In This Town (14 page)

“I’m saying, it’s just as possible Ken Sullivan paid Mr. York
to kill your mother. From all accounts your father and his older brother are
close. Maybe Ken found out about your mother’s affair and figured the best way
to solve that problem would be to pay York and your mother to leave town. Or to
kill your mother. Or maybe your father went to him—”

“He didn’t,” Nora blurted, her face red, her eyes wet. She
looked at Layne then Tori, desperation on her face. “He didn’t. Uncle Ken didn’t
pay Dale to kill Mom. That’s not what happened.”

Walker’s instincts told him she knew something but he didn’t
rely on instincts, he relied on facts. “Miss Sullivan, how can you be so
sure?”

“I…” She stared at her sisters, her eyes bleak. Swallowed
visibly. “Uncle Ken wouldn’t hurt anyone.” She looked to Tori. “You know he
wouldn’t.”

“Of course he wouldn’t,” she said, reaching over to take her
sister’s hand which Nora gripped like a lifeline.

“If you know something pertinent to this case,” Walker said,
using his best cop voice, all hard-assed and controlled, “then you need to tell
me.”

Nora shook her head.

Tori scowled at him. “What could she possibly know? You’re
upsetting her.”

But Layne was watching her youngest sister and he saw on her
face the same thoughts, the same questions going through his own mind. The same
suspicions.

She crouched next to Nora’s chair. “Nora, if you know
something, you have to tell us.”

“I’m sorry,” Nora said barely above a whisper. She met Tori’s
gaze then Layne’s. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, hey,” Tori said softly, rubbing her arm, her other hand
reaching for Layne. They linked their hands, fingers entwined. “It’s okay. Just
tell us so we can fix it.”

They were a unit. A shaky one, one they probably weren’t even
sure they wanted or needed but he saw in them the same bond he’d seen his entire
life between his own four sisters. The love and connection despite the arguments
and personality conflicts. And these three women had taken care of each other,
had only each other to rely on so that bond was doubly strong.

But he didn’t have time for them to get their stories straight,
didn’t want to admire them or like them. He had a job to do.

“Miss Sullivan,” he said, a snap to his tone, “tell me what you
know.”

“Quit yelling at her,” Tori told him. He had a feeling if he’d
been closer to her, she would’ve kicked him.

“It’s okay,” Nora said. “He’s right. He needs to know. You all
need to know the truth.” She trembled and Walker could see her sisters’ fear and
worry for her on their faces. “I’ve been keeping something from you both, from
everyone. The truth is…” She inhaled deeply then said in a rush, “The truth is
I’m not your sister.”

CHAPTER NINE

T
ORI
SQUEEZED
N
ORA
’
S
hand.
“Honey, what are you talking about? Of course you’re our sister.”

“I’m not,” she said hoarsely. “Not fully.”

Unease prickled the base of Tori’s spine. An idea, a crazy,
unbelievable idea, formed in her head but she pushed it aside before it could
take shape fully.

“Tell us,” Layne ordered softly.

“A few days before he died, Dale came to my house,” Nora said
in a robotic monotone.

Layne bristled. “He came to see you again? And you didn’t tell
us?”

Tori shook her head at Layne. Now wasn’t the time. But she,
too, wondered why Nora hadn’t reported Dale’s visit. When Dale had come back to
Mystic Point, one of the first stops he’d made was to Nora’s office. He’d wanted
to intimidate her, their family, by visiting the youngest. But if he sought her
out maybe there was more to it than that?

“I couldn’t,” Nora said.

“Do you have any idea why Mr. York sought you out a second
time?” Walker asked, all unemotional and detached. Of course he was—this wasn’t
his sister, his town and family and life.

“At first, I thought it was because of what happened at the
bar, the fight between him and Griffin. I thought Dale was trying to use me to
get back at Griffin. But that wasn’t it. He wanted me to help him blackmail
Uncle Kenny.”

“What did he say exactly?” Layne asked, sounding as much like a
cop as Walker did. Thank God Ross wasn’t here or Tori and Nora would be
outnumbered.

“He said…he said he had a proposition for me, a way for us to
help each other.” Nora spoke flatly, her gaze somewhere over Tori’s shoulder.
“He said that Mom had an affair years ago, a one-night stand. With Uncle
Ken.”

Layne’s face went white. Tori felt cold all over. Oh, God. She
held on to Nora tighter for both their sakes, felt Layne’s grip on her shift and
tighten, too.

“Was that all he said?” Walker asked.

Tori almost snapped at him to shut up, to go away and leave
them be. She didn’t want him around, didn’t want him watching them with his cool
eyes and judgmental attitude.

She didn’t want to know anymore. Didn’t want to know the
truth.

“I didn’t believe him at first,” Nora said. “Couldn’t believe
that Ken would hurt Dad that way. But Dale said he had proof.”

Tori let go of Layne’s hand and tucked a stray piece of Nora’s
hair behind her ear. “Honey, you don’t—”

“Yes. She does,” Layne said. “It’ll be okay.” She looked at
Tori. “No matter what, it’ll be okay. We’ll get through it.”

