Shivers Box Set: Darkening Around MeLegacy of DarknessThe Devil's EyeBlack Rose (Shivers (Harlequin E))

by Barbara J. Hancock

  “Is that a screen capture of Daniel’s Facebook profile?” Brynn asked.

  Reece nodded. “I think so.”

  Was she stalking him? Did she know him? None of the items in the scrapbook indicated any personal connection, yet he obviously meant something to Ruth.

  She turned to Reece. “You have to take this to Harding.”

  * * *

  After leaving Ruth’s room, they went to the study where they decided Reece should take Ruth’s file to Harding. Brynn watched his taillights vanish from the window. Unease coiled around her insides like a snake, squeezing tight. What if Harding didn’t believe them? He had to. Ruth’s connection to Daniel, her history at Hazelwood all cast suspicion on the woman. Slate clouds hung low in the sky. Small snowflakes mingled with icy sleet pelted the glass.

  She turned from the window and started. Eleri leaned back against the edge of the desk watching her. Brynn pressed her hand to feel the rapid beat in her chest. “You scared me. I didn’t know you were there.”

  Eleri’s stony expression remained, dark eyes measuring her. “He’s working for Harding, isn’t he? That’s why you’re so certain the detective will listen to him.”

  There was no point lying to Eleri at this stage. They were all in this mess together now. “He’s feeding the detective information.” Baiting you into killing him. But she kept that to herself.

  “How long have you known?”

  Brynn sighed. “A few days.”

  “And you didn’t tell me?” Though, it was more statement than question. “Did you keep his secret because you still believed I was guilty?”

  Guilt twisted in her chest and she shook her head. “There was so much happening, I forgot about it at first. Then I didn’t want him to be fired. He’s not here by choice, and Harding could make his life difficult if he doesn’t do what the detective wants.”

  Eleri chuckled, the sound hollow. “Well, we wouldn’t want Mr. Conway to have a difficult life.”

  “He’s on our side.”

  “No, he’s on your side.” Eleri pushed away from the desk, anger flashing in her dark eyes. “He still thinks I’m guilty.”

  “He wouldn’t be going to Harding with Ruth’s book if he did.”

  “He might think I didn’t kill Langley or Olivia Dodd, but he doesn’t believe I’m innocent of the rest, I can promise you that. Do you believe it?”

  Did she? She knew her sister hadn’t tried to kill her—either time. And Eleri wasn’t responsible for what happened to Langley or Olivia Dodd. Surely, there was a good chance that she was innocent of all of it. “I don’t think you did it, any of it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Reece sooner.”

  Eleri held her gaze for a long moment, her expression as unreadable as always. “I suppose that’s something, then. Right, I have things to do.”

  Eleri turned and left the room without a backward glance, obviously still angry. Brynn sighed and sank into the chair behind the desk. She turned to the computer, opened the web browser and searched Ruth’s name. Maybe the woman had been linked to other crimes, other hospitals or nursing homes, but she didn’t find anything unusual.

  “Excuse me.” A woman’s voice jerked Brynn’s attention from the screen. She had no idea how much time had passed, but the sky outside had started to darken.

  Ruth stood inside the doorway, and Brynn’s pulse fluttered in her throat. She’d only spoken to the woman once since she’d arrived, yet here she was on the same day they’d searched her room. An unlikely coincidence.

  “I’m looking for Eleri. Have you seen her?”

  Brynn shrugged. “She said she had things to do.”

  “Probably still searching for a tenant for Morehead, but who would want to let a property from a killer?” Ruth asked, bemused smile stretching across her bony features. She took a step closer. “Your father’s condition has worsened. He should be hospitalized.”

  Brynn’s heart rate kicked up. “I’m afraid I have little say in the matter. You should speak to Hugh.”

  “He’s in Beaumaris seeing to Mr. James’s investments, and Mrs. Voyle has gone into the village for his prescriptions.”

  Leaving Eleri and Brynn alone with Ruth. Her stomach sank, cold washing over her. Where had Eleri gone?

  Ruth tilted her head, the odd smile of hers stretching wider. “Perhaps if you spoke to your father, he’d be receptive to the idea.”

