She turned suddenly, and a startled gasp escaped her. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“I just got here,” he replied.
“I’ve got biscuits in the oven and gravy ready to make.” She took several steps away from the window, and her gaze fell on the table. “I want to thank your agents for cleaning up in here.”
“The plates and glasses were bagged and tagged. All they cleaned up was the mess they’d made in fingerprinting.”
“Still, I appreciate it.” Her eyes were dark, as if in genuine pain as her gaze remained focused on the table. She finally glanced back at him. “There’s coffee in the dining room, and you just let me know when you want breakfast, or if you want something besides biscuits and gravy, and I’ll be glad to serve you in there.”
He nodded. “Biscuits and gravy sounds good, and after we eat, I’d like you to take me on a tour of the grounds.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded her assent. “I’ll have breakfast ready in about fifteen minutes.” She turned toward the stove as if to dismiss him.
He hesitated a moment and then returned to the dining room, where he helped himself to a cup of coffee and opened his laptop to begin work.
He hadn’t seen a personal laptop in their suite. The only computer had been in the small office off the great room that was obviously used for the business.
Heavy footsteps let him know Jackson approached. Jackson was a slender man, but he walked as if he weighed ten thousand pounds. Gabriel offered the dark-haired agent a tight smile as he entered the dining room.
“Ah, coffee... The drink of gods,” Jackson said as he headed for the sideboard.
He poured himself a cup and then joined Gabriel at the table. “So, looks like a potential abduction to me.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Gabriel replied. “I’ve already let Director Miller know how things stand here. I’m in the process of getting a financial picture for both their personal life and this business. After breakfast I’m walking the grounds with Marlena, and I want you and Andrew to search for a personal computer or laptop, plus get into the one in the office, and see if there’s been any unusual activity that might yield clues as to what happened here.”
Jackson nodded and Gabriel continued. “I also plan on bringing in the part-time helpers sometime this afternoon to interview them, and later I’d like you and Andrew to head into town and start asking questions.”
“Breakfast first, and then work,” Andrew said as he ambled into the room and headed toward the coffee.
“Of course, breakfast first,” Jackson said with a grin. It was office intrigue about what Andrew loved most: his job, his girlfriend or food. There was a rumor that he’d once eaten his weight in meat and desserts at a local buffet in Baton Rouge.
Andrew joined them at the table, and for the next few minutes the men spoke about the interviews they’d conducted the night before with the gardener, John Jeffries, and Marlena’s brother, Cory.
John Jeffries was thirty years old, originally from New Orleans, and his alibi for the night of the disappearance was that Cory had been at his cabin and the two of them had been watching horror films and had fallen asleep. According to both Cory and John, they’d slept through the night, John on the sofa and Cory in a recliner, and had both awakened around seven the next morning.
They all stopped talking when Marlena walked in carrying a huge basket of biscuits, a small tray of butter and a variety of jellies. “I’ll be right back with the gravy,” she said, looking at none of them as she set the basket and tray in the center of the table between where the three sat.
“And what are our thoughts of the lovely manager?” Jackson asked in a low voice.
“The verdict is still out,” Gabriel replied. What he’d like to know is if her hair was as soft, if her lips were as hot as they’d been in his dream. He frowned, shoving away these unwanted thoughts. “As far as I’m concerned right now, she’s at the top of our suspect list. If nothing else, she’s a person of interest who might know something that will solve this disappearance.”
He slammed his mouth shut as she returned to the room, carrying a large bowl and ladle of sausage-scented gravy.
“Mmm, smells good,” Andrew said, having already opened a couple of the biscuits on his plate.
For the first time Marlena smiled, and the sight of it shot unwanted warmth through Gabriel’s stomach.
“I hope it tastes as good as it smells,” she replied, and then once again left them alone.
What was wrong with him? Why was this woman already under his skin? Gabriel grabbed one of the warm biscuits and tore it open, irritated by the unfamiliar feelings Marlena Meyers evoked in him.
Although Gabriel had enjoyed sex with a number of women over the years, it hadn’t been that often, and it had always been just sex, with the understanding that he wasn’t a forever kind of man. There was no place for love in his life, never had been, never would be.
Still, something about Marlena Meyers made him think of hot sex, of tangling his hands in her impish blond curls, of feeling the spill of her naked breasts in his hands. It had been a very long time since any woman had affected him this way.
Get a grip, he told himself irritably. She was at the very least a tool to use to gain information on a potential crime, and at the most, potentially responsible for the disappearance of the Connelly family. Not a woman to fantasize about, not a woman to get close to in any way.
All he wanted from her was answers, and to that end, once the meal was over and he knew he’d given her enough time to clean up the kitchen, he went in search of her to accompany him for a walk around the grounds.
It had been too late last night to fully view the surrounding area, and it was possible that some clue or bit of evidence might be found outside.
If the family were being held alive someplace on the property, then before dusk fell, Gabriel would find them. If the family was dead and their bodies were still on the property, then they’d be found as well, before the end of the night.
