Victim of Deception (2 page)

Fort Worth, Texas, May 2, present day

A
knock on her open office door made Karessa Austin close the tattered diary and look up. She smiled at her assistant, Joy. “Is everything ready?”

“All unpacked and ready for you to inspect.”

Excitement surged through Karessa’s body. A new display for the museum always gave her goose bumps. It was better than sex.

Well, at least better than the sex she’d experienced lately.

She followed Joy from the executive offices of The Gage-Austin Museum. Walking down the lushly carpeted hallway made her feel closer to her parents. They’d died nine years ago when she was twenty-one, but not before establishing this beautiful museum close to Trinity Park.

“Did you have the chance to read your great-grandmother’s diary?” Joy asked.

“Part of it. I’ll read more after I’ve seen the display.”

“Have you decided yet what you’ll do with the house?”

Karessa shook her head. “No. That’s something else I’ll have to look at later. I have no idea why my Aunt Grace left me that old Victorian.”

“You told me she never married, never had any children. You’re the only family she had.”

“I know, but I have no use for a house that’s over a century old. I run a museum, but I like modern conveniences. My condo works perfectly for me.”

Karessa pushed open the heavy metal door that led to the back room of the museum. Deliveries were made and any unpacking done here. This is where she looked at all the items that came into the museum and decided whether they go into an existing display or a new display be created.

She loved her job.

Her warehouse manager, Marco, smiled as she approached him. “You’ll love all of these, Karessa.”

Karessa returned his smile. Marco was thirty-five, dark from his Italian heritage, and built like Conan the Barbarian. If he didn’t work for her, she’d jump his bones in a second.

I can fire him, at least for a weekend. We can have wild monkey sex, then I’ll rehire him on Monday. With a body like that, he’s got to be incredible in bed.

Karessa sighed as her hormones jumped for joy. They’d love it if she did exactly that. Unfortunately, her conscience would never allow her to take advantage of her employee.

Darn it.

Shifting her attention back to the large crates on the warehouse
floor, she watched as her men opened them and carefully removed the paintings by Thomas Abernathy. Her heartbeat sped up at the sight of the beautiful scenes of charming English cottages. The thatched roofs, white walls, cloudy skies, colorful flowers…they all combined to create the masterpieces for which he’d been famous.

There were seven in all, donated to the museum by Abernathy’s granddaughter. She could’ve picked any museum in the world to display her grandfather’s paintings. But she’d picked The Gage-Austin, a fact that made Karessa so proud of her parents and the museum’s sterling reputation.

“I have the letter Ms. Abernathy sent with the paintings,” Joy said. She opened the portfolio she always carried with her. “She said she would’ve donated all eight in the series, but one painting was bought by a private collector for, and I quote, ‘an obscene amount of money.’”

“I can believe that.” Karessa stood before the painting called
Twilight
and stared at it. How she’d love to have this hanging in her living room. Too bad she couldn’t slip it into her purse and take it home with her. “Did she mention the collector’s name? Maybe we could make arrangements for him or her to lend it to us for the showing.”

“Yes, it’s right here. His name is Maxwell Hennessey.”

She shivered at the sound of his name, but not from pleasure. Maxwell Hennessey was the lowest form of scum on earth. She hoped she never saw him again for the rest of her life.

“Do you want me to contact him?” Joy asked.

“No,” Karessa said quickly. Realizing her voice sounded sharp, she cleared her throat and smiled at Joy. “No, that’s fine. We’ll have a wonderful showing with the seven paintings.”

“Are you sure? I can contact Ms. Abernathy and try to find—”

“That won’t be necessary, Joy.”

The puzzled look in Joy’s eyes didn’t surprise Karessa. Normally, she would jump at the chance to have a full collection on display. But she’d rather eat raw liver for a week than have anything to do with Maxwell Hennessey.

It wasn’t exactly an uncommon name, yet Karessa had no doubt the Maxwell Hennessey who owned the eighth painting and the one she’d been involved with five years ago were the same man. Max collected things of value and beauty. He liked to possess things…including the heart of a naïve twenty-five-year-old who fell in love much too quickly.

“Joy, will you take care of this? I’d like to leave a little early and drive out to my great-aunt’s house.”

“Of course. The Egyptian display is set to come down from the Red Room Friday. Do you want this collection set up there?”

