Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

“Yes, or some sort of chemical used to render her unconscious. These people vanished without a trace, remember. Nobody heard or saw a thing. It hints to them being rendered silent in some way, but it doesn’t mean they were killed instantly,” he hastily reassured her when he saw moisture gather on her lashes.

Vanessa nodded. She didn’t want to talk about it much less think about it. Usually when she began to contemplate what might have happened, she cried. It was difficult not to do the same now, especially when she saw the sympathy and understanding in Justin’s gaze. But she had to contemplate all possibilities, and cling to the hope he unwittingly offered her by suggesting Geraldine might have been knocked out and kidnapped by a slavery gang.

“It sounds so far-fetched,” she whispered.

“I am not saying anything like it happened, we are just discussing the possibilities, that’s all, Vanessa,” he murmured.

He paused for a moment and waited for her to object to his use of her first name. He didn’t mind her calling him by his first name. In fact, he quite liked it, and knew it was probably better that she did, especially if he wanted to garner her trust.

“I know,” she murmured sadly. “I just wish we knew for definite what did happen.”

“Well, we know one thing for definite,” Justin replied with a nod to the window.

Vanessa turned and looked at the cart track, and watched Curtis walk down the road.

“Don’t move,” Justin warned. “While I don’t think he can see us from that distance, and with the house as dark as it is, we can’t take the chance that he will see movement and come back to investigate once more. His suspicions are roused, don’t forget. Stand still. Once he has disappeared, we are going to leave and get the Hell away from here.”

“But we must search the place,” she protested. “I haven’t gone through all of this to go away defeated.”

Justin lifted his brows at her as warning bells rang alarmingly in the back of his mind. “You are adding burglary to your list of crimes.”

“I haven’t committed any crime,” she argued.

“You are standing in the man’s house, uninvited, having broken in,” Justin countered.

“I did no such thing. I broke nothing. I used a key. Well, you used a key, remember?”

Justin groaned, not least because she was as sharp as a tack and seemed to have an answer for everything. She was highly intelligent and, he had no doubt, a damned pain in the proverbial to argue with if she had a mind to be.

Making a mental note to keep her on side, Justin shook his head.

“Do you want to tell me what you intend to do then? What are you looking for?” he demanded.

“Any si

gn of my sister. She isn’t downstairs.”

“I know, she has vanished,” Justin replied pointedly, with the patronising patience of someone who was speaking to someone they considered less intelligent than themselves.

Vanessa glared at him. “I mean, none of her personal belongings are downstairs. All trace of her has been removed from the house, Justin. All the nic-nacs she had on display have gone. The pictures she painted have been removed from the walls. I want to see if her clothing is still in the dresser. If not, where are they? What has he done with them? If Geraldine has been kidnapped, why would he get rid of them all as though he doesn’t ever expect her to come back? What does he know that we don’t?”

Justin understood, but still didn’t agree with what she was doing.

“This is my job, Vanessa. It isn’t something you should be involved in,” Justin warned.

“Are you going to tell me that you intended to do this yourself?” Vanessa asked. “Would you know what to look for? Where to look? What things were hers?”

“Well, no, but we would have searched the house and barns properly,” Justin replied.

“But how could you if you don’t know what you are looking for?” she challenged.

Justin hesitated.

“We have only just started the investigation,” he warned. “There is a lot of work to do.”

“But if you suspect Curtis is the killer, why don’t you just search this house? Then you would realise he has gotten rid of all trace of his wife and could ask him what he has done with her.” Vanessa knew she was almost shouting at him, but was so frustrated she wanted to shake him. Did he not see any urgency in the situation?

“Why are you not doing anything to help?” she demanded. “What do you know that I don’t?”