Excited that she might have stumbled onto something, Dulcie changed her clothes, dressed for a long night of it, and equipped with water, a flashlight and pepper spray, drove toward the farmhouse. Tonight she would find out who Laura had given a key to. Find out who the man was that Laura had fallen in love with.

Dulcie was putting her money on Ben Carpenter. That was the reason she’d brought the pepper spray. The man scared her.

On the drive to the farmhouse, she debated calling Russell until it was too late. No cell service.

She parked up the road and walked, telling herself that all the rattlesnakes had gone back under their rocks for the night. At the house, she found a spot where she could hide to wait and settled in.

An hour later she was wondering if her theory was as ridiculous as her hiding out here when she heard a sound coming from off in the darkness. The swishing sound became recognizable. Someone was moving through the tall, dry grass toward her.

Chapter 13

A black shape emerged from out of the darkness. Dulcie couldn’t see a face, just a large, man-size form as he passed within feet of her. She pressed herself against the wall and didn’t dare breathe until he turned the corner of the house.

She heard the clomp of his boots on the steps and across the porch, then using his key, the man entered the house.

Just as she’d thought. He had a key.

But who had it been? She crept around the corner of the house. He’d left the door wide open. She could hear him climbing the stairs, his footfalls labored.

She waited until she heard nothing then she edged to the porch steps and glanced inside. Pitch darkness and putrid air filled the house.

Was she really going inside?

A light flashed on in the upstairs front bedroom, making her jump. The man was in Laura Beaumont’s bedroom. The faint glow shone through the yellow curtain.

What was he doing in Laura’s room? Just touching her things, remembering? Or was he searching for something? Evidence that she’d overlooked?

She debated what to do, knowing what Russell would say about her impetuous behavior. Taking the bull by the horns, so to speak, she crept up onto the porch and entered the house. She didn’t dare use her flashlight. But she checked to make sure it and the pepper spray were still in her vest pockets. They were.

The blackness inside the house was complete. It made her feel dizzy, screwed up her equilibrium. She closed her eyes, envisioning where everything was as she inched to the bottom of the stairs, her hands out like a sleepwalker.

She tried not to think about what she would do if she touched flesh and blood. Listening, hearing nothing, she started up the stairs.