“That’ll be perfect. I’ll want the flowers changed, too…something with an English garden theme.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Leaving the details in her capable assistant’s hands, Karessa left the room and returned to her office. She began gathering up her things, intending to go home after she drove by her great-aunt’s house. She’d have to talk to a real estate agent about selling the house and thirty acres as soon as possible.

She hadn’t seen the house since she was a young teenager. Her great-aunt had been quite wealthy and loved to travel; rarely had she stayed at home for longer than a month at a time. When she did come home long enough for a visit, she was the one who always went to Karessa’s condo with gifts, mementos, and pictures. There’d been no reason for Karessa to go back to Aunt Grace’s house.

Her great-aunt’s death from a stroke a month ago had been a shock. She’d always been so healthy, so vivacious—one could have assumed she’d live forever. Now, with Grace’s death, Karessa no longer had any family. She was totally alone.

Where did this horrible case of self-pity come from?
Straightening her shoulders, Karessa picked up her briefcase and purse from the bookshelf behind her desk. She glanced over her desk to make sure everything had been put in its place. The tattered diary on the corner drew her attention. She’d planned to leave it here, where it could be locked up in the safe. On impulse, she picked it up and placed it in her briefcase so she could finish reading it at home.

Max Hennessey closed his
Washington Post
, folded it neatly, and laid it next to his plate. The article he’d expected to find wasn’t there. That meant his source hadn’t lied and nothing had been leaked to the press.

At least, not yet.

Rumors of hidden treasure often brought out the ones looking to make a quick buck. But more often than not, rumors of hidden treasure were forgotten as soon as they were heard. Getting something for nothing would be too easy.

Max had become a multi-millionaire by following those rumors.

He had plenty of time. He’d finish up his business here in Washington, D.C., before heading for Houston. Once in the Lone Star State, he’d contact his source again for exact details on where the bearer bond was hidden.

As long as he stayed away from Fort Worth, he’d be fine. He didn’t want there to be the slightest chance that he might run into Karessa.

Thinking of the beautiful blonde still caused a sharp pain in his chest. He’d deceived her and dumped her when the lure of fortune proved too much to resist.

Money in the bank hadn’t made him less lonely.

He picked up his cup and sipped the cooling coffee. He’d wondered many times how his life would be now if he’d stayed with her, if he hadn’t let greed color his judgment.

There’d been women since Karessa. He was a healthy forty-year-old man who greatly enjoyed sex. He knew women found him attractive. Finding an available bed partner had never been a problem.

Finding someone to love was an entirely different matter.

“May I warm your coffee, Mr. Hennessey?”

Max looked up at the lovely brunette waitress. She’d been especially attentive to him for the three days he’d been at this hotel. He had the feeling it would take very little encouragement for her to warm his bed as well as his coffee.

Smiling, he held up his cup. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Time to move in for the kill.
“As a matter of fact, there is. I’ll be leaving town in a few days and haven’t had the chance to do much sight-seeing. Business hasn’t let me play tourist.”

“It would be a shame for you to leave Washington without seeing the sights.”

“My thoughts exactly. So…” He glanced at her name tag. “Leslie, would you be interested in showing me around town, perhaps have dinner with me tonight?”

She smiled. “I’d love to.”

K
aressa fell in love with the house at first sight.

Surrounded by huge oak trees, the two-story house made her think of a time long past—a time when people weren’t in such a hurry, when there wasn’t as much stress in their lives, when every moment wasn’t filled with something that had to be done immediately. It made her think of family, love, and romance.

She didn’t remember the house ever having such a powerful effect on her.

It’d been at least fifteen years since she’d been inside, perhaps longer. She studied the thick columns supporting the second story, the wide veranda that completely circled the house, the large windows that let in the morning sunshine. Aunt Grace had generally kept up the house over the years, but had never personally taken care of it since she traveled so much. Karessa’s trained eye could see bits of decay here, evidence of neglect there.

The house would be so beautiful with a complete refurbishment.

Thanks to a healthy inheritance from her parents, and now from her great-aunt, she had more than enough money to renovate the house. She could even live here during the remodeling.
The house had four bedrooms, perhaps five. She’d have plenty of room to—

Karessa blew out a deep breath.
What are you thinking? You can’t live here!