Nora nodded at Layne. “He said…he said
I
was the proof.”

Tori’s thoughts spun. Denial whipped through her, fast and
furious. No. God, no. “He was lying,” Tori said, knowing she sounded desperate.
“He was a liar. A criminal.”

“He was both of those things,” Nora said. “And I didn’t believe
him but he had a copy of my medical records from when I had my tonsils removed.
It lists my blood type. Dale said Mom didn’t know I wasn’t Dad’s child until she
saw that form but then she realized that I had to be Ken’s daughter.”

“Wait,” Tori said, holding up a hand. “I don’t understand.”

“Mom was type O and Dad’s B. I checked,” Nora said as if she
could barely get the words out. “I went to your house,” she said to Layne, “that
night after you went to work. I used my key and went through the papers in the
attic. I found a copy of Mom’s medical records and a blood donor card of Dad’s.
I’m type A. I even went to a doctor a week after Dale died, just to make sure he
hadn’t falsified the record in some way.”

“What does that mean?” Tori asked.

“Any child of your parents, any biological child, would have to
have either type O or type B blood,” Walker explained, like some damned biology
professor.

“I’m B,” Layne said, obviously as stricken as her sisters. She
glanced at Tori.

“I have no idea.” She’d never known her blood type. Was that
something people did, something they had to know? She supposed it was in her
medical records somewhere.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.

“I don’t know if Ken is my biological father or not,” Nora
said, “but I know that Dad…that Tim Sullivan isn’t. Dale gave me until that
Monday to convince Ken to pay him or else he was going to expose not only the
secret about the affair, but about me, too.”

“Ken Sullivan isn’t aware that you could possibly be his
biological child?” Walker asked, taking notes, observing them dispassionately,
as if he witnessed families being torn apart every day.

Bastard.

Nora rubbed her palms up and down her thighs. “According to
Dale, the only two people who knew were Mom and him. They must have blackmailed
Ken eighteen years ago, had planned on using that money to start a new
life.”

“That’s why he came back,” Layne said, almost to herself. She
stood and began to pace. “He was safe. He knew we didn’t have enough evidence to
even bring charges against him for Mom’s murder so he saw an opportunity to make
more money off Uncle Ken.”

“Miss Sullivan,” Walker said, his voice softer than before, his
expression kind. Seemed there were times when he wasn’t a complete jerk. “Did
Mr. York tell you how he came into possession of your medical records?”

Nora raised her hands in a helpless gesture. “He didn’t say and
I didn’t ask. I figured Mom had given him a copy when she told him all of
this.”

“God, it all makes sense now,” Layne said. “Mom and Dale
blackmailed Ken eighteen years ago. And he paid. He paid knowing they’d planned
on leaving Mystic Point.”

“Or else he paid to have your mother killed,” Walker pointed
out.

“Stop saying that,” Tori snarled. “We don’t know why Uncle Ken
paid.”

“Eighteen years ago, Uncle Ken was heavily involved in local
politics, he’d even considered running for state attorney general,” Layne said
thoughtfully. “He never went through with it. At the time I didn’t think
anything of it, and later when I overheard Dad bring it up to him, Ken said he
wanted to help his local community, focus his efforts here. Any hint of scandal
would’ve hurt him. By paying Mom and Dale, he got them out of his life forever.
His secret was safe.”

“Is this why you’ve been avoiding us?” Tori asked Nora, not
caring why Ken had done what he had, not caring about anything except her baby
sister. “You’ve been holding on to this secret.”

“I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t tell anyone.” Nora flushed,
dropped her gaze. “Except Griffin. He knows.”

Before Tori could lay into her about trusting a man over her
own sisters, Layne lightly touched Tori’s arm. “You should’ve come to us,” Layne
said to Nora. “You shouldn’t have had to go through this alone.”

“I didn’t want anyone to know. I still don’t. Keeping this to
myself has been a nightmare but you know what’s going to happen when this gets
out. There’s more at stake than just my feelings. Ken and Astor’s marriage… God,
what about Erin and Anthony? How are they going to react? And Dad. He’s going to
be crushed. He’ll never forgive Ken.”

“That’s not your fault,” Layne said.

Nora laughed softly but it held no humor. “I know but I can’t
help thinking that none of this would be a problem if I hadn’t been born.”

“Don’t you ever talk like that,” Tori said, shaken to her core.
“You are not to blame. This is Ken and Mom’s fault. And no matter what happened
twenty-seven years ago, you are and have always been a blessing.”

Nora’s eyes welled and damn if Tori didn’t want to curl up in a
ball on the floor and cry right along with her.

“You’re still our baby sister,” Layne said quietly. “Fully.
Forever. Nothing will ever change that.”

The tears in Nora’s eyes spilled over. She wiped them away with
her fingers. Sniffed delicately. “Thank you. You don’t know what that means to
me.”

“I think I can guess,” Layne said before facing Walker. “You
need to question Ken again.”

He leaned back, king of his domain. “I know my job,
Captain.”

