one he hadn’t seen since their earliest dates, curved her beautiful mouth. “I like waking up in your bed, beside you.”
Heat flashed and arousal came quick and urgent. Despite the fact that he hadn’t had anything to eat except a bowl of cereal for breakfast, he wanted nothing more than to grab Savannah and get back to his house immediately. However, knowing she probably hadn’t eaten much today, either, he said, “Let’s eat here … fast.”
As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, she leaned into him and spoke softly, “We’ll have dessert at your place.”
“Deal.”
“I’ll fix us a plate. You go wash up.”
Despite the desire to rush back, Zach took his time. Today had been filled with shit he could’ve gone a lifetime without. Calling his mother to verify that she had indeed slept with Lamont Kilgore the night of Maggie’s and Beckett’s murder had been singularly unpleasant. Either his mother had a good memory of the men she slept with, or, like Savannah said, everyone in Midnight remembered what they were doing the night of the murders. Or hell, maybe Lamont was just that memorable in bed.
Whatever the reason, she had verified that Lamont had been with her until the early morning hours. She had been surprised that Zach hadn’t wanted to linger on the phone and chat. The inevitable “When are you coming for a visit?” had been the last straw. Other than Christmas, he did not see Francine. And the only reason he did then was because his brother did his best to come home at Christmas. Josh wasn’t always able to give them advance notice of his coming. Many times Zach had arrived only to learn that his brother hadn’t been able to make it. Those visits were usually short and awkward.
Finally feeling somewhat clean and refreshed, Zach returned to the living room. Savannah had prepared two plates and placed them side by side on a coffee table. She was sitting on a pillow and patted another one beside her.
Lowering himself down, Zach concentrated on his meal and let the conversation flow around him. Brody and Sammie seemed to be getting along well, exchanging humorous quips. Bri was eating quietly but smiling from time to time. Savannah was doing the same thing he was, focusing on eating as quickly as possible.
His eyes roamed the room. “I watched the taped interviews each of you conducted. Good job.” He focused his gaze on Sabrina. “Especially you. You had Noreen Ingram eating our of your hand by the time the interview was over.”
Sabrina grinned. “Thanks. Having her bring in an eighteen-year-old calendar to show me exactly what she and Kyle were doing that night was helpful. Me praising her went a long way in making her feel good. I could have done without knowing that they scheduled their sex life on the calendar.”
After a few snickers and “ewww”s, Zach said, “Let’s discuss any abnormalities and inconsistencies in any of the stories. Anything stand out to anyone?”
Samantha shook her head. “We were talking about that just before you got here. Every person we talked to today had a valid alibi. Apparently the murders have the same memorable significance to them as other major events. They remember what they were doing, who they were with, and where they were when they first heard the news.”
“Have we verified the alibis?”
Sabrina shrugged. “As much as we can. When someone tells you they were in bed with their husband or wife eighteen years ago, that’s damn hard to verify.”
Yeah, that was true. He suddenly felt like a wrung-out dishcloth. “The killer has got to be in this group we’re interviewing. Either we’re not asking the right questions or somebody’s a damn good liar.”
“I sat in on all the interviews except the ones you conducted, Zach,” Brody said. “These people seemed sincerely disturbed that this was a double murder.”
That was the sense he’d gotten, too. “Then who the hell else could it be? The person who tried to kill Gibby targeted her to prevent the meeting with Savannah.”
“Maybe they didn’t,” Sabrina said. “Maybe she was going to be targeted anyway and it was just coincidence that it happened the same night she made that statement.”
Zach shrugged. “Then that means our suspect list has grown to include every person in Midnight who was also a resident eighteen years ago.”
His statement put a noticeable damper on the room. Shoulders slumped and sighs were expelled. Finally Brody, in his usual cut-to-the-chase way, said, “An eighteen-year-old half-assed