A Deadly Row (9 page)

After he hung up, I asked, “Where does that leave us now?”

Zach looked at the piles of papers on the tables. “I’ve got a lot of reading to do. I might be here late tonight.”

“Why don’t I help? Maybe I can find something in there that could point you in the right direction.”

“No offense, Savannah, but I need to ingest this all myself. It’s the only way I can wrap my head around it. You know how I work.”

“I know; read everything, learn everything, then let your subconscious take over.”

“Hey, it’s worked in the past.”

I nodded. “Then you really don’t need me right now, do you?”

“Come on, I always need you,” he said with that crooked smile of his that I cherish.

“You know what I mean. If you don’t mind, then, I’ll head back to the hotel and work on a puzzle.”

“I thought you had a few in the bank,” Zach said.

“I do, but making a puzzle might take my mind off murder, at least for a little while.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” he said.

“Don’t be. Whither thou goest, and all of that.” I gave him a quick peck, and then added, “Call me when you need a ride.”

“I’ll have someone here drop me off. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

I smiled brightly. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“See that you do,” he said.

I left my husband with his head buried in a police file. If I’d stayed, I’d be nothing more than a distraction for him, and he had serious work to do. Not that my job wasn’t important in its own way, but nobody was going to die if I didn’t get my puzzle in on time, whereas he had a great deal more serious things at stake.

As I walked out into the hallway, I found Steve standing there. “You didn’t have to wait out here,” I said. “We’ve been finished for a few minutes.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt anything,” he said with a smile.

“Don’t worry, if we’re canoodling, I’ll leave a tie on the door.”

“That would be greatly appreciated. I’d hate to walk in on the Chief and do something to merit a chewing out. If you don’t mind me saying so, your husband can really drop a hammer on someone if he wants to.”

“I’ve been married to him forever,” I said. “Do you honestly think you’re telling me anything I don’t already know?”

He shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

“Go on in,” I said as I headed for the elevator. I wasn’t sure what Steve could do to help Zach any more than I had, and if that was the case, I knew my husband wouldn’t hesitate getting rid of him as quickly as he’d dispatched me.

 

THOUGH I’D TOLD ZACH I WANTED TO GET BACK TO THE
Belmont so I could create another puzzle, there was somewhere else I wanted to go first. I drove to our old Dilsworth neighborhood on autopilot, amazed by how familiar and yet foreign the drive had become. A few shops had closed along the way, and I saw that new tenants had taken their place. An old oak tree I’d always admired had been taken down, and a sapling put in its place. I had to wonder if an ice storm or a lightning bolt had felled it, or if it had been something more mundane, and man-made. Things change, and life goes on, whether I was there to witness it or not. Seeing that tree gone gave me an irrational fear that the house I’d shared with my husband was gone as well. I wasn’t sure what kind of catastrophe I was imagining, but in my mind, it was total and complete: where our quaint place had once stood, there was now nothing more than overgrown rubble, from what, I couldn’t imagine. The image in my mind was so real that I nearly overlaid it onto the truth when I drove down our street and saw that it hadn’t been touched. That wasn’t exactly true. The trim was now painted robin’s egg blue instead of the moss green I’d preferred, and a few of the bushes in front of the Colonial had been cut back to the point of mutilation, at least in my mind. Still, the house stood just as strong and proud as the day we’d handed the keys over to the Realtor.

I parked on the other side of the street and tried to take it all in. It was the first time I’d been back since we’d sold it, and while I wasn’t ordinarily all that sentimental, I was surprised to realize that I was crying softly as I looked at it.

My reverie and introspection were broken when there was a sudden tapping on the passenger window of my car.

I looked up to see the smiling face of Sherry Watts, my longtime neighbor and best friend in Charlotte. Her smile vanished as she saw my tears.

“Savannah, are you all right?”

I wiped the tears from my face, feeling foolish the entire time I was doing it. “Sorry, I just got caught up in it all.”

“Well, come out here and give me a hug.”

I did as she commanded, and soon found myself wrapped in her embrace. Sherry was what some would call pleasingly plump, with just enough softness around the edges to make her look like someone’s mom, which she was, three times over. She had bright red hair, a complexion like milk, and a sharp wit that I’d cherished over the years of our friendship.

“You’ve lost weight,” she said after she pulled away and studied me.

“Trust me, you’re wrong.”

She shook her head slightly. “Savannah, I know what I’m talking about. The country air must be good for you. How’s life treating you?”

“We love it,” I said.

Sherry frowned for a moment. “Why didn’t you call me? I had no idea you were coming back to the city.”

“It just came up,” I said. “Zach got a call from the new police chief.”

She nodded. “It’s been all over the
Observer
. Can you imagine, Charlotte having our very own killer on the loose.”

“You don’t seem all that worried about it,” I said.

She smiled brightly. “Are you kidding? Who’d want to get rid of me? I’m absolutely delightful.”

We both laughed at her expression of wonder, and it felt good being in her presence again. I didn’t miss much about our move, but losing my friends had to be high on the list of regrets about leaving Charlotte.

She glanced over at my old house. “I just love what they’ve done with the bushes, don’t you?”

“They got kind of aggressive, don’t you think?”

Sherry laughed. “Jack hired his seventeen-year-old son to trim them—even though Betsy warned him not to—and knowing Jack, he gave pretty precise instructions. But Justin has a mind of his own, so he ignored them. He’s a good kid, but I’m glad I’ve got girls. Boys seem to have too many hormones.”

I frowned for a second before I buried it. I didn’t think Sherry saw it, but I was surprised to find that I was jealous that she’d bonded so quickly with my replacements. Life moved on for me. Why shouldn’t it for my best friend?

