“She won’t react well. Not if her character holds true.”
“How much money does Vivienne stand to lose because of the changes?”
“A lot,” a man said behind them.
They all turned to find Daniel Waters standing there.
“How’s it going, Daniel?” Jake asked. Daniel had taken several Last Frontier Adventure fly-fishing trips Jake had led.
“I’d be better if you hadn’t talked to my underage client without legal representation.”
Landon stepped forward. “Shane confessed to the murder of his own accord, with his mother present—and we haven’t questioned him here at the station.”
The cockiness faded from Daniel’s scowl. “Where is he now?”
“Alone in the interrogation room. I’ve got a deputy posted on the other side of the two-way glass to make certain he doesn’t try anything rash.”
Daniel sighed. “All right. I’ll need a few minutes to confer with my client in private.”
“Of course. I’ll pull the deputy from the observation room and cut the mic feed.”
Daniel nodded as Landon reentered the observation room.
“Wait a sec,” Kayden said. “What did you mean when you said Mrs. Humphries stood to lose a lot by Conrad changing his life insurance policy?”
Daniel frowned. “Life insurance policy? I was referring to Conrad’s will. Are you saying he added Ms. Tate and her son to the life insurance policy as well?”
“Yes.”
“Conrad didn’t say anything about that to me the other night, but I suppose it makes sense.”
“The other night?” Jake watched a spark ignite in Kayden’s eyes. She was on the trail of something, and he was going to let her run with it.
“Yes. Conrad insisted he needed to change his will as soon as possible. My office hours are booked for weeks, but Conrad’s an old friend, so I met him after hours the other night.”
“Which night?”
Daniel sighed. “The night before he died.”
“Around nine?” Kayden asked.
“Yes.” He frowned. “How’d you know?”
She turned to Jake. “The missing hour.”
He nodded and looked back at Daniel. “You said changing his life insurance policy makes sense. Makes sense, how?”
“Because of the circumstances. If you’re going to change one, you might as well make the change on all estate assets. Though, if Shane is convicted of murder—and I’m not saying he will be; nor is that any indication of his guilt—but if murder is involved, that voids his share of the life insurance policy.”
“Which was?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to talk to his money manager or insurance agent for that, but I know that when he altered the will he left Vivienne and her boys fifty percent and Patty and Shane the other fifty percent.”
“Wow,” Kayden said. “That’s really generous to Patty and her son.”
Daniel adjusted his belt and looked around. “That’s just it.” He pushed his hand through his thinning hair. “Shane wasn’t only Patty’s son.”
“What are you saying?”
“Shane was Patty and Conrad’s son.”
“How’s that possible?” Kayden asked. “Patty said she’d just met Conrad a few years ago.”
“Actually,” Jake said, replaying the conversation back in his mind, “what she said was ‘when Conrad first came into the gym a few years ago.’”
“So you think that wasn’t the first time they met? That the two had a relationship years ago resulting in Shane’s birth and then decided to pick it back up years later?”
“Conrad first met Patty when they were both living in Anchorage,” Daniel said. “He was an up-and-coming hedge-fund manager, and Patty was a student at U of A, Anchorage. They came from two different worlds, and Conrad was already engaged to Vivienne at the time. But he said he fell head over heels for Patty. He was going to break it off with Vivienne, but his father said if he didn’t follow through on his commitment to Vivienne—whose parents were close personal friends—he’d cut him completely out of the family business, not to mention his will.”
“So he left Patty pregnant?”
“According to Conrad, he never knew Patty was pregnant. She didn’t find out until a month after they split, and by then Conrad and Vivienne were married, so Patty decided to raise Shane on her own.”
Kayden frowned. “Then how . . . ?”
“Patty moved to Imnek to live with an aunt while pregnant, to have family near as she was adjusting to life as a single mom. Conrad and Vivienne had two boys of their own, and Patty married a guy named Steve Tate when Shane was still a baby. He raised Shane as his own, though he proved to be a lousy husband, according to Patty.”
“Okay, so how did Conrad and his family end up in Imnek? And, how did he discover Shane was his son?” Jake asked.
“Conrad saw an article in Alaska magazine about a climbing championship Patty had just won. There was a picture of Patty and Shane in the article.”
“And that was enough?”
“Enough to make him curious. Shane has his eyes. He made a trip down to Imnek and confronted Patty. She told him Shane was his, but that she didn’t want him in their lives.”
“But Conrad didn’t listen?” Kayden said.
“He made up some business excuse for why he and Vivienne had to relocate to Imnek and then started pursuing Patty.”
“That’s why he joined the gym and learned to climb.”
Daniel nodded. “It got him time with Patty and the boy.”
Kayden linked her arms across her chest. “I’ll say he was determined if nothing else.”
“Conrad was a bulldog when he set his mind to something.”
The realization of the full depth of the situation kicked Jake in the gut. “Does Shane know?”
“As far as I know, Patty hasn’t told him,” Daniel said. “But you’d have to ask her.”
Kayden looked to Jake. “Shane killed his own father. How do you live with something like that?”
24
“No,” Patty seethed, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I never told Shane.”
“Why not?” Jake asked.
