Deathly Cold

A Maiden Harlow Mystery Book 6

Camille Sharp

Camille Sharp Books

Copyright © 2025 by Camille Sharp

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact Camille Sharp at author@camillesharpbooks.com.

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

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Chapter one

“This is so nuts!” Vonny squeaked happily as she twirled around the massive foyer of the family’s newly acquired mansion. “I can’t believe we actually own this place!”

Maiden Harlow smiled at her big sister’s giddy enthusiasm and looked around with a more critical eye. It was only a week ago that her parents had informed them that they’d partnered with their wealthy aunt to buy the famous Riley Manor.

‘Famous’ was putting it nicely. The stately old house was certainly well known locally, but as much for its decades of neglect as its timelessly elegant style. As Vonny flitted around admiring the antique furniture and the skillfully rendered artwork on the walls, Maiden studied the spacious entryway with bloodless practicality.

The walls were faded and stained here and there with either mold or nicotine, possibly both. The furniture was nicked up and caked with decades of grime, and the old paintings had been hung strategically to hide the worst of the cracks in the walls.

There was a lot of work to be done before the place was useable, and they hadn’t even left the foyer yet.

She glanced up at the glorious crystal chandelier that hung above them, it also needed some serious cleaning. Harrowing images of herself swinging around from the top of a ladder, clutching a wet rag, flashed through Maiden’s head. She swallowed hard and turned her attention to the floor instead.

The chevron patterned hardwood was in decent condition, that was something. The large red and gold paisley rug that laid over it needed a good clean but she was less likely to break a leg wielding a carpet shampooer. She decided that the chandelier would go on the paid contractor list.

This was the first opportunity Maiden had had to get a good look at the place since Aunt Bella’s wedding. She knew from her previous visits that a handful of rooms had been made presentable. But as Maiden and her family had now taken ownership, she was seeing it all in a far more serious light.

The foyer, dining room and kitchen weren’t too bad. A few of the bedrooms on the third floor had been given a cursory clean as well. It wasn’t good enough though, not for what Maiden had in mind for the grand house.

Riley Manor had been used for functions occasionally over the past few decades, the grace of the architecture and the history in its details gave it some wow factor. But the house simply hadn’t been looked after well enough to become a destination for the more discerning.

As Riley Manor’s newest owners, that was something the Harlows were determined to change. For a start, all the rooms needed to be opened up, explored and inventoried. It would be like peeking into a time capsule, or panning for gold, and it was a task that Maiden was very much looking forward to.

She’d always enjoyed history and Riley manor had plenty of it. It was built in the roaring twenties and its style and flair reflected that exuberant sense of decadence. It probably used to anyway. These days the old girl looked faded, tattered and generally unloved. It was time to start changing that.

By now the paperwork had all been signed and the Harlows had been presented with a heavy steel box filled with old keys. Some were loose, a few were grouped on rusty keyrings and almost none of them were labeled.

“It’s just like a scavenger hunt,” Maiden said wryly as she pawed through the box. “There must be a hundred keys in here.”

“Yikes! A few hundred maybe.” Vonny wrinkled her nose as she stood beside her and peered in the box. “Where do we even start?”

“Well, we have the keys to the front door. That’s the most immediate priority dealt with.” Maiden shrugged and glanced around. “A lot of these other doors might not even be locked, we’ll have to test them as we go. It looks like someone gathered every key they came across and chucked them in; the matching locks might be long gone.”

“Can’t we just replace all the locks?” Von rubbed her arms through her thick jacket and peered around again.

“No, Vonny. Firstly, that would be pretty expensive,” Maiden said patiently. “Secondly, some of these locks will be almost a hundred years old, we can’t just rip them out and throw them away because it’s easier. We’ll worry about it when we come to a door that’s locked, okay? For right now, let’s look around and see what’s here.”

“Fine,” Von sighed loudly and unhelpfully before moving towards the stairs. “Let’s check out the second floor.”

“But we haven’t even started down here,” Maiden protested as her sister ignored her and started up the stairs.

“Blah, blah, blah. We have to do all of it at some stage anyway.” Vonny waved that away. “Come on, you can show me the bar that you and Captain McCutie first made out in.”

Maiden shut her eyes briefly but still smiled at the memory. She and the head of the local police department, Captain David McAlister, had indeed had their first kiss in this same old house. Her Aunt Bella had used Riley Manor as the venue for her wedding and it had been memorable for several reasons, including murder.

Maiden chose to look back on the event for the positives, mainly that it was the catalyst for escalating her relationship with David. Despite the incredible kiss, and a few more since, the road to romance certainly hadn’t been smooth.

At this point they’d been officially dating for around two weeks; things were still new and exciting. He was only at work across town but she missed him already.

Opting not to relive any intimate memories with her occasionally bratty older sister, Maiden ignored her and stayed downstairs. She tried the nearest door, which sat off to the right of the main entrance. It opened easily and she quickly recognized it as the room they’d waited in before walking down the aisle as Aunt Bella’s bridesmaids.

She hadn’t taken too close of a look around the last time she was in it, she’d been too busy trying to psych herself up for her first foray as a maid of honor. A few features had stood out though, mainly the enormous, disembodied deer head that was mounted on the wall and staring at her with uncomfortable directness.

“Hi again,” she said awkwardly and quickly looked away.

Maiden focused on studying the rest of the room. She was aided by the half-rotted curtains that hung from three large windows, letting a lot of daylight filter in. According to the blueprints of the house, the official name of this space was the Reception Room.

It was long and comparatively narrow, but there was plenty of room for an array of furniture. There were a couple of long couches covered in filthy drop cloths, a few tables of varying sizes and lots of cardboard boxes. Lots.

Maiden walked to the large windows and pushed back the curtains, releasing a cloud of dust into the air in the process. She stepped back and pulled her shirt up over her nose until it settled a bit. The pale gray light of a northern Michigan November revealed more of the room’s unseemly secrets.

Maiden let her shirt drop back down and looked around. The floors were a dingy but attractive hardwood, like the foyer, and strewn with rugs that looked to have been thoroughly nibbled by mice and bugs. She gave a pleased nod; these floorboards looked like they’d clean up nicely too. The rugs were a lost cause though.

She looked further and noted a few old lamps that might need rewiring, but the style was elegant. Also catching her eye was a broken cuckoo clock on the far wall, not far from the stoic deer head.

“Eclectic, I’d say,” Maiden whispered to herself.

She walked to the nearest stack of boxes and had just started to open the top one when she heard Vonny call to her from the stairs. Abandoning what looked like old dishes wrapped in faded newspaper, Maiden went to the doorway and peered out at the staircase.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“Can you bring those keys up here?” Vonny sounded excited. “I found something cool!”

Maiden obligingly went to the table in the foyer and scooped up the remarkably heavy box. She made her way to the stairs with it braced on her hip. Vonny was waiting for her when she reached the second-floor landing and waved her towards a room down the hall.

Maiden flicked a quick glance at the door to the right that she knew was the bar Von had asked to see earlier. She kept her mouth shut and followed her sister into the room she’d started exploring.

It was too elegantly furnished to call it a living room. She closed her eyes and pictured the faded old blueprints they’d received along with the box of keys; she was certain that they called this space the ‘Upstairs Parlor’.

She opened her eyes again and took it all in. There were several spindly wooden chairs, two tufted lounges and a loveseat. There was also an ornate table that still had a dust-shrouded tea set perched on it. The walls were a soft pink and the faded curtains were ivory beneath a film of dusty grime.

“This is really pretty,” Maiden said as she walked further inside.

“Yeah, but not as good as this!” Vonny said eagerly as she gestured towards a big, dusty steamer trunk with a flourish. “Check it out! I can’t wait to see what’s in it!”

Maiden studied the old leather trunk with an appreciative smile. It was dirty and grubby, like most of the things they’d found so far, but it was awesome. Big, solid and full of possibilities; Maiden tried not to let her imagination run wild.

“It could be empty, don’t get your hopes up too much,” Maiden said as much to herself as she did to her sister as she knelt in front of it and set the box of keys down beside her.

“It’s locked,” Von said cheerfully. “Who would lock an empty trunk?”

“Who would keep a thousand keys and only label five of them?” she asked in reply as she cracked open the box and started picking through it. “It’s a small lock so maybe it’s one of the smaller keys.”

They spent the next twenty minutes trying one ancient key after another. Vonny had given up and started poking through an old china cabinet full of chipped crockery when Maiden’s efforts were finally rewarded with a telltale click.

“Did you get it?” Von’s head whipped around and she nearly dropped the dainty yellow teacup she’d been looking at.

“Yes! Finally!” Maiden grinned and flicked the latch open.

Vonny came and stood beside her as she eased the surprisingly heavy lid open. They peered inside and both released involuntary gasps of delight. It was full of vintage clothes, dulled from time and neglect, but colorful and retro and gorgeous.

“Be careful!” they both snapped at each other as they tried to reach in at the same time.

Maiden laughed softly and gestured for Vonny to go first, she’d found the trunk after all. Vonny carefully lifted out a long flowery maxi dress in all the colors of a kaleidoscope. It was definitely from the 1970s and had belonged to someone quite thin.

“I wonder if this would fit me,” Von breathed as she held it up to her slender frame, she glanced briefly at her younger sister and smiled. “You’d probably only get one breast into this top.”

Maiden gave her a teasingly mocking look but still smiled. She was by far the more voluptuous of the two but she was fine with that, and David certainly hadn’t complained.

“I bet Tony would love me in this!” Von sighed dreamily as she spoke of her childhood crush.

Tony Ferris was not only Von’s incredibly patient boyfriend and the most-liked postman in town, he was also one of Maiden’s very best friends. They had met when they were kids and been close ever since.

Since Vonny was busy twirling around with her new favorite maxi dress, while also trying not to gag on the musty smell of it, Maiden took a turn delving into the trunk. She wasn’t terribly interested in clothes that were too small for her, so she pushed aside some impressively frilled blouses and bellbottom jeans hoping for old jewelry or even some shoes.

She’d reached the bottom of the trunk by the time her fingers brushed against something solid. She felt around the edges, wary of accidentally grabbing a dead rat, or worse, a live one. Whatever it was, it was reasonably small and not terribly thick. She guessed it to be a book wrapped in an oddly crusty cloth and pulled it out carefully.

Maiden frowned down at the snugly wrapped parcel as she pulled it free of tie-dyed sleeves and faded jumpsuit legs. She blinked at the reddish-brown stains that heavily smattered the fabric, they were old and very dark.

“This isn’t…is this blood?” Maiden asked quietly as she set the parcel on the floor in front of her and looked down at her hands to see if they were somehow stained.

“It wouldn’t be blood.” Vonny glanced down at it but looked immediately grossed out. “Eww. You can have that one.”

“Thanks.” Maiden swatted her leg and turned back to the stained cloth. “I do want to know what it is though…”

After a slight hesitation she started unwrapping the unpleasantly crunchy fabric and drew out a slim, leather-bound notebook. It was also old, the cover was faded and the edges of the pages were yellowed. The cover was brown and monogrammed with the initials HR.

Maiden cracked it open very carefully and was delighted to see pages and pages of gracefully handwritten words.

“I think it’s a diary!” she said excitedly as she looked up at Vonny with a pleased smile. “An old handwritten diary that was locked in a mysterious trunk under a lot of vintage clothes and wrapped in a cloth that’s…caked in blood.”

“Why would someone wrap a diary in a bloodstained cloth?” Von asked dubiously. “And then shove it in a trunk for decades?”

“I have no idea,” Maiden managed to keep smiling brightly, “but here it is!”

“Yeah, like I said, you can have it.” Vonny gave her a teasingly tolerant look. “Good for you, sweetie.”

“Laugh all you want, you little heifer, it’s mine!” Maiden said happily and hugged it to her chest.

Vonny chuckled at her and went back to the clothes. Maiden re-wrapped the diary, grabbed the box of keys, and headed to the door. She was thoroughly pleased and only slightly creeped out by the treasure she’d found. She left Vonny to wallow in her moldering fashion parade and slipped out through the door.

Maiden tucked her bundle under her arm and tried not to get too distracted by it. The manor was an exciting project, but it needed to start paying its way fast if it was going to succeed. As much as she wanted to devour the diary immediately, she’d have to wait and read it later.

The second floor was dimly lit. The long hallway she now stood in was surrounded on three sides with rooms. The only external window that was visible from here sat on the other side of the staircase. Enough light filtered in to expose four doors on the left, which were bedrooms and a bathroom, as she recalled from the plans. Straight ahead were another two doors, and these were definitely where she wanted to start.

The first door should open into a private sitting room, and the second into the master bedroom. Maiden could only imagine how beautiful it would all be; she walked on down the hall with a sense of anticipation. Everything down here was unexplored territory for her and the master bedroom was silently beckoning her forward to discover its glamorous secrets. With a flash of blinding optimism Maiden gave the knob a firm, authoritative twist.

Which did absolutely nothing; it was locked up tight. Maiden sighed and let her hand drift back to her side.

“You win today,” Maiden whispered to the ancient lock, accepting defeat gracefully. “I’ll get back to you, my friend.”

She tried the door next to it but it was also locked. With a surrendering shrug, she headed back to the staircase. She reached the ground floor and headed straight back towards the reception room. It was the first room on the first floor and a logical place to start cataloging.

Maiden knew she couldn’t afford to go off on tangents when there was so much work to be done. They’d already lost Vonny, she’d be poking around in that smelly trunk for hours, but something needed to get done today.

Maiden was crossing the foyer when she heard a noise that made her flesh crawl. She stilled and slowly looked over at the hallway to the right of the stairs. She waited and listened…and then she heard it again. It was a scratching sound, like dozens of tiny toenails, echoing softly down the hall.

She knew her parents were around somewhere but this sound was coming from inside the walls. She was edging closer but jumped and barely choked back a scream when the front door flew open and an icy wind hit her full force.

Maiden clapped her hands over her mouth. The wrapped book somehow stayed pinned under her arm but the box of keys dropped straight onto her foot. She yelped and started hopping as she pulled her knee towards her chest and clutched at her shoe. Unfortunately, this also sent the box pitching forward and disgorged a tidal wave of keys.

Maiden crouched on the floor and tried not to laugh too loud as she crumpled forward and grasped her foot. She set the diary and its stained wrapping aside and took a deep breath.

Silently acknowledging that they’d just failed to shut the door completely and that there probably weren’t hordes of killer death-rats filling every wall, she could only hope she hadn’t broken a toe or lost any keys.

“Are you all right, angel?!” Gloria’s powerful voice heralded her approach. She and Alfie hurried into the foyer from the direction of the kitchen.

“Yes.” Maiden eased back onto her bottom and shook her head at herself. “I’m also calm and tremendously coordinated; in case anyone asks you.”

“Why’d you open the front door?” her mother asked uncertainly.

“Just letting some fresh air in,” she replied dryly.

“Well, don’t let too much in,” Alfie warned as he walked over and pressed the door firmly shut. “It’s going to get cold enough in here.”

“What do you mean?” Maiden heard a distinct note of concern in her father’s voice. “What’s happened?”

“We were in the basement checking on the furnace,” he grumbled as he knelt down and started scooping up the spilled keys and dumping them back in the box. “It’s in pretty bad shape.”

“Not good news in Michigan.” Maiden felt her brow furrow and started helping him gather up the keys. “Did you, um, check that before making an offer for the place?”

“Of course we did, but it was still workin’ when we looked at it,” Gloria explained, “and it was one of the points we used to knock the purchase price down.”

“I hope you got it knocked down a lot,” Maiden said under her breath. “So, is it fixable?”

“I don’t think any of us really know that much about old furnaces,” Alfie pointed out. “Are David and Tony still coming out this afternoon to help?”

“Because a homicide detective and a postal worker do know a lot about old furnaces?” Maiden laughed at the thought.

“Best option we got at the moment, angel.” Gloria gave her daughter’s tush a teasing nudge with her foot.

“Yes, they’re still coming. But I guarantee you they won’t know how to fix it.” Maiden grinned and got to her feet, slowly flexing her toes and quietly pleased that she could move them all. “Anyway, will you give me a hand doing the inventory in the reception room?”

“Yes, let’s get crackin’ on somethin’,” Gloria said as she bustled past. “Where’s Vonny?”

“Playing dress up somewhere,” Maiden said as she started to follow.

Gloria and Alfie were already inside and getting straight to work but Maiden was limping and lost in thought enough to slow her down. A broken furnace wasn’t good news. And a broken furnace the size needed to accommodate a mansion really wasn’t good news.

As she shook herself awake and reached the doorway, she heard another bout of eerie scuffling.

Relax, it’s only mice, she assured herself with a shiver.

Chapter two

“Yes, Chief Boswell,” David said politely into the phone. “I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

David ended the call and set the receiver back on its base in the corner of his desk. For a long moment he sat looking at it as he replayed the conversation in his head. To date, he hadn’t had many direct interactions with his immediate superior, Deputy Chief Clinton Boswell, and this latest discussion wasn’t the most promising.

To say that David’s first six months in his new assignment had been eventful would be an understatement. He’d also had to report some significant maintenance issues with the station itself.

These were due to the negligence of his predecessors, who had ignored basic upkeep and small issues, leaving them to become big problems. It wasn’t David’s doing and he’d addressed the issues as soon as he’d learned of them. With Maiden’s help and local connections, he’d even managed to reduce the potential costs.

Boswell hadn’t been harsh about it, or even outright critical, he’d simply informed him that he’d be coming for a visit in a few weeks to see how things were running and how he was settling in.

The repairs weren’t the real issue.

David knew that the recent spate of murders had drawn his superior’s attention. What was supposed to be a simple and cozy assignment had turned into a veritable blood bath. Golden Glen was a nice little town, as quaint as they came and filled with friendly people. But a few mildly deranged murderers had put a damper on the peaceful atmosphere; that sort of thing tended to get noticed.

The fact that a member of the public was widely reputed for her hand in solving the cases also stood out. The local paper had credited Maiden repeatedly for catching the murderers almost single-handed. Some of the more sensational stories had even been picked up by a few larger newspapers in surrounding towns. It wasn’t the best or most considerate publicity for his dedicated and hardworking team.

And all of the fuss continued to spread despite the fact that the lady in question never gave interviews and, when she spoke at all, repeatedly praised the local police department. Maiden never tried to hog the spotlight, she never even tried to put a toe in the spotlight, even though she certainly could have.

David was the first to admit that Maiden had been right every time. She’d figured out some weird puzzles and, in all fairness, she’d fingered killers that he’d overlooked. But they’d also worked together quite successfully.

He knew that a lot of the buzz surrounding her had been blown out of proportion. He wasn’t thrilled by the shadow on his professional reputation but neither of them could help what stories the local gossips embellished and spread.

David had done his job well throughout; even Chief Boswell had said that he was doing good work. Yes, Maiden had played a big part in resolving some of his cases, but he hadn’t just sat back and followed her lead. They were victims of circumstance, these things happened, it was fine.

He glanced up and saw his receptionist, Nancy, standing in the doorway. She knew that he’d been expecting a phone call from Chief Boswell, she also knew about all the costly repairs and the rumors that had been plaguing his reputation. As a result, she was watching him very warily.

David smiled; he knew she worried about him and he genuinely appreciated that.

“How did it go?” Nancy asked.

“As expected,” David replied. “He’ll be here next month to take a look around.”

“Oh, I see.” She clasped her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“It’ll be fine, Nancy,” he said soothingly. “Nothing bad has happened in this station, if anything we’re running more efficiently.”

“We definitely are! The place hasn’t run this smoothly in years!” Nancy frowned unhappily. “But all the talk about Miss Harlow isn’t exactly ideal…What do you think will happen?”

“I can’t really know for certain, but it’ll be all right,” he said. “The official reports reflect the work that the whole team has done, as well as Maiden’s assistance. It is what it is.”

“Are you in any danger, sir?” Nancy asked discreetly. “Professionally?”

“I’m not too worried,” he replied after a slight pause. “I’ve done my job and, worst case scenario, I’m willing to take the hit for her.”

“Are you going to tell her about this?” Nancy asked after a long and unhappy pause.

“I’d rather not.” He shook his head. “It would be a needless strain and I really don’t want that. What’s done is done, anyway. Why make an issue of it?”

For a moment Nancy looked like she wanted to debate the matter, her mouth was set in a tight line and her pale eyes were fixed anxiously on his. But she evidently thought the better of it and glanced away. She finally nodded and walked quietly back down the hall towards her post in the lobby.

David sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew he hadn’t given her much reassurance, but there was only so much he could do until the chief was actually there.

He let his thoughts shift to Maiden. Despite any work-related niggles, he was deeply grateful to have her in his life. It still chilled him to think how close they’d come to losing each other only a few weeks ago. She made him happy in a way that no one ever had before. He really didn’t care what his boss or anyone else might think of her; he needed her in his life.

He’d promised to drive out to the manor after work to help her and Alfie. He recalled the older man mentioning something about the furnace the other day. He was hardly an expert but he could generally tell whether something was broken or not.

In any case, it was a chance to see Maiden and that’s what he really wanted. He thought about the colossal task of restoring a neglected century-old mansion and shook his head.

When Maiden had told him that Alfie and Gloria bought Riley Manor without telling her and Vonny, he’d expected her to be angry about it. He knew he would’ve been. But she’d been so happy as she talked about it. The project really excited her and he liked it when she was excited. He smiled to himself and checked the clock, there were only a few more hours to go.

Maiden marveled at the strange and wonderful places life had taken her as she stood outside in the freezing cold. She was half-dancing but mostly bouncing in place on the manor’s large, only slightly crumbling, front verandah. The wind had picked up and it had no pity. She started rubbing her arms briskly as she tried to keep warm while Alfie poked around in one of the heavy stone planters that dotted the edge of the terrace.

A chunk of the rim had broken off of the ornate pot. It had then been unceremoniously driven into the dirt and left to rot with whatever unfortunate plant had tried to live there. Alfie started muttering under his breath about sloppy work and the best adhesives for outdoor applications.

Maiden smiled fondly at her father and tucked her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket. She silently admitted that she’d put it off long enough, it was time to pull out her heavy winter coat. But even freezing half to death was worth it to get a break from the dust and dirt inside.

They’d spent the day digging through the reception room and writing up lists of what was in the many cardboard boxes, what furniture was usable and what needed repair. It had taken hours for the three of them, and occasionally Vonny when she found a burst of focus, to sort the room out and come up with a plan for it. It was a start.

She glanced up at the early evening sky, it was cloudy and gray, it wouldn’t be long before the first snows started to fall. It was an exciting thought that was only slightly tarnished by the knowledge that their furnace wasn’t up to par. She decided to be optimistic, maybe a good clean and a replacement part or two would buy them some time.

Her wishful thinking was interrupted by the approach of a car. She glanced over and smiled broadly when she saw David pull up and park next to Tony’s sedan. The other man had arrived earlier and was inside indulging Vonny by looking at the musty clothes she’d found.

As David climbed out Maiden noticed he was wearing a sturdy coat. It looked incredibly warm and inviting; she wondered if there was room for both of them in it.

David glanced up at Maiden; she was hugging herself against the icy nip in the air as she ran to meet him. He smiled faintly and decided that agreeing to stare aimlessly at a crumbling old furnace was one of the best decisions he’d made in a while.

He shut his car door and turned to meet her. She burrowed into his coat the instant he was in reach, sliding her arms around his waist and leaning against his chest.

“Hey, baby,” she said softly as she smiled up at him. “Thank you so much for coming out tonight.”

Despite the freezing cold air around them David felt himself melt a little. She hadn’t used many pet names or endearments at this point in their relationship. He was genuinely surprised by how strongly it struck him.

“Happy to help.” He smiled and slid a hand into her silky black hair as he lowered his head and kissed her.

He nearly forgot where they were and what was happening when Maiden wriggled closer and he felt her nails graze his back through his shirt. But then her father called him back to reality.

“That’s enough you two!” Alfie said loudly. “Let’s go, it’s cold out here.”

“It’s warm where I’m standing.” David lifted his head enough to retort.

“Ah, you overheated young punks.” Alfie waved a hand at him disparagingly but still chuckled. “There’s work to do, young man. You can flirt with my precious little girl later.”

David relented with a sigh but slid an arm around Maiden and kept her tucked snugly against him as they followed Alfie inside.

“How’s it going?” he asked in a discreetly lowered voice as they walked.

“It’s getting there, but very slowly.” She smiled and glanced up at him. “What about you? How was work today?”

“Fine,” he said a little too quickly. He silently kicked himself when she gave him a questioning look; he smiled serenely. “Really, it was fine.”

Chapter three

Tony and Vonny were coming downstairs as they walked in, shaking off the cold. Vonny was still holding the fusty, flowered maxi dress while her long-suffering boyfriend tried to look enthusiastic without getting too close to it.

“It’ll look amazing on you, Von.” Tony smiled brightly. “Please don’t try it on until you wash it. Okay?”

“No, I won’t, it’s kinda gross,” Von agreed with a nod.

“Tony, excellent!” Alfie smiled up at him and then gestured back towards David and Maiden. “We’re all here now; let’s go look at this furnace.”

Tony smiled again and gestured for the older man to lead the way. Alfie charged off with purpose and they all followed, with the obvious exception of Vonny. Maiden glanced back at her sister with an inquiring look.

“I’ll wait here and help Mom,” she said quietly and glanced away. “With something that isn’t a cold, creepy old basement.”

Maiden wasn’t shocked and couldn’t really blame her for her lack of enthusiasm. She nodded and smiled faintly, she then hurried to catch up as David and Tony turned right at the far end of the hallway.

Going off the old blueprints, she’d memorized the layout of the mansion. Her unusually sharp memory came in handy a lot more often these days. Four different hallways branched off the foyer, making for a maze of incredible rooms.

She hadn’t been everywhere yet, many of the upstairs rooms were still locked, but she had a vague idea of what was theoretically where.

To reach the basement, they had to go through the back door of the kitchen. The basement itself was accessed from an old stone path outside. A prospect Maiden didn’t look forward to in her woolen jacket. She had a down-filled coat packed away at home and it was sounding pretty good right about now.

She walked through the massive old kitchen and quickened her pace when she saw David about to step through the back door. He glanced back and smiled at her.

David waited for her to catch up and they stepped out into the frigid cold together. Maiden folded her arms tightly; she’d swear it had gotten colder in the last few minutes.

Fortunately, the route to the basement wasn’t a long one. To the left of the kitchen door was the narrow path lined with broken, overgrown pavers. They were soon met by a heavy wooden door, which Tony and Alfie had left slightly open, and a dim light that glowed from inside.

As they stepped through, Maiden peered cautiously at the dismal little room that connected the door to a flight of worn wooden steps. The faint light came from a single, unadorned lightbulb that dangled overhead. It wasn’t the nicest place she’d ever been in but it did offer a welcome break from the harsh wind that was slicing through her clothes as though they weren’t even there.

The brown brick walls were dingy and caked in dust and spiderwebs. A row of empty coat hooks hung to the right, just above a small wooden bench that looked like it would crumble if anyone tried to sit on it.

As David shut the outer door Maiden looked nervously at the stairs that led into the dank and murky bowels of the house. The staircase was old, dark and covered in even more spiderwebs. David gave her a teasing look as he stepped around her.

“Are you afraid of old basements, baby?” he asked with a smile in his voice and started down the stairs.

“Don’t be silly.” She frowned defensively but still walked as close as she could without tripping him. She didn’t back away even as they stepped into the dim, stone-lined room. “It’s just cold down here.”

“Sorry, my mistake,” he said with a wink and snaked an arm around her. “In that case, you’d better stay extra close.”

“We’re over here, you two!” Alfie said loudly as David was moving in to kiss her.

He stilled and shut his eyes with a tolerant sigh. “Thanks, I’d almost gotten lost.”

Maiden smiled up at him and grasped his hand. She led him across to the far wall where the ancient furnace awaited them.

The huge contraption loomed menacingly at the back of the dank, undeniably creepy room. Tony and Alfie were circling it warily. Maiden could tell in an instant that they had no idea what they were doing.

“It looks like an octopus,” David said as he glanced at the pipes that branched off the top and plunged upwards into the house. “Do you know what it runs on? Coal, wood, steam…Victorian-era children?”

“I’d prefer gas to orphans.” Maiden gave him a smirking look.

“You can probably get it converted.” He risked stepping closer. “Does it work at all?”

“Yes, but just barely and under protest,” Alfie mumbled and then gave it a disgruntled kick.

“It’s really awesome though!” Tony smiled, always looking for the positive. “This is sheer history!”

“And opaque dirt,” Maiden said dryly, running a finger over the dusty contraption.

“Well, if the mansion is from the 1920s,” Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “there’s a chance this thing was updated already…but, from the looks of it, that was probably forty or fifty years ago.”

“That’s helpful.” David smiled at him.

“At least I got a word in around all your helpful insights,” he replied with a chuckle.

“Fine, let me take a turn at it. The house is huge and the furnace that’s been struggling to heat it is probably fifty years old at least. It doesn’t want to start and kicking it hasn’t helped,” David said pragmatically. “My helpful insights are that it’s a piece of junk that would’ve been inefficient at the best of times. Get a new one.”

Alfie folded his arms and nodded slowly. David clapped him on the shoulder and gave Maiden an apologetic look.

“Sorry to be blunt, but there’s no point in ignoring the obvious,” he said gently.

“I knew it was a goner while we were still safely upstairs.” Maiden shrugged it off and glanced around uneasily. “Do you think there are rats down here?”

“Yeah, I’m sure there are,” David said and skittered his fingers up the side of her throat.

“Oh, don’t!” she shrieked and danced away from him.

She managed to look horrified while still laughing too hard to speak. David and Tony grinned at her while Alfie ignored all of them and tried giving the furnace another kick.

They glanced over sharply when the ancient marvel sputtered to life only to die with a pathetic wheeze seconds later. Maiden smiled quietly at her father’s grumpy expression. He glanced at her and sighed.

“What do you think we should do?” Alfie asked.

“I think we should call Aunt Bella,” she replied even as she pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

“What?” Alfie groused. “Why?”

“Because she’s loaded and we’re not,” Maiden said candidly and then gave David a teasingly warning look. “I’ll be right back, no more rat jokes!”

She wandered to a different corner of the dirt-strewn basement and tried to ignore all the spiders as she waited for Bella to pick up. It didn’t take long.

“Maiden baby!” Bella’s cheerful voice almost brightened the room. “What’s shakin’?”

“I am, it’s freezing in Michigan,” she said. “How are you?”

“Doin’ all right, I guess.” Bella sighed. “Elvan’s been transferred to the local nuthouse, so at least he’s close by.”

“Oh, that’s…nice.” Maiden wasn’t sure what else to say to that. She quickly decided that she’d rather juggle a dozen rats while riding a flaming unicycle than discuss her uncle-in-law any further. “Um, sorry to bother you with mundane problems, but I have bad news…the furnace at the manor is on its last leg.”

“Oh, that ain’t good.” Bella’s voice grew more serious and businesslike. “Have you had it checked out?”

“Kind of.” She smiled and glanced at the trio of men that were laughing and, judging by their gestures, now talking about baseball.

“Well, leave it with me for now, honeypot,” Bella said pensively. “I have some ideas brewin’ to help cover the expenses until we find out if the manor will really be financially viable.”

“Okay.” Maiden thought it was a bit late to be that cautious but didn’t argue.

“I’ll call you in a day or two, I promise.” Bella made some kissing noises into the phone. “I gotta go, baby, we’ll talk soon!”

Bella hung up before she could reply. Maiden lifted her brows and shook her head as she turned and walked back to the others. She smiled as she drew closer and thought about how happy it made her to hear the men she loved enjoying being together, but she put that thought aside shyly when she looked at David.

“How’d it go?” he asked and reached a hand towards her.

“She’s going to think about it and call me back,” Maiden replied as she stood close and let him wrap his arm around her waist. “She said she has ideas brewing.”

“Oh no,” Alfie rolled his eyes. “That daffy broad will have us raising wombats or something.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Alfie.” Tony smiled at him. “Give her a chance.”

“For lack of other options,” Alfie said ungraciously but let it drop. “It’s going to make for a cold weekend though, are you boys still willing to risk it?”

“Yes,” David said without hesitation.

Maiden smiled and leaned a little closer to him. Soon after they’d finalized the purchase of Riley Manor, the Harlows had arranged to spend a long weekend there to celebrate. That of course included David and Tony. They’d settled on next weekend and everyone had arranged for a bit of time off.

David had told her a few times already that he was really looking forward to that much uninterrupted time with her. She felt the same and wasn’t going to let a little niggle like potential hypothermia spoil the fun.

“There are fireplaces and the furnace isn’t completely dead, right?” David asked with no hint of concern. “We’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, it’ll be fun! We’ll bring lots of blankets and settle in all nice and snug.” Tony rubbed his hands together excitedly. “It might even be snowing by then!”

That night Maiden was safely back at Harlow House, the family’s quietly elegant and fully heated inn. Their beloved family business had survived the onslaught of flashy competition, murderous guests and the tawdry publicizing of Maiden’s daring exploits. Somehow, through it all, they’d managed to maintain a standard of grace and professionalism.

Business was steady and they’d even hired some reception staff to free the family up for the work that needed to be done on the manor. One of the bright young college students that used to wait tables for them had been eager for some less physical part-time work. It was early days, but so far she was working out.

Maiden was curled up in bed under her heaviest quilt. Her little black kitten, Ruffian, was burrowed somewhere by her hip. She settled in and tried not to worry about the dying furnace. Aunt Bella was resourceful and savvy, she would think of something.

Desperate for a distraction, and happy to indulge in a bit of harmless nosiness, Maiden pulled out the diary she’d found in the manor that morning. She looked the old cover over appreciatively and ran a finger across the initials that were embossed in gold on the worn leather—HR.

She assumed the R stood for Riley, but she had no idea who H was. She opened the front cover and was immediately rewarded with an answer.

Property of Helena Riley

It occurred to Maiden that she knew hardly anything about the people that had built their mansion. They must have been an extraordinary family; they’d certainly been ambitious when building their beautiful home.

Maiden did feel a little twinge of awkwardness about reading someone else’s private journal, but this Helena would be long dead of course. She still glanced at her door to make sure it was discreetly shut and then turned the page and started reading.

It is a strange thing to write a diary, it’s not unlike writing a letter to one’s own self. I have never done so before but I find myself in a strange place and, for much of the time, I have only myself for company.

Here I am in this remarkable house, life has certainly taken me on some strange journeys. It’s been six months since Edward and I married, I still can’t believe I met a wonderful man like him. He’s so different from anyone else I’ve ever known.

We finished our tour of Europe and have finally arrived at the manor, I’m so relieved, I feared we’d never get here. It’s an amazing place, but Edward doesn’t realize it. He’s too affected by what his family went through. I hope I can convince him that living in a mansion is a dream that most people will never know, never even hope for, it’s something to feel happy about.

I’ll make him happy. He won’t care about the lost money or prestige, he’ll forget the old pain. We don’t need anything except each other. I’ll prove that to him, I am determined to.

Maiden laid back against the pillows and gazed thoughtfully up at the ceiling. According to the information she’d gleaned about Riley manor, it had been built during the wild and optimistic days of the 1920s. Even in its present state it reflected that unabashed opulence. But then the stock market crashed and even some of the most fabulously wealthy were brought plummeting down to earth with it.

The story went that the head of the family in those days, a man named Jackson Riley, couldn’t live with the massive financial losses. Seized with despair, he climbed into his bathtub with a pistol and a bottle of whiskey. He was found dead the following morning, presumably by the wife he’d left to single-handedly look after their child and the financial fallout.

From what Helena had said in her diary, it seemed that Edward’s pain over losing his father, and their fortune, hadn’t eased much even years afterward.

In spite of those sad hardships, Helena’s tone was cheerful and her outlook was confident. Maiden nestled in and read leisurely. She was enjoying the glimpse into the lady’s life and was in no hurry to get through it.

Helena had obviously warmed to the prospect of journaling. She went on to record her thoughts about the house, which she clearly loved, and her observations of the town of Golden Glen.

As she spoke about the local customs and the way some of the people there made an effort to accept her, it became clear that Helena wasn’t an American, not by birth anyway. She gave the impression that most people were nice to her, although she did mention one or two neighbors that teased her a little more than was polite. She didn’t seem overly upset by any of it.

This Helena seemed to have a quiet strength, a sense of innate dignity and grace. Her observations were intelligent and insightful, not mired in either soppy sentiment or a fear of the unknown. Even when she spoke of a handful of people that viewed her as an unwelcome foreigner, her words were accepting and even understanding. She commented that she was well-traveled and they weren’t, so she made allowances for their narrow-mindedness.

Maiden laid the book on her lap and stared up at the ceiling. Helena’s serene musings struck a cord deep inside of her. Maiden knew how it felt to be around people that only paid enough attention to her to form an unfounded dislike. While her gut instinct had always been to hide away from hatred and anger, Helena accepted it and then brushed it aside. Maiden found herself admiring that fortitude.

“Wish I could do that,” she mumbled to herself and started reading again.

I have left so much of myself behind. While that is what I intended, at times it saddens me. But such is the life I chose to live, it was never a path I could walk indefinitely.

How grateful I am to have found my dearest Edward! The coinciding of our lives feels like divine mercy, as though loving attention has been bestowed on us both. I could not ask for better, I could not even dream of a more perfectly suited match. While it is perhaps foolish to have fallen in love so quickly and so easily, I welcome my own folly. I wish that everyone in the world could be so content.

Maiden smiled as she read on for another few paragraphs. There was certainly no question that Helena was in love with her husband, and that affection no doubt made any other obstacles she may have faced easier to deal with.

Maiden closed the diary with a happy sigh and set it on her nightstand. She found herself liking this Helena more and more, she sounded like a thoughtful and wise person. Maiden looked forward to reading more of her reflections on her young married life.

It would have to wait though. It was getting late and Maiden was tired. It had been a long and bitterly cold day and there was still a lot of work ahead of them. One thing the day’s foray had made clear was that there was a lot of sorting out to be done at the manor.

Maiden’s eyes slid back to the journal on her bedside table and then to the stained cloth tucked in a bag next to the door. She also had a bit of investigating to do.

Chapter four

The next morning Maiden headed downstairs early. She’d slept well and was feeling motivated to get some serious work done. Their celebration weekend was looming and she wanted everything to be perfect.

That meant she needed to get to the manor and start work on the drawing room. Not only was it one of the most recently cleaned rooms, it was also where one of the largest fireplaces was located. Considering that the furnace was unlikely to put forth much effort, it made the handsome room an easy choice for their indoor camping.

Maiden was really looking forward to everyone snuggling in together and enjoying a few relaxing nights in front of a cozily burning fire. She needed to finish getting the drawing room in shape before then. There would be a lot of dusting, vacuuming and furniture rearranging in her future.

She clasped her largest purse in her hand and slung it over her shoulder; she had an errand to run before she could get on with her cleaning.

Maiden stepped into the lobby and was surprised to see that her mother was already there. Gloria had never been an early riser, but there she was standing behind the reception desk with Harlow House’s newest receptionist. Gloria was pointing out something on the computer screen while her young cohort sat in the chair and listened in rapt attention.

The girl was barely nineteen but had worked for their family, in some capacity, for the past several months. She had a generous smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks and her coppery hair was pulled back in a tidy bun. Curiously, the young redhead’s name was Goldie.

“Good morning,” Maiden said nicely and was greeted by an exuberant smile.

“Hi, Maiden!” Goldie bounced happily. “Gloria’s going to let me take all the phone calls today!”

“Awesome.” Maiden couldn’t help chuckling at her excitement. “You’ll do great.”

“I’ve been practicing my phone voice since yesterday!” She put her hand to her cheek like she was holding a phone and lowered her voice dramatically. “Thank you for calling Harlow House, you’re speaking with Goldie.”

“I’m gonna need coffee,” Gloria said wryly. “And you certainly don’t.”

“Nope!” Goldie swiveled the chair around in a circle. “I’ve had a smoothie and two energy drinks already; I’m good for a few hours.”

“Sounds like you're ready then. Have fun you two.” Maiden gave her mother a smiling look and started towards the office.

The front door flew open before she’d gotten far. They all looked over sharply to see Tony hurry inside. He shut the door quickly behind him and shivered from the icy breeze that had practically thrown him inside.

“Sorry about that!” He gave the ladies a wincing smile and started blowing on his hands to warm them. “That wind is mean! It’s definitely winter out there.”

“Yeah, I know. And I still haven’t pulled out my heavy coat.” Maiden shook her head at herself.

“Coat. Hat. Mittens.” Tony gave her a teasingly stern look. “The Michigan cold is here and it’s not playing around. You don’t want pneumonia.”

“No, I really don’t,” she sighed and frowned uneasily as she watched Tony rub his hands together to warm them up. “It’s getting so cold already, I hope next weekend will go okay.”

“Are you kidding? It’ll be perfect!” Tony grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. “Von will have to snuggle in extra close; she’s got no meat on her. Oh…good morning, Gloria.”

“Good mornin’, honey.” Gloria mercifully ignored his blathered hopes of canoodling with her oldest daughter. “You’re here early.”

“Not really, no earlier than usual. But it’s typically only Maiden on the desk at this hour,” he corrected mildly and ventured close enough to set some letters on the desk. “Hey, Goldie. Moving up in the world?”

“Oh yeah!” She did a little happy dance in her seat. “I hope someone’s rude! I can’t wait to polite the living crap out of them!”

“I know!” Tony pointed at her happily. “Kindness completely derails mean people! It’s the best retaliation ever!”

“If you ever wondered what you’d be like as a teenaged white girl, there you are,” Maiden laughed and turned back towards the office. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Wait a minute, Maiden!” Tony said quickly and glanced between her and Gloria. “Could we possibly all get together tonight? I know it’s short notice but there’s something I want to tell everyone; it’s kinda big.”

Gloria’s eyes widened at that cryptic statement and a delighted smile spread across her face.

“Of course we can, honey!” Her southern accent grew thick enough to swim through. “We’ll all have dinner upstairs tonight! Maiden baby, tell David to come too.”

“Ah, that’d be great. Thanks, Gloria.” Tony smiled warmly at her but then glanced at his watch. “Oh, I’d better go, but I’ll see you guys tonight.”

He was still smiling even as he gritted his teeth and ducked back out into the cold. Maiden watched him go and then glanced back at her mother. Gloria was beaming and gave her a knowing look as she pointed at her ring finger.

“Mom, be careful. You don’t know that he’s planning to propose,” Maiden cautioned more for the moral satisfaction of trying to do the right thing than out of any hope of it succeeding. “Let’s not get our hopes up, or Vonny’s. Please.”

“Ain’t you got some dirt to scrub, angel?” Gloria gave her a teasing smile, clearly aware that she wouldn’t find a listening ear with her. “When does Billie get here?”

“That’s it. I’m out.” Maiden held up her hands and walked resolutely through the door, grabbing her scarf from the coat rack as she passed it.

Billie, their long-time housekeeper, would definitely indulge all of Gloria’s musings. Maiden could only hope that the women wouldn’t suck all the fun and surprise out of Tony’s big moment. A part of her wondered what he had in mind, but she was quite happy to wait a few hours and let him handle it.

After wrapping the soft knitted scarf around her neck, Maiden stepped outside into the cold morning air and was struck with an immediate urge to give up and go back to her room. She fought it back and ran to her car, climbing inside as quickly as she could.

Maiden started the car and cranked the heater up to high. Her teeth chattered as she held her fingers in front of the vents, hoping for the first breath of warm air to waft over her stinging flesh. Her car was far from new and took its own sweet time to heat up.

“Stupid thing won’t start working until I get there anyway,” she grumbled in surrender. “I really need remote start.”

She backed out of her usual parking spot and turned onto the road. The drive to the police station wasn’t terribly long and, as she’d suspected, the spiteful heater only started to blow warm air when she pulled into the parking lot.

Maiden dashed inside and was immediately enveloped in blessed warmth. She shuddered and clutched her large purse to her chest as she waited to feel her fingers again. She glanced up to find Nancy watching her with a smile.

Nancy was a quiet but observant person, she seemed ideally suited to her role as receptionist and watchful gatekeeper at the station. Maiden actually wasn’t sure how long the woman had worked there; she’d never had occasion to go to the police station until a couple of murders happened at the inn several months ago. Although, she’d certainly been there plenty of times since.

“Are you all right, Miss Harlow?” Nancy asked politely.

“Yes, I’m better now that I’m inside.” Maiden smiled and approached the desk. “How are you?”

“Me?” Nancy looked a tad surprised by the question. “I’m fine, thank you. Are you here to see the Captain?”

“Is he free?” Maiden asked.

Before Nancy could reply, they heard a door open down the hall. Maiden glanced over and smiled as David walked towards them. The sight of him still made her heart flutter, especially when he looked at her like that.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were stopping by today,” he said warmly and dropped a discreet kiss on her lips. “What’s up?”

“Tony wants everyone to get together tonight.” She absently wiped her lipstick off his mouth with her thumb. “He said he’s got something big to tell us.”

“Including me?” he asked curiously.

“I don’t know, I’m only following Mom’s orders.” She held up her hands innocently.

“Any idea what he plans to say?” David propped an elbow on the high desk.

“No, not really,” she said. “Mom thinks he’s going to propose to Von but, I’m not so sure.”

“I don’t think that’s really something you gather people together to tell them,” David pointed out tactfully. “I mean, wouldn’t he want to run it past Vonny first?”

“I would imagine so,” Maiden said. “But I rarely argue with my mother, I prefer to just leave the building, it’s easier.”

“Well, it’ll be interesting either way, I guess.” David ran a hand over his hair. “I should be free by tonight.”

“Do you have a big day or something?” she asked.

“Um, yeah, the next few weeks will be a little bit busy.” He glanced at Nancy and pulled a face when the lady gave him a nod in Maiden’s direction. “Chief Boswell is coming to visit next month.”

“Is that your boss?” Maiden asked.

“Essentially, yes.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“Oh okay. Why’s he coming now?” She shook her head a little.

“Just to see how things are going.” He looked away briefly but then smiled at her again. “It’s no big deal…you look nice today.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a curious look but decided not to press him in front of Nancy. “I won’t keep you if you’re busy. I have to get to the manor and get some work done anyway.”

“Oh yeah, prep for next weekend?” he asked.

“Yes,” she sighed loudly. “Hopefully we won’t all freeze to death.”

“I’ll keep you warm.” He smiled at her.

“Really? All night?” She gave him a dubious look.

“If given the opportunity,” he replied with a mischievous grin.

Maiden finally realized what she’d said, blithely and right in front of a smirking Nancy, and immediately glanced away. Her cheeks finally felt warm though, at least there was a upside to blathering like an idiot.

“Thanks, that’s a huge relief.” She flicked him a tolerant smile and then turned to Nancy. “Is Dr. Jenkins in?”

“What do you want the doc for?” David asked before the lady could reply.

“I need to ask his professional opinion about something,” she said as she unzipped the bag she had slung over her shoulder.

“Oh really?” David quirked a brow. “His professional opinion? I’m not even worth consulting now?”

“It’s not a big deal.” She eyed him with an uncertain smile. “Are you actually jealous that I’m asking to talk to him or are you just being a goof?”

“I don’t know yet,” David admitted mildly. “It might depend on if you ask to speak to him privately or not.”

“Oh, well, actually I was going to.” She stilled and blinked at him. “It’s just kind of a medical thing and it isn’t particularly nice. There’s nothing weird about it though.”

David narrowed his eyes questioningly and slid Nancy a look, as if she had any hope of knowing what the other woman was talking about. The placid blonde said nothing as she reached for the phone and pressed a button.

“Dr. Jenkins,” she said quietly, flicking David a faintly smiling look. “Miss Harlow is here and has asked to speak to you. Thank you.”

She hung up the phone and glanced away innocently. A moment later they heard a door down the hall open and a joyfully smiling Ben Jenkins walked out to join them. He inclined his head to David and Nancy but turned a very happy smile on Maiden as he came and stood next to her.

“My dear Miss Harlow!” he said cheerfully. “What a perfect start to a Friday, a moment of your magnificent company!”

Maiden laughed and David shook his head wryly at the perpetually jolly coroner.

“I’m standing right here, doc. Ease up, will you?” He leaned casually back on his elbows and gestured towards her. “Maiden has some mysterious problem that she can only discuss with you, apparently.”

“Ooo! That sounds exciting!” Jenkins turned to her and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “How can I help?”

“He’s getting worked up about nothing,” she said mildly as she pulled a big plastic bag from her oversized purse. “I was just hoping you could tell me whether or not this is blood.”

The others looked from her docile expression to the disturbingly dark stains that saturated the large piece of fabric she’d carefully bagged. Jenkins recovered first and took the gruesome parcel from her, looking it over with steadily growing interest.

“You said there’s nothing weird about it,” David reminded her grimly.

“It’s a perfectly straightforward question about a bloodstain.” Maiden looked nonplussed. “You’re a cop, how can you find it weird?”

Nancy’s pale brows rose at that but she sipped her coffee rather than comment. They were soon distracted by Dr. Jenkins.

“Oh, that’s fascinating,” he murmured and flicked Maiden a look. “How old is this?”

“I have no idea.” She shook her head a little. “I suspect it’s from the 1970s, but I can’t be certain.”

“That’s your first question?” David stared at Jenkins before turning to Maiden and shaking his head incredulously. “What is it? Where did you find it? And whose blood is it?”

“I think it’s a piece of an old sheet, I found it in a locked trunk at the manor,” she said mildly. “But I don’t even know for sure if it’s blood; I certainly don’t know whose it is.”

“You found a bloodstained—whatever that thing is—and you weren’t going to bother mentioning it to me?” he asked with very deliberate, and clearly forced, patience. “And you found it in the place you’re planning to spend huge amounts of time in? Seriously?”

“It’s not fresh, David, and it wasn’t laying under a hatchet or anything.” She gave a long-suffering sigh. “Honestly, look at your face. This is why I wasn’t going to mention it in front of you.”

“Hard to argue that isn’t it, David?” Jenkins met his gaze with a bland smile before he could grouse at her.

David started to reply but then thought it over and propped his chin in his hand with an air of acceptance. He nodded towards the bag.

“So, do you think it’s blood, doc?” he asked curiously.

“I can’t be sure without running some tests,” he admitted. “It looks like it though…I’ll check it out and let you know, Miss Harlow.”

“Thank you, doctor,” she said gratefully.

Jenkins gave her another smile and a wink before turning and heading back to his office, studying the old cloth as he went. Once his door had closed behind him, Maiden turned back to David with a calm smile.

“Don’t worry,” she said reassuringly. “I’ll let you know what he finds out.”

“You may well be the biggest brat I’ve ever met.” He smirked. “And that’s really saying something coming from a guy with twin sisters.”

“But on the bright side I didn’t hit on Doc Jenkins, or invite him to dinner in Paris.” She matched his stance leaning against the desk with her chin in her hand. “Or whatever the heck you thought I was going to do.”

“And I appreciate that show of consideration,” he assured her.

“Marvelous,” she laughed. “I’d better get going, I have a lot to do. So, are you definitely coming tonight?”

“Yes, I’ll be there,” he promised. “Someone has to try and rescue Tony from your sister’s clutches.”

“Don’t you dare!” She pressed a hand to her chest and pushed away from the desk. “If tonight doesn’t go well I’m the one that’ll hear about it.”

Chapter five

That evening David went home long enough to shower and change before heading straight to Harlow House. He’d lived on his own for so long that it had been ages since he’d felt like he was part of a family dynamic. That rather nice realization had made rushing home from work after a long day seem like nothing.

The foyer was empty when he arrived but a glance in the dining room revealed mostly full tables. Distantly pleased to see that the inn was busy, David climbed the stairs and headed for the Harlow’s apartment.

He heard someone else coming up the stairs just as he’d knocked on the front door, he glanced over and saw Tony. The other man smiled as he approached and tucked his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Hey, David, good to see you,” Tony said nicely.

“You too.” He smiled. “Big announcement tonight, eh?”

“Yeah, kinda life-changing stuff.” Tony exhaled a little nervously. The door opened before Tony could elaborate or David could ask any more questions. Not that he’d planned to pry.

“Well hello, boys!” Gloria greeted them loudly and joyfully. “Come on in!”

As they walked inside they were encircled by cozy warmth and the smell of delicious food cooking. David slipped out of his coat and glanced around the room as he hung it up near the door. He quickly spotted Maiden and felt his breath catch.

She was standing across the room with Vonny, laughing and talking with a glass of wine clasped casually in her hand. She wore a long, knitted dress that fit her perfectly. It was deeply red and snug and fell all the way to her bare feet.

She glanced over at him and a happy smile lit up her face, a moment later she was scampering over to greet him. David’s eyes widened slightly as she held her glass out to the side while slipping her other arm around his neck and kissing him deeply. He slid his hands around her waist and resisted the desire to let them explore further.

You feel perfect, everything feels perfect, he whispered internally. He gave in a little and let a hand slide down over her hip, his fingertips just grazed the full curve of her bottom. Damn it, why are we always surrounded by other people?

“I missed you,” Maiden said softly when she finally pulled back.

“I missed you too,” he murmured with a faint smile and flicked her wineglass a meaningful look. “How many of those have you had?”

“This is my first.” She grinned at him. “I’ve been listening to Mom and Vonny speculating for the past two hours. I’m desperately glad that you’re here.”

“Good, I like the thought of you being desperate for me,” he chuckled and accepted her glass when she offered it to him. “Come on, we can do this.”

Dinner was a noisy and happy affair. There was a lot of laughter, complaining about the cold and several conversations being loudly spoken at once. It was a lovely evening, but dessert came and went and Tony still hadn’t shared his mysterious news.

David glanced over and saw the man shift nervously, he suspected that the big moment was approaching. He was getting increasingly curious, but he hoped he hid his interest more effectively than Gloria did.

The brassy southern broad was leaning towards Tony expectantly. Maiden, who was well into her second glass of wine now, frowned at him before he could speak up.

“I meant to ask earlier, Tony,” she said with a hint of apology for the oversight, “why didn’t Amelia come tonight?”

“Um, Mom’s…not really great with cold weather.” Tony lowered his gaze uncomfortably. “She said she wasn’t feeling up to it.”

“Oh, okay.” Maiden shifted her big green eyes to David. He could see the suspicions swirling to life; he knew exactly what she was thinking. Amelia wasn’t happy about whatever Tony was about to say. If it was a proposal, his mother’s show of disapproval didn’t bode well.

David’s eyes slid to Vonny. She looked a little confused but still interested and not necessarily upset, yet. Alfie was clearly tired of the tension, or possibly his wife’s constantly tapping foot. He looked at Tony and raised his bushy brows expectantly.

“I believe you mentioned to Gloria that you have something to tell us all, son,” he prompted kindly.

David wondered if calling him ‘son’ was some kind of signal of approval but then recalled Maiden mentioning that Alfie had taken Tony under his wing after the younger man’s father died.

“Yes, I have some news. And I’m pretty happy about it.” He smiled shyly as everyone looked at him and waited. He let out a long, slow breath. “Okay…I’ve been offered a job in Ohio, managing a post office!”

The resulting silence was deafening. Maiden was so startled that she dropped the kitten she’d been cuddling against her cheek. Ruffian bounced off her cleavage and rolled into her lap with a tiny mew. She instantly caught the hapless kitten and patted him soothingly.

Tony’s smile faded when it went unreturned by absolutely everyone. David, aware that the poor guy had been excited about the news only to have it fall painfully flat the instant he’d shared it, quickly recovered.

“Congratulations, Tony!” he said encouragingly. “That sounds like a great opportunity.”

“Thanks.” Tony shifted a bit awkwardly. “It really is. I wasn’t expecting it, but…it’s really great.”

Tony glanced uneasily at Vonny. Her pale eyes were locked on him and her mouth had fallen slightly open. David wondered how rare it was for her to be shocked into complete silence, he’d certainly never seen it before. Her ashen complexion quickly went red and her incredulously widened eyes grew angry.

“You probably should have taken her aside and told her first,” David whispered to Tony from behind the glass of wine he was holding.

“In hindsight, yes,” Tony replied from the corner of his mouth. He plastered a smile on his face but it faded when Vonny got up and stalked out of the apartment.

Gloria and Alfie also watched her go and jumped when she slammed the door behind her. They glanced at each other and then turned their worried eyes to Tony. He was staring at the closed door and fiddling anxiously with the stem of his glass. Alfie pulled a face and quickly tried to salvage the disastrous situation.

“Well, that’s incredible news, Tony!” He gave him a pleased smile. “Tell us more about it.”

“Oh, um, it’s in a small town, not as big or as nice as Golden Glen, of course,” he explained, his enthusiasm was noticeably dampened. “But the post office looks nice from the photos I saw online. Kinda small but cute. It seemed like…a nice place.”

“I’m sure it is!” Gloria forced a strained but supportive smile. “You keep on talkin’, sugar, I’ll be right back.”

Tony smiled weakly but didn’t say anything as Gloria slipped out the front door, presumably to look for Vonny. Alfie cleared his throat and then launched into a rambling narrative about how the post offices ran when he was a kid. David and Tony listened and tried to appear politely interested as the older man prattled.

David noticed that Maiden had gone completely silent. She was staring down at Ruffian with a crestfallen expression, the kitten gazed back up at her and touched a comforting paw to her stomach. David felt his heart sink when a sheen of tears filled Maiden’s eyes. He knew that Tony meant a lot to all of the Harlows. The word ‘disaster’ sprang to mind.

Not only had there been no marriage proposal but Tony would actually be leaving town, and possibly their lives judging by Vonny’s reaction to the news. David saw Maiden shut her eyes briefly, maybe as she reached similar conclusions. He reached over and slid his hand over hers. Ruffian took this to be some sort of group hug and licked his thumb.

When Maiden glanced up at him somberly, David nodded meaningfully in Tony’s direction. She sighed softly and turned to her friend. A kind smile graced her features as she visibly submerged her own pain.

“So, how did you hear about this job?” she asked in a tranquil and normal voice.

“A guy I worked with a few years ago told me about it and recommended me for the position.” Tony was looking self-consciously into his glass but seemed inclined to let her draw him out a bit. “I’ve already done a phone interview, and it went pretty well. I’m supposed to be driving down to see the area in a couple of weeks.”

“That’ll be really fun.” Maiden kept smiling and listened attentively as he relaxed a little bit. “Tell me more about the town.”

Tony wet his lips and seemed to be trying to collect his thoughts, he was starting to look a little excited again.

David exchanged a relieved look with Alfie, but they both shifted their eyes away and returned to their drinks when they heard the doorknob turn. Tony sank down in his chair a little but Maiden sat up straighter and fixed an even brighter smile on him.

Gloria walked back inside, gently dragging her oldest daughter behind her. Vonny was rigid and blatantly irate but came and sat at the table again. Gloria plonked down beside her and dove straight in to helping keep the conversation going.

“Maiden baby,” she said loudly, “do you remember the postman that used to come around when you girls were little?”

