Read Christmas at Draycott Abbey for Free Online

looked out at the front steps.
    Two shapes stood outlined against the night, flanking the door.
    Wind gusted down the stairway and icy fingers brushed his neck in warning. He had a sudden, unmistakable sense of memories, as if a friend whispered at his ear of lies and loss.
    Of love betrayed…
    Once again they come.
    Watch the night. Watch your back well, old friend.
    The doorbell rang again, and Ian shrugged away a strange sense of disorientation, as if he was caught in two different times. In two different bodies.
    Tonight you would do well to keep your wits about you , the old house seemed to whisper. Tonight you will hunt, and the prize will be far beyond what you expect.
    Ian paid no attention to the strange fancies of a dark, cold house. He was a man now, with too much experience and too little hope. So his fingers rested lightly on the Berretta as he walked to open the heavy oak door.

There were two men on the steps, rain glistening on black coats. Their faces were expressionless.
    Ian kept his hand on the door, one eyebrow raised. “Can I help you?”
    “Sorry to bother you, sir.” The taller man reached into a pocket and flashed a badge. The logo of the Sussex Police looked authentic, Ian thought, but the flash of the image had been too fast for certainty.
    Ian frowned, forcing up a look of surprise. “Police?”
    “I’m afraid so. It’s official business. Could we come in, sir?”
    “Of course.” Ian opened the door slowly. “Is something wrong?”
    “I am Inspector Hampton. Sorry to trouble you so late.” The taller man glanced up the broad staircase. “I didn’t get your name.”
    “Ian Woods.” It was the pseudonym Ian usually used. Only a handful of people knew the name, and it would cover him until he understood exactly what was afoot. “Come into the library, please. The family is away, but I can manage to round up some tea for you. Perhaps something stronger, if you care for it, Inspector?”
    “Nothing for me. As we’re on duty, I’ll get straight to the point.” The man in the dark coat followed Ian into the small study on the abbey’s first floor, glancing around alertly. Something about that look sent another instinct of warning up Ian’s spine.
    “I hope there’s been no crime in the village. It’s general very quiet down here.”
    “I’m afraid there has been a crime. We were tracing an escaped prisoner from Hastings. She got away in the storm. We’ve been going house to house, warning the residents.”
    “A woman, you say? Good Lord, what is the world coming to?” Ian moved to the fire, careful to keep his left shoulder to the wall so that his right arm was free. “But we’ve seen no one here. It’s all been quiet.”
    “You’re certain of that? No one has come with a story of a flat tire or a car breaking down? Maybe an excuse that they were lost?” Again the inspector’s sharp eyes roamed across the room.
    He looked like a man who would miss nothing, Ian thought.
    “Nothing at all. I wish we had something better to report. It would be a pleasure to see this criminal brought to justice.”
    The man in the black raincoat nodded slowly. He raked a hand through his wet hair. “I should warn you that this woman is lovely. She has used her beauty to bring several men to their deaths. She preys on the very wealthy. Judging from the house, you might fit that bill, Mr. Woods.”
    “Oh, I doubt that. I live very simply. I have my dog for companionship and that’s all I require.” Ian gave an awkward laugh, as if he was a little embarrassed by this admission of his simple lifestyle. “If you leave me your card, I will be glad to contact you should I have anything to report. It’s the least I can do.”
    The man near the door pulled a card from his pocket. The crisp vellum bore the imprint of the Sussex police force. This too looked authentic.
    But paper was easy enough to forge, Ian knew. “Anything I can do to help, Inspector.” Ian waited, letting a hint of