Midnight Secrets (42 page)

Brody pulled a sheet of paper from his shirt pocket. “Hester Shook, Sarah Wills, and Loraine Meadows.”

Gibby’s bridge club members. “Are they playing bridge?”

“They were last time I checked. I walked out as soon as they started in on how wonderful their granddaughters and nieces were and why wasn’t a nice young man like me married.”

Since those were the kinds of questions she would get if she joined them, she said, “Would you tell Aunt Gibby that I came by and I’ll call her later?”

“I doubt they’ll be here that much longer. Sarah said she had to get home to watch
General Hospital.
It comes on in twenty minutes.”

She did her best not to show her amusement. “You’re a fan of the soaps?”

He gave her a knowing smile. “Don’t laugh till you’ve seen the show. It’s addictive.”

She agreed. She’d watched it when she was a teenager. “Okay, I’ll stay then. Let me check and see if Deputy Odom wants to come in or needs a cold drink.”

As soon as the deputy assured her he was set with a thermos of iced tea, Savannah rushed back inside. Having Brody to herself for a few minutes was the perfect opportunity to find out more about Zach. Who better to ask than a man who’d served with him in the army?

She was happy to see that not only had Brody pulled a chair from the dining room for her to sit on, he had also poured both of them a glass of tea. Gratefully accepting the drink, she settled into her chair and wondered how to approach her questions. She needn’t have worried. Brody was much less taciturn than Zach.

Dropping onto the third step of the stairway, Brody took a long swallow of tea and then said, “Zach’s a fine man.”

“Have you known him a long time?”

“Going on seven years. Logan, Zach, and I served together in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“Funny how you all ended up so close together once you left the service.”

“That’s no coincidence. I’m from northern Indiana. Logan’s from Buffalo, New York. We both hate snow. The way Zach described things in Alabama, from the weather to the beaches to the food …” He shrugged. “Hell, there was no way we weren’t going to check it out. Once we got here, we decided to stay.”

“Do you guys get to see Zach much?”

“Not a lot. An occasional fishing trip. Zach’s busy and we’ve got our hands full with our business.”

“What does your agency do?”

“About anything a client wants: bodyguard services, security consultation, missing persons, assist in investigation of criminal cases, private investigations. We’ve had to hire two more employees since we got started.”

“I’m surprised you were able to come and help us so quickly.”

“Zach takes precedence over our clients.”

When she had first met Brody, he had said something similar. “Why is that?”

“We owe him our lives. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for him.”

She settled more comfortably in her seat, anxious to hear more about this part of Zach’s past. “Do you mind sharing what happened?”

A cool light entered his eyes. “Why? So you can decide if he’s some kind of hero?”

She didn’t take offense. He was being protective of his friend. “I already know he’s a hero. I just want to know more about him.”

Nodding his approval of her answer, he said, “Our team had raided a compound that’d been an al-Qaeda stronghold. We got almost through the entire place without firing a shot. We opened a door, were in the middle of the room when the bullets started flying. There were four shooters. I took a hit in my leg; Logan took one to his chest and another in his arm. Zach took one in his side.”

Frozen in her chair, Savannah listened as Brody described the harrowing scene. She had known Zach was wounded in combat—she had seen the scars with her own eyes—but the event became real and terrifying as Brody described in detail how Zach had saved all three of them.

“We managed to get out of the room but the building was surrounded. Logan couldn’t run. I couldn’t go far or fast. We radioed for help but the rest of our team had gotten caught by another group. We found out later one of our interpreters was an informant. They knew we were coming.

“We both tried to get Zach to leave. Figured that, out of the three of us, he had the best chance to make it out alive. Instead of doing what we told him to do, he circled round and took out two of the shooters. The two others kept firing at me and Logan. We exchanged fire for what seemed like forever. Just when I thought we were done for, here comes Zach back inside. He assessed which one of us was hurt the most—which was Logan. He gave me his ammunition. Then the damn stubborn fool hauled Logan onto his back and carried him out of there.”

