Silver Falls - Anne Stuart [63]
“There’s an In-N-Out Burger nearby?” Sophie demanded in tones of awe. “And nobody told me?”
“That food is disgusting,” David said with a frown. “You shouldn’t be eating it.”
“And who are you to be telling the girl what she can eat?” Stephen Henry said with his usual malice. “She’s not your daughter, after all. Unless the adoption papers went through and you neglected to tell me.”
Only Stephen Henry could make David squirm like that. Normally Caleb had taken a certain amusement in it. Now it seemed much too dangerous.
“It’s just a question of time,” David said in an even voice. Sophie’s face was expressionless, as was Rachel’s. The very lack of reaction was more damning than anything else.
“I’ll get Caleb another cup of coffee.” Rachel broke the sudden silence, turning.
He was about to go after her when he saw the headlights. With David’s tastefully orchestrated landscaping he could only see the lights on the top of the vehicle outside. A visit from Sheriff Bannister was going to make everybody squirm, and he wasn’t going to be immune. That woman was a hell of a lot smarter than she let on, but he couldn’t count on her seeing her way through the smoke screen his family had set up.
Caleb was up a moment before the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.”
He ran into Rachel in the hallway, carrying a cup of black coffee. “Better get another cup. We’ve got visitors.” He took the coffee from her hand. “Rat poison?”
“Tempting, but no. Just strong black coffee.” She headed for the door, but he moved in front of her, opening it.
“Good evening, Sheriff Bannister,” he said politely.
Maggie wasn’t impressed. “Professor Middleton’s housekeeper told me I’d find you all here. Mind if I come in?”
“Who is it?” Stephen Henry’s loud voice wafted from the living room on liquid tones.
“Sheriff Bannister, S.H.,” he said. “Looks like the jig is up.”
“Very funny,” Maggie said sourly. “Hey, Rachel.”
“Hey, Maggie. What’s up?”
For a moment she didn’t answer. “Good news, bad news.”
“Come in here, oh, minion of the law,” Stephen Henry bellowed, and Rachel rolled her eyes, then realized Caleb had caught her. For a moment she didn’t know what to do, and then she simply shrugged.
“Sorry,” she said. “I have a hard time taking your father as seriously as he takes himself.”
“Don’t underestimate him,” Maggie said, handing Rachel her coat. She was still in uniform, and he wasn’t sure whether that was good or not. She moved past them, sure of her way, and he glanced over at Rachel.
For the first time he could see the signs of strain around her eyes, and he knew that he’d put some of them there. He couldn’t regret it. He did what had to be done, and if she got hurt in the meantime then at least she’d be alive.
“Still in uniform, Maggie?” Stephen Henry was saying. “Am I to assume this is a professional visit?”
“Hardly,” David said with his easy charm. “Unless someone’s been speeding.” Everyone immediately turned to look at Rachel.
“Hey,” she protested.
“Speeding’s the least of my worries,” Maggie said, looking around at each of them in turn. “There’s been another murder.”
And Stephen Henry promptly dropped his coffee, letting it smash on the hardwood floor.
13
Rachel moved swiftly, pulling the brightly colored scarf from the back of the chair and dumping it on the broken cup, scooping up shards of china and spilled coffee. David had always hated that shawl, the one piece of color in the austere living room, so she figured he wouldn’t object. There was no way she was going to leave the room without hearing what Maggie had to say.
She dumped the shawl and its contents into a wastebasket before turning back. Everyone had composed themselves—they were all looking solemn and unsurprised.
“What happened?” David said, sounding distraught. “Not another student?”
“Not another student. They found a young woman’s body over by the Idaho state line. The good news is that apparently the Northwest Strangler has moved on, and so has the FBI.”
“Thank the good lord,” Stephen Henry, the atheist, said with devout piety.