The Best Man to Trust (8 page)

“I wonder what it was.”

He shrugged. “Me, too, but I figure it’s none of my business. Kind of hard to imagine Scott doing anything, though. He was always kind of a pushover when it came to her. Some things really haven’t changed. After all, it’s why we’re here now. Rachel wanted to get married here, even though it’s so far from where everybody lives. As usual, she got her way.”

So many things had brought them to this point. If Scott and Rachel hadn’t gotten back together, would any of this be happening now? Or if Rachel hadn’t wanted everyone to come here?

Meredith studied Kim Logan’s face. She didn’t remember her, but that wasn’t a surprise. She hadn’t exactly moved in this group’s social circle. She hadn’t moved in any social circle, at least not until she’d met Brad and been reluctantly tolerated in his. “What was she like? Kim?”

“Kim was the wild one of their group. When we would all hang out, she and Greg were pretty tight. That should give you some idea what she was like. She liked to party as much as he did, and could match him shot for shot. I’m not sure what she ended up doing after college. The others said she died a few months ago, and Jessica made a comment about how she wouldn’t have been invited anyway. I’m guessing she and Rachel had some kind of falling-out.”

It was so sad, Meredith thought, looking at the two of them in the picture. They looked really close. All of them did, the tightness of their bond visibly apparent in the image. And now two of them were dead. Half of their group was gone.

She forced herself to move on to the next picture, then the rest. There were more group shots of the four girls, then some that started to include the guys. Everyone looked so young, she thought with a twinge.

And there was Tom. Not the Tom who stood beside her, but the Tom she remembered so well from those old fantasies. He looked so young. She could see what she’d seen in him back then, yet he’d improved so much with age. He really had only been a boy then. Now he was every bit a man.

Forcing herself to look away, Meredith handed him the stack of photographs to go through in case he spotted anything in them. Wiping her hands on her slacks, she scanned the space. That really was it. Everything else in the room was here when Haley arrived.

It was a good thing she’d turned down Alex’s offer to “help,” she thought. There was barely enough here for her and Tom to go through. She didn’t know what a third person could have done.

The thought reminded her of her earlier encounter with him and all the questions she’d had. “What can you tell me about Alex?” Meredith asked carefully.

“Why do you ask?” Tom said, a trace of wariness in his tone.

“After breakfast he asked me if he could come in here with us and look around, see if he could help find some clues.”

Tom relaxed imperceptibly. “Well, that makes sense. He is a reporter. He’s used to asking questions and conducting investigations. I’m not surprised he would want to get involved in the search for the killer.”

“I know,” she said. “It makes sense. But there was something about the way he asked, almost like he was too eager. I had to wonder if there was another reason he wanted to get in here.”

“He can be a little intense,” Tom admitted. “I’m sure that’s a good quality for his line of work, but it can turn people off, too. He can come on a little strong, but he’s a good guy. He’s one of the most loyal friends anyone could want.”

Meredith figured she would reserve judgment on whether Alex was really a good guy. “What kind of relationship did he and Haley have?”

Tom paused for a moment. “Actually, I think he liked her back in school,” he said thoughtfully. “But nothing ever came of it. I don’t think she was interested.” He shook his head. “I’d forgotten about that.”

“Do you remember if he was upset about it?”

“I doubt it. I hate to say it, but he was probably used to it. Back then, Alex never had much luck with girls. He was pretty awkward with them. It was that intensity thing. He would always get really serious and want to talk about issues and stuff like that. He seems a lot smoother now from what I can tell.” He smiled slightly. “Greg was always the ladies’ man of our group. And Scott was all about Rachel. Even after they broke up, he didn’t date much through the rest of college.”

“What about you?” she asked without thinking. “You weren’t a ladies’ man?”

Almost as soon as she asked the question, she wished she hadn’t. She sounded a little
too
interested.

If he noticed, he didn’t show it. He chuckled lightly, a touch of self-deprecation in the sound. “Not really. I dated a few girls, but nothing too serious. What Scott and Rachel had was nice, but I really wasn’t looking for anything like that. And I never met anybody who tempted me to change my mind.”

“You didn’t want to settle down,” she said, more of an observation than a question.

“No,” he agreed with a small smile. “I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. I wanted to get out there, see the world. Experience what’s out there.”

