Kendall saw gray hair topping the bundle. “Who is it?”
“The caretaker, I’d guess.”
Kendall looked at the body. The cause of death was obvious. His throat had been cut. Could Nathan have done this? Or Brandi? Kendall walked closer to the bed. She had to know. The caretaker was staring at the ceiling with an expression of shock. His fists were clenched as if he’d woken to find someone over him. The smell of decay was more noticeable up close. She touched the sheet and focused. Nothing. Cringing, she touched the tip of one finger to his cold fist. She had a hard time with bodies and death, unless they were old. Old death was history. New death was just… death. She forced herself not to recoil. If she didn’t pick up something from his skin, she would have to touch his blood. She shuddered at the thought and focused her mind.
The first thing she felt was fear. She knew he had in fact woken up and found someone standing over him. Surprise, shock. He hadn’t known the man. A man. The murderer was a man. Part of her was hoping it had been Brandi in order to eliminate Nathan. She concentrated again and tried to see the man’s face. Someone touched her shoulder and she jumped.
“We have to get back with the group.” Jake bent and picked up a bloody knife that lay underneath the edge of the bed. He stuck it in his boot.
“What are you doing?”
“Do you want him arrested?” Jake asked.
“You think Nathan did it?”
“Not if he was in his right mind.”
More than anything, that told Kendall how much Jake cared about Nathan. He believed Nathan was guilty, and he was still protecting him.
“It might not have been him. Nathan’s not a murderer.”
“But he’s losing control. And we know he’s desperate for a cure. If this chalice is the Holy Grail, this could be it.” Jake took off his shirt and wiped their footprints as they walked toward the door. “They’ll find out we know him. We don’t want to connect any of us to this room. We’ll already look suspicious since we’re the newcomers.” He locked the door and wiped off the knob. “Hurry.”
They shut the door and wiped the other side of the knob. Jake slipped on his shirt, and they went back to join the group. The police arrived minutes later. They examined the room and took down everyone’s information and location at the time of the accident.
“Are we going to tell them about the caretaker?” Kendall whispered.
Jake nodded. He told the officer about the strange noise coming from the caretaker’s room. “The thief must have been searching for the chalice.”
“While we were in the house.” Alice clasped her hand over her mouth.
The officer went to the caretaker’s room. “Locked,” he said. He looked undecided. “Is there another key? I think we’d better take a look at this room.”
“The caretaker told me there are extra keys to the bedrooms in the office,” Halle said.
“It’s not there,” Jake whispered to Kendall. “I already checked.”
Halle checked the office, but the key to that room wasn’t there. “He must have taken it with him.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to open the door,” the officer said.
Halle’s eyes were wide. “Whatever you need to do.”
He kicked the door in and immediately stopped. “Everyone stay back.”
Alice gasped. “Is that a dead body?” She started to faint and Jake lunged to catch her, then quickly handed her off to Larry.
“My God,” Halle said. “This can’t be happening. This place is supposed to be peaceful, a place where people rejuvenate their spirits.”
The officer put them all in the living room. Within minutes, more police arrived. A detective questioned each of them. Alice told him about the man she had seen watching the house. “I really didn’t think much about it, with so many tourists in the area and the proximity of the house to the Chalice Gardens. But he was”—she blushed—“very handsome. When I found out Nathan Larraby was joining us, I thought it must be him.”
The detective frowned. “The billionaire?”
“He was supposed to be a guest,” Alice said. “But he hadn’t arrived yet.”
The police were interested in Nathan Larraby and asked Halle about the missing guest.
“They’re going to suspect him,” Kendall whispered to Jake. “Should we tell them we work for him?” Either way, it wouldn’t be good for Nathan.
Jake nodded and asked to speak to the detective. He told him who they were and about their relationship with Nathan.
Halle was standing within earshot. “You know Nathan Larraby?”
“I’m sorry,” Kendall said. “We couldn’t tell anyone. We have to protect him.”
“So this was a setup?” she asked. At which point the detective’s ears perked up, and Kendall and Jake had to spend several minutes explaining that they were here exploring the area so it didn’t sound like a plan to steal the chalice. By the time they were finished, both of them had made Nathan sound like a saint.
“I apologize, Halle,” Jake said. “It was my fault, but we needed a way inside to check the place out before he arrived. Kendall held up her end of the bargain well, don’t you think?”
Halle nodded. “Yes, but… Nathan Larraby. I wish I had known.” She sighed.
“Where is Mr. Larraby now?” the detective asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him today,” Jake said.
The detective scribbled something in his notebook and asked them several more questions about Nathan and his business and activities. When the detective finished, he told them not to leave town and had them moved from Little Saint Michael’s to the Abbey House, which was larger. The only good thing about the incident was that their new accommodations joined the abbey. Kendall knew there was a connection between the abbey and the Protettori in Italy. This would make it much easier to find. The convenience of the matter was overshadowed by worry that Nathan might have lost control and killed someone. Why? To get the chalice? He couldn’t have done it. She knew Nathan. He wasn’t a murderer. It must have been someone else. Maybe Raphael.
