Home Truths (16 page)

She pushed him through the cellar door, and pulled a candle out of her pocket, shoving it at him.

‘What's this?' Calum took it and peered down the stairs. ‘What am I supposed to do with a candle?'

‘That's a cellar and there's a horrible dead body down there, and —' She pointed a trembling finger into the blackness.

‘I gather you've tried the lights?'

‘They were on for less than a minute and — bang! They went out. Look, will you please hurry up!'

‘There's no hurry. If he's dead, he's not going anywhere.'

She eyed him sceptically. ‘You don't believe me.'

‘I do! But a candle, Jen — come on. I'll wait here; you get a torch from the ute. It's in the toolbox on the back tray. Unless you'd rather wait here while I get it?'

She looked at him, green eyes panicky. ‘I'll get the torch.' She zipped away.

‘Dead bodies in the cellar. What next?' Calum muttered.

A strange heavy scraping sound was coming toward him, and not from the cellar, but from the shop. Adrenalin shot through Calum, and fists clenched, he took on a defensive stance. Then Jennifer came through the door, a torch in one hand, and dragging his mallet in the other.

‘Christ, Jen,' he let his hands fall to his sides. ‘Why did you bring that? All I wanted was the torch.'

‘You might need it down there.'

‘Give me that.' Calum took the heavy mallet from Jennifer's hands and set it down to rest against the wall. ‘It's okay, he's dead,' Calum stated with a raised eyebrow. Jennifer looked ready to crack, so he softened his attitude. ‘You don't look too good. Why don't you stay up here and ring the police?'

‘I am not going to crack, I want to see for myself — you know? I'm not a sicko. I just need to know what I saw wasn't a figment of my imagination.'

‘Fine.' He switched the torch on and a ring of light lit up the steps. ‘Stick close to me.'

‘Like a shadow.' Her trembling hands gripped Calum's shoulders as he edged down the stone steps to the floor.

He shone the torch beam across to the left, then back for a short way to the right. The light passed over something shiny. He inched forward and stopped at a puddle on the floor.

Jennifer gasped. ‘Look at all that blood!'

‘What blood? And where's the body?'

‘He could be hiding.'

‘I thought he was dead?'

‘He looked dead
.
I'm not silly enough to stop and feel for a pulse! Would you?' she gave him a scathing look. ‘Of course you would.'

‘What do you mean by that?' He swung the torch, carefully searching into corners, then moved closer to the pool of ‘blood.'

Jennifer shuffled behind him, peeking over his shoulder, hot breath near his ear. ‘You've got more muscle, in case we get jumped.'

‘Right —' he swallowed hard. ‘Glad to hear it.' Without thinking, Calum inclined his head to give Jennifer better access to his neck. And then he tried to breathe like a normal human being. ‘There's no one here.'

‘Crap! He must've taken off when I ran up and opened the door for you. Yep — eeywh, look wet footprints going off towards the stairs.'

‘Not very dead then,' Calum said with a wry grin. ‘Damn big prints though.' He could feel the tension making the muscle just above his jaw twitch. ‘Let's have a closer look.' Calum dipped a finger onto the wet patch, rubbed it between his finger and thumb, and sniffed it. ‘What a waste.'

Jennifer looked down. ‘It's not blood, is it? It's wine.'

‘Yep.' Calum picked up one of the bottles lying on its side against the wall and handed it to her.

‘He's been drinking wine down here. Oh my God! I don't believe it — Grange Hermitage! The bastard's been swigging on the most expensive wine in the country — he was drunk on a two-thousand dollar red!' Jennifer turned to Calum. ‘He's been in here all night —
all night
! That's what I heard. He was singing.' She began to pace. ‘I thought it was a pissed local. Damn it, what was he singing? I couldn't understand the words, but I'm sure it was familiar.'

‘He left something.' Calum picked up the photo and dusted it off.

‘It's a woman.' Jennifer turned the photo over. ‘Nothing on the back. There's something vaguely familiar about it, but I can't think clearly. What's he doing in my uncle's cellar?'

Calum swung the torch around. ‘What's this?' He peered deeper into the cellar.

Crouching, ready for anything, they faced at least ten racks of wine five feet high and spanning the floor. Silently, carefully, they searched between every rack, but found nothing.

