Savannah felt as if she’d fallen into a parallel universe where the alter egos of good people lived. Never in a thousand years would she have suspected that Lamont and Nesta had anything to do with her parents’ deaths.
She turned to Lamont. “You killed them. But why?”
“Don’t be silly, dear,” Nesta said. “Lamont couldn’t hurt a fly. I did it.”
Slender, petite, barely over five feet tall, Nesta Kilgore didn’t look strong enough to lift a five-pound sack of flour without help. There was no way she could have committed the murders.
“Nesta, please,” Lamont said. “This is all so unnecessary.”
Nesta shook her head and threw a pair of handcuffs onto Lamont’s desk. “Unfortunately you both have made it very necessary.” She nodded at the cuffs. “Handcuff yourself to the arm of the chair, Lamont.”
“No, I most certainly will not. Put the gun down, Nesta. This instant.”
Cool steel pressed against Savannah’s forehead. “You’ll never get the bloodstain and brain matter off your desk,” Nesta told him. “And I know how you hate a mess.”
With a look of profound apology to Savannah, Lamont complied, cuffing both his hands to the arm of the chair. When finished, he looked at his wife again. “Now what?”
Nesta pulled up a chair and sat next to Savannah. Though she was still pointing the weapon at her, at least it wasn’t pressed against her head anymore. Releasing a silent breath of relief, Savannah considered her next move. She hadn’t had the chance to call Brody, but Zach would be back at some point. She had to figure out how to disarm Nesta before that happened. The thought of Zach walking in with no warning of what was going on chilled her blood. There had to be a way to get Nesta to see reason.
“Before we get started on our chat, let me ask a very important question of you, Savannah. What did you think of my chocolate chip cookies?”
“What?”
“My cookies. Did you like them? I have a very special secret I only share with a few. I mix a box of store-bought cookie mix in with my homemade mix and then add in a little extra brown sugar and of course extra chocolate chips, too.”
Speechless, Savannah didn’t answer.
Apparently not happy with Savannah’s lack of response, Nesta snapped, “I’ve won awards.”
That cookie now threatening to come back up, Savannah managed weakly, “It was delicious.”
As if that had been the most important issue on her mind, Nesta settled back in her chair with a satisfied smile. “Good.” Then, with scary speed, she switched subjects. “I guess you’re wondering how all this took place.”
“Nesta, please … don’t.”
“Lamont, if you don’t hush up, I’m going to gag you. Now, let me tell the story.” She turned back to Savannah. “After all, it’s my story to tell.”
As if she was lost in the past, her eyes focused on the wall behind Savannah. “It all started so innocent. Your mama and daddy had that fight at the country club and then Beckett just ups and leaves. Poor Maggie was so upset.”
She glanced over at Lamont with a sad smile. “We took her home and then we went home. Everything was just fine until Lamont started in about Beckett.” Her gaze moved to Savannah. “We had a terrible argument and Lamont stormed out. I just knew he was going to see Maggie.” Her gaze shifted back to Lamont’s. “I always felt like second best.”
“Oh, Nesta honey, you know that’s not true.” The surprise and pain in Lamont’s voice seemed real.
Feeling completely lost, Savannah said, “But why would you feel second best?”
“Because Maggie was Lamont’s first love.” Nesta’s mouth trembled. “He never stopped loving her.”
“Nesta, that is most definitely not true. From the minute we met, you know I only had eyes for you.”
“You were a good husband, Lamont, I agree. But I still felt that if Maggie hadn’t fallen for Beckett, you would have married her instead.”
As Lamont shook his head in denial again, Savannah scrambled to make sense of it all. “Mama was your best friend, Nesta. How could you hurt her?”
“You’re right, she was. And I adored Maggie. When I went over to the Wilde house, looking for Lamont, I had no intention of hurting anyone. I didn’t see Lamont but I decided to go in and talk to Maggie. I know she wasn’t encouraging Lamont. She adored your father and never would have cheated. But someone as beautiful as Maggie didn’t need to encourage anyone. She attracted men