Edge of Shadows (Shadows #1) (3 page)

“You’ve been too kind, Mr. Klein, coming out here on such short notice to show me this lovely house and listen to me prattle on and on.” Her voice was low. Now she slid her fingertip up his tie to the top of his collar.

He gulped as he felt the slightest prick of the point of her fingernail against his Adam’s apple. “It was my pleasure, Mrs. Jordan.” He felt lightheaded again, and he thought for sure his heart was going to burst right out of his chest.

“Please. Call me Linda,” she said as she inched closer to him.

Joe thought that it was possible she was going to kiss him. He was married, but he couldn’t even think of his wife’s name at that moment. He also knew he wouldn’t stop her. All he could think of was drowning himself in her blue eyes, and then her lips were crossing the small span between them.

Just as her lips brushed his, he heard a heavy, loud thump from somewhere at the back of the house. Joe jumped to his feet. Whatever spell had come over him was immediately broken, and reality came crashing back. He was inside the haunted Bradford mansion.

“What was that?” he said.

Mrs. Jordan remained seated. The expression on her face was unreadable. She sighed, and Joe thought he sensed frustration in it.

“I’m sure it was nothing. It’s an old house, right? Bumps and creaky boards are to be expected,” she said, sounding bored now.

Suddenly, Joe felt like he was suffocating. He grabbed at the collar of his shirt and peered at the back of the hall where he thought the noise had come from. The house was silent.

He didn’t know what to think. Nothing like this had ever happened to him. Being inside the house seemed like the only explanation for losing his sense of reality. The sooner he got this showing over the better so he switched back to salesman mode.

“I believe the Bradfords kept their master bedroom on this floor, and then the guest suite was across on the other side. These are the largest bedrooms and each has its own bathroom. It was quite luxurious back in the day as I’m sure you can imagine.” Joe had no desire to explore either room.

Relaying the information had given him the few moments he needed to collect himself, and he glanced at Mrs. Jordan. She just stared at him with those intense blue eyes, and he dragged his gaze back to the hallway and cleared his throat. He didn’t think he’d be able to resist her if she tried to kiss him again, and he had the crazy feeling that he would never be the same again if that happened.

“Another unique feature is right over there,” he continued, pointing at a small door off to the side at the end of the hallway. “That leads to a small circular staircase at the back of the house that goes down to the kitchen. It allowed for the servants to pass quickly between the service areas of the house and the bedrooms so that dirty dishes, linens, and things like that weren’t carried around out in the open.” This time he waited for a response.

There was a moment of silence, and then Mrs. Jordan nodded and the smile returned to her face. “Quite efficient.”

Joe’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know what was happening to him. He ran his hand across his forehead and realized he was sweating. His breath was coming in short gasps. He saw a look of concern on her face but recoiled when he saw her move to place her hand on his arm. He watched her face go still.

Before she could say anything, he covered, saying, “Well, that is the whole place. What do you think?” His voice sounded high and panicky to his ears.

Her eyes narrowed, and Joe felt a cold chill run down his spine. He didn’t know why, but this woman was dangerous; there was no doubt in his mind now about that. He needed to get away from her.

“Quite impressive,” Mrs. Jordan replied. She pulled the phone from her clutch. “I’d like to call my husband if you don’t mind, Mr. Klein. I’d also like to take a few pictures.”

Joe nodded and said a silent prayer of thanks.

“Of course, of course,” Joe replied. “I can meet you down by the front door if you’d like. Give you some time to take a second look.”

She nodded curtly and started pecking at the touch screen. Joe didn’t need the cue to tell him he had been dismissed and this time he didn’t mind the rude gesture. As he made his way down the stairs, he did mental calculations in his head of the commission to distract himself. Maybe he could take his wife to Hawaii for that second honeymoon she kept asking about, or maybe they could afford to buy their sixteen-year-old daughter a car.

He was standing at the front door a few moments later. Even with all the lights on in the house, there was a dreary feeling about the place. The magical mood he had felt ten minutes ago was totally gone.

He thought about stepping out onto the porch, but realized that would look strange. He hoped she turned off the lights as she made her way back to the entryway; that way he wouldn’t have to do it after she left. Joe had no desire to be in the house by himself with the night deepening outside.

Then he heard the thud again from the back of the house and his mouth went dry. He wanted to run out into the night, get in his car, and drive away as fast as he could, but instead he forced himself to step up a few steps on the staircase. It was open up to the third level, but he couldn’t see where he had left his client.

“Mrs. Jordan?” he called up into the empty air. “Everything okay up there?”

“Everything’s fine, Mr. Klein.”

Joe jumped and whirled around. Linda Jordan was standing behind him. She smiled apologetically at his startled expression.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Klein. I didn’t mean to startle you. I came down that back staircase you mentioned. I wanted to make sure that I saw the entire house,” she said as she slid her phone back into her clutch and put it under her arm.

Joe put his hand on his chest and willed himself to calm down and breathe normally. Then he blushed. She must think he was a foolish idiot the way he was jumping at the settling noises of an old house. That had to be what those noises were.

“I didn’t mean to jump. I thought I heard something again, but like you said, old houses…” he said lamely. “Did your husband have any questions?”

“I think we should go back to your office, Mr. Klein. I sent my husband some pictures and he is in perfect agreement with me. We are ready to make an offer.”

Joe was sure his jaw hit the floor. Was it really going to be that easy? The stupid grin returned to his face, but he couldn’t help it.

“Well, that is just great!” He automatically reached out to shake her hand. This time she took a step back and he jerked his hand back. There was something about touching her that made the thoughts in his head feel mushy.

“I know it is getting late, and I’m sure you want to get home to your family. I will follow you,” she said, sweeping out the front door.

