Looking up into his kind face she shook her head sadly as a long sigh shuddered through her. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks though she didn’t notice them. ‘He’s gone … Oh, Tom … I killed him! … It’s all my fault and now he’s gone!’
Nancy rushed into the room and threw her arms around her. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she began, but she knew words were inadequate.
‘Ambulance is on its way,’ she said to Tom. ‘Richard’s out cold – I’ve got Martin watching him until they arrive. I called the police, too. From the looks of things,’ she nodded at Kelly’s state of undress, ‘they might need to ask a few questions.’
The sound of sirens prevented further conversation. Tom went to let the paramedics in as Nancy held Kelly’s shivering form.
‘Kel, can you tell me what happened up there?’
Swallowing, Kelly’s eyes darted up to the mirror, hoping beyond hope that she was wrong and John’s face would appear. For long seconds she held her breath but … nothing.
Kelly shook her head and quivered as a chill crawled slowly down her spine. ‘I killed him,’ she murmured, ‘I pushed Richard into the mirror … I killed him.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Nancy replied. ‘Richard will be fine – just a few cuts—’
‘Not Richard! John.’ Her gaze rose inch by inch till it met Nancy’s. ‘I killed him.’
‘Oh, love,’ Nancy breathed and drew Kelly close. ‘It’ll be okay. I promise.’
Detective Inspector Mathieson entered the small salon and raised both of his caterpillar brows at the sight of Kelly asleep on the settee. While she remained a suspect in the Montgomery murder, any further ‘disturbances’ were immediately brought to his attention. After the first wave of police investigations, one of the constables gave him a call and alerted him to what had been happening.
Nancy glanced up and shooed him out the door, joining him in the hallway a moment later.
‘I finally got her to sleep,’ she told him with a warning glare.
‘It’s all right, Mrs Wentworth. The constables have given me their preliminary report. The rest can wait until morning.’
‘Then why did you come at all?’
He started in the direction of the front door. ‘I wanted to check things out for myself. I’ll come back tomorrow morning some time. Can you please ask Ms Reid to stay put until I can speak with her?’
‘Surely you realise she didn’t hurt Deanna, Inspector. And though she wouldn’t say so, I think Richard might have been trying to force himself on her.’
One of the inspector’s thick black brows lifted. ‘What makes you say that?’
She shrugged and looked over at the closed salon door. ‘Just a feeling.’
Mathieson nodded. ‘I’ll look into it.’
One of the constables appeared and whispered into the inspector’s ear. ‘Did Mr Ditchley go to the hospital?’ he asked the younger man.
‘About an hour ago. The paramedics took him off in the ambulance. He had several deep cuts on his hand and arm.’
With another nod he returned his attention to Nancy.
‘We’re just about finished here, Mrs Wentworth. I’ll leave a man on site overnight.’ Checking his watch, he smiled slightly. ‘What remains of the night, at least.’
Nancy saw him out then went back to the salon to make sure Kelly still slept. The paramedics had given her something to calm her down and make her sleep, and though she appeared very pale and the yellowed bruising on her forehead was stark against the blue pillow, she seemed to have relaxed.
Settling into the big armchair opposite, Nancy took up the journal and began to read.
12
Day Eleven
‘Good morning, Mr Ditchley.’ Inspector Mathieson strolled into the hospital ward sporting a wide grin.
‘What do you want, Mathieson? I’ve said all I’m going to say without my lawyer.’ He turned his attention to the garden beyond the window, effectively shutting out the inspector.
‘That’s fine, Mr Ditchley. All you have to do is listen. By breaking that mirror at Stanthorpe last night, you have provided us with enough blood for a DNA sample. I just wanted to let you know that the lab has run blood typing tests on Deanna Montgomery’s foetus and we’ll know later today whether the child was likely yours. The full tests take a lot longer than they say in the movies but we’ll know soon enough.’
Richard didn’t speak. The air in the room was suddenly too thin and he didn’t quite trust himself anyway. While he would never have allowed it had he known, he now fervently prayed that Deanna had been two-timing him. If the child turned out to be his, nothing he said or did would disprove Will’s ridiculous allegations. God he felt sick.
