Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-UpForce of NatureYuletide JeopardyWilderness Peril

by Lynette Eason

  She looked at him for a moment before she spoke. “Neither do I. I’m always sad afterward when that happens.”

  He sighed. “Me, too, but it doesn’t change anything. There’s too much history between us, Grace.”

  She opened her mouth to speak but didn’t say anything. After a moment her shoulders sagged, and she nodded. “There is, and there’s no way to undo the past. All we can do is try to make the best of it. I’d like for us to at least be civil when we run into each other, though.”

  “I hope we can in time,” he said.

  “Maybe we’ll have time to make it happen while we’re trying to find out the truth about Landon’s death.”

  For a moment he thought he’d misunderstood her, but the determined look in her eye told him she knew exactly what she had said. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Oh, but I am.” She glanced around as if checking to see if anyone could overhear them before she lowered her voice. “What if his father was right and he was murdered?”

  Alex shook his head. “Just because Mr. Mitchell says so doesn’t make it true. The police did a thorough investigation, and they believed it was suicide.”

  “But still…”

  “Suicide, Grace. That’s all there is to it.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “So are you saying you won’t help me find out the truth? We both promised him we would find out about Landon’s death.”

  Alex stepped closer and frowned. “That was before the man tried to kill you. I think that canceled all promises.”

  “No, it doesn’t. What if he was right and Landon was murdered? Did you ever hear anybody talk about a secret society at school?”

  Alex thought for a moment before he responded. “I suppose I did. There was always talk about some mysterious group who lurked in the shadows. But I thought it was just gossip.”

  “What if it wasn’t? What if there was a secret group and they killed Landon?”

  Alex glanced at his watch. “I don’t have time for this, Grace. I have real unsolved crimes I’m working on. Landon’s death was a suicide. I have better things to do than go chasing after some silly rumor that circulated in our high school twelve years ago.”

  He started to turn away, but she grabbed his arm. “No, I’m not going to let you ignore this. We made a promise to a man right before he died. We may find it hard to be around each other, but that doesn’t release us from doing what is right. We have to find out the truth, Alex.”

  He stared at her a moment before he pulled loose from her grip. “Although Landon’s body was recovered, the medical examiner couldn’t establish for certain the cause of death. So the case was never officially closed. Since it’s a cold case, I’ll look into it again. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”

  She shook her head. “If it’s a cold case, you have a responsibility to investigate it. And I have an obligation to my station. I’m not about to let this story go.”

  Understanding dawned, and he chuckled. “Oh, I get it. All your talk about doing what’s right was just a ploy to get me to help you with a big story. What do you want, Grace? Are you tired of being back in Memphis and you need something that can get you back to the major networks?”

  Her face flushed, and she shook her head. “No, Alex. I want the truth, and I’m not going to give up until I find it. I worked as an investigative reporter before I went to the anchor desk, and I can do it again. It would help to have the police involved with this, too. But if you don’t help me, I’ll just have to do it on my own.”

  “You’re still as headstrong as ever.” He studied her for a moment. “I don’t believe you want the truth, but it so happens I do. You’re right about one thing. It is my job to work a cold case, so I’ll help you investigate Landon’s death.”

  She swallowed. “How can you work with me on an investigation if you hate me so much?”

  His shoulders sagged, and he shook his head. “I don’t hate you, Grace. I don’t trust you.”

  Tears sparkled in her eyes, but he didn’t blink. He’d seen enough of her tears through the years to know it was her way of getting what she wanted. He cleared his throat and glanced down at her arm. “I need to get back to work, and you need to go to a hospital and get that arm checked.”

  She nodded. “Derek is going to take me by the hospital before we go back to the station.” She started to climb in the van but turned back to face Alex. “You’re right about a lot of things about me, Alex. I made some mistakes in the past, but you did, too. And you’re wrong about my reasons for wanting to find out the truth about Landon’s death. I hope you can come to see that.”

  He didn’t know how to answer her, so he shook his head and stepped back from the van. He watched it drive away before he walked to where he’d parked his car.

  When he’d gotten out of bed this morning, he’d expected a routine day at work. So far there had been nothing routine about it. He’d seen a man fall to his death, and he’d prevented Grace from following him into the Mississippi River. Now he was about to take another look at a cold case that hadn’t produced a lead in twelve years.

  The most troubling thing, however, was the fact Grace wanted to be involved. He didn’t know if he’d be able to cope with that or not. Being around her stirred up too many painful memories. She’d broken his heart, and it had taken him years to get to the place where he was now. All he could do was protect himself so it didn’t happen again. He didn’t intend to ever let anyone hurt him again the way she had.

