Walter moved toward me, a wary look on his face. “What are you doing?”
“Getting us the hell out of here.” I reached the front door and grasped the handle, but the door refused to open.
Dammit. She’d either locked it or nailed it shut.
Spinning around, I marched to the window and unlocked it. The sash lifted easily, giving me access to the board covering the opening. I pushed on it, probing to see how solid it was. The piece of plywood barely moved.
“You can’t do that. We need to stay here.” Moving from foot to foot, Walter stood a few feet away.
“You can stay, but Mina and I are leaving.” I looked at him. “Unless you have some plan to stop us? Sarah didn’t leave you a weapon, did she?”
Walter’s already pinched expression grew more so. “No. I don’t have a phone, either, before you ask. Miranda took my sat phone when she found me.”
I grunted and went back to probing the board. “Sounds like they planned to hold you hostage all along.” I pushed on the board again, this time putting all my weight into it, but it still didn’t move.
“Let me guess,” I said, turning to look at him once more. “They were the masterminds behind killing Moira all those years ago, and you were just the patsy who got in over his head.”
The old man’s grizzled jaw worked, and he glanced away. “I didn’t kill her. I never wanted her to die. I just wanted my land back.”
CHAPTER 36
Mina
“What do you mean, you just wanted your land back?” I walked up to Luke and Walter, curious about what Walter knew. We might actually get all the answers to this mystery now.
The old man’s mouth pursed, and his gaze flicked back and forth between us.
“You’ve got nothing to lose, Walter.” Luke backed away from the window to cross his arms and stare the man down. “In any case, you’re going to jail for your part in Moira’s death. Make it easy on yourself and cooperate.”
Walter’s eyes hardened. “You’re not a cop and have no way to hold me here any more than I have a way to hold you here. Once we get the window uncovered, I can take off, and you’ll never see me again.”
“Then it still doesn’t matter if you tell us the truth, then, does it?” I argued.
Those dull blue eyes moved back and forth between us again until, finally, he let out a sigh. “Fine.” With a quick tip of his head, he motioned us back to the group of seats.
I sat down with Luke on the couch, while Walter perched on the edge of the upholstered chair to our left. He claspedhis hands and let them dangle between his knees. “About six months before Sarah killed Moira, Miranda figured out she’s my daughter.”
A swift gasp left me.
“I’m sorry, what?” Luke leaned forward. “Who’s your daughter?”
“Miranda. Her mother, Elsie, and I met at a club twenty-odd years prior. My wife and I were having problems. I thought my marriage was over, and in a moment of weakness, I caved to a beautiful woman. My affair was brief. Guilt ate me alive, so I ended it after only a couple of weeks. But the damage was done. Elsie was pregnant. For years, I funneled money to a secret account for her but only on the stipulation that she never tell anyone I was Miranda’s father. My wife and I patched things up and were actually very happy until she died a few years ago.” His brows knitted and he looked away.
“When Miranda turned eighteen, her mother and I agreed she no longer needed the support, except for her school funding. I was happy to offer a ‘loan’”—he air-quoted with two fingers, never unclasping his hands—“that paid for a portion of her education. Elsie told Miranda she took out a small, low-interest loan through the bank. Miranda was never the wiser. Anyway, when she found out about me, she was out of school. Her mother confessed everything, including how I helped support her all those years. One day, Miranda showed up at the store and demanded I still support her, or she would tell Lucille everything. She wanted to open her own real estate office, and she needed capital.”
He grimaced. “I know I should have just come clean with Lucille, but I saw a way out. And her timing was actually great. It was like the stars aligned to make this the perfect plan. My aunt had just died, and I was supposed to inherit her estate. Not just the Myers Mansion, but a few other properties in the area.”
I shared a look with Luke. That accounted for the multiple amended deeds Claire found.
“But somehow, Sarah manipulated either my aunt or someone else into putting her name in place of mine on the real estate transfers,” Walter continued. “I told Miranda if she could change them back, I would help her start her business.”
I looked at Luke. “That’s why there were two versions of the same deed, just with different recipients.” I turned to Walter. “Why didn’t you bring the authorities into it? Were you not in the will now?”
“I don’t know if I was or not. I just saw an easy way to fix what Sarah tried to steal. With Miranda involved and her plan to blackmail me, it was just easier to have her fix it than to accuse Sarah of theft and tie everything up in the courts. I was not looking to make waves.”
Luke crossed his ankle over his knee. “Okay. So how did Moira get involved, and why did Sarah kill her? How did you get involved in that?”
“Moira discovered the forgery on the deed Miranda fixed. See, my aunt used the firm Miranda worked for. I don’t know how well you know Miranda, but she can be… persuasive.”
