Hard Rain by B. J. Daniels Read Free Book Online Page A

years.”
    “She still hasn’t remembered?”
    Harper shook her head. “Not that I know of.”
    “That’s interesting, but it doesn’t explain why my sister was looking into not those missing years your mother lost but your mother’s college years.”
    “Really?”
    The young woman nodded. “All her inquiries were from the mid– to late–nineteen seventies.”
    Harper had no idea and said as much. “So where does this anarchist group come in?”
    “The Prophecy? Apparently, my sister thought that your mother had been part of the group and that’s what got her killed. Back in the seventies they blew up some government buildings, killed some people. A couple of the group went to prison. The others were never caught, until recently. The leader was believed to be the only woman in The Prophecy, a woman who resembled your mother, Sarah Johnson.”
    She stared at Ariel in shock. “I had no idea.” She’d been kept in the dark. Who else knew about this? Her father obviously. But did her sisters? “If my mother really was part of the group...”
    “That’s just it. Turns out apparently that some members of The Prophecy were trying to only make your mother look like she was the one called Red. Another woman confessed to being Red when some of the male members were caught. Another one was killed.”
    “Wow, I’m beginning to realize how much I’ve missed being away at college and then abroad all these years,” Harper said. She wondered what else her family hadn’t told her and instantly thought of Brody and his family—and the body buried on the ranch.
    “I know I should let it go, but it just feels...unfinished,” Ariel said as she got to her feet. “I was hoping someone in your family might have heard more about this anarchist group and how investigating your mother might be tied to my sister’s death.”
    “Your sister didn’t leave any information?”
    “No. The file on your mother was incomplete. That was another reason I was suspicious. My sister took copious notes on her cases.”
    “That is odd.”
    “Well, I’m sorry to have bothered you with this.” She reached into the side pocket of her purse. “If you don’t mind, can I leave my card with you? Should you hear anything...”
    “I’ll let you know. I’m so sorry about your sister.”
    “Thank you.”
    Harper glanced at the card. It only had Ariel’s name and number on it. She walked her to the door. “So, are you a private investigator, as well?”
    Ariel laughed and shook her head. “Good heavens, no. I’m a community planner. It was bad enough having a father and sister as gumshoes.”
    Ariel stopped and pointed to a photograph of Buckmaster and Angelina. “I recognize your father. He’s running for president.”
    Harper nodded. “That’s my stepmother with him. We don’t have any photos of my mother.” She knew that was odd and saw that Ariel did, too. “We think my stepmother got rid of all of them when she married my father.”
    Ariel raised a brow.
    “There was no love lost between them, even before my mother came back from the dead.” She saw the change in the young woman’s expression. “But I’m sure my mother had nothing to do with Angelina’s death or your sister’s. Like you said, it turned out she wasn’t a member of The Prophecy.”
    “Right.” Ariel looked skeptical. “But if your mother had been, given the apparent animosity between her and your stepmother, she might have wanted to get rid of her competition.”
    * * *
    B RODY FOUND HIS father in his blacksmithing shop. A blast of heat hit him the moment he opened the door. Silhouetted against the fire that burned hot in the furnace was Finn McTavish. Finn was smaller than his older brother, Flannigan, with a shock of dark hair and lightning-blue eyes. He was also a gentle man with a hearty laugh and an affable personality.
    The three of them lived on the McTavish Ranch, which would someday be Brody’s. It was large enough that they each had