Mayes, Casey - A Deadly Row

I realized that he was right. I’d been projecting my ambivalence onto him, and that wasn’t fair for either one of us. “How’d you get so smart?”

“It helps marrying the right person,” he said as he hugged me. “You’ve been training me to be a better man since the day we met. Who knows? Someday you just might succeed.”

“I think we’ve both done pretty well.”

“You bet.”

Soon, I heard my husband snoring softly, but my mind was in too much of a whirlwind to just drift off like that. Zach could turn his thoughts off at night like they were on a switch, but I wasn’t that lucky. How would Uncle Thomas react to his brother? Would they force me to take sides if the two of them clashed? Should I have made it a point to give that money—cash that we could have used—back to a man who was worth millions?

There were just too many questions, and not nearly enough answers.

I didn’t think I’d ever get to sleep, but I must have at some point, because I woke up the next morning groggy from my nightmares. Fortunately I rarely remembered them for long, but in this one, I was being chased by a long line of letters and numbers. They’d formed a perfect line and were holding hands as they chased me through one of my own puzzles.

The image had been enough to jolt me awake.

Zach was still sleeping, so I slipped out of bed and decided to take a shower. The multiple jets helped a little in bringing me fully awake, but I could feel the lack of real sleep, and I knew I’d pay for it through the day. When I’d been in my late teens and early twenties, I’d been able to pull all-nighters writing papers or studying for exams, but the older I got, the more I felt missed minutes of slumber, let alone the hours I’d lost last night.

I wasn’t a coffee drinker by nature, but I loved sweet tea. After my shower, I placed an order just for me; a pitcher of sweet iced tea, and a stack of cinnamon sticks.

I tried to be quiet as I got dressed, but I heard Zach’s voice from under the covers. “You had a rough night, didn’t you?”

“Sorry if I woke you,” I said.

“Which time; now, or when you shouted out the sequences were after you?”

“Oh, no. Did I actually say that out loud?”

“You did. Care to share your nightmare with me?”

I shook my head. “Not before I’ve had something to eat.”

“Savannah, you know it’s just superstition, don’t you? Your bad dreams really won’t come true if you tell them to someone else before you’ve had breakfast.”

“I know it’s irrational, but I won’t do it, so stop asking.” There was a knock at the door, and Zach popped out of the bed like he was on springs.

“Easy, tiger. I ordered some sweet tea to perk me up, and some cinnamon sticks just because I could.”

“Not breakfast for me? I’m starving.”

I laughed and threw a pillow at him as I walked to the door. “I’ll order you something as soon as I answer that.”

“Yes, but will you share with me until mine gets here?”

“We’ll see,” I said.

“WHO IS IT?” I ASKED AS I WALKED TO THE DOOR.

“Sweet tea and cinnamon sticks,” the voice said.

I was surprised when I opened the door to find Garrett standing there. “Wow, I didn’t realize the manager of the hotel delivered room service.”

He smiled at me. “Not normally, no. But I’ve been told you are to receive VIP treatment during the rest of your stay.”

“Funny, I thought I already was.”

As he pushed the tray inside, he said, “No, ma’am. You got Important Person treatment before. The Very was added sometime last night.”

“Trust me, there’s no need to go all out. I’m sure you have other duties to perform around here.”

“Until you check out, that’s not the case. If there’s anything you’d like, all you need to do is ask.”

“Well, for starters, could we have a repeat of yesterday’s breakfast order? My husband’s a little peckish this morning.”

Garrett smiled then retrieved a radio from his pocket. After a whispered conversation, he said, “It’s taken care of.”

“I need to get one of those,” I said with a grin.

“That’s not a bad idea,” the manager said.

Zach came out wearing a bathrobe. “I smell something delicious.” He looked surprised to see that Garrett was still there.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said.

“Was that really the hotel manager just delivering your breakfast to you?”

“I wouldn’t call it breakfast. It’s more like a snack.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’m guessing Barton had a chat with him last night. It appears that our level of service just went up a notch.”

“Where do you go from platinum?”

“That’s what I wanted to know. You have to give Barton credit for one thing. He doesn’t do anything in half-measures.”

Zach reached for a cinnamon stick, and I decided not to smack his hand away. “What about me?”

“I’m sure you’ll be taken care of, too.”

“Then let’s order my breakfast.”

“I took the liberty of getting a repeat of yesterday for you. You don’t have any problem with that, do you?”

“Not unless you expect me to share,” he said with a smile. “I’ve got time to shower.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. I’m guessing this won’t take long.”

“I’ll be quick,” he said.

“In that shower? I’ll believe it when I see it.”

He made it out in time, beating his breakfast by a full thirty seconds. After Garrett brought the food in, he handed me a small radio. “For you.”

“I was just teasing.”

“This will eliminate the need for you to go through the switchboard. It’s set to my frequency. If you need anything, you have only to ask for it, and it will happen.”

“Wow, so it’s a magic radio.”

Zach was ignoring us, diving into his meal.

“You might say that,” Garrett said with a smile.

After Garrett was gone, I helped myself to a glass of tea, and grabbed a stick from Zach’s plate.

“Hey, you’ve got your own.”

“But they aren’t as hot as yours are,” I said.

Zach appeared to think about that, and then he nodded his approval. “Point taken. Are you ready for your breakfast meeting?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Do you really think Lorna’s a murderer?”

“I’m not saying just yet. Push her, and do it hard. I want to see what happens.”

“What if she snaps?”

“Would you feel better knowing that I’ve already covered that? I’ve got a plainclothes detective staking out the restaurant. You’ll be protected the entire time.”

“Don’t I rate getting you?”

“She knows me, Savannah. I’m afraid Lorna won’t open up if she sees me there.”

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“I hope so. It’s not too late to back out, you know.”

I glanced at the clock and realized that Lorna was already on her way. “No, I said I’d do this, and I will.”

“That’s my girl.”

I kissed him, and then I walked out the door.

“Good luck,” he called out.

“Thanks.”

The trip down the elevator was much too fast for my taste this time. I was going to have a rather public conversation with one of our murder suspects, and I wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

“THERE YOU ARE,” LORNA SAID AS I WALKED INTO THErestaurant. “I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to show again.”

“I said I’d be here,” I said.

“I’m glad.”

As I joined her, I scanned the room full of diners, wondering who the plainclothes detective was that Zach had promised me. No one stood out, so I supposed that was a good thing, at least for him, but I could have used the sight of a uniformed officer at the moment.