Ring of Lies (32 page)

‘
Don’t stand their gawking,
t
ry acting as if you own the place.
’

‘
I do own it.
That’s why I’m staring,
’
Grace replied.

‘
How do you feel about a little breaking and entering?
’
Jack asked
as he climb
ed the steps to the front door.

‘
Isn’t that illegal, even for the FBI?
’

‘
Technically, yes.
But
an agent
can
use reasonable force to gain entry
if he suspects a crime has been committed
.
’

‘
That might not be necessary
.
’
Grace dug in her handbag and pulled out a set of keys.
‘
These were Daniel’s,
’
she said
,
and handed
them to Jack.
‘
The small brass key
belongs to
the house in Gloucester.
The
black electronic
fob
to what
remains
of his
car
.
The rest—
well,
I have no idea what they
are for
.
’

He
bent and examined the lock
,
selected one of the keys, inserted it
,
and
turned.
The door opened with a soft click.

‘
Let’s hope there’s no alarm and
that it’s not
connected to the Sherriff’s office.
Stay here
.
’

‘
Why
should I
?
It’s my house.
’

‘
Because it’s safe
r
.
’

‘
I’ll be just as safe standing behind you.
’

Jack knew it was pointless arguing.
‘
Then make sure you
don’t get in the way of my right arm.
’

Grace
gave him a long look
.
‘
Why?
’

‘
Because i
t’s my gun arm
and I don’t want to accidently shoot you,
’
he said,
and removed
the weapon
from the holster
at the back of his jeans
,
then stepped inside
.

Grace’s voice wedged in her throat.
She ran her
damp hands
down her
dress
and followed Jack.
The
aroma
of
tobacco
filled the hallway
—the same blend that Daniel smoked.
C
old
sweat
trickled down
her spine
,
making her shiver
.
She ignored it along with the heavy rhythmic beat of her heart, and closed
the door.

Jack
cocked his
head to one side and listened, but there was only silence.

‘
See if you can find
the
light switch
.
’

Grace’s
fingers trembled
as she
r
a
n
them
down the wall.
She found
the switch
and flicked it on,
bathing the hallway in
a soft yellow
light.
Overhead
,
a fan
hummed into life and
gently stirred the air.

‘
Someone has been here recently
,
’
Jack said, putting his gun on safety a
nd returning it to the holster.

‘
How can you tell
?
’

‘
T
here’s
no
dust on the furniture
,
’
he said, running his fingers along the hall table
to prove his point
.
‘
Wait here
while I have a look around.
’

Grace
drummed her fingers against the table
. She
gazed at
a
large piece of modern art hung on the wall.
It reminded her of the painting she’d seen in the attorney’s office
,
only this time the
colo
u
r
s were a garish mix of yellow
,
black
,
and green.
Fed up of
waiting for Jack
, she
open
ed
the
nearest door and
stepp
ed inside
.

Large
and
airy
,
the lounge
was a sharp contrast to
the
one
in
Applegate cottage.
Two over-stuffed
sea-green
leather sofas stood either side of the marble fireplace, with an elegant glass topped table between.
A thick cream
colo
u
r
ed carpet covered the floor
.
T
he walls were painted
in the same shade of
cream and dotted with paintings.
No modern art this time, but powerful seascap
es in varying shades of green.

‘
This is so different to
the house Daniel and I shared
,
’
she said
when Jack
entered the room a few
moments later
.
She felt a stab of jealousy and anger.
‘
I’ve lost count of the times I
suggested we
buy new furniture
and
decorate
, but he always came up with some excuse.
Now I know why.
’

Jack walked over to the glass fronted
oak
cabinet that s
tood in the corner of the room
.
He
took out a crystal tumbler
and held
it up to the light
.
A rainbow of
colo
u
r
s shimmered in the glass.
He
replaced
it in the cabinet
.

‘
Come
on
let’s see what the rest
of the
house is
like.
’

At the
rear
they found
a
large
spacious
kitchen/
family
room
with a
screened porch and
views out over
the
garden to the
ocean.
A
centre
island
,
topped with a marble counter
,
divid
ed
the cooking and eating areas.
Jack opened the
refrigerator
.
It contained a
quart jug of orange
juice
,
a pack of butter
and
some
cheese
.
He removed the jug and cautiously sniffed the contents.

‘
The juice is still fresh.
’
He replaced it on the shelf and closed the door.
‘
Check the
cupboards
.
I bet they’re full of
tinned goods.
’

Grace opened the nearest cupboard
.
As he’d predicted
, i
t was
neatly stacked with tins
.
She slammed the door shut
.
B
etrayal claw
ed
at her chest
as her heart refus
ed
to believe what her mind was telling her.
Struggling for control
, she
stormed out of the kitchen.