  “I have no influence with my father.”

  “I feel terrible for the poor man.” Ruth took another quick step toward her. “He has no one looking out for his interests.”

  Slowly, Brynn stood and eased away from the desk, but Ruth was blocking the door. She glanced at the French doors that would take her outside. She liked her odds of getting to those better than past Ruth. She stepped back toward them. “If he’s as sick as you say, call an ambulance.”

  “I suppose, though, I’m more sensitive to his plight than others,” Ruth continued as though Brynn hadn’t spoken at all. “I will, after all, find myself in a similar situation when my time comes. Did you know I had a son?”

  Brynn shook her head. Was Daniel Forbes her son?

  “I had him when I was young and they took him from me. And then he was taken from me again.” Despite her bleak words, Ruth’s strange grin remained fixed in place. “I always dreamed I would find him again. Now, I never will. You know my secrets, don’t you Brynn?”

  Her mouth went dry. Time to go. She bolted for the glass doors, but something slammed into her back. She managed to get her hands up before she struck the floor, hard. Her wrist bent back, something popped. Blinding pain streaked up her arm and she yelped.

  Ruth pushed harder on her back, crushing her against the smooth wood. Brynn fought to push up on her good hand. Something stung her neck, quick and cold, then the weight on her back vanished.

  Unsteadily, Brynn scrambled to her feet and whirled around, holding her throbbing wrist close to her chest. Ruth watched her, still smiling, furious anticipation shining in her eyes. And a needle gripped in her fist.

  “What did you…”

  The words trailed off as the room blurred. She blinked rapidly, shook her head, but her vision wouldn’t clear.

  The world tilted and she stumbled sideways, reaching out for the back of a chair to steady herself. Her hand missed and she fell forward into an endless darkness.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Detective Harding looked down at the book spread out in front of him on the steel table, then back at Reece. The cop’s brows rose and he shrugged. “I don’t know what you want me to do about this.”

  Reece swallowed back his anger. “You don’t find it odd that a woman working at Stonecliff keeps a collection of articles about the disappearances? That she’s fixated on one of the men?”

  “Certainly,” Harding leaned back in his chair and shrugged, “but she’s done nothing illegal.”

  Reece gritted his teeth and glanced around the police station’s interrogation room while he mentally counted to ten. Dull yellow paint, faded and chipped, covered the walls. The green linoleum floor was the same shade as guacamole.

  He drew a deep breath and said as calmly as possible, “The staff at the seniors’ home where she worked believed she was murdering residents.”

  “None of them issued a complaint or reported the woman. It’s hearsay.”

  “Shouldn’t you at least look into this woman? Find out who the man in the pictures is to her?”

  The mild humor in Harding’s face vanished. “Are you telling me how to run my investigation?” He didn’t give Reece a chance to respond, which was probably lucky for them both. “I brought you here for one reason only and you’re letting me down, son. Now, if you can’t do what you’re supposed to, then maybe I ought to see to those charges.”

  Bloody hell, he was so tired of having that dangled over his head. “Aye, well maybe you ought to. But before you do, maybe you ought to consider that the problem isn’t my doing a poor job as bait, but that
you have me baiting the wrong woman. Eleri was in your custody when Olivia Dodd was murdered.”

  “Maybe she has an accomplice, someone helping her. That sister you’re so fond of, perhaps.”

  Reece went cold.

  Harding sat forward, his voice turning low and menacing. “Maybe that nurse is trying to drive Eleri mad, maybe she plans to kill her. Whatever she’s got up her sleeve isn’t for you to worry about. You’re not in a jail cell for one reason and one reason only. So you best get back to that house and bring me proof that little bitch is the killer we all know her to be. Trap her, trick her, talk to your spirit guide. But do it or I’ll see you finally pay for the people you stole from.”

  What was the point? This bastard wasn’t interested in investigating the crimes. He was determined to railroad Eleri. Reece wasn’t convinced she was innocent, but he was certain Ruth was up to something.

  “Have I made myself clear, then?” Harding asked, straightening, a smug smile returning to his mouth.