“Because I wanted to protect him. He’d already lost one dad when Steven left—I didn’t want him having to go through that again if Conrad decided to leave.” She slumped into a chair, her hair frazzled, her clothes askew from nearly wrestling with Thoreau. “Maybe I should have.”
She looked up at Jake, eyes full of venom. “Regardless, Shane didn’t do this. He couldn’t have.”
“He confessed.”
“To cover for me, no doubt.”
“Are you saying you killed Conrad?”
“No. I’m saying Shane must have heard you stating the evidence against me and came to my rescue. We’re all each other has. You can’t do this.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
Patty stood, her eyes narrowing, her sharp features taking on a hard edge. “We all have a choice. I suggest you make the correct one.”
“That sounded like a threat.”
Patty cocked her head. “I’m simply asking you to do the right thing.”
“I am. Your son confessed.”
Her jaw tightened. “I told you, you have the wrong person. I will not allow you to take my son from me—whatever it takes. Do you hear me?”
“That’s enough, Patty,” Daniel said from the doorway. “We need to talk.”
Patty glared at Jake and Kayden before doing as the lawyer instructed.
Kayden rubbed her arms. “Was it just me, or did Patty suddenly go creepy on us?”
“Definitely nasty,” Jake said.
“He is her only son. I imagine a mother will do just about anything to protect her child.”
“I can’t imagine how Shane’s going to feel when he learns the truth.”
“The shock of discovering you killed your own parent . . .” She couldn’t imagine. Couldn’t
imagine the thought of wanting to kill someone in the first place. Plain scary how easily Shane had moved from anger to murder.
Kayden waited in Jake’s office while he, Patty, and Daniel broke the news about his parentage to Shane. She was utterly grateful not to be present for that conversation.
She walked the perimeter of Jake’s office, noting the lack of personal items. No pictures or mementos of any kind. She wondered what his office in Boston had been like. What kinds of pictures had decorated his walls?
She moved to his chair with his jacket draped over the back and sank into it. Swiveling around, she spun a couple times for decompression, then settled facing his desk.
Jake stood, leaning against the doorframe, a gentle smile on his handsome face.
She straightened. “Sorry, I was just—”
“You’re fine. I’m glad you made yourself comfortable.”
“How’d it go?”
Jake grimaced.
“That bad?”
“Let’s just say poor Shane has a lot to deal with.”
“Did he change his story any?”
“Nope, but Patty’s become more volatile, insisting we have the wrong person and need to let Shane go.”
“Or what? Did she actually threaten this time?”
“She didn’t go that far, but was just short of it. Told me she wasn’t going to let me take her only son from her.”
“O . . . k . . . a . . . y.”
“Moms are protective. She’s just doing and saying what she feels she needs to, to keep her boy safe.”
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“Landon’s booking him now. There’ll be an arraignment tomorrow, where he’ll be formally charged and a trial date set.”
She pulled her hair over her shoulder, needing something to fidget with. She started braiding. “It’s all so crazy. You think Shane left those messages?”
“I guess he was trying to make Brody look guilty.”
“He was at the gym that day. He could have slipped out and left that note on our car.”
Jake exhaled. “I just pray this is the end of it.”
She narrowed her eyes, a sick feeling settling in her stomach. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve got a bad feeling this one isn’t over yet.”
Waiting was agony, but she couldn’t rush this. She needed to wait for the right opportunity. Jake Cavanagh had taken someone she loved with his meddling. It was only fair that she repay the favor in kind. The perfect moment would present itself soon enough, and then she’d strike. No more beautiful Kayden McKenna.
Such a shame, but inevitably necessary.
25
“I still can’t believe Shane killed his own father,” Piper said, passing the salad.
Kayden took it and put some on her plate. She really wasn’t feeling very hungry. “He didn’t know Conrad was his dad.”
Landon snagged a roll from the basket before Gage scooped them up. “Any way you look at it, murder is murder.”
“I know.” Piper drizzled Gage’s raspberry vinaigrette dressing over her salad. “It just makes it all the more horrific realizing you killed your own father, I would think.”
“Sadly, it happens more than you realize,” Jake said, spearing a forkful of salad.
Piper shook her head. “I couldn’t fathom hurting any human being, but your own family . . . ” She shuddered.
“Goes all the way back to Cain and Abel,” Landon said.
The day had been rough—seeing Shane’s lack of remorse, his cold withdrawn stare, and Patty’s belligerent threats. The urge to pray welled inside, and Kayden lowered her head while her siblings talked around her.
Please, Father, I love my family so much. I know I’m not the best at showing it, but please let them know I love them. Please protect them. And Jake too . . .
She glanced over at the man who had stolen her heart.
Please bring healing and renewal to his life. I so want to see him happy and at peace.
She bit down on the homemade dinner roll Darcy had made. It wasn’t as good as Gage’s, but she was learning quickly. The two had spent the day holed up in the kitchen preparing tonight’s McKenna family feast—salad with homemade vinaigrette, fresh rolls, Gage’s seven-layer lasagna, and for dessert, homemade cannoli.
