Pushing Up Bluebonnets

end. Offer comfort—not impose my will.' His eyes filled and he took a deep breath. 'She never had a child. She couldn't.'

Cooper's attitude, his tough-guy interrogator persona softened a little. 'I'm sorry for your loss. Very sorry. But this still doesn't explain—at least to this dumbass— why you brought JoLynn into your home and treated her as if she was your granddaughter.'

Richter looked so fatigued, as if revealing all this had left him completely empty. 'You ask why I took JoLynn in? Because I could tell she'd been running. For a long time. It's in the eyes, you know. Katarina had the same look when she came home—frightened, knowing she needed someone to be there for her—even her bastard of a father. She didn't want to be alone anymore.'

'Okay . . . I understand what you're saying,' I said slowly. 'You couldn't have cared less about JoLynn's background. You needed her as much as she needed you.'

'Ah, Abby, I see you took notes when you met my family. I'll bet you found them to be a very cold bunch. Funny thing, since this attempt on JoLynn's life? I'm seeing my family in a different light. Despite their contempt for JoLynn, despite their jealousy when I invited her into my home, they've all gone 'bloody soft,' as Ian would say.' Richter smiled sadly.

Cooper looked plain bewildered. This was all too touchy-feely for him. Jeff would have reacted the same way.

Richter recognized this because he said, 'Maybe I'm not getting through, Chief Boyd. You mentioned I run a successful company. Well, I've learned that unfinished business always catches up with you. And the loss of Katarina caught up with me the day JoLynn appeared on my doorstep. Only someone very desperate would do what JoLynn was trying to do.'

'You should have told us all this. Told us both. Why didn't you?' I said.

'I was in denial, that's why. I hoped by some miracle you'd discover JoLynn was my granddaughter. That Ka tarina's cancer came after she gave birth.' He paused. 'But I was lying to myself. There was no child. But when I nearly lost JoLynn, I realized I don't give a goddamn whether or not we're blood relatives. Right now, all I care about is finding out if she's still in danger. I couldn't protect my daughter, but I can protect this girl. Whoever killed Kent Dugan could be after JoLynn, too.'

Now I understood why he'd gone white when he learned of Dugan's murder. A killer was still out there with JoLynn in his or her sights. I said, 'You believe the way to protect JoLynn is to uncover her past relationships, the ones that might have led to the attempt on her life?'

'Yes,' Richter said. 'And please listen carefully, both of you. I hope to learn that truth without my family finding out she is not my granddaughter. They need to believe she's the real thing.'

'Because . . . ?' Cooper prompted.

'Money, of course. To make her seem like the real deal, so they wouldn't contest my will. I researched the adoption registry—hoping they would accept her when I spouted off a few facts. You see, some of them might skewer her—figuratively, I mean—if they thought she'd cost them even a fraction of their inheritance.'

'Like your son?' I said.

He didn't answer. Maybe that was too much to admit to. He said, 'Since I have changed my will to include JoLynn, I don't want anyone making trouble for her when I'm gone. That's why I destroyed the birth certificate she gave me right before I hired you, Abby. Having dispensed with denial, I knew it was a forgery and I didn't want anyone throwing it at a judge.'

'This is probably an impossible secret to keep,' Cooper said. 'And not my biggest concern right now. Someone killed Kent Dugan. I can't believe that his murder attempt on JoLynn followed by his own violent death is a coincidence.'

'Understood,' Richter said. 'That bothers me. Bothers me very much.'

Cooper nodded. 'I won't give out any more informa tion than I think is necessary and I know HPD operates the same way.'

Richter looked at me. 'I still want to know JoLynn's story, want to know what she's running from. That's why I hired you and that's why I want you to continue on.'

I started to remind him that he was repeating the same controlling behavior that had sent his daughter away, but Cooper interrupted me. 'One more thing. Dugan never contacted you and never promised to keep your family from knowing JoLynn wasn't related to you? For a price, of course?'

'No. If he had come to me, I would have paid him whatever he asked. Every aspect of my life is open to you for your private examination if that's what you need to uncover the truth. But I didn't kill him because he tried to blackmail me and I would have never conspired with him or anyone to harm JoLynn.'

Cooper's features relaxed and he almost smiled. The tension that had been strung like a tightrope between the two of them suddenly slackened.

'I believe you, Mr. Richter,' Cooper said. 'But I will examine your life if necessary. Right now I need to find out about that stranger who parked himself outside the ICU, not to mention the man who warned Abby off the case and then drugged her.'

'Could Dugan have hired those two men?' I asked.

Cooper considered this for a second or two. 'I don't know. Since his attempt on JoLynn failed, Dugan might have been concerned we'd find evidence to nail him for the wreck, or he was worried any future blackmail plans involving Mr. Richter would be ruined if certain facts about JoLynn came to light.'

'But he would have to get rid you, too, because you know everything I know,' I said. 'And then he'd face the wrath of your officers, maybe the FBI, and of course Jeff's large network of friends—also known as HPD. Dugan couldn't have been that stupid.'

'Your garage assailant was very careful not to seriously harm you. Maybe you've figured out why,' Cooper said.

'You think?' I said.

Cooper didn't answer.

But Richter's concern was evident. He said, 'With JoLynn out of ICU and with at least two men connected to these . . . these crimes, JoLynn's still in danger. And you are, too, Abby. I'm the one who put you in that position and—'

'Don't even think about firing me, Mr. Richter. I can take care of myself. That man caught me off guard once, but I guarantee you, he won't get the jump on me again.'

26

'I won't fire you, Abby. But please be careful,' Richter said. Then he got the call he'd been waiting for. Guess his cell worked down here after all. Scott gave him JoLynn's new room number and we were off.

On the elevator ride, I thought about the cop Penny had told me about and wondered if Shauna Anthony could give me any leads that might provide Elliott Richter with the information he still wanted about JoLynn. Then my brain skipped to the evidence at the condo. We assumed those newspaper clippings belonged to Dugan, but what if they'd belonged to JoLynn?

'The newspaper clippings,' I said as we got off the elevator.

'What about them?' Cooper said.

Richter wasn't listening. He was off like a cat with its tail on fire, heading for JoLynn's room.

As we trailed behind, I said, 'Maybe those articles belonged to JoLynn and not Dugan.'

We stopped to allow an orderly pushing a gurney to pass and ended up with our backs against a wall.

'I see where you're going with this,' Cooper said. 'JoLynn created JoLynn Richter —not Dugan. After all, she had learned at the foot of the master—and I hate saying Dugan was masterful about anything, but JoLynn's driver's license was the best fake I've ever seen.'

'She could have split after using Dugan's ID shop to make herself over,' I said. 'Which would have pissed off Dugan in a major way. The ultimate betrayal— conning the con man. Maybe it took him an entire year to research all the people in those articles, figure out exactly who she'd chosen as her new family. But we do know he found her. I mean, his prints were all over that wreck.'