Beyond a Doubt Read online

  “I always have it thought out.” Klepto maybe. “And we’ll all stand to make five grand each.”

  That meant whatever they planned was going to net them twenty thousand dollars. Lauri gulped. That was a lot of pistachio nuts, as Bree would say. A big batch of cigarettes and booze? She narrowed her eyes to slits and continued to listen.

  A low growl came again. “We don’t have much time. The boss wants it done before the shipment comes in next month.”

  “It will be. Now let’s get out of here. Brian, don’t bring your girl here again.”

  “She’s inside?” There was a long pause, and Lauri could only imagine Brian’s guilty expression. She heard someone swear, then the sound of feet pelting toward the door.

  Frantically, Lauri threw herself on the bed and closed her eyes, aware her chest was rising and falling too fast as adrenaline coursed through her body. She willed herself to breathe deeply. She curled up on her side and tucked her head into the pillow, musty though it was.

  The front door banged, but she lay inert as though she were deeply asleep. Moments later Brian called her name; then she felt him standing in the doorway watching her.

  “She’s asleep,” he whispered. “She’s been sick a lot lately.”

  “Count your lucky stars.” Neville’s gruff voice sounded nearly at the foot of the bed. “I don’t want her prying through my things.”

  Lauri’s heart fluttered like a bird trying to escape her fist. His things? Was he the one watching Anu and Bree? A slight shudder wracked her body, and she felt a rising nausea. She fought it, forcing herself to draw in deep breaths.

  Would he kill her if he knew she’d seen the photos? She had a sinking feeling he planned something bad for Anu and Bree. It was up to her to stop him, but she had no idea how to accomplish that feat. With a sudden clenching of her stomach, she knew she was going to throw up. She rolled over and bolted to her feet. Rushing past the men, she barely made it to the yard before she bent over, and her stomach gave a violent heave.

  Shuddering, she crouched in the yard and vomited until her stomach was empty.

  “Oh gross,” she heard Fuzz say behind her.

  The door to the cabin slammed, and she could hear only muffled voices from inside the cabin. At least she was alone. She felt better after vomiting. A hand pump stood on a small concrete pad near the front door. She went to it and pumped until cold water splashed into her hands. After splashing some on her face, she gulped a mouthful of fresh water and rinsed her mouth out.

  Somehow she had to stop that man from whatever it was he’d planned. But how? She had no illusions of her own brains or ability in that arena. He looked like he could chew her up and spit her out. Think, think, she told herself. But no answer came.

  The cabin door opened, and Brian stepped onto the porch. “You okay?” He sounded genuinely worried.

  “I’m fine now. Must have been something I ate.” She smiled and walked toward him. Information would help. She still had no idea what this was all about. “Sorry I didn’t find anything to eat. I was feeling so lousy, I thought I’d take a nap.”

  He put his arm around her as soon as she stepped onto the porch. “I think we’re about done here anyway.”

  Rats! She’d wanted to see what else she could find out. But she knew where this place was, so she would bring Bree and Naomi here later.

  Bree hurried down the steps to the basement, nearly tripping as her body tried to beat her feet there. Maybe Deputy Montgomery had found the Seawind’s treasure, but likely it was just rubble from some previous owner.

  Halogen lights were still strung up around the basement, and their stark glare revealed every corner of the room. Montgomery crouched in the hole that Bree and Kade had knocked down. Another deputy held a flashlight that illuminated the rubble from the second wall the sheriff’s department had demolished.

  “What did you find?” Bree stepped over the rubble of the other wall the men had torn down.

  “Wait, let me in there.” Mason pushed past her and the men conferred. After several long minutes, Mason turned back to her. “Look at this, Bree.”

  Bree pushed forward and knelt beside him. A small green satchel, protected in the hidden cavity, lay among the rubble. The initials A. N. had faded but were still distinguishable. “Abe Nicholls?”

  “That would be my guess.” Mason unzipped the satchel and glanced inside without touching the contents. “Tools. Looks like bricklaying stuff. Abe was a brick mason.” He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and poked through the satchel. His movements stilled, and he inhaled.

