The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) Read Online Free

encouragement, eager to see her project move forward. What she didn’t realize was that Millie had ulterior motives, and was already busy hatching plans of her own.
    Having run out of local singles to practice her matchmaking skills on, Millie was cooking up a plot to introduce Layla to her own handsome grandson, who j ust happened to be an architect with a construction firm in the nearby city of Ukiah. Sometimes, the old woman thought with a wry smile, the stars simply aligned.
    “There’s someone I’d like for you to meet… My grandson Conrad. He works for a local builder that specializes in all kinds of restorations, and he’s only about an hour’s drive away. He might be able to give you some advice about how to get started with your project.”
    “That would be nice,” Layla s miled.
    “It’s better than nice… It’s kismet.”
    “Kismet?” she asked.
    Millie just smiled, “Why, it’s fate ! You want to re-create an old house, and Conrad is an architect! He also happens to be very interested in historical accuracy. He was in charge of rebuilding the historic downtown section of Ukiah.”
    “That sounds perfect,” Layla nodded with enthusiasm, mirroring Millie’s rising excitement. “When can I speak with him?”
    “Well, he happens to be coming to town to meet me for lunch tomorrow… You should join us! I can have your documents ready by then.” She laughed inwardly at how clever her plan was. “How about you stop by around noon?”
    ~
    Ramon pulled his police cruiser across the street from the courthouse and sat with the engine idling. He recognized the shiny new car parked out front, and it made him wonder what that redhead was up to this time. After a cold but uneventful winter, a spring full of promise blew the two cute cousins back into town, with Layla’s twin brother and Cali’s suspicious looking boyfriend in tow. They moved into a big hunting lodge on the edge of town and kept to themselves, setting the small-town tongues wagging.
    Their mere presence had stirred up the sleepy backwater, sparking rumors and getting Ramon preoccupied with Layla all over again. He killed the engine and sighed with frustration. In the few weeks since she’d been in town, he hadn’t managed to run into her face to face, and it almost felt like she was purposefully trying to avoid him.
    He considered marching right in to say hello, but he had no real business at the courthouse, and he didn’t want to look like he was stalking her. Besides, he knew that Millie would only hijack the conversation, and he wouldn’t be able to get a word in edgewise.
    And he really wanted to have a word with Layla. To be honest, he wanted a lot more than just a word with her, but there were things that he needed to know, and he was more than a little afraid of what he might find out.
    Ramon had casually questioned the landlord that was leasing the house to the young people, but the man was vague with details about their income, repeating something he’d been told about them moving here from Los Angeles with trust funds and investments. New cars and motorbikes gleamed in the driveway of their large rented house, and delivery trucks rumbled through town regularly, bearing furniture and state-of-the-art electronics. The cousins were throwing around a suspicious amount of suddenly acquired wealth, and thanks to Millie, everyone in town knew there were big construction plans in the works.
    Rumors of illicit activity on their remote property abounded, and a local hiker claimed to have encountered a group of armed men only this past fall. As much as Sherriff Brown trusted Caledonia, believing the girl and her parents to be penniless innocents, the whole thing was starting to seem undeniably suspicious.
    To add to the mystery, Ramon couldn’t seem to find any information about where the twins had materialized from. He ran a cursory background check, surprised to find no records of Layla or her brother ever having worked or attended