Death Takes a Holiday (5 page)

Grace glanced at the garbage cans ten feet away. “Kyle, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said, the picture of innocence. “Why are you so suspicious?”

“Because I know you.”

“Would you trust me? There’s nothing wrong.”

“Then why aren’t we on the train?”

“Grace, we have plenty of time. I just want to spend as much time as I can outside before I get cooped up in there. I don’t handle confined spaces very well.”

Grace scoffed. “Didn’t you tell me you let yourself be buried alive for a magic trick once.”

“Yes and they had to dig me up before I died. Ever since then I’ve had a fear of small spaces. I guess that’s why I gave up being a magician,” he said reluctantly. Kyle looked over his shoulder and back at the platform.

Grace bit her lip.
He’d never actually voiced why he had suddenly lost all interest in performing before. She’d just assumed it was because of his sudden desire to be a detective. She had no idea that there was another underlying reason for his career change.

Kyle drew in a deep breath
. It didn’t take a genius to see he was uncomfortable. When his eyes met hers for a brief second before falling to the ground, she’d made her decision. She’d never seen him so nervous before. As excited as she was to take this train ride she didn’t want to go if it was going to upset him so much. “Hey, I was looking at that brochure, earlier. They have an express train that leaves this afternoon. It would only be a two-hour trip. We don’t have to take the Excursion.”

He shook his head, briefly glancing at her and then back
at the train. “No, I already checked. They’re booked and another one doesn’t leave until tomorrow.”

Worried
, Grace looked at his handsome profile. She’d never known Kyle to be so withdrawn. She knew magic was an important part of his life. After all, practically his entire family on his father’s side were magicians. It was part of his heritage. She had no idea this was what made him give it up. No wonder he’d been so fixated on this detective business, she thought. She reached up a gloved hand and touched his cheek.

“We don’t have to go
at all. We could stay—”

Kyle looked back down a
t her. A broad grin broke across his face. “Time to go!” Taking her hand, he practically dragged her across the platform.

“Wait!”

“We can’t wait,” he said over his shoulder. “The train’s leaving.”

They raced to the train as it slowly started to move. Kyle let go of her hand to open
one of the side doors. Once the door was opened, he threw her suitcase in. Within seconds he was jumping on the train and pulling her in after him. They fell to the floor with her on top of him and their feet still hanging outside.

She jerked her head up at the sound of a door slamming shut. Pushing
herself up off of Kyle’s chest, she noticed that they were lying in one of the train's small vestibules that act as a passageway connecting two separate train cars together. There were four doors in all. One on each wall. Two leading to the outside and two to the train cars. She looked down at Kyle. “Well, that was exciting,” she said sarcastically.

He grinned up at her. “Yeah, and the trip just started!”

CHAPTER
THREE

Grace pushed aside
another suitcase. Taking off her heavy winter coat and laying it on the leather chair in the corner, Grace glanced around the room. It was beautiful. Absolutely exquisite and far more spacious than she imagined. There were two twin beds built into the walls of the room. Each covered with crisp white linens, red velvet pillows and a white, faux fur throw.

Between the beds sat a large dresser
underneath a picture window currently showcasing the snowy forest flying past as the train made its way up the mountain. A beautiful crystal pitcher with matching goblets and a small silver-framed nursery rhyme sat on a silver serving tray on top of the dresser. And in the corner of the room, opposite the rich leather chair, were two doors: one to an ensuite bathroom and the other to a small closet.

It was perfect
, just as Kyle promised. The only thing marring the view were the suitcases strewn about the room. She counted eight, in addition to her three, piled around the beds. Grace picked up a suitcase and dragged it to the corner of the room. “Kyle, just how many suitcases did you bring?”

“Oh, these aren’t mine.” He picked up a couple of bags and pushed them into the closet. Grace looked toward the steamer trunk she
had seen him take out of his car an hour before. He grinned sheepishly. “Oh, well, not all of them are mine.”

“Whose . . .” she began to ask as she picked up Kyle's brown leather suitcase
only to promptly drop it back onto the floor. “What in the world do you have in here? I can barely pick it up.”

“Just clothes.”
He dragged a hand through his wavy blond hair. “Grace, it was crazy this morning. Once I got on the train, I just threw everything in here.” His eyebrows drew together. “I’m sorry. I really wanted this to be perfect.”

Closing the distance between them,
Grace reached up and cupped his cheek. “It’s perfect. I love it.”

