“I’m still convinced that William was killed with the same weapon that Jonathan was hit with. If that were the case, it wasn’t a crime of passion but premeditation.”
Julian spoke up, “He had a temper. The man erupted, and then calmed right back down again. We saw that personally with the jockey. I doubt that he held a grudge.”
Tori wasn’t buying it either. “It doesn’t fit for me. He offs the historian, and that tiny slip of a woman takes him down for not marrying her?”
All three of them had doubt, and that meant one thing. This woman was just one more pawn in the Hesser family game of debauchery.
“I’ll let her stew over this for a few more minutes, and then set her free.”
“What’s your next avenue of investigation?” Tori asked. Far be it for them to tell the man what to do.
“I’m going to start going through those books. Maybe something will pop up.”
“Good idea.”
Julian laughed. “That’s going to take weeks.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. That’s why I’m going to do what any good boss would do.”
“What’s that?” Julian asked.
He began laughing. “Delegate.”
* * *
It didn't take Kane long to dig up a ton of sour things. It was like some pregnancy related scavenger hunt. Once he told the chef about Christina and her need for sour, he made a bunch of things appear. He managed to come up with everything that Elizabeth had told him to find, including some ginger tea which the chef swore worked for his sister when she was pregnant.
All in all, the man had been helpful, and Kane appreciated it.
As he returned, Christina was just getting out of the shower. Already, her color was returning. “What’s all that?” she asked, pointing to the tray.
“Lemons are supposed to help as is the ginger tea. Try it.”
He watched as she cautiously sipped it, and then waited for her body to rebel. When nothing happened, she sipped more.
“This is amazing,” she said, staring at the lemons. “What am I supposed to do with those? Make lemonade?”
Kane began laughing. With the knife he brought, he sliced one open and handed her a wedge. “Pretend there’s tequila with it, like we used to,” he teased.
She flushed at the memory of the tequila laden sex fest that they shared. It had been their first night together, and it had been memorable.
In fact, it was legend.
He watched her bite into the lemon, making a face.
“Yum,” she said.
It made him laugh.
Christina was glad he was amused, as she pulled him down for a kiss. When she was finished, she stayed in his arms. “You’re going to make a fantastic husband and father.”
The words caught him off guard. “Do you think?”
She had no doubt. “I know so. You’re perfect, Mr. Redwolf,” she whispered. “Thank you for being mine.”
“I love you, Chrissy.”
Gazing up into his eyes, she gave him the words back. “Maybe later, we can spend some time cuddling,” she offered.
He was more than okay with that. When her hands ran down the front of his body, there was an immediate reaction. Kane was no saint, but he was trying to be as patient and caring as possible, putting Christina and the baby first. If she was going to offer up some naked rolling, he was up for it.
Literally.
“I’m going to go grab us a few more journals. If I stay here, I’m going to think about lemons, then tequila, your offer just now, and then jumping you. So, I’ll run for it.”
She began laughing. “Chicken!”
The grin on his face took her breath away.
“I’m a man. We’re weak.”
Christina loved teasing him. “I’ll get dressed and suck on more lemons, until something better comes along.”
The innuendo heated his body and the flush crept up his throat to his ears, he was sure of it.
“I better go.”
She giggled as he raced to the door.
“Keep this locked and don’t let anyone in but me or the bosses,” he ordered. “Am I clear?”
Christina loved how sweet and worried he was over her. “I understand, Kane,” she said, watching him leave the room.
Once he was gone, she grabbed the tea and drank it. There was still some queasiness, but it wasn’t nearly as bad. “Okay, lemons. Let’s get to be friends. I’m going to need you the next few weeks.”
Christina sat on the bed and prayed for a little relief.
Kane wasn’t creeped out easily.
Yet, the attic wasn’t his favorite place in this house. The second he entered, the hairs on his arms stood. He tried to tell himself that he was being silly, but he believed in his gut instinct.
Heading to the chest, he lifted open the lid. As he dropped to his knees, he stared inside at the books. Most of them were useless, but he hoped to find a few jewels at the bottom of the trunk.
Reaching in, there was a cool breeze across the back of his neck. It made him pause. To his knowledge, there weren’t any windows in the attic that could be left open.
When it stopped, he honestly believed that he had lost his mind. Returning to the task at hand, he continued digging. A cold chill filled the room, and he swore he could see his breath in the shadowy darkness.
Then, he heard music.
It sounded like a piano.
His whole body froze until he heard the creak.
Jerking his head to the side, he barely had time to register the blur. His vision exploded in a myriad of stars as the room wavered and spun.
Kane couldn’t think as he began falling.
He was tumbling.
Then, he was plunged into the blackness and lost to everything, including thought.
Chapter Seventeen
When Julian and Tori arrived back on the estate, they tried to find Jamie Montgomery. When they finally located her, she was sitting in the office on the phone. It was hard not to notice that she was looking harried as she tried to manage the issues that Jonathan Hesser normally handled. Since she was too busy, Tori scribbled a note telling her they would update her later.
