Page 33 of Killing Time

Although it was clear no one else was in the studio, Devynn walked over to the bathroom door and opened it, then peered inside.

“Empty,” she said briefly.

Not that even Jasper was probably the sort of person to keep the McAllisterprima-in-waiting trapped in the bathroom.

The blueprints hadn’t shown any kind of basement or cellar, but Seth looked around anyway, hoping against hope to see an outline of a trap door against the wide-plank oak floor, but the smooth surface was unmarred and shining, obviously mopped fairly recently.

No paintings on the walls, no photographs sitting on top of the bookshelves. Either Jasper had removed any personal items or they had never been here at all. Maybe Rebecca Wilcox had been the sort of musician who didn’t want any distractions around while she was practicing.

“Not a single clue,” Devynn said, sounding annoyed. “I don’t know where Jasper’s hiding Ruby, but it’s obviously not here. So I think we should go.”

Seth didn’t know whether her urgency was completely merited — after all, they’d only been here five minutes, and he had to guess that Jasper would be occupied for at least anotherhalf hour or so — but he also understood that lingering anywhere on theprimus’sproperty probably wasn’t a good idea.

On the other hand….

As he’d told Devynn only a few minutes before, they’d probably never get another chance like this.

And he’d seen the blueprints for the remodel of the master bedroom and bath, although they hadn’t shown the rest of the house.

He went over to her and put his arms around her waist. “One quick detour,” he said, and her eyes began to widen in shock even as he blinked them into the main house.

The second they materialized, an angry flush touched her cheeks, and she said in a harsh whisper, “This isn’t smart, Seth!”

Maybe it wasn’t. But with Jasper at lunch and his son most likely at school for at least another hour, maybe longer, when would he and Devynn ever get another chance like this?

“We have to check,” he said in an urgent undertone. “Five minutes. Then we’ll go.”

She shook her head and looked as though she wanted to comment on his mental fitness. To his relief, though, she seemed to decide doing so would be a waste of time.

“I don’t think she’s here, either.”

They stood in the master suite, which appeared to be nearly the size of his entire bungalow, with a massive oak bed placed up against one wall and a wide fireplace opposite. Tall windows bordered by stained glass overlooked the backyard, and an autumnal bouquet — mums and marigolds and sprays of red and orange and gold leaves — sat on one of the side tables.

The place was as empty as the studio, although once again, Devynn went to check the bathroom, even as Seth headed over to look inside the closet. It, too was enormous, one side filled with men’s suits and shirts and blazers, the other empty, although the air still held a curiously sweet scent, a memory of the clothingRebecca had once stored there somehow managing to linger, its own kind of ghost.

A shiver made its way down his spine, and Seth shut the door.

“Nothing,” he said. “Let’s see if we can hear anyone, and then we can go downstairs.”

Devynn appeared even less happy at that suggestion. He had to admit that the house seemed huge, and there was a very good chance they wouldn’t be able to pick up on any signs someone else was there, not if they were somewhere at the opposite end of the enormous structure.

But although Jasper had been utterly brazen about the way he’d taken Ruby right out of her hometown, Seth had to believe the man would still be holding her someplace where she wouldn’t be easily seen.

And that meant they needed to check out the basement.

They both paused at the door that opened onto the upstairs hall and listened intently. Somewhere on the second floor, a clock was ticking away, and possibly a roof timber creaked as a November wind sighed across the house, but otherwise, all was still.

So far, so good.

Moving as quickly and quietly as they could, they hurried down the massive staircase that led to the ground floor. It would have been nice if he could have just teleported into the basement, but it hadn’t been included in the blueprints, probably because no recent work had been done down there.

A quick glance around once they reached the foyer told them the downstairs seemed to be just as empty as the second floor. Seth assumed that Jasper must have at least a housekeeper and possibly a maid as well, considering how big the house was, but neither of them appeared to be in evidence at the moment.

Problem was, he guessed the basement must be accessed through the kitchen, since it had been like that in almost every home he’d ever visited, and he didn’t see why this one should be any different, despite its size.

And of course the kitchen was the one place where they ran the biggest risk of running into the household staff.

But they wouldn’t be Wilcoxes, and that meant he and Devynn could probably explain away their intrusion by saying they’d come here to solicit donations for a local church or something equally innocuous, and had gone inside because the door was unlocked. Fairly brazen behavior, he supposed, and yet he knew it wouldn’t be the first time something of a similar nature had happened.

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