by Ginna Gray
"Yeah, I know. The receipt is dated two days after Sweet left Gold Fever, and it shows that he paid five years rent in advance. My guess is he was afraid there would be too many questions asked if he showed up at a bank with that much cash. Plus he was probably afraid the authorities might be able to trace him through a bank account or a safety deposit box. So he stashed the money in a ministorage unit the day he arrived in Antigua."
Kate hurried down the stairs. "Give me the key and the receipt."
"Oh, no. Not on your life."
"But I have to go to Antigua and retrieve that money so we can return it."
"I couldn't agree more. But I'm going along. And to make sure that I do, until we find that money, the key and the receipt stay with me."
"But—"
"You can argue all you want, sweetheart, but that's how it's going to be. Besides, you and Zach need me as a witness. Otherwise nobody's going to believe you didn't have the money all along and finally just suffered a case of guilty conscience."
"Oh, dear. You're probably right." Kate tried, but she couldn't think of a single thing to refute his logic, and her shoulders slumped as she realized that she would somehow have to endure J.T.'s company for a few days longer.
"Don't bother to unpack your bag. I checked with the airlines days ago. We can get a flight out of Durango tonight with connections in Denver and Miami. I suggest you phone Zach and tell him to meet us at the Miami airport tomorrow morning. And tell him to bring his passport."
"All right, yes. I will. Right now." She was so keyed-up and excited she could barely think as she headed for the telephone in the library.
"Kate."
She stopped and looked at him over her shoulder. J.T. watched her intently, his eyes sad and pleading, his expression, for once, utterly serious. "Yes?"
"What I did was thoughtless and stupid, even selfish, but I swear I never meant to hurt you. And no matter what you believe, I do love you."
For the space of several seconds she stared at him, trying to read the truth in his eyes. He looked sincere, but she no longer trusted her judgment where J.T. was concerned. She could think of nothing to say that would alleviate the awful tension between them or wipe out the hurt. Finally she simply nodded and disappeared into the library without uttering a word.
* * *
Zach was no more pleased than Kate that J.T. was going to Antigua with them. He had been furious when he learned that J.T. hadn't checked out of the Alpine Rose.
The instant J.T. and Kate stepped off the jetway, Zach snatched her into his arms as though he were saving her from a vile monster, and sent J.T. an icy stare over the top of her head. When he'd finished hugging her, he grasped her shoulders and eased her back, his worried gaze sweeping her in a quick inspection. "You okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay," she replied quietly. She didn't pretend not to know what was behind the question. Zach had wanted her to stay with him as he traveled from rodeo to rodeo until the Alpine Rose reopened for the season. When she had insisted on returning to Gold Fever he had been worried that she was not yet emotionally strong enough to cope on her own. Now he was concerned that seeing J.T. again had reopened her wounds and undone what little progress she'd made.
Kate knew that the only thing keeping Zach from taking a swing at J.T. was that they needed him to lead them to the place where Bob may have hidden the money.
The belief was confirmed when Zach fixed his brother with a stony look and said, "We don't need you, Conway. Hand over the key and the address, and Kate and I'll take it from here."
"Forget it. You don't seem to understand that I'm calling the shots. I could have checked this out by myself, you know. The only reason I'm letting you and Kate come along is because I know how important this is to you both."
A muscle worked along Zach's jaw. He stared at J.T., his green eyes icy. "Okay, fine. But when this is over and that money is turned over to the authorities, I don't want you coming anywhere near my sister. You hear me?"
"Oh, I hear you, all right," J.T. said with a shrug and a crooked smile. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to do as you say."
"Why you—"
"Stop it right now. Both of you." Kate quickly stepped between them and placed her palms flat on their chests to hold them apart. "For heaven's sake! We're in a public place," she all but hissed.
A quick glance around revealed that several people were eyeing them curiously. Kate looked from one bristling man to the other, her eyes narrow. "Zach, I appreciate your support, but I don't need a protector. And as for you," she said, turning to J.T., "stop antagonizing him. We have a plane to catch and a serious matter to attend to when we get to Antigua. We don't have time for this foolishness. Now, let's go."
