Krewe Of Hunters: Crimson Twilight Part 7

She cautiously moved out of the bridal suite. She backed her way to the door to Kelsey and Logan's suite and ducked her head in. Neither was there. Almost running, she made her way to Emil Roth's suite. The outer door was open. Taking every precaution, she pushed the door inward and made her way into the room. Like the bridal suite, it had an outer foyer area with a grouping of chairs and a wet bar. Roth family plaques adorned the walls along with prints of medieval paintings. She made her way through to the bedroom, pushed the door open, and quickly flicked on the light, hoping to first blind anyone who might have attacked Emil in the night, or who might be lingering in the room.

To her astonishment, Emil Roth was there.

And he wasn't alone.

She was awkwardly greeted by the sight of flesh. Way more of Emil Roth's pale body than she had ever wanted to see and a pair of ma.s.sive, gleaming b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Way too much of a skinny derriere. Emil's flesh, a woman's flesh-sweaty, writhing flesh-writhing until she turned the light on and they both stopped moving like deer suddenly blinded by headlights.

The woman screamed.

Emil Roth roared. "What the h.e.l.l?"

Jane instantly turned the light off. "Sorry-sorry! Your door to the hallway was open. I was afraid that someone was hurting you."

She heard the tinkle of the woman's laughter. And then, in the darkness, she realized she knew who the woman was.

Scully Adair.

"I wasn't hurting anyone, I swear!" Scully said. "But, please, don't say anything! Please, don't say anything to Mrs. Avery. I'll wind up fired-"

Scully started to rise.

Jane lifted a hand to her. "I won't say a word, I swear it. Please don't get up on my account. I won't tell Mrs. Avery a thing."

"Hey, now, I own the place," Emil said.

"Whatever!" Jane told them. "I will not say a word. It's between you all. Forgive me. Sorry, I'm out of here. Pretend I was never here. Just do what you were doing, I mean, um, you just might want to lock your door."

She flew back out of the room, shaking, slamming the door in her wake. The locks were automatic, she reminded herself. They'd been warned about that-step outside and it would catch behind you. For a moment, she leaned against the closed door. Visions stuck in her head that she prayed she could quickly clear.

She gave herself a mental shake.

If Emil Roth was fine, what was going on? Where the h.e.l.l was Sloan? Where were Kelsey and Logan? She hurried to the stairway and gripped the banister tightly, looking behind and around her as she started down the stairs to the castle's foyer. Still, she saw no one. The giant double front doors to the castle were ajar. She walked outside. A moon rode high, the air was still, and a low fog lay gentle on the ground. There was a night-light coming from Mr. Green's cottage and a slightly lower light emitted from the guardhouse where Mrs. Avery was supposed to be sleeping. She wasn't sure why, but she walked the distance around the grounds, on alert, ever ready to be surprised by someone lurking in the night or watching and waiting. But no one accosted her. Instead, she felt as if she was being beckoned toward the chapel. She wasn't afraid of the dead. The dead had helped her many times. She made her way through the gate at the low stone wall that surrounded the chapel. She was afraid of the living. They were dangerous, in her mind.

But no one jumped up or slunk around from a gravestone or a tomb.

She reached the chapel door and pushed it inward. Someone was sitting in a pew, looking at the altar.

He rose.

She looked at John McCawley, tragically killed in a hunting accident the eve of his wedding.

He looked at her a long moment. "You see me? You see me clearly?"

"I do," she told him.

He seemed incredulous, then he smiled, and she saw that he had been a truly handsome young man with a grace about him. "Forgive me. I see people pointing into the woods and saying that they see me when I'm standing next to them. And the ghost hunters! Lord save us all. A twig snaps and they scream, 'What was that, oh my G.o.d!'"

"There are several of us here who see the-" She paused. She wasn't sure why, but saying "dead" seemed very rude. "Who see those who have gone before us."

"Really? Amazing and wonderful. I heard one of the maids whispering about it today. You do look like my love, like my Elizabeth. Are you a descendant?"

"I'm really not. I'm sorry," she told him.

"Ah, well, no matter." He studied her anxiously. "If you see Elizabeth-I know she's here. I see her at the window. But you-you with this gift of yours, if you see her, tell her that I love her. I wait for her. I'll never leave her. I love her in death as I loved her in life."

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Jane asked.

He shook his head. "It's as if I can't breach the castle. I try to enter. I don't know why. The family arranged the wedding, but they didn't want us together. There were a number of us out that day-Emil Roth, father and son, among them. I watched the blood flow from me, but I never knew who'd done the deed. And yet, I prayed that my love would go on-that Elizabeth would rally and find happiness. She loved me, but she wasn't weak. She should have lived a long life and she should have found happiness. But she did not. I'll never leave her now. I will watch her at the window for eternity."

"I'll tell her," Jane said. "But there is a way-there is always a way. We'll figure it out, and you two may tell each other everything you wish to say."

As she spoke, she heard her name cried out loudly and with anguish.

Sloan!

"Here!" she cried. "I'm in the chapel."

A moment later, the door burst in and Sloan rushed to her, sweeping her into his arms. He was oblivious to the ghost, oblivious to everything but her.

He shook as he held her.

"Hey," she said. "I'm fine. Where have you been? Where are Kelsey and Logan?"

"Right behind me. There was someone about to break into Emil Roth's room. We all chased whoever it was down the stairs and out into the yard, but they disappeared as if into thin air," Sloan said with disgust. "I went back to the room and then I banged on Roth's door and-Roth is sleeping with his help."

"I know," Jane said.

Logan came striding in, followed by Kelsey. "There you are," Kelsey said, pus.h.i.+ng Sloan aside to give Jane a hug. "We were worried sick."

Jane told them, "Hey! You guys left me."

