her. Ushering her into the renovated house that had been the mayor’s office for as long as Zach could remember, he called out, “Lamont?”
Noting that the receptionist’s desk was empty, he went to the private office and knocked on the door. It was opened immediately by a pale, sad-looking version of the Lamont he was used to seeing.
He nodded somberly. “Zach. Savannah. Thanks for coming. This won’t take long.”
“I need to leave Savannah here with you for a few minutes. A friend of mine will pick her up. We had some trouble last night at the mansion, so don’t let her out of your sight. Okay?”
If anything, Lamont went paler. “What kind of trouble?”
“I’ll let Savannah explain.”
“Then you run along now. I’ll watch out for her.”
Apparently Savannah had been forgiven, but there had been a definite coolness when Lamont had looked at him. He mentally shrugged. It couldn’t be helped. Making enemies of the mayor might not be a good career move, but Savannah’s safety trumped his career a million to one. Besides, he wouldn’t be police chief once he moved to Nashville.
He looked down at Savannah. “Promise me you won’t walk out of the office without Brody.”
As if she felt bad about Lamont’s cool attitude, she stood on her toes and kissed Zach softly on the mouth. “Cross my heart. See you soon.”
Giving an equally cool nod to Lamont, he took one last glance at Savannah and then walked out the door. The sooner he could interview Noreen and Kyle, the sooner he could be back with Savannah. Now the question was, where the hell were the Ingrams headed in such an all-fired hurry? Could they possibly be Maggie and Beckett Wilde’s killers?
Savannah waited until Zach walked out the door and then turned to Lamont. “You can’t be angry with him. He’s only trying to get to the truth.”
“I know. It was just so embarrassing to have to go through that interview and admit that, especially to Zach. I was hoping never to have to revisit my past sins.” He waved his hand. “Come on in. Nesta made chocolate chip cookies last night and I think this might be her best batch yet.”
Though stuffed from lunch, Savannah knew better than to turn down his offer. Besides, she always had room for chocolate chip cookies.
Sitting in front of his desk, she helped herself to a cookie from the platter Lamont pushed toward her. She bit into the gooey, crispy treat and made appreciative sounds of enjoyment. Poor Lamont seemed so eager to please her, she took another one. He startled her when he suddenly jumped up and said, “Milk. You need milk.”
She watched as he went to a small fridge, pulled out a carton of milk, and poured her a large glass.
Knowing she wouldn’t be able to finish it all, she merely smiled her thanks and took a sip, then said, “Ice-cold milk and chocolate chip cookies. Doesn’t get much better than that.”
“Zach said you had some trouble last night. What happened?”
Hoping to keep it as nondramatic as possible, she said, “Someone broke into the mansion with a gun.”
Horror crossed his face. “Who? Why? What happened?”
She shrugged. “We’re still trying to figure out who and why. Zach had no choice but to shoot him.”
His fingers rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. This new information had obviously distressed him even more. About to reassure him that she was sure they would solve the case soon, she stopped when Lamont sighed heavily and sank deeper into his chair. “I’m going to tell you a story, Savannah. One I never intended to talk about again. But in light of everything that’s gone on, I just don’t feel like I have a choice. This has just gotten so out of hand.”
Not sure where this was going, Savannah settled back into her chair and said cautiously, “Okay.”
“You know I loved your mama and daddy like they were my own family.”
“And they loved you, too.”
“When they were killed, I wanted to die, too. I’d lost my best friend and Nesta lost hers, too. That’s why—”
The door burst open behind Savannah. She jerked around, surprised to see Nesta standing at the door. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Lamont jumped up from his chair. “Nesta, what are you doing here?”
Her expression one of a long-suffering wife, she sighed heavily. “Cleaning up another one of your messes.”
“Nesta, that’s not necessary.”
Looking as prim and proper as always, Nesta pulled a small gun from her pocket and pointed it at Savannah.