“And you did,” she said, matching his smile. She had to admire that about him. He was a man who’d had a dream and managed to fulfill it. How many people could say that at any age, let alone before the age of thirty?

“So what’s next for you?” she asked. “What do you want to do now?”

“I’m still figuring that out,” he admitted. “What about you? Do you keep in touch with people from school?”

She shrugged halfheartedly. “Not really. I didn’t have a lot of close friends back then. I guess I was kind of a loner. When I started seeing Brad, I kind of got swept up in his group, and after we graduated and got married, I lost touch with the few people I was close to.”

“How long were you married?”

“Four years,” she said softly.

“So you got married right out of college?”

“We lived together for a year first.” She frowned. “Did you really mean what you suggested at breakfast? You think Brad could be responsible?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Part of it was just trying to think of who might want to hurt
you
. Part of it was being tired of hearing about him and just plain not liking the guy.”

“You don’t even know him,” Meredith pointed out.

He looked at her, his expression solemn. “He hurt you,” he said gravely. “That’s reason enough.”

A curious warmth rolled through her at both the seriousness of the words and the intensity of his expression. It didn’t sound like he was simply being polite. It almost sounded personal.

“But you tell me,” he continued. “You know him better than I do. Do you think he could be involved in this?”

Meredith frowned, considering the question. She knew Brad had been angry about the divorce, in spite of everything he’d done. It was one reason she’d been glad to get away from Chicago, needing the physical distance between them. And she knew better than anyone he was capable of violence when he was angry. But to murder an innocent person just to get back at her? If anything it seemed more likely that he would take his anger out on her directly.

Of course, there was a time she never would have believed he’d ever hurt her. She was both an expert at knowing what Brad was capable of, and someone with a history of underestimating him.

“I don’t know,” she finally said. “It seems like a lot of trouble to go to in order to hurt me, instead of simply coming after me directly.”

“He must have been pretty bitter about your divorce, and still is, if he’s complaining about it over a year later.”

“He was,” she said quietly. “He tried to fight the divorce. At first, he swore that he loved me and he’d change. And when that didn’t work, he got furious and said that we’d made those vows until death. But all that did was remind me exactly why I needed to get away from him.”

“I’m glad you did,” he said.

“
If
I did,” she pointed out. “If he’s not somehow involved in this—”

He suddenly frowned, his brow furrowing and eyes sliding away from hers. She started to drift off in midsentence, about to ask what was wrong. He suddenly twirled his finger, prompting her to continue, and mouthed,
Keep talking
.

Not understanding, she still tried to comply, scrambling to pick up her earlier train of thought. “Hopefully the phone lines will be up soon and we can contact the police. Even if they can’t get through due to the storm, they should be able to check where he is...”

She continued talking as he slowly, cautiously made his way to the door, leaning toward it with one ear, as though he was listening for something. Which was exactly what he was doing, she realized. When he was almost there, he slowly reached out to grasp the knob...

The door abruptly swung inward, slamming right into him.

With a curse, he reeled backward. Meredith stopped in shock, her monologue forgotten, then lurched toward him. By the time she did, he managed to steady himself. Lunging forward, he grabbed the door and ripped it open, bursting out into the hall. His face dark with anger, he checked in both directions.

Meredith stepped into the hall behind him, doing the same. There was no one in sight. The corridor was empty, all the doors along it closed.

“Did you see anyone?” she asked.

“No,” he said tersely. “Whoever it was either managed to get into one of the rooms or made it to the stairs.”

Meredith eyed the closed doors. Haley’s room was roughly in the middle of the ones where she’d placed the wedding party. Scott and Rachel’s room was one door down on one side to give them some privacy, with Jessica’s next door on the other side and Tom, Greg and Alex across the hall. Whoever had been there could have easily escaped to one of the rooms, or even the staircase, which wasn’t far, by the time Tom had recovered and made it into the hall.

“What do you think they were doing there?” she asked. “Listening to us?”

“I’m sure they were,” he confirmed. “And they didn’t want us to know.”

“How
did
you know?”

“I thought I heard the floor creak outside the door. Now we just have to wonder how long they were there.”

And whether whoever it was had heard anything important. Meredith doubted it. She and Tom had simply been speculating. Yet whoever it was still hadn’t wanted them to know who’d been listening, going far enough to lash out to prevent them from catching him or her.

