“We aren’t going to. If Mrs. Norwhich saw someone disappear in the pantry, chances are, Eden knows about this room. I’m surprised she hasn’t cleaned out the silver by now, but she probably expected to have more time. I don’t think she anticipated that we’d change the house locks.”
Leigh put the jewelry inside the box and closed it by feel. “Gavin, I can’t see a thing.” She hated the thread of fear she could hear in her voice.
He ran his large, warm hand down her bare arm. The surge of comfort and safety brought a huge sense of relief. Their fingers meshed.
“It’s okay. The door to the pantry’s still open. I can get us out.”
“If you tell me you can see in this void, I’m going to kick you.” Her lips felt stiff and her voice held a tremor, but she tried to infuse the words with a touch of humor so he’d know she wasn’t going to go to pieces no matter how scared she felt. She was rewarded with a low chuckle.
“Nope, I can’t see a thing, either, but I’ve got a good memory. Can you manage the chest with one hand? You can hold on to my other hand.”
She gripped his fingers tightly. “I can carry the chest.”
He transferred the box to her arms. “I’m pretty sure there’s nothing on the floor between us and the door, but I’m not so sure about the pantry.”
Slowly, they inched their way forward.
“Mrs. Walsh never kept things on the floor. I don’t know about Mrs. Norwhich.”
“We should be safe enough. The door wouldn’t have opened if something had been blocking it.”
“There’s a cheery thought.”
Gavin squeezed her fingers lightly. Leigh knew the moment she stepped into the pantry. There was a different feel to the air. Her chest no longer felt quite so constricted.
“Uh, Leigh? Where’s the door to the pantry located in relationship to where we are?”
Leigh thought for a minute. “I think we’re in the far right corner if you were in the kitchen facing the pantry. The door is almost centered, so if you walk in a straight diagonal line, you should run right into it.”
“A straight diagonal line? You wouldn’t want to lead, would you?” he teased.
“Not really. No.”
He continued inching forward, abruptly coming to a stop. She felt him groping for something and the room was suddenly flooded with light.
“But the lights went out!” she protested, even as relief washed over her.
“A power surge, obviously.”
“Not in there.” Leigh pointed to the dark opening.
“Must have been too much for those weak lightbulbs. Wait here for a second while I see how to close this door.”
It took him several minutes to find the mechanism. Unlike the others, this switch was built into the underside of a shelf.
They stepped into the kitchen to find rain beating fiercely against the windows. A particularly strong wind gust suddenly pushed the back door open. As Gavin hurried forward, he slid on a wet spot on the floor. He caught himself on a counter. As he closed the back door, Leigh focused on a muddy trail that led across the kitchen floor to the library side of the house.
Gavin gave a quick shake of his head when she would have called out to him. He crossed to her side.
“Wyatt?” she mouthed, afraid to whisper.
“I’ll see. If something happens, run outside and get one of the officers.”
“No!” she whispered fiercely. “Gavin, wait!”
She wasted her breath. The problem with strong, independent men like Gavin and Bram was that they always assumed they could handle anything. Leigh applauded his bravery, while cursing his stupidity. If the footprints didn’t belong to Wyatt or one of his men, anyone could be inside the house with them.
Leigh set the treasure chest down next to the refrigerator and crept to the corner where Gavin had disappeared. She peered down the hall, but it was too dark to see anything.
A cold ball of fear ghosted through her. She’d never enjoyed hide-and-seek, and she hated this. Her instinct was to run out in the rain and drag an armed police officer back inside, but she was afraid he’d shoot Gavin by mistake.
Something squished behind her. Leigh whirled at the small sound.
“Hello, Leigh.”
Nolan’s triumphant whisper nearly stopped her heart. He was soaking wet and held something in his hand that he pointed at her head. Leigh fled down the hall. She heard him curse as he came after her. Gavin would hear them. He’d come to get her. But he wouldn’t realize Nolan had a gun. Leigh changed direction. She cut straight across the dining room to the far hall.