“Oh yes,” Maiden said cheerfully even as she flicked her sister a watchful look. “He had a big orange mustache, I always thought he’d pasted it on.”

Maiden and Gloria tried their hardest to divert the focus to other things but everything looped back to Tony thinking of leaving. Even discussing the renovations to the manor were met with a dismal ‘Assuming you’re here to see it’ from Vonny.

Maiden, having already dredged up some good grace, chatted amicably with Gloria and just raised her voice enough to talk over Vonny’s barbs when necessary. David smiled quietly at the performance as Ruffian, tired of the quasi-shouting, hopped from Maiden’s lap to his and burrowed his little face into the crook of David’s arm.

I don’t blame you for hiding, he thought wryly as he scratched behind the kitten’s ear. I’m just grateful I fell for the steadier sister. He stilled at that unexpected acknowledgement and slowly looked over at Maiden.

She was smiling and laughing with her mother and was even getting Tony to open back up a bit. She was so good-natured and so beautiful. David made himself keep breathing as the room started to feel a bit too warm.

He reminded himself that he’d never been in love, he didn’t know what that felt like. But then she met his gaze and gave him a wink and he felt a fluttering deep inside.

Yeah…I think I actually do know what it feels like. He let out a shaky breath and took a large sip of his wine. Calm down, David, you knew this was coming. Don’t panic.

He scratched the back of Ruffian’s neck and became very absorbed in a conversation with Alfie about how the design of stamps had changed over the years. He’d have happily dissected almost any topic at that point.

Maiden was slowly recovering from Tony’s horrible bombshell. She was managing to fake some happiness for his sake, but inside she wanted to cry and throw cushions at him for daring to think of leaving them.

She knew she was being selfish but he was one of her best friends and she didn’t want to lose him. She had to be strong though; Vonny would be in no condition to lie about her feelings and someone had to or poor Tony would be devastated.

She glanced at David when she felt him reach over and slide his hand over hers again. He was a bit flushed and wouldn’t look at her but his hold tightened a little. She wondered if he was worried about Tony and Von, but she was distracted when her phone rang.

She excused herself and stepped away from the table. A glance at her phone confirmed her suspicions, Aunt Bella was calling back. She walked to the far side of the living room and accepted the call.

“Maiden baby!” Bella greeted her happily and so loudly that she had to pull the phone away from her ear. “How you doin’, sweetheart?”

“Good,” Maiden said reflexively even as she gave Tony a quick, saddened look. “So, what’s the deal? Any ideas about the furnace?”

“Oh big ideas, baby!” Bella’s exuberance was clear in her voice. “And maybe for more than just the furnace, if everything works out.”

“What are we talking about?” Maiden asked politely when Bella failed to elaborate.

“Well, I got a few friends here, they’re more like Elvan’s friends but they’re mine too now.” She took a deep breath. “And one of them is a film producer, or somethin’ like that. We got to talkin’ and he thinks he might want to hire the manor as a film set! Can you believe that?!”

“A film set?” Maiden’s eyes widened and the others glanced over at her. “Are you serious?”

“Totally! Victor, that’s my producer friend, and his location scout want to fly out and take a look at it!” Bella squealed. “If they like it, all we gotta do is sign the contract and let them pay us $5000 a day to film there!”

“What?!” Maiden blurted and glanced over to find David and Gloria standing next to her now, she shook her head incredulously at them. “Are you serious, Aunt Bella?!”

“Quit askin’ me that, you little goose!” Bella laughed. “I told him what I know about Riley Manor and he got real excited, said it sounded perfect. They’ll be there tomorrow mornin’ around 10 am.”

“Tomorrow! Thanks for all the notice!” Maiden almost laughed as she ran a hand through her hair and sank down on the couch.

“You got about as much as I did, baby girl,” Bella said with little concern. “Now this money is important to the project and could lead to other opportunities. So you be your gorgeous little self and make a good impression. All right?”

“I’ll do my best,” Maiden said slowly. “But this doesn’t give us any time to try and clean up; the place is so run-down. I can’t imagine that anyone would want to film there.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that one bit, honeypot,” Bella said cheerfully. “In fact, the worse it is the better! It’s a horror movie!”

Chapter six

The following morning Maiden and her parents were back at Riley Manor waiting for Bella’s producer friend to turn up. It was a cold and gloomy Saturday but apparently filmmakers didn’t have weekends off. Maiden wasn’t personally fussed about what day it was, all she cared about was doing something to rescue the manor.

It was certainly an unexpected solution, well, possible solution. It was entirely likely that the manor was too decrepit even for the most harrowing script. Maiden knew she needed to be careful and not get her hopes up.

Vonny had opted to stay at the inn since she was too angry and heartbroken to go more than a few minutes between bouts of sobbing or yelling. No one argued her choice and, Maiden at least, was relieved that her sister was reasonable enough to stay out of the fray.

At exactly twenty-seven minutes after they were scheduled to arrive, a big black car pulled up the long driveway and parked outside. Two tanned and glossy people, a middle-aged man and a slightly younger woman, climbed out and immediately started studying the front of the house.

Maiden, who was the only one that had the fortitude to keep waiting outside, walked out onto the terrace and smiled politely as the pair glanced over. They returned the smile as they approached; she took the opportunity to look them over.

The man was tall and slender, he had a high forehead that was accentuated by a pronounced widow’s peak in his coal black hair. His eyes were dark and deep set and he had a long, straight nose. He was well-dressed in a dark suit and black coat and he carried a slim briefcase at his side. He had looked grim and serious as he studied the house but his smile enlivened his face and brightened his whole demeanor.

The woman at his side was exquisitely dressed in high heeled boots and a long red coat that probably cost more than Maiden’s entire wardrobe. She casually pulled off a pair of large sunglasses, which were far from necessary in Golden Glen at this time of year. The eyes she revealed were intelligent and observant as she looked Maiden over with a faint smile.

Maiden had no idea what the striking woman thought of her but her expression seemed genuinely friendly. She looked like an Italian film star, her mocha-toned skin was smooth and her richly brown hair was long and shiny, it fell down her back in a silky curtain. She exuded calm confidence and had probably never felt overshadowed in her life.

“Miss Harlow, I’m delighted!” The man smiled broadly as they reached her and gave Maiden’s hand a firm shake. “I’ve heard so much about you from Bella, she absolutely adores you! I’m Victor Renshaw.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Renshaw,” she said politely.

“Call me Victor, please.” He waved away the formality.

“In that case, call me Maiden.” She smiled and glanced inquiringly at the woman beside him.

“Nessa.” She smiled showing perfect, gleaming white teeth behind her darkly painted lips. “Nessa Jones, I’m the primary location scout for this project. You certainly have a fascinating house on your hands here, Maiden.”

“We think so,” Maiden said modestly and gestured for them to follow her. “Please come in, it’s a bit cold out here.”

Maiden led the way, quietly hoping that it would be at least a little warmer inside. The furnace hadn’t wanted to start at all when they got there and only did so anemically and after much prodding.

She let Victor and Nessa go in first. Maiden watched them subtly as she shut the door behind them. Nessa walked in further and started studying the walls and staircase critically, but Victor was smiling a bit wider now.

“Isn’t this marvelous!” he said to Nessa.

“It’s got potential, certainly,” she replied in a more circumspect tone. “I was hoping it would be a little worse, to be honest.”

Maiden blinked at that peculiar statement and started to feel a bit more optimistic about the rest of the house.

Don’t worry, lady, she smiled to herself. It gets much worse than this.

They were all distracted when they heard voices approach from the hallway to the left. Maiden held her breath briefly as her parents neared, she hoped they’d behave themselves.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but Gloria would gush indiscreetly and Alfie was capable of saying anything. She’d already asked them to let her take the lead with any negotiations and they’d agreed, but that didn’t guarantee anything.

“Well hello!” Gloria smiled excitedly as they entered the foyer. “Aren’t you movie folk gorgeous!”

“Ha! You must be Bella’s sister,” Victor replied happily. “She said to look for a blonde version of her!”

“She flatters herself,” Gloria chortled and patted her bouncy curls, she then gestured vaguely in her husband’s direction. “This is Alfie.”

“Nice to meet you.” Victor nodded to him and then introduced himself and his associate. “What an amazing old house this is! Could we have a look around?”

“Of course,” Alfie chuckled. “You didn’t come here just to meet us. Maiden, show them around, please.”

“Sure.” Maiden smiled again. “Was there anything specific you’re looking for?”

“Definitely the staircase.” Nessa gave it another quick look before turning back to her. “But the script also calls for a dining room, a large parlor, a library and a few other spots that should be standard in a place this size.”

“A master bedroom as well,” Victor reminded her. “That’s critical!”

“Oh, okay.” Maiden pulled a face.

“Is that a problem?” Victor asked uncertainly. “There has to be a master bedroom, surely?”

“There is,” she assured him. “We just haven’t been in it yet. Every door seems to have a different key. It’s not a problem, though, we’ll find it.”

“So no one’s been in all the rooms recently?” Nessa stared at her and then started to smile. “How cool! There could be anything hidden away in an old place like this!”

“You see?” Victor smiled at her. “I told you this place was perfect.”

“I didn’t say it was perfect.” She gave him a speaking look that he appeared to completely ignore. “I’ll agree that it’s very interesting so far, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

He smiled nicely but didn’t reply. Nessa barely checked an irate huff and glanced at Maiden. The lady forced a smile, perhaps feeling awkward over the argument that she seemed to be having all by herself. Maiden decided it would be best not to linger on Nessa’s caution or Victor’s lack of a poker face.

“Well, let’s just have a look around, shall we?” Maiden suggested and motioned for them to follow her. “I’ll show you the library first.”

She started down the first hallway on the left. It branched off between the ballroom and what they’d started calling the event room, where Bella’s wedding ceremony had taken place. They walked through it and on to another, longer hallway. This one snaked through most of the downstairs and led to some of the larger rooms. Including the library, which sat in the front left corner of the house.

“This wallpaper is in terrible condition, Maiden,” Victor said happily as he gestured towards the faded and peeling walls. “I absolutely love it!”

“Thank you.” She couldn’t help laughing a little at the odd compliment.

“This place is a maze,” Nessa murmured as she glanced around. “There’s not much lighting either, how do you find your way around?”

“I have a pretty good memory.” Maiden smiled faintly and pointed to a door on the left. “That’s the library. It’s a bit grubby but we haven’t had time to do anything with it yet. I’ve only been in it once myself.”

“That’s unbelievable,” Nessa whispered under her breath, trying not to sound too eager.

Maiden pushed the door open and stood back so they could get an unimpeded view. Victor walked straight in and started looking around but Nessa was a little more cautious. She edged closer and stood in the doorway for a moment, gazing in quiet wonder at the rows of shelves that lined the walls. Finally, she walked in, slowly and thoughtfully.

Maiden stepped just inside the door and joined in the perusal. The old library was spacious and impressive. The bookshelves reached from floor to ceiling and were packed full of gloriously old books. She knew they were probably all mildewed and half rotted but they looked great.

The windows that faced the front of the house were large and each boasted a built-in reading nook underneath. There was a big wooden desk that Maiden suspected would need to be refinished, but it was still beautiful and had a matching chair that was in comparatively good condition.

Maiden glanced at her companions. Victor was visibly delighted with everything, and even Nessa couldn’t hide the steadily growing excitement in her sparkling brown eyes. Maiden felt oddly proud of the musty old room. She had to admit that the place would be a perfect setting for a scary movie.

A few minutes of standing in the cold room told Maiden that the furnace had conked out again. She suppressed a shiver and was reminded of Aunt Bella’s instructions to make a good impression. She decided to test the waters.

“So, what’s the film actually about?” she asked companionably. “Aunt Bella said it’s a horror movie.”

“Ugh, I hate that term.” Victor pulled a pained face but smiled again when he looked over at her. “It’s a psychological thriller, Maiden.”

“Oh, I see…um, what’s the difference?” she asked as respectfully as she could and noticed Nessa grin from the corner of her eye.

“It flatters my pride a bit more. Indulge me, please,” Victor said dryly. “No, in all truthfulness we’re striving for something genuinely frightening but without resorting to cheap clichés and over-done special effects. This is going to be a legitimate film that’s terrifying on a higher level. Suspense, my dear Maiden, that’s what we’re trying to achieve!”

“That sounds really cool.” Maiden gave an impressed nod. “But what is it about? How does the manor potentially fit in?”

“Oh, trade secrets, I’m afraid!” He smiled and held a finger to his lips. “Once we have a deal settled, I’ll tell you a bit more.”

“If we decide on offering a deal,” Nessa corrected, giving Victor a look of waning patience.

“Hmm? Oh yes, of course, that’s what I meant.” He waved it away and then turned quite deliberately to Maiden. “The library is brilliant! May we see the dining room?”

Maiden led the way back into the hallway. She was a little worried now; she knew from Aunt Bella’s reception that the dining room was reasonably presentable. It struck her as ironic that she was now trying to think of the dingiest and most run-down rooms to favor them with.

With that goal in mind, she paused on the way and flicked open the door to the music room. Apparently so called because there was both a piano and a harp rotting away in a corner.

“Since it’s on our way,” she smiled nicely, “this room might do for the large parlor you mentioned. Would you like to take a look?”

Victor smiled keenly and gestured for her to proceed. He stepped inside with Nessa close behind. Maiden couldn’t help hearing them both utter quietly impressed gasps as they took it all in.

It was a sprawling, fully furnished room that opened into the glass-walled conservatory. The center of the space featured a big square coffee table, which could probably seat twelve people, with elegantly curved couches covered in drop cloths on all sides.

There were antique lamps with stained-glass lampshades and a large mahogany display cabinet that stretched along half of the back wall. It was empty except for a few cracked dishes; she figured they’d appreciate those.

“Oh wow!” Nessa said softly to herself, although Maiden heard it clearly in the cavernous room. Her eyes were huge and intrigued as she looked around at the dusty furnishings. “Imagine what this would’ve looked like when it was all new!”

“This is becoming a quite emotional experience for me.” Victor shook his head and pressed a hand to his chest. “I don’t even know what to say, Maiden.”

“I find that unlikely,” Nessa chuckled at him. “I’ve never known you to be at a loss for words, Victor.”

“True,” he allowed modestly. “It’s one of my gifts.”

“It’s technically called the music room, but it would probably still work,” Maiden said. The enraptured look on Victor’s face assured her that the semantics wouldn’t be a problem. “Shall we continue on to the dining room? I’m afraid it’s a bit cleaner than this.”

“Don’t let that trouble you,” Victor said soothingly. “We can always furnish our own dust and grime if we have to.”

Maiden wasn’t sure if that was a joke, neither he nor Nessa even cracked a smile.

They made their way back out and on to the dining room. Just as she’d warned them, it was much tidier. Victor went to the center of the room and turned slowly in a circle, taking in every angle. Finally, he turned to Maiden and clasped his hand firmly around the handle of his briefcase.

“Thank you so much for showing us around, Maiden.” He smiled cordially. “If you’d be so kind as to find your parents, I think we should all sit down together. We have a few things to discuss.”

“Certainly.” Maiden inclined her head and edged towards the door, she didn’t miss the sharp and unhappy look that Nessa gave him. “I’ll be right back.”

It didn’t take long for Maiden to find her parents; she knew they’d be in the kitchen planning for the following weekend. By the time she’d rounded them up and they headed back to the dining room, Victor had settled at one of the tables and was looking through his briefcase.

Nessa sat beside him but the unimpressed expression on her face made it clear that she didn’t know what he was planning and she wasn’t pleased about it. She was tapping her long red nails on the table top but stilled and managed a smile when she looked at the doorway and saw them.

Maiden smiled back as she and her parents came and sat on the other side of the table. She had a feeling that Victor wanted the house, a lot, and he was about to open the negotiations. Judging from Nessa’s discomfort, she guessed that it must’ve been irregular to express so much interest so quickly and openly.

Maiden felt a little badly for her; she wondered if Victor was stepping on Nessa’s toes professionally. Presumably the head location scout would expect to have a little more input in a prospective location. But, they needed a new furnace and that wasn’t going to be cheap. Maiden knew it was in the family’s best interests for this to work out, so she let her practicality push her sympathies aside.

“Well. How’d it go?” Gloria smiled expectantly. “What’d ya think of the old girl?”

“I think she’s ideal. In fact, I’m certain of it.” Victor smiled as he looked up at them. “Provided you’re happy with our terms, we’ll take it for ten days, with the option of extending that to fifteen.”

“Um—” Nessa sat up stiffly and fisted her hands on the table. Her eyes were round and furious but she was clearly trying hard to keep herself under control. “We haven’t discussed this, Victor. We haven’t even seen the master bedroom yet; it’s important to a lot of pivotal scenes.”

“I’ve made the decision, Nessa. I’ll take full responsibility, don’t worry.” He flicked her a brief, scowling look. “The house is perfect, the master bedroom will be too, it’s been untouched for who knows how long. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Are you serious?” she hissed quietly as she leaned towards him in an attempt to maintain some subtlety. “What if there’s no bed? What if the ceiling is caved in?!”

“Ooo!” Victor’s eyes lit up as he considered that. “That would be chilling!”

“Especially in this weather!” Alfie chimed in.

The pair of them laughed heartily while Nessa looked as though she wanted to make Victor eat his briefcase. Victor dabbed at his watering eyes and pressed a hand to his side like he had a stitch.

“I love it,” he sighed and chuckled again. He then glanced at Nessa and his face was instantly serious. “Look, we need to get this project started as soon as possible, and you know that!”

He held up a hand and she sank into dubious silence. Maiden was at a loss for words and so kept quiet until Victor turned back to her.

“Now then, dear Maiden,” he said serenely. “Bella said to show this to you and get your approval. She’s already read it.”

Maiden stared at him as he slid what turned out to be a contract in front of her. She kept her expression carefully unrevealing and started reading through it, even as she tried not to be distracted by Nessa’s slowly simmering anger.

It was a remarkably short contract, she had no idea if that was typical or not, but the terms were very favorable. Victor wanted access to the library, dining room, a large parlor, staircase, foyer and the master bedroom. He also wanted to use the exterior and front gate.

In return, they would get $5000 a day for no less than ten consecutive days, regardless of the outcome of the filming. As he mentioned, there was a clause allowing the film company to request an additional five consecutive days at the same rate. For their part, the Harlows would be agreeing not to try and charge more and not to refuse the request without a legally valid reason.

She read on and was satisfied that the film crew were not permitted to make any structural changes or in any way damage the house or contents without expressed permission. She finished the brief and glanced up to find Victor smiling pleasantly at her. She returned the smile and set the contract in front of her parents as she pushed to her feet.

“Have a look at that, please. It seems to be in order. I’m going to quickly confer with Aunt Bella,” she said without a hint of excuse or apology. “I won’t be long.”

She walked out calmly as Alfie and Gloria started to read through the contract. Once she was away from the doorway and safely out of sight, she ran to the kitchen. She ducked inside and went straight to the enormous pantry in the far corner. She hid inside and quickly called Bella, doing her best not to fidget as she waited for her aunt to answer.

“Hey, Maiden baby,” Bella chirped happily. “How’d it go?”

“It’s still going,” Maiden whispered, peering out the door to make sure she was still alone. “Did you discuss a contract with Victor?”

“I sure did!” she said cheerfully. “Did he bring it with him? He said he would. You make sure you sign it, I don’t want to let a deal like that get away!”

“Aunt Bella, you could’ve warned us that he’d make an offer on the spot.” Maiden rolled her eyes.

“I thought I did.” Bella sounded confused for the briefest moment before shaking it off. “Either way, it’s great news. Wiggle your little tush in there and sign on the dotted line. This is gonna be fun, baby!”

“Um, okay, if you’re sure—” Maiden barely got the words out before Bella pushed back in.

“Of course I’m sure!” she said loudly. “I gotta go, honeypot. We’ll talk later!”

With that, and a couple of loud kissing noises, Bella hung up and Maiden was left staring at a shelf full of canned beans and carrots. Aunt Bella could be a bit frivolous and silly at times, but she was definitely a clever businesswoman. If she was that excited about the contract, then Maiden couldn’t really think of any reason to be worried about it.

She walked out of the pantry and slid her phone back into her pocket. An involuntary shiver ran through her as she walked back through the icy kitchen. She half expected to see her breath in front of her. Thinking warm thoughts of shiny new furnaces, she quickened her pace and hurried back to the dining room to sign that contract.

Within ten minutes she’d put her name on a piece of paper worth fifty grand and was walking their unusual benefactors to the door. Nessa had gone very quiet but she brightened up a bit when she looked around at the foyer. Maiden gave her an apologetic look, which made the glossy woman smile a little wider. Nessa waved it away, apparently accepting the situation if nothing else.

“Well, I have to say that I can’t wait to work with this stunning old house!” Victor smiled broadly, he was optimistic enough for all of them. “It’s exactly what I was hoping to find.”

“Well, we’re just as pleased as can be! I’ve never seen a movie bein’ made before!” Gloria clasped her hands together and almost bounced with excitement. “Who’s starrin’ in it?”

“Spencer Cartwright and Lina Mirov,” he replied proudly. “They’ve both officially signed on for the starring roles.”

“Lina Mirov? But I didn’t think she made horror—” Maiden quickly caught herself, “psychological thrillers.”

“She doesn’t,” Nessa replied with a wry twist to her mouth. “It’s one of many interesting decisions that have gone into this project.”

“Oh, I think she’s great!” Gloria’s soft brown eyes were wide and delighted. “There’s so many twiggy little things in the movies these days, but Lina Mirov has a figure I can relate to. I like to see a nice busty girl now and then.”

“So do I!” Victor agreed with a jovial laugh.

“Yikes.” Nessa glanced away and shook her head. “We’d better get to the airport, we have places to be.”

“You’re leaving Golden Glen already?” Maiden asked with a hint of surprise. “That’s a quick trip.”

“Yes, but it’s the nature of our business. It never stops.” Victor gave a blasé wave of his hand as they made their way to the car. “It’s been marvelous meeting you lovely people, and we’ll be in touch very soon.”

Chapter seven

Maiden tucked herself away in her room that night as she tried to wrap her head around the extraordinary events of the day. An actual film was going to be made in their beautiful, run-down mansion. It was exciting and incredible and a little scary.

I suppose that’s appropriate for a horror—psychological thriller. Maiden caught her gaffe and shook her head with a sigh. She wondered how important that distinction really was to Victor. She was pretty confident that she was going to slip up a lot.

It didn’t matter, the deal was done and the money was as good as in the bank. She hoped that there would be a bit left over after buying the new furnace. Maybe enough to get some painters in, or get the main floors sanded and polished.

Professional cleaners would be nice, but she couldn’t justify diverting too much of the budget just to save herself from a sore back and pruney fingers.

Her thoughts drifted to the previous evening. Everyone had been so astonished when she’d told them about Aunt Bella’s bold plan. But at least it had effectively taken everyone’s attention away from Tony’s announcement.

Maiden could only hope that he’d still join them for the celebration weekend…it might end up being their last chance to spend so much time together.

That stark realization brought a sting of fresh tears to Maiden’s eyes. She blinked them away and wished she could talk to David. She was sad and lonely and really missing him. She hadn’t seen him all day and wouldn’t see him tomorrow either.

He said he had to do some prep around his house before the first snows hit and tomorrow was his only chance. The forecast was looking more and more promising for a big dump of snow starting next Saturday.

Considering that the road leading to the manor was unpaved and remote, it would be their problem to make sure it stayed clear going forward. She’d have to give that issue some thought but, for now, she was just glad they were starting their special weekend a day earlier.

David didn’t seem too stressed about the risk of getting snowed in, or about work, or about anything really. Even though his boss would be conducting some kind of inspection when he visited next month. David hadn’t gone into any detail about it but he didn’t act worried. Maiden wondered if it was something to do with the ongoing maintenance problems at the police station.

The last she’d heard the repairs to the station’s roof were scheduled to begin in the spring, and for a fraction of the originally quoted cost.

Not only had her recommended contractors been more reasonable with the scope of the work needed, they had also checked and made certain that the building could survive the winter without collapsing in on itself. It was a far cry from the panic-inducing nightmare scenario that the first company had tried to convince David of.

She smiled to herself, pleased that she’d been able to reduce at least some of the burden on him. She liked helping David and she loved seeing him happy.

She then thought about Vonny and Tony; things weren’t looking as promising for them at the moment. It all felt so sudden and weird. She couldn’t imagine why Tony would consider leaving Golden Glen.

She understood the allure of a promotion, of course, but it wasn’t like he had no seniority where he was. He was good at his job and everyone loved him. She had no doubt that if an opportunity for a better position opened up at the local post office, they’d beg Tony to take it.

What’s going on with you, Tony? Why risk messing everything up? You always look so happy; you get to visit and chat with half the town almost every day. Why would you walk away from that? And why would you spring it on Vonny the way you did? Maiden shook her head.

It was so dumb, it was as if he was trying to make Von angry. Maiden’s eyes widened and she sat up straight.

“Oh! No way!” she whispered to herself as she stared at nothing in particular. “Trying to make her angry…trying to make her dump you!”

Maybe Tony had changed his mind about wanting to date Vonny. It was possible, Vonny could be really prickly without too much provocation and Tony was perhaps the nicest human in the universe. Maybe she’d worn him down. Maybe Vonny had actually pushed the almost legendary patience of Tony Ferris beyond its limits.

Von! No! What’ve you done?! Maiden sucked in a deep breath and quickly reminded herself that she couldn’t blame Vonny, not yet at least. What she really wanted to do was talk to Tony.

She needed to get him alone so she could find out what he was really after. If it was an easy way to disentangle himself from Vonny, so be it, no one could ask him to live a lie. But there were better ways to deal with even the most painful of problems. No, Tony was one of her very dearest friends and he wasn’t getting away without a fight.

Maiden was awakened from her thoughts and winced slightly when Ruffian pounced on her foot and sank his tiny fangs into her unsuspecting toe. She scooped up the abruptly feral kitten and did her best not to drop him as he started to squirm and try to wrap himself around her wrist like an angry gauntlet.

“Knock it off, you little weirdo.” Maiden grinned and set him gently onto the pillow beside her. “How do you get yourself so riled up?”

He thrashed and rolled and pounced on her again. She obligingly skittered her fingers around the blanket; he chased and clawed and jumped at her, nicking her a couple of times.

Maiden reached under one of the pillows beside her and shimmied it around, the enraged kitten charged and burrowed under it. She pulled her hand free just in time and laughed at the sight of Ruffian’s hind end poking out from under the pillow.

She heard a low growl and remembered that she had a treasure hidden there. Her eyes widened and she threw the pillow aside.

“Ruffy, no!” she gasped and pulled the leather-bound diary away carefully. “I know it’s technically part cow, but you can’t eat it!”

She looked the book over, dabbed away the cat slobber and sighed resignedly at the small bite marks that now marred the old cover. She glanced at the small black kitten. He was crouched down and wiggling his tail, coiling himself up in preparation for his next strike. Maiden pointed a chiding finger at him, he swiped at it, missing completely. In a fit of pique, he hissed and then leapt off the bed and charged through the cat flap in search of slower prey.

Maiden chuckled and then looked down at the diary; she had been wanting to read more of it anyway. She laid back against the pillows and found the spot she’d marked.

I’m growing increasingly curious about my new home. Edward doesn’t speak of it very much and I’m wary of asking him too many questions, he’s become increasingly moody since we arrived. He acts very differently now than he did when we met in London, he’s more serious and he doesn’t laugh as often.

At first I worried that I’d done something to upset him, but I’m very careful about such things. I never speak of my past regrets, I’m confident that I haven’t burdened him. It’s the house. This beautiful, strange old house, it disturbs and changes him.

There are secrets here, I don’t know what they are, but secrets are no stranger to me. I had thought to settle down and lead a quiet life with my beloved Edward, but I can’t rest just yet. I believe I will have to save him from this unusual place.

Maiden lowered the book to her lap and stared pensively across the room. The tone of Helena’s writing was intrigued but also a touch melancholy. The disappointment of finding her new husband acting so differently was clear, but there was a determination and a strength that still shone through.

As far as Maiden knew, the Riley family line had ended with Edward. The couple apparently had no children. She stared down at the old leather cover and wondered if maybe, despite Helena’s plucky determination, the marriage hadn’t lasted. The thought made her sad and again made her think of Tony and Von.

Maiden decided she’d read enough for one evening and set the book on her bedside table.

The next morning Maiden and Vonny drove to Riley Manor. Their most pressing task now was finding the key to the master bedroom. Beyond that, they could carry on with doing the inventory and starting the cleaning of all the rooms that weren’t needed for the movie.

Maiden was still feeling uneasy about Tony and it didn’t help that Vonny was in a terrible mood. Maiden understood why, but she wasn’t sure how best to help her. She had just parked the car in front of the massive house when she chanced a look at her big sister.

Vonny was bundled up in a heavy coat over a chunky orange sweater that swamped her small frame. She was hunkered down in the seat with her arms folded over her chest and a dismal look on her face. Maiden exhaled a long slow breath and decided to take a stab at broaching the subject.

“Have you talked to Tony?” Maiden asked gently, not sure if Von wanted a listening ear or not.

“No, not since he dropped that steaming turd of an announcement in front of everyone,” she muttered and shook her head irately. “I can’t believe that’s how he told me! Right there sitting next to the whole family! Who does that to their girlfriend?!”

“Yeah.” Maiden slid her gaze away as her suspicions floated to the surface again. “That was ill-conceived.”

“’Ill-conceived’?” Vonny gave her a sharp look. “This is life-changing for me, Maiden! Whether he stays or not is going to have a huge ripple effect on me!”

“I know that, Von,” she said soothingly. “I didn’t say otherwise…but you need more information, and you’re going to have to stay calm if you want to learn the full story.”

“What do you mean?” She scowled. “What’s there to learn?”

“Well, for a start, why is he thinking about moving? He seemed really happy here, so what’s the motivation?” Maiden tried to coax her along a bit. “He has a house and a job he loves, he’s got a girlfriend that was never going to be okay with a change like this so…what is he trying to gain? What’s the allure?”

“A better job,” Vonny said flatly. “He told us that. Weren’t you listening?”

You’re killing me, Von. Aloud, Maiden strove for a more constructive response. She cleared her throat and gave a conceding nod.

“Yeah, I was. But he didn’t talk about too many details, and it would be a good idea to learn those details, wouldn’t it?” she murmured. “For instance, has he said that he’s definitely taking the job?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him—Oh. Well why didn’t you just say that?!” Von said with a hint of irritated disgust and pushed the door open. “I’m not a mind reader.”

“You’d never speak to me again if you were,” Maiden sighed under her breath as she climbed out and shut the door more quietly than her sister did.

They walked up the broad steps to the front door and stood there shivering while Maiden fished out the key. She twisted it in the lock and pushed the door open. Von stalked inside, her footsteps rang out loudly on the old wooden floors. Maiden locked and bolted the door behind her and said nothing as Vonny sat grumpily on the bottom step of the grand staircase.

Maiden dropped the keys back into her purse and looked around the foyer with renewed determination. This incredible place was their future, whether it involved Tony or not, and they needed to get down to business.

She had a date with a strongbox full of keys and she honestly didn’t want Von as a chaperone until she snapped out of her bad mood. Maiden scrambled to think of some other task that she might go for.

“Uh…did you want to start by checking out the drawing room? I cleaned it up a little but I didn’t go through everything. It’s the big room behind the staircase,” Maiden suggested, hoping to make the idea sound enticing. “Or maybe the big bar/lounge thingy? It’s right across the hall from it. They’re both down that hallway on the right. I’ll bet they’re full of some really cool stuff.”

“I don’t know.” Vonny pulled a sulky face and rubbed her shins as she looked around. “What are you going to do?”

“I need to find the key to the master bedroom so that film crew can get inside,” Maiden admitted reluctantly; she knew exactly what Von would say to that.

“Sounds good, I’ll help you.” She stood, motioning for her to proceed.

It wasn’t a two-person job but Vonny was miserable and Maiden couldn’t really ask her to suffer alone.

“Great, this’ll be fun,” she only lied a little and gave her a bolstering smile. As Maiden led the way up the stairs, another thought occurred to her. She stopped and glanced back at Von. “Hey, have you…have you looked at that town in Ohio yet? It might be cute, you might like it.”

“Are you nuts?!” Vonny glared at her. “I can’t run out and leave you guys to do all the work! I’m invested in this place too.”

“I know, Von,” she said quietly. “I only want you to be happy.”

“Sorry,” Vonny said after a long pause. “I’m just really on edge; I never thought Tony would leave me. But you don’t want me to move away, do you?”

Maiden glanced back and was surprised by the teary look on Vonny’s face. In that moment a rush of sisterly affection hit her so hard she nearly sent them both plummeting down the staircase. She smiled and grasped Von’s shoulder firmly.

“No, of course I don’t,” she said genuinely. Vonny smiled and looked away as they both continued the trek to the second floor.

“What would I do in some other town anyway?” Vonny moaned as she overcame the warm, fuzzy moment and clomped down the hallway beside her. “I’ve only ever worked at the inn, and now this place, I can’t just throw that all away and go start from scratch.”

“Hmm. That might be something worth tactfully pointing out to Tony.” Maiden glanced over her shoulder. “Tactfully.”

“The way I feel right now I’d rather key it into the side of his car,” Von groused.

“Brilliant, that’ll make him think twice about losing you,” she laughed and Vonny smiled ruefully. “I take it then that you don’t know how Amelia fits in to this plan either?”

Amelia Ferris was not only Tony’s mother and Gloria’s best friend, she also lived in a small apartment behind Tony’s house. It wasn’t like his leaving town wouldn’t drastically affect her too.

“Oh!” Vonny gasped. “I didn’t even think about her yet!”

“You need to have a real discussion with him, Vonny.” Maiden shot her a stern look as she walked to a little decorative table that was pushed against the wall. She’d left the key box there yesterday in anticipation of a dedicated search today. “You’re just getting angrier with him but you don’t even have all the facts.”

“I know,” Vonny sighed and hugged herself. “But it’s so hard. I thought he loved me and this is how he treats me? A decision that could ruin our entire future together and he lumped me in with everyone else.”

Maiden said nothing. It was true and she was growing increasingly afraid that it was a deliberate tactic on Tony’s part. But they couldn’t do anything about it until they knew for certain what he was up to. For now, they needed a distraction and some tedious work ought to do the trick.

Maiden flicked the rusty latch and opened the box. The same mélange of keys stared back at her mockingly, daring her to find the one she needed.

“Okay, according to the plans, that’s the master bedroom down there.” She pointed at the door at the far end of the hallway. “That other door to the left of it is a private sitting room.”

“So, which one do we need again?” Von pulled a face.

“Just take these and try them in the sitting room door, please.” Maiden grabbed a handful of keys and dropped them in her sister’s cupped palms. “If we search for both at the same time, it’ll get done faster.”

Vonny cradled her assortment against her stomach as she tried to walk to the other door without dropping any. Maiden suppressed a giggle as she watched her waddle away carefully only to dump the keys in a pile at her feet when she reached the sitting room door.

Maiden left her to get started and turned slowly to survey the hallway. It was long and fairly wide; the proportions of the entire house were very generous. She again noted that the only natural light came from a large window on the far wall beyond the staircase, which blocked a fair bit of the early morning sunshine.

Maiden spied a light switch and gave it a try. Six ornate wall sconces arranged down both sides of the hall came sleepily to life. The dull yellow light didn’t make as much difference as she’d hoped. Apart from all the other mounting expenses, she knew they’d need to consult an electrician about some upgrades to the wiring at some point.

She started hoping that the film crew would exercise that option for the extra five days; the added money would be handy. She was getting ahead of herself, though. First things first, they needed to find the master bedroom key.

She carried the metal box over to the door in question and settled in for a potentially lengthy task. She’d only tried the first key, which didn’t work, when Vonny spoke up.

“This door isn’t even locked, genius!” she said with a loud sigh.

“What?!” Maiden turned to her sharply. “It is! It was locked when I checked it the other day!”

Vonny twisted the knob and threw the door open with a look of sarcastic shock. Maiden pushed to her feet and stalked over, peering inside with a scowl.

“It was locked,” Maiden insisted stubbornly.

“Cool, that means we have benevolent elves roaming around and unlocking doors for us!” Vonny gave her a thumbs up and then rolled her eyes. “Can we let it go, please?”

Maiden suppressed a bout of childish name-calling and shifted her attention back to the room. She walked inside and peered around suspiciously.

The walls were different in here. They were lined with wooden panels that must’ve been about five feet high, they were painted white and topped with a thick, decorative rail. Maiden frowned curiously, it looked like really tall wainscotting. Above the panels was a band of floral wallpaper.

Despite being coated in decades of dust, it was all very elegant, but there was surprisingly little furniture. A floor-lamp, a pair of spindly chairs and a small round table with dainty drawers were the only objects in the room. Even those were bunched up in the middle of the floor.

“At least this one will be easy to inventory.” Von shrugged and started for the door.

“Yeah, I suppose,” Maiden mused cautiously.

She wasn’t in such a hurry and looked the room over in the light that streamed through the half-disintegrated curtains. It seemed strange to her that this room would be so sparse; she wondered when it had last been used.

Sitting adjacent to the master bedroom, it was likely the personal sitting room of the lady of the house. It really should have been quite nice, showy really, considering the ostentatiousness of some of the other rooms. But even the more general parlor down the hall was better stocked.

Her eyes drifted to the floor and narrowed. There were large footprints in the dust. Maiden looked around quickly, half expecting some deranged maniac to come leaping out from behind the door. There was no one. Just Vonny standing impatiently in the doorway as she waited for her.

“What’s up, Mae?” She folded her arms over her chest. “There’s nothing here.”

“There was something here,” Maiden said with quiet certainty and pointed towards the footprints that came from the door. “Someone was here. But when? And how? And why?”

“Oh, that’s creepy.” Vonny edged into the room.

“Yeah, it is.” Maiden followed the footprints to see where they led, taking care not to let her own steps mar them.

They curved in a small arc and then disappeared into the middle of the wall. Maiden frowned and looked around for another set heading back out again but there were none.

“How did someone get into the room and then walk over to a wall and vanish?” Vonny whispered.

“They didn’t,” Maiden said in a disturbingly steady voice. “It’s impossible.”

“Well what’s your theory then?” Vonny looked around uneasily.

“I don’t have one yet,” Maiden admitted. “Stay back, just in case.”

“In case of what?” Vonny’s eyes widened anxiously. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to check it out.” She held up a soothing hand and eased over to the wall.

She stood back just far enough to avoid the strange prints and looked the wall over carefully. She was hoping to find some sort of hidden lever or secret switch but there was nothing that stood out. The wooden slats ran straight and smooth all along the walls.

For a moment she wondered if she was being silly, standing there searching for a secret passage. But then she glanced down at the footprints and shook her head. No, there had to be an answer.

She finally reached out and pushed on the wall; it didn’t budge. She knocked on it with her knuckles and frowned; something didn’t sound right. She knocked on the wall a few more times, right above the prints and a few feet either side, trying to discern any difference in the sound.

“What are you doing?” Vonny asked.

“Checking the wall.” Maiden knocked again. “Does it sound hollow here?”

Vonny arched a chestnut brow and rapped the wall next to the door a few times. “It sounds exactly like it does here. What’s your point, Sherlock?”

Maiden stilled and shut her eyes at her sister’s dryly spoken remark. She immediately recalled why she didn’t take Vonny investigating with her. Too blunt and no patience. She shook her head and surrendered the task for the moment.

Giving the wall one last, intrigued look, she turned and followed Vonny out through the door. Von frowned a little when Maiden stopped to gather up the keys she’d dropped and knelt down to help.

“So, you’ve checked the door to the master bedroom again?” she asked politely.

“It’s locked, Vonny.” Maiden glared at her. “They were both locked!”

“Okay, okay.” Vonny held up her hands and stood. “I’m obviously imagining things, you couldn’t have possibly gotten it wrong.”

Maiden refused to reply to that barb. She also pretended not to notice as her sister sidled over to the other door and gave the knob a subtle twist.

“Happy now?” Maiden smirked as she grabbed the last key from the worn and faded carpet runner.

“It was worth a try,” Von replied. “Really, you could be mistaken. How did that door unlock itself?”

“How did someone vanish into a wall?” Maiden retorted as she stood and headed over. “Let’s just try to find this key.”

They spent over half an hour trying every single key in the box but none of them opened the master bedroom. Maiden and Vonny exchanged a long, weary look before Maiden shut the lid of the box with a hint of annoyance.

“Come on,” she sighed. “We can check through some other rooms and see if the key was stashed somewhere else.”

They headed back to the parlor where they found Helena’s diary. Vonny’s eyes stole over to the trunk full of vintage clothes; she let out a tearful breath.

“Tony’s not going to see me in any of those cool old clothes,” Vonny groaned sadly and buried her face in her hands. “He’ll be long gone way before it’s warm enough to wear them! He probably doesn’t even care that he’d never see me again! He’ll have some flashy Ohio girlfriend by then! I’ll bet she’d never wear second-hand clothes!”

Maiden put an arm around her gently sobbing sister and decided not to point out that pokey little towns in Ohio weren’t the most likely playgrounds of fashionistas. Vonny pushed her hair out of her face and clenched her hands into fists.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” she exclaimed and stalked up to the trunk. She bent at the waist and started pawing angrily through it. “Let’s just find that stupid key!”

“Okay,” Maiden said quietly and went to the large china cabinet on the other side of the room.

She opened a few cupboards and started carefully shifting the dust-caked crockery that was packed inside. Even as she peeked into a few teacups, not really expecting to find anything, her thoughts went back to that room beside the master suite.

Someone had gotten inside somehow and disappeared into a wall. And they’d done it recently enough to leave clear proof in the dust. Although, that unto itself didn’t tell her much. It might’ve been a month ago, it might’ve been last week; she couldn’t know for certain.

Whenever it happened, it felt like a trespass. She again wished David was with her, but he’d be busy at work on his own house and she really didn’t want to disturb him over something that sounded so far-fetched. She decided she’d be best off waiting and showing him when he was there in person.

A bit more time passed and they’d peered through every drawer and cupboard. Maiden had had more than enough of looking for keys at that point. It was taking too long and nothing else was getting done. She glanced at Vonny to find her staring forlornly down at the steamer trunk.

“Why don’t you put those clothes in a bag and we’ll take them back to the inn and wash them?” she suggested.

“Why even bother?” Von whispered.

“Tony hasn’t gone anywhere yet,” she assured her gently. “There’s still time.”

Chapter eight

The following week was a blur of cleaning, trying to console Vonny and more unsuccessful attempts to find the master bedroom key.

Maiden, Vonny and their parents had spent the last few days cleaning and cataloguing everything in the upstairs parlor. They’d also moved the old trunk and its contents to Harlow House so Vonny could carefully wash her vintage treasures.

The clothes had survived the cleaning and gave Von a few moments of joy. Until she thought about Tony. After that she’d put on the flowered maxi-dress and laid in a somber daze across her bed. She spent a lot of time listening to old love songs as she sipped wine and stared up at the ceiling while her spotted kitten, Rowdy, tried to eat the flowers embroidered on her skirt.

Maiden worried for her sister, but she also knew with frustrated certainty that Von still hadn’t had a real conversation with Tony. On the bright side, though, two rooms in the manor were now marginally cleaner than they had been.

She’d removed the dust covers from all the furniture in the drawing room and taken them back to the inn for washing, not because she was afraid to go into the basement by herself, only because the washing machine at the manor was small and old. She’d also dusted and vacuumed the floor and the furniture. The room looked much better and would be nice and comfortable for their cozy little celebration weekend.

Friday morning finally rolled around. Maiden walked out of her bedroom toting her smallest suitcase. Ruffian knew something was up, he was following her and meowing grumpily as he took swipes at her bag.

“I’m sorry, Ruffy.” Maiden bent down to pat his head. “We’re just not sure how kitten-proof the manor is yet. I couldn’t bear it if you or Rowdy got hurt or snuck outside. I won’t be able to watch you that closely this weekend. Maybe next time.”

The kitten glared at her and followed her into the kitchen, plonking down on his bottom with a mew of complaint. Maiden felt horrible, but then she heard the joyously cheerful solution to the problem.

“Ruffian!” Goldie squealed delightedly. “There’s my little man! Come to mama!”

Maiden smiled as the chipper redhead scooped up the kitten and pressed noisy smooches to his cheek. Ruffy’s little legs bicycled in the air a few times, but no kitten could hope to rebuff that much unabashed love for more than a few seconds. The purring began almost immediately.

“Thank you for cat-sitting, Goldie,” Maiden said with a grateful smile. “And for working all weekend.”

“Are you kidding?” Goldie grinned and hugged Ruffian to her chest. “I have a whole weekend away from home with two kittens! I also get to be queen of the inn for days! I can’t wait!”

“Yeah, that’s amazing.” Maiden cleared her throat. “I’m sure you’ll do great. Just remember that you can call us or ask Billie if you have any questions, okay? She’ll be around and she’s worked the desk before.”

“I’ll be fine.” Goldie waved it away and gently dug her fingertips into Ruffy’s belly fur. “I’m more worried about you guys. You know that Riley Manor is a murder house, right?”

“A what?”

“Murder house, a huge one!” Goldie’s eyes widened ominously, an effect that was slightly spoiled when Ruffy’s tail curled over her lip like a tiny black mustache. “People were killed there, didn’t you know that? Old Jackson Riley shot himself in the bathtub—he was probably drunk and naked. Rich people are kinky. Not that he was rich anymore, but still.”

“Suicide isn’t the same as murder, though,” Maiden pointed out, she saw no point in mentioning that wealth and kinkiness didn’t have to go hand in hand.

“He was only the start though. A lot of people disappeared from there.” Goldie shook her head. “My grandma told me loads of stories about that place. Like, in the 80’s a group of hitchhikers went there to check it out on their way through town, and they were never heard from again.”

“But you said they were on their way through town,” Maiden reminded her. “They probably wouldn’t be heard from again…because they left.”

“No!” Goldie poked a finger at her. “They were chopped up and fed into the furnace—oh! That’s probably why the furnace doesn’t work! Did you look to see if it’s choked with bodies? That would be cheap to fix, right? Did you check?”

“I didn’t think to, no.” Maiden sighed and looked longingly at the front door. “So, mom left plenty of food for you, you’re welcome to use my bed and make sure you feed the cats. Okay?”

“I’ve got this, Maiden. I swear I won’t let you down.” Goldie smiled brightly but then her eyes narrowed warily. “Maybe see if there are some axes or a butcher knife in the woodshed. Is there a woodshed? That’s where I’d keep stuff like that if I was a total whack job.”

“Good to know.” Maiden picked up her suitcase and headed resolutely for the door. “Well, the others are waiting for me, so I’d better go.”

“Have fun,” Goldie called after her. “And please be careful!”

Maiden shut the door and took a moment to shake off Goldie’s bizarre theories. They were off to enjoy the weekend, she didn’t need to be swayed by outdated rumors and tired old urban legends.

Finding a bloodstained sheet didn’t mean that anything sinister had happened, she didn’t even know for certain if it was blood. It could easily be old varnish stains or something. It could.

Maiden squared her shoulders and headed downstairs with determined calm. She smiled and the world brightened a little as soon as she saw David. He and Alfie were standing near the front desk chatting while they waited. David had come to the inn early to help transport supplies, and her, to the manor.

They had already loaded up the trunk of his car. David had wisely and diplomatically kept his thoughts to himself about the large quantities of food Gloria had packed.

“All right you two,” Alfie said as he checked his watch. “We’ll meet you there as soon as I can round up Gloria and Vonny.”

“Well, Goldie might be holding them up with campfire stories,” Maiden said with forced lightness as she headed for the door. “We’ll see you soon.”

David followed and offered to carry her bag. Maiden thanked him and handed it over, she then peered up at the windows of their apartment. Hopefully Goldie’s little horror stories wouldn’t upset anyone.

Hopefully they aren’t true, a tiny voice in her head whispered. Maiden frowned instantly and pushed the niggling worry away. She was letting Goldie’s exuberance, and perhaps the looming prospect of a horror movie, get the better of her. Riley Manor was perfectly safe. It was just an old house whose original occupants had most likely all died under strange or unknown circumstances.

“Stop it, Maiden,” she whispered to herself, smiling at her own silliness.

“Did you say something?” David glanced at her as he set her suitcase in the backseat.

“Yeah, I did. It’s going to be a great weekend, isn’t it?” She smiled cheerfully. “I can’t wait.”

The drive was peaceful and pleasant. They talked, listened to music and held hands as they left the main part of town behind and turned onto the long dirt road that led to the manor.

Maiden debated about telling him some of the things Goldie had mentioned. It all seemed so gruesome and far-fetched though. Ultimately, she decided not to spoil the mood with talk of murder. David was a cop, he didn’t need to hear about stuff like that on his time off. Before too long they were headed up the driveway anyway.

“So, you still haven’t found that key you were looking for?” David asked as he parked in front of the grand house.

“No, but I’ll start looking again next week. It has to be here somewhere, it’ll turn up.” She gritted her teeth as she climbed out into the icy cold air. “We have time, anyway. We still haven’t heard from Victor or anyone from the film company. Moviemaking has to be a complicated business; we probably have a couple of months before they even contact us to schedule in the filming dates.”

“That’s true.” David shut his door and then walked over and opened the trunk. For a moment he stared down at the dozen or so bags they’d slotted in. “Seriously, Gloria didn’t get all this just for this weekend, did she?”

“Yeah.” Maiden nodded. “There are two more people than she’s used to cooking for so she has to be prepared. It’s a southern thing, David, don’t try to reason it out. You’ll end up with a headache.”

“Right,” he laughed. “Is, um…Tony still coming?”

“As far as I know.” Maiden rubbed her arms.

They both looked over when they heard a car rumbling down the long driveway. A moment later Tony’s car pulled up and parked on the other side of the drive. David smiled and waved to him before turning back to Maiden.

“Well, that’s promising,” he said. “At least they’ll be in the same space for a few days.”

“Yeah.” She glanced meaningfully up at the dark, cloudy sky. “Let’s hope it won’t be as frosty indoors as it will be out here.”

“I wouldn’t hope for too much too soon,” David cautioned wryly.

“Great.” She gave an exaggerated sigh. “Just remember that you promised to keep me warm.”

“Are you trying to seduce me, Miss Harlow? Because I’m totally fine with that.” He gave her a smoldering look and then glanced around as though something had just occurred to him. “Actually, your dad isn’t here to hound me yet; come here quick.”

Maiden laughed loudly as he grabbed her and planted a big kiss on her neck. She wriggled ineffectually as he scooped her up. He was just pretending to drop her into the trunk when Tony joined them.

“You two okay?” he asked with a chuckle. “This guy bothering you, Maiden?”

“I’m fine thanks,” she giggled and wiped at her streaming eyes as David set her carefully back on her feet. “I’m glad you’re here though, I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”

“Yeah well, I have to do something,” he said and tucked his hands deeper into his pockets. “Besides, Mom’s mad at me too. Apparently wanting to do something with my career is tantamount to pure evil.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what’s bothering both of them.” Maiden smiled and gave him a big hug. “Come on, we’ll sort everything out. But it’s freezing out here, let’s get inside before we get frostbite.”

“It smells like snow.” Tony smiled faintly as he looked up at the gray sky. “The first big storm of the season is supposed to hit tomorrow.”

“Fortunately, we have enough food to last several months,” David sniggered as he scooped up a couple of bags.

They had all grabbed some groceries and were headed towards the front door when another car drove through the front gate. Maiden glanced back and quickly recognized her father’s silver station wagon approaching. As it drew closer, she was both nervous and relieved to see that Vonny was with them.

She saw Tony stop to wait for the new arrivals with a patient smile on his face. She and David bravely abandoned him and plunged inside, heading straight for the kitchen.

By the time they’d carried all the bags and their luggage inside Maiden was ready to climb out a window and run home. The silence between Tony and Vonny was oppressively heavy. Gloria diffused some of it by chatting away incessantly and then insisting that they both help her and Alfie set up the drawing room.

Alfie gave Maiden a mockingly frightened look as he ambled after them with unnecessary slowness. Maiden felt for him, but not enough to join in. She glanced at David and shook her head.

“I’m sorry about this, baby,” she said sincerely. She couldn’t help noticing the way he smiled when she called him that.

“It’s fine, we’ll still have a great weekend. At least there are plenty of places to hide in here,” he said. “In the meantime, maybe we should go to the kitchen and start putting stuff away.”

“Sure, anything but the drawing room,” Maiden said and followed him down the nearest hallway.

They darted carefully past the door of the dreaded room and half ran to the kitchen, doing their best not to laugh and give themselves away.

Maiden looked around the large kitchen as they hurried inside. Apparently one of the past investors that tried and failed to revive the manor had put some effort into making the kitchen functional.

The walls were lined with cabinets and banks of drawers, all painted glossy white. There was a huge center island with a stone top in shades of dove gray. Maiden knew from previous reconnaissance that there were plenty of dishes, pots and pans that had been left behind. Considering the amount of money the manor would gobble up in repairs and upgrades, she was very grateful for anything they didn’t have to buy themselves.

Maiden looked at the many bags sitting on the island and released an unenthused breath. All the perishables had been safely stowed already, so at least there wasn’t a rush. She noticed that David was looking the room over and his eyes settled on the door in the right-hand corner.

“What’s in there?” he asked.

“The pantry,” she replied. “Most of the canned stuff has ended up in there.”

“Sounds interesting, can we take a look?” he asked even as he started towards it.

“Yeah, if you want to.” She lifted a shoulder and followed him in.

It was a really cool space, well-organized and quite tidy, but she didn’t take David for a pantry enthusiast. Still, he walked in and looked around at the relatively fresh rows of canned goods, dried beans, rice and pasta. Maiden studied it too and was pleased with what she saw; even if they ended up snowed in for a while they’d be fine.

Pushed back towards the far wall was a freestanding butcherblock table. There was a shelf in the bottom that was filled with ceramic canisters and a big sack of potatoes. David walked over to it and rested his hands on the nicked-up top. He slid her a slow, warm look and nodded her over.

Maiden tried not to grin like an idiot when the real reason for his interest in the secluded spot became clear.

She took a quick peek back into the kitchen and, after finding it still blissfully empty, walked towards him. As soon as she was in reach, he slid his hands around her waist and lifted her gently to sit on the table. Maiden smiled up at him as he stood close and wrapped his arms around her.

Okay, don’t giggle, fall off the table or say anything stupid. Those are the only things you have to do, Maiden, she told herself silently as David slowly kissed her.

“How was your week?” he asked between kisses.

“I…don’t remember,” she said honestly and felt him smile against her mouth. “How was yours?”

“Long, very long.” He buried a hand in her dark hair and pulled her closer. “And very lonely.”

He trailed his lips along her jaw and then made his way to her throat. Maiden closed her eyes and stroked his hair as he pushed her cardigan off her shoulders, she obligingly shrugged out of the warm garment. It was a bit chilly in just the strappy camisole she wore underneath but she wasn’t worried about freezing anytime soon.

David had just pulled her closer and returned his attention to her lips when they heard someone clear their throat loudly.

They both glanced over sharply and saw three people standing in the doorway watching them. Maiden was too shocked and mortified to do anything except try to pull her sweater back on. David immediately straightened and helped her tug it back over her shoulders before turning to face the strangers with a frown.

“Who are you people?” he demanded mildly enough. “And how did you get in here?”

“Uh, Nessa Jones.”

Maiden gasped and immediately woke up enough to recognize the mocha-skinned beauty that was smiling awkwardly at them.

“Oh, Nessa!” Maiden said as steadily as she could. “I really wasn’t expecting to see you here today.”

“You weren’t? Okay…um, well, we’re here to set up for the filming.” Nessa frowned uncertainly. “We arranged it all earlier in the week with Mrs. Hedgewick. She said she’d email you the details.”

Maiden and David exchanged a look before she turned to Nessa dubiously. Nessa smiled sweetly and clasped her hands together. Maiden shifted her wary gaze to the two other people that were standing in the doorway.

One was a man that looked to be in his late thirties. He was heavily tanned and had short, spikey blonde hair. He was also leering quite openly. Maiden quickly moved her attention on.

It took only a fraction of a second to recognize Lina Mirov. Blonde, beautiful and a bit too symmetrical to be found in nature, Lina was a style icon. She was often described as ‘bought beauty, and proud of it’. Her unnaturally blue eyes took Maiden and David in curiously.

David shifted and folded his arms over his chest. Doubtless realizing that this unfortunate meeting was headed south, Nessa quickly jumped in with a winning smile and diplomatic flair.

“I’m so sorry about this, Maiden! Mrs. Hedgewick promised she’d tell you about it.” Nessa winced as she stepped forward, she then turned and held out her hand to David. “And hello to you, I’m Nessa Jones, but please call me Nessa. I wear a lot of hats, but I’m the location scout for this particular film.”

The man in the doorway stepped further inside. He gave David a brief and disinterested look before turning to Maiden.

“I’m Tom Mathers. I also wear many hats. Sorry for the scare; we weren’t expecting to find the place occupied,” Tom chuckled as he looked Maiden over admiringly. “But I dare say we can make the best of the situation.”

“This is Lina Mirov,” Nessa said loudly and stepped discreetly in front of Tom. “I’m sure you recognize her though.”

Maiden and David said nothing but they both glanced at the glamorous lady. Lina was famous for her very distinctive style. Her platinum hair and perfect features made her look like a child’s doll come to life. Her voluptuous figure was wrapped in a candy pink dress that looked expensive and impractical. She seemed unfazed by the whole encounter and looked the couple over with an approving nod.

“You two are attractive together,” she said quite plainly and with a noticeable Slovak accent. “Very sexy.”

“Thanks,” Maiden squeaked, trying not to look as uncomfortable as that casual observation made her feel.

“Mm,” Lina persisted calmly as she stepped closer and looked her over. “Your breasts are excellent. Who’s your surgeon?”

“What?” Maiden felt herself turn pink as she glanced down at her bust.

She noticed too late that her neckline had been tugged down far enough to reveal a fair bit of cleavage and the lacey edges of her bra. She wasn’t sure exactly when that had happened but it was embarrassing regardless. She eased the fabric back up to cover herself and faced the woman’s look of polite enquiry.

“I don’t have a surgeon,” she said stiffly.

“Is natural?” Lina’s big blue eyes widened in surprise. “Oof! You are fortunate!”

“He’s fortunate.” Tom smirked as he flicked another glance at David before returning to his rudely obvious study of Maiden.

“So, why the surprise visit?” David asked tolerantly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, we must seem terribly strange.” Nessa shook her head and kept smiling. “As I said before, we’ve arranged to hire portions of Riley Manor as a film set. It’s all been arranged and finalized with Mrs. Bella Hedgewick.”

“Why don’t we all step outside,” Maiden suggested as David helped her slide to her feet. “It’s a bit crowded in here.”

