Her mouth twitched slightly in a halfhearted attempt at a smile. Hopefully “honey doll” would never fit the occasion.
His eyes darkened with emotion. “I never want to go through something like that again. We’ve got to find this fucker before he succeeds in killing someone else.”
“Ideas?”
“Yeah. Remember the call I got about Ethel Mae’s van?”
She nodded.
“It was a fake call.”
She shook her head slowly. No, that didn’t make sense … did it? “A woman?”
“Yeah.”
A woman was doing this? A woman had killed her mother and father? “No … sense.”
“No, it doesn’t make sense, but we’ll get to the bottom of it. I checked with Ethel Mae about who knew she would be out of town. Apparently she’s gone every year around this time and most everyone knows about it. So that doesn’t narrow down our suspects one iota.”
“How long …” She winced, swallowed, and continued, “Stay … here?”
“At least overnight. You were damn lucky. The doctor said you didn’t inhale enough smoke to damage your lungs. Brody’s partner, Logan Wright, is on his way here from Mobile. He’ll alternate with Brody on guarding your aunt. Also, I called Bri and Sammie. They’ll be here first thing tomorrow.”
A thought stopped her cold. She took a deep breath. Wincing, she spoke as quickly as she could, hoping to minimize the pain in her chest and throat. “A woman hung my father? Not possible. He was six feet tall and weighed close to two hundred pounds.”
“She obviously had help. Or maybe a man did this and a woman is helping him for whatever reason.”
So the list she had made was still valid. A man and a woman. A couple? Gruesome and scary, but it made sense. The couples at the party had all been friends with her parents. If one had committed the murder, then the other might have chosen to help. Or it had been a plan between the two of them. Still, what had they hoped to gain by killing her parents? Was it out of spite or envy?
With the attempted murder of Gibby and now Savannah, keeping their investigation a secret was no longer desirable or necessary. Each person on the list of suspects they had devised could be questioned individually. Someone she knew, someone she and her family had trusted for years, had committed the awful crime. And they had made it clear that they would kill again. Desperate people committed desperate acts. If the killers weren’t identified soon, what else would they do and who else would be their target?
Savannah woke on a gasp. Bright sunlight, streaming through the sheer drapes at the window, chased away the remnants of a nightmare filled with smoke, fire, and death. She sat up and hissed at the pain. Her entire body felt as though someone had beaten her. Knowing how lucky she was to be alive made that pain bearable, though.
She had been released from the hospital early this morning. Instead of taking her home, Zach had brought her to his house. She hadn’t questioned why. Her almost dying yesterday had a major impact on both of them. Seeing the abject terror in Zach’s eyes made her want to do whatever she could do to diminish his fear. In turn, Zach was treating her like she was made of spun glass.
After placing her in his bed, he’d lain beside her and held her until she fell back asleep. In his arms, no matter what happened, she felt safe, warm, and cherished. She knew she was loved.
Yesterday she hadn’t had the energy to put a coherent thought to work. Today that had to change. They had to find this maniac before he succeeded in killing someone else. And when this was over, she and Zach were going to have some lengthy alone time.
Losing her grandfather’s letters was a blow, as was losing the guesthouse. Sadness still lingered but a welcome and necessary pragmatism was taking over. It was done; there was nothing they could do to save what was lost. The important thing was to dwell on what they had.
She heard them before she saw them. Running steps and then two beautiful women burst into the room at the same time. Bri ran to one side of the bed, Sammie the other.
Sammie had long, straight blond hair that fell past her shoulders, and perfect makeup that, as usual, looked as though it had been professionally applied. Her white sundress was delicately feminine, emphasizing the natural elegance her sister had been born