She stalked away down the concourse toward their connecting gate. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the brothers exchange hard looks before starting after her.
The flight was uneventful. Because they'd booked at the last minute they could not get seats together, a circumstance for which Kate offered up a silent thanks. With the two men separated, at least they weren't lashing out at each other. She was also grateful to have a respite from J.T.'s nearness.
Sitting next to him on the flight to Miami, the way his arm and knee had repeatedly bumped hers, his scent, the warmth of him, had sent goose bumps racing over her skin and stretched her nerves taut as a piano wire.
Kate had slept little during the red-eye flight, and she was bone tired. With a sigh she put her seat back and closed her eyes.
When they landed in Antigua, the car that J.T. had reserved was waiting.
"Wouldn't it be easier to hire a taxi?" Zach argued. "A local will know how to find this place."
"Maybe. But if we find what I think we're going to find, I don't want anyone else around to see."
The warm sunshine and balmy breezes were a far cry from the weather in Gold Fever, but Kate was too tense and anxious to appreciate either. The turquoise water and pristine, white sand beaches they drove past barely registered on her. All she could think about was what they might find when they reached their destination.
The ministorage wasn't far from the airport. It was a fairly new construction, six rows of garage-type units made of cinder block with steel overhead garage doors. Unit 42D was on the fourth row, and the latch was secured by a heavy steel padlock.
A strained silence surrounded them as they climbed from the car. Both J.T. and Zach paused to look up and down the row, but there was no one else around.
J.T. pulled the key from his pocket and grasped the padlock. "Well, here goes."
One twist, and the lock turned with a smooth click and opened.
Bending, Zach grasped the handle and raised the door, and they stepped inside together. Coming from the bright sunshine into the gloom of the windowless storage room made it difficult to see at first. When their vision cleared Kate experienced a moment of bitter disappointment. Looking around, all she saw was empty space.
Then she spotted the suitcase on the high shelf along the back wall.
"Look!"
J.T. hurried over and pulled the case down. He set it on the floor and squatted on his haunches, and Kate and Zach knelt down on either side of him as he released the catches and spread the case open.
"It's empty." Kate groaned and sat back on her heels. Disappointment and depression settled over her like a blanket of wet cement. "We came all this way for nothing."
"Wait a minute." J.T. measured the inside depth of the case with his fingers, then did the same to the outside. "I thought this was too heavy to be empty. It has a false top and bottom."
The brocaded silk lining was smooth and had been expertly installed to look almost seamless. Unless looking for it, no one would have suspected it hid a false bottom. J.T. ran his hands around the inside, then pulled out his pocket knife and used the point to pry up the stiff bottom. Zach pulled out his own knife and went to work on the top. It took only seconds to pop them free.
When they were removed Kate suck
ed in a sharp breath. "Oh, my word."
"Yes!" Zach spat out with hard satisfaction. Packed into the one-inch spaces beneath the removable top and bottom were tightly packed, banded bundles of one-thousand-dollar bills.
* * *
Chapter 13
« ^
Slidell County was large, but it encompassed only a few sparsely populated mountain towns. The entire sheriff's department consisted of Sheriff Alvin Huntsinger and his deputy, Delbert Wright. When Kate, J.T. and Zach walked into the sheriff's office in Gold Fever the next afternoon, both men were slouched in their seats, shooting the breeze, their booted feet propped on their desks.
Sheriff Huntsinger looked around with the beginnings of a smile, but the good-ole-boy greeting he'd been about to deliver turned to a scowl when he saw who his visitors were. His gaze immediately zeroed in on Kate's brother.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Zach Mahoney. I'm surprised you have the nerve to step inside this office."
"We're here on business."
"What kind of business?" the sheriff growled. Then he grimaced. "Aw, hell. Don't tell me Cletus and his friends have been nosing around your place again. Look, Kate, I told you before, those fellas don't mean any harm. They're just looking for what's rightfully theirs."
