Borrowed Identity (24 page)

The noises immediately ceased.

“Okay,” a familiar male voice called. Kelly assumed it was the voice of Margo’s partner, Elvin Grant. “It’s safe to come in now.”

Margo released her hold on Kelly’s hair and pushed her inside. Michael was sitting in a chair near the closet. Elvin Grant was tying him up with a sturdy rope.

Kelly frowned. Her surprise was mirrored in Michael’s eyes. They were both stunned by the turn of events. Neither of them had guessed the truth.

“You’re Grant’s boss.” Kelly made it a statement. There was no need to sound as stupid as she felt. Obviously Margo was holding the thin man’s leash.

“Yes, dear.” Margo smiled widely as if she was giving Kelly an old family recipe. “Elvin was quite helpful. I tried to buy the house.”

“You have enough money to buy Moore House?”

“If you were reasonable on the price, yes. The people who adopted me were well off. They died a few years ago. Terrible fire. I inherited.” She pointed at the unoccupied chair with her gun. “Your turn. Elvin will tie you and then we’ll get to the question and answer part.”

“Question and answer?” Kelly tried to be brave, but she could hear the tremor in her own voice. On the outside she was calm, but inside she was nearly hysterical. “What are you talking about?”

Kelly put up a minimal amount of struggle when Elvin shoved her into the chair. He wrapped a rope around her waist and pulled her arms back to tie them securely. It hurt.
The rough rope bit into her tender flesh. She clenched her jaw, refusing to cry out and give the terrible partners in crime any sort of satisfaction.

“It’s okay,” Michael told her. “Trust me. Everything will be okay.”

She nodded, tears in her eyes. Looking at his handsome face now, she realized she loved him. She truly loved him.

She didn’t know exactly when it had happened. It was before they had made love but after he’d saved her life in the garage. Because of their extreme circumstances and her doubts about him, she had fought her feelings for him. Only now could she admit to herself that she loved him with all her heart. Too bad love wasn’t enough.

Margo stopped her frantic movements. Her expression changed, became wary as she sniffed the air. “Do you smell something?” she asked.

“No,” Elvin whined. “You know I can’t smell anything with my allergies.”

“Everything will be okay,” Michael repeated.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Margo said. “Let’s begin. Which one of you has my diamonds?”

“Diamonds?” Michael said the word as if he hadn’t heard of the gemstone before.

“Don’t play games with me,” Margo said. “I’ve been listening to conversations, following the two of you around with hidden cameras. You know all about the jewels, Taggert.”

“First, why don’t you clear up a few things for me?” he asked. “How did you trick Kelly in the garage? She claims she saw someone go inside, but no one was in there.”

“Easy,” Margo said. “The house isn’t the only building with secret doors. There’s one inside the garage, hidden behind the metal tool shelf. Next question.”

“Who wrote on the mirror when I was in the shower?” Kelly asked. “That was a pretty good trick. I thought I was
losing my mind for sure when I brought Michael in and there were two words instead of one.”

“Also simple,” Margo replied. “Elvin entered through the secret door. You didn’t bother to shut the bathroom door. When you took off screaming, he went inside and added a word.” Margo clenched her teeth. “Anything else?”

“I assume he sent me the threatening note when I was in town,” Michael said.

Margo nodded.

“And the tiny pearls that were on my grandmother’s wedding gown? What about them? Did you take them?”

“I took more than that from your bedroom,” Elvin said. “Just a few trinkets here and there to make you think you were going crazy.”

Michael frowned in puzzlement. “Wade found a pair of glasses in the study. Do they belong to either of you?”

“If they were found in the study, they belonged to my father,” Kelly said. “Why didn’t you ask me if you were worried about them?”

“Angel, I hit a new clue every time I turned a corner and I was trying to keep my head on straight when it came to you. I guess I forgot about them. I put them in a drawer in the nightstand next to my bed.”

“What about my wedding gown, Michael? Was that you or them?”

“That was me.” He smiled sheepishly at her. “Sorry. I put it in an empty closet in one of the spare bedrooms the night Jimmy died. Later, after you let me know inadvertently that Jimmy got it from the attic, I returned it.”

“But the attic is always locked.”

“It wasn’t locked when I went up there,” he replied.

