Читать книгу Betrayed Birthright - Liz Shoaf - Страница 13

THREE

The call of the investigative hunt pulsated through Noah’s veins. Every instinct screamed this was a major missing piece of the puzzle, but Abby’s obvious devastation shook him to the core. His first impulse was to comfort her. He wanted to promise he would make this situation go away, but that wasn’t going to happen. They needed answers.

Maybe trying to find solutions to her problems would calm her down. He pulled out a notepad and pen, making it routine. “You’re certain you’ve never seen the photo before?”

Sliding into a chair across from him, she stared at the picture a moment, then jerked her gaze back to his. “I’ve never seen that picture in my life.”

“And the child? You don’t recognize the child?”

She slowly shook her head. “No. I’m an only child and I don’t have any cousins.” Her eyes brightened. “You know what? The boy in that picture looks to be about a year old. I bet this was taken before I was born and my dad is holding a friend’s child. Maybe my parents went to the beach with another couple.”

Noah’s gut told him otherwise, but he needed more information, so he kept his opinions to himself. “Let’s begin by writing down the names of any new people in your life.”

“I can’t think of anyone who would want to hurt me.” Her voice rose in anger and frustration. “I love living in Blessing, and after so many months passing with no more incidents, I was convinced I’d left this mess behind in North Carolina. I was ready to bring Grammy to Blessing, but this dangerous situation has to be resolved first.”

Noah lifted a brow. Abby’s back straightened and her shoulders squared. The steel had overridden the putty, and the transformation was amazing. Determination lit her eyes. Abby would be a fantastic mother—deep down, he knew she would fiercely protect a child of her own. He pushed that crazy, unprofessional thought aside and returned to the important issue at hand.

“You said you moved to Blessing eight months ago. Besides the permanent residents in town, have any new people entered your life? Choir members, music students?”

She placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “I'm fairly new to town, so everyone is new to me, but all of my piano students are from Blessing. The only new people I can think of are two that recently joined the choir, but surely they didn’t have anything to do with the break-in.”

Noah raised a brow. “Their names?”

“Joanne Ferguson and Walter Fleming. They’re both nice people. She’s been here about four months and he joined a couple of weeks ago. He’s the best tenor I’ve ever worked with.”

Noah almost smiled. Abby was such an innocent. “So, because he has a great voice, he can’t be a bad person?”

Her lips puckered and he choked back a laugh. He hadn’t laughed much in a long time. Not since his wife died, and especially not after the threats against his son’s life in retaliation for Noah killing Anthony Vitale’s father, Big Jack. Both men had been involved in the attempt on the mayor’s life in New York, but they were only able to find evidence on the mafia father. Noah had his own reasons for living in Blessing.

“That’s not what I said.” She popped out the words, then took a deep breath. “I apologize. Please, go on, but we have to hurry. I have students coming.”

“Aren’t they in school?”

“Yes. Normally I give lessons later in the afternoon, but we have a recital coming up and the principal allowed them to miss a few classes so we can get in some extra practice. There’s an advantage to living in a small town.”

Abby’s enthusiasm was contagious and Noah’s spirits lifted. “I’ll hurry it along. We should delve into your background,” he said. “Your parents died when you were six years old?”

“Yes. They were on vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and both died in a car crash. The police deemed it an accident. Neither one had any siblings. My dad’s parents passed away when he was in his twenties, and Grammy is my only living relative.”

“Where were your parents born and raised?”

Exasperation filled her voice. “What does that have to do with the break-in?”

“Humor me.”

“Fine. They were born and grew up in Mocksville, North Carolina. It’s a small town located between Charlotte and Winston-Salem.”

“Their names?” Her lips puckered again and Noah hid a smile. They’d only known each other a few hours and already he could read some of her expressions. The pucker equaled irritation.

“Lee and Mary Beauchamp.”

He dutifully wrote down their names. First, he’d do surface searches on Joanne Ferguson and Walter Fleming. If he had any trouble, he’d connect with a few of his old FBI buddies. As far as her parents were concerned, if they grew up and stayed in North Carolina, it shouldn’t be hard to find information. “Okay, this is enough to get me started. I’ll have Cooper bring my laptop when he comes to dust for prints so I can get to work on this.”

When she didn’t respond, Noah glanced up. Her lips were pursed.

“So you meant what you said, you’re staying until the glass pane is repaired? You don’t have to do that. I’ll be perfectly fine here with Bates, and as I said, I am proficient with a gun in a worst-case scenario. Surely whoever broke in won’t return in broad daylight.”

“Ms. Mayfield, I won’t leave until I’m convinced you’re safe.” His tone left no room for argument.