  Reece nodded. The muscle in his jaw so tight the side of his face ached.

  “No confusion about what you’re supposed to be doing? I won’t be hearing any more about nurses’ scrapbooks?”

  Reece nodded again.

  “Sorry. Didn’t quite hear that?”

  “No, there’s no confusion,” Reece ground out. He tightened his fingers into fists at his sides.

  “Right, then.” Harding leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “I know you hate me, son. The sooner you do what I brought you here for, the sooner you can get as far from me as you want. Why don’t you use your magic powers to help you?”

  Harding guffawed at his own joke. Fury pumped through Reece’s veins, thicker and hotter than his own blood. His gaze flicked to the pale lad skulking in the corner. The boy the detective couldn’t see.

  Reece cocked his head to one side, a hard smile puling at his mouth. “There’s a boy who follows you.”

  Harding’s own smile dissolved, his expression turning stony. The boy, having finally been acknowledged, crept closer to the table, his flat blue eyes fixed on Reece.

  “He’s thin. Stringy blond hair. Looks about fifteen, but he’s probably older.” The boy’s voice squeaked like a rusty hinge when he spoke, and Reece continued. “He is older. Eighteen. Or he was when he died six years ago. His eyes are blue. The same color as yours, Detective. But he’s your son so it stands to reason.”

  “If you think you’re being cute—” Harding began, but his voice was hoarse and his skin had paled beneath the patchwork stubble on his sagging cheeks.

  Reece ignored him. “There are track marks on his arms.”

  Harding jumped to his feet so fast his steel chair tipped back and crashed to the floor.

  “You can’t forgive him,” Reece went on, holding his ground as the detective came around the table, bearing down on him. “You can’t forgive him in death any more than you could when he was alive.”

  Harding’s hands closed around the collar of Reece’s jacket and he hauled him to his feet.

  “Shut your lying fucking mouth, do you hear me!” His eyes shone with mad fury. Tiny drops of spittle flew from his lips and struck Reece’s cheek. Harding drew his arm back ready to let his fist fly.

  Grim delight filled Reece. Finally, he’d shown that smug bastard just a piece of what he saw. He squeezed his eyes closed, waiting for the hit, making no effort to defend himself or fight back. He wasn’t stupid enough to hit a cop—no matter how badly he wanted to.

  Instead, Harding shoved him away.

  “Don’t you play your sick games with me.” Harding jabbed his finger at Reece, but his hand shook badly. His voice rasped. “I’ll make your life hell.”

  The initial thrill of having finally gotten to the detective faded quickly, leaving Reece hollow. Everyone had their demons. He and Harding weren’t so different there. “That’s why he stays. When you forgive him, he’ll move on.”

  “Get out,” Harding growled. “And don’t come back until you have what I want.”

  * * *

  Eleri was cold. It was the first coherent thought to penetrate the dull swirling mists inside her head. Her teeth chattered and she reached out a hand for a blanket. Instead, her fingers trailed through a gritty, soggy mess.

  She wanted to give in to the exhaustion pulling at her, willing her to sink back into black oblivion. But something was wrong. She couldn’t remember what, but the feeling gnawed at her growing consciousness with tiny, razor teeth.

  She forced her eyes open, shifted on the hard ground, her body sore and freezing. A thin layer of snow covered her. She tried to sit up, but the world tilted and unconsciousness reached for her with dark tentacles once more.

  She couldn’t give in. Something was wrong. She didn’t know how she’d ended up outside in the snow, but if she didn’t get herself moving, she’d freeze to death.

  Ruth. The woman’s image popped into her head like a light switching on. Ruth catching her alone in her room, jabbing her with something and the world going dark.

  Was the woman trying to freeze her to death? Eleri didn’t have a clue, but she couldn’t stay where she was.

  Her limbs felt heavy and moving them took an unusual amount of concentration. Breathing hard, she pulled herself into a sitting position, and her stomach sank. There, less than two feet from her, Brynn lay on her side, a blanket of fresh snow slowly covering her.

  Eleri scrambled to her sister’s side. Brynn’s chest rose and fell with each deep breath, but how long until she froze to death?