‘I’ve placed a man outside to ensure that you don’t decide to skip town before the results come through. I’ll be by as soon as we know.’
Mathieson left without another word.
With his good hand, Richard reached for the buzzer to call a nurse. When the poor girl entered the room he bellowed that his arm ached and he needed painkillers. ‘Now!’ he yelled after her as she departed.
‘How’re you feeling, kiddo?’ Tom asked as he placed a tray on the table beside Kelly. On the tray sat a pot of coffee, cookies, a croissant and a pot of jam. Her gaze drifted over it but she didn’t react.
‘I’m not hungry,’ she muttered, closing her eyes and turning away from his gently smiling face. She hated the pity she saw in both his and Nancy’s eyes. ‘I just want to be alone.’
‘Nancy gave strict orders that I wasn’t to leave until you drank the coffee, at least.’ He crossed his arms as if he intended to boss her around but the effect was lost because she refused to even glance at him directly.
The coldness that pervaded her being had made her numb and she wanted to bask in that icy nothingness.
‘Tell Nancy … tell her …’ She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut to ward off the threat of tears that were brimming beneath her lids. ‘Never mind.’ She swallowed back a groan and though it took a great effort she picked up the cup and took a sip of the coffee. It tasted like dirty water but if it got rid of Tom so he’d leave her in peace …
‘Good girl,’ he said. ‘I told Nance I’d be able to get you to drink it without having to twist your arm.’
‘Go away, Tom.’ She said the words quietly and without inflection.
He sat beside her and took her hand. ‘Kel … I know it hurts. I know nothing we can say will help right now, but we’re here for you.
‘The inspector will be here to talk to you in a while. He needs to know what Richard did last night. Wouldn’t you like to take a shower, or have a bath and clean up first?’
Blinking, she noticed her dishevelment for the first time since last night’s altercation with Richard. Her arms and hands were spattered with tiny droplets of blood. She groaned to think she’d slept with Richard’s blood all over her. She hadn’t even washed her face. Once the paramedics had deemed her uninjured, she’d simply shut down.
Lifting herself off the pillows she swung her feet over the edge of the settee like an automaton. ‘You’re right. I need to shower.’
‘You can use ours,’ Tom said as he held out a hand to help her stand. ‘I don’t suppose you’d want to go back to your room. I’ll get Martin to move all your things into another room while you’re showering—’
‘No!’ She shrieked. She hadn’t meant to react so angrily but she needed to remain in that room. Even if John was dead, she couldn’t let go quite yet. ‘No – it’s okay,’ she said in a more temperate tone, ‘I don’t mind. I guess I’ll have to return to the States soon anyway so no point in moving. Nancy said that you weren’t going to use that room for paying guests. With the grand opening later in the week, I expect every other room is booked out.’
‘Not yet, but we’re hoping.’
They made their way up the stairs in silence, Tom following behind like a mother hen guarding her chick from harm. On the landing she stopped in front o
f the mirror, hoping against hope that he’d suddenly appear. He didn’t, and she died a little more inside. When they reached the top of the stairs, he tilted his head towards her door and asked, ‘Are you going to tell me what Richard did in there last night?’
Her eyes welled. ‘It’s a long story – which I’ll tell you and Nance later.’
‘But what are you going to tell Mathieson? Obviously, you can’t really tell him about John. If he’s gone, you have no proof he ever existed.’
Except what is in my heart.
Swallowing hard, she looked up into Tom’s kind eyes. ‘I know. I have to think about how to explain all that. Mathieson’s a smart man – I’m certain he knows I haven’t told him everything. I expect it’ll only make him more suspicious.’
Tom placed a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. ‘If you do decide to tell him about John, we’ll back you up.’
She shook her head sadly, the sense of futility settling like a weight inside her chest. She rubbed her arms, cold despite the warmth of the morning. Perhaps she’d never feel warm again.