She gave him a mischievous grin. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Listening to beginner music students is not for the faint of heart.”

If she was trying to get rid of him, it wasn’t working. “I’ll take my chances.”

A car horn blared outside and Noah jumped to his feet, one hand automatically reaching for the gun in his side holster.

“Settle down, cowboy, that’s probably Trevor, here for his piano lesson.” He glared at her, but her eyes twinkled as she moved toward the foyer.

He bolted in front of her and reached the door first. Her brows rose in question and he cleared his throat, feeling like a rookie. He didn’t like the sentiment. “I’ll go first and make sure the front yard is clear.”

She chuckled and he opened the door and they stepped out. A white SUV sat idling at the curb. Noah recognized Mrs. Johnson’s vehicle. Her son, Trevor—with whom Noah was well acquainted—threw open the passenger door and shuffled up the sidewalk with hunched shoulders. His eyes rounded when he spotted Noah standing beside Abby.

Stopping on the bottom step, his head whipped back and forth between the adults.

“You in trouble with the law, Ms. Mayfield?” he asked, his voice filled with something akin to admiration.

Amused, Noah waited to see how Abby would respond. She patted her hair down and released a nervous laugh. “Trevor, you know better than that. Sheriff Galloway just stopped by to check on me.”

Trevor moved up the steps, patted her arm and gave Noah a sly grin. “It’s okay, Ms. Mayfield, I won’t tell anybody the sheriff was at your house first thing in the morning. That is, if you can find it in your heart to let me skip piano lessons today.”

Abby’s mouth fell open, then snapped shut. “Trevor Johnson, I can’t believe you just tried to blackmail me. Sheriff Galloway has a very good reason for being here, and it’s none of your business.” She pointed a finger at the front door. “Now, march right into the living room and prepare for your lesson.”

Trevor’s shoulders slumped as he slowly trudged into the house.

Abby’s cheeks were pink with frustration and Noah’s mouth stretched into a wide grin. “The kid’s a terror. A few weeks ago I had him doing community service—picking up trash—for a minor infraction.”

She waved a hand through the air and talked fast. “I don’t want to know what that boy’s been up to. I better get inside before he destroys my house.”

Noah laughed out loud and it felt amazing. He gave her a small salute. “I’m sure you can handle it.”

The woman disappeared into the house, and Noah scanned the front yard while pulling his smartphone out of his pocket. He typed a text instructing Cooper to bring his laptop to Ms. Mayfield’s house and added a note to swing by his house and pick him up a change of clothes, but then he changed his mind and cleared the text. Instead, he told Cooper to come to Ms. Mayfield’s and plan to stay for an hour or so. He’d go home, take a shower, make sure things were well on the home front and pick up his laptop. Cooper texted back and said he was on his way.

Noah slid his phone back into his pocket and checked the surrounding area again. He wouldn’t have insisted on staying close to Ms. Mayfield if the break-in had been a normal grab and run. His intuition—one that had served him well during his tenure at the FBI—was screaming that trouble had followed her from North Carolina and the situation was more complicated than either of them imagined.

Hearing mangled piano notes filter out the front door, he opted to stay outside and sat down on the porch swing to await the arrival of his deputy. He pulled his phone out again. He’d check in with his grandfather, Houston, and make sure he was available to take care of Dylan in case Noah found himself tied up longer than expected.

For the first time in a long while, he was excited about work. Moving to Blessing had been the right thing to do, but truth be told, he missed being in the FBI. The big cases. The camaraderie between agents. He missed it all, but Dylan was safe in Blessing, and his son was the most important thing in his life.

* * *

Abby waved at Mrs. Johnson as she picked up Trevor after his piano lesson. Going back inside the house, she closed the door and released a deep sigh. Her dog sat on the floor, his eyes tracking every move she made. “Mercy, Bates. That was a long hour. That child is a terror. As much as I’d love to have a houseful of children, I think I might pass if I thought I’d get one like Trevor.”

Bates canted his head to the side and Abby chuckled. “I know. We take what God grants us, and we’re to be happy about it, but I’m still going to say a prayer for Mrs. Johnson. She’s been blessed with such a...unique child.”

Abby glanced around the foyer. She rubbed both arms as the previous night flashed through her mind. She still couldn’t believe whoever was after her in North Carolina had followed her to Texas. She hadn’t tried to hide or cover her tracks. She and Grammy had hoped it was someone local to North Carolina and the move would get rid of the problem. The worst part of the situation was that Abby couldn’t think of a soul who would do something like this to her.

