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

“He is upset,” Vanessa murmured.

“It is understandable,” Justin replied quietly.

Vanessa turned to look at him. “I want to wait in the house, if I may? Curtis won’t be back for hours yet. I can search the property for my sister’s things again.”

Justin read the plea in her eyes and couldn’t find the will to argue with her. “Just stay inside, though, all right?”

Vanessa nodded. When silence fell, Oliver left.

“It will be all right,” he assured her when they were alone.

Vanessa smiled. “I don’t think it can be if she has gone. I don’t know what this will do to father.”

“Cross that bridge when you come to it,” Justin replied. “Until then, try not to get too upset. Until we find a body, there is nothing to say she won’t reappear just as easily as she vanished. People do, you know.”

With that, he reluctantly released her, but not before pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand. His gaze remained locked on hers the entire time, silently reassuring her that he would do everything he could to help her. Vanessa smiled gently at him and watched him leave. Once the silence of the house settled around her, though, she immediately began to wonder if she had done the right thing by staying on the farm while they searched. The house suddenly seemed ominously quiet, and distinctly unwelcoming.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Vanessa’s stomach was in knots by the time Justin knocked on the front door of the house. They had, several hours after the search began, decided to return home, but the wait had been no less fraught.

“You had better open it girl. They won’t wait forever,” Graham murmured quietly.

It was impossible to tell from Justin’s impassive face what had been found. Vanessa wanted to ask, but he reached out and squeezed her hand gently before he followed her into the sitting room. Once there, she stood before the fireplace and turned to face him.

“There was nothing found at the farm or surrounding fields or woods,” Justin announced solemnly.

Graham’s breath left him in a hiss. Vanessa slumped into a chair before the fireplace.

Justin informed them of both Lisa and Curtis’s arrest.

“I am sorry, but the case is now being treated as a murder investigation,” he finished sadly.

“What happens now?” Graham asked, waving him to a chair. He rose and poured three goblets of brandy. “I was saving this for special occasions.”

Once they had all taken a drink, Graham sighed. “I should never have allowed her to buy the damned place. She hasn’t been near a farm in years, but wanted to buy a place so she could paint.”

“It isn’t the farm that was the problem, it was the man she shared it with,” Vanessa replied.

“The only thing I would add is that they have been arrested on suspicion of murder. It isn’t proven yet that they have. It just looks that way given the weight of evidence that is stacking up. To be safe, and make sure that they don’t pose any risk to the public, we have put them behind bars out of the way. We will question them, in time. Right now, we need to take another look at what we know about the kidnappings and see if we can link them to either Lisa or Curtis,” Justin explained.

“Is there anything we can do?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes, stay out of the way,” Justin growled. “Don’t go near the farm. There are men still crawling all over it. When they have finished, it needs to stand empty for the time being.”

Vanessa nodded. She would be happy never to set eyes on the place again after this.

“Also, it is too dangerous for you to be out on your own, so just go out only when your father can go with you,” Justin warned. “Don’t go anywhere alone, just in case.”

Vanessa nodded. “Where do you think she is; Geraldine, that is?”

“With the others probably,” Graham murmured quietly with the air of someone considerably older than his sixty or so years.

Justin nodded but didn’t reply. There wasn’t much he could say.

“Do you think they are all dead?” Vanessa felt sick at the prospect.

“We can’t rule it out. First Geraldine, then Felicity. It may be that we just haven’t found the other bodies yet,” Justin replied solemnly. “I am sorry to sound so bleak, but we need to look at facts.”