"We were chasing a mysterious figure," Logan explained.

"The door locked, right, when I left?" Sloan asked, worried.

She nodded. "I just came out looking for you." She frowned. "Hey-now, we're all out here and Emil Roth is back in his room."

They turned as if they were one and went racing back to the castle.

They weren't careful then as they raced up the stairs.

At the door to Emil Roth's suite, they suddenly paused. "Whatever he's doing, we have to interrupt him. We're trying to keep him alive," Sloan said.

Logan nodded and banged on the door. Emil Roth, dressed in a silk robe, opened the door. Seeing them, he groaned. "You all again."

"Mr. Roth, someone was sneaking toward your door in the middle of the night. I believe they meant to cause you some harm," Sloan told them.

"It was me," said a squeaky, apologetic voice. Scully Adair, clad in an oversized s.h.i.+rt, her hair still in disarray, walked slowly out of the bedroom. She gave them a little wave. "Sorry. I'm so sorry."

Jane shook her head-trying to dispel unwanted images that rose before her mind's eye. "You don't need to apologize. You're both adults."

"But, Scully, it wasn't you," Sloan said. "It was someone wearing black, evidently sneaking around, who was headed toward Emil's door. We chased them, and whoever it was disappeared right outside the front door."

"Why would anyone want to hurt me? To most of the world, I'm worthless," Emil said dryly.

"You're not worthless!" Scully said pa.s.sionately.

"You seem to be a fine enough young man, sincerely," Jane told him.

"But, beyond that, you are worth a fortune," Kelsey reminded him.

Emil Roth shook his head. "If I die, the only living heir-or heiress-is Denise Avery. But she doesn't just get everything. There are all kinds of trusts. The castle will be left to posterity. It will go to the village and be run by a trust and a group of directors."

"But she'd still make out all right," Logan said.

Emil waved a hand in the air. "She'd get a few million."

"Oh, Emil!" Jane said. "People have died for far less than a few million."

"But-Denise," Emil said.

Jane turned to Sloan. "Where was she when you all went running after the figure into the night?"

"We woke up Mr. Green and Mrs. Avery," Logan said.

"But both took their time answering their doors," Sloan said.

"Which, of course, is more than possible when you're sound asleep," Kelsey said.

"This can't be-real," Emil said.

"We didn't imagine the figure we chased away," Sloan said flatly.

"So what do I do?" Emil asked.

"You sit tight," Logan said firmly. "We're waiting on some answers from our home office, and the M.E.'s report. We'll have that info in the morning. For tonight, sit tight. One of us will stay in the hall through the next few hours. When the sun comes up, you'll be with one of us through the day until we get to the bottom of this."

"Really?" Scully asked. "I mean, the police said that it was an accident when the reverend fell. And someone was running around the halls? It could have been the ghost."

"It wasn't a ghost," Sloan said flatly. "It was flesh and blood that tried to get to you tonight, Emil. Dressed in black, sneaking around. And a man died here less than twenty-four hours ago. Let's be smart about this."

Emil nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"Let's do what we can with the rest of the night," Logan said. "I'll take the hall first." He glanced at his watch. "Each of us takes an hour and a half. That gives everyone a few hours of sleep before morning. Kelsey, you relieve me. Sloan and Jane, you'll be up last."

"I meant to go home," Scully murmured.

"You can't now," Kelsey said flatly.

"But I'll be in the same clothing and Mrs. Avery-"

"I do own the place," Emil said again.

"You're a little shorter than Kelsey, but about the same size," Sloan said. "We'll get you some clothing. For tonight, sit tight."

They left Emil Roth and Scully Adair and adjourned to the hall.

"You know, we're forgetting people," Jane pointed out. "Chef lives over the old stables. I'm not sure where that is. And Phoebe Martin is up in the attic."

"The stables are down the hill and to the right of the gatehouse," Sloan said. "And the attic, you walked Phoebe up there tonight, right?"

"Doesn't mean she stayed there," Jane pointed out.

"But what would Phoebe or Chef have to gain from hurting Emil Roth?" Kelsey asked.

"The only one to benefit would be Denise Avery," Sloan said.

"But she was there, down at the gatehouse, when you banged on her door, right?" Jane asked.

"Oh, yes, spitting fire, warning us that she had the right to throw us out," Logan said.

"Let's get through the night," Sloan said. "And hope we get something to go on in the morning."

Logan turned to Kelsey. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you in a bit. And you two," he said to Jane and Sloan. "Go on in and-whatever. You have three hours."

Sloan slipped his hand to the base of Jane's spine and urged her toward their door. They entered and he waited for the click. He cupped her head between his hands and kissed her tenderly, the feel of his fingers feathering against the softness of her flesh an arousing touch. He had a talent for the right move at the right time. He could walk into a room and cast his head in one direction and she would just see that he was there and want him. He could be a joker. He could walk naked from a shower and tease and play and tell her that the offer was evident.

But, right now, he wasn't sure what was on her mind. He could always make her long for him.

"She's been here."

"What?" he asked her.

And she told him about waking up to the feel of something on her cheek, of Elizabeth being there and looking at her worriedly. She told him about John McCawley waiting in the church, forever watching the windows for his love.

"Why can't he come in the house?" Sloan asked her.

"Maybe he was never really invited inside-invited to be a part of the family," Jane suggested.

"Did you ask him about any of this?" Sloan asked.

"I didn't really have time. You screamed for me and he disappeared."

"We'll talk about this with the others tomorrow," he said. "And until then-" He paused, his fingers tracing a pattern down her cheek, his eyes focused on hers. "Until then, we'll get some sleep."

She smiled. "When this is over, let's go to an island. A resort. Maybe one of those all-inclusive ones. One where we have our own little hut on the beach."

"No ghosts," he said.