Smokescreen (Pros and Cons Mysteries #2)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

W ooden rafters stretched above Olive. Several dormer windows lined a wall, and when lightning flashed, purple light filled the room, giving her a glimpse of the attic’s contents. Boxes neatly lined the edges of the space, along with some old, sheet-covered furniture.

Olive straightened herself to full height. At least the attic was big enough that she could stand up, and the floors were finished so she could walk without fear of falling through the ceiling. A stale, dusty scent lingered in the air.

Something about old attics filled with heirlooms had always fascinated her. It was like the past came alive in these spaces.

Her own family had moved around so much while she was growing up that they never had a chance to accumulate anything but memories. Which she supposed should be enough. But now most of those memories were tarnished, especially since she didn’t know the truth about her dad or if he’d been living a lie.

Olive glanced up and saw a thin string hanging from the ceiling. Taking a few steps, she reached for it and tugged.

A dim yellow glow from a lightbulb filled the room. It was better than nothing.

She sighed and glanced around again. As she’d guessed, the attic was huge—it ran the entire length of the house. Where did she even start?

First, she needed to see if anything had recently been disturbed. Though this space was highly organized, it clearly wasn’t on the cleaning rotation for the house—as most attics weren’t.

She grabbed her phone, noting she should have charged the battery earlier. She only had 10 percent left.

Maybe she’d find more lightbulbs to switch on up here as she explored.

She could hope, at least.

For now, she turned on the flashlight and shone it on the floor.

Sure enough, scuffle marks marred the floor as if the dust had recently been disturbed. However, there were no clear footprints so she couldn’t ascertain whether or not it had been a man or a woman who’d come up here.

Most people working at the ranch probably knew about this space, and anyone with access to the house also had access to this attic.

Olive followed the disturbances in the dust until she reached a stack of boxes.

She turned her flashlight off and stuffed her phone back in her pocket. Then she opened the box on top.

Papers stared back at her.

Legal papers.

She sat on the floor, ready to dig in.

She began skimming the documents. Most of them were old receipts and tax documents. Olive was surprised these hadn’t been put in a safe since there was sensitive information here.

Reaching a legal-sized envelope, she slipped the papers out and balked at what she saw.

Reid’s father’s will.

She skimmed the words.

This wasn’t the copy Reid had. This looked like the one Lucy had shown them.

Olive’s thoughts continued to race.

What if Lucy hadn’t been lying after all? Or had she somehow managed to come up into the attic and plant this copy? Could she have done that without being caught?

Olive wasn’t sure, but she had a lot to think about.

Olive put the will back in the envelope, put the envelope back in the box, and then stood.

Finding that document had been unexpected, and she still wasn’t sure what to think.

What if Reid . . . what if he wasn’t as innocent as Olive had assumed?

But what sense did that make? He’d hired her. Why would he do that if he was somehow involved in this?

Still, something was going on here, and most likely these events all connected. Olive just had to figure out how.

She wanted to chew on those thoughts first before making any moves.

She wandered deeper into the attic, tugging on another light as she slipped farther from the area she’d entered. Finally, her gaze stopped on a box labeled “Dolls.”

Just what she was looking for.

Olive pulled the box down and then knelt beside it as she opened the folds.

A set of eyes stared back at her.

She sucked in a breath.

It’s just a porcelain doll , she reminded herself. Nothing to be scared over.

Just then, something crashed in the distance.

Olive jumped, her hand flying over her heart. What was that?

She scanned the space for any signs of movement, any signs of what had happened.

Everything looked the same. No boxes had been turned over or furniture moved.

The storm must have blown something loose, she decided. Maybe a branch from a nearby tree had slammed into the roof.

She laughed at herself. She wasn’t usually this jumpy. Maybe it was just something about attics.

Drawing in a deep breath, Olive turned back to the box. She pulled out a doll wearing a violet dress and bonnet.

The doll looked ordinary to Olive. But considering it had belonged to Reid’s mom, she had to wonder if this doll was worth a lot of money.

If that was the case, then the doll that had been destroyed could have also been a financial loss. But Reid hadn’t mentioned that. Maybe when someone had his kind of money things like that didn’t matter. She wasn’t sure.

She continued digging through the box.

There were four dolls in total.

But Reid had said his mom had five—the Jackson Five.

So someone had known about these dolls. They’d gotten one, blacked the doll’s eyes out, and hung it in Olive’s room to send her a message.

The thought wasn’t comforting.

But who knew these dolls were up here? She glanced at the floor. There were scuffs in the dust here also. Someone had been up here recently and grabbed one of these.

Was it the same person who’d been looking through the boxes with legal documents? Maybe the same person who’d left the other will?

Another thought hit her. What if Reid had found that will but had decided to pretend as if he hadn’t?

But if that was the case, it seemed as if he would have destroyed it. Maybe even burned it.

She needed to think that through some more.

Thunder rumbled overhead again, and Olive shivered.

Maybe she should get out of this attic. She’d found one answer she’d come looking for and another answer she hadn’t been expecting at all. There was nothing else for her to do up here.

She stood, wiping the dust from the knees of her jeans. Then she walked to the stairway.

But it had been closed.

Maybe that was the bang she’d heard.

The stairway was hinged. Had the mechanism retracted and closed on its own?

Using her foot, Olive nudged it, trying to push the door down without sending herself tumbling to the hallway below.

But the ladder didn’t budge.

She got on her hands and knees and pushed on it again.

Just like before, the hatch remained in place.

In a last-ditch effort, Olive sat on her bottom and lowered both her feet onto the stairway. She pushed, hoping her weight would propel the door downward.

Nothing happened.

This stairway hadn’t gone back into the attic on accident, she realized. Someone had closed and locked this entry on purpose.

They must have used the sliding lock to ensure it wouldn’t open from the inside.

She leaned back and sighed.

That meant Olive was stuck up here for the foreseeable future.