After Dark by Beverly Barton Read Free Book Online

girl from Magnolia
Avenue could have gotten an abortion." Jackie snatched her hand
out of Arlene's grasp, inspecting the beginnings of her manicure.
"So that means Will's mama was probably trash just like Johnny Mack.
Now, wouldn't that be something? The bastard son of white trash being raised
in the lap of luxury as the child of Lane Noble Graham. If Miss Edith suspected
such a thing, she'd have a heart attack and keel over dead. Can you imagine
her having Johnny Mack Cahill's child as her heir?"
        "Well, my money's on Johnny
Mack being the lather," Glenn said. "But who could the mother have
been? There weren't many women between the age of sixteen and sixty who
would have said no to Johnny Mack."
        ‘’I think there's one possibility
that we've all overlooked," Jackie said.
        "What's that?" Arlene asked.
        "That Lane Noble is Will's natural
mother."

    * * *
     
        Johnny Mack checked into the Four
Way, a deal but inexpensive motel on the other side of the river. The
place hadn't changed much over the years. Soma new furniture. A fresh coat
of paint. A bigger neon sign.
        Johnny Mack glanced at his watch.
Nearly six-thirty. He wanted to shower and change before he called on anyone
here in Noble's Crossing. For the time being, he didn't want anyone to
suspect just how successful he was. How rich and powerful. Later, when it
served his purposes to reveal the truth, he would let everyone know
just who they were dealing with.
        Picking up his suitcase, he tossed
it on the bed snapped open the lid and reached inside for his favorite
pair of faded black jeans. Even though he was accustomed to tailor-made
suits, linen shirts and silk ties, he was still more comfortable in jeans
and boots. Despite his innate ability to wheel and deal with the best
of them, he found the most pleasure in the days he spent at the ranch. Although
the Hill Country was peaceful and serene, somehow he never felt quite
as lonesome there as he did surrounded by people in Houston.
        He had spent fifteen years trying
to escape from his past, trying to become someone other than the town
bad boy. And he had spent the past ten years trying to atone for the mistakes
he had made when he'd been too young and stupid to realize that actions
had consequences.
        God in heaven, had he gotten some
girl pregnant that last summer here in Noble's Crossing? Had he really
left behind a child?
        Just as he stripped out of his clothes,
the cellular phone in his jacket rang. He reached down on the bed, slipped
his hand inside the pocket, lifted the phone and flipped it open.
        "Cahill."
        "Johnny Mack, I've got a report
sitting on my desk that I think will interest you," Benton Pike said.
        "An update from the PI?"
        "Yep."
        "Did he get the information
I wanted?"
        "He sure did. We know who John
William Graham's natural mother is."

    Chapter 5
     
        "He's registered at the Four
Way," Police Chief Buddy Lawler said. "From the description
the desk clerk gave me, it could be Johnny Mack."
        "He registered under the name
Johnny Mack Cahill, right?" James Ware merely wanted to confirm what
his old friend had already told him. "And he paid for a week in advance?"
        "What are the odds it could be
Johnny Mack?’’ Buddy paced the polished oak floor in the paneled study of
the Graham mansion. "We both know that he was fish food fifteen years
ago. How could he have survived that beating, let alone had the strength
to swim ashore?"
        "He was as tough as they come."
James poured himself a drink from the bottle of Scotch he kept on his desk.
Nodding toward the liquor, he asked, "Care for some?"
        "No. I'm keeping a clear head
until I find out for sure who our visitor is."
     
        "And what are we going to do
if it turns out to be Johnny Mack?" James lifted the glass to his lips,
took a sip and swallowed.
        "Let's say it is