Wanted Woman Read online

  “That isn’t the reason I’m here,” she said ignoring the question. “Is there any news on the break-in at the decoy plant?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing to report yet.” He hoped Maggie stayed hidden until tonight. Once she made her big announcement all hell was bound to break lose. He wanted to be ready for it. As ready as possible.

  He watched Daisy look around the cabin and realized all of this could have been handled on the phone. So why had she walked all this way and in those shoes?

  She seemed to see something and headed for the stairs before he could push away from the door and stop her. “I heard you were painting again.”

  “Just a minute—”

  She kept going up the wide wooden stairs toward the third floor studio.

  He went after her, glad to see his bedroom door was closed as he passed. “I don’t really have anything you can see,” he said as he took the stairs after her unable to contain his anger. “It’s all at the framer. But you’re welcome to come to the show I’m having in June.”

  He stopped at the top of the stairs.

  She stood in the middle of the room, her back to him. She didn’t turn. Nor had she responded to his words. She seemed rooted to the spot, her body rigid.

  As he moved toward her, he saw that she had one hand to her mouth. Her face was deathly pale and she was trembling.

  He swore under his breath as he realized why she’d come up here. What she’d seen. The partially completed painting resting on his easel. He had captured only a likeness of Maggie, but enough that Daisy must have seen the resemblance to Desiree.

  “Daisy—”

  She turned. Her eyes welled with tears.

  “Daisy?”

  She bolted down the stairs. He heard the front door slam.

  A minute later, Maggie appeared at the top of the stairs to the studio.

  She looked past him at the painting of her, then moved toward it like a sleepwalker. She stared at it for a long moment, making him nervous.

  He feared she didn’t like it, didn’t think it did her justice, that it might offend her.

  “You have captured a part of me I’ve never seen before,” she said quietly. She turned then to look at him. “She saw the painting, didn’t she?”

  He nodded.

  And Maggie had seen her he realized. “You think she knows it’s me?”

  “I think it spooked her.”

  Maggie nodded. “She was definitely upset.”

  He knew that, like him, Maggie was wondering if Daisy was upset because of the resemblance to Desiree or if she had recognized her other daughter, maybe had known where Maggie was this whole time, had followed her life because Daisy had been the one to get rid of her twenty-seven years ago—and was trying to again. Only this time permanently to protect herself. And she was using Detective Rupert Blackmore to do it.

  “Are you all right?” he asked Maggie, fighting the urge to take her in his arms and comfort her.

  “It’s a shock to see her, in person. I thought I was ready to meet her, but I wasn’t.”

  “You don’t have to go through with this tonight.”

  She smiled at that. “We both know better than that. I can’t spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. I heard you say Wade Dennison has been released on bail. He’s still a suspect, too, isn’t he?”

  “My future sister-in-law thinks so,” Jesse said.

  “Charity? She must have good reason to believe that being a journalist.”

  He smiled at that. “I think it’s time you met her and my brother. We’ll take along the DNA test results you got from Wade’s office. We need to put as many pieces of the puzzle together as soon as we can.”

  “You know what the tests are going to tell us. That I’m Angela Dennison.”

  He nodded. “And who your father is. Or at least isn’t.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Mitch couldn’t believe it. Florie arrived with the news just after daybreak—long before the Cascade Courier hit the streets.

  Wade Dennison had made bail.

  Anyone who hadn’t been planning to go to Rozalyn Sawyer’s gala party that evening quickly changed their minds, according to Florie. Clearly, no one wanted to miss the fireworks when Wade showed up at the party later tonight—restraining order or no restraining order.

  Mitch had to agree there was little doubt that Wade would show up. Wade Dennison was Timber Falls and Roz’s party was the highlight of the year so far. Plus, if a man was prone to making scenes what better arena than a party with everyone in town in attendance?