“And how did you get out?”

A fleeting, haunted look came into his eyes and then gave way to that glint of humor that seemed a part of him. “I figured if Zach made it safely back with Logan, he might send reinforcements back for me or, hell, come back himself.”

“But that’s not what he did?”

“I was almost out of ammo. No way was I going to just lie there and let the bastard shoot me without trying to run. I managed to crawl to the door and was about to open it when the shooting stopped.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Zach. He snuck up on one of the bastards from the back … took him out with a knife. Then he shot the last one.” He paused for a few seconds, allowing her to absorb the enormity of Zach’s heroism.

“So that’s why if Zach calls, we come running.” Locking eyes with her, he repeated his earlier statement: “He’s a good man, Savannah.”

And like a sledgehammer falling from the sky, realization hit her. “You know what happened ten years ago, don’t you?”

He grimaced. “Yeah. When you’re in a stinking hellhole with death staring you in the face, things that are eating at you can devour you whole. Sometimes you end up sharing those things.”

“I wish he had told me earlier.”

“You didn’t take his calls when he tried.”

His tone wasn’t accusing but she felt the sting of his words all the same. She and Zach had both made mistakes. He should have contacted her sooner; he should have taken her calls. And she should have pushed aside her pain to take his calls later on. So much wasted time. So much pain that could have been avoided.

“We both messed up.”

“And you both have a chance to make it right this time.”

Brody was right. They did have the chance. Suddenly, she knew she couldn’t wait until this case was solved. Finding out who killed her parents was important but coming clean with Zach couldn’t wait any longer.

She went to her feet. “I need to see Zach. Can you tell Aunt Gibby I’ll call her later?”

Apparently recognizing that she’d come to some sort of decision, Brody winked and said, “Good luck.”

Turning, she ran out the door and to the patrol car. Telling Zach would be one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but until he knew the truth, they couldn’t move on. Now, she just had to find the right words that wouldn’t hurt him more than he had already been hurt.

Chapter

Thirty

Getting a call from Savannah to come to the Wilde mansion wasn’t something Zach was expecting. He had liked the idea of her being in his house, in his bed.

When he arrived, he understood why she had moved back home. Not only were her sisters with her, Brody and Logan could have rooms here, too. Savannah, her sisters, and Brody were all sitting in the living room, eating Chinese takeout when he walked in the door. The instant Savannah spotted him, she jumped from the couch immediately to kiss him hello.

“I didn’t intend to stay,” she whispered softly. “I just came by for some clothes but Sammie and Bri showed up with dinner, then Brody dropped by. Logan’s with Aunt Gibby. We can leave now or go after dinner.”

“You don’t want to stay here?”

A shy smile, 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 police report, headless roadkill, two attempted murders, and a thousand suspects. Man, you are so screwed.”

Silence followed his blunt statement and then laughter exploded, breaking the tension. Even Zach, who was too tired to even consider laughing, managed a smiling acknowledgment. Brody was right—he was screwed. That wouldn’t stop him, though. He’d been in difficult places before but none had ever been this important.

“You about finished?”

The soft, sexy voice in his ear caused his thoughts to go into a much more pleasant direction. Zach stood, then held out his hand to help her up. “I’ll take our plates to the kitchen. You get your clothes.”

“See you soon.”

He watched her walk away, admiring the grace and fluidity of her movements, along with the way her jeans molded her perfect ass.

“You’re good for her, you know.”

Sabrina had approached silently. He had spent almost no time with the sisters since their return, but he had noticed some incredible changes in both Samantha and Sabrina. They were both still beautiful women, but Samantha had a new edgy toughness, which no doubt she’d developed as a homicide detective. However, the change in Sabrina might be the most surprising of all. Oddly, she seemed softer, less damaged than she had years ago. Maybe time and maturity had allowed her to deal with her painful past. Too bad all of this was bringing it home to her again.