When Lily Kline takes possession of a Gothic estate with Ian Hawke, her co-heir and a stranger, she soon realizes there is more than meets the eye within the many corridors of the sequestered mansion.
Ian is aloof and even hostile at times, and thou...
The next morning, breakfast out of the way, Hannah stood next to the carved-knight newel post in the front entrance with her hands clasped together at her waist.
She watched Ms. Kline who stood conversing with the uniformed police officer at the door. He had thoroughly searched the basement and the outside grounds over the past hour and was now ready to take his leave.
"Sally lives with the Conners at the end of the road," he explained to Lily in a baritone voice, " 'bout five miles north of here. She has some kind of dementia and every once in a while she gets it in her head to run away, and when she does, she usually finds a way to break into a neighbor's home." He scratched his cheek with his index finger. "Don't know where she gets the energy to do that, but this isn't the first time. As soon as you called I figured it was her." He chuckled, perusing the open notepad in his hand. "She must have thought you were a threat somehow." He looked up. "Explains why she nicked you with a knife. I wouldn't worry about it happening again though—the Conners are making arrangements for her to move to a nursing home next month."
Lily was nodding but her expression was difficult to read.
Was she buying the story?
"I'll be giving 'em a call this afternoon," he was saying, "and making sure they keep Sally under lock and key till moving day." He crooked a grin and tugged on the rim of his peaked cap. "You just be sure to keep your doors locked this time 'round." He winked and flipped the notebook shut, stuffing it into his jacket pocket. "You take care now," he said to Lily, nodding a good-bye to Hannah.
Lily shut the heavy oak doors behind him and gave a half-hearted smile to Hannah before heading to the dining room where she had plans to spend the greater part of the day baking with Angie. It was Hannah's idea; she was determined to keep Lily away from Ian all day if possible.
She had not been amused to learn of Lily's plight in the master baths the night before. The whole thing was a figment of the girl's imagination, of course, but she must be kept quiet for Ian's sake.
Hannah pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her apron and hit redial.
"Hello," a male voice answered on the second ring.
"Andrew—" she spoke in an undertone, glancing down the corridor. "It's me. Hannah."
"How'd I do? She buy it?"
"I'm not sure. I think so. You did well—excellent costume, by the way. Almost fooled me." She stepped to the base of the stairs and looked upward. No one seemed to be in ear shot but she spoke in a hushed tone. "If she has any further concerns, I'll be sure to verify your story about Sally. And if I need your help again, I'll pay cash, as usual."
"That all for today?"
"Yes. Thank you. Bye for now."
She slid the phone back into her apron and went upstairs.
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