Page 68 of From the Darkness

As she neared the back door, another thought intruded. She’d been so overwhelmed, that she’d forgotten all about the strongbox!

Slipping her hand into her pocket, she was relieved to find the key. And Troy had told her where to find the box—if he wasn’t lying. Which he certainly might have been, given their last exchange.

She was about to charge inside the house when she checked herself and tried to get a look at her reflection in one of the windowpanes beside the door. She couldn’t see much in the makeshift mirror, but what she could see wasn’t pretty. Leaning forward, she picked several pine needles out of her hair, then tried to finger comb her curls.

The hasty grooming hadn’t done much good. Probably she looked like she’d been in a mini hurricane.

Well, she’d been out on the headlands, she reminded herself. Where the wind was always blowing. Which was a good excuse for her disheveled looks.

Slipping inside, she made her way toward the backstairs. She’d almost reached her goal, when Mrs. Martindale stepped out of a doorway.

“My word, you do look a fright,” she said.

“I was out for a walk, and the wind was blowing pretty badly.”

The housekeeper gave her a studied look. “You’re getting to be quite a morning walker.”

Bree cocked her head. Was the housekeeper keeping track of her habits? Great!

“You didn’t see Graves by any chance?”

Bree caught the woman’s tension. “No,” she answered quickly.

“I went to his room. He wasn’t there. I need him to empty the garbage. He should have done it last night, and now the can’s full. I’m afraid I’ll hurt my back if I try to lift it.”

“If I see him, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him.”

“Thank you. And you don’t want to be late for breakfast. I’m making my hot cross buns. They’re best right out of the oven.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Bree answered before hurrying up the steps to the room where she’d moved her belongings. After a quick shower, she pulled on fresh slacks and a beige knit top, then slipped back into the hall, thinking that if she moved quickly, she could get a look at the strongbox before breakfast.

As she had the night before, she heard voices and went stock-still. Again, she recognized Abner Sterling. But he wasn’t talking to his wife.

“What have you done with her?” Sterling demanded.

“I haven’t done anything,” Graves answered.

“She’s not in our room.”

“I haven’t seen her. If you can’t keep track of your wife, don’t blame it on me.” There was a long pause. “Didn’t she say she was going to leave you?”

“How would you know that?”

Graves gave a nasty little laugh. “You two were talking about it loudly enough last night. If you want to have a private conversation, don’t do it on the stairs.”

Sterling cursed.

Then Graves raised his voice. “If you put your hands on me, you big ox, you’ll be sorry.”

There was a long moment of silence. Then she heard footsteps moving off, and she was left standing in the hall, thinking that in the past few days she’d picked up a lot of information from overheard conversations. Maybe she should do more lurking in the halls.

But not now. Now she wanted to see if she could find Troy’s cousin—just to satisfy herself that the woman was all right. But if she didn’t find her, that would prove nothing, she reminded herself. Nola might well have carried out her threat of the night before and left under her own power. Which would mean her disappearance had nothing to do with Graves

Recognizing that she was on the verge of hysteria, she dragged in a steadying breath, then let it out slowly.One thing at a time, she told herself.You were going to look in the strongbox. Take care of that before you try to figure out your next step.

With a renewed sense of purpose, she hurried up the stairs, staying alert, trying to make sure nobody saw her. Too bad she didn’t have a flashlight—or know more about the route Troy had taken this morning. If she could move through the secret passages, she’d be sure she wasn’t observed.

Still, she made it to Troy’s room without mishap, slipped through the door, and locked it before quickly crossing the sitting room.

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