The police in North Carolina had interviewed everyone she knew and come up empty. The entire thing was scary and frustrating. She headed into the kitchen and gave Deputy Cooper a curt nod. He had a pained expression on his face as he took a sip of coffee, no doubt from Trevor’s less-than-sterling piano skills, but she didn’t feel sorry for him. He had opted to sit out the piano lesson in the relative safety of the kitchen after Noah fled the scene and left his deputy to babysit. The repairman had come, fixed the glass pane and left. She didn’t understand why Cooper was still there. As she had learned in North Carolina, the police didn’t offer personal bodyguard protection for a mere break-in.

Cooper stuck his nose back into the newspaper in his hands, and she picked up the landline to call her grandmother. She needed to hear a familiar voice.

“Hello.”

“Grammy? It’s Abby.”

“Girl, I’ve been worried sick. It’s about time you called.”

Abby closed her eyes as her grandmother’s loving voice washed over her. “Sheriff Galloway left his deputy here with me and I had a piano lesson, but everything’s fine.” The handset was wireless and she stepped into the foyer, lowering her voice. “Grammy, you’re not going to believe this. Sheriff Galloway is the FBI agent who saved the life of New York’s mayor.”

Silence.

“Grammy?”

“I remember reading about him in the newspaper. It was a big deal back then. He cut the head off the mafia beast in New York. They still bring it up in the news periodically. Everyone claims he’s an ace investigator, that he never gives up or backs down until he has his man. Wonder how he ended up becoming the sheriff in Blessing?”

Uneasiness scaled down Abby’s spine. Grammy made an effort to sound normal, but Abby sensed that something was amiss.

“Grammy, is something wrong? Is everything okay?”

A nervous chuckle filled her ear.

“Of course it is.”

Maybe Abby was imagining things. “Well, if anything happens, call me immediately.”

“Same with you, sweetie. I better go now. The bridge group is meeting for lunch.”

“Okay. And, Grammy?”

“Yes?”

“As soon as this is over, we’re moving you to Blessing. My house is large enough for both of us.” Her grandmother was fast approaching her mideighties, and Abby had been trying to encourage her to move in with her for several years now. Her grandmother always insisted she needed her own space, but Abby knew the older woman was secretly hoping Abby would start dating and eventually get married and have a house filled with her own family.

“I’m coming to Blessing, but we’ll talk about whether I’m moving in with you later.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

* * *

Feeling better after a shower and change of clothes, and after lining up Grandfather Houston to take care of Dylan in case he was tied up for a few days, Noah knocked on Ms. Mayfield’s front door. A warning bark echoed through the house and Noah felt better knowing she had the dog.

But not better enough to leave her alone in the house. He couldn’t justify spending city money on personal protection, so he’d called the mayor and taken a week’s vacation. Hopefully, Cooper could handle anything that came up at the station.

He didn’t examine his motives too closely. Ms. Mayfield was a resident in his jurisdiction and he would do everything in his power to protect her. At least, that’s what he told himself.

He grinned when Cooper opened the door with his hand on his holster.

His deputy blew out a deep breath. “I sure am glad to see you, Sheriff.”

“Piano lesson that bad, was it?”

His deputy rolled his eyes. “Ms. Mayfield must have a ton of patience.”

Itching to get to work, he waved Cooper out the door, onto the front porch. “Listen, I put in for a week’s vacation so I can work on Ms. Mayfield’s problem. There’s more here than a mere break-in. Her life may be in jeopardy. I’m putting you in charge at the station.”

Cooper’s eyes widened and his chest puffed out. “I won’t let you down, sir.”

Noah almost chuckled at the eagerness in his deputy’s eyes. “I know you’ll do your best. Just call me on my cell if something comes up that you can’t handle.”

Cooper swallowed hard. “Sheriff, I know you think I’m a country bumpkin, and I also know the only reason I got this job is because my daddy is the mayor, but I’m proud to be working alongside someone with your experience. I’ve already learned a lot from you.”

Noah nodded at the gangly twenty-three-year-old staring at him with an earnest expression on his face. “You’ve come a long way.”

Time to get down to business. “You find any prints while dusting?”

Cooper shook his head. “I took Abby’s prints for matching, and called in a favor to get the prints run quickly. I ruled out all the smaller prints that would belong to her students—who are all kids—and I didn’t find anything else. The intruder must have worn gloves.”

The information didn’t surprise Noah. From the beginning this case hadn’t felt like a routine B and E. “Okay, head back to the station and call if you need me.”

“Yes, sir,” Cooper said with a big grin on his face.

Noah took a deep breath and opened the door. He had a strong feeling Ms. Mayfield wasn’t going to be happy with him dogging her every step.