Pursued Page 6

  “Wow.” Lisa gasped. “It’s beautiful. When did this happen?”

  “Last night,” Paige answered with a sigh. “It was so romantic. We’re going to be married right after graduation.”

  Allison draped an arm over Paige’s shoulder. “She’s asked me to be a bridesmaid. I’m so excited.”

  “Aren’t you a little young?” Jennie blurted. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Nice going, McGrady. Just spit out whatever comes to your mind.

  Paige flushed, then laughed, drawing her hand back.

  “Not really,” she said defensively. “I’m almost seventeen. My mother got married when she was sixteen.”

  Jennie shrugged. Marriage wasn’t on her list of things to talk about at the moment—what with Mom’s engagement to Michael—so she tried to change the subject. “Where’s B.J.?” she asked, noting that Allison’s new sister hadn’t joined them.

  “Mom took her shopping. She finally agreed to let Mom and Dad buy her some things, I can’t believe how stubborn she’s been about it. She says she hates her room, which is totally rude. Mom and I spent days decorating it. And you’d think she actually liked those rags she’s been wearing. Mom says she’s resisting change and to give her time. The clothes and a couple of rings are all she has left of her old life with our real mother.”

  Jennie frowned, understanding in part what B.J. must be feeling. “It would be hard to go from being poor to being rich. Not to mention losing her mom….” Then thinking about her own box of Dad’s things, added, “Holding on to the stuff her mom bought probably helps her deal with the loss.” Once again the conversation had drifted too close to home and Jennie was glad for Lisa’s suggestion that they head for the pool.

  After splashing around and playing catch for half an hour, the other girls announced they were going in to change. “I’ll be up in a few minutes,” Jennie said. “After I swim a few laps.” Jennie swam the length of the pool about six times, then hauled herself out of the water and reclined in the sun on one of the lounge chairs to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and waited until her breathing returned to normal. You’re getting out of shape, McGrady, she scolded. It had been too long since she’d worked out.

  “Nice stroke,” a low, male voice remarked.

  Jennie jumped to her feet and nearly collided with Rocky. The gardener, or whatever he was, reached out a hand to steady her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I was just admiring your style. You in competition or anything?”

  His wide grin and easy stance unnerved her. Or maybe it was the fact he could be the stalker. Jennie stepped back and grabbed for her towel. “Ah…no…unless you count the swim team at school.”

  Rocky nodded. “I haven’t seen you around here before today. You known Allison long?”

  Something about the way he’d asked told Jennie this wasn’t a casual conversation. Did he still suspect her? Or maybe he was aiming to make Jennie one of his victims as well. “We go to school together,” she answered.

  “Just wondered,” he said as he lowered himself onto one of the deck chairs beside hers. “Hope you don’t mind. I was taking a break and decided to sit out here for a while. It’s peaceful…don’t you think?”

  “Yeah.” At least it was before you came. The last part she kept to herself. “Well, I’d better get back inside with the others.”

  “So soon?” Rocky asked. “I was hoping maybe you’d stay and talk to me for a few minutes.”

  Jennie shrugged, trying not to reveal her suspicions about him. She sat on the lounge chair again. Why not. This was a great opportunity to find out more about the number one suspect on her list—next, of course, to B.J. The thought struck her that Rocky and B.J. might be working together—after all, they certainly had opportunity. “Sure.” Jennie hesitated, then said, “I guess—”

  “I wanted—” he said at the same time, then laughed.

  His blue eyes sparkled and Jennie looked away. “I just wanted to apologize—for this afternoon. I hope I didn’t come on too strong. It’s just that when I saw you there with those flowers…well, with all that’s been going on and you not having been around, I thought…”

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have picked them up. It was dumb of me.” Jennie twisted her braid around her finger. “So what did the police say?” Jennie asked, even though she suspected he hadn’t called.

  Rocky shrugged. “Not much. A love note and a bunch of roses can hardly be considered threatening. As far as I know, they weren’t able to track down the lead.”

