Chapter 4 - Thirty Days.
Deputy Nolan Rusk listened to Emma describe the missing suitcase with a patience that felt rehearsed.
He took notes, walked through the foyer, glanced at the basement door, and asked whether she had consumed alcohol that afternoon.
Emma's temper rose immediately.
"No."
"Any prescription medication that could cause confusion?"
"No."
Clara stood three feet away with her arms folded.
The deputy looked toward the second floor.
"Old houses make noise."
"Old houses do not carry away suitcases."
"Could your husband have taken it?"
Emma almost said no.
Then she remembered that almost everything she thought she knew about Mason had become questionable within an hour.
"I don't know."
Rusk wrote something in his notebook.
"You two having trouble?"
Clara interrupted.
"Her marital status is irrelevant to the burglary report."
The deputy smiled at Clara.
"Just trying to understand the situation."
"Then understand that personal property is missing after an unauthorized entry."
Rusk closed the notebook.
"I'll file the report."
Emma stared at him.
"You're not going to check for prints?"
"On an abandoned property full of contractors and previous caretakers?"
He shook his head.
"Not much value there."
"It's not abandoned."
The deputy's smile disappeared.
Emma lifted her chin.
"I live here now."
Clara looked at her sharply.
Rusk glanced at the mansion and then back at Emma.
"You sure about that?"
"Completely."
The deputy wished her luck and left.
Emma waited until his cruiser vanished beyond the cedars.
Then she turned to Clara.
"I am staying thirty days."
Clara did not smile.
"That was fast."
"Someone wants me gone badly enough to break into my house, steal my things, and lock me in a cellar."
Emma picked up the occupancy declaration.
"Now I want to know why."
Clara handed her a pen.
"Read every page first."
Emma did.
She read the declaration twice, then signed her name at the bottom.
Clara photographed the document and emailed a copy to three addresses while Emma watched.
"The clock begins tonight at midnight," Clara said.
"Then I have thirty days to figure out who is lying to me."
"You may have less."
Clara looked at the west wing.
"There is a safety clause."
Emma closed her eyes.
"Of course there is."
"If the county declares the structure uninhabitable, your occupancy ends."
"And who handles those inspections?"
Clara hesitated.
"The county building department."
"Does Grant Hale have friends there too?"
"Grant Hale has friends everywhere."
By late afternoon, Clara arranged for bottled water, two battery lanterns, and a folding cot to be delivered from town.
The electrical service worked in only three rooms, and the plumbing groaned whenever Emma turned a faucet.
She chose the old morning room beside the kitchen because its windows still locked.
At six thirty, she received a text from Mason.
WE NEED TO TALK.
Emma stared at it for a long time.
Then another arrived.
NOT AT BRIARSTONE.
She typed a response.
YOU HAD YEARS TO TALK.
She deleted it.
She typed again.
DID YOU SIGN A CONTRACT WITH HALE DEVELOPMENT?
Mason answered thirty seconds later.
YES.
Emma felt something inside her go very still.
She had expected him to deny it.
She almost wished he had.
WHY?
His reply took longer.
BECAUSE I NEEDED HIM TO TRUST ME.
Emma's fingers flew over the screen.
AND I WAS THE PRICE?
No answer came.
At seven, Clara left after making Emma promise to lock every door.
At seven fifteen, the power went out.
Emma stood in darkness with a flashlight in one hand and Mason's old photograph in the other.
She checked the breaker panel.
Nothing had tripped.
Outside, the neighboring farm still had lights.
The outage affected only Briarstone.
Emma called the utility company.
A recorded message informed her that service had been disconnected at the owner's request.
"What owner?"
The automated system repeated the message.
Emma called customer service.
After twenty minutes on hold, a representative confirmed the request had been submitted that afternoon.
"By whom?"
"Mason Cole."
Emma gripped the counter.
"He is not the owner."
"He is listed as an authorized account holder."
Of course he was.
Emma had added him when they applied for temporary service.
She asked to reverse the cancellation.
The representative told her reconnection could take up to three business days.
Emma ended the call and stared into the dark kitchen.
Her phone rang.
Mason.
This time she answered immediately.
"You shut off the power?"
"What?"
"Do not insult me by pretending."
"Emma, I did not shut off anything."
"The utility company says you did."
"Then someone used my account."
She laughed bitterly.
"How convenient."
"Where are you right now?"
"In my house."
"You signed the occupancy declaration."
It was not a question.
Emma looked toward the dark windows.
"How do you know?"
"Because Hale knows."
"And he told you?"
"He called me ten minutes ago."
Emma went cold.
"What did he say?"
Mason took a breath.
"He said you would not last a week."
"Tell him to watch me."
"That is exactly what I am afraid he is doing."
A bright white flash filled the kitchen.
Emma spun toward the window.
Another flash came from the tree line.
Someone was taking photographs.
"Mason."
"What?"
"There is someone outside."
The line went silent for half a heartbeat.
Then Mason spoke quickly.
"Lock the kitchen door."
"It is locked."
"Stay away from the windows."
Emma moved into the hallway.
"Are you coming back?"
Mason did not answer directly.
"Call Clara."
"Why her?"
"Because if I come back now, Hale will know the separation was fake."
Emma stopped.
"The separation was fake?"
Mason swore softly.
He had said too much.
"Mason."
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Then how did you mean it?"
Headlights suddenly appeared at the end of the driveway.
A dark vehicle rolled toward the mansion.
Emma's breath caught.
"Someone is coming."
"What kind of car?"
The vehicle entered the pool of moonlight beyond the fountain.
A black luxury SUV.
The same model Mason drove.
It stopped in front of the house.
The driver's door opened.
A tall man stepped out.
Emma could not see his face.
Then the passenger door opened too.
A slender blonde woman in a red coat emerged from the other side.
Mason's voice came through the phone.
"Emma, I need you to listen to me."
She stared at the blonde woman walking beside him.
"Who is she?"
Mason stopped beneath the porch light.
He looked directly at the window where Emma stood.
May you like
The woman reached for his arm.
Emma ended the call.