  “What is it?”

  “A wrecking tool. It looks like it has hair on the end of it.”

  “After all these years?”

  “Hair doesn’t decompose,” Mason said. His gaze caught hers. “Maybe Abe walled the evidence in here figuring no one would ever find the murder weapon.”

  “But why would he leave such incriminating evidence behind?” Bree squeezed her eyes shut. She would do anything to protect Anu from further pain. This news would be devastating.

  “Maybe he didn’t think anyone would ever find it. Better buried here than found on him.” Mason took her arm. “Back on out of here. I don’t want the site contaminated any more than it already is by my men crawling around in here. Lucky for us the second wall protected this cavity from the fire.”

  “I need to go check on Davy anyway,” Bree said. She wanted nothing more than to bury her face in Davy’s neck and smell his warm little-boy aroma. Maybe then she could forget the fear that left her feeling vulnerable. She just wanted all this to be over.

  “I assume this means I can’t move back in this weekend?” She had been hoping that a good sleep in her own bed would help her forget the danger that seemed to be lurking around every corner.

  “Shouldn’t matter as long as you stay out of the basement,” Mason said.

  “No worries then.” Bree gave a shaky laugh. “The last thing I want to do now is poke around down here. It’s like disturbing a graveyard. Do you think there’s anything else down here?”

  “There are no other walls that aren’t part of the original basement, as far as we can tell.”

  That was good news, if she could just forget the fact that a man had been buried here. Thank goodness she didn’t believe in ghosts, or she’d be jumping at every sound in the night.

  “I’ll be at Anu’s if you need me.”

  Mason only grunted in return as he went back to work. Bree hurried to her Jeep. She longed for her son. All the day’s events left her wanting to make sure he was okay.

  Sometimes she felt like a piece of thistledown, blown about by the eddies of unseen forces in her life. Especially lately, she had no control over anything. But maybe control was an illusion. God was really the one in control, though it was easy to forget that. She wanted to be in her own home, tending her little boy and forging a future.

  Sighing, she parked outside Anu’s house and went in. An unfamiliar voice carried down the hall. A male voice. She peeked around the door into the living room and froze when she saw Davy sitting on Nick’s lap. Her little boy looked completely at home, his arm wrapped around Nick’s neck and one foot swinging lazily. Davy and Rob used to sit together like this.

  Bree squeezed her eyes shut and sank back against the wall, her heart rebounding against the walls of her chest. She didn’t want Davy hurt, and he was forming an attachment to Nick way too fast. In her mother’s heart, she recognized it wasn’t healthy. What should she do?

  Samson must have smelled her, for he gave a welcoming woof and came to meet her. She wrapped her fingers in his fur and squared her shoulders. No one would fix this problem for her. Pinning a smile to her face, she walked into the living room.

  She returned Nick’s smile. Davy’s contentment was wonderful to see. Pushing away the voice of caution, she grabbed a handful of pistachio nuts from the bowl on the table and sat in the chair opposite the sofa.

  “Where’s Anu?” she asked.<
br />
  “In the kitchen fixing dinner. I’m invited to stay.”

  Bree almost laughed aloud at the absurdly pleased expression on Nick’s face. “I see. I’d planned to pack things up tonight so I can move back home tomorrow. I’m afraid Anu and Davy will have to entertain you after dinner.”

  His face fell, and she chuckled. “Davy loves checkers,” she said.

  He poked Davy in the ribs, and the little boy giggled. “You up for a mean game of checkers, my man?”

  “Will you let me win?” Davy looked up at him with calculating charm.

  “No way! You have to let me win. It’s my turn.”

  “We haven’t had turns yet, and I’m the littlest.”

  “I’m the biggest, so I should go first.”

  Davy giggled again, and Bree’s heart warmed toward the fireman. Maybe she shouldn’t make snap judgments of Nick. Maybe he was more responsible than he seemed. “I’ll help Anu with supper,” she said, rising and going to the hall.

  Nick kept them all laughing through dinner, even Anu, who initially seemed reserved around him. Before Bree realized it, they’d spent an hour around the table.

  She pushed back her chair. “I’d better get to packing up.”