When she would have
drawn her hand back down he reached up and pressed it to his face, while his other hand reached around her waist and pulled her closer. He gently laid his forehead against hers, taking a deep breath. “Grace—”

“Hey, b
abycakes, do I get some kind of turn down service here?”

Grace looked toward the open door in time to see a
scowling young woman wearing a shapeless charcoal gray uniform walk by. Must be one of the train attendants, Grace thought, just as Kyle pushed the door shut.

Grace grinned.
“Sounds like we have some friendly traveling companions.”

Kyle gave a weak laugh. “Yeah. Should be an interesting trip.
”

Grace cocked her head to the side. “Do you hear something?”

“No. Nothing at all. Why, what do you hear?” he asked quickly.

Smiling, she shrugged. “It’s gone n
ow. I have an idea, why . . .” She stopped speaking and looked around the room. She could just make out the sound of something scratching at the walls. “There it is again. Don’t you hear that scratching noise?”

Kyle sh
ook his head. Opening the door part way, he looked out into the hallway. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “Hey, I’ll be right back. I’m going to go to the lounge car—”

Grace stopped searching for
the source of the sound and took a step toward him. “Oh, okay. I’ll go with you.”

Kyle shut the door.
He grabbed her by the arms and led her to the edge of the bed. Gently pushing her down until she was seated. “Why don’t you sit here and relax? I won’t be gone long. I just have to get out of this room for a bit.”

“
But—”

“Thanks, but . . .
,” he said patting her arms gently, “I just need to be alone.”

Grace nodded sympathetically as he turned and grabbed the door and held it
partway open. She watched in fascination as he squeezed through the partially open door.

She
could just barely make out the same loudmouth down the passageway calling someone, “sweetcheeks” before Kyle closed the door behind him.

Grace sat still on the bed
for a few minutes debating what to do next when the sudden urge to explore her new surroundings came over her. Hopping to her feet, she walked over to the door and out into the hallway. Keeping her eyes on the snow covered trees just beyond the giant windows lining one side of the sleeping car, she trailed her hand along the railing underneath the windows until she came to the connecting door leading to the vestibule and the other cars.

Opening the door,
Grace entered the vestibule. The sound of the train click-clacking along the rails and the rocking motion under her feet seemed intensified in the small room. Feeling a small chill from the two side doors flanking either side of her, Grace hurried to the opposite door leading to the other car.

It was
stunning. It had to be the observation car, lauded by the brochure, she decided. The room was simply decorated. It didn’t need much to be beautiful. A comfortable looking leather sofa and a dozen or so, dark chocolate colored leather chairs ran along both sides of the car. The chairs all faced away from the central aisle and toward the main draw of the observation car: the windows. Windows ran from along the side of the car and up to the ceiling, giving a panoramic view of the mountain above. The only other furnishings were small round end tables placed between the chairs and two built in bookcase on either side of the door.

Grace
sank down into the nearest chair. She leaned back, happy to discover the chair reclined, and looked above her as the train made its way up the mountain.

S
he was so focused on enjoying the scenery that she jumped a little when she heard a voice to her left. She swiveled her chair around slightly to see a man and a woman standing close together at the far end of the car. Both appeared to be in their late twenties. The first thing Grace noticed was the woman was impeccably dressed. She looked like she just stepped from the pages of a fashion catalog. She wore an expensive looking white corded sweater with brown corduroy pants and high-heel leather boots. Her dark-brown hair was tied back at the nape of her neck. A gold wristwatch, diamond necklace and matching earrings completed the look.

The man was dressed just a bit more casually, in a pair of
brown pants and a brown leather jacket. His close-cropped brown hair and brown eyes in addition to his attire gave him a sort of bland appearance. He stood behind the woman with one arm wrapped around her waist. They looked the picture of a happy couple.

“I am u
pset, Robert,” she said quietly.

Or perhaps not, Grace thought, amending her initial impression.

“
Would you please just try to enjoy yourself, Tracy?” Robert asked in a way that sounded like an oft-repeated refrain.

Grace turned back to the window and tried to tune the other couple out. It wasn’t easy since they moved forward to stand next to the window and within Grace’s field of vision.

“How can I? I’m scared of him, Robert,” the woman said softly.

“Why? He’s harmless.”

“How can you say that? He almost killed me in that fire.” Grace noticed the woman nervously rubbing her hand across her left arm.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder,
Robert said, “I’m sorry, Tracy. You’re absolutely right.”

Tracy dragged the left sleeve of her sweater down and held it tight around her wrist.
“I wish you had been there that night.”

“Me too.” Robert leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “I would never
have let anything happen to you.”

Tracy le
aned into his embrace.

