AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“If you see any ghosts about five feet tall with brown curly hair, that’s probably Officer Lindley.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Can I ask what happened to her?”
“There’ve been a spate of animal attacks in the woods. That’s what Officer Lindley had been investigating when she was killed.”
That wasn’t the answer I expected. “She was killed by wild animals?”
“We found her blood in the woods, as though she’d put up a fight.” The chief stopped abruptly; although her face didn’t betray her, I sensed the emotions rising beneath the surface. She was trying to keep them from cresting in the presence of a stranger.
“Her blood,” I repeated. “Not her body?”
The chief cleared her throat. “No body. We assume…” She trailed off, but I didn’t need to ask for clarification. I knew exactly what they assumed.
“Aren’t you concerned that Ashley might’ve met the same fate?”
“It’s unlikely. We haven’t found evidence of her blood anywhere, and the last place she was seen was right here, which you obviously know. It’s a short ride home from here.”
“And the woods are right there.” I gestured to the area behind Monk’s. “Nobody knows which way she went.”
“What did the folks inside tell you?”
“I spoke to the bartender and Tommy Mennard.”
She snorted. “He asked her out again that night, huh?”
I nodded. “They said she left around eleven.”
“Alone?”
“Yes. No drama.”
The chief arched an eyebrow. “For someone without police training, you seem to know what you’re doing.”
“I’m tracking down a missing relative, which is basically what I did in London.”
“True. What are you doing for work here?”
“Right now, I’m pouring all my energy into the house to make it habitable.”
“I can understand that. It’s a mammoth job. Why not hire professionals?”
“Money.” And privacy. Always privacy.
“I know what you paid for that heap. It’s public record. Why spend so much, knowing what it would take to restore it, if money was an issue?”
She was digging now. Unfortunately for her, I had no interest in divulging more than I had. “It seemed like the right place at the right time, so I went for it.”
“I bet you could’ve found plenty of old houses to restore in England.”
“The Castle is the one that spoke to me.”
This got her attention. “You can speak to houses too?”
I laughed. “I meant metaphorically.” The moment the building appeared on my phone screen during a property search, I knew I had to have it.
“Do you still have family in Bucks County?”
