He drew her chair closer, put his arm around her, although he was soaking wet. “Hang in there Dena, hang in there,” he said, and smoothed her hair. “I love you babe. Everything is going to be all right. I love you.”
Manny came back with two blankets, just as a cop car siren sounded.
Zeke was close to throwing up.
Fear gripped him. This wasn’t going to look good for Manny.
“Bring the cops down here, will you, Manny? Don’t go anywhere near the casita. Don’t touch anything, whatever you do.”
Fear crossed Manny’s face for a second. “Sure,” he said, and took off.
Poor kid.
Zeke watched Stanton step out onto the hacienda verandah.
For once he was grateful to see his old friend.
Chapter Twenty-One
With the blanket wrapped tight around her shoulders, Dena’s frozen body began to thaw.
“So, what happened exactly?” Zeke asked.
She shook her head. His voice sounded far away and she blinked hard, forcing herself to focus. He stroked the back of her hand. Now that the danger was over, she’d totally fallen apart. She wanted to cry, wanted her mother. And she wanted to yell at Zeke that she did so love her mother, but the voice wouldn’t come out because she knew if she did try to speak she’d end up in tears anyway.
She shuddered. She’d been so selfish and obsessed with solving the mystery of Carli’s death she’d barely given a thought to her own safety, or what her mother would do if she’d come to harm. To lose two daughters to murder was unthinkable. She shuddered again, drew the blanket tight.
The vision of what she’d seen in her bedroom flashed before her in slow motion. She thought of Carli again and felt weak. She tried to remember exactly what had happened. She moistened her lips. Heavy footsteps approached.
“The cops are coming,” she whispered. Her throat was parched. She needed a drink. “Wait…and I’ll tell everyone.”
“Sure. That’s smart,” Zeke said, and his voice was as croaky as hers. “Save your voice. You okay?”
Dena nodded and gave him a weak smile. She knew he was worried. And he’d said that he loved her, a stress response no doubt. She wouldn’t hold him to that later. “I won’t faint again.”
He patted her hand. “I’ll make you some tea once we all hear the story.”
Dena tried to smile again but her lips felt too tight. “Lovely, thank you.”
Stanton waddled toward her with his cop face on. “This here’s Deputy Ortiz,” Stanton said, and jerked his thumb toward the female officer. He gave Manny a quick once over.
Dena froze. He didn’t think Manny was guilty of this attack, surely? She noticed the glum expression on Zeke’s face.
“Young Manny filled me in on the walk down here, not that he knows much. Deputy Ortiz will cordon-off the crime scene, and she’ll do some preliminary investigations.”
A couple of firemen came over. One shook Stanton’s hand and conversed in a low voice. Ortiz strode toward the casita. Stanton came back and pulled out his notebook.
“Dena, I’ll take your statement in private,” Stanton said, looking from Zeke to Manny.
“No, I want them here,” Dena said. “I need them here, and I haven’t told them anything yet. The fire…there wasn’t time.”
“A man tried to murder you,” Stanton said, standing legs spread wide. “We have two men here who were both on the premises at the time. I have to take a statement from each of you, in private, and—”
“Stanton,” Deputy Ortiz called out. She strode out of the casita and leaned against the pool fence. “I’ve got a good footprint here in the garden, looks like the bulb was taken out of the security light. Whoever it was wanted her good and dead. You should see the knife wounds on the pillow.”
Dena tensed. Zeke tightened his grip on her hand, his face pained, but he said nothing.
“It’s a bit risky to go inside the bedroom,” Ortiz said. “Most of the back wall is gone. Roof could give way.”
“Okay,” Stanton said. “Take photographs. We’ll check it out again in daylight. See what you can find in the front room.”
Stanton turned back to them. “We’ll go on up to the house.” He rubbed at his forearms. “It’s too cold out here. Dena, I’ll take your statement first.”
Dena couldn’t look at anyone. Someone had tried to kill her. She trudged up to the verandah, the blanket wrapped tight. Zeke opened the kitchen screen door, and she held back a moment, allowing Stanton and Manny to go ahead of her.