Grace’s e
yes drifted back to the window, but unwillingly went back to the couple when Robert started speaking again.

“
If he contacts you again, hang up on him and then let me know immediately.”

“
It’s not going to be that easy,” Tracy said wryly. “He’s—”

Out of the side of her eye,
Grace noticed Robert stiffen and back away. “It’s very easy, Tracy. If he calls, you hang up. Done. Promise me, you’ll do that.”

Her eyes flashing, Tracy nodded curtly.

“Look, I just don’t want you talking to him.”

“Why?”

“
Because I don’t want him upsetting you. Besides, it’s not good for him. When we get back home, I’ll go to the hospital and talk to him.”

“
When was the last time you spoke to him?”

Robert sh
rugged. “A couple of months ago. Why?”

Placing her hands on the railing in front of the windows, Tracy leaned forward.
“I just feel bad for him. It has to be hard on him. Think about it, being separated from your family—”

Less than sympathetic, Robert chuckled. “Could you dial down the dramatics just a bit this trip?
Remember what our counselor said?”

Tracy’s lips quirked up. “I’m dramatic? I think you’re confusing me with Lucas.”

“Have you seen him, yet?”

“I kicked him out of our room just a few minutes ago.”

“Why?”

“He was going through
my purse.”

“How much did he take
this time?” Robert asked wearily.

“
About a couple hundred dollars. Your new watch is missing, too,” Tracy said looking at her own. “They’re supposed to have a buffet out in the dining car. Do you feel like eating?”

“Nah,” Robert said dismissively. “You go. I
need to find Lucas and have a little chat with him.”

“Please, don’t fight with him this weekend
. Let’s just go to our room. I have a pounding headache and just want to lie down.”

Robert snorted. “So, why do I have to be there?”

“Because you’re my husband and you care about me?”

“I’ve got to talk to Lucas.
Tell him to behave on this trip.” He reached into his pocket and pressed something into her hand. “Oh, by the way, I took this off of him a few minutes ago. I think it’s yours. It looks like he’s up to his old tricks.”

Tracy turned away from Grace’s view. “
Do you know how much I paid for this?” Tracy asked angrily. “What is wrong with your brother?”

“I have no idea.
I blame my father.”

“Don’t,” she said sharply. “Lucas is responsible for how his life turned out. Not
Victor. You know I love Lucas too, but if you would stop enabling—” Tracy caught Robert by the arm as he started to turn away. “Come to the room with me, Robert.”

“Y
ou don’t need me.”

Tracy’s face registered her hurt and disappointment. “Someday you’re going to convince me of that, Robert Kirby
, and when you do . . . .” She let the sentence trail off as she turned around and strode to the connecting door.

Robert didn’t say anything. He stood ther
e for a few seconds staring at the landscape before heading in the opposite direction as his wife. He backed up as the connecting door flew open and the same train attendant Grace saw earlier walked past. More like stomped past, Grace thought as the woman’s heavy footfalls echoed throughout the car. Her drab, dark-gray uniform seemed to match her mood. She scowled as she made her way through the car.

To Grace’s surprise, Robert turned around and grabbed the woman by the arm before dragging her into the vestibule. Still seated, Grace craned her neck to the side until she could see the two through the small little window in the door. They didn’t appear to be arguing, but it was difficult to tell by the young
woman’s expression.
She just seemed more annoyed than anything else.

Suddenly, Robert smiled and the two disappeared into the next car.

Finally alone Grace leaned back in her recliner and looked at the skyline above her head. Just as she started to relax again, a nearby tree deposited a couple of pounds of snow on top of the roof, obstructing her view. A few seconds later the sound of tree branches scraping against the windows caused a small shiver to race up her spine. The mood broken, Grace reluctantly sat up and considered going back to the sleeping car to wait for Kyle.

“I just can’t decide who should be the first victim.”

Startled, Grace swiveled around a bit to see who was speaking. A woman had just entered through the connecting door. The first thing Grace noticed was the diamond choker around her neck and the multitude of bracelets and rings she wore. She was a striking woman. Possibly mid to late forties. Her blonde hair was carefully piled up on top of her head. It laid in ringlets above a heart-shaped face with large blue eyes and delicate features. The tailored silk pink dress she was wearing appeared to be painted over a petite and curvaceous figure. She definitely dressed for attention.

The woman held out both arms as she walked down the
aisle, trying to balance herself on her high heels against the motion of the train. “They’re all just so loathsome,” she said with a southern drawl to the man following her through the connecting door. “Perhaps I should kill them all.”