The Betrayed (12 page)

“It’s gone. How can that be?” she asked.

“Given that it should never have happened to begin with, I couldn’t even begin to guess why it stopped. Electricity is a moving current, but it doesn’t move in those extremes—not inside of houses. And it certainly doesn’t move through air.”

“Except lightning.”

“I didn’t see any lightning in the bedroom, did you?”

“You know I didn’t.” She blew out a breath. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I live a simple life, and ever since I claimed my birthright, everything has become so complicated and confusing. I’m beginning to think I should never have told William who I was and continued living a perfectly decent life as a waitress.”

He placed the voltmeter on the desk and laid his hand on her arm. “We’re going to figure this out.”

A spark ignited in her at his touch and her arm tingled where his hand lay. It had been a long time since she’d allowed a man to touch her in an intimate way, even one as simple as a sign of reassurance, and he was the first man she actually believed when he said he’d be there for her. He was a good and honorable man who would probably do the same for anyone else, but she knew his touch held the promise of so much more.

Realizing she hadn’t responded, she said, “Figuring out my problems is hardly in your job description.”

He looked down at her, his green eyes staring directly into hers. “It’s more interesting than repairs.”

She tapped the side of her head, reminding him of his injury. “But not nearly as safe.”

He stepped closer to her, and her breath caught in her throat. “Sometimes a guy just doesn’t want to play it safe,” he said.

She knew he was going to kiss her, and she could have moved away, but instead, her body betrayed her and leaned into him as he lowered his lips to hers. The gentle brush of his lips sent so many emotions racing through her—care, passion and desire—and she closed her eyes, drowning in this one perfect moment.

He stroked her hair and deepened the kiss, and she leaned farther into him, pressing her body against his as he gathered her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him, her hands caressing his strong, muscular back. Her skin tingled as the blood rushed to her head, leaving her almost dizzy with desire.

“Hellooooo!” Carter’s voice sounded from downstairs like a boom of thunder.

She released Zach immediately, the shock of her more-than-compliant reaction just now setting in. He held her a second longer, clearly reluctant to let the moment go, but not about to press the issue with Carter downstairs.

“Up here,” she yelled as she walked out of the office and looked over the balcony. “We’ll be right down.”

Carter nodded. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

She glanced back at Zach, who was staring at her with a pensive look. Was he already regretting his action?

“Should we tell him about what happened here?” he asked.

Unbidden, a flush rose up her neck at the thought of explaining to Carter what he’d interrupted, then she realized Zach meant what happened with the voltage meter, and a second wave of embarrassment washed over her as she realized her mind and body were still more engaged with the kiss and not the business at hand.

“I guess so,” she said. “He won’t think we’re crazy. He’ll just go looking for an answer. That’s the way he is.”

Zach nodded. “Then I guess we better get downstairs.”

She hurried down the balcony hallway to the stairwell, wondering all the way just how far she would have taken things with Zach if Carter hadn’t interrupted. Something told her that if the sheriff had been ten minutes later, he might have caught them in various stages of undress.

The worst part was, she was almost disappointed that he hadn’t.

Chapter Twelve

Alaina LeBeau stood at the front door and lifted a hand as her stepbrother drove away. As his taillights faded into the distance, she pushed the door shut and locked it behind her, her earlier conversation with Danae weighing heavily on her mind.

She turned around and cast her gaze over the cozy living room of her adoptive parents’ tiny Boston home. Real estate was at a premium where they lived and always had been. Five people shoved into twelve hundred square feet had been a challenge at times, but they’d managed to make it work, and Alaina and her brother and sister had attended great schools with stellar reputations—allowing them all to enter top-tier universities with scholarships to pay for their degrees.

Alaina had been fed, clothed, required to make good grades, praised when she’d done well and disciplined when she’d gotten out of line. On paper, she had nothing to complain about, even though she’d always known her adoptive parents never loved her as they did their own children. They cared, but that wasn’t the same thing.

With Danae, Alaina got the impression that her sister’s childhood had been rough, possibly even abusive. Danae had that tough outer shell and guarded her speech like so many street kids Alaina had interviewed in the past for testimony. But Alaina also knew that behind that wall her sister had erected was a vulnerable, damaged human being, and her heart ached for the sister she’d always loved and wanted to protect. Now more than anything, she wished she was back in Calais, but she couldn’t see any way out of her obligations here—at least, not for a week or so.

She heard her mother shifting in her bed, trying to get comfortable, even though it was practically impossible with her broken leg. Alaina stepped into the kitchen and poured her a glass of milk and gathered her medicine. She’d made vegetable soup while they were gone and her brother had stayed long enough to enjoy the meal with them and help her get their mother settled in her bedroom.

You should wait.

The words came to her every time she thought about the conversation she needed to have with her mother—the one where she asked if the only reason they took her in was for money. The one where she asked if Purcell continued to pay them to keep her.

