Dangerous Inheritance. Barbara Warren

on attempted burglaries at the Lassiter house, he knew every child and most of the adults.

      Nick drove past the police station and saw Sam headed for his car. The chief motioned for him to pull in. He parked next to Sam’s car and waited for him to walk around to face him. Sam leaned his hands on the door. “You seen the Douglas woman today?”

      “Yeah, I’ve seen her. She moved into Opal Lassiter’s house. Guess she’s planning to stay.”

      Sam puffed out a blast of air. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

      What was Sam’s problem with Macy Douglas? He hadn’t been a policeman back when the Douglas case happened, so he couldn’t have been involved. The way he’d been acting, though, seemed as if he had a personal grudge against Macy.

      Surely Sam wasn’t one of the people he needed to watch. He liked and respected the guy, but this attitude about Macy Douglas was making him uncomfortable.

      He glanced at his watch. Another hour and he’d be off duty. Then he could rest a bit, eat breakfast and go to church. He wondered if Macy would be there. Not that it was any of his business, but he wished he’d invited her to attend his church.

      Nick waited for Sam to walk away, but Sam just stood there eyeing him suspiciously. “You taking up with that woman?”

      “What woman?” He knew exactly what Sam meant, but right now he didn’t feel like cooperating.

      Sam grunted. “That Douglas woman. You need to stay away from her. She’s trouble from the get-go. I don’t want you hanging around talking to her while on the clock. And that’s an order.”

      Nick pursed his lips, feeling contrary. “I’d think you’d want someone watching her to see what she’s going to do next.”

      “You sure that’s what you’ve got on your mind? She’s a good-looking woman and I’d hate to see you get involved with whatever trouble she plans to stir up.”

      Nick thought about telling him that Macy didn’t remember her parents, didn’t remember living in that house, but that was her story to tell. “All she wants is to learn the truth. I can’t see any harm in that. The way I see it, knowing the truth is always better than believing a lie.”

      “You go right on meddling if that’s what you’re determined to do, but don’t come running to me when you get in trouble. And if you help divide this town, you can forget about your job security. You got that?”

      “I got it.” Nick watched Sam stomp toward his car. Really ticked off. That wasn’t good. Maybe he should back off, forget about it, but his conscience wouldn’t let him. Even if the truth destroyed his memories of his father. He hoped it didn’t come to that, but from the way Sam was acting, Nick had a gut feeling there might be a surprise headed his way.