Read Online Fatal Inheritance by Sandra Orchard - Free Book Online

have any more trouble.”
    Josh squared his jaw. “You said there were two possibilities?”
    “Yeah.” Wes glanced toward the barn. “Hunter said Miss Graw had an intruder last night messing with her grandfather’s antique car.”
    “That’s right.”
    “A few weeks back we got a call from a police officer in the Ottawa area, asking questions about Graw and his car.”
    “What kind of questions?”
    Wes hesitated, his reluctance to say etched in his face.
    “What kind of questions?” Josh repeated.
    “Like if Graw was the kind of man who could pull off a jewelry heist.”
    “A jewelry heist?” Josh almost laughed at the absurdity of the idea.
    “Seems they had some expensive pieces lifted from a museum that the antique-car club toured. A tour Graw was on. A tour he’d left two days early.”
    Josh shook his head. “You know Graw would never have been mixed up in anything like that.”
    “I know.”
    “So what did you tell the officer?”
    “That Graw was dead.”
    * * *
    “Are you nuts?” her sister screamed. “What kind of person do you think I am?”
    Becki jerked the phone away from her ear. “The kind who’d go to any lengths to ensure I sell this house so that you get a bigger piece of the pie.”
    Sarah gasped. “I’d never threaten you. Never.”
    “You threatened to go to the lawyer if I didn’t cave...and then did!”
    Josh walked in the door, his expression grim.
    “The police officer’s back. I’ve got to go. But make no mistake, if they find proof it was you, I don’t care if you are my sister, I will press charges.” Becki disconnected before Sarah could respond.
    Josh’s mouth twisted to one side. “I take it she denied any involvement.”
    “Yup.”
    “Do you believe her?”
    Becki hesitated. “I don’t know. Her horrified gasp sounded real enough.” Becki turned the phone over in her hands. “And she was home, so clearly she didn’t pull the trigger. But maybe she just couldn’t believe what her hired henchman would do. What did that officer have to say?”
    Josh glanced away, and Becki recognized the tic in his cheek. He’d had the same reaction the time her favorite kitten had been hit by the hay wagon and he didn’t want to tell her. He’d always gone above and beyond to try to protect her, even as a teenager. Given how insensitive her parents had been, Becki had always appreciated Josh’s acute regard for her feelings.
    “I’m a big girl now,” she reminded him, setting the phone back on the table.
    He took a seat. “It’s good news, in a way.” Leaning forward, he clasped his hands between his knees. “The shots came from an air rifle, which means they weren’t intended to do more than frighten.”
    “Me or the dog?”
    “I’m not sure.” The concern in his gaze made her heart stutter. “Wes thinks the dog. One of the neighbors said as much.”
    “But you still think it’s Neil?”
    That muscle in his cheek twitched again. “I just don’t like coincidences. Those phone calls are suspicious. I still want to check into his whereabouts. How soon did he leave here this morning?”
    “Not long after you left.”
    Becki snatched up the phone again.
    “Who are you calling?”
    “Neil’s house number. If he’s home already, then there’s no way he could be the one who fired those shots.”
    Neil picked up on the second ring.
    Becki let out a breath of relief that her former relationship hadn’t morphed into a Fatal Attraction remake. She quickly fabricated a story about feeling bad that she’d sent him off so quickly after he’d traveled so far to visit her, then thanked him again for the flowers.
    “My pleasure, Rebecca. I’ll try to make it down there again soon, and you can show me the sights.”
    Becki cringed at how he’d instantly mistaken her apology for interest. “Uh, there’s not much to do but watch the grass grow here, remember? Not your idea of a good time.”
    “Any time with you is good.”
    She swallowed a gag, which