  Copyright © 2013 by Sandra Robbins

  ISBN-13: 9781460323427

  FORCE OF NATURE

  Copyright © 2013 by Dana Mentink

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com

  “LEAVE THE PAST ALONE…I’M WARNING YOU.”

  No threats will deter TV anchorwoman Grace Kincaid from the promise she made to investigate her high school classmate’s suspicious death. She’ll unravel the secrets from the past—even if she has to join forces with her former fiancé, cold-case detective Alex Crowne. Working closely together rekindles old feelings, and getting close to Alex puts Grace’s heart at risk. But it’s her life that’s in the most danger when she gets too close to exposing a killer-in-hiding who has made her his next target.

  The Cold Case Files: Uncovering secrets of the past

  “He’s taunting you, Grace. You need to stop this right now.”

  She shook her head. “This guy knows something, Alex. He has to be the killer.”

  “This is getting out of hand. First he gives you an anonymous call, then he sends you a puzzle to find his hidden message, and when you do, there’s another clue that threatens you. This guy is setting you up for something bad, and I don’t like it. This is a matter for the police.”

  She glared at him. “I’ve been trained to follow a story wherever it goes. I’ll keep working on this whether you help me or not.”

  “Grace, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”


  “I’m not going to get hurt. And I’m not giving up,” she said and then stormed off.

  She was determined to follow through on this, and Alex knew he’d do what he’d done ever since they were children. He’d be right there with her, looking out for her. How could she still have a hold on him after all these years and after all they’d gone through? Maybe if he helped her with this case he could finally close the chapter on Grace Kincaid and put her out of his life permanently.

  Books by Sandra Robbins

  Love Inspired Suspense

  Final Warning

  Mountain Peril

  Yuletide Defender

  Dangerous Reunion

  Shattered Identity

  Fatal Disclosure

  *Dangerous Waters

  *Yuletide Jeopardy

  *The Cold Case Files

  SANDRA ROBBINS,

  former teacher and principal in the Tennessee public schools, is an award-winning multipublished author of Christian fiction who lives in the small college town where she grew up. Without the help of her wonderful husband, four children and five grandchildren who’ve supported her dreams for many years, it would be impossible to write. As a child, Sandra accepted Jesus as her Savior and has depended on Him to guide her throughout her life. Her writing ministry grew out of the need for hope she saw in the lives of those around her.

  It is her prayer that God will use her words to plant seeds of hope in the lives of her readers so they may come to know the peace she draws from her life verse, Isaiah 40:31—“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

  YULETIDE JEOPARDY

  Sandra Robbins

  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

  —Ephesians 4:31–32

  To Kathy

  A Great Friend and Critique Partner

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  DEAR READER

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  EXCERPT

  ONE

  The WKIZ-TV van skidded to a stop near the police cars blocking the entrance to the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, and Grace Kincaid jumped from the vehicle before her cameraman had time to turn off the engine. The blue lights on the cruisers flashed in the cold December morning fog that drifted up from the Mississippi River below.

  She held up her identification badge, which hung from a lanyard around her neck as she ran toward the officers who stood beside the cars. “Grace Kincaid, WKIZ. I had an urgent message that a man who’s threatening to jump from the bridge wants to talk to me.”

  Captain Wilson, who she had interviewed once, pointed toward the middle of the bridge. “His name is Timothy Mitchell. Do you know him?”

  Grace’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “His son was a friend of mine in high school. He committed suicide on this bridge when we were seniors.”

  “We found that out,” he said.

  Grace’s mind raced at the possibilities of this story. The father of her high school boyfriend was threatening suicide on the same bridge where his son had died, and he’d asked for her. Stories like this came along maybe once in a career. If she handled this right, the video would make a good addition to her application when she decided to apply to the networks again. She had to handle this carefully if she was to have a happy ending to this story by getting Mr. Mitchell safely off the bridge.

  She turned to Captain Wilson. “Has he asked for anything else?”

  “Mr. Mitchell asked for you and Detective Alex Crowne, but he’s not here yet. You can wait here until he arrives,” Captain Wilson said.

  Grace groaned inwardly. Just what she needed. This story had just gotten a lot more complicated. She hadn’t seen Alex since the wedding of their best friends Laura Webber and Brad Austin six months ago, and he’d ignored her then. He would probably do the same thing when he arrived at the bridge because he still couldn’t stand to be near her. Instead of accepting his part in their failed romance, he had chosen to blame her, and she supposed he always would.

