Neither of you has a stronger claim than the other.”
“So we’re back to square one,” she said, sighing. “Wait, you said Otto was in charge of the family tree. Why would Heidi have this, then?”
“I think this will answer the question.” He handed over another document.
This piece of paper was a lot more recent, though it was crumpled. Jane peered at the German written on it, trying to remember what she had learned of the language over the past few months. “This is a birth certificate. Heidi’s birth certificate.”
“Look who’s written as her father.”
Jane’s eyes went wide with shock. “Oh my goodness. Her father was Friedrich von Westen.”
“The castle’s former owner.”
She was so stunned that she was speechless for several long moments. It was taking her brain forever to accept what she was seeing. “I can’t believe this. Heidi was von Westen’s daughter?”
“His illegitimate daughter,” he pointed out. “Which would have thrown a wrench into everything.”
“Heidi was my cousin,” Jane said, a dull pain spreading through her. “This whole time we’ve been looking for her family while I was her family all along. I didn’t even know.”
“I’m sorry, Jane.”
“Is this why she was killed?”
“That’s my guess.” Sadness settled over his face, his green eyes darkening with it. “As the castle solicitor Otto probably discovered the truth, and the killer got rid of him, too.”
“Oh my goodness.” Her pulse quickened, her heart beating so fast she had to place a trembling hand over her chest to try slowing it down. “Timothy. Oh shit, you were right, Gabriel. Timothy must have done this. He’s upstairs right now. What do we do?”
“We hold on to these documents for the police and get the rest of the servants away from him before it’s too late,” he said, taking the papers back from her.
“We have to go back upstairs now.”
“Right. That means we can’t let Timothy know what we’ve found. We can’t risk tipping him off.” He pocketed the documents and headed for the door. “Stay close.”
She took a deep breath to try to steady her fraying nerves, and then followed Gabriel.
The manservant walked over to them. “So, you are finished with your search? Have you found any contact information?”
“Not yet. We’re going to need an extra pair of hands to help,” Gabriel said.
“Then I will request that Sven and Agnes help us,” the manservant said.
With her heart hammering wildly in her chest they headed upstairs to the bedroom, the manservant bringing up the rear.
When they got into the bedroom, Sven and Agnes were warming themselves by the fire.
“Where’s Timothy?” Jane asked as she approached the servants.
Agnes got to her feet. “We begged him not to go, Fraulein Westen.”
“Go where?” Jane asked in alarm.
“He went up to the tower to try to get better internet service,” Agnes said with a heavy sigh. “We told him it was too dangerous, especially now. But he would not listen to us.”
Jane glanced at Gabriel, too stunned to speak. If Timothy was on the loose in the castle, far away from prying eyes, there was no telling what he was up to. A chill crept down her spine at that realization. “We have to find a more secure place to barricade ourselves.”
“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