The Best Man to Trust - By Kerry Connor Page 0,18

very unlikely. For one thing, someone would have had to get into the house without Ellen, Rick or I noticing. I honestly don’t believe there’s anyone else here.”

Tom fought a frown. Given the size of Sutton Hall, there could be any number of places someone could have sneaked in unnoticed. He kept his mouth shut, not about to bring that up now. The group was tense enough as it is. And she was right, it did seem unlikely. Still, it was something they might have to consider.

“Then who could have done this?” Rachel said.

Tom watched several heads turn toward Rick and Ellen, viewing them with suspicion. Rick and Ellen looked back at the group with equal distrust.

“Maybe it was her,” Jessica said sullenly, looking straight at Meredith. She leaned back in her seat, her arms folded over her chest, her eyes narrowed to slits.

“It couldn’t have been Meredith,” Tom said, barely managing to keep a hold of his temper. “She was with me.”

Tom sensed the others’ attention shift to him and Meredith. Jessica’s eyes widened, her brows shooting sky-high as she glanced from him to Meredith and back again. “I didn’t realize the two of you were so close.”

“We’re not,” Tom said, though as soon as the words were out they felt wrong somehow. “We were in the kitchen. I went down for a snack. We both came when we heard you screaming. And she was right earlier. If you don’t have anything helpful to contribute, you might as well be quiet and let the rest of us work this out.”

“This isn’t your damn TV show, Tom,” Jessica sniped. “We’re not part of some production for you to manage, Mr. Producer. You’re not in charge here.”

“No, I am,” Meredith said. Tom thought he heard a tremor in her voice, so light he wasn’t sure he hadn’t imagined it. She glanced around the room at the others, her gaze steady. “Unless anyone has a problem with that?”

No one voiced an objection. Jess’s eyes narrowed, her face going red, but she held her tongue, pressing her lips together tightly.

“Good,” Meredith said. Tom could practically sense her relief. “Now I think we should all try to get some sleep. It’s been a long day, and sitting here throwing around a bunch of accusations isn’t accomplishing anything. Hopefully after we get some rest, we’ll all be thinking clearer and we can figure out what to do next.”

“An excellent idea!” Greg proclaimed, raising his glass in acknowledgment. Tom noted that his hand shook as he made the gesture. “I could use some shut-eye myself.”

“I’m not sure how much sleep I’ll be able to get,” Rachel said quietly. A few others murmured in agreement.

“That’s why it helps to have a drink,” Greg said.

Rachel shot him a look, her nose wrinkling in distaste. “I don’t think it would help at all if the rest of us started drinking as much as you.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised. It’s very good at helping you forget things. For a little while at least...” he added almost as an afterthought, his voice trailing off, his tone surprisingly subdued.

“There’s just one thing we have to deal with,” Tom said. He almost hated to raise the subject, but there was no way around it. “Haley.”

The reminder that Haley was still up there, lying in the middle of the hall, plunged the group back into a grim, uncomfortable silence.

“It’s still a crime scene,” Alex pointed out. “The police probably wouldn’t want us to move her.”

Rachel looked at him in horror. “So what do you want to do, Alex? Leave her lying there in the middle of the hall for days?”

Alex lifted his hands defensively. “I’m not saying it’s what I want to do! I’m just saying it’s normal procedure.”

“We are not leaving her there!” Rachel insisted.

Tom had to agree with her. There was no way of knowing when they’d be able to reach anyone. Even if they did, it would be at least three or four days until the police could arrive. There was no way they could simply leave the body in the middle of the hall that long. It would be utterly inhumane to someone most of the people in this room considered a friend. And everyone’s nerves were already frayed, he didn’t want to think how tense things would be after a few days of living with Haley’s body there in their midst.

“You’re right,” Meredith said calmly. “We can’t leave her there. It may be normal procedure, but these are not normal