Tom eased back the tiniest fraction and smiled very warmly at her as she walked past to lead the way. She managed not to scowl at him as she sidled past an equally unaware Lina and out into the kitchen.

She felt her cheeks burn as she walked towards the foyer. She needed to find her parents and hopefully figure out what was going on. If Nessa was lying, there’d be trouble. If she was telling the truth and Aunt Bella had flaked, there’d be big trouble.

Chapter nine

As Maiden neared the foyer she heard familiar voices. The first was her mother, she sounded happy enough, and the other was Victor, who sounded as cheerful as he had on his last visit.

“And then the flight was nearly cancelled! Can you believe that! I thought we’d never get here,” he laughed and shook his head.

Maiden looked at them and noticed that both her parents were standing with Victor, smiling and chatting. She heard the click of high heels approach from behind and then Nessa’s amused whisper as she stopped briefly beside her.

“Good old Victor, he always manages to smooth things over. And so he should in this case,” she said under her breath. “It was his bright idea to get the film shot so quickly.”

Maiden watched as Nessa approached the group and added her apologies to Victor’s. Behind them, several people that must have been crew members were already milling around and setting up equipment.

Okay, so obviously this is happening, Maiden sighed and wondered if their special weekend had just gone out the window. Gloria had certainly been easily mollified. Her soft brown eyes twinkled, particularly when she looked past Maiden and spotted Lina.

“Oh, Miss Mirov! What a thrill!” Gloria smiled broadly and clasped her hands to her ample bosom. “You’re one of my absolute favorite actresses! I’ve seen all your movies! They’re just as cute as can be!”

Lina seemed pleased by the praising words and smiled contentedly, although she looked less impressed when she took in their surroundings. Gloria kept twittering as Lina sauntered over to join them.

“Why all the fuss about Lina?” Tom murmured quietly as he walked past and smiled at Maiden. “There are much nicer things to look at in this remarkable place.”

Maiden had heard a sleazy come-on or two in her time and ignored him easily. She scanned the rest of the group and quickly recognized the lead actor, Spencer Cartwright.

Tall and handsome with waves of sandy blonde hair and a perfectly straight nose, Spencer had a naturalness onscreen. He wasn’t a mega star, but he had featured in a string of minor hits.

He was one of those actors that always did a good job, was always believable and likable, but never hit it big. Maiden had always enjoyed his films. From what she could see of him now, he didn’t appear to be overly preened or looking down his nose at anyone.

Spencer and a shorter, stockier man standing beside him were looking around the foyer with an air of fascinated admiration. She had no idea who the other man was but he seemed to appreciate the stoic beauty of the manor.

Maiden felt David come and stand beside her; she smiled a little when he reached over and threaded his fingers in hers. Her attention was soon dragged to Victor when he approached her with an apologetic wince.

“My dear Maiden,” he said kindly. “I’m terribly sorry that we’ve surprised you like this! Bella swore to me that she’d send the details through.”

“It’s all right, Victor.” Maiden could never stay annoyed in the face of a convincing apology. “You’re not unwelcome. It’s just that we’re staying here for the weekend; we planned it ages ago.”

“Yes, your lovely mother already told me, but it really shouldn’t be a problem,” he said affably. “We only need access to the foyer and a few of the rooms. There seem to be many ways of getting around in this magnificent old place; I’m sure we can work around each other.”

“I suppose so.” Maiden slid her parents a questioning glance. They both looked content so she turned back to Victor with a smile. “Okay then, let’s go ahead.”

“Thank you for being so lovely about everything,” Victor said sincerely and then glanced at David and extended his hand. “We haven’t met, I’m Victor Renshaw.”

“Oh, sorry.” Maiden frowned briefly at herself and gestured to the handsome man at her side. “This is my boyfriend, David McAlister.”

“Lucky man,” Victor chuckled and gave his hand a firm shake. “Don’t worry, you’ll barely even notice we’re here.”

“I’ll bet,” David said with a faint smirk.

“Well, I guess we’ll let you get on with it.” Maiden gestured to indicate the tangle that was steadily engulfing the foyer. “Ten days really isn’t that long.”

“Quite right! Thank you both, I’m sure we’ll talk later.” Victor gave her an approving smile and then turned to the crew and started issuing orders.

When the man had walked a little further away David edged closer and leaned towards her.

“Do you really think Bella forgot to tell you about the filming?” he whispered doubtfully but kept his expression mild.

“Not really,” she replied similarly and looked over at a conspicuously subdued Vonny. Her sister was skulking self-consciously in the background. “I have a few other suspicions though.”

Maiden met Vonny’s gaze and pointed down the hallway. Von gave a surrendering nod and followed her and David into the drawing room. They all glanced over when Tony also joined them and shut the door quietly.

Vonny glanced at Tony and then at Maiden and then down at her shoes. She looked miserable and more than a little guilty.

“So,” Maiden began carefully, not wanting to pounce on her too aggressively, “did you know about this?”

“No,” Von said in a tiny, unconvincing voice, “not exactly.”

“Not exactly?” David repeated mildly and waited.

“Well,” Von’s voice shook slightly and she hugged her slim waist in obvious embarrassment, “something did come through from Aunt Bella on…on Tuesday. But I was really…not well that day. I didn’t read it and then I forgot about it. I’m really sorry, guys.”

“It’s okay, Vonny,” Tony said gently, edging a little closer to her.

“No, it’s not!” Vonny covered her face with her hands. “Nothing’s okay! Excuse me!”

She turned and slipped through the door on the other side of the room, which opened into the network of hallways. The others watched her disappear and Tony let out an exasperated sigh.

“So, what do I do now?” he asked Maiden in the closest thing to an angry voice that he possessed. “Tie her to a chair and force her to listen to me?”

“Oh, Tony,” Maiden said softly and rested a hand on his arm. “Possibly, we’ll see what happens.”

After a few more minutes spent comforting and encouraging him, Maiden and David emerged to find the foyer a hotbed of activity. It was a far cry from the romantic getaway she’d been hoping for, but she reminded herself of how badly they needed a new furnace.

She and David watched the crew set up cameras and lights while Nessa consulted with Victor and the heavy-set, balding man she’d spotted before. She didn’t see Lina or Spencer and wondered if they were off rehearsing or getting into costume or something.

They were surrounded by bustle and noise. It was disorienting in a way but kind of exciting too. Maiden glanced up and felt her good mood promptly shrivel. She suppressed a groan as Tom approached with a sleazy smile and a petite young woman trailing after him.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties and had a mass of thick blonde corkscrew curls that sprayed out from her head like tiny springs. Her contrastingly dark eyebrows were poised pensively above a pair of thin-rimmed glasses.

Tom didn’t introduce the lady, or even look at her. She stationed herself slightly behind him and observed everyone. Her pale gaze was watchful and her expression was blank.

“So, Maiden, is it?” Tom grinned as he said her name and looked her over slowly, completely ignoring David. “Care to stick around and watch the setup? Filmmaking is a fascinating business; most people don’t get the chance to have such an intimate look behind the scenes. I’d be happy to show you around a bit.”

“I’m busy,” Maiden said simply and walked away, tugging David along with her.

“Maybe later,” Tom called after them. She didn’t look back.

David was grateful and quietly pleased by the way Maiden shut Tom down so decisively. He found the guy incredibly offensive and he’d only set eyes on him twice. He really wanted to tell him what to do with his come-ons but he didn’t want to risk offending Maiden by stepping in without her asking.

While he didn’t want to come across as controlling, he did want to address the issue. He trusted her, it wasn’t about that, he just didn’t like seeing her annoyed or harassed.

They walked down the hall and ducked into the lounge across from the drawing room to confer. David shut the door and turned to face her. Her clear green eyes fluttered up to look at him. He loved her eyes; the sight of her beautiful face made him happy. It also made him really want to punch Tom.

“The weekend isn’t going to plan, is it?” he asked with a patient smile.

“No, not exactly,” she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, David. What a mess.”

“Don’t keep apologizing, baby, it isn’t your fault. It’s not even all that bad.” He shrugged. “Victor was right, there’s more than enough room for us to avoid whoever we want to.”

“True,” she said. “I suppose it doesn’t have to overly affect our plans.”

“Right.” He just looked at her.

“What is it?” She blinked those big eyes at him and he felt his narrow slightly. “Oh wow, you’re cheesed off, aren’t you?”

“A bit,” he admitted. “That Tom guy is a complete jerk.”

“Don’t worry about him.” She waved it away. “I won’t put up with any nonsense.”

David found that answer remarkably unsatisfying. He took a deep breath and held her gaze steadily. Maiden noticed and started to smile a little cautiously.

“Are you okay?” she asked sweetly.

“Not entirely. This is new territory for me, Maiden, and I really don’t like it,” he said candidly. “He’s a tool and he’s hitting on you right in front of me.”

“I don’t like it either, that’s why I was rude to him,” she said. “What do you want me to do about it?”

“I’d like you to stay away from him.” He folded his arms. “Imagine some loose piece of trash was going after me like that; it’s not fun to watch.”

“Are you calling Tom a loose piece of trash?” She smiled up at him.

“Yes, I am,” he said. “I know a lot of other words that describe him even better, but I’d rather not use that language in front of you.”

“David,” she smiled a little wider and rested her hands against his chest, “don’t worry about him, seriously. I really don’t appreciate anyone that treats both of us so disrespectfully. We couldn’t have been more obvious about being in a relationship and it hasn’t even slowed him down. I don’t put up with that kind of behavior.”

“I’m happy to deal with him for you,” David said evenly and she stared at him for a heartbeat.

“Did you bring your gun after all?” She started to laugh but tamped it down and glanced at the door to make sure it was still closed.

“No, you didn’t advise me that anyone else was coming, so I’m not as prepared as I might have been,” he said dryly. “But I’m happy to improvise.”

“You are genuinely the hottest man I’ve ever met,” Maiden laughed fondly and hugged him. “Let’s start with avoiding him and see how we go, agreed?”

“Fine,” he said with a teasing look of tolerance.

The rest of the morning was an odd blur. While Maiden and David mostly stuck to their plan of avoiding the film crew, the occasional glance into the foyer revealed a flurry of activity. Members of the crew had strewn equipment all over the place. It looked chaotic but the camera operators were already getting footage of the chandelier and staircase.

They left them to their work and joined the rest of their party in the kitchen. Everything seemed peaceful enough, with the exception of Vonny, who was avoiding everyone after admitting to forgetting about Aunt Bella’s email. She eventually shuffled in when the aromas of lunch wafted out into the hallways.

Maiden had just finished eating and was helping to carry the dirty plates to the sink when she recalled that they hadn’t found the key to the master bedroom yet. That flash of sudden horror almost knocked the dishes from her hands. She set them loudly in the sink and hurried to the door.

“Darn it! I forgot to tell Victor that we don’t have that key!” she gasped and shook her head at herself. “I’ll be right back.”

She left the others in the kitchen and walked quickly down the hall to the foyer. It was an absolute shambles. There were cords, crates and pieces of expensive-looking equipment lying everywhere.

Maiden couldn’t imagine how anyone could actually put together a film in that bedlam. She had problems of her own, however. She looked around anxiously for Victor or Nessa but didn’t see either of them. They only had ten days to film and Nessa had already mentioned that the master bedroom was a key location. Maiden was wracking her brains for a solution when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Expecting another unwelcome visit from Tom, she turned around with a scowl and her hands already braced on her hips.

“I don’t want to—oh.” She stopped immediately and clasped her hands in front of her politely. “Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

“Someone you didn’t want to see, judging by the look on your face,” the man observed and held out his hand in greeting.

“Yeah, sorry,” she repeated and gave his hand a shake, hoping she hadn’t offended him. “I’m Maiden, my family owns the house.”

“Barry Ostenknowski, I’m Nessa’s assistant.” He nodded and folded his arms loosely. “Did you need some help? You look like you’re trying to find someone.”

Barry was a tall, husky man with short black hair and a heavy beard that was flecked with gray. He looked to be in his early forties and had a friendly smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“Oh, yes, I need to talk to someone about one of the rooms,” Maiden said as she glanced around again.

“Well,” Barry said with a hint of reluctance, “Tom Mathers is right over there with his assistant, Carly. They arrange the sets so he might be the one you need.”

“I have absolutely nothing to say to Mr. Mathers.” Maiden sounded a little more harsh than she’d meant to at the mention of the offensive man and the corkscrew blonde that trailed after him.

“Then you’ve obviously met him already,” Barry sniggered.

“Only briefly. I was trying to find either Nessa or Victor.” Maiden attempted to recover some poise. “I need to tell them something about the master bedroom.”

“Ah, well the last time I saw them they were headed upstairs.” He pointed towards the staircase and smiled once more before walking off towards the far end of the foyer.

Maiden gaped at his retreating back. There was only one reason for them to head upstairs and they had no business doing it without speaking to her first.

She muttered to herself as she hurried up the steps to the second floor, hugely annoyed that they would start looking around on their own. She hadn’t even told Victor where the master bedroom was, and she certainly hadn’t given anyone a key.

She rounded the staircase and started down the hall, but then her breath caught and her annoyance turned to full-blown anger. The door to the master bedroom was wide open and there were already people inside.

Maiden ran to the doorway and barely stopped herself from shouting as she looked around. Victor and Nessa were there poking around with the other man she’d seen with Spencer earlier; they all glanced over at her when she let out an irate exhalation.

“Hi, Maiden,” Nessa said simply and went back to pulling the dust cover off a large dresser.

“How did you get in here?!” Maiden demanded. “How did you even know which room it was?”

“What?” Victor appeared startled by her ire. “Gloria told us it was at the end of the hall on the second floor. The door was open so…”

“The door was locked and we didn’t have the key,” Maiden said stiffly as she examined the doorknob and saw that it had been forced. “And now it’s broken! What’s going on? We were promised that nothing would be damaged! I can’t just go to the hardware store and find another hundred-year-old lock!”

“Maiden, settle down, please,” Victor said soothingly as he cautiously approached. “I swear to you that this is how we found it. I’d never dream of breaking anything in this grand old house, truly.”

“He’s right, Maiden.” Nessa walked over, smiling sweetly. “It was broken when we got here, we only came up a few minutes ago. But, on the bright side, look at this room! Isn’t it fabulous?!”

Maiden didn’t believe them and was certain that it showed. Victor and Nessa glanced uneasily at each other and kept their smiles stubbornly in place.

Maiden took a deep breath and made a conscious decision not to start an argument, not yet at least. She wasn’t going to be softened up by Nessa’s charm either, she folded her arms and took a slow and deliberate look at everything in the room.

The space was big, quite big, and far more opulent than the other bedrooms she’d seen so far. The two external walls boasted windows that reached almost to the ceiling, the old drapes still hung in great folds of artfully arranged watered silk.

A comparatively compact chandelier, dripping with crystals, hung from the ceiling. But the most eye-catching feature of all was a sprawling four-poster bed complete with a moth-eaten lace canopy.

There were two more doors to the right. According to the blueprints, one led to a large closet and the other to the master bath.

Maiden’s shrewd gaze shifted to the man she hadn’t met yet. He hadn’t said a word about the broken lock and he wouldn’t look directly at her either. He just sidled closer to Nessa and tried to look preoccupied with studying the large round rug beneath their feet.

“And who are you?” she asked impassively.

“Oh!” Victor shook his head at himself and chuckled lightly in a transparent attempt to ease the chilly atmosphere. “I’m so sorry, of course you haven’t met yet. Maiden, my dear, this is Kevin Peters. He’s the screenwriter for our film; he writes the words and we bring them to life!”

“Hello,” Kevin said with a weak smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Did you happen to come up here first by any chance?” Maiden draped her hands on her hips.

“No, no!” he assured her, waving his hands to emphasize his denial. “We all came up together! I’m terribly sorry about the door but I really don’t know anything about it.”

“Great,” Maiden muttered and pulled out her phone. “Don’t let me slow you down.”

She then ignored them all and started walking around and taking pictures of everything. She noticed the speaking look that Nessa slid to Victor. Maiden knew she must have looked like she didn’t believe a word any of them said but she truly didn’t.

There was no doubt in her mind that someone in the crew was too impatient to even ask if they had a key. Instead, they’d just gone ahead and helped themselves. It was irreparable damage, however small, and it was infuriating.

Maiden walked around and pulled the dust covers off the remaining furniture. She dropped the filthy cloths in a pile and took a thorough photographic record of everything they’d been sheltering. She was actually glad that the others were there seeing her do it. It assured them that she knew exactly what was there and what condition it was in before anyone got any more cavalier ideas.

She glanced back over her shoulder to find Kevin whispering something to Nessa. The glossy woman sighed and rolled her eyes at him. Maiden quirked a brow but said nothing. She walked over to the slightly open door of the master bath and peered inside.

The room was awash with pink and gold marble, tarnished gold hardware and a deep clawfoot tub. It was all quite elegant. She nearly smiled, until her eyes went to the mirror and she gasped loudly.

You will die!

The disturbing statement was written across the mirror in dripping red letters. Maiden’s heart started to pound and she jumped a little when she felt someone walk up behind her and touch her shoulder.

“Maiden? Is something wrong?” Victor asked in a concerned voice.

She glanced back at him briefly and pointed at the bloodied glass. Victor followed her gaze and pulled a face.

“Oh…gross.” He wrinkled his nose but smiled at her. “It’s only fake blood, it’ll wash off easily enough.”

“But how did it get there?” she asked hesitantly. “You said you only got here a few minutes ago.”

“That’s very true,” he agreed and took a long moment to consider it. “Well, the door was already open, as we mentioned. One of the crew must have slipped in and done it. I’m pretty sure it’s in the script.”

You’re pretty sure? Awesome, she thought to herself and decided she was done with the conversation. She nodded to Victor and managed a weak smile before stepping deeper into the bathroom.

She took a few pictures and then walked back out and went to the other door. She pushed it open and was greeted by a large walk-in closet. It was lined with the same pink floral wallpaper that adorned the bedroom, it was also disappointingly empty. Maiden wrinkled her nose but reminded herself that any clothes they might’ve found probably wouldn’t have fit her anyway.

She returned to the bedroom and took another look around. Satisfied that she’d taken enough pictures, she headed back towards the hallway. Before she reached it Nessa approached and smiled apologetically.

Maiden, as aware as the rest of them doubtless were that they needed to keep the relationship amicable, did her best to dredge up some aplomb. They did need to work together after all.

“Hey Maiden,” she said in a discreetly lowered tone, “I really do feel badly about the lock. I can’t imagine any of the crew would go that far, there was no need, it would’ve been easier to just ask you for the key. But whatever happened, I’m very sorry. Please be assured that we won’t let anyone take liberties with your property. We’ll speak to everyone about this incident and make sure nothing like this happens again.”

“What incident?” Tom’s curious voice echoed from the doorway.

Maiden glanced over and barely managed not to glower when she saw him. He was smiling as he looked her and Nessa over quite blatantly. Carly was still hovering behind him, holding her clipboard and jotting down notes as she looked around the room.

“Nothing that has anything to do with you, Mathers,” Kevin said coolly. “Just look around and try to do a better job with this set than you normally do please; your slapdash approach is getting embarrassing.”

“Ah, the sound of bitter grapes being turned into whine,” Tom sniggered and gave Nessa an inquiring look. “What’s up, brown sugar?”

“Someone appears to have broken the lock on the door,” Nessa replied, ignoring his flirtation. “Maiden is understandably upset about it.”

“Breaking into a lady’s bedroom?” Tom intoned suggestively as he looked at Maiden but then slid a much icier gaze to Kevin. “Sounds like Mr. Peters’ style of cowardly mischief.”

“Hardly!” Kevin almost spat. “You’re the biggest degenerate in Hollywood, and that’s saying something!”

“That’s a bit excessive, Kevin,” Carly finally spoke up and gave him an unimpressed glare over the top of her glasses.

“Enough, enough! No squabbling!” Victor waved his hands to hush them up. “Kevin, finish those rewrites. Tom, take a look around and see what props we need. With Maiden’s permission, we may need to borrow a bit of furniture from another room.”

Maiden said nothing as Tom walked past a bit closer to her than was necessary. She stepped to the side to avoid him and folded her arms over her breasts. He looked around the room, stopped to peer at the bed, and then walked on with an approving nod.

“We could do with a chair or two,” he mused. “At least one for the murder, anyway.”

“The murder?” Maiden made a point of addressing her question to Nessa.

“Yes, in the script the heroine dies in this room,” she explained.

“Terrible waste, isn’t it?” Tom interrupted as he edged towards the master bath. “What kind of an idiot would get a beautiful woman in a bedroom like this only to kill her?”

Maiden felt her interest in the story they were filming grow begrudgingly. She glanced at Victor and then at Kevin and arched a brow.

“So, what’s the movie actually about?” she asked. “What’s it even called?”

“Forsaken House.” Kevin just failed to hide the look of distaste on his face. “It’s about a man from a once great family that marries for money and then tries to drive his wife to commit suicide so he can have her fortune.”

“And, what, he actually wins?” Maiden asked cautiously.

“Essentially.” Kevin shrugged.

“No, he doesn’t!” Victor looked like he wanted to stamp his foot. “You’re ignoring the greater overall arc of the story! Yes, he succeeds in killing her, but he destroys himself in the process. He realizes what he’s become and can’t live with it.”

“So, he dies too?” Maiden asked.

“Yes! Beautifully and poetically!” Victor smiled and sighed somberly at the same time. “Disgusted with his own decadence, he submits to the same end that he’d been trying to inflict on his innocent wife. He kills himself.”

“Sounds like a great time,” Maiden mumbled under her breath. But she closed her eyes and felt her irritation grow when Tom piped up yet again, the unpleasant surprises of the day had been too much for her strained nerves.

“Oh, what have we here? What a gorgeous bathroom! Look at that tub!” Tom said loudly as he looked into the master bath. He let out a low whistle and turned to her with a broad smile. “Have you ever made love in a clawfoot tub, Maiden?”

“Have you ever been kicked in the nuts really hard?” she replied without missing a beat. She quickly glanced away as her eyes widened at her blunt retort.

Kevin crowed with laughter and Victor glanced down and put a hand to his forehead to hide his amusement. Maiden slid her eyes to Nessa and caught the woman’s brief, pleased nod.

Tom managed to keep smiling. But he did fold his hands in front of himself in a reflexively protective manner. Carly merely ran her eyes over everyone and then pushed past Tom into the bathroom.

“Are we all having fun?” David’s deep and quietly amused voice wafted from the doorway.

“I was just leaving.” Maiden breezed past and headed towards him, David stepped back enough to let her through.

“Hold on to that one, my friend!” Kevin advised David around his laughter. “She’s beautiful and clever!”

Chapter ten

David was smirking as he followed Maiden downstairs and on towards the kitchen. He hadn’t heard her entire discussion with Tom but he’d caught the end of it. He felt his smile grow to a grin but quickly sobered when they walked in and found the rest of the family gathered.

He watched Maiden shut the door and then walk over to the center island where her parents were standing. He stationed himself behind her and slid his hands over her shoulders.

“Someone in the crew broke into the master bedroom!” she said unhappily.

“What?” Alfie gasped.

“Are you serious?!” Vonny demanded irately.

David frowned faintly as Maiden explained what had happened upstairs. The others were naturally quite upset, even Tony was scowling. David also found the event concerning but he doubted it would be the start of a spree. He was just telling himself to stay out of it unless asked when Maiden spoke up again.

“Look, it’ll be okay,” she told her parents soothingly. “I’m thinking about staying here until the filming finishes and they all leave again. Just to be sure they all behave.”

David felt his shoulders tense and carefully removed his hands from Maiden as a wave of incredulous anger hit him hard. Apparently it showed, Gloria took one look at him and froze.

“Um,” she said slowly and held her hands up to stop the discussion. “How ‘bout we don’t worry about it yet? Let’s all just enjoy the weekend and then we can reassess the situation. Okay?”

“That sounds like a good idea, Gloria,” Tony quickly agreed as he patted David on the shoulder. “The weekend’s going to be great! We’re all together and the first big storm of the year is forecast. What better way to spend it than all of us here together in a vintage mansion? Right?”

“There’s wine, isn’t there?” Vonny gave her mother a mildly pleading look.

“Yes, baby, there certainly is.”

“Great. That’s settled,” David said grimly and grasped Maiden lightly by the arm. “Excuse us for a minute.”

No one said anything as he led her out of the room and down the hall. David tried to calm down as he looked for an empty room without really paying attention to where he was going.

They were nearly at the foyer when he spotted Tom and felt his anger somehow grow. He glanced at Maiden, who was watching him curiously, and then ducked into the closest room. Which turned out to be a big closet.

He gave the chain dangling from the ceiling a quick tug and a dim light shone down on them. He pulled the door shut and finally rounded on her.

“What are you doing?” he asked. “Why would you want to stay here alone?”

“To try and protect our property,” she replied. “Why are you upset with me for that?”

“I’m not upset with you,” he said tightly. “But this isn’t exactly a dream come true, is it?”

“No, not exactly,” she conceded. “But these people are potentially trespassing in our house and plan to be here for ten days. What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, maybe something other than spending extra time around some creep that’s just looking for an excuse to feel you up?” he suggested, a touch sarcastically.

He could see the flare up of annoyance that rippled through her. He didn’t want to upset her but he wasn’t okay with the direction things were going and he wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.

Maiden didn’t like fighting, he knew that. Even now she was turning the situation over and looking for the best way to deal with him, he could see it in her eyes. Finally, she settled on something and smiled up at him.

“You’re not a creep, David,” she whispered warmly and leaned against his chest. “And you don’t need any excuses.”

Oh, that is completely unfair! David looked away as he tried as hard as he could not to laugh or be otherwise placated. It wasn’t working, he could feel too much of her pressed snugly against him, his irritation was fading way too fast.

He fought it, he refused to look down at her, but his eyes narrowed pensively when she took his hand and rested it on the small of her back. She stood on tiptoe and touched a kiss to the hollow at the base of his throat.

“I don’t get many opportunities to get legitimately annoyed with you,” he murmured even as he pulled her closer. “And you ruin it every time.”

“I’m so sorry, David,” she said softly and sadly, she then undid the button at the top of his shirt and drew a finger down the warm skin she’d revealed. “I really like your chest hair, by the way. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned that to you.”

He felt himself grin and finally glanced down at her. She was watching him with a sweet smile. He decided to follow Gloria’s suggestion and leave the prickly issue alone for now. He raised a hand in surrender.

Maiden hid her relief when David visibly calmed. She wasn’t going to do anything stupid but she also wasn’t going to promise to act against her better judgement. She decided to change the subject.

“So what were you all discussing in the kitchen before you came to rescue me?” she asked as she eased back a bit.

“The weather.” He smiled at her. “And you did a pretty good job of rescuing yourself. You get a bit feisty when you’re insulted, don’t you?”

“When its persistent and unwanted sexual advances, yeah,” she said frankly, “I get incredibly ‘feisty’.”

“Good.” He gave her a quick kiss. “If he tries to touch you, he’s hamburger. It’s just a matter of which one of us gets to him first. In the meantime, Gloria said something about washing up some blankets.”

“Oh, she must mean the quilts we found in the reception room. There might be time to get them washed and dried before the temperature really drops tonight,” Maiden mused. “It’s not exactly urgent though, I know she brought blankets.”

“She also brought six dozen eggs for three days,” David mentioned as he followed her from the closet and across the hall into the reception room. “But extra blankets might come in handy. Things are already pretty frosty thanks to Tony and Vonny.”

“Yeah, I was hoping they’d have reached a truce by now.” Maiden closed the door since it opened into the foyer and the crew was hard at work there.

“Do you think that Tony has a reason for wanting to leave so suddenly?” David asked tactfully.

“He might.” Maiden wouldn’t look at him as she walked over to a stack of boxes and opened the one marked ‘Blankets’. “I haven’t had the chance to discuss it with him yet.”

“Shouldn’t Vonny do that?” he asked.

“Yes, David, she should.” Maiden stopped and gave him a patient look. “What do you think the chances are of that either happening or going well?”

“You’re really sexy when you’re exasperated.” He smiled faintly.

“I know,” she said wryly and turned back to the box. “Wow, these are…vintaged. Here’s hoping they don’t melt in the washing machine.”

“Does this place even have a washing machine?” David asked ingenuously. “I thought we’d be in the basement with a water pump and one of those old-fashioned washboards.”

“We aren’t rich David, we can’t manage a mansion and a fancy washboard,” Maiden chuckled. “You might have to dump me for someone with better prospects.”

“Not funny, Harlow,” he said under his breath.

Maiden gave him an uncertain look. She’d been joking but he wasn’t smiling; she wondered if Tony and Von’s argument was getting to him a bit. He edged closer and peered over her shoulder at the musty quilts.

“Do you think they’ll break up?” he asked quietly.

Maiden’s eyes widened at the direct but fair question. She honestly wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even sure what was best for them. Von’s reaction to the conflict didn’t speak well for the health of their relationship.

“I don’t know,” she exhaled shakily. “I only hope Tony doesn’t leave Golden Glen. It’s a great town, and he’s never talked about leaving before. You…you like it here don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do,” David replied slowly. “I chose to move here, remember.”

“But you hadn’t lived here before,” she said, hoping she wasn’t being too obvious as she probed for his viewpoint. “It’s been seven months or so, do you still like it?”

“Yes.” He edged away a bit. “It’s a really nice place.”

“You’re happy here?” she pressed as nonchalantly as she could. It helped that she was staring down at the nasty blankets and he couldn’t really see her face. “And with the way everything is?”

“For now, yeah,” he said and continued quickly when she glanced up at him sharply. “I am very happy with everything, yes. Are you?”

“Yes,” she said very cautiously.

They were both quiet for a moment as they tried to figure out where to go from there. Neither of them had ever given any indication of being unhappy, but Tony and Von hadn’t either. That didn’t mean nothing was wrong, only that neither of them had spoken up.

Maiden wondered if she was overthinking it, that was quite possible. Being caught in the middle of someone else’s fight wasn’t exactly healthy. She glanced away, deciding to leave it alone, but then David cleared his throat and spoke again.

“Would you…um.” He paused to search for the right words. “This place will be pretty incredible when it’s done, won’t it?”

“I certainly hope so,” she laughed and started digging through the blankets.

“Yeah. I guess what I’m wondering is, do you think you’d want to move in here permanently?” he asked.

“Instead of the apartment at Harlow House, you mean?” She glanced back at him and started listening a little more closely.

“No. Yes.” He took a breath and folded his arms loosely. “Do you think you’d always want to live with your family?”

“No!” She looked at him like he’d asked her to eat a cockroach. “Why would I want to do that?”

“I don’t know.” David started to smile at her reaction. “You seem to all get along well, and you still live with them. I just wasn’t sure if that’s what you wanted long term.”

“David. I essentially live at work…and with Vonny.” She turned to face him fully. “I don’t mind it, I love my family and it’s convenient at the moment but, no. That’s not my long-term plan.”

“What is your long-term plan?” He pressed his lips together as soon as the words slipped out.

Maiden could see that he wished he hadn’t asked, but he also looked like he genuinely wanted to know. She wasn’t about to try and explain to him something she hadn’t let herself ponder too deeply yet, but she had to respond somehow.

“Do you have a long-term plan?” she asked with a hint of playful challenge, giving him the opportunity to make a joke and change the subject.

“Um…yes,” he said after a very long pause. He then looked around for absolutely anything else to talk about. “Do you want me to carry these blankets down to the basement?”

“Perfect, thanks.” Maiden swallowed hard and stepped away from the box. “Just take the whole thing if you don’t mind.”

They both avoided looking at each other as he scooped up the box and walked straight out. Maiden let out a relieved sigh when she was alone again. She really wasn’t sure what all of that had meant. It had seemed like David was feeling her out, almost testing the waters, but he’d also retreated immediately.

She desperately hoped that he wasn’t trying to warn her that he had plans that didn’t include her, she was pretty sure she’d shrivel up and die if he dropped her now. Her instincts told her that she wasn’t in any danger of that though, she was confident that David wasn’t the kind of guy that would lead her on.

She looked down at the next box; it was labeled “Tablecloths & doilies”. Her mind had wandered to the plethora of small tables, bureaus and nooks that would have to be decorated with the lacey mats when she heard a low creaking sound coming from the wall behind her. Maiden stilled and glanced slowly over her shoulder.

It's just the house settling, things expanding and contracting. Totally normal, nothing sinister. No one’s lurking around waiting to dismember hitchhikers or writing threatening messages in blood, she assured herself. She held her breath for a second when the creaking was replaced by scrabbling and skittering noises. And that’s just the horde of hideous, flesh-eating rats coming to feast on us all. Nothing to get worked up about.

Maiden couldn’t help feeling creeped out. Especially now that she had a quiet moment to think about that bloodied note on the mirror. Victor could very well be right, whoever broke the lock on the master bedroom door might have been a crew member tasked with staging that prop. But she didn’t really believe that. She honestly suspected that Kevin broke into the room. It seemed unlikely that the screenwriter would be staging any sets.

“You’re getting paranoid, Maiden,” she whispered to herself.

She then thought about the upstairs sitting room again, the one that she knew had been locked when she first checked it. And then there were the strange footprints in the dust that vanished into nowhere. It was spooky, the whole business was spooky. Someone was deliberately messing with things in the house.

The low, eerie squeal of ancient hinges made her tense, she turned and looked sharply at the door. She wasn’t exactly sure what sort of blood-splattered maniac she was expecting, but she was relieved beyond belief when Tony poked his head inside and looked around warily.

He smiled when he saw her, not catching her hastily concealed anxiety, and then walked slowly inside. Maiden watched him shuffle closer and run a hand absently over his short, tightly curled hair. His dark eyes were troubled and his expression was downcast. It hurt to see him unhappy.

She stared at him for a moment, remembering all the times they’d enjoyed together growing up; her, Tony and Vonny. Tears stung at her eyes when she considered that he might really leave them forever.

“How are you doing?” Maiden asked gently as he sat heavily on the old couch, sending a cloud of dust into the air around him.

“Not great,” he sighed and waved a hand in front of his face in an attempt to shoo away the dust. “We still aren’t talking. Von just glares at me and walks away whenever I get near her. I wish she’d settle down so we could sort everything out.”

“Mm.” Maiden watched his expression with hawk-like intensity. “I suppose the shock of it still hasn’t worn off.”

“Why is it shocking? It’s Ohio, not another continent,” he said.

“Yeah, but in some ways it might as well be,” she replied softly and a little sadly.

“What do you mean?” Tony blinked at her.

“Well, if you move that far, we’ll barely see you again.” She hoped she wasn’t being unfair by mentioning it, but he really needed to consider everything before making the decision. “You’ll be busy setting up a new life, then you’ll meet people and make new friends…we’ll drift.”

“Aw, no we won’t.” He gave her a fondly smiling look. “You’re one of my best friends, Maiden. It’s not like I’ll forget that.”

“No, but things change, Tony. That’s life, that’s what happens,” Maiden sighed. “You’ll replace us, you’d have to, you need friends in your life. You’ll be building relationships with them, you won’t be driving back to Golden Glen to see us every weekend. You’ll move on.”

Tony glanced away somberly and went very quiet as he thought that over. After a moment he looked up at her and opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened again before he could get any words out.

David walked back in to find Maiden and Tony talking quietly together. He immediately felt like he was intruding and considered leaving again. But then they both glanced over with evident relief; he supposed they were more worried about Vonny walking in on them.

“I carried the blankets downstairs but that washing machine is ancient, I have no idea how to start it,” David admitted.

“That’s okay, I’ll take a look in a minute,” Maiden said mildly and gestured towards Tony. “We were just talking about Ohio.”

“Oh yeah.” David nodded as he walked a little further into the room and glanced at Tony. “You’re still thinking about that, are you?”

“Of course I am.” Tony frowned. “It’s a good opportunity, I have to consider it.”

David shrugged and left it, he had a few suspicions of his own brewing and he wasn’t game to mention them. Particularly not in present company. He noticed Maiden shift from the corner of his eye, she moved closer to Tony and leaned towards him a bit.

“Tony, I’m sorry but I have to ask you something.” Maiden took a deep breath before plunging straight in. “Are you taking this job so you can break up with Vonny?”

David struggled to hide a pleased and horribly ill-timed smile. He’d been throwing around the exact same idea; it still surprised him how much he and Maiden thought alike sometimes.

“What?” Tony looked quite startled. “No! Maiden, no, I wouldn’t do that!”

“I totally understand, Tony. I love Vonny dearly, but I know she can be difficult. And sometimes things just don’t work out,” she continued in a low and serious tone. “You don’t have to leave, there’s no need for that. I’ll tell her for you. She’s hated me hundreds of times, I can take another one. I’m always nice, it’ll be fine.”

“Stop it!” Tony looked so quietly aghast that David started chuckling. “I’m not trying to break up with her!”

Maiden and David both looked indiscreetly dubious. Tony looked between them and shook his head a little.

“Vonny’s really lovely.” His expression made it clear that he didn’t think he should be having to defend her. “You think I’d have asked her out in the first place if I didn’t want to be with her? I’ve known her for 20 years. I know she can be prickly but she’s very sweet. I’m a little surprised at you, Maiden.”

“I’ve seen her yell at socks, Tony. Socks,” Maiden said coolly, obviously not shamed by his chiding expression. “I realize that you see a different side of her but you know perfectly well what she’s put me through. It’s not that unfathomable of a guess, all right?”

“I’m sorry, Maiden.” He immediately relented and even reached out and grasped her hand. “She feels really guilty about all that old stuff, you know. She cries about it sometimes.”

“Really?” Maiden looked startled by that but quickly pressed on and changed the focus of the conversation back to him. “Look, I’m not blaming Vonny anyway. I’m asking the question because of the way you’ve gone about this whole thing.”

Tony shook his head questioningly and clasped his hands in his lap.

“Come on, not giving her any forewarning, no chance to get used to the idea before throwing it out in front of everyone? No one would appreciate being put in that position,” she pointed out. “And you know Vonny. Why would you spring it on her like that unless you were trying to push her into dumping you?”

“But I didn’t! That never occurred to me!” His eyes were wide and horrified.

“Never?” She looked skeptical but her tone was steady and she held his gaze mercilessly. “You’re saying that whole public unload was just you doing something stupid?”

“’Stupid’ is a bit harsh.” Tony looked briefly, and very transparently, stung. He then shifted his gaze away guiltily as Maiden’s large eyes zeroed in on her prey.

“Is it really?” she asked. “What did you honestly think she would say, Tony?”

“I just thought she’d be surprised!” He turned back to her but his knees started bouncing as Maiden stared him down.

A kind and gentle smile graced her lovely face but her eyes were still locked on him intently. David distantly wondered if he looked that terrifying when he was questioning suspects; he felt himself smile again.

“Tony, I know this must be so hard for you,” she said softly. “I want to help, but you have to be honest with me.”

“I am.” He just looked at her.

“But you’re not making sense,” she insisted mildly. “It’s not nice to spring a life-changing decision on someone, especially in front of a crowd. And you’re very nice, Tony.”

“Oh, I don’t like being on this side of the detective stuff!” Tony leaned away from her. “You’ve stopped blinking and it’s really freaking me out! Please blink!”

David buried his face in his hands but it didn’t muffle his laughter very effectively. Maiden and Tony both jumped slightly but his loud amusement did seem to have broken the tension. Maiden sighed, mercifully blinked a few times, and then turned back to Tony.

“Fine. Do you really want to leave Golden Glen?” she asked in her normal tone.

“Not specifically, no,” he allowed as he cautiously sat up straight again. He glanced at David. “You moved to a different town to take a new job. It worked out for you, right?”

“Yes, but I didn’t have anything to keep me where I was, either,” David said. “It’s hard to really compare the situations. You’re looking at leaving all the things that I came here hoping to find.”

It was a fairly suggestive statement, all things considered. Maiden looked at David as subtly as she could but she wasn’t brave enough to press him on it. Tony was.

“Okay, fair enough. Tell me this then, if you were in my position, what would you do?” He looked him in the eye and folded his arms loosely over his chest. “If you got a call tomorrow offering you a great job in another state, would you go for it if it could mean losing Maiden?”

David glanced out the window as he tried to find a way to avoid answering the incredibly personal question. He didn’t really appreciate Tony putting them both on the spot, but then he decided to just answer him.

“No,” David said simply. “I wouldn’t.”

Maiden’s eyes somehow widened even further as she stared at him; his heart started beating a little faster. He knew he could’ve hedged or said it would depend on the circumstances. He could’ve turned the question on her and asked if she’d leave everything to follow him. But he didn’t; he said no. He wouldn’t leave her at this point and a more courageous part of him wanted her to know that.

Tony smiled faintly and gave him a teasingly suspicious look.

“But would you at least think about it?” he pressed.

“No, I don’t need to,” David replied far more easily this time. “But if you aren’t certain of what you want, it’s not wrong to consider your options.”

“You sound like a wiser man than me, thanks a lot.” Tony smirked at him.

“We’re in fairly different situations, Tony.” David shrugged.

“No, David, we really aren’t,” Tony replied.

David considered that and laughed. “No, I guess not.”

Chapter eleven

Maiden was silently basking in the warmth of David’s openly voiced sentiments. He’d been backed into a bit of a corner, but he still freely admitted that he wouldn’t leave her. She smiled faintly as David looked at her.

“We’d probably better get those blankets started,” he murmured.

“Oh, that’s right,” Maiden sighed and headed for the door with the two men close behind her.

They walked into the foyer and found it much quieter now. Maiden glanced through the front windows and saw that the camera crew had braved the cold to shoot some footage of the building’s exterior. She wondered if any of them were regretting their career choice as they stood out there in the freezing wind.

She turned back to the foyer and saw Victor and Kevin trying to talk to a bored Tom. Carly was also there, hovering behind her boss, watching and listening.

“The foyer looks fine the way it is.” Tom said with a distinct lack of concern.

“Don’t you think it’s a little sparse?” Victor looked around at the large space.

So did Maiden. There were two decorative tables pushed against the walls, one to the left of the front door and another beside the stairs. Apart from the paintings on the walls, that was about it. They’d removed an old hat rack from beside the door because it was broken. It was back in Alfie’s workshop right now waiting to be repaired. Had she known, she’d have left it. She wasn’t about to offer to go and get it, however, and was distracted when Tom spoke up.

“The place is supposed to be owned by a guy that’s lost all his money.” Tom studied his neatly manicured nails. “He wouldn’t have much stuff, would he? It’s good enough.”

“Always giving the project your full attention aren’t you, Mathers?” Kevin said dryly. “If only the room had breasts, you’d finally take a second look at the job.”

“Hilarious,” Tom mocked but then spied Maiden and chuckled to himself. “Mm-mm, speaking of which.”

Since subtlety clearly hadn’t been a goal, everyone heard him. Maiden could almost feel the men beside her getting angrier; that distracted her from her own irritation. Tony folded his arms and stood a little closer beside her.

“Who’s this idiot?” he asked in the frosty tone that he only used when defending his friends.

“Tom Mathers,” Kevin chimed in. “The biggest and most overrated moron in the business. Don’t worry about remembering his name.”

“Maybe there are some dead pot plants we could borrow?” Carly asked as though the ugly exchange weren’t happening. “It would add to the atmosphere without cluttering the scene too much. I’m sure that’s what Tom was about to suggest.”

“Exactly.” Tom smiled sweetly and very briefly at her. “You’re picking up so much, my dear.”

“Yeah,” Kevin snorted, “picking up all your slack.”

“Dear Maiden,” Victor’s expression was strained but somewhat pleasant, “do you by chance have some dead plants that you aren’t using at the moment?”

“Yes, in the conservatory.” She smiled at the peculiar-sounding request. “Knock yourselves out.”

Before Victor could offer more than a grateful smile, they heard angry footsteps approaching. The stars of the show, Lina and Spencer, came walking down the hallway on the right muttering some sort of argument. Lina was holding a copy of the script and looked furiously at Kevin the instant they entered the foyer.

“You!” she hissed as she pointed at him and then held up the script. “Spencer says you changed this and now I see for myself! How dare you?! I did not agree to be brunette!”

“The role was always a brunette, Lina,” Kevin said disparagingly. “You didn’t read the script, did you?”

“What difference does it make?” Spencer rolled his eyes at the furious woman beside him. “You end up stabbed to death anyway. Ultimately you’re a redhead.”

“Yuck!” Lina glared at him and then turned to Victor. “I am always platinum blonde with ash and golden highlight. Always! Is my signature look and is in every film. No exceptions!”

Tom smiled and skimmed a hand over his own platinum highlights.

“Don’t be so set in your ways Lina; dark hair is sexy. Just look at Maiden.” He gestured in her direction. “Any man with a pulse would love to drag her into an abandoned mansion and make her scream a few times.”

Maiden barely managed to grab both David and Tony by the hand and hold them back as they glared at Tom and started stalking towards him. Victor quickly stepped between them and shot Tom a chiding look.

“Will you behave yourself already?” he snapped. “We have work to do and a tight schedule, you getting yourself beaten up isn’t going to help speed things along! Now go find those plants, and hurry up.”

Tom gave an innocent shrug as he obligingly left the room. Carly shuffled after him clutching her clipboard and frowning deeply. Victor turned back to them and shook his head apologetically.

“I’m sorry about Tom, he always goes further than good taste dictates,” Victor sighed. “But he really is good at what he does.”

Kevin scoffed loudly and slid his gaze away. Lina wasn’t long distracted from her own concerns and slapped a hand loudly against the script to get the focus back on her.

“Victor,” she said coldly, her accent slightly thicker with the added emotion. “This is not what I agree to. This film is much darker and serious. I was told different. This is deliberate attack on my image!”

“What’d you think it was going to be? Beach bunnies prancing around in bikinis and swinging axes?” Kevin asked snidely. “It’s a horror movie, Lina.”

“Psychological thriller, please,” Victor said tolerantly and rubbed his temples before turning to the angry bunny in question. “Lina, this is an incredible opportunity for you. It’s a chance to prove that you can do more than strut around and look pretty. It’s a chance to be a serious actress.”

Spencer put a hand to his mouth to muffle his amusement when Lina glared at him. She turned back to Victor sharply.

“I don’t need some tacky gore-fest to make people take me serious.” She raised her chin defiantly. “I work hard to make persona of Lina Mirov. Was not easy! Was not cheap! Now you want me to wear dark wig? And very little make-up? For what? What is bad about being known as beautiful woman?!”

“You’re still playing a beautiful woman, Lina.” Victor looked offended that she would suggest otherwise. “Helena is an incredible and complex character, the most talented actresses in Hollywood would kill for this part! It’s being handed to you. You should really consider what you’re trying to throw away.”

Helena? Maiden stilled and fixed her eyes on Victor. The ill-fated heroine was named Helena? And the movie was being shot in Riley manor, the home of Helena Riley? It seemed a bit too much to be a coincidence.

Lina wasn’t impressed by Victor’s plea, but she was calmer now. Her reply disrupted Maiden’s wandering thoughts.

“Pah!” Lina scoffed and rolled her carefully painted eyes but she did seem a little more circumspect at the mention of other actresses. She pressed her pouting lips together and gave Victor and Kevin a regal sniff. “I will read script, but that is all I promise.”

Before either of the men could respond, someone in a grotesque mask loomed up behind Lina and growled loudly as he flailed at them all. His face was contorted in a monstrous scowl that bared twisted and rotten teeth, dripping with blood.

Lina screamed while Spencer stared in surprise and instinctively pushed her behind him. David, who was standing right beside the eerily masked man, reflexively whipped around and punched him in the face. The man grunted loudly as he fell to the floor and sprawled out on his back.

Maiden started laughing so hard she almost doubled over. The others looked startled and concerned until the monster sat up and pulled off the mask. Tom sat there rubbing his jaw and glaring at David.

The instant Kevin saw him he burst out laughing as well, but far louder and more derisively than Maiden. For her part, she’d reined herself in enough to stand up straight again and dabbed at her watering eyes with her sleeve. Tony was smiling and folded his arms over his chest, giving David a please look.

“Tom!” Victor tried to frown but he was smiling too much to manage it. “What’re you playing at? We need that mask, I hope you haven’t broken it.”

“I hope he hasn’t broken my jaw!” Tom fired back and rubbed his chin. “That was a bit of an overreaction!”

“Instinct,” David said mildly. “You should be more careful about trying to surprise strangers. You never know what can happen when you burst into a room flailing like an idiot.”

“Not the nicest apology I’ve ever received,” Tom grated, pushing to his feet.

“You haven’t received anything close to an apology from me,” David replied coolly. “You certainly don’t deserve one.”

“I could call my lawyer and see if I can’t change your mind about that.” Tom scowled grimly.

“Don’t bother, Mathers.” Kevin smiled gleefully. “I witnessed the entire exchange and saw this fine man act in defense of himself and the lovely lady you never had a shot with no matter how big a fool you make of yourself. And I’ll swear to that under oath.”

“Let it go, Tom,” Victor advised. “I’ve had more than enough of your antics and we’ve barely started work.”

“It could’ve been worse anyway, Mr. Mathers. I would’ve introduced you to my knee,” Maiden said mildly and gave David a warm smile as she breezed past. “Of course, I also recognized you straight away.”

David grinned at Maiden as she sauntered down the hall towards the kitchen. He sobered his features as he turned back to Tom. The man still looked irate and his face had reddened slightly.

David arched a brow and noticed that Tony came and stood a little closer to them. His arms were still crossed and he was staring Tom down without pity. David didn’t need the backup but appreciated Tony’s loyal concern for Maiden. He rolled his shoulders back and took a step towards Tom.

“Right. I’ll say this once, but clearly, to save us all some time and trouble in future,” David said in a cold and steady voice. “Stop bothering Maiden.”

“Ah, the cliché threats of the hillbilly boy next door.” Tom sneered and gave him a challenging look. “Am I worrying you at last?”

“No.” David smiled quietly and cracked his knuckles before he walked away.

***

Maiden was still chuckling when she entered the kitchen. Her parents glanced up from the food they’d been preparing for dinner while Vonny sipped coffee and moped unhelpfully.

“What’s so funny, angel?” Gloria looked at her expectantly.

“I think David just defended my honor,” she laughed at the thought of Tom being knocked on his backside. “I’ll tell you about it later. I’d better get those blankets started or they won’t be dry in time for tonight.”

“Do you want a hand?” Alfie asked down at the potato he was peeling.

“Vonny will help me,” Maiden said as she gave her sister a look and nodded meaningfully towards the back door.

“Hm?” Vonny grunted questioningly but then caught the look Maiden gave her and set her cup aside. “Oh, yeah, I’ll help her. You guys are busy anyway.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” Gloria watched her daughters curiously as they slipped outside.

Maiden and Vonny both hugged themselves tightly as they stepped outside into the frigid air. The first few glittering snowflakes were starting to fall, and they both smiled like children as they gazed up into the sky.

“It’s snowing!” Maiden bounced happily as she twirled around. “Look!”

“And we’re not wearing coats!” Vonny laughed and nudged her forward. “Hurry before we freeze to death!”

They giggled as they ran towards the worn old wooden door that led to the basement. Maiden pulled it open and they rushed inside.

Once they were safely ensconced in the dingy, cramped room at the top of the stairs, Maiden flicked on the ancient light switch. The bare bulb shone starkly down over the narrow staircase.

“Wow, I can’t believe I missed out on all this when you guys checked out the furnace the other day,” Von said sarcastically.

“Yeah, it’s a real showstopper,” Maiden replied as they slowly descended. The warped treads only complained a little as she and Vonny crept down them.

“Do you think basements are creepy?” Von whispered, grasping her sister’s arm and looking around uncomfortably.

“Only really old abandoned ones that are full of cobwebs and probably a few rats the size of Dachshunds,” Maiden replied quietly. “Why, are you nervous? Is it the thought of doing laundry that worries you?”

“Shut up, brat,” Vonny chuckled and released her. “I could’ve let you come down here and get eaten alone.”

Maiden laughed but did take a subtle peek around for any errant dog-sized rats. She led the way to the washing machine and dryer that were tucked away in the corner. David hadn’t exaggerated, the machines were old, the first time she’d seen them she almost expected to find the directions etched on the wall in Sanskrit.

She wrinkled her nose at the scattering of spiders that were stationed over their heads and quickly got about her business. She knelt down and started shoving the musty blankets from the tattered box into the washer.

“Would you see if there’s some detergent around here?” She glanced briefly at Vonny. “Maybe check that cabinet by the dryer.”

Vonny also gave the spiders a dubious look but did as she was asked. She opened the cupboard and started poking around inside.

It only took four blankets to load the washer to capacity. It wasn’t huge and probably leaked, judging by the rust stains trailing down the front of it. Maiden’s expectations were steadily lowering. She glanced over when Vonny still didn’t come back.

“Did you get lost?” she asked wryly.

“Kind of,” Vonny replied and beckoned her over. “Take a look at this.”

Maiden walked over and looked inside the cabinet. She could see the gaps in the dust where Vonny had moved some things, but there amongst the boxes of washing powder and a few bottles with the labels faded beyond reading was a small, framed photograph.

The ornate silver frame was heavily tarnished, every nook and hollow was blackened and oxidized. The glass was dirty but the picture behind it was still visible.

Maiden reached in and pulled it out, she and Vonny leaned in to take a closer look. It was a couple posing in front of a large window and smiling at the camera. The woman was perched on the edge of an elegant writing desk while the man stood beside her with his arm around her shoulders. He looked like he was a bit older than her, but they clearly weren’t bothered by any age gap.

Judging by their hairstyles and clothes, and the sepia tinge of the photo, it looked to have been taken in the 1970s. Maiden frowned pensively and wiped away a little of the dirt with her thumb.

“I wonder if that dress is one of the ones we found in that trunk upstairs,” Vonny pondered aloud.

“It is,” Maiden said with certainty, her sharp memory had latched onto the floral maxi-dress easily. “This is weird. Who keeps a picture like this hidden behind old bottles in a cupboard in the basement?”

“Maybe the person that put it there didn’t know the couple?” Von guessed.

“So they put them in with the laundry detergent?” Maiden slid her a smiling look. “That makes sense to you?”

“Almost nothing has made sense to me all week, master detective,” Vonny sighed loudly. “You figure it out. I don’t even know who they could be.”

“Well, considering you’ve already claimed this woman’s clothes,” Maiden turned back to the photo, “I’d have thought you’d be a little more interested.”

“I’m interested enough to hear about it, not to start nosing around and trying to figure it out,” Von admitted candidly. “In any case, my boyfriend’s about to run out on me, I admit that I’m a little preoccupied with that.”

“You’re making it worse, you know,” Maiden said without looking up from the old picture. “Refusing to talk to him is only going to push him further away. Try giving him a reason to stay. It would probably be more enticing than glowering at him every time he looks at you.”

“Thanks a lot!” Vonny said flatly. “What do you want me to do? Throw myself at him and beg him not to go?”

“Yeah, that would be good.” She gave her a look. “But, failing that, you could try being nice to him. He’s still saying nice things about you even though you’re being a pill.”

“Were you talking to him about me?” Vonny demanded.

“Yes,” Maiden said as she set the picture aside and reached for a box of detergent. “Someone has to try and get him to stay.”

“How dare you!” Vonny folded her arms over her chest, but then her scowl faltered and she bit her lip. “What’d he say?”

“That he doesn’t necessarily want to move, he’s just trying to think over the opportunity.” Maiden shook some soap into the machine and then shut the door. “And that he wishes you’d actually talk to him about it instead of ignoring him.”

“Oh, this stinks!” Vonny ran her hands back through her hair. “I can’t help it, every time I look at him I think about how much I love him, and then I think about him leaving me, and then I get really mad! I don’t know what to do.”

“Just talk to him!” she almost pleaded. “Don’t jump five steps ahead and assume the worst, just talk to the man! Please!”

“Don’t yell at me!” Von glared.

“Then stop being stupid!” Maiden glared back.

“Fine!” She turned and stalked towards the stairs. “You suck, by the way!”

“I can live with that,” Maiden retorted but still smiled. She knew Vonny was hurt and that outburst was the closest she’d come to agreeing that she was overreacting.

Maiden shook her head as she listened to Von head angrily upstairs. She pressed what she suspected was the start button and was rewarded when the archaic washer lurched into action. She looked it over and decided that they’d have to find room in the budget for an upgrade soon.

Her eyes strayed back to the old picture. She picked it up and studied it again; the couple looked so happy. They were an attractive pair, both were slim and dark-haired, their faces were bright and their smiles were genuine. Maiden’s gaze stayed on the woman for a moment, she looked at that familiar dress and the long dark hair. She wondered if she was looking at Helena Riley.

She decided to take the picture upstairs, whoever it was of, it seemed wrong to leave it in the grungy basement. She was turning to walk back to the stairs when she heard the floor boards above her head creaking. She glanced up but only saw cobwebs drifting like swaths of antique lace.

She was pretty sure she was standing under the dining room. The crew was probably setting up cameras, maybe rearranging some tables.

A moment later there was a faint scuffling noise coming from the opposite corner of the room. Maiden glanced over sharply. It wasn’t quite the same noise she’d heard upstairs but she still braced herself to face a writhing tangle of giant rats.

There was nothing there, just a couple of half-rotted cardboard boxes sitting in front of the old bricks. But then she heard the noise again. It was a soft scraping sound, she’d have sworn it was coming from inside the wall. She edged closer and accidently kicked a stray pebble, sending it skittering across the floor. The noise stopped abruptly.

Her heart was pounding and her hands gripped the picture tightly as she made herself walk closer and then looked down. Footprints, very much like the ones she’d found upstairs. There they were in the dirt and grime that coated the stone floor. But these did turn and head back towards the stairs; somehow that wasn’t a huge comfort.

Maiden slowly raised her eyes to the wall. She urged herself not to panic even as she started to imagine someone lurking on the other side, ready to materialize through the bricks and jump at her.

The wind picked up outside; she could hear it howling eerily past the small, high windows. She studied the wall but didn’t see any seams or cracks, nothing to indicate anything out of place. Even so, she felt certain that she wasn’t alone. Someone was there and possibly looking right at her.

She heard a loud clunking sound from behind her and whirled around with a gasp. The loud, jarring sound made her wince but she forced herself to think logically. It was the furnace trying to convince itself to do a little more work. That’s all it was.

It's not full of bodies, it couldn’t be, they’d have all been incinerated to powder by now. That’s not a comforting thought, thanks a lot, Goldie! Maiden released a slow breath and shook her head at herself.

Maybe she was just imagining things. It was an old house and an old basement; they made funny noises, it was nothing to get worked up over. As for the footprints, maybe they were from the other day when they all came to check out the furnace.

In any case, she was done being down there alone. Still clutching the small photo, she walked to the stairs with deliberate aplomb. As soon as she’d set a foot on the bottom step she quickened her pace and charged upstairs. She reached the top without slowing and plowed right into David. He caught her gently by the arms and gave her a startled smile.

“Hey, are you all right?” he asked. “You look scared.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she breathed and hugged him. “Just letting my imagination run away with me.”

