Page 55 of Dark Shadows
“I like you, Savanah. I like you a lot. You and I are good together, and I hope, after all of this is over, that we can explore that.”
Her heart raced at his words. She liked him too. She was falling for him in a way she hadn’t fallen before, and that scared her. They barely knew each other. Not enough for any of it to make sense.
“I like you too,” she answered.
“Good.” He reached for her hand and kissed her wrist.
“You here to take me back to the motel?”
He nodded and gestured toward the ladder, following her down. Her mother stood in the kitchen doorway.
“You don't have to go,” her mom said.
“Yes, I do.” Savanah hugged her. “But I'll be back. I promise.”
The drive back was different from the drive over. The tension between them was gone, whether it was from their talk or the killer being caught. Maybe both. When they reached the motel, Mason walked her to her door and checked the room before letting her enter.
“Savanah…”
“I get it.” She touched his arm briefly. “We've both had ghosts to deal with.”
Inside her room, she listened to his footsteps stop at his door, and then it opened and shut.
Tomorrow they'd face their doubts, their fears, their growing feelings.
Or they wouldn’t. Either way, her time in town was coming to an end.
22
Savanah woke to voices in Mason's room. She pulled on jeans and ran a brush through her hair before knocking on the adjoining door.
“Come in,” Jacob called out.
Files and papers covered every surface of Mason's room, more than yesterday. Jacob sat surrounded by police reports, his tie loosened and shirt sleeves rolled up.
“Where's Mason?”
“Coffee run. The coffee pot gave out.” Jacob held up a report. “Found something interesting. The cemetery had a spike in vandalism over the last decade. All the same symbol.”
“We know that. Apparently, there were about twenty, give or take.” Savanah settled into the desk chair, pulling her legs up.
“Five this year alone.” He shuffled through papers. “Local PD investigated but couldn’t find the vandal.”
The door opened, and Mason backed in carrying a drink carrier and a paper bag. “Breakfast of champions.” He handed Jacob a coffee and set everything down, removing the remaining two coffees and handing one to Savanah. Their fingers brushed, earning a smile.
“Powdered donuts?” she asked, peering into the bag.
“Sorry, I can go back and get you some toast and jelly.”
She grinned, remembering their first trip to the diner. Had that only been days ago?
“Why are you guys still researching this? I thought you caught the killer.”
Mason shared a knowing look with Jacob. “Daniels has an iron-clad alibi for Beverly’s time of death. I think we’re dealing with two killers.”
Her mouth parted before she snapped it closed. Two killers.
“Did you finish going through the police reports?” Mason prompted, turning to Jacob.
