“Leroy, what are you doing?” Grace’s voice was laced with the terror that coursed through her. She stared at him, trying to make sense of what was going on.
“What am I doing?” He smiled then, a proud, boastful smile. “I’m completing a plan that’s been ten years in the making.”
“What does that mean?” Grace slid her eyes toward the top of her desk, looking for something she could use as a weapon. Inside the drawer was a box cutter and a pair of scissors, but on top there was nothing more lethal than a ballpoint pen.
Leroy’s eyes glittered darkly and he leaned forward, as if eager to share with her whatever was going on in his head. “It started when I met Lana and found out she was carrying William Covington’s baby.”
Grace gasped and stared at him incomprehensively. “What are you talking about? Lincoln is only ten years old. William and my mother were married at the time he was conceived. William wouldn’t have cheated on my mother.”
Leroy laughed, but there was nothing pleasant in the sound. “Ah, but he did. Your mother had flown to Las Vegas to help out one of her friends who was having a difficult pregnancy. Remember? She was gone for two weeks, and on one of those nights William and my lovely wife crossed the line. It only happened once, but that was enough for her to wind up pregnant.”
She reeled with the information. Lana and William? What Leroy said might be true, but it still didn’t illuminate everything that had happened over the last week and a half.
The fact that he hadn’t lowered the knife and still held it tightly in his hand as if ready to thrust it into her at any moment kept a lump of fear firmly lodged in her throat.
If she screamed, he could gut her before anyone would hear her cry for help. She thought of Charlie in his car out front and wanted to weep because she had no way of letting him know she was in danger.
“What do you want, Leroy? Money? I have my cash drawer in the desk. Just let me unlock it and I’ll give you everything I have.”
“Oh Grace, I definitely want money, but I’m not interested in whatever you have in that drawer,” he replied. “I’ve been a very patient man and soon my patience is all going to pay off.” He must have seen the look of confusion on her face for he laughed once again. “William’s money, Grace. That’s what I’m after. Lincoln is a Covington heir—and why should he share an inheritance when he can have it all.”
Grace had been afraid before, but as the realization of his words penetrated her frightened fog, a new sense of terror gripped her. “You killed William? It was you? And you set up Hope to take the fall.”
Again a proud grin lifted the corner of Leroy’s mouth. “It was genius. Your sister, she’s a creature of habit. Every morning she makes herself breakfast and drinks about a half a gallon of orange juice. That girl loves her juice.”
“You drugged it,” Grace exclaimed.
“It was brilliant. She went back to bed and passed out. I killed William, trashed her room, smeared her with blood and put the knife in her hand. And before she goes to trial I’ll make sure the prosecutor has all the evidence he needs to send her away for the rest of her life.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” Grace cried, tears misting her vision as she tried to buy time. “Did you kill my mother, too?”
Leroy leaned back in the chair, but the knife never wavered. “Apparently William decided to come clean to your mother about that night with Lana. The next morning your mother came to the cottage wanting to talk to Lana, but she’d taken Lincoln into Oklahoma City for a doctor’s appointment. You see, for me to make sure my stepson inherited all of William’s money, I needed to make sure nobody else was going to inherit it. Your mother was the first obstacle in the way. I strangled her, and since nobody was home at the mansion, I packed a couple of her suitcases to make it look like she took off.”
Grace closed her eyes as grief battled with terror inside her. Reward. Charlie had been trying to figure out the true motive of William’s murder and now she knew. Money. William’s money. Leroy wanted it all not for Lincoln, but for himself. With Lincoln being underage, Leroy and Lana would be in charge of the fortune.
What did Lana know? Was she a part of this? God, it would be the final betrayal to learn that the loving housekeeper had helped plot all these murders.
Grace opened her eyes and realized she was going to die here now if she didn’t do something.
“I had to bide my time after your mother died. I knew I couldn’t take out William too quickly or people would be suspicious,” he said.
“People are suspicious,” she said, barely able to hear her own voice over the pounding of her heartbeat. “You’ll never get away with this, Leroy. When you try to collect William’s money, the suspicions will only get bigger.”
“Suspecting and proving are two different things. William’s murder is going to be pinned on Hope. Your mother’s murder happened two years ago, and by the time I plant bugs in some people’s ears it will all make perfect sense.”