“I can understand that in an old place like this.” He kissed the tip of her ear. “I came to find you, the snow’s starting to really come down. We’d better get inside.”

Chapter twelve

By the time they reached the kitchen door the snow was falling in heavy clumps. Maiden was shivering as they dashed inside the comparatively cozy kitchen. David shut the door and then pulled her close and rubbed her arms briskly to warm her up.

“You okay, angel?” Gloria glanced over from the large stove where she was stirring a big pot of something that smelled fantastic.

“Yeah.” Maiden shuddered and nestled closer to David. “I’m not looking forward to going back down there to put those blankets in the dryer though.”

“I’ll ask Alfie to do it.” She waved it away and nodded at the small object she was holding. “What’s that?”

“A picture we found in the basement,” Maiden said as she looked at it again.

“Odd place to keep a framed photo,” David said as she set it on the counter beside them.

“A lot of things in this house are odd,” she pointed out and turned back to Gloria when another waft of spicy meat and rich broth touched her nose. “Is that sausage and kale soup?”

“It sure is, baby.” Gloria smiled at her hopeful tone.

“Yes! Perfect!” Maiden said happily and then glanced back out at the heavily falling snow. “I wonder if we should suggest to Victor that they all leave early. He probably won’t like it, but the storm Tony said wasn’t hitting until tomorrow seems to be here now. They’ll need to get out before the roads are closed off.”

“Agreed, especially the roads this far out of town. Let’s go find him.” David gave her a last, quick squeeze and then followed her to the door.

They walked down the long hall and into the foyer. Maiden glanced around and was pleased to see that everything looked much tidier. There were still cameras set up and dozens of cords thrown around but they weren’t so haphazard now.

She glanced over and saw Lina and Spencer standing off to the side together. From the way they stood facing each other, while Lina scowled down at her script, it was obvious that they were rehearsing.

Lina looked cranky and rattled off a few lines in a wooden, deliberately difficult manner. Spencer, on the other hand, was really getting into the part. The way he smiled at Lina as he crept around behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders and the sides of her throat was sensual and menacing at the same time. It was a remarkable transformation to watch.

David gave Maiden a nudge, reminding her that time was against them and they really wanted this circus to get on its way while it still could. She tore her gaze away from the burgeoning movie magic and scanned the rest of the room.

There were a fair few crew members milling around, chatting to each other and tinkering with equipment. Maiden refused to get distracted again and fixed her gaze on Victor. He, Nessa and Barry were standing in a tight group near the door. They were discussing something and none of them looked pleased about it.

As they edged closer, Maiden heard enough to realize that they were worried about the weather as well. Victor folded his arms and gazed out the window at the impressive blanket of snow that was already gathering.

“We’ll be able to ski at this rate,” he murmured, sounding completely unperturbed.

“If only this were a movie about a cozy ski lodge. Maybe then Lina would stop whining.” Nessa folded her arms and gave Victor a flinty look.

“What was that you are saying about me?!” Lina’s irate voice split the air.

“We’re discussing the weather, don’t worry about it,” Nessa called back without turning, probably so Lina wouldn’t see her annoyed eyeroll.

“Pah!” Lina retorted and went back to glowering at her leading man.

Barry sighed quietly and clasped his hands behind his back. He didn’t look worried by his employer’s foul temper but he watched her carefully. As Maiden considered the stoic man she couldn’t help noticing that his gaze was rather admiring as it drifted over Nessa. Maiden wondered what exactly his duties entailed and then told herself not to be nosy.

“Well, thanks to that contract you so generously offered, we’re paying for this place for ten days straight whether we can use it or not!” Nessa whispered angrily at Victor. “And that doesn’t even touch paying the crew to sit around and do nothing!”

“I know, I know.” Victor waved that away like a bothersome fly. “What do you want from me? I can’t control the weather, can I?”

“I mentioned the weather forecast days ago,” Barry reminded them with a hint of smugness. “I said there was supposed to be a blizzard here this weekend. As usual no one listened.”

“A snotty little I-told-you-so is not the solution I’m after, Barry!” Nessa snapped impatiently; he fell self-consciously silent.

“All right, this is getting us nowhere,” Victor said and turned to the room, clapping his hands loudly. “Pack up everyone! The weather wins today! Let’s get back to the hotel; we can at least keep rehearsing.”

A few people glanced out the windows and mumbled to each other about the thickly falling snow. Everyone started quickly packing up the cameras and other sensitive equipment.

“Most of it can stay where it is for the night.” Nessa raised her voice enough to be heard above the sudden rush of activity. “Just cover it all up to protect it and let’s get moving!”

Most of the crew were in their coats and then their assorted vehicles within minutes. Maiden watched several sets of taillights fade into the storm that was closing in. She turned to see that Tom and Carly had emerged from wherever they’d been. They were both bundled up in heavy coats and were waiting by the door.

Victor had just zipped up his own coat when he glanced up and saw Lina standing by herself. Apparently seeing an opportunity for a discreet chat, he grasped her carefully by the elbow and pulled her aside.

“Listen to me. You need to be a lot more cooperative, Lina,” he advised quietly. “Those lines you read sounded worse than a grade school play. I’m trying to give you a real chance, please, you can do better than that. I know you can.”

Lina’s eyes narrowed and she rolled her shoulders back, one at a time, as she fought the rigid anger that gripped them. She raised her chin a fraction and released an emotion-laced exhalation.

“First you tell me how to wear my hair, my face, my clothes,” she rattled off one indignity after another. “Now you tell me how to rehearse?! I tell you what, Victor, you are brunette, you be your damn precious Helena!”

“Can we just go, please?” Barry said a tad impatiently as he tucked deeper into his jacket. “It’s freezing in here and it’s only going to get colder outside. I’m sure we can all continue this fight at the hotel.”

“I simply don’t see the need for the negativity.” Victor’s shoulders drooped as he gave Lina a saddened look. “It’s such a beautiful story, how can you not want to star in it?”

“What is beautiful about being butchered by crazy husband?!” Lina demanded, flinging a hand towards Spencer without looking at him. “She throws life away on man who is failure and tries to win from her success!”

“Art imitating life, Lina?” Tom smirked at her and then slid his gaze to a darkly angry Spencer. “Is that what you’re suggesting?”

Maiden couldn’t help wondering what that remark meant. She had never heard anything about Lina Mirov and Spencer Cartwright being romantically involved, she hadn’t even heard of them starring in any movies together, but they were certainly acting like angry ex-lovers now.

“I think she’s actually making sense for once.” Spencer glared briefly at Tom. “She’s ridiculous in the role. No one would believe she’s got the brains to survive as long as she does in the script. She’d get one step into the house and trip and break an ankle. That’s the depth of cliché garbage you’re going to get.”

Maiden blinked at the bitter tension that throbbed in the air. The only ones that hadn’t weighed in to the nasty argument were Nessa and Carly. Nessa looked like she’d heard a lot of it before and was trying to ignore it as she buttoned herself into a full-length fur coat. Imagining the delight her kittens would take in mauling the fur-clad woman, Maiden almost laughed at the mental image and shifted her attention to Carly.

She was a strange one. Very quiet, but always watching everyone, especially Tom. Her hazel eyes went to him often but with an air of vigilance, not admiration. Not entirely at least.

Carly was fairly small in stature but her springy blonde curls gave her presence, she had a strong nose and a well-defined jaw. She wasn’t polished or preened like Lina, or Nessa for that matter. Her nails were short and her clothes were practical. She wore a thick argyle sweater over well-worn jeans and a scuffed pair of off-white sneakers. She was there to work, and work hard.

Maiden found herself admiring the understated woman. She got the distinct impression that Carly cared more about their project than her boss did.

“I have other films in pipeline!” Lina’s shrilly irate voice cut through Maiden’s observations. “They certainly trump this nonsense film. I will break contract if needed, since I have been lied to!”

“There’s no need for that, Lina.” Nessa approached with a soothing expression. “This is a low-key movie that will come together quickly. Provided we all stop fighting and get on with it.”

Maiden felt David shift beside her and slip a hand over her hip with a long sigh. She knew how he felt; the troubled group needed to go while they still could. None of them were really saying anything anyway, it was just squabbling.

“Look, I hate to sound rude,” Maiden spoke up and pointed towards the windows, “but the storm’s only going to get worse. You might need to finish this discussion in the car.”

“The small-town siren is right. I don’t want to spend the night wedged in a snow bank,” Tom chortled. “Let’s go!”

“We’re just waiting for Kevin,” Victor said and peered up the staircase as best he could. “He said he’d be right down. Kevin! Hurry up!”

“Ugh, is that all? We’ll catch up with you later then,” Tom said irately but then turned a warm smile on Nessa. “Want a lift?”

“I’ll wait for Victor and Kevin. Thanks anyway,” she said and either missed or ignored the dirty looks on the faces of his assistant and hers.

Maiden was about to hurry them along again when they heard Kevin’s loud footsteps clambering down the stairs. His skin looked clammy and his eyes held traces of panic.

Not sparing a word to anyone else, he grabbed Victor by the arm and dragged him aside. Whatever he whispered to the other man startled him. Victor gave him an incredulous look and Kevin nodded anxiously to confirm whatever he’d said.

“Can we go?” Lina demanded, pulling a fur-lined hood up over her stylishly waved hair. “Is blizzard outside and I need to call my agent to break contract!”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Nessa said with sheer exasperation as she turned to Kevin. “There must be room in the script to let Lina have blonde hair. It was the 70s, it wasn’t unheard of, right?”

“The 70s?” Maiden stared at her. “The movie takes place in the 70s? Why?”

“I don’t know,” Nessa said wearily, “that’s what’s in the script. So how about it, Kevin? Can you have a look and see if dark hair is actually pivotal to the script so we can move on, please?”

“No, I can’t!” Kevin shouted. “It’s missing!”

“What? Well, just settle down.” Nessa tried for a soothing tone. “It has to be here somewhere, we’ll find it tomorrow.”

“No! I’m not going anywhere without that script!” Kevin said frantically. “You don’t understand, this is sabotage!”

“You paranoid old—” Tom started grousing when the wind picked up and blew the door open.

A heavy barrage of snow flew in at them, quickly dusting the floor with glistening chips of ice. Everyone shouted at everyone else as David and Tom hurried over and pressed the door shut. David quickly slid the bolt into place. They both eased back a few steps as the howling wind continued to push relentlessly at the door, sending it rattling on its hinges. Outside the windows the visibility was non-existent, everything was a blanket of swirling, frigid white.

David turned to Maiden with a quietly unhappy expression. Everyone had fallen silent and looked around at each other. Tom finally said what the rest of them had already realized.

“Well, I hope we’re all happy,” he said irately. “We’re stuck here for the night.”

Chapter thirteen

Gloria and Alfie took the change of plans in stride. They wandered out from the kitchen to find a very fractious and downcast group. They were quickly informed that the weather had closed in and no one was going anywhere.

“That’s no trouble, darlins’,” Gloria assured them with a smile. “We got plenty of food and certainly plenty of space. We’ll manage just fine. We might put all you beautiful movie people in the dining room for tonight. It’s clean enough and the fireplace works, you should stay nice and warm in there.”

“You’re so kind, Gloria. You truly are,” Victor said gratefully. “Thank you, all of you.”

“It’s fine,” Alfie said magnanimously. “We’ll put together some makeshift beds. It shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.”

“What does ‘making shifts’ mean?” Lina stared at him in mounting concern.

“Sleeping on the floor,” Spencer explained with a pitiless smile. “But at least it’s not outside in the middle of a blizzard.”

“On floor?” she whispered in horror. “No! Impossible!”

“It’s only for one night,” Nessa said soothingly. “No one’s thrilled about this, Lina, but at least we have shelter.”

“Beauty routine is absolute.” Lina held up a hand implacably. “I must have proper bed to sleep on. This film is disaster enough without bags under my eyes. Is mansion, must have bedrooms!”

“Well, there are some rooms on the third floor that were used not long ago. I suppose they’d be in decent condition,” Gloria said uncertainly. “But it’ll be freezin’ cold up there, honey.”

“Pah! Is no trouble,” Lina chortled, instantly happier with the prospect of a private room. “I come from place far more frigid than this one.”

“That’s certainly true,” Spencer agreed under his breath. Lina heard him, however, and the two exchanged a hateful look.

“Excuse, I am busy,” she said through clenched teeth and stormed upstairs.

“Well,” Gloria did her best to sound cheerful, “does anyone else want to go upstairs and freeze the dimples off their tushies?”

“I think we’re quite content to keep our dimples down here, thank you.” Victor sounded tickled even as he turned to Tom and Barry. “Care to brave the elements long enough to help me drag in our luggage?”

“Who cares about luggage?” Kevin complained, folding his arms angrily. “We need to find my script!”

“It’ll keep for a few minutes.” Victor waved it away and headed towards the front door. “This isn’t a day off, by the way. As long as we’re stuck here we’ll keep working.”

Tom disappeared rather conveniently so Carly stepped in to help with the bags. At that point David and Spencer grabbed their coats and joined them while Maiden went to find Tony and Vonny. She wanted to warn them about the additional overnight guests, but she was also reluctant to disturb them in case they were finally talking.

She peeked in the ballroom but it was empty; she then made her way to the music room. She didn’t see Tony or Vonny inside but she did discover where Tom had hidden himself to avoid doing any dirty work. She suppressed a loud tsk and turned to leave when he spotted her.

“Hey, Maiden, wait a minute!” he said nicely. “Could you please help me with these covers? It won’t take long.”

“I’m kind of in the middle of something,” she said.

“Just help me for a minute,” he pleaded. “I promise to behave. I don’t need your boyfriend trying to punch me out again.”

Maiden felt a little badly about how amused she was by that. She relented a bit and walked into the room to help but she still kept a healthy distance from him. She went to the couch that was furthest from Tom and pulled up the dusty cover. She just managed not to cough as she started gingerly folding it up. She saw Tom watching her from the corner of her eye and waited for the obnoxious nonsense to spill out.

“Forgive me for asking, but what’s with that guy anyway?” Tom shook his head and frowned.

“Are you referring to David, my boyfriend?” Maiden made a point of asking, not caring for the way Tom tried to ignore the other man when he wasn’t insulting him.

“Yeah, him.” Tom gave her an unconvincingly worried look. “Does he think he owns you or something? You can’t even talk to other men without him flying off the handle?”

“I guess not,” she said sarcastically, not about to rise to the bait.

“Seriously, Maiden,” he sighed and set the cover he’d just folded aside. “What do you see in a guy like that?”

“What do I see in a gorgeous, 6’3” cop who treats me well and doesn’t like seeing me annoyed and harassed?” She laughed. “Sorry, what was your question again?”

“A cop?” Tom stuck out his tongue as though the word tasted foul. “You actually go for a clean-cut boy scout like that?”

“When he’s tall, hot and owns his own handcuffs, yeah,” she said dryly. “I guess that’s my type. What about you? Anything with a pulse?”

“Oh fine, I came on too strong, I know.” He smiled faintly and shrugged. “I don’t mean anything by it; it’s how everyone talks in this business.”

“You’re the only one here that’s crudely hit on me despite being strongly discouraged every time,” she reminded him as she dropped the cover she’d folded on the back of the tufted sofa she’d found underneath. “Trying to blame it on an invented mass-degenerate culture isn’t really a valid argument.”

“Ouch, you don’t give a guy much room, do you?” Tom winced.

“No, I’m pretty brutal.” She smiled as she pulled out David’s favored tease.

“All right, fine, I give up. But all joking aside,” Tom held up a hand and strove for a serious expression, “I’m also a talent scout. I’ve discovered a fair few actresses.”

“Oh really?” She managed not to roll her eyes.

“Yes, really. Have you ever considered a career in films?” he asked with a charming smile as he ran his gaze over her curves.

“No,” Maiden replied simply.

“Seriously?” He effected a startled yet earnest look. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you could be a model or an actress? You’re a knockout, you could do anything you wanted. I really mean it, Maiden.”

“I never said you didn’t.” She did her best to sound bored; it wasn’t difficult.

“Hey, I know people.” He eased closer and smiled again as he stared into her eyes. “Say the word and I can open all the right doors for you.”

Yeah, starting with the door to your bedroom. She arched a brow and folded her arms over her chest.

“The word is ‘no’, Mr. Mathers,” she said coolly. “Don’t you have work to do?”

She heard an indignant gasp and turned to see Carly standing in the doorway. Her nose and cheeks were pink and her hair glistened with melted snow. Maiden doubted the woman appreciated doing Tom’s heavy lifting only to find him taking the opportunity to hit on someone else.

No one had said anything about a relationship between the two but Carly didn’t look disappointed or hurt, she was angry. Maiden was more than happy to remove herself from the situation. She took a few steps back and headed for the door.

“Good, your actual assistant is here. I’ll leave you both to whatever it is that you do,” she said and slipped past a stone-faced Carly.

“What’s going on?” Carly’s irate voice drifted into the hall as Maiden walked away, she slowed enough to listen.

“Nothing, babe. Don’t be paranoid,” Tom said lightly. “Discovering new faces and hot bodies is my job, you know that. It doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Maiden shook her head in disgust and kept walking. She rounded the corner and headed straight into the dining room. There was still no sign of Tony or Von. She gave up on trying to find them, they’d deal with the change in plans like the rest of them.

She decided to make herself useful instead and see if anyone needed help setting up some improvised beds. She scanned the room and quickly spotted Kevin and Victor having a tense discussion. She edged a bit closer.

“We can’t go ahead without that script,” Kevin muttered adamantly. “Whoever took it has a lot to answer for, and I think we both know who that is!”

“No, we really don’t, Kevin.” Victor tried for a soothing tone. “In any case, we have other copies of the script, we can keep working until we find your master copy. It has to be here somewhere.”

“It’s not that easy.” Kevin ran his hands over the dark, stringy hair that stubbornly clung to the sides of his balding head. “The script that’s in circulation isn’t the finished product, and if we get the early scenes wrong, it’ll mean big problems down the road.”

“What do you mean it’s not the finished product?” Victor frowned at him. “We’re filming it now! It’s a bit late in the game to start changing things. Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”

“It’s hard to explain the creative process. I was given a hokey, clunky premise and turned it into something avant-garde and compelling! That takes time,” Kevin huffed. “But you brought that Mathers idiot into the project and, astonishingly, things aren’t going well!”

“He didn’t cause the blizzard,” Victor said reasonably as he gestured towards the large windows and the heavy snows that were obscuring the view.

“No, but he did swipe my master script to sabotage the project!” he retorted furiously.

“Settle down!” Victor whispered and held up a hand. “Let’s start somewhere simpler, when did you last see it?”

“About an hour ago, maybe more.” Kevin folded his arms above his rounded belly and started tapping his foot. “I had it with me in the master bedroom but then I set it down on the bed.”

“You left the room without it?” Victor rubbed his chin.

“Yes,” he grumbled. “I thought I was amongst professionals; I clearly overestimated Mathers’ pettiness. In any case, I went back to get it when the storm started and it was gone.”

“Can’t you just check Tom’s luggage?” Maiden asked from a few steps inside the doorway. “If he did take it, he might have stashed it out there earlier.”

The two men looked over sharply; she kept her expression serene and polite. She hadn’t intended to interrupt or let them know she’d been listening, but she was increasingly curious about the tension and obvious dislike between Kevin and Tom.

“Hello, Maiden.” Victor smiled weakly. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to burden anyone else with our problems.”

“It’s no trouble to me,” she said candidly as she walked over to join them and slid her gaze to Kevin. “What makes you think Tom would have stolen your script? How does that benefit him?”

“He hates me and would take immense satisfaction from humiliating me professionally,” Kevin said grimly. “Again.”

“Again?” she repeated and waited for him to elaborate; he was eager to comply.

“Yes, Maiden. Tom Mathers was heavily involved in the last film I worked on. I developed a brilliant and innovative script; the storyline, the characters, the dialog. It was all spot on,” he said with complete certainty. He shook his head and scowled. “Then Mathers came along and ruined the entire movie! Every critic tore it to shreds! It was a complete flop!”

“I thought he only did set design,” Maiden asked, glancing at Victor curiously.

“He does, mostly.” Victor suppressed a sigh, clearly not enjoying being involved in a discussion he’d doubtless had many times already. “But he sometimes gets involved with other areas, like casting.”

“Oh yeah.” Maiden almost smiled. “He claimed he was a talent scout. I assumed it was just another sleazy come-on.”

“Well, in all honesty, it probably was,” Victor acknowledged with a regretful grimace. “But he does suggest new talent from time to time.”

“Think of him more as a prostitute than a scout,” Kevin said snidely. “Selling his position and professional reputation—as long as his body goes along with it. If he sees something he likes he’ll say whatever he thinks will work without placing any value on anything or anyone.”

“Okay, sure. But what did he actually do to ruin your movie?” Maiden asked with a tiny shake of her head.

“He waltzed in and slapped together bland, ugly sets. They were cliché and chintzy; he didn’t even try! That’s what happens when he doesn’t have his little curly-haired puppy dog along to do all the work for him,” Kevin said bitterly.

“You mean Carly?” Maiden asked.

“Yeah, her.” Kevin drummed his fingers on his arms and returned to his rant. “Then he trots in this complete unknown and says she’s signed on to play the lead! She had nothing! No talent, no experience and she read her lines like she was reading a menu at a restaurant!”

“She wasn’t quite that bad.” Victor pulled a face. “But she wasn’t the right fit for the role, in all fairness.”

“How’d she get the job then?” Maiden suspected she knew and almost immediately wished she hadn’t asked.

“I’ll let your imagination answer that one for you.” Kevin gave her a speaking look. “Let’s just say it wouldn’t be the first time someone found a pair of ladies undies in Tom’s office.”

Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask, she repeated silently but still felt the question hurtle inexorably towards the surface.

“Is that how Lina got this role?” Maiden asked bluntly and quickly lowered her gaze to her feet when both men grinned broadly. “Oh, I’m so sorry, that was horrible! Forget I asked!”

“Don’t apologize,” Victor chortled merrily. “It’s not exactly a fanciful leap. In this case, however, Lina did come highly recommended, but not by Tom.”

“So, someone really wanted her specifically for this movie?” She stared in surprise. “But she doesn’t seem to want to do it.”

“I know, but she didn’t mention that until today. She probably didn’t read much of the script before accepting it.” Victor stroked his chin. “I’m not even sure who settled so decidedly on her. I only know that the call came down from the studio executives.”

“This time,” Kevin said with a catty smirk. “But there’s definitely a link between Lina and Tom. He had some involvement in ‘discovering’ her. She’s one of very few that actually went on to have a career.”

“That’s only a rumor, Kevin.” Victor’s tone held a hint of chiding. “Anyway, we do need to find that script.”

“I think Maiden’s right, we should search Tom’s luggage,” Kevin said firmly.

“I was only asking an obvious question.” She gave him a faintly smiling look. “Tell you what, after dinner I’ll help you look for it upstairs, okay?”

Kevin was just nodding his thanks when Lina appeared in the doorway. Maiden felt a little uncomfortable as the bombshell’s eyes fixed immediately on her; she hoped she hadn’t overheard their discussion.

Lina approached Maiden and looked her in the eye as she draped her hands on her curvy hips. Maiden rubbed her arms self-consciously; she had no idea how to get out of the awkward encounter if Lina had heard the unflattering insinuations.

“You have rats in this house,” she informed her coldly. “I have seen.”

“What?” Maiden’s relief quickly turned to despair; she tried not to squirm. “Are you sure it wasn’t a cute little mouse? Maybe a chipmunk?”

“No! Was rat.” She held her hands up about ten inches apart to illustrate the span. “Enormous rat. Now I will struggle to sleep for fear of nibbling.”

“I don’t think they chew through plastic, dear. You’re probably safe,” Kevin murmured quietly.

“Did you say rats?” Victor’s face brightened.

“Enormous rat. Yes,” Lina confirmed stoically.

“That’s fantastic!” Victor looked giddy. “I completely forgot to arrange for any. Maiden! My wonderful friend! If we’re able to find your rats, may we please film them?”

“As long as the rats are fine with it.” Maiden somehow kept a straight face.

“Yes! I love this house!” Victor pumped his fist in triumph and headed towards the door. “Nessa! Where are you?! We have rats!”

Maiden watched him go and then turned to Kevin, who looked far too unfazed by the entire discussion.

“It’s probably just a mouse,” she tried anyway, smiling nicely.

“It was rat!” Lina shouted indignantly and stomped her foot. “Stop calling me liar!”

“I’m sorry,” Maiden said meekly.

“Pah! You, find script and fix so I am blonde!” she hissed at Kevin and then rounded on Maiden. “You, find rat trap!”

They both watched as Lina turned and stormed out in a huff.

“I can’t wait until she gets stabbed to death,” Kevin said under his breath.

Chapter fourteen

Maiden kept her promise and she, along with David, joined Kevin upstairs in the master bedroom right after dinner.

The room felt even colder now that evening had fallen. They could only see the chunky snowflakes fluttering out of the darkness and hitting the windows. Everything felt heavy and silent. She’d have almost called it serene, if it weren’t for the anxious and angrily sulking screenwriter they were escorting.

“That Mathers idiot should be slapped until he admits what he’s done and returns my script!” Kevin said petulantly. “This whole day has been a stupid waste of time and now we’re all trapped here!”

“At least you’re being gracious about it,” David said and nodded meaningfully towards Maiden. Kevin clearly took the hint.

“Oh, I’m grateful! Don’t get me wrong.” He dredged up a smile and patted her shoulder. “I just hate Tom’s guts, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that,” Maiden replied and ran her gaze over the room.

It really was an amazing space. For a fleeting moment she fantasized about claiming the room as hers. It was big enough to pass for a modest apartment. She smiled at herself and dismissed the idea. This would make a fantastic bridal suite once they had the manor ready to host upscale weddings. A thrill of anticipation bubbled up inside her.

That would all have to wait until after the filming was finished. For now, she needed to help find Kevin’s script so the crew could get on with their work.

Maiden took a closer look at the furniture. They were sturdy, well-made pieces that were in need of refinishing. There was a large dresser, a desk with a mismatched chair and a gorgeous vanity table tucked in the far corner. She tried not to get excited, but she was now fully determined to learn how to restore antique furniture.

She noticed Kevin peering under the enormous bed while David was checking the cupboards in the bathroom. She headed over to the dresser, which sat between two windows on the side wall. Maiden was about to join in the search but paused when curiosity got the better of her.

“So, how many scenes have you changed?” she asked politely as she glanced at Kevin.

“All the ones that needed it,” he replied evasively. “I didn’t keep count.”

“What actually changed though?” David asked, no doubt smelling the avoidance.

“Well…a lot, if I’m honest,” Kevin said hesitantly. “I reworked a significant part of the plot.”

“So close to the start of filming?” Maiden asked. “Isn’t that kind of risky?”

“It’s all part of the creative process,” he replied with an unspoken air of ‘you wouldn’t understand’. “Every change was called for and completely justified artistically. It’s more than worth the trouble to find the script, put it that way.”

David let it drop but Maiden could see that he didn’t believe Kevin’s flimsy response. She felt the same but just hoped they’d find his script so the arguing amongst the crew would stop.

She turned her attention back to the big dresser and pulled out the top drawer. It was empty; so were all the others below it. Maiden paused when she got to the bottom drawer and stared down at a few long swipes in the dust that coated the base.

“There might have been something in here,” she suggested and heard Kevin’s rapid approach an instant later. “It’s empty now, but someone reached in at some point.”

“What do you think it means?” Kevin knelt beside her for a closer look.

“I suppose it’s possible that someone stashed the script in here and then moved it at the next opportunity,” she suggested.

“So that’s why I couldn’t find it!” Kevin said with an exasperated sigh.

“It also could’ve just fallen under the bed,” David said.

“I’ve already looked under the bed twice!” Kevin said as though it were the most absurd notion he’d ever heard. “Tom’s probably put it somewhere else already, and there’s no shortage of hiding places in this house!”

“Most of the doors are locked, aren’t they?” David asked her.

“They’re supposed to be,” Maiden replied as she stood. She pulled a face and pointed at the broken doorknob. “This room was locked, for all the good it did.”

“I still have no idea what happened there,” Kevin quickly assured her.

“Yeah, I remember,” she said dryly and looked around again. “What about the closet?”

“It’s empty, I just checked it.” David folded his arms. “If we’re assuming that the script was actually taken, and was moved from this room, where’s the most likely place that it could’ve been stashed?”

“Tom’s luggage!” Kevin groused as he edged towards the door.

“Not likely.” David shook his head. “We brought the bags in from the car after the script went missing, Tom’s bag was buried under a few others.”

“He might’ve moved it there to cover his tracks,” Kevin suggested.

“He might’ve run the risk of being seen as well. And it’s a place that’s likely to be checked,” David said. “There’s a chance, if he even took it, that it’s somewhere less obvious.”

“The sitting room next door was unlocked,” Maiden said slowly, thinking again about those strange footprints.

“I know, that’s where they dumped all the dust covers,” Kevin said.

“What?” Maiden’s eyes widened. “No one mentioned using that room!”

“We didn’t ‘use’ it, we threw your dust covers in so they wouldn’t get lost or damaged,” Kevin said sardonically. “You’re a real diva about who goes where, aren’t you?”

“I am not!” Maiden bristled. “Oh, never mind, you don’t understand!”

She hurried into the hallway and over to the sitting room. She stepped inside and flicked on the lights, her breath caught and she pressed a hand to her mouth.

The cloths had been thrown in a heap right on top of the footprints. Whoever moved them could have easily dropped them inside the door or in the middle of the room, but they put them in that exact corner. Maiden walked over and carefully lifted them, one by one, and set them aside.

As she pulled the last cloth away, she could see that the floor beneath had been wiped clean. It looked like someone had swept or, more likely, used the cloths to deliberately clear away the prints. Even the prints nearer the door had been mangled and obscured by countless others, probably by everyone that helped carry the cloths in.

Her startled annoyance was quickly replaced by a feeling of uneasiness. She looked around the room but nothing else seemed to have changed from the last time she was in it. Maiden heard a noise by the door and finally looked back to find David watching her uncertainly.

She wet her lips and walked towards him. As she drew closer, she quickly noticed Kevin hovering in the hall. He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other and rubbing his hands together.

“Any sign of my script?” he asked hopefully.

“Um, no. Not in here.” She glanced around once more before forcing a smile. “Why don’t you keep searching the master bedroom, just in case, we’ll try a few other rooms and see if they’re locked or not.”

Kevin looked dubious but didn’t argue, he shuffled back to the bedroom grumbling about Tom, the vacuous minds that were ruining the film industry and other intellectual heathens.

Once they were alone, David turned to Maiden. He stepped closer and lowered his tone discreetly.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered.

She quickly explained the strange footprints she and Vonny had seen the other day. The look on his face wasn’t disbelieving, not exactly, but she knew how wacky she must’ve sounded.

“They disappeared into the wall?” he asked tactfully.

“Yes,” she replied, silently kicking herself for not taking a picture of them at the time. At least Vonny could vouch for her. “And that section of the floor is the only area that’s been thoroughly wiped clean…I’m not crazy, David.”

“I know you’re not.” He smiled and folded his arms as he considered it. “You actually think there’s a hidden door?”

“I don’t think anyone walked to the wall and then hovered out without touching the floor again.” She shrugged.

“Okay,” he conceded and then gestured towards the wall. “Well, what did you find in the next room?”

She looked at him blankly for a long moment.

I am a flippin’ genius, Maiden chided herself as she was smacked in the face with the inanely obvious. The dimple in David’s left cheek made an appearance as he waited far too long for her to reply.

“Vonny was hounding me to keep moving.” She scowled at him.

“That must’ve been hugely distracting,” he said, still grinning at her. “Exactly how worried were you about these strange footprints?”

“I challenge you to investigate absolutely anything while escorting a cranky and depressed Vonny,” Maiden grumbled as she pointed at him. “I’m not telling you anything ever again.”

“Why is that?” He lifted his brows innocently. “Because I never make any useful suggestions?”

“Oh, knock it off. I’ve been busy with a lot of really weird things,” she sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“I know you have, baby,” he reassured her with a chuckle and gestured next door. “Come on, let’s take a look.”

They walked to the next room and tried the doorknob. Maiden wasn’t a bit surprised when they found it unlocked. According to the floorplan, it was one of a row of three bedrooms. David eased the door open and turned on the lights as they peered inside.

The walls were painted in a rich shade of dark mauve and it was fully furnished. There was a queen-size bed that was stripped to the mattress, which looked like it had seen better days. It was a nice room with a lot of potential, but Maiden was more interested in the wall that was shared with the sitting room. There was a closet situated right where she suspected the secret passage was. Assuming it actually existed.

She looked at the floor as they entered. A sprawling tapestry rug covered the boards; there was no chance of spotting any footprints there. David went straight to the closet and eased the door open; for some reason Maiden braced for rats to come flying out.

All they found, thankfully, were some empty coat hangers.

“So far nothing,” David mused as he pulled the door fully open and glanced at the floor. “Oh…right.”

“What is it?” Maiden squeezed in beside him and stifled a gasp.

There on the unadorned wooden floor of the closet were a set of footprints. And a large key.

“Do you think that’s—” David began slowly when she spoke up.

“The key to the master bedroom,” Maiden supplied quietly. “Yeah, at this point I’d be amazed if it wasn’t.”

“Please don’t get mad at me again,” David said softly, still studying the floor, “but I’d really rather you didn’t stay here alone next week. I’ll come back here with you after work every day, I promise. Just don’t come alone.”

“So you agree that this is creepy?” she asked in a cautiously lowered voice and started looking over the back wall.

“I’d say it’s definitely weird,” he allowed. “Do you have any idea when this could’ve been left here, or by whom?”

“Not really. The real estate agents might have come through a few times, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t use a secret passage as a selling point if they knew about it,” she murmured as she reached out and started feeling around the walls. “I also can’t imagine that they’d hide the key to one of the main attractions of the house, the master suite. It’s like throwing a bucket of poo all over the kitchen; why hurt your own prospects?”

“So you think the key was swiped before your family took ownership?” he asked carefully.

“I’d like to think so, but I’m not ready to form an opinion on that yet.” She held her breath when she felt a little raised spot near the back corner of the closet.

She pressed it and they heard a soft click. The back of the closet drifted open and they found themselves staring into the sitting room. Maiden’s mind started racing.

Firstly, there was definitely a secret passage. Secondly, someone had not only gotten into the house, but had also found the key to the master bedroom and the secret passage they were now looking at. When, why and how? That’s what she had to figure out.

“I wonder how it opens from the other side,” David mumbled to himself as he carefully stepped through.

Maiden wasn’t paying too much attention as he poked and prodded at the mechanism she’d found. Her thoughts were focused on trying to figure out who had snuck into their house and somehow learned some of its secrets.

It was annoying and scary and she wasn’t sure what they could do about it. She knew she needed to look at it logically. Who would have reason to be interested in the house?

Maybe a strange movie crew that seem to be filming a torrid glimpse into the lives of the manor’s last owners, she wondered grimly. Her thoughts shifted to Kevin, he was writing the script. Logically then, the names and appearances of the characters, as well as the time period the film took place in, were likely all decided by him. She needed to get him talking.

“I’m going to try something,” David said an instant before shutting the panel in her face.

Maiden sighed tolerantly and just waited while he fiddled with whatever he’d found. A few seconds later she heard another click and the panel opened again.

“There’s a tiny little switch on this side too.” David smiled. “I barely found it even knowing where to look.”

Maiden took a peek and saw the slightly raised spot in the paneling. Perhaps it was only her pride but she was churlishly convinced that she would’ve found it herself if Vonny hadn’t been hassling her.

“Maiden?”

She glanced up when David reached out and grasped her shoulder.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean anything sinister,” he said reassuringly. “It’s absolutely weird but it could have been a real estate agent or one of the past tenants, we don’t really know how many people have been through this house.”

“But the film crew…” she trailed off when he pulled a face.

“You said you found the prints days ago,” he pointed out, “the crew only turned up today.”

“Yeah,” she said quietly and wondered if she was being paranoid. Anyone could’ve accidently dropped that key, it was a weird place to hide it anyway.

I wonder if he thinks I’m overreacting, she thought as she looked at David’s unruffled expression. Vonny said I was imagining things; maybe I’m just looking for intrigues everywhere.

Maiden quickly decided that she didn’t like investigating with other people, it was inhibiting. She didn’t like second guessing herself but that’s what she was doing. It was time to leave it for tonight.

“At least there’s actually a secret passage,” she said more optimistically. “That’s pretty awesome.”

“You’re right, it is. It’s incredible,” David agreed as he took her hand and urged her to step through into the sitting room with him. Once she was beside him he pushed the door carefully shut. “Let’s keep it a secret passage, okay?”

Maiden nodded and glanced out into the hallway to make sure Kevin hadn’t spotted them. He was nowhere to be seen, so they headed on to the next unchecked room. It was locked and so was the room beyond it. That narrowed things down a bit as far as hidden scripts were concerned.

Maiden frowned when it occurred to her that she’d left the box of keys in plain sight since they took ownership. Anyone could have gotten into the house and sifted through them. She glanced at David and almost told him but stopped herself.

It sounds too weird and unlikely, he won’t believe it. Maiden chewed at her lip uneasily but quickly cleared her expression when David started talking.

“I haven’t seen Kevin again, maybe he gave up for tonight. I hope he has, anyway,” David said as they moved back towards the staircase. “Maybe we have a chance for a nice evening after all.”

Maiden smiled at him as he walked slightly ahead. She hadn’t forgotten that this weekend was something David had been really looking forward to. She knew she needed to put the strange dramas aside for now; they needed to salvage tonight as best they could. It would be fine, she’d make it work and get back to her suspicions later. Maybe after the weekend. She worked better alone anyway.

Maiden was about to speed up and try to keep pace with David’s longer stride when she heard her phone cheep at her. She pulled it from her back pocket and opened up a message from Dr. Jenkins.

Dr. Jenkins

Good evening, dear Miss Harlow. Apologies, I meant to send this sooner but it’s been a busy day. I finished the tests on that stained sheet you brought me. It was blood.

Chapter fifteen

Maiden decided not to share Dr. Jenkins’ grim confirmation with David tonight. She found the information compelling and a little chilling. But judging by his reaction when he first saw the sheet, she knew David would be disturbed by it.

She understood his concern but, whatever the explanation was for the monstrously large bloodstain, it was several decades old. In any case, it had waited that long, a little more time wouldn’t hurt.

Maiden did want to keep track of the clues she’d found so far, though. After asking David to go ahead into the drawing room and promising to meet him in a couple of minutes, she headed for the kitchen.

She’d left that little framed photo near the door and didn’t want to risk it getting lost or damaged. Maiden went straight to the counter she’d set it on and frowned. It wasn’t there. The kitchen had been tidied up after dinner, it was possible someone had slipped it in a drawer or something to get it out of the way.

Maiden started looking through the drawers and cupboards. She dug around, finding an assortment of mismatched cutlery, a few old candles and an empty matchbook with a mermaid on the back. There was no sign of the picture anywhere. She straightened and glanced around the kitchen with a scowl. There was no logical reason for it to be missing.

Maiden stiffened and glanced at the back door when the wind picked up. It howled and moaned as it pushed against the old wooden slab, as though it were desperate to break through and reach her. She shivered slightly and checked to make sure it was bolted.

Mom or Dad probably put the picture somewhere to keep it safe. No one else would have a reason to move it, she told herself.

She decided not to worry about it until she could ask them. She was keenly aware that there wasn’t much time left before the whole family gathered for the night; if she wanted any time to snuggle up alone with David she needed to hurry.

She had turned and was heading for the door when she heard noises coming from the pantry. She stood still for a moment and listened. There was a bit of scuffling and then the sound of soft voices. Maiden eased closer and risked a discreet peek inside.

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Tom and Nessa leaned against the shelves kissing and pulling at each other’s clothes. They were whispering and laughing softly. Maiden couldn’t make out their words and really didn’t mind.

Backing away as quickly and silently as she could, Maiden headed for the door again. She couldn’t help finding the encounter distasteful, particularly since Tom had been relentlessly hitting on her since he got there. She was genuinely surprised that Nessa would let him touch her; she seemed way too savvy to fall for his lines.

Maiden reminded herself that none of it was any of her business. She was quickly back in the hallway and could see the warm and welcoming glow of the drawing room. She started to smile, she was only a few steps away from a blissful evening curled up with David. But then Barry walked out of the lounge across the hall. He looked up and veered straight towards her.

“Hi, Maiden,” he said nicely and pointed his thumb towards the room he’d just been in. “I was watching the storm. It’s really coming down out there!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy, but that’s Michigan for you.” She smiled and started to weave past when he spoke again.

“I guess. Hey, have you seen Nessa?” he asked.

“Um…I wasn’t really,” Maiden floundered hopelessly for a moment before smiling a little and lifting a shoulder. “I think she might be in the middle of something.”

Despite her masterful deflection, she could see the quiet and genuine distress that showed briefly on Barry’s face. He clearly had no trouble guessing what his boss was likely in the middle of. It was just as clear that the poor guy was very attached to Nessa. She again wondered what the full nature of Barry’s role was.

“I see. Thanks, Maiden,” he said quietly and shuffled off down the hall.

Maiden watched him for a moment, terrified that he’d wander into the kitchen, but then he turned and continued on down the hall that led to the dining room. She gave a relieved sigh and was finally able to duck into the drawing room to join David.

“I was starting to think you got lost,” he said warmly as he gave her a welcoming smile.

He was sitting on one of the surprisingly comfortable old couches she’d meticulously vacuumed. He’d slipped his shoes off and pulled out a soft, dark blue blanket.

Maiden smiled when he held his hand out to her. She obligingly settled in close beside him and helped him draw the blanket over them both.

“Where did you get this?” she asked, plucking at the cozy fabric. “It’s not one of the ones we washed.”

“No, apparently those dissolved in the washing machine,” he chuckled. “I brought this one from home.”

She gave an approving smile as she curled up against his side. She forced away all thoughts of vanished clues, old bloodstains and strangers fooling around in their nice, tidy pantry.

As they sat gazing through the doorway and on towards the window in the lounge, they could see the blizzard outside. Barry hadn’t exaggerated, the snow was so heavy that it blocked the rest of the view. David exhaled a slow, contented breath and ran his large hand over her back.

“This is my first winter in Golden Glen,” he murmured quietly in her ear.

“I know.” She smiled and leaned a little closer to him. “How do you like it so far?”

“It’s getting really good.” He grinned. “Even with the oddballs down the hall.”

“Yeah, I could’ve done without the Hollywood drama.” She rested her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. “If Kevin had just held on to that dumb script they’d have probably been able to leave in time.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said as he stroked her hair. “This is still great. I like sitting by a nice warm fire…and it’s one of many things that are much more fun to do with a beautiful woman.”

“Oh really?” She smiled against his chest.

“Well, specifically with you,” he assured her.

“Do you often think of things you’d prefer to do with me?” She knew she was fishing but he started it.

“Every time I take a shower,” he replied easily.

Maiden started laughing loudly and put a hand to her face to try and muffle it. David smirked and wrapped his arms around her firmly so she couldn’t scoot away. She certainly wasn’t struggling but she had gotten the giggles. He relented, albeit only slightly, when Tony and Vonny walked in and sat on the opposite couch.

Maiden sat up as best she could and sobered her features. It wasn’t an easy task considering that David was running his hand from her knee to her hip. She gave him a very anemic elbow in the ribs, and his response was predictably unhelpful. She forced herself to focus on Tony and Von.

They didn’t look any happier than they had before; neither of them had said much to anyone at dinner either. Maiden suspected that her sister had managed to dodge poor Tony all afternoon. They certainly didn’t appear to have sorted anything out.

“Isn’t the storm incredible?” Maiden tried to look cheerful and gestured towards the distant window even as David kept her tucked close against him.

“Yeah, it’s really pretty,” Tony said quietly as he slid his gaze to the fireplace.

David glanced at him and then at a quietly disheartened Vonny and arched a brow. There was a telling distance between them on the couch. He wondered if they’d finally talked and decided their relationship wasn’t working. He instinctively tightened his hold on Maiden.

He didn’t have a lot of experience with complicated relationships. Maiden was the first woman he found himself wanting to build a future with. Beyond that, his last close friend had been one of his instructors at the police academy. She was about fifteen years older than him and she had all the answers, answers to questions he’d been too young to even think of yet. She certainly never needed much by way of advice.

He glanced at Tony and grimaced. He didn’t know a whole lot about him yet, but he considered him a friend. The guy looked quiet and distant, and David really wasn’t sure what he could do to help. He’d already offered his best advice on how a man could keep a woman he cared about—if you love her, don’t skip town. It seemed fairly straight-forward.

His only other advice would be polite ways to end a relationship that he didn’t want to be in anymore. He’d had to do that a few times. It wasn’t fun but it was better than dragging it out and breaking someone’s heart.

Why can’t we all just have a normal, nice weekend? he thought to himself but glanced down at Maiden when she shifted. Don’t start wriggling too much, Harlow, I’m only flesh and blood.

“What’s so funny?” Tony smiled faintly when he glanced at him.

“Nothing.” David immediately banished his own smirk and, for the sake of dignity, slightly loosened his hold on the lady in his arms. “So, living around a movie set is a bit interesting, isn’t it?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Von said and then gave him a wry look. “Did you really deck that jerk who’s been bugging Maiden?”

“Yeah,” David said easily.

“And was it really just a reflex?” Tony asked.

“It was.” David nodded. “I’d have hit harder if I’d known it was Tom.”

Vonny and Tony laughed while Maiden smiled quietly and laid a hand on his chest. He glanced at her but her attention was on her sister. Von met her stern gaze and swallowed hard. She clasped her hands tightly in her lap and let out a shaky breath. Von’s voice sounded small in the ensuing silence.

“Tony?” she said quietly.

“Yes?” He turned to her warily.

“Look, we just bought this place. It needs so much work and it’s a huge investment. I can’t just run out and not help with it,” she said in the mildest tone David had ever personally heard from her.

“I understand that, Von,” Tony said gently.

“But…” she kept her pale blue gaze fixed on the floor in front of her, “I love you and I don’t want you to move away.”

David felt incredibly awkward being there for this conversation. He shifted and was about to suggest that he and Maiden step out for a minute when her small hands clamped onto his shoulders and pushed him firmly back against the cushions.

His eyes flew to her; she gave him a warning look and pulled a hand back long enough to put a finger to her lips. He grinned at her unexpected forcefulness but obligingly kept quiet as Tony shifted and turned to Vonny.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “I won’t.”

“Really?” She turned to him looking both startled and hopeful.

“Yes, I promise. I was only kicking the idea around. I wasn’t ever going to make the decision without you.” He smiled at her and stood, holding his hand out to her. “Would you go for a walk with me?”

Vonny smiled and took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet. They walked out without a word and disappeared down the hall. David stared at the empty doorway for a moment before turning back to Maiden.

“Where are they going to walk?” He shook his head slightly. “There’s a blizzard outside.”

“It’s a mansion, there’s plenty of room to walk.” She waved it away and then smiled brightly at him. “But who cares?! Tony’s not moving! Vonny didn’t blow it!”

“I noticed,” he laughed quietly. “That’s all you have to say? She told him she loves him, in front of witnesses.”

“She’s been in love with him since she was seven, everybody knows that already.” Maiden rolled her eyes and then slid her arms around his neck with a pleased sigh. “This is the best weekend I’ve ever had! Vonny and Tony have made up, he’s not leaving, and I’m trapped in a snowstorm with my gorgeous man. I’m so happy!”

“You’re my favorite woman ever, Harlow.” He smiled warmly at her.

They were just leaning in to kiss when they heard angry shrieking echoing down the hallway. They jumped and both scrambled to their feet.

“You’re both disgusting backstabbers! I hate you!”

Maiden and David peered out into the hall, both startled to see the normally quiet Carly seething and gnashing her teeth as she stalked out of the kitchen. Nessa was trying to walk away with dignity while also fumbling to finish buttoning her blouse. Tom, whose shirt was gone entirely, grabbed Carly by the arms and spoke too quietly for them to make out his words.

Carly thrashed and jerked away from him. He followed, trying desperately to quiet her down, but she wasn’t listening.

“Save it!” Carly shouted at him and pushed him away again. “You know better than this, Tom! I’ll make you pay for lying, and for using me to do all your work! You’re nothing but a washed-up hack!”

Tears streamed down Carly’s cheeks as she ran past the doorway where Maiden and David were standing. She clamped a hand to her mouth to muffle an angry sob and disappeared into the foyer. They both turned to an unusually subdued Tom.

He looked pale and possibly worried. It was hard to tell if it was embarrassment, the potential loss of his talented assistant or her threat of scornful revenge that troubled him the most.

Chapter sixteen

The next hour or so was tense and quiet. Everyone did their best to diffuse the situation, whether that meant trying to ease the awkwardness or simply staying out of the way. Carly alternated between fuming and crying. She steadfastly refused to set foot in the dining room where the others were spending the night, specifically Tom and Nessa.

While most of Carly’s co-workers chose to avoid her, Maiden noticed that Spencer actually sought her out. Carly had curled up on the stairs with her head in her hands. Spencer had approached with a gentle smile and sat there with her for a long time. He simply listened while she cried and vented her feelings.

Maiden was quietly impressed by his caring nature. His expression was so understanding and patient. Whether it was genuine or an example of his acting skills, it helped poor Carly to finally calm down a little.

Once Gloria had found out about the pantry incident, she quietly set up a little corner in the drawing room for her. Carly had a few glasses of wine with the kindly southern broad and then passed out on a pile of blankets and old cushions.

As it got later, everyone started to wind down and go their separate ways for the night. Lina stuck to her guns, she refused to sleep on the floor or even on one of the couches in the drawing room.

She muttered something about puffy eyes, sore muscles and her need for privacy. Maiden watched with a hint of admiration as the determined star braved the darkened stairs to the third floor. The rest of the crew settled into the dining room after David and Tony had built a fire for them.

Once the others were sorted out for the night, David, Tony and the Harlows all nestled into the drawing room. For the sake of maximizing warmth, they closed both of the doors and built up the fire. The temperature outside had dropped noticeably and the outer reaches of the manor weren’t immune.

Alfie and Gloria made beds for themselves on some of the old sofas while the younger couples were content with sleeping bags on the floor.

They all talked and laughed and sipped either wine or hot chocolate until they could all shake off the unpleasant scene that had effectively soured the evening. The blizzard was raging outside but it felt good to be tucked away snugly in the heart of the big old house.

A few hours passed peacefully. The steady warmth and gentle crackling of the fire had lulled them all to sleep. David’s eyes eased open, and he glanced around subtly for whatever had woken him up. The first thing he noticed was that Carly was gone. Her little improvised bed was empty and one of the doors was slightly open.

He briefly considered going to see where she was, but it occurred to him that she had probably gone to the bathroom and it was none of his business anyway. He looked at the fire and saw that it had burned down a fair bit; he got up long enough to pile on a few more logs. He crept carefully around Tony and Von and back to his spot beside Maiden.

Rather than lay down again, he sat next to her for a while, watching her as she slept. He studied her peaceful, beautiful face and thought to himself how happy it made him to be around her and how nice it was to sleep beside her.

They’d known each other for five or six months, he knew to some people that wouldn’t seem very long, but they had a bond between them that sometimes made it feel like they’d known each other forever. He couldn’t even imagine a woman that was more perfect for him. They could tease each other, sometimes they seemed to know what the other was thinking, and they were both inexorably drawn to solving puzzles.

That last acknowledgement pulled his thoughts back to Chief Boswell’s visit. The man would ask about Maiden and the role that she’d been credited with in the newspapers, of course he would. And as much as he’d shrugged it off when Nancy asked about it, David wasn’t really sure how that discussion would go. Particularly when the chief realized that he was dating her now.

It didn’t matter. He loved her. He knew that for a certainty now and admitted it, even if only to himself. He’d take whatever flack came his way; she was worth it.

David looked at her again and smiled. He wished that he could pull her close and hold her, but he didn’t want to wake her up. He drew the blankets up to cover her a bit more before lying beside her and finally closing his eyes again.

Maiden was jolted awake when she heard a loud banging sound. A moment later it was followed by a shrill scream. Her heart was pounding as she sat up next to David. He was calm and alert while everyone else in the room was looking around frantically.

Maiden saw that one of the doors was open, and that Carly’s bed was empty. She scrambled to her feet and followed David out into the hallway; Tony was close behind. She could hear him urging Vonny to stay there where it was safe.

They edged towards the foyer, Maiden was looking around watchfully when they heard another, more anguished scream coming from upstairs. She could see a change come over David as he went straight into cop mode. He turned to Alfie, who was peering out through the drawing room door with a worried scowl.

“Stay in there and keep an eye out for anyone wandering around,” he said firmly. “We’ll check it out.”

Maiden was pleased that David clearly wasn’t going to waste time asking her to stay behind with them. There was no chance she’d agree to that and they needed to move fast.

She charged upstairs after David and Tony. As they reached the second floor an icy cold breeze slammed into them. She looked down the hall and realized that it was blowing in through the open door of the master bedroom. Maiden briefly regretted her cute but impractical pajamas; the soft flannel pants were nice and warm but the matching long-sleeved crop top wasn’t designed to withstand an arctic blast.

The uncomfortable cold was replaced by an equally potent internal chill when she saw Carly collapsed in the doorway, sobbing hysterically. They ran to her and looked into the room.

It appeared empty, but a light was on in the bathroom. They exchanged glances and Maiden knelt next to Carly. Her springy hair was wild and hot tears were streaming from her eyes.

“Are you all right?” Maiden asked gently, despite it being incredibly obvious that she wasn’t.

Carly shuddered and laid on the floor hugging herself. Maiden glanced at Tony and nodded towards Carly; he inclined his head in silent agreement and crouched next to her while Maiden and David walked into the room.

One of the bedroom windows was open, letting in not only freezing cold air but a fair bit of snow. David looked around the room cautiously and, satisfied that no one was lurking, hurried over and tried to pull it shut. He blinked when the old window didn’t budge and tried again. On his third attempt it finally shuddered into place, but Maiden could see how much effort it took to close it. She wondered if that was the reason it was left open. But why open it in the first place?

She and David both turned to the bathroom door. Something had upset Carly, something very bad. They could hear her talking incoherently even as she continued to weep, as well as Tony’s gently whispered attempts to comfort her.

When they reached the bathroom doorway David glanced back at Maiden over his shoulder with a conflicted frown. She knew he wouldn’t want her near any danger but they were low on options, and Tony was more likely to faint than she was. She gestured for him to go first, hoping he’d be mollified by that.

He shook his head unhappily but turned and led the way into the bathroom. Maiden followed and immediately saw what had devastated Carly. She barely muffled her own scream when she saw Tom Mathers slumped down in the clawfoot tub he’d admired earlier.

His head was leaning back onto the edge of the tub and his eyes stared sightlessly up at the ceiling. There was a heavy bloodstain still spreading across his chest.

They stepped further inside and took in the gruesome scene. David quickly looked around the room for any sign of danger before approaching the tub and taking a closer look at the body.

“It looks like he was shot,” he said quietly and touched the back of his fingers to Tom’s forehead. “Recently. He’s still a little warm.”

Maiden looked at David for a long moment. Neither of them said it, but they had to be thinking the same thing. They were all trapped in a remote corner of town in the middle of a blizzard. There was no chance of any help being able to reach them. And there was a killer in the house.

Chapter seventeen

Maiden rubbed her cold arms and glanced around the bathroom while David took a closer look at the corpse, taking care not to touch too much. The eerie death threat written in bloody letters across the mirror stared back at her.

You will die!

She felt goosebumps raise up on the small patch of bared skin around her waist. She again wished she was wrapped in something more substantial; she wasn’t even wearing socks. The tiles were painfully cold beneath her bare feet but none of that really mattered. They had much bigger problems.

She’d lived through enough Michigan winters to know that they weren’t going to wake up to miraculously plowed roads, certainly not this far out of town. They were stuck and they could be stuck for a while, and someone had shot Tom. Someone had a gun and might not hesitate to use it again.

David finished whatever he was doing and headed back towards the doorway where she was waiting. He paused in front of her and ran his hands gently over her hair.

“It’s okay, baby,” he said softly and touched a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll keep you safe. Come on.”

Maiden appreciated his reassuring words, but she knew they were essentially baloney. The situation wasn’t okay and none of them were safe. She didn’t bother pointing that out and was more than happy to be done standing there staring at Tom’s corpse. She grasped David’s hand and walked with him back into the bedroom.

Tony was patting Carly’s arm and trying to coax her to sit up but glanced at them as they approached. His eyes went straight to Maiden. She mouthed Tom’s name and shook her head grimly.

Tony stiffened and eased slightly away from the petite woman who was still sobbing in the doorway. David let go of Maiden and motioned for her to stand back.

“Carly,” he crouched in front of her and spoke in a calm but firm tone, “you need to sit up and talk to us. Tell us what happened.”

“I don’t even know!” she moaned miserably as she pushed up on her palms. “I couldn’t sleep so I went to talk to Tom. I wanted to ask him what had happened with Nessa.”

“Really?” Maiden couldn’t help asking. “It seemed pretty…obvious.”

“It’s complicated.” Carly shuddered and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I know Tom had a wandering eye, everyone knows that, but this was the first time he’d actually cheated on me.”

Maiden, David and Tony all exchanged a highly skeptical look but didn’t interrupt her. Carly eased back a bit and propped herself against the doorframe.

“I looked into the dining room but he wasn’t in there. Nessa was though, so I got suspicious that he’d slipped off to see Lina. There had been rumors about him getting her the part.” She shook her head sadly. “I’d only gotten as far as the second floor when I heard this door slam shut. There was a light coming from under it so I went to see if Tom was here with her.”

“Why would they be here?” David asked.

“He always liked to, you know, ‘christen’ the bedroom sets,” she admitted quietly.

“So, did you…” Tony looked incredibly uncomfortable and glanced at his friends uneasily, “did you find them?”

“No!” Carly glared at him and flung a hand towards the bathroom. “Go and look for yourself!”

“You’re saying that you only saw Tom? Not Lina?” David asked.

“I saw the open window and the light in the bathroom so I looked inside.” She started crying again. “And there was Tom!”

Carly covered her face with her hands and shook with the force of her grief. If she weren’t so concerned that guilt was also driving the woman’s reaction, Maiden would have been inclined to give her a hug. As it stood, though, she took the opportunity to look Carly over for any sign of a concealed gun.

“Hey.” Victor appeared in the hallway behind them and ran a hand over his tousled hair. “Sorry to interrupt, but Alfie said something happened up here. Is everyone okay?”

“No, unfortunately.” David stood and faced him. “Tom Mathers has been murdered.”

“What?” Victor’s mouth fell open.

His gaze dropped to Carly when she started to hiccup around her sobs. His eyes widened and he pressed a hand to his chest.