"And I keep telling you, there is nothing on our property that belongs to them, but you won't listen."
"This isn't about your trespassing friends, Sheriff," J.T. put in quietly.
"Then what is it about?"
J.T. motioned to Zach, who stepped forward and placed the suitcase on the sheriff's desk. Ignoring the older man's splutters of protest, Zach opened the case, and he and J.T. pried out the false bottoms and tossed them aside.
"Great jumpin' Jehoshaphat!" The sheriff's booted feet hit the floor with a thud, and a second later so did the deputy's.
"Would you look at that!" Delbert squawked. "Man-o-man, I ain't never seen so much money, Sheriff!"
"It's the money Bob Sweet stole." Zach's voice came out low and tight with barely suppressed fury, but neither the sheriff nor his deputy seemed to notice.
"By heaven, I always knew you had it. What's the matter—" Sheriff Huntsinger sneered "—couldn't live with your guilty consciences any longer?"
Zach bristled and doubled his fists, but before he could light into the sheriff, J.T. intervened.
"You're wrong. Zach didn't have the money."
The sheriff tore his gaze away from the suitcase and eyed J.T. with a cynical expression. "Izzat so? The law's been looking for that money for four years, and now all of a sudden these two come waltzing in here with it? It sure looks to me like he's had it all along."
"Sorry, Sheriff, but all this time that money has been sitting in ministorage on the island of Antigua."
"Mmm. You don't say. Tell me … what's your stake in this, Conway? You're an outsider. None of this has anything to do with you."
"Let's just say I believe in treating people fairly. All I've heard since I arrived in this town is how Zach corrupted Bob Sweet, and how Zach and Kate had the money that your crooked preacher swindled from the people in this area. Yet there was no evidence to support those claims and the FBI didn't think either Zach or Kate was involved.
"So I got curious. I went through the box of personal effects the prison sent to Kate after Bob Sweet died. Hidden inside the key to his Bible I found another key and a receipt in Reverend Sweet's name for five years rent on the mini-storage. The three of us flew to Antigua yesterday and retrieved the money."
"That's a little thin, Conway. The FBI and the prison staff went through the pastor's things with a fine-tooth comb and didn't find one clue. You expect me to believe you found something they couldn't?"
J.T.'s face hardened. "Are you calling me a liar, Sheriff?"
Kate blinked. Though barely above a whisper, his voice purred with soft menace. For an amiable man, when J.T.'s temper was roused it was something to behold.
The sheriff swallowed hard and shifted in his chair, and Kate could have sworn he turned a shade paler.
"No, no. Nothing like that. I'm just saying how it looks, that's all. And even if what you say is true, it doesn't prove anything. Zach could've stashed the money there and used the pastor's name to throw the blame on him."
"Dammit, Huntsinger! I've told you a hundred times, I had nothing to do with fleecing this town!"
"Bob Sweet said different."
Too furious to speak, Zach made a frustrated sound and swung away. He stalked to the window and stared out, his hands clenched at his side. Shooting Alvin Huntsinger a scorching look, Kate moved to stand beside her brother and put a comforting hand on his arm as she murmured softly to him.
"Give it up, Sheriff," J.T. said. "Until yesterday, neither Kate nor Zach had ever been in Antigua."
"Humph! So you say."
"It's easy enough to check, using airline and visa entry records. And I'm sure a handwriting expert will tell you that the signature on that receipt is Bob Sweet's."
"Dammit! A man doesn't lie on his death bed. Especially not a man of the cloth."
"He does if he's a malicious lowlife with a vendetta against someone." J.T. leaned across the sheriff's desk and jabbed his forefinger at the end of the man's nose. "Bob Sweet was no more a man of the cloth than you are. He was nothing but a con artist and a thief. If you and the rest of the people in this town don't have the gumption to admit you were taken in by a scumbag, too bad. I'm not going to stand by and let you pin the blame on Zach and Kate. All you've got is the word of a lying, cheating con artist, and, trust me, in a court of law, that's not worth a rat's behind."
