lost his footing.” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Amos is a good man,” Jonah said. He’d enjoyed getting to know Marla’s husband better over the past week.
Marla nodded. “He’s the best.” She scrutinized Jonah’s face some more. “You look determined. You weren’t thinking about driving off someplace, were you?”
“Ellie is on her way to pick me up. I’m taking your advice and resolving my demons.” Trying to anyway. Jonah gestured to Marla’s plum purple ballgown with a plunging neckline and strappy silver heels, which made her nearly as tall as him. “What exactly is the vibe you’re trying to establish this morning? Are you entering a beauty pageant?”
Placing her slender hand on her throat, Marla tilted her head back and laughed. “Oh, honey,” she said, daintily rubbing a knuckle beneath her artfully painted eyes to brush away mirthful tears. “It wouldn’t be fair to the others if I did.”
“Too true.”
“Where are you and Miss Ellie heading off to so early?”
“Bonaventure Cemetery,” Jonah said. “We want to get there before the guided tour groups start.”
Marla arched an elegant brow. “Please tell me your activities won’t involve voodoo or resurrecting actual demons.”
“Not today,” Jonah quipped.
Bonaventure Cemetery was the burial place of several famous and infamous people from military generals to the award-winning lyricist Johnny Mercer. The book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil made the serene resting place a hot spot for tourists when the cemetery’s famed Bird Girl statue appeared on the cover.
Jonah was only interested in visiting two of the cemetery’s residents—his grandparents. Their grave markers weren’t as macabre as the grim reaper statue that drew so much attention, nor were they thought provoking like the angels tucked in among the Spanish moss-draped live oaks, or as austere as some of the crypts belonging to some of Savannah’s wealthiest families.
He shared a cup of coffee with Marla on the porch while waiting for Ellie to arrive. Jonah stood and kissed Marla’s cheek when his aunt pulled into his driveway.
“Watch out for ghosts,” Marla called out as he walked away.
Jonah waved to acknowledge her advice, although he was more concerned with the specters haunting his soul than some ethereal beings traipsing through the cemetery.
“You look so much better today,” Ellie remarked when he got in the car.
“I feel better,” Jonah admitted.
“Good,” Ellie said. “Now that you do, we need to discuss the Earl Ison investigation.”
“I’m not backing down.”
His aunt scoffed. “You think I don’t already know that? Quitting isn’t in your DNA.”
Jonah carefully turned and looked at her since sharp movement still triggered debilitating headaches. Ellie kept her eyes on the road, but Jonah could tell by her stiff posture that she was worried about him.
“I just need to know what you’ve discovered to trigger such a violent reaction. Do you have a lead?”
“Didn’t I promise to share vital information with you?” Jonah asked.
“Yes,” Ellie acknowledged, “but surely you can understand my concern.”
“Am I talking to the police commissioner or my aunt right now?” Jonah asked.
Ellie stopped at a red light and glanced over at him. “They’re one and the same. I am concerned about your safety and making sure I find out who really killed Earl Ison.”
“Honest, Aunt Ellie. The only trouble I’ve stirred up is at work.”
“Explain.”
Jonah told her the sequence of events that culminated in his suspension and the restricted access. “After Trexler suspended me, someone slashed my tires. Trexler restricted my access, so I went to the storage facility to look through the evidence, which is now missing, by the way.”
“Son of a bitch,” Ellie growled.
“Then I got bashed over the head when leaving the facility.”
“What about the homeless guy? Could he have hit you?”
“He could have, I guess, but to what purpose?” Jonah asked. “Hank didn’t steal my wallet or my phone. In fact, he helped Avery find me. It wasn’t him.”
“Who knew you were going to the warehouse?” Ellie asked.
“No one.”
“Someone must be following you,” Ellie said, then instinctively checked her rearview mirror. “But who? Trexler?”
“Who else? He’s the common denominator in all of this.”
“Butch Trexler can be an absolute asshole sometimes, but I find it hard to believe he’s trying to kill you.” Ellie took a deep breath. “We can’t afford to rule anyone out at this point.”
“Rocky is digging into his background to see if Trexler has ties to anyone connected to either investigation.”
“Tell me everything you’ve uncovered so far in your investigation.”
Jonah started at the beginning and recanted each of the interviews, starting with Sandy Jasper at The Cockpit and