“I have no idea, Jules. But no matter what that inquisitive mind of yours is telling you, Hannah did not kill my mother.”
“Do you know where she was on the day your mother was killed?” Dalton didn’t say anything for a minute, and his anger was obvious. “After lunch, I’m heading over to Sutton Hills to question Hannah. Would you like to join me?” she asked.
Dalton held her gaze. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”
*
After a quick lunch they arrived at Sutton Hills in record time, given that Dalton had suggested they ride in the same car. His. This was Jules’s first time in his red death trap, and she wasn’t sure she would survive.
He assisted her from the car. “You okay?”
“Yes, but I left my heart back at the intersection of Bond Road and Duval Boulevard. Did you have to speed all the way over here?”
He shrugged. “I figured you’d want to get here as soon as we could.”
“Yes, but in one piece would have been nice.”
“And speaking of nice,” he said, sweeping his gaze over her, “you look good as usual. Did you know red is my favorite color?”
She glanced over at his car and then back at him. “I figured as much, but I hope you don’t think I decided to wear this red dress today because of you.”
He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I can hope, can’t I?”
Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her lips and then surprised her when he took her hand and led her to the massive front door. Pulling out a key, he opened it and ushered Jules in. “Hannah?” he called out.
It wasn’t long before Hannah appeared from the back. Not for the first time, Jules recognized that Hannah was a beautiful older woman and could see why Richard Granger had fallen in love with her.
“Dalton! Ms. Bradford! Had I known you were coming, I would have prepared lunch.”
Jules smiled. “Thanks, but we’ve eaten already. I hate to impose on your time, and you may not have heard, but I recently reopened the Sylvia Granger case and—”
“You did?”
Was that nervousness she heard in Hannah’s voice? “Yes, yes, I did.”
“That’s good news if Shep will be released from jail,” she said.
“Yes, it sure would be. I’m checking on a few things, and I’m here to ask you a few questions if that’s all right.”
“Me?” She looked at Dalton and then at Jules. “I don’t understand. Why would you want to ask me any questions? I’m sure I can’t have much to say that would shed any light on the matter.”
Detecting anxiety in her tone, as well, Dalton reached out and took her hand. “It’s just routine, Hannah. She had to ask Jace, Caden and me some questions, too. Come on, let’s sit in the living room and get this over with.”
*
Bruce studied the portrait he’d taken from Dalton’s office. Already, he had scanned it for bugs, magnetic cameras and hidden spyware. Now he was searching the internet to determine the artist’s name and when the scene had been painted. To be honest, he wasn’t impressed with the artwork. But there had certainly been something about the painting that had interested Brandy Booker. And he was curious as to what that was.
Forty-Two
“What do you want to know, Ms. Bradford?”
Jules noted that Hannah’s nervousness had increased and wondered whether Dalton had picked up on it, as well. “Mainly I’d like to know about your relationship with Sylvia. Did the two of you get along?”
Hannah glanced over at Dalton, and he gave her a supportive smile. “I won’t lie to you. She wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, but I did my best.”
Jules nodded and decided to get straight to the point. “Sylvia mentioned to someone that you had threatened her and that you were afraid of losing your job here at Sutton Hills. Apparently, she was going to fire you.”
Hannah’s spine stiffened. “Yes, she said she was going to fire me. But she said that often enough that I just ignored it.”