The Lawman's Legacy (Love Inspired Suspense) (7 page)

“We’re not, so I really don’t care what they think.”

“You’d better care. If people think we’re covering anything up—”

“Why would they? We’ve always been aboveboard, and we’ve always conducted ourselves with integrity and honor. The town knows that.” Douglas pulled two prints off the back door, wishing he felt as confident as he sounded.

But the Fitzgeralds had represented a large percentage of the police department for as long as there’d been one in town. Because of that, there were people who muttered about nepotism and favoritism. It had never been much of an issue. But then, no Fitzgerald had ever been a target of a murder investigation before.

And no one was now.

Douglas would happily tell that to anyone who cared to mumble and speculate, and he’d happily stand by his words.

His brother hadn’t committed a crime, and Douglas would do whatever it took to prove it.

Even make sweet, soft Merry O’Leary cry again.

SEVEN

“I
s he here yet?” Tyler jumped from the couch to the love seat, his dark hair falling into his eyes. He needed a haircut. He also needed to stop jumping on the furniture.

Rules were rules.

Even when Merry felt too tired to enforce them.

“Jump on the floor, Ty, not on the furniture.”

“Okay, Mommy. Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump.” He hopped across the floor, his voice rising louder with every jump. Unlike Merry, the more tired Tyler got, the busier he became. He’d crash eventually, but not before Merry’s head exploded. She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and bit back irritation.

“On second thought, how about you find something quiet to do?”

“Play-Doh?”

“Sure. At the table in the kitchen, though. Not out here.”

“Jump, jump, jump.” Tyler hopped into the kitchen, and Merry pulled out Play-Doh and cookie cutters. That should keep him busy for at least ten minutes.

She glanced at the clock—1:50 p.m. and no sign of Douglas. She’d love to believe he’d forgotten or that he’d decided he didn’t need to question her again, but she knew better. Douglas wasn’t the kind of guy who forgot things. He wasn’t the kind of guy who missed things. He wasn’t the kind of guy who let things go.

She needed to leave. That’s what she needed to do.

Needed to run as fast and as far as she could.

Lila Kensington.

The name echoed through her head as she swallowed a couple aspirin and paced back into the living room.

Lila.

Kensington.

Lila.

Kensington.

Douglas had asked if Olivia had ever mentioned the name, and Merry had told the truth. Olivia had never mentioned the name. No one had. Not in four years.

Now someone had. Not just someone. Douglas. He wouldn’t stop asking questions until he knew who Lila was. Merry knew that and knowing it terrified her.

It wouldn’t take long for Douglas to find people connected to Lila, and once he found them, he’d only have to ask for a picture.

Four years.

It seemed like a lifetime.

In some ways, it was.

But people in Boston would remember. Her friends, her coworkers, her siblings. Douglas would ask, they’d pull out photos, and then he’d realize that Lila Kensington and Merry O’Leary were the same person.

She shuddered, terrified of what that would mean for her and for Tyler.

Everything she’d worked so hard for was falling apart, and she didn’t know how to keep doing what she’d been doing since Nicole had placed Tyler into her arms, didn’t know how to keep up the charade.

Didn’t know how she could stop without losing her son.

She walked to the window, stared out into bright sunlight. Crisp white snow shimmered in the sun, whatever footprints had been in the yard hidden by a fresh layer of powder. Hidden or not, Merry knew they were there. Someone had been creeping around the house, trying to find a way in.

Who?

Why?

The questions had kept her awake long after Tyler finally drifted to sleep.

The questions.

The fear.

The name.

Her entire world coming undone.

Leave town. Don’t come back.

Nicole’s words seemed to fill the room, fill Merry’s heart, and she wanted to do exactly what she’d done all those years ago.

Run.

Douglas’s SUV pulled into the driveway, and her stomach lurched.

She couldn’t run.

Not unless she wanted to be pursued by a man who would never ever give up the chase.

She opened the door before he knocked, stepping aside as he and Keira walked into house.

Two officers?

Merry wasn’t sure what that meant, but she doubted it meant anything good.

“Sorry about the wait, Merry. We’ve been a little busy at the station.” Douglas offered a quick easy smile, his striking blue eyes just warm enough to make her wonder if things would go better than she’d imagined.

“It’s no problem. Ty and I were just hanging around the house.”

“You know my sister? Officer Keira Fitzgerald.”

“Yes. We’ve seen each other at the Reading Nook and at church, and we spoke yesterday. Come in and sit down. I was going to start a fire, but I’m out of wood. I need to buy some, but time keeps getting away from me.” There she went, offering information that no one had asked for. A bad habit she didn’t seem to be able to break, and one that was bound to get her into trouble if she wasn’t careful.

“Actually, Merry—” Douglas grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop “—I think that we’d be better off conducting the interview down at the station.”

“At the station?” She parroted his words, fear such a hard, sharp knot in her stomach she thought she might be sick. Did he know? Had he already discovered the truth? “Am I being arrested?”

“Of course you’re not,” Keira responded, but her reassurance did nothing to ease Merry’s fear.

“Keira will stay here with Tyler. Unless you’d like to bring him along?”

She
didn’t
want to bring him along.

She didn’t want to bring
herself
along.

“I’m sure I can answer your questions here as easily as I can down at the station.”

“We pulled a print from your back door last night. We need to take your prints, see if they’re a match. You could come in tomorrow to have it done, but you’re probably working. Besides, putting it off will slow the investigation. I’m sure you don’t want to do that.” Douglas smiled, but there was a hard edge in his voice and in his eyes.

They needed to take her fingerprints, try to match them to the ones they’d already found?

Of course they did.

The headache pounding behind Merry’s eyes intensified, and she felt blinded by it and her terror. “I really don’t feel well.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but we need to get this done today.”

