The Gargoyle's Secret: A Cozy Paranormal Mystery Novella (Stonehaven Mysteries Book 1) by Linn Chapel

Author:Linn Chapel [Chapel, Linn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Visions Books & Media
Published: 2020-11-10T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11 A Rival for Her Favors

Laurel stood very still in the darkness of the upper room with her heart pounding. Whoever was standing below her couldn’t be Marc, for he would have spoken by now.

Suddenly, she realized she was carrying her portable lighting. It was a versatile piece of equipment that could operate on battery power when necessary.

Switching it on, she swung the bright beam in the direction of the steps and heard the furtive shuffle of footsteps, but by the time she had emerged from the doorway to shine the light onto the steps, they were empty.

Quickly she descended the steps, hoping to catch sight of the intruder, but there was no sign of another person anywhere. Just then the sound of footsteps came from the hallway, but these were brisker and more confident.

Then Marc entered the door to the turret and Laurel wondered for a fleeting instant if he could have been the silent presence on the steps. Laurel is too insightful, he’d said to his mother a few days ago. She’d realize certain things about me.

Then she shook the notion away. Whatever Marc was hiding, it probably had nothing to do with the footsteps she’d heard on the stairs.

He was carrying an even larger flashlight than the one he’d used the other night. When he spotted her at the bottom of the steps with her portable light blazing away, he said, “You just realized there’s no electricity in the upper room, didn’t you? The wiring needs to be repaired, and so I went to find a flashlight.”

She shook her head. “No, I switched on my light because something suspicious happened just now. I could hear someone following me up the steps and then coming to a stop.”

Marc quickly joined her. “Did you catch sight of this... visitor?”

“No. Whoever it was left the turret very quickly as soon as I switched on my light.”

Marc bent and examined the steps. “No trace of a shoe print,” he said. He bent closer and deftly explored the surface of the steps with his hands. Then he lifted a finger and sniffed. “The steps are wet in spots, though. It seems to be rainwater.”

Laurel turned to run a hand over the plaster wall. “I can feel a bit of wetness here, too. Someone was outside in the rain just before coming here. But who?”

Remembering Gabe McAllister’s rude comments, she related them to Marc.

He frowned. “He was very loyal to my father and so I decided to keep him on when my father’s health failed about ten years ago. Gabe can be moody, but I can’t believe he’d be following you in secret. I’ll keep my eye on him in any case.”

An hour passed as they made a thorough search of both levels within the north turret. The old inventory did not come to light, though. They moved to the south turret next, but after another hour of searching, they were still empty-handed.

As they left the south turret, Laurel was ready to give up in frustration.

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