The Uninvited

by Heather Graham

Page 36

 

  Tyler didn’t question her. He keyed in the number on the alarm and opened the door.

  They both stepped out.

  Lucy was mounting Firewalker, the great black horse. The dog, Robert, was barking and running around excitedly. Firewalker reared up, and Lucy spoke affectionately to the dog, ordering him back to the house.

  The dog obeyed, but stood by the house barking.

  Then Lucy leaned forward, speaking to the horse and nudging him with her heels.

  The horse broke into a canter.

  And Firewalker and Lucy raced into the night.

  Allison felt Tyler’s hands on her shoulders. “Did you see that?” she whispered.

  “Yes. ”

  “What does it mean?” Allison asked. It was chilly outside; she was dressed in a blue flannel nightshirt. Behind her, Tyler wore nothing but pajama pants. He had to be cold, but it seemed that he came closer to warm her. She felt the length of his body.

  It was distracting.

  Even more distracting than a ghost who’d come to her bedroom and lured her down the stairs.

  “When did you see her? How did you see her?” Tyler asked.

  “I woke up. She was at the foot of my bed. She wanted me to follow her,” Allison said.

  What she wanted was to lean back in his arms. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to forget everything that was going on and even herself—to relish the feel of him and forget the world and indulge in nothing but sexual passion and pure carnal pleasure.

  She heard him swallow behind her. He stepped back.

  Had he been thinking along the same lines?

  “She wanted you to follow her, and she came out here—and mounted her horse and rode away,” he mused. “She still wants you to follow,” he said after a moment.

  Allison struggled to keep her thoughts where they should be.

  “I can’t. I don’t have a ghost horse—or any horse—of my own, and if I did…I don’t know how to ride. ”

  She turned and saw that he was smiling.

  “Where did she go when she left here?” he asked.

  “You know where she went—she carried secrets to the patriots at Valley Forge. ”

  He nodded. “And where is that writer you’ve been emailing?”

  “Valley Forge,” she said, frowning.

  “Lucy wants you to go to Valley Forge,” he said.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Logan had come down. He was wearing a robe—and he was armed and ready.

  Tyler quickly explained. Logan nodded. “Sounds like a field trip to me. But it’s three in the morning. I think you should wait until a normal hour and then go. That is, Allison, if the writer’s willing to see you. If he’s there. You don’t know, do you, if the man still lives in Valley Forge?”

  “We communicated not long ago. I don’t think he leaves that often, although he does participate in battle reenactments,” Allison said.

  “Call him around nine,” Tyler suggested. “And if he’s agreeable, we’ll see him tomorrow. And even if he’s not…Lucy wants you to follow her. She rode to Valley Forge. That’s what we have to do. ”

  “The two of you can leave tomorrow. Jane can continue working with the likenesses and Kat will attend the autopsy. We’ll keep working the records from this angle, and Sean can monitor the house to see what goes on here in your absence. That is, if you’re willing to do all this, Allison?” Logan asked.

  Road trip! Alone with Tyler.

  Not a good idea. But necessary.

  She felt strangely weak and strong at the same time.

  “Allison?” Tyler prompted her.

  She had to force herself not to smile. There was nothing to smile about. Two people were dead. They were just going on a research mission.

  “Yes, of course,” she said primly. “I’ll do whatever it takes. ”

  The rest of the household—including Julian, who managed to look sleepy even though he was a ghost—had come outside.

  Allison noticed that all the other Krewe members were armed. Everyone moved back into the house and gathered in the entry around the screens.

  “Ally?” Julian sounded concerned.

  “I’m fine,” she assured him.

  “I didn’t hear you move!” Julian said. “Am I supposed to sleep like that?”

  “Did you love to sleep when you were alive?” Kelsey asked him. “Did you keep late hours?”

  “Yeah, well, I was always burning the candle at both ends,” he said apologetically.

  “I’m fine, really. I followed Lucy of my own accord, and I ran the way I did because I didn’t want her to disappear,” Allison explained.

  “Still, you should have gotten me first,” Tyler said.

  “You were right behind me. ”

  “Yes, but you shouldn’t take off without me. ”

  “You didn’t bring your gun,” Allison pointed out.

  She thought he flushed slightly at that; he should have been armed.