  “I got scooped,” Charity bemoaned as she brought Mitch his breakfast tray. The phone had been ringing off the hook all morning as the news spread. “It’s all over the county by now.”

  Mitch sat up a little straighter in his recliner. “I think you’re missing what is really important here, Charity. Wade Dennison has no business being out on bail. He’s dangerous.”

  “You don’t think he’ll come gunning for you again, do you?”

  He smiled at the concern in her voice. “No,” he said with a laugh. “It isn’t me I’m worried about. It’s you. And Daisy.”

  Charity was already shaking her head. “Wade doesn’t scare me and I don’t believe for a minute that he tried to kill Daisy. If anything I think she might want him dead.”

  “Well now that he’s out on bail, she just might get her chance,” Mitch said. He had a feeling this was going to be a long divorce.

  And the worst part was, he was trapped in a cast. He’d never felt more useless in his life. He couldn’t wait to get back to work. Jesse was capable enough but wasn’t really trained for this type of trouble.

  Mitch had thought about calling in a state officer, then rejected the idea. Jesse would see that as a lack of confidence in him and Mitch didn’t want a rift between him and Jesse, not after all these years of being apart.

  No, he just prayed that Wade didn’t cause any trouble, but even as he thought it, he knew better. It was almost as if Wade had a black cloud hanging over his head, following him around.

  If Wade had anything to do with baby Angela’s disappearance twenty-seven years ago, then maybe this was his bad karma coming back to haunt him. Damn, Mitch realized he was starting to sound like Florie.

  The phone rang. He reached over and answered it before Charity could do even that for him, then realized it would probably just be another call from gossip center.

  “Little brother?” Jesse said.

  Something in his tone warned Mitch. “What’s wrong?”

  “Is Charity there?” Jesse asked. “Can you get rid of her for a little while?”

  Mitch could feel Charity watching him. He laughed and smiled. “You scared me.” He shook his head at Charity to indicate nothing was wrong, just his brother Jesse being Jesse. “What you need to do is buy yourself a good miter saw. You can use it to cut your own frames after you finish this project.”

  “She’s standing right there,” Jesse said on the other end of the line.

  “Exactly. Maybe you don’t want to cut your own frames now but when you’re famous—”

  “Would you mind if I went out for a while?” Charity whispered. “Sorry, but I need to stop by the paper.”

  “Just a minute, Jesse.” He cupped the receiver. “Take your time, Jesse is coming over. He’s trying to build—”

  “You two have fun,” Charity said grabbing her purse. “Build whatever you like while I’m gone.” And she was out the door.

  Charity had heard plenty about the building of Jesse’s cabin while it was going up. Fortunately, her eyes glazed over whenever the two of them talked about anything to do with hammers and nails now.

  “She’s gone,” Mitch said into the phone the moment he heard the door close.

  “We’ll be right over.” Jesse hung up.

  Mitch stared at the phone in his hand. We’ll be right over? And whatever it was, Jesse didn’t want Charity to know about it. Another bad sign.
r />   CHARITY COULDN’T BELIEVE her good luck. She’d been trying to come up with a good reason to leave the house all day. Mitch had been acting suspiciously, knowing she was on another story—and worried about her. She didn’t want to worry him and she knew he would have a cow if he found out who she was going to meet.

  Once in the car, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number from the e-mail she’d received just that morning.

  He answered on the first ring.

  “It’s Charity. I was hoping now is a good time—”

  “You got the message? Good. Yes, come now. You do remember how to get here I assume?” He hung up without waiting for an answer.

  Charity took the back way, ditched her car in the woods and walked the last few blocks through the woods to the back of Madam Florie’s. As she sneaked around the rear of the former motel, she hoped her psychic aunt was hard at work giving advice to some love-struck woman in Algona, Iowa, or a gambler in Elko, Nevada, and not peering out her window at bungalow uno: Aries.

  Aries was one of twelve separate bungalows that had been motor court units, but were now furnished apartments. Florie lived in the main office building and did her psychic business from there.