Really, they didn't have much to tell her regarding the case. Most of the investigating was now leading them down a different path. Where they came to look for a book, they were now seeking the truth.
Sometimes, you had to let the case lead you.
This was one of those times.
As they headed up the stairs, Julian remembered that Kane wanted him to stop in at his room. Making sure that the coast was clear, he knocked on the door.
It was immediately wrenched open.
Standing there was a very pale and nervous Christina.
“What’s wrong?” Tori asked in alarm.
“Kane left to get some journals over thirty minutes ago and hasn’t come back. I’ve been texting, and he’s not answering. That’s not like him at all. He always replies to my messages.”
That didn't bode well for Julian. “You both stay here.”
The women ignored him like he was speaking a foreign language.
“Come on, Christina,” stated Tori. “You’re not staying here alone, especially with a secret door in your room.”
Julian knew that he was outgunned on this one, so he let it go.
All three headed down the hall to the old staircase. It led straight up to the third floor, and then to the storage area above it. From what they had observed, Bev and her husband Richard were on that floor as were the Wests.
Creeping past their rooms, they found the next set of stairs. When Julian stood in front of the women, they both rolled their eyes. Apparently, he was forgetting who had been in the FBI, and who hadn’t.
“Stay behind me,” he whispered, hitting the light switch on the wall. Creeping up the stairs, at the top, they discovered why the man wasn’t answering his phone.
“Kane!” Christina shouted, racing toward his prone figure. When she roll
ed him over and touched his pulse, her heart finally stopped squeezing in her chest. “Please wake up, big guy,” she said, patting him on the cheek.
As his eyes fluttered, he groaned.
“What happened?” he asked, touching his head. His fingers came away with a little blood.
Christina wanted to weep. “Oh God! Thank heavens that you’re alive,” she said, eyes filling with tears. “I was so worried.”
Kane could hear the emotion in her voice, and didn't want to stress her out. Sitting up, he shook his head. Immediately, Christina’s hands were pulling out the ponytail and running her fingers through his hair.
“I only feel that one lump,” she said, reassuring everyone and herself.
Julian helped the man up to his feet. “What happened?”
He shook his head, trying to get his bearings. “I was digging in the trunk and…”
Tori stared at him. “And what?”
“You’re all going to think I’m crazy, but I heard music.”
She didn't think he was crazy at all. She had heard it too, and it was terrifying, especially if you were a rational, logical person.
“It was a piano.”
Tori understood. “Okay, then what happened?”
“I heard the floor creak, I turned, and then I went out for the count. That’s all I remember.”
Christina was glad that he was okay. “You need to go to the ER.”
He shook his head. “I’m okay. If anything, it’s a mild concussion. I’m not going to be poked at by some germ carrying doctor.”
“I’ll look at it downstairs,” she offered, hugging him around his torso. “God, Kane! You could have been killed.”
Julian didn't think so. “No, if he was meant to die, when he was passed out, the person who did this would have clocked him again and again.”
Christina stared at him, mouth agape. “Bite your tongue for even putting that out there.”
Kane rubbed his forehead, cognizant of the headache brewing behind his eyes. “I’m okay, Chrissy. I swear.”
This whole thing was rubbing Tori the wrong way. “You heard music, and then were hit. I doubt that the ghost is going to be wielding weapons.”
Julian agreed. “This feels more like a warning. Maybe you heard the music as a sign, but you didn't get the message quick enough.”
He didn't know what to think.
Christina did. “This is all too farfetched for me.”
Kane wasn’t exactly happy that he was receiving messages from the great beyond either. Fortunately, the creak in the floor had been enough. It bought him time to turn, or who knew if he would have been waking up?
“How did someone pop up behind you?” Julian asked, looking around. This was his thing, finding and tracking. As he walked the perimeter, Kane glanced around too.
“I was facing the stairs. The person came from behind me.”
Tori was right beside her husband and saw it right after he did.
“I found marks in the dust. I think we found another doorway, except this one is smaller like a cubby hole.”
Christina and Kane joined them.
“We need to figure out how to open all these doors,” Kane said, believing that they may give them a clue.
Tori had just about enough. Reaching into her husband’s jeans, she fished out a pocket knife that he had absconded from somewhere. “I’ll get it open,” she muttered, much to their astonishment.
Dropping to her knees, she popped the blade into the crevasse and slid it around, until she heard the click. Once it did, she pulled it open.
“Someone’s oiled it lately,” she said, pulling her fingers away coated in slick grease. “It didn't make any noise.”
“We need to investigate.”
Suddenly, they heard talking and footsteps.
Tori closed the door and Julian slid one of the boxes in front of it to hide its location. Just as he managed to block it, Beverly Curry and her husband appeared.
“Oh, I didn't know you were up here,” she said, clutching a book to her breast. “I came to get another book to read,” she stated.
