Sammie reappeared and Zach followed behind her, holding a tray of ice-filled glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. Every time he appeared, her heart did somersaults. Only Zach had ever affected her this way. And thanks to him, she was finally alive again. For ten years she had been in a deep freeze, going through the motions of life without actually living it. Zach had brought her back.
About to thank him for the drinks, she was startled when he leaned over and placed his fingertips against her mouth. “Rest. When you want to say something, use this.” For the first time, she noticed that under the tray of drinks was a notepad with an attached pen. Handing them to her, he winked and then proceeded to fill the glasses with lemonade and hand them out.
Relaxing against the pillows, she watched as her sisters sat in the two chairs by the window, leaving Zach to either stand or sit on the bed with Savannah. She was pleased when he grabbed a pillow from the end of the bed, propped it against the headboard, and sat next to her. She scooted closer to him. In an instant, his arm was around her, pulling her even closer. And then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she laid her head on his shoulder.
The wide-eyed expression of her sisters made her smile. They might be discussing the murder of her parents, but there was nowhere on earth she’d rather be than right here with three of the most important people in her life.
* * *
Zach released a measured breath, not wanting to disturb the golden head on his shoulder. Having Savannah do that was more than he expected and a hell of a lot more than he deserved. With that one move, she was telling her sisters that she had forgiven him. Earlier their glares could have frozen the balls off a bull. Now that had changed. Though Savannah’s opinion was the only one that mattered to him, her endorsement made him feel like he’d won the lottery.
“Okay. So what do we know?” Sammie asked.
“Not a lot,” Zach answered. “Since the letters were destroyed, all we have left is a half-assed police report, the knowledge that a woman is involved, and a list of suspects.”
“Where’s the list?” Bri asked.
Zach took the tablet he’d given Savannah and ripped out a sheet of paper on which he’d listed all the names of the people who’d been at the Kilgores’ party. He handed the list to Sabrina, who briefly glanced over it and then gave it to Samantha.
“So there were four couples at the party, plus four other people, and you and Savvy,” Samantha said.
“Yeah. Right now they’re all under surveillance and have been told not to leave town.”
Sabrina snorted. “Bet that went over well.”
Zach shrugged. No doubt about it, he hadn’t made any friends today. He’d been called a couple of names and lawsuits had been threatened. He didn’t give a shit. Someone at that party had killed Maggie and Beckett Wilde and had tried their best to kill Gibby and Savannah. If he had to piss off the entire town or state to get to the truth, that was damn fine with him. Savannah had almost died yesterday. He took that very personally.
“I doubt that I’ll be invited to any more of the mayor’s barbeques for a while.”
“So what’s the plan?” Samantha asked.
“We’re going to interview each person individually. Both of you have extensive investigative and interviewing skills. Brody James and Logan Wright are army buddies of mine who own a security company in Mobile. Brody is guarding your aunt and Logan is over at the Wilde mansion going over the guesthouse with the arson investigator. Between the five of us, we’ll interview them all.”
Savannah raised her head and said, “But—”
Zach put his fingers on her soft lips again. Resisting the need to linger and caress her, he said softly, “Use your notepad … babe.”
She smiled at his endearment; something he had never used until yesterday. Then she jotted quickly, I can interview, too.
“Right now you and your voice need to rest.”
Before she could write anything else, he added, “One more day and then you can talk to anyone you want. Okay?”
She nodded and settled back against his shoulder again, seemingly satisfied with his answer. He knew that wouldn’t last long. Savannah wasn’t the type to sit back and let others take charge. She’d throw a fit if