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

“You need to be aware that you are going to gaol to think over your answers. We will come and question you. Until then, give me the house key. You have no business being in the property, let alone going through things that belong to a woman who is presumed dead,” Justin intoned.

A low mewling sound from behind him made him go cold. He whirled around, and mentally groaned when his gaze fell on Vanessa. They had been so intent on questioning the maid they hadn’t noticed the arrival of Vanessa and her father.

“Vanessa,” he growled solemnly, taking a step toward her.

Vanessa stared at him with wide eyes. She couldn’t think; couldn’t breathe. While she had suspected that her sister had been murdered by a person, or persons, unknown, she hadn’t truly wanted to believe it. To hear Justin admit that it was most probably the case was horrifying. She struggled to absorb the import of his words at the same time that they struck a wound deep within her she wasn’t entirely sure would ever heal.

“Is it true?” she whispered around a huge lump in her throat.

Justin sighed. “It is looking that way.” He couldn’t bring himself to lie. “I am sorry, Vanessa.”

“Who?”

“We have to suspect the husband for now, with Lisa,” Oliver warned her. “They may have been in cahoots, or one of them carried out the act in the heat of the moment. Whatever the case, there has been an association between Curtis and the milk maid which can only call into question their involvement in Geraldine’s disappearance.”

“The odds are she hasn’t been kidnapped with the others. The circumstances are different, you see. Besides, the other women’s things are still at their homes. Only Geraldine’s have been removed. You are quite right to be suspicious of the fact that Curtis has removed her personal possessions without even knowing where she is or what happened to her,” Justin reasoned.

He didn’t think about what he was doing when he saw huge tears begin to trail down Vanessa’s pale cheeks. It was instinctive to step forward and hold her. Resting his cheek on her soft hair, he waited until the worst of her sobs had subsided.

“I didn’t do it,” Lisa gulped from the doorway. It was clear from the panic in her eyes that she was starting to understand just how much trouble she was in. “I swear. I didn’t harm a hair on her head.”

“It doesn’t look that way to us, and it won’t to a magistrate. You have to prove your innocence and will have to stay behind bars until we can find Geraldine,” Oliver warned.

>

Justin tugged Vanessa into a side room while the men guided a clearly stunned Lisa out of the house.

“It’s murder, isn’t it?” Vanessa whispered, needing him to confirm it.

“Yes, it is,” Justin warned. “Until your sister appears alive and well, I am afraid we have to believe she has been killed. I wish it could be any other way.”

“Where is she? Geraldine, I mean? What do you think they have done with her?” She hated to talk about her sister as though she was no longer alive but knew she must. It was foolish to cling on to false hope.

In that moment, she couldn’t think of anything other than the fact that Justin was there, keeping her steady in a world that had started to shake uncontrollably. She was glad he was there, and clung to him just as tightly as he was holding her.

“How do you deal with this every day?” she whispered suddenly.

“It is a part of my job,” Justin sighed. “It doesn’t get any easier, but it does help when I don’t know the people who are murdered. They aren’t people to me, Vanessa, just names, and for my sanity, they have to stay that way. It is people like you who are affected by things like this. It is part of the reason why I do my job. To stop things like this happening so people like you can go about your lives undisturbed.”

“We are going,” Niall interrupted quietly from the doorway.

Justin nodded, but made no move to go with them.

When everyone had gone, Justin looked down at the woman in his arms. He was a little surprised at just how much it had felt like second nature to hold her when she was upset. It was the first time he had ever done anything like it, especially when he was at work, but he hadn’t stopped to think. There was a connection to the woman before him he had never felt with anyone before. He just had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

“We need to search those outbuildings,” Justin warned. “Why don’t you go home? I would take you but the sooner we can get the buildings search the sooner we will know one way or the other. I don’t want you to do this, Vanessa. It is best you stay out of the way. The men are on alert now, so you are likely to end up at the wrong end of a pistol if you unwittingly disturb them. Go on home to your father. As soon as I know something, I will come and tell you.”

“Go with them,” Oliver suggested when they ventured outside.

“We will be all right. We can be home in ten minutes,” Vanessa sighed, looking worriedly at her father, who was staring stoically across the farmyard without seeing a thing.

“Are you all right?” she asked him.

“What?” Her father jerked out of his revere and looked at her blankly for a moment.

It was difficult to know what he was thinking because he turned away just as quickly.

“Fine,” he grunted. “You stay if you want to. I am going home.” He didn’t bother to wait and stalked off without a backward look.