Something Wicked by Lisa Jackson Read Free Book Online Page A

killings,” Clausen added. “Maybe Blessert just decided the time was right.”
    The three men were looking at each other and subtly edging Savannah out. She tried to hold down her rising blood pressure, but it was a trick. Working to keep the edge out of her voice, she said, “Marcus and Chandra Donatella were tied up and shot in the back of the head execution-style. Is Kyle Furstenberg the kind of guy who would do something like that?”
    When Savvy first interviewed Hillary Enders, the girl had been clearly shaken to the core and lost, asking, “Why? Why?” over and over again and squeezing Savannah’s hand as if she were afraid to let go. If Hillary’s boyfriend was a stone-cold killer, it didn’t read right that he would be with someone like Hillary.
    â€œI’ll shake down Furstenberg and see what falls out,” Lang said. “And I’ll try to get Hillary Enders to the station. See what she says while surrounded by ‘the law.’”
    â€œWhat should I do?” Savannah asked.
    All three of them turned to her as if they wondered why she was still in the room. She could read their collective expressions: nothing. They didn’t want her anywhere near a crime scene in her condition, nor did they want her interviewing witnesses, informants, and the like. They didn’t want her around police work of any kind until after she’d given birth.
    Well, screw that. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was sit and wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. “I’ll check with the Bancrofts again,” she offered up. She knew there could possibly be some objection to having her interview her sister’s in-laws, but it would just be a follow-up call and in many ways she was the natural person for the job. Kristina would just love being requestioned, but too damn bad.
    â€œOkay.” O’Halloran seemed relieved that that was all she’d asked for.
    Now Savannah narrowed her eyes through the gloom outside and tamped down her annoyance. She’d enjoyed working at the sheriff’s department until her pregnancy became visible and everyone started treating her like an outsider or, worse yet, like she should be handled with kid gloves. She liked the people she worked with as a rule. But this was no fun.
    It’s just temporary. Don’t let it get to you , she reminded herself sternly .
    Shaking her head, she thought back to the case. If Hillary Enders’s boyfriend had killed Marcus in a jealous rage, the blood money message sure seemed like an elaborate deflection. Also, it was kind of cold, and if it wasn’t premeditated, it was certainly opportunistic. Who was this guy?
    And why take out the wife? she asked herself, something that had bothered her in the back of her mind. Chandra Donatella wasn’t to blame for the affair; she was a victim of it, for crying out loud. Unless she was somehow involved? Or maybe she was just in the way, though killing her, too, didn’t really seem like the actions of a spurned lover. Those kinds of murders were born out of passion. But this was cold. Ice cold.
    If Savannah were asked to place a bet, she’d make it against the motive being jealousy. It just didn’t wash. But they didn’t have much else to go on, so she supposed at least it was a direction to move in.
    She checked the clock on the dash: 7:15 p.m. She was a little bit late and wondered if Catherine was likely to rap her knuckles. Ha! Then her thoughts turned to her sister. Kristina and Hale’s house was in Deception Bay, not all that far from the Siren Song lodge. Maybe she should try to stop by first and find out what was wrong, but then she would really be late for her meeting with Catherine.
    And don’t you want the time to ask Hale and Kristina about the Bancroft-Donatella connection again? Whether they like it or not, they’re connected to Bankruptcy Bluff.
    Savannah made a face. Nope. There was no time.