There was no response, so I leaned over and poked at the other side of the king-sized bed, hoping Charlie would come to the rescue, but his place was empty and the bed cold. His clothes and his holster were gone too.
I dropped my head into my hands, rubbing away sleep from my eyes as I realized that I’d likely heard the sound of the door hitting Charlie on his way out. Great.
Any doubts about our relationship that I’d managed to quell last night came roaring back with a vengeance. I took my own advice and let myself play out The Worst. He was probably on his way to find Deputy Wright and tell her that he’d been wrong to sleep with me in the early morning hours. He was probably going to confess his love to her and propose before the end of the day. They’d have a baby within a year. Life would still go on.
I reminded myself to breathe as I felt for the Tiffany lamp on my side of the bed and pressed to switch on the now-electric light bulb. When it brightened, I spotted a note.
Meeting with Wright this morning to discuss case. —Charlie
Oh God. That did nothing to dispel my ridiculous fears. A man of few words sounded romantic and brooding until you received a note like this.
After the sleep of the dead, he’d walked out the door without a kiss or a goodbye, and he was heading straight for a woman with beautiful eyes and dark hair, and more importantly, with an address that wasn’t hundreds—much less thousands—of miles away from him. I crumpled Charlie’s note into a ball and threw it across the room.
I pulled the down comforter over my head and was contemplating hiding out in my room all day when a knock sounded at the door.
“Who is it?” I scrambled out of bed, grabbed the jeans I’d worn yesterday, and pulled them on as I went to look through a peephole that didn’t exist.
“It’s Savilla,” the voiced called. “I have clean clothes if you want them.”
I opened the door to find her standing in a brown leather skirt with a matching fitted top and boots. She looked amazing, nothing like the host of a party where a man had died last night.
“I thought you might want a few things.” She held up an outfit and let it dangle from her hands. It was a pair of soft worn jeans and a flannel shirt, and I caught the scent of linen detergent. She knew me.
“That would be great actually. Thanks.”
I took the clothes and started to close the door, but she put out a hand.
“Don’t be silly. You get dressed, and I’ll drive us into town. I cleared it with Charlie.”
“Into town? Why?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Um, for our meeting.”
“Our meeting?”
Savilla crossed her arms and looked at me as if she wasn’t sure why I kept repeating her words. “With Mr. Froble.”
I was startled. I didn’t think Savilla knew I would be present at the reading of her father’s will.
“You’re the unbiased witness,” Savilla said matter-of-factly. “That’s what Mr. Froble told me when I checked to make sure that he’d heard from the prison about Mommy and StepMommy’s visit.”
The words were coming at me so fast that I struggled to keep up with the meaning behind them. Not only was I disorientedfrom just a few hours’ sleep, but waking up to an empty bed had put a nail in whatever coffin I’d wanted to crawl inside. My mouth tasted sour, my headache had only dimmed with sleep, and all I craved was the biggest cup of coffee known to man.
“I can wait in your room or out in the hall,” Savilla said with an expression that told me she wasn’t planning to leave.
I let her wait inside while I brushed my teeth, showered, and changed into the clothes, which fit perfectly. When I emerged from the bathroom, Savilla added mascara and lip gloss to my face like I was a helpless pageant contestant, and as soon as I’d slipped into my boots, Savilla shoved me out the door.
“So, Mr. Froble told you that I’m…” I let the words trail off, hoping she’d finish them. I noticed then that Savilla’s cheeks were flushed, her hair had a couple of flyaway strands sticking out in different directions, and her hands were constantly moving. She’d either had a lot of coffee or she was nervous. Maybe both.
“An unbiased witness,” she repeated, forcing a smile.
“And that’s common at a will reading?” I asked, hoping I didn’t make her suspicious, but also wondering if she still hadn’t figured out that there might be another reason I’d been invited – namely that I was related to her.
“I’m glad you’ll be there. It’s the first time I’ve seen Mommy and StepMommy after their sentencing.”
So that was the reason for the nerves. “You haven’t visited them in prison?”
Guilt washed over her face. “I was too… I don’t know. It was all too much.”
