Leann Sweeney - Pushing Up Bluebonnets

"No," he said. "You don't—"

But I kept going. "If you wanted the truth about JoLynn, why didn't you hunt for that truth when she first arrived at Magnolia Ranch? Why didn't you know about Kent Dugan?"

"I just didn't." Richter's mouth tightened into a stubborn line.

Cooper said, "You want us to believe that a successful businessman, known to check facts scrupulously, didn't look into this young woman's story? Because I plan on finding out, if that is the case."

Richter studied the swizzle stick again for what seemed a long time. "You'd be wasting your time. I'm certain you won't understand—I'm not certain even I understand—but before the attempt on JoLynn's life, I didn't want to know anything about her past."

"You never suspected she was a fraud?" I said.

Despite my attempt to say this in a gentle way, he turned to me and his steely eyes bored into mine. "She is not a fraud. "

Delusion alert. Oh my gosh, Kate. I need you. But I kept my tone even when I said, "Okay, here's what I've learned. She was never adopted, Mr. Richter. She was abandoned in a bus station when she was nine and aged out of foster care. Did you know any of this before I found out?"

"Abandoned?" He closed his eyes briefly, seemed to be gathering himself. "Who could be that cruel to her?"

"I don't know yet," I said, "but it's possible JoLynn— who has also used the name Elizabeth—and her boyfriend Dugan planned to set you up by playing on your weakness: Katarina."

Cooper said, "But JoLynn may have betrayed Dugan by coming to you without Dugan's knowledge and—"

Richter held up his hand like a traffic cop. "Wait. I need to clarify something. JoLynn wasn't a fraud in the way you two are thinking, no matter what her background. She asked for nothing from me. Not a red cent. I doubt she conspired with Dugan. Aside from Katarina, she is the most genuine person I've ever met."

Cooper looked surprised. "Doesn't her behavior sound less than genuine, sir?"

Richter sighed heavily. "This is very difficult for me, but let me tell you how this all came about . . . hopefully explain my behavior without sounding like a fool. Katarina's cancer? Ovarian. She fled the ranch when she found out, went away without telling me where she was going or why. She was running from me, knowing I'd be calling every doctor in the country and be breathing down her neck trying to save her. She was so young, so strong-willed, she thought she could run, not only from me, but from the cancer, too."

I closed my eyes, taking this in. "Ovarian cancer? Then when did she have a baby—wait, are you saying Katarina couldn't have children?"

"Exactly. She came home to die once she knew it would be useless for me to interfere with her decisions. She'd been through treatment on her own, treatment that didn't work. She wanted to deal with her cancer without me taking charge of her life."

"B-but why?" I asked.

"Because of who I was. We'd been at odds since she was small. I started trying to control her the minute I lost my wife and thus alienated her. I can only thank God she came back to me so I could offer her comfort in the 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."