“Which leads me to the second part of the conversation I’d like you to not get mad about,” I said.
I heard a thunk. “What was that?”
“My head hitting the steering wheel,” he said. “When you said you had something important to talk about I pulled off the road as a safety precaution.”
“That’s very conscientious of you,” I said. “How long do you think you’ll be working on this case?”
“Until we figure out who all the body parts in the freezer belong to,” he said. “Why?”
“So that could take weeks?”
“Maybe. Why?” he asked again.
Now it was my turn to sigh. “I was just thinking it might be a good idea to stay busy for a few weeks.”
“This is Savannah. Staying busy has never been an issue. Especially for a homicide detective. You realize I’m going to keep asking why until you tell me, right?”
“Remember how you told me I could do some renovating? And that it was my house too and you wanted me to feel at home.”
“Uh-oh,” he said.
“Yeah, about that.” I paused, trying to think of the best way to phrase it. But there really wasn’t a best way, so I just went for it. “You see, Suzanne used to be a contractor.”
“Wait a second,” he said. “The cross-dressing cake baker, Suzanne?”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” I confirmed. “And she and Rosemarie and Scarlet took my ideas and a whole bunch of Pinterest pictures and came up with a plan. And Suzanne brought her construction crew.”
“They’re doing construction?” Nick asked. “Like tearing down walls?”
“Yeah, but it’s going to be great,” I said. Eventually. Probably. “It’ll be modern rustic, so it combines both of our styles.”
“Sounds expensive,” he said.
“It’s probably on the higher end of the budget.”
“Do I have any alternatives?” he asked.
“There’s a house for sale on your parents’ street that’s just been renovated,” I said. “We could buy it and be their neighbors.”
“Point taken,” he said. “Love you. And tell me when you get to Miami so I know you’re safe.”
“It’s just Miami,” I said. “What could go wrong?”
Chapter Seven
Savage was one of those men who was almost unexplainable. His body was a temple, his muscles had muscles, his face was like carved granite, and he had the sun-kissed skin and high cheekbones of his Native American ancestors. He was a god among men, and boy, did he know it.
Back when I’d first started at the agency, Savage had recommended a house in an older, well-kept neighborhood that was almost in my price range. I hadn’t realized at the time that Savage lived in the house across the street. Having Savage for a neighbor had been interesting, especially when my hormones hadn’t completely been committed to Nick.
I turned onto the familiar street and knew every eye in the neighborhood was on me. I’d never experienced anything like it—not even in Whiskey Bayou, where spying on your neighbor could’ve been an Olympic event. But the neighborhood watch—or NAD Squad as they liked to call themselves—was a cut above the rest. NAD Squad stood for Neighbors Against Delinquency. I’m not sure if the criminals stayed away from this street because everyone was bonkers, or because of the vigilance of the watch.
I’d bought the cute little dark blue house with white trim from a friend of Savage’s once my bank account had become more flush from successful PI work. It was right across the street from Savage’s, and when I moved out, I’d let my sister move in while she was in transition. Since Phoebe tended to be in transition a lot, I wasn’t surprised when she’d moved back out after a couple of months.
My relationship with Nick had been somewhat volatile before we’d both decided to commit, so I hadn’t rented the house again, and I hadn’t put it on the market to sell. I’d kind of forgotten all about it with everything that had been going on the last month. I made a mental note to get in touch with a realtor.
But as soon as I had the thought I wondered if maybe I hadn’t sold the house because I was psychic. Maybe my subconscious knew that Rosemarie and Suzanne would be demolishing my house and Nick and I would need a place to stay if things got too bad.
I decided to run the prospect by him, and make sure everything inside was in good shape. I was one of those people who liked to have a plan and a backup plan. I made lists for my lists. And color