Chapter 8

Inside his own room, Gina sat patiently waiting on the bed.

"What took you so long?" she asked. "I've been waiting nearly fifteen minutes."

"There was a slight delay," he said, wincing at the still-fresh memory of Ava's thrashing, demanding body.

When he got closer to Gina, she stood up and peered at his face with concern. "God! You look as if an army trampled over you. Did you have a fight with Groton?"

"No." That would have been getting off easy, he thought. "Nothing happened, really. What did you find in Sherry's room?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Not a single thing that you might call incriminating or suspicious. She's just a normal, healthy, wholesome girl, from the looks of her things. Except for a few tantalizing under things," she added, "but they're mild compared to Ava's. What about you? Find anything else?"

"Nothing except that snapshot. Come to think of it, I wish I'd taken it, now. Maybe Sherry would recognize the man. In fact, she'd have to since they both modeled for that statue."

"Why don't you go back and get it?" asked Gina.

"No," Randy said quickly. "I mean, it's not that important. I've got an idea, though."

Gina's lovely face grew curious. "What is it?"

"I think I'll find Sherry and take her into that passageway. If she's faced with that thing, she'll have to come forward with an explanation."

Gina nodded. "Sounds reasonable. Let's go."

Randy held up a hand. "Wait. I don't think you ought to come along. Sherry is too competitive where other women are concerned. She might refuse to cooperate or divulge anything if you're with us. You wait in your own room for us."

Gina shook her head stubbornly. "Oh no. I'm not going to spend another night in that room. Not since that ... that thing this afternoon. I'll wait downstairs in the library and watch television."

"Come on, then," said Randy.

Gina followed close on his heels as he left his room and went down the staircase. At the bottom, he told Gina, "Wait for me in the library. I'm going to get some candles in case the flashlight burns out. I don't relish the prospect of being stuck in that passageway without any light."

Gina nodded and went in the direction of the library. For a moment Randy stood there, watching her graceful, erect carriage, the smooth curve of her firm hips and beautiful long legs, appreciating her more than ever since his recent, unwilling tryst with Ava. When she disappeared into the library, he went over to the kitchen door and knocked once before entering.

Groton was alone in the kitchen, his perpetual scowl applied to the dish he was drying.

He looked up at Randy suspiciously. "What do you want in here?"

"Don't worry, I didn't come to examine the kitchen table," Randy said dryly. "I want some candles."

"For what?"

"I'm going to hold a midnight mass."

Groton's scowl deepened with perplexity. "In this house?"

Randy sighed. "Just give me some candles, Groton."

Groton shuffled over to a cabinet, took out a few tapered candles and brought them over to Randy. "I ain't supposed to do anything without getting an okay first from Ava," he said. "But I guess she wouldn't mind."

Randy took the candles and thanked him. He started to leave when a sudden thought struck him. He turned to Groton, an expression of authority on his face.

"Let me see your ring of keys, Groton."

The other man took a step back. "For what?"

Randy snapped his fingers. "Never mind the reason. Let's have them."

"Can't do it unless Ava says so," he muttered. "Orders."

"Ava won't object, I assure you," said Randy smoothly. "Let's see them."

Groton hesitated, intimidated by Randy's calm air of command. His simple mind struggled between the fear of Ava's sharp tongue and Randy's forceful personality.

"Well?" Randy barked.

Unable to cope with such a complicated struggle, Groton gave in. He unhooked the ring of keys from his belt and handed them to Randy

Taking each key in turn, Randy studied !hem carefully. They were all large door keys. None of them would fit the padlock on the room in the passageway. He gave the ring back to Groton.

"Those are all the keys you have?" he asked.

Groton turned away. "That's all. No more." He went back to his dishes, his face sullen and hostile. Randy sensed the man was lying, but knew that any attempt to make him admit it would be wasted.

Taking the candles, he left the kitchen and went through the empty dining room and across the wide expanse of floor to the library. He swung open the massive door without knocking anti walked in. The room was dark except for the television blaring away in a corner. Sherry's small body was curled up in a large chair facing the TV, her face ghostly in the reflected light.

"Where's Gina?" asked Randy.

"Powder room," Sherry said. She patted the space beside her on the leather chair. "Have a seat and rest your weary ass."

"Not right now. I want you to come with me. There's something I want to show you. Something important."

She grinned up at him. "There's only one thing I consider important, as you've undoubtedly learned."

"Not that," said Randy hastily. "This is business."

Sherry stretched and yawned, her skirt rising in the process to show her silky crotch. She put out her hands. "Pull me up."

He lifted her easily, and she pushed against him deliberately, squirming her cunt against his cock provocatively. "We didn't finish our lessons this afternoon," she murmured.

For the first time Randy found himself wondering if Sherry were related by blood to Ava. The two had a great deal in common. Despite his wild sex session with Ava a few minutes earlier, Randy found Sherry's soft body a pleasantly exciting contrast after Ava's hard, grinding cunt.

"Not now," he said firmly. "Come with me."

"This something," she said as they left the library, "does it explain in any way the weird things that have been happening.

"Not directly, but I've got a hunch it ties in somehow. You'll see in a minute."

As they went up the staircase, they met Ava coming down. Her face was cool and composed, as if nothing had happened to disrupt her serenity. She shot a smoldering glance at Randy as she passed them.

"No rest for the wicked?" she murmured with a smile.

Sherry looked after her. "What did she mean by that? She's got that bitchy, I-know-something-you-don't-know look on her face, too."

"Beats me."

Sherry followed him into his room, watching curiously as he felt beneath the fireplace and it began to swing open. Sherry gasped.

"When did you discover that?"

"This afternoon, by accident, really. You're sure you never knew about it?" He watched her reaction carefully.

"Never!" she said with genuine surprise. "Mother must have known. I wonder why she never told me ... "

"There's a bigger surprise inside." He stuck the candles Groton had given him into his pockets and got his flashlight. "Let's go," he said.