Deadly Inheritance: A Romantic Suspense (20 page)

Drew, Kirsty, Johnny, and Gabe were standing. Frank remained seated in his wheelchair, his plump face gray. They looked at each other with slowly dawning horror.

Gabe placed a heavy arm around her shoulders. “Come on. You need to get out of here. We have to lock this room and call the police.”

“Lock the room?” She stared up at him, her mind refusing to understand his words. “Call the police?”

Johnny was crouching on the other side of the table, near Candy’s chair.

Nora glanced from him to Gabe. Her heart felt as if it were too big for her narrow chest. It hurt to breathe. “What’s wrong? Where’s Candy?”

Johnny stood, dusting his hands on his jeans and looking at Gabe. When Gabe caught his gaze, Johnny shook his head.

Nora gripped the front of Gabe’s shirt. “What is it? Tell me!”

“It’s Candy.” He caught her hands and held them between his warm palms. Part of her was aware of the calluses on his palms and the gentleness of his touch. “Come on. You can sit in the den while we call the police.”

“She’s dead? Is that what you’re trying to say?” Nora asked shakily, trying to see over the edge of the table to the spot where Candy had stood.

“Yes. Come one. You and Kirsty need to get out of here.”

“I’ll go with them,” Frank said. He sounded ill, stumbling over the simple words as if it hurt him to speak.

Kirsty wavered and gripped the back of her chair. “Dead? I don’t understand.”

Drew stared at her, his mouth working. No sounds came out.

Somehow, Gabe and Johnny got them out of the room and into the den. Johnny ran to the dining room and snagged a bottle of brandy and a few glasses. When he returned, he shoved the bottle and one of the glasses into Nora’s hands.

“Take a drink,” Johnny advised her, although his gaze was locked on Kirsty.

Nora glanced past his shoulder to Gabe, who waited in the doorway. He nodded to her.

“Okay.” Her lips felt numb. She swallowed. “Sure,” she said more firmly as she poured herself a drink.

Drew grabbed the bottle out of her hands, picked up one of the glasses, and filled it with a liberal shot. He tilted his head back and drained the glass in one long swallow, barely flinching when the burning alcohol hit the back of his throat.

The grayness and strained lines in his face slowly dissipated as he poured another shot and knocked it back.

When he handed the bottle to her, Nora realized Johnny and Gabe were gone. The deep, masculine tones of their voices gradually faded as they walked down the hallway to the study.

“Dead?” Kirsty’s high, strained voice was one decibel shy of a shriek. “How could she be dead?” She stared at Nora with huge eyes. “The ghosts killed her—they must have! They’re going to kill us all.” Her head swiveled as she tried to see what lurked in the dark corners of the room.

“No. You’re wrong,” Nora replied.

“Wrong?” Kirsty leaned toward her, shoulders hunched, hands fisted at her sides as her body shook. “Then what was it?”

“I don’t know,” Nora said.

“You don’t
know
,” Kirsty repeated. “None of us knows.”

Nora struggled to keep her panic at bay.
Hurry up, Gabe. Come back.
Her mind whirled from one terrifying thought to another. A soft noise made her whirl around to peer into the shadows, her heart beat so hard and fast that she felt ill.

Nothing
.

When the door creaked and opened, everyone sucked in sharp breaths and turned to face it.

Gabe walked in, a thoughtful, serious expression on his face. “Why didn’t one of you turn on more lights?” He made a detour to flip the switch before he joined them. “Are you all right?” His warm hand pressed her shoulder before slipping up to cradle her neck briefly.

The gesture filled her with a rush of gratitude and love.

Love
? Her breath caught in her throat.

When did that happen? She barely knew him. And yet she couldn’t deny the sense of connection or the way he made her feel safe when he was near. Grounded.

“I’m fine.” She caught his hand and gave it a squeeze. Both Kirsty and Drew eyed her, and her grip tightened. She hadn’t meant to hold his hand, particularly in front of the others, but at this point, she didn’t care what they thought.

“More police are on the way. The man posted outside sent for them.” Gabe glanced around and gave her an apologetic glance as he released her hand. “I think it would be better if we all waited here. Johnny’s going to lock the door of the study.”

“But are you sure?” Nora’s voice trailed off.

