and out of your bedroom without being detected? They didn’t go out the window.”
She sank back on the pillow and slung an arm over her face. Her chest rose and fell with her shaking breaths. “Well,” she whispered, “maybe Moore House is haunted, after all. That would put me in the clear.”
An idea occurred to Michael, shocking him with its simplicity. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?
“You mentioned secret passages in your story about Jesse James. Could there be a secret door going into your room?”
“No way.” She shook her head emphatically. “Two out of four of the walls in the master bedroom are exterior ones. Then there’s the wall next to my bed. It shares a wall with a guest bedroom. No secret door there—no room for one.” She twirled strands of hair around her finger. “The only remaining wall has the bathroom and closet. Wade and I expanded the bathroom a few years ago. We cut into the closet, making it smaller, in order to accomplish that feat. We had to knock down a couple walls. We would have found a passageway if it existed.”
Michael didn’t say a word. She was right. If there was something to be found, she would have noticed it by now.
“Besides,” she continued, “no one could possibly know about the passages if there were any. As I said earlier, the blueprints were lost long ago. In my grandfather’s day, ormaybe before.” She shrugged. “Anyway, all the people who have lived here are dead now, except for my mother. She’s in a mental facility. So I don’t think she broke into my house.”
Michael slowly digested the information. “Maybe we should visit your mother,” he said.
“Why?” Kelly hugged her body and shivered.
“Your mother may have told someone about the passages…if there are any.”
“I don’t want to see her. I can’t.”
Her fear was understandable. She’d paid a high price for her mother’s insanity. Of course she didn’t want to have to face the woman again. Michael considered leaving her out of it. He could approach her mother on his own, ask her questions if the woman was coherent enough to make sense. He didn’t have to have Kelly at his side.
But he wanted her there. It was the best thing for her. She would face her fears head-on instead of running from them. Perhaps she would be able to gain some kind of closure. Michael hated seeing Kelly in pain. This new protective instinct rose up in him again like a three-headed monster. The urge to take her into his arms, hide her from whatever demons lurked in the shadows, threatened to overwhelm him.
“I think it’s important,” he said. “I’ll be with you every second. She won’t be able to hurt you. You don’t even have to talk to her. You can stand in the background, let me question her.”
Kelly remained silent.
“Think about it,” he offered. “Finding out your mother told someone about hidden passages would be preferable to being crazy. Wouldn’t it?”
“Do you know anything about schizophrenia?”
She had him there. He shook his head in answer to her question.
“Well, I do.” She spoke quietly. Each word was pronounced with a cold finality. “I read about it after my mother burned me. If you have a parent who suffers from schizophrenia, you have a one in ten chance of getting it, too. Most of the time it can be controlled by drugs. But not always.”
A sudden noise vibrated through the room. Michael jerked, sitting up straighter. His heart hammered against his rib cage. His hand automatically went for his .38, but his fingers closed around air. Then he remembered he’d put the gun in the bottom dresser drawer beneath a ton of ancient, dusty quilts.
“It’s okay.” Kelly grasped his upper arm. “It’s an old house. It makes strange sounds sometimes. The furnace in the basement probably just kicked in. It’s normal.”
Michael settled back against the headboard. He was definitely leaving the light on tonight. All night.
“Oh my gosh!” Kelly’s
She sank back on the pillow and slung an arm over her face. Her chest rose and fell with her shaking breaths. “Well,” she whispered, “maybe Moore House is haunted, after all. That would put me in the clear.”
An idea occurred to Michael, shocking him with its simplicity. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?
“You mentioned secret passages in your story about Jesse James. Could there be a secret door going into your room?”
“No way.” She shook her head emphatically. “Two out of four of the walls in the master bedroom are exterior ones. Then there’s the wall next to my bed. It shares a wall with a guest bedroom. No secret door there—no room for one.” She twirled strands of hair around her finger. “The only remaining wall has the bathroom and closet. Wade and I expanded the bathroom a few years ago. We cut into the closet, making it smaller, in order to accomplish that feat. We had to knock down a couple walls. We would have found a passageway if it existed.”
Michael didn’t say a word. She was right. If there was something to be found, she would have noticed it by now.
“Besides,” she continued, “no one could possibly know about the passages if there were any. As I said earlier, the blueprints were lost long ago. In my grandfather’s day, ormaybe before.” She shrugged. “Anyway, all the people who have lived here are dead now, except for my mother. She’s in a mental facility. So I don’t think she broke into my house.”
Michael slowly digested the information. “Maybe we should visit your mother,” he said.
“Why?” Kelly hugged her body and shivered.
“Your mother may have told someone about the passages…if there are any.”
“I don’t want to see her. I can’t.”
Her fear was understandable. She’d paid a high price for her mother’s insanity. Of course she didn’t want to have to face the woman again. Michael considered leaving her out of it. He could approach her mother on his own, ask her questions if the woman was coherent enough to make sense. He didn’t have to have Kelly at his side.
But he wanted her there. It was the best thing for her. She would face her fears head-on instead of running from them. Perhaps she would be able to gain some kind of closure. Michael hated seeing Kelly in pain. This new protective instinct rose up in him again like a three-headed monster. The urge to take her into his arms, hide her from whatever demons lurked in the shadows, threatened to overwhelm him.
“I think it’s important,” he said. “I’ll be with you every second. She won’t be able to hurt you. You don’t even have to talk to her. You can stand in the background, let me question her.”
Kelly remained silent.
“Think about it,” he offered. “Finding out your mother told someone about hidden passages would be preferable to being crazy. Wouldn’t it?”
“Do you know anything about schizophrenia?”
She had him there. He shook his head in answer to her question.
“Well, I do.” She spoke quietly. Each word was pronounced with a cold finality. “I read about it after my mother burned me. If you have a parent who suffers from schizophrenia, you have a one in ten chance of getting it, too. Most of the time it can be controlled by drugs. But not always.”
A sudden noise vibrated through the room. Michael jerked, sitting up straighter. His heart hammered against his rib cage. His hand automatically went for his .38, but his fingers closed around air. Then he remembered he’d put the gun in the bottom dresser drawer beneath a ton of ancient, dusty quilts.
“It’s okay.” Kelly grasped his upper arm. “It’s an old house. It makes strange sounds sometimes. The furnace in the basement probably just kicked in. It’s normal.”
Michael settled back against the headboard. He was definitely leaving the light on tonight. All night.
“Oh my gosh!” Kelly’s
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