came back in and announced, “We’ve got a team headed up the mountains to this address to check it out. They’ll get back to me when they know something. Should be within the next couple of hours.”

  Gabe cut loose with a jaw-popping yawn.

  Cassidy ordered, “Go lie down in the guest room, Gabe. You’re exhausted.”

  He gave a quick laugh and said, “And you’re not?”

  “Yes,” she agreed, “but I didn’t work all night. I just sat up praying.”

  Gabe’s expression softened and he pulled her into another hug. “That’s probably the best thing you could have done for Alexis.”

  Amy stood. “Cass, I’m going to head on home, but call me as soon as you know anything. Oh, and Mother said to let her know if she could do anything.”

  “Your mother is too busy running the Senate,” Cassidy tried to joke. The attempt at humor fell flat, but Amy gave a courtesy laugh. Cassidy grimaced. “Sorry. Tell her I said thank-you.”

  Amy smiled her understanding and leaned over for a hug. “Bye.”

  She left, and Cassidy wanted to curl back into Gabe’s arms. Instead, she stood and tugged on his hand. “Come on. These guys aren’t going anywhere soon, so you might as well catch some sleep while you can.”

  “Should we drive up to the house ourselves?” Gabe asked.

  Mac spoke up. “I wouldn’t suggest it, sir. We don’t even know that’s where she is yet.”

  Cassidy gave him a nudge. “I’ll wake you when we know something.”

  Gabe smothered another yawn. “That should be my line.”

  Cassidy didn’t bother offering any more orders, she just pointed to the room down the hall.

  “Right. Got it. Just for a few minutes, though, okay?”

  “Sure.” She walked with him down the hall. He stopped in the doorway and looked at her. He needed a shave and still he was incredibly attractive. He pulled her close and kissed her…like a husband kisses his wife after coming home from a hard day at work. It was a kiss that said, I care about you, thanks for being here and I’m here for you if you need me.

  Cassidy leaned into it and felt cherished; protected. Loved. Everything all rolled into one. She immediately missed him when he stepped back. He placed one last kiss on her forehead, quirked a tired smile and shut the door.

  Two and a half hours later, Cassidy occupied herself with washing the dishes by hand. She could have used the dishwasher, but then she would have had to find something else to do while she waited. In short order, her house sparkled. She’d even scrubbed the floor on her hands and knees.

  Knuckles rapped against wood. Mac stood in the doorway, a smile on his face. Her heart leaped with hope. “You heard something?” she asked, drying her hands on the towel.

  “Gabe called it. They’re there. North Carolina police just confirmed it. A woman matching Susan’s description and a small girl matching Alexis’s are in the house. Plus, there’s a silver Mercedes parked in the garage.”

  Cassidy wilted with relief. “Did they say how Alexis looked? Was she okay? Crying?”

  “They said she looked fine. She was eating a bowl of cereal when one of the policemen snuck up and looked through the kitchen window.”

  Tears threatened to overwhelm her for the millionth time that day. “Thank You, God,” she whispered.

  She went to wake Gabe.

  Gabe drove with focused concentration. Cassidy sat next to him twisting the antenna of her cell phone as she stared out the window. Unscrewed it, screwed it back on. Off, on.

  He reached out with his right hand and gently removed it from her grasp and set it in the cup holder.

  She gave a tremulous smile. “Sorry.”

  “We’ve got about fifteen more minutes.”

  “I can’t wait to hold her. My arms feel empty.” Cassidy worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Gabe’s heart twisted at the pain on her face.

  “We’ll get her back, Cass.”

  Cassidy shook. “You don’t think she’d do anything to hurt Alexis, do you?”

  Gabe reached over again, but this time it was to grasp her hand in his and hold on tight. “I don’t know, Cass. I won’t lie to you. Desperate people do desperate things, but God’s got it under control.”

  I won’t lie to you. Gabe’s own words echoed in his ears. But you are lying, aren’t you? I can’t tell her about Micah, Gabe reminded himself fiercely. But, he argued with himself, you could tell her it was your fault he was even there. That was worse. He could lose Cassidy forever.

  Help me, Lord.

  Then he was out of time. He saw the exit just ahead. Ten minutes later, he was parked on top of the mountain facing a beautiful log home. Police surrounded the area. A SWAT team stood on alert. No doubt a sniper had a bead on one of the windows in the house.

  Curious neighbors stood behind the yellow police tape. Gabe stepped out of the car, and Cassidy came around to walk with him to find the officer in charge. He was tall with a commanding presence; an
aura of authority clung to him. He introduced himself as Jackson Devereaux. He reminded her of the head army ranger from the television show, The Unit.

