by Marta Perry
She drew her laptop toward her and then pushed it away again. Sarah had approved the website, and it would go live in the morning. Any other work could wait.
Her thoughts slid back to that odd encounter with Ralph that afternoon. Surely there had to be more going on with him than he admitted to. Nick had said they’d look into it, and she suspected he wouldn’t let Mac rest until he’d agreed.
If Ralph had been involved in some wrongdoing...
The cell phone chimed. Glancing automatically to see who was calling, she abruptly sat upright. The bookstore. No one would be calling her from the bookstore phone but Ralph.
Connecting cautiously, Allison prepared herself to be calm but firm. “Hello?”
“Allison?” Ralph’s voice shook on her name. “I have to talk to you.”
She leaned back against the pillows. “If this is about your lease—”
“No, no. It’s not, I promise.” His voice faded, then grew stronger again, as if he’d turned away from the phone briefly. “I...I’m sorry. About how I acted today.”
“You were upset,” she said. Far more upset than was called for, she’d think. “We’ll talk it over after I have more information about the lease.”
“No. I mean—” He broke off, then started again, speaking quickly, the words tumbling over one another. “I could see what you thought, and you were right.” His voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “I’ve been hiding something. But I can’t take it any longer. I can’t!”
“I’m sure it will be all right.” Her voice soothed while her thoughts raced. So Ralph did know something more than he’d told about what was going on. “If you just tell the police—”
“Not the police!” His voice rose, panic-stricken. “You. I’ll tell you.”
“It really would be better to talk to Mac. You know you can trust him.”
“I can’t.” It came out on a sob. “Please, Allison. I’ll tell you, and then you can do whatever you think is best. Please. Just come to the shop now, so we can talk with no one hearing.”
Red flags went up all over the place. “I can’t. You come over to the bed-and-breakfast. We’ll have privacy.”
“That’s no good. You have to come here. I can’t explain unless you come.” He was crying in earnest now, sobs breaking into his words.
He was hysterical, and she shouldn’t attempt to deal with him alone. Or to set foot in Blackburn House at night without someone with her.
“All right.” She broke into his sobbing. “I’ll come. It will take a few minutes. I have to dress.” She didn’t, but it would give her time to call Mac.
“Thank you.” He whispered the words, and then the receiver seemed to clonk down on the counter. She imagined him dropping it and burying his face in his arms.
Swinging herself off the bed, Allison pressed Nick’s number. No point in calling the police station at this hour. She wouldn’t get anyone but the patrolman on duty. Nick would know where Mac was.
Nick answered on the first ring. “Allison? Is everything all right?”
“It’s Ralph. I just had a hysterical call from him, insisting that I meet him over at the shop right now. He’s been hiding something, but he says he won’t tell anyone but me.”
“Mac and I will be there in a few minutes. We’ll handle it. You stay put.”
“I can’t.” She shoved her feet into sneakers as she spoke. “He insists he won’t talk to anyone but me.”
“Don’t—” he began.
“I’ll wait for you,” she said quickly. “I won’t see him alone.”
She could almost feel the argument humming through the air toward her, but Nick must have realized it would be useless.
He let out an exasperated breath. “Stay outside until we get there. Don’t go in without us.”
“I know. I’ll wait on the porch.”
“See you in ten minutes.”
Allison pulled on a jacket and stuffed her keys into the pocket. Clutching her cell in her hand like the lifeline it was, she headed downstairs. The faint sounds of a television show drifted in from Mrs. Anderson’s private quarters in the rear. She probably wouldn’t even realize Allison had gone out. Just as well, since she’d developed alarming mother-hen tendencies lately.
It was nearly full dark already. Allison gave a nervous glance around but saw no one. She hurried to the gate to the Blackburn House property and then up the walk, slowing as she approached the shadows around the porch.
Nothing moved. She couldn’t stand there staring. She’d said she’d wait on the porch, and that was what she’d do. Trying not to imagine someone springing from the dark, she hurried up to the porch and approached the door.
And realized instantly that something was wrong. There should be several lights on in the building, and one on the porch. All of them were dark.
Allison stood for a moment, frowning. Ralph knew she was coming. He wanted to see her. Therefore he wouldn’t turn off the lights.
Not unless he’d planned a trap, some cautious part of her mind suggested.
Unlikely. That had been genuine fear in his voice...fear for himself. All the more likely, then, that he’d seek the safety provided by having the lights on.
Feeling foolish, she pressed her ear against the glass in the front door. Nothing. Her fingers closed on her keys. She had to unlock the door, anyway. Perhaps, if she eased it open an inch or so, she’d be able to hear any sounds from inside.
The lock slid back noiselessly. A quick glance down the street told her that Nick wasn’t in sight yet. Heart pounding, she eased the door open a couple of inches and listened.
When it came, the sound startled her so badly she nearly banged the door shut. Soft, barely reaching her ears, it was a breathy moan, followed by another.
Her heart thudded so loudly in her ears that it was a wonder she could hear anything. She pushed the door open another couple of inches and held her breath, listening.