“Carly?” he asked softly. “Did…did you…”

“Of course not!” she snapped as she stared back at him, completely aghast. “I couldn’t kill Tom! You know that!”

“Oh, yes of course. I’m sorry, Carly.” Victor looked quietly wary but smiled gently at her anyway.

“All right, let’s start with the basics,” David said steadily. “We need to know where everyone is. Tony, please go downstairs with Victor and Carly and wait for us. Try to assemble everyone in the drawing room.”

“Yeah, I will,” Tony promised. “What are you two going to do?”

“For a start, we’re going to find Lina,” he said.

Maiden stood beside him and watched while Tony and Victor did their best to help a very wobbly Carly downstairs. Maiden was again grateful that David hadn’t tried to get her to leave as well. She didn’t want to have an argument, but she wasn’t going to sit around and wait while he wandered off into danger alone. As if reading her mind, David turned and grasped her gently by the chin.

“Right, listen to me, baby. We’ve obviously got a very serious situation here,” he said steadily. “We’re all we’ve got for now, possibly for a while. Please stick close to me and be careful, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed quietly.

They slipped out into the hall and on towards the stairs. As they approached, Maiden could hear Tony and Victor whispering amongst themselves. She glanced down in time to see them half carrying a still sobbing Carly.

Maiden shook her head and started upstairs towards the third floor alongside David. It felt like the air was growing colder with every step they climbed. By the time they reached the landing she was shivering but trying not to let it show.

The hallway that stretched out before them was frighteningly dark. Except for a dim spill of light coming from under one particular door.

“Oh!” Maiden whispered with slightly widened eyes and edged a little closer to David. “She chose that room.”

“Yeah, well.” He was silent for a moment and then shrugged. “She wouldn’t have known.”

Maiden nodded, even though it was too dark for him to see her. The room Lina had chosen was one of the larger and cleaner rooms on offer at the moment, but it was also the room where someone was murdered in their sleep not that long ago.

Maiden grew increasingly apprehensive as they drew closer to the door. She had a sickening feeling that Lina was either dead or hiding in the shadows with a gun, ready to kill again. She held her breath as David reached out and knocked on the door.

Nothing. Maiden slowly exhaled, summoning all her courage as the oppressive silence surrounded them. She said nothing as David subtly nudged her back a little before reaching for the doorknob. He gave it a twist; it was unlocked.

“Stay back, just in case,” he said quietly and gave the door a careful push.

It glided open softly to reveal an empty room. The blankets on the bed had been disturbed and the small lamp on the bedside table was on, throwing soft shadows across the interior.

They stepped inside and looked around. Two large pink suitcases sat beside the wardrobe and an impressively substantial makeup case was open on the writing desk. Lina, however, was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s freezing in here!” Maiden whispered, almost tempted to hide under the quilts on the bed. “How can she stand it?”

“Maybe she couldn’t,” David murmured. “She’s not here.”

“She could be hiding anywhere up here,” Maiden said quietly as she glanced out into the hall. “Or she could be downstairs. Where do we want to look first?”

“Let’s check downstairs and go from there.” David started towards the door. “We need to find out if anyone else is missing from the group.”

They said very little as they headed down the stairs. Maiden flicked an uncomfortable look towards the master bedroom as they rounded the corner of the banister and continued down the next set of steps towards the ground floor. She tried not to be too unnerved by the stark memory of Tom laying dead in the deep bathtub.

They both glanced around the still and silent foyer when they reached it. Only the faintest hint of light came through the large windows, the snow was still falling heavily. The film equipment that had been left out cast eerie shadows across the floor. She looked away before her imagination could turn them into monsters.

Judging from the level of conversation coming from the drawing room, Maiden guessed that everyone had been successfully herded inside. She wondered if that included Lina.

She’d been hoping to duck inside long enough to grab some socks, but Tony met them at the doorway and he didn’t look happy. He folded his arms and glanced furtively over his shoulder a couple of times.

“You didn’t find Lina?” he asked quietly as they approached.

“No,” David sighed. “I take it you didn’t either?”

“She wasn’t with the others.” Tony shook his head. “But everyone else is here.”

“David,” Maiden whispered and tugged at his hand until he looked over. She pointed down the hallway towards the kitchen where a faint glow of light was just visible.

He looked over at it and gave her hand an acknowledging little squeeze. Tony stayed stationed in the doorway to make sure no one followed as Maiden and David headed for the kitchen. The light was coming from the pantry, which was evidently the epicenter of clandestine activity in the house.

They walked straight to the door and looked inside. Lina, dressed in silky pink pajamas under a plush robe, was sitting on the butcherblock table Maiden had perched on that morning. Although that felt like years ago now. Lina was smiling contentedly as she dug a fork into a large piece of Gloria’s apple pie. She’d raised the bite halfway to her mouth when she spotted them. Lina froze and stared at them guiltily.

“Oh, hello.” She glanced around quickly as if looking for a place to ditch her plate.

“What are you doing in here?” Maiden asked.

“Was good pie,” she protested helplessly and then gave her voluptuous hip an approving pat. “I don’t have this figure by eating vegetable.”

“Fascinating. How long have you been in here?” David asked.

“Few minutes.” Lina sat a bit straighter and leveled an imperious glare on them both. “What is making this your concern? Was pie yours?”

“Did anyone see you come in here?” He ignored her bristling.

“I am in pantry to avoid being seen! What is difference, anyway?” Lina rolled her eyes and shoved the forkful into her mouth.

“Tom Mathers was killed not long ago, and you’re sneaking around with nothing but a piece of pie to vouch for you,” he explained coolly. “That’s the difference.”

“Tom is dead?” She swallowed and stared at them, nearly dropping her plate. “Is this joke?”

“I wish it was, lady.” David pinched the bridge of his nose.

“How is he dead?” Lina breathed.

“He was shot,” Maiden said quietly, seeing the stirrings of hysterics in Lina’s eyes. They didn’t take long to surface.

Lina slid to her feet and barely managed to set her plate on the table before her knees buckled. David and Maiden both stepped towards her as she started to flap her hands and nearly hyperventilate.

“Calm down! Take some deep breaths!” David said firmly.

“There is no calming down!” Lina shrieked. “What kind of horrible place is this! I am trapped with killer!”

“Keep it down!” Maiden shushed her. “Look, we’re all in danger! We need to find out who did this and that’s going to be much harder if we don’t stay calm.”

Lina clapped her hands over her mouth and pulled a shaky breath in through her perfectly-shaped nostrils. Her eyes were round and frightened and her whole body quivered. Maiden again found herself wondering if what she saw was real or the work of a convincing professional.

“Did you see or hear anything strange before or after you came downstairs?” David asked.

“I think…I think no.” Lina ran a hand anxiously over her long hair as she considered the question. “Was dark mostly and doors were all closed, I did not try hard to look at anything, though. I get hungry and come to find kitchen. Then I find pie.”

“Why did you hide in here?” Maiden asked with a tiny frown.

“Others look at me strangely when I eat like normal person,” Lina said ruefully. “I don’t like being told to eat leaves only. So I hide.”

“You mean salad?” Maiden smiled a little and inclined her head in agreement. “I know what you mean…Um, did you notice if a light was on at the end of the hallway when you went past the second floor?”

“Oh.” Lina’s bright eyes widened as she glanced away and thought it over. “Yes! Light was on under doorway, I snuck down stairs quickly when I see it.”

“No idea who was in the room?” David asked. “Did you see Tom or Carly?”

“Pah! Shrieking harpy!” Lina scowled and shook her head. “I don’t like her, whenever I see, I go other direction. No, she was not where I could see, not Tom either. But door was closed.”

“How long have you been in here?” Maiden glanced around at the rows of canned goods. “Aren’t you cold?”

“Robe has fur.” Lina peeled back her lapel enough to show the fuzzy lining.

“You didn’t hear everyone down the hall?” David looked skeptical.

“I hear mutterings, maybe. Nothing urgent sounding, so I stay put,” Lina sighed. “Tom is really dead? Is not stupid prank? He finds peculiar things to do at times.”

“Unfortunately, no. He’s very definitely dead, and I doubt he got himself shot as some sort of bad joke,” David said as he slid his hand around Maiden’s and gestured for the sullen blonde to go first. “We need to get back to the others.”

Lina visibly rallied her courage. She fisted her hands as she stood up brave and tall. With a small, dignified nod she sailed past with her chin at a defiant angle, like a queen being sent to the guillotine. Maiden pulled a face at that macabre thought and followed less dramatically.

They walked into the drawing room and were embraced by its blessed warmth. Maiden stepped from the cold wooden floors to the thick rug and hid a smile of relief. She stayed close to David and studied the rest of the room’s downcast occupants. It felt like they were all in a movie now.

Lina wandered over to sit on the couch nearest the fireplace; Victor and Nessa were already perched there. Victor had been staring into the fire but turned to them and waited patiently. Nessa looked ashen and disturbed; her eyes stole over to Carly more than once.

Carly was still crying. She’d curled up in a wingback chair with her knees pulled to her chest and rocked herself gently. Barry and Spencer were sitting on another couch nearby and also subtly watched her. Maiden didn’t blame them for being suspicious, even Victor looked to have assumed that Carly was guilty. But she had threatened Tom publicly and only a few hours ago. It wasn’t a stretch of the imagination.

Carly wasn’t the only one that had something against Tom, however. Maiden knew they couldn’t forget about that in favor of jumping to the most obvious conclusion. There were some other strong suspects, in her opinion. Her eyes went straight to Kevin.

The man was standing quietly on the other side of the fireplace, watching everyone with a strangely neutral expression. Kevin didn’t look shocked or pleased, or anything really. He was a blank mask, but Maiden couldn’t help wondering if it was there to hide what was really going through his mind. She suspected that deep down he was scared, very scared.

She flicked an assessing look over her family next. Her parents were sitting on the sofa Alfie had been asleep on earlier, while Tony and Von were tucked nervously on Gloria’s improvised bed. None of them spoke, but they all seemed to be waiting. Maiden quickly realized that they were leaving this business to her and David to sort out.

“All right.” David stepped closer to the group and raised his voice enough to be clearly heard. “We’ve already met but, considering the circumstances, I’ll introduce myself more formally. I’m Captain David McAlister, head of the Golden Glen police department.”

“You’re a cop?” Kevin asked with a humorless laugh.

“That’s handy,” Nessa murmured wearily.

“Yes, I’m sure we’re all equally thrilled,” David said dryly. “The situation is this: Tom Mathers was shot dead, probably within the last hour or so.”

“Shot?” Barry sounded startled. “How is that possible? Who here has a gun?”

“Cops have guns,” Kevin said.

“Not on what they believed would be a weekend off,” David replied. “I’ll call for backup, but I don’t know what the chances are with this storm.”

“Probably not great,” Nessa said as she hugged herself. “No one’s going to be able to reach us until this storm is over.”

“So, what do we do in the meantime?” Victor asked helplessly.

“We stick together.” David nodded once.

“Safety in numbers?” Kevin scowled unhappily. “We believe that, do we?”

“You got any better ideas, Kev?” Spencer asked with a patient smile. “Look, this is a scary situation for all of us, but it could be worse. At least we know we’re all here now, and we have a cop on site. In the interests of staying alive, maybe we can all cooperate?”

“Do we just sit around and wait then?” Nessa looked at David uneasily.

“You do, yes. I’ll be doing exactly what I’d do if this call came through at any other time,” he replied, folding his arms over his chest. “Conducting a murder investigation.”

Chapter eighteen

Maiden took the first opportunity to grab her socks. She slipped them gratefully over her achingly cold toes as she watched David run a cursory glance over the room. She did the same, taking note of everyone’s reactions when David told them they’d all have to be questioned about their whereabouts and their knowledge of Tom Mathers.

No one argued but they didn’t look pleased by the prospect either.

“Everyone stay put until I send for you,” he said and glanced at her as he headed for the door. “Maiden, have you got a minute?”

“Yeah, I think I can spare some time,” she replied under her breath.

She slipped out into the hall and turned to him expectantly. David pulled the drawing room door shut and kept walking towards the foyer. Maiden scampered to keep up with his longer strides and threw a watchful glance behind them as David took out his phone and started dialing.

She wasn’t sure who he’d call at this hour, or in this weather, but it didn’t matter. Someone had to be informed of what was happening. Whoever he’d called soon picked up; she heard David reporting what they knew so far without really listening to him. Her thoughts were racing and she let them run.

She hadn’t liked Tom at all. If she was honest, she’d found him pretty disgusting. That said, she certainly didn’t wish this sort of ill on him. The problem was that he was an easy person to hate, and he was surrounded by people that had known him. They may have all hated him and that meant they were all suspects.

Maiden was vaguely aware of David walking over and wrapping an arm around her. He ran his warm hand down her spine and rubbed his thumb in little circles over the bared skin on the small of her back as he kept talking into his phone. She hugged him absently, but she wasn’t paying much attention to what he was saying or doing.

Her mind went back to the crime scene. Why had that window been open? The loud bang they heard would’ve been the door slamming shut but it seemed such an odd thing to do. Unless it was staged to try and cover the sound of the gunshot? But what would that achieve when Tom’s body was right there waiting to be found?

It could have been a means of getting rid of the murder weapon. But surely no one would be silly enough to shoot someone and then just chuck the gun out the window. Although, they weren’t exactly in a position to go out and look for it.

The whole thing was so weird. Even though there was no shortage of people present that disliked Tom Mathers, to kill him here and now was pointlessly reckless.

Unless it really was a crime of passion. It was possible that Carly couldn’t stand knowing Tom had been fooling around with Nessa. Or maybe it was Barry, for the same reason.

“Maiden?” David’s worried voice startled her from her thoughts. She glanced up at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She wasn’t entirely okay, but she wasn’t shot and neither were any of the people she loved, so she couldn’t really complain. “You talked to someone? What did they say?”

“That all the roads in town are well and truly closed,” he said and slid his phone into the pocket of his pajama pants. “And the storm isn’t expected to let up until Sunday at the earliest. We’re effectively isolated from any outside help, but the team will get here as soon as the snow stops enough for the roads to be cleared.”

“Okay, it is what it is,” she sighed and clenched her cold fingers in his soft, warm shirt. “What do we do for now?”

“Investigate,” he said. “I want to take another look at the master suite now that I know where everyone is.”

They walked back upstairs and entered the master bedroom. Maiden frowned at the water pooled on the floor beneath the window that had been opened.

“Do you mind if I grab some of those dust covers from next door and try to mop that up?” she asked, eyeing their vintage floorboards uneasily.

“Just be careful, please,” David said as he looked around the room and pulled out his phone again.

He was snapping pictures as Maiden headed for the sitting room. She opened the door and flicked on the light. As she looked inside she froze and her eyes grew wide.

The covers had been moved from the sloppy pile she’d left them in. They had been folded neatly and laid in a tidy stack, right in front of the secret passage. Maiden stared for a moment. Leaving the cloths right there was deliberate, it was a taunt. She was sure of it.

With that uncomfortable certainty in mind, she looked slowly around the room. She couldn’t quite catch the scream that rose in her throat when she looked at the window.

She immediately heard David’s hurried approach but still jumped when he was suddenly beside her. He grasped her arm and pulled her back a step as he looked into the room. He also stared, first at the covers, and then at the window where someone had written in dripping red letters.

You will die!

Maiden’s heart was thundering. There was a murderous lunatic somewhere in this massive house, and they were playing games. She was sure that whoever wrote that note was the same person that knew about the secret passage. That had to be why they left the dust covers exactly where they did.

“Okay, let’s reassess.” David took a few pictures, grabbed the top dust cover and ushered her back into the master bedroom. “Who all came here to look at the house when you signed the filming contract?”

“Only Victor and Nessa,” Maiden replied in a cautiously lowered voice. “One of us was with them the whole time, except a couple of minutes when I went to get Mom and Dad, and I saw them leave.”

“Has the front door always been locked when you guys got here?” he watched her closely. “At any point since you took ownership did you notice an exterior door or window being unlocked?”

“No. Not as far as I know.” She stared at him and tried to breathe normally. “Do you…do you think we’re not really the only ones in the house?”

“It’s a possibility,” he said carefully.

“Oh.” She lowered her gaze to his chest.

“What is it?” He gently lifted her chin until she looked at him again.

“I’ve just been noticing some weird stuff.” Maiden forced her lungs to fill. “Like footprints in the basement and…noises in the walls.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” He shut his eyes briefly.

“Because I knew it sounded paranoid and stupid. And you laughed at me when I told you about the footprints in the sitting room.” She chewed at her bottom lip. “I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

“Maiden, I only laughed because you didn’t check the other room.” He released a low, possibly irate breath. “I don’t always agree with you, but I always believe you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Where did you hear the noises?”

“In the basement and the reception room.” She rubbed her cold arms. “But there are rats, and that might’ve been all it was…I mean, the basement stuff sounded different, but I couldn’t be sure if I’d just imagined it.”

“Did you ever actually believe you’d imagined it?” Something in his wry smile made it clear he already knew the answer.

“No,” she admitted.

“All right, for right now we have to look at what’s in front of us.” He walked over and draped the cover he was still holding over the spill of melted snow and then stood in the doorway of the bathroom. He pointed at the mirror. “Do we know who wrote that note?”

“No, not really,” Maiden said as she joined him. “It was there when I found Victor, Nessa and Kevin exploring in here the first time. Victor said a member of the crew probably did it.”

“’Probably’?” he asked; she shrugged and nodded. “Could it have been Mathers?”

“I don’t know. When he turned up in here and started being a sleaze he acted like he hadn’t been in the room before,” Maiden said musingly. “But if he was the one that broke the lock to get in, he may have been trying to avoid getting in trouble for it…I honestly think it was Kevin that broke in, though.”

“So, it’s possible that Kevin did it.” David looked at the gruesome warning again.

“I don’t know why he’d bother arranging any of the set,” Maiden said and then paused for a moment. “Unless it was a warning to Tom.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” David cautioned, which immediately made her wish she’d kept the thought to herself.

“It wasn’t a conclusion,” she said quietly. “It was voicing a possibility. Sometimes I kick ideas around, it doesn’t mean I’m set on anything.”

He slid her a look and she smiled a little too sweetly. They both turned back to the room and started looking around separately. Maiden wandered over to the vanity and deliberately kept her back to David, and Tom’s body.

She wasn’t sure why she grew defensive so quickly, maybe because it felt like he was shutting her down before he even considered what she’d said. It seemed like a no-win situation; when she held back about weird things she’d witnessed David got annoyed but when she suggested possible scenarios he didn’t listen.

I’d honestly rather have you annoyed than ignoring me, she thought to herself as she glanced at him covertly. She didn’t like to feel chided or invisible. She decided the most peaceful option would be to not voice too many ideas to him. She knew she speculated a lot but that was how she puzzled things out, and more than once she’d picked up on things he hadn’t considered. Her methods couldn’t be all that bad.

They looked around for a few more minutes, Maiden finally walked back towards David when he started searching the body. Tom was also wearing pajamas, his button-down shirt had two pockets on the front. Even from where she stood a few feet away Maiden could see something beneath the bloodstained fabric that now clung to his chest.

David slipped his hand inside and pulled out whatever it was. Maiden edged closer and looked at the tiny object he was cradling in his palm. It was a diamond ring.

“Don’t tell me old Tom was going to propose to someone,” David said skeptically.

“I highly doubt that,” Maiden said similarly and looked down at the small stone that did its best to shine through a thin coating of blood. “Can I take a look?”

“Yeah, fingerprints are something of a luxury under the circumstances,” he sighed and held it out to her.

Maiden managed not to gag at the blood, but only by pretending it was cherry syrup. The ring looked old, family heirloom old, but not terribly worn.

Maybe something a young bride wore briefly in the 1970s, she mused to herself. She refused to think about the gore and risk throwing up in front of David as she wiped the inside clean with her finger. She was hoping to find some initials engraved inside, something to prove that this was Helena Riley’s engagement ring. She frowned a little at what she saw.

“You are mine forever,” she read aloud.

“Is that something you’d consider romantic, or threatening?” David slid her a questioning look.

“Maybe if the ring wasn’t quite this bloody…” She wet suddenly dry lips. “I guess it could be sweet. But it’s creeping me out, to be honest.”

“I’ll love you forever,” he said and held his breath briefly when she looked up at him. “I mean, something like that would probably sound better.”

“Yeah, I agree.” She couldn’t help smirking at his obvious embarrassment. “In any case, I think this is too old to belong to Tom and I doubt he was planning to present it to Carly, or anyone else.”

“And yet it was in his pocket,” David pointed out. “All right. I’m going to have to question everyone.”

“I’ll help.” Maiden smiled at him. “We’re a good team, right?”

He smiled a little in return but went noticeably quiet.

“What’s wrong?” She frowned gently at him. He’d looked really uncomfortable for a fleeting moment before hiding it away.

“Nothing, I’m okay,” he said reassuringly. “I just wasn’t expecting all of this. I guess it’s thrown me a bit, that’s all.”

The shadowed look in his eyes made it clear that he wasn’t telling her the truth, not all of it at least. She was tempted to press him a bit but then looked down at Tom’s blood smeared across her fingers and decided they had better get a move on.

“Well, maybe you can use the reception room as an office, it’s close to the stairs and not too close to where the suspects are waiting.” She handed him back the ring.

She went to wash her hands and couldn’t help looking up at the words on the mirror. I’m not looking forward to trying to sleep in this house again, she thought nervously.

They made their way downstairs and headed for the reception room. Maiden flicked on the lights and walked inside with David close behind. The curtains were pulled back but almost nothing beyond the relentlessly falling snow was visible through the windows. Maiden fought a shiver and distantly realized she’d forgotten to pack her robe.

She dismissed the concern and turned to David. He was looking around with a different sense of purpose than when they’d been in the room earlier. There wasn’t much by way of office furniture, just a couple of big sofas, a few chairs and some end tables. It was a private room, however, and that was nothing to be sniffed at. She again noticed a look of quiet unease when he faced her.

“David,” she began slowly and with a questioning look, “do you want me to wait with the others?”

“No, I need you to stay and pay attention to what happens and what’s said,” he replied and then smiled, very consciously and deliberately. “Wait here, I’ll get someone and be right back.”

Maiden had enough on her mind without adding David’s weird behavior into the mix. She rubbed her temples and looked out the window at the steadily falling snow until David returned with Barry.

“Have a seat.” David pointed to the nearest couch. He gave him a moment to settle onto it before starting with the questions. “Where were you at the time of the murder?”

“In the dining room asleep,” Barry replied.

“Did you hear or see anyone else leave the room?” David asked.

“No, I was fast asleep until someone said they heard some kind of commotion.” Barry smoothed back his dark, gray-flecked hair. “I think it was Spencer, but I can’t be sure.”

“So, you didn’t see when Tom left the room?” David studied his expression for any sign of strain.

“No, I didn’t,” Barry said easily. “But if he was slipping out in the middle of the night, I’m sure he made an effort not to be seen.”

“What was your relationship with Tom Mathers?” David’s voice was impassive.

“We didn’t have one, and I was happy to keep it that way,” he said coolly.

“What’s your relationship with Nessa?” Maiden asked tactfully.

“She’s my boss,” he said after a slight hesitation.

“Nothing else?” she asked gently.

“No, nothing,” he almost sighed.

Maiden and David exchanged a look, she decided to probe a little deeper.

“You were upset when we met in the hallway earlier, when you asked me if I’d seen Nessa,” she reminded him. “Did you know that she was with Tom?”

“I…assumed as much,” he said quietly, sadly. “Tom was frequently chasing her, despite having Carly waiting in the wings. I’m pretty sure he’s caught her a few times, if you know what I mean. Typically whenever they worked on the same film.”

“And did that bother you?” David asked.

“It did, yes.” Barry clasped his large hands together and rolled his shoulders back. “Tom was, well, he was a big-time sleaze that had a reputation for exploiting young and hopeful women. I don’t know why Nessa ever gave him the time of day, she’s way out of his league. But that’s always been her decision to make.”

“What about Carly?” David pressed. “Did she know about their alleged flings?”

“Oh, who knows?” Barry threw his hands up. “If Carly were even half the woman Nessa is she might’ve been able to settle Tom down a bit. I think she turned a blind eye but she had to know his reputation.”

“She didn’t give the impression that she ‘turned a blind eye’ when she found them earlier though,” Maiden said and noticed David glance at her and then away again.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Barry acknowledged. “Maybe I’m being a bit hard on her, it’s really no wonder she lost it and killed him.”

“You think Carly did it?” David asked quickly, flicking Maiden another look.

“She blew up and threatened to make him pay, and then he’s dead a few hours later.” Barry shook his head in confusion. “Does anyone not think she did it?”

“Do you know if Tom and Carly were ever actually engaged in any sort of intimate relationship?” he asked rather than respond to the man’s assumption.

“No, I don’t honestly know that,” he admitted.

“That’s all for now,” David told him and gestured towards the door.

Maiden watched him escort Barry out. A few minutes later he returned with Nessa. She looked slightly disheveled but still exotic and glamorous. Maiden looked at her silky, rather low-cut nightgown and wondered if she’d had plans of her own that evening.

Nessa sat in the seat Barry had occupied previously and hugged herself against the chill in the air. David let the silence stretch on for a few moments. Maiden had noticed him do that sometimes when he wanted to make people a little extra nervous. Nessa shifted slightly but didn’t seem too ruffled.

“You were involved in an altercation with Tom Mathers and Carly Woodrow earlier this evening,” David finally murmured. “What happened?”

“Carly found us together and jumped to some conclusions,” Nessa demurred.

“I also saw you and Tom in the pantry,” Maiden said politely enough. “You had more clothes on when I went past but I don’t think it’s fair to say she got the wrong impression.”

“Oh.” Nessa shut her eyes briefly.

Maiden noticed David shoot her an incredulous and slightly angry look. She blinked at him and shook her head a little, she wasn’t sure what she’d said to upset him. He set his teeth and turned back to Nessa.

“So, you and Tom were in some sort of relationship?” he asked.

“No!” She looked horrified by the suggestion but quickly recovered. “Look, I know Tom was a, well, I know what Tom was. I really never intended for anything to happen. I’ve been under a lot of strain with this project and I was vulnerable. Old Tom had a knack for knowing when women were at their weakest and that’s when he started buzzing around.”

“Had he found you ‘vulnerable’ on other occasions?” David asked politely enough.

“No, he did not.” Nessa rankled anyway.

“Where were you at the time of the murder?” He moved on.

“I was minding my own business, asleep in front of the fire,” she huffed. “Trying not to freeze to death or be pestered by half the men in the room!”

“Half of them?” Maiden asked curiously. “Are you referring to Tom and Barry?”

Nessa glanced away uncomfortably. Maiden knew she’d hit a sore point; Nessa was clearly aware of her assistant’s infatuation with her and was just as clearly unenthused about it.

“Barry has a small crush on me, he has for some time, but it’s not a big deal,” she said after a moment. “He knows there’s no chance; I’ve always been very straight with him.”

“Have you known him to get jealous?” David edged subtly closer. Maiden tried not to feel like he was physically edging her out.

“Um…yes, a little bit,” Nessa said awkwardly. “But he’s never done anything to anyone, he just complains and warns me that any guy I look twice at is a jerk.”

“Wow.” Maiden smiled sympathetically. “That must be hard to put up with.”

“It is, to be truthful,” Nessa sighed and propped her chin in her hand.

“Have you tried asking him to back off?” she suggested.

“Only a few dozen times,” Nessa replied with a smirk. “Let’s just say he’s on thin ice, whether he accepts that or not.”

“No interest there at all, then?” Maiden smiled faintly at Nessa’s disdainful expression.

“Not the kind of guy I go for,” she said simply.

“Fair enough. You don’t want to go through life faking it, do you?” Maiden paused and blushed slightly as she realized what she’d said. “That’s not quite what I meant, sorry.”

Nessa chuckled and shook her head at her. Maiden felt a bit stupid but saw that Nessa was starting to relax; she decided to try and get a little more information while the opportunity was there.

“So when did you realize that Tom had left the room?” she asked with a kind expression.

“I woke up at one point and saw that he had moved; he’d fallen asleep a little to my right.” She looked thoughtful. “I don’t really know what time it was though, and I fell asleep again pretty quick.”

“Did you notice anyone else leave the room?” David asked, a bit loudly.

“No, I didn’t.” Nessa shook her head.

“Do you know why Tom would have gone back to the master bedroom?” Maiden kept her tone thoughtful but harmless. David folded his arms but said nothing.

“No idea.” Nessa shook her head. “It’s possible that he couldn’t sleep and went to check out the set. The climax of the movie takes place in that room, its pivotal. And Kevin being here meant that his work would be under constant scrutiny. He may have been trying a bit harder than usual.”

“What caused the animosity between Tom and Kevin?” David asked. Maiden wondered at that but quickly recalled that he hadn’t been there for her discussion with Victor and Kevin.

“Kevin insists that his last movie flopped because of Tom’s lackluster efforts.” Nessa glanced briefly heavenward. “To be honest, they both did a sloppy job; but sometimes movies just don’t find much of an audience.”

“I take it that flop haunted Kevin a bit?” David arched a brow.

“Yeah, he’s not the easiest to work with and his scripts are a bit hit or miss,” Nessa explained. “Don’t get me wrong, when he’s on his game he’s brilliant, but his reputation is mixed. And having a film fail that badly meant the jobs dried up for a bit. Normally he’d never touch horror. I guarantee you he thinks this movie is beneath him. The fact that he agreed to do it tells me he’s desperate.”

“So, he’s also desperate that the project goes well, presumably?” David asked.

“Yeah, he’s not that panicked about the missing script for no good reason.” Nessa smiled faintly.

“All right, thank you. That’s all for now,” David absently reached for the notebook he always kept in his top pocket but pulled a face when he glanced down at his t-shirt and the flannel pajama top he wore open over it.

Nessa nodded and pushed to her feet, she was halfway to the door when she hesitated and glanced back at them.

“This is probably pretty obvious,” she lowered her voice discreetly, “but be very careful with Carly. I know from some things Tom mentioned that she isn’t stable and got into some kind of serious trouble several years ago. She has a nasty temper, apparently. Very nasty.”

Chapter nineteen

As David walked Nessa back to the drawing room, Maiden considered what she’d said about Carly. She didn’t outright accuse her as Barry had, but she gave that warning for a reason. On the surface it looked pretty straightforward, but Maiden knew better than to assume that the most obvious answer was also the right one.

A moment later David returned with Spencer, who had packed a robe and looked quite comfortable in the chilly room. The handsome leading man smiled quietly at her as he sat down. Maiden studied his face.

He tended to be cast in wholesome, boy-next-door kinds of roles but he actually looked attractively rakish with his sandy-blonde hair mussed from sleep and a shadow of stubble on his jaw.

His eyes were kind, though. She wondered if that’s how he got type-cast as the ‘good guy’. It was interesting that he was playing the heartless, murderous villain in this film. It was a stark departure from his usual fare. Just like Lina.

“Are you doing all right, Maiden?” he asked gently. “Tony said you and David found the body; it must’ve been awful.”

“It wasn’t nice,” she allowed with a tiny smile, appreciating his concern. “I’m okay though.”

“Mr. Cartwright,” David interceded smoothly. “Where were you at the time of the murder?”

“Just ‘Spencer’, please. This is scary enough without formality,” he said and rubbed his face. “I was asleep in the same room with the others. I didn’t see what anyone else was doing though. I’m honestly not even sure who all was there. It’s a blur.”

“How well did you know Tom Mathers?” David murmured.

“I didn’t really. We’d worked on the same film once before but we didn’t talk to each other. Tom typically handled the sets, that was supposed to be his role.” Spencer’s tone cooled noticeably. “Although he liked to dabble elsewhere.”

“Is it true that Tom ‘discovered’ Lina?” Maiden asked carefully. David shot her another covert look but didn’t say anything.

“Possibly,” Spencer said quietly. “Probably, really. She and I dated for quite a while when we were first starting out. All I know is she broke up with me when she got her first starring role. That was a week I’ll always cherish.”

Maiden noticed the very real tinge of bitterness behind his dryly spoken words. David shifted like he was about to say something when Spencer continued.

“Tom seemed to have at least some influence in her career,” he said somberly. “I don’t think she ever wanted to do this film.”

“What’s that got to do with Tom?” David frowned slightly.

“I think he has something on her,” Spencer confided quietly. “She’s got secrets, things she never told me, even when we were together. Tom had a knack for finding things like that out and using them, especially against women. He was a creep…she deserved him.”

“You think Tom pushed her to take the part?” Maiden asked carefully, recalling that Victor had said differently.

“She claimed that he said she’d be perfect for it.” Spencer looked far from impressed. “She isn’t, incidentally. She has all the depth and mystery of an empty water glass but whatever. Apparently a dark wig can add untold wisdom and mystery to a glorified swimsuit model.”

Why do people assume models are stupid? Maiden thought with a tiny shake of her head. They get paid a fortune to lay around on the beach; it sounds ingenious to me.

“When did she tell you that?” she asked instead.

“Earlier, when we were rehearsing and I politely suggested some acting lessons.” He slid her a teasing look but smiled sheepishly.

“Fascinating, thank you,” David said impassively and pointed towards the door. “Go straight back to the drawing room please. I’ll be right behind you.”

Spencer stood and gave Maiden a friendly smile before he went to the door and slipped out. She wondered if David was annoyed because he thought Spencer was flirting with her. She really didn’t think he had been, though, he came across as a genuinely thoughtful person.

She also wondered why David was trusting him to go back to the drawing room unescorted. Once he’d closed the door behind him, David turned to her.

“Maiden,” he said steadily. “You need to let me take the lead in the questioning.”

He wasn’t nasty about it but there was enough tightness in his voice to suggest that he was annoyed. Maiden was genuinely surprised, she didn’t feel that she’d said anything out of line, she only asked a question or two about things she’d heard that he hadn’t.

“I thought you were.” She sounded confused, she couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, but you keep butting in,” he said. “I know you mean well, but this is what I do for a living, so just let me handle it.”

Maiden felt her left eyebrow climb and assured herself that he hadn’t meant that as the slap in the face it sounded like. She glanced away and took a deep, soothing breath before facing him again. He looked completely unperturbed; he was wearing his cop face.

“Do you want me to leave the room?” she asked simply.

“No, I need you here to observe.” He shook his head once. “I know you want to help, Maiden. I appreciate it, but when I’m pursuing a line of questioning I don’t need anyone muddying the waters.”

Maiden refused to let her growing anger show on her face. He was a good man and he cared about her. He was a trained police officer who was used to running the show. She pictured beautiful chocolate cakes and frolicking kittens rolling through sun-kissed meadows until her urge to tell him to go jump in his muddy waters passed.

“So…just stand by and look pretty?” she asked a little too mildly. “Basically?”

“Observe and listen, but let me do the talking,” he clarified.

“Fine,” she said simply and walked over to sit on the edge of the small sofa table on the other side of the room.

David looked over at her and almost rolled his eyes at her obvious irritation but wisely refrained. Maiden studied her nails with an outward show of poise and waited for him to go. She wished she had the luxury of abandoning him to the task but she was well and truly stuck.

When David walked out to get the next suspect she finally let herself fume for a clandestine moment. She had genuinely thought they’d be doing this together, for lack of any other option if nothing else. If he didn’t want her to do or say anything why even have her in the room?

She pulled a face and realized that he didn’t have a notepad. He knew she remembered things incredibly clearly; she was probably the closest alternative he could think of. That ridiculous thought made her smile enough to dispel a little of her crankiness.

David returned with Kevin and had him sit where the others had. He gave Maiden a quick nod, which she didn’t return, and then turned to Kevin.

“I was asleep alongside everyone else when Tom was killed,” he preempted David’s opening question with a petulant look. “And I didn’t see anyone else leave the room.”

“But you’ve spoken to the others and rehearsed your answers,” David said briskly. “At least you’ve used your time wisely. What’s your relationship with Carly Woodrow?”

“I never touched Tom! Oh,” he stumbled over the unexpected question. “I don’t really know Carly, all I know is she was better at Tom’s job than Tom was. But that’s not saying much.”

“You told us you hated Tom’s guts,” he reminded him. “How do you feel about him being dead?”

“I didn’t actually hate him, it’s just something people say. I disliked him and I still do, but I didn’t want him dead.” Kevin fidgeted a bit. “Disgraced and fired, yes, but not dead. I could never hurt anyone.”

“How do you feel about the movie you’re here to work on?” David asked indifferently.

Kevin’s derision showed through briefly with a roll of his eyes and curl of his lip. Maiden noticed and started paying closer attention despite feeling she’d been sent to her room for being naughty. The man shifted uncomfortably and clasped his hands over his belly.

“I don’t like the genre and I didn’t particularly want to do the film,” Kevin said. “But it’s an opportunity that I’m grateful for.”

Maiden started to ask if that was why he’d changed the script so heavily but caught herself before she slipped and interrupted. She pulled a face when David asked the same question anyway.

“I was trying to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear,” Kevin replied. “The last film I worked with damaged my name a little.”

“Only a little?” David zeroed in on the conflicting statement and pounced.

“Yeah, these things happen,” Kevin said with a casual acceptance that wasn’t there when he spoke to her about it. “But if I can attach myself to a hit, I can get the sour taste out of my mouth much faster, professionally speaking.”

Maiden wondered if Tom’s reputation had suffered as badly but, of course, couldn’t ask and David didn’t either. She folded her arms and shook her head.

This isn’t working. I’m better off looking into things on my own and then comparing notes with David later. I suppose that’s actually been our procedure up until now. Apparently ‘working together’ means being together while he works, she fumed internally.

She shifted her attention back to Kevin when he spoke again.

“Carly’s your culprit anyway,” he said mildly. “The romantic intrigues between Nessa and Tom with their quaint little assistants are more complicated than they seem.”

“How so?” David prompted.

“Tom needed Carly, and he did whatever he thought necessary to keep her happy. She was the real talent behind his best work.” He folded his arms and sniggered derisively. “Tom won a couple of awards for sets that Carly had designed and arranged; he didn’t give her a scrap of credit either. He was keeping her happy in other ways but that clearly went out the window when she caught him with other women.

“We all heard her threaten to make him pay. And sweet little Carly wasn’t in the room with us but somehow she was the one to wander upstairs and find Tom’s body. It’s a bit odd, isn’t it?”

David didn’t venture his own opinion, he just thanked him and led him out of the room. When she was alone again, Maiden pinched the bridge of her nose. He hadn’t asked him anything about Lina. Kevin was the one that brought up the rumor about her and Tom, but David wasn’t there for that discussion and she just had to sit and watch.

She focused on the problem at hand, getting angry wasn’t helpful. It occurred to her that everyone potentially had opportunity, but so far most of the fingers were pointing at Carly. Maiden was already making a mental note of what she would ask everyone when she got them alone when David returned with Victor.

Victor looked worried, confused and generally distressed. She knew the murder would have been a shock but there was also the thorny matter of the movie that they were running out of time to make. He quickly confirmed her suspicions.

“David, or Captain McAlister, whichever you prefer,” he said earnestly. “I feel terrible asking but, is there any way that we could continue working? I mean, we’re all stuck here together anyway, could we at least make the time productive?”

David considered that for a moment and then glanced at Maiden, who looked away unhelpfully. He let out a small sigh.

“I’ll think about it and we’ll see what can be done,” he said and quickly moved on. “Where were you when Carly Woodrow screamed?”

Maiden noticed that David had slightly redirected his questions after Kevin made it clear that they were all discussing their interviews after the fact. Victor, who had been quietly staring down at his feet, glanced up at that.

“I was laying by the far edge of that small cleared area in the dining room,” he explained. “I was trying to stay near the warmth of the fire but away from too much light. I can’t sleep well with a light on.”

“Did you see much of what the others did from that vantage point?”

“I remember seeing Nessa sit down nearer the fire and then Tom not too far from her.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “They whispered to each other for a few minutes before laying down and, I assumed, falling asleep. I didn’t notice either of them stir, I can’t think when Tom would have left.”

“Can you think why he would have?” David asked.

“A woman, almost certainly.” He ran a hand over his dark hair to tidy it. “It would’ve been Lina, or maybe he was taking a crack at apologizing to Carly. I’m not sure.”

“You don’t think he’d have slipped off with Nessa again?”

“I think Nessa got caught up in a very foolish moment and learned her lesson. She’s very smart, just a bit stressed.” He smiled patiently and then flicked Maiden a look. “And he knew he didn’t have a chance with her either. It would have been Lina or Carly, but I don’t know whether he got that far.”

“All right.” David again reached for his non-existent notepad and shook his head at himself before continuing. “Who, that you know of, might have had something against Tom?”

“Oh, that’s awkward,” Victor said slowly and leaned against the arm of the couch. “Honestly, the entire crew had some kind of history with him, with the exception of Nessa and myself.”

“Even though she was caught in a compromising situation with him earlier this evening?” David gave him a dubious look.

“Meaningless piffle,” Victor scoffed. “If you don’t have time to properly appreciate a woman’s body, you shouldn’t insult her with an awkward fumble. Tom’s standards were low and he won’t be on Nessa’s mind for long, believe me. She’s had far better.”

Maiden’s eyes widened a fraction at that frank and confident statement. Victor glanced at her and smiled apologetically.

“That was terribly blunt.” He shook his head at himself. “I’m sorry, Maiden.”

She smiled and waved it away. David kept his focus on Victor.

“Getting back to the others then,” he prompted and waited.

“Well, there’s Spencer. Rumor is that Tom was the one that came between him and Lina. He acts casual about it now but he was badly hurt by that, and Tom never bothered to be classy about it,” Victor said sadly. “Lina, again according to rumor, sold him her body in exchange for her first starring role. I don’t know if there’s more to it than that. Kevin will tell you his grievances at length, and then we have poor sad Carly.”

“What about Barry?” David asked.

“Oh, yes, I forget about him sometimes.” Victor looked briefly embarrassed. “A cat with no claws, I’d say. He’s attracted to Nessa, which is understandable but preposterous. Deep down he knows that. He really ought to have moved on and gotten a different job ages ago. I feel badly for him, to be honest.”

“Sounds like you feel badly for Carly too,” David said smoothly. “What do you know about her?”

“She was in love with Tom, extremely jealous though. Well, you saw that for yourselves.” He shook his head. “I guess it really doesn’t look good for her…that previous arrest won’t help either.”

“What previous arrest?” Maiden mouthed the words at the same time that David spoke them.

“Tom did mention that she’d been arrested for aggravated assault a few years before she started working with him.” Victor frowned briefly. “I don’t know the details and it doesn’t mean that she killed Tom, but you’d probably be wise to ask her about it, all things considered.”

“Right, thanks for the heads up,” David said before sharply changing directions. “What’s your relationship with Nessa?”

Maiden was more visibly startled by that than Victor. She found the notion interesting; she hadn’t considered a connection there but she also didn’t think it likely. Victor appeared unperturbed.

“We’re colleagues and nothing more.” He dismissed the notion easily.

“Really? Nothing?” David pressed mildly. “You seem to think quite highly of her, in a personal way.”

“Oh look, I admit that I find Nessa quite attractive sexually,” he said candidly but then gestured in her direction. “But I feel the same way about Maiden. It doesn’t go beyond a purely carnal appreciation for physical beauty.”

That gave David a moment’s pause but he recovered almost immediately. It didn’t really faze Maiden; she’d seen Victor’s eyes wander once or twice, he was never creepy about it though.

“What about Lina?” he persevered. “How do you feel about her?”

“Too plastic for my liking.” He tsked and again gestured towards Maiden. “The very sexiest women are women in their most natural form. I mean, look how beautiful they are!”

Maiden could see that Victor’s repeated references to how attractive he apparently found her were starting to get on David’s nerves.

Sorry, baby. I’d change the subject for you, but that might muddy the waters. She glanced away to hide an incredibly childish smirk. David stood a bit straighter and cleared his throat; Victor looked up at him in polite inquiry.

“What was Lina’s relationship with Tom?” David asked evenly.

“As I said, there were rumors, there are always rumors about everyone,” he replied with little apparent concern. “It doesn’t always mean anything. Sometimes it’s out of bitterness when someone wins a coveted role. Sometimes it’s just for the excitement of conjecture. Sometimes it’s true.”

“How did Lina get the role of Helena?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I was simply notified that she’d been signed on.” Victor shrugged. “As I already told Maiden.”

David looked at her sharply; she met his gaze with a frustrated frown and an exasperated shake of her head. He shut his eyes briefly and turned back to a watchful Victor with the appearance of perfect control.

“So you don’t believe that Tom got her the role?” he asked.

“I hadn’t been given that impression, no,” Victor replied.

“Okay, that’s all for now.” David nodded towards the door. “Go back to the drawing room with the others, please.”

Maiden set her teeth and shook her head a fraction as Victor slipped out into the hall. She wished she’d been able to ask a few things. She admitted to herself that she didn’t know how to conduct a police investigation, but it didn’t matter since that had never been her intention. All she’d wanted was to throw in a question or two that might’ve shed some light on things.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the conversation you had with Victor?” David asked tightly when they were alone.

“Um, because no one had been killed when that discussion took place and you don’t like it when I talk or volunteer information,” she replied with a sugary smile. “Why didn’t you ask me what I knew about the situation before telling me to stay out of it?”

“Maiden, please.” He rubbed his eyes and sighed loudly.

“Well, it doesn’t matter because you know now.” She hurried to move the conversation along before either of them got any angrier. “And even if I had said anything, you’d have had to go to the horse’s mouth anyway, right? So we don’t really need to worry about it when we’ve got bigger problems.”

She was struck with a rising sense of anxious irritation and a feeling that she was wasting time when there was none to waste. She stood and started opening drawers, desperately hoping she could find him a notebook so she could excuse herself and leave the room. She wanted to talk to a few people while the events of the evening were still fresh in their minds.

“Are you all right?” David asked cautiously as he looked over at her with a quirked brow.

“Yes, I’m doing great,” she muttered and shook her head as she dug through another drawer without success. “Darn it.”

“What are you looking for?” he asked as he walked closer.

“A notebook for you; there’s everything else here except that. Typical,” she said as she rested her hands on her hips. “I think the room next door is an office, I might check there.”

“Right now?” He grabbed her arm as she started past. “I’m questioning suspects.”

“Yes, you are. And an actual means of recording what’s said will probably be more useful to you than a chick with a weird memory,” she said and tried to pull away. “I won’t be long and this’ll get me out of your way. Please.”

He pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight to his chest. Maiden was still irritated and just wanted to leave. She kept her arms at her sides and lowered her gaze so she wouldn’t have to look at him. He rested his cheek against her temple.

“I wasn’t trying to be insulting,” he said.

“I know that,” she replied impassively.

“The situation is sort of tricky.” He exhaled slowly.

“Tricky?” She frowned faintly and still didn’t touch him. “Because of the murder or because of me?”

He was uncomfortably quiet for long enough that Maiden finally planted her hands against his chest and pushed him away so she could look at him. He slackened his hold but kept his hands on her waist; he looked very uneasy and it made her stomach hurt.

“What’s going on, David?” She kept her tone as serene as she could convincingly fake.

“Nothing,” he said almost immediately.

“Don’t.” She pushed a little harder and leaned a little further away. “I’m not pretending to know everything about you, but I know when you’re lying to me.”

“I’m not lying. Everything’s okay.” He shook his head but sighed when she gave him a questioning look. “I mentioned that Chief Boswell is going to be visiting the station in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, you did,” she said. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily,” he said carefully. “But there’s been a lot happening since I took over running the station. A lot of murders, for instance. That’s certainly not my fault but it’s noteworthy…so is the fact that the local papers repeatedly credited you with solving every case.”

“But I didn’t and I never said that, David! I never gave interviews, I never spoke to anyone!” she said earnestly. “I really tried to stop people from talking about me!”

“I know that, Maiden.” He smiled gently and rested his hands on her arms. “It’s not your fault and I’m not angry about it; it’s just something I have to deal with. It’ll be okay.”

“Are you in trouble?” Her pale green eyes were wide and worried.

“I don’t think so, no,” he replied more casually than she would’ve liked.

Maiden stared at him in silent and horrified concern. He kept smiling but she knew he was only trying to make her feel better. For a moment or two the anxieties swarmed in as her mind tried to bombard her with every bad scenario it could conjure up. She went very quiet and slid her gaze to some point in the distance as she tried to figure out how to fix a problem she didn’t think anyone should have had.

She always came back to the same conclusion: what difference did it make who actually identified the killer? Shouldn’t stopping the person have been everyone’s main goal? Why nitpick about how they got there? David was an excellent cop and he utilized the resources available, sometimes that included her. That shouldn’t bother anyone.

“Hey,” David whispered gently and gave her a careful little shake, pulling her back to the present. “It’s all right, Maiden. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

She studied him pensively. She wondered if he genuinely meant that; she didn’t think he’d tell her if he didn’t. Even now he was worried about what she might be thinking. It was obvious as he tried to smile and frown at the same time.

In any case, she didn’t believe that everything was okay. It was a mess and she was dismally certain that it wasn’t going to go well. Either David would catch flack for her actions or she’d have to play dumb and pretend that she wasn’t figuring things out, even if she was.

“This is gonna be bad,” she said so quietly that he couldn’t catch her words clearly.

“What?” He lifted his brows a little and pulled her tighter when she didn’t respond. “Maiden, please. There’s nothing that you need to worry about; there’s nothing you need to do. Okay? Just let me handle it.”

Yeah, let you handle it. That’s why you wanted me to back off with the questions; it’s becoming a problem. I’m so sorry, baby, but I’m not sure how to fix this. I’m not sure I even can.

She met his uneasy gaze and started to feel guilty. They had enough to deal with as it was; he didn’t need her sinking into an anxious funk. She cleared her expression and smiled, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything so she just inclined her head.

David pressed a hand against the small of her back and cradled the back of her head with the other. He held her tight against him and lowered his head a fraction.

“I don’t want you to stress about any of that, please,” he told her seriously. “At the moment, there’s a killer trapped in the house and we’re all we’ve got. We can’t get distracted right now. Okay?”

Maiden nodded again, solemnly and in spite of her slowly withering innards. David pulled a face and exhaled through his nose.

“You’re scaring the hell out of me,” he said frankly. “Could you please actually say something?”

“Sorry.” Maiden smiled a little more genuinely. “Everything’s fine, David. Don’t stress about it.”

“Brat.” He grinned and kissed her.

Chapter twenty

David finally agreed to let her find him a notebook. He wasn’t dumb and doubtless knew that she needed a little space so she could take in what he’d told her.

Maiden let herself into the office next door. Like the other rooms on the ground floor, it was unlocked. She pushed the door open and flicked on the light. Her eyes rounded as she looked around the amazing room, she’d have smiled if she weren’t on the verge of curling up in a fetal position behind the nearest couch.

It was large and square, there were four big windows and a lot of heavy, masculine furniture. She looked over a pair of leather couches with an ornate glass coffee table between them and let out a low whistle. Even the ceiling was fancy, the base of the large hanging light was adorned with an intricate art deco ceiling rose.

It looked like the room hadn’t been used in decades. Everything was coated in an extra thick layer of dust. She very much doubted that anyone had even set foot in this room in years.

The centerpiece was an old desk that looked bigger than the dining room table back in their apartment. It was clearly antique but had probably been new when it first found its home there.

She looked the dark wood over appreciatively as she drew closer and started pawing through the drawers. She was halfway through them when she found a faded old ledger.

It was bigger than David’s usual notebook but he was in no position to be choosy. She flicked through it to see if it was anything they needed before she handed it over. Her dark brows furrowed; it was full of strange names that made no sense to her.

She turned a few pages and saw that there were figures written in as well, and mostly in the negative. Whatever it all pertained to seemed to be hemorrhaging money.

Maiden jumped and glanced back sharply when she heard the door behind her creak open. Kevin was standing in the doorway smiling nicely; she tried not to get antsy but she also knew that anyone there could be the killer.

“Hey,” she managed a casual tone, “what’s going on?”

“I was just wondering if we could go ahead and check Tom’s luggage for the script now?” He winced and twiddled his fingers like a guilty child. “If you wouldn’t mind asking David?”

“Why have me ask him?” She shook her head slightly.

“He’s more likely to say yes to you,” Kevin admitted.

Maiden chuckled and gave a conceding nod. Kevin’s expression turned intrigued as he entered the room and peered at the old book she was holding.

“What’s that?” he asked curiously as he took it from her and started looking it over. “Hmm. Someone liked the horses. Ouch! The horses didn’t like them back though!”

“Is that about horse racing?” Maiden decided not to complain about him helping himself to the ledger since he’d given her an insight into what it might have been for.

“Looks like it.” Kevin gave a commiserating groan. “Whoever this chump was, he certainly wasn’t lucky. He didn’t know when to call it quits and walk away either.”

“Yeah well, I’m told that can happen.” Maiden shrugged and snatched it back. “Come on, let’s ask David about that script.”

She glanced covertly inside the front cover of the ledger. As she suspected, she found the name Edward Riley written inside. She quickly decided that David couldn’t have it after all.

They entered the foyer and found David, Victor and Nessa talking about the options for continuing the film shoot. David glanced up as Maiden approached with Kevin trailing meekly behind her. She stopped beside them and clasped the ledger subtly behind her back.

“Hey, is it possible that the missing script is related to the murder in some way?” She deliberately phrased it as a question so it wouldn’t sound like she was trying to direct things.

“Yeah, I’ll bet it is!” Kevin quickly agreed with an overly enthusiastic smile.

“Do you think it might be worth going ahead and having a look in Tom’s bags?” She gazed at David ingenuously. He noticed and looked both amused and possibly depressed.

“Yeah, it may be worth checking,” he replied mildly and glanced at Victor. “Where did your luggage end up?”

“In the dining room where we were sleeping.” He gestured in that general direction.

“Well, let’s have a look,” David said and motioned for him to lead the way.

They reached the dining room and found it in a thoroughly disheveled state. All the improvised beds had been hastily abandoned when everyone was ordered to leave and hunker down in the drawing room. Blankets and pillows were strewn everywhere and what remained of the fire was just about spent.

Maiden’s gaze went quickly to the luggage. There were quite a few bags and they appeared to have all been pushed against the side wall.

“Which bag was Tom’s?” David asked as they approached the lineup.

“Those two.” Victor stepped forward and pulled out two matching black suitcases. “I suspect they’re locked though—oh. Maybe not.”

He frowned down at the unadorned zippers. There was no sign of a luggage lock on either bag. Kevin, who was growing more impatient by the second, stepped forward, waving his hands dismissively.

“He probably didn’t bother locking them again after he pulled out his pajamas.” He sneered in disgust. “He was the only thieving lowlife here, so why would he worry about it? Can we finally have a look for my script, please?!”

David laid the first case on its back and carefully unzipped it. He raised the lid and they all peered inside; it looked to be full of nothing but folded clothes. Kevin started reaching in when David grabbed his wrist and held him steady.

“Back up,” he warned as he released him and waited for him to step reluctantly back towards Victor and Nessa.

Victor gave Kevin a gently chiding look even as he patted him on the shoulder and put a silencing finger to his lips. Kevin’s mouth moved with unvoiced complaints but he wisely stayed put and kept quiet.

David dug through the stacks of clothes but found nothing of particular note. He closed that bag and pushed it aside before turning to the second. He set it down and opened the lid. They all gasped when they saw a thick and dog-eared script laying on top of more clothes and a few bottles of prescription pills.

“My script!” Kevin blurted and lurched towards the bag.

“Will you settle down please?!” Victor sounded exasperated as he grabbed his arm and dug his heels in, pulling him up short of the suitcase. “Honestly! Tom’s dead! Try to show some respect.”

“I didn’t respect him and neither did you!” Kevin retorted even as he let Victor drag him away from a stone-faced David.

“I said show respect. You don’t have to mean it, but you could at least make an effort,” Victor sighed. “I swear this is the second-worst film shoot I’ve ever been on!”

“What? How could anything be worse than this one?” Maiden stared owlishly at him.

“You don’t want to know,” Victor said with a playful wink.

Maiden could only smile and shake her head. She wasn’t sure if the bizarre, almost jaded attitudes they were finding were peculiar to the film industry or just their particularly eclectic group. She supposed that some people used humor to deal with fear; there were certainly worse approaches to take.

She eased closer to David when he stood holding the script. Much like Kevin, she was also resisting a strong urge to make a grab for it. She was confident that David would get her to have a look at it soon, despite the inherent dangers of giving her a foot in the door of the investigation. He didn’t have much else by way of a team, after all. She scowled and pushed that troubling, and incredibly unflattering, thought into the background.

Maiden craned her neck enough to see the words on the cover page—Forsaken House. It certainly looked to be what they were after. She tensed slightly and felt her eye twitch when Kevin inched closer again.

“I said back off.” David flicked him a dark look. “This is a potentially significant clue in a murder investigation, it needs to be checked out before I can release it.”

“It’s not a clue!” Kevin looked appalled. “Tom wasn’t killed for a script that everyone would soon know the ins and outs of anyway! Carly killed him because he couldn’t keep his pants on!”

“Shut up, Kevin!” Nessa grated, her cheeks reddened with anger and chagrin. “You can wait a few more hours. Tom might’ve been killed for that script; we don’t know!”

“Look,” Kevin whispered to David as he leaned in closer. “That script is confidential and highly sensitive!”

“Even though ‘everyone will know the ins and outs of it’?” David reminded him of his own claim.

“As soon as it’s done, yes!” Kevin retorted irately. “Until that time, it needs to stay under wraps!”

“Well, fortunately for you, I happen to excel at discretion.” David smiled placidly and with no hope of caving. “I’ll have a look and go from there.”

“Oh fine, but please keep it secret!” Kevin beseeched. “Can I have it back in the morning at least?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” David replied in a non-committal tone and pointed to the door. “If you all want to grab your sleeping bags, we can get going.”

After gathering up all the blankets and pillows they could carry, Nessa and Victor escorted a quietly devastated Kevin back towards the drawing room. Maiden and David walked behind them at a slight distance. David grasped her hand and urged her to stay back a bit when she wandered too near to them. She glanced up at him but his eyes were fixed on the trio walking in front. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb but said nothing.

They followed the others into the drawing room and watched them drop the bedding into a heap in the middle of the floor and then sit wearily on the couches. David stood near the doorway and kept his hand wrapped around Maiden’s as he addressed the room.

“All right, everyone try to get some sleep,” he instructed them calmly and implacably. “Maiden and I are going to confer; we’ll be in later. Tony, Alfie, take turns keeping watch, please.”

“Maiden’s going to confer with you?” Barry asked with just enough gentle skepticism to get his point across. “Is that really helpful?”

“You got no idea who you’re dealin’ with, sugar!” Gloria piped up indignantly. “That pair have brought down bigger fish than you’ve ever seen!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Maiden said very quietly and, as they turned to go, handed the ledger she’d found to Vonny, who was standing the closest. “Put that in my purse, please.”

