Susieâs brother, Brian. Iâve been looking for you a long time . . . . and for Susan.â
âHer name is Lisa now.â The colonelâs voice was brusque, but Savannah could hear the emotion beneath the clipped words.
âI understand,â Brian replied, lowering his hand when the colonel refused to shake it.
âWell . . . .â The colonel cleared his throat and pulled himself to attention. â. . . . it seems weâre all looking for her right now.â He pushed past Brian and Savannah and headed down the hall toward the bedrooms.
âSince when does a citizen get a police captain and a detective all to himself, just because his daughter isnât answering her telephone?â Savannah asked, keeping her voice low.
âSince heâs Colonel Forrest Neilson,â Bloss returned, his round face flushed a bit darker than usual. âHeâs a close and personal friend of the chiefs.â
âGee, that explains everything,â Savannah said sarcastically. âLetâs see now . . . . the last time I investigated one of the chiefs âclose and personal friendsâ I was fired. Right?â
âYou arenât too swift; are you, Reid?â Bloss sniffed again, then carelessly swabbed the used tissue across his sweaty forehead. âYou got one of them learning disorders or something?â
Savannah shrugged and gave him a demure, if somewhat insincere, smile. âNot all of us are cerebrally gifted, like yourself,â she said. Dropping her voice, she added, âNot to mention phallically challenged and testicularly limited.â
He gave her a quizzical look, followed by a scowl. Even if he hadnât understood her words, her smirk was enough to let him know that he had been insulted.
âYouâd better watch yourself. If anything has happened to Mrs. Mallock and I find out you had something to do with it . . . .â he muttered as he brushed past her and followed the colonel down the hall.
Savannahâs brief sense of satisfaction was followed by a wave of misgivings. Once again, her smart mouth had provided her with a high-ranking position on Blossâs âshit list.â An honor she didnât relish.
âHas something happened to my sister?â Brian asked, looking miserable, bewildered, and upset.
âI certainly hope not.â Savannah wished she had some genuine words of comfort, but she couldnât lie to the man. Under the circumstances, she couldnât even lie to herself.
She found herself wishing she had never heard the name of Brian OâDonnell. By now, his sister surely wished she had never heard of Savannah Reid. Everyone would have been better off unacquainted.
âThey arenât going to like what theyâre going to see in there,â she said softly to Dirk as Neilson and Bloss disappeared into Lisaâs bedroom.
His eyes widened a little, registering a question mark. âNot a body . . . . ?â he whispered.
âNo.â
âGood.â
âBloody sheets.â
âOh.â Dirkâs face sobered. âNot so good.â
Savannah glanced at Brian and noted that he looked as though he were about to be sick. She thought of Lisa Mallock and little Christy, the ballerina snow queen. âNo,â she said, her throat tightening, a bitter taste welling up from her stomach. âNot good at all.â
Â
âCharge me or release me. Now!â
Savannah rose from the rusty metal chair and shoved away from the table where she had been sitting, getting grilled, for the past hour and a half. She had enjoyed about as much of Captain Norman Hillquistâs charming company as she could stand.
âSit down!â
âNo!â
He towered over her by at least ten inches, 180 pounds of barbell-inspired bulk, but Savannah was past caring. He was chief of police of the city of San Carmelita and capable of doing her great harmâheaven knows, he had done so
Deirdre Martin, Julia London, Annette Blair, Geri Buckley