Meredith looked up at Tom, noticing the red spot on his forehead where the door had slammed into him. Cringing, she reached up without thinking to brush her fingers over the spot. “Does it hurt?”

As soon as her fingertips made contact with his skin, she froze. Her eyes shot to his to find him watching her, his deep blue gaze intent and unyielding. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, couldn’t read the emotion in those depths. Everything in her wanted to keep trying, unable to bring herself to look away.

It occurred to her she should drop her hand, even as she registered the warmth and smoothness of his skin against hers. It was rude to just reach out and touch him like this. She had no right.

But he didn’t offer a word of objection, simply watching her, his expression inscrutable.

“Not too much,” he said softly, the sound of his voice washing over her skin. “I’ll be fine.”

“Good.” Her voice sounding tight to her ears, she quickly pulled her hand away and glanced back at the room. “Is there anything else we need to do in here?”

She sensed him follow her gaze. “I don’t think so. I think we checked everything there is. Do you want to check the rest of the house? Just to be safe?”

It wasn’t a bad idea. She doubted there was anyone unknown to her hiding in the house. But reality said she couldn’t be absolutely certain of that without checking. And given everything that had happened so far, they couldn’t afford to take any chances.

Chapter Nine

“There’s no one here,” Tom concluded.

“I don’t think so, either,” Meredith agreed. He couldn’t tell if what he heard in her voice was relief or simply exhaustion.

Either one would make sense. They’d spent hours going through Sutton Hall from top to bottom, finally winding up here, in the ballroom in the west wing.

They stood in the middle of the ballroom floor, dwarfed by the massive space that stretched two stories high and half the length of the wing. On one side of the room was a stage they’d already checked. There was a skylight high overhead and windows covered nearly half of the outside wall. All that could be seen beyond them was an impenetrable whiteness. He thought he could hear the faint sound of the wind howling in the distance. Or maybe it was just the emptiness of the room echoing around them, he thought, his skin suddenly prickling with unease.

“There are certainly a lot of hiding places around here,” he noted.

“I guess that’s the downside of how big it is.”

“This place really is incredible, though,” Tom said, leaning back to scan his surroundings.

“It is, isn’t it?” Meredith said, a wistful, almost resigned note in her voice.

Tom glanced over at her. Her expression was heavy with sadness. It had to be impossible for her not to remember how this amazing place had been touched by so much ugliness.

It was a shame, too. He wasn’t exaggerating—Sutton Hall really was extraordinary, he thought, craning his head to peer up into the high ceilings. From the massive ballroom to the tower bedrooms, the library to the atrium, the place was more like an actual castle than anything he ever would have expected to find in this country—or outside of a storybook. There were moments when they’d come upon a sight so amazing he’d nearly forgotten the purpose for their search and simply wanted to take in his surroundings.

Unfortunately, reality had always returned soon enough, reminding him exactly why they were doing this.

“I’m guessing you weren’t planning on using this space for Scott and Rachel.”

“No,” Meredith agreed. “It seemed a bit much with only the six of you. I know Rachel was excited to see the ballroom, but we were going to use more intimate spaces for the wedding events. The atrium in the back of the manor seemed like a good choice, and the library is lovely.”

“Still, seems like a shame not to be able to put this to use.”

She nodded. “It does. When I first came up with the idea of holding weddings here, I imagined all these big events that could really take advantage of such a magnificent space. But most of the weddings that planned to come here were smaller, like Scott and Rachel’s. In retrospect, it does make sense. It would be harder to get a large group of people to travel all the way to such a remote location.” She gave her head a small shake. “I guess this really was a bad idea.”

Before he could say anything she started to turn away. “I think we’re done here.”

They made their way out of the room, Meredith stopping to lock the doors behind them. Despite the massive amount of territory they’d covered, there were no doubt places they hadn’t reached. It would likely take days to conduct a thorough search of every inch of Sutton Hall. Even so, they hadn’t detected any signs there was anyone else on the premises who wasn’t supposed to be here. For the time being, and without any evidence otherwise, Tom was inclined to believe that meant there really wasn’t anyone else here.

Which meant the killer was most likely someone they were already aware of. Either one of the members of Meredith’s staff—

Or one of his old friends.

A sense of resignation settled over him at the thought. He still didn’t want to believe it was possible. But the longer he thought about it, the more he knew he had to.

“Can I ask you something?” Tom asked as they made their way down the corridor toward the front foyer.

