“It’s different. He’s on the payroll.”
I looked at my husband, who was clearly getting impatient with this particular conversation. Zach just shrugged as he reached into his wallet and handed me a five dollar bill.
“What’s that for? Lunch? You’re not buying me off with a five, you know that, don’t you?”
“Don’t be thick, Savannah. That’s your fee as my assistant. You are now officially on the payroll.”
“Is this all I’m worth to you?” I couldn’t believe he’d handed me just a five. I was worth at least twice that.
“It’s just to cover our bases in case someone asks,” Zach explained.
“The five’s fine, then,” I said as I folded it and tucked it into my jeans. “Would you like a receipt for your tax records?”
“You can mail it to me,” he said as he turned to Davis. “Are you satisfied now?”
“She shouldn’t be involved in this, Zach. It’s too dangerous.”
I was about to reply when I saw my husband bite his lower lip. He was about to handle things just fine without any interference from me. “We’re a matched set, and you don’t break those up. I’ll protect her.”
“Hey, I can protect myself,” I protested.
No one even acknowledged that I had spoken.
“Maybe you’ll think twice about it after you see this,” Davis said.
He pulled a Polaroid snapshot out of his jacket pocket and showed it to Zach. It was safely tucked into a plastic evidence bag, and I steeled myself for whatever grizzly scene it portrayed. I could handle most things, but I still wasn’t thrilled with seeing graphic acts of violence captured on film.
Zach studied it for a long time, and then handed it back to Davis.
“Hey, I want to see that,” I said.
Zach thought about it, and then shrugged. “Show her.”
“I want to go on the record right now. This is not a good idea.”
“She has a right to know,” my husband said. At that point, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what was in the picture anymore.
“Suit yourself,” Davis said as he handed it to me.
In an instant, I realized why Davis hadn’t wanted me to see the photograph, and my husband had.
It showed me crouching in the back of Grady’s truck, my arm extended through the open sliding window and vanishing behind the seat.
Whoever had taken it had been close enough to reach out and touch me.
WITHOUT REALIZING I’D DONE IT, I DROPPED THE PHOtograph, and it fluttered to the floor.
“Are you okay, Savannah?” Zach said as he wrapped one arm around me. “I should have warned you.”
“I’m fine,” I said, though I clearly wasn’t. I couldn’t shake the belief that I should have seen whoever had taken that snapshot. Why hadn’t I turned to see someone taking it? Could I have identified the killer, if I’d only had the foresight to look?
“Are you sure?”
“Zach, it’s okay. He just wanted to prove that he saw us looking for Grady. It’s not like he’s threatening me. Is it?” Another thought jumped into my head unbidden. Was it possible that whoever had taken that photo knew how close my husband and I were to the mayor? Could it be that he was planning to use our relationship to come after Grady, or was it just a coincidence that he’d captured me on film? Either way, I wasn’t too happy about it.
“How do we know this is from the killer?” I asked Davis.
He flipped the photo, and I saw that someone had carefully lettered “3A” in red magic marker. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“We were hoping your husband would be able to figure it out.”
Zach took the offered photograph again, studied the sequence, and then shook his head. “I don’t have a clue.”
“Why does that not comfort me?” I asked.
“Give me time, Savannah. You’re welcome to go back home until I figure this out. As a matter of fact, it might not be a bad idea. You’d be safer there.”
“Are you kidding me? I like to think I’m pretty self-sufficient, but I’m also pragmatic about it. If someone’s got me in his sights, I’d just as soon have you around, instead of being two hours away.”
He nodded. “To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t be able to get anything done here; I’d be worrying about you the entire time.” He turned to Davis. “Let’s see the rest of those photographs. Maybe something I see will make some sense of this mess.”
“It’s all upstairs,” he said. “We were just getting ready to form a task force, so I had my men take everything up there.”
“Who all is on this task force of yours?” Zach asked.
Davis grinned slightly. “Well, so far, there’s you.”
“Don’t forget my assistant,” he said.