She and Danae needed answers. She knew next to nothing about Danae’s past, but her little sister had offered up that the woman who’d taken her was now dead. No answers were forthcoming from that source. William had yet to locate Joelle, although he thought he was getting closer. But even when their middle sister was found, no guarantees existed that her adoptive family was still alive or would be willing to answer the questions they had.

She sighed. Truth be told, no guarantees existed that her own adoptive mother would be forthcoming, but at least Alaina had the advantage of being able to read people well. She’d know if she was getting the truth or a lie. She’d know if her mother was telling her everything or holding something back, and if she had to, Alaina would twist and manipulate her into letting it all out just as she did those on the jury stand. Now was not the time to worry about past hurts. Lives were at stake.

Her mother was propped up on her back wedge, a rerun of one of those singing reality shows running on the television. Alaina handed her the milk and pills, and her mother took them both and dutifully swallowed the medicine as Alaina pulled a chair over next to the bed to sit.

“Your soup was excellent,” her mother said. “I have to admit, I was a bit surprised. I don’t remember you being all that interested in cooking.”

Alaina smiled. “Carter’s mother gave me some of her recipes and some tips. She’s a genius in the kitchen and makes it look so easy.”

Her mother raised one eyebrow. “So all it took was a good-looking man to get an apron on you?”

“How do you know he’s good-looking?”

Her mother laughed and patted her hand. “You’re a beautiful, intelligent woman, Alaina. If a man caught your attention to the point that you’ve got his mother giving you cooking tips, then I have no doubt he is every bit a Hollywood hero.”

“You watch too much television,” Alaina said, but her mother’s words pleased her.

“Well, I would go bungee jumping instead, but my doctor might object.”

Alaina laughed, then before she could change her mind she said, “Mom, I need to ask you something, and it might make you uncomfortable, but it’s very important that you answer me honestly.”

Her mother frowned. “I’ve never lied to you before. If I have answers you need, you’ll get them.”

“Did my stepfather...did he...pay you to take me?”

Her mother’s eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. “Why would you ask something like that?”

“Because my sister is going through the household records for the estate attorneys and she found entries in a checkbook—large payments to you and to the woman who took her in, made just after our mother died.”

Her mother sighed then gave her a single nod. “This is one conversation I hoped I’d never have to have, but I promised you I wouldn’t lie and I won’t. Right after your mother died, Purcell started contacting her relatives. None of us really knew your mother—her family had moved to Louisiana so long ago and never visited—but your stepfather figured family could get legal custody more easily.”

Alaina swallowed. “And family who got paid for it might be willing to take on a stranger’s children.”

“When Purcell called us, the first thing we thought was what a horrible man, and I’ll go to the grave without changing my mind on that one, but our motives weren’t pure, either. We were living in a two-bedroom house on the south side of town at the time, and despite working extra jobs, we couldn’t afford to get out. The school system was horrible and we worried constantly what would happen to your brother and sister if they grew up in that neighborhood.”

“So you took the money.”

Her mother nodded. “This house had just gone on the market, and we could stretch to make the monthly note, but we needed the down payment and money to move. Purcell’s offer seemed prophetic. We needed the cash to make a better life for our own children, and you girls needed a home, but we knew we couldn’t take in all three of you.”

“So you got me. How was that decided?”

“We requested you because you were closest to our own children’s ages. We thought it would be an easier transition for you, and we didn’t want to go through toddler stages again.”

Alaina took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to process the fact that she’d drawn the good family completely by default. If she’d been the youngest, she would have gotten Danae’s life instead of this one. The unfairness of it all left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Did he keep paying you? I mean, after that first payment?”

“No. It was a onetime offer and we were instructed never to contact him again. We asked for information on your sisters, but he said it was not our concern and wouldn’t tell us where they’d gone.”

Her mother squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry, Alaina. It’s true we made the decision to take you in because we needed the money, but I promise you we love you and are proud of you. We’ve never once regretted our decision.”

Alaina nodded, afraid her voice would break if she spoke. She knew what her mother said was true—they did love her—but it wasn’t the same for her as it was for her stepbrother and stepsister. It never could be. She knew part of that was because she wasn’t their biological child, but the other part was all on her.

She still remembered her mother, and snatches of her childhood were returning to her since she’d moved to Calais. Some of the distance was her fault, because she knew where she really belonged, and it wasn’t in Boston. Ever since she’d set foot in Calais, Alaina had known she was where she was meant to be.

“Are you all right?” The worry in her mom’s voice was clear.

Alaina nodded and squeezed her hand. “I don’t blame you for your choices. You did what was right for your family, and I benefited from your dedication to raising your children in a safe place with a good school system.”

“But you’re worried about something. I’ve known since you walked in my door that something was wrong. I hoped with that man dead, all the trouble was behind you now.”

“Apparently not.” Alaina gave her mother a brief rundown of the odd things happening at the estate, leaving out anything to do with the supernatural. Her mother was a staunch believer in only what she could see and quantify.

