Page 29 of Capturing You
She’d need to find a hotel somewhere, and not close by, either. As a cop, Lenny could get far more information than most, especially in the town where he lived and worked. He was well-respected and well-loved by the locals. Very few people understood the kind of person he really was. Brooklynn hadn’t even shared the truth about their relationship with her family, much less friends.
So. A hotel far away, too far to be able to manage the gallery…
The gallery!
“Oh, no.”
“What?”
“I forgot…” She pulled her phone from her pocket but hesitated. If she powered it up, and if Lenny was still tracking it, then he’d know she was here. He’d find her.
Ford’s hand slipped over hers. “Don’t. You can use mine. It’s in my office.”
She looked up at him, and he let her go, stepping back. He seemed as surprised by his sudden touch as she was.
He continued down the hall, deeper into the house. “Don’t just stand there. Come on.” He didn’t even look over his shoulder when he issued the command.
Wasn’t like she had that many choices. She hurried to catch up with him. At the end of the hall, he pulled a tall cabinet door she would have assumed opened to a linen closet.
But he flicked a switch, lighting a narrow spiral staircase.
A secret passageway.
Add that to the house’s mysteries, of which there were clearly many.
Ford started down, so she followed.
“How long have you been here?” She aimed the words at his back.
“Few weeks.”
“How did you find all the hiding places?”
He reached the bottom and opened a door.
She followed, stepping into a cedar-lined closet facing a row of hanging coats. She closed the door behind her, and it disappeared into the wall, hidden from sight.
She stepped past the coats and into a bedroom she hadn’t seen before. The bed and bureau were covered with sheets
Ford hadn’t answered her question.
She followed him into a hallway. “Did you just poke around? How did you know that was there?”
“The owner told me.”
“Who was that? Like, a distant relative of the Ballentines?”
He didn’t answer.
She tried a different question. “Are there more secret passageways?”
Not only did he not respond, he picked up speed.
She was practically running to keep up, a puppy eagerly chasing its owner.
The thought gave her pause, and she slowed. So what if she lost him? She’d find him again.
He disappeared into a room. It was the office where he’d been working before. They’d come from the opposite direction.