The thought had no more than formed in her mind when she asked herself, why not. Her ancestors had lived here. The house had been passed down to the women of her family. She knew for a fact that her great-grandparents—Aunt Grace’s parents—lived here. Perhaps the line went even further back than that.

She couldn’t sell this piece of living history without a lot of thought.

Karessa climbed the steps to the veranda. Her hand shook slightly as she unlocked the front door and stepped into the cool interior.

“She’s coming inside! Aaron, she’s coming inside.”

“I see that.” Aaron leaned down next to Mary and looked out the window at the lovely blond woman climbing up the steps. “God, Mary, she looks just like you. Her hair is shorter, but she looks just like you.”

“I’ve seen her. She was here several years ago to visit Grace.”

“She’s our descendant, Mary. She’d be our…what? Great-great-granddaughter?”

“She’s Elizabeth’s daughter, Karessa. I remember her coming here for holidays.” Mary shivered. “It’s so hard to believe, Aaron. Our beautiful Katie grew up, married, and had two daughters. We watched her children grow up right here in this house.” She straightened and faced Aaron. “Despite Eva’s curse, our family continued.”

Tears filled Mary’s eyes. Aaron reached out to touch her face. His hand met an invisible barrier two inches from her…just like it had for almost one hundred years.

“
Damnit!
I wish I could touch you.”

“I wish you could, too,” Mary whispered.

Aaron began to pace the floor. Years of frustration tore at him. He wanted to hit something, to ram his fist into the wall. He’d tried, several times, but his fist simply passed right through the wood. “There has to be a way to break the curse, a way for us to be together again.”

“How? We’ve tried everything we can think of.”

“God damn Eva! I hope she’s rotting in hell where she belongs.”

Mary stepped closer to him. “Aaron, don’t say that. Don’t think or say anything bad.”

“Why not? It’s how I feel.”

“I know, but I can’t help feeling we need to do something…good for someone.”

Aaron held out his arms. “How can we do something good for someone when no one can see or hear us? We’ve stood directly in front of people in this house. They didn’t even blink.”

“I don’t know! I just know we can’t give up. We have to keep trying until we can be together again…in every way.”

Aaron gazed at Mary’s long blond hair, huge green eyes, and full figure covered but not hidden by her floor-length white dress. She chose for them to wear clothing while he’d prefer to see her nude at all times. He respected her wishes, knowing she wore the dress to keep his mind off her body.

As if that could ever happen.

“Ah, Mary. How I wish I could make love to you again.”

“I wish you could, too,” she whispered.

“I don’t understand this whole thing. We’re dead. I know
we’re dead. Eva shot both of us. But we don’t feel dead. We breathe, we sleep, we feel emotions. We can pick up and move things, even though we can walk right through a wall.” He turned in a circle, his arms outstretched. “We can go anywhere in this house, but we can’t take one step off the veranda. We’ve been trapped here for almost a century! I’m tired of being in limbo.”

Mary’s tears overflowed and ran down her cheeks. “I know. I’m tired, too, but I don’t know what we can do.”

He stared at his wife, the woman he loved. He could see her sweet smile and voluptuous body. He could smell her floral scent. He couldn’t touch her, but she could touch herself. “I know one thing you can do for me.”

“What?”

“Make yourself come.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Aaron—”

“Please, Mary. You know how much I love to watch you touch your pussy. I can’t touch you, so do it for me.” He stepped as close to her as he could until the barrier stopped him. “Think about my lips on yours. Think about my hands touching your back, your bottom, your breasts. Think about my tongue between your legs, lapping up your juices. Think about my cock buried deep inside your sweet pussy.”

Her eyes glazed with passion. Her chest rose and fell with her shallow breaths. Her nipples beaded beneath her thin cotton dress. Aaron longed to suck them.

She took two steps back. Aaron’s own breathing became unsteady as he watched her gather up the hem of her dress and pull it over her head. She stood before him naked, her ivory skin flushed with desire.

Silently, she walked across the room to the rocking chair. Sitting on the cushioned seat, she draped her legs over the arms.
Aaron had a clear view of her wet pussy. He moved closer and dropped to his knees between her legs. The aroma of her arousal drifted to his nostrils.

“God, Mary, you smell so good. I wish I could taste you again.”

Mary slid one hand over her full breast and down her rounded stomach. “So do I.”

