Critical Doubt Page 9

  "Ryker," she said again, and then she impulsively covered his mouth with hers, wanting to give him warmth, breath, comfort, and life.

  He suddenly shifted, his lips parting beneath hers.

  She pulled back as his eyes flew open, and their gazes caught.

  "Savannah," he murmured. "Did you just kiss me?"

  "I was trying to see if you were alive."

  He stared back at her with his dark-brown eyes. "Let me check." He lifted his hand and put it around the back of her neck, pulling her back in for another kiss, one that he was now completely present for, one that went way out of her comfort zone—into passion, desire, sex. All of her memories came rushing back. She'd thought she'd imagined how good they'd been together, but it was even better than she remembered.

  She wanted to keep on kissing him, but the distant sound of sirens brought her head up. "Someone must have called 911." She moved back as he sat up, his gaze moving to the house.

  "That was a hell of a blast," he said.

  "How did you know it was coming?"

  "I heard a ticking sound behind the dryer. I don't know if it was a bomb or a timer or what."

  "Then this was deliberate." She frowned, letting that fact sink in.

  "Yes. For once, my ears were my friend." His gaze narrowed with concern. "There's blood on your forehead."

  "Is there?" She put a hand to her temple, suddenly feeling the sting, and seeing the wet drops of blood on her fingers. But there didn't appear to be too much, and it wasn't dripping down her face, so hopefully that was a good thing. "You're bleeding, too, on your arm," she said.

  He glanced down at the shirt sleeve that had been ripped away, exposing a couple of cuts. "If this is the worst of it, I'm fine. I'm more concerned about your head. Are you dizzy?"

  "A little, but that might be partly due to what just happened between us."

  A faint smile crossed his lips as a gleam entered his eyes. "Yeah, that was something."

  "How can you be smiling right now? We almost died."

  "But we didn't. And I got you to kiss me again."

  "I was trying to make sure you were breathing. We should go out front," she added as the sirens got louder. She got to her feet and Ryker did the same. He swung his arm around her shoulders, and she couldn't bring herself to push him away. She liked the feel of his body next to hers, especially now, after they'd come so close to dying.

  They had barely reached the front of the house when the fire truck pulled up.

  "Anyone inside?" one of the firefighters asked.

  "The house is empty," Ryker replied, still keeping his arm around her.

  As the fire commander barked orders to his team, an ambulance pulled up behind the truck and the EMTs came over to check on their injuries. Thankfully, neither one of them was in bad shape, with only superficial cuts that were cleaned and bandaged.

  As the medic finished bandaging her head, Savannah noted the gathering crowd on the sidewalk. While the homes on this block were spread out, the raging fire had brought out anyone within a few blocks.

  Two police cars came screaming down the street. Two younger cops exited the first vehicle while Chief Tanner got out of the second one. He stormed toward them, a grim line to his mouth.

  "What happened?" he asked.

  "There was an explosion," Ryker said. "It was centered in the laundry room. Could have been a timer or an explosive device."

  "What were you doing in Todd's house?"

  "Seriously? That's your question?" she interrupted. "You don't want to ask who would have set fire to this house?"

  "Do you know who did this?"

  "No."

  "Then let's back up," he snapped. "What were you both doing in the house?"

  "I spent the night here," Ryker answered. "Todd offered me a place to stay when I came in for Paul's funeral. Savannah came back with me after we finished our search this morning."

  Savannah was impressed with Ryker's spin on the story, appreciating the fact that he hadn't mentioned using Abby's key to get inside. She didn't want Abby mixed up in any of this.

  "Did you notice anyone hanging around the house?" the chief asked.

  "I didn't see anyone today, but I thought I heard someone last night in the yard, and there was a footprint outside the window. From that vantage point, I'm pretty sure someone would have seen me sleeping on the couch as the curtains were open."

  "Can you show me?" Tanner asked.

  "Sure," Ryker said, leading Tanner down the side of the yard.

  She stayed behind, more interested in talking to some of the neighbors than dealing with Chief Tanner. "Hello," she said, approaching two women. "Are you neighbors?"

  "We are," the white-haired woman replied. "I'm Amy Gilman. This is my sister Diane. We live at the end of the block. We were just coming back from the market when the fire truck passed us. What happened? Were you in the house? You're all cut up, dear."

  "I was nearby. Do you know Todd?"

  "We've met him a couple of times," Amy replied. "But we didn't know him as well as Paul. It was so sad what happened to him."

  "You're Abby's friend," Diane suddenly interjected. "Savannah, right? The beauty queen?"

  "Yes, that's me."

  "My son, Richmond, went to school with you."

  "Of course, I remember Richmond. How is he?"

  "He's a dentist now. And he just got engaged."

  "That's nice."

  "What are you doing now, Savannah?" Diane asked.

  "I'm an FBI agent."

  "Oh, my, that's important. Do you know what has happened to Todd? We heard he was missing. Now his house is on fire," Diane continued. "It's very worrying. Is something going on? Should we be concerned?"

  "I honestly don't know. I was wondering if either of you have seen anyone lurking around the house or the street."