  Until they both did?

  Eleri’s teeth chattered and she shivered uncontrollably. Snow-laden trees and indigo sky reflected in The Devil’s Eye’s glassy water. Silence gripped the woods surrounding them as though the forest itself was holding its breath—waiting.

  They were too far from the house for anyone to come if she yelled, and she didn’t want to alert Ruth that she was awake. She couldn’t even guarantee she’d stay that way for much longer. The simple act of crawling to Brynn’s side had exhausted her.

  She gripped Brynn’s shoulder and shook her. “Wake up.”

  Brynn didn’t budge.

  “Please, you have to wake up.” Eleri didn’t know if she had enough strength to get herself back to the house. There was no way she could haul her unconscious sister with her.

  Panic welled inside her. She shook Brynn harder. “Wake up! We have to go.”

  Brynn didn’t move.

  “Right,” Eleri murmured to herself, running a shaking hand through her cold, wet hair. “I have to get help.” She looked down at Brynn’s slack face, colorless lips. She hoped she was doing the right thing. “I’ll be back, I promise.”

  Eleri stood on wobbly legs. The world tilted, dizziness threatening to pull her under again. She squeezed her eyes closed, locked her knees and waited for the sensation to pass. Her breathing came hard, but when she opened her eyes, the forest walls had stopped spinning.

  She forced her feet to move, stumbling into the underbrush. She’d stay away from the main path. If she ran into Ruth, she wouldn’t have the strength to defend herself.

  And how would Brynn defend herself if Ruth returned to the Eye before Eleri found help?

  Her stomach churned. She couldn’t think that way. She had to stay focused and keep going.

  Whatever Ruth had given her still pumped through her veins, turning her movements clumsy. The fading light made it even harder to focus her blurring vision. The more effort she exerted, the closer those gray mists came to dragging her back under.

  A light carpet of snow turned the forest floor slick beneath her wet socks, her toes numb from the cold.

  Pale electric light spilled through the trees. It had to be the house. She was almost there.

  She forced her heavy legs toward the glow. She’d find Reece. Tell him about Brynn. He didn’t like Eleri, didn’t trust her, but he cared for her sister, and he would save her.

  Her foot caught on so
mething beneath the snow, and she fell forward, sprawling across the ground. Air left her lungs with an oomph. High ringing filled her ears. Darkness crept from the edges of her vision. She tried to blink away the gray haze, focusing on the pristine snow spread before her.

  A shadow moved over the ground, long and shaped like a man. Fear squeezed her heart, cutting off her breath. She was losing the battle to stay conscious and the thing that had terrorized her since childhood was here, coming to devour her.

  Footsteps crunched in the snow, moving closer. Not the shadow man, he never made a sound when he walked. Ruth, then?

  She tried to turn her head to see who it was, but whatever receptors connected her brain to her limbs had fizzled.

  “Help me,” she croaked, and darkness claimed her once more.

  * * *

  Reece parked the SUV in the courtyard and glanced at the scrapbook next to him. So now what? Harding refused to help, and he had no idea what game Ruth was playing.

  He needed to get Brynn away from Stonecliff. The idea left him empty, but he didn’t have a choice. No more playing investigator. No more searching for answers. Without Harding’s help, they were on their own, and there was no way he’d stand by and let anything happen to her.

  After tucking the book between the seats, he climbed out of the truck. He’d figure out a way to return it to Ruth’s room later, without her seeing him. Yellow light glowed softly from the kitchen window. He drew a deep breath and pulled open the back door.

  The meaty stink of Mrs. Voyle’s cooking reached his nose as her muttered list of complaints reached his ears. After toeing off his boots—no need to give the housekeeper a reason to turn her ire on him—he entered the kitchen.

  “Looking for your dinner, no doubt,” Mrs. Voyle said, the moment her gaze landed on him.

  Reece frowned and lowered himself into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, pretending unease wasn’t tying his insides into knots. “Have you seen Brynn or Eleri?”

  He expected they would have been waiting for him to find out what the detective said.

  Mrs. Voyle shook her head. “Your guess is as good as mine.”