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you ask Rick to help us with the search?”

A guilty flush colored her cheeks. “I wasn’t sure if I should. He’s pretty much had the run of the place for the past several days, so if there was somebody here, he should have already known about it.”

“And if there was somebody here, that would mean he was keeping it from you, and probably was involved with that person being here in the first place.”

“Exactly,” she allowed. “Now that it looks like there’s no one else here, I hate that I didn’t automatically trust him, but I didn’t think I could afford to. Not if there was even a chance...”

“But you trust me?”

She glanced over at him, her gaze direct and unguarded. “I do,” she said simply.

Her unquestioned confidence struck him hard. A mixture of awe and pride and pleasure like nothing he’d ever felt before filled him in the face of her approval.

They reached the main staircase in the front hall. As they descended the stairs, Tom glanced up at the portrait hanging on the wall above the landing halfway down. He’d noticed it before but hadn’t paid much attention to it. It depicted a couple, a bride and groom on their wedding day from the looks of it. The image seemed to loom over him and Meredith, oppressive and unsettling. Given everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, it was an eerie reminder of exactly what had brought them all here—and of Scott and Rachel’s wedding that wouldn’t take place.

Meredith must have noticed his attention. “That’s the previous owner of Sutton Hall, Jacob Sutton, and his wife, Kathleen, on their wedding day,” she explained.

“Is that where you got the idea to hold weddings here?” he asked, coming to a stop on the landing.

“Actually, yes.”

Tom took in the smiling faces of the bride and groom, the joy seeming to radiate from them and out of the portrait. It was impossible not to think of Scott and Rachel. Even when they finally did manage to get married, they likely wouldn’t be able to take as much joy in it as this couple had. The moment would inevitably be colored by what had happened here.

“They look happy,” he observed.

“From what I was told, they were. For a few years at least.”

Tom didn’t miss the note of sadness that had entered her voice. “What happened to them?”

“She was killed in a car accident about five years into their marriage. He never got over it. He lived the rest of his life here alone.”

Tom studied the face of the fresh-faced groom in the portrait. He really did look happy, his hand clasping his bride’s, his smile broad and beaming. Tom tried to imagine him as an older man, tragic and alone in this massive mansion. He couldn’t do it, or maybe he just didn’t want to. “That’s really sad,” he murmured, the words feeling inadequate to convey how true it was.

“Yes, it is,” Meredith said softly. “When we first came here and I heard their story, I actually thought it was incredibly romantic, the idea of a love that didn’t die even though one of the people in it had. But now I think about him in this huge house, shut away from everyone and everything, and it just seems like a waste. I doubt Kathleen would have wanted him to live like that. Not if she truly loved him.”

“It’s almost like he was hiding from the world,” Tom said.

It was only an idle observation. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d said it at all. But it seemed to strike a chord in her. He glanced over in time to see her wince, her expression tightening as she slowly lowered her eyes.

And he understood, a burst of sorrow shafting through him.

Is that what
you’re
doing here, Meredith Sutton?
he wondered, his gut clenching.
Hiding?

He couldn’t really blame her. After what she’d been through, withdrawing from the world probably would have seemed like a relief. Maybe she’d needed that, needed the time and space to recover. Maybe she hadn’t even known that was what she was doing, though, from her reaction, she seemed to be considering the possibility now.

Seeing the sadness on her face, he wished he hadn’t said it. “Or maybe he just didn’t feel the need to leave,” Tom said, striving to lighten the tone. “This place is pretty amazing. Who would want to leave if they didn’t have to?”

She forced an unconvincing smile. “I’m sure you’ve seen some amazing places with your job.”

“That’s true. But this place is certainly something special.”

“That it is.”

“What about you?” he asked, still hoping to distract her, if only for a moment. “Did you ever want to travel?”

“Always,” she admitted. “But after Brad and I got married, it never seemed to happen. My brother, Adam, used to travel a lot for work and he’d send me postcards and souvenirs from the places he visited. It was nice to get a little taste of those places.”

“But still not the same as seeing them yourself.”

“No,” she conceded.

“Maybe someday you will.”

“Maybe,” she said, her tone noncommittal. She gave herself a little shake. “We should go. We’ve been away from the others for a while. I want to check on everyone.”