“Gavin, Nolan has a gun!” she yelled.
“Bitch!”
She rounded the corner. She’d never make the back door before he caught her. Without breaking stride, she plunged up the steps, leading Nolan away from Gavin.
His hand caught her ankle as she reached the landing. She kicked back, hard. Her foot connected, but she stumbled and fell.
A hand reached for her out of the darkness in front of her. Her scream died as Gavin yanked her to her feet and thrust her onto the balcony, placing himself between her and Nolan.
“He’s got a gun!”
Gavin lunged for Nolan’s out-thrust arm. As they came together, the gun spat a burst of flame and noise harmlessly into the air.
Gavin gripped his gun arm. As they struggled, Nolan forced him back. Gavin’s foot missed the step down that led to the balcony’s railing. When he stumbled, Nolan shoved him back.
Leigh reached for Gavin’s flailing arm, terrified that momentum would send him over the waist-high railing. Instead, he hit it with a resounding crack that jarred both of them. Nolan grabbed her other arm, wrenching her toward him. Off balance, Leigh had no chance to struggle before he shoved the muzzle of the gun against her cheek.
“I’ll kill you! Come near me and I’ll kill her!”
His voice was high and shrill like a woman’s. He yanked her against his sopping clothing, holding her with a bone-punishing grip that threatened to cut the circulation to her arm. The smell of the gun was acrid in her nostrils.
“Let her go, Ducort.”
Gavin’s voice was gritty, but amazingly calm.
“Not a chance.”
He squeezed her so hard, she couldn’t prevent a gasp of pain. Gavin’s fists balled at his sides.
“I need her dead.”
Shocked, she realized he was serious.
“I don’t know why you haven’t gone to the cops yet, but you’re the only witness. I’m not going to jail for Martin’s murder.”
“What are you talking about, Ducort?”
“Didn’t she tell you, Jarret? She was there when he died. I don’t know what her deal was with Pepperton, but I saw her plain as day, just like she saw me.”
“You killed Martin Pepperton?”
“It was an accident! The crazy son of a bitch pulled a gun on me! When I tried to take it away, it went off. It wasn’t my fault! Tell him how it was, you bitch!”
“I wasn’t there, Nolan!”
He gave her a shake that would have sent her flying if he hadn’t been holding her so tightly. “Lying whore! You looked right at me!”
Gavin moved to intercede, but Nolan thrust the gun back against her cheek. “Don’t move. None of that matters now. This will still work. A lover’s quarrel. She shoots you and turns the gun on herself.”
Her body turned to stone. He was insane. He was really going to kill them.
Gavin cast a quick glance down toward the dining room. He shook his head.
“The cops won’t buy it, Ducort.”
How could Gavin sound so calm?
“They will. Someone else must have seen her at the track that day. After the cops match the bullets to the one in Martin, they’ll know this is the same gun. They’ll learn what their deal was. Maybe they’ll even tag the two of you for Earlwood’s death. I heard you were there when the place went up. Too bad you didn’t go up with it and save me the trouble
. You should have left Jarret to rot in jail for old man Wickert, Leigh.”
“Did you kill him, too?” Leigh gasped.
“Not intentionally. We were going to frame Jarret for theft. To pay him back for taking you away that night. It doesn’t matter now. None of it.”
He pulled the muzzle from her cheek, swinging the gun toward Gavin.
Everything happened at once.
“Police! Drop your weapon,” Wyatt yelled from below.
At the same time, Leigh threw her weight against Nolan, and Gavin launched himself at them.
Several shots exploded.
Nolan screamed. He attempted to twist away from her. He missed the step and grabbed for Gavin. There was another shot. He and Gavin staggered back against the railing. The wood gave under their combined weight with a loud, cracking, splintering sound.
Leigh grabbed Gavin’s arm with all her strength. The railing fell away. Nolan fell with it into the darkness below. Leigh and Gavin crashed to the floor, precariously close to the gaping hole. Gavin landed on top of her, emptying her lungs.