She’d caught a glimpse of them, sprinkled with powdered sugar, with miniature chocolate chips mixed in the filling, and her stomach had done a flip. She had to remain good. She was a health nut—as her siblings labeled her—for a reason, and she couldn’t deviate from it.
“How is it?” Darcy asked.
Kayden looked at Darcy’s expectant eyes, then to the roll in her hand. “Delicious.”
Darcy smiled.
“She’s a fast learner,” Gage said, clasping Darcy’s hand and rubbing his thumb along her skin. The two were so in love. Who would have thought all of her siblings would find love, even Reef.
Speaking of Reef . . .
“Shouldn’t Reef and Anna be back by now?” According to Piper, the pair had taken the girls’ husky, Rori, for a hike out on the south side of Tariuk.
“You know Reef.” Gage slathered another roll with butter. It was a wonder he was as in shape and toned as he was, considering the way he ate. Ridiculous.
“The guy’s an animal,” Gage said. “He could hike all day.” He bit into the roll, swallowing half of it in one bite.
A smile tugged at Kayden’s lips. “He’s not the only animal around here.”
“What?” Gage smirked. “I’m a growing boy.” He popped the rest of the roll in his mouth.
She laughed. “You’re a mess.”
Reef helped Anna over the rise. Perspiration dotted her brow and boredom her expression. How could she be surrounded by such beauty and not be enamored?
They’d gotten a later start to the day than he’d hoped. A much later start, but it was good. With only a few hours of daylight left, it’d help him keep his promise to Anna of only taking a short hike. And he could use all the help he could get. Once he was outside, it was so hard to curtail his time. He could go for days, but he’d honor his promise to Anna.
Rori whimpered on the leash at his side, looking as miserable as Anna.
He sighed. Piper had said to keep her on the leash, but they were in the middle of nowhere, with no one around. What harm could it do?
He let Rori off the leash, and she bounded through the fireweed like a young pup.
“Aren’t the fields gorgeous?” Waves of fuchsia rolled along streams of green.
Anna swatted at a bug humming nearby. “Beautiful.”
They crossed to the other side and headed for the hiking path that wound back down the mountainside to their car at the trailhead.
Reef whistled for Rori, and she returned, springing in front of them. Anna held tightly to Reef’s hand, anxiety rather than enjoyment fixed on her sweet face.
“You aren’t enjoying yourself, are you?” He’d hoped once they were outside that she’d come around, that she’d see the beauty of being enveloped by nature.
“I’m sorry. Walking around in the dirt just isn’t my idea of fun. But . . .” She rubbed his hand in hers. “I’m happy to be sharing the time with you.”
“Me too.” He smiled. He just wished she were enjoying herself at least a little bit.
A half mile into their descent to the car, Rori’s tail shot up, and she growled as she stalked to the edge of the ridge.
“What do you hear, girl?” He stepped toward the husky, glancing over the ridge to the steeply declining drop-off below, trees and brambles clinging to the sharply angled hillside.
He didn’t see or hear anything, but Rori clearly did.
She whimpered and then, before he could grab her collar, bolted over the edge.
“Rori, no!” he hollered, but it was too late. She was gone.
“Sure you don’t want one?” Gage asked Kayden while dangling a cannoli in front of her.
“No. I’m fine
.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.” He took a bite, and then smiled. “More for me.”
Kayden shook her head, but Jake could see she was eyeing the cannoli. She wanted one. But she never ate anything made with refined sugar or white flour or . . . The list went on. It was admirable that she wanted to eat so healthfully, but the rigidness of her diet coupled with her insane exercise regime made Jake wonder if she wasn’t pushing it too hard.
Kayden settled back in the oversized armchair with a cup of green tea in hand. “Seven still good?” she asked Piper.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Thelma Jenkins has her root canal tomorrow. Her niece Susan was going to take her, but her son got sick. Thelma refuses to go alone, so I said I’d take her. I’m sorry.”
“No worries. I’ll just climb by myself.”
“Kayden, you know that isn’t smart or safe,” Gage said. “I’d go with you, but I’m running the shop tomorrow.”
“I’ll go with you.” The words were out of Jake’s mouth before he considered their import. Of course he’d love to go climbing with Kayden, love to have more time with her, but where the two of them working alone on the case had been a necessity, this would be more like a . . . date. His heart hitched.
Kayden shrugged a shoulder. “Okay.”
Shock rocketed through him. “Okay?” He blinked. Was he dreaming?
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
He swallowed and sat back, thankful for the support of the chair beneath him. “Okay.” He could feel everyone else’s shocked gaze darting between him and Kayden, and he couldn’t blame them one bit.
After helping clean up the dishes, Kayden headed to Nanook Haven. She pulled into the dirt parking lot and stepped from her car into the crisp night air.
Rex bellowed from the barn. He knew she was there.
She pulled her fleece on and headed for the blue barn, finding Kirra and Carol inside. The ladies were finishing up the nightly chores—feeding the dogs dinner, cleaning their stalls, and giving them fresh water.
Rex pawed his stall door at the sight of her.
“Just a minute.” She smiled.
“He’s been pacing for the last half hour,” Carol said. “Only wants you.”