  "Yes," Amy said, nodding her head with certainty. "I saw a car driving slow down the street last night when I was walking the dog. I looked at the driver, and when he saw me staring, he sped up and left."

  Savannah straightened at that piece of information. "What did he look like?"

  "He had on a ball cap. It was dark, so I couldn't see his features."

  "What kind of car was he driving?"

  "It was a Prius. I think it was silver," Amy replied.

  "About what time did this happen?"

  "It was a little after ten."

  "You didn't tell me any of this, Amy," Diane complained.

  "I didn't think it was important. It's not like he did anything. It just seemed like he was looking for an address and then he left."

  "He could have been casing the house," Diane put in. "Should we tell Chief Tanner what Amy saw?"

  "You should definitely tell him," she said, as Ryker and the chief came toward them.

  As the two ladies called Tanner over, Ryker rejoined her. "The print was destroyed by falling debris," he said.

  "I have it on my phone. I can still send it to my team. They'll do more with it than Tanner would have done anyway."

  "Did those women have anything to say?" Ryker asked.

  "One said she saw a man in a car driving slowly down the street last night, but she didn't get a great look at him. It was about ten last night. When he made eye contact with her, he drove off."

  "That's hours before I heard the noise by the window, but that doesn't mean anything. He could have come back."

  "Seems like a good possibility. Hopefully the investigators will be able to get some clues once the fire is out. Did Tanner talk to you when you were in the yard?"

  "Yes, I'll fill you in, but why don't we get out of here?"

  She was a little surprised by his suggestion. "You want to leave now?"

  "There's nothing more to do. Since your car is blocked by the fire truck, we can take mine."

  She wondered why he was in a hurry to leave the scene, but she didn't see any point in staying now that Tanner had arrived. "All right. We can go to Abby's house," she said,
following him to the car. "I'd like to change my clothes and my bag is there."

  "I don't know if you should see Abby looking like you do. She'll get upset."

  "She's not there. She's in Ridgeview with her parents. She wanted to be with her family and keep Tyler away from the search for Todd."

  "I don't blame her. I feel for that kid. I'm glad he has a strong mother."

  "They both have support, but they still have to get through this on their own, and it won't be easy."

  He gave her a quick look. "I guess you have firsthand experience, don't you?"

  "Sadly, yes."

  "How did your mom die?"

  "Cancer. It was fast. She was only sick for about six months. I was devastated. She was my primary parent. My dad was gone all the time. It was her and me. We were the home team. At least Tyler still has his primary parent with him."

  "That's something," he muttered.

  "So, why did you want to leave so quickly?" she asked as they got into the car. "Did Tanner say something to you?"

  "He did." His mouth drew into a tight line. "He told me that he was glad to have a minute with me alone, because he wanted to say something to me man-to-man, soldier-to-soldier."

  "Which was what?"

  "The reason he doesn't want you involved in the investigation is because he wants to protect Abby. He believes that Paul's death was suicide, and if the life insurance company finds out, they won't pay her the benefits she'll need to survive. He's afraid that if you dig into Todd's disappearance, that will also put a spotlight on Paul's death. And that could be disastrous."

  "Well, I wasn't expecting you to say that," she said with surprise.

  "He also told me that Paul had confided in him over the past few months how bad he was feeling, how depressed he was about his inability to find work that would be of value to the family, and apparently there were also financial problems. Paul hadn't just been drinking the past year, he'd also been gambling. Tanner believes that Paul jumped off that roof. I said I couldn't see him doing that, but maybe I'm the one who can't see what's right in front of me."

  "It's certainly something we have to consider. But putting Paul's death aside for a minute, I now don't believe Todd killed himself. A suicide wouldn't lead to his house being set on fire. There's something else going on, and we have to figure out what it is, because it might change the circumstances of Paul's death, too. What if neither one of them killed themselves? What if someone else did? What if they pushed Paul off the roof and forced Todd off the road and into the river?"

  His gaze narrowed on her face, but he didn't immediately dismiss her suggestions as ludicrous, which they might be.

  "Okay, let's say both those things happened," he said. "Why would they come back and set fire to the house? Wouldn't that just draw everyone's attention and make Todd's accident look suspicious?"

  She frowned at his undeniable logic. "Yes."

  "So…"

  "We need more information."

  "Tanner did tell me something else. He said they're still going through Todd's vehicle, but there's no sign that there was a problem with the brakes or any other mechanical failure."

  "He was certainly more forthcoming with you than with me."

  Ryker gave her a faint smile. "He said you'd always been a shit-stirrer, but he wanted me to know that he's doing everything that needs to be done."

  "Well, how reassuring," she said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "But just because Tanner had his man-to-man, soldier-to-soldier talk with you doesn't mean I'll back off. I'm going to get to the truth. It's what I do. It's actually something I'm really good at."

  His smile broadened, crinkling the corners of his mouth, bringing a new light to his eyes and reminding her once again of the man she'd found so completely irresistible five years ago.

  "I like your confidence," he said. "And I never thought you would back off. I told him that I have no control over what you're going to do."

  "Good answer."

  "I also told him that regardless of what happened with Paul, we still need to find Todd. Because if he somehow survived the crash, he's no doubt in some kind of trouble."