  Grace shook her head. No way was he going to ignore her today and let this story slip through her fingers. She didn’t need Alex Crowne to help her with a man she’d known well once upon a time. With any luck she could have Mr. Mitchell down and be gone before Alex arrived.

  “No, thanks. He can join me when he gets here.” A cold gust of wind whipped her coat around her knees, and she shivered at the early-morning chill. She pulled her gloves from her coat pocket, tugged them on and nodded to her cameraman Derek. “Let’s go. Be sure you keep that camera on. This will be our lead-in story on the noon and six o’clock news.”

  Derek nodded. “Gotcha.”

  Grace hurried toward the two officers who stood up ahead in the roadway next to the knee-high concrete barrier that separated it from the pedestrian walkway. As she came closer, her heart sank at the sight of the man who straddled the walkway railing on the river side of the bridge. His eyes were closed, and he swayed back and forth on the handrail as his long, white hair blew about his face.

  The years had taken a toll on the once-handsome man. She’d heard that after his son’s death he had spiraled into a deep depression and had spent time in and out of mental institutions. Tears filled Grace’s eyes. The man balancing on the railing just feet away from her looked nothing like the wealthy businessman she’d once known.

  One of the officers glanced from her to Mr. Mitchell as she approached. “Just let him talk and tell you what’s on his mind. Maybe you can distract him long enough for us to get him off that railing.”

  Grace glanced around to make sure Derek had the camera rolling and nodded. “I’ll try.”

  She cleared her throat. “Mr. Mitchell,” she called out.

  Another gust of wind blew across the bridge, and the man wobbled as he struggled to maintain his balance. For a moment it looked as if he might fall to the river below, but he steadied himself. “Is that you, Grace?”

  Chills rippled up her spine at the sight of the gaunt figure perched on the railing. She took a deep breath and stepped closer. “Yes. I understand you wanted to see me. What can I do to help you?”

  The man didn’t speak for a moment. His eyes narrowed, and his gaze raked Grace. Her skin burned as his intense stare bored into her very soul. “You can find out who murdered my son.”

  Grace didn’t know if it was the force of Mr. Mitchell’s words or the veins that stood out in his neck and face that frightened her the most. “Mr. Mitchell, Landon committed suicide. Don’t you remember? His car was found parked on this bridge. The door was open, and the keys were still in the ignition. There was a note on the seat that said he was sorry.”

  His eyes blazed with fury. “He didn’t commit suicide. The note was printed off a computer. Landon hated typing on the computer. He would have left a handwritten note. Everybody was too quick to decide it was suicide.”

  She shook her head and frowned. “Mr. Mitchell, I noticed changes in Landon during the two years before he died. He started skipping school, his grades dropped and he cut himself off from his old friends. I thought he was going through some kind of depression, so I wasn’t surprised when he killed himself.”

  The man closed his eyes and yelled at the top of his voice. “He didn’t kill hims
elf! He was murdered. It was that secret group he joined that killed him. You knew about it and didn’t tell anybody.”

  Grace’s eyes grew wide, and she held up her hand. “Mr. Mitchell, please be careful. You’re going to fall.”

  The words were no sooner out of her mouth than another wind gust whipped across the bridge. The loose-fitting, unbuttoned coat he wore flapped around his body. He grabbed the bar he straddled and clamped his legs around the base of the railing as he wobbled from side to side. Grace drew in a sharp breath and released it when he steadied himself.

  She waited until he’d regained his balance before she spoke. “I understand how hard his death must have been for you. I wish I could have done something to help him, but he shut me out of his life. He never told me he joined a secret group. What makes you think he did?”

  “Because after his death I found money hidden everywhere in his room. And I also found his journal. It was filled with all kinds of rambling entries about his successful deals and how much money he and his partners had made. There was a wolf’s head drawn on every page.”

  “I never heard him say anything about wolves. Maybe it was just his way of doodling on the page.”

  Mr. Mitchell shook his head. “No, it was more than that. One night I went into his room when he was sleeping to cover him with an extra blanket, and I saw a wolf’s head tattooed on his shoulder. So don’t tell me there wasn’t a secret group. I know there was. They were evil, and they killed my son.” The last words ended in a sob.

  “If you’re right about this, I would like to help prove it. You say there was a journal that told about this group. Where is it now?”

  He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a leather book. “Here it is. I’ve read it over and over ever since he died.”

  “Would you let me look at it?” Grace inched forward and stepped over the low barrier onto the pedestrian walkway.