Victoria House (Haunted Hearts Series Book 2)

by Denise Moncrief

  “No. No, I’m not. I wouldn’t comment on your weight. I mean, I haven’t thought about your weight. I mean...” He needed to stop before he made things worse. “Isn’t that what most women drink?”

  She laughed. “Diet sodas would be fine.”

  “I’ll...uh...I don’t know how long I’ll be with Halsey and Kimbrough, or if I’ll even be able to meet with either of them today. Or how long it will last if I do. I hope I don’t have to bring her into the interview room. That could get ugly. So I’ll give you a call later if I can go out to the house tonight. Okay?”

  “Okay, later then.”

  He disconnected the call. A grin spread across his face. Maybe he should have been more concerned about what happened to Lucy Kimbrough’s fingerprint evidence, but his mind was on spending an evening with Tori Downing at Victoria House.

  ****

  Late Monday afternoon, Josh cupped his hands and peered through the grimy window of a rundown shack on a back road off Highway 65. He wouldn’t have known about the place if he hadn’t taken Courtney there once to see her grandmother. Years ago. Before Courtney became involved with Jared Crenshaw.

  Everyone in the county thought the two of them were married, but Josh knew better. Courtney and Jared’s arrangement was strictly common law.

  Why Courtney had adopted the Crenshaw name was anyone’s guess. She didn’t have to work—no, more to the point, Jared didn’t want her leaving the trailer without him—so she didn’t need to use her real name for a job. In fact, there was no reason for Courtney to have an identity outside of being Jared’s woman. At least, in Jared’s twisted opinion.

  Their relationship had made Josh sick to his stomach. No one should ever treat a woman the way Jared Crenshaw had treated her.

  “Courtney,” he called and his voice echoed in the quiet.

  No breeze. The air was as still as death.

  He raised his fist and banged on the wood door. It rattled on the only two hinges connected with the doorframe. He pushed his way inside and found the small house disused and abandoned. No sign that anyone had inhabited the dwelling in a long, long time. Dust layered the tops of forgotten pieces of furniture. If Courtney, or anyone for that matter, had been in the house, Josh could see no sign of it, and he was trained to spot that kind of evidence.

  He scratched his itchy day-old growth of beard. The temperature had risen to a warm eighty-five degrees and he was beginning to sweat. As he was about to turn to leave, a sharp pain erupted in the back of his head. He buckled and dropped to his knees. The second hit landed between his shoulder blades, and he face planted on the worn wood flooring.

  When he finally opened his eyes again, night had fallen. Streaks of moonlight filtered through the open door of the house. How long had he been out? As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, a gray form appeared against the darker black behind it.

  “Who’s there?”

  “It’s me. Courtney. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine. Help me sit up.” No way he’d let on that his head hurt like someone had beaten his cranium from the inside out.

  She tried to help him up, but he got halfway into position and fell back onto the wood floor. The pain in his side nearly split him in half. Had his attacker kicked him after he’d already passed out? Was he bleeding internally? He pressed his fingers against his chest and winced. Probably had a broken rib.

  “Do me a favor?” he gasped through clenched teeth.

  “What?”

  The hesitation before she answered suggested she would bolt and run if he asked too much of her.

  “I can feel my cell phone in my jacket pocket.” Thank God whoever attacked him hadn’t taken it. “Call Gray.”

  “No.” She jumped to her feet and backed away from him.

  “Why? What’s wrong?” Every breath sent a renewed shock of pain along every one of his nerve endings.

  She shook her head so hard Josh thought it might break off the thin stem of her neck. “He’s gonna arrest me for killing Jared, but I didn’t do it.”

  “No one thinks that.”

  Was he lying to her? He wasn’t exactly sure what Gray thought. His ex-best friend hadn’t shared his theories with his prime suspect. Resentment bubbled inside him, but he was well aware he didn’t have time to let it turn into a flowing fountain of bitterness. The situation reeked of danger. He had to get them out of there, and he needed the frightened woman’s cooperation.

