A Familiar Star (Romance Mystery) (22 page)

“Are you going back to New York?”
She asked, trying to end it on a friendly note.

“Yes, goodnight,” was his final answer.

And with that, the door closed shut behind her.

There was no denying that this whole day had been a waste of time and a complete disaster.
If Jeffery Williams
was
a killer, there was no doubt that he was going to come after her next, and she couldn’t blame him. The man must be furious.

Kylie threw her purse in the back of the car and drove by Leslie’s house to make a u-turn.
She stared down the long driveway into the blackness.  The place was deserted.

She past a few other houses
, looking for a good place to back up. She didn’t want to pull into someone’s driveway if they looked like they were home. They might get spooked, call the police, and she’d end up in jail with Max.

The first truly deserted house she came to, she put the ca
r in reverse and turned around.

The stillness of th
e night heightened her awareness so she rolled up her window and put on the air conditioning. When did the night become so creepy, before or after Leslie died?

She came to a crawl when
she approached Jeffery’s house, her eyes narrowed as she watched his car pull out of the driveway.  The huge gates closed automatically behind him as his car sped swiftly down the road. Did he notice her behind him and simply didn’t care or did she go completely unnoticed?

She pulled her car onto the soft shoulder and turned off the engine.
What if she just nosed around a bit? There were no gates on Leslie’s property.

She bit her lip
, contemplating what to do next. If she left her car on the road it would be seen, but if she drove down Leslie’s driveway and left it under the trees it would go undetected. She started the engine once more and turned off the lights. When she got to the bottom of the drive she pulled in under the pines.

Leslie’s house was pit
ch-black in the night. Kylie searched in her glove compartment and pulled out a small pocket flashlight. If she quickly looked through the windows, checked in between Jeffery and Leslie’s houses and raced back to the car, it would take her two minutes, tops, she thought to herself.

The sky was covered with thick clouds and a strong wind was picking up. 
She closed the car door gently then locked it with the key. A gust of wind blew her hair in her face as she crept across the lawn, so she pulled it back and tucked it in her shirt. She knew that this had to be the most dangerous thing she’d done all day, and wondered if she’d die of heart failure before she even reached the house.

Suddenly she heard a car coming down the road and she ran as fast as her feet would take her to the back of the house.
Shit. She really didn’t want to be seen. But it was a dark night and the driveway was long and well treed, she reflected. She listened to her own intake of breath and grinned. Was she hyperventilating?

She clung to the cool stone of the house and turned to face the lake.
There was only one house with a light on and it was some ways down.

She listened
for the car through the howling wind but the sound was gone, it must have passed by. She needed to get a move on it if she was going to do this fast. She automatically crouched down and found her way around the back of the house staying close to the huge deck. When she got in between the two houses she paused long enough to let her eyes adjust to the light. She could barely see anything and the ground rose considerably towards Jeffery’s house, putting her off balance.

“Shit, the windows are to
o high up.” She muttered quickly to herself. Maybe if she just went a little higher up the slope, she could shine her light inside. She tried but her little flashlight was too weak to see anything. What in the hell was she looking for anyway.

She made her way back down the slope and up onto the back deck.
There she shined her light through a big window into what seemed like a large living room. Despite her urgency, she admired the space, lavish slip-covered chairs, marble topped tables and a massive stone fireplace with carved lion head finials on either side adorned the room.

“
All right, try the door and get the hell out of here,” she said to herself. “This is just plain stupid.”

“Kylie!!”
A voice pierced the air from a few feet away.

Kylie froze in place,
she thought she was going to black out but there was something familiar about the voice.  She spun around, stunned. “Paul?” She pointed the flashlight at him as his voice registered in her brain.

“What in God
’s name are you doing here in the middle of the night?  He demanded frostily as he approached her, shielding his eyes from the light.

Kylie held on-
to what little composure she had left. “You scared the hell out of me!” She gasped.

“Well good.
You deserve it!” He said abruptly.

Kylie
stood motionless in the night.

“Well? What are you doing here?”
He waited. “Playing detective?” He muttered sarcastically.

Kylie nodded unconsciously.
She was still too frazzled to respond.

