The Perfect Bride - By Kerry Connor Page 0,12

be safe to proceed passed with agonizing slowness. She made notes of her first impressions of everyone she’d met since her arrival. She considered who might have wanted to hurt Courtney, and why.

She thought about Adam Sutton, with his darkly handsome looks and solemn stares that seemed to see right through her, and pondered what exactly was lurking beneath that enigmatic face....

Finally it was time.

She hadn’t heard a sound in hours. Hopefully that meant the rest of the household was tucked tightly in their beds.

Expecting to have to work in the dark of night, she’d packed a flashlight for this very moment. Moving to the door, she slowly eased it open and peered out into the darkness.

Silence lay heavily over Sutton Hall. At least over the part nearest to where she was. The place was so big a brass band could be playing in the other wing and she probably wouldn’t hear it from here.

She couldn’t see anything, either, the darkness as thick as the quiet. Gripping the flashlight tightly, she slipped into the hallway, carefully closing the door behind her.

She stood there, her back to it, and stared into the blackness, willing her eyes to adjust. She didn’t want to turn on the flashlight just yet, in case anyone was nearby.

She knew where she was heading. She’d read the police report, studied maps of Sutton Hall. She knew where the tower bedroom was. Now it was just a matter of getting there.

The stairs to the next floor weren’t far from her room. Finally, she was able to detect enough in the darkness to make her way there. She moved quickly on the balls of her feet, her steps silent on the plush carpet. Listening carefully for the slightest sound, she hurried up the stairs to the third floor.

Another vast, empty corridor completely devoid of lights, exactly like the one she’d just left, faced her. She took a few steps into the hallway, enough to be out of view from the stairs, and finally turned on the flashlight.

The thin beam created by the tool did little to calm her nerves. Somehow the house was more unsettling when viewed through that pale light than it had seemed in the dark. The beam didn’t reach far, seeming to fade out only a few feet in front of her. Everything beyond it was hazy and instinct. It was an eerie feeling, as though anything could be lurking just out of its reach, or at its edges, hidden just out of view.

She turned left, her tension building the closer she came to her destination. She kept her mouth closed and breathed through her nose, trying to keep her breathing steady when her heart seemed to be pounding out of control. Every few steps, she glanced back, sending the beam of the flashlight shooting behind her, just in case anyone was there, sneaking up on her....

Then there it was. The corridor came to an abrupt end. Just before it was a final door on the right.

The door to the tower bedroom.

Focusing her light on the doorknob, she eased her way toward it.

When she was finally there, she reached a trembling hand out to grasp the knob. Taking a deep breath, she turned it.

It twisted easily, the latch giving way and releasing the door with a barely audible click.

Jillian froze, her body tensing in surprise. Frankly, she’d half expected it to be locked and thought she’d have to try to pick it. It would have made sense that they’d want to keep people from going into this room. Or maybe the Suttons had trusted that no one would come here.

Foolish of them.

Good for her.

Not about to waste any more time, she gently pushed the knob inward, moving slowly in case the hinges made any noise. She needn’t have worried. The door swung open silently, gradually revealing the space within.

The room wasn’t completely dark. Faint moonlight poured in from a long window on the far side of the space.

No, she realized, going still. Not a window. A door. Maybe a door to a balcony?

Swallowing hard, she stepped inside, easing the door shut behind her. Only when she heard the latch fasten did she reach over and fumble for the light switch on the wall. Her skin crawling at being in this room, with its long shadows and dark spaces, she struggled to find the switch, her heart beating faster each moment her fingers came away empty.

Her fingertips finally made contact. She instantly flipped the switch, flooding the