  She shook his hand and said, “I’m Cassidy, Alexis’s guardian. How is she?”

  “Ma’am, our hostage negotiator’s working on getting Ms. Cooper to talk, but she’s not having much to do with him. The child seems to be unharmed.”

  Gabe spotted Brian sitting in a police car. “What’s going on with him?”

  The man raised a black eyebrow and said, “He wanted to bust in there to get to the woman. He was fired up mad, screaming at her. We had to restrain him. I really don’t think he knew anything about her plans to kidnap the little girl. But he sure had a lot of other stuff to talk about.”

  Cassidy marched over to the car where Brian sat, eyes closed, with his head resting against the back of the seat. The window was down. “Brian! Did you know about this?” she demanded.

  “That stupid woman ruined everything,” Brian spat. “It was all supposed to be so simple. Finally, things seemed to be going our way. Kara and Jacob dead through some freak raid on their village, the grandmother incapacitated, and the one remaining sister, Susan, is available to collect the kid and the money that came with her. And then Oliver tells her there’s no way a judge is going to grant custody, so she pulls this stupid stunt. Unbelievable.”

  “I promised her visitation rights!” Cassidy was so furious, she could hardly think straight.

  “Visitation. Ha. She’d never settle for that. Susan can’t have children. She’s been begging me to adopt a kid for years.” He gave a short laugh. “Alexis would have kept her busy and out of my hair. And all that money would have been enough to—” Brian clamped his mouth shut.

  “Pay off most of your gambling debts,” Cassidy finished for him.

  Brian looked shocked, then groaned, “I owe some pretty nasty people some big-time money. If I don’t get my hands on some cash soon, I’m dead.” He looked ill at the thought, then looked up at Gabe and asked, “But how…”

  Gabe answered the man’s unspoken question. “We had you checked out when someone kept threatening Cassidy. We suspected you all along. So was it you? You and Oliver schemed it together after you got word that the Fosters had been killed, right? You hired Rafael to get rid of Cassidy and all your problems would be solved, true? You’d get Alexis and all the money, too.”

  Now Brian looked confused. “Get rid of Cassidy? What are you talking about?”

  “But how did you know the contents of the will?” Cassidy asked, ignoring his question. “I know Kara and Jacob wouldn’t have shared that with either you or Susan.”

  “No, Oliver did. After he got word that Kara and Jacob were dead, he called us up and told us about the will. He decided to see if he could get his hands on some of the money. He said that Cassidy would get custody, but if he lost the codicil then he might be able to work around that. We promised him if he’d get us custody, we’d cut him a nice deal financially. Then after Cassidy showed up with the original codicil, Oliver said that the will was pretty cut-and-dried and the only way we’d get custody is if something happened to Cassidy before she had a chance to write a new will.”

  “So you hired Rafael to kidnap me,” Cassidy stated. “If the codicil and I disappeared, there was nothing standing in your way, right?”

  Brian shook his head. “What are you talking about? What kidnapping? No! We hadn’t even had time to come up with another plan before Susan pulled this harebrained stunt.”

  Cassidy didn’t know if she believed Brian or not. He had to be lying. Didn’t he? But if he wasn’t…She mentally groaned. It was all just too confusing.

  “Sir? Ma’am? I’m Steven McEntire, the hostage negotiator. I’ve been trying to talk to Mrs. Cooper and she listened for a while. Unfortunately, instead of de-escalating, she’s going in the opposite direction. She’s becoming more agitated and keeps telling us to leave her alone then hangs up on me. Would one of you be willing to try?” Steven stood a couple of inches over six feet tall and had on the protective body gear that all the SWAT team wore.

  Cassidy forgot about Brian. She’d have time to deal with him later. “I’ll talk to her.” Agent McEntire pressed a button and handed Cassidy the phone. “Keep your cool. It’s ringing.”

  “Hello?” Susan sounded scared…and determined. Cassidy cleared her throat. “Hello, Susan. It’s Cassidy McKnight.”

  “No! You can’t have her!”

  “Wait, Susan! Don’t hang up, please. I just want to talk. Please.”

  “Don’t you see? My life is ruined. Brian—” She broke off to sob.

  Cassidy felt her anger slip a notch. Lord, help me know what to say to her. “Susan, I understand you’re hurt. Your sister gave your niece to me. It wasn’t because of you. It was because of Brian.” Cassidy tried to keep her voice even, soothing, when she wanted to scream at the woman to stop this craziness. God, I need You.

  Deep breath. Relax.

