Read Online Ghost of a Promise by Kelly Moran - Free Book Online Page B

light. The room returned to its usual comforting warmth in seconds. Before touching anything, he opened his door and padded down the hall to Sammy’ s room. Without bothering to knock, he walked in. This room had twin beds. Sammy ’ s was on the right, Kerry ’ s the left. He pushed on the mound of blankets covering Sammy.
    Her dark head poked out. “ Jackson? ”
    “ You need to see this. ” He strode back to his room.
    Rubbing her eyes, she strolled in behind him. “ What ’ s up? ”
    He told her what happened, and her eyes bulged. She hurried out of the room and knocking sounded twice. Kerry emerged, so he again relayed what happened.
    Sammy came back holding the thermal camera. She swept the room. “ Look at this. ”
    Earl came in with his camera perched on his shoulder, already rolling film.
    They looked at the thermal. There was a blue handprint on the open desk drawer. Blue indicated a cold temperature flux. Sammy panned the device over to the bed, where the red heat signature from his body was still visible.
    “ Incredible, ” Kerry said.
    Sammy set the camera down and walked over to the desk. By then the rest of the team filled the room, all but Tom, who needed an air-raid siren to wake.
    “ The drawer is empty, ” Sammy said. “ We ’ ll have to ask Ava in the morning if there ’ s any significance to the desk. ”
    “ Lee said there was something important about the desk, ” Kerry supplied. “ He didn ’ t know what, though. ”
    He rubbed the back of his neck. “ We ’ ll deal with it in the morning. ”
    …
    Ava flipped the omelet she was cooking for Amir while she listened to Sammy relay the incident that happened in Jackson’ s room last night. She set the omelet on a plate, garnished it with a few blackberries, and handed it to Amir.
    “ I ’ ve never gone through that desk, and certainly not seen it open by itself. ”
    Terrance set down his fork. “ You know, old furniture like that sometimes has hidden crevices built in. Before safes and banks, it was like a security measure. ”
    She dropped a dab of butter into the skillet and got to work on Sammy ’ s Denver omelet. “ What, like Scooby Doo ? Pull a book and the shelf moves to reveal a secret room?”
    Terrance grinned. “ Hidden rooms weren ’ t unusual either, especially if the family was wealthy. Paranoia over war and whatnot. ”
    She nodded and gave Sammy her plate. “ Okay. I ’ ll take your word for it. I just think something would ’ ve been found long before now. ”
    “ Not if someone wasn ’ t looking for it. When Jackson wakes up, I ’ ll go to work on the desk. ”
    Sammy swallowed and waved her fork. “ Is there any significance to the desk? ”
    Finished for now, she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. “ Rumor has it the desk belonged to Sarah Kerrick. Apparently she missed her old desk in her bedroom in England, so her father built it for her. It was the only item from the Kerrick house Peter Trumble saved. ” She wrung her hands. “ We ’ re talking two centuries of rumor here. ”
    Jackson walked in wearing jeans slung low on his hips and a wool sweater. “ Smells good in here. ”
    Because he looked too good, she turned back to the stove. “ What do you like in your omelet? ”
    He perused the items on the counter. “ Ah, mushrooms, tomato, and cheese. Please, luv. ”
    He needed to stop calling her “ luv. ” She knew it was a British term of endearment, but he didn ’ t seem to use it on anyone else, and it felt personal. One thing she couldn ’ t do was get personal with Jackson Granger.
    “ Anything else happen last night? ” Sammy pushed her plate away.
    He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat next to her at the island. “ Afraid not. Didn ’ t get much sleep, though. ”
    Ava handed him a plate and turned off the skillet. “ What ’ s on the agenda today? ”
    Terrance rose to set his dishes in the sink. “ I ’ m going to inspect the desk. ”
    “ I ’