Just as she said those words, the house moved…groaned and creaked. And the air shifted. It wasn’t a breeze so much as a…maybe an intake of breath. A subtle change. Ashudder?
The prickling was strong, and her skin felt as if it were drawing tightereverywhere.
Leslie looked at Declan, her eyes feeling as if they were going to pop out of her head. He looked at her, shocked and aware. So he’d heard and felt ittoo.
“It sounds,” he said just above a whisper as he reached for her hand, “as if you’ve hit on something very important,Leslie.”
She squeezed his fingers, glad—so glad—someone was here with her. “That broken stair. Maybe…maybe the ghost somehow made it break or shift, so we’d findit.”
Declan frowned. “Or more likely, the person or persons who broke in trod on it and it broke. Maybe the ghost chose that moment to make an appearance and caused it tohappen?”
“I don’t know. But let’s take a look at that stair. Maybe that’s how Dorothy Duchene died—she stepped on it and fell to herdeath.”
“But then why haunt the place if it were just anaccident?”
“True. It would have to have been something violent to make her haunt the place.Right?”
At those words, something brushed across Leslie’s cheek…a whisper of wind, a cobweb…a ghostly hand. She stifled a gasp and said into the ether, “Is that it? You fell down the stairs? Or were youpushed?”
A loud roaring filled her ears, reverberating through the foyer: violent, angry, determined. The walls shook, the crystal lights tinkled, windows rattled. The entire house shuddered as if it were being buffeted by a gale…but the gale was inside thewalls.
Declan grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her as if to shelter her from whatever it was…but after a moment, itcalmed.
Shecalmed. Theghost.
“It’s all right,” Leslie said, slowly disengaging herself from his embrace. “But obviously we are on the righttrack.”
Without another word, they climbed up to the broken step. It was one of the ones where Leslie had stapled the faded rug runner, and it was the only stair missing its brassbar.
Declan moved the loose step, but it was too difficult to pull out from behind the rug runner without cutting the carpet. The runner was tight and stretched almost the entire width of the step, leaving no room to maneuver it free. However, it tilted and slid down behind the carpet, pulling the runner taut from the top of the next stair down, revealing a hollow beneath the top of thestep.
“Wait a minute.” Leslie bumped against Declan as she moved shoulder to shoulder with him on the stairs. “You don’t think there’s anything down in that hollow, do you? After all…I did find that pink velvet stole tucked inside the base of the stairrail.”
“You could be right. If Dorothy Duchene was pushed down the stairs, maybe the murderer needed to hide her—or her belongings.” His voice was tense with excitement as they both peered beneath the raised carpet, trying to get a good view down inside thehollow.
“I can’t seeanything.”
“We need a better light—and probably to remove the carpet.” He eased back and so did she. “I’m assuming you have one in your toolkit? Something to cut the carpet with. Or I could grab my toolbox from thetruck.”
Leslie was already climbing back down the stairs. “Yes, of course.” She headed toward the kitchen, and was somewhat relieved that he followed. Despite her excitement, she was still trembling from the massive supernatural response that had filled thefoyer.
She retrieved a mega-flashlight, then set about looking for her box cutter. That would be perfect for slicing through the old rug. When she had them both in hand, she paused and looked atDeclan.
“You don’t think there’s abodydown there, do you?” she asked. “Like…inpieces?”
His face was sober. “I don’t know. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s possible. Something’s notright.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, biting her lip a little nervously as she leaned against the counter. “I haven’t really told anyone much about all this, and…well, I’m just glad you not only believed me first, but also that you just experienced what I did. Just now. You did, didn’tyou?”
“I sure as helldid.”
“Thank you.” She started to walk past him, but he reached out and snagged her arm with a light but firmtouch.
She stopped and looked up at him. His brilliant green eyes were steady and serious…and hot. Her heart started to pound a little harder as she allowed him to draw her closer. Their feet, both still bare, bumped against the other—his warm, herscold.
Leslie was suddenly very,veryglad she’d brushed herteeth.
“Something wrong?” she asked, her voice low and teasing. She had to resist the urge to reach up and touch a hank of hair that had fallen across his forehead. “Don’t you want to go back out and investigate ourghost?”
