Dark Shadows (Gia Santella Crime Thrillers Book 11) by Kristi Belcamino (best motivational novels txt) 📗

I was relieved to be off guard duty and quickly went down the hall to my own room.

Once inside, I slid the deadbolt and flopped into bed.

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly. I had a pretty good idea who the murderer was.

But I didn’t think the detective thought the same thing.

I went into the bathroom to shower and dress in something more presentable than short shorts and a tank top.

Digging into my suitcase, I found a cute orange sundress and threw that on before I made my way back downstairs. The door to Amanda’s room was still closed, and the officer still stood guard in front of it, so I was surprised to see the detective in the kitchen talking to Ryder.

For some reason I was embarrassed to see them together. Probably because now, thanks to my prying, I knew what their relationship stemmed from.

They drew apart when I entered the kitchen.

“We have made an arrest,” Boucher said.

Owen was in custody for killing Lucas and Amanda.

The hand pouring my coffee froze in mid-air.

“Really?” I said without turning to face them.

“It was a sordid love triangle.”

The detective said that Lucas had drowned after being hit in the head by Owen and that Amanda had been shot to death. With my gun, it appeared. The gun had been found in Owen and Amanda’s room during the initial search.

“It seems certain it was the murder weapon,” Boucher said. “There were no fingerprints on the gun.”

He was watching my face very carefully.

“Really?” I said. “Not even mine? That’s odd.” And should make me a suspect.

“You seem surprised.”

I turned before he could read the expression on my face.

“You have a lot of evidence indicating it’s Owen?”

“Enough.”

That was a strange answer. I turned back around. Boucher was looking at Ryder. But when I turned my attention toward him, he looked away and wouldn’t meet my eyes. What the hell?

There was some commotion by the door, and both men exchanged a look. “The coroner is here to retrieve the body.”

“What about contacting the ambassador? Lucas was just sitting here for hours.” It was crude, but true.

The detective sighed loudly. “It is sad, but now that we just went through the process, we know how to do it more quickly. I will tell the others to remain in their rooms. We have already taken Owen into custody. As soon as we leave, you may tell them to come out.”

“Me?”

He frowned.

“Okay, fine,” I said.

I wondered where Conner was. I also wondered how they had arrested Owen so quietly without me hearing him protest. I couldn’t imagine he wouldn’t have screamed and shouted and fought them tooth-and-nail.

But instead, I watched them walk to the door and greet the coroner and his staff.

I wasn’t interested in seeing them carry Amanda’s body down the stairs. It was just too damn sad. I took my coffee cup and went to sit out at the pool. As I settled into a lawn chair, I looked up at the balconies facing the pool. There was mine. Next was Conner’s room. Then Hannah’s and then Amanda’s and on the far end, Sabine and Clint’s. As my eyes flickered over Hannah’s balcony, the curtain fluttered. I didn’t know if it was a breeze or if she was watching me. A few seconds later, Conner was out on his balcony. He leaned over the edge, his elbows on the railing, and lit a joint before he glanced over and saw me.

I lifted a hand to greet him, and he gave me a slight nod.

We stared at each other for a few seconds before I turned away and leaned back in the lounge chair. I closed my eyes, letting the morning sun beat on my face.

Some vacation.

Now all I wanted to do was escape from this luxurious villa and these people.

But I knew it wasn’t over yet.

14

Conner was escorting Hannah to the film festival.

I didn’t ask, but I overheard them discussing it.

We’d been basically stuck in the house for three days while they continued to investigate both murders.

Hannah was sobbing and Conner was speaking to her in a low soothing voice.

“Hannah, you need to go. I need to go. We need get out of this house or I’m going to go crazy. You have to go. Amanda would have wanted you to go.”

“I was so awful to her,” Hannah said. “I’ll never forgive myself.”

I paused and despite myself kept listening.

“Listen, we all know Amanda was difficult. She was terrible and beautiful and fucking irresistible.”

There was a loud sniff.

“And you were a wonderful friend to her, but she could’ve been a better friend to you, right?”

“Maybe.”

“And Lucas, he was a good guy, but he could’ve been a better boyfriend to you.”

Another sniff.

“I miss them both, too. I’m sad as fuck, too. But I think you should go. I’ve thought about it a lot. I don’t think it’s disrespectful to them or their memories.”

“You don’t?”

Conner was quiet for a few seconds.

“No,” he finally said. “I think we should go. Go put on that red dress you bought and I’ll meet you by the door in an hour. I’ll talk to Gia about taking the Rolls. It will be good for us to get out of the house. I promise.”

I couldn’t hear Hannah’s response, but heard footsteps.

A few seconds later, Conner was bounding down the stairs. He jumped, startled when he saw me at the bottom.

“Hey, I’m taking Hannah to the festival. I think it’ll be good for her. We’re going early. She has tickets to some pre-showing party with Coppola.”

I nodded and smiled. “Sounds cool. Want to take the Rolls?”

“Yeah,” he said, scratching his head. “That’s what I was going to ask.”

“Of course. Have fun. The keys are on the hook in the kitchen.”

He gave me a sweet smile and my heart melted a little. Then he paused and tilted his head.

“Don’t,” I said.

He shrugged. “A guy can try, right?”

He grew closer and reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear. I felt myself drawn