cried on and off most of the day. She was emotional and Beckett behaved like an insensitive jerk. Nesta thought I was being too rough on Beckett.”
“Why was Mama so emotional?” Savannah’s abrupt question didn’t surprise him. She would want to know what had upset her mother.
“You girls left for camp that morning. It was the first time she had been without her babies for more than a day since you were born. Saying goodbye had been rough for her. When Beckett did his usual flirtation, it was too much for Maggie. Your daddy was a big flirt but most people, especially your mama, knew it didn’t mean nothing. She’d usually roll her eyes and ignore him. I guess that night, with her being so emotional and all, she didn’t want to put up with it. And she said so.
“We took her home and left.” He leaned into the table and glared hard at Zach. “In case you’re wondering, she was alive when we left.”
“Nesta said that when you returned home, you and she got into an argument and you stormed out the door. She said you didn’t come home till the next morning.”
Shame and guilt spread like a dark cloud over Lamont’s craggy face. Zach tensed, waiting. Were they about to hear a confession?
Instead of confessing a crime, Lamont went on the defensive. “That doesn’t mean I went over and killed my best friend’s wife.”
“No, but it means you don’t have an alibi for your whereabouts.”
Lamont’s face turned crimson for a moment and then went pale as he whispered, “Nesta doesn’t know this … I had hoped never to have to tell her.” He glanced down at his hands, which Zach noted were twisting nervously on the table. “Nesta and I fought so rarely. I guess … She hurt my feelings, I guess. Anyway, I went to a bar and had too much to drink. A few hours later, I woke up …” He swallowed hard, his face flushing a deeper red than before. “In another woman’s bed.”
“And this other woman? Who was she?”
His head jerked up; eyes wide with shame and not a little panic, he stammered, “Th-that’s really not important. She isn’t around anymore. There’s no need to—”
“There’s every need. I’ll have to contact this woman and verify she was with you.”
“Fine.” Lamont cleared his throat, looked down at his hands again, and mumbled, “Francine Adams.”
Holy hell. How had he not seen this coming? The compassion he could feel coming from Savannah was almost as bad as Lamont’s crimson-red face and mumbling apology.
Lamont peeked up at Zach. “I’m real sorry, son. I don’t know what came over me.”
Zach knew exactly what had come over him. The same thing that had come over half the grown men in Midnight for years. His mother had never discriminated. If a man had money, even a little, then Francine was more than happy to show him a good time. Just because he was married was no concern of hers.
Already knowing Lamont was telling the truth, Zach still warned him. “You know with one phone call I’ll find out if you’re lying.”
“Yes.”
Zach stood. “You can leave now. If we need to ask more questions, we’ll be sure to call you.”
Lamont stood, a plea and an apology in his eyes. “If at all possible, I’d like to keep this between us. Having Nesta know about this, even after all this time, would hurt her deeply.”
Zach nodded grimly. “I’ll do my best.” Hell, the last thing he wanted was Francine’s dirty laundry aired out in public again. He’d had enough of that as a kid.
Lamont’s sleazy confession didn’t shock him. In fact, he was surprised he hadn’t been confronted with this before. The reminder to Savannah that he was the son of Midnight’s most notorious slut was something he could have done without.
Shoulders slumped like a guilt-ridden man, Lamont walked out the door. Stupid, but Zach felt bad for him. Would the dirt of his upbringing ever be completely gone?
“Zach,” Savannah whispered, “we’re not responsible for our parents’ sins.”
He shot her a wry, twisted grin. “Doesn’t stop us from being disgusted or embarrassed by them.”
He pulled a cellphone from his pocket and handed it to her. “I picked this up for you this morning. Why don’t you go visit with your aunt and then go back to my house and rest?”
Savannah took the phone, then leaned forward and softly kissed his mouth. “I’ll see you tonight.”