“Leigh! Are you hurt?” he demanded, rolling to one side and pulling her with him.
She struggled to suck air into her lungs, dimly conscious of voices and beams of light coming from the dining room.
“Leigh!” Gavin crushed her against his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Footsteps pounded toward them. The balcony trembled under their weight. A flashlight pinned them in its beam. As Leigh struggled for air, she was stunned to see Gavin’s face wreathed in pain. Tears filled his eyes as he looked at her. “Where are you hit?”
She managed to shake her head. “Not. Winded.”
Wyatt and another officer reached them. “Are you all right? I’m sorry, Gavin. I couldn’t get a clear shot.”
“We’re okay,” he said gruffly, pressing her against his chest. “Ducort?”
“He landed across the back of a chair. He’s unconscious. I think his neck’s broken. We’ve got an ambulance en route. Can you stand? We need to get off this balcony before the whole thing comes down.”
“I STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND,” Emily said the following morning as Leigh sat with her and George at their kitchen table. “Are you saying the police think Nolan shot Martin Pepperton because Martin sold him a horse?”
Leigh shrugged. “Basically, that’s what it boils down to. Wyatt Crossley said Nolan talked before he went into surgery. According to Nolan, Martin switched the paperwork on two racehorses. One horse called Sunset Pride was worth a lot of money, the other horse wasn’t, but looked just like Sunset Pride. Martin wanted Nolan to sell the worthless lookalike to a man named Briggs because Martin had a grudge against Briggs.”
“That’s crazy,” Emily exclaimed.
“Not only crazy,” George agreed, “but stupid. Pepperton should have known that scheme would never work.”
Leigh nodded. “That’s what Nolan told him, but Nolan said Martin was so high on drugs he wouldn’t listen. Wyatt says the autopsy report confirms the drugs, and the gun Nolan says he took from Martin was registered to Martin.”
She looked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall toward them. Emily shook her head.
“That still doesn’t explain why Nolan thinks you saw him shoot Martin Pepperton.”
“I’ve no idea.”
“I think we found the answer,” Hayley said.
She strode into the room holding a file folder. Leigh’s gaze immediately sought Gavin, who stood behind her next to Bram. Gavin was holding her grandfather’s treasure chest. Leigh had forgotten all about it until now.
At their grim expressions, fear skittered down her spine once more.
“What’s wrong?”
Hayley shook her head and looked to Bram. Gavin set their grandfather’s chest on the table. He walked around to her side and lifted her chin with aching tenderness.
“How do you feel?”
He loved her. It was there in the depths of his eyes, in the gentle warmth of his touch. Everything else faded away.
“Fine.”
“Your arm?”
“A bruise. What about you? George said the three of you went back over there this morning.” She couldn’t prevent a tiny shudder.
Gavin brushed a strand of hair from her face. “You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t have the heart to wake you when I left. I thought you’d still be sleeping, considering how late it was when we got to bed.”
“I woke up a few minutes ago,” she admitted. “What else happened? What’s wrong now?”
His eyes darkened and he looked to Hayley and Bram. “While I distracted Wyatt in the kitchen, your sister and Bram slipped upstairs and grabbed some files from the hidden room.”
Emily made a small sound of concern. “Don’t you think you should tell Wyatt about that room, Gavin?”
“We will now,” he told Emily. “We don’t have a choice.”
“Remember the picture I found in the drawer in Grandpa’s office downstairs?” Hayley said. “Bram thought it had been computer generated, a picture of one of us that someone had altered.”
“I remember. We were going to look for the source of it on Jacob’s computer. Were you able to figure out the password, Bram?”
Hayley shook her head. She took the seat beside Leigh. “We haven’t tried that computer yet.” There was deep pain in her eyes.
“The picture wasn’t a composite, Leigh,” Bram said. “Though it was probably a digital shot.”
“I had a quick look at the files in the car on our way back.” Hayley spread open a folder on the table. Gavin’s hand rested on Leigh’s shoulder and they all stared at the pictures that spilled across the table. Pictures of Hayley, but not Hayley.