  “That’s why you should get me instead of making me bolt out to catch up with you,” Tyler grumbled.

  “It’s important that none of us go off on our own from now on,” Logan said firmly.

  Jane yawned. “I could use some more sleep. Okay if I go back to bed?”

  Logan nodded. “Go on up. ”

  “I want to see what we caught on our digital film,” Sean said, walking over to take his seat by the screens.

  He hit some keys on the computer keyboard, and they saw the film in reverse. Seconds later, it moved forward.

  Lucy appeared at the foot of the stairs as she had before. Then she looked into Angus Tarleton’s study.

  She left the study and hurried up the stairs, where she entered Allison’s room.

  She reappeared a moment later.

  And then they saw Allison running out and, within a split second, Tyler bursting out of his room to follow her.

  “You do have good hearing,” Allison murmured.

  They watched as Lucy, followed by Allison and Tyler, raced to the back door.

  Sean reset the cameras. “The resemblance is really uncanny,” he commented.

  Allison sighed. “I’m not a Tarleton or a Dandridge. My records prove it. I wasn’t adopted. In fact, my mom had me at the same hospital where Artie Dixon is now. ”

  “Yes, of course,” Tyler said thoughtfully.

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Logan asked him.

  Tyler nodded, studying Allison.

  “I wasn’t adopted,” she said, shaking her head. She wasn’t angry, just amused. They were so determined to find a reason for the resemblance.

  “No,” Tyler agreed. “You weren’t adopted. But I’m willing to bet someone in your family was. ”

  “We’ll look for any possibility when we study the records while you’re gone,” Logan told them.

  “Adoption is wonderful, but I know that neither of my parents was adopted, either. One of my best friends in school was, and my dad used to tell her how fortunate she was that her parents had chosen her and loved her so much,” Allison said.

  “I wasn’t thinking about your parents,” Tyler said. “I’m thinking further back. Much further back. ”

  “What do you mean?” Allison asked him.

  “I mean back to Lucy Tarleton. ”

  13

  “You can’t go to Valley Forge today,” Kelsey told Tyler the next morning as he walked into the pantry to pour a cup of coffee after he’d showered and dressed.

  “Why not?”

  “Because we have an invitation,” Kelsey told him.

  “To what?”

  “It’s easy to understand why you’ve forgotten,” Kelsey said with a wry grin. “Cherry Addison. Remember, yesterday, before all hell broke loose? She invited us to her husband’s showing. You could go to Valley Forge and we could go to the show, but I believe
all our suspects will be there. ”

  “Valley Forge is only about twenty miles north of the city,” Tyler said. “It’s a day trip for a lot of people visiting Philly. ”

  “Yes, but what if you do find something there?”

  Tyler frowned. He wanted to get to Valley Forge, but seeing all the suspects in one place at one time was too good an opportunity to miss.

  “Are they still having the show?” Tyler asked. “Sarah Vining died yesterday. ”

  “That’s not enough to stop this, with the gallery set up and all the invitations sent out. Even if it conflicted with a funeral, which it won’t, I’m not sure the Addisons would have stopped it,” Kelsey said. “And at Kat’s request, they’re holding Julian’s and Sarah’s bodies for at least a few days, so…”

  Kelsey handed Tyler a cup of coffee. “Your call. ”

  “What time is the showing?”

  “I called Mrs. Addison this morning. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at six. Her husband, George, the artist, will be there, of course, to meet with his adoring fans. ”

  “I understand he’s good. ”

  “We’ll find out, won’t we?”

  “I guess so. Kat’s going back to the morgue, right?”

  Kelsey nodded. “I’m going to watch the house with Jane and Sean. Jane’s still working, but you’ll want to see the images she’s come up with so far. I’ve spelled Sean a few times. He’s equally convinced we’ve got to pay attention to the cameras—”

  “We do,” Tyler interrupted.

  “Logan is going to the records office to see what he can discover. ”

  “All right,” Tyler said. “I’m heading down to the police station to talk to Jenson. When Allison wakes up, will you tell her what’s going on?”

  “I will. Anything else you want her to know or do?”

  “Yes, ask her to print out the missing article—she believes she can find it online,” Tyler said. “And ask her to call Martin Standish and see if we can set something up for tomorrow. ”