Page 45 of Dark Shadows
“No.” His voice was firm. “Beverly's dead because a killer wanted to send you a message. There's a difference.”
“Is there?”
Mason's phone buzzed again. Jacob's name flashed on the screen.
“What's he got?” Savanah asked.
“Says he found something in an old newspaper. Wants to meet first thing tomorrow.” Mason studied her face. “But right now, I think we both need sleep.”
Outside, the night had turned cool. Stars peeked through gathering clouds as they walked to Mason's car. In the distance, a police siren wailed.
“Thanks,” Savanah said suddenly.
“For what?”
“Not jumping in when Pete really needed a punch in the nose.”
Mason smiled. “Figured you could handle yourself. Plus, you had quite the protection detail going.”
“Yeah.” Savanah frowned, remembering Daniels' too-careful attention. “It was weird.”
They drove back to the motel in comfortable silence, but Savanah's heart ached seeing her ex-stepfather. He hadn't even tried to speak to her. They'd been close at one time. He'd made her a wooden jewelry box that still sat in her old room.
He'd been kind when he wasn't fighting with her mom. Even though she'd been unsettled by the way he watched her, he'd never done anything wrong.
Mason's hand found hers in the darkness of the car, a silent comfort in that one gentle touch. Tomorrow would bring new evidence, new complications, but tonight she just wanted to forget all of it.
In the motel parking lot, Mason killed the engine but made no move to get out. “Want to talk about it?”
“About which part? The drunk asshole, my ex-stepdad, or the cop who turned suddenly nice?”
“How about the part where Tina mentioned you yelling in your therapy sessions? It must have been hard to grow up when people didn't believe in what you could do.”
Savanah shrugged. “I learned to live with it.”
Mason's expression turned serious. “You're not alone anymore. You know that, right?”
“Sure.”
Mason gave her a skeptical look.
“I mean, I know. People are much more interested now in the supernatural. A lot pay big money to talk to their dead loved ones. But when you grow up being called a freak, it tends to leave a mark.” Savanah lowered her head. “I think I should go to bed before the alcohol has me spilling all my secrets.”
She stepped out of the car. Across the parking lot, she spotted Jacob heading toward his room with an arm full of files.
Tomorrow. They'd figure it out tomorrow.
She just hoped no one else had to die before they found their answers.
The moonlight caught Mason's face as they walked toward the stairs. His expression was unreadable. Something was building between them, something that complicated an already complex case.
But for the first time since returning to her hometown, Savanah felt like she had someone on her side.
18
Savanah woke to sunlight streaming through the gap in her blackout curtains and a soft knock on the adjoining door. She pushed back the covers, suddenly conscious of her oversized T-shirt and bare legs.
The knock came again, gentle but insistent. She padded across the room and opened the door to find Mason leaning against the frame, two cups of coffee in hand. His casual stance faltered slightly as his gaze dropped then quickly returned to her face.
