Page 64 of Scent of Fear

Paul? Libby slowed to a stop as she took in the scene. A man with close-cropped reddish hair was sprawled on the ground, not moving. Deputy Paul Holland was sitting on the ground, holding a hand to his chest. Griff had his weapon trained on another man whom she quickly recognized as Ward Engler. Another deputy was in the process of slapping cuffs around Engler’s wrists while reading him his rights.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Alexis said, slowing to a stop. After giving Griff one last look, Alexis abruptly turned to check on Paul, crossing over to kneel beside him. “I’m well versed in first aid. Did the slug penetrate the vest?”

“I don’t think so,” Paul groused. “But it feels like I was kicked in the chest by a buffalo.”

“I’ve heard it’s painful,” Alexis murmured as she removed the Velcro straps of the vest for a closer look. “You’re going to have a whopping bruise here. But the good news is that your vest saved your life.”

“Yeah, I know.” Paul glanced from Alexis over to Libby. “Your grandfather?”

“He’s safe.” She turned to see her grandfather trudging toward them, his shoulders slumped as if he carried the weight of the world on them.

And maybe he did. A decision that had been made forty-eight years ago had caused this mess. A police officer had almost been shot and killed here today. Just like the officer who’d lost his life all those years ago.

“Grandpa?” She crossed over to put her arm around his waist. “Let’s get you inside. We can find something for you to eat.”

“Not yet, Libby.” He awkwardly patted her arm, then pushed forward until he stood beside Griff Flannery. “I believe you’ve been looking for me.”

Griff nodded, the sun glinting off his short blond hair. “Is your real name Maxwell Tucker?”

“Yes.” Her grandfather gestured toward Ward Engler. “I believe that man is related to the man who married my sister, Louise. She must have married him after her husband, Greg Olson, was killed during the robbery. Louise and Greg had one son who in turn had the twins, Aaron and Archer.” The older man winced again. “Aaron told me how my sister talked nonstop about the money she should have had. I guess that’s when the twins came up with this plan to kidnap me so they could find the cash.”

“Ward Engler is not an alias?” Griff asked in surprise.

“I don’t think so. I think Ward and his wife, Tabitha, were asked to provide their home and the four-wheelers for money. Sounded as if Tabitha went off to visit her grandkids until everything was finished.” Her grandfather frowned. “I didn’t know my sister remarried, much less that she had twin grandsons that were only a few years older than Libby.” He slowly shook his head. “If we had gotten away clean, we’d have split the money equally between us. But the robbery went bad, especially after my brother-in-law exchanged gunfire with the first officer who arrived on scene back then. I was the only one who got away.”

“And you still have the money?” Griff asked. “Archer there was determined to dig all the way to China to find it.”

“Yes, I still have most of the money.” Her grandfather glanced at her warily. “I can show you where it is.”

“You didn’t hide it in the cellar at all, did you?” Shane asked.

“Nope.” Her grandfather turned and led the way inside the cabin. She was surprised when he went down the hall to his bedroom. She, Shane, Bryce, and Griff crowded around as he pushed at the end of the bed. Her grandfather gestured to the wooden floor. At first, she didn’t understand what he was pointing out.

Then she noticed the very faint outline of a square etched in the flooring. A trap door!

“One of you should probably grab a knife to pry along the edges,” Grandpa said wearily. “I haven’t been down there in well over thirty-five years.”

“I’ll get it.” Griff ducked back down the hall toward the kitchen. Libby exchanged a long look with Shane until Griff returned. He knelt on the floor, used the knife, and soon had the trap door open.

Libby leaned forward to see an old canvas bag tucked into the opening. Griff reached down and opened it.

Stacks of hundred-dollar bills were bound together with plastic, looking as crisp and new as the day her grandfather had stolen them.

* * *

Shane could hardly believethe money had been lying beneath Marvin’s bed all this time. Bryce sniffed the cash with interest. Shane wanted to congratulate the wily older man for using the cellar as a ruse.

But the look of horror on Libby’s face stopped him. She abruptly turned and bolted from the bedroom.

“I’m willing to accept responsibility for my actions.” Marvin’s expression was grim, but Shane thought he could also see a sense of relief in the man’s dark eyes. As if Libby’s grandfather was glad the truth was finally out in the open. “The robbery wasn’t my idea. Greg was the one who put everything together. Greg’s greed was one of the reasons I never reached out to my sister all this time. I knew she was the one pushing Greg to get more money. To give her the life she felt she deserved.”

Shane could easily see how that may have played out. “But you didn’t stop the robbery from taking place,” he felt compelled to point out.

“No, and that was my biggest sin,” Marvin admitted. “I went along with the plan. But after Greg was killed along with that police officer, and Harry went to prison, I decided to go straight.”

“Except for the part where you never turned over the stolen money,” Griff drawled.

“That’s true.” Marvin waved at the opening. “Our total haul was about two million. I probably spent about sixty grand. The rest is there. As I mentioned before, I only took enough to make a fresh start.”

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