“I don’t like it,” her mother said when she was finished. “Can’t you girls go somewhere else until the police have figured all this out?”

“I’m not positive it would do any good. If someone simply wants to prevent us from inheriting, then I don’t see any reason why the harassment would stop if we left Calais.”

“But you’re not safe there.”

“Actually, in many ways we’re safer in Calais. It’s a small place, so things that are out of the ordinary are easier to spot, and Carter knows everyone and everything that goes on. He’s watching everything like a hawk. He’ll figure this out.”

Alaina made sure her voice sounded convincing, but the look on her mother’s face told her she wasn’t certain.

The worst part was, Alaina wasn’t certain, either.

I
T
TOOK
THE
BETTER
PART
of an hour for Zach, Danae and Carter to exchange information, and with every passing tidbit that Carter added, Zach found himself more confused by what might be going on in the house. When Danae told Carter what happened with the voltage meter, he listened intently, occasionally asking questions, but not once did the sheriff appear even remotely concerned about their sanity.

When Danae finished, Carter looked over at Zach. “You got any idea what could have caused something like that?”

“None whatsoever,” Zach said. “Unless there’s a problem with my equipment, which would surprise me, I don’t have a clue.”

Carter nodded. “I have a voltage meter at home. I’ll bring it by tomorrow for a test. I don’t suppose someone could have created enough electricity in the room to set it off, could they?”

“Maybe, but our hair would have been standing on end if that much electricity was wafting through open space. And besides, the people you’ve got your eye on don’t sound like the kind that could rig such an event, and even if they were, how would they know I’d use the voltage meter in that particular room and at what time?”

Danae’s eyes widened. “You don’t think he’s still in the house, do you? I mean, if it was a prank of some sort, he’d have to time it correctly, but surely...”

Carter glanced at Zach and he knew the sheriff didn’t want to tell Danae what he thought, but he wouldn’t lie to her, either.

“Anything’s possible,” Carter said finally. “I wish I could tell you we’re alone in the house, but the reality is, there’re a million places to hide in here and no way for us to check them all. And that’s just the areas we’re aware of. There could be more servants’ passages or secret rooms.”

“Wouldn’t Amos know?” Danae asked.

“No,” Carter said. “I talked to him after leaving Bert’s place. He knew about the servants’ stairs but he has no knowledge of any exterior entries to the house other than the obvious ones.”

“I hate this!” Danae jumped up from the dining chair and paced the kitchen. “It almost feels like we’re being...I don’t know, herded?”

Zach nodded. “Like a puppeteer—someone behind the scenes, pulling the strings.”

“Exactly,” Danae agreed. “Like’s it all been staged just for me.”

“I think it probably has been,” Carter said. “Not you, personally, but the sisters.”

“Do you really think a long-haul trucker or an alcoholic short-order cook could pull off something this elaborate?” Danae asked.

Carter shook his head. “But either of them could have hired someone. Or one of the organizations that will inherit could have found out about the terms of the will. It could be anyone from an employee to the board of directors to a local politician.”

“Too many people,” Zach said. “Too many possibilities.”

“Yes,” Carter agreed. “My next objective is to work on whittling down that list.”

“Can we help?” Danae asked.

“Maybe. I know there are lots of options but I can’t help feeling that the key to everything is Trenton Purcell. I’ve been looking into the man, and it’s all very sketchy. It’s like one day he materialized in Calais but there’s not even a hint of his existence prior to then.”

“So what are you thinking?” Zach asked.

“I don’t have a supposition yet, but I’m hoping this house contains the answers to Purcell’s secrets. Those journal entries that Danae found are a good start. Based on what I learned from William and Bert, I’d guess that what you found was Purcell’s logs for his own funds.”

“His accounting for the cash he made selling off estate assets?” Danae asked.

“Exactly, an entirely different issue than the estate accounts, which are managed by the law firm in New Orleans.”

“Makes you wonder what happened to the cash after he died.”

“Maybe that’s what the intruder is looking for,” Carter said. “From the looks of the office, Purcell didn’t throw much away. Surely there’s enough information in here to piece together what he was up to and everyone in Calais who was involved.”

“Should I...” Danae began. “I guess I should start going through things in his bedroom.”

A mere glance let Zach know that the last thing Danae wanted to do was spend time in Purcell’s bedroom. From the weird, creepy perspective, he didn’t blame her, but he couldn’t afford for the voltage-meter incident to deter him from the job at hand.

“I’ll do it,” Zach said. “I’ll search for records in the bedroom and haul them out as I find them. That way Danae doesn’t have to go in there.”

Danae’s face flushed. “I am perfectly capable of doing the job I’ve been hired to do—”

“I know,” Zach interrupted. “I’m not suggesting anything different, but the office is going to take forever, and I need to figure out the problem with the electricity in the bedroom anyway. Without moving some of that stuff out of there, I’ll never be able to get to the sockets to test.”