“You’re
going home.” He grabbed her by the arm and started moving her across the deck.

“Wait a minute.
Why are you here?” She asked weakly.

“I’m checking up on the place for Leslie’s Aunt.
People know it’s empty, they might try and break in or snoop around.” He said the last part pointedly.

“Do you have a key?”

“Why?” He didn’t sound surprised.

“I was just wondering.”
She said in her most innocent voice.

“What’s going on Kylie?
What are you doing here? Answer me.”

“It’s a long story.”
She sighed, while she regained her strength.

“I’ve got time.
Go ahead.” He stopped and let go of her.

Kylie could hardly see his face it was so dark.
Could she trust him? She wasn’t sure.

“Al
l right Kylie. Talk or go back to Max, he’s waiting for you at Lucy’s.” He said roughly.

“Frank let him go?”
She tried not to sound too excited.

“
We
let him go, this afternoon. Frank said Lucy has been trying to call you for a couple of hours but your phones turned off. Everyone’s worried about you, so you’d better go home.”

Kylie was wavering.
She didn’t want to go. If he had a key, they could look around and maybe find something.

“What if…”
She stopped, not able to finish her sentence.

“What if what Kylie?”
Their eyes met as the clouds started to break up and a small ray of moonlight came through. “You
can
trust me, you know that. What’s going on?”

She looked down, frustrated.
He had that same old trustworthy look that she had almost fallen for but looks could be deceiving.  Anyway she didn’t need to be here anymore, Max was in the clear, for now.

Paul wai
ted a couple of second before continuing. “Look, Kylie, I’m going to have to call Frank if you don’t leave. Let us figure this out or we’ll end up having to lock you up to keep you safe.”

They started walking again
. Paul’s eyes returned to her face every few seconds even though Kylie kept her head down.

“What are you doing here
Kylie?” He finally said.

“Nothing.”
She looked up at him suddenly.

“
I could arrest you for trespassing then you could explain to the judge why you’re here.”

“I was just curious, that’s all.”

“Curious, I believe, but about what?”

“It’s hard to explain,” she stalled.

“Humor me.” He studied her.

It was hard to decide what to do.
Here he was with a key to the house that she felt held all the answers. If, when she got home, she told Frank what she thought, he might not take her seriously or if he did take her seriously, he might send a team in and miss something. This was it. If she was ever going to figure this out, this was her chance.

“Fine
. I’ll tell you everything on one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“You have to let me in the house. There’s something I need to see.”

“All right Kylie. I’ll let you in if you start talking.” Paul turned the key in the lock and turned off the alarm.

“Hey, why do you have a key
?”

“Leslie’s Aunt gave me permission to use it until the estate is settled.
She’s the last remaining member of the family and she wanted to make sure the place was safe. She knew I was good friends with Leslie and asked me to come over and check up on the place from time to time.”

He turned on the light in the foyer and Kyl
ie saw the resemblance to Jeffery’s house, although the similarity was purely structural.  This place was airy and cheerful; the curvaceous staircase and the light cream paneling were classic and elegant, and the modern art work adorning the walls, added splashes of color to the space.

“If she’s the last remaining member of the family isn’t she a suspect?
Considering…” She shrugged.

“No.”

“Why?” She asked, looking around the grand entrance.

“Because she lives on the other side of the country.”

“Oh.”

Kylie stared down the hall not knowing where to begin.
Was there a basement with an underground passage? Or was it on the first floor?  And if Leslie knew about it did she ever mention it to Paul?

“All right what are you looking for?”

“You mean, what are we looking for.” She grinned.

“I don’t know what I’m looking for?
I’m not even sure what I’m doing here.” Paul said sarcastically.

“Is there a basement?”

“Maybe.” He frowned. “Why?”

“Well, how about we
take a look and I’ll tell you when I find it.”

“No way Kylie.
You said if I opened the door you’d tell me what’s going on.”

“If you just look around with me you’ll find out what I’m looking for.”
She smiled sweetly then stole a quick peak at him to see how upset he was.

“That’s not fair.”
He half smiled but played along.

“It might be fun.”
She suggested, hoping that he would fall for it.

“Oh really?”
His smile widened. “All right, tell me where you want to go and I’ll be your guide.”

