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“But the house was empty while you went to fetch new locks.” It wasn’t a question.
“Well, yes, but the hardware shop in the village had the locks I needed. I only left the farm for an hour or two.”
Isaac nodded, but didn’t see any reason to worry her unduly. It might all be coincidental, or horrible timing, but he couldn’t help but contemplate the growing suspicion that the loss of the keys was linked to the intruder’s appearance at the farm.
CHAPTER TEN
“This has been broken,” Tuppence whispered when they reached the large doors at the back of the barn. “Unless one of your men has broken it the last time they were here, someone has forced the doors open.”
“Stand back,” Isaac ordered.
“Where did you get that from?” Tuppence gasped when he removed a handgun from his pocket.
“I am not going into the barn to potentially face a killer unarmed,” he bit out, looking sternly at her. “Now stay behind me. I don’t want anyone creeping up behind us.”
Tuppence glanced warily over her shoulder and followed Isaac step-for-step into the barn. She was shaking so badly that she struggled to stand upright but refused to retreat to the safety of the carriage. Instead, Tuppence clung to the back of Isaac’s jacket as she peered over his shoulder into the vast space of the empty barn.
“The hay is intact,” she whispered. “Nobody has moved any. That small, flattened patch is where Baxter slept.”
“Stay here and keep a watch over the fields. I am going to check the stalls.” Isaac hated to leave her, even for a few moments and even to go fifty or so feet across a barn, but he had to. Cocking his gun, he crept past the long row of empty stalls along the left side of the barn wall. When he returned moments later, he was shaking his head.
“So why would they want to get into a barn if there are no cattle and they don’t want the feed?” Tuppence asked.
“Go and take a look in the stock room and see if any of the tools have been taken.” Isaac positioned himself in the doorway and slid a careful gaze around the fields while he waited for Tuppence to re-join him. “We know the killer used your knife from the barn, but he could have taken that the morning you were here and were possibly distracted by feeding the animals or letting them out of the pens. This damage to the barn doors has happened since my men secured the building yesterday.”
“All of the tools are there as well, and the axe,” Tuppence replied moments later.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here. We need to get back to the house. I don’t like being out here any longer than we absolutely have to be.” Rather than leave, he turned to Tuppence. Isaac didn’t stop to contemplate the wisdom of cupping her cheek. “Just promise me that you will think about how isolated this place is before you decide if you want to live here again. I can and will help you but if something goes wrong, there is nobody around to hear
you scream.”
Tuppence’s eyes widened. She shivered in alarm as she stared at him. His words sounded so sinister that she suddenly had doubts about whether she could trust him. It hadn’t occurred to her to question him about why he wanted to help her. She had been so desperately in need of help that she had just been relieved that Isaac was so determined to get her out of jail. Now, she wondered, albeit briefly if she had made a terrible mistake trusting him.
“It isn’t a threat,” he whispered, watching shadows cloud her eyes.
“I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me,” Tuppence whispered. “You are a Lord, aren’t you? You have wealth, a title, a huge estate. You wouldn’t want a battered, run down old farm like this, would you?”
“I would rather buy it than let a killer have it,” Isaac murmured wryly.
It was then that the possibility of doing just that popped into his head. He squinted a little at Tuppence, wondering if he should ask, but she was studying the landscape with a scowl that was disconcerting.
“It is my home. Or was.”
“Now it isn’t.” It wasn’t a question.
“No. Now it isn’t,” she confirmed, more to herself than to him.
“Are you ready to move on?” Isaac asked gently.
“Farming is all I can do,” Tuppence muttered. “If I sell the farm, I can’t live off the money for the rest of my life, not if I have to buy a house.”
“It should be if you get the full market value for this place,” Isaac replied.
“But you have seen the state of the place,” Tuppence argued. “It needs repairs. Besides, a body has been found on the farm. Few people will want to buy it now.”
Isaac tipped his head at that. He lifted his brows and stared at her. Tuppence blinked. “Mother of God,” she breathed.
“It’s too coincidental,” Isaac whispered, wondering if Mark had even stopped to consider it.