"Yeah, well, we'll see. I'll need to check out that key and that receipt, so hand 'em over."
"Sorry, the FBI wants those. Since they're in charge of the case, we called the local office in Durango during our layover in Miami. A whole gang of special agents is on the way. Actually I'm surprised we got here first."
J.T. looked back and forth between the sheriff and his deputy. "The only reason we told them to meet us here is that I wanted you and everyone else in this town to learn the truth firsthand. Maybe then you'll feel some shame over the way you've treated Kate and Zach all these years."
"Now see here!"
"No, you see, Sheriff. It's time for you and the good people of Gold Fever to take off the blinders and accept the truth.
"And while we're waiting for the FBI, I suggest that you and your deputy start counting that money. We're going to want a receipt."
"A receipt."
A nasty grin spread across J.T.'s face. "That's right, Sheriff. Not that we don't trust you, you understand, but … well … you know how it is."
While Sheriff Huntsinger sputtered and fumed, Special Agent Diana Grayson, head of the area FBI office, strode in, followed by about a dozen more agents.
"My men and I will take over from here, Sheriff," she said in a brisk tone. "Davis, Strahan, Petrikoff and Nelson, take charge of the money. Duran, you and Wilson take however many men you need and secure the exits. The rest of you will conduct interviews." She turned from issuing orders to her men and looked from J.T. to Zach. "Now then … which one of you is Mr. Conway?"
* * *
Three hours later they were finally allowed to leave the sheriff's office. Kate was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open on the drive up the mountain to the Alpine Rose. Judging by their silence, so were Zach and J.T. Other than catnaps on the planes, it had been almost forty-eight hours since any of them had slept.
"I realize we were interviewed separately so they could compare our stories, but why did we have to go over the whole thing so many times?" she asked wearily, to keep from falling asleep as much as out of curiosity.
They had been separated and interviewed individually over and over, each time by a different team of agents. Though couched in different ways, the different agents had asked the same basic questions. She assumed that J.T. and Zach had received the same treatment. By the time Special Agent
Grayson was satisfied that they were telling the truth, Kate had been ready to scream.
"They were looking for inconsistencies or little slipups," J.T. replied in a fatigued monotone.
"Yeah. I bet some agent is on his way to Antigua right now to check out that storage rental," Zach added dully.
J.T. gave an amused snort as he brought the SUV to a halt beneath the port cochere. "I'll lay odds that as we speak some poor slob is getting his butt chewed out for missing that hidden latch on Sweet's Bible key."
Too tired to do more than chuckle, they climbed from the vehicle and trudged inside. Once they'd shed their coats and hung them on the antique hall tree beside the door, an awkward silence descended.
"J.T., I, uh … I want to thank you for all you've done for us," Kate offered hesitantly. "Zach and I would never have found that key ourselves. In less that a year the lease on the storage unit would have run out, and the manager would have confiscated the unclaimed contents. If he had found the money, I don't have much faith that he would have turned it over to the authorities."
Zach shifted from one foot to the other, frowning as he studied the toe of his boot. "Yeah, Kate's right," he muttered, with something less than graciousness. "And thanks for sticking up for us back there with the sheriff."
"I wasn't trying to earn your gratitude. I did what I did because I love Kate."
Zach looked up then, straight into J.T.'s eyes. "Try telling that to someone who hasn't spent the past two weeks watching her cry. Just because we're grateful, don't think that changes anything. I still want you out of here tomorrow."
"Zach!" Kate cried. "After all J.T's done for us, we can't just throw him out."
"This isn't about what he's done for us, Kate, but what he's done to you."
"Kate, sweetheart, don't listen to him. I made a mistake in not telling you the whole truth from the beginning. I admit that. But I wasn't stringing you along in order to get a story. I would never use you like that, I swear it. I do love you. You have to believe me."