Because he was nowhere on the route to and from town, he rarely got visitors, and with Livvy here, he didn’t like the timing of anyone just showing up. That was why Ethan slid his hand over his gun as he made his way to the front window.
Livvy did the same thing, and she went with him to peer out at their visitor. The black Lexus that pulled to a stop in front of his house wasn’t familiar, but the man who stepped out certainly was.
Franklin.
What the hell was he doing here?
Franklin fired some nervous glances around himself, and he tucked a manila folder under his arm before he started toward the porch.
“Stay back,” Ethan muttered to Livvy.
He disengaged the security system only on the front door so he could open it a couple of inches. “What do you want?” Ethan snarled, and he made damn sure it was not a friendly greeting.
Franklin stopped in his tracks, eyeing Ethan’s stance and gun. He swallowed hard. “I need to talk to Deputy Walsh. She’s not at her house, so I figured she was here with you.”
“How’d you get our addresses?” Ethan demanded.
He lifted his shoulder. “Renegade Canyon’s a small town, and people talk.”
Yeah, they did, but Ethan couldn’t imagine something like that just coming up in random conversation. Franklin had likely sought out the information.
But why?
“What do you want?” he repeated.
This time Franklin sighed. Gone was the surliness that’d been present during the interview at the police station. Franklin looked exhausted. Maybe an act though, Ethan reminded himself.
“I have some things to tell Deputy Walsh. Livvy,” he added in a barely audible whisper. “Things she’ll want to know. We can talk out here,” he said, still glancing around, “but it’d be better if I come in. I have something to give her.”
“You’re not coming in,” Ethan was quick to tell him. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it there. Then, you can explain why you didn’t bring it up when you were being questioned.”
The man sighed again. “Because what I have to tell her is personal. It has nothing to do with Zadie’s and my sister’s murders.”
Ethan doubted that. He figured anything to do with Franklin was also connected to the murders.
“What do you want to tell me?” Livvy asked, stepping into the doorway next to him. He had hoped she would stay to the side where she’d be better protected, but he understood her need to face this man head-on, too. Ethan would just need to stay vigilant in case this was some kind of ploy. Franklin could have come here to draw them out for a hired gun.
Or Franklin himself could plan on doing the killing.
He shifted his attention to Livvy, and Ethan wished he could read that expression on the doctor’s face. It seemed to be a tangle of all sorts of emotions.
“Livvy,” Franklin said, “I think you remembered something. I think that’s why you left the interview. What did you remember?”
She huffed. “I thought you were here to tell me something, not ask questions that I won’t answer.”
He nodded as if he understood that. “I knew your mother,” he blurted.
For only four words, they certainly packed a wallop. Ethan had to hand it to Livvy though. Other than a quick intake of breath, she didn’t react. She just stood there and waited for Franklin to continue.
“At least I think it was your mother,” he said. “I didn’t realize it until I had a closer look at you and that sketch the sheriff showed me. That’s when it all clicked for me. Her name was Belinda Anderson,” he explained, “and she was a surrogate at New Hope.”
“Belinda Anderson,” Livvy muttered, no doubt testing it to see if it was familiar. She shook her head though. Obviously, it wasn’t ringing any bells.
It didn’t ring any bells for Ethan either, and he wished he could take out his phone and do a quick search of the woman. It was too risky, though, since he didn’t trust Franklin. Added to that, all of this could be more lies.
“Was I one of the surrogate babies Belinda carried?” Livvy asked. “Am I your child?”
“No,” the doctor answered. “No,” he repeated, as if shocked by the questions. “You were four or five years old when Belinda came to New Hope. If I recall, she said a friend of a friend had referred her to New Hope and that she needed a place tostay with her little girl. With you,” he emphasized. “But I don’t remember your name.”