  “How about some pie for dessert first? I’ll buy.” Nick’s expression was bland.

  He had to know he had her boxed in. What little boy would want to turn down pie? She bit her lip. “I really need to pack,” she began. “Besides, he’s had plenty of sweets today.”

  “Mommy, please!”

  Feeling trapped and not just a little cross about it, Bree gave in with ill grace. “We can’t be gone long,” she said. “And you have to share it with me. You don’t need all that sugar.”

  Anu tried to get out of it too, but Nick cajoled her until she gave in as well, and the four of them walked downtown to the Suomi.

  Originally opened when Joki Luepke immigrated from Finland, the Suomi’s specialty was hot lingonberry pie, but it was now made by Joki’s grandson, also a Joki. The pie made tonight’s trek worth it.

  Bree savored the taste as long as she dared, then glanced surreptitiously at her watch. Another hour, gone. Too long on a night when she had so much to do. She swallowed the last of her pie and glanced at her son. He was yawning.

  “We’d better head back.” Davy gave her no argument, so she knew he was tired. “Want me to carry you?”

  He shook his head and leaned against Nick. “I want Mr. Fireman to carry me.”

  “Mommy will carry you,” she said firmly. Davy didn’t put up a fuss but wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face against her chest. He’d gained weight, and the heavy sag of his body in her arms quickly began to tire her as they walked home, but she persevered.

  She should talk to Dr. Parker about this latest wrinkle, see what he said. Was it good or bad to spend time with Nick? Bree didn’t like it. Samson trotted at her heels. Bree was panting by the time they neared the house.

  “Shall I take Davy?” Anu asked softly.

  “We’re almost there now,” Bree reassured her. “I’ll just pop him in bed.” She hefted him to her other arm. Samson growled as they neared the porch. “What is it, boy?”

  Anu patted the dog’s head, then stepped past him and opened the front door. Bree stepped into the hall.

  And stopped dead in the middle of it.

  Items were strewn across the floor—ripped cushions, pillows, broken candle containers, books, magazines, and knickknacks. Someone had upended every drawer in the house and left the drawers among the debris.

  Bree stood gaping at the destruction. It seemed almost wanton, as though the person hadn’t found what he wanted and was determined to show his rage. She backed away from the littered floor.

  “Call Mason,” she told Anu. “Wait! Let’s get out of here in case someone is still around. My cell phone’s in my Jeep.”

  Anu followed her to the Jeep, but Nick stayed behind. Bree could see his shadow moving through the house. His cautious posture revealed his uncertainty. She laid Davy on the backseat of the Jeep, then opened the front door for Samson. He jumped inside.

  “Guard,” she told Samson. The ruff on his neck stood up, and he began to prowl back and forth. The man who tried anything with his boy would live to regret it.

  She fumbled around on the front seat and finally located the cell phone. Punching in Mason’s number, she got the answering machine. Exhaling in frustration, she dialed the sheriff’s office. The dispatcher told her the sheriff was at the hospital with Hilary and couldn’t be reached.

  “Please send someone to his mother-in-law’s. The house has been broken into.” Bree disconnected the call, then dialed Naomi to tell her what had happened. No one answered at Naomi’s, so she left a message telling her friend what had happened, then stood next to Anu to wait.

  Minutes later a siren shrieked in the night, and she could see the pulsing red light come toward them. Her tension began to ease with the arrival of help. Nick was still moving around inside, so whoever had broken in was long gone.

  She suddenly wanted Kade, his strength and calming presence, his take-charge attitude that got things done. Even as her hand started to dial his number, she changed her mind. Nick was here, and that would raise questions she wasn’t ready to answer. She would just have to make do. Nick was a fireman, after all, and perfectly competent.

  Then why didn’t she feel as safe in his presence as she did in Kade’s? Maybe it was just that she knew Kade so well, knew the stubborn bent to his mind, the tenacious way he worked until he solved a problem. But for all she knew, Nick could have those qualities as well.

  Bree embraced Anu. The trembling in her mother-in-law’s shoulders strengthened her resolve to find and punish the person who had done this. “You okay?”