David led her back to his improvised office and shut the door. Maiden looked around at the cold and dusty room, distantly wishing she’d vacuumed in here too. It didn’t matter, she could only hope that they were actually alone. She hadn’t forgotten the horrifying possibility that someone completely unknown to them had infiltrated the house and murdered Tom.

As she listened carefully for any noises in the walls, David pulled the dusty cover from the couch and settled down on the worn fabric beneath. He glanced at her and patted the cushion beside him. She took a last look out the nearest window, reminded herself that no one would be lurking outside spying on them in this weather, and joined him on the couch.

She tucked herself next to David and tried to absorb some of his warmth as he opened the script and they started looking through it. Maiden stared down at the numerous changes that were noted in red pen. The edits looked to be extensive and they were only a few pages in.

She read on ahead. David soon let her hold the script and flick through it since she read a bit faster than he did. Maiden’s dark brows knitted together broodingly. The further she read, the more it became clear that Kevin had rewritten the majority of the plot.

The relatively simple story of a greedy man trying to kill his wife for her money, and using a scary old house to terrify her into submission, had been dramatically altered. Not only had a spy plot been woven in, but the heroine’s name had originally been Ingrid, not Helena.

She read on and was more chilled than surprised to see that the husband’s name had been changed from Richard to Edward.

“Um, this is really weird,” she said quietly. “There’s an eerie parallel between the characters in this script and the real-life Helena and Edward. They were the last of the Riley family line.”

“Well,” David pulled a face, “maybe Kevin researched the manor and liked those names better? We can ask him.”

“Okay, good,” she agreed but still felt uneasy. “There’s also that picture I found in the basement. I went back to grab it earlier but it’s missing now. I really suspect that it was a photo of Helena and Edward.”

“Could someone have just moved it?” he asked carefully.

You don’t believe me, she instantly concluded. You said you always do but that’s hardly likely, or even realistic. We come up with very different ideas.

“It’s possible,” she allowed. “But why would they?”

“I don’t know,” he conceded. “Why would someone deliberately take it?”

“The same reason they tried to hide the secret passage?” She shrugged.

“It’s potentially a coincidence,” David murmured. “You don’t want to get ahead of yourself or jump to conclusions. Kevin could have easily borrowed from the known history of this place.”

Maiden immediately went quiet and turned her gaze back to the script without another word. David kicked himself for upsetting her again. He also knew that they needed to be able to talk openly if this investigation was going to work, and it really had to work. They didn’t have any other options.

“Maiden,” he said gently, “I need to be able to say things to you without you recoiling. Please.”

Maiden looked at him sharply but then stared back down at her lap. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking in that moment, but he was confident that she was a reasonable person.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.” She smiled weakly and without looking at him. “I don’t usually share my ideas with anyone this early in; I tend to keep it all to myself until I know a bit more. That tends to work better. I’m thinking I should stick with that.”

“Hey, this is a strange circumstance for both of us,” he said soothingly and touched her arm. He really didn’t want her to start shying away from him. “This is the most time we’ve ever spent together, and it’s been weird.”

Maiden stilled and looked at him questioningly. “Are you saying that you think we’re arguing because we’re spending so much time together?”

“We’re not arguing, Maiden. And, no, I think the only real conflicts are arising from a demented film crew and a murder.” David felt a little twist of worry snake through him. “But remember, we work well together, right?”

She let out a little sigh and slid her gaze away. David’s stomach tightened sharply and an uncertain frown crept over his face. Maiden looked very uncomfortable; that wasn’t good. He turned to face her more fully and made himself wait patiently until she worked up the nerve to say what was on her mind.

“Actually, David, we really don’t work well together. I think we both assumed that we would because we sometimes reach similar conclusions,” she told him, a touch sadly. She winced a little when his frown deepened. “I’m so sorry, but I think we should split up.”

David wondered if his heart had stopped beating for that horrible moment. Her big green eyes were gentle and apologetic; he was hit by an unexpected belt of nausea.

“What? No!” He grasped her by the arms and pulled her closer. “Maiden please, that’s way too harsh! This is just conflicting viewpoints, that’s all! I’m so sorry if I upset you!”

“Hmm?” She shook her head at his anxious expression and then must have realized that it had sounded like she was breaking up with him. Her eyes widened. “No! No, that’s not what I meant! I’m saying that if we spread out a bit we’d gather more information, and then we can compare what we’ve learned!”

Maiden pressed her palms to his chest and met his gaze earnestly. David shut his eyes briefly and let out a shaky breath. He hugged her tightly as relief poured through him.

Damn it, baby, he thought as he pressed a kiss to her temple. I’ve actually been shot at without feeling that scared.

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit on edge, I guess. I see what you mean.” He loosened his hold a little and smoothed a hand over her dark hair. “There’s absolutely no way that’s happening, but I see where you’re coming from.”

He felt her immediately stiffen in his arms.

“What do you mean ‘no way’?” She leaned away with a very unimpressed expression.

“I mean that you can’t go skulking around looking for a deranged murderer on your own,” he said with a little shake of his head. “No one is going to do that, it’s ridiculously dangerous.”

“That’s not what I said, David!” She glared at him. “I said we could gather information separately, not roam the halls like a scene from some cheesy slasher flick! You keep treating me like I’m an impulsive child and I’m sick of it!”

“What are you talking about?” He genuinely had no idea why she was so upset, he thought he’d explained his objection reasonably. “Are you still angry about the missing picture thing?”

He could see her getting more worked up. Her incredible eyes narrowed and her chest rose and fell with each deep breath. Her mouth was slightly open as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t quite willing to let it rip.

You’re getting quite angry, and I really don’t know why but… he wet his lips as he stared at hers, you look incredibly sexy. Oh, I’m sorry, baby. I hate it when you’re upset. It must be the strain of the film nonsense on top of the fear; I’m pretty sure I didn’t say anything too horrible.

“You need to actually listen to me, David!” she said irately. Her cheeks were tinged pink and her clear eyes were bright and fiery; he felt his pulse kick up a notch.

“I always listen to you.” He looked her over lingeringly. “Are you okay?”

“No! Not really!” she retorted sharply. “You’re automatically gainsaying everything I suggest without even considering it! That’s incredibly aggravating!”

“Honey, I’m not.” He let his gaze wander down to the glimpse of her bared stomach. He took a slow breath and rubbed his fingers together as they itched to touch her.

“You are!” she snapped, fisting her hands in her lap. “You’ve been doing it all night!”

Maybe it was his own fear that she was caught up in such a dangerous situation, or his relief that telling her about the Chief Boswell problem hadn’t sent her running. Maybe it was some deeply hidden guilt because he wasn’t particularly broken up that Tom was dead. Whatever the factor was, it was taking his focus away from the murder and fixing it squarely on Maiden.

It was no one’s fault but the killer’s that the weekend had been progressively ruined, but he’d been desperately looking forward to it only to end up with another murder on his hands. He didn’t want to be at work right now and some tiny, stubborn part of him wanted to make the most of every opportunity that he found. They were alone, everyone else was safely closed away, and she’d gone feisty again. He felt the desire building.

Baby, you are driving me crazy and you don’t even know you’re doing it. I’m wondering what you sleep in at home and you’re probably analyzing the finer points of the case, he shook his head a fraction. I am so in love with you.

“I’m glad you don’t get angry often, Harlow,” he said seriously and let out a low whistle. “But damn you’re hot when you do!”

“I’m not joking, David,” she said irately.

“Neither am I.” He shook his head and grabbed her.

Maiden’s angry muttering was reduced to a few useless squeaks as he started kissing her. She shoved against his shoulders until he pulled back enough to stare at her. She was still glowering at him but then grumbled something indecipherable and began kissing him back. The doctored script slid forgotten to the floor as he leaned close and held her tighter.

Maiden felt David’s hand slide over her back and down to her waist. His deliciously calloused fingers spread over her bared skin. He felt warm and solid and safe; she pressed closer and drew her fingertips down his cheek.

He grabbed her, a little more roughly, and dragged her into his lap. All responsible thoughts faded into the background as his lips parted over hers. A part of her was still angry over his stupid ‘don’t jump to conclusions’ warning, and another part of her was relieved that he hadn’t broken up with her for negatively impacting his job, but all of her loved him and was deeply turned on by the urgency in his touch.

Maiden was silently wondering if she could rip his shirt open without anyone noticing when they went back to the drawing room. She compromised by slipping her hands beneath the hem; she’d just raked her fingers through his chest hair when the wind picked up.

It howled loudly and sent an errant tree branch scraping against the furthest window. The chilling sound jolted her back to reality. They were trapped in an old, creepy mansion and someone had already been violently murdered.

“David,” she said seriously as she turned her head to break the kiss and tried not to be swayed by his warm skin and heavy breathing. “Murderer in the house!”

He stilled and just looked at her for a timeless moment. Maiden, who sounded a bit out of breath herself, knew that her expression was some weird blend of frustration, apology and fully creeped out fear.

“Sorry, but this is always the part in horror movies where the couple gets attacked by the monster.” She let out a shaky sigh and noticed that he was still staring at her intently. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, just trying to talk myself into letting go of you,” he replied quietly. “It doesn’t help that your hands are inside my clothes.”

“Oh.” Maiden felt her cheeks turn pink even as she smiled and slipped her hands out from under his t-shirt. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he murmured and pressed a long, wet kiss to her throat before finally releasing her. “This was turning into the most frustrating weekend in recent memory, the last few minutes have helped a lot.”

Maiden smiled faintly and they both turned and faced forward on the couch. She ran a hand over her tousled hair in a vain attempt to tidy it. She glanced over to see that she’d mussed his even worse, but she didn’t dare try to remedy that herself. David spoke before she could mention it anyway.

“Right, I know we’re working as a team here…but I won’t lie to you.” He still sounded unsteady. “I’ve never mauled a co-worker before.”

“It’s just as well I’m not on the books, then,” she laughed as she reached down and picked up the script.

“No, there’s no way that could work,” he whispered to himself and rubbed his face with his hands. “Concentrate, McAlister, the tone of the weekend has changed.”

Maiden quietly noted that she seemed able to refocus her mind on the case a little more easily than the trained police officer, but opted not to mention it to him. She smiled to herself and resumed thumbing through the script.

Despite David’s disinterest, she did believe she was on to something with the connection to the Riley family. She needed to have a talk with Kevin about his rewrites, but she’d have to get away from David first. She slid her gaze over to find him looking lost in thought.

“Feeling a bit calmer?” she asked mildly as she turned back to the script.

“Yes, thank you.” He shot her a look. “You’re the one that got angry, not me.”

“Yeah, and I’m the one that grabbed me and pulled me into your lap,” she replied without looking up. “Tricky little vixen that I am.”

“You and your little crop top complicate things.” He slid her a wry but incredibly fond smile. “That’s not entirely your fault, but it’s still an issue.”

“You probably don’t have this problem when you work with Dr. Jenkins,” she giggled as she finally found the place she’d left off in the script. “He’s not a crop top kind of guy.”

“No, not at all,” he agreed dryly and flicked his gaze over her chest. “Do you always sleep in a bra?”

“Excuse me?” She looked up at that. “I let you maul me at work in the middle of the night and suddenly it’s no holds barred?”

“I couldn’t really help noticing it.” He shrugged mildly. “I heard once that it isn’t healthy to sleep in them, so I was just wondering.”

“What?” she demanded with incredulous amusement.

“A lot of cops are female!” He was laughing now. “I can’t help overhearing things. Breasts are interesting, all right?”

Maiden’s eyes were watering as she struggled to laugh as quietly as possible. She’d dropped the script in her lap and sank back against the old, moth-eaten cushions with her hands over her face. Once she’d settled down a little, she lowered her fingers enough to grin at him.

“How the heck do you get any work done?” She shook her head slightly.

“I typically ask you to leave so I can stop thinking about…things,” he replied as he grabbed the script from her lap and started flipping through it. “So, you’ve started reading this thing. I thought it was a two-person psychotic thriller? I mean, there’s no other cast members that I’ve heard mentioned.”

“That’s true, there aren’t.” Maiden nodded as she considered that.

“So, how do spies enter into the equation?” he asked pensively. “That doesn’t seem like something you throw in at the last minute.”

“Agreed. Kevin’s either really good or really bad at what he does.” Maiden leaned closer to read along with him.

“Pressing your crop top against my arm isn’t helpful, Harlow,” he informed her without looking up.

“Yeah well, you smell amazing. We both have problems to deal with,” she said without sympathy or budging. “What’s that note in the margin about dark hair?”

In the side margin someone, Kevin presumably, had written a very adamant note in that same red ink that laced through the entire script.

Helena has dark hair, it’s part of her cover, a beautiful woman trying to blend in without being showy. She must stay hidden. Important!

“Looks like Lina’s going to lose the hair color argument,” Maiden said with a thoughtful scowl. “I wonder if her contract is strong enough to force her to do it.”

“Does it really matter that much?” David asked with a hint of exasperated bewilderment.

“It evidently does to her.” Maiden plucked at a lock of her silky black hair. “But I don’t understand all the fuss either. I’d wear a blonde wig if the occasion called for it.”

“Would you?” He quirked a brow in polite inquiry and barely suppressed a smile.

Maiden did her best to ignore him and kept reading. As she read through more scrawled notes she saw one or two places where the handwriting looked more rushed and run together, as if it had been jotted down in a hurry. Briefly wishing she were a handwriting expert, she sank into thought.

She wondered who was really running this movie. What they’d been told so far didn’t add up. Some unknown corporate entity had evidently chosen Lina Mirov as the starring actress despite her being an awkward fit for the role. Along with that, Kevin had taken it upon himself to rewrite half the script at the last minute, and he had done so in a way that strongly tied the movie to the house it was being filmed in. A house that had only been secured as the filming sight a week or so ago.

“Forsaken House,” she mumbled the film’s title aloud. “I wonder how true that is.”

“I’m sure the house will be fine, Maiden. It seems structurally sound.” David patted her hand absently as he seemed lost in his own musings. “I’ll talk to Carly in the morning…she’s too unstable at the moment, but I don’t think she’s telling the full story.”

“Yes,” Maiden said quietly. “The story is weird. I think something strange is going on.”

“Are you listening to me?” he asked.

“Kind of tired, yeah,” she said, but glanced over when he sniggered at her.

“Did you at least find me a notebook?” He smiled at her.

“Yeah, but you can’t have it,” she sighed. “I’ll find another one for you tomorrow.”

“Thanks a lot.” He pushed to his feet and then glanced down and held his hand out to her. “Come on, let’s rest while we can. If I promise to behave, can I drag your sleeping bag closer to mine?”

“Way to kill the tension, David.” She smiled as she slid her hand into his. “But yes, even if you insist on behaving yourself, I’ll happily snuggle up with you.”

Chapter twenty-one

By the time Maiden and David returned to the drawing room, almost everyone else had fallen asleep. She wasn’t surprised, it was quite late and the evening had been draining to put it mildly.

What was left of the night passed quickly. By the time morning came, mercilessly on schedule, the fire had died down to embers and the room was getting cold. Maiden woke up feeling quite snug and warm, however, and soon realized why.

She shifted and found herself laying half underneath David. His face was tucked against her throat while he’d draped an arm across her and wrapped his hand around her shoulder.

That explains why my other arm’s gone numb. She distantly wondered what she’d have woken up to if he hadn’t promised to behave. His breathing was deep and relaxed. She really didn’t want to disturb him but she needed to finish reading the script, and she wanted to do it before Kevin woke up and started circling again.

She wriggled until she was nearly out from under him. She had just pulled David’s hand from her shoulder and sat up when he tensed and pushed up on the heel of his other hand. She glanced at him and smiled.

“So much for not waking you,” she whispered.

“Yeah, good luck with that, honey,” he replied just as quietly. “What time is it?”

“Time to get up.” She pulled the script from under her pillow. “I need to finish this. Let’s go to the kitchen, I need light and coffee.”

Ten minutes later they had crept into the kitchen and started a pot brewing. The warm and comforting aroma filled the air as they sat at the large island and poured over the rest of the script. David, who had snagged an apple from the large bowl in front of them, shook his head as he sat back and took a bite.

“Well, I don’t mind a scary movie,” he prefaced and pointed his apple at the script, “but that’s just stupid.”

“It’s not great,” Maiden agreed even as she peeked at the open doorway to make sure Kevin wasn’t lurking. “I think it’s partly because we were expecting something…different.”

“Yeah, I think the story that’s beneath all the red pen would’ve been better,” David said.

“Helena’s speech at the end is good.” Maiden wasn’t sure why she was looking for the positive, but suspected it was because she liked Helena Riley.

“It doesn’t make any sense though,” David said and offered her a bite of his apple. “She’s terrified and jumping at shadows for most of the movie and then suddenly she’s a powerful super spy. It’s clumsy.”

“It could have segued better, that’s for sure,” Maiden agreed as she handed the apple back and wiped juice from her chin. “So, presumably, Kevin did all this behind Victor’s back.”

“Yeah, and somehow I doubt Victor or Nessa are going to be thrilled.” David smirked. “But maybe Lina will feel better about playing a spy than a tormented housewife.”

“Mm, that’ll be interesting.” Maiden shook her head ruefully but then slid him a curious look. “Do you think Lina’s pretty?”

“Yeah,” he said with a shrug and then smiled at her. “Does that bother you?”

“No,” she laughed and propped her chin in her hand. “It’s fair, she is pretty. I only ask because none of the others seem to notice her too much, except Spencer. Poor guy.”

“Yes, poor Spencer,” David said laconically. “What do you think of him, incidentally?”

“He’s pretty too,” she replied easily and smiled when she heard David chuckle.

“I’d better go and see if the others are up yet,” he sighed and pushed to his feet. “Are we letting them go ahead and film or not?”

Maiden hesitated and gave him a watchful look. She didn’t think David was the sort that would test her, he would be genuinely asking her point of view.

“I think the killer will be more likely to betray something if they’re preoccupied. They also might relax if allowed to sink into their, sort of, natural environment,” she suggested. And I need the opportunity to talk to people alone, not all cooped up in the same room. “What do you think?”

“I think we let them do it.” He opted not to elaborate on his reasons, making her wish that she hadn’t either. He was probably only asking her out of politeness.

Maiden smiled and turned to the coffee pot as he slipped out into the hall. Once he was gone she rolled her eyes at herself and filled a cup with the steaming hot brew. Sitting back at the island, she took a long sip and glanced back down at the bundle of paper.

According to this script, Helena was a European spy and Edward was her confused and disillusioned husband. The driven to insanity angle was also different. Helena was portrayed as strong and clever, while Edward was unstable at best. Helena seemed to know what was going on and he was more or less in the background for much of the movie.

The ending was ambiguous as well. It was difficult to say whether Edward had killed his wife or found her body and sank deeper into his insanity. Either way, seeing her dead body drove him over the edge, he climbed in the bathtub and shot himself.

Maiden got chills as she thought about that. Tom’s death appeared to have been patterned after the movie. She hadn’t mentioned that to David, but he’d read it too and had surely noticed the connection. She wondered if they were dealing with someone quite insane or with a sick sense of irony.

She glanced up to find Kevin standing in the doorway watching her tensely. Banishing the panicked reflex of hurling her coffee over him and running to find the others, Maiden decided on a gutsier approach.

“Sit down,” she said firmly, pointing to the chair across from her. “We need to talk.”

Kevin didn’t look thrilled by the prospect but sat down anyway. Maiden pulled the script closer and rested her coffee on it as he eased a little too near.

“Oh, please don’t!” Kevin pleaded miserably. “It’s bad enough to have my property stolen, lost and confiscated all in one day. I don’t need coffee stains and ruined pages to boot!”

“Why did you completely rewrite this story?” She ignored his whining and tapped her forefinger on the title page. “There’s nothing in this script that’s anything like the noir thriller I was told about. What’s with the spy stuff?”

“Spy stuff?” Kevin shook his head slightly. “I don’t know what you’re drinking, sweetheart, but it’s a bit early for the hard stuff.”

“Really?” She gave him a dubious look. “I’ve read this whole thing, Kevin. Don’t lie to me, it’s right here in front of me. Where’d the spy stuff come from and why add it in now?”

“Maiden, I do not explain my creative process,” he sniffed disdainfully, clearly offended or at least pretending to be. “It’s impossible to guide someone through the vivid sights and compelling conversations that are born in my mind. The nearest I can come is to commit them to the page and hope that the peons of the world can grasp even a fraction of what I’m trying to say.”

“Okay, let’s try something else.” She set her cup aside and held up the script for him to see. “Is this actually your master script?”

Kevin stared at the front and for a brief moment he looked unconvinced. But then, just as quickly, he smiled and inclined his head.

“Yeah, that has to be it,” he said brightly. “Why else would Tom have taken it?”

“So tell me about it,” Maiden said after using David’s trick of letting the silence stretch for a moment.

“You said you read it already,” he said grumpily. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“Why’d you change the main character’s names?” she retorted as she set the script in front of her again.

“I…didn’t like the originals. Can’t even remember what they were, to be honest,” he quickly added, doubtless to circumvent her asking him. “Look, it’s nothing to get uptight about. The script isn’t done yet, it’s a living breathing thing and that’s why I really need it back immediately!”

“Do you honestly think Tom would have taken this?” She gave him a curious look and took another sip.

“Yes, of course!” Kevin said emphatically. “I know everyone thinks I’m petty and exaggerating what a jerk Tom was, but I’m not. After he made my last movie flop, I taught Tom a lesson by badmouthing him to every producer that would listen. I cost him a couple of good jobs and he wasn’t happy about it.”

“Really? Wow, well did he confront you about it?” Maiden gave him a startled look as she propped her chin in her hand, quickly deciding to revert to her usual techniques. The stern cop approach wasn’t effective without the clout to back it up.

“He didn’t come right out and say it,” Kevin allowed. “But it was pretty obvious. He mentioned one of the films he’d gone after and that ‘some lying cretin’ had told a bunch of made-up stories about him to ruin it.”

“He didn’t threaten you, did he?” She blinked widened eyes and lowered her voice a fraction.

“As good as.” Kevin nodded once. “But he was all talk. Carly’s the scary one and always has been; ever since he picked her up at some college exhibition. I still remember him breezing into town with this corkscrew blonde with one of those screws quite definitely loose.”

“Was she actually violent?” Maiden pulled an uncertain face.

“Don’t know,” he said. “I never saw Tom with a black eye or anything, but I also avoided seeing Tom’s smug, stupid face whenever possible. All I can say for Carly is that the quality of Tom’s work certainly improved once she started doing it for him. He cheated her of a career of her own and then he cheated on her with Nessa, among others. What do you think that would do to a smalltown lunatic with a huge crush on her philandering boss?”

“Excuse me,” David muttered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Kevin turned to him sharply and then slid Maiden a smirking look.

“Speaking of jealous,” he whispered sarcastically.

Yeah, but because of me, not you. Maiden did her best not to be intimidated, annoyed or embarrassed but she failed on all counts. You are out of control, McAlister. Honestly!

Maiden set her teeth and looked away as Kevin turned a much more polite smile on David.

“We were only chatting about what a tool Tom was, nothing noteworthy or groundbreaking there,” he said with a smarmy smile. “But that’s not really my business, I know. Can I please have the script now? Maiden said you’ve read it.”

Maiden assumed that admission made David angry as well but she chose not to look at him and find out. She took her coffee and went back to the pot for a top up. She tried not to worry that this would be an ongoing thing, that every time she knew something about a case and talked to someone involved he’d get mad.

He will; he’s mad now and all you did was talk to someone that approached you, an unwanted voice insisted. Get used to pretending to be oblivious, at least until he gets sick of you and dumps you.

“Stop it!” she whispered to herself and set her cup down louder than she meant to.

She glanced back over her shoulder and managed a smile when she saw David and Kevin looking at her.

“It’s really cold in here,” she said as she walked swiftly towards the door. “I’m going to get dressed.”

Maiden hurried back to the drawing room before David could try to catch her. She felt pretty safe though, she could hear him talking to Kevin as she went. She stepped inside and saw that everyone was up now. Sparing a quick smile for her parents as they slipped out to start breakfast, Maiden knelt by her suitcase and started digging through it.

“Are you all right, Maiden?”

She glanced back to see Victor regarding her with a look of kind concern. She smiled as pleasantly as she could and inclined her head.

“Yes, thanks,” she replied. “This whole thing is just a bit unnerving. And I’m freezing in these stupid pajamas.”

“I hear you,” he chuckled and gestured towards his silky attire. “I had hoped to get changed straight away but David said something about finding you and then searching everyone’s luggage.”

“Did he?” she asked. “Logical next step, I guess. Well, it shouldn’t take too long to see if anyone stashed a gun in their bag.”

“Yeah, I hope they find it but…I also wonder what it will prove,” he said quietly. “I noticed last night when he searched Tom’s bags that a lot of the other ones weren’t locked either. Anyone could’ve thrown a gun in anywhere.”

“I wouldn’t worry, Victor,” she assured him as she stood holding her favorite jeans and a blue knitted sweater. “I doubt he’ll find anything, it’s just an obvious task that has to be done.”

“Really?” He stared at her. “You know a lot about these sorts of situations, do you?”

“I’ve…had some experience, yeah,” she replied modestly.

“How cool!” He smiled at her. “Your mother told some stories last night after you and David left. To be honest I didn’t believe half of it.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t blame you for that,” she allowed with a shrug. “It sounds a bit odd.”

“Too good to be true, I’d have said,” he corrected magnanimously. “But if that is the case, I might mention another concern to you.”

“Sure, go ahead.” She nodded. And this is why David gets mad at you.

“I hope David, and everyone else, doesn’t just assume that Carly’s guilty,” he said quietly but earnestly. “I know it looks obvious but I think she’s too emotional. Firstly, I think she’d beat him to death before she’d bother finding a gun. Secondly, I think she’d have been lying on the floor with it; she’s not coolheaded enough to hide the weapon and then scream.”

“Possibly,” Maiden allowed as she slid her gaze to Carly.

The woman looked pale and lost as she sat by herself rubbing her arms briskly. Maiden considered that this too could be an act. The window had been open after all, she could’ve easily thrown the gun out into the blizzard to buy herself some time.

“Oh look, she might’ve done it,” Victor whispered. “I only hope she’s given a fair chance.”

“Don’t worry, David’s very fair.” She almost choked on the words as the irony hit hard. “Usually.”

She gave him a bolstering look and walked to the door, nearly colliding with David as she reached it. He looked at her with just enough subtle disapproval to make her angry again but he quickly hid it away.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “We need to search everyone’s bags. We’re best off doing it now so they can access their stuff freely.”

“Get Tony to help you,” she said as she breezed past.

She could feel his eyes on her but she didn’t slow down or look back. She went straight to the reception room and closed herself inside. With a long sigh and slow, ponderous movements she pulled her pajamas off and threw them over the back of the nearest chair.

She glanced at the windows as she tugged her jeans on and buttoned them. They felt good, like a comforting hug from an old friend, but she didn’t go any further. For a moment she stared out at the falling snow, that overwhelmingly endless snow. It had piled up in a thick blanket over everything and it was still coming.

Maiden was struck by the isolation, the helplessness, the ridiculousness of David asking her to hold back so other people wouldn’t be upset.

Whoa, where did that come from? She sucked in a steadying breath and reminded herself that David had avoided telling her about the Chief Boswell thing for as long as he could. He told her that he didn’t blame her and not to stress about it. But then he got angry with her for talking to Kevin. So what was the truth?

She was still staring out the window, holding her sweater uselessly in front of her, when the door opened wide. She looked over and gasped as Spencer stood there with a startled look on his face.

He was also clutching a change of clothes but his face had gone red and his eyes had gone straight to her chest. She recalled that she was wearing one of her lower cut and lacier bras and quickly jerked her sweater up to cover herself.

“I’m so sorry!” Spencer sounded horrified and turned his back, resting his forehead against the doorjamb as he started blathering nervously. “I didn’t think anyone was in here! I would’ve knocked! I always knock! I’m so sorry!”

Realizing that it hadn’t occurred to him that he could leave again, and not wanting to cause a scene, Maiden quickly pulled her sweater on. She smoothed it down over her hips, grateful for the immediate increase in warmth. She pushed her embarrassment aside and tried to pay attention to Spencer’s rambling.

“And I had these clothes out already, and David said I could go ahead and change and I knew this room was unlocked from last night.” He spoke almost nonstop. “I swear to you I didn’t think anyone was in here or I would never have just let myself in! I am so sorry, Maiden!”

“It’s okay, please take a breath, I’m safely covered now,” she said as steadily as she could.

Spencer turned very cautiously to look at her and relaxed visibly when he found her fully clothed as promised. He pressed his lips together and leaned his back against the door. It shut with a loud thud beneath his weight.

“You are incredibly beautiful—I mean like incredibly sexy!” he said. But the words sounded like they were wrenched from him quite unwillingly and he quickly looked away again. “I swear I don’t mean that in a creepy way.”

“Wasn’t that a line in your last film?” Maiden asked, a little creeped out despite his reassurances.

“Probably,” he admitted uncomfortably. “I say something like that at some point in every film. It’s always ad-libbed and they always leave it in the final edit, and it’s actually really embarrassing.”

“Then why do you keep doing it?” She shook her head slightly.

“I never do it on purpose.” He dropped his clothes and rubbed his face with his hands. “Whenever I get nervous around them, I always end up telling beautiful women that they’re beautiful, like you don’t already know. It’s a stupid knee-jerk reaction that always hits me. I just say whatever I'm thinking before I can stop myself…your breasts are gorgeous, by the way. Damn it! I'm sorry I said that, Maiden.”

Spencer turned to the window and shut his eyes tightly. Maiden stared at him and felt a terribly inappropriate giggle threaten, but apparently inappropriate behavior was on the cards so she didn’t feel too horrible when it managed to escape. Spencer glanced at her sharply and then shut his eyes again with a blush and a mortified groan.

Maiden’s shoulders shook and she felt her own cheeks flush. She couldn’t help it, an actual movie-star had just blundered out some of the clumsiest compliments she’d ever received in her life. She felt bad that he was embarrassed though, and she was also embarrassed that he’d seen her half-dressed. She wasn’t exactly sure of the polite way to handle the situation.

Fortunately, Spencer appeared to be regrouping. His face was still red but he was calming down, quite deliberately. She could see him call up whatever persona he needed to look like less of a fumbling teenager. He turned to her with a charming smile and opened the door again.

“Well, as I said, I’m terribly sorry to stumble in on you like that. It was a complete accident and I hope I haven’t upset you.” He gestured towards the door. “If you want to tell the others about it, I totally understand. And if David wants to punch me out, I understand that too.”

“Thanks, I’ll think about it. How did you end up involved with Lina?” She decided to ask it while he was already off-guard.

“What?” He stared at her, his gray-green eyes were wary and uncertain. “Oh, um, we met at an audition about a thousand years ago. Back when she was a real person and I was…still an awkward idiot. I haven’t really changed much.”

“But she has?” Maiden smiled kindly.

“Yeah, she has,” he said quietly and looked out the window again. Sifting through the memories seemed to be helping him get over his previous mortification. He looked somber and thoughtful now. “Back in those days we were both struggling. It’s so hard to get anywhere in the movie business; the competition is unbelievable. We were together though, and we were happy. She was her real self in those days, Kalina Mirovic. She was beautiful and she was authentic.

“The plastic surgeries had been a dream in those days; she talked about it all the time. She’d leave and be gone for hours; she said she was taking on waitressing work and a few other jobs to save up. I begged her to stop and accept how lovely she was already.”

“She obviously didn’t listen.” Maiden edged closer.

“No, she was determined to be a megastar and nothing would stop her,” he said with a sigh. “So, the operations started, a lot of them. I helped her, took care of her while she recovered…but I barely recognized her after a while.”

“But that’s not why it ended?” Maiden gave him a searching look.

“No, she ran after Tom like a cat in heat to further her career,” he said with a hollow laugh. “I hated her for that, I still do. She’s heartless.”

“Did you hate Tom?” she asked as neutrally as she could; there was really no tactful way of asking someone if they hated a murder victim.

“Yes, to be honest.” He lifted a shoulder. “I doubt you’d believe me if I said otherwise. But, ultimately, Tom was irrelevant. If it hadn’t been him, she’d have found someone else. Anyone that could have advanced her career.”

“That’s very sad,” Maiden said quietly and studied him watchfully. “You said last night that Tom had something on her. What do you think that was?”

“Oh, that’s only a guess,” he sighed. “When we were together, I suspected that Lina might have been in the country illegally. Just some of the comments she made, and I also never saw her file a tax return. I offered to help her but she just told me that ‘such help is not required’.”

“Interesting, so you think Tom found out about it?” she asked.

“It’s the sort of thing a guy like Tom would find out,” he said.

“So, it’s possible that Tom blackmailed Lina to make her take this role,” Maiden mused. She wasn’t sure if she believed that, but it was a possibility worth considering. She glanced back at Spencer and smiled nicely. “Did you know Lina was also cast in this film when you accepted the leading role?”

“No, I didn’t. Nessa, sort of…asked me to do it.” Spencer glanced away and cleared his throat. “I don’t always get leading roles, so I agreed.”

After quickly getting changed himself, David had gone ahead and enlisted Tony’s help to search the luggage. It had been methodical and efficient with no inquisitive looks or partial hypotheses from Maiden. Which was a relief in some ways but a source of concern in others. They hadn’t found a gun and Maiden hadn’t come back to help him after going to get dressed.

He glanced over at Tony. The man was standing with Vonny, holding her and whispering something that made her smile with unquestioning trust and hug him tightly. They looked happy. It was good, but reminded David of his own troubles. He felt worried and a bit sick but ignored it.

He would’ve gone to look for Maiden but he saw her duck into the kitchen as he returned from searching the bags. He didn’t have time to talk it out at the moment and didn’t want to push her too much anyway. He shook his head and leveled his gaze on his next target.

“Carly.” He noticed that everyone fell abruptly silent as she raised bleary eyes to him. He swept his hand towards the door. “Let’s talk.”

She stumbled to her feet and followed him out into the hall. He motioned for Tony to join them as he led the way to the dining room. He opted not to use the reception room, it felt too secluded to deal with a female suspect. It might have been different if Maiden was there.

They stepped inside and Tony obligingly waited near the door while David and Carly went to the closest table. She sank down heavily into a chair. David quirked a brow and stood calmly across the table from her.

“How long did you work for Tom Mathers?” he asked in an unrevealing tone.

“A couple of years…I guess. Something like that.” Carly looked a bit spaced out and sounded like it too.

“Are you all right?” He frowned slightly.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah I’m fine.” She nodded jerkily, sending her tightly wound curls bouncing. “I doubled up on my mood stabilizers last night…I’m kinda groggy.”

“Right.” He watched her a little more closely as she stared out the window at the relentlessly falling snow. “Is that, um, prescription stuff?”

“Of course it is!” Carly scowled at him. “Tom always shared his meds with me. He had a really good doctor, really understanding.”

David shut his eyes briefly and tried not to hate Tom Mathers with every iota of his conscious mind. He dredged up some tolerance by reminding himself that the creep was dead. When he looked at Carly again she was slumped forward at the table with her chin in her hands.

He glanced at Tony, who was staring at Carly like she was a puppy about to be hit by a bus. He briefly wondered if he should’ve brought Vonny along for this instead. Carly’s voice was a welcome distraction.

“Are you really a cop?” She squinted at him.

“Yes, I am,” he replied.

“Good. Kevin did it,” she informed him glumly. “He hated Tom.”

“I get the impression that a lot of people hated Tom.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Carly heaved a world-weary sigh. “People said a lot of nasty things about him.”

“Did you believe any of it?” he asked.

“At first I wondered…and I guess after seeing him in the kitchen crawling all over Nessa, I know at least that was true. But as for the other stuff, no. He always had a rational explanation for everything.” She gave David an earnest look. “He was so logical and reasonable. You’d have believed him too!”

David had to look away to stop himself from scoffing derisively in her face; that wasn’t a good way to keep suspects talking. He swallowed his personal reactions and faced her calmly again.

“How much of Tom’s work did you really do for him?” he asked.

“Almost all of it. He taught me a lot when I first started but after a year or so he stopped trying very hard.” She almost laughed but it was scathing, not amused. “He’d get a job and call me up. ‘Hey babe, you gotta sprinkle your pixie dust on this project for me. I’m tapped for ideas, too much other stuff going on.’”

Carly’s tone was deep and mocking as she parroted Tom. David couldn’t help wondering why she’d put up with the guy; he wondered how much Tom had actually contributed to whatever kind of relationship she thought they’d had. He decided not to pursue that at the moment.

“You were arrested several years ago for assault, correct?” he asked instead.

“How’d you find out about that?!” She glared at him.

“I’m a cop. Cops know things.” He assumed she was still addled enough to accept that explanation. She was.

“Whoa.” She stared at him and shook her head in wonder. “Well…yeah, I did get into some trouble over an argument I had with my brother. He’d borrowed money from me and couldn’t pay it back straight away. I didn’t mind that too much; he always struggled financially. But when I told him he’d still have to repay it later, he turned around and started telling the whole family that I owed him money! Can you believe that? He was such a greedy liar that he wanted to force me to hand over even more!”

“So, what did you do about that?” David folded his arms over his chest.

“I tried to talk some sense into him, told him he’d better clear my name or else. But he just started lying again. I knew he kept a baseball bat by the front door so I grabbed it. He tried to run away.” She smiled placidly. “I caught him though.”

“I see.” David wasn’t really sure what else he wanted to say to that disturbingly smug remark.

“I don’t like it when people lie! When they lie to me or about me and they refuse to stop, I lose it!” Carly narrowed her eyes angrily and fisted her hands on the table. “That’s why I know Tom told me the truth, because he knew what would happen if he didn’t!”

“Did you feel like killing Tom when you saw him with Nessa?” David was suddenly grateful that Maiden had run out on him. Carly was sounding increasingly unstable, if she turned violent he didn’t want to risk Maiden being there and getting hurt.

“Yes, I wanted to beat his stupid head in, but I didn’t.” She held his gaze easily and swayed a little in her seat. “I thought about killing Nessa too, but I didn’t.”

“Do you know of anyone else in this house that really hated Tom?” He noticed that she was settling down.

“Yes,” she said darkly. “Kevin.”

Chapter twenty-two

Maiden crept out of the kitchen when she saw David and Tony walk past with Carly. She was curious about what the woman had to say but, since she wasn’t able to participate when David questioned suspects, she was content to wait and ask Tony about it later.

She hadn’t seen Lina since everyone was given permission to get changed. She recalled from their search last night that Lina’s luggage was in her room on the third floor; she wouldn’t be surprised if the stunning bombshell was still hidden away there.

Maiden walked quietly down the hall and took a subtle look around the drawing room. As she expected, there was no sign of Lina. All the others were there, huddled around the fireplace, whispering to each other. She noticed that Kevin had the script back and was clutching it protectively to his chest.

Maiden left them to it and moved on to the foyer. It was eerily empty and felt unnaturally silent. For a moment she stood at the foot of the stairs and looked up into the unknown. She knew for a fact there was a dead body up there, and she strongly suspected that Lina was skulking about as well. She could only hope that no one else was waiting there.

In any case, Lina was likely alone with her bags, the only bags that hadn’t been checked yet. She needed to keep an eye on her, and preferably without getting shot. Maiden steeled herself and started up the stairs. The sun was steadily rising and dim light was spilling through the windows making everything seem a little safer.

She climbed past the second floor, sparing only the briefest glance at the slightly open door to the master bedroom, and made her way to the very top of the grand staircase. She stepped out into the hallway and looked around very cautiously.

It was empty. There was no sign of roving lunatics lurking in the shadows. Maiden told herself she was being silly. Deep down she believed the killer was a member of their group, not a random stranger that had snuck inside.

She went to Lina’s door and knocked lightly. She heard a bit of scuffling and then the click of high heels approaching. Maiden smiled sweetly when the door cracked open and Lina peered out.

“I only wanted to make sure you were okay,” Maiden said gently. “It’s a scary time to be off on your own.”

“Ah, Maiden.” Lina smiled benignly. “You are kind person. But you are also smart. You come here to make sure I am not hiding gun.”

“Don’t be silly!” Maiden hid her startled reaction well, she hoped. “If I thought you were guilty I wouldn’t face you alone. Besides, you’re a big movie star; big stars don’t do that sort of dirty work.”

“Is valid point.” Lina gave a small, impressed nod at her logic. She eased the door further open and gestured for her to enter. “I come up here for change of clothes and then I watch storm.”

Maiden smiled and glanced around subtly as Lina turned and went to stand in front of the large window. She looked quietly serious and thoughtful as she stared at the snowflakes dancing on the other side of the glass. She was dressed in long woolen pants and a pink mohair sweater, all nestled cozily under a full-length mink coat.

“Snow makes me sad,” Lina murmured after a long moment of silence. “It reminds me of growing up with very little. The winters were bitterly cold. Always the sounds of winds blowing, children crying. Was bleak time.”

Maiden was taken aback by that quiet glimpse into this glamorous woman’s thoughts. The somber reflections weren’t what she’d have expected. Somehow she felt it would be wrong to interrupt, so she waited. Lina tucked a little deeper into her coat.

“I always prefer roles that are in sunny place. Always is warm, always palm trees.” She smiled faintly. “Worlds away from my old life.”

“You must have struggled quite a bit,” Maiden said softly when she felt she’d waited long enough to satisfy good manners.

“Yes, struggle is part of what shaped me. I came from nothing, would you believe?” Lina smiled again at the fat clumps of falling snow that obscured the view. “I find way to come to America and I work hard. Is only way to have better life; one must be willing to work. Now, my mother goes to see my films and doesn’t recognize me. Surgery has changed me so much that she doesn’t know me, but she is not sad because I send money. She has good life now. Is better for all.”

“That’s so, um…I’m glad she has a good life.” Maiden was pleased to finally spit out a neutral response. She felt badly about trying to glean information after those personal revelations; she had to keep warning herself that she was talking to an actress. “What about Spencer? He didn’t seem too happy about your changes.”

“Ugh! That man!” Lina muttered and then turned to face her. “Cost of success is high, yes? I work hard and I pay. I have success. Spencer, he whines and complains and chooses stupid scripts that never get him anywhere. He is forever playing fiddle number two!”

“Second fiddle, yeah. I suppose he’s often a secondary character,” Maiden acknowledged. “So, did you leave him because he wasn’t successful?”

“Neither of us were anything when we meet or when we part,” Lina said firmly. “He was upset when I tell him we’re done, but was anger, not sadness.”

“Sometimes it might be both,” Maiden advised gently.

“Perhaps is so,” Lina permitted with a flourish of her bejeweled hands. “But not with Spencer. I was there, I know anger and resentment when I see it.”

“You think he was angry that you broke up with him?” she asked tactfully. “Could he have been jealous over the thing with Tom?”

“’Thing’?” She blinked her pale blue eyes and shook her head. But then understanding struck soundly and bluntly. “Ah! The sleeping with Tom, you mean?”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” Maiden tried not to smile at Lina’s plainspokenness.

“Oh, darling, you try to make shallow puddle into deep ocean,” Lina bemoaned her preposterous virtue. “Spencer says many things to make himself look better. He is not so innocent, but this is his persona. Myself, I am buxom blonde that falls into ridiculous trouble. He is boy-next-door type, but is fake! Fake as my blonde! He also uses his body to become star, I simply did better for myself and he is angry.”

“You think Spencer…” Maiden trailed off as she tried to find a polite way to make a very impolite suggestion.

“Sleeps with influentials to get starring role. Yes, is the way things are done,” she said casually. “Is not good life for everyone, but I see it as the means to the end. Spencer complains about myself and Tom, he says nothing about himself and Nessa. Petty, spiteful man. I’m glad he is so hum-drum in his success. Is only right.”

“Whoa, wait a minute!” Maiden held up a hand. “Spencer and Nessa? Have all of you been involved with each other or what?”

“No, not all. I don’t like Kevin.” Lina wrinkled her nose and pretended to shudder. “Too rude and greasy. Yuck! As for the rest, is just business.”

“Are you sure?” Maiden looked dubious. “You really think people can leave all emotional ties out of situations like that?”

“Ah, stuff of movies!” Lina tittered as she clasped her hands together and gazed innocently heavenward. “Love, envies, jealousies and suspicions! We all play the game because we enjoy it, but all know the rules.”

“What about Carly?” Maiden asked in a discreetly lowered tone.

“Foolish girl has no idea how Hollywood works.” Lina rolled her eyes. “Tom was never one-woman sort of man, and she is too plain and coarse to sway him. Still she tried and she did his work, so he let her.”

“So, Tom knew that Carly was serious about him?” Maiden asked.

“Oh yes.” Lina nodded with certainty. “Was big joke to him. He used to laugh about it.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice.” Maiden tried not to let her intense dislike of the dead man shine through.

“He was never nice,” Lina said mildly. “He enjoyed making use of people. And now he is dead. Is fair, yes?”

David frowned as he scrawled down notes on the receipt pad Gloria had scrounged for him. Maiden had snuck off again, and apparently forgotten about her promise to find him a notebook. He asked Gloria where she’d gone but no one had seen her leave the kitchen. That was one of several headaches he’d encountered in the last twenty minutes or so.

The interview with Carly was largely unhelpful. Tony had also been largely unhelpful. The man had observed the entire exchange and, when asked for his thoughts, could offer nothing better than: She’s probably really nice when she’s not doped up.

Further prodding was met with the tactful suggestion that Maiden was really observant and really good at talking to people, shouldn’t he be doing all this detective stuff with her?

Deciding against putting his fist through the nearest window and letting more snow in, David instead skulked to the kitchen and asked Gloria for a notepad with all the grace and tact of a frustrated toddler. It wasn’t a great start to the day.

He’d just finished noting that Tom was apparently sharing drugs with Carly when Gloria let out a loud sigh. He arched a brow and glanced at her, she looked concerned.

“We need to find Maiden.” Gloria pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Breakfast is ready. She don’t eat when she’s upset; I gotta really watch her sometimes.”

“Why would she be upset?!” David asked sharply and quickly caught himself when Tony and a host of Harlows stared back at him suspiciously.

“What’s going on, Captain Smooth?” Vonny asked with a scowl. “You guys seemed fine yesterday.”

“Yeah, well, Tom seemed fine yesterday too,” David replied dryly.

“Tom’s dead.” Vonny glared at him. “How’s my sister?”

“She’ll be fine, Von,” Tony soothed, patting his irate girlfriend on the shoulder. He slid David a wary look. “I think things are a bit…complicated at the moment.”

“Just dandy! You young turkeys defy belief,” Alfie said under his breath before fixing David with a cranky look. “Go find my daughter, detective!”

“Right, yes, fantastic,” David grumbled as he stalked out of the kitchen and off down the hallway.

It’s a good thing I have nothing else to do but trawl through this massive house looking for Maiden because she’s deliberately avoiding me, he grumbled to himself. Perfect timing for everything, best weekend ever!…Stop whining, McAlister, you’re just scared.

He stopped at the doorway of the drawing room and glanced inside. Kevin was slapping the script emphatically while Nessa and Victor stared at him, utterly aghast, and bombarded him with angry questions. Barry was still watching Carly suspiciously. The only one that saw David in the doorway was Spencer, who quickly looked away and sank down into his chair.

David made a mental note of that strange reaction, but his immediate concern was that Lina was gone too. He considered the implications and tried to put himself in Maiden’s head. Why would she and Lina both disappear?

Because Lina’s bags are in her room and they weren’t searched with the others, he thought to himself with a rueful smirk. You’re a maniac, baby. You’d better be safe.

David slipped quickly upstairs, listening carefully and looking around cautiously as he went. By the time he reached the third floor and started down the hall to the half open door of Lina’s chosen bedroom, he heard women’s voices inside.

He peeked in the door and saw Lina and Maiden sitting on the bed looking through a big jewelry case. He stayed carefully silent as he observed them.

“This piece I wear in Pippa Goes Home,” Lina explained as she drew out an ornate necklace dotted with pink stones. “Is an original Dragovic design, Croatian jeweler, very famous.”

“It’s amazing,” Maiden said as she took it gingerly and looked it over. “Are you from Croatia?”

“Russia,” Lina corrected primly. “Many generations.”

“Wow.” Maiden handed it back. “Do you miss it?”

“Never.” Lina frowned down at the case and pulled out a sapphire ring. “Look at that! Costs more than my car!”

“I’ve never driven one of these.” Maiden smiled faintly and held the stone up to the light. “Do you know anything about antique jewelry? Do you like older stuff?”

“No, I like new things.” Lina accepted the ring back from Maiden and slid it onto her hand.

“Did Tom know much about jewelry?” she asked mildly. “Was it ever a factor in his set designs?”

David smiled faintly. Maiden was neatly maneuvering the conversation to that ring they found in Tom’s pocket. Maybe testing to see if it could’ve been meant for Lina.

“Is sometimes so, depends on script,” Lina said. “But that sort of jewelry would always be fake.”

“Fake as your blonde?” Maiden asked with a teasing smile that Lina readily returned.

“Fake as Spencer’s personality,” she chortled. “You are silly woman, Maiden. You could do much more with your assets; you could be very happy.”

“I’m already happy.” Maiden shrugged. “Why mess with it?”

“There are many opportunities, many men that can take you places.” Lina smiled as she admired her numerous rings.

“I only need one man, but thanks for the advice,” Maiden said with a soft laugh.

David tried to ignore the way his pulse leapt at that confident admission. He eased back down the hall and then approached the door again far louder this time. He knocked on the door and leaned against the doorjamb. Lina grinned when she saw him.

“The very one!” she laughed lightly. “Come in policeman, we have been waiting for you.”

“You have?” David asked skeptically.

“Yes, you must search my bags and Maiden must watch to make sure I hide nothing.” Lina waved away Maiden’s startled look. “She kindly listens to me chatter. But I cannot hide forever, stupid movie is still problem, so hurry up please.”

“Gladly.” He walked over to the suitcases Lina pointed him towards.

He opened the first one and was momentarily stunned by the sheer amount of pink garments inside. David shook his head and gingerly picked through the lacey contents. He stilled for a heartbeat when he heard Maiden speak up.

“Oh, is that your copy of the script?” she asked companionably. David glanced subtly over to see her pointing at the bedside table.

“Pah! Is drivel,” Lina sulked.

“Can I have a peek?” Maiden smiled hopefully. “This whole movie process is new to me.”

“With my compliments,” Lina drawled.

Maiden nodded her thanks and grabbed the script. She knew she didn’t have much time to look it over, only as long as it took David to search two suitcases.

She didn’t need to read the entire thing, just enough to see how truly radical Kevin’s rewrites were. She flicked through a few spots, noted that there was no hint of a secret past in Helena’s character, and skipped to the end.

It was the ending that Victor had described and it was set in the master bedroom, as Maiden had been told was the original plan. Edward stabs his innocent, mentally abused wife to death and then has a moment of harrowing self-realization. It hits him just how horrible of a monster he’s become. After weeping over his wife’s dead body, he climbs into the bathtub and shoots himself.

Maiden heard the lid of the second suitcase drop and glanced up at Lina. The other lady looked apathetic bordering on unhappy. Maiden handed her back the script and noticed Lina’s disdainful scowl as she laid it in her lap.

“You don’t like the story at all?” she asked, despite everyone being fully aware of the answer.

“Is stupid and depressing,” Lina muttered churlishly. “In my movies I am always the winner. But in this story? No. All die and for no purpose! What is point if no one wins?”

“So, why did you choose to do it?” She shook her head.

Lina didn’t reply at first. Maiden waited, sliding her gaze to David to find him also watching the blonde curiously. Finally Lina shifted and sighed.

“Agent was insistent,” she mumbled and propped her chin in her hand. “Said it would show versatility. I should have fired him on spot; now look what has happened!”

“Had you read the script before you signed up?” Maiden smiled teasingly, hoping she’d answer.

“Not all,” Lina admitted quietly. “Was my own mistake, I know this. And I read it now and I hate…I don’t want to be murdered.”

Chapter twenty-three

Lina’s somber comment effectively ended the conversation. She put her jewelry away, reluctantly picked up her copy of the script, and headed downstairs ahead of David and Maiden.

Maiden noticed that David slowed his pace as they neared the bottom of the stairs. He reached out and gently grasped her elbow to stop her as Lina continued on towards the kitchen and the enticing aroma of bacon that wafted from it.

Maiden steeled herself for whatever David wanted to say. He walked down to the step below hers so their faces were closer and smiled gently.

“Hey, I wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on Lina,” he said in a discreetly lowered tone. “You know that I’d rather you hadn’t put yourself alone in a potentially dangerous situation, but thank you for thinking to keep tabs on her.”

Maiden was both appreciative and suspicious of the acknowledgement and tactfully phrased concern. David was smart and had to know that she’d been avoiding him; a cranky confrontation would only make things worse.

For her part, she was still trying to work out the best strategy to run her own investigation without anyone realizing she was doing it, so she just smiled and inclined her head. He gave her a patient look and grasped her carefully by the arms, gently kneading her flesh through her long sleeves.

“Baby,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to fight, okay?”

More than okay; fighting makes me sick to my stomach, she thought glumly. But you can’t do this alone and we both know, deep down, that you don’t want me to do it either. Maiden, redirect the conversation before he asks you to promise something stupid.

“How did you and Tony get along with Carly?” she asked as neutrally as she could.

“Fine.” David failed to hide his frustration. “She’s spaced out on Tom’s meds and Tony may as well have been singing the theme to the Muppet Show in his head for the whole interview. He was about that observant.”

“David, he doesn’t do this kind of thing,” she sighed and shook her head. “What did you expect?”

“You suggested him,” he said tightly.

“To search luggage, not observe suspects.” She rubbed her forehead wearily.

“Well, I had to improvise since you skipped out,” he said, the anger was starting to show through again.

“Because you’re being unreasonable.” She held his gaze ruthlessly as his eyes widened and his jaw tightened.

“I am always reasonable!” he said through his teeth.

“David.” She rested her hands on his shoulders and leaned closer. “You don’t have the manpower to investigate this murder the way you usually do. You have no officers, no gun, you don’t even have your badge. We are effectively outnumbered and can’t force anyone to do much of anything. Straightforward cop stuff isn’t going to work.”

He glanced away and exhaled slowly through his nose. He wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t sure if that was because he agreed or not. She gave his tight muscles a little squeeze.

“You’re going to have to let me do some of this,” she whispered. “And before you insist that you already are, please remember that you’ve gotten upset with me twice already when all I did was get suspects talking.”

She did her best to water it down while still telling the truth. She didn’t come out and say what she was thinking, because she knew it sounded horrible, but when they worked together he held her back and wasted her time.

“I know it seems that way,” he said after a moment. “But it’s because you push ahead without me.”

“I react to opportunities,” she said. “If someone starts volunteering information do you expect me to tell them to hold that thought until you’re there to hear it too?”

“No,” he allowed carefully. “But you haven’t come to me with anything you’ve learned yet.”

“And why do you think that is?” She tried not to smile. He studied her face for a long moment.

“You think I’ll be angry with you.” It was a statement, not a question or a suggestion. She shrugged and kissed his cheek.

“I know I’m not a cop, David. But I’m still pretty useful.” She looked him in the eye again. “You don’t have any alternatives, you need to let me be actually useful. We just won’t tell anyone, okay? We’re completely isolated, it’ll be easier to keep anything I do quiet.”

Maiden didn’t wait for a response, she didn’t need one, she wasn’t asking for his permission. She gave his shoulders another quick squeeze and slipped past. It was only a heartbeat or two before she heard his footsteps following behind her.

The kitchen was bright and noisy as Gloria, Alfie and Barry rustled pots and pans and chatted away. Nessa was standing nearby, frowning over a cup of coffee. Maiden assumed the others were in the dining room already tearing into the first wave of food.

“Are you doing okay?” Maiden smiled at Nessa. The woman instantly cleared her forehead and nodded.

“Yeah, more or less. Apart from being trapped with a killer and a timebomb of a film that’s losing money as we speak,” she complained and pulled a face. “Having strangers paw through my underwear wasn’t a dream come true either. Nothing personal, David.”

“I understand,” he replied mildly. “You can dig through my bag if it’ll make you feel better.”

“I’m good, but thanks,” she said wryly as she sipped her coffee.

“So, you’ll keep filming, right?” Maiden asked and murmured her thanks to Gloria when she handed both her and David a cup of coffee.

“We really don’t have much choice, time is money,” Nessa said stoically. “But we have no cameramen, no sound crew, and a ticking clock in the back of everyone’s mind telling us that we’re at crisis point. We have to somehow do a professional job without enough professionals and in a fraction of the time we really need.”

“Mm, the contract did sound a bit…ambitious,” Maiden pointed out candidly even though she and her family were benefitting from that very contract.

“Head in the clouds, that’s Victor.” Nessa sighed wearily. “He gets an idea stuck in his head and has to make it happen. Most of the time it works out, but I’m not feeling optimistic at the moment.”

“Dead bodies will do that to you.” Maiden smiled faintly.

Nessa laughed and gave her a sideways look. “Do you often stumble across dead bodies, Maiden?”

“Sometimes, yeah,” she said simply and quickly pressed on. “So what will happen if you don’t get the filming done?”

“I really don’t know, and we’re not going to find out,” she said firmly as she set her empty cup down on the counter. “It’s time to get this mess in order.”

Nessa walked out with a renewed air of purpose, and with Barry hot on her heels. David and Maiden accepted the plates of food that Alfie sat in front of them and quickly followed.

“Victor!” Nessa said firmly as she strode into the dining room where the others were assembled and quietly eating. “This situation has gotten completely out of control. We need to get serious here. Murder or no, we need to get back to work, we’ve lost too much time already.”

“Yes, I know that,” Victor grumbled and glanced at Kevin in obvious annoyance. “I’d just broached that very subject. But I’m still not sure which script we’re going with. That certainly isn’t going to speed things up!”

Kevin sank down in his chair and said nothing. Maiden and David approached subtly as Nessa stood next to the table and braced her hands on her hips.

“All right, Kevin,” she said, eying him sternly. “You’ve got both the scripts now, so what scenes can we do?”

Kevin fed a strip of bacon into his mouth like a branch into a woodchipper, clearly stalling while he organized his thoughts. Maiden found that curious, he’d been so desperate to get the script back in hopes of rescuing the project, she would’ve expected him to have a plan in mind already. Something definitely wasn’t adding up.

“The easiest scenes will be the closed in suspense shots. We’ll be able to get away with one camera for those,” Kevin said at last. “Barry could probably handle that, or maybe Victor. Hey Maiden, is there a…different bathroom we can use to film in?”

“Thank you for not saying ‘shoot’,” Maiden said under her breath, but Victor heard it and put a hand to his chin to hide a poorly timed smile. “There’s a bathroom on the third floor that won’t have been touched, it’ll be much smaller than the master bath though.”

“That’s fine, we really only need the shower at the moment. We’ll sort the rest out later.” Kevin inclined his head and turned a tad wearily to the neighboring table where Lina was sitting. “Have we been practicing our lines?”