  Probably because you didn’t give them one, Jennie felt like saying. For a moment she considered telling Rocky about the Vancouver address, then decided not to. The less he knew about her involvement in the case, the better.

  Rocky paused to pull off his blue cotton shirt, then stretched out on the lounge next to Jennie. “Think I’ll catch some rays,” he said, winking. “It’s been a long day.” Jennie couldn’t help noticing his muscular chest. No doubt about it. The guy was a hunk. He may be gorgeous, her inner voice warned, but he could be dangerous. She glanced at him again, trying not to stare. And you have to admit, McGrady, he’s the cleanest gardener you’ve ever seen.

  The more Jennie thought about it, the more she was convinced that Rocky was not who he seemed. She made a mental note to ask Allison about him. In the meantime, she had a few questions herself. “The grounds here are beautiful,” Jennie commented. “Must be a full-time job to keep them up. Do you do it alone?”

  Rocky shaded his eyes with his hand and peered at her. He opened his mouth to answer when a piercing scream from inside the house brought both of them to their feet.

  9

  Rocky reached Allison’s room only seconds before Jennie. Allison, nearly as pale as her swimsuit, clutched a towel to her chest with one hand and clung to Lisa’s arm with the other. Lisa guided the girl to the nearest chair and lowered her into it. Paige and Lisa looked nearly as shaken as Allison.

  “What’s wrong? What happened?” Jennie and Rocky asked together.

  Lisa pointed toward the bathroom.

  Jennie ran toward the door. Rocky put out an arm to stop her. “Wait here,” he ordered as he slipped through the open door and looked around.

  Jennie glanced back at Lisa. “What’s going on?”

  “The mirror,” Lisa squeaked. Her voice reflected the fear in her eyes.

  Ignoring Rocky’s orders, Jennie entered the bathroom. On the large vanity mirror above the sink someone had drawn a crude picture of a rose and written a message in red:

  I’M GETTING CLOSER PRINCESS.

  PREPARE TO DIE!!!

  The last two words had been smudged. “She tried to wipe it off,” Lisa said, coming up behind Jennie. “Paige and I pulled her away. I thought the police would want to see it.”

  Jennie nodded, staring at the mirror as the implications settled in on her. The stalker had been here—in this room. Rocky ushered Jennie and Lisa out of the bathroom just as Mr. and Mrs. Beaumont rushed into the room. Whatever had been holding Allison together until then crumbled. The girls took turns telling what they knew, which wasn’t much. The mirror had been clean when Lisa and Jennie had used the bathroom earlier to change. Allison, when she’d calmed down enough to talk, verified that there had been nothing on it when they’d gone downstairs to swim.

  While the girls were in the pool, someone had gone into the house, sneaked upstairs to Allison’s room, written the message, and gotten away without anyone seeing them.

  If Rocky had been on the job, Jennie reasoned, it wouldn’t have happened. Unless maybe he had done it. Of course, it could have been B.J.

  Mr. Beaumont must have been thinking the same thing because the moment Jennie’s mind formed the name, he yelled, “Where’s B.J.?”

  “I’m right here,” she said, pushing off from the wall.

  Jennie
wondered how long she’d been there. And more importantly, how long had she been home?

  “Do you know anything about this?” The harsh tone of his voice made the question sound like an accusation.

  For an instant, Jennie thought she’d recognized a glint of hurt in B.J.’s eyes, but when she looked again, she saw nothing but hate.

  When B.J. didn’t answer, Mr. Beaumont clenched his fist and asked again. “Well, do you?”

  “I don’t know why you even bothered to ask. You already think I did it.” She turned and walked to the door, then spun around and glared at her father. “If you’re so sure it was me, why don’t you have me arrested.” B.J. disappeared down the hall, but her words hung on the now-stale air. A door slammed and the windows rattled.

  For a moment Jennie thought Mr. Beaumont would explode, then suddenly, like an actor changing scenes, he cleared his throat and began giving orders. Mrs. Beaumont was to take Allison to the “master suite” to rest. He sent Rocky downstairs to his office where they would “discuss the matter” after he’d talked to B.J.

