Read Online Harmony 01 After Dark by Jayne Castle - Free Book Online
Authors: Jayne Castle
Ads: Link
were celebrating my last birthday. He was always asking someone to take pictures of the two of us together there. It was his home away from home."
"When I couldn't locate Brady, I decided to look for you instead." Emmett picked up the picture and tucked it back into his jacket. "You weren't hard to find. But right after I located you, Brady turned up dead in that sarcophagus."
Anger flushed her cheeks. "My God, it was all a sham, right from the start, wasn't it? You came looking for me because you thought I was involved with Chester. You
pretended to be a genuine client, but all along you thought I could give you a lead on your missing cabinet and your missing nephew."
"I didn't have much else to go on," he said quietly.
"I knew it."
"Knew what?"
Her hand tightened into a small fist on the white table-cloth. "You really were too good to be true."
He shrugged and said nothing.
"What made you decide to end the charade tonight?" she demanded fiercely.
"The scorch marks that ghost burned into your bedroom wall."
Confusion defused some of her outrage. "What in the world does that have to do—"
She broke off as the waiter returned to the table with the appetizers. Emmett looked at the dish that was set in front of him. The menu had listed it as Prawns in Three-Part Harmony.
None of the three perfectly cooked prawns sitting atop the bed of thin-sliced radishes appeared to be singing, in three-part harmony or otherwise, but he decided not to make an issue of it. New Wave cuisine was a state of mind, he reminded himself.
Lydia leaned forward impatiently as soon as the waiter had vanished. "All right, explain yourself, London. What did you mean about my scorched wall changing things?"
"The mark that ghost left on your wall was not a random design, Lydia. If you looked at it closely, you could make out three wavy lines. It was a sloppy job. The hunter obviously didn't have complete control of the ghost, but I'm sure about the lines."
"So?"
"I think someone may have tried to leave you a message."
She looked wary now. "You're saying that you recognized these three wavy lines?"
"Yeah." He took a bite of one of the prawns. "I've seen them before."
"Where?" Her voice was very tight.
He put down his fork, opened his jacket, and removed the scrap of notepaper he had found on Quinn's desk. Without a word he handed it to Lydia.
She snapped it out of his fingers and glanced at the three wavy lines. She raised her eyes. "I don't get it."
"I found that mark on a pad of paper next to the phone in Quinn's room. I think he made the notation after taking a phone call from Sylvia. He disappeared a few hours after he got that call."
"Do you know what the lines signify?"
"No. I'm looking into it. But the fact that someone used a ghost to burn them into your wall tells me they're probably important. And possibly dangerous."
Absently she tapped the piece of paper on the table-cloth. "It also tells you that I probably don't know what happened to your cabinet or to Quinn after all, right?"
He shrugged. "It did strike me that if someone had risked warning you off with an illegal manifestation, you might be in danger because you'd started asking questions. And if you had to ask questions, you probably don't know where my cabinet or my nephew is."
"Guess that explains the phone call I got at work this morning," she said reluctantly.
"What call?"
"I thought it was a crank call." She moved one hand in a dismissive gesture. "It was a man's voice. A young man, I think. I didn't recognize it. All he said was, 'No more questions.' Then he hung up."
"Damn it, why the hell didn't you tell me?"
She glared at him. "I just finished explaining that I thought it was a crank call. It didn't make any sense. I didn't connect it to my inquiries about your missing cabinet."
"The hell you didn't. You're too smart not to have figured out the connection."
Annoyance strained her voice. "Okay, okay, I admit the possibility crossed my mind. But I was
"When I couldn't locate Brady, I decided to look for you instead." Emmett picked up the picture and tucked it back into his jacket. "You weren't hard to find. But right after I located you, Brady turned up dead in that sarcophagus."
Anger flushed her cheeks. "My God, it was all a sham, right from the start, wasn't it? You came looking for me because you thought I was involved with Chester. You
pretended to be a genuine client, but all along you thought I could give you a lead on your missing cabinet and your missing nephew."
"I didn't have much else to go on," he said quietly.
"I knew it."
"Knew what?"
Her hand tightened into a small fist on the white table-cloth. "You really were too good to be true."
He shrugged and said nothing.
"What made you decide to end the charade tonight?" she demanded fiercely.
"The scorch marks that ghost burned into your bedroom wall."
Confusion defused some of her outrage. "What in the world does that have to do—"
She broke off as the waiter returned to the table with the appetizers. Emmett looked at the dish that was set in front of him. The menu had listed it as Prawns in Three-Part Harmony.
None of the three perfectly cooked prawns sitting atop the bed of thin-sliced radishes appeared to be singing, in three-part harmony or otherwise, but he decided not to make an issue of it. New Wave cuisine was a state of mind, he reminded himself.
Lydia leaned forward impatiently as soon as the waiter had vanished. "All right, explain yourself, London. What did you mean about my scorched wall changing things?"
"The mark that ghost left on your wall was not a random design, Lydia. If you looked at it closely, you could make out three wavy lines. It was a sloppy job. The hunter obviously didn't have complete control of the ghost, but I'm sure about the lines."
"So?"
"I think someone may have tried to leave you a message."
She looked wary now. "You're saying that you recognized these three wavy lines?"
"Yeah." He took a bite of one of the prawns. "I've seen them before."
"Where?" Her voice was very tight.
He put down his fork, opened his jacket, and removed the scrap of notepaper he had found on Quinn's desk. Without a word he handed it to Lydia.
She snapped it out of his fingers and glanced at the three wavy lines. She raised her eyes. "I don't get it."
"I found that mark on a pad of paper next to the phone in Quinn's room. I think he made the notation after taking a phone call from Sylvia. He disappeared a few hours after he got that call."
"Do you know what the lines signify?"
"No. I'm looking into it. But the fact that someone used a ghost to burn them into your wall tells me they're probably important. And possibly dangerous."
Absently she tapped the piece of paper on the table-cloth. "It also tells you that I probably don't know what happened to your cabinet or to Quinn after all, right?"
He shrugged. "It did strike me that if someone had risked warning you off with an illegal manifestation, you might be in danger because you'd started asking questions. And if you had to ask questions, you probably don't know where my cabinet or my nephew is."
"Guess that explains the phone call I got at work this morning," she said reluctantly.
"What call?"
"I thought it was a crank call." She moved one hand in a dismissive gesture. "It was a man's voice. A young man, I think. I didn't recognize it. All he said was, 'No more questions.' Then he hung up."
"Damn it, why the hell didn't you tell me?"
She glared at him. "I just finished explaining that I thought it was a crank call. It didn't make any sense. I didn't connect it to my inquiries about your missing cabinet."
"The hell you didn't. You're too smart not to have figured out the connection."
Annoyance strained her voice. "Okay, okay, I admit the possibility crossed my mind. But I was
Similar Books
