Voices filtered through the evening air. Most were deep. Some higher. All crisp and efficient. Morris’s bark was distinguishable not only because it was Morris—at this point, she’d recognize his raspy voice anywhere—but because there was rage in his tone. Barely contained, simmering, and ready to boil over.
She didn’t know why no one interrupted her and Gil, but she couldn’t make herself care. She let Gil hold her. She tried to pray for the investigators. For the dead man in her bedroom. For herself and her family and her business and her clients. But she couldn’t find words, so she rested her head against Gil and let her mind go blank.
GIL STRAINED TO HEARevery conversation taking place around him. Luke and Faith were on scene. They’d joined Zane and Tessa, and the four of them maintained a bubble around him and Ivy that no one dared to breach.
At the moment, he was thankful for the years he spent alternating between being a pitcher and a catcher, because most people couldn’t hold the squat he was sitting in for long. It helped that he was leaning against the car frame and that Ivy was hanging on to him like he held her future in his hands.
Lord, please let me hold it safely for her forever.
He didn’t want this moment to end.
I want to protect her from everything, Lord. I don’t understand why so much evil is touching her world. Help me to trust that you love her more than I do.
Love. Did he love her? That was the wrong question. Had he evernotloved her might be the more appropriate question. And he knew the answer to that.
She blew out a long breath that tickled his neck. Then she pulled back and settled herself deeper in the seat of the car. She reached for his face and brushed her thumb across his cheek. “I would love to stay right here and pretend all of that”—she jerked her head toward her house—“isn’t happening. But I don’t guess we can.”
“No. But I wish we could too.”
She dropped her hand. “What should I do now?”
“If you want, you could stay where you are while I go check in with Morris and the others. Then I’ll let you know what our options are.”
She nodded. “Unless I can find some courage I don’t currently seem to possess, I’m guessing you’re going to need to pack another bag for me.”
“No one enjoys seeing a dead body. And it isn’t weak to want to avoid having that memory.”
She sagged against the back of the seat, twisted at an odd angle, probably trying to avoid putting any pressure on her burned shoulder. He gave her knee a squeeze. “I’ll be right back.”
He stretched to his full height and gave his legs a second for the blood flow to normalize. Luke stood directly across from him, back to him, phone to his ear.
Gil turned and spotted Tessa twenty feet behind him, giving off an aura that screamed “do not approach.” Faith took a sip of a Cherry Coke and met his gaze. Hmm. Definitely a toss-up between who was angrier right now.
Zane and Morris were talking to a forensic tech, and Zane waved him over. Gil turned back to Faith and Tessa and tilted his head in Ivy’s direction. In response, both women moved closer to the car. No one would get to Ivy while he was gone.
He was still fifteen feet from Morris when he growled, “She okay?”
“She’s not whistling show tunes, but yes. Can we get inside?”
“Yeah, but you aren’t gonna like it.” Morris turned on his heel and marched to the house.
Zane fell into step beside Gil. Moments later, Luke jogged up from behind them. “Have either of you been inside yet?”
“No. Morris doesn’t have a great relationship with the lead forensic tech, so he wanted us to give them some space,” Zane said.
“Why does that not surprise me?”
They followed Morris inside, scanning the kitchen and living areas. “They didn’t trash the house,” Luke observed.
“No. But how did they get in? She has a security system, and I watched her set it this morning.”
“We’re working on getting info from the alarm company.” Zane pointed to the box on the wall. “The alarm was set. When we walked in, I had to disarm it before we went to the body.”
After camping out at Ivy’s for the past couple of nights, Luke, Zane, Tessa, and Faith all knew Ivy’s alarm code. But how many others knew it? Gil added that to the mental list of questions he was going to have to ask Ivy.
They entered Ivy’s bedroom and paused at the door.
Her room was destroyed. Clothes everywhere. Mattress on the floor and sliced up. Box spring open and gaping.