His dark eyes gleamed bright. “You see, the way the story will go is that your mother found out about William’s night with Lana and was going to leave him. They fought and things got out of control and he killed her. Two years later, Hope began to suspect what had happened and believing that William was responsible for your mother’s death, she killed him. And you, you’re just the tragic victim of a store robbery. Nobody can tie up all the pieces so they point in my direction. You’ll all be gone and a DNA test will prove Lincoln to be a rightful heir.”
Grace knew she was running out of time. She had to do something to escape or at least to draw attention. Once again her gaze shot around, looking for anything that might help her.
The stacked boxes next to where he sat caught her eye. She tensed all her muscles, knowing it was very possible she’d die trying to escape him, but she would certainly be killed if she did nothing.
Now or never, she told herself as Leroy continued bragging about how smart he’d been to pull off everything. Now or never, the words screamed through her head.
She exploded from the chair and knocked down the stack of boxes. They toppled on top of Leroy as she ran for the door of the office, sobs of terror ripping out of her.
The sales floor was dark, lit only by the faint security lights and the dim illumination coming through the front window. She focused on the door. If she could just get out, Charlie would be there and everything would be all right.
She made it as far as the table display of sandals before she was tackled from behind. They both tumbled to the floor. Shoes fell on top of them as they bumped against the table.
Leroy cursed and momentarily let go of her. Frantically Grace crawled on her hands and knees into the middle of a circular rack of blouses, swallowing her sobs in an effort to hide from him.
If she screamed for Charlie, she would pinpoint her location to Leroy, who apparently hadn’t seen exactly where she had gone. Even if Charlie heard her scream, she was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get inside before Leroy killed her.
She could smell the man, the sour scent of sweat. She could hear him moving around the store, hunting her like a predator stalking prey.
Her body began a tremble she feared would move the blouses. Drawing deep, silent breaths, she tried to control the fear that threatened to erupt. She tensed as she heard Leroy’s footsteps getting closer…closer still.
“Grace, you’re just prolonging the inevitable,” he said softly. The rack of blouses shook and despite her desire to stay silent, a slight whimper escaped her as she realized he knew where she was hiding.
She had to scream and she had to move. It was the only way Charlie might hear her and get out of his car to check it out.
At that moment, the knife slashed through the rack of blouses and a scream ripped out of her.
Charlie drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the beat of the music from his radio. He was beginning to wonder if Grace was going to spend the entire night in the store.
Main Street had emptied of cars long ago, and most of the townspeople were now in their homes, watching television or getting ready for bed.
Charlie would love to be getting ready for bed, especially if Grace was waiting in it. He couldn’t help but think of the last two times they made love and how he would happily spend the rest of his life loving her and only her.
What was keeping her from him? There had been moments over the past week when he hadn’t felt the burden of their past between them and thought she’d gotten past her bitterness. He’d felt her love for him and entertained a tiny flicker of hope that there might be a future for them together.
He rubbed a hand across his forehead, weary with the inactivity of the day and thoughts of Grace. It was done. There was no point in trying to figure out what went wrong this time. Apparently she’d never really gotten over their past and refused to even consider any future with him.
He frowned as he saw a shadow move across the plate glass window in front of the shop. Sitting up straighter, he breathed a grateful sigh. Good, maybe she was getting ready to go home.
He got back out of the car and stretched with his arms overhead, then shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for her to walk out the front door.
Again he saw shadowy movement inside the store and heard a noise—a scream. Alarm rang in his head as he yanked his hands from his pockets and ran to the front door. Locked.
“Grace?” he yelled and banged on the door with his fists. Wild with fear as he saw not one figure, but two, he looked around frantically, needing something he could use to break the door down.
He spied a heavy flowerpot in front of the storefront next door. As soon as he grabbed it, he threw it at the window.
The pot went through with a crash and the entire window cracked and shattered. Before the glass had cleared enough for him to get inside, Grace opened the front door.
She was sobbing and held an arm that was bleeding. “It’s Leroy,” she cried. “Leroy Racine. He ran out the back door. Charlie, he killed them. He killed them all and he tried to kill me.”
“Get in my car and lock the doors,” he said, refusing to look at her bloody arm. He was filled with an all-consuming rage. “Call Zack. My cell phone is on the passenger seat.”
He pulled his gun and took off around the side of the building, knowing Leroy had to be using the alley for his escape. Leroy? As Charlie ran, a million questions raced through his head.
Leroy was a big man, not as fast on his feet as Charlie, and on the next block from Grace’s shop he spied the man rounding a corner.
