Stranger on Raven's Ridge Read Free Page A

features softened, Raven sighed a little. Despite the
distance between Milwaukee andRochester where she now lived, George had been
coming on to her for the past twelve months, in his own quiet way. She’d been
able to sidestep his advances to this point, but it occurred to her now that his
being in Raven’s Cove, even for a few short days, might prove—tricky. And the
twinges of guilt she’d been experiencing lately didn’t help.
    Before her conscience could get the better of her, she motioned
at a structure coming into view through a dense stand of woods.
    “There it is. Blume House. Hezekiah’s pride and joy. Until he
slid into a funk and went all evil host on his friends and family.”
    George’s bespectacled eyes widened as the house grew in size.
“It’s like a Black Forest castle.”
    “Back in the day—in Germany where it was originally built—it
was a fortified manor house. Aidan and I came here once.” Although the pain
still sliced deep, Raven pushed through it and continued. “It was before we were
married, a few short weeks before a storm took out half the west wing. My cousin
Riese was running the place as a hotel at the time. Then whoosh, bang, along came Hurricane Enid, down came a bunch of walls,
and that was the end of it for Riese. She covered the furniture, locked the
doors and struck out for Palm Springs with a cop she’d met several months
earlier. The house has been vacant for the past five years.”
    “Looks like it’s been vacant for the past five decades.”
    Raven eased the truck to a halt outside a set of rusting iron
gates fashioned into the silhouette of a raven.
    George’s gaze glued itself to the gothic-style house behind
them. “You’re considering setting up a medical clinic here in—I’m sorry, I have
to say it—spook central?”
    “I am, unless the hurricane damage is more extensive than
Rooney claims.” Raven banded her arms around the steering wheel and leaned
forward to look. “It’s a rejuvenating prospect, a sea change from the work I’ve
been doing in Minnesota.”
    “At the Mayo Clinic, Raven. That’s one pretty desirable work
place.”
    “Venue doesn’t matter. That I’d be doing something more
community oriented does. Losing Aidan...” The breath she drew threatened to
choke her, but she persevered. “Losing him took me out of my orbit for a long,
long time. I’m not back in it yet, not all the way in it, but I know what I need
to do, and that’s something vastly different from what I’ve been doing for the
past two years. Routine’s a balm, but according to my mother and Rooney, I’ve
only been existing since Aidan’s funeral. They want me to rejoin the
living.”
    George’s gray eyes sobered. “I could help you with that, you
know.”
    She took care with her expression and her tone. “You did, and
you are. Believe me, George, if I could...” She halted to twist in her seat and
peer down the road.
    Unsure, George mimicked the move. “What?”
    “I don’t know. A feeling. Probably nothing.” But she couldn’t
stop the shiver that chased itself over her warm skin. “This might sound
weird—and for ‘weird’ read ‘paranoid’—but I keep thinking there’s someone behind
me. Following me, maybe watching me. Closely and with intent.”
    “Like a Peeping Tom?”
    “More like a shadow.”
    “Or a ghost?”
    From under the bill of her Brewers cap, Raven slid her narrowed
eyes to his face. “I’m not channeling Aidan. This is a legitimate intuitive
feeling. And yes, I know those terms contradict each other. I also know Captain
Beckett hasn’t been really easy about things since Gaitor dropped off the radar
twenty-plus months ago.”
    Worry invaded George’s features. “He’s not alone. Last I saw of
Gaitor, he was heading out with a six-pack and a loaded sub. ‘Homage to Aidan,’
he told me. Then he got in his crappy little car and drove home to watch a
football game. That was a week after his retirement party. Since then,