The Best Man to Trust - By Kerry Connor Page 0,37

at the comment. She had a point. It had been hours since they’d seen any of the others. Anything could have happened. “Good idea.”

She quickly turned away, crossing the landing to move up the other part of the staircase that led to the east wing and their rooms.

He moved to follow her, glancing toward the front of the hall as he did. It was the middle of the day. The light coming through the front windows in the foyer should have been bright, but it wasn’t. It was murky, diffuse, a reminder of the storm that engulfed them, filtering out the sun.

Tom had no trouble understanding her reluctance to discuss the future.

At the moment, they couldn’t even escape this place, let alone go anywhere else.

Simply making it through the next several days seemed like enough of a goal.

* * *

REACHING THE SECOND-FLOOR landing, Meredith took in the row of closed doors that met her eyes. Everything looked calm and undisturbed, with no ugly surprises waiting in the hall this time. She hoped that was a good sign. She and Tom had been gone for hours, making their way through the house. Anything could have happened since then.

There was only one way to find out. Fighting a prickle of unease, she quickly moved to the bridal suite and knocked on the door.

The moments that passed without an immediate answer seemed to last forever, her pulse picking up every second she waited.

Finally Scott’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Who is it?”

“Meredith. And Tom,” she added, almost as an afterthought. Maybe his presence would alleviate any reluctance they might feel about answering the door to her.

A few seconds later, the door opened slightly. Scott peered out to confirm it was them before opening it all the way. Rachel was visible behind him, pacing the floor in the center of the room.

Meredith didn’t miss the way Scott’s gaze shifted between the two of them, a speculative gleam in his eyes. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to see how you both were doing.”

“How do you think we’re doing?” Rachel snapped. As she voiced the question she came to a sudden stop, turning to face them. Her arms folded over her chest, she looked as if she was holding herself tightly, her face tense and pale.

“We’re hanging in there,” Scott answered, a hint of apology in his eyes. “We’re still a bit on edge.”

“It’s okay,” Meredith assured him. “I understand.”

“We went through the house,” Tom said. “There doesn’t appear to be any sign of anyone else in here that we don’t know about.”

“So most likely it’s someone we are aware of,” Rachel concluded. She hesitated for an instant before adding grimly, “Someone who works here.”

“I trust my staff completely,” Meredith said.

“The same way you trusted the last staff who worked for you?” Rachel returned. Her tone was less spiteful than Jessica’s, the question blunt and matter-of-fact, which only made it sting more.

Meredith didn’t let her reaction show on her face. “More,” she replied firmly.

“And I trust my friends,” Rachel said without hesitation, her voice unyielding.

“Neither Ellen nor Rick had any reason to want to hurt Haley—or anyone else.”

“And you think one of us did?”

“You tell me,” Meredith responded without rancor. “Did either of you give any more thought to why someone would want to hurt Haley?”

“None of us would!” Rachel insisted, her voice harsh with intensity. The answer was so immediate, so absolute, that Meredith believed she meant it. She just had to wonder if it was because Rachel had seriously considered it and dismissed the possibility, or because she was refusing to consider it at all.

Meredith glanced at Scott. He gave his head a small shake. “I’m sorry. We have thought about it. I honestly don’t know why anyone would have wanted to hurt her, let alone kill her.”

He sounded so genuine Meredith figured she had no choice but to believe him—for now. Pressing him was unlikely to get her a different answer.

She turned her attention back to Rachel. Remembering the exchange she’d witnessed between Rachel and Jessica in the hall that morning, Meredith was tempted to mention it. But she had to wonder how honest the woman would be with her fiancé in the room. She was going to have to find some way to talk to Rachel alone. It wasn’t going to be easy. It was doubtful that Scott would want to leave his bride-to-be alone with anyone else anytime soon.

Meredith managed a smile. “Well, I’m glad you’re