‘Like you said, he's gone.' Calum rubbed his scalp. ‘Maybe he knew about the cellar, and thought he'd try some before it all disappeared.'

‘Are you being absolutely honest with me? On my first night here, you and Sergeant Stewart were having a heated discussion about Uncle Bob as you were coming down the stairs — what was that about then?' Jennifer waited.

Calum didn't want to sound insensitive. ‘You're a woman of the world…' he began. Jennifer rolled her eyes. ‘Okay, I'll get to the point. We'd only just met you and the argument was whether or not to ask if Bob was gay.'

‘Is that all?' Jennifer frowned. ‘We thought he was, but now I'm not so sure. It may just be that he was a warm and gentle man with a feminine side. Uncle Bob bought his girlfriend Veronica frilly underwear in Paris. You wouldn't know where I could find her, would you?

Calum shrugged. ‘Nope. No idea.'

‘May I have the torch?' She swung it towards the racks. ‘This is unbelievable,' she breathed, looking around. ‘I knew Uncle Bob had been collecting wine for years, but this is…' she trailed off.

‘One hell of a lot of wine,' Calum murmured, impressed.

Calculating in his head, Calum worked out the cellar was huge, at least half the size of the shop above. Racks of wine took up most of the space. He watched Jennifer head for the rack nearest to them. She ran her fingers over some of the bottles, removing the cobwebs and dust to reveal the labels.

‘Oh my God,' she gasped. ‘There's more Grange Hermitage. All these Australian wines are top labels.'

‘That's good, I guess.'

‘Good! What's in this cellar is worth serious money.' She walked to the last rack and studied the labels with Calum peering over her shoulder. ‘They date back as far as the early fifties. I'm speechless.'

‘C'mon,' Calum took her hand. ‘Enough exploring. We'd better let Brock and Tony know about the body and how it disappeared.'

His intention was to glance at her, but her bewildered expression drew him in. His gaze lingered and his gut tightened. He tried to stifle a grin.

He led her towards the stairs and followed her back to the shop's kitchenette. Calum used his mobile to ring the police and briefly filled them in on the break-in.

‘Yeah, we'll wait. Come around the back.' He closed off and opened the back door, letting sunlight in. ‘You've got stuff —' he said, pointing at her hair.

‘What is it? What's in my hair?' Jennifer danced, head down, fingers ruffling through her curly mop.

‘Take it easy. It's nothing. Lots of web.' Calum chuckled.

‘You sure there aren't any spiders?' she asked, dipping her head toward his chest. ‘Hurry, have a look.'

Calum peered into her hair, plucking at a few cobwebs. He ran his fingertips along her scalp from front to back and she straightened up.

Breath shallow, she licked her lips and said, ‘Better do that again…just to be sure.'

‘Yeah, I should,' he murmured. Her silky curls slid through his fingers. Her beautiful face tilted back, and his eyes searched hers. They'd gone a darker green, burning with desire. She was open to him, trusting. Her lips parted. Like a drug, he needed to feel her mouth on his, longed to dip his tongue between her lips. Heat coiled in his groin. His fingers gripped the curls at the back of her head and he brought his mouth down on hers.

Leaning into him, she moaned. This only made him hungrier. His hands moved down her neck, her back to the small of her waist, itching to go further and cup her squeezable arse, so he did. Her cheeks were firm and he tucked her into his groin. She moaned again and he joined her. Her soft, plump lips moved over his, her tongue played with his. He shifted down and tucked his arms under her arse to lift her and move them both back inside.

* * *

The back gate creaked as it swung open.

Jennifer's eyes flew open to see Calum's eyes mirror hers, large and saying,
caught, big time
. Mouth not leaving hers he eased his hands away from her bottom and eased her down until her feet touched the ground.

‘We have visitors,' he said against her mouth.

‘Damn,' she muttered. He gave her a wicked grin.

She stepped back and straightened her clothes just as Brock and Tony marched into the courtyard, serious faces turning quietly amused.

‘G'day Brock, Tony,' Calum said.

‘Sorry to interrupt,' Brock tried to hide a grin and failed, miserably. Tony chuckled and got an elbow in the ribs, which shut him up quick smart. ‘What've you got?'