“Then why aren’t you forcing him to answer your questions?”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Tori asked. “You sound like a
crazy person. What would you do, Layne? Arrest Uncle Ken?”

“Yes,” she said so simply, Tori had no choice but to believe
her. “If Dale did blackmail Ken—twice—that’s a strong motive for murder.”

Tori’s stomach dropped. “Oh, my God. You don’t believe....
Uncle Ken could never kill someone.”

“Up until ten minutes ago, I wouldn’t have believed he could
cheat on his wife, either.”

Which meant her uncle had just become the prime suspect, not
only in Dale’s murder but in their mother’s as well.

“What are we going to do?” Tori asked. They had to take care of
this, had to take care of Nora and their dad.... Oh, dear Lord, their dad. It
was going to kill him when he found out the brother he loved and admired his
entire life had betrayed him.

“We’re going to handle it,” Layne said firmly. “Just like we
always do. Together.”

Could they? Could her family survive it? Tori wasn’t sure. Nora
had already been hurt and it would only get worse. She and Ken’s daughter Erin
were only a few months apart in age which meant that when Ken slept with their
mother, his wife was pregnant with their first child. And Nora and Erin were the
best of friends. Nora had always been close to Ken and Astor, had spent more
time with her uncle and aunt than either Layne or Tori.

“If there’s nothing else, Detective, I’d like to take my sister
home now,” Layne asked tightly, as if it killed her to ask his permission.

Getting to her feet, Nora rolled her eyes. “I’m perfectly
capable of seeing myself home.” She checked her watch. “Or, in this case, back
to the office.”

“Forget work.” Layne wrapped her arm around Nora’s shoulders
and led her toward the door. “You’re taking the rest of the day off.” Layne
glanced at Tori. “You coming? We can all go to my house, discuss what we’re
going to do about telling Dad.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“See that you are,” Layne said, her gaze bouncing between Tori
and Walker, her meaning so clear, only a blind woman could’ve missed it.
Stay away from Walker Bertrand. Don’t trust him with your
secrets. Don’t believe anything he has to say.

All of which Tori already knew.

“Something I can do for you, Mrs. Mott?” Walker asked when they
were alone.

His low, smooth voice scraped against her skin like sandpaper,
the sound of him calling her Mrs. Mott like a slap in the face after what he’d
said and done Saturday night. She’d kissed him, had felt the rapid beat of his
heart under her hand, seen the flame of desire in his eyes and he’d still
rejected her. Worse than that, he’d hurt her.

She’d let him hurt her.

“Are you happy?” she asked roughly. “My family is being torn
apart all because you couldn’t stop digging.”

He rose and circled the desk. “It’s my job to dig for the
truth.”

Tori knew that, understood it. But that didn’t make it any
easier to accept. “Do you think Uncle Ken killed my mother?”

She hadn’t meant to ask that, was half-afraid to know the
answer. But it was too late to take it back.

“I think any opinion I might have at this time would be
conjecture.”

“You really are a cop through-and-through, aren’t you?” she
said, disgust lacing her voice.

Walker leaned against the desk. “Do you think your uncle killed
your mother?”

“No.” She had to keep believing that. It was the only way she’d
get through this without losing her mind. “What I think is that, like all men,
he was weak. Mom got to him using her face and body. He was probably so wrapped
up in her he didn’t even consider what his actions would do to his wife and
brother.”

“You blame your mother.” It was a statement, not a
question.

Tori answered him anyway. “She was beautiful. And selfish. When
she saw something she wanted, she took it, no matter who it belonged to
first.”

“Seems to me Ken should shoulder his part of the blame for the
affair. Then again, you don’t hold men in very high esteem, do you?”

“Detective, I love men. Ask anyone.”

He crossed to her. Tori’s heart pounded with excitement and
sexual awareness and a healthy dose of panic. She held the power in any
relationship, no matter if it was a platonic friendship, professional or with
her family. But Walker would fight her for that control, would try to take it
from her, use it against her.

“I’m asking you,” he said. “I can’t figure you out.”

That, at least, was a relief. She didn’t want anyone,
especially not a man, getting inside her head. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve
said to me.”

“It wasn’t meant to be. I’m not sure what’s real with you and
what’s not. You protect yourself. But from what? What are you so afraid of?”

Tori tipped her chin up, her pulse racing because he was so
close, his aftershave light and musky. Because he was trying to dig into her
psyche, into her soul, and he was right. She was afraid. Always so afraid of
proving everyone right.

She really was just like her mother.

* * *

W
ALKER
WAITED
.
His chest hurt and
he realized he was holding his breath, that he was getting somewhere with her,
was seeing something real in her. But then her expression changed and she
reached out and smoothed her hand down the front of his shirt, played with the
top button.

“What could I possibly be afraid of?” Tori asked in that damn
sexy voice, the same one he had heard in his dreams last night. Calling him.
Teasing him. Saying his name.

He pulled back, both physically and mentally. But he couldn’t
deny he’d thought of her, had dreamed of her every night since he’d brought her
home from the bar. That he wanted her.