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“Don’t worry,
Madden. I know he didn’t leave me anything. I honestly never
expected him to.”
    His Adam’s apple swelled when he swallowed.
“I wish…that was true. Kirsten, I lied to the rangers back there. I
thought…well, I thought you might need some time. And that maybe
within a day or two, other clues might surface, clues pointing to
someone else. But I’m going to have to let them see Joseph’s will,
and I’m afraid that when they do….” His voice trailed off. He
focused on the road and shook his head slowly.
    “When they do…what?”
    “Joseph came to me a month ago…to change his
will.”
    She blinked. “Change it…in what way?”
    “He named you his sole heir. You get
everything, Kirsten. The estate. The holdings. All told, around
twenty-three million in assets, give or take—”
    “That’s not possible.” She stared at Hawkins’
profile, the sagging skin under his jaw, the honest blue eyes.
“Madden, he wouldn’t…why the hell would he? He detested me!”
    “He was a fool,” the lawyer said. “Maybe he
realized that, decided to try to make up for—”
    “Bull! My God, it’s as if that bastard is
reaching out from beyond the grave. As if he’s trying to pull me
down with him.” She pressed her hands to her temples as tears stung
at her eyes. “When they see the will, they’ll have their motive,
won’t they, Madden? They’ll arrest me, charge me with murder. Won’t
they?”
    He licked his lips nervously.
“Not…necessarily. The gun might provide evidence that someone else
was responsible for Joseph’s death. And the forensics team will
have gone over the house by now. They may have found something
there.” His words held little conviction.
    Kirsten watched the mansion come into view
long before they neared the driveway, rising up on the horizon like
a dragon. And the gate, tall and iron and so pretentious with its
gothic J on one side and the matching C on the other. The
black gate was like a set of prison bars to her. The paved private
lane that wound through it and up to the house, a path of despair.
Even the tall, steep-roofed garage beside the place looked grim to
her embittered eyes. Room enough for Joseph’s small fleet of cars
in the bottom, and a huge, luxurious apartment for his driver on
the second floor. She ought to burn it all to the ground. She hated
this house. It had been no more than a glittering, gleaming prison
to her. She glanced again at Madden. “What do you think?” she
asked, for some reason driven to know. “Do you think I did
this—shot Joseph?”
    “Of course not.”
    But he said it too quickly. And she didn’t
think she believed him. Then she knew she didn’t when he added,
“But to tell you the truth, Kirsten, if you had, I wouldn’t blame
you for it.”
    She closed her eyes. He thought she’d done
it. Not for the money, but because he knew what a bastard Joseph
had been. Most people knew that about him. So who the hell was
going to believe her?
    Only one person that she could think of. And
she couldn’t depend on Adam Brand to help her through this.

    Adam and Garrett crossed the wide front
porch, walked through the creaking screen door and were promptly
met by three pairs of curious eyes and a barrage of questions. Ben,
as big as Garrett, was typically quiet. His eyes spoke his concern
for his brother, and a big hand on Adam’s shoulder said he would
help if he could.
    A long time ago, Ben and Penny, and Adam and
Kirsten had been a foursome. Inseparable. Things had changed. Adam
was still as close to his brother as ever, and he loved Ben’s wife,
Penny, like a sister. But Kirsten had become his worst enemy. Penny
still loved her, though. Ben, too, in his big, gentle way. Penny’s
eyes were red rimmed now, her voice soft.
    “Is it true, Adam?” she asked. “Where is
Kirsten? I’ve been calling all day, but she’s not answering. Is she
okay?”
    Adam looked at Garrett, sent him an unspoken
plea. He didn’t want to go