“That’s because I was using it and the ballroom to hide out in,” Margo said. “This house is really much too big for you, child. You should think about moving.”

“How many employees do you actually have?” Michael asked. “Grant here told us there would be others to take his place if I pulverized him.”

“I was bluffing, you twit,” the thin man said. He sighed in frustration, waving his gun around like a madman. “Can we get on with it? I want those damn jewels.”

“Patience,” Margo said. She turned to Michael, a wide smile stretching her lips. “Wait a second. I have an idea. If you tell me what I want to know, I’ll tell you who killed your brother.”

Kelly gasped.

Michael stiffened beside her, and a muscle twitched in his lower jaw. “You’re bluffing.” He forced a strained smile. “You don’t know anything.”

“But I do,” Margo said. “I’ve been at Moore House off and on for weeks now. I got that particular night on videotape. I know who killed your brother.”

“Prove it,” Michael said.

“Fine.” She drew closer to them and hovered over Michael. “Do you remember that night? You found your brother’s body lying in front of the closet. Your friend left for a while, but you stayed. You knelt next to his body and cried. I heard what you vowed to your brother that night.”

Michael remained silent, but his eyes blazed to life.

“I saw it.” Margo added, “I can give you the tape. Evidence for the trial. If you ever catch up with the man, of course. But first, you give me what I want. Who has my diamonds?”

“I don’t know,” Michael said.

“Liar!” Margo lowered the gun to point it directly at his head.

“No!”
Kelly screamed. “I’ll tell you where they are.”

The words were out before she could swallow them. She had no idea where the diamonds were, if they even existed.
But she had captured the woman’s attention. Margo walked away from Michael, leaving him alive and well.

Kelly’s mind whirled in a violent circle. Margo would kill them both if Kelly didn’t think of something logical and believable to say.

“Tell me,” the older woman demanded.

“Don’t forget I get a cut,” Grant said.

“Shh!” Margo waved the gun at him. “I don’t have anything to give you a cut of yet.” She stood over Kelly, her wild eyes staring holes into her. “Give me what I want. Where are my diamonds?”

“
Your
diamonds?” Michael snorted in disbelief.

Kelly prayed Michael wasn’t going to push the woman too far. Margo was walking the thin line of insanity and Kelly feared she was about to tumble off. Then what? Would she shoot both of them? Would she leave them to die, another two tragic victims of Moore House?

“That’s right!” Margo returned to lean over Michael. “You heard me. Those diamonds belong to me. My father was Walter Fuller. This house and those jewels are my inheritance. Your idiot brother found the letter from my father before I could. He was going to steal my diamonds.” Margo pointed at Kelly. “She stole my home, but she won’t get my diamonds. I want them now.”

“You don’t want to hurt Kelly,” Michael said. “If you did, you would have killed her a long time ago. You tried to buy the house. When that didn’t work, you tried to scare Kelly off. You aren’t a cold-blooded killer.”

“You’re right,” Margo admitted. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone. But that was then.” She pointed the gun at Kelly once again, returning to stand in front of her. “This is now. Now I’m angry. I’m tired of playing these games. You tell me where my diamonds are or I’m going to shoot one of you. Maybe both of you.”

Michael leaned back in his chair, an easy smile on his
face. He winked at Kelly and said, “Go ahead, angel. Give the lady the information she wants.”

Kelly stared at him blankly. What was he expecting her to say? Did he actually believe she knew where the diamonds were hidden? No, he was up to something. Kelly saw the gleam in his dark eyes.

Michael glanced at the bedroom door, so quickly Kelly almost thought she’d imagined it.

She turned her head and coughed into her shoulder. She looked in the direction of the door. She followed Michael’s example, only sparing the door a quick glance. It took everything she had in her to school her expression. Excitement pulsed through every one of her nerves. She wanted to scream for joy, but she couldn’t even smile. If she gave Paddy away, he would be killed. Paddy’s injuries had obviously not been serious enough to prevent him from backing up Michael in their time of need.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll tell you exactly where the diamonds are.”

Margo’s face lit up. She allowed the gun to drop back to her side, ready to hang on every word. Kelly licked her lips as if they were too dry to speak. She stalled until she knew Margo was about to crack.

“They were behind the shower wall,” Michael prodded. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, I found the diamonds when I tore the original shower down.”