“There’s nothing you can do for her.” His palm pressed against her back as he urged her toward the sectional sofa.

“The police can’t help,” Kirsty said bitterly. “No one can help us.”

Ignoring Kirsty and Drew’s comments, Gabe said, “Just stay together here.”

“Why bother?” Drew hesitated and looked at the doorway as if contemplating going to his room. “Seems like togetherness is no protection. Maybe we’d be better off in our rooms.”

“No. I’m sorry, but it would be better if you stayed together here until Gerhardt arrives.” Gabe frowned at Drew.

A short, harsh bark of a laugh erupted from Drew’s throat. “So we don’t have a chance to get rid of any evidence, you mean?”

“Think what you want. We’re all going to stay in the den until the police arrive,” Gabe replied.

Nora touched Drew, surprised at the tension hardening the muscles of his forearm. “Come on, Drew. It won’t be long. And frankly, I don’t think any of us really want to be alone at the moment, do we?”

“Speak for yourself,” Drew said.

Nonetheless, he sat down with a thud on the sofa and leaned back, closing his eyes.

Seated next to Gabe, Nora glanced at the others and couldn’t help but wonder, which one of them had killed Candy?

And how?

It could have been Nora. Gabe moved on the sofa until her thigh pressed against his. He could have lost her, perhaps almost did.

What the hell was going on? How could that woman be shot with everyone present, and yet no one saw anything? They should have noticed something—he should have.

Not everyone was there
. Sarah was missing. Once again, everything seemed to point to the housekeeper.

He went over the events in his mind.

Whispering
. The sibilant voices had been loud, distracting, and yet none of the words was clear enough to understand. The noise had been a distraction, and it had worked. Whatever sounds had been made, including the muffled gunshot, had been subsumed by the whispering.

The noise had to have been a recording, but the effect had been chilling and effective nonetheless. It had confused them all enough for them to stand around the table like a herd of deer caught in the headlights while the murderer targeted his next victim.

His gut burned. He clenched his jaw, aching to touch Nora again. If anything happened to her, he could never forgive himself. Life without her appeared bleak and lonely.

“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” Nora leaned closer to him, their arms brushing.

“I don’t know.” He straightened, hearing voices in the hallway. He smiled at her. “Correction, they’re here.”

She let out a sigh and relaxed against him. “Thank goodness.” She glanced at him and grimaced. “They may not solve anything, but I do feel better with the police inside the house.”

He studied her relieved face, trying not to feel frustrated. He hadn’t solved anything, either. To add salt to the wound, he’d even witnessed the murder of another woman and hadn’t done a thing to prevent it, although he now had a pretty good idea about what was going on at Autumn Hill. And it wasn’t a vengeful ghost.

Unfortunately, his speculation was just that: speculation. And he had no intention of sharing it until he had a chance to verify his theory.

“Yeah,” he finally said wryly. “More people to see nothing. Great.”

That about summed up the situation.

Gerhardt strolled through the doorway, the lines around his mouth and stretching across his forehead etched into deep furrows. From the set of his jaw, he appeared angry, as well. He cast a glance around the room before focusing on Gabe.

“Mr. O’Brien, exactly what happened?” He looked around again and his lips thinned. “Why is everyone in here?”

“I thought it best to keep everyone together until you could arrive.” Gabe gestured to the hallway and eased past him, waiting just outside the door. When Gerhardt joined him, Gabe continued, “I didn’t want anyone to change clothes or wash their hands.” He shrugged. “Hide evidence. And no one could try to convince anyone else to support a tailored version of events if we were all in the same room.”

Gerhardt stared at him. He still appeared angry, but he just grunted as he considered the explanation and glanced again at the doorway. “So what did happen?”

“The cousins wanted to hold a séance.” Gabe grimaced and shook his head. “Nothing would talk them out of it. I guess they thought their uncle would return from the grave to tell them where all his gold was hidden.”

“Gold.” Gerhardt snorted and shuffled his feet impatiently as he gazed down the hallway in the direction of the study, as if trying to see what his men were doing. “You know, it’s just as likely he spent all his money.” He rubbed the side of his jaw. “So they had a séance. I take it she was shot while all the lights were out?”

