House on the Forgotten Coast by Ruth Coe Chambers

Author:Ruth Coe Chambers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2017-10-18T04:00:00+00:00

13

Elise couldn’t quit thinking about her experience in the ballroom and pretended to have a stomach upset, not leaving the house for days. Lawrence must think he’s rid of me for good. Well, he’s in for a surprise. But she had fitful, uneasy dreams that made her even more reluctant to go to the Myers’.

Feeling trapped inside the house and unable to shake the feeling of Annelise’s presence, she became obsessed with finding the long-lost painting. Like those before her, she began in the attic and spent the greater part of an afternoon there while Edwin was away on business. Hot beyond words, it was creepy and dimly lit, but she took a flashlight and wore rubber gloves. She inched her way around the perimeter of the house, pushing at beams, running her gloved hands down the rough sides, but there were no hidden walls or secret doors. All she got for her effort was a bump on the head and a splinter that pierced her glove. Still, she wasn’t deterred.

She could hardly wait for Margaret to leave the house the next morning. She had only one more day before Edwin returned from Atlanta. She checked every inch of the parlor. Nothing. She spent hours in Edwin’s study, moved all the books from the bookcases, and lifted the carpet in as many places as she could. Next she tackled the kitchen. If she didn’t finish before Edwin returned, she wanted rooms that had fewer places of concealment. She knocked on walls and ran her hands along smooth surfaces searching for something, anything that would move.

She’d completed her search of the downstairs rooms and was on her way to the shower when she stopped midway up the stairs. She turned and went back down and, kneeling on the floor, began knocking on the panels at the back of the staircase. She thought she detected a hollow sound, but she’d knocked on so many walls she doubted her hearing. Still, she was sure there was something . . . She pressed the panels, pushed with the heels of her hands and began trying to shove them from side to side. One seemed to give a little. She wrapped a towel around a hammer and finally it moved, revealing an empty space under the stairs. She aimed the beam of the flashlight from floor to ceiling, but it was empty. She walked around bent over, pushing, knocking, running her palm over every inch of space. It was such an ideal hiding place, but she was convinced nothing was there.

Much as she wanted to keep searching for the painting, Elise thought she’d die if she didn’t see Lawrence. Just thinking of him made it difficult to draw a deep breath. Before Edwin arrived home the next day, she left the house and started walking to the Myers’. When she reached the highway, she heard music. Ty Roberts pulled his truck over to the curb and turned the music down.

“I’ve about worn the rubber off these tires hoping I’d run into you.

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