Since everyone still thought they were married, Kendall and Jake were given a room together. The manager, a woman with a soft voice and worried eyes, showed them to a large bedroom on the first floor overlooking the abbey ruins. She gave them a halfhearted description of the Abbey House, which dated back to the 1830s. Once a private residence, for decades now the place had been used for retreats. There were several bedrooms to accommodate large groups. “Some of the stones in the cellar came from the abbey when it closed. If you want to find solace after all this distress, you might go there.”
Jake glanced at the bed. One. Was there even any point in discussing sleeping arrangements? They’d spent more nights in the same bed than not in the past week.
“I get the left side,” Kendall said as Jake started his usual security check of the room.
He looked up, mildly surprised, and shrugged.
While he continued making sure there weren’t any murderers or Reaper’s henchmen hiding in the room, Kendall tried Nathan’s cell phone. He didn’t answer. She called the hotel and was told that he wasn’t in. Next she called Fergus’s cell phone to see if he had heard from Nathan, but she got his voice mail. She left Fergus a message that they were trying to reach Nathan and that they were at the Abbey House in Glastonbury.
Kendall stood at the window, wondering where Nathan could be. If he was safe. If he was himself.
“At least we have our own bathroom,” Jake said when he entered the room. He walked over and stood beside her. “You OK?”
She nodded. “I guess. Nathan’s still not answering his phone.”
“What did you see when you touched the caretaker’s body?” They hadn’t had a chance until now to discuss the murder.
“Someone standing over the bed. I didn’t see his face.”
“It was a man?”
Kendall nodded. “Maybe it was Raphael.” And not Nathan.
“I don�
��t know.” Jake put an arm loosely around her shoulder. He was wearing his dirty T-shirt that they’d used to wipe the floor. Kendall leaned into him, then turned and put her arms around his waist, resting them above his belt, and laid her head against his chest. She didn’t care about his dirty shirt. He was strong and clean underneath. He folded his arms around her, and they stood at the window in silence, looking out over the ruins. She closed her eyes, wishing she hadn’t gone for a walk in the maze and wishing they were still in Italy. Or Virginia.
“Wait until the dust settles, then I’ll find him for you. I’ll go back to the hotel and see if he’s there.”
“If he’s… out of control, I’m afraid for you.”
He brushed a thumb over her chin. “You worry about me?”
“Of course. What would I do without my badass bodyguard?”
“Is that all I am to you, a badass bodyguard?”
She felt the thump of his heart, his scent. No, that wasn’t all. “You’re sexy, smart, and you’re strong.” Strong enough to hold a girl in his arms while he made love to her. “You think fast on your feet. You care about people more than you think. Keep it up and you might qualify for knighthood after all.”
“If you’re looking for a knight or anything else, let me know.” His voice was low, sending a tingle along her nether regions. The adrenaline was wearing off, and her body was looking for something else to replace the rush. To dull the worry. If she didn’t step away, they might end up in bed.
She lightly caressed his back when what she wanted to do was lower her hands and pull him closer. She could feel him hard against her stomach. He wanted her, and she wanted him. “You could be my knight and my badass bodyguard?”
“Is that what you want?” he asked.
And suddenly she was tired of fighting with herself over him. She lifted her gaze and met his simmering dark eyes. “How about my lover?”
His eyes darkened and he lowered his head. He didn’t kiss her lips. He kissed her cheek and then moved to her ear. It left her skin tingling, but she needed his mouth on hers. She turned her head and captured his lips.
“Are you sure it’s me and not Lancelot?”
“It’s you,” she said, biting at his lip.
“You drive me insane,” he said between kisses. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. He lowered her onto the covers and settled beside her. “This time, we’ll slow down.”
He moved over her, fully clothed, and kissed her lips, her neck, every exposed area of skin. Then he started undressing her, one piece at a time, kissing the new area until she wondered blissfully if someone could die from being undressed.
“Can you go a little faster?” she asked, trying to unbuckle his belt.
He captured her hands and kept kissing and touching her as she squirmed. “You’ve tormented me long enough,” he said. “Now it’s my turn.”
“I haven’t known you but a week,” she said, trying to push his jeans down. But it was impossible with his belt still on.
“It feels like a lifetime.” He finally got her undressed and he pulled off his shirt.
She attacked his neck like a starving vampire and grabbed for his belt. She yanked it out and shoved his pants down.
He grinned against her lips. “Slow down before you tear off a part we both need.”
“Sorry, you’re just moving too slow.” She felt enflamed with desire. That gave her pause. What kind of phrase was that? She managed to get his pants off, but they got stuck. “Boots,” she gasped. “Take off your boots.”
He rolled to the side and kicked them off, and then his pants. Kendall pushed his underwear down and wrapped her legs around him. “I can’t wait any longer. Please.”
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
She shoved his shoulders and he rolled over. She straddled him. “I’m sure.”
When he entered her, images flashed in her head like reflections on a broken mirror. She saw the forest again, and the couple making love. She stopped moving.
