Deadly Inheritance: A Romantic Suspense (18 page)

Trembling, she ran past him toward the doorway. He surged to his feet and caught her arm. “What do you know? What are you really afraid of?”

“I can’t—I don’t know anything.” Her face was so pale that she seemed drained of life. “I shouldn’t have come in here. I should’ve known you wouldn’t help me.” She tore her arm out of his grip and fled, her high heels clattering wildly down the hallway to the stairs.

She knew something, and it terrified her. Gabe started to go after her but he stopped in the hallway. It would be smarter to take Nora with him if he wanted to question Candy, and he had another lead to follow right now.

Despite his decision, he stared down the hallway uneasily. The tension in the house was palpable. He could sense some nightmare bearing down on them like a shrieking freight train.

Autumn Hill was getting to him.

He shook off the feeling and went back to the computer. Dennis Lennox might have nothing to do with what was going on and might even be dead, but Gabe wanted to make sure. They needed to tease out the truth from the fantasies before anyone else met with a fatal accident in this dismal house.

The kitchen was empty when Nora entered, and even the pots and pans used for lunch had been washed and put away. She threw away her broken plate and looked at the pots in the sink.

“Sarah?” Nora called, rinsing the pots and putting them in the dishwasher.

No answer. She turned around and leaned against the sink. There was no sense of someone having recently left the room. It felt quiet, deserted.

Motes of dust drifted through a bright beam of sunshine streaming through the kitchen windows.

Disconcerted, Nora went to Sarah’s room and knocked. Her unease grew as the door swung open at the rap of her knuckles. Like the kitchen, the room was empty with no sense of someone having just left. She took a few steps inside, just enough to peer at the bathroom door.

It was open. Sarah wasn’t there.

Where could she be? Nora looked around cautiously, not wanting to intrude any more than was necessary, remembering the last time Sarah had found her there.

“Sarah?”

Silence.

Perhaps she’d had errands to run. Someone had to buy all the food they were eating. Maybe Sarah was at the grocery store.

The normalcy of the thought made some of the tension tightening Nora’s chest and stifling her breathing disperse. She turned around to leave when she noticed the extra bolt at eye level on the bedroom door. The last time she’d been there, she’d missed that. The bolt wasn’t particularly heavy-duty, in fact, it was only a simple brass bolt that slid through a couple of metal loops, but for some reason, it bothered her.

The extra lock seemed out of place. Ominous. Why was Sarah so nervous that she needed an extra lock on her bedroom door? A sickening suspicion whispered through the back of Nora’s mind. She refused to think about it. When she found Sarah, she could ask her about the baby and the extra lock on her door. She refused to speculate.

Nora had never believed in ghosts before, but Autumn Hill was making her crazy. The broken sleep, the icy drafts, and the inexplicable mist seeping through the creepy rooms had shaken her and aroused dark terrors that defied logic. Perhaps Sarah was frightened, too, although Nora couldn’t believe that the second lock would help her against the cold and mist.

What a horrible, desolate life Sarah had suffered here. How did she stand it all these years?

Had she loved Archie James in spite of it all? Did they have an affair resulting in the baby?

If so, why didn’t she keep the child? Why didn’t he? Or had the birth of Dennis Lennox broken their relationship apart? It wouldn’t be the first time that a couple, already having problems, had tried to have a child only to find that it only complicated or made matters worse.

Nora rubbed her arms and hurried out. She was already regretting her harsh words to Gabe. All she wanted was to find him and feel his warm arms around her. He seemed so solid, so reassuring. Normal.

He would make such a good father. She straightened and pushed the thought away. Gabe probably loathed children. Just because he had dogs didn’t mean he wanted a family. Even she hadn’t really thought about it. Until now.

She wandered back through the kitchen to the den.

Gabe glanced up at her as he minimized several windows on the computer. “Did you find Sarah? What did she say?”

“She wasn’t there.” Nora shrugged and pulled up a chair. “She must have gone on an errand or something. How about you? Any progress on the investigation?”