“Just about. There was a candle, but it was at Kirsty’s elbow and not directly in front of the victim, so she was pretty much in shadows like the rest of us. Someone is gas-lighting them.”

“Gas-lighting?”

“Trying to drive them crazy, or scare them away. During the séance, the room started to fill with mist, sublimated dry ice sent through the vents. Whoever is behind this has used that trick several times before, each time someone was killed.” Gabe watched Gerhardt’s face for signs of disbelief, but the detective’s expression remained impassive.

Then Gerhardt’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. He shook his head. “Smoke screen.”

If the situation hadn’t been so serious, they might have shared a small chuckle. Very small.

Still, it seemed Gerhardt knew they were on the same side and was willing to work with him as far as he could.

Good enough.

“What else did you see? Or hear?” Gerhardt asked.

Gabe frowned in concentration. Just what had he seen? Other than the mist and the terrified faces of the others in the room, nothing. “That’s the problem. If someone came into the room, the mist hid him. And there was a recording of whispers that was loud enough to cover any sounds.”

“Or her.”

“Yes.”

“What about the others?”

“We were all there. I didn’t see anyone make any strange gestures or move until everyone stood. There was a lot of confusion, and then Candy fell to the floor.” Suddenly, a vague memory tickled the back of his brain. He’d heard something, though, despite the whispers., but the memory refused to fully form.

Gerhardt’s eyes sharpened. “You saw something.”

“There was something else, just an impression.” It clicked. He stared at Gerhardt. “Sarah Lennox mentioned it, too. Air in the vents. Despite the recording, I heard that metallic thumping ducts make when air is forced through.”

Gerhardt let out a sigh. “Well, yeah. If he was creating mist, he’d have to use a fan to force it through the vent.”

“True.” Was that it? It didn’t seem to quite explain the impression, but it was still so elusive that it was difficult to be sure.

“Anything else? Are you sure no one moved?”

“We all stood, but no one made any peculiar gestures. I didn’t see a gun in anyone’s hand,” he repeated. Nora’s comments ran through his mind again. “Sarah—she wasn’t there. In fact, we haven’t seen her all day.”

“Sarah Lennox?” Gerhardt straightened. “Her car is still here. All your vehicles are here. We verified that when we arrived.” He grimaced. “Even Bain’s bicycle is here. In fact, he was out back, trying to patch a punctured tire. The man I left here was watching him work on it.”

“So that leaves Sarah. She has to be here, hiding.”

“Been busy with the dry ice, too, I figure.”

“Maybe.” Gabe felt a flash of uneasiness. Nora insisted that Sarah Lennox was not to blame, and here he was, pointing Gerhardt at her. It made him feel as if he were letting Nora down, or betraying Sarah. Neither option made him comfortable. “There is the question of where she is, though. There’s not a secret passageway in the place, at least not that I can find. We’ve measured every square inch.”

“I’ll detail a man to look for her. I’ve been wanting to question her again, anyway.”

Gerhardt repeated the same questions a few more times, checking Gabe’s answers, before finally ordering one of the uniformed officers escort Gabe to the den. The officer paused to ask Frank to accompany him, while another officer remained near the door to ensure no one left.

“What did Gerhardt ask you?” Nora placed her hand on his arm and studied him, frowning.

“He wanted to know what happened.”

“What did you tell him?” Her grip tightened.

“I told him that mist, which I assume was created by dry ice, filled the room. We stood up and were distracted by recorded whispers when Candy was shot.”

“Dry ice?” Nora shook her head. “I guess that makes sense. And recorded whispers. Still… I don’t know.” Nora seemed distracted and unimpressed with his answers.

“I do. It wasn’t a ghost.”

“I suppose not.” Nora lifted her hand in a careless gesture, waving away his explanations. “It was frightening no matter what the cause, though. Someone was doing it deliberately. Maliciously. It was done as a cover for murder.”

The anguish on her face made him put an arm around her shoulder. She resisted at first, but finally leaned against him, accepting a small moment of comfort. Before he was ready to let her go, Frank whirred into the room, followed by Johnny and one of the policemen. The officer halted politely just inside the door and requested Nora go with him to be interviewed.

Gabe felt her stiffen against him. “I’ll go with you,” he said as he stood up and pulled Nora to her feet.