His pulse instantly kicked into a higher gear at the comment. She had a point. It had been hours since they’d seen any of the others. Anything could have happened. “Good idea.”

She quickly turned away, crossing the landing to move up the other part of the staircase that led to the east wing and their rooms.

He moved to follow her, glancing toward the front of the hall as he did. It was the middle of the day. The light coming through the front windows in the foyer should have been bright, but it wasn’t. It was murky, diffuse, a reminder of the storm that engulfed them, filtering out the sun.

Tom had no trouble understanding her reluctance to discuss the future.

At the moment, they couldn’t even escape this place, let alone go anywhere else.

Simply making it through the next several days seemed like enough of a goal.

* * *

R
EACHING
THE
SECOND
-
FLOOR
landing, Meredith took in the row of closed doors that met her eyes. Everything looked calm and undisturbed, with no ugly surprises waiting in the hall this time. She hoped that was a good sign. She and Tom had been gone for hours, making their way through the house. Anything could have happened since then.

There was only one way to find out. Fighting a prickle of unease, she quickly moved to the bridal suite and knocked on the door.

The moments that passed without an immediate answer seemed to last forever, her pulse picking up every second she waited.

Finally Scott’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Who is it?”

“Meredith. And Tom,” she added, almost as an afterthought. Maybe his presence would alleviate any reluctance they might feel about answering the door to her.

A few seconds later, the door opened slightly. Scott peered out to confirm it was them before opening it all the way. Rachel was visible behind him, pacing the floor in the center of the room.

Meredith didn’t miss the way Scott’s gaze shifted between the two of them, a speculative gleam in his eyes. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to see how you both were doing.”

“How do you think we’re doing?” Rachel snapped. As she voiced the question she came to a sudden stop, turning to face them. Her arms folded over her chest, she looked as if she was holding herself tightly, her face tense and pale.

“We’re hanging in there,” Scott answered, a hint of apology in his eyes. “We’re still a bit on edge.”

“It’s okay,” Meredith assured him. “I understand.”

“We went through the house,” Tom said. “There doesn’t appear to be any sign of anyone else in here that we don’t know about.”

“So most likely it’s someone we are aware of,” Rachel concluded. She hesitated for an instant before adding grimly, “Someone who works here.”

“I trust my staff completely,” Meredith said.

“The same way you trusted the last staff who worked for you?” Rachel returned. Her tone was less spiteful than Jessica’s, the question blunt and matter-of-fact, which only made it sting more.

Meredith didn’t let her reaction show on her face. “More,” she replied firmly.

“And I trust my friends,” Rachel said without hesitation, her voice unyielding.

“Neither Ellen nor Rick had any reason to want to hurt Haley—or anyone else.”

“And you think one of us did?”

“You tell me,” Meredith responded without rancor. “Did either of you give any more thought to why someone would want to hurt Haley?”

“None of us would!” Rachel insisted, her voice harsh with intensity. The answer was so immediate, so absolute, that Meredith believed she meant it. She just had to wonder if it was because Rachel had seriously considered it and dismissed the possibility, or because she was refusing to consider it at all.

Meredith glanced at Scott. He gave his head a small shake. “I’m sorry. We have thought about it. I honestly don’t know why anyone would have wanted to hurt her, let alone kill her.”

He sounded so genuine Meredith figured she had no choice but to believe him—for now. Pressing him was unlikely to get her a different answer.

She turned her attention back to Rachel. Remembering the exchange she’d witnessed between Rachel and Jessica in the hall that morning, Meredith was tempted to mention it. But she had to wonder how honest the woman would be with her fiancé in the room. She was going to have to find some way to talk to Rachel alone. It wasn’t going to be easy. It was doubtful that Scott would want to leave his bride-to-be alone with anyone else anytime soon.

Meredith managed a smile. “Well, I’m glad you’re both all right. I’m sure lunch will be ready soon. I’ll let you both know when it is.”

“Thank you,” Scott said warmly. “That sounds great.”

Meredith couldn’t help but be grateful for his calmness. As soon as the feeling registered, she immediately experienced a flicker of doubt. Rachel’s agitation certainly made sense given the circumstances. As much as she appreciated it, Scott’s calmness was the more unusual response in the face of everything that was happening. Maybe she should consider
that
suspicious....

She studied his face, trying to determine if there was something else there. She couldn’t read anything in his eyes other than the openness that seemed to radiate from him.