Jennifer invited them inside out of the biting sun. Brock asked the questions, but they both took notes. Half an hour later, they had all the facts, plus they checked out the cellar and removed the wine bottle to dust it for fingerprints.

‘So I gather you have no idea who the drunk might be?' Jennifer asked.

‘Er — no,' Brock said, ‘but the photo will help. And if you can remember what he was singing, it'll help the investigation. Between the two of us we should be able to find out if this woman is a local. We'll let you know if anything turns up.' Brock shoved his notepad in his shirt pocket and sauntered up the path back to the gate.

‘We'll keep you informed,' Tony said over his shoulder.

The gate swung shut with a creak and a clang. Jennifer's pulse quickened.

‘Where were we?' Calum's voice rumbled, the dark sexy look back in his eyes.

Jennifer had had time to cool down and think. ‘Um…' Oh God, it would be so easy to float back into that heavenly daze. His fingers in her hair, his hands on her body felt so good.

‘Thanks, for helping me out,' she said, and caught his soft smile. Quickly, she busied herself with brushing the dust off her hands and clothes. Every time she saw him she was a complete mess, but what did that matter? she asked herself. It wasn't as if she was out to impress.

‘My pleasure,' he said with a winning smile. ‘Any time you want someone to check your hair for spiders, I'm your man.'

Oh, that was lame, but charming. ‘Listen,' Jennifer said veering off the subject of spiders. ‘I'm not happy about having slept with a drunk in the cellar all night. I'll have to install safety chains. Or do you know of a better option?'
Yeah, like move in and guard my door, like you did last night.

‘Safety chains would be a good start. Under normal circumstances I'd suggest alarms, but the wiring in this place couldn't handle it.'

‘I don't suppose they come battery powered?'

‘No. Only smoke alarms do,' he said softly, moving in close. He watch his fingers twirl around a curl. He pulled it straight then let it go; it bounced up, landing on her forehead. ‘Great hair.'

‘More spider webs?' she asked, her belly feeling like it was in free fall.

‘No…I could search?'

‘That's okay, but thanks for offering.' The urge to start over was tempting. She backed away and, fearing they might stray, she tucked her hands into her armpits.

Calum nodded in understanding and changed the subject. ‘I'd keep the wine to myself if I were you. Once the locals get a sniff, you'll be a popular woman. Not that you aren't already,' he grinned. ‘Meanwhile, I'll install a few smoke alarms and safety chains for the front and back.'

‘That's very kind, but I can do that, can't I?'

Calum shook his head. ‘Don't — and I mean don't — touch anything. I won't be long.'

Jennifer hurried to the pink bathroom, peered into the mirror and fiddled with her hair to no effect. Her hair did whatever it wanted and nothing less than electrical devices could get it to do otherwise. ‘What's the point anyway? A couple of days and I'll be gone.' She shrugged at her image and dusted herself off.

Waiting upstairs in the hall, she passed time by checking out the sideboard. Still wondering why her grandfather was neatly out of his own wedding picture, nothing came to mind that would clear up that mystery. She opened one of the top drawers. Among postcards and letters, she found half a dozen hair clips and lifted them out. As she ran her fingers over the fancy diamantes, she thought they were delicate and pretty. Veronica had left little traces of herself throughout the house. She had little time left, but she would try to find her. Her uncle's solicitor would know. Calum's footsteps pounded through the shop and up the stairs, as he came closer.

She turned to see him striding down the hall, effortlessly carrying a ladder on his shoulder. Equipment jangled from a broad, leather tool belt slung low on his hips that swung back and forth with every step. The movement was mesmerising. She pulled her gaze away, dropping it to his washed-out jeans that fitted snug around his thighs. Then back up to his white T-shirt, stretched taut across broad, hard chest and biceps. Jennifer was spellbound. Without thinking, she dropped the hair clips on the sideboard.

‘Jen?' Calum held up a couple of plastic carry bags.

‘Huh?' she said dreamily.

‘Smoke alarms.'

‘Oh.' She came to her senses and met his gaze. ‘Great.'

‘I'll start in the kitchen.' She followed him in. He propped his ladder against the wall near the door and climbed up. Jennifer put the bags on a bench and lost herself in his supple, big-cat-like movements, straining forearms and biceps, and jeans that hugged his butt and thighs. She inclined her head, gazing, content to watch him work.