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"Ghosts don't drive vehicles, babe. And all I can find living in Coleson Hollow on the original properties are...nada. Ghosts."
"Without a warrant, if it's posted and fenced, we can't go in."
"And we don't have anything to get a warrant." He pulled over. Parked alongside the drive to the back building.It was fenced and posted. They weren't getting in that way."But we're on the public road right here. Can do just about anything we want."
"Notexactly. But we can look."Zoeystared at the property in front of them. It was cleaner than the manor house and the rest of the properties surrounding it. But it still looked... "Abandoned. Yet there are still Colesons out there. I bet that is like a stab in the eye, seeing how run down this place is.”
"From the way pretty Nurse Bonita talked,thereare quite a few. Gladys said the last doctor Coleson had eight daughters. She also said you know a Coleson girl when you see one. I’veseenBonita. And her sister Heather. Who looks quite a bit like you. More like you than your St. Louis sissy does, actually. Wecanhunt Bonita up. Right there in Rafey-poo's hospital. Get a DNA test. I bet he could get the swab for us right there."
Zoey shook herhead. "Not until we know 99 percent. We’ve had a family meeting and discussed DNA when I took over the search. With Luc and Marc being who they are, we aren't willing to do DNA until we are absolutely certain. Just to be on the safe side."
"A bit paranoid?"
"Cautious. A few months after I was shot, someone came up to Payton, Luc's wife. Hassled her. Said they were a blood relative of the man who had adopted Luc and the money should be all his—and not Luc’s, even though ninety percent of what Luc has, Luc earned through inventions, investments, that kind of thing. Manny Lucas found him on the streets when Luc ran some punks off who were giving him a hard time, trying to rob him. Manny adopted Luc—he had no other blood relative out there, and he saw something in Luc. The man wasn't Manny’s son, but within a week another man tracked Payton down not knowing Paige was FBI—or Luc's sister—and tried to say he wasLuc'sbrother. They were both conmen, working together. Not very bright ones either. Paige’s husband had a friend investigate them."
"Better to play it safe. I get it. We’ll get there.”
"Blessed Reunions doesn't do DNA unless it's absolutely needed. Or...for final confirmation."
“I am 98 percent certain you are a Coleson. We just need to figure out how.”
“Either prove or disprove.” Zoey stretched up, but kept her hands off the fence. Murdoch slipped his phone out. Snapped a few images.
“Bonnie’s—she goes by Bonnie—sister Angela was only three or four years older. And Bonnie is no more than fifty.”
“That lines up with what Pastor Hunter told me he remembered. He’s going to contact his older brothers. See if they remembered more. But at most, Angela would be fifty-three now. Not really old enough to be Luc’s mother. Or Cole’s. And barely old enough to be Caine and Rafe’s.”
“She’s been gone for almost twenty years. Angela. Cancer, Bonnie told me. Let’s swing by the library—at FCU. I heard there may be aColesonbuilding on campus. And a nice little Garrity exhibit.”
“It’s ninety minutes from here.”
He shot her that grin, then pulled her closer. Pressed a kiss to her forehead. It always rattled her when he did that. Zoey wanted to stay right where she was. “I told you, babe. I’m yours if you’ll keep me. So what do you say? Want to track down our young’un on campus and have her show us around?”
60
Murdoch likedthe Coleson Museum on FCU's campus. Pen had come practically running out of her classroom when they'd texted her, her bag loaded down with books that probably weighed what she did.
She'd hugged her sister and grinned at Murdoch, like she always did. He just shook his head. When that kid got a little older, the guys of Finley Creek had better watch out. She was going to be almost as dangerous as Zoey. But for now, she was one of his favorite teenagers on the planet. "So why are you both here? What did you find? Another brother or sister?"
"Not yet," Zoey said ruefully. She wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as Pen about finding potential relatives. Well, Murdoch definitely could understand that. "We are looking for Garrity history, here on campus. There was some big medical bigwig that lived there. His name was Coleson, and we may be related to his family. I’m not sure yet, so don’t get your hopes up. I’ll tell you more tonight. We just want to get a feel for what we are missing. And well, Murdoch likes to follow me around."
"I like how she walks. When I'm walking behind her." Murdoch took a look at the kid. She'd definitely lost a few pounds, he thought. Probably worrying herself to death over something. Pen didn't let people know it, but she was an anxious little monster at times. When the anxiety flared, he suspected she didn’t eat. These Daviess ladies needed a keeper. He’d sign on for the job, if Zoey would just let him. He'd keep Zo, she’d keephim,and together they’d keep an eye on this kid. "You have time to feed us old fogies?"
"Hey, I'm not even thirty yet." Zoey said, smirking.
"For like one more week. Then we are going to party. Since you are officially an old maid then. You'd better get married like in five days. You told me you'd get married before you were thirty when I was a kid." Pen hooked her arm over Zoey’s shoulder. She was two inches taller than her older sister now. “You used to say thirty wasold.”
"No prospects," Zoey said drily.
She knew better.Hewas right there.
"Well, there is always Murdoch, here," Pen said, sending him a wicked grin. "And then Sydney can marry his twin. She danced with him and said he was really hot. She's into blond guys now, you know. You all can get married and just have bunches of Lake Monsters instead of children."
“Oh, how tempting. Birthing lake monsters.” Zoey had immediately changed the instant they’d caught up with her sister. Softened. Became far more open. Murdoch was completely in love with this side of her. And every other side of her, come to think of it.
"Anthony is a little bit too nerdy for Sydney. She’s a dangerous woman—they’ve always scared that boy so bad," Murdoch said. "But Zoey can have me, if she wants. Ilikedangerous dark-eyed ladies like Zo. We can get married in four days, if you think you can pull off a wedding that fast."
“I’d just tell Sydney. She’d make it happen.”
