Page 29 of Treasure and Tarot

“Yeah, I have some ideas about that. Actually, I have a bunch of ideas, but I’d like to talk to Abby first and then… I don’t suppose…would you be interested in going to have supper together tonight?”

That was surprising. “You don’t have to film tonight?”

“We’re going to film really late, and then on Thursday, we’d like to film during the time that the murders would have happened. Like I said, I have a lot to talk to you about, but I’d like to just really spend some time together talking about it, you know? Is that reasonable?”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter if it’s reasonable or not.”

Okay, that was mean, so he winked at Colton to ease the sting. “Whatever you want to do, I’m at your disposal, I guess. Imean, we’ll have to have Abby with us or I can see if Xavi can watch her.”

“I think since we’re talking about murderers, maybe if Xavi could, that would be fantastic. I just don’t want to hurt her feelings or make her scared.” Colton was being incredibly dear.

“Hell, if having the mean man pinch her toes didn’t make her scared…” He didn’t know what it was, but whatever. “Sounds good to me. I’ll talk to Xavi. Six tonight work for you?”

“Yeah. Would you like to maybe drive over to Secret Springs and have Senõr Dragon’s?”

Well, that sort of made it like a date. “I don’t know if I’m ready to run into Hank. Maybe we could just have room service in your room? I promise to stay at a distance.”

Colton snorted. “Like I care about that. You don’t have to stay at a distance with me.”

He rolled his eyes and stood. “Whatever, you flirt. Let’s go talk to Abby. Abby, look who’s here. It’s Mr. Colton.”

“Hi, hi, hi, hi.” She grinned at Colton. “I’m swinging!”

“You are. You’re so good at that.” Colton sat in the grass near the swing, his leg stretched out in front of him. “I was wondering if you could tell me about the mean man that shakes your feet at night at your house.”

“I’m just scared. He makes mad faces like this.” She pulled down the corners of her mouth and scrunched her face up. “He always says wake up, wake up, wake up. And I tell him, go away! I’m sleeping.”

“Can you tell me anything else about him?”

“He says hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry.”

Colton glanced at him, then tilted his head. “Do you ever see him?”

“Sometimes I think so, but then he goes poof.” She made the cutest exploding fingers.

“Why do you think he’s a bad man?”

She looked at Colton like he was stupid. “He wakes me up when I sleeps! That’s mean.”

“I guess it is. But he’s not saying bad things to you?”

“No. He doesn’t cuss like Uncle Xander. He’s justloud,and he shakes my feet.”

“Okay. Well, thank you. That helps a lot.”

“I likes to helpses.” She beamed at him. “Right, Daddy? I helps.”

“All the time, baby girl.”

They rose, Colton leaning hard on his cane for a moment as they walked away, back to the bench. Colton waited until Abby was swinging again to speak.

“See, this kind of makes me think my theory might be right.”

“Yeah? How?”

“Well, okay, so when the house was built, the bottom floor would have been kitchen, dining, visitor’s parlor, right?” At his nod, Colton forged on. “So, second floor would have been family parlor, maybe the alpha’s study, the omega’s sitting room, and probably a water closet and a storage room in the very back. And then the bedrooms on third. The plans for the house say there was a servant’s quarters in the attic, and another out back where the stables would have been. So, I think the omega hid the kids in the storage room while the bad stuff was happening in the house. Took them from their beds one by one as they slept and put them there.”

“And that’s where Abby’s room is…”

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