  Susan was crying so hard Cassidy had to strain to make out the words. “She told me not to marry him. She warned me he only wanted my money. That she didn’t trust him and he would cause me only grief and heartache. But he loved me. He said he didn’t care about my money and would even sign a prenup.” Another hiccuping sob. Cassidy just let her talk. “But he spent it all. Every last dime.”

  Yeah, Brian had offered to sign a prenuptial agreement because he knew his starry-eyed fiancée would never let him. Jerk.

  Steven gave Cassidy a thumbs-up for approval. Men in black gear moved slowly toward the back of the house. Cassidy said, “Kara told me she hurt for you and wanted to be there for you, but you wouldn’t let her. All of her letters were returned unopened.”

  The sobs stopped. Another hiccup, then all was still. Silence on the line.

  “Susan?” Cassidy glanced at Steven who motioned for her to keep going. The woman was still there. “Talk to me.”

  “Her letters?” Susan finally asked. “That’s because I didn’t want to read about how stupid she thought I was. About how I’d made the wrong choices. About how Brian was no good for me…and how unworthy I was to be related to her.”

  Cassidy’s stomach dropped. Oh, please, God, don’t let me say the wrong thing.

  “But she never said that. She just wanted you to know how much she loved you and how much God loved you. She sent you pictures of Alexis and their village where they had made a life in Brazil. When you never responded, she was too scared to call. She said your refusal to read the letters hurt, but she couldn’t take you hanging up on her.”

  “But I never…I thought she just wanted to harp on my bad choice of a husband.” Susan’s voice changed. Cassidy heard the rage as Susan hissed, “Brian did this, too. He convinced me to return them unopened. You know, before Kara left for Brazil, she came to see me. She said she loved me and just wanted what was best for me, but I didn’t believe her because Brian said it was all for show. That, as a missionary, it wouldn’t look good for Kara to tell me how stupid I was in front of the family and that…and that—” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat to finish. “He brainwashed me, didn’t he? Convinced me that Kara rejected me and that she was still angry with me for marrying him. That her letters weren’t worth opening. I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid!”

  “Oh, Susan, I’m so sorry.” Cassidy felt her heart soften. She pleaded, “Come out so we can help you.”

  Cassidy realized she held no anger toward this poor woman who had felt unworthy of her sister’s love for so long, only to find out Kara had relentlessly pursued a relationship with her that was too late to accept. Kara had loved her and Susan had missed out on a loving relationship because she’d believed the lies of her husband. How sad.

  “Please bring Alexis out so no one gets hurt. I know you only took her because you were hurting so bad. I’ll make sure you get to see her, I promise.”

  Susan sniffed and sighed. “Oliver told us there wasn’t much chance to overturn the
will. He said the codicil was too strong and that that woman, Anna, from the orphanage, would come testify if called, so he said it was hopeless and I should just give up.” Her voice squeaked on the last word. “And I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

  Cassidy cajoled, “We’ll work something out, I promise. I don’t think Kara meant for you to never see Alexis. I just know she didn’t want her around Brian. I’ll let you see her anytime you want.”

  “Promise?” Another quiet sniff.

  Steven motioned for his men to stand down. Cassidy was talking the woman out. The sniper on the roof of the house across the street lowered his rifle.

  “Absolutely.”

  “I wouldn’t have hurt her, Cassidy.”

  “I understand. Just come out. Bring her out and we’ll do whatever it takes to get you help, okay?”

  “O-o-okay. Don’t let them shoot me.”

  “Nobody is shooting anyone.” Cassidy looked over at Steven and he gave the thumbs-up sign again.

  “I’m scared,” Susan sniffled.

  Cassidy reassured her. “You’ll be fine. Do you want me to meet you halfway?”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Cassidy saw Steven frown and Gabe adamantly shook his head. She ignored them. Whatever it took to get Alexis. “Okay, I’m heading your way.” Cassidy carried the cell phone and walked slowly toward the front entrance of the house.

  Susan’s shaky voice said, “I’m coming out. Alexis is in front of me.”

  The door cracked open. Steven took the phone from Cassidy and spoke into it.

  “Ma’am, send the little girl out, then you come out and lie facedown on the ground, you understand?” He listened for a moment then nodded to Cassidy. She walked closer.

  Nerves shot, Cassidy almost expected to feel a bullet from somewhere slam into her body, but she kept walking. Cover me, Lord. Alexis peered around the door and her eyes grew large. She screeched, “My Cass-ty!”

  “Hi, my Lexi.” Somehow she choked the words out. When Alexis fairly flew from the house, Cassidy half expected Susan to jerk her back, but the little girl made it safely into Cassidy’s arms. The minute she had Alexis in her grip, hands were pulling them to safety and Susan was stretched out on the ground, cuffed.