‘There’s no reason to now, is there?’ She turned to go into her room, but as she crossed the threshold she looked back. ‘I’ll still write his story. I can’t leave until they find who killed Deanna so I might as well give you what you asked for. There’s no reason that your future guests need to know John has gone.’
‘Not necessary, Kel. Like you said, a golf course and kiddie park will be enough.’
A short laugh escaped her. ‘Maybe, but I think I need to write it. I need to assure myself it wasn’t all a fantasy.’
‘Whatever you want to do is fine with us. Go have a shower and clean up. I’ll come find you when Mathieson arrives.’
Surveying the room she still felt as if she hovered far away … not quite living in the here and now. All the broken glass had gone. The frame, with its patches of glue and plywood backing, appeared stark alongside the striped wallpaper. As she stared at it, her mind flew back to the night when she had lain alone in the throes of rapture. She saw John’s eyes, aglow with passion and fixed upon her as if she was the only woman alive on earth. That was how he made her feel. She remembered that moment of orgasm when her eyes sprang open and she saw all the love he had for her, flowing across the barrier to her even though they would never touch. That feeling, as real and tangible as if he had been buried deep inside her, had transcended dimensions. If only she could have found a way …
Kelly forced herself to turn away. While she needed to feel close to him, needed to sleep in that bed and keep those emotions alive in her heart, she also needed to deal with the moment. And right now she still had Deanna’s murder hanging over her head and she needed to appear sane, even if she didn’t feel it, so Mathieson would clear her and eventually let her go home. LA no longer seemed like home. She doubted anywhere would feel like home again.
‘I will be taking Mr Ditchley’s statement later today, but I’d like to hear your version of last night’s events, Ms Reid.’
Refusing to look directly at him, Kelly explained the events of the previous afternoon. ‘When Richard wasn’t at the coach house, I went in to look for him. In the process I found the journal I’d been searching for – the one I wanted to use for background to my story about Stanthorpe.’
‘I expect this was the journal to do with the ghost,’ Mathieson stated matter-of-factly.
Kelly’s eyes darted to his and he gave her a knowing smile. ‘Everyone who’s lived in the area knows about the ghost, Ms Reid. I grew up in Garford, and my grandfather was a gamekeeper here in the nineteen-forties. While I can’t claim to be a believer, I do know that others swear the ghost does exist.’ He turned to Nancy and Tom, who sat on one of the sofas across the room. ‘I gather you asked Ms Reid here to expose the ghost as part of your promotion for the hotel’s opening?’
They both nodded somewhat sheepishly.
‘So you took the journal, then what happened?’ he asked, his stylus at the ready.
‘Richard kind of made it clear that if I wanted the journal, I’d have to pay for it.’
‘Pay how, Ms Reid?’
She slanted him a look that basically said he didn’t need to think hard to guess.
One black brow rose expectantly. ‘Sex?’
‘So I thought. I didn’t know where he’d gone so I decided to read the thing quickly, that way I could simply hand it back and avoid payment. I went to the pub in the village and hid in a dark corner. I figured when Richard returned he would come straight here to find me.’
‘What time was this?’
‘A bit after lunch, maybe two o’clock when I went to the pub. I stayed until well after nine and read the entire thing.’
‘I drove her back here a little before ten,’ Tom interjected.
Nodding, Mathieson made a note on his PDA then lifted his gaze back to Kelly. ‘What happened next, Ms Reid?’
‘I guess it was after eleven when Richard appeared in my room unannounced. There’s no lock on that door so I couldn’t have kept him out even if I wanted to. While he did want … sexual favours as payment,’ her voice faltered slightly, ‘he said he also needed money.’
‘Did that surprise you?’
‘Yes. But he knew I have a substantial trust fund and he demanded eighty thousand pounds … I would have given him that if it meant he’d leave me alone, but he also said he wanted us to get married in a few days and move to the States.’
‘What?’ Nancy jumped up from her chair in astonishment, though Mathieson did not appear to be at all fazed by Kelly’s statement.
