“You’re right,” he said, grabbing the rifle from a nearby desk. “Come on—”
A loud thud cut him off. Then a shriek cut through the air, the sound louder than the howling wind outside.
Terror seizing her Jane looked at the large bedroom window, desperate to find the animal that was making such a bone-chilling sound. A bundle of clothes fell past the window, the shriek louder than it had been before.
“What the hell?” Gabriel ran for the window, released the latch to open it, and stuck his head outside. Another, more squelching thud, sounded and then the shriek died down. All was silent.
“What is it?” A wave of nausea washed over her, but she forced herself to move over to the window. “Were those somebody’s clothes?”
“Clothes?” Gabriel glanced at her in confusion, and then a look of pure horror turned his face pale. “Jane, turn away.”
She was too confused for his words to sink in, so she did the opposite of what he’d commanded. Jane looked outside, her gaze landing on ground far below them. There on the snow was a broken body, dark blood pooling beneath it. The body was wrapped in gray wool and Jane recognized the coat instantly.
It had belonged to Timothy.
10
“It’s Timothy!” Jane cried out. The sight below was so horrible she shut her eyes and jumped back.
The three servants behind her rushed towards the window. Agnes turned away the moment she looked down and clamped a hand over her mouth. Probably to keep from screaming. Screaming the way Jane wanted to scream right now.
“He must be dead. No man can survive such a fall,” the manservant said. “We have to retrieve his body.”
“No yet.” Gabriel looked skyward. “Someone’s up there on the tower. I can see a shadow.”
Jane opened her eyes and forced down a breath. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know. It’s too far up to see clearly.” Gabriel strode up to her. “But I’m going up there. I’m tired of waiting around like sitting ducks to get picked off one by one. Time to stop this bastard.”
“Gabriel, no! It’s too dangerous,” Jane said desperately.
He moved past her, ignoring her words as he made for the door. “Does anybody know how to get to the top of that tower?”
“I will show you the way,” the manservant said, rushing after him.
“I’m coming with you, then,” Jane said, trying to shove aside her terror long enough to act.
“No, Jane. Stay here,” Gabriel ordered. “This is the only way I can keep you safe.”
Without another word Gabriel and the manservant left the bedroom, both of them armed with the antique rifles.
She scowled, her fear burning away. Like hell she was staying behind. Angry that he would treat her like a child, Jane raced over to the fireplace and grabbed the iron poker. Then she dashed out of the bedroom. Though Gabriel and the manservant were out of sight, she could still hear their footsteps.
Following the sound she ran up the stairs, took a left into a narrow corridor, then up another flight of stone stairs. Finally, she got to the top of the stair and ran through the open door that led to one of Wintergarten’s towers.
Though the snowfall had slowed considerably, there was snow on the tower floor and the wind was still blowing furiously.
Gabriel and the manservant were already there, glancing around in shock.
“There’s no one here,” Gabriel said between breaths. “How the hell is that possible? Even if the killer left the tower, we would have seen him on our way up here. It’s like he just disappeared.”
Jane walked towards him across the snow-covered floor, stopping suddenly when the sound of her footsteps changed. One of the stones sounded hollow beneath her feet. She kicked some of the snow away and discovered an iron loop beneath. The loop looked like a latch of some sort.
Gabriel turned to look at her. He glared. “What are you doing? Are you trying to get killed? I told you to stay put.”
“You’re not in charge of me,” she snapped.
He walked up to her, the expression on his face hard and unyielding. “I mean it, Jane. This is dangerous. With Timothy dead, we’re running out of theories. This is even more dangerous than we realized.”
“I know that.” There was no time to argue. If the killer got away, none of them was safe. She refused to live her life in so much fear that she couldn’t move. Couldn’t move or breathe, like she was trapped the way she had been all these years. Her father’s crime had trapped her for years. An awful, horrible situation had tormented her all these years, and she was done being helpless. She pointed down at the stone she was standing on. “What if this is how the killer escaped?”
Gabriel looked down. “What the hell? Mr. Ernst, do you know what that is?”
“It must be one of the secret entrances in the castle,” the manservant replied. “Though some of the previous servants mentioned such a thing, I had never found one. Perhaps because I do not frequent the castle towers.”
Jane moved back and tugged at the latch, the stone giving a grinding squeak. “It’s moving.”
“The killer knew about the secret entrance.” Gabriel frowned and took the iron loop from her, pulling with all his strength until the stone slide back to reveal a flight of winding stairs that led into darkness.
“I’m going with you,” she said firmly.
He cursed underneath his breath and then gave a curt nod. “Fine. But you have to get behind me if you plan on going down there.”
“Okay,” she said reluctantly.
The manservant produced a flashlight and handed it over to Gabriel. “You may use this.”
“Thanks.” Gabriel switched on the flashlight and climbed down to start his descent.
Wordlessly Jane followed him, making sure she stepped carefully down each step while the manservant walked behind them.
As they moved, Jane
