“Since we’re all here we should get started,” Tom said. Connor looked to the doorway and saw that Mark, just back from his honeymoon, had arrived. “I talked to my uncle Lucas yesterday. It took some persuading, but I finally got him to admit what he’d planned to tell Will Windcroft.
“It seems that after his grandfather, Jonathan, was killed, and my uncle was going through his things, he noticed some odd notations in his personal bookkeeping and large payments Jonathan had been receiving from an unknown source.”
“What are we talking about?” Gavin asked. “Extortion?”
“Lucas said his grandfather was a greedy bastard and was definitely capable of blackmail.”
“So, if we find out who he was blackmailing, we’ll most likely find his killer.”
“He also found letters to Jonathan. They were vague, but one mentioned a payment and a diary and how there could be trouble if the Windcrofts ever found out. Another talked of keeping the feud going.”
“Were the letters from someone in the Devlin family?” Logan wanted to know.
“I asked. Lucas said they weren’t signed, and there was no return address on the envelopes, but he was under the impression they were from someone outside the family.”
Gavin sipped his drink. “Meaning someone outside the Devlin family could have a stake in the feud, and has a reason for keeping it going. Do we have any idea who that could be? Or where this diary is?”
“No,” Tom said. “But if we find it, I get the feeling we’ll have all the answers we’re looking for.”
“And Lucas never told any of this to Will?” Connor asked.
“Lucas wanted to come clean with Will, but when Will refused to talk to him he felt stung. I believe he honestly wants to bring an end to the feud.”
“I could talk to Will,” Connor offered.
Tom shook his head. “I think it would be better coming from me. From a Devlin. But before I do, I’d like to dig a bit more and see what I can find. Some undisputed proof would make convincing him a lot easier.”
Gavin stood and set down his glass. “While you’re doing that, the rest of us will ask around about this diary and keep looking for the people causing the Windcrofts trouble. Have there been any more problems at the farm, Connor?”
“We found more holes yesterday morning. Nita has a man watching the property at night. I’ve instructed the hands to call me on my cell if they see anything suspicious. Until we know who we’re dealing with, I don’t want them trying to apprehend anyone.”
“Keep us posted on the situation and we’ll keep digging.”
When the meeting was over Connor called Nita to let her know he was ready to be picked up. She informed him curtly that she and Jimmy were shopping for groceries and she would be there when she was good and ready. All the way into town she and Jimmy had chatted while she’d ignored Connor. He figured she was still ticked off that she hadn’t been able to sneak away from him that morning. She also was growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that they had no housekeeper. Her father had shot down the two candidates they’d interviewed yesterday, saying they just weren’t right, and no one else had answered the ad.
Nita seemed to be at the end of her rope.
It was the middle of a workday and the club was fairly quiet, so Connor decided he might as well get some shut-eye while he waited. He walked back to the cigar lounge and made himself comfortable in a soft leather chair in the corner. He’d trained himself to sleep lightly in the Rangers, so when he heard the door open, heard the muffled sound of footsteps coming in his direction, he was only half-asleep.
Nita kicked his boot. “Wake up.”
He opened his eyes.
She hovered over him, hands on her hips, Stetson pulled low over her eyes.
“How did you get in here?” he asked.
A wry smile curled her mouth. “The staff here learned the hard way not to mess with me. I think they hide when they see me comin’.”
“Can’t say I blame them.”
Her grin widened. Apparently she wasn’t angry with him any longer. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
He pulled himself from the chair and followed her out to the truck. Jimmy was leaning against the passenger door waiting for them and the bed was filled with groceries and supplies.
“You tell him?” Jimmy asked.
Nita shot Connor a nervous look. “I told you, there’s nothing to tell. It was an accident.”
No wonder she was being so nice. She was hiding something from him. He should have known. “What was an accident?”
Jimmy ignored Nita’s warning look. “Me and Nita were on Main Street waiting to cross and a car came out of nowhere and nearly ran her down.”
Connor swore under his breath.
“I’m sure it was just an accident,” Nita said hastily. “No one would try to run someone down in the middle of a busy street on purpose.”
“If they were desperate to get rid of you they might,” Connor said. “What type of car was it?”
“It happened so fast I didn’t get a good look,” Jimmy said. “I’m pretty sure it was a black BMW. Maybe dark blue. Not much help considering half of Royal drives those.”
“You didn’t see the license place?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Happened too fast. By the time I heard Nita swear, and turned to see what had happened, the car was around the corner.”
Connor turned to Nita. “Exactly what happened?”
“The light changed, I started to cross, then this car came out of nowhere and shot through the light and turned right. I’m sure it was accidental and they just didn’t see me there.”
“Could you see the driver?”
“Like Jimmy said, it happened so fast. And the windows were tinted.”
Connor didn’t like the sound of this. He felt guilty for not being with her. He never should have taken his eyes off her. “Did anyone else see it? Did someone take down the license plate?”
“Why would they?” she snapped. “I told you it was an accident.”
No, he didn’t think it was an accident at all. If this person was bold enough to try to run her down on a busy street corner, things were even worse than he’d thought.
Nita stuck her head out the bedroom door and peered down the hall. Connor’s door was closed, meaning he’d gone to bed.
Too bad for him.
The grandfather clock in the office chimed twelve times as she tiptoed down the darkened hall toward the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky spot just above the top step. Since almost getting run over two days ago—which she was still convinced was an accident—Connor had been stuck to her like glue. She couldn’t use the bathroom without him hovering outside the door. And he must have made some sort of pact with the men, because whenever Connor wasn’t around, Jimmy or one of the hands kept her in their sights. She realized, in retrospect, that by continually trying to give him the slip, she’d probably only made things worse for herself. But she was beginning to feel smothered, and all she really wanted was a few blissful minutes to herself. Even if that meant just sitting on the swing and looking at the stars, which is exactly what she planned to do tonight.
She didn’t doubt someone was trying to scare them off the land, but besides the holes—which they now knew weren’t dug with the intention of hurting anyone—nothing had been done to put her or