He shrugged, looking tired and irritated. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were sharply etched, but instead of making him look old, they made him look enormously attractive. “I couldn’t find any death certificate, so he didn’t die, at least not right away. He’d be twenty-five now, so it’s possible that he grew up here and simply moved out at twenty-one.”

“Then why didn’t any of the cousins mention that Archie had a son? Why didn’t he leave everything to him?” Her voice rose as her frustration grew. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe he thought the child wasn’t his.”

“His name was on the birth certificate.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time that a woman named the wrong man as the father.”

What will it take to make you listen to me? Just listen!

Anger burned through her frustration, sizzling through her tense body. “Sarah wouldn’t do that. If it said Archie James, then she believed he was the father.”

“She might have
wanted
to believe that. What do you know about her, or her past?” He held up a hand when she tried to speak. “I know you sympathize with her, but she wasn’t always a sixty-year-old woman. She was young, once, and so was your uncle.”

She stood up so rapidly that her chair spun away, the wheels clacking on the wooden floor. “And you don’t know, either. Stop leaping to conclusions.”

“I will if you will.” He grinned at her and winked.

A tingle ran through her in response. Suddenly, she wasn’t so angry anymore.

She glanced at the floor self-consciously and smiled. “It’s a deal.”

“Good. And as long as you’re in the mood to bargain, how about we both give the séance tonight a pass?”

“No. Sorry.” When his lips pressed together into a hard, thin line, she hurried on. “I know it’s crazy, but who knows? Maybe we’ll learn something. One of them might give himself away.” A yawn rose unbidden, despite her efforts to suppress it. “But right now, I think I’m going to take a nap.”

Gabe rose to his feet, his eyes glinting. “I’ll join you.”

She caught his gaze and felt her body go still except for the flutter in her belly. As she hesitated, his breathing roughened. He reached out and touched her shoulder. Warmth spread through her, radiating from the light pressure of his fingers. She leaned toward him, waiting, breathless with need.

“Did you find anything?” Johnny Heck asked from the doorway. He studied them for a minute and then turned partially away, as if to offer the illusion of privacy. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s okay,” Nora said. “I was just asking Gabe that myself.”

“I didn’t find any record of the child. I left some messages, though, with some friends who might be able to tell me if there were any adoptions around the date of his birth.” Gabe glanced back at the computer and maximized the browser.

“Might help if you suggest the kid could benefit financially if you can find him,” Heck suggested. “He might have grounds to claim some kind of inheritance.”

Gabe grinned. “Way ahead of you. That’s pretty much the excuse I gave for requesting the information. We’ll see if it brings any results.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two to pursue that.” Nora looked from Gabe to Heck and back. “In the meantime, I’m going to take a nap. We’ve got a séance to attend tonight, and I don’t want to start snoring right in the middle of it.” She almost laughed at the disappointment in Gabe’s eyes and the look of disgust on Johnny Heck’s craggy face as she breezed past him.

Despite the grainy sunlight pouring through the windows, Nora was glad to escape to her room. After a glance at the battered headboard, she went to the smaller room allotted to Gabe, curled up on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep before she had time to really think about what had almost happened between her and Gabe.

When she awoke, the sunshine was gone. The sky outside was the rich, deep plum of early evening, and the tips of the trees were swaying with a breeze. She stretched and got out of bed, surprised that she had slept so long. The clock showed that she hadn’t missed supper, yet, but she’d have to hurry.

On the way to the dining room, she ran into Gabe coming up the stairs.

“There you are,” he said. He stopped and half-turned to allow her to descend ahead of him. “Have a good nap?”

“As a matter of fact, I did.” She breezed past him. “You figure out what happened to Dennis Lennox?”

“I’ve got a lead or two.” He trailed after her into the dining room. “Now I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but no one has seen Sarah for the last few hours.”

She glanced at him in exasperation. “Did you look in the kitchen?”

“Yes. And her bedroom. She’s gone.”

“Maybe she got a flat tire or something. Or had an accident, like you did.”

He held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not saying she’s on the run. I’m just stating the facts.” After a sheepish glance at the bare dining room table, he caught her gaze and shrugged. “And there’s no dinner.”

“Well, for crying out loud. Did it ever occur to you to cook something? You can’t be that incompetent that you can’t even make a simple meal.”