  At Charity’s tap, Wade Dennison opened the door and quickly ushered her inside. The furnishings were sparse. A sunken couch with worn cushions, a thread-bare overstuffed chair and a cigarette marred coffee table.

  She could see through the doorway into both of the only other rooms. A small bath with a sink, toilet and shower stall. A bedroom with a bed and a beat-up chest of drawers. It could have been a rental in any town in the nation.

  “It’s not much,” Wade said with obvious embarrassment. He’d fallen far from the mansion he’d built for Daisy. Charity knew it must irk him that he couldn’t go near the place because of the restraining order Daisy had on him.

  “Please sit down,” he said.

  She took the chair he offered. He perched on the arm of the couch. Jail seemed to have made him calmer. Or maybe he just wanted her to think that.

  For just an instant, she considered what she’d done. Coming here. Worse, not telling anyone where she was. It hadn’t been that long ago that Wade Dennison had threatened to kill her.

  “You said you wanted to set the record straight,” she said, pulling out her reporter’s notebook and flipping it open to a clean page. She snapped her ballpoint pen and looked up expectantly.

  If it was a trick to just get her here, she figured now was when he would make his move.

  He didn’t move. But he did hesitate, then he let out a long sigh and said, “I’m innocent. I didn’t shoot the sheriff.”

  Another innocent man unjustly accused. “Your fingerprint was on the trigger,” she pointed out, hoping this hadn’t been a complete waste of time.

  “But Daisy’s finger was on top of mine,” he said. “Daisy is trying to set me up. She’s taken my freedom, my home, my business. Daisy called me and said she wanted to see me that night. She planned to kill me. I see that now.” His voice broke. “Worse, I think she might have had our daughter kidnapped.” He buried his face in his hands.

  She wasn’t buying it. “Why tell me this, Wade? You’ve never talked to me about anything.”

  He raised his head slowly. “I’m desperate.”

  “As flattering as that is…”

  “Haven’t you ever considered that I might be innocent?”

  She thought that over for a moment. She’d definitely considered it. But right now he looked guilty as sin.

  “Why would Daisy have her own child kidnapped?”

  “I threatened to throw her out if the baby wasn’t mine and take Desiree from her. I knew she had been having an affair—”

  “With whom?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t want to know. But a man can tell when his wife has been with someone else. I think she was in love with him and I think the baby was his. But I would never have harmed a hair on that baby’s head. Never. And I wouldn’t have really thrown her out or taken Desiree like I threatened. I think that’s why she got rid of the baby, you know, because she was afraid I’d find out the truth and go through with my threat.”

  This was a theory she’d actually considered. It certainly explained those years Daisy was a recluse. Getting rid of one child to save another.

  “The last time we talked you told me you were convinced Angela was your baby,” Charity pointed out.

  He shook his head. “I hoped she was. She could have been. There was this one night when Daisy and I…”

  She got the picture. “Was Daisy thinking of leaving you for this other man?”

  His expression told her she’d hit the bull’s-eye!

  “She wouldn’t have done that. The only reason we’re apart now is that she’s mad at me after my illegitimate daughter showed up.”

  “Or is she mad because you offered your illegitimate daughter one million dollars to keep it quiet?”

  “That wasn’t it,” Wade said getting to his feet. “I had an affair when Daisy was pregnant with Angela. That’s what she’s mad about.”

  Charity’s brain was freewheeling. Was it possible Wade had engineered Angela’s kidnapping because he thought it was the other man’s baby and he knew Daisy wouldn’t leave him with the baby gone?

  It was a far-fetched theory, but it made as much sense as any of the others.

  “Daisy seems happier now,” she said. She left off, “Now that you aren’t in her life.”

  Wade let out a laugh. “She has everything and if her lawyer has his way, she will leave me penniless if not in prison.”

  “You shot Mitch,” she reminded him.