Despite the pounding in his head, Kane covered nicely. “We did too.” Reaching into the trunk, he handed each member of their team one of the journals. “Have a good read,” he said with faux cheeriness.
They all headed back downstairs to Kane and Christina’s room. Once safely inside, they checked to make sure that they weren’t being watched. When the coast was clear, they made their plans.
“Okay, tonight we’re going to be searching. Tori and I will take the smaller door, since Kane would have to squeeze through there. You and Christina can take the one here in your room to see where it leads. We’ll have to wait until night time, and move carefully.”
“We need flashlights,” Tori said.
“I saw some in the kitchen pantry,” Kane suggested, as his girl pulled some pain medicine from her purse.
“I’ll go down and get them,” Christina offered.
He didn't like the idea of her going alone.
“I’m less obtrusive,” she said grinning. “I’ll head down, grab them, shove them in my purse and be back.” Going up on her toes, she dropped a kiss on his lips. “I’ll be right back.”
When she was gone, Kane laid back on the bed.
“How bad is it?” Julian asked, knowing the big man was faking it in front of his girl. The last thing he would want was his pregnant fiancée in a tizzy and stressed.
“Like I drank for a full weekend and got run over by a freight train full of elephants. Did I mention that they were tap dancing and still are?”
“If she finds out, she’s going to drag your ass to the ER,” stated Tori.
Kane pointed at her. “Don’t tell her!” he warned.
She started laughing at him. “I wasn’t going to,” she offered, popping open the pain meds. “But you better take more, because if you let on, you’re going.”
He took the extra pills and swallowed them without water. “I’ll be fine.”
“Are you going to be up to searching later?”
He thought about it, and then grabbed the pills from Tori to dump some into his hand. “I’ll stash these in my pocket for later,” he stated. “I’ll be golden.”
Julian hoped so.
“What are we doing the rest of the afternoon?” Kane asked, praying that it didn't involve anything that would jostle his head.
“We need to talk to Jamie, and it seems like a good time to do it,” stated Tori. “Christina was shoved, you were hit, and who knows what’s next?” she stated.
Immediately, Julian’s body went ridged at her words. He wasn’t exactly enthused that his wife could be a potential target.
When the door opened, they all looked over. Christina was standing there.
“I got the flashlights, and I ran into the Snyders in the kitchen. I think I surprised them,” she said grinning. “They were whispering and flipping through the cookbooks.”
Tori found that odd. “I don’t trust them.”
Julian was with her there. “I don’t either. I believe why they’re here. I just don’t trust them not to screw up our investigation, or to get to the Bible first and use it as leverage.”
That was the last thing they needed.
Christina handed Julian a flashlight.
“We need to get this book, find William’s killer, and get the hell out of here. I have that feeling in the pit of my stomach.”
“Uh oh,” stated Tori. She was well aware what that meant.
Julian Littlemoon was predicting something bad was coming.
That was definitely not a good thing.
* * *
Saturday Afternoon
Finally, Jamie Montgomery was free. They found her outside, a clipboard in hand and a grimace on her face. When they approached, she seemed unsure if she was happy to see them.
“Please give me good news,” she said. “If one more person tells me something bad, I’m going to cry.”
Tori took it from there. “We’re just updating you. We found that Jonathan was having a relationship with someone on the staff.”
Immediately, she looked appalled. “Please don’t tell me that you’re accusing me of shacking up with my boss.”
Julian kept a straight face. “We weren’t, but why did you go there?”
She sighed. “Because that’s the kind of day I’m having. Jonathan isn’t doing well, Lorelei is falling back into the mess of her ex-boyfriend, and I’m neck deep in work for this derby week.”
“The good news is, we didn't think it was you.”
“Who is it?”
Julian knew they shouldn’t tell her. “We can’t say, since the police are investigating. I hope you understand.”
What choice did she have?
“Have you found the book?” she whispered, lowering her voice.
“No, because we have two other issues that need resolution first. Who killed William, and then who wanted to kill your boss.”
She understood. “Okay, just keep me updated. I’d love to talk longer, but I have to get ready for the derby party, the horse show, and the wine tasting.”
They waved as she ran off.
“I’m glad you didn't tell her,” Tori said.
“Why?”
“If Sharla is innocent, she’s already lost enough. We don’t need to jeopardize her job too. That’s crossing a line, even if we do have allegiance to our client.”
Julian dropped his arm over her shoulders. “Let’s go grab something to eat and head back to our room. We have that journal to read over, and I want to dig around online.”
Tori was good with that. “Come on, babe. Let’s fuel up and get to work.”
What Tori didn't tell him was she was scared shitless. If Kane and Christina were both attacked, she knew her husband might be next.
It looked like he picked up a tail.
A very nervous one.
* * *
Saturday Evening
They all were summoned to dinner.
Lost & Broken (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 2) Page 26
