Kody flattened her hands on the tabletop and asked in a very fake, calm voice, “Where are you meeting her today? Here in town?”
That tingle warning me she was up to something pricked at the back of my neck. “No. We agreed on a spot halfway between Loveless and Ivy.” I didn’t think giving her the exact location was a good idea. I was missing a huge piece of this puzzle. It was easy to see the vague reply annoyed her, but Kody didn’t say anything.
I glanced down at my cell phone and quickly finished my coffee. “I actually need to get going if I don’t want to be late. Thanks for the coffee.”
Kody nodded absently, but put up a protest when I tossed a few bills on the table to cover her untouched breakfast.
“I told you I would buy.” She glared up at me, but I didn’t have time to argue with her over something so trivial. Every instinct I had told me I was looking at a bigger fight with her down the road, and I knew how to pick my battles.
“My treat, since you seem to be having a bad day. I’ll check in if I have anything of value to pass on. Try and turn the rest of your day around, Kody.” I didn’t like how her pretty face had seemed permanently set in a scowl since I’d been back in Loveless.
She muttered something I was sure I didn’t want to hear under her breath as I walked away. I shot a text off to let Hearst know I was on the way in case I hit traffic and ended up being a little late. I listened to the radio, ignored two calls from my mother, and wondered about Kody’s odd behavior as I drove the forty-five minutes it took to reach the busy truck stop off the highway where Presley had finally agreed to meet with us. The location seemed deliberately chosen. It was busy, nondescript, and filled with both state patrol officers and local law enforcement traveling between counties. It was a good place for a woman to feel safe. Especially if she was scared of something, or someone.
I parked my truck in the busy lot, nodding to a couple of truckers on my way into the building. Hearst was easy to spot with his slicked-back hair in the sea of trucker and cowboy hats. The woman sitting across from him caught sight of me first, and I touched my fingers to the brim of my hat to acknowledge her slight wave. Again I was struck by how similar she looked to Kody, yet how different. It was such a weird sensation to be judged by eyes I knew as well as my own. Only Presley’s were impossible to read, where Kody’s showed every single feeling.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” I reached out a hand for her to shake and immediately took note of her hesitancy to reach for it. Eventually she wrapped her slim, ice-cold fingers around mine and gave a half-hearted shake.
“No problem. I really don’t know what I’m going to be able to add to your investigation. Like I mentioned to your partner, I don’t know anything about Conrad or the rest of the Lawton family. My mother made sure I was kept in the dark. This was all as much a shock to me as it was to them.”
I took a seat next to Hearst, making note of the fact that the doctor was sitting facing the front door and her eyes tracked each new entry. She was definitely on guard, on the lookout for someone. We were going to have to dig a little deeper into this woman’s life, and I could tell she wasn’t going to like it one bit.
“You’d be surprised how helpful even the slightest bit of information could be. Conrad’s daughter mentioned that her dad seemed like he was anxious to get rid of her the day you visited, like he was expecting someone. Did you tell him you were coming to see him that day? Did he know you’d found out his identity before you showed up on his doorstep? What did you talk about?” I had to hand it to Hearst, he was good. He had just the right amount of charm and charisma to put someone at ease, but his mind was quick and he fired off all the same questions I would’ve asked had I been the one in charge of the investigation.
The redheaded woman stayed cool as a cucumber. Her composure never wavered. “I didn’t tell him I was coming. I found my mother’s safety deposit box that had a DNA test in it. I assume the sheriff demanded proof I was his child before paying her. I asked a friend on the Austin police force to track down his address for me. I don’t know why I thought showing up unannounced was the way to go, but I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly at the time. The sheriff did not seem at all surprised to see me, now that you mention it. When I told him he was my father and I would like to repay every cent my mother took from him, he told me there was no need. He also told me he already had enough kids and wasn’t looking for another one. Then he sent me on my way. He made it pretty clear he wasn’t interested in seeing me again.”
Hearst gave me a look. Without words I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. Someone else had told Conrad that his long-lost daughter knew his identity. That was the only explanation as to why he hadn’t been surprised to see Presley on his doorstep.
Hearst leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table in front of him. “Did you tell anyone else about Conrad or the blackmail?”
Green eyes flicked away briefly, indicating silently that she had. For a second I thought she was thinking about how to answer, but a moment later her expression shifted to surprise with a splash of horror. “What is she doing here?”
Confused, Hearst and I shared another look. Presley climbed to her feet just as a flurry of anger and blond curls stormed up to the side of the table, palms slamming out on the surface with enough force to spill the liquid in all the cups resting there.
“What in the hell?” Hearst struggled to get to his feet as Kody suddenly leaned down, glaring at the unsuspecting doctor as she got almost nose-to-nose with the other woman. I ended up on my feet, instinctively trying to get between the two women.
It was easier said than done, because Kody was intently focused on her target. “He left everything to you! The house! The land! His pension! All of it is in your name! What did you do to my father?” Her voice rose with each sentence.
Kody was causing a scene. Enraged and out of control the way she was now, every eye in the place was on her as Presley fought to gain some space, her hands lifting defensively as she flinched at each word Kody spit out.
“Goddammit, Kody. You’re going to get yourself arrested. Knock it off.”
“What are you doing? Are you crazy? This isn’t how grown women act.” The doctor’s voice didn’t rise, but I could clearly hear the panic laced through it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Kody ignored her words, continuing to crowd her. “Why would he change his will?! Why are you so fucking important to him?”
Kody sounded unhinged, but I could also hear the pain in her voice. She wasn’t thinking straight, and it was going to get her in massive trouble.
“How did Kody even know where we were meeting?” Hearst was pushing to get out of the booth as I continued to try to push Kody back a few inches so the other woman could breathe.
I grunted when I got an elbow in my jaw for my efforts.
I recalled her surprise visit this morning and her questionable behavior. “She followed me.” It hadn’t even occurred to me to keep an eye out for someone tailing me to the meeting spot. Who was crazy enough to do that? The answer was the woman wiggling in my tightening hold.
I wanted to get Kody under control before she hurt the other woman, but I couldn’t get a solid hold on her from this angle. She was twisting and wiggling like a fish pulled out of a river.