“The library.”
She said happily.

“There is no library.”

“What do you mean there’s no library? Jeffery has a library and if the houses are the same, this house should have one too.” She sounded mildly outraged.

“There’s no library Kylie.”
He repeated. Then it dawned on him.  “When were you at Jeffery’s?”

“This evening.”
She answered casually. “I was invited.”

“I bet you were.”
His eyebrows arched.

“When I have some free time
, I’ll tell you all about it.” She teased.

Kylie moved down the hall and turned on some lights and Paul followed.
Well if there wasn’t a library with a book that flipped a switch like in the movies, it must be in the basement.

“Do you remember Mrs.Troy?”
She asked.

“Oh my G
od, please don’t tell me that old lady’s got you on some kind of wild goose chase!”

She tried not to smile.
“That’s not nice. I just wanted to know if you ever heard Leslie mention Mrs.Troy babysitting her when she was little?”

“Yes and she hate
d that old biddy.” He said matter of factly.

“Why?”
She opened a door that led down another corridor.

“Because she put her on a harness and
took her for a walk.”

“No
!” Kylie’s eyes flew open and she stopped to look up at him.

“Seriously, she was crazy.
I told you not to listen to a word she said. Now where are you going?”

“To the basement.”
Kylie tried to suppress a grin thinking of Leslie on a harness. She must have been a handful alright.  Poor Leslie…her thoughts turned somber.

“This way.”
Paul closed the door to the corridor and walked to the end of the hall. “You really should give Lucy a call.”

“I will.”
She realized she’d left her cell in the car.

Paul turned a light on in the kitchen and Kylie forgot what she was looking for.
This had to be her dream home. The kitchen had white lacquered cabinets, marbled counters, high ceilings, rounded oversized windows and high gloss marble floors.

“This
kitchen is almost as big as my whole house!” She said, astonished. No wonder Leslie thought she could get anything she wanted. She had everything else.

“This way.”
Paul moved her down a couple of steps and through a short hallway. Then he opened a large door made of heavy wood. “I think it’s down here.”

“You’ve never been down there?” She looked worried.

“Don’t tell me you think there’ll be bodies buried down there.” He chuckled as he stared at her beautiful face. He hadn’t realized how much he missed her and he was probably going along with this just to spend some time with her.

She rolled her eyes at him then let him go first.
The lighting was dim but the staircase and walls looked finished. It wasn’t one of those awful earth basements.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs Paul found more switches and lit up the room.
It was a dark paneled, enormous den like space that sent a slight shiver down Kylie’s spine. She gazed over at Paul and took in his expression. He wasn’t acting guilty and he was with her the night that person broke into her house, so he was probably innocent. Still, she wondered if she were trying to convince herself.

“All right.
Now what?”

Kylie tried to get her bearings.
“Which way is Jeffery’s house?”

“That way.”
He pointed to the wall with a few large paintings and some built in shelves.

Kylie walked over and started to move things on the shelves.
She looked behind the paintings and pulled on the wall scones.

“I can’t believe it!”
Paul hooted from behind her.  “You’ve got to be kidding!”

She didn’t bother turning around.
“Just be quite and help me! Like you’re so smart? You guys have been spinning your wheels for months!” She said sarcastically.

“Is this that crazy old ladies idea?”

“Will you stop calling her that?” She hissed as she moved as many items as she could. “She told me that Leslie used to just disappear on her. All of a sudden she was gone and then she’d appear over at Jeffery’s.”

“Y
eah, that’s because he lived next door.”

“No.
She said she’d never hear any doors open or close.”

“That’s because she was probably deaf or had the TV on too loud.”
He said with a laugh.

Kylie spun around.
“Will you help me here, please?”

Paul ran a hand through his hair and looked around.
  “All right, stop for a minute. If there was some kind of passage way over to Jeffery’s, there would be an offset in the wall thickness.” He walked to the high basement window and opened it. Then he grabbed a chair and stuck himself half way out the window. The wind was still howling and when he got back inside his hair was tousled around.

“Sorry to disappoint you but the upstairs and downstairs wall line up.
Look for yourself.”

