Stolen Kisses by Kate Donovan

Author:Kate Donovan [Donovan, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
ISBN: 9780821766521
Publisher: Zebra
Published: 2000-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

The Greybill mansion, for all its checkered history, was easily the most luxurious and inviting place Josie had ever visited. The upstairs rooms had been converted, ten years earlier, for guest occupancy, while the entire downstairs had been thrown open to the public at large, including travelers who strayed from the highway in search of a nice meal, and regulars of all ages from the nearby town. The massive redwood deck, which served both the elegant formal restaurant and the more casual coffee shop and snack bar, had a live band and dancing five nights a week, and reputedly did a brisk business, especially on weekends.

Another outdoor area that had been made accessible to visitors was the veranda that figured so prominently in Caroline’s memory of the night of the murder. Paved with slate and lushly decorated with ferns and fragrant vines, its view was one of the more breathtaking ones the mansion had to offer.

The actual scene of the crime—the victim’s study—had been refurbished with overstuffed chairs and an ornate card/chess table, along with several small desks stocked with Driftwood Point stationery. This was the spot Josie and Locke chose for their arsonist discussion, but first she needed to satisfy her curiosity about the older unsolved crime, and so she took a few minutes to study the scene.

“I like it in here. Too bad it’s haunted.”

“Right. Want to see where they found the body?”

Josie nodded. “Grandma says a brandy bottle had spilled right on the floor next to him.”

“Right. Someone surprised him, apparently. They forced him to open the safe, then hit him over the head. He landed next to the bottle, not vice versa.”

“What other clues were there?”

“None. If it had happened today, with our advances in forensics, we could probably have turned something else up, but in those days it was fingerprints, re-creations, and witness accounts. Plus, some of the servants may have contaminated the crime scene by trying to straighten up before Grandfather arrived. It sounds like things got out of hand for a few minutes right after the body was discovered.”

Josie examined the area with a practiced eye. “Even with those French doors open, I don’t think Grandma could have heard much from the veranda. Especially if the wind was howling, like it was last night. I guess you’ve been right all along,” Josie admitted thoughtfully. “Hypnosis is really our only shot at getting that reward.”

Locke nodded. “According to Grandfather’s notes, there wasn’t any wind up here the night of the murder. She must have heard something, then suppressed it because it was too painful. I have a list of everyone who was here that night, and even if she remembered just a voice, it would help. Some of the suspects had distinctive accents—”

“Suspects? Wasn’t everyone a suspect?”

“In a sense, yes. But some had more reason than others to want Greybill dead.”

“According to Grandma, he was an awful human being.”

“That was the consensus,” Locke confirmed. “I’ll show you the list later if you want.”

Josie smiled in genuine appreciation.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.