“I’m glad you did,” Nora said. “I told you, we’re family now. I’m always available to lend an ear.”
“I’m just worried for my mom,” Jacob said. “She hasn’t been herself since three years ago when Annie died.”
“How did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?” Nora asked.
“Car crash.” Jacob shook his head. “Annie was…she wasn’t ready to be a mom, I think. Even when she was around, it was my mom who took care of Kaylee while Annie partied away.”
“And Kaylee’s dad?”
“Annie said he was a soldier. He never bothered to contact her and he presumably died overseas during his deployment.” Jacob’s face was pained. “Look, I don’t want to talk about that. What I wanted to ask was if you think I should do it? Join the family business? Mom’s offered to let us stay in this house rent-free if I do. I’d be closer to Kaylee, too...”
“I think you’ve already made up your mind,” Nora said. “So it’s not my advice you want, is it?”
Jacob looked embarrassed.
“You want me to convince Grace,” Nora said.
“I mean, if we move here, Grace can see you guys more often, too,” Jacob said. “We’re only an hour away. It’s a win-win situation really.”
“Then why doesn’t Grace want to do it?”
Jacob shifted. “She just…well…I guess she’s just not comfortable with the whole family thing yet.”
“Jacob...” Nora said. “Word of advice, since you’re planning on getting married.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t let more than two people into your marriage,” Nora said. “If you are making a decision, make it with Grace, together, as a team. Don’t get swayed by other people. Not even if it’s family — and that means me and Harvey, too.”
It clearly wasn’t what Jacob wanted to hear. He looked downcast.
“Alright,” Jacob said. “I’ll think about it. Thanks, Nora. And thank you again for everything you’ve done today.”
“Oh, Jacob, there you are. Thought I’d lost you.” Grace bumped into them and kissed Jacob on the cheek. “Come on, we’re all going to play some cards in the library. Mom, you wanna join?”
Nora looked at her watch. It was half past ten already. Yawning, she said, “I think I’m falling asleep now, actually. Maybe we should head back...”
“Rubbish! You’re staying the night,” Jacob insisted. “We’ve got a room ready for you and everything. You and Harvey have both had so much wine. There’s no way you can go home.”
After a few protests from the two of them, Nora finally agreed. She’d anticipated this anyway and had brought a change of clothes for both she and Harvey.
*****
Jacob gave her a short tour of the house, which had three floors. The first had the living room, the kitchen and a library. The second floor had Viola, Kaylee and Jacob’s bedrooms along with three additional guest rooms for Finley, Eugenie and Grace. The third floor had three more guest rooms. The spiral staircase linked all the floors together, like a snake winding around the branch of a tree. “The staircase was designed by a famous architect, actually. Olmsted, I think,” Jacob said, as he gave them the tour. “You won’t see one like this in modern houses.” Nora leaned over the side and gave a little shiver at the sheer drop. You could see all the way down to the living room from here.
Above the ceiling of the third floor was an attic accessible only by a door with a built-in ladder — this is where Lucas was holed up. Lucas came down the ladder just as Jacob had finished his tour.
“So, you finally emerge from hibernation,” Jacob laughed. “How are you feeling, brother?”
“Hungry.” Lucas sighed. “Think there’s any way I can sneak down to the kitchen without anyone noticing?”
“Nope.” Jacob grinned. “You know there’s only one way up or down: the staircase.”
“Yeah.” Lucas rolled his eyes. “I’m going down to make myself a sandwich. Hopefully Uncle Finley won’t harass me.”
“He’ll be in the library, so he probably won’t see you,” Jacob said. “I’ll be right down once I’m done showing Nora and Harvey their room.”
Lucas nodded and headed downstairs, still looking grumpy.
“Well, here’s your room.” Jacob opened the door to a cozy room with dark-green furnishings. “Hope you sleep well after all that food! I find I always get nightmares if I’ve eaten too much.”
“Same here.” Nora laughed. “I’ll just have to ignore them tonight.”
But it wasn’t a nightmare that woke Nora up later that night. It was a horrendous scream that seemed to pierce down to her very soul that had Nora sitting straight up in bed, her eyes wide.
*****
Chapter 9
The Body At The Bottom Of The Stairs
Nora shot awake, blinking and wondering if she’d had a nightmare. For a brief moment, the house was quiet. Then, seemingly all at once, lights began clicking on and confused voices came from each room. Beside Nora, Harvey was instantly awake and out of bed. He grabbed a lamp from the bedside and held it aloft like a club.
“Stay here,” he told Nora. “I’ll go see what’s happening.”
“Just someone having a nightmare, I hope.” Nora’s voice quavered a little. She’d never heard a scream quite like that before. Even now, it felt like her heart was quaking with its echoes. Part of her wanted to pull the bed-covers close and stay in her cozy bed. But when Harvey began opening to the door, Nora got up and followed him.
When they stepped out into the hall, a confused looking Kaylee stepped out of her room, too, rubbing a fist over one eye. “Uncle Jacob? What’s happening?” she asked, looking around at all of the adults.
Jacob was climbing the stairs two at a time, his face drained of color. With shaking hands, he pushed Kaylee back into her room. “Sweetie, just stay in there, okay? Go back to sleep. Everything’s ok.”
“What a horrible scream,” Aunt Eugenie said after Kaylee disappeared into her room. “Woke me right up. Dave’s still fast asleep, of course. You know him. What’s going on, Jacob?”
“Aunt Eugenie, you better come with me,” Jacob said. His hands were shaking. “There’s…there’s…” He bit his lip. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
Nora and Harvey stepped forward. Hardly daring to, Nora looked down the stairs. On the ground floor, she could just see a tattooed hand, fingers splayed out. Blood slowly leaked from under it. Shivering, she stepped back.
“There’s a body at the bottom of the stairs,” Jacob explained. “I was down in the kitchen for a drink of water when I heard the scream and…I don’t know who he is!”
Nora looked around. Eugenie and Viola were hugging each other with scared looks on their faces. They really looked like sisters now, both pale with big blue eyes and hair standing up in odd clumps. Grace was standing in the doorway of her room, eyes drooping with sleep and confusion. But where were Finley and Lucas?
“What do you mean you don’t know who he is?” Harvey asked.
“I’ve never seen the man before,” Jacob said. “I think he’s a thief, maybe? He’s got tattoos all over his face and hands.”
“Come on,” Harvey said. “We have to go see to him. And call an ambulance.”
Jacob shook his head. “It’s the morgue we’ll need. He was already dead when I found him.”
Eugenie let out a gasp. “You’re sure?”
“Very,” Jacob confirmed. “I used to be an EMT, remember? There’s nothing for us to do.”
“Then we have to call the police!” Viola exclaimed. “Oh, how horrible! Who could he be?”
“Grace, call 911 sweetheart,” Harvey said over his shoulder. “Jacob, come downstairs with me. But first, is everyone safe? Where are the others? Finley, Lucas, Dave?”
“Dave’s asleep in my room. He takes sleeping pills,” Eugenie said. “He won’t wake up for quite a while. I usually take them, too, but I didn’t tonight because I thought they wouldn’t mix well with th
e wine. Oh, of all the nights!”
Jacob looked at the door next to Viola’s room, which was slightly open. He pushed it fully open and clicked on a light. Inside, Nora could see an unruffled bed with an open suitcase on top.
“Uncle Finley’s not here,” Jacob said. “Lucas should be in the attic. Maybe he didn’t hear anything. I’ll go check in on him.”
“Finley!” Viola put a hand over her mouth. “You don’t think something’s happened to him? Oh, Jacob!”
“The police will be here in ten minutes.” Grace stepped back out of her room, having made the call.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m sure Uncle Finley’s fine.” But Jacob’s face was a mask of worry. Nora took charge. “Ok,” she said. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Grace, go sleep in Kaylee’s room tonight. Something tells me she’ll need the comfort. Eugenie and Viola, you wait here. Jacob, go find Lucas. Meanwhile, Harvey and I will go downstairs and wait for the police.”
“This is my house. I’m coming down with you,” Viola said defiantly.
“I’ll search for Finley in the meantime,” Eugenie said. “I’ll try calling him.”
“No use,” Jacob said, pointing to a bedside table in the room. “His phone is right here.”
“He’s never without his phone.” Viola trembled. “Let’s go downstairs immediately. I have to know what’s happened to him.”
Harvey, Nora and Viola went downstairs, averting their eyes so they wouldn’t have to look at the man who was spread-eagled on the floor. Viola’s breathing grew erratic as they stepped into the living room and she kept her face deliberately pointed in the opposite direction of the body.
Nora, despite herself, couldn’t help but look. The man was young — late twenties or early thirties at the most. He had a shaved head and a goatee, along with a teardrop tattoo on his face and complex interlocking designs on his hands. An ex-convict, very likely. Possibly a burglar like Jacob had suggested.
Gently, Harvey said to Viola, “Could you look at his face? Just for a moment? Jacob couldn’t identify him, but maybe you can?”
Viola clenched her fists and took a deep breath. Then, steadying herself, she took a long look at the man then turned away quickly. “No. I have never seen him before.”
A burglar, then. Nora assumed. Still, it just didn’t sit well with her. Why would he break in on the one day when the whole family was gathered here? Perhaps he’d been on drugs and not thinking straight? And yet…
Walking to the front door, Nora tried to open it and found that it was locked. The safety chain was still on. She tried the windows, one by one, and found that all of them were locked from the inside, too. Strange.
“Hey, be careful, Nora. Don’t want to disturb any fingerprints,” Harvey said.
“I’m using a hanky.” Nora nodded at him seriously. “Besides, you saw the party earlier today. Half the town’s fingerprints must be in here right now.”
“Oh, right. Good point.” Harvey frowned. “That’s going to make it tougher on the police.”
“Why would they need fingerprints?” Viola asked. “This is clearly an accident, isn’t it?”
“They’ve still got to follow their procedures,” Harvey said. “Don’t worry, Viola. I’m sure this will be cleared up in no time.”
Nora moved into the kitchen and saw a broken glass on the floor. Jacob said he had been in the kitchen. He must have dropped it in shock when he heard the man fall. Nora frowned again. She was trying to piece together a picture of what had happened, but none of it made much sense at the moment. So this man, supposedly a burglar, had come sneaking into the house somehow. He’d made his way up the stairs, maybe hidden himself as Jacob went down for a drink of water. Then what? Had he tripped and fallen down? Or… had he been pushed?
Nora shook her head. Rubbish. He couldn’t have been pushed. Where had that thought even come from? This was an accident, and all they had to do was wait for the police to arrive and clear it all up. But…where was Finley? Where was Lucas?
Nora heard the turn of a key in the lock and gave a startled yelp as the kitchen door opened. Finley froze, his eyes big, and stayed motionless on the doorstep for a second. Then, quickly, he shoved something into his pocket and, trying to act nonchalant, said, “Up so late? It’s 3am! What’s going on? Why are all the lights on?”
“What’s in your pocket?” Nora asked.
“Rude,” Finley said. He looked over Nora’s shoulder and into the living room. Pushing her aside he moved through the kitchen. “Viola?” There was real concern in his voice.
“Oh! Finley!” Viola ran to him and enveloped him in a hug. “Oh, it’s horrible. There’s a man here…and none of us know who he is! He’s dead, Finley!”
“Dead? What are you talking about?” Finley sounded alarmed. He looked at the body and then quickly looked away.
“Do you know him?” Harvey asked.
Finley slowly peeked back at the man’s face, reluctant to even breathe, then exhaled in relief. “I have never seen that man before.”
“Are you sure?” Harvey asked.
Finley nodded. “I mean, look at his tattoos. You aren’t likely to forget him, are you? Is that a skull tattooed on his hand?”
Harvey nodded. “Looks like an unsavory character. But we have no idea what he’s doing here.”
“Actually, we have no idea what you’re doing here,” Nora said to Finley. “It’s 3am. Where were you?”
Finley looked up from Viola’s embrace and gave Nora an irritated glare. “That’s none of your business, I’d say.”
“When a body shows up, I’d say it’s all of our business,” Nora corrected him. “Where were you?”
Looking from Nora to Viola, Finley suddenly said, “I was out taking a walk. Okay? I do that sometimes. I’m an insomniac.”
Viola, who still had her arms around Finley, took a step back and looked up at him. “You never told me that before. That you’re an insomniac. You told me you sleep like a baby.”
“I mean…” Finley shrugged. “Yeah, I guess normally I do. But it happens. Some nights you just can’t sleep.”
“So what were you holding in your hand when you came in just now?” Nora asked. “You shoved it into your pocket like you were trying to hide it.”
“Listen, I’m not going to stand here and be asked invasive questions,” Finley said sharply. “You’re a guest in this house, so act like it.”
There was a sharp rap at the door and cries of, “Police! Open up!”
*****
Four officers stood at the door with flashlights and guns at the ready. One of them, a rotund man with a handlebar mustache and balding head, introduced himself as Chief Andrews. He took one look at the body and gave a little whistle.
“You know who this is?” Harvey asked.
“Sure do,” Chief Andrews confirmed. “I’ve been butting my head against his for a long time now. Pity that this is how he met his end. That’s Bobby Black. Name ring a bell?”
They all just stared at him.
“That’s right,” Chief Andrews said. “The man is a known criminal.”
Viola gave a little gasp. “But what is…was…he doing here? Why was he in my house in the middle of the night?”
“I’m sure we’ll uncover that in the course of our investigation,” Chief Andrews said officially. “All I can say right now is, if he was in this house, you’re all lucky nobody was hurt. And now we’ve got some questions for all of you…”
Nora looked around and found that, while they’d been distracted by the police, Finley had quietly slipped up the stairs and vanished, never answering the question she’d posed him.
*****
Chapter 10
The Inconvenient Murder
Breakfast was a bleak affair that morning. Kaylee was hustled off to school through the backdoor so she wouldn’t notice the police cars and reporters that milled about in front of the house. As for the rest of the family, they all seemed to be in shock, too. Viola manned the
stove, scrambling eggs, while Jacob popped slices of bread into the toaster and buttered them as they came out. Aunt Eugenie sat at the dining table scrolling through her news feed.
“It’s all over town,” Eugenie said, her face red. “Everybody’s talking about it on Facebook.”
“Not just Facebook,” Jacob corrected her. “I’ve been getting calls nonstop. People are curious.”
“I just put my phone on silent,” Viola said.
“Morning.” Lucas yawned and stretched as he walked into the room. “Heard there was a lot of excitement last night.”
“I’m really surprised you didn’t hear it,” Aunt Eugenie said. “I mean, I know you were asleep in your attic suite, but..”
“Not just asleep. He was dead to the world,” Jacob said. “When I tried to wake him up he just mumbled something and rolled back over. How do you feel, Lucas?”
“Terrible. I have a splitting headache,” Lucas said.
“That’s what happens when you drink too much,” Viola chided. She pointed a spatula at him. “We still need to talk about that party you threw, you know. You’re not off the hook yet.”
“Aw, Ma,” Lucas groaned. “After breakfast, okay?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the party was tied to what happened,” Aunt Eugenie said.
“What do you mean?” Lucas gave her a shocked look.
“I mean that you had so many strangers hanging around in here. This man probably slipped in with them and then hid somewhere until later,” Aunt Eugenie said.
“Th-that’s ridiculous,” Lucas said. “That can’t be.”
“If I find out that it is...” Jacob shook his head. “If your actions exposed Kaylee to any danger at all, I’m telling you right now, I don’t care what Mom says, I’m kicking you out of the house.”
“It’s not your house, is it?” Lucas bristled. “And I’m sure he was just a burglar. You’re the one who locked up last night, Jacob. You probably left a door open and the guy just wandered in.”
The Milburn Big Box Set Page 131