  His was a good guess where to find her, but he still wanted to know how she got there. For the moment, her story could wait. She appeared to be in as much need of medical care as he did.

  “Are you sure, Josh? Can you be totally sure?” She sounded desperate and in pain. “I can’t go to Fairview. Not even with Gray. If she finds me, she’ll kill me.”

  She? He couldn’t imagine who would want to kill Courtney other than maybe Jared, and Jared was dead.

  “Who’ll kill you?”

  Even in the dim light her pale face appeared even paler. “I can’t tell you that.”

  “Okay, then.”

  He studied the situation. There was no easy way out of it. “Then call Ashley. Her number’s on my speed dial.”

  Courtney hesitated, but then rummaged through his pockets until she located his cell. She stared hard at him as if trying to decide the right or wrong of the situation.

  “Please, Courtney. I might be bleeding internally. And you look like...”

  She winced. She looked like she’d been beaten. Eyes sort of wild and glassy. Breathing heavy and fast. Clothes torn and bloody. Her long dirty blonde hair appeared to be tangled with bits of weeds and grass.

  A stab of pain ripped through his side, and he gasped for another breath. She fumbled with the phone for a few moments, punching buttons and mumbling to herself.

  “Ashley? It’s Courtney...”

  Relieved that Courtney had been able to reach Ashley, he stopped struggling to remain alert, and his vision blurred before going dark again.

  ****

  The sheriff hadn’t been happy with Gray when he brought him the news of the missing evidence. Actually, he didn’t take it too well that Gray hadn’t told him about it as soon as the match had hit. Gray never mentioned the safe or the brown envelope. Halsey didn’t like that unwritten policy. A deputy resorted to bending standard procedure whenever the evidence pointed to a fellow law enforcement officer. Something that didn’t happen too often. Halsey ignored the unwritten policy, when he had to, but he was vocal about how stupid the idea was.

  No, Gray didn’t mention the brown envelope. He chose to leave Tori out of it, implying that he’d left the evidence on his desk and it walked out the door. The boss was livid. No doubt an incident report would find its way into Gray’s fat employee file.

  “How are we going to approach this, Grayson?” The sheriff’s gruff voice vibrated every one of Gray’s bones.

  He rubbed the back of his head as he got out of the sheriff’s car. “I’m going to bluff.”

  The boss stared at him over the roof of the vehicle. “Well, now, you’re good at that, but not as good at it as McCord.”

  Gray wanted to flip the car. Why did he throw Josh in Gray’s face just at that moment? Unless he wanted to remind Gray of his inadequacies.

  “Kimbrough,” the sheriff called to her as she came out her front door. “A word.”

  “Sheriff.” She slowed her pace. “Grayson.” Her eyebrows drew together over her prominent nose. “What’s this about?”

  Halsey cleared his throat and turned his gaze pointedly at Gray.

  At that moment, he could have throttled the man. Could he have been any more antagonistic? The tension between them put Kimbrough on her guard. She straightened her shoulders as if she was preparing for a fight.

  “We’ve finished our analysis of the fingerprint lifts in the Crenshaw case, and I need you to clear up a discrepancy for me.”

  “Okay.” Something flashed in her eyes. Fear? Anger? He couldn’
t be sure from where the fire sparked.

  Careful, Gray. Careful how you word things.

  “We found your fingerprint on the electrical box.”

  Well, that was blunt. Could you have worded it better?

  Gray just wanted the interview to be over, so he could get on with the rest of his evening. He hoped Kimbrough could clear up the discrepancy, and he could put the whole mess behind him. Surely, the woman had a valid explanation.

  “Okay.”

  “Why was your print on the box?” So much for the subtle approach.

  She laughed and the sound vibrated with condescension. “I was in the trailer. Remember?”

  “How long were you in the trailer before I got there?”

  He thought she’d arrived on the scene after he did, but she had to have entered it ahead of him. The trailer was so small, and he’d been in it the whole time she was there. She couldn’t have gone into the bedroom where the box was without him noticing.