A groan. Then a scrabbling sound. It produced an image of fingers clutching at the marble floor.
Probably a mouse, she told herself. Except that mice didn’t groan. Someone was in there. Someone was hurt.
The light switches were just inside the door. Without giving herself time to think, she slipped inside and began flipping switches, one after another. Nothing. No lights came on. And from the darkness came another groan, a faint sound that might have been a cry for help.
She should go back outside. She’d said she’d wait on the porch. But someone was hurt. She had to do something.
Allison took a cautious step, then another. The darkness was intense, pressing down on her, taking her breath away. If she pressed a button on her cell phone, she might be able to see a little in its glow.
But that meant that anyone lurking in the dark would know exactly where she was. Her finger froze.
The harsh sound of labored breathing seemed to assault her ears, demanding that she do something. Cautiously, the cell in one hand, she reached out with the other to feel her way along the wall.
She reached the door to the quilt shop. A faint glow came from the window opposite the door, and she took comfort from the interruption of the velvety blackness. Further on. Her mind provided her with an image of the hallway, but distances were deceptive in the dark. Was she nearly at the stairwell or not? Surely Nick and Mac would come soon. They’d see that the door was open and rush inside. She should have waited for them—
Her foot hit something soft and yielding. Off balance, she fell to her knees, her outstretched palm hitting the floor and coming away sticky. She caught back a cry, and her finger involuntarily hit the cell phone. The screen light came on, and she turned it toward what lay on the floor.
It was Ralph, crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. He was on his side, the whites of his eyes showing. Around his head...
she recoiled. The marble floor around his head held a pool of blood, and blood stained her hand.
Shuddering, she tried instinctively to wipe it off, even as she bent over him. “Ralph? Can you hear me?” She put a hand gingerly on his chest and felt the faintest movement.
“Ralph!” Why didn’t they come? Should she call and tell them to get an emergency squad here? Even as she thought it, Ralph’s eyelids blinked.
“Ralph, I’m here. It’s Allison. Help is on the way.”
His hand moved convulsively, scratching the floor. “Sorry,” he whispered.
She clasped his hand firmly in hers. His already felt cold, as if the warmth and life ebbed out of him. “I’ll call the emergency squad—” But even as she fumbled with the phone, his hand tightened on hers.
“Tell you,” he murmured. “Sorry.” He coughed, gasping for air.
“It’s all right,” she said quickly. “Don’t try to talk now. Later.”
“No...no later.” His breath rattled. “Evelyn. Didn’t mean...didn’t mean...”
“What about Evelyn? Ralph, what about Evelyn?”
But his eyes flickered, losing any hint of recognition. His head sagged to the side.
Allison fumbled, trying to feel a pulse in his neck. Unable to find one. He couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t—
Footsteps pounded. A powerful torch swept the hallway and then settled on them like a spotlight.
“It’s Ralph,” she said, her lips numb. “I think he’s dead.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
NICK THOUGHT HIS heart would stop when he bolted through the door to Blackburn House and the light picked up Allison, kneeling next to a huddled form at the base of the stairs, her eyes wide and her hands stained with blood.
“Allison!” He rushed toward her, ignoring Mac’s command to stay back. She was hurt, she needed him... “You’re injured.” He went down on his knees next to her. “What is it? Where are you hurt?”
She blinked. “I’m not.” Following his gaze, she looked down at her hands. A shudder went through her. “Ralph—I was trying to help him, but I can’t feel a pulse.”
“Let me try.” Mac eased her away from Ralph and pressed his fingers to Ralph’s throat.
“Easy.” Nick helped her slide a few feet away from the body and leaned her against the wall. Her face was ashen in the glare of the flashlight Mac held. “Do you feel faint?”
She shook her head and then rested it against the wall. He wasn’t convinced. She looked as if she might pass out at any moment. “What happened? Why did you come in instead of waiting for us?”
Mac looked up from barking into his cell phone to frown at Nick. “Hold on. Wait until I get some help here.”
He felt an intense desire to hit his brother, but maybe he was right. Allison looked as if she could use a respite from answering questions for a few minutes, at least.
He heard Mac ask for the emergency squad and looked a question at him as Mac ended the call. “Is he...?” He didn’t finish but nodded toward Ralph.
Mac shrugged. “I think he’s gone, but I’m no doctor. We have to do this by the book, and that means letting the medics have a look first.”
Allison moved slightly, and Nick realized she was holding her hands away from her, looking at them with horror. He grasped her elbow.
“You don’t have to stay here. Let me take you in the back room of the quilt shop, where you can wash your hands.”
“Just a second.” Mac stopped him as he began to lift Allison to her feet. “I’d better have a sample of the blood from her hands first.”
Nick’s fists clenched. “You don’t need—”
“Until we know how Ralph died, this is a criminal investigation.” Mac squared up to him, meeting him glare for glare. “It may be important.”
“It’s all right,” Allison said, her voice weak. “What do you want me to do?”