  “I am fine.”

  The smile she gave Bree did little to reassure her. “You don’t look fine. Why don’t you sit in the Jeep? That wind is cold.”

  Anu allowed Bree to tuck her into the passenger seat. “Who would wish to break into my home?” Her voice was bewildered. “I have nothing of value.”

  “I don’t know. But we aren’t staying here. As soon as the deputies are sure no one is in the house, I’ll get a few things and we’ll go to the lighthouse. The bedrooms are all cleaned up.”

  “I would like that.” Anu sounded close to tears.

  Bree put a protective hand on her mother-in-law’s shoulder. No one was going to hurt Anu. She was too precious to them all.

  25

  Kade was later than usual tonight. It was already dark when he rode his horse, Moses, into the corral at headquarters and dismounted. He frowned. Lauri was here somewhere. Her battered red car was parked near the wildlife center. He curried and fed Moses, then headed toward the center. Half-afraid to see what kind of mood his sister was in, he approached with some trepidation.

  “Lauri?” His footsteps echoed in the silent building. The fluorescent lights hummed. “Are you here?” He went down the hall to the nursery area and poked his head in. Lauri was sound asleep with her head on his desk. He glanced around at the cages. Two baby raccoons, their eyes still closed, lay curled together in a bed of wood shavings. Lauri must have brought them in.

  He watched his sister sleep for a few moments. Relaxed in sleep, her face held none of the usual petulance. She looked like the carefree baby sister he still loved. He dropped into the chair opposite the desk and stretched his legs in front of him.

  Lauri stirred then opened her eyes. “Hey,” she said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “I must have fallen asleep.” Her gaze went to the cage. “I found their mother dead in a trap outside the den. Can you keep them alive?”

  “I’ll do my best. Did you feed them?” Best not to tell her he’d likely get in trouble for anything but an endangered animal in the cage. Not that he cared.

  “No one was here and I didn’t know what to feed them. I tried to call Bree, but she wasn’t home.”

  The tiny raccoons
rustled in the wood shavings. “They’re probably hungry. I’ll feed them now. You can go on home if you want.”

  “I want to help. Besides, I need to talk to you.”

  That sounded ominous. Kade checked the chart to see how much formula to prepare, then went to the refrigerator and got out some esbilac powder, a milk substitute that was safe for many small animals. He warmed it in the small microwave on the counter.

  He handed one of the bottles to Lauri. “You can feed one. Here, hold it like this.” He flipped the raccoon on its tummy, then put the bottle in its mouth. “Clamp your hand over its muzzle until it figures out how to suck on it.” He smiled as the raccoon began to suck eagerly at the bottle.

  A sense of camaraderie descended on the room as they each cradled an orphaned raccoon.

  “My bottle’s empty, and it’s still hungry,” Lauri said.

  “They’ll die if we overfeed them. They don’t know when to stop. It’s had enough.” He went to the sink and rinsed out a wash-cloth. “Now wash its face. If you leave the milk on it, they can lose their fur.”

  Lauri washed the little animal’s face gently. “Gosh, you know a lot about baby wildlife.”

  Kade laughed. “You said you wanted to talk to me?”

  “I knew you’d have to stay here late tonight with the baby raccoons, so I brought you supper. You hungry?” She went to a cooler in the corner that Kade hadn’t noticed.

  “For me?” Kade tried to hide the surprise from his voice but knew he failed miserably when she flushed and nodded.

  “Isn’t cornbread and beans one of your favorite meals? I found Mom’s recipe book and used it for the cornbread, but I didn’t have time to cook the beans properly, so I bought them. I hope they’re okay. I’ll just warm them in the microwave.”

  She actually sounded as though she cared whether or not the beans were what he wanted. Hiding his amazement, he smiled. “I buy them all the time. I’ve never had enough patience to cook them. They’re pretty good in the jar.”

  “Oh good,” she said.

  Lauri wiped her hands against her jeans in a gesture that touched his heart. Why was she so nervous? Something must have brought this about, but Kade had no idea what it could be. Had she flunked out of school, or maybe gotten suspended?