“What?” Margo laughed so hard tears came to her eyes. “Did you hear that, Elvin? We didn’t find the diamonds because she remodeled the bathroom.”

“I don’t see the humor in it,” Elvin said.

“Oh, Elvin, don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud. It’s funny. We tore the shower wall out looking for the diamonds, but they weren’t there because she’d already found them. She found them before we started hiding in the house. We didn’t
need that sledgehammer, after all.” Margo returned her attention to Kelly. “I’m surprised at you. I thought we were friends, but you didn’t confide in me.”

“Sorry,” Kelly mumbled. “I suppose I was a little paranoid. It’s not every day that a girl finds a fortune in jewels hidden in her bathroom wall.” She added, “I guess we know now why Boomer wasn’t barking.”

“That’s right. My dog wouldn’t bark at me.”

“Where is Boomer, by the way? I haven’t seen him in a while. He might be hurt.”

“He isn’t,” Margo said. “I took him back home. He’s fine there.

Kelly silently prayed for Paddy to make his move. Whatever the man was going to do, he needed to do it fast. She couldn’t hold Margo off for much longer.

K
ELLY WAS DOING
a brilliant job keeping the crazy lady distracted, and she didn’t even know it.

Michael almost winced in pain as the small, flickering flame burned his wrist.

He had managed to dig Grant’s lighter out of his back pocket. The two perps were so busy counting their millions, they weren’t paying enough attention to him. Michael lit the lighter and burned the rope around his hands one thick strand at a time. He was determined. If he was going to die today, it certainly wouldn’t be while he was tied to a chair.

He was nearly done. Just a few more seconds and he would be free. Michael tried to rush the job but only burned himself more. He had to be careful. If his shirt caught on fire, Margo and Elvin might notice.

Keep talking, baby.

Kelly was doing a wonderful job stalling, but Margo seemed to be running out of patience. Michael didn’t have much faith in the woman’s self-control. She might freak out at any moment and shoot them both. At least Paddy was
nearby. The old Irishman hovered near the bedroom door, hanging back enough so he wouldn’t be spotted by Margo or Elvin.

“Your diamonds aren’t in this room,” Kelly said.

“Where are they?” Margo practically screamed the question in her face.

Michael burned through more of the rope. He pulled his hands apart, and the rope stretched. He felt several strands break, but there were a few stubborn ones that wouldn’t give. He held his breath, hoping his hands were far enough apart to slip the rope off.

It worked.

His hands were free. He allowed the rope to quietly fall to the carpet. His eyes focused on the thin man. Margo was preoccupied with questioning Kelly, but her partner looked bored. Grant’s gaze drifted to Michael every couple of minutes.

Michael gave a short nod to Paddy.

It was now or never.

Paddy rushed forward to grab Margo from behind. He lifted her arms into the air, the gun pointed at the ceiling. A shot rang out. Bits of plaster crumbled around them.

Michael jumped up from the chair. With fists together, he swung upward to strike Grant in the jaw.

The thin man flew backward and landed on the mattress. He tried to get off the bed before Michael could reach him, rolling to one side and hitting the floor with a dull thud. He struggled to stand, but Michael straddled his back and tied his hands behind him. There wasn’t anything Grant could do. His movements were feeble and weak.

The old lady was fighting harder than her partner. Margo stomped on Paddy’s foot and bit into his arm. He screamed in agony. His hold on the woman loosened enough for her to lower her gun and aim. She was going to shoot Paddy square in the chest, and Michael was too far away to stop
her. He grabbed Grant’s gun, praying he would have time to fire it.

Kelly’s feet shot out, striking Margo in the back of the knees. The old woman crumpled with an angry cry.

Paddy snatched the gun from her grasp.

“No!” Margo cried. “It isn’t fair! Those diamonds belong to me.”

Michael untied Kelly’s hands. He couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms. For a few tense minutes he’d thought that wouldn’t be a possibility again. Now, as she stood, he wrapped his arms around her tightly. The embrace was warm and sweet, fraught with emotion. He didn’t want to let her go.

Paddy seemed to realize that. He called the police and the agency from his cell phone after tying Margo up so she wouldn’t cause them any more trouble. He dragged the two bandits out of the room and closed the door with a wink in Michael’s direction.