Deadly Inheritance: A Romantic Suspense Page 19

  “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.

  No one was in the kitchen or in Sarah’s bedroom, and there was no sign of the kitten.

  “Nora?” he called, flicking out the light in Sarah’s overly pink room.

  The silence deepened his frown. The police said the housekeeper’s car was still parked next to the house. Nora and Sarah had to be here somewhere.

  So where were they?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nora was not surprised when Detective Gerhardt accidentally mentioned Gabe’s speculation that the mist they’d experienced was the result of dry ice and hot water. She’d suspected it herself, despite the fear it evoked.

  She would have felt better, though, if they’d discovered that the mist was a result of a malfunctioning air conditioner, or even a ghost. At least those things wouldn’t be so malicious. Or deadly.

  Unfortunately, the detective didn’t let any other information slip, and his questioning left her feeling like an orange pulped by a high-powered juicer. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. It was well after three in the morning. She felt completely exhausted.

  “Have you spoken with Sarah?” Nora studied Gerhardt’s face as he stood up and glanced at the door.

  His bland expression gave nothing away, although the bags under his eyes showed that he was just as tired as she was. “Not yet. Why?”

  “I haven’t been able to find her all afternoon. I’m worried about her.”

  “We’ll find her.”

  Nora stood reluctantly. Her stiff knees creaked. “Her cat is missing, too. It’s just a kitten, really. I know you’re asking that everyone wait in the den, but I’d like to look for the kitten. It was injured, and although it’s healed, it’s kind of disabled. I want to make sure it hasn’t fallen, or injured itself further. Is that okay?”

  Gerhardt opened his mouth and then shut it again. The lines bracketing his mouth deepened.

  Nora’s heart sank. He wasn’t going to let her search.

  “Fine. Just stay out of the sealed areas.”

  She stared at him in surprise and then stuck out her hand. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. And I promise not to interfere with your investigation.”

  A spasm of confusion rippled over his face, but he shook her hand and nodded.

  Repeating her thanks, she left the room quickly before he could change his mind. She paused in the hallway to consider the situation before walking slowly into the kitchen. If the kitten had wandered off, Sarah might be trying to find it.

  So where could they be?

  No one had seen either of them on the main floor, or in the bedrooms. That didn’t mean they weren’t on the second floor, but with all the police poking around up there, someone would surely have run into Sarah. Nora opened the pantry door and shifted a few storage boxes before closing the door again.

  Sarah’s bedroom didn’t yield anything except a plastic container of cat treats. The box sat on the dresser with the lid open, as if the housekeeper had taken a few to lure Dizzy out of a hiding place. Nora searched the room and bathroom again, just to make sure.

  The only result was an increase in her anxiety level. There was fresh food and water set out for the kitten, and as far as Nora could tell, all of Sarah’s things were there. There was even a plain cotton nightgown folded and placed under her pillow. Her key ring sat in a small, Depression glass bowl on her dresser. So Sarah hadn’t left.

  Back in the kitchen, Nora opened the back door and studied the small patch of grass between the house and the edge of the moat. A portly, middle-aged policeman standing outside turned in her direction. His shaggy, gray brows rose.

  “Just looking for a kitten, a marmalade one. You haven’t seen it, have you?” she asked.

  “No, ma’am. Haven’t seen a thing, and I’ve been standing here for over an hour.” His mouth twisted as he shifted from one foot to the other. “My feet are killing me. If you see Detective Gerhardt, could you remind him that Officer Tilton is still on duty? It’s past the end of my shift, and I’ve got reports to do.”

  “Just a minute.” Nora stepped back into the kitchen, grabbed one of the chairs and carried it outside. “Here. At least you can get off your feet.”

  He took the chair gratefully and sat down with a deep sigh. “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “You haven’t seen the housekeeper, have you?”

  “Sorry, ma’am. I ain’t seen nothing, not even a bat.” He smiled and leaned back in his chair, scanning the dark sky. “Might get to see the sunrise, though. Just a few hours more.”

  “Probably.” She grinned back and swung the door open. “I’m going to look for that kitten. If I see the detective, I’ll let him know you’re still here.”

  He nodded and settled his interlocked hands over his belly as she turned back to the kitchen. Another glance around revealed a short passageway in a dark corner just beyond the refrigerator. The passageway was lined with wooden cupboards that contained an assortment of objects including old, dented pots, pans, and strange kitchen utensils whose purpose was a mystery.
Unfortunately, despite the abandoned feeling, the floor was too clean to reveal if anyone had passed that way recently.

  It was probably hopeless, but Nora entered the hall. A touch of confusion made her frown. She couldn’t remember seeing this area on the blueprint.

  They must have missed it. Trying to check the entire house had been so tedious and exhausting that it was no wonder this small area slipped their notice.

  The corridor bent to the right, and a few yards further on, there was another door. To her surprise, it led to a rickety, wooden staircase going down into the darkness of a cellar.

  What the heck? She couldn’t remember seeing a cellar in the blueprint. Her uneasiness increased.

  On a small shelf next to the door was a flashlight. Nora picked up the light and stood on the small landing at the top, staring into the gloom. When she flicked on the flashlight, the beam barely reached the square of cement at the bottom of the stairs.

  Basements were rare because of the high water table, and she hesitated, feeling unsure about exploring it. However, the dirt floor looked dry enough, even though the water table was the reason so many people could have ponds in their yards. It probably even made her uncle’s moat possible.

  The Polly Ann-ish part of her piped up. Maybe that was it. Maybe the moat hadn’t been built to keep people out, or to keep people in. Maybe the water under the house was pumped into the moat to keep the cellar dry.

  It was such a nice theory that she really wanted to believe it. It made Uncle Archie seem much less mean and definitely saner. The problem was, she still had that apprehensive itch in the middle of her back. She flashed the light around again, wishing she could see more.

  The usefulness of the moat as a place to dump water drained from the cellar was more likely to be just a happy coincidence than a reason for the moat.

  Get real, girl.

  The beam picked out a few limp cardboard boxes lining the wall. Several of them had dark stains seeping up from where they touched the floor, indicating dampness.