  "Maybe he didn't come back to his house, because he was afraid someone would come after him again. He could be hiding."

  "Agreed."

  "Paul and Todd were living together the last three weeks. They could have both gotten into trouble gambling. Perhaps they owed someone money. Although, that wouldn't explain the fire. That seems more like a cover-up or a personal attack or something." She stopped abruptly, a new thought running through her head. "We told the firefighters there was no one in the house, but we didn't go upstairs. What if Todd was there? What if he was unconscious when the fire started?"

  Ryker's lips tightened into a grim line. "Damn. I don't want to think that."

  "Sorry. My mind is running through all the possible scenarios. But with the explosion, we couldn't have gotten into the house, Ryker. We couldn't have saved anyone."

  "Maybe we should go back to the scene."

  "They won't know anything yet."

  "We still need to let someone know we didn't go upstairs. I'll call Tanner."

  She was surprised again. "You have his number?"

  "He gave it to me. He said if I find anything out, I should let him know."

  "Or if I find anything out, you should let him know," she said.

  "I wouldn't betray you, Savannah. But it's not a bad thing for him to want to talk to me. We can use the information channel both ways."

  She knew he was right, but she hated the fact that Tanner was trying to play around her. "Fine, but let's call him from Abby's house. I want to make sure everything is all right there and that no one left a similar device in her laundry room. If Todd and Paul are tied together in whatever is going on, I need to make sure she's safe."

  At her words, Ryker put the car into drive and pressed his foot down on the gas. The car leapt forward. She braced her hand on the side, but she wasn't afraid of the speed. She was more afraid of what they might find when they got to Abby's house.

  Chapter Nine

  They went through Abby's home from top to bottom, checking under every sink, in every cabinet, for any sign of an explosive device. Thankfully, they found nothing. But she didn’t want Abby to be in the house for another day or two, not until they knew more about what might be going on.

  Ryker called Tanner and left him a voice mail to inform him that they hadn't gone upstairs in Todd's house, so they didn't actually know if anyone had been up there when the fire started. Then Ryker headed upstairs to find something of Paul's to change into, and she settled onto the couch in the living room and called Abby.

  "Is there any news?" Abby asked, picking up the phone on the first ring.

  "They haven't found Todd yet. But something else has happened. Are you with Tyler or your parents?"

  "I'm going into the other room. Hang on." Abby went away for a moment and then came back. "All right, I'm on my own. What's happened? No one else is hurt, right?"

  "No, but an explosive device was planted at Todd's house, and it went off. The house is completely destroyed."

  "Oh, my God! I don't understand. Why would someone put a bomb in Todd's house?"

  She could hear the fear and bewilderment in Abby's voice.

  "That's what we need to figure out. Ryker and I were actually at the house. But he heard a suspicious ticking sound, and we got out in time."

  "You were there? You were almost killed? I can't handle this, Savannah. I can't keep losing people I love."

  "I'm fine. I shouldn't have made it sound that close. It wasn't really," she lied.

  "Now you're just trying to backtrack. Are you sure you and Ryker are both all right?"

  "We are. We're actually at your house now. I wanted to get my bag."

  "You're leaving town? I thought you were going to stay a few days. I know I bailed on you today—"

  "You did not bail on me. You're exactly where yo
u should be, Abby, and I think you should spend a few more days with your folks. Tyler doesn't need to hear about search parties and bombs. It's too much."

  "You're right. Maybe you should come here, too. I can get you a hotel room."

  "I will come at some point, but right now I want to see if I can figure out what's going on. Did Todd ever mention any trouble to you? Problems at work or with a coworker?"

  "No. He didn't talk much about his job. His work schedule was sporadic. He would be home for a week and then be gone for a few days. He never really said what he was doing or where he was going, but I don't think he liked it all that much." She took a breath. "Todd did tell me the day after Paul died that he'd probably move to Atlanta. With Paul gone, there was no reason for him to stay in Dobbs. I told him we'd miss him, but I understood why he'd want to leave. I just hated the thought of Tyler having to watch another man exit his life. Of course, now it's so much worse. We don't even know if he survived the accident."

  "I haven't given up hope."

  Abby let out a sigh. "I feel so tired, Savannah."

  "I know you do, and I don't want you worrying about all this. Just be with your son and your parents and let me figure things out."

  "Is Ryker staying with you?"

  "I think so. He wants answers, too."

  "How's it going with him?"

  "I don't know. It's crazy around here."

  "I'm sure it is. But maybe this is a second chance for you both."

  "I doubt that. Although…"

  "What? Tell me something interesting, something that doesn't have to do with death or missing friends."

  After hearing the shower running upstairs, she said, "Well, we did kiss. It was an impulsive, spontaneous thing after the explosion. It didn't mean anything."

  "How was it?"

  "It took me back in time," she admitted. "Ryker has changed a lot, but he's still pretty irresistible."

  "You should be careful, Savannah."

  "I thought you liked him."

  "I do, but Paul used to tell me that Ryker would never settle down. He liked his freedom too much. And he was always about the job, the mission. He didn't have time or interest in personal relationships."