  “It was an accident. That night was so crazy. I think that’s when I realized what Daisy was up to. I know I was acting strangely.”

  “You almost killed Mitch.”

  He nodded, ducking his head. “I feel terrible about that. That’s why I contacted you. I was hoping you’d do some of that snooping you do so well.”

  She took that as a compliment. “What am I snooping into? The shooting seems pretty cut-and-dried.”

  “Not that. Angela’s kidnapping. Find out once and for all who took that baby and clear my name. I’ve had this hanging over my head for too many years. When the truth comes out…”

  He believed he would be exonerated of everything and would be back in the mansion, back on top? Obviously so. Was it possible he really was innocent?

  “You really think Daisy had something to do with it?” she asked.

  “I think Daisy might be capable of anything, including getting rid of that baby so I would never find out it wasn’t mine.”

  Charity closed her notebook. “Someone hired your production manager to take the baby out of the house. Did Daisy even know Bud Farnsworth?”

  “Of course she knew Bud. But I think she told Bud to get rid of the baby and he gave it to someone else and really didn’t know what happened to Angela after that,” Wade said.

  Charity remembered the night in the plant when Bud had tried to kill her over a blackmail letter that incriminated him in the kidnapping. Daisy had shown up, wounded Bud. What had she kept saying to him? “Where is Angela?” Could Wade he right about her?

  “Bud couldn’t have gotten into the house without some inside help,” Wade said, his voice low. “Someone left the window in Angela’s room unlocked.”

  Charity didn’t have much to go on and Wade knew it. The case was ice-cold. Twenty-seven years. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to solve it from the time she was a kid.

  What intrigued her most was this mystery man Daisy had the affair with. Charity had heard rumors for years. But was this a man Daisy had actually fallen for? Someone she would have left Wade for? Now that was interesting.

  THE RESEMBLANCE was unmistakable Maggie thought as she and Jesse entered the back door of the house and she saw the man sitting in the recliner. The same deep dimples, dark hair and eyes, and easy smile.

  “Meet my
little brother Sheriff Mitch Tanner,” Jesse said. “Mitch? Say hello to Angela Dennison.”

  Mitch’s mouth was agape as he stared up at her.

  Maggie smiled tentatively.

  “How…where…” He shot a look at Jesse. “Angela?”

  “Looks like a slam dunk but we still need the results from the DNA tests,” Jesse said. “We just couriered a batch to the lab in Portland. Albert said he should be able to get us the results in twelve hours. Midnight tonight.”

  Mitch looked from his brother to Maggie again. “I’m sorry to stare but…”

  “It’s all right. I know I look a lot like Desiree.” She saw a look pass between the brothers and groaned. “You aren’t telling me that Desiree might also be your half sister?”

  “It’s possible,” Jesse admitted.

  “You told her?” Mitch asked his brother in surprise.

  Jesse nodded and shrugged. “Kinda had to.”

  “Oh,” Mitch said, studying him. “It’s like that, is it?”

  Jesse grinned bashfully.

  Mitch shook his head. “Other than looks?”

  “It all adds up—dates, background, recent events,” Jesse said.

  “I am Angela Dennison. I would stake my life on it. Actually I am.”

  Mitch frowned.

  “Someone’s trying to kill her,” Jesse said. “A Seattle cop.”

  Mitch groaned and leaned back, closing his eyes. “What the hell is it with this rainy season?”

  “There’s more,” Jesse said.

  Mitch opened his eyes and narrowed them at Jesse. “How did I know there would be?”

  “The cop is in town. He’s killed three other people and tried to kill her, as well.”

  “You haven’t gone to the Feds?” Mitch demanded.

  “It would be her word against his and he just happens to be an old cop with a lot of commendations, his most recent from the mayor.”

  Mitch swore under his breath. “A Seattle cop? How does he fit into all this?”

  “That’s what we’re going to find out,” Maggie said making Jesse smile at her determination.