It was just after eight-thirty when he and Marlena left by the front door, the heat and humidity already like a slap in the face as they walked outside.
“I thought it was humid in Baton Rouge, but this makes Baton Rouge feel positively arid,” he said as they stepped off the porch.
“That’s why July and August are our slowest months of the year. We only had two couples booked for the next few weeks, and I emailed them this morning to cancel their visit.”
“Hopefully we can tie things up here before the next couple of weeks,” Gabriel replied. He pointed toward a shed near a dock that extended out over the pond. “What’s that?”
“It’s a bait shack. You don’t think...” Her voice trailed off as if her thought was too horrible to say out loud.
“I need to check it out,” he said grimly.
“I’ll wait here.” Her voice trembled as he left her side and walked onto the planks at the front of the dock. The bait shop was an oversize shed, and the door was closed.
From outside the wooden structure, he could hear the faint hum of something electric, probably a refrigerator and tanks to hold live bait. He pulled from his pocket a thin latex glove and then reached out for the doorknob, his heart taking on an unsteady rhythm.
Were Sam and Daniella and little seven-year-old Macy dead, their bodies shoved inside this small building? Although Gabriel had worked difficult cases in the past, it never got any easier to work a case where a small child was involved.
He grabbed the doorknob, drew in a deep breath and then opened it. A whoosh of relief escaped him as he saw exactly what he’d hoped to see: a refrigerator, several wells holding minnows, a screened-in box full of live crickets and no bodies.
He looked back at Marlena and shook his head. Even from this distance, he coul
d see the relief that washed over her pretty face. He met her on a graveled path that led near the edge of the water.
“Does the pond have big fish?” he asked as they fell in step together.
“Some of the guests have pulled out real beauties,” she replied. “Mostly catfish and bass and the ever-present bottom-feeding carp.”
“Do you fish?”
“No way. This is as close as I ever get to the pond or any body of water bigger than a bathtub.” Her eyes darkened with a hint of fear. “I never learned how to swim.”
He absorbed this information as he did every minute detail about her and his surroundings. “What other buildings are on the property?” he asked, focusing back on the reason they were taking this walk.
“Just a big gardening shed, John’s place and the carriage house,” she replied.
“We’ll check out the gardening shed, and then I want you to let me into the carriage house. It was too late last night to search there by the time we processed the kitchen and interviewed you, your brother and John, but we need to check the place and make sure nothing is out of order there.”
“Okay,” she replied, her voice filled with anxiety.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, following the path that edged the side of the pond. “You think I’m guilty of something, don’t you?” she said, finally breaking the tense silence between them.
She was definitely guilty of stirring an unexpected, unwanted fire of desire inside him. He was aware that she was waiting for his answer. He shrugged. The truth was that, at this moment, he had no definitive answer for her as to whether he believed her guilty of having something to do with the Connellys’ disappearance or not.
* * *
A WEARY EXHAUSTION battled with the pound of a headache as Marlena cut up fruit to make a salad for the evening meal. After she and Gabriel had walked the grounds earlier that day, Gabriel had spent the rest of the morning on his laptop, while Jackson had worked at the bed-and-breakfast computer in the tiny office just off the common room. Andrew had gone into town to ask questions and make arrangements for Marion Wells, Valerie King and Pamela Winters to come to the house to be interviewed.
Around noon Marlena had placed a platter of ham and cheese sandwiches, along with a big bowl of potato salad, on the table. She had stacked the plates and silverware, allowing the men to eat whenever they were ready rather than calling them to a sit-down meal.
All the rules had changed. From the moment she’d awakened and found the family gone, the neat and orderly world inside the bed-and-breakfast had been shattered.
Marlena was on the verge of shattering every time she thought of the missing people she loved. Daniella had been like a sister, and in the past two years, Sam had become like a favorite brother-in-law. Seven-year-old Macy was the icing on the cake in the family Marlena had temporarily claimed as her own.
Marlena had spent most of the afternoon either in her room or in the kitchen preparing dinner. She’d decided to serve the men a hearty meal of smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes and corn. The fruit salad would be perfect to finish off as dessert. She knew that Gabriel had spent the afternoon interviewing Marion Wells, Valerie King and Pamela Winters, but she suspected those women knew no more than she did about what had happened.
The back door creaked open and she jumped, nearly slicing her finger. She relaxed as she saw her brother step into the kitchen. Lately, most of the time she wanted to take him by the shoulders and shake some adult sense into him, but at the moment, the sight of him was a welcome one, and her heart filled with love.
“Hey, sis. How’s it going?”
“It’s going,” she replied.
He slumped into one of the chairs at the table. “This is all so weird.”
“Scary weird,” she agreed, and then couldn’t help herself. “I thought you were going to get a haircut last week.”
He raked a hand through his shaggy blond hair. “I didn’t get around to it yet, and don’t start nagging.”
She grinned ruefully. “I don’t have the heart or the energy at the moment to nag you. How about a glass of chocolate milk? You know chocolate milk solves everything.”