“Perhaps doesn’t matter,” Lina sniffed and patted her hair. “Have we decided that blonde is better?”

“Lina, please. You signed a contract and agreed to play this part,” Victor said with an air of waning patience. “You have to wear the wig; get over it. How many times do you think you can make the exact same film before people get sick of you? Expand your repertoire for once!”

The room fell uncomfortably silent. As chidings went, it certainly wasn’t the worst Maiden had ever heard, but it was still awkward and probably wouldn’t be well-received. She took a bite of scrambled eggs and glanced surreptitiously at Lina.

Her pale eyes had narrowed furiously on Victor as her hand tightened around her water glass. Victor’s annoyance didn’t last, he cleared his throat and looked down into his coffee cup as Lina fumed.

“Who is biggest name in this room?!” she finally demanded in a loud, confident tone.

“Barry Ostenknowski!” Kevin piped up and pointed to Nessa’s offsider. “He has more syllables than anyone else here. Take your fight to him!”

“Real helpful, Kevin,” Nessa said sardonically. “Thanks.”

“Well, she’s being deliberately difficult. We don’t actually need her specifically.” Kevin smiled slyly. “We can use a stand-in and finally get some work done while her highness gets over herself and her tatty peroxide trademark.”

“This is too much!” Lina jumped to her feet and folded her arms over her chest. “On top of everything else, I will not be insulted by this clod that can barely write single sentence without sending audience to sleep! You think you can replace me? Ha! Just try!”

“Gladly.” Kevin stood, rubbing his hands together and surveying the room, particularly Nessa, Vonny and Maiden. “And we have so many stunning options to choose from.”

The sound of a man’s throat clearing and a chair being pushed back a little pulled everyone’s attention to the far side of Lina’s table. There Spencer sat, poking at his breakfast with his fork even as he glanced over very briefly from the corner of his eye.

“Um, going purely by the physical similarities,” Spencer stared down at his plate again, “Maiden is the closest…she’s actually a bit more…authentic too.”

Maiden felt her lips twitch and her cheeks turn pink as everyone shifted their attention to her. Don’t laugh, Maiden, please don’t laugh.

“That sounds a bit authoritative, Spence.” Kevin smiled sardonically.

“Yeah,” David agreed in an unreadable tone. “It does.”

Maiden closed her eyes and briefly considered flinging her biscuits and gravy over them and running out. She opted for turning quite deliberately to Spencer, hoping the others would follow her lead. He’d turned red again; she had no hope of containing the immature giggling that rose in her throat.

“I was trying to find a room to get changed in.” He sounded incredibly subdued. “The door wasn’t locked…I apologized a lot.”

“Let me guess, Casanova,” Kevin laughed heartily, “you walked in on poor Maiden, stared like an idiot and then babbled like a brook for five minutes?”

“Not quite that long,” Spencer said mulishly.

“You are telling me always to be professional and you ogle host?!” Lina glared at him and slapped her hand down on the table. “Policeman’s girlfriend, you fool!”

“You look really nice today!” Spencer blurted nervously as he leaned away from her furious expression.

“Whoa, okay! Settle down, people!” Nessa hurried over to Spencer and gave him a gentle pat on the back. “Just settle down, Spencer.”

The poor man took a shaky breath and fixed his gaze on the nearest window as he tried to dredge up some composure. There was a moment of awkward silence until Victor exhaled slowly and shifted.

Victor pushed to his feet and gestured for David to step aside with him. David set his plate on the table and obligingly took a few steps away from the others. Maiden took another bite as she subtly eased close enough to eavesdrop.

“Listen, please, we’re in a very time-sensitive situation, David,” Victor reminded him. “We don’t have the makeup artists on site or their materials. All I ask is that, should you find yourself needing to hit Spencer, please avoid his face. We don’t have the means to cover anything.”

Maiden couldn’t begin to guess how David took that in without laughing; she was just barely managing to hold herself together. He cleared his throat and looked away a few times, that may have helped, but then faced the stoic man.

“I’m not going to punch Spencer for an accidental peek,” he assured him.

Victor looked at him thoughtfully and then shrugged a shoulder.

“I can’t ask you to commit to something like that, David,” he said blandly. “Ultimately we take life as it comes. Just not in his face, please.”

“Right,” David agreed rather than debate the point.

“Spencer is onto something though,” Kevin continued. “Maiden’s figure would be ideal. Plus she’s already got dark hair. And she certainly looks more intelligent and mysterious.”

Lina gritted her teeth and started tapping her foot. Maiden knew it was all an attempt to goad the uncooperative actress, but she had more important things to do than play along.

“Uh, thanks all the same,” she ditched her plate next to David’s and held up her hands, “but I know nothing about acting.”

“You’d still be more convincing than the blonde airhead here.” Spencer, having effectively calmed himself down, jerked his thumb in Lina’s direction. “If she has to walk and talk at the same time she complains that it’s too complex to suit her image.”

“Is easy to be bitter when your most successful film earned less than my last flop,” Lina bit back angrily. “Who is airhead now?”

“We really are under a time crunch, Maiden,” Kevin interrupted the burgeoning spat. “It would be tremendously helpful.”

“It’s really not the sort of thing I go in for, sorry.” Maiden shook her head.

“You wouldn’t have to do much,” Kevin pressed. “If it worries you we can try to keep your face obscured from the camera.”

“Then do it yourself.” Maiden smirked and draped her hands on her hips.

“I don’t think Spence would go for that,” Kevin laughed. “It’s a shower scene. Helena is standing under the water when Edward looms up behind her and scares her. It builds the tension and adds to the feel of something sinister brewing in the background.”

“So, does he try to kill her?” Maiden blinked at him and touched a hand to her throat uneasily.

“No, not yet.” Kevin shook his head. “He just frightens her and then they have sex.”

“Get lost, pal,” Maiden said mildly enough.

“Well, that’s a pity.” Kevin sighed but quickly recovered and glanced to his left. “Nessa? You’re the next bustiest, would you do it? We might have a slightly darker flesh-tone bikini that would work for you. Actually, even Vonny would be good, she’s pretty enough and we could just pad her top a bit.”

Before either woman could answer they were all distracted by Lina’s enraged shriek. Her hands were clenched into fists and her tiny nostrils flared. A string of complaints, and probably profanities, poured out in furious Russian. Maiden shifted her gaze to David, who had stayed remarkably quiet through the filming debate. He gave her a wink and slid an arm around her. At that point Lina finally found her English and let rip.

“I am not being dragged to some horrible shell of house, in middle of blizzard, to have amateurs try and do my job!” she shouted. “I will not use stand-in! My body is perfect, I don’t need double!”

“If that’s how you feel, fine. Whatever you want, Lina.” Kevin shook his head innocently and gestured towards the door. “Can you go and get ready then?”

She stormed out, still shouting all the way down the hall. Kevin looked quite pleased with his mischief and gestured towards Barry and then Carly, who was resting her chin on her hands at a table by herself.

“Let’s find that bathroom and start setting up, shall we?” he said and then slid Spencer a look. “I assume you’re more than familiar with your duties towards the lady at this point?”

“Cram it, Kevin,” he muttered as he pushed to his feet and stalked past. “I’ve had more than enough of you.”

Chapter twenty-four

While Lina closed herself away in her room, presumably putting on a flesh-tone bikini, Maiden and David got back to work. They’d volunteered to help Barry haul some equipment up to the third floor.

Carly was supposed to be doing the set design, but the last time Maiden saw her she’d wandered off to the drawing room to lie down for a while. No one questioned it, mainly because she was still staggering around like she was drugged up. Tony and Vonny agreed to stay nearby and keep an eye on her.

Maiden was trudging up the stairs with David and Barry. She was grateful that the work was getting underway again. They needed everyone to branch off from one big group so they’d be more inclined to talk freely. She noticed David shift from the corner of her eye.

“So, what’s the deal with Kevin? He isn’t particularly nice to the rest of you,” David said more casually than he typically would when addressing a suspect. Maiden wondered if he’d taken her earlier comments to heart.

“He’s a conceited tool, pure and simple.” Barry shrugged as best he could while lugging a heavy camera up a third flight of stairs. “Ironically, he and Tom were just as hard to work with, but for different reasons.”

“Did Kevin really hinder Tom’s career after their last project?” Maiden, who was bringing up the rear with a few coils of cable and a microphone, asked skeptically. “He said he’d cost him some jobs.”

David didn’t look at her, she knew he wouldn’t. He had to accept the situation but he didn’t have to like it. Barry glanced around to make sure no one was listening and stopped at the top of the stairs.

“He did,” he confirmed with a nod. “He and Tom hated each other and did their best to damage each other’s reputations. I think this missing script stunt may have been the last straw.”

“You aren’t suggesting that Kevin…” Maiden waited for Barry to fill in the blank.

“No, I’m only saying it’s possible,” he said carefully. “I don’t trust Kevin any more than I trusted Tom; the man has a major inferiority complex and he’s always looking out for his own interests. Just something you might want to keep in mind.”

“Fair enough.” Maiden eased closer and leaned in a bit, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I’m so sorry to ask, but I trust you to know if anyone would, did Spencer and Nessa ever…you know?”

“Where’d you hear that?” Barry’s expression was shuttered.

“I can’t really say and it doesn’t really matter.” She winced apologetically. “Do you think it’s true?”

“I would say that it’s…possible,” Barry said after a very pregnant pause. “Spencer’s a pretty good guy, for an actor, but he’s fighting for his place in an incredibly competitive business. And sometimes Nessa can be a bit predatory. It’s part of why she is where she is. It’s a tougher road for women.”

That was all he had to say on that subject, as evidenced by the way he turned and walked resolutely towards the old bathroom at the end of the hall. Maiden watched him go until he was out of sight and then turned to face David.

He didn’t look angry exactly, but he was watching her with his steeliest cop face. She stepped closer and pressed a big, wet kiss on his mouth. His hands were full so his options were limited, he wasn’t struggling or turning away though.

“We should get together and compare notes whenever you have time,” she suggested mildly when she pulled back.

“Yeah, that would be good.” He ran his tongue over his upper lip.

She nodded a fraction and then led the way to the bathroom. Barry was already inside having a look around. The space was appropriately dilapidated and even a bit larger than she expected, but she had been going off the blueprints she’d memorized.

“This space will work perfectly.” Barry sounded genuinely pleased and started setting up his camera.

Maiden gave a thumbs up that he didn’t look over to see and slipped out before she was asked to drag anything else upstairs. She opted to busy herself with something less manual, namely heading across the hall to check on Lina.

“I will be out when I am out!” she snapped in reply to Maiden’s polite offer of assistance.

In retrospect it occurred to Maiden that she was probably the last person Lina wanted to see after Kevin’s rude attempts to put her forward as a stand-in. Deciding to courageously back off immediately, Maiden stepped away and studied the hallway instead.

She hadn’t done much exploring on the third floor yet and now seemed like an ideal opportunity. She looked down the hall past the stairs they’d just climbed, there were two more doors on her right, she checked them as she walked along. The knobs barely budged as she passed by, giving them a gentle twist.

But as she made her way back and tried the doors on the other wall, one opened. Maiden caught a soft gasp; it was the door directly across from Lina’s room. She frowned curiously and peered inside.

Unsurprisingly, it was another bedroom. The third floor seemed to be entirely dedicated to guest rooms. That would be handy if they were ever able to open the entire manor up as a destination venue. And assuming they all survived the weekend.

Maiden slipped inside and, after first checking for gun-wielding lunatics, took a closer look at the furnishings. It was a decent-sized room and a large window let in plenty of natural light. There was a four-poster queen bed with matching bedside tables and an elegant vanity table with a small oval mirror. The walls were a buttery yellow and everything was encrusted with dust.

Except for the set of big footprints that led straight to the closet.

Maiden’s eyes widened and her heart started to pound. Someone had been in this room recently and she had a sinking feeling that it was the same person that had used the secret passage on the floor below.

She looked closer and saw that there was a second set of prints going in the opposite direction. Maybe someone had found an open door and took a peek around before leaving again. It was possible.

Her eyes settled on the closet and stayed there. A moment later she was walking carefully towards it. She stopped long enough to pull out her phone and take a picture of a particularly clear footprint, and then glanced over her shoulder at the partly open door. No one was there; she heard a few distant voices but none that sounded close by.

Maiden reached out and opened the closet, taking an immediate step back on the off chance that someone was hiding inside. She didn’t see a person, but the closet was full of old clothes. A wave of stale mustiness touched her nose but she ignored it and carefully moved a few garments.

There were some men’s suits and shirts, a few dresses and a patchwork coat. It looked like a catch-all for random things that no one wanted to deal with. She pushed everything to the far end of the closet, intending to look through all the pockets for anything of interest, when she saw the sleeve of a shirt pinned to the side wall.

Maiden looked closer, it was caught in something. Her eyes widened. Another concealed door; it had to be. Determined to find this one herself, she carefully poked and prodded until she found a tiny, barely raised, button on the wall. With a faint click, a panel in the wall of the closet drifted free. She took a deep breath and pushed it open far enough to find a cramped spiral staircase that sat on the other side.

Both delighted and terrified, Maiden grasped her phone tightly and turned on the flashlight, shining it over the antiquated stairs. The passage was compact and the air inside it was cold, stale and heavy.

In spite of that, it was clear that the strange little space had not sat entirely undisturbed. Apart from spying a few more footprints inside, Maiden found the trapped sleeve to be the most telling clue.

Someone else knew about this secret passage, and had used it, but the question was who. Another question was how. How did they know about it? Either way, she had to find out where it led.

Maiden stepped through the small doorway and onto the top stair. Dusty cobwebs fluttered all around her but the path down the stairs was conspicuously clear, more proof that someone had been through here recently. It was so cold and empty, just being there made her uncomfortable.

She climbed carefully down the tightly spiraled stairs, winding around and around until she spotted another small door at their base. Maiden moved her light across the bare slab of wood as she approached and ran her free hand over it. It only took a moment to find a tiny latch. After giving it a cautious flick, the door opened out with an eerie moan that gave her goosebumps.

She could’ve sworn she heard slow footsteps approaching behind her, softly landing against the treads of the antique stairs. Her pulse was racing and her hands started to shake; she needed to get out fast or she’d never be found. No one but the killer would ever know to look for her in there.

Maiden pushed the door open and dashed out into a room she quickly recognized. The empty rails and the floral wallpaper were unmistakable, it was the walk-in closet in the master bedroom. She realized with chilling certainty that this was how Tom’s murderer either reached him, or escaped unseen. Possibly both.

She was trying to wrap her head around the possibilities when a large shadow loomed up behind her. She started to scream but an arm reached around her and then a hand clamped over her mouth, reducing her efforts to a terrified squeak.

“It’s me!” David whispered in her ear. “I didn’t mean to scare you! I’m sorry!”

Maiden relaxed so abruptly that she was amazed she didn’t collapse. He pulled his hand away from her mouth as she twisted to face him.

“Why did you sneak up on me?!” she hissed anxiously. “I thought you were a maniacal killer!”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated with a wince. “I found the bedroom door open and saw you disappear into the closet, I just followed you down. I didn’t want to say anything in case the crew upstairs heard it.”

“Well,” she sighed shakily and glanced around again. “The main point is that this was probably the killer’s escape route.”

“Or possibly their entry point,” David suggested as he peered back into the stairwell and looked around at the floor. “If it was Carly, she might’ve shot Tom, ditched the gun and then ran to the door and screamed.”

“Yeah,” Maiden said quietly. David glanced at her.

“What?” he asked.

“Just thinking.” She shook her head, not ready to voice any newborn theories to him yet. “So, now what?”

“For a start, we don’t mention this to anyone.” He reached back and pushed the door closed. “If the killer did use this passage, we need to know how they learned it was here. Hopefully without letting whoever it is know that we’ve found it too.”

By the time David and Maiden left the master bedroom, they passed the rest of the crew on the stairs. Even Carly had stirred and clomped along after the others. The filming was obviously about to begin in earnest. The small but determined team took over half of the third-floor and got to work.

Maiden, David and the others stayed out of the way as best they could. Alfie, Gloria, Vonny and Tony tucked themselves away in the kitchen while David pulled Maiden into the reception room and asked her about everyone she’d spoken with that morning.

She gave him the gist of her conversations with Kevin, Spencer and Lina. He then told her what he’d learned from Carly.

“She seems like the most obvious suspect,” David mused. “She’s certainly unstable and emotionally driven, and not afraid to resort to violence either.”

“Yeah, but that’s where the murder weapon becomes an unlikely fit.” Maiden stared out through the window at the falling snow. “Victor was right; he said that he thought she’d be more likely to beat Tom to death than shoot him. And she’s been drugged up ever since; she doesn’t seem like the premeditated murdering type.”

“She’s acting drugged up,” David pointed out.

“That’s true,” she said. “It could be an act. Did you see the footprints upstairs?”

“Yeah, way too big to be hers,” he acknowledged and slid her a quietly smiling look.

“What?” she asked uncertainly.

“Nothing, it’s just…” he shrugged and folded his arms loosely, “it’s good to have someone to confer with. I’m used to having a team. You don’t seem fazed by it though.”

“I never have a team, David,” she chuckled at him. “I always work on my own. Untrained amateur, remember?”

He smiled down at his feet. He’d really felt it when she dropped him and went off on her own. He understood why, but it still stung. It also made him worry that she might get tired of him trying to clip her wings.

What he needed her to realize was, whether they were dating or not, she couldn’t interfere with police investigations. The main reason it was a danger to him was that it looked like he was allowing it. And, in all honesty, sometimes he did.

“I never called you that,” he murmured and quickly changed the subject. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, did Spencer actually see you topless?”

“Not entirely,” Maiden replied. “I still had my bra on. Anyway, he panicked.”

“Was he threatening in any way?” He summoned up well-trained patience, hoping she wouldn’t feel too scared to tell him the truth.

“Yeah, threatening to have a panic attack,” she giggled. “That’s why I chose then to question him about his relationship with Lina.”

“Are you serious?!” David stared at her incredulously.

“He was vulnerable!” she said defensively. “I didn’t want to waste it!”

He muffled his laughter in his hands and shook his head at her, relieved that she was so resilient but bemused by her interesting reasonings.

“I don’t have words to describe you sometimes,” he admitted candidly.

“That’s probably just as well,” she said and ran a hand through her hair. “What are we actually going to do, David? We’ve got a house full of eccentric people and a dead body rotting in a bathtub. What’s the plan?”

“One of them killed him, but they can’t get away, so far so good,” he said. “From here we try to find out who did it, if necessary we’ll babysit everyone until the roads are clear and I can chuck them all in a cell.”

“You think it’s going to be that easy?” She looked dubious.

“Yes, I do,” he lied with what he hoped was a confident smile.

Maiden took in David’s unconvincing expression and decided not to say what she was thinking. She turned back to the window; the snow was still falling heavily. Even if someone was already trying to plow the roads to reach them, it would be an uphill and time-consuming battle.

The whole town would be buried under a blanket of snow by now and they were sitting at the end of a long, seldom used road. Help wasn’t exactly on their doorstep.

Apart from that, she couldn’t help feeling that they were on the wrong track. They’d been asking all their questions about Tom’s rivals and enemies, but she wasn’t sure that was all there was to the situation.

The changes to the film script were strange, and so was the missing picture of Helena and Edward. Maiden had asked her mother about it while she was hiding in the kitchen that morning, but Gloria said she hadn’t touched the picture and neither had Alfie.

Maiden kept coming back to the same conclusion. Whatever was going on, it was at least partially connected to the Riley family and the manor. She truly believed that this was the path they ought to be pursuing. But David thought that the killer was settling a grudge against Tom, and David had been calling the shots until now.

Maiden slid him a covert look to find him writing in what looked like a receipt book. There was a chance that David was right but, if he wasn’t, there would be dire consequences for putting all their efforts into chasing his theories. Someone would get away with murder.

Chapter twenty-five

Lunch passed without any of the tension and shouting that marred breakfast. There was a bit of conversation but it all centered around what they were hoping to film and the best ways to keep a soaking wet Spencer and Lina from freezing to death between takes of their shower scene.

As soon as everyone had eaten, the film crew went straight back to work. With them safely preoccupied down the hall, Maiden and David crept back to the newly discovered secret passage and searched it more thoroughly. They found a lot of dirt and grime, but no gun.

They stepped back into the large and empty closet that led into the master bedroom. As she stepped further into the darkened space, Maiden heard a brief and low sound. It might have been a sniffle. She tensed and looked at the partly open door. David was right behind her and started towards the sliver of weak light that filtered through.

Maiden caught his arm and touched her fingers to his lips. David quirked a brow but then smiled faintly and started pulling her close, until he saw her serious expression and realized she wasn’t flirting. He stilled and they both listened until the sound came again.

It was definitely a sniffle, and it was quickly followed by an unsteady sigh. They edged a little closer; Maiden leaned forward and peered through the crack in the door. She couldn’t see anyone in the bedroom itself, but she was pretty sure that the tearful sounds were coming from the bathroom next door.

She felt David’s hand touch her shoulder and nodded once at the unspoken caution, she’d had no intention of confronting the person. They waited another few minutes that felt like years until the sound of shuffling steps preceded the stranger.

Maiden really wasn’t surprised to see Carly wander past. She wiped at her eyes and burrowed into her jacket as she turned back for one more look at Tom’s body. After letting out a long, shuddering sob, Carly walked on.

Maiden and David gave her enough time to get safely down the hallway before they dared to speak. They stayed there in the darkened closet and stood close.

“Would you call that a display of heartbreak or guilt?” David whispered, shaking his head in wonder.

“It looked like grief, to be honest,” Maiden replied just as quietly. “But Tom used her pretty badly, and you said she admitted to attacking her own brother with a baseball bat, so I don’t know how naturally inclined she is towards the more vulnerable emotions.”

“Everyone deals in their own way,” David murmured. “We’ll have to keep a very close eye on her…she may be building up to something.”

As evening began to fall, the temperature inside the manor dropped even further. The filming had wrapped for the day and the small crew’s spirits seemed to have lifted a little now that they’d gotten some work done. Most of the household now sat in the dining room at the tables closest to the fireplace, devouring bowls of Gloria’s signature beef stew alongside chunks of crusty bread. It was delicious, warming and comforting. And those were all things that Maiden really needed at the moment.

She was still feeling a bit uncomfortable after catching a glimpse of Carly’s private grieving. It was poignant because it seemed genuine. Carly couldn’t have known that anyone would have seen or heard her. But it was also chilling because there was a fair chance that they’d caught a glimpse of a killer’s remorse.

Whatever it had actually been, it left Maiden feeling uneasy and she’d noticed that David was keeping a covert watch on the moody lady as well. It just felt like the tension in her was building towards something, like a spring coiled so tightly that it was about to snap.

Realizing that she was getting paranoid, Maiden forced herself to look away. Her gaze slid to the pile of luggage that was still pushed against the wall. She thought about that small silver frame that she and Von had found in the basement. She couldn’t help wondering if the missing picture was stashed in one of those bags. She shifted her eyes back to her fellow diners.

As she carefully studied everyone assembled, she noticed that Spencer and Lina weren’t there. She wondered at that, she also wondered if David had noticed their absence too.

The loud clattering of a spoon landing on the table shifted everyone’s attention to Carly. Whatever medications she had allegedly taken seemed to have started wearing off. Unfortunately, she’d started on a bottle of wine before she’d even sat down to dinner and was making quick progress through it.

Carly had been picking at her stew with one hand while the other clutched her wineglass tightly. Her coordination was almost non-existent and the spoon had gone tumbling, sending bits of stew spattering across the table.

“This is really good, Gloria.” She smiled benignly as she reclaimed the utensil and dropped it loudly into her bowl.

“Glad you’re enjoyin’ it, honey,” Gloria replied sweetly, giving Alfie a speaking look that her husband just shrugged and shook his head at.

“Would you like some coffee?” Tony asked her nicely, eyeing her like she was about to explode all over them.

“It’s a bit late for caffeine,” Carly mumbled and raised her wineglass to her lips.

“Hot chocolate then!” Gloria smiled brightly and stood. “Vonny, give me a hand please, darlin’.”

“Gladly.” Von hopped to her feet with uncommon eagerness.

“I’ll help too,” Barry volunteered, rolling his eyes at Carly when she reached for the bottle again.

He gathered up a few empty bowls and followed the two ladies out. Maiden noticed her father shift and look out the window at the storm.

“We’d better bring more firewood in,” Alfie said. “This snow won’t be stopping tonight.”

“Last I checked, it’s supposed to let up by tomorrow,” Nessa mentioned. “But the signal on my phone dropped out this morning, I’m guessing the coverage isn’t great this far out of town. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Assuming we all last that long,” Alfie chuckled but then visibly caught himself. “I just meant with the cold…not because of…hmm. Well, David and Tony, give me a hand will you?”

Maiden watched them go and then turned back to her remaining companions. They had been spread out across two tables but Victor and Nessa now walked over to join her, Kevin and Carly. There was a long and uncomfortable silence that Maiden felt a sudden and desperate need to fill.

“Where are Spencer and Lina, by the way?” she asked as she used the last of her bread to mop the remaining stew from her bowl.

“Probably in Lina’s room,” Nessa replied, smiling faintly at Maiden’s surprised look. “The shower scene went well. Very believable.”

Maiden’s only reply to that was a nod but she silently marveled at the fickle back and forth. Only that morning both Spencer and Lina spoke so disparagingly of each other and now they were closed up together somewhere. Maiden respected people’s right to live as they chose, but in this case it sounded like a recipe for disaster. Her thoughts were disrupted when someone else decided to throw their opinion in.

“Do you think old Spence and Lina would still be together if Tom hadn’t swooped in and offered to make her a star?” Kevin’s musing tone got everyone’s attention. Carly scowled darkly.

“I doubt it,” Victor said, gazing contemplatively into the scotch he was nursing. “It’s difficult for two actors to make a relationship work. Invariably one becomes more successful than the other. Then the accolades roll in for one and the other gets jealous, it gets nasty. And once a relationship becomes competitive, it has no chance of surviving.”

Maiden tried not to apply Victor’s sweepingly fatalistic statement to herself and David. They weren’t actors of course but, when it came to solving cases, she had been getting the lion’s share of the accolades and that had to bother him a little. And now his boss was coming to see what was going on.

It’s different. We’ve never competed; we worked together, she tried to assure herself but the doubts quickly surfaced again. But we aren’t really working together. He’s putting up with me because he has no choice. We have different theories and I’m pretty sure mine are right. He’s gonna get sick of this and dump me. Stop it, Maiden! There’s a killer in the house, you can be stupid and insecure later!

Maiden took a slow, deliberate breath to stop her from throwing herself at David the instant he walked back in. Her pitiful dithering had distracted her and she noticed too late that Carly was getting worked up.

“Tom wasn’t the problem! He was never the problem!” she snapped. “No one else knew him like I did!”

“That’s very true, Carly,” Victor said diplomatically, but it did nothing to mollify the tipsy woman.

“It’s bad enough to kill someone,” she glared pointedly at Kevin. “But it’s disgusting to keep trying to stain the reputation of a dead man! Especially one as sensitive and caring as Tom was!”

“Uh-huh. Speaking of sensitive,” Kevin taunted, “do you know if it’s true that dear, sweet Tom was the one that got Lina the starring role in this little disaster we’re making? I’ve heard that she auditioned for him privately, again. Did he invite you to sit in and take notes this time?”

Nessa and Victor glanced away to hide knowing smirks. Maiden felt her left eyebrow climb. Having secretly witnessed a glimpse of Carly’s grief, she found Kevin’s suggestions cruel and was fine with letting that show. Victor glanced at her and abruptly sobered, he even nudged Nessa and shook his head discreetly.

Carly looked only at Kevin; she’d gone frighteningly still.

“That’s not true,” she said softly.

“Afraid it is, dearie.” Kevin shrugged. “At least he kept his promise with her, apparently most of the others he “discovered” got told to go home and wait for a phone call. Lina must’ve really impressed him to actually get the payoff.”

“You pig!” Carly screamed abruptly as she smashed her glass on the table.

She clutched the stem of the ragged glass tightly and dived across the table, aiming for Kevin’s throat. Kevin’s eyes widened and he fell backwards in his chair as the glass grazed his cheek. Victor and Nessa rushed over and grabbed Carly as best they could but she was thrashing wildly as she tried to reach Kevin.

“I’ll kill you, you filthy pig!” she shrieked and flailed as Victor wrapped his arms around her and dragged her off the table.

Nessa grasped her wrist and pulled it back while Maiden wrenched what was left of the glass free. Carly was still screaming and managed to twist away, almost knocking Victor over in the process. She gave Kevin a threatening, hate-filled look and backed towards the door.

“I know what you did, Peters,” she said in a low, eerie voice. “I know all about that script. You think you can do whatever you want and then slander Tom? No way. I know more than you think I do. I’ll get you.”

She ran out of the room. Nessa and Victor watched her go and then went to help Kevin up.

“She’s a complete lunatic!” Kevin gasped as he pressed a napkin to his bleeding cheek. “I always wondered why she trusted Tom so much. I thought she was just stupid, but she’s a nutcase!”

“She’s unstable,” Nessa said a little more tactfully, but she was obviously unnerved by Carly’s outburst. “And we’re trapped here with her…”

“At least we know who to look for now.” Victor tried to sound positive but he looked just as uneasy.

“Assuming that Carly killed Tom, you mean?” Maiden asked thoughtfully.

“Well, someone killed him!” Kevin shuddered. “And Carly’s the only one screaming and attacking people!”

“Mm.” Maiden glanced down at the glass she was still holding and set it back on the table. “I’m going to find David. We’d better let everyone else know about Carly’s behavior. And who pushed her to it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kevin demanded.

“Do you think about anything before you say it?” she asked him grimly. “What if she didn’t do it? What’s so funny about taking someone that’s heartbroken and deliberately making it as bad as you possibly can? What did you think was going to happen? Displays like that don’t make you sound clever, Kevin, they make you sound like a hateful jerk. They make you sound like Tom.”

“I’m not like Tom.” Kevin glared.

“Prove it,” she retorted in a disinterested voice.

Kevin turned away churlishly as he continued to blot his cheek. Maiden sighed and shook her head as she moved towards the door.

“Maiden, wait. Do you want someone to come with you?” Victor frowned. “We don’t know where Carly went and she won’t have gotten too far yet.”

“It’s ok,” Maiden replied. “I’m not going far either.”

As she left, she couldn’t help overhearing Victor as he rounded on Kevin.

“Well, you handled that beautifully,” he muttered. “Exactly how did that script really get into Tom’s bag?”

Maiden frowned broodingly at that question as she hurried towards the kitchen. She kept an eye out for Carly as she slipped down the hall. A moment later she stepped into the doorway and saw Vonny digging through the fridge while Gloria and Barry laughed and chatted, clearly in no rush to rejoin the others.

Maiden was about to tell them what had happened when the back door flew open. An ice-cold wind and a pile of slush accompanied David, Alfie and Tony as they each carried in an armful of firewood. Gloria hurried to shut the door behind them. The men were trudging past when Maiden held up a hand to stop them.

“What’s up, precious?” Alfie asked as he fumbled with the logs he was holding. “This stuff isn’t light.”

“Sorry. Listen, Carly just attacked Kevin and ran off,” Maiden hurried to explain, looking mostly at David. “He kept badgering her about Tom and she lost it. We don’t know where she went.”

Gloria looked aghast and Vonny’s mouth fell open, letting the grape she’d just popped in it tumble to the floor. David quickly took in the news and then glanced back at the others.

“All right, let’s gather everyone in the drawing room,” he said steadily and led the way.

Victor, Nessa and Kevin were heading cautiously from the dining room, they all looked relieved to see everyone else together. Maiden hung back a bit, trying to watch everyone as they filed into the drawing room.

While David and the other intrepid wood gatherers deposited their stacks of logs near the fireplace, Maiden looked around at those assembled and quickly remembered Spencer and Lina. They were together, probably, but would have no idea that Carly was drunk, violent and on the loose.

She was about to speak up when they heard footsteps in the hallway. Everyone tensed and watched as Spencer and Lina walked quietly inside. The pair could hardly miss the expressionless stares they were getting.

“We rehearse, nothing more!” Lina glared indignantly at the entire room.

Spencer looked pale and subdued, he shook his head in disgust and slunk away from the outspoken blonde. The mood between them was even frostier than before.

Victor sighed with relief at them both and gestured for Lina to step further inside too.

“Thank goodness you two are all right!” he said earnestly. “Carly’s snapped and disappeared!”

“Her again!” Lina looked furious at the sheer inconvenience of the situation. “Stupid woman, she should be locked up!”

“I’m inclined to agree, to a point at least,” David said as he stepped forward and folded his arms over his chest. “If she’s turned violent—”

“She has!” Kevin interrupted angrily as he waved his bloodied napkin as proof.

“Since she’s turned violent,” David corrected tolerantly, “she needs to be isolated for everyone’s safety.”

“Lock her in a room, you mean?” Tony shrugged out of his wet coat and laid it over the back of a nearby chair to dry. “How do we do that?”

“And where for that matter?” Barry asked. “Does this place have a dungeon?”

“Has attic full of rats,” Lina suggested mulishly.

“You know, for all your bluster,” Victor replied coolly, “I have yet to see a single rat! You got my hopes up for nothing.”

“Our first step is to find Carly,” David pressed on. “I think the safest and most efficient way will be to divide up into pairs and search methodically.”

“Split up!” Kevin inhaled anxiously. “But one of us is a killer!”

“Yeah, Carly,” Barry reminded him sarcastically. “You’re a real genius, aren’t you, Kev?”

“Oh, yeah, of course.” Kevin shook his head at himself and laughed weakly. “Sorry, I’m a bit on edge.”

Maiden bit her lip to keep from speaking up. This wasn’t the time or place to voice her steadily developing theories. Her attention went to David when he re-entered the fray.

“All right, if no one objects,” he said in a tone that didn’t invite objections, “we need to get moving, the longer we stand around talking, the more time Carly has to hide. She can’t leave the house, but the house is massive, so she still has plenty of options.”

“David’s right,” Tony said and looked at him expectantly. “What do you want us to do?”

Maiden stood back and observed as David gave instructions. He wanted two pairs to search each of the three floors. Lina shuddered and hugged herself.

“I see someone head towards stairs when we came down,” she gasped and shook her head fearfully. “I will not set my foot back there now!”

“Was it Carly?” Nessa asked breathlessly.

“I only see movement in shadow,” Lina said uneasily. “But was small like her. Is possible.”

“I didn’t see anyone,” Spencer murmured skeptically.

“You were staring at own feet like guilty child! You pretend to feel shame like you are someone better! More lies!” Lina hissed scathingly. “You go if you like! I will not be with you wherever you are! Or with Kevin! You two go upstairs if you think I imagine things!”

“Suits me fine,” Spencer’s jaw tightened. “The further I can get from you, the better.”

“Oh goodness, people we have bigger problems!” Victor rubbed his temples as though they were throbbing. “I’ll go with you, Lina, all right? Unless you’d prefer Nessa?”

“Nessa has twigs for arms, could not protect me,” Lina sniffed and nodded at Victor. “You will go with me.”

“I’d love to show you what my twiggy arms can do, you spoiled little snot,” Nessa muttered under her breath but otherwise didn’t argue. Maiden assumed she was the only one that heard it when Lina failed to retort.

“Fine, that’s settled,” Victor sighed. “And, if David doesn’t mind, we’ll search down here. Everyone happy with that?”

Maiden felt that happy was an optimistic word choice, but no one complained. It was quickly decided that Tony and Vonny would join Spencer and Kevin on the third floor. Maiden, David, Nessa and Barry would take the second while Alfie and Gloria would stay downstairs along with Lina and Victor. With those plans settled, they all filed out.

Those that had bravely agreed to tackle the upper floors climbed the stairs in wary silence. Maiden gave Tony and Vonny a worried look as they continued up to the third floor along with Spencer and Kevin.

David grasped her hand and started leading her towards the master bedroom. He’d just pointed Barry and Nessa towards the snazzy bar as they neared. Barry nodded and approached the door cautiously with Nessa close behind.

Maiden looked around as David pushed open the door to the master suite. They crept inside and peered in every corner, waiting for an ambush. There was no one. As they walked in further, she dropped to her knees and checked under the bed. Nothing.

She sat back on her heels and slid her eyes to the closet door. Whoever murdered Tom very likely used the secret passage in the closet…but she really didn’t think Carly was Tom’s killer. In spite of Carly’s instability and her frenzied attack on Kevin.

Maiden stood and tried to think the matter over logically. She glanced at the windows and froze as a partial realization struck her. An odd sense of déjà vu. Something about the area was familiar. She reached back through her memory and didn’t have to go too far.

“The picture,” she whispered to herself. The picture of Helena and Edward had been taken in this room. “Interesting.”

“Find something?” David glanced at her from the doorway of the bathroom.

“Hmm? No, not yet.” Maiden shook her head and chewed at her thumbnail as she looked at the old writing desk that sat beneath the central window.

Helena had been sitting on that desk in the picture. It could mean nothing, even so, Maiden didn’t question the instincts that made her feet start moving. She walked as quietly as she could over to the desk and started looking through the drawers. She’d forgotten that David was looming until he spoke up.

“Are we likely to find Carly in one of those?” he asked mildly enough to remind her of their task without outright complaining about her getting sidetracked.

“Anything’s possible,” she retorted and pulled out the bottom drawer.

It was empty except for a small, faded white card sitting in the dust. Maiden frowned thoughtfully and pulled it out. It was a thank you card, the two words were elegantly embossed on the back. Maiden flipped it over and stared down at the familiar handwriting.

Thank you for your kindness,
Helena

Maiden studied Helena’s brief note and wondered who it had been intended for. Her gaze shifted back to the drawer as a new suspicion started to form. Ignoring David’s polite suggestion that they get moving, she pulled the drawer out completely and turned it over.

David fell abruptly silent when they both saw a small envelope tucked into a corner. Maiden wet her lips and set the drawer on the desktop. She pulled the envelope free and opened it. Goosebumps rose over her entire body.

It was another picture of Helena. This time she was alone and standing by a wall lined with familiar wooden paneling. She was still smiling but her eyes were fixed piercingly on the camera. Maiden felt like she was being stared down and it was a bit intimidating.

“Who’s that?” David asked.

“Helena Riley,” she replied without looking up.

“Weird for her picture to be hidden like that,” he pointed out. “Any idea why it’s there?”

Maiden just shook her head. This wasn’t what she’d expected to find. She was hoping for information, some sort of answers, but this only raised more questions. She reached down long enough to slide the drawer back in its place and then glanced at David.

“Sorry, I’ll look into this later,” she said apologetically as she tucked the envelope into her back pocket. “We need to find Carly.”

He frowned at her but didn’t question it as he turned back to the room. An instant later the lights went out.

Chapter twenty-six

Asudden panic gripped Maiden so hard that she nearly lost her breath. There were violent and unstable maniacs on the loose and now the room was plunged into oppressive darkness. She silently ordered herself not to scream and felt around anxiously for David.

“What’s going on?” she gasped, despite knowing that he’d seen as much as she had.

“Blackout,” he said quietly, she could sense him looking around in the dark. “I wonder if it’s all the lights or just—”

David had barely started posing the question when they heard panicked screams coming from upstairs and down.

“I’d guess that it’s all of them,” Maiden said as they both reached for their phones and switched on their flashlights. “Curious timing, to say the least.”

“Yeah,” David whispered. “It’s certainly possible that a powerline went down in this storm, but I somehow doubt that’s what happened.”

Maiden didn’t reply, they both knew it was true. She felt chilled to the bone and an unwilling shudder wracked her body. The only thing worse than being trapped there with a killer was doing it in the dark.

David swept his light over the doorway, no one appeared to be lurking so he reached back and grasped her hand. He pulled her closer and lowered his voice.

“Maiden, this is getting serious.” His low, intent tone made everything more terrifying. “I need you to stick close, no wandering off by yourself until we figure out what’s happening. Please stay with me, baby.”

She could barely see his face in the glow of his flashlight. His dark eyes were locked on hers and his expression was somewhere between warning and pleading.

“I will,” she replied softly, she even nodded to reinforce her words.

David pulled her along as he hurried to the door. They stepped out into the hall only to be greeted by more frightened screams and panicked voices.

Flashes of light darted around as Barry stumbled out of the bar, and Nessa out of the parlor next door, with their phones illuminating their steps. A moment later, a sound reminiscent of a herd of wild animals heralded Vonny’s desperate approach.

Their eyes went to the stairs as Von appeared, dragging Tony along behind her, shrieking incoherently as she hurried down towards the foyer.

Always cool in a crises, Maiden sighed internally. She could only hope that her sister wouldn’t end up at the bottom of the stairs in a twisted heap of limbs with her poor, helpless boyfriend.

“Is everyone all right?” David called out as they reached the stairs just behind Nessa and Barry.

“Yeah, fantastic!” Kevin nearly yelled as he and Spencer came down the stairs next. “I should’ve jumped on Vonny’s back and caught a ride, she’s probably halfway back to town by now!”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean to push you down, Kevin,” Spencer said. “She’s just terrified, like the rest of us. Can we have this discussion somewhere safer please?”

“Yeah, we’d better, since apparently it’s every man for himself,” Kevin continued to gripe as he headed down the stairs again. “Maybe we can all twist our ankles while we’re at it! Writhe around on the ground while we wait for Carly to finish us off! At least Tom died quick!”

“Shut up already!” Barry grated angrily as he followed without waiting for Nessa.

Nessa hung back and gave him plenty of space before turning to David. He gestured for her to go first. She cleared her throat and smiled weakly at Spencer, who joined her as she descended.

David and Maiden were the last down, assuming of course that there were no roving maniacs hiding in the shadows above them. They could hear everyone’s anxious voices as they all stumbled back towards the foyer.

“What happened?” It sounded like Barry and he still sounded angry. “Everything was fine and then, boom! Lights out!”

“There was no ‘boom’,” Victor said as he and Lina came from the hallway on the right. “We were looking in the kitchen and talking about heading back to the dining room when the lights cut out. I didn’t hear anything strange. Did anyone else?”

“No, but it’s not like we’re in the middle of a thunderstorm.” Spencer shrugged. “Maybe too much ice formed on the powerlines.”

The lights from a dozen or so phones darted around in the heavy darkness. The snow was still falling, blocking most of the moonlight that tried to shine through the windows. Maiden edged closer to David as she tried not to feel like they were all suffocating under the relentless wintery blanket.

“All right, let’s try to stay calm.” David said loud enough to be heard. “We need to make sure everyone is accounted for.”

“I don’t see Mom and Dad,” Maiden said anxiously.

“We’re right here, angel,” Gloria’s soothing southern tones assured her as the door to the drawing room opened.

The light from the large fireplace spilled out like a beacon. They all turned as Alfie stepped into the hallway and Gloria peered around the edge of the door.

“Is everyone all right?” Alfie asked carefully.

“I think so,” David replied as he shone his flashlight over the others. “Looks like we’re all here.”

“Except for Carly,” Kevin said as he touched his wounded cheek and peered around in the darkness.

“But what happened to the lights?” Nessa tried not to sound frightened and failed. “Do you think the storm really knocked the power out or could…someone have done something to shut them off?”

“Hard to say.” Alfie scratched his head. “But it could be just a blown fuse or something; the wiring in this place is pretty old.”

“Where’s the fuse box?” Tony asked.

“In the basement, I think,” Alfie said thoughtfully. “It might be best to leave it until tomorrow, especially if the snow is supposed to start letting up by then.”

“You’re probably right, Alfie,” Victor murmured. “It’s not safe and it’s late anyway, maybe we should just go to bed and deal with it in the morning?”

“Might as well,” Nessa agreed, looking around warily. “It doesn’t seem wise to search for killers in the dark. At least we can all stick together.”

“Did anyone find anything?” David asked as they all started shuffling towards the drawing room and its promised warmth.

“No,” Barry said quietly and flicked a glance at Nessa, who quickly looked away. “We didn’t find anything.”

“We didn’t get much chance before the power went out,” Vonny sighed and hugged Tony as they slipped into the comparatively bright room. “Oh, that’s so much better! I hope we have enough firewood to last the night.”

“We have plenty.” Gloria pointed to the big pile that was stacked next to the hearth.

They all settled on the various couches and sleeping bags they’d occupied before. David and Tony shut both sets of doors but there was no way to lock them, unfortunately.

Maiden curled up on her sleeping bag and studied the others in the warm light of the fire. Her attention went first to Spencer; he was shifting and kept darting his gaze to Lina.

“You and Kevin didn’t find anything at all?” Maiden asked him.

“No, and it didn’t help that Spencer wandered off,” Kevin spoke up as he wrapped himself in a heavy blanket, pulling it over his head like a hood.

“I didn’t!” Spencer looked at him sharply. “I thought I saw something down the hall by the bathroom we were filming in, I told you that and said we’d better check it out fast!”

“You did not!” Kevin grumbled. “You said we should start with the doors at the far end of the hall and work our way back, then you mumbled something and ran off. And then the lights went out! I’m sick of this! I might have to make a scary movie but I don’t want to live in one!”

“I thought you were right behind me,” Spencer said tightly. “Besides, Carly’s not that scary.”

“Tom was shot!” Kevin bit out sharply. “What if she still has the gun? For that matter, why wouldn’t she?”

“That’s assuming that Carly actually killed Tom,” Maiden said and immediately wished she hadn’t.

“But she must have.” Spencer shook his head at her. “She attacked Kevin and now she’s disappeared.”

“Which means she’s in a panic because she attacked Kevin in front of witnesses. She was also drunk and not thinking straight,” Maiden explained after the slightest hesitation. “It doesn’t automatically prove that she did anything else.”

The room went eerily quiet, only the crackling of the fire dared to break the silence. She could only imagine what David was thinking, and she doubted he liked her talking about her suspicions, so she refused to meet his eye.

When she glanced at the others she could see the quiet unease. It was understandable, they were all beginning to realize what she’d known straight away. If Carly wasn’t really the killer, then the killer was sitting among them right now. Victor let go of a stoic, accepting breath and smiled kindly at her.

“You think very deeply, Maiden,” he said sincerely. “I admire that.”

She smiled weakly and fell to silently studying her socks. After a moment David sat near her but not right next to her. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to feel like she’d blown her entire future with him by daring to utter a hypothesis.

A little time passed. Almost everyone was curled up somewhere and had fallen asleep. Except for Spencer. He was sitting in a far corner, slumped down in a chair and staring into space.

Maiden was also struggling to rest, but mostly because David had gone quiet again. She kicked herself for speaking up, but she couldn’t help it and she really didn’t like feeling guilty for using her brain.

She knew it wasn’t that simple. David liked that she could be clever; she had seen him turned on more than once when they reached the same conclusions. It was the talk that was the trouble. The exaggerated rumors and even the non-exaggerated facts.

She glanced at him now; he was asleep beside her. Maiden studied his handsome face for a long moment and thought about what it would be like to lose him. Her heart squeezed painfully. She shook her head in silent refusal; she wouldn’t let it happen. She loved him and wouldn’t give him up so easily. If she needed to back off, then she would. But after this case.

The danger was in her home and around her family, she couldn’t afford to play dumb but she could try a little more subtlety. She again wished she’d kept her thoughts to herself earlier, but it had been a logical conclusion and it had just tumbled out. She’d have to be more careful from now on.

Maiden glanced over when Victor stood and tiptoed as quietly as he could towards the door, he met her gaze and mouthed the word bathroom before slipping out into the hall. Maiden wondered if it was safe for him to go alone but, as far as a threat from Carly was concerned, it would be much more dangerous for Kevin. Or Lina. Or Nessa.

Maiden shook her head at the incredibly tangled lives these people led. Those musings drew her attention back to Spencer.

He had sunk down even deeper into the plush chair, which kept him about as far from Lina as he could get. He was holding a glass with a bit of whiskey in it; she’d noticed him refill it a couple of times already.

She thought about how he’d stepped in to offer comfort when almost no one else would. Spencer had sat with Carly and just let her talk while others rolled their eyes and laughed behind her back. He was really nice and now he was unquestionably hurt.

Maiden frowned and got to her feet, taking care not to wake David, and then walked softly over to him.

“Hey, are you doing okay?” she whispered as she sat in the chair beside him.

“Yeah…no. I’m getting there though. Thanks.” He smiled weakly and rubbed his eyes. “I’m just…I’m such an idiot, Maiden.”

“You think so?” she asked gently as she turned to him and waited.

“I let her back in.” He shook his head in obvious self-disgust. “I promised myself I’d never touch her again…but she fakes an interest well. It’s the only form of acting she’s actually good at, and she’s really good at it. It felt like the old days, it felt like we were together again, but she only wanted…yeah. I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail.”

“I think I can fill in the blanks,” Maiden said kindly. “A moment of weakness, maybe?”

“Big time. I’m not a scratch the itch and move on kind of guy. I’m not saying I’ve never done it, but I don’t like it.” His voice was steady but his eyes were glassy. “It’s cold and dirty…she makes me feel dirty.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered sadly. He looked so broken. “Were you in love with her?”

“In the early days I was.” He ran a hand through his wavy hair. “I’m not anymore, not with her. Maybe with who I thought she was or who she used to be…I miss that person, but I hate her too. We struggled together and kept each other going when nothing was working except us, but she still walked out. She just dropped me like I was nothing and walked away when someone with connections came along.”

“Tom,” Maiden said quietly.

“It happened to have been Tom, but, like I said, it could’ve been anyone. That’s the most sickening part. She didn’t care about Tom; she knew what he wanted from her and she went for him anyway,” he said with a shrug. “She’d have sold herself to anyone willing to pay the asking price. She’s really fortunate that anything came of it; most of the women he drew in found out too late that it’s all a lie. And it’s not like they could take anything back from him, could they?”

“Do you think Lina hated Tom?” she asked, darting a cautious look to the unconscious bombshell that had begrudgingly accepted the largest and most comfortable couch.

“Lina doesn’t feel that deeply about anyone,” he muttered wearily as his eyes drifted closed. “She’s too self-absorbed…too stupid.”

Maiden watched him drift off and listened as his breathing grew slow and deep. She carefully pulled the glass from his hand and set it on the nearest table. She grabbed a blanket and draped it over him before heading back to her sleeping bag.

She sat beside David and took another watchful look at Spencer; he was out cold. She shook her head and tried not to feel too badly for the poor guy. She’d barely laid down and turned to face David when his arm wrapped around her and pulled her close.

“What’s bothering the leading man?” he whispered.

Maiden blinked up at him and quietly wondered how long he’d been watching her. Aware of the need for discretion, she edged closer and nestled her face against his throat.

“Lina broke his heart again,” she confided softly.

David didn’t say anything more but he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and tucked her tight against him. It felt good to be in his arms, it felt good to sleep so close beside him. She felt a genuine smile soften her uneasy expression; she relaxed as much as she could while knowing there was a killer among them.

Maiden was half asleep and only vaguely aware of the door opening as Victor returned safely; everyone was now together and accounted for. She snuggled up to David and decided to forget about everything else until morning.

David woke up to find Maiden clinging to him. He wasn’t sure if she’d had a nightmare or was worried he’d sneak off and start investigating without her, but she was tucked in close and had thrown a leg over his hip.

Some clouds do have a silver lining, he thought wryly as he glanced around. The room was closed up so only a hint of light filtered in around the doors. Tony had built up the fire an hour or so ago; the warm glow revealed that everyone was in the room. Or rather, everyone was back in the room.

He glanced at Maiden and slid a hand over her hip and along the leg that was pinning him in place. He leaned down enough to kiss her cheek and whisper near her ear.

“Wake up, baby,” he said very quietly. “Time to get to work.”

She shifted slightly and stretched, rolling off him and onto her back. Maiden looked around and seemed to recall where they were; she quickly sat up and ran her fingers through her hair.

Wishing he had the luxury of dragging her back down to the floor for a bit longer, David stood and put a finger to his lips as she followed.

They slipped out into the hallway and down towards the kitchen. Breakfast would have to wait. Their first goal was to get the power back on. Hopefully they’d also find out why it went out when it did.

“David, look.” Maiden grasped his arm as soon as they walked into the kitchen. She pointed towards the back door and a massive puddle of water that was sitting in front of it. “Is all that from when you brought the wood in last night?”

“I really doubt it…someone else went outside.” David sounded pensive. “I wonder who, and when.”

“And how long they were gone.” Maiden edged closer.

David nodded and glanced out the window. It had finally stopped snowing, the sun was shining and everything looked a bit less sinister. Looks were often deceiving, however.

He went to the door and, noticing that it had been left unlocked, pulled it open and studied the area beyond. There were tracks in the snow, big ones. He felt a calm wash over him automatically. There weren’t just footprints, something had also been dragged through.

“Maiden,” he said quietly and without looking at her. “Something happened here last night, possibly early this morning. I need you to stay alert and, whatever we find, don’t scream.”

Maiden now had a new entry in her list of the all-time most chilling requests that had ever been made of her. That list included the time when she was eight and Vonny dared her to shave a racoon. This was much worse.

She quietly agreed as David grabbed his coat and handed her hers. As she slipped it on she looked at the many pairs of boots that were sitting inside the door. There was another large puddle beneath them that made it hard to tell which set had been used last. They tugged on their own boots and stepped tentatively into the groove that had been carved into a sort of path.

Whatever had been dragged along hadn’t been heavy enough to break through the full depth of the snow. It looked like the house had blocked the worst of the storm, the snow was deep outside the door but it was noticeably shallower than the areas further out.

There were footprints visible, large ones, going out and coming back again. Up ahead the crude path swerved sharply to the left. They followed slowly, looking around cautiously with each step.

Under the lure of the forbidden, Maiden felt a hysterical urge to scream rise in her throat, she clasped her hands to her mouth to help fight it back. They were almost there, she could feel it. As they rounded the corner of loosely mounded snow she could already see what was there, waiting to be found.

A pair of legs, stiffened from the cold, protruded from the pristine white drift. Maiden recognized Carly’s scuffed up sneakers and felt her heart sink. They walked closer and stared down at her.

Carly’s eyes were closed and her face was serene. Her hair was matted with blood at her right temple but there was very little on the surrounding snow. That made sense though, because she’d been dragged from the house. She had to have died in the house.

“Do you think the power failure was arranged to stop us from finding her last night?” Maiden asked quietly.

“Yes,” David replied as he looked beyond the corpse to the unmarred snow that led to the basement door. “But I’m not sure how the killer did it without going into the basement. Unless the fuse box is somewhere else.”

“I guess we’ll have to go and look.” Maiden snuggled deeper into her coat. “What do we do about Carly?”

“We’ll leave everything for forensics, the team should be able to get through soon.” He pulled out his phone and checked his signal. “Good, it’s working. Hopefully that was it for the storm. Once we’re in the basement I’ll call this in.”

They trudged through the untouched snow and slipped through the basement door just as the wind picked up and howled past. David led the way down the creaky stairs to the murky room below. Maiden noticed how dark it was and glanced at the windows, the snow had piled up and blocked out what little light they would’ve provided.

She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight. While David called the station, she started sweeping the walls looking for the fuse box. She half listened as he spoke to Nancy and told her that they were still trapped and there had been a second killing.

Maiden, as she had never believed that Carly was the murderer, was a little surprised that she was now a victim. She’d assumed that the real killer would try to use the unstable woman as their scapegoat, most of their group had appeared convinced of her guilt already. Maiden shook her head at the confusing situation but stilled as she located the fuse box.

It was tucked away near some shelves on the side wall. She walked over and studied it carefully in the light of her phone. The old metal housing was slightly dinted and generally filthy, but some of the dusty cobwebs that were draped over it had been broken.

“I don’t think the outage was weather related,” she said to herself as she walked closer.

“Find something?” David asked as he joined her, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

“Yeah, look at that,” she said as she pointed to the large lever that sat on the side of the box. “Someone shut off the main power.”

“You know a lot about ancient fuse boxes?” He smiled at her.

“I know a master switch when I see it,” she replied as she reached out and grabbed the lever. The mechanism was a bit stiff but it finally gave way and clunked back into place.

“Nice work, Miss Harlow.” David gave her an appreciative wink after he tried the nearest switch and they found themselves dappled with anemic light.

“Thanks.” She turned off the light on her phone and tucked it back into her pocket. “What did Nancy have to say?”

“They’re plowing the roads now, but they have to get through town to even start on the road out here,” David said. “It’ll take a little while but they’re on their way.”

“I wonder if we could attach a snow plow blade to the front of Dad’s station wagon,” Maiden thought aloud.

“A problem for another day.” He smirked. “At the moment we need to figure out who put the lights out and how they got down here without leaving tracks in the snow.”

“Secret passage,” they said in unison.

“Where exactly did you hear those strange noises down here the other day?” David asked as he glanced around.

“Right over there.” She pointed to the corner they were standing near.

“All right, let’s take a quick look,” he said as he headed over and studied the wall closely.

Several long and anxious minutes passed with no sign of any sort of switch, lever, loose brick or anything suspicious.

“This feels like it’s taking too long.” She chewed at her lip.

“That’s because it is, we’ll have to try again later,” he sighed.

“In the meantime we have to assume that, if there is a secret passage, it could lead to anywhere,” Maiden murmured. “Which means almost anyone could have done it.”

“Potentially,” David agreed and motioned towards the stairs. “Let’s get back, everyone should be up by now. And don’t mention anything about Carly just yet, okay?”

She nodded and took one last look at the wall before following him out. She suppressed a shudder as she went, she felt certain that someone was standing on the other side.

Chapter twenty-seven

By the time they reached the house, everyone had converged on the kitchen. There was an air of relief when they walked back in but no one looked at ease. Maiden glanced through the open doorway and saw that the hallway lights were shining dully, she supposed they were still on from last night.

Alfie and Gloria were cooking breakfast while Tony helped and Vonny didn’t specifically get in the way.

David and Maiden shrugged out of their coats and slipped off their wet boots. Maiden could feel the anticipation in the air as the others watched them anxiously. She looked them over subtly as she accepted a cup of coffee from her mother with a grateful half-smile.

Victor, Lina and Nessa were seated at the large island, Spencer was hovering behind them looking miserable and maybe a little hungover. Kevin and Barry were standing near the door to the hallway watching everyone, including each other, very suspiciously.

“Right, that’s the power back on,” David said as he sipped the coffee he’d been given and set it aside. He looked at everyone and folded his arms over his broad chest. “Now that we’re together, let’s talk about last night.”

“Sounds like stupid line from movie,” Lina sulked and added more cream to her coffee. “Like something Kevin would write.”

“You should thank your lucky stars to be in one of my movies, Ms. Mirov!” Kevin said mockingly. “It’s a huge step up from your usual corny boob-fests.”

“Not helpful.” Nessa rubbed her face wearily. “David, please, can we get on with it?”