She touched her labia. Aaron swallowed hard as she picked up the cream from her slit and spread it over the swollen lips. “That’s the way. Rub your clit for me. Make yourself come.”

She stared into his eyes while caressing herself. Aaron alternated between looking into her eyes and looking at her pussy. The feminine lips turned darker, wetter, with her caressing. How he longed to touch her, taste her!

He damned Eva all over again.

Mary’s fingers moved faster over her clit. Aaron unfastened his pants and withdrew his hard cock. He stroked it in time with her fingers, wanting to come at the same time as she.

Her lids slid closed.

“Don’t close your eyes, baby,” Aaron rasped. “Watch what I’m doing.”

Mary looked at his shaft. Aaron tightened his grip and pumped quicker. “Do you want me to come first?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

The orgasm built in the base of his spine and tightened his balls. Aaron groaned. He continued to pump his cock as semen shot out the head and ran over his hand. Gazing at her face, he wilted to the floor, totally spent.

His strength quickly returned when he focused his attention on Mary’s hand. He loved when she pleasured herself. It was one of the most erotic things he’d ever seen.

“Aaron!”

Her hips bucked, her back arched, her nipples beaded. She moaned loudly. He stared at her pussy, watching the inner lips pulsate with her orgasm. His mouth watered with the desire to drive his tongue deep inside her.

“Ah, Mary,” he whispered. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Her voice broke on the last word. Tears cascaded down her face again. “It feels good when I do that, but I wish it could be you touching me.”

“Soon, Mary. I’ll hold you in my arms and make love to you again, soon.”

“H-how?”

“I don’t know yet, but it will happen. I promise you.”

She heard the soft moan the moment she stepped inside the house.

Karessa froze, her hand still on the doorknob. She waited several moments, but didn’t hear the sound again. Certain her ears had been playing tricks on her, she closed the door. That’s when she heard a woman weeping.

Okay, this is really weird.

Goose bumps skittered across her skin. She didn’t know whether to leave or stay. All her protective instincts screamed at her to get out of the house as quickly as possible.

Karessa pulled the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder. This was
her
house. She wouldn’t let some strange noise scare her away.

Even though it gave her the creeps.

The house was stuffy from being closed up for over a month. Karessa walked through the downstairs rooms, opening a window in each one to let in the pleasant seventy-five-degree air. Due to
the hot North Texas summers, air conditioning would soon be a necessity. For now, she wanted the gentle breeze to clear out the stale smell.

She laid her purse and briefcase on the dining room table. The large mahogany table would seat eight comfortably. Karessa remembered coming here as a child with her parents and grandparents for holidays. She smiled. Such pleasant memories of family and laughter.

Thinking of her family made her remember the diary in her briefcase. It seemed right to read her great-grandmother’s words while here in the house where Katie had lived so long ago.

Karessa prepared herself a glass of iced water, then sat at the table. She carefully pulled the antique diary from her briefcase and opened it to the page she was reading at the museum.

Karessa wiped a tear from her cheek. Her great-grandmother had been so young when she’d written these words, barely a teenager. How sad to be full of so much despair at such a young age.

She turned the page and continued to read.

Karessa smiled. She remembered her own first “love” when she was fifteen. Seeing him had made her heart beat funny, too.

Karessa drained her glass of water and rose to refill it. She stopped halfway to the kitchen when cold air flowed over her. It felt as if she’d stepped beneath an air conditioning vent, yet she hadn’t turned on the air conditioning.

Slowly, she turned in a circle. A movement in the air ten feet in front of her made the goose bumps erupt on her skin again. It looked like a heat mirage, one a person sees over a highway on a very hot day.

She hadn’t thought it was possible to see something like that inside a house.

The air shifted, became wavy and distorted. Karessa’s heartbeat sped up. Her palms grew damp. She blinked, certain she had to be seeing things.

The movement stopped.

Karessa stared at the spot for several moments. When nothing else happened, she blew out a deep breath.

You’re letting the house get to you. There’s no one here but you.

Feeling calmer once again, she turned and headed for the kitchen to refill her glass.

“Aaron, she saw me!”

“She can’t see you, Mary.”

“She looked right at me! She knows I’m here!” A huge smile spread over her face. “She’s the key, Aaron. Our great-great-granddaughter is going to help us break the curse.”