Read Online Irene Brand_Yuletide_01 by Yuletide Peril - Free Book Online

hinges.
    “I’ll check it out,” Lance said. He walked down a few stepsand flashed the light around a small, dirt-floored room. “There’s a gas furnace down here,” he reported, “and a water pump. County water is available now so you won’t need the pump, but you will need a plumber to check the water lines.”
    Although he didn’t want to overly encourage Janice, Lance was optimistic that this house could be turned into a comfortable home. It would take determination as well as money, but Janice seemed to have an ample supply of both. If the menace hanging over the property could be dispelled, she could live at Mountjoy.
    Janice must have had similar thoughts, for she took another look in all the rooms and said, “I’ll give this a lot of thought over the weekend before I make a decision.”
    He closed the window behind them. The fog had lifted and they stepped out into the sunlight, which made the property seem much less threatening. Noting the optimism mirrored on Janice’s face when she turned to take a final look at the house, Lance hesitated to burst her bubble. But Janice needed to know something else before she made a decision to live at Mountjoy, and he wondered if he should tell her. Santrock may have told her, but he doubted it. Before they stepped through the gate, he said, “Do you know what caused your uncle’s death?”
    His voice seemed troubled, and she glanced quickly toward him. “No.”
    Taking a deep breath, Lance said, “He committed suicide at Mountjoy.”
    “What!”
    “There was some talk that he was murdered, but it looked more like suicide. The police department searched around a while, but they couldn’t prove anything.”
    Janice’s optimism about her inheritance crashed. She feltas if the bottom had dropped out of her world. “My dad didn’t talk much about his family,” she said in a strained voice, “but I’ve heard him say that someone in each generation of Reids died a tragic death.”
    “Yes, that story goes around.” He hesitated, but she had to be warned. “It just isn’t any Reid, but the owner of the house.”
    Her eyes widened. “If that’s the case, then I might be the next victim.”
    “I don’t want to scare you because I personally think it’s just a superstition. But that’s one of the reasons the place has gained a bad reputation.”
    Janice had been somewhat animated as they’d left the house, but her hand pulled at the neck of her shirt and panic shadowed her eyes.
    Lance placed his hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
    She nodded and swallowed with difficulty. “Don’t worry, I’m not the fainting kind. But why didn’t Mr. Santrock tell me how he died?”
    Lance shook his head. “Maybe he thought you already knew. Would it have made any difference in your plans to live at Mountjoy?”
    “I don’t know.”
    He opened the gate and closed it behind them. Taking her arm, he steered Janice toward the car. When she was seated, he walked around the car to the driver’s door and sat beside her.
    “I didn’t want to tell you,” he said, “but I thought you should know before you made a definite decision.”
    “And I do thank you,” she said gratefully, but Lance noted the despair in her voice. She clenched her hands together until her knuckles were white. He leaned toward her and tookher hands. Gently, he unwound her fingers until they relaxed in his grasp.
    “Janice,” he said softly, “you’ve carried a heavy load by yourself for too long. I’ll help you over the rough places as much as I can. I’d like to be your friend.”
    She withdrew her hands from his grasp, and her slender, delicate throat worked nervously. Lance waited anxiously for her response. He’d already determined that Janice, of necessity, had become an independent person. Would she readily accept a stranger into her life? And why did her answer mean so much to him?
    Sunlight slanted through the car windows and momentarily blinded Janice as she