“Just hold out your hands and let me wipe them. I don’t have an evidence kit here, but we’ll make do.” Pulling out a handkerchief, he swiped it down Allison’s palm and then folded it into itself. “I don’t suppose you have such a thing as a plastic bag here?”
He was looking at Nick, but Allison answered. “There’s a box of them in the back room of the quilt shop. The drawer to the left of the sink.”
“I’ll get it,” he began, and then realized they only had the one flashlight between them. “There’s a flashlight in my glove compartment—”
“Right.” Mac sounded frustrated. “Get that first, then the plastic bag. Then you can take care of Allison.”
Leaving the flashlight with Mac, Nick hurried to the door, guided by the dim light washing in from outside. He snatched the flashlight and raced back. If Mac started badgering Allison with questions at this point—
But the two of them were still the way he’d left them, with Allison sagging against the wall and Mac watching her, frowning a little. Allison straightened when she saw him. “You’ll need my keys. In my jacket pocket.” Holding her hands away from her, she nodded to the pocket.
Nick reached in, pulled out the keys and went quickly to the quilt shop door. It was a matter of moments to fetch the plastic bag and hand it to his brother. “I’m taking Ally in the back room. She doesn’t need to stay here and watch.”
Mac nodded, looking harassed. “We don’t have a big enough force to deal with a situation like this. Once backup arrives and we can get some lights on and check out the building, I’ll have some questions.”
“If you’re lucky, it will just be a thrown switch on the circuit box.” Nick took Allison’s arm, nudging her gently away, trying to ignore Mac muttering under his breath.
By the time Nick had gotten her to the room behind the quilt shop, Allison seemed to have regained some of her strength. She moved steadily to the sink and washed her hands, scrubbing them over and over, as if she’d never get them clean. He watched as long as he could stand, and then he took her hands in his, rinsing them, and dried them on the dish towel that hung over the edge of the sink.
“They’re clean now. It’s all right.”
She looked at him, her eyes wide and dark. “If I hadn’t argued about coming over, if I hadn’t waited to call you, I might have been in time to help him.”
“You might have been lying there next to him.” He made his voice firm with an effort. “We don’t know yet what happened, but whatever it was, you’re not to blame.” When she continued to stare blankly, he grasped her arms and shook her lightly. “Snap out of it, Ally. It’s terrible that you found him, but nothing you did or didn’t do could change the result.”
She blinked, and some life came back into her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just...shock, I guess.”
“Come and sit down.” He led her to the rocking chair, and she sank into it. Flashing the light around the small room, he found another chair and dragged it over to sit in front of her, knee to knee. He clasped her hands warmly in his and tried to focus his thought. “Why did you come in? You were going to wait for us. Did you see something?”
“I don’t think so.” She pressed her fingers to her forehead. “The outside light wasn’t on. I noticed that, and then I thought I’d unlock the door so we could get inside right away. I heard a noise.” Her voice trembled. “I thought...I thought it was someone moaning. Someone hurt.”
A siren wailed outside, announcing the arrival of reinforcements. Mac would probably say he shouldn’t have asked any questions until he was there, but Allison had clearly needed to talk, and Mac couldn’t be everywhere at once.
They would have to call for help from the state police. He faced that unpalatable fact. Mac wouldn’t like it any more than he did, but there was no choice, at least when it came to the crime lab. A place like Laurel Ridge didn’t have the personnel
and equipment for a case like this.
“He was moaning when you came in? He was still alive, then.”
His fingers tightened on hers. “Did he say anything? Did he tell you who—”
She shook her head before he could finish the question. “He said a few words, that’s all. Nothing that made much sense.”
The light came on in the hallway. He let out a breath and got up to switch on the light. Allison sat, blinking and pale in the sudden glare.
“That’s better.” He managed a smile. “Things always look better in the light, don’t they?”
Allison shivered. “I’m not sure this does. Nick, none of this makes sense. Was it an accident? Surely no one could have wanted to kill Ralph.”
“I don’t know.” He wished he had answers that would wipe the anxiety from her face, but he didn’t. There weren’t any.
The overhead lights in the shop area came on, and footsteps approached. Mac paused in the doorway, frowning. At the fact that he was holding Allison’s hands? Maybe. If so, he could lump it.
“What do you think?” he asked before Mac could speak. “Accident?”
Mac’s frown deepened as he came over to them. “It’s too early to say. I suppose he could have fallen down the stairs.”
“No,” Allison said suddenly, and they both turned to stare at her. “I mean, I don’t see how. He was in the office when he called me. Why would he rush upstairs when he knew I was coming to meet him in a few minutes?”
Mac nodded slowly. “Good point. But we can’t be sure. If he thought of something he wanted to show you, something he had to get from upstairs, he could have been hurrying.” His face tightened. “I’ve called in the state police crime scene team. And they’ll have to handle the autopsy, as well. We don’t have the facilities.”
Nick could hear the irritation in his voice. Mac didn’t like the idea of turning any part of the investigation over to someone else, but there was no choice. And if the state criminal investigation people got involved— His mind backed away from that idea. At least Mac knew the circumstances and the people, which was more than any strangers could.