She took my hand and said, “Come on into the kitchen. I’ve got a pan of sweet rolls that came out two minutes ago, and there’s fresh coffee, too.”

Sherry was famous for her sourdough bread and rolls, and I knew Zach would be envious when he found out I’d sampled some. I glanced at my watch. “What about the girls? Don’t you have to pick them up at school?”

She laughed. “That’s right, you don’t know. Lindsay got her license, and she persuaded her dad to buy her a car.”

“And Bill actually did?” Her husband was notoriously tight with money, and they had a hefty savings account to prove it.

“Come on, you know he’s always had a tough time saying no to her. The beauty of it is, she’s happy to drive to school, even if it means she has to pick Haley and Jessie up on her way home. I can’t tell you how freeing it’s been. Now come on, let’s get those sweet rolls before the girls get home and demolish the pan.”

I followed her inside, forgetting my momentary lapse and trying to enjoy being with my friend again. We’d email and talk on the telephone from time to time, but there was no substitute for personal contact. Though I’d made a few new friends in Parson’s Valley, none of the relationships had had the chance to blossom yet. It was true what they said; there were no friendships like old ones.

The three girls came in just as we finished a sweet roll apiece, laughing about something. After hugging each of them and marveling at how much they’d grown, I excused myself.

“Let me walk you out,” Sherry said, and turning to her daughters, she added, “Save one for your father.”

“Do we have to?” Jessie asked.

“Fine, go ahead and eat his. It’s on your head, though, not mine.”

Jessie pulled her hand away. “It’s not worth it.”

“You got that right,” Sherry said. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Back at my car, Sherry hugged me again. As she did, I felt like I was truly home again. “How long are you going to be in town?”

“I’m not really sure,” I admitted.

“You could always stay with us, but it might be a little tight,” she offered.

“Thanks, but we’re staying at the Belmont
.
”

She raised one eyebrow. “My, my, my. We’re coming up in the world, aren’t we? And don’t try to tell me you’re paying for it with your puzzle money. I know better.”

“If you can believe it, we’re guests of the hotel’s owner.”

“Savannah, you are running in some rarified circles these days.” She paused after she said it, looked past me, and then waved her hand in the air. “Betsy, come on over. There’s someone you’ve got to meet.”

The last thing I wanted to do was see my replacement, but I turned to see a tall, thin woman with wiry blonde hair coming toward us.

As she neared, Sherry said, “This is Savannah Stone.”

“I love your puzzles,” she said, absolutely gushing. “I don’t know how you do it. They’re wonderful.”

Sherry grinned. “When I told her whose house she bought, she was thrilled. You’ve been wondering who your biggest fan was. Well, say hello to her.”

I offered her my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Stay right here. Don’t move,” Betsy said.

“Where’s she going?” I asked Sherry as the woman hurried quickly back across the street.

“I have no idea. She’s a hoot, isn’t she?”

“She’s something, all right.”

A minute later, Betsy came back waving a newspaper in her hand. “I got it. Would you mind signing this for me? It would be such an honor.”

“Of course, I’d be delighted,” I said. I was rarely asked for an autograph outside of a puzzle convention. There I was treated like some kind of minor celebrity, but in everyday life, no one seemed to know—or care—who I was, or what I did for a living.

After I signed the puzzle, she took it back and stared at my autograph for a few seconds. “You just made my day. Sorry, I’m usually not this ditsy, but I always get this way around famous people.”

Sherry and I both laughed, and to Betsy’s credit, she smiled back.

I explained, “I’m really not all that much of anything important.”

“Trust her, she’s telling the truth,” Sherry said.

“Well, you are to me.”

That got us laughing again.

“Sorry. Old friends, inside jokes,” I said.

“Are you kidding? I’m thrilled. You’re even nicer than Sherry said you were.”

I looked at my old friend. “You’ve been talking about me?”

“How many neighborhood stories can I tell that you or your husband aren’t in? Bring him by, too, okay?”

“No promises. You know how he gets when he’s on a case.”

“I thought he was retired,” Betsy said.

“He’s consulting with the Charlotte police,” I said.

“Wow, you two must lead pretty exciting lives.”

“It’s not that different from everyone else,” I said.

There was a car honking behind us, and I saw a lanky young man who had to be Justin. “Sorry, I’ve got to go.”

“Is it time for another test?” Sherry asked.

“You know it.”

“Tell him I said good luck.”

“Will do. It’s such a pleasure meeting you,” Betsy said as she shook my hand again.

After she was gone, Sherry explained, “Her husband wouldn’t let Justin take his driving test until he got a B average in school.You’ve never seen a boy study so hard. The bad thing is, he was so nervous when he finally did take it, he flunked his first test. It’s driving Betsy as crazy as it is him.”

“She seems nice.”

“She is, but she’s not you. I miss you, Savannah.”

“I miss you, too,” I said. “I’ll give you a call later when things settle down a little.”

“I won’t hold my breath,” she said with a grin. “Things never seem to calm down when you’re around.”

“Is that a crack at me, young lady?”

“Are you kidding? I miss the excitement. Call me.”

“I will,” I said.

After I got in my car, I drove off quickly, not wanting to linger a moment longer. My life had changed, but there was a part of me that would always be there on that street. It made me a little sad to leave it again, but that was far outweighed by the sense of warmth I’d felt, wrapped up again in my best friend’s love. Sherry was one of those friends that life gave us sometimes, but only if we were very, very lucky. It had been as if we hadn’t missed a day since the last time we’d seen each other, picking up exactly where we’d left it. I cherished her friendship, and all that she meant to me. I was glad she’d found someone in my old house to be friends with, but even more, that there was still such a big place in her heart for me.

I might not have a lot of money, or ever be famous, but in terms of my friendships and the love my husband and I shared, I was the richest woman in the world.