  Turning to Jennie, Lisa, and Paige, Mr. Beaumont ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry you girls had to see this. You’re welcome to stay, of course…”

  “I-I think I’d like to go home.” Paige shifted from one foot to the other. Her tiny features were drawn and pale, reminding Jennie of a frightened bird. “Tell Allie I’ll be back in the morning,” she said as she backed out of the room.

  Mr. Beaumont nodded and lifted his gaze to Jennie and Lisa. “We’ll stay,” Jennie said. “Allison might need us later.” Nothing short of dynamite could dislodge Jennie now. This was getting much too interesting, and she had too many unanswered questions.

  Jennie couldn’t tell how Mr. Beaumont felt about their staying. He silently ushered them out of Allison’s room to a large guest room across the hall. “It would be best if everyone stays out of here for now,” he said, closing Allison’s door.

  “Maybe we should go too,” Lisa said as she paced across the guest room’s plush white carpet. “This is all too weird. I’m sorry I got you into this.”

  “Don’t be. I’m not giving up until I find out what’s going on around here.” Jennie rummaged through her overnight bag.

  “What are you doing?” Lisa asked as she came up behind Jennie.

  “Looking for something to make some notes on.” Jennie fished around and finally came up with a small spiral note pad. “Okay.” Jennie settled on the bed. Excitement coursed through her. “Let’s see what we’ve got so far.”

  Lisa dropped onto a chair and recounted some of the details of the case. Within a few minutes Jennie had listed the various floral deliveries and threatening phone calls she and Lisa knew about. Then she entered the information she had about the man with a gun from the night before and the call to Jennie’s house. At the bottom she wrote, “message on mirror—red lipstick.” Jennie scooted off the bed. “C’mon.”

  “Where to?”

  “Allison’s bathroom. I want to have another look. Maybe we can find some clues.”

  “No!” Lisa spread herself across the door, blocking Jennie’s way. “We can’t. It’s too awful. Jennie, I can’t go back in there.”

  Jennie nodded in understanding. “Okay. Wait here for me.”

  Lisa started to object, then, as if reading the determination in her cousin’s eyes, stepped aside. “All right, but I’m coming too. No way am I staying in here alone.” They crept out of the guest room and down the hall to Allison’s bedroom. Jennie turned the knob and eased open the door. The room looked as perfect as when she and Lisa had first arrived. Despite the open window, a strong scent of cleaning solution assaulted their nostrils. “This is strange,” Jennie whispered. “Looks like someone’s been in here and cleaned.”

  Jennie knew even before she opened the bathroom door what she’d find. Nothing. Someone had wiped away every shred of evidence. “The police aren’t going to like this,” Jennie said, then realized with a start they’d probably never been called.

  “I’m scared, Jennie.” Lisa tugged at Jennie’s shirt sleeve. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “I can’t go yet. Something really strange is going on here, and I intend to find out what. Besides, even if the Beaumonts aren’t calling the cops, I am. I want to make sure I can give them a detailed report.”

  “You’re right. We can’t give up now. Allison needs our help more than ever.”

  Using a washcloth so as not to leave any fingerprints, Jennie opened each drawer and searched through them.

  “What are you looking for?” Lisa asked.

  “The lipstick. I was hoping maybe whoever did it might have left it behind. It could be an important clue.” Jennie rummaged through what looked like Allison’s makeup drawer. She found about a dozen tubes of lipstick, all in various shades of pink. Jennie closed the last drawer, then picked up the wastebasket. She ruffled through the trash and at the bottom found what she’d been looking for. “Hand me those tweezers,” Jennie said, pointing to an open drawer.

  “Why?”

  “There might be prints on it. I wonder where the cap is.”

  Lisa cringed when Jennie held up the shiny gold tube with its brilliant red lipstick worn down to the nub. “You think that’s the stuff he used?”

  Jennie shrugged. “Allison ever use red lipstick?”

  “Not that I recall.” Lisa wandered over to the open window and rubbed her arms. “What about Paige?”