  “I wasn’t. You were there when I got there.” She crossed her thick arms over her chest. “What are you implying, Grayson?”

  He adopted an official tone. “Deputy Kimbrough, it is proper procedure to wear gloves when examining the scene of a crime.”

  “I wore gloves.” Confusion settled across her features as she realized the admission she had just made. “I mean I must have worn gloves.” She nailed Gray with a dark glare. “All right, you caught me. I’d already touched the box before I realized I hadn’t slipped on the gloves. The trailer was dark, and I was trying to get some lights on.”

  Gray locked eyes with her. Remained silent. Hoped his non-verbal cues would communicate to her that he knew she was lying.

  Her hostility flared into a white-hot flame, shooting darts of antagonism toward him. Message received. She wasn’t going to cooperate. At this point, Lucy Kimbrough looked guilty as hell.

  Without a doubt, she’d been in the trailer before he arrived, but how much earlier? She had just become a person of interest in the case. The problem? She had no motive. Not that he was aware of. What was her connection to Jared Crenshaw?

  “Can you account for your whereabouts Wednesday?” He held her gaze, daring her to lie to him.

  “Oh, come on, Grayson. Are you questioning me in the case? Are you kidding?”

  “You know this is standard procedure. I have to ask these questions.”

  She shoved the strap of her purse further onto her shoulder. “Are we done here? I have things to do.”

  Until that moment, he hadn’t been sure whether he’d confront her with the missing evidence or not. Maybe it was best if she didn’t know he knew it was gone. He would have had to come clean with Halsey and pull Tori into the situation if he had. The waver in Tori’s voice when she’d told him about the threatening phone call generated a surge of protectiveness in him. He wasn’t sure what he was guarding Tori from, but he sensed it wouldn’t be good for her or her career if the truth came out.

  Tori’s history was repeating itself, and Gray wondered how that could be a coincidence.

  Chapter Eleven

  When Tori answered Gray’s knock on her motel suite door, he hadn’t expected her appearance to take his breath away. She’d changed from her usual navy pullover shirt and khaki slacks work outfit into skinny jeans and a kelly green t-shirt. The lacey, frilly stuff that decorated it made the shirt appear girly while the stretchy material clung to her in all the right places. His gaze moved up from her chest to her gorgeous eyes. The way the green shirt made the emerald of her irises pop captured his attention until his direct stare appeared to make her squirm.

  He smiled hoping to ease the sudden awkwardness his obvious ogling had created. “Are you ready to go?”

  She nodded, her chestnut ponytail bobbing up and down, and pulled the door shut behind her. “Did you bring the pizza?”

  He dared tease her. “Oh, I see. You just invited me along for the free meal.”

  “You invited yourself, remember?” Her eyes sparkled as if she was playing along with his teasing.

  He grinned and held her gaze, reluctant to let it go. “Yeah, I did. And apparently you can be shamelessly bribed with pizza.”

  Her eyes flitted away and then back to his. Were her pupils dilated? Yes, they were. A sure sign of sexual attraction. Was he putting off as many signals as she was? Probably. He couldn’t help himself around her.

  “I could have been enticed with a Baby Ruth bar, you know.”

  She smiled and his insides heated to a combustible temperature.

  “Oh yeah? You like those too?” Did his voice just drop an octave?

  “My favorite.” She licked her lips.

  “Hum...I’ll have to remember that when I’m pumping you for information.”

  A slight tinge of pink flushed her cheeks, and she cleared her throat. There was no telling what she inferred from his comment.

  He backed up a step and motioned toward the parking lot. “Let’s go, then.”

  Once they were in his car, he relaxed, but only a little. Why did their getting together seem so much like a date? An awkward first date. Had he intended it to be? Not really. He’d made the suggestion as a way to get inside Victoria House, a place he’d always wanted to investigate. Once he’d asked and she’d agreed, he’d hardly been able to keep his mind off his plans for the evening. As a result his conversation with Halsey had gone badly, and the subsequent questioning of Kimbrough had gone even worse. He’d been so distracted that he’d rushed the interview.

