Death at Thorburn Hall by Julianna Deering

Author:Julianna Deering
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery;FIC042060;FIC042030;FIC022030
ISBN: 9781493411931
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2017-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

Drew awoke that night stiff-limbed and cotton-mouthed, more weary than before he’d gone to sleep. At first he was alarmed not to see Madeline curled up on the other side of the bed, but then he remembered where she was and why. He resisted the urge to telephone The Swan just to make sure she was there, safe and sound. She was. He knew she was. No need to rouse the whole village just because this case was getting to him.

He didn’t want to rouse the house, either. If he turned on the faucet in the bathroom just enough to get a mouthful of water, it shouldn’t make too much noise. Then maybe he’d be able to get to sleep again. It was half past two.

He slipped out of bed and went to the sink, glad the water made only the softest hiss as it came out of the pipe. He drank a handful of it and then splashed his face. The coolness helped, but the room still felt too warm. Too close. He couldn’t remember his dream, only that he had been searching for something, something lost in a desert of hot sand. Or was it one of the hazards on the course at Muirfield?

He went to the open window, hoping to feel more of the breeze. All was quiet outside, everything as it should be. He noticed the vague outline of a motor car someone had left parked under the trees near the road. The grounds keeper wouldn’t care for that, but otherwise . . .

He froze. Something had moved near the car. First he thought it was the swaying of the tree limbs in the pale light of the moon, but then he saw something else. Someone was moving in the shadows, making for the back of the house.

Drew shoved his feet into his slippers and threw on his dressing gown. Another glance out the window showed him that the figure was nearly at the kitchen door. He snatched up the poker that leaned against the hearth and then slipped out the door, closing it behind him with the tiniest metallic snick.

He padded soundlessly down the hall to the back stairs and down to the kitchen. Soon he was standing by the door, listening for the soft click of the lock. Finally it came. Whoever it was had a key. The figure moved inside and latched the back door closed again. There was a moment of silence, a slight rustling sound, and then silence again. Then the door next to Drew began to swing slowly open. Whoever it was had crept across the stone floor without shoes on.

Drew pressed himself back against the wall near the hinged side of the kitchen door and held his breath, hoping whoever it was didn’t open the door wide enough to hit him. He needn’t have worried. The door opened just enough for a slight figure in black to step into the dark corridor. Drew put down the poker he had held at the ready and stepped from behind the door.

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