  “Yeah, she does sometimes.” Lisa nodded in the direction of the pool. They watched as B.J. climbed out of the pool, stretched out on a lounge chair, picked up a book, and began to read.

  “Doesn’t seem to be broken up about it, does she?”

  Jennie asked.

  “Do you think B.J. wrote the message?” Lisa asked. “I don’t know.” Before the incident with B.J. and her dad, Jennie would have bet on it, but something in her face—confusion, hurt—made Jennie question her original suspicions. “It’s too early to tell.” Tucking the lipstick into a plastic bag she found in one of the drawers, Jennie stepped away from the window and made another note on her pad regarding the cleanup and the red lipstick.

  As she read over the notes again, she stopped with the notation about the gunman of the night before.

  “Lisa,” she mused, as she tapped the end of the pen against her lips, “do you think you can remember where Mr. B.’s gun case is? I think we ought to check it out.”

  Lisa led the way back to the main living area. “The gun collection is downstairs.” After opening two closets and a pantry, they found the stairs and followed them to the lower part of the house and into a long dark hallway.

  “Where’s a light switch?” Jennie asked in a whisper as she felt along the wall.

  “I don’t know. There should be a bathroom…here.” Light flooded the small room, giving them enough light to find the switches in the other rooms.

  After going past an exercise room, a room that looked like a miniature movie theater, and a large storage closet, they found the den.

  “This is it,” Lisa whispered as she opened the door. Jennie stepped in. The hairs on the back of her neck snapped to attention. Several pairs of eyes peered out of the darkness. A large form loomed off to her right. “There’s someone—or something in here,” she yelped.

  Lisa stepped up beside her and turned on the light. “Don’t worry,” she reassured. “They’re stuffed.”

  In the light, the form Jennie had seen turned out to be a black bear standing on its hind legs, ready to attack. Jennie’s gaze wandered over the room. It looked like a hunter’s trophy room—an elk head held a prominent position over the fireplace; a deer, a cougar, and a couple of fish that had to be six feet long nearly covered the walls. In addition to the bear, Jennie noticed a couple of pheasants, a coyote, and several other small animals she c
ouldn’t name.

  Jennie whispered, “He’s got more animals in here than the zoo.”

  “Allison said he used to hunt a lot.”

  Beaumont’s den had a forest green carpet with rich dark mahogany wood. “I wish Dad could see this.” As soon as the words slipped out, her memory kicked in. He’s gone, McGrady. Tears stung her eyes and Jennie quickly wiped them away. She glanced at Lisa.

  “He would love it.” Lisa gave her a knowing smile and hooked her arm through Jennie’s. “Come on. The gun collection is over here.”

  A combination book and gun case lined an entire wall of the den. With one swift pass, Jennie found what she was looking for. A metal plate beneath the indentation that once housed a gun read 1880 Colt Lightning­ Pinkerton Detective Agency.

  “You think this is the same gun the guy had the other night?” Lisa asked.

  “I’m sure of it. But why? Why steal an old gun like this when it’s so easy to buy them on the street?”

  “Then again,” Lisa said, “why buy a gun when you’ve got a whole case of them right here?”

  Jennie tried to undo the latch holding the doors. “Locked. Whoever took the gun either has a key or had easy access to it. This is beginning to look more and more like an inside job.”

  “B.J.?”

  “Or Rocky, or Mr. Beaumont.” Jennie pulled the note pad and pen out of her back pocket. “Or maybe Allison herself.”

  “Not Allison,” Lisa said, shaking her head. “Don’t forget, I walked upstairs with her. Paige and I were there when she found the message.”

  “Yes, but while we were swimming she did go inside for a few minutes to use the bathroom.”

  “That’s true, but so did Paige and I.”

  Jennie wrinkled her nose. “We’re not getting very far. We’re missing something. I just can’t think what.”

  Jennie entered the information about the missing gun on her note pad. “We’d better get back upstairs before someone notices we’re gone.” Jennie turned to go just as the lights went out and the door clicked shut.