“I don’t understand. Who is that?”
Emily, George and Nan crowded around for a better view.
“Grandpa hired a private investigator to find out. His report is in there. We weren’t twins, Leigh. We were triplets. Marcus gave her away. He just took our sister and gave her away.”
Leigh stared at her while her body turned to ice. “What are you saying?”
“There’s a copy of her birth certificate. Look at the date. Look at the time. A home birth with Marcus as the attending physician. She’s our sister, Leigh! Marcus gave her away—or more likely, sold her to these people.”
“Oh my God,” Emily whispered faintly.
Leigh looked to Gavin for confirmation, while horror took root in her mind. He nodded grimly.
“She was born first. She would have had to have been for him to pull this off. We were both delivered by C-section at the hospital.”
“Mom would never have let him!”
“Mom didn’t know! Don’t you see, Leigh? He must have drugged her or something. He delivered her first baby in the normal way. Then he drove Mom to the hospital to deliver us in front of witnesses. Mom never knew.”
Hayley choked on her tears. Leigh realized she was crying too. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she lifted the nearest photograph. Her features stared back at her. This wasn’t someone who looked like them. This person was an exact replica. Only the hairstyle and the clothing set her apart.
George and Emily were both talking at once. Bram was speaking low in Hayley’s ear. It was Gavin’s voice Leigh heard.
“Alexis.”
She stared at him, then slowly nodded. “Yes. Alexis.”
“What?” Hayley demanded.
“Her name is Alexis. That’s why Grandpa ordered new necklaces and matching earrings. Three stones for three granddaughters. Hayley, Leigh and Alexis.” She blinked up at Gavin and her tears fell faster.
“How could he do that?” Nan demanded. “How could Marcus give away his own child?”
George held Emily tight against his chest. His face mirrored the horror they all felt.
“I don’t know,” Bram said, sounding ill.
“We have to find her!” Hayley demanded.
“I’ll call Wyatt,”
Gavin said.
“No!” Hayley protested before he could move. “You can’t tell the police. We have to find her.”
Leigh wiped at her tears, struggling for composure. “Hayley’s right.”
“Leigh, we can’t do that. We have to tell Wyatt,” Gavin said. “Alexis is the reason your mother was killed. I’d bet on it. She must have found these files after your grandfather died.”
“This is why she went to New York,” Hayley agreed. “It’s why she seemed so upset those last few days. She would have wanted to see Alexis for herself.”
Leigh knew her sister was right.
“Once she confirmed the truth,” Hayley continued, “she would have come back here and confronted Marcus.”
Leigh agreed. That was exactly what their mother would have done.
“Dear God,” Emily whispered.
“We have to find Alexis first,” Hayley said emphatically. “She shouldn’t learn about our existence through a media blitz. We’ll call the investigator, find out where she lives, go and see her.”
“Now, wait a minute. There’s an address given in this report,” Gavin admitted, “but it’s more than seven years old.”
“Hayley’s right,” Leigh told him. “We have to do this. Please, Gavin. A day or two can’t make any difference to Wyatt’s investigation. Marcus is dead.”
“But the police—” Emily began.
“No, Emily,” George intoned. “They should be the ones to find her and tell her the truth. She shouldn’t learn about this from strangers.”
“Give us three days, Gavin,” Hayley pleaded. “If we can’t find her by then, we’ll give the files to Wyatt.”
“I hate to play devil’s advocate here,” Gavin said softly, “but there’s one thing you haven’t considered. What if Alexis already knows the truth?”
There was shocked silence as every eye focused on him. Gavin gazed at each stunned face before coming to rest on Leigh.
“Remember how Nolan Ducort claimed that you saw the murder? What if it wasn’t you, but Alexis he saw that day? It seems to me that if your mother went to New York to see if this was her daughter, she would have approached her, or at the very least, approached Alexis’s parents to confirm her daughter’s identity?”
The Second Sister Page 22