Charlie had never wanted to catch a man more in his life. As he raced, his head filled with visions of Grace being hit over the head with an object, of her being kicked in the ribs. The rage that ripped through him knew no bounds. He wanted to kill Leroy Racine, but first he wanted to beat the hell out of him.
“Stop or I’ll shot,” Charlie yelled, as he saw Leroy just ahead of him. “I swear to God, Racine, I’ll shoot you in the back and not blink an eye.”
Leroy must have recognized the promise in Charlie’s voice, for he stopped running and turned toward him, a frantic defeat spread across his face.
At that moment the whine of a siren sounded in the distance, and Charlie knew Zack or one of his deputies was responding to Grace’s call.
“Get down on the ground,” Charlie commanded. “Facedown on the ground with your hands up over your head.”
Leroy hesitated but must have seen something in Charlie’s eyes that frightened him, for he complied. Charlie kicked the knife Leroy held in one hand and sent it spinning several feet away. He leaned over him and pressed the barrel of his gun into the back of Leroy’s head.
“Don’t try anything,” he warned the big man. “Don’t even blink too hard. One way or the other you’re going away for a very long time. It’s either going to be jail or hell.”
At that moment Zack ran toward them, his gun drawn and his eyes wide as he saw Charlie. “He killed Elizabeth and William, set up Hope to go to prison and tried to kill Grace.” Charlie’s voice grew hoarse with anger. “His knife is over there.”
“Charlie, you can step away from him,” Zack said, his voice deceptively calm. “I’ve got him now.”
Reluctantly, Charlie pulled his gun from the back of Leroy’s head and straightened. Before anyone could stop him, he drew back his boot and delivered a swift kick to Leroy’s ribs.
Leroy yelped and raised his head to look at Zack. “Did you see that? I want him arrested for assault.”
Charlie looked at Zack, who shrugged. “I didn’t see anything,” Zack replied.
“I’ve got to check on Grace. She was hurt,” Charlie said, as Zack pulled Leroy to his feet and cuffed him.
Charlie took off running in the direction he’d come from. He still didn’t have any real answers, couldn’t figure out why Leroy had done what he’d done, but at the moment answers didn’t matter—only Grace did.
She saw him coming and got out of his car. In the light from the nearby street lamp, he could see that her cheeks were shiny with tears, and she held her arm against her side, one hand pressed against the opposite upper arm.
“Charlie,” she cried, as he neared. “Thank God you’re okay.”
He reached her and pulled her gently into his arms, careful not to hurt her.
As he smelled the familiar scent of vanilla in her hair and felt the warmth of her body against his, Charlie did something he couldn’t remember doing since he was a young boy and his mother had died—he wept.
It was nearing dawn when Charlie followed Grace home. The night had been endless for Grace. At the hospital, she’d received eight stitches in her arm and then spent most of the rest of the night with Zack, telling him everything Leroy had told her.
She was beyond exhaustion yet elated. Zack promised her that first thing in the morning he’d get the wheels of justice turning to release Hope.
Hope was coming home, and it was time to tell Charlie a final goodbye. When they reached her house, she pulled into the driveway and parked. Charlie pulled in just behind her.
She didn’t have to be afraid anymore. She could get out of her car without waiting for Charlie and his gun to protect her. She no longer needed him as a private investigator, a criminal defense attorney or a bodyguard. It was time for them to move on with their lives.
She got out of the car with weariness weighing on her shoulders and the whisper of something deeper, something that felt remarkably like new heartbreak.
Charlie joined her on the sidewalk and silently walked with her to her front door. “You’re going to be all right now, Grace,” he said.
She unlocked the door and then turned back to face him. His features looked haggard in the dawn light, and she fought her impulse to reach up and lay her palm against his cheek. “Yes, I’m going to be all right,” she replied softly.
“Hope should be released sometime tomorrow, and the two of you can begin rebuilding your lives.” He reached a hand up, as if to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, but instead he quickly dropped his hand back to his side. “You don’t have any reason to be afraid anymore. It’s finally over.”
She nodded, surprised by the rise of a lump in her throat. He stared at her, and in the depths of his beautiful gray eyes, she saw his want, his need of her and she steeled herself against it, against him.
“Then I guess this is goodbye,” he said, although it was more a question, a plea than a statement.
Her chest felt tight, constricted by her aching heart. “Goodbye, Charlie.” She said the words quickly, then escaped into the house and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the door and felt the hot press of tears at her eyes.
She should have been happy. The bad times were behind her, so why was she crying? Why did she feel as if she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life?