A hint of a smile curved his lips, and she knew he was thinking of all the bad times they’d gone through in the past. Chocolate milk had always been her panacea. “That sounds good,” he agreed.
She made the milk with chocolate syrup, stirred it until it was foamy and then set a glass for Cory and a glass for herself on the table.
“Thanks.” He took a drink and then looked at her. “I saw you walking with that detective this morning. Is he giving you a hard time?”
“Gabriel Blankenship. And, no, he isn’t giving me a hard time, but he’s doing his job. By the end of our walk this morning, my head was spinning from all the questions he’d asked.”
“Questions like what? Surely he doesn’t think you had anything to do with this.”
She took a sip from her glass. As always, the sight of Cory caused love to well up inside her. He had the face of a choirboy, open and earnest, with blue-green eyes that radiated a soulful innocence.
“I don’t know what exactly he thinks about me, but he asked me the questions I would expect under the circumstances. Did Sam and Daniella have any enemies? Had either of them been threatened recently? Had their moods changed in the past few days? Of course, my answer was no to all of them.”
“How did this happen? Do you think whoever took them will come back to take us?” His eyes simmered more blue than green.
“Oh, Cory, I don’t think so. I don’t think any of us are in danger.” But she wasn’t sure if she believed the reassuring words or not.
Without knowing who had taken the Connelly family and why, without knowing exactly what had happened in the kitchen the night they disappeared, there was no way to know if there was still danger lurking about or not.
“Are you eating with the others in the dining room tonight?” she asked. Cory often sat with the guests for dinner.
“Nah. John and I are heading into town for pizza.”
“It’s nice that you and John get along so well.” She finished her milk, placed the glass in the sink and then returned to slicing up the last of the fruit.
“He’s cool. He’s kind of like a father, always telling me how to do things and teaching me stuff. We caught two rattlesnakes today, cut off their heads and threw them into the woods.”
Marlena’s heart filled with sorrow for her brother, who had lost his mother and father far too soon. Although Marlena had done everything in her power to fill Cory’s needs and see to his care, she knew she hadn’t been a substitute for a masculine presence in his life.
“As far as I’m concerned, the only good snake is a dead snake,” she replied. “I’m glad you have John. Every boy needs a male role model in his life, but don’t forget our future game plan.”
“Yeah, yeah, I remember.” He finished his milk and stood. “I’d better get out of here. We have some work to do outside before we head into town for dinner.” He walked over to her and kissed her on the temple. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked in a surprising role reversal.
“I’m hanging in there,” she replied, a surge of pride fluttering in her heart as she realized the child she’d raised was showing all the signs of becoming a man.
By the time she placed dinner on the table, the house was empty except for herself and the three agents. She served them and then returned to the kitchen, where she ate her dinner at the table where Sam, Daniella and Macy had been interrupted in a nighttime snack.
Their absence was a physical pain in her heart, and she knew it would be there until she got some answers. Hopefully Gabriel and his men had come up with something during the day’s investigation.... A clue, a potential motive, something that would find the family alive and well.
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After the men had eaten and she’d cleared their dishes and cleaned the kitchen, she retired to her private rooms, figuring the best thing she could do was stay out of the way of anything the FBI agents were doing to investigate.
It was after eight when a knock fell on her door. She got up from the rocking chair and opened the door to see Gabriel.
“May I come in?” he asked.
Surprised, she opened the door farther and motioned him to the sofa, then sank back in the old wooden rocking chair that squeaked faintly with every rock. “Did you find out anything today?” she asked, trying to ignore the pleasant woodsy scent that had followed him into the room.
“Several things, but nothing concrete to provide a trail to follow.” As usual, his handsome features appeared set in stone, and there was no warmth, no welcome at all in the depths of his eyes. “I stopped in to tell you that it isn’t necessary for you to cook for us. We aren’t paying guests here, so we aren’t your responsibility.”
“I really don’t mind, and besides, it keeps me busy. I’ll go crazy with nothing to do around here,” she protested.
He leaned against the sofa back, seeming to shrink the size of the piece of furniture—and the entire room—with his presence. “Pamela Winters is not a fan of yours.”
Marlena couldn’t help the short burst of laughter that escaped her at his understatement. “Pamela Winters hates my guts.”
“Why is that?”
Marlena rocked several times, the squeak of the chair the only noise in the room as she thought of the dark-haired woman who worked as the head housekeeper.
Marlena finally stopped her movement and focused on the man asking the questions. “I think Pamela thought she was going to become the manager once Daniella decided to give up some of the reins of the daily running of the place. Unfortunately, when I arrived here, penniless and with no place else to go, Daniella not only took me under her wing, but she instantly appointed me manager. I don’t blame Pamela for feeling betrayed, but somehow her anger has been pointed at me. We’re civil with each other, but she’s made it clear she doesn’t want to be my friend.”
Harlequin Intrigue November 2013 - Bundle 2 of 2 Page 42