“No, let me finish. You wanted this trip to be perfect. Well, that ship smashed against the rocks, but I will go to my grave before I get hauled away for murder in front of your family. Because there would be no coming back from that, and I’d never make you choose between me and them. You and I would be over.” I took a breath, needing to clear the thickness from my throat.
Denial flashed across his features, and he reached for me, gripping my shoulders as if the action alone could dissolve my words and keep me beside him. “That would never happen!” A harsh laugh escaped his throat. “You’d go to your grave before getting hauled away for murder? Tessa, I’d go to mine before I letanyonetake you from me.”
My chin trembled. “I know you would, but you can’t protect me from everything, and I won’t take you down with me. Which is why I couldn’t walk away from an opportunity to search for clues and clear my name. This is what we do. We can solve this! You have to trust me and let me do my part. I’ve already got my first lead.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, the fight draining from him. “I understand what you’re saying, but next time, can you leave me a hint, so I don’t go insane tearing the house down looking for you?”
I nodded, winding my arms around his neck and going up on my toes to give him a gentle kiss. “Next time, I’ll leave breadcrumbs.”
“Good.” He framed my face with his hands. “I’ll take whatever leads me straight to the witch.” Leaning in, he brushed his mouth against mine, picking up where I left off. He increased the pressure, and I closed my eyes, letting the darkness back in.
All his pent-up worry and frustration was buried in his kiss, and being close to him was the only way I knew how to soothe it. Yes, I was a little reckless. Okay, a lot. But that was why we worked. The balance. He reined me in, and I pushed him to go further. Too far in one direction, and we might break.
A chill coursed down my spine. It didn’t take a crystal apple to know it was a bad omen.
His mouth lingered over mine, and my fingers curled around the nape of his neck. I was reluctant for the moment to end even though kissing in a darkened hallway with an unknown killer lurking seemed like a risk.
But it felt like a bigger risk to stop. This trip had shifted our balance; I felt it. Almost as if the storm that raged outside had slipped under our skin and was trying to tear away our foundation. I wasn’t sure if there would be anything left when it finally cleared.
He rested his forehead against mine. “Okay, Detective. Show me what you’ve found.” Before I could answer, he leaned back and furrowed his brow. “And, Tessa, where is my grandfather?”
I bit my lip. “He got stuck in the secret passage while my back was turned. That’s how we got separated. It wasn’t one of my finest sleuthing moments, but he’s okay and on his way to search Gerard’s room.”
“Why Gerard?”
“Because we found this under Mae’s mattress.” I bent and retrieved the evidence at my feet, along with the lamp I’d dropped. Lighting the wick, I held the light while Derrick scanned the pages. “We have no idea why Mae had financial documents for your family’s shipping company, but we’re pretty sure the note is from Gerard. We just need to figure out what she was asking him for. It might connect her to the documents and possibly the killer.”
“What do these numbers in the note mean?”
“Good question. They don’t look familiar to you?”
“No. But maybe they’re a combination of some kind?”
My eyes widened. “Like on a lockbox? That’s a brilliant idea!” I drummed my fingers on the lamp base, excited by the new lead. “Oh, by the way, how’s the questioning going? Did you get any useful information from the others?”
Derrick nodded. “There is something interesting, but it doesn’t make sense. You told me about the murder weapon being buried in the snow, and whoever went to retrieve it was likely the killer, but a footman witnessed Mae outside earlier this evening in the same location as where you dropped the apple. It looks like she may have been the one to find it.”
“Mae?” I deflated, rubbing my brow in confusion. That complicated my theory. Why would Mae be the one continually returning the apple to my room? And then to be murdered with it? This was so frustrating! “I don’t understand. Do you think the murder weapon might just be a coincidence?”
“Maybe. But it is strange, I’ll give you that.”
“What about her confrontation with Richard? Anything there?”
“Not really. Richard denies seeing her completely, and her roommate, Betsy, claims Mae has been acting paranoid lately, but Mae refused to confide in her. No one else saw what you saw, and if there is anything to it, no one’s talking. Besides, everyone has their own version of where they went after dinner. I can’t rule anyone out.”
“Except for me, of course.”
He smirked and fixed me with an amused stare. “You’re my number one suspect. It’s why I’m not letting you out of my sight. Face it, killer, you’re stuck with me now.”
“Be serious.”
“I’m deadly serious.” He nudged me down the hall. “Let’s go. Questioning will only get us so far. We need evidence. My father is keeping everyone detained in the parlor, so we have a brief window to hunt for more clues. Let’s make the most of it.”
***
We located Gerard’s room, and I followed Derrick inside, using magic to light the candle wicks. It was the largest of the staff quarters we’d searched, and while there seemed to be a certain order to it, the room was packed with books. Every surface was piled high with reading material, odd trinkets, and journals.
His room contained a bed, a nightstand, and a bureau just like the others, but there were also trunks stacked along the wall and a giant floor to ceiling bookcase lined with more books.
