Read Wilmington, NC 03 - Murder On The Ghost Walk for Free Online Page A

Campbells' dentists and doctors. Compare our X rays with theirs."
    " Detective , when can we get back into the house? I’m working on a tight deadline . "
    "Forensics hasn't finished processing the crime scene yet, but I'll ask them to expedite things, Ms. Wilkes. I'll call you. Soon."
    "But with crimes so old, what can they hope to find? Won't the evidence be destroyed by now?"
    "Not blood, Ms. Wilkes. Blood traces last forever."
    "Oooh. I'd still like to help, Detective . Please call me if I can."
    "I may do just that," he said smoothly. "Thanks, Ms. Wilkes, I appreciate the offer."
    As I got ready for bed and reviewed our conversation, I was sure Detective Nicholas Yost had softened.

6

    Early the next morning, I drove to the heart of the historic district. Surveying Orange Street in both directions, I verified no one from law enforcement was at the house, not the Crime Scene Unit or a patrol car. I strolled casually across the sidewalk, opened the gate, and ducked under yellow crime scene tape. If I ran into a police officer, I planned to tell him I'd spoken to Detective Yost on the phone last night about assisting with the case, which was true. Of course, if I ran into Detective Yost, my posterior was grass, as they say.
    Enormous magnolia trees blocked the house from the street. They blocked out the sun too, and the garden lay in deep shade. I stepped onto the portico. Here it was shadowy with scarcely a breath of air. Yellow crime scene tape formed a huge X on the oversized front door.
    The keys to this door were missing. Melanie had hired a locksmith to let her inside the first time she looked at the house. The shutters had been closed and secured from the inside , then the windows lowered and locked . And the basement windows had been covered and secured with plywood.
    On a key rack in the butler's pantry, we'd found keys to the back door, a side door, inside doors and cupboards, all neatly labeled . The original locks were huge and ornate, the escutcheons made from solid brass. They were rare, definitely keepers. The key to the front door was never found. Eventually, we'd have a new key made but with a lock so old, that would take time. A temporary lock had been installed. I fingered the smooth warm key in my pocket that fit the new lock.
    Clouds rolled in and a cool wind swirled fallen magnolia leaves . Somewhere nearby rain was falling. Darkness settled in under the trees. I walked around the house in the gloom, the dense quiet broken only by the wind rattling the loose shutters . Turning a corner, I came face to face with a large bearded man carrying a grim-reaper scythe. Startled, I jumped back.
    "Didn't mean to frighten you, Miss, but you are trespassing," he asserted. Yet his voice was lyrical, distinctly Scots Highlander.
    I looked up into a hairy face with pale blue eyes as cold as ice chips. "I am not trespassing," I declared. "I have every right to be here. What are you doing here?"
    He pulled off a threadbare cap, evidence someone had once taught him manners. "I look after the garden. Henry Cameron is my name. And who might you be?"
    "Where did you come from?" I asked. "I didn't seen a car or truck parked at the curb."
    "I'm parked up yonder, in the alley." He motioned with the sharp-bladed scythe. I flinched.
    He frowned at me. "Mite skittish , ain't you, miss?" He propped the savage tool against a tree.
    Beyond some overgrown oleander bushes, I spotted an ancient, dented pickup truck in the alley. Rust held it together like brown glue.
    "Miz Campbell asked me to look after her house till she came home."
    "You know Mrs. Campbell?"
    "You sure ask a lot of questions for a trespasser who ain 't got any business being here. You still haven't told me who you are. This place is my responsibility and I don't allow no squatters."
    "The house has been sold, Henry," I said trying to let him down gently. He looked like he was poor, and now he was out of a job. "I'm restoring it for the new owner. My name is Ashley