Dangerous Inheritance Read Free Page B

right or if she needed anything.”
    She gave him a skeptical glance. “Go on.”
    He shrugged, hoping to appease her without giving away too much. “Opal had an alarm system installed a couple of years ago. That went off once recently, scaring the burglar away and alerting her neighbors. And people are quick to call in if they see anything suspicious. It’s a good neighborhood. They watch out for each other.”
    Whoever was trying to break in had damaged the alarm system so it didn’t work anymore, which was one reason the police were keeping an eye on the place, and why the neighbors were on high alert. Someone was determined to get inside Opal Lassiter’s house. It was common knowledge she didn’t keep anything of value at home, so there had to be another reason for the recent attempts to break in, and he wondered whether it might tie into the sudden appearance of Macy Douglas. Like the robber knew she was coming and wanted to find something before she got there.
    He wondered how many people had expected Macy Douglas to show up in town. Sam knew. So how did he find out?
    Macy picked up her glass of water and sipped. “Too bad they didn’t have a system like that in place when my mother was killed.”
    Nick caught the bitterness in her voice and understood it completely. Compassion surged through him for this woman who had lost so much. “Things are different today, I guess. More people, more crime. But the police were convinced they had the killer. There was evidence to back up that decision.”
    Macy gave him a stern look, as if daring him to dispute her words. “The police were wrong. My father wasn’t a killer. He was a good, decent man who was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. And he died there.”
    Nick stared at her, caught by the conviction in her voice. So that was what she believed. Maybe Sam was right. Her coming could stir up trouble they might not be able to control. Start talk like that and people would line up taking sides.
    “Do you have any proof of what you’re saying?”
    “No, but I’m going to find it, even if I have to turn this town on its ear.”
    Judging from the green fire burning in her eyes, he figured she just might do that. According to Sam, passions still ran high over what had happened back then, but most of what he’d heard had been about the election. A woman had been killed. Surely that should have been everyone’s first concern. Had the murder of Megan Douglas gotten lost in the uproar over a failed election? Some people seemed to lose what little sense they had when it came to politics.
    Nick glanced at his watch, hating to end this conversation, but they had to go.
    “Are you through? If you are, we need to leave. It’s almost time for you to meet with Sam.”
    He dropped some bills on the table, enough to pay for breakfast and provide a tip, and followed her outside. “I’ll lead the way. It’s just a short distance from here.”
    Macy didn’t look happy, but she nodded and got in her car, and he did the same.
    He wasn’t sure what Sam had in mind, but whatever it was, he intended to keep an eye on Macy Douglas. Judging from the mood she was in, there was no telling what kind of trouble she might stir up.
    Nick parked in front of the police station and waited for Macy to join him. Their conversation in the restaurant had been puzzling. He guessed it was normal for her to hope her father wasn’t guilty, but she had sounded so sure. Did she have evidence of some kind that led her to believe in his innocence? If she did, where had she found it, and why had it surfaced after all these years?
    They entered the building, and Nick led her into the police chief’s office and at Sam’s instruction, took a chair against the wall.
    Macy sat down across the desk from Sam, looking a little intimidated. Most people felt nervous at being summoned to a police station, whether or not they had done anything wrong. And here he was sitting behind her, as if he was