“You want us to go back there, my lord?” Evan asked.
“Did I indicate you should ask questions?” the voice snapped.
“No, my lord,” Evan squeaked out.
“Daniel, tell me where you searched.”
Daniel managed to keep his voice fairly even as he gave his report. Together they had taken the elevator installed in Hawthorne’s house to the third floor, and he had started searching in the master bedroom while Evan climbed up through an access door and looked in the attic.
Daniel had systematically searched the built-in drawers and cupboards. He had smiled to himself when he discovered an antique desk at one end of a large study, rubbed his hands together, and set to work. He had quickly figured out the mechanisms that revealed its secret compartments.
“Ah yes,” his lordship said, almost sounding pleased with this part of his report, even though Daniel hadn’t found anything in the desk. “I believe it is this gift of yours that led Eduardo to recruit you.”
“I believe so, my lord.”
“And, Evan?”
Evan had learned his lesson. He was concise. Daniel already knew he hadn’t found more than a few boxes in the attic and discovered nothing of value in them.
“Any other details I should know, Daniel?”
Daniel took a deep breath, and admitted damaging the bedroom door.
“When I gave express orders that nothing was to seem to be disturbed? That no sign of your presence should be left there?”
“Yes, my lord.” He braced himself for the consequences, even though he knew bracing was of no use whatsoever. “I had stepped out onto the deck outside the master bedroom when I saw the dog. I turned, and realized the doors leading outside had locked behind me. In-in my panic, I jimmied one of the doors open to get back inside.”
He heard no sound coming from the other side of the room, but the smell of decay grew suddenly stronger.
“Very good, Daniel,” the voice hissed in his ear. “My dear, relax! You give me greater obedience by admitting your error to me. I know you were afraid to be truthful with me. Evan here is feeling rather smug about your admission of a mistake.”
“My lord-,” Evan began, but his next words were lost in a scream of pain.
“You will learn not to speak unless spoken to, Evan,” the voice said, from somewhere across the room now. “Take him upstairs, Daniel. I don’t believe he’ll be able to manage it on his own. He should recover before I need you again.” He paused. “You may thank me.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Daniel said.
“Evan?”
An incoherent murmur came from the figure slumped on the floor. Daniel and Evan hated touching the floor.
Evidently his lordship understood the murmur, because he said they were dismissed.
Evan had not been allowed the mercy of passing out, so Daniel had to carry him-no easy task in the darkness-up a narrow stairway, with the stink and stickiness of whatever was on the floor all over him. But Evan had done the same for him on occasion, so he did not resent Evan for the effort involved.
8
A week later, Ron was home. Or at least, in his former home.
He was still weak, but continued to improve. Amanda learned that Tyler Hawthorne had arranged around-the-clock private nursing care for him. After consulting with Ron, Tyler had left instructions that Amanda be allowed to visit Ron at any hour. Ron was refusing all other visitors. Amanda had not seen Tyler himself since the night she had met him at the hospice.
“He travels a lot,” Ron explained. “He’s home now, though. Want me to ask him to join us?”
“No thanks.”
“What’s bothering you about him?”
“I don’t know. I’m so happy that you’ve recovered-”
“I know you are, but I hear a ‘but’ in there. But what…?”
“But I’m worried that you’ll end up in debt to him,” she admitted.
“No, I’ve got Derek’s proceeds from the house, and I can also sell some of the things Derek took with him when he moved out-paintings and rare books, although I’d rather not part with them. Besides, I’ve got some news.” He grinned. “Maybe this will convince you that Tyler’s not all bad.”
“I don’t think he’s bad!”
“You mistrust him.”
“No, not exactly.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell Ron that the last time she had seen Tyler, she had argued with him. About Ron. “Let’s just say I don’t know him well enough to trust him yet.”
Ron studied her for a moment, then said, “Fair enough. Anyway, he needs help cataloging his library, and he’s hiring me to do it. He’s not in a rush, so I can work at my own pace, just when I feel up to it.” He was grinning, and she could see the light of excitement in his eyes. “He has some wonderful rare books, Amanda. I think that’s how he met Derek.”
Bookish Ron. It was an ideal job for him. “Ron, I’m happy for you. I really am. But don’t you wonder why he’s-I don’t know how to put this-”
“Showing such an interest in me?”
“Well, yes.”
“I told you. He and Derek knew each other. And he likes me. And not for my hot but frail body, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
She blushed. “I’m not.”
“Oh, you were, or you wouldn’t be blushing. Nope. Doesn’t even think of me like a brother, the way you do. We’re friends. He’s not trying to get anything from me-I don’t have a damned thing to offer him but my friendship.”
She fell silent. She kept thinking of how close she had come to losing Ron, though, and how vulnerable he still was-and not just to illness. She couldn’t think of a reason why Tyler would do so much for Ron, and found that between Tyler’s avoidance of her and his extreme generosity to Ron, she grew more and more suspicious-even as Ron grew more and more grateful to him.
“Amanda…”
“Did you ever hear Derek talk about him?”
“No, but Derek rarely talked about anyone other than himself. You know that.”
“True.”
He waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, he said, “Remember about the safe-deposit key?”
“Yes. You said Tyler thought it might have been what the burglars were looking for.”
“He found the key and gave it to me. Now is that the act of a dishonest man?”
“It takes more than a key to get into a safe-deposit box. You may not be able to get into it. Do you even know which bank it’s at?” She could hear the pettishness in her own voice, and hated it.
“I know where the box is, of course,” he answered in a steady, quiet voice, one that she knew as a signal of his anger. It was a tone he very rarely used when speaking to her. “Derek added me to the signature card a long time ago. So as soon as I’m well enough to go out, Tyler will take me there. Tyler said that just before Derek died, he mentioned that he wanted me to have whatever is in that safe-deposit box. It was on his mind.”
“Tyler was with Derek just before he died? I don’t ever remember seeing him at the hospital.”
“Oh, were you in charge of the guest book there?”
She sat silently for a moment, looking away from him. Clearly, he thought she was being overly protective. Was she? Maybe, she thought, we need a breather.
“Speaking of guests,” she said, “for a change, I’ll be one. I’ve been meaning to tell you that I’ll be gone this weekend. I’m going out to Rebecca and Brad’s house. Rebecca’s throwing a party.”
“Rudebecca’s? You know Tyler will be there, too?”
“Yes, so you can see I’m not trying to make an enemy of him. He’s my new neighbor, and he’s helping you, so please don’t think I have anything against him.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Who knows? Maybe Rebecca will sink her claws into him and I’ll have her for a neighbor, too.”