“She really doesn’t look all that good, Captain. Maybe an extra day won’t hurt.” Keira offered Merry a look of sympathy, but the calculation in her eyes was unmistakable.

Was this their version of good cop/bad cop?

Did
they already know the truth?

Were they going to take Tyler while she was at the police station?

Her breathing hitched, and she couldn’t suck in enough oxygen.

“Hey, calm down. You’re not in any trouble. I just need to ask you a few more questions.” Douglas pressed a warm palm against her cheek, his voice soothing and gentle, his touch light as he stared into her eyes, willed her to breathe again.

And, suddenly, she could.

Breathe.

Think.

They couldn’t know.

Not yet.

Not until they got her prints and, by the time they figured things out, she would be gone. Pursued by Douglas or not, she
had
to go.

Rough calluses rasped against her skin as Douglas’s hand slipped from her cheek to her shoulder and rested there. Strong, supportive, undemanding. For a moment, she let herself imagine that he was on her side. That she didn’t need to run from him. That running
to
him was the only thing that could save her and Tyler.

A foolish thought.

A foolish dream.

But looking into his steady gaze, she could almost imagine it coming true.

“Better?” he asked, and she nodded, afraid to speak. Afraid the truth would spill out, and that she’d beg him for the help she’d needed for four long years.

Beg him and destroy everything.

“You sure, Merry? Because, you look like you’re about to collapse.” Keira frowned, and Merry swallowed hard, trying to clear her throat, make room for the words she needed to say.

“I’m fine. I just… It was a long night.”

“Today will be shorter. How about we get going? The sooner you get down to the station, the quicker we can be done.” Douglas squeezed her shoulder, stepped away, and she wanted to follow him, lean her pounding head against his chest and cry until there wasn’t a tear left.

Cry because Olivia was dead.

Cry because Merry’s time in Fitzgerald Bay was coming to an end.

Cry because she’d been holding so much in for so long.

She blinked hard, turned toward the kitchen, refusing the tears and the temptation. “That’s fine. Let me remind Tyler of the rules, and then we can go.”

She thought she’d have a few seconds to pull Tyler’s sleeve down, remind him that he didn’t need to tell Keira about all the places they’d been, the houses they’d lived in. All the times they’d left town in the middle of the night.

But both Fitzgeralds followed her into the kitchen, and she didn’t have time for anything but a quick peck on Tyler’s cheek and a reminder that he was to be on his best behavior.

The next thing she knew, Keira was sitting beside Tyler, molding a police car out of Play-Doh and Douglas was ushering her out of the kitchen.

Merry grabbed her coat from the closet, her entire being protesting.

She couldn’t lose Tyler.

Couldn’t.

“You really don’t look good, Merry. Are you sure you’re not going to collapse on me?” Douglas asked, his deep blue gaze sweeping from the tip of her black boots to the top of her frizzy-haired head. He didn’t offer to let her stay home, though. Of course he didn’t.

“I’m okay. I’m just not sure leaving Tyler with Keira is a good idea. Let me call my landlady. I’m sure Ida won’t mind—”

“Keira is used to kids, and Tyler seems comfortable with her.” He opened the door, pressed a palm to Merry’s lower back. She could feel the heat of it through her coat and sweater, feel it burning its way up her spine.

Please, don’t make me do this.

She wanted to beg like a child, but that would only lead to more questions.

Wanted to drag her feet but knew it wouldn’t do any good.

She was being taken to the police station for fingerprinting.

Nothing she could do but go.

Nothing she could do but cooperate.

For now.

She got into the SUV, buckling her seat belt as Douglas closed the door, sealing her into the still-warm vehicle. It smelled of leather and pine and something indefinable and decidedly masculine.

Douglas.

His warmth. His scent. Wrapping her in a comfortable cocoon that made her want to close her eyes, forget everything for a little while.

“You can save us both some time and effort, Merry, and tell me everything now.” His words were like ice water in the face, and she jerked, looked into his eyes.

“I’ve already told you everything.”

“You know who Lila Kensington is.”

“No.” She lied.

Lied, because she had no choice.

“Right.” He shoved the key into the ignition, pulled away from the little Cape Cod that Merry loved so much.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, because she knew he expected a response, and it was all she could think of.

“This may be a small town, and I might be a small-town cop, but I’ve been doing this job for enough years and I’ve seen enough things to know when someone is hiding something. You are.” He drove slowly, passing old Victorian homes and Cape Cod style houses. A few people peeked out their windows as the SUV passed, and Merry knew they were wondering why she was being brought to the police department.

Because I’ve been lying since I moved here. Because, I’m not who I said I am.

“Olivia never mentioned Lila Kensington.” She tried on the truth, let it hang in the air.

“She entrusted you with a letter that was obviously very important to her, but she didn’t mention her boyfriend’s name or discuss someone who’d visited her on at least one occasion?”

“She was a private person.” And Merry had never asked personal questions, because she’d been afraid she’d be asked some in return. Lies weren’t her thing. They never had been. Desperation had forced her hand four years ago, but since then, she’d tried to stick as close to the truth as possible.

As close to the truth she’d
created.

Which wasn’t really the truth at all.

“Did she tell you why she came to the States?”

“Charles would probably know more about that than I do.” She tensed as they pulled into the parking lot of the Fitzgerald Bay police department.

“Let’s get inside and get your prints. Maybe your memory will return while we’re taking them.”

Not if she passed out cold from sheer terror before then.

“I—”

“Merry, we’re going inside, and we’re getting your prints. That’s the way it’s going to work, and sitting out here debating it won’t change anything.” He got out of the SUV, and she had no choice but to follow.