Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2)(76)

Even if it meant lying about her being family until they could kill her.

As he turned the corner for the hallway to his room, he caught a glimpse of something white moving at the far end of the hall. He turned his lantern down as low as it would go and crept to the end of the hallway, then peered around the corner. He could see a lantern across the room, but the light cast from it was too dim to make out the person carrying it. Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit the sky and filtered through the far wall of what must have been a sunroom since the wall was all glass. In the burst of light, he saw Frances opening a door to the gardens. She was wearing a long white dressing gown and carrying a shovel. Without so much as a backward glance, she walked out into the storm.


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Sabine followed Adelaide into a room several doors down from Beau. He probably wasn’t going to like the distance between them, but there was really little she could do. “It looks fine, Adelaide. Thank you.”

“Would you like for me to get you some hot chocolate, Ms. Sabine? I figured we could all do with a little warm milk and chocolate.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

The housekeeper nodded and started to leave the room.

It’s now or never. “Adelaide, wait!” Sabine grabbed the woman’s arm and closed her eyes. “The spirits are talking. They said your name.”

Sabine felt the woman stiffen and opened her eyes to see if she was up for the game. Adelaide stared back at her, eyes wide as saucers. “The spirits said my name?” Adelaide asked. “Why would they do that? I’m nobody.”

Sabine shook her head. “You believe, Adelaide. The spirits are highly selective about who they speak to. It’s an honor.” Sabine waved one hand in the air, signaling Helena to get to work.

A dim glow began to form next to the bed and Adelaide grabbed Sabine’s hand in hers and squeezed so hard Sabine was certain she’d broken something. “Look at that,” Adelaide whispered. “You didn’t say they’d show themselves, too.”

Sabine shook her head. “They rarely materialize. I think it takes a lot of energy. This must be very important.”

Adelaide nodded but never took her eyes off the expanding light. In the center of the light, two people began to come into shape, and Sabine had to hold herself back from giving Helena a high five. The ghost had chosen William’s mother and father to create. Who better to get Adelaide to part with her secrets than the people she’d served the longest?

“Oh, my Lord,” Adelaide said as the figures sharpened.

Sabine leaned toward Adelaide and whispered. “I think they want to ask you something.”

“Anything,” Adelaide said, “they can ask me anything. Aren’t they beautiful? Just like in the picture over the fireplace.”

“No shit,” Helena grumbled and Sabine cut her eyes at the ghost. Helena huffed once and turned her concentration back to the apparition she was creating.

“I can hear her,” Sabine said. “She’s saying your name, Adelaide.” Sabine closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, then looked at Adelaide. “She wants to know why.”

“Why, what?” Adelaide asked.

Sabine shook her head. “I don’t know. She’s just saying ‘why, Adelaide, why?’ ”

Adelaide dropped Sabine’s hand and put her hand over her mouth. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, madam. I’m so sorry, but I swear I didn’t know. Not until a long time had passed.”

The possible scenarios raced through Sabine’s mind, but she couldn’t hit on one. She made the split-second decision to go vague again. “She wants to know why you didn’t tell anyone when you found out.”

“I wanted to,” Adelaide cried. “Oh, I wanted to so bad, but Catherine told me that no one would believe me, and if I said anything, she’d just say I did it. That I hated you and wanted you gone. But I swear I had nothing to do with the car wreck.” Adelaide let out an anguished cry. “Catherine said no one would take the word of a pagan housekeeper over the lady of the estate. And there was the babies. What would have happened to Frances and Adam? And my brother in that nursing home in New Orleans? Catherine was paying for it all. What would have happened to him? Oh, madam, please forgive me, I beg you.”

Sabine’s mind whirled with every statement Adelaide made. Surely she’d gotten it wrong. Adelaide couldn’t possibly be saying that Catherine had killed William’s parents. What was the point? William was going to inherit everything. She would never have wanted for anything. Sabine searched her mind for the next question to ask, but before she could formulate the words, the door to her room flew open and Beau hurried inside.

“Shit!” Helena griped as she lost concentration and the apparition vanished.

“No!” Adelaide cried. “Don’t go, madam. I’m sorry. I’ll make it right. I swear to you.”

Beau barely glanced at the housekeeper. “Thank God you’re all right,” he said to Sabine. “When I was coming back from the car, I saw Frances leave the house. She was carrying a shovel.”

“Oh, no,” Adelaide said, her face filled with fear. “I have to stop her. Her mind is so fragile. I can’t let her do it again.” Adelaide rushed out of the room, and they could hear her footsteps pounding down the hall. Sabine glanced at Beau and they ran out of the room in pursuit of the housekeeper.