“What happened that night, Kyle? Did you lose your temper, maybe? Did things get out of hand? Did you go over to see Maggie and Beckett caught you, leaving you no choice but to kill them both?”
His eyes not moving from the wall behind Zach, Kyle answered quietly, “I loved Maggie and I hated Beckett. I didn’t kill either of them.”
Truth or lie? Zach didn’t know. With no polygraph equipment to assist him, he had to go on his gut. Problem was, his gut was being strangely silent on this man. Was it because Kyle seemed to have a sick fascination for Savannah and Zach couldn’t see beyond that? Or was there a cold-blooded murderer behind the man’s seemingly lifeless demeanor?
“Where were you the night they died?”
“At home … with Noreen.”
“It was so long ago, how do you know for sure?”
At last, life entered Kyle’s eyes. While that should make Zach feel better, since at least the man looked like he had something inside him besides sadness, it didn’t.
“If Savannah died today, would you remember eighteen years later what you were doing?”
His chair slammed against the wall behind him as Zach surged to his feet and lunged at Kyle. Grabbing the man’s collar, he snarled, “Did you just make a threat against Savannah?”
“Of course I didn’t. I’m just explaining that Maggie meant to me what Savannah means to you. The day your life ends, even if you go on living, you never forget.”
Okay, that might be a true statement, but Zach had to set the man straight on something. “Let’s get one thing clear, Ingram. If you come near Savannah, you’ll answer to me. Got it?”
For the first time, Kyle smiled. “I’m glad she’s got you to protect her.”
Zach dropped his grip on him and backed away. Yeah, maybe he had overreacted. The point Kyle made was a good one, but that didn’t take away the concern Zach felt.
“You stay in town … don’t leave. You hear?”
“Of course. Where am I going to go?”
Right now, with Kyle’s creepy words echoing in his ear, Zach wanted to tell him he could go to hell for all he cared. Instead he nodded grimly and watched the man shuffle out the door.
Was Ingram a killer? He was a disturbed individual, of that Zach had no doubt. But did he have it in him to brutally murder two people, one of whom he swore he loved?
Zach didn’t know the answer to that but one thing was for sure—Kyle Ingram would be under surveillance until this was over.
After Kyle’s bizarre interview, the others were amazingly normal. Even the sour-faced Noreen Ingram claimed to be appalled that both Maggie and Beckett had been murdered. Zach watched a video of the interview and thought Sabrina handled Noreen like a pro. Though the woman made no secret of her bitterness because of Kyle’s love for Maggie, there was nothing to indicate that she had been involved in their murders.
Richard and Lisa Tatum’s interviews were uninformative but exhausting, with both of them alternately crying and then turning angry for being suspects. This time, Zach took Lisa; Sabrina interviewed Richard. From what he could tell, the Tatums seemed like kind, decent people. Nothing conclusive came from those interviews. Both Richard and Lisa were alibis for each other, saying they’d been in bed by eleven that night. When asked how they knew the exact time from such a long time ago, both of them had the exact same answer: “Because that’s our bedtime.”
Zach left the station, frustrated and exhausted. The minute he walked into his house and into the bedroom where Savannah lay sleeping, all of that was washed away. Without undressing, he lay down beside her and pulled her close. No matter what happened out in the world, Savannah was his world and all he needed to survive. He fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
The next round of interviews began again at nine the next morning. Everyone who walked through the doors of the police station seemed to have identical grim and serious expressions.
After almost twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep, Savannah felt renewed and reenergized. When she had woken in Zach’s arms this morning, she’d been surprised and concerned that he still had his uniform on … she hadn’t heard him come in last night. That concern had turned to extreme pleasure when he had gently and thoroughly made love to her. That was the kind of morning wake-up she could definitely get