‘He said he owed a lot of money and he thought it would be a good idea to live overseas for a while.’
‘We are aware of Ditchley’s financial state of affairs. What led to the scuffle that wounded him?’
‘Well, he decided that we should … you know … to seal the bargain. I hadn’t agreed to anything but that didn’t seem to bother him. Anyway … when he started to kiss me and grope me I just snapped and pushed him backwards … into the mirror.’ The last three words came out as a mere whisper. She didn’t add the ones that remained in her mind: and I killed John.
‘Do you wish to file assault charges against Mr Ditchley, Ms Reid?’ Mathieson asked as he stood.
It took a couple of seconds for Mathieson’s question to register. ‘Not really – so long as he stays away from me, I don’t care what happens.’
‘Well, call me if you change your mind. You have my card,’ he said as he made to leave.
Tom blocked his exit. ‘What’s happening with the Deanna Montgomery investigation?’
‘It is continuing, Mr Wentworth. At this stage I cannot say more.’ With that, he left.
‘Well that wasn’t so bad,’ Nancy commented as she came across to sit by Kelly. ‘Are you sure you don’t want Richard charged? I certainly would.’
Swatting the air weakly, Kelly sighed. ‘I just want it over.’
Martin tapped on the doorframe and entered the salon with a large bunch of white roses in his arms. ‘For Kelly,’ he stated as Nancy came to take them from him.
‘Oh,’ she pouted in disappointment as she slid a glance at her husband. ‘I thought they’d be for me.’
‘Whoever they’re from, I don’t want them.’
Nancy raised both brows. ‘Can I read the card?’
‘Suit yourself.’
Tom took the flowers from her arms so Nancy could extract the card.
Dearest Kelly,
Please forgive my boorish behaviour. I hope you aren’t hurt.
Richard.
Rolling her eyes, Kelly wanted to laugh. ‘Who the heck is he kidding! Have Martin dump the flowers in the trash.’
Tom handed the bouquet back to Martin. ‘You heard the lady.’
Nancy came back to sit beside Kelly, embracing her in a sisterly hug. ‘Fancy some lunch?’
Kelly knew Nancy was trying very hard to keep things light and buoyant, but all she wanted to do was
curl up in bed and sleep forever. ‘Thanks Nance, but I’m not hungry just now. Maybe later. I think I’ll just go upstairs and sleep.’
A few minutes later she stood in the centre of the room, twirling in a slow circle with her face lifted skyward. ‘You promised to haunt me. So, c’mon, start haunting. I need to know you’re still there. Show me something – anything!’
She remained standing in that spot for quite some time secretly praying that she wasn’t mad, hadn’t imagined it all and that he would do what he promised and come to her, even in death.
The cynical, rational side of her brain wanted to laugh hysterically that she had been reduced to pleading with a phantom she would never have believed existed only a few short weeks ago. Now she was not only a believer, but desperately in love with a dead man who in truth lived a hundred and forty years ago.
The air around her continued to remain oppressively silent, and just as she had done so many times in the past twelve hours, she forced the threatening tears back. ‘Please,’ she begged one last time. When no answer came, she breathed deeply and climbed into bed, huddling there as if it could cocoon her from reality.
The gentle hand swept up her back to make her smile inwardly. Her body reacted, a rash of goosebumps spread over her skin, raising each tiny hair. Heat pooled between her thighs, warming, dampening. She so needed his touch.
Turning, her lips sought the heated skin of his chest. Her tongue danced a circle around one small flat nipple that pebbled and peaked as if reaching toward her. The low rumble of his pleased laugh echoed through every cell and she felt a triumphant surge of feminine power.
One large hand splayed across her chest as he teased the edge of her breast. She felt it tighten and a dart of adrenalin shot through her belly, almost shocking in its intense suddenness. The hand began to weave a path downward bringing every cell in its path alive, then slowing over her slightly rounded belly, before his long fingers tangled in the damp curls. She lifted her hips, forcing his fingers lower so they delved into her heat. Yes, that was where she needed him.
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