Joe watched her leave, his jaw slack as he saw dollar signs dancing in the air in front of him. Then he realized that light duty was on him after all. He hummed to himself as he quickly went through the house turning off the lights. The big commission coming his way was enough to distract him, although he was almost running to complete the task as quickly as possible. He wasn’t sure if he should call his wife right away, or wait until the paperwork was officially signed.

Just as he reached the front hallway and had his finger on the light switch he heard something. Was that a moan?

“Hell, no,” he said out loud. He left the hallway light on as well as the porch lights. The cleaning crew could take care of it. He didn’t care. He quickly moved out the door, pulling it shut behind him and locking it. Mrs. Jordan was already down in her car with the engine running.

Joe hurried down the steps, and thought again that despite the noises and his strange reaction to the woman, this was the luckiest day of his life.

Linda Jordan watched with narrowed eyes as the real estate agent shuffled to his car as quickly as his feet would carry him. He waved at her with a smile as he got in. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the head rest for a moment as she waited for him to get settled.

It had been exhausting keeping up the charade with the man, and she had almost forgotten herself in her excitement at seeing the house through these eyes again. Plus he had been so close to her that it had been intoxicating. She was annoyed at the blatant interruption, but she knew it was only because she had overstepped her boundaries. She was out of practice, but she wouldn’t let it happen again. It was all about the end game, and things were just starting to heat up. She looked up at the house again and the smile returned to her face. Soon things would be exactly the way they should be again.

The dream was familiar and Ellie sank into it without protest. She was looking down at the swish of the hem of her dress as she walked slowly along the stone pathway. The wide-brimmed hat on her head cut off her peripheral vision, but she knew he was walking next to her. She could see his dark gray trousers and black shoes keeping pace with her easily.

She spun the parasol in her fingers and laughed. It felt good to laugh again. There was a deep chuckle from the man next to her, and she knew that he understood. He didn’t care that she was different. In fact, that was something that attracted him to her. It felt peaceful and calm here. She looked to her left and took in the lake. It was so beautiful. She saw other couples strolling along across the far side as well, and she felt the sun’s heat warming her skin. It was a perfect afternoon.

Ellie closed her eyes and raised her face to the sun, welcoming its warm rays. That was when the high-pitched, screechy tone intruded on her tranquility.

Her eyes opened into blackness and her throat tightened. Ellie didn’t like the dark, and usually she left a small bedside table lamp on. The phone next to her bed was ringing, and a glance at the clock told her it was three a.m. She tried not to be suspicious, but she believed in the old saying that nothing good ever came from calls at three a.m. Ellie felt an old memory trying to surface, but she pushed it away. She fumbled for the receiver.

“Hello?” It sounded like her throat was stuffed with cotton.

“At your best, you were a sorry excuse for a wife.”

Ellie shot up fully awake, her heart racing. She heard the yelp from Skipper. She had shoved him off the bed. She forced her voice to be calm. ”Jake, you can’t call me at three a.m.”

“I can call you whenever the hell I want. You are my wife.”

Now Ellie’s brain cells were alive and firing. She sensed the undercurrent of alcohol in Jake’s voice. After eight years of marriage, she knew his nuances and moods perhaps better than he did himself. And the three sentences so far indicated Jake was drunk and angry. If she could see him, she had no doubt that his aura was a deep purple red.

“Ex-wife, Jake. I’m going to hang up the phone now.” Ellie had no desire to hear what other insults Jake had in store for her.

After the divorce was final six months ago, she heard from some acquaintances that he was trying to drink every drop of liquor in the state. She felt a small bit of elation at the thought that she didn’t have to deal with this now. She no longer had to worry about the consequences of leaving him alone in his angry squalor and what he would do to himself. From past experience, she also knew that whenever Jake stopped drinking and came to his senses, she’d get a pitiful “I’m sorry” phone call. She didn’t have to deal with that either anymore.

“You bit—” she heard him sputter as she dropped the phone back into the cradle. It immediately started to ring again, but this time she ignored it. After five rings it went to voicemail. Then it rang again. She reached behind the dresser next to her bed and pulled the cord out of the wall jack and was blessed with silence. Skipper paced the floor, watching her wearily.

“Sorry, boy,” she said softly. “C’mon.” She patted the bed next to her, and Skipper was up within moments. He dug around in the comforter at the foot of the bed until he had created a little nest and then curled up again. Ellie envied him.

Ellie lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling. She wanted to go back to that romantic dream with the mystery man, but she knew there would be no more sleep for her tonight. She had to stay alert, just in case Jake decided that it was worth the thirty-mile trip to her doorstep to harass her. She didn’t think he would now, but the first month after the separation had been a bit harrowing.

Jake would camp outside her building and yell up at her window trying to get her to come down and talk to him. The landlord called the police when Jake threw a rock and broke a window. Jake’s apology had been pitiful and he had looked so lost that she hadn’t had the heart to press charges.

Then he brought her the divorce papers and the calls and visits stopped. She hadn’t heard from him in months, and she thought the late-night tirades were over for good.

After tossing and turning until five a.m., she decided it was a better use of her time to get up and get on with her day. She felt miserable, but she was used to it. She rolled onto her side and stared out the window at the gray autumn morning. The leaves were just starting to fall off the trees, and the sun was coming out later in the morning. But in the end it was just another day with the same old routine. What was the point of being special if it meant being alone and depressed for the rest of her life?

Ellie turned her head and looked at the clock one more time. It was five-fifteen a.m. She wasn’t due at the coffee shop until later, but she could go in early and get some work done. That’s all she ever did anymore: work. She heard Skipper shuffling around at the foot of the bed. Sighing, she sat up, brushing her long brown hair out of her eyes. Swinging her feet over the side of the bed, she pushed her feet into the slippers waiting on the floor. She pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail.