Deadly Inheritance: A Romantic Suspense (11 page)

What if something had happened to him? Her stomach cramped, and she took a deep breath to ease her muscles.

Why should anything have happened? He wasn’t one of the cousins. He wasn’t involved in this mess and had barely done any investigating. So he hadn’t been there long enough for anyone to suspect why he was really there.

Unless he’d already touched a raw nerve.

She refused to panic, and held out the phone to Sarah. “Sorry—I just realized that I don’t have his phone number.”

“Did you expect him to return for supper?” Sarah studied her with an unreadable expression in her gray eyes.

Nora shook her head. Talking about him would only make it worse. She grabbed for the first subject she could think of. “Yes, well, I couldn’t help but notice the pictures in your room. What was the name of your cat?”

“Socrates.” Sarah went back to the refrigerator and pulled out a clump of cilantro, a few tomatoes, and an onion. She placed the items on the table and faced Nora, her eyes blazing and mouth set in a thin line. “Mr. James didn’t like no animals. He threw Socrates…out.” A tear rolled unheeded down her lined cheek.

She didn’t have to explain what “out” meant after Nora’s fall into the moat. Her imagination supplied all the gruesome details.

She’d never met her uncle and was suddenly
glad
she had not. In fact, she was starting to wonder if she should even accept his money, although the irony of using an animal-hater’s money for a no-kill shelter had a sort of poetic justice that was irresistible.

“I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It was ten years ago. The James family always had their own little ways. We should get this supper started.” Sarah shut her out by turning away to open the package of fish.

Although Sarah relaxed as they concentrated on preparing the food, Nora could not stop casting quick glances at the Kit-Cat clock. Her feeling of unease grew as night settled around them and turned the windows a deep black.

Where
was
he?

She was still distracted when they sat down to eat. Supper was a major hit with the cousins, and even Sarah seemed to enjoy her bland version of the fish taco. As they relaxed and even joked, Nora’s gaze locked on to the Ormolu clock on the sideboard. The minutes clicked by with agonizing slowness.

“Where’s your friend?” Candy pushed her plate away and picked up her cup of coffee. She studied Nora over the lipstick-stained rim as she sipped.

“He had a few errands to run,” Nora said, putting her half-eaten taco down. Her stomach clenched at the thought of eating another bite.

“Maybe he was scared away.” With a half-smile curving her mouth, Candy flicked a scornful glance at Mike. “You know, the thought of real ghosts and all.”

“B-but he’s a p-paranormal investigator,” Mike objected, looking concerned. “He w-wouldn’t be frightened. Maybe something happened to delay him. Car trouble or something.”

Nora’s hands twisted together in her lap, but she managed a calm smile, conscious of Candy’s calculating scrutiny. “I’m sure he’s fine. Just running late.”

Kirsty gave her a worried look and fiddled nervously with her silverware. She pushed her unused knife parallel to the top edge of her plate and then moved it back to the right side with one fingernail before repeating the motions. “Are you sure he left?” She sent one quick glance at Candy. “The moat—well—you know about that. Sarah explained about your accident when we sat down for lunch.”

“Really?” Nora studied Kirsty.

Kirsty’s fingers fluttered over her silverware again, moving the knife around again. “We didn’t hear it, we didn’t know what happened or we would have helped you. Right, Mike?” She cast a quick glance at her cousin.

Mike nodded quickly.

“We were playing a game. On the computer,” Kirsty continued hurriedly. She realigned the knife next to her plate. “We would have helped you if we’d known what was going on, but these walls are super-thick. Half the time, you can’t even hear anyone walking in the hallway right outside.”

Mike cleared his throat and frowned.

Before he could speak, Kirsty rushed on and said, “I mean, down here. Upstairs, you can hear people in the hallway and all. Well, you know what I mean.”

“Sure,” Nora said. Despite her calm voice, she felt annoyed. Her cousins should have been there to greet her, not sitting around a computer, playing games. It felt like a snub, doubly so when both Kirsty and Mike stared at their plates with faint red patches covering their cheeks. They, at least, felt a little ashamed over their lack of interest in her. Candy and Drew just smiled like a pair of cats sunning themselves on the windowsill. Nora cleared her throat. “And Gabe didn’t fall in the moat when he left. I saw him drive away.”

“I don’t think you caught what Kirsty meant. Dear Uncle Archie didn’t build that moat to keep people
out
,” Drew said, leaning back and watching her with a slight smile and a malicious gleam in his brown eyes. “Although it did delay your arrival, didn’t it?” He paused but continued before Nora could respond. “He built it to keep people
in
. To control who left and when.”

“And you should know, right, Drew?” Candy asked in an overly sweet voice. “You came here often enough, hoping for a few handouts.”

“No more than you, sweetheart,” Drew said.

“M-maybe Uncle Archie’s g-ghost didn’t want him to leave. Maybe he’s still here somewhere.” Mike glanced around as if Gabe might be hiding in one of the shadowy corners.

Nora stood up. “He’s fine. Honestly. Let me help you with the dishes, Sarah.”

After they’d cleared the table and washed the dishes, Nora went out to the front door again. Mike’s comment about Archie’s ghost haunted her.

The dog ramp was missing. She searched the hallway and returned to open the door and study the black, gaping hole in the bridge.

Nothing. The ramp was simply gone.

Drew said that Archie liked to control his guests, or anyone arriving or departing. He particularly didn’t like them to leave without his permission.

And he was a cruel, vindictive man. Had his spirit returned and taken the first step to isolate them at Autumn Hill?

No.
She couldn’t think like that. She didn’t believe in the paranormal. Maybe she hadn’t seen the ramp because of the darkness outside. She flung open the massive front door again.

Intense cold filled the hallway as blackness rushed inside, seeming to dim all the lights and lengthen the shadows masking the hallway’s corners. An icy breeze rippled over her skin, and the sense of someone watching her grew so strong she almost whimpered.

“Is anyone there?”

Silence. When she looked around, all she saw was the darkness that turned even blacker at the line of trees surrounding the house. She was alone in the hallway, and yet the sensation of being observed intensified, tightening her nerves.

Where was he
? At least when Gabe was around, she didn’t feel quite so alone.

Or afraid.

She crossed her arms, gripping her elbows and hugging them as she waited for her eyes to adjust. The moat was a wide, black band at her feet, unbroken by the silver-gray metal of the ramp. It really was gone. A light breeze rustled through the trees outside, making the darkness ripple with movement.

Was someone watching her? Waiting in the blackness?

A blanket of cold fear settled over her shoulders, dripping icy water down her back.

Gabe, where are you? Don’t leave me here alone—please.

Gabe woke up wrestling with the crisp sheets that held him down. The light hurt his eyes. He blinked and looked around. A hospital bed. His heart accelerated. What time was it? A sense of urgency roared over him, making his head pound. He shifted in the bed, trying to sit up. His muscles felt like rubber. He groaned.

Where was Nora?

The one window in the small room showed only darkness and a faint reflection of his pale face and the white expanse of his bed. He swung his legs out of bed and pressed his fist against his head. The throbbing centered in his left temple increased until his eyes watered.

“You’re awake?” a plump, middle-aged nurse in cartoon-covered scrubs asked from the doorway. “Bet you’ve got a headache, too. Let me find the doctor—he can prescribe something for you. Back in a sec.” She didn’t wait for his answer, or his questions, but turned around and disappeared down the hallway.

When her squeaky footsteps faded, he got up with a wince. He had to get back to Nora. He glanced around, feeling a momentary confusion before he staggered over to the small closet in search of his clothing. A plastic bag with his wallet, cell phone and fist full of loose change lay on a shelf next to his shoes. He felt around, but there was nothing else except a little gritty dust. No sign of his clothing. They’d probably cut them off when he’d arrived at the hospital.

His pulse rate kicked up a notch. He studied the dark windows.
Night
. He had to get out of here.

Moving and breathing were painful. He gripped the closet door to steady himself. A wide bandage wrapped his chest under the hospital gown. A broken rib or two, along with a bruise—he felt his forehead gingerly—a cut with several stitches above his left temple. Nothing worse.

A sickening memory of crumpling metal brought an oath to his lips. His vehicle was gone. All that sweat and work—a wave of anger washed over him. He clenched his fists, pressing them against the soft edge of the mattress.

This wasn’t the time to worry about the loss of his truck, no matter how much it hurt. He had to find something to wear and get back to Autumn Hill before anything happened to Nora.

Nora
. She was what was important now.

He picked up the phone, only to slam it down again. She didn’t have a cell phone any more. They were cut off from each other. He glanced at the blackness outside the window. She was in danger—there could be no doubt of that. Not now. His vehicle had been sabotaged by someone at the James place.

Someone was determined to get rid of the competition and be the sole heir to the fortune. He’d already tried to kill her once, and now he—or she—had tried to kill
him
.

Well, he wasn’t that easy to kill. He grabbed the phone again and called Frank Leonard.

“Do you realize what time it is?” Frank asked by way of a greeting. “It’s nearly midnight.”

“Great. So there won’t be much traffic to delay you. Go to my house, pick up some clothes, and bring them here.”

“Gabe? Is that you?”

“Yes—now can you do that for me? I’m at the hospital. When can you get here?”

“No, I can’t do that for you. I repeat in case you were too sedated to pick it up the first time. It’s nearly midnight. And what are you doing at the hospital anyway?”

“A minor accident. I’m fine.”

“Nora—was she hurt?” Frank asked sharply.

“She wasn’t with me.” Gabe took a deep breath before he continued, “And I think it’s about time you leveled with me—what is going on? What didn’t you tell me about this situation? I’m not much good to Nora or anyone else if I don’t know all the facts.”

Silence. Gabe could almost hear the gears in Frank’s head spinning. “Something’s wrong at Autumn Hill.”

“No kidding,” Gabe interrupted dryly.

“I didn’t want Nora to go there alone and I, well, I’m not much use in a wheelchair.” Frank’s hurried words sounded defensive.

“What about the police? What have they got so far?”

“They haven’t been much use, either,” Frank replied. “And like I told you before, with Autumn Hill’s reputation for ghosts, I thought you could use that as an excuse to accompany her.” He paused, and Gabe had the sense that he was thinking furiously. The silence almost hummed with the vibrations of his agitated brain cells. “I do have some suspicions, though. I’ve been doing an inventory of Archie James’ finances to ensure we can cover the taxes and settle the estate.”

“And?”

“Fifteen years ago, James had significant assets in various investment vehicles. Then he started making withdrawals—large withdrawals.”

“Blackmail?”

“No, I don’t think so. I found some paperwork that indicates he’s been converting it into gold. At least the sums he withdrew are roughly equal to the sums listed in the gold procurements. And the transactions usually occur within a week of each other.”

“Gold,” Gabe repeated, his mind churning. No wonder the James cousins had been so avid about visiting Autumn Hill. They were treasure hunting. “Did his relatives know about this?”

“I don’t know what he told his nieces and nephews.
I
didn’t know about it, and I was Archie’s lawyer.”

“Where is the gold secured?”

“Again, I don’t know. There’s no paperwork indicating any storage or security fees, and I would have expected there to be.”

“Unless he hid the gold somewhere in his house.”

“Yes. And that’s the problem, isn’t it?”

“It certainly may explain the
ghosts
.” Gabe chuckled and winced at the sharp pain in his side. “Looks to me like someone knows and is searching for it.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Frank acknowledged. “So you can see why I believe you need to keep an eye on Nora. If you’re there, she may be safe until I can figure this out and the police can identify the person responsible for Archie’s death. He was a peculiar man and considering the situation with the gold, it’s not surprising that he expected something to happen. However, I don’t think he really thought he’d be murdered over a few gold bars.”

“How much gold are we talking about?”

Frank remained silent for a moment. “I shouldn’t be discussing this with you, but he converted around two million over the last fifteen years. The oldest purchases will have increased significantly in the interim. I would hesitate to give you a more accurate value until I’ve been able to conduct a full inventory.”

Gabe found it difficult to breathe. Over two million in gold. “That’s good enough.” He shook off his shock, but couldn’t shake the increasingly desperate feeling that Nora was in trouble. “Do the police have any leads in the James’ murder?”

“The detectives haven’t shared anything except the basics, which you already know.” Frank yawned noisily. “It’s midnight. Get some sleep.”

“Later. Can you get my things and bring them to me? My sister has a spare key to my house.”

Gabe could hear the sounds of Frank’s jaw crackling as he yawned again, sighed, and then said, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

A doctor and the plump nurse came through the doorway. Gabe waved them to wait. “When will that be?”

“Around eight. No, make that nine, tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow! I can’t leave Nora alone that long—” He broke off, gritting his teeth and turning away from the two medical staff who were watching him curiously. “She’s alone.”

“Sir, please get back into bed,” the nurse interrupted, reaching for the phone.

Gabe turned his shoulder to her. “Frank, I need to get out of here tonight.”

“I’m not releasing you tonight.” The doctor glanced at the chart in his hands, frowned, and blocked the doorway.

The nurse nodded in agreement and held out her hand again for the phone.

“Frank—” Gabe hunched over the handset.

“Tomorrow at nine. Get a good night’s rest.” Frank hung up.

Gabe handed the phone to the nurse and reluctantly sat on the edge of the bed. The doctor checked his eyes and vitals, asked about his memory of the accident, and reiterated the instruction that he was to stay in bed until the morning. Gabe had a mild concussion and a hairline fracture of one rib and was fortunate to have escaped worse injuries.

He didn’t feel fortunate. He felt restless and worried. What was Nora doing? He eyed the phone. He’d forgotten to tell Frank Leonard to contact her, somehow, and let her know what had happened.

And he’d forgotten to tell Frank about the severed brake line. He had no idea how serious the situation was.

When the doctor left, he tried Frank’s number again, only to have his call go immediately to voice mail. Seething, he left a terse message and hung up. A taxi—he started to dial information but then he hung up. No point in getting a taxi if he couldn’t get into Autumn Hill. They’d all be in bed by now. The chances of them leaving the dog ramp in place were slim-to-none.

He was stuck here until morning, whether he liked it or not. He just hoped Nora locked her bedroom door.