Margaret Daley - Poisoned Secrets

Her fire alarm blared.

Maggie shot up in bed and stared at the darkness surrounding her, trying to orient herself to the sound blasting the stillness.

A pounding at her front door propelled her from her bed. She raced from the room and in the hallway met a wall of smoke pouring from her office. She headed for the front door.

Suddenly it burst open, and Kane hurried into her apartment, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

I called the fire department. Get out now.

Maggie grabbed Kanes arm as he passed her. Where are you going? Arent you leaving, too?

I have to try to stop the fire.

She couldnt let him do it alone. Then Im coming with you.

Books by Margaret Daley

Love Inspired Suspense

Love Inspired

Hearts on the Line

The Power of Love

Heart of the Amazon

Family for Keeps

So Dark the Night

Sadies Hero

Vanished

The Courage to Dream

Buried Secrets

What the Heart Knows

Dont Look Back

A Family for Tory

Forsaken Canyon

* Gold in the Fire

What Sarah Saw

* A Mother for Cindy

Poisoned Secrets

* Light in the Storm

The Cinderella Plan

* When Dreams Come True

* Tidings of Joy

** Once Upon a Family

** Heart of the Family

** Family Ever After

*The Ladies of

Sweetwater Lake

**Fostered by Love

MARGARET DALEY

feels she has been blessed. She has been married more than thirty years to her husband, Mike, whom she met in college.

He is a terrific support and her best friend. They have one son, Shaun. Margaret has been writing for many years and loves to tell a story. When she was a little girl, she would play with her dolls and make up stories about their lives. Now she writes these stories down. She especially enjoys weaving stories about families and how faith in God can sustain a person when things get tough. When she isnt writing, she is fortunate to be a teacher for students with special needs.

Margaret has taught for over twenty years and loves working with her students. She has also been a Special Olympics coach and participated in many sports with her students.

POISONED

SeCRETS

Margaret Daley

Published by Steeple Hill Books

Beloved, if God so loved us,

we ought to also love one another.

1 John 4:11

To the Lord, without You this wouldnt be possible.

ONE

A loud thud from the apartment above made Kane McDowell flinch and sit straight up in the lounger.

What was that? Edwina Bacon asked, putting her teacup down on the table next to her.

Kanes gaze riveted to the ceiling of Edwinas place.

Maybe Henry dropped something.

I dont know. He didnt look well tonight when I saw him go upstairs. Thats the second strange sound Ive heard coming from the apartment above. What if he fell and hurt himself?

You worry too much about the tenants, Edwina. Henrys certainly capable of taking care of himself. His words didnt erase the worry on the elderly womans face. Kane pushed to his feet. But if it will make you feel better, Ill go upstairs and check.

Oh, thank you. I wouldnt want anything to happen to someone here. Even Henry.

You read too many mysteries, Kane said as he headed for the foyer of the apartment building he owned.

Kanes leg ached as he mounted the stairs to the second floor of the converted mansion. Hed overdone it today. Covering the short distance to apartment 2A, he knocked. He waited a minute and then rang the bell. Nothing.

Poisoned Secrets

Henry Payne sometimes was out late. But if that were the case, then what made the crashing sound? Reluctantly Kane dug into his pocket for the master key. He fit it into the lock and turned it, but the door was already unlocked.

Alarmed, he thrust the door open, every skill hed learned in the military activated. The overpowering odors of cigars and lemon polish assailed his nostrils. The complete chaos scattered about this usually tidy, orderly place put Kane on alert. This definitely wasnt a heart attack.

Cautiously he moved into the lighted living area, listening for any sounds coming from the rest of the apartment.

Silence greeted him.

Henry, he called out while scanning the room where every book the man owned, which had to be hundreds, seemed to be tossed on the floor. Drawer contents littered the beige area rug, and all the cabinets were emptied. The crunch of glass beneath his feet drew his glance. The mirror over the table in the small entryway lay on the hardwood floor in shattered pieces. Probably the crash Edwina heard.

Maybe Henrys gone.

Or maybe not.

Coveting his own privacy, Kane hated invading anothers, but it was obvious something had gone terribly wrong here.

He headed down the short hallway to investigate the two bedrooms. Each one was as neat and tidy as he knew Henry to be.

Back in the living room, Kane limped toward the kitchen to check out the rest of the place. When he swung the door open, the stench of bloodsomething he would never forget from his time in Iraqaccosted him. The cool breeze from an open window that led to the balcony chilled the room. As Kane inched forward, the door swung closed. The sound of its swish drew his attention behind him. He froze.

Margaret Daley

On the floor in a crimson pool lay Henry, his dark eyes staring at the ceiling, his arm flung out at an odd angle, a patch of light blue fabric clutched in his hand.

TWO

Maggie Ridgeway stared at the Twin Oaks Apartments. The converted late nineteenth century mansions brick was painted a flesh tone, and its trim and shutters a snowy white. Three stories tall with a porch that ran almost the full length of its front, the building dominated the spacious yard with multicolored spring flowers blooming in the well-tended beds. Two massive oaks stood sentinel. A stained glass window with a pastoral scene was above the entrance, and below it were double, dark brown doors with beveled glass.

Finally!

She was here and intended to stay.

Maggie marched up the stairs to find the manager and secure the vacant apartment before someone else did. A friend she worked with at the hospital told her a vacancy in this building was rare and didnt last long. Afraid shed never get the opportunity, she was ready to pounce on the opening shed been anxiously waiting several months for since moving to Seven Oaks, Kentucky.

She stepped into the spacious foyer, a wide staircase directly in front of her sweeping up to the second floor. A gleaming chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a huge round cherry table with a bouquet of expensive silk flowers in a Margaret Daley

crystal vase sat under the light, adding a splash of vivid colors to the entrance. An ornate Persian rug, predominantly navy-blue and maroon, covered the marble floor in the center, giving off a warm, cozy feeling.

Surveying the first floor, she found the door with a brass plaque with the word manager engraved on it. She covered the short distance to the apartment and rang the bell.

Shes not home, a childs voice said behind her.

Maggie turned around and saw a thin boy with brown hair standing on the staircase, gripping the wooden balustrade.

Her heart lurched at the sight of him. Only a few yards away.

Staring into his dark eyes, she felt as though she were staring into her own. Kenny! The thought made her take a step back until she pressed up against the managers door.

Shed imagined meeting and talking to him for the first time. But now no words would come to mind. Emotions, held at bay, crashed down on her. Emptiness, anger, elation, all swirling around in her, made a knot form in her stomach.