A Sinful Trap (Three Sinful Wishes 2)

“What the hell happened?” Cam frowned at the ceiling, ready to go after whatever had thrown Davide through the opening. “What’s up there?”

“I’m fine,” he said calmly, wiping the dust off his hands before turning to Cam. “And ghosts are up there. Sounds like you’ve got two of them.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Bailey denied instantly.

“Yes, he does.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Bailey, it—”

“I knew it!”

An old man appeared from a room down the hall and started toward them. He was bald, spotted and bent, the hearing aid in his ear whistling in a way that made Cam and Davide flinch.

Bailey met him halfway, placing her hand on his slender arm and whispering to him about turning it down while Cam struggled with the desire to drag her back to his side. “I’m sorry, Mr. Olyphant, I thought you were out shopping.”

“Mrs. Olyphant goes shopping,” he corrected her kindly, twisting his finger in his ear until the whistling stopped. “Her husband takes naps. I meant to thank you. The neck pillow you brought me yesterday is working wonders. But that’s why I heard it. I was reclining on that pillow and decided to rest my eyes for a bit, when I started hearing the commotion.”

“What kind of commotion?” Cam asked. “Can you be more specific?”

“Did it sound like the noises I told you about?” Bailey shot Cam a warning glance. “The ones I heard last night?”

“It was ghosts.” Mr. Olyphant looked over at Davide. “Like this young man said. Kids laughing to give me the creepy-crawlies. They got so loud at the end they must have scared a cat, because after that there was a yowl that sounded like my wife’s favorite calico. That’s when I came out to investigate.”

Davide scowled. “I didn’t hear a cat.”

“Really?” The cook he’d hired—Ava—appeared at the top of the stairs with a plate of cookies. “I was sure it was a cat. And you’re right, Mr. O. That laughing gave me goosebumps, too. Kind of exciting, isn’t it? Is anyone hungry? There are sandwiches downstairs for the roofers, but I thought something sweet might hold us over.”

Color bloomed in Bailey’s cheeks and Cam knew exactly what she was thinking. If everyone, upstairs and down, had heard the noises coming from the attic, what else had they heard?

She shook it off and tried to smile. “We don’t have ghosts here, Ava.”

“If you say so, Bailey.”

Cam felt her discomfort as if it were his own. Tension in his shoulders, a knot in his stomach. It was disconcerting. “The hallway is getting a little crowded. Let’s go down to the kitchen to finish this conversation, shall we?”

The old man looked up at him and raised a bushy eyebrow. “Who are you and what land of giants did you come from?”

“He owns the inn,” Ava told him, taking his arm from Bailey and guiding him slowly down the stairs. “And that giant gave me this job and an open credit line at the grocery store, so be nice and tell me what you want for dinner.”

“I’ll eat anything as long as it isn’t too heavy,” he declared as he disappeared from view. “I hear you shouldn’t go ghost hunting on a full stomach.”

Bailey buried her face in her hands and mumbled something about geriatric ghostbusters while Cam skimmed his palms over Davide’s arms, needing to touch him and assure himself he was okay. “What happened?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Gold flashed in his eyes, and Cam knew he’d talk more freely when they were alone. “I heard the scrape, some steps and the laughter, but I couldn’t see or sense more than that. It’s so crowded with old trunks and boxes I might have missed something.”

“Trunks and boxes?” Cam kept his face blank, concealing his interest from their innkeeper. “Bailey, any idea who they belong to?”

She peered at them over her fingers. “I’ve still never actually been up there. I’m not a fan of heights, remember? I do know that if it belonged to Pikeson, it left the day he did. He was very attached to his things.”

If those trunks weren’t Pikeson’s or Bailey’s, there was a chance what he was looking for was up there. Waiting. He squeezed Davide’s shoulder in silent communication. “It sounds like a fire hazard. We’ll head back up there this week to go through it and clean it out.”

“You sure you want to? What about the scary ghosties?” Bailey asked sarcastically.

“Don’t be so cynical.” Davide sent her chiding look. “You heard them laughing. I know you did.”

“It could be anything.” She gestured wildly with her hands. “You say it’s crowded. A broken pipe can leak air and sound like music. There could be a bird’s nest behind one of those trunks. Sometimes a spider is just a spider.”

“I didn’t see a spider.”

No, but she had, Cam remembered. A giant one had chased her into his arms. Twice. This time, he’d seen it before he caught her. “Are you saying the innkeeper who gives discounts for psychic readings doesn’t believe in magic?” he asked blandly.