His face hardened, although his voice betrayed nothing but a trace of boredom when he asked, “How does bacon, lettuce, and tomato sound?”

“Oh, never mind. I’ll make something. Are Johnny and Frank still here?” She went through the kitchen door and over to the refrigerator.

“Yes,” he drawled, watching her. “Guess they figured a séance was too exciting to miss.”

“Wonderful.” She pulled out a few drawers and studied the contents. “It’ll have to be curried chicken. Dinner’ll be ready in thirty minutes.”

“I’ll let the others know. And check the study again. I don’t want any surprises while we’re sitting around in the dark, waiting for a message from the grave.” He escaped before she could suggest that he assist her with the cooking.

Holding a package of chicken in one hand and bag of rice in the other, Nora stared after him, feeling aggravated and a little disappointed. He could have at least waited to see if she needed anything.

Sarah’s continued absence bothered her. The vulnerable spot between her shoulder blades itched. Several times, she caught herself glancing over her shoulder as she stirred the strips of chicken. She frowned at the dark windows and useless door. No one could sneak in through any of those openings, there was only a small strip of grass and then the moat. But she still felt nervous and very much aware of her lonely position in the kitchen.

Why didn’t Gabe come back, at least to see if she were still alive? Her hand touched the cell phone in her pocket. He’d be furious if she called him just because she was nervous. Her eyes flicked toward the windows again, watching a reflection of herself, huge eyed and wan faced, bathed in steam from the pots on the stove. She looked like a ghost, insubstantial and unreal.

Finally, the food was ready, and she began the tedious task of carrying it out to the dining room and setting up the chafing dishes to keep everything warm. When Drew appeared, followed closely by Kirsty and Candy, she smiled in relief. Gabe strolled in a minute later, along with Johnny and Frank, and Nora was glad she’d made more curry and rice than she’d initially thought was necessary.

After an enthusiastic response to the unexpected menu, conversation grew desultory at best. Everyone seemed preoccupied, and there were a lot of surreptitious, tense glances cast at the shadows in the corners of the room. Even after the dishes were cleared away, no one wanted to leave the dining room. They sat around the dining room table, talking for an hour, before they drifted away. None of them wanted to be alone, so they ended up in the den again and turned on the television.

Despite the coffee she’d brought with her from the dining room, Nora had almost nodded off when Kirsty glanced at her cell phone and straightened.

“It’s eleven forty-five. We should go to the study and get ready.” Kirsty waved her phone so they could see the time as if she feared they wouldn’t believe her.

Nora stood. The coffee had made her jittery, and her damp hands felt icy as she rubbed them on her jeans. “I
guess
this is a good idea.” Somehow, she no longer believed that.

“Sure.” Drew smiled, although his hands shook, too. He shoved them in his pockets when he caught her gaze. “What could possibly go wrong?”

Gabe exchanged glances with Johnny, but Nora couldn’t read their expressions. Both men’s faces were carefully bland, and their eyes were hard. Did they think they could control the situation? Protect them?

How could they protect them from the unseen?

Her stomach clenched, suddenly burning from the acidic coffee and tension. Kirsty looked at her, and Nora smiled reassuringly. Then, to her surprise, Kirsty and Johnny exchanged glanced, and something passed between them that made Nora smile.

“Nothing is going to go wrong,” Kirsty said, dropping her gaze to her coffee cup. “So come on. It’ll be midnight soon.”

Candy stared at her, swallowing. She looked like she wanted to throw up, and Nora couldn’t blame her. She was close to doing so herself, and this time, it wouldn’t be because of the bacteria she’d swallowed in the moat.

“If we’re going to do this, I suggest we go to the study,” Frank said in a calm voice.

Johnny gripped the handles of the wheelchair and swung it around in a tight circle to face the door.

“I’ll go first, if you wish.” Frank sounded like the reasonable parent reassuring his child that there really was no bogeyman in the closet.

Johnny followed him through the door. The rest of them trailed after the pair, with Gabe slipping into the rear position.

With him just a step behind her, Nora felt safe for the first time that evening.