“I need a rundown of everyone’s movements last night after we split up to search the house,” he obliged in a steady voice. “Victor, maybe you and Lina could start.”

“Certainly.” Victor sat up a bit straighter. “We looked around in the lounge and then in here, checked all the cupboards and everything. We decided to try the dining room next and were almost back in the hall when the power went out.”

“What did you do when that happened?” David asked.

“I panic.” Lina looked embarrassed and lowered her gaze to her hands. “I scream and grab onto Victor, I ask him not to leave me behind. Then we hear others coming.”

“Alfie and Gloria, what about you two?” David glanced at them.

“We started in the ballroom and then the event room,” Alfie replied. “After that we headed towards the library.”

“All right.” David shifted his attention to Spencer, who had smiled faintly when his eyes met Maiden’s. “Spencer and Kevin, what did you see?”

“I told you,” Kevin sniffed. “Spencer took off in a flash and then the lights went out.”

“You’ve abbreviated the story a bit.” Spencer glared at him. “You were dragging your feet and only seemed interested in searching Lina’s room.”

“Well, I shouldn’t have been forced to put myself at risk at all!” he retorted. “I’ve already been attacked and yet I was sent to look for the lunatic that did it!”

“We all took that risk, Kevin,” Nessa reminded him. “And Carly might not have attacked you if you hadn’t targeted her the way you did!”

“So, what were you hoping to find in Lina’s room?” David cut through the arguing and fixed his attention on Kevin.

“Nothing in particular!” Kevin said defensively. “It was a room that had been used recently. There was a chance Carly might want to go there to see what she could scrounge, or to lie in wait for Lina.”

“Your fear of Carly seems to come and go,” David observed. “Why would you insist on checking a likely hiding place if you were as worried as you claim?”

“I’m not honestly terrified out of my wits by some pill-popping twenty-something with more attitude than brains!” Kevin bristled. “I only wanted to get the search over with so we could hole up until the roads are cleared.”

“You’ve changed your tune since about ten seconds ago,” Spencer said coolly and swirled the coffee in his cup. “Didn’t you just whine that it was unfair to be sent to search for her at all? I didn’t realize you were so brave.”

Kevin gritted his teeth at the other man’s obvious sarcasm but refused to comment any further. He folded his arms and raised his chin to a stubbornly defiant angle.

“Von and I looked in Lina’s room,” Tony volunteered mildly. “But we didn’t see any sign of Carly…She won’t be able to stay hidden too long though; she still has to eat, right?”

Maiden bit her bottom lip to keep from saying anything about Carly’s death. David turned to Tony anyway and distracted her.

“Did you see Spencer run past?” he asked.

“No,” Tony winced and slid Spencer an apologetic look, “but the door was mostly shut so…”

“Great,” David said dryly and turned to Nessa. “You and Barry were in different rooms when we all came running out. Any reason why you took the risk of looking around separately?”

“Well,” Nessa said reluctantly, “there was no sign of Carly anyway and we had a…disagreement. It seemed wiser to have a bit of distance.”

Barry muttered to himself and propped his shoulder against the wall. Maiden noticed that he was more angry than upset, he didn’t even look scared. Kevin evidently noticed too and an ugly smirk curved his mouth.

“I bet I could guess what that ‘disagreement’ was about,” he said with a derisive snort.

“Kevin, leave it,” Victor admonished him quietly. He then gave Barry a sympathetic look but didn’t say anything more.

“Fine,” Kevin continued, apparently eager to be as obnoxious as possible, and turned to David. “What about you, chief? Did you and Maiden get up to anything useful in any of the bedrooms?”

“As a matter of fact we did,” David said placidly and quirked a thick brow. “But let’s keep talking about you. Specifically, let’s hear where you went when you left the drawing room at around 2 am this morning.”

“I didn’t go anywhere!” Kevin scoffed. “I was asleep on those moldering cushions all night.”

“You left the room at 2:07 am and didn’t come back until 2:35 am,” David said stonily and tapped his watch. “Where did you go and what were you doing?”

“I didn’t go anywhere!” Kevin repeated irately. “You’re making things up just so you can arrest someone! It’s my word against yours, I don’t care if you are a cop.”

“You left the room, Kevin,” Barry said stonily. “You woke me up too. Weird that you’re lying about it now.”

Kevin fisted his hands and shut his eyes tightly. Maiden wondered if he was finally starting to realize how carelessly he’d been speaking. He’d contradicted himself a few times and now seemed to be trying to distract everyone by being rude. He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders as he faced David again.

“Fine, I went to use the bathroom and then I got a glass of water. Satisfied?” Kevin sighed ungraciously, flicking Barry a dirty look. “Who cares anyway? I didn’t see Carly-the-Loon and I didn’t get killed, so what difference does it make?”

“You also left the room alone.” David glanced at Victor.

“I did,” he replied easily. “I went to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. Maiden saw me leave.”

Maiden nodded absently and looked at all the members of the crew in turn. She could feel David building up to the big announcement and she wanted to see how everyone reacted to it.

“Okay, listen up,” David said loud enough to ensure he had everyone’s attention. “At some point during the night, someone murdered Carly Woodrow.”

The room filled with gasps. Maiden studied everyone as subtly as she could.

Kevin’s mouth fell open and he instinctively touched the gash on his face. Lina had pressed a hand to her ample chest and stared at David with widened eyes. Victor sighed softly and shook his head at the shame of it all while Nessa hugged herself and looked around suspiciously. Barry just stared down at his feet and stuck his hands deep in his pockets.

Maiden noticed that the only one that looked at all saddened was Spencer. His expression was somber as he ran a hand over his face and then back through his hair. She again felt the gnawing uncertainty of being thrown in with a lot of people that wove illusions for a living. Nessa was the first to break the silence.

“Carly’s dead?!” Her dark eyes were rounded in horror. “Are you serious?! What is going on here?!”

“Yeah, it’s far from ideal,” David acknowledged even as he slid a suspicious look to Kevin. “Who here had a history with Carly Woodrow?”

“Wait a minute!” Kevin sounded less belligerent now but just as defensive. “I’m not the only one! Everyone here had some kind of dealings with her. She and Barry used to have lunch together all the time!”

“It wasn’t ‘all the time’ and it at no point ended in her trying to glass me,” Barry informed him flatly. “Why’d you lie about leaving the room last night, Kevin?”

“Because it’s no one’s business!” He stomped his foot. “I have the right to walk out of a room without having to account for every second!”

“Were you searching the luggage again?” Maiden finally spoke up, very calmly.

Everyone looked at her and then at a slightly quieter Kevin. His eyes were wide and worried for a telling moment before he dredged up some aplomb.

“Why would I do that?” he said with a laugh that sounded nervous.

“Because you still haven’t found your master script.” She held his gaze ruthlessly.

“I have!” Kevin pressed his back against the wall and pointed at David. “Your big brave boyfriend found it!”

“No, that wasn’t yours.” She shook her head. “That’s probably why you haven’t done much to get the filming going; you believe that you still don’t have a final script.”

“Why would there be two different scripts?” Nessa asked and turned to Kevin.

“Technically, there are at least three,” Maiden clarified. “The original that all of you had access to, the one Kevin’s doctored, and the one we found in Tom’s bag.”

“I don’t care if there are thousand scripts!” Lina piped up in a cranky voice. “I am not doing any! This is worst experience of my career! The second roads are open I am gone!”

“Oh, Lina, shut up!” Victor growled at her. “No one cares what you do anymore!”

“What?!” Her pale eyes widened furiously.

“He’s right. Two people are dead! But all you care about is your ridiculous image!” Nessa glared at her. “I’m so tired of putting up with you. I’ll tell you the truth, Lina, you’re terrible in this part, its way beyond your skills. The only time I’ve seen you stretch yourself as an actress was the naked pillow fight in that stupid Pippa Goes to College film you made a few years ago. You’re embarrassing in this role so, by all means, please break your contract!”

“Well said, Nessa.” Kevin inclined his head once.

Lina gritted her teeth and started to storm off when David pointed a finger at her.

“Stay put!” he said with no hint of sympathy. “Two people have already been murdered; no one runs off on their own!”

Lina stopped and reluctantly plonked down in her seat again and looked away angrily, muttering the whole time.

“I liked Pippa Goes to College,” Gloria mentioned to no one in particular.

Before Maiden could say anything to that, David grasped her hand and pulled her off to the side.

“What are you up to, Harlow?” he whispered with a hint of a resigned smile. “What are you getting at with the scripts?”

“David,” she edged closer and kept her voice low, “something weird is going on, someone knows more about this house than we do and they’re using that knowledge to play their game. The murders, the power cut, it’s all connected and I don’t think it’s specifically about Tom.”

“Even though Tom and his assistant are both dead?” He arched a brow but his tone wasn’t harsh or challenging; he was really listening to her now.

“It’s partly about the movie, maybe the house too.” She wet her lips. “But it’s definitely about Helena.”

“Helena?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said earnestly. “I think we need to find Kevin’s script.”

Maiden and David slipped out of the kitchen, leaving the rest of the wary group to keep watch on each other. David was looking at Maiden quietly, trying to decide the best way to handle things from here. She was putting pieces together, he could see it in her eyes. The angles that he didn’t look at, the bits and pieces of things that he didn’t put much stock in.

He was used to procedure, and more often than not the procedure worked. This case was weird, though, and Maiden had a knack for the weird stuff. He was quickly coming to the realization that it would be stupid to hold her back if she was on to something.

It was time to swallow his concerns, and his pride. Appearances weren’t important, people were dying and it needed to stop.

“Okay, baby,” he said gently when they entered the foyer. “What’s your theory?”

“Oh, well, it’s still in pieces at the moment,” she said evasively, he could see her shying away from him. “I think we might find something in that room on the third floor, the one across from Lina’s with the passage that leads to the master bedroom. The killer might have felt safe to hide things there.”

“All right.” David deliberately kept his voice mild and headed for the stairs. “Let’s check.”

Maiden peered into the musty bedroom as David pushed the door open. Her gaze went from the closet with the secret passage in it to the large four-poster bed. Yes, there were bedside tables with convenient drawers, but they were tracking a killer, someone who needed a quick and slightly less obvious place to stash something.

She walked to the stripped bed and slid her hand between the old mattress and box spring. She didn’t feel anything. With an inaudible sigh she kept trying, circling the bed and feeling under the mattress. She finally stood and looked pensively down at it. When David stepped closer she faced him very reluctantly.

He wasn’t smirking or rolling his eyes though, he was also looking at the mattress. She pressed her lips together and watched as he dropped to his knees on the side nearest the closet and plunged his arm in far deeper than she had. After feeling around for a moment he looked up at her wordlessly.

Maiden held her breath for an instant as David sat back and pulled three items from under the mattress. The first was what looked like a script, the second was a gun equipped with a silencer, and the third was a very familiar silver picture frame. Elation and horror rippled through her in a shudder-inducing moment of triumph.

“Did I mention that I’m sorry I didn’t hear you out about the Helena stuff?” David asked with a wincing smile.

“No need,” Maiden replied with a grin and a tiny shake of her head. “However reluctant or dysfunctional, we’re a team, baby. Is that gun still loaded?”

“Yeah,” he said after checking the magazine.

David tucked the gun in the waistband of his jeans and handed her the script. She started quickly thumbing through it. As she expected, there were no spies in this version, although there were a lot of sections crossed out and a fair bit of dialog rewritten. The main similarities between this script and the one they’d found in Tom’s bag were surrounding the character of Helena.

She was sharper, wiser and more mysterious in these versions. She was sultrier as well. The contrast in her words and actions were clearly seen between what had been scribbled out and what had been handwritten in its place.

The ending in Kevin’s script was mostly unchanged. Helena wasn’t as terrified and helplessly submissive as she was in the original version, but she still died without a fight and with barely a word spoken.

Maiden’s mind flashed back to the speech that had been added to the script they’d found in Tom’s bag. Helena spoke boldly and with obvious pride and courage. Even though she was still murdered, she was by far a more impressive foe to the evil spies that had come for her.

“David,” Maiden murmured as she pulled the picture of Helena from her back pocket. “Do you still have that ring you found on Tom?”

He reached into his own pocket and handed it to her. Maiden studied the understated ring beside the old photo. Only a glimpse of Helena’s hand was visible but there was a ring there. Maiden wished she had a magnifying glass to be certain but she was still confident that it was the same ring.

“Someone is fixated on Helena,” she whispered as she turned her attention back to the ring she now held. “And, for whatever reason, they felt that Tom, and then Carly, were a problem.”

“Quite possibly,” David allowed carefully. “Who do you think that might be?”

Maiden looked at him for a silent moment. She wasn’t sure and she didn’t dare guess aloud, he was finally listening and she didn’t want to blow it by being proved wrong. She looked for a more indirect course to take.

“I think we should find out what Nessa and Barry argued about,” she said. “If you talk to Barry, I’ll try with Nessa. We can compare notes afterward.”

“Okay.” He nodded.

Maiden smiled a little and led the way out before he could change his mind, argue or make her feel guilty for distancing herself. It couldn’t be helped, things were getting serious and he held her back. They couldn’t risk that now. With the storm over and the authorities clearing a path to them even now, the killer would be getting desperate.

They walked back to the kitchen, pausing long enough to grab the other script from the drawing room. Maiden discreetly asked Nessa to step outside for a private word. Nessa looked like she wasn’t sure what to make of that request but agreed nonetheless.

She followed Maiden to the lounge down the hall where bright sunshine now poured through the windows. Maiden walked over to a small table and turned to face the other woman.

“Nessa,” Maiden said seriously as she set the two scripts subtly aside. “What really happened between you and Tom the day he died?”

“What?” Nessa looked a little too scandalized. “I already told you about that!”

“Nessa, come on.” Maiden folded her arms but kept her voice mild. “I’m not stupid and this is really serious. You were well on your way to sleeping with Tom when Carly found you and I don’t believe for a moment that it was the first time.”

“Look…fine,” Nessa admitted and rubbed the back of her neck. “It wasn’t. I was attracted to him, okay? Yes, I knew what kind of guy he was, but I was never going to build a life with him. We used each other, that was completely understood and it only happened occasionally.”

“What about Carly?” Maiden pressed gently.

“That was Tom’s business, not mine.” She held her hands up. “I have enough dramas with Barry, I didn’t need to worry about Carly’s hang-ups too.”

“You certainly seem to have dramas with Barry now,” Maiden said tactfully. “Did it all come to a head at last?”

“Yeah, it finally did and it was ugly. Despite the fact that I never led him on, not once!” Nessa said with more than a little exasperation. “I was honest with him from the first time he tried to hit on me. I’m not interested and never have been. He claimed to accept that but he still trailed after me like a puppy.”

“So what happened last night?” Maiden asked despite being able to safely guess.

“He made another clumsy pass.” Nessa looked uncomfortable. “I shot him down straight away, as always, but this time he got mad. He had the nerve to get mad! It was the last straw. I told him I was sick of feeling scrutinized every time I went near another man. I told him we were done and he needed to find another job.”

“And then?” Maiden prompted her patiently.

“I went to the next room angry enough to throttle Carly if the idiot was actually there, and then the lights went out and Barry hasn’t talked to me since,” she said irritably. “Real mature.”

“I guess.” Maiden shook her head as she tried not to feel bad for everyone all at once, which brought up another concern. “What about Spencer?”

“What about Spencer?” Nessa gave her a grimly discouraging look.

“Why did Lina play with his feelings like that?”

“Because he’s really good in bed,” Nessa said with unabashed candor. “And Lina’s mind-bogglingly selfish. I’m hardly a paragon of virtue, and I did use him when I had the chance, but I never tricked him and I gave him everything I said I would.”

Maiden didn’t look shocked, she didn’t feel shocked, but everything Nessa had told her sounded like the biggest load of self-deceptive drivel that she’d ever had dumped at her feet. She reminded herself that it wasn’t her business and it wasn’t her problem.

“You people baffle me,” she informed her with a faint smile.

“And that is adorably obvious, Maiden,” Nessa said with a good-natured smirk.

Chapter twenty-eight

Nessa headed back to the kitchen to finish her breakfast but Maiden stayed in the lounge and sat on the edge of the small table behind her. She considered what Nessa had told her as she pulled Helena’s ring and photograph from her pocket.

The young face that stared back at her held a stoic dignity, a sadness blended with wisdom beyond her years. Maiden thought back to what she’d read of Helena’s diary and sighed. She felt a solemnity knowing she was holding the woman’s ring in her hand. She thought about the bloodied sheet that had been wrapped around the journal.

I wonder how you died, Maiden thought as she gazed down at Helena’s picture. I wonder if you lived long after this photo was taken.

She was so lost in thought that she nearly shrieked when she looked up and saw Victor standing in front of her. He jumped back a step and flinched.

“I’m sorry!” he said apologetically. “I walked in right in front of you; I thought for certain you’d have seen me. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Maiden tried not to sound as anxious as she felt and smoothly slid the photo back into her pocket. “Just a bit on edge, I guess.”

“Aren’t we all.” He smiled companionably but his expression grew confused when he saw the ring she was holding. “Where did you get that?”

“Oh, we found it in Tom’s pocket,” she said, pulling a face as she stared down at the stone.

“What?!” For a brief moment Victor sounded furious but quickly looked away when Maiden frowned at him. He touched his fingertips to his forehead and exhaled loudly. “Oh, I’m sorry, Maiden. I shouldn’t have raised my voice like that. It’s Tom, that man still manages to annoy me even beyond the grave.”

“Why?” She shook her head questioningly. “What’s special about this ring?”

“He showed it to me a few hours after we got here.” Victor braced his fists on his hips. “He said it was a prop, Lina was supposed to wear it as Helena. I asked about it later and he swore he’d already handed it over to her, but now I find out he still had it. What’s the point of that? Why keep it, and why fib about it?”

“Did Tom say where he found the ring in the first place?” Maiden asked quietly.

“No, but presumably it was here somewhere, he never brought stuff like that with him,” he replied and then gave her a quietly aghast look. “Had you been looking for it? I didn’t think he’d take anything without asking—oh, that sounds stupidly naïve, all things considered. I’m sorry, Maiden. What a burden we’ve been.”

“I’m not angry about it, Victor,” she assured him. “I was only curious. A few things have gone missing and it’s all a bit strange, that’s all.”

“More things?” Victor looked worried. “Like what?”

“Well, Kevin’s script for one.” Maiden managed not to smile when Victor rolled his eyes at the mention of Kevin. “And there was also a picture, I think it was of the last members of the Riley family.”

“You mean Helena and Edward?” he asked mildly.

Maiden froze. “Yes. You know about them?”

“Only what I read online when I researched the house.” He shrugged. “I mentioned the family to the higher ups when I pitched them the idea of using this place for the filming. They liked the names so much that they told us to use them. A sort of tip of the hat to the old owners, you know?”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Maiden said quietly as she fell back to studying the ring.

Victor’s calm and reasonable explanation, which echoed David’s earlier suggestion, made her start to wonder if she was reading too much into everything. Was it possible that Tom and Carly really were killed because Tom was a tool and Carly was a nut?

“Are you all right, Maiden?” Victor asked gently.

“Yeah.” She shifted her eyes to him. “Just thinking.”

“Lovely. Remember what I told you, you think deeply.” He gave her a bolstering smile. “Don’t lose that; it’s rare and very special.”

She smiled a little shyly and lowered her gaze again. She could feel him looking at her still, a moment later he edged closer.

“Try it on,” Victor suggested mildly.

Maiden looked at him again; he smiled and nodded towards the dainty ring.

“Why?” Maiden asked.

“Because it’s pretty and it’s history and my fingers are too fat for it,” he replied dryly and gave her a nudge. “Go ahead, it’s part of the estate isn’t it? So it’s yours anyway.”

“I suppose,” she agreed and finally slipped it on. It slid easily onto her third finger and twinkled up at her.

“You see!” Victor grinned at her. “How did I guess that it would fit you perfectly? You belong in this house, Maiden, you really do. Your name might as well be Helena.”

Maiden stilled and gave him a startled look at that suggestion. Victor raised his brows and then his hands innocently.

“Only a joke,” he quickly assured her. “Maiden is a beautiful name, I swear!”

Before she could say much of anything in reply, the others started filing in. David gave her a searching look as he walked in last; she smiled faintly to assure him that she was fine. As Kevin glanced in her direction, Maiden deliberately picked up his script and set it on her lap. Kevin’s eyes widened when they landed on it.

“My script!” he gasped before clamping his mouth shut.

“What? But this can’t be your script, Kevin,” Maiden said patiently and gestured towards the other one. “You told us this one is yours, remember?”

“Um, yeah, well,” Kevin licked his lips and his fingers twitched as he stared at the script in her hands, “I was mistaken. That’s mine, I recognize it. Definitely.”

“I don’t think so.” She smiled placidly. “You made your choice.”

“Give it back,” he said seriously, his eyes locked with hers.

David eased closer as Kevin’s manner grew more menacing. Maiden wasn’t too worried, they were in a room filled with people that the surly writer had been annoying all weekend; if he tried anything he wouldn’t get far.

“Tell us who wrote the one we found in Tom’s bag.” She held his gaze easily.

“It’s mine, they’re both mine.” He took a step closer but stilled when David stood beside her.

“You didn’t write the script we found, Kevin, almost every original line had been crossed out,” Maiden said plainly. “Why did you lie about it?”

“I…I needed a script to work with,” Kevin said begrudgingly. “It was better than nothing.”

“Where did it come from?” David folded his arms.

“I don’t know!” Kevin exclaimed with obvious frustration.

“Sounds unlikely,” Barry chipped in dubiously. “You seem to have formed a bad habit of lying about absolutely everything, Kevin. What’s with that?”

“I’m not lying!” Kevin shouted but then gave a helpless groan and rubbed his face. “I’m not lying about everything. I don’t know where that other script came from. It isn’t the same story I’d been told to write.”

“Explain,” David said coolly when Kevin fell silent.

“I was hired to polish up an existing script,” Kevin explained quietly. “Which I did. I vastly improved what I’d been given to work with. I removed countless clichés, punched up the dialog and made the heroine into something better, someone you wanted to survive. I poured myself into it and then Tom hid it because he was a petty little moron.”

“Please stop wasting time complaining about Tom,” Maiden said. “This whole mess has very little to do with him. Why did you change the character of Helena?”

“What?” Kevin folded his arms. “I changed all the characters.”

“There are only two characters in your script,” Maiden reminded him. “Edward was altered a bit, yes, but Helena was completely remade. Why?”

“I don’t know!” Kevin looked anxious and harassed now. “I only did what I was told!”

“What does that mean, Kevin?” Nessa asked.

“I-I was given some guidance.” He tugged at his collar as though it were choking him. “Instruction, if you want to be strictly accurate. I normally wouldn’t put up with being dictated to but the money was better than average and I needed the work.”

“So someone fed you the changes they wanted made to the script?” David asked and Kevin nodded. “Who?”

“I truly have no idea,” Kevin said earnestly. “I was never given names and never encouraged to ask questions. Sometimes the directions came in a letter, once or twice it was an email sent to me from my own account! I was too scared to ask about it but I knew this film needed to go as planned. That’s why Tom’s sabotage was so frustrating!”

“Do you think that’s why he was killed?” Maiden asked smoothly.

Kevin looked like he’d either been shot or kicked in the stomach. His mouth fell open and only a feeble squeak emerged. Maiden sighed and glanced down at the script as she tossed it aside.

“Maiden?” David shook his head a little. “Where’s this going?”

“It’s Helena,” she tried to explain. She’d said it already but no one was getting it. “This whole movie is just part of it, it’s about her and this house. I know it is.”

Maiden noted the unconvinced looks that flitted around the room and immediately shut them out. The distractions were getting annoying, she knew she was on the right track and was tired of letting other people make her doubt that. She stared off into the distance as she let herself sink back into her memory.

Her mind churned up words, pages and pages of words but most of them meant nothing. She hugged herself gently as she found what she was after—Helena’s final speech. She stood and took a few steps further into the room.

“You think that I don’t know you. You think I’m weak. You think you’ve fooled me,” she said softly, without looking at anyone in particular. “You may have found me, but you’ll never break me. I come from a place you can’t imagine, I’ve seen and done things that would terrify you.”

David frowned warily as Maiden continued to whisper, just barely loud enough to be heard. Whatever she was saying, she wasn’t just rattling off the words, she said them with feeling and quiet strength. It was eerie and beautiful. He glanced over at Lina when she shifted irately.

“What is meaning of this—” she began angrily when Victor raised a hand sharply.

“Let her finish!” he warned in a low, serious tone.

Victor gave her a warning look that effectively silenced her and then turned back to Maiden and eased closer. He folded his arms loosely and smiled so fondly as she continued to speak.

Nessa and Kevin had picked up the unknown script and turned to the last few pages. They were clearly reading along, mouthing the words and glancing at Maiden in confusion as she recited them gently.

“I’m more than you can ever imagine,” Maiden whispered seemingly to no one. “You can’t begin to understand what I’m telling you when I say this…my name is Helena.”

David felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Maiden looked like she was in some sort of trance and Victor was watching her with sheer adoration. He was about to reach out and give her a gentle shake to snap her out of it when Victor started to applaud.

Maiden blinked her big eyes and glanced around, looking momentarily lost. Victor’s eyes were filled with tears as he clasped his hands in front of him.

“That was perfect,” he said softly. “Maiden, you’re incredible.”

Nessa and Kevin exchanged a questioning look but said nothing. Victor took a shaky breath and shut his eyes for a moment as he tried to compose himself. He then turned to Lina with a coldly angry look.

“Did you see? Did you hear it?” he demanded and gestured towards Maiden. “This is all that I asked you for! Dignity and feeling! With all that you think you have to offer, this woman stepped in from nowhere and—look at her! This is Helena!”

“Don’t shout at me!” Lina snapped. “I never wanted this role!”

“And it shows! You’ve whined and undermined the project from the start. I’m sick of it.” Victor looked her in the eye. “I don’t need you.”

Lina looked deeply upset and possibly embarrassed. She whispered something in her native tongue and stalked out of the room, despite the earlier warning to stay together. David watched her go and then turned back to Maiden, her expression was quietly horrified as Victor approached her.

“I wasn’t trying to cause any trouble!” she said softly and earnestly. “I was only thinking out loud.”

“No, no, no! Please, you mustn’t feel badly,” Victor assured her gently, taking her hand and giving it a comforting pat. “I needed to see that. I’ve been stupidly optimistic about Lina’s place in this film. I kept hoping she’d understand what it truly could be and start trying harder, but she’s beyond helping. What becomes of her career now is entirely of her own choosing.”

“But the film…” Maiden shook her head worriedly.

“Isn’t going to be completed on time.” He shrugged with resignation and released her. “It’ll get done, don’t worry. The story is worth telling, I’m not giving up.”

“Awful waste of money,” Nessa muttered tersely.

“Not to mention two lives,” Spencer added quietly.

“Does anyone have a solution they want to volunteer?” Victor turned to them inquiringly. “What do we have, Nessa? A crippling blizzard, an uncooperative lead actress, more scripts than I can count and a couple of corpses thrown in for good measure. What are our options at this point?”

“But the snow has finally let up,” Nessa pressed stubbornly. “We can get the crew here and work around the clock, there’s also the optional extension that was put in the contract, we could still do it!”

“If Maiden was willing to play Helena, you might have a chance,” he allowed. “But she won’t and there is no film, no anything, without Helena.”

“You could apologize to Lina,” she suggested very quietly. David couldn’t see Victor’s face since it was turned away from him but Nessa flinched and fell silent immediately.

“Not to throw a wrench into things,” David spoke up, “but there’s still a murder investigation to be finished.”

“Yes, of course.” Victor gave a long-suffering sigh. “How long until your team gets here?”

“A couple of hours at the most,” David replied.

Victor fell pensively silent for a moment and then turned to Nessa with a look of renewed determination.

“All right. While we have time, let’s film as much of the manor as we can,” he said calmly. “Sweeping shots of the rooms, traveling shots going through the hallways and up and down the stairs. Maybe we can do something with some studio sets once we get back and have time to find a replacement for Lina. It’ll mean a lot of editing, but it’s something to work with.”

Maiden sat quietly in the lounge as the remaining crew slipped out to get back to work. Despite being fired the night before, Barry agreed to do the camera work while the others wandered around finding ideal backdrops for him to film. David followed to keep an eye on them.

Spencer, who apparently wasn’t technically inclined and was still a bit woozy from drowning his sorrows the previous evening, followed Tony and the other Harlows to the dining room for an extra cup of coffee. Lina, for obvious reasons, didn’t join any of them.

Maiden buried her face in her hands. She felt terrible. Not only had she gotten so caught up that she’d babbled like a teenager in a high school play, but she’d also been the final push in getting Lina fired.

She reminded herself that it wouldn’t have happened if Lina’s attitude hadn’t been so sulky and difficult, but that didn’t ease the sting of getting someone publicly dismissed.

She considered the situation as things stood now. The plows would be working non-stop to reach them. They’d be through soon and then…she wasn’t entirely sure what would happen then. She assumed that everyone would be taken into custody until a proper investigation, along with forensics, was completed. She wondered if David would let her stick around for any of it. She doubted it.

Maiden pushed to her feet. She decided she’d sat around long enough, she needed to do something while she still had the chance.

She felt like no one believed her, no one had said it outright but it was obvious enough that nobody was buying her theory that the killer was fixated on Helena. She had suspicions brewing, ones she didn’t particularly like, but they weren’t going away and no one was listening.

It doesn’t matter, she assured herself. It’ll all come out eventually. Not everything gets a tidy wrap up. Some murders are never solved. Look at Helena…not that she was necessarily murdered.

Maiden stepped out into the hall and saw Lina’s large pink suitcases sitting in the foyer, near the front door. There was no sign of Lina though. Maiden felt an anxious twist in her stomach. Lina had been pretty nice to her. She’d shared some of her private thoughts and let her look through her jewelry.

The thought of jewelry reminded Maiden that she was still wearing Helena’s ring. She glanced down at it, was briefly sickened to think that David probably hadn’t washed Tom’s blood off it, but left it on anyway.

She looked at the suitcases again and came to a decision. Even though it might not go over well, she wanted to apologize to Lina. At least that would put it to rest as far as she could control it.

She walked past the drawing room but it was empty. A peek in the kitchen revealed no one either, so she crept down the hall and peered in the dining room. She saw Spencer, Tony and her family sitting around one of the big tables. It looked like Spencer was regaling them with stories.

Tony glanced over and saw her in the doorway; he smiled and beckoned for her to join them. Maiden shook her head somberly and walked back the way she’d come from. As she went she thought about the first time they’d lost track of Lina and found her sneaking dessert in the pantry.

It seemed like a bit of clandestine sweet was in order now more than ever; it was worth a try. She walked back into the kitchen and looked into the pantry. She froze and her eyes widened. In the back corner, a section of the wall was hanging out slightly. Another secret passage.

Maiden’s heart was pounding as she approached. She had nearly reached out and touched the loose panel when she glanced down at the floor and swallowed a gasp. There was a smear of what she was certain was blood on the floor. It looked dry now and had obviously been there for a little while. She quickly surmised that this was where Carly was actually killed.

Maiden touched a slightly shaking hand to the panel and eased it further open. It had been concealing another spiral staircase, but this one stretched both downstairs and up. She glanced up to the top of the stairs but it was too dark to see much.

She eased back a step and looked around uneasily; she needed to find David fast. As she was turning to go she heard an angry cry from down below, it sounded like Lina. There was no time to get help, if she did it might be too late. Maiden hesitated for an instant before stepping through the opening and quickly climbing down the stairs.

Chapter twenty-nine

The air grew even colder as she descended further. It only took a few seconds but it felt like forever before she came to another partly open door. It was a sturdy wooden frame but she could just see a lining of old bricks attached to the other side of it. She peeked cautiously through the crack to the room beyond and wasn’t at all surprised at where she now found herself.

It was the basement; she recognized the dank smell. She knew at once that this was the wall that she’d sworn someone had been hiding behind. While it was nice to know she hadn’t simply been paranoid, being proved right was in no way comforting at the moment.

She pushed the heavy door open very carefully. At first she didn’t see anyone, but then her eyes stole over to the furnace and Lina lying on the ground beside it. Maiden ran over and knelt beside her.

Lina’s pale blue eyes were wide open and stared out unresponsively; her head had rolled limply to the side. Maiden fell backwards, bracing on her palms as she tried to overcome the sheer horror of the sight in front of her. Lina’s chest, arms and hands were covered in blood; a large pool of it was beginning to creep across the floor.

The sound of footsteps coming from around the furnace snapped Maiden out of her terrified study. The person stopped just before coming into view. Maiden took a deep breath and dredged up the courage to finally trust the quietest voice that had been whispering to her for the past half hour.

“Victor,” she said as steadily as she could.

For a moment there was silence, but then more footsteps sounded as he walked out as requested. He was holding a long carving knife that was no doubt missing from the block upstairs. The blade dripped with blood. Victor’s expression was cool and perfectly at ease as he looked down at his handiwork. Without warning his eyes snapped to Maiden and he smiled nicely.

“Apologies for hiding, Maiden, I didn’t realize it was you. But I suppose I should have been expecting you,” he laughed quietly. “You’ve been quite impressive.”

Maiden felt herself pale, she knew she needed to get up and run or at least start screaming, but she couldn’t move. It was the bloody knife. The memory of her own near miss with a similar weapon still haunted her. Victor seemed to notice her trouble, he frowned gently and glanced down at the stained blade.

“It is a bit gruesome, sorry,” he said as he opened the little door in the furnace and dropped the knife inside with a loud clatter. “There you are, out of sight, just for you. Now do settle down. I swear I won’t hurt you; I need you.”

“For what?” She edged back a little.

“The story, obviously.” He shook his head at her. “You’re smarter than this, Maiden. Don’t be awkward with me now, there’s a lot of work to do.”

“You seriously want me to play Helena?” Maiden asked as she again glanced at Lina.

“You’re ideal.” He flicked Lina’s prone form a disparaging glance. “You’re certainly better suited to the role; so beautiful and so clever. And you feel things, Maiden. You seem drawn to Helena; I’ve noticed that a few times now and I’m grateful.”

“Grateful?” Maiden frowned cautiously.

“Yes,” he said with a smile. “But we needn’t get bogged down with sentiment.”

“Victor,” she shook her head a fraction and slowly pushed to her feet, “you can’t expect to get away with killing three people.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” he said as he propped his shoulder against the furnace. “I’ve lost track of the number of people I’ve killed.”

“Why?” she asked warily. “You seemed so nice.”

“I am nice,” he tsked but gave a conceding shrug. “I can’t expect you to really understand the whole situation. And it’s always been entirely justified. I do try not to hurt innocent people; that’s a sure way to ruin your life.”

Maiden stared at him and gestured down at Lina. He obligingly looked and released a tolerant breath.

“This film is important, Maiden,” he said patiently. “I think you really do understand that, you’re just a bit shocked at the moment and Lina’s gone and upset you again. You’ll feel better once you’ve settled down. How did you know it was me, incidentally?”

“Well…all the strange things that happened were centered around Helena. You and I seem to be the only ones that are particularly interested in her.” Maiden wet her lips and shook her head slightly. “And I know I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Well done, my dear. We’re kindred spirits, you and I,” he said with a pleased smile. “This is about purity. The righting of wrongs, even decades after the fact, that’s what I’m trying to convey.”

“What wrongs are we talking about?” She took another step back but knew the wall was looming behind her.

“The film tells the story. It’s ironic that so many people have tried to stop me. Ever since the project’s inception it feels like I’ve faced one roadblock after another,” he sighed and smiled faintly as he stepped towards her. “You’ve been lovely about the whole thing though, I do appreciate that. In many ways, you remind me of Helena. I can picture her clearly when I look at you. I was so touched when you read that speech; I wrote it for her.”

“Did you?” she asked, although she’d started to wonder when he nearly cried after hearing it.

“I needed to give her a stronger voice. She was better than some naïve socialite with more money than brains,” he mused and smiled at her again, contentedly. “It truly was beautiful to see you give life to her, even if only for a moment.”

“What’s Helena to you?” Maiden tried not to shiver, both from the cold air around them and the eerily calm look in Victor’s eyes. “You seem attached to her.”

“I suppose I am. That’s why Lina’s petulance was so insufferable,” he said reflectively. “She was always ungrateful; once she got a taste of fame it was even worse. I wasn’t too bothered about her demands and constant boasting but…it was her contempt for the role I’d crafted. That actually hurt. I could have forgiven her everything else, killed her quietly, somewhere more dignified.”

“You’ve known her for a while, then?” Maiden asked as she peered around subtly for anything she might be able to use to protect herself.

“Yes, for years.” He took a step closer. “She needed help to escape her old life and my associates and I provided it. But she never worked as hard as she could’ve, that’s why she never lost her accent. It’s not impossible if you’re quite determined.”

“Your ‘associates’?” Maiden frowned. “You mean the studio executives?”

“Sort of. Life is a theatre, isn’t it? We’re merely players on the stage.” He gave a casual wave of his hand and smiled fondly as he looked at her again. “You are beautiful, Maiden. You have the form of a Greek goddess and the eyes of a muse. My modern-day Helena, that’s what you are. I really wasn’t expecting to find someone like you.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly and edged to the side, but she was blocked from getting any further by the massive furnace. Her eyes flitted to it and then down to Lina and the spill of blood that was slowly spreading towards her.

“Things are so messy, aren’t they? I’m rarely this sloppy but you caught me off guard.” Victor shook his head. “Did you know that the real Helena was never found? Some claim that she murdered Edward and then disappeared. I don’t believe that though, I don’t think she ever left this remarkable place. I think she was too attached to it, too soft-hearted. You can be too soft-hearted, Maiden. Did you know that?”

“Yeah, I know that,” she said quietly. He gave her an approving nod.

“I knew you would. Some of the speculations held that Helena died in this house. Stabbed to death and her precious body thrown into the furnace…interesting.” He glanced from the furnace down at Lina’s body and then shifted his attention back to her and smiled politely. “Do you happen to know where I could find an axe?”

“Um, not really, no.” Maiden felt lightheaded but fought it. “Did you really kill Lina because she refused to play the role the way you wanted?”

“Goodness no! Can you imagine anything more absurd?!” he scoffed and shook his head. “No, little Lina was solely responsible for what’s happened to her. She got very belligerent and conceited, but that’s nothing I can’t shrug off. I was only going to fire her. But then she started pushing and complaining and threatening to go over my head. That’s where it becomes a problem. I have a fair bit of freedom in my role, and it really needs to stay that way.”

“But how could she really hurt your career?” Maiden asked.

“It’s not good when someone shines a flashlight in your darkest corners, is it?” he explained patiently and then he smiled again. “But we were speaking of Helena. I’ll tell you what I think happened to her, I think her old life caught up with her. Just like Lina’s did. Ironically that’s all those two women had in common. I expected better from her; that was foolish, I suppose.”

“What does that mean, Victor?” Maiden asked uncertainly. “Even if Lina entered the country illegally—”

“Don’t be silly.” He gave her a gently chiding look. “No one comes from a frozen hovel in the middle of nowhere and becomes a Hollywood megastar all on their own. The woman came from nothing and was quickly made unrecognizable and hidden in plain sight. You think that’s a coincidence?”

“No, I don’t,” Maiden admitted. “I don’t think anyone informed you that she’d been cast in the role either. I think you chose her specifically and forced her to do it. And I think you came here intending to kill her all along.”

“Marvelous.” Victor shook his head admiringly. “You get it, Maiden. You understand me more than all these fools I’ve worked with for years. You really are my Helena.”

“I’m not,” she said quietly.

“You’re still wearing her ring,” he pointed out with a knowing smile. “Why is that, do you think?”

Maiden looked down at her left hand but said nothing. She had chosen to keep it on, despite Tom’s blood, despite it being evidence in a murder investigation. It belonged to Helena and that made it special. Victor seemed to notice her quiet, slightly distressed expression and tactfully changed the subject.

“What about Tom? Why did I kill him?” he prompted. “I’ll bet you know.”

“He really did steal Kevin’s script, without realizing that it was actually your script. You’d already swapped your doctored version for Kevin’s. When it went missing, you probably guessed that Tom was the one that took it,” she obliged, more to buy time than to appease him. “Kevin tried to hide behind his bluster about creative processes, but he didn’t really understand what was going on. You were the one that fed him some changes, but he didn’t know about all of them.”

“Maiden, I can’t begin to explain how incredible this is.” He smiled and pressed a hand to his chest. “I really am overwhelmed by you.”

“Did you catch Tom taking the script, or was it just an educated guess?” She did her best not to react when she saw the door to the secret passage drift open quietly.

“Oh, that whole mess was deeply annoying.” Victor scowled briefly. “No one would have done something that rude except Tom. I’d had enough of him anyway, I was going to deal with him at the hotel but then we got trapped here. It all worked out well enough though, I knew that we could do some scenes and keep the work moving forward.”

“I noticed you seemed to roll with the changes quite easily.” She fixed her gaze on his in hopes that he wouldn’t look behind him.

“It takes a lot to ruffle me. But I’ll admit that Tom’s constant harassment of you was beginning to annoy me more than I let on,” he said mildly. “I was quite pleased with how quickly you always shut him down, and of course David was quite effective in looking after you. He seems like a nice man, that one.”

“Yeah.” Maiden tried not to shudder. “So what exactly happened the night Tom died?”

“I had no trouble finding the script tucked in Tom’s bag but I opted to leave it there,” he said. “Then I saw Tom sneak away in the middle of the night. I knew what he was up to so I gave him a few minutes to get on with it before I slipped out and followed. Can you guess what happened then?”

Maiden held his teasing gaze and felt the pieces clicking into place. She recalled what Carly had said about Tom christening the bedroom sets.

“Lina was with him,” she said quietly. Victor grinned at her.

“You wonderful girl.” He shook his head admiringly. “Yes, they’d slipped off to the master bedroom. I can only assume that’s why he hadn’t given her Helena’s ring yet, a disgusting misuse of it, but no matter.

“Tom had already coaxed Lina to admit that I’d arranged for her to get the part; he smelled an opportunity. Kevin had brought a lot of attention to Tom’s waning skills and it was hurting his prospects. He’d maneuvered Lina into the bed when I walked in. Tom, overconfident as ever, smirked and bragged about what he thought he knew.”

“Lina obviously didn’t try to stop you.” Maiden gestured down at the body.

“She knew better than that,” Victor said confidently. “She found fame playing airheads but Lina wasn’t stupid. Sadly, she was weak. In any case, I was tired of Tom and had to neutralize the threat.”

“Yeah, we found your gun,” Maiden said.

“I’d actually brought it to use on Lina! Ironic, isn’t it?” he chuckled and shook his head. “I improvised according to the situation.”

“Had Lina actually told him anything worth killing him for?” Maiden asked a little louder than she’d meant to but her nerves were getting the better of her as the door behind Victor drifted nearly closed again.

“I couldn’t risk it. He was an endlessly selfish man,” Victor sighed as he threw another glance at Lina’s corpse. “Our friend here used to be good at keeping secrets, that’s why she was useful to us. But good old Tom was ambitious and knew how to appeal to the weak and greedy. He got to Lina through mutual exchanges of favors and she told him enough to make him guess that a bigger game was afoot.”

“So, Tom threatened you?” Maiden arched a dark brow.

“Yes, but very briefly. He tried to bluff in hopes of gaining some advantage. That’s rarely effective with me,” Victor explained modestly. “I produced my pistol and invited him to make himself comfortable in the tub he’d admired so much and, well, you know the rest.”

“How did you get back downstairs before Carly spotted you?” She already knew about the secret passage but wanted to keep him talking.

“There are lots of little secrets in this house, Maiden.” Victor smiled. “Every house has a builder. And rumors spread and linger, as long as you know where to look and how to find them. In any case, it was easy to slip out unnoticed.”

“Why open the window?”

“We heard someone coming,” he said mildly. “It bought us a little time.”

Maiden wondered if Lina was the one that accidentally trapped that sleeve in the door to the secret passage. Victor was clearly a pro, it didn’t sound like the kind of mistake he’d make.

“What about Carly?” she asked.

“Deranged. Abrasive. In my way.” He waved it away and kept smiling. “And there was always the chance that Tom told her some of his business. They used to get high together; that was part of the way he kept her tied to him. He gave her drugs and whatever else he felt necessary to keep her happy.”

“So when she threatened Kevin by saying she knew what Tom knew…” Maiden let the sentence trail off.

“I couldn’t risk her becoming a liability. I still have work to do,” he said calmly. “Once the fool ran off all I had to do was find her. A quick knock on the head and then wait for a quiet moment to drag her outside. I do apologize for leaving you to find the body, but I simply didn’t have time to orchestrate anything else.”

Maiden just looked at him and shook her head.

“The most disturbing part of this whole mess is that I don’t think you’re actually insane,” she said steadily. Victor laughed quietly and stood closer to her.

“We’ll see how this all pans out before we decide on that, shall we?” He grinned and touched a finger to her cheek. “In the meantime, I need your help. I need a new Helena. We could come to an arrangement that benefits us both.”

“Or not.”

Victor turned sharply at the sound of a man’s angry voice behind him. Before he could react, Tony swung his arm and drove his fist into his jaw. Victor tripped backwards over Lina’s legs and struck his head on the old furnace, knocking him out.

Maiden nearly collapsed with the force of her relief and hurried into Tony’s outstretched arms. She could feel his hands shaking as he squeezed her tightly.

“Are you okay?” He sounded panicked.

“Yeah, I think so. Are you?” She glanced up at him to find him staring down at Victor.

“No, not really. That nut looked ready to either kill you or propose marriage.” Tony’s shoulders were rigid. “And my hand really hurts.”

“You’re not exactly the fighter type,” Maiden laughed weakly. “How did you find us?”

“You didn’t look right when you walked past earlier, so I came to check on you.” He squeezed her a bit tighter. “I found the stairs and heard talking so I came to check it out.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come along.”

“It’s okay, you’re safe now.” Tony did his best to sound reassuring, but his shaky voice tarnished his efforts. “And I sent David a text before I snuck out of that weird passageway.”

He’d barely finished speaking when they heard the door at the top of the stairs fly open. Maiden stiffened and stepped away quickly.

“I wasn’t here!” she whispered urgently. “You found the body and Victor confessed!”

“What?” Tony scowled as she ran to the secret passage and shut herself inside.

Maiden lingered behind the hidden door long enough to hear David charge in and ask where she was. She clenched her fists and struggled not to jump up and down in horrified frustration as Tony stammered awkwardly.

She listened until he finally said that he wasn’t sure where she was. He then started fumbling through an explanation of Victor’s confession. At that point Maiden couldn’t stomach it any longer and crept away.

She quietly climbed the long spiral staircase past the kitchen. She wasn’t certain where it would lead to but her suspicions were confirmed when she opened a small door into the bar where she and David first kissed. The nostalgic sight of the glitzy room made her smile and reminded her why she was about to tell a lot of lies.

Chapter thirty

David raced up the stairs to the second floor and looked around slowly. Tony’s explanation of why he was in the basement with an unconscious Victor and a far less fortunate Lina was panicked and unconvincing. Apart from the fact that the text he’d sent to alert him clearly stated that Maiden had confronted Victor.

It had taken a lot of patience to calm Tony down enough to learn that that hadn’t exactly been the case. It was more likely that she’d tried to help Lina and was caught by the unexpectedly cold-blooded producer.

In any event, Tony’s half-baked story of finding Victor and then listening as the man confessed all his crimes didn’t wash. He gave a fretful and far more disturbing account after being politely asked a third time to please tell the truth.

About that time, a large snowplow cut a path down the long driveway, followed by a lot of police cars.

David was caught up with detaining and questioning Victor, filling his newly arrived team in on what had happened, as he understood it at least, and escorting Doc Jenkins to the various corpses. It was well over an hour before he could break away and look for Maiden.

The only reasons he didn’t immediately look for her was Tony’s assurance that she was safe and eager to get away, and the certain suspicion that she was deliberately hiding.

He knew she’d be someplace quiet and well away from the crime scenes. Trying to think of all the places that she might go to find refuge, he started by following her escape route. The secret passage Tony showed him led up past the kitchen and into the stylish barroom that he remembered very well and very fondly. David stepped out of the cramped little stairway and looked around the bar; it was empty.

That didn't overly surprise him since she was avoiding him, and she had to know that Tony wouldn't be able to stall for very long. David walked across the room and peered out into the hallway. He heard voices floating out from the master bedroom as forensics continued their work. Maiden would be steering clear of that whole circus.

David sighed softly and thought about where she might have gone. Everywhere they'd already been seemed unlikely. His gaze slid to the door directly across the hall. Maybe she hadn't gone far at all. He wasn't sure what the room was, but everything was worth trying at this point. He approached slowly and cautiously opened the door, relief poured through him instantly when he looked inside.

It was another dusty bedroom; he doubted that anyone had been in it for decades, until now. Past the bare canopy bed and a faded old wardrobe, Maiden was curled up on the built-in seat of a large window, watching as the snowplow continued to clear the driveway.

David closed the door just loudly enough to get her attention. Sure enough, she tensed and looked back. What worried him was that she didn’t look relieved or particularly happy to see him. He felt his brow furrow and made a conscious effort to clear it as he walked over to join her. The bright sunshine revealed all the anxiety she was trying not to let him see.

“Hey,” he said gently. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Maiden smiled but it was strained and she wouldn’t look him in the eye for very long. “I see that the roads are cleared, that’s good. And your team is here, that’s a relief. Do you think you’ll be able to arrest someone soon?”

Wow, you’re a terrible liar, David thought to himself as he smiled gently at her. At least I know you’ll never trick me.

“Yes, we’ve already arrested Victor,” he murmured.

“What? Victor?!” She blinked at him and cleared her throat uncomfortably. “That’s really creepy!”

“I imagine it was. Trapped in the basement with him like that, and right after finding Lina’s body.” He eased closer.

“Is Lina dead?” She turned to the window and hugged herself as a light powdery snow began to fall again. “That’s so horrible.”

“Baby,” David kept his voice mellow as he rested his hands on her shoulders, “did he hurt you?”

“No. I haven’t seen him, or anyone,” she said more steadily now that she wasn’t looking at him. “I’ve been in here all morning. There was no need for me to be underfoot, so I stayed away.”

“Okay, let’s try another approach.” He smiled but carefully kept himself from laughing, he was pretty sure that would go badly for him. “Tony’s about as convincing as you are when it comes to brazenly fibbing. And Victor told me that you found him and had a nice long chat about who he killed and why. He’s also calling you his Helena and his muse and a lot of other weird crap that I’d rather you didn’t try to process and deal with on your own.”

“He’s just trying to sound crazy,” she mumbled to the pure, glistening snow.

“He is successfully sounding very crazy,” David said as he gave her arms a gentle squeeze.

“It’s an act,” she said with disturbing certainty. “He’s sane; he’s also very clever and he hasn’t finished whatever he was trying to do.”

“Did he tell you that?” David frowned faintly and edged closer so he could hear her quiet replies.

“Yes.” She nodded.

David considered that as he finally coaxed her into turning to face him. He looked her over carefully and reminded himself that Tony had been lurking nearby for a lot of the encounter. He said Victor never touched her until a moment before he punched him out, but that he’d said some very strange things to her.

Maiden, being Maiden, let Victor go and kept him talking until he told her about each murder. And, as David looked at her now, she was watching him with an expression he couldn’t read. He really didn’t like it when she did that.

David narrowed his eyes pensively, as if that would make her inscrutable thoughts any clearer to him. Finally he resorted to desperate measures.

“Look, I’m sorry,” he sighed. “Can you please tell me what’s actually bothering you most at the moment?”

She held his gaze for a painfully intense moment and then glanced away again.

“I want to stay out of this case,” she said firmly.

Of course, I should’ve known, he thought wryly. You’ve just had an intimate discussion with a cold-blooded killer, naturally you’re more concerned about my job.

“Maiden, the murderer has accused you of catching him.” David couldn’t help smiling as he said it. “You’re in the case. Quite honestly, no one in this town is going to believe that three murders took place on your property and you sat back and had nothing to do with solving them. It’s a battle you can’t win, baby. Just accept that.”

“David,” she said seriously and tried to pull away.

“Hmm?” He tightened his hold immediately.

“Could you please just…” She trailed off when nothing useful occurred to her.

“Just deal with this like a grown up? Yeah, I believe I can,” he said dryly. “How about you?”

“Not funny,” she mumbled and rested her forehead against his chest.

“Not a joke.” He smoothed a hand over her long hair. “Maiden, no one is asking me to choose between you and my work. And even if they did, I’d choose you.”

“I’m gonna ruin your life, McAlister,” she warned without lifting her head.

“You won’t, you can’t,” he said quietly. “The only thing that would ruin my life would be if you left me, and I don’t believe you’d hurt me like that.”

“I won’t,” she mumbled. “I should, it would be kinder to you, but I’m weak.”

“Don’t say things like that.” He didn’t let the pain or anger caused by that flippant remark come through in his tone. “You couldn’t leave me anyway.”

“Why not?”

“I won’t let go,” he replied as he tightened his arms around her a little more. “We’d have to spend the rest of our lives here…and eventually one of us will have to go to the bathroom. So, it’s not very realistic to break up, is it?”

Maiden hugged his waist and buried her face in his shirt to muffle her laughter.

Maiden stayed in the room upstairs and watched from the window as David and another officer led Victor outside. She didn’t want to risk seeing him or having him speak to her again; it was too chilling.

As he was led to a waiting squad car, Victor glanced back at the house, looking it over as if trying to memorize every detail. Maiden forced herself to look calm and steady as his eyes found her and a benevolent smile softened his features. A moment later he was tucked into the backseat and was gone.

Maiden shuddered and rubbed her arms. As she skimmed her hands over her sleeves she was reminded of Helena’s ring where it still sat on her finger. She glanced down at it, distantly noting that she needed to return it to David as evidence. She could only hope she’d get it back after the investigation was done.

She was still in no hurry to head downstairs, even with Victor on his way to the local jail. She didn’t want to be there for the discussions and the revelations; she didn’t want to be praised for figuring it out. Although, she truly had figured it out, most of it at least.

She suspected that Victor didn’t really leave Golden Glen after coming to see the manor and getting his contract signed. It wouldn’t have been difficult to book a separate flight from Nessa’s. All he had to do was tell her that he had business in another city; she wouldn’t have had a reason to question it.

He could have easily come back to the manor and started exploring; he might’ve even been there that day she and Vonny found the footprints that disappeared into the wall. It was a frightening thought, but he had likely been there for days without them knowing it.

It would also explain how that message got painted on the mirror in the master bath. Victor probably found the key before she’d really started looking for it. She’d left the box full of keys out in plain sight. He must have let himself in and written the threatening words. And he might have kept the key to prevent them going in early and finding the message too soon, or cleaning it off.

Maiden was confident that the gruesome death threat was actually meant for Lina, since she was his only intended victim. The second message written on the window next door was likely to keep them all on their toes, but also a warning that the mayhem wasn’t over yet.

It still isn’t over, Maiden thought to herself as she stared out at the deceptively cheerful sky. She took some comfort in knowing that Victor had been caught, but his mention of associates and his fixation with Helena Riley was still a concern.

She hoped Victor was bluffing; that he was actually a psychopath that was obsessed with his art. She really didn’t believe that though.

Maiden watched David walk back towards the house. He glanced up at her and she immediately eased back a step. She wasn’t sure if he noticed; his expression didn’t change and he didn’t hesitate as he headed inside.

She wasn’t looking forward to giving her statement and detailing how much investigating she’d done on her own. Despite David’s understanding and insistence that he valued her more than his job, she knew this was about the worst thing that could’ve happened right before Chief Boswell’s visit. It was a disaster.

All Maiden wanted at the moment was to be back in her bedroom, cuddled up with Ruffian. She wanted a warm quilt, a glass of wine and some time with Helena’s diary, but it would have to wait. Just like unravelling the secrets of the manor would have to wait.

She would also have to call Aunt Bella and tell her the grisly facts about her ‘friend’ Victor. Maiden had already decided to leave the awkward task of making sure their contract was paid to her aunt. Regardless of the film’s future, they still needed a new furnace and they’d certainly upheld their end of the bargain.

The doorknob rattled as David opened the door and stepped just inside. Maiden subdued her cocktail of worries and turned to him with a faint smile. He didn’t buy it, that much was obvious, but he smiled back and leaned against the doorframe.

“Hey, statement time, if you’re up to it,” he said gently and held a hand out to her. “Do you want to come downstairs? Alfie and Gloria keep asking about you; you’ve been closed away by yourself for a while.”

Yeah, it’s been great, she thought wistfully but nodded and walked towards him. She’d barely reached the door when he stepped further in and caught her up in a big hug.

“You did really well, Maiden,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m proud of you and I’m glad you’re safe. You are safe, baby. It’s all over now.”

Maiden tipped her face up to his and smiled, she nearly laughed. He was a wonderful man and she loved him so much but, not for the first time, she knew he was wrong.

Thank you!

This book was so much fun to write! I love the idea of a huge snowstorm that traps the characters in a creepy old house. It's a bit scary and cozy at the same time. Two of my favorite mystery elements!

This book is also an important part of a mini story-arc within the Maiden Harlow world. I try to keep my books accessible to those that like a series and those that prefer standalones. But I hope that by this point in the series, I'm safe to spread my wings a bit.

The story of Riley Manor continues in the next two books. It's simply too big of a story to be crammed into one book. There are also some of my all-time favorite characters soon to be introduced, I hope you'll love them as much as I do.

Maiden's whole world is about to get turned upside down. It's a fun and wild ride and I hope you come along for it!

Camille

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Blood and Money
A Maiden Harlow Mystery Prequel

Come along for Maiden's first brush with danger at Harlow House!

When a favorite guest arrives at the inn with a deadly problem, Maiden is moved to try and help. But the lady is reluctant to share too much information and refuses to go to the police. Can Maiden convince her to act before it’s too late?

Also by Camille Sharp

The Maiden Harlow Mysteries

Murder Checks Inn

A Fair Chance of Murder

Pretty Little Princesses

Maiden of Honor

Treasure Hunt

Deathly Cold

Coming soon…

Faraway Kingdoms

Voices From the Past

About Camille Sharp

I've been writing for as long as I can remember, but my serious storytelling began in my teens. I dabble in mystery, fantasy and speculative fiction.

I write from many perspectives – heroine, hero, side characters and sometimes even villains. I like to tell stories about heroines that are smart, sexy and basically kind. All the things I want to be if I ever decide to grow up.

While I weave romance into most of my books, I love to explore other relationships as well. Friendships and the various bonds within families are deeply important and I draw on my personal history for a lot of it.

I firmly believe that stories are powerful, books are vital and that our imaginations need to be protected and cultivated.

One of the most useful lessons I’ve learned along the way is that if you’re in a situation where you can’t really conquer or surrender, stories give you the option to escape. Even if only for a few hours. I hope I can help transport you someplace you’d like to be.

Camille