Kylie climbed up on the chair and stuck her head out the window.
Glancing back and forth from the outside to the inside wall, she agreed, the wall was no thicker than a regular wall and there was no offset.  Although you couldn’t see the entire basement wall because it was covered by the earth.  Maybe it was further back.

When she climbed off the chair and closed the window,
Paul was staring at the adjacent wall next to the staircase where they came in.

“What is it?”
She rushed over.

“Well I’ll be.”
He said softly.

“What?”

“Well either this is a closet or there’s something else back here.”

Kylie raced over,
looked past the staircase opening and saw what Paul was seeing. This side of the wall came out at least three feet or more and there was no access behind it.

“That’s it!”
She gave a little jump.

“I should call for backup.”
Paul said.

“Oh my gosh.
What do you think, there’s going to be someone hiding in there?”

“No, but this could be evidence.”

Kylie couldn’t contain her excitement. “Let’s try to get it opened first! I mean, like you said, it could be a closet and then you’d look stupid!”

Paul turned and half smiled at her.
There was no doubt that he missed her enthusiasm. “All right.”  He knocked on the wood panel a couple of times. “It’s thick wood but it sounds like it’s hollow behind.”

“I knew it!” 
Kylie started feeling around the paneling waiting for it to give way.

“Here, watch out.”
He ran his nails behind the molding until he heard a click.

Surprisingly,
the panel moved a fraction of an inch. Paul pushed on the wall and it opened a few feet. “I don’t believe it! I have to call the office Kylie.”

Kylie didn’t hear a word.
She turned her flashlight on and squeezed past him.

“Kylie!
Stop!” Paul warned her as he held the panel opened. “It seems to be on some kind of spring.”

Kylie s
tood there in awe as she shined her tiny flashlight up the dark passageway. The gray stone staircase went straight up towards Jeffery’s house.

Paul climbed over the
bottom panel and stood behind her.

“Watch your head.”
She motioned with the flashlight towards the sloping ceiling then took a couple of steps forward.

“Kylie wait!”
Paul reached out to stop her from climbing the stairs and the panel slipped from his fingers and slammed shut behind him.

They both whirled around when the paneled door shut tight.

“Give me that.” He grabbed her flashlight off her and examined the wall.

“What happened?”
Kylie murmured. “Is it locked?”

“It was on some kind of a spring.
I think we forced it opened. If we would have found the right way of opening it. If
you
would have had some patience!” He snapped.

“I wasn’t the one who let it go.”
She watched as he tried to push it opened. “Maybe we could open it at the top, have you ever thought of that?”

The staircase was something out of Alice in Wonderland, thought Kylie.
She wasn’t surprised, it matched Jeffery’s house. Not only did it get narrower at the top but the ceiling came down to a mere four feet.  Paul could hardly fit his body in the cramped space.

“It doesn’t look like it’s been opened in years.
There are enough cobwebs here to make a wig.”

“
I’m trying not to think about that. Can you get it opened?” Kylie started to feel claustrophobic.

“It seems to be locked from the other side.
It won’t budge and I don’t have the space to force it opened. I’ll go down and try the other way.”

The time was passing to
o slowly, Kylie thought. He’d been trying to force the door opened for what seemed like an eternity.

“Kick it in!”

“I’ve tried that.”

“Try again!”

Paul looked up at Kylie sitting on the step behind him. “You’re becoming lousy company.”

“Well I don’t exactly like it here,” she tried to sound calm, “and in a couple of minutes I’ll like it even less because the flashlight is going to die.”

Paul shot a look at the flashlight and came over to her. “Turn it off.”

“Are you joking?
First try to break down that door!” She took a deep breath.

“It’s solid wood Kylie. I can’t get it opened.
We’ll just have to wait until someone sees the cars in the morning.”

She looked panicky.
“A five year old knew how to open and close the doors but we can’t? I don’t believe it. Let me try!” She squeezed her way past him and he sat down. She crouched down and felt around the perimeter of the panel, trying to force her nails underneath it. The flashlight flickered on the floor behind her and she stood up and gave the door a good kick.  But she hurt her foot which was in a flimsy sandal and almost ripped her short skirt.

“Kylie, come here.”
Paul warned as he watched the flashlight dim even more.