Saige set her bottle of beer down on the table and played with the spare beer mat. “It bothers me a lot that my father won’t answer the simplest of questions about that time. I get that he was worried about me and wants to protect me, but something isn’t right. My curiosity is piqued and that’s his fault,” she said, tiredly.
“Do you think he’s hiding something?” he asked her outright because Alex sure as hell thought he was.
“Only because he won’t answer my questions.” She drained her bottle and eyed him before she smiled.
He recognized that smile. She was about to put him on the spot.
He narrowed his eyes.
Saige threw back her head and laughed, which made him smile. Alex knew that his brother had loved to watch Saige when she laughed and he could understand why. Quinten used to tell him that he could watch her laugh all day, every day, and not just because of her infectious laugh, it was because she laughed with her whole body and soul.
“Spit it out, Saige. I’m dying of curiosity,” Alex drawled, while he watched her and drained his warm beer, which he did with a wince.
Saige smirked. “I was about to ask you about Christina.”
His heart thudded in his chest. “What about her?”
“Are you going to take her with you when you head back to Tampa?” Saige looked nervous and he wasn’t sure if it was because Christina would be leaving her father or something else.
“Would it bother you if I did?”
“A few weeks ago I probably would have said yes, but now, I’m not sure that it would. My father and Christina haven’t been happy for years. I knew that before my memory even returned…now that it has, I remember things I’d rather forget.” She grimaced at the memory. It wasn’t pleasant and really made her see her dad in a new light. “Perhaps Christina will be happier with you, and my father will find someone else to love this time around. I guess I just want everyone happy...Quinten and me included.”
Alex wanted Christina with him because she’d been inside of him for years and still was. He loved her and had gone off the rails when she ended things between them the first time. This time though, he had no intention of letting her walk away from him because she kept him grounded.
“She’s coming with me.”
“Good.” Saige offered him a smile. “Are you ready to leave? I think I need some of Pattie’s cooking in my stomach, which is currently full of alcohol.”
“Let’s go.” He stood and led her from the bar.
* * *
8:15pm
* * *
“Detective, I’m beginning to think that you like Pattie’s cooking just as much as I do.” Saige smiled as she walked into the room and found the detective there.
Coulter smiled. “I did enjoy the breakfast the other day, but I’m afraid I’ve just eaten.”
“With Amber,” Saige teased quietly, and was delighted when he blushed. “I’ll let you off the hook. Come and sit”—Saige slid her arm through his and tugged him into a chair beside hers—“and have dessert and coffee.” She grinned, not knowing anyone who could refuse dessert and coffee.
“Well, if you insist.”
Saige was happy to see him and, regardless of what he’d come to tell her, she enjoyed his company. She’d been surprised last night when she saw him with the medical examiner. The woman had looked younger than Coulter, but it was obvious how Amber felt about him. Saige had a feeling that the other woman’s feelings were returned just as strongly.
Coulter cleared his throat and gave her a pointed look. “You’re staring,” he commented.
She chuckled. “So I was...So, not that I’m complaining, but to what do I owe the pleasure?”
She caught his small smile when she placed a slice of lemon meringue pie in front of him and poured his coffee.
He still looked tired and she knew he must have had a difficult day of questioning and following leads to see if Paul’s story checked out. In truth, she was impatient to find out how his day had gone, but she wanted him to tell her in his own time.
“This is really good,” Coulter began around a bite of the pie. “The best I’ve ever tasted.”
“I know. It’s my favorite dessert.” Saige watched him, but her impatience grated on her and she finally gave up. “Please tell me?”
“I wondered how long you’d wait to ask.” He offered her a wry smile, and after he drained his cup, he held her gaze.
“According to the polygraph test, Paul Lewis is telling the truth. The test isn’t always accurate. However, he was arrested with the jewelry belonging to the college girls—both his and Tracy’s fingerprints were on them. He has also given a detailed account of the murders, the description of the girls, how they were taken and several other details that only the killer would know. With all of that evidence, the DA has charged him with eight counts of first degree murder, and the abduction and attempted murder of you.”
“Then that means...wait, Tracy?”