The Accused Read Online Free PDF Page A

what his mother meant when she said she “felt” something was wrong but couldn’t put her finger on it. Something was very wrong in this house.
    Whatever it was, he didn’t think it would remain hidden for long.

Chapter Four
    Alaina felt as though she’d waited forever, but finally Carter emerged from one of the back hallways and into the massive entry room. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and felt the tightness in her chest release. Then she realized that he’d just entered the room from the first floor but hadn’t used either of the stairwells to get down from the second floor.
    “How did you get downstairs?” she asked as he approached.
    He frowned. “A servant’s stairwell in the master bedroom. It led to the laundry room off the back of the house.”
    “How many hidden passages are in this house?”
    “More than I’ve found so far, I’d guess.” He didn’t look happy about it.
    “Did you see anyone...? I mean, I guess you didn’t, but did you see any sign that someone had been up there?”
    “No.”
    “But?”
    He sighed. “But I don’t believe in fanciful things like ghosts and I have perfect vision. I saw something on that landing.”
    “An animal maybe?”
    “It was too large to be any animal that would be in the house and I couldn’t find tracks on the landing.”
    She swallowed. “Then maybe it was a shadow. With that enormous glass ceiling and the storm brewing, couldn’t it have created a moving shadow that looked like a person?”
    “I suppose,” he said, but didn’t seem convinced. “Look, maybe you shouldn’t stay here just yet.”
    His suggestion was tempting, especially given that she was completely creeped out, but it wasn’t conducive to the reason she was there.
    “Is there a hotel in town?” she asked, wondering if spending the night in a hotel and milling among the locals the rest of the day would give whoever was lurking in the house the notice to clear out—assuming it was a human in the first place. Rats, raccoons and storm clouds probably wouldn’t care about the local gossip.
    “No hotel. No rental property either. Calais is a small spot on the map and a dead end at that. People don’t come here unless they intend to, so there’s not much call for hotels and such. New Orleans is only a little over an hour’s drive, though.” He looked hopeful as he delivered that last statement.
    She could do it—probably should do it—but the thought of packing everything back in her SUV and spending another hour plus on the road didn’t sound even remotely appealing. If she thought it would change something, she might consider it, but staying in New Orleans wouldn’t create any local gossip at all. It would only be delaying the inevitable.
    She sighed. “I appreciate your concern, but if you saw something tangible, my staying in New Orleans for a night isn’t going to make it clear out. And it’s just one more day I’ll have to make up staying here.”
    “It would give me a chance to poke around some more.”
    “You’re welcome to do that while I’m here. In fact, as I’ll be the one living here for two weeks, I’d prefer it if I did it with you.”
    She could tell by the way his jaw flexed that he didn’t like it. The attorney had already warned her that the sheriff who’d agreed to the terms of the will had long since passed. While the new sheriff had agreed to meet the terms of the will, he was neither under any legal obligation to do so, nor was he being paid for his time.
    His babysitting comment earlier had left her no doubt as to how he felt about his assignment. She sympathized with his position, but ultimately it wasn’t her problem. If he didn’t want to deal with it any longer, Alaina was certain Mr. Duhon would find someone else.
    Finally, he blew out a breath. “Okay, then the first thing we should do is locate a bedroom for you that is easily secured. No servants’ passages and a good, sturdy lock.”
    “One