  He wasn’t sure what he had been looking forward to more, spending time with Tori or investigating the haunting of Victoria House.

  As if reading his mind, Tori hit him with an unexpected question. “Did you bring any of your electronic ghost hunting gizmos?”

  He turned and blinked at her. “Yes, I did.”

  A car honked behind him and he moved off the green light.

  She laughed. “What do you intend to do with your...equipment?”

  Oh, that question could have so many potential meanings.

  “Well...I won’t use it tonight...if you don’t want me to.”

  She smoothed the leg of her pants, but her jeans weren’t wrinkled. In fact, those skinny jeans fit her well, almost like skin. As he had followed her out of the motel, he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her well-shaped behind. Thoughts of what the woman might look like without her jeans on roamed through his mind.

  What was the matter with him? He’d been ogling her as if she was... Stop it, Gray. Just stop it! He sucked in a long breath. If he kept thinking that way, it would be a long night...or a very short one.

  Truth to tell, no one had ever attracted him quite like Tori. She got his motor running on high speed, which wasn’t a good thing because they could hardly have a complete conversation without snapping at each other. He suspected the woman could get under his skin and wriggle her way into his heart if he let her. Maybe that was why he kept feeding the tension between them.

  “You’re very quiet tonight, Gray. What are you thinking about?”

  “You.”

  Oh God, why did I blurt the truth?

  She didn’t react the way he expected. Not at all. He would have thought she’d laugh at him or rip him a new anal orifice. Instead, she smiled, as if to herself, as if she was enjoying some sort of private indulgence.

  “Well...” Her voice was a tad huskier than usual. “I hope you’ve been thinking good thoughts about me.”

  He laughed. “Kind of blurted that out, didn’t I?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She stared straight ahead, and he wanted to nudge her chin to face him so he could read her expression.

  “Gray? Is this a date?”

  He cleared his throat. Worst question ever. “I hadn’t intended it that way.”

  “Okay, then. Not a date.” She still didn’t glance his way.

  “Wouldn’t be a good idea...for us to get involved...like that.”

  She nodded. “You’re ri
ght. We have to work together.”

  “And I annoy the snot out of you.” He grinned and finally caught her eye.

  She laughed. “Yeah, there is that.”

  Fifteen minutes later, he crossed the bridge over Jenny’s Inlet. Lake Jefferson’s waters shimmered in the glow of a full moon. Victoria House was on the north side of the inlet. He traced the outline of the mansion’s roof through the trees that sheltered the end of the peninsula. If he turned left, he’d follow the south shore and eventually end up outside the Crenshaws’ mobile home.

  He studied the landscape of the peninsula. Victoria House sat on the highest point on the finger of land. A gap in the trees would allow an uninterrupted view of the Crenshaw trailer from the driveway at the top of the hill or from one of the upper floor windows. What could be seen from the trailer looking up toward the house? Had the intruder spied Tori watching him?

  “Let’s head down to the trailer and give it a look see. Do you mind?”

  He caught just a glimpse of disappointment in her eyes and suppressed a sigh. His excuse for coming to the lake with her was to view the Crenshaw trailer from the driveway of Victoria House. Perhaps he should stick to the original plan. Anything beyond that seemed too complicated.

  “Can we do that after we go to the house? Our pizza is getting cold.”

  Crap. He’d forgotten all about the pizza and the bottle he’d stowed in the cooler in the back seat of his car. He’d promised diet sodas and brought wine, a beverage that suggested he had romantic expectations. After their discussion, he hoped she wouldn’t read too much into his choice, even though that was perhaps exactly what had been simmering on the back burner of his subconscious.

  ****

  Tori watched Gray from the corner of her eye. His hands propped on his hips, his feet slightly apart. She recognized the stance. It was his I’m being a cop pose.

  “It’s kind of a long way across the inlet to the Crenshaws’ trailer. Are you sure you saw a man breaking in?”

  She drew closer to him and stared across the water. “It’s not that far. I know what I saw, Gray.” She pulled her phone from her purse. “Here, I took pictures.”