Jake gripped her hips. “God, don’t stop now.” Then he looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry. I keep seeing the man and woman in the forest.”
“It is us?”
She nodded.
He rolled over, putting her underneath him. “It must be one of your visions telling you that you belong with me.” He started making love to her again, slow, and then fast, and then slow again until she didn’t know what was present or what was past.
When it was over, and her senses and her mind and her body had come back together again, he stayed above her, fingers gently brushing back her hair. His eyes were dark, filled with things spoken and unspoken. “I don’t usually do this.”
“Have sex?”
He grinned. “Usually it’s… well, you know.”
“No. What?”
“Scratching an itch.”
“Have you scratched a lot of itches?”
“More than I should have, but not for a long while. I’ve been too preoccupied.”
“Are you scratching an itch now?”
“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. But it feels good.” He frowned. “It feels like I’ve known you a lot longer than a few days.”
“I know.” More like a lifetime.
“I didn’t tell you I saw your lovers in the forest the first time we made love.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “I wasn’t sure what to make of it.”
“It’s like being in someone else’s body, but it’s my body,” Kendall said. “I know that doesn’t make sense.”
“Actually it does.” He wound a strand of her hair around his finger. “Do you believe in fate?”
“Maybe.” Was he saying they were fated? Was that why she felt this ingrained trust for him when on the surface he had seemed all wrong for her? Was it possible that she had known him before? She had never believed in past lives and reincarnation, but after all the things she’d experienced lately, she wouldn’t rule anything out. “Do you?”
“Not until now.” Someone knocked on the door. “You expecting anyone?” Jake asked.
“No. Maybe it’s Nathan.” Kendall jumped up and started throwing on her clothes.
“It’d be just like him to show up now.” Jake pulled on his underwear and jeans and went to the door. It was Halle.
She looked at Jake’s chest and blinked. “Uh, I wanted to see if you’re all right,” she said.
“Shaken,” Kendall said. “That poor caretaker. Such a terrible thing. Has everyone gotten settled? Alice seemed troubled.”
“They’re fine now.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you who we were,” Kendall said.
“I understand. Someone with that kind of money has to be on guard. I hate to ask you this, after all the unpleasantness, but do you think you could make the séance tonight?”
“You’re going ahead with it?”
“The group wants to, and I really need to keep them happy. I know death and all this negative energy has an effect on the psyche.…”
Kendall started to say no, but Halle looked so desperate, and they did need to explore the abbey. After seeing her father there, Kendall was certain there was a connection to the Protettori, and she was going to find it. “I’ll be there.”
After Halle had gushed her thanks, she left.
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Jake asked.
“Maybe I’ll see King Arthur again. If this chalice is the Holy Grail, he might have the answers we’re looking for.”
“I thought you might want to go to the hotel.”
“No. I want to stay here. There’s a mystery to solve. I’ll touch every stone in the place if I have to.”
“Start with the ones in the cellar. The woman said some of the stones were from the abbey. I don’t want you running around outside more than you have to. Don’t frown at me. I’m trying to keep you safe. There’s a killer out there.”
And she was afraid it was N
athan.
“Even Brandi warned you,” Jake said. “Did you try to pick up anything from the letter?”
“I didn’t get anything from it before.”
“We both know how fickle your gift is. How about we try again? I’d like to know where the threat’s coming from.”
Kendall picked up the letter and opened it. She rested her fingers on the paper and closed her eyes. She waited, but nothing came.
“Are you falling asleep on me?”
Kendall opened her eyes. “No. I’m not getting anything. Other than my apartment.”
“What would your apartment have to do with the letter?” Jake rubbed the paper between his fingers. “Unless she stole the paper from you. Not that your apartment is easy to break into.”
“That’s not my paper. I don’t see how there could be a connection.”
“A psychic glitch?” he asked.
“They happen a lot,” Kendall admitted.
“Or does it just appear to be a glitch because we don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle?”
“I don’t know.” Kendall took the paper Jake had laid down. “I wish I knew what she was up to.”
“Trying to find the relics before Nathan does,” Jake said.
“How did she know about this place? We fell here,” Kendall said. “We didn’t come by choice.”
“Maybe she fell through the maze too. If you remember, when she pulled that gun on us at the castle, we weren’t far from the maze. She could have already discovered its secrets.”
“She must know something that we don’t, since she says I’m in danger.” Kendall sighed. “I’m in danger. Nathan’s in danger. Where the hell is he?”
“He could be anywhere. Paris, Africa, the room next door.”
“Do you think he did it?”
“Nathan’s not a killer, but…”
“But if he lost control, he could have hurt someone.”
“If he did, he’s going to need our help,” Jake said softly. Kendall didn’t think he realized he’d spoken aloud.
“Let’s go explore the cellar,” Kendall said. “I’d like to see the stones.”
As soon as they stepped into the hall, Kendall heard a familiar whining voice. “But it’s a cellar. Cellars are cool.” The red-haired boy and his mother were walking up the hall.
Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) Page 21