“I’m sorry, sir, but Detective Gerhardt wishes to interview her alone.”

“It’s okay, Gabe.” Nora squeezed his hand, stood on tiptoe, and pressed a warm kiss against his cheek. “I’ll be back soon.” She grimaced. “I didn’t see enough to come to any intelligent conclusions. But I am worried about Sarah.” She touched his arm again, her concerned gaze roving over his face. “Can you get them to look for her? She might be hurt somewhere. I just hope she didn’t fall into the moat, or anything like that.”

“It is unlikely that she’s in the moat, ma’am,” the officer interrupted. “Detective Gerhardt always does a walk around when he arrives at a crime scene.”

“Walk around?” Nora asked. “You mean he just walks around the outside of the house? In the dark?”

“He has a flashlight, ma’am. We all do. And he says the initial walk-around gives him a feeling for the scene.” The officer’s brown eyes flashed with interest. Clearly, he admired the detective and had studied his techniques. “He looks for broken windows, open doors, that kind of thing. And after your accident in the moat, he’s been concerned about that hazard.”

“Good enough,” Gabe said, unable to resist running a hand over her shoulder and down her arm. “As long as they’re already searching.” He wanted to pull her back into his arms, but the police officer was waiting impatiently, half-turned toward the door. “Don’t worry.”

Nora touched his hand with icy fingertips and nodded to the officer, following him through the doorway. Gabe watched them go uneasily. After what had happened to Candy, he didn’t like to let Nora out of his sight.

Not that his presence had helped Candy.

He sighed and rubbed the patch of skin behind his right ear. The source of the fog had been easy to work out, almost anyone who ever hosted a Halloween party knew that dry ice plus hot water equaled mist. As he considered it, a few possible explanations for the more troubling aspects of the deaths at Autumn Hill occurred to him, as well.

When he requested permission to search the study again, the police politely declined his request. They were working the scene, and the room was unlikely to be made available to civilians for several days. In fact, they reminded him to go back to the den and remain with the others until the interviews were completed.

Frustrated, Gabe spent some time investigating the den on the off chance that something had been rigged up in there, as well, as an alternative to the study. The killer might have wanted to be able to strike in any room. At least searching was something to do while he waited, worrying about Nora.

As he worked, he realized that he was coming around to Nora’s opinion about Sarah. It was too easy to blame her. She was too obvious. When he thought about the elaborate methods used, he just couldn’t see the older woman performing the necessary tasks. The housekeeper wasn’t stupid, but she wasn’t well-educated and had only had experience as a housekeeper.

She seemed unlikely to have either the skills, or the knowledge, to carry out the killings. Although with all the information available on the Internet, anything was possible. She could have spent her free hours researching esoteric methods to kill her hateful boss.

Maybe it was Nora’s confidence in Sarah’s innocence that finally swayed him. Nora was smart and intuitive. She’d been right about how much Sarah would enjoy having a kitten, even a handicapped one. He couldn’t forget the change in Sarah’s face when she picked up the cat. If Nora was right about that, she might also be right about Sarah’s innocence.

Poking and prodding around the room, he made notes as one by one, the others went to be interviewed. And he found enough evidence to satisfy himself that another of his theories was true. It wasn’t until he called the officer over to show him what he’d discovered that he realized that Nora had not returned to the den.

“Where is Nora James?” Gabe looked beyond the officer’s shoulder to the hallway. No sign of her.

The officer shrugged. “Officer Chapman didn’t escort her back. Maybe Detective Gerhardt wanted her to stay.”

“Will you find out?”

The officer nodded and used his radio to contact the detective. Gerhardt answered brusquely that he’d finished with her at least an hour ago.

“Then where is she?” Gabe asked.

“She was concerned about some animal, a cat I think, and went to take care of it. I gave her permission,” Gerhardt responded. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

Gabe grabbed the officer’s wrist when he lowered his radio. “Wait. If you’re done with us, I’d like permission to find her.”

“I was just going to send Officer Chapman to notify the witnesses that they can retire for the night. We’re done with you for now. Stay away from the sealed rooms, Mr. O’Brien. That’s all.”

“Thanks.” Gabe nodded to the officer before brushing past him into the hallway.