Page 81 of Little Bitter Truths
“What face?”
“You know the one.”
“I was just replaying the conversation I had with Renee in my mind,” I said.
“And?”
“I told her I thought Mia was the killer’s intended target, and yet she’s still coming.Most people would hesitate to visit until the case was solved.So why isn’t she?”
“What is your gut telling you?”
“Part of me believes she’s desperate for a connection with Mia, and she’s decided it’s worth it to insert herself into a dangerous situation in order to get it.”
“And the other part?”
“Renee has an alibi for the night of Wren’s murder.But what if the neighbor is protecting her?”
“Do you think Renee is capable of orchestrating a murder?”
“The house her grandfather lived in is worth a lot of money.I’m not saying she’d kill for it, but if Wren and Mia were out of the way, or even just Mia, I could see how she’d assume it would go to her.”
I let out a long sigh.
“What is it?”he asked.
“I’m grasping at anything and everything right now, aren’t I?I don’t have a speck of proof to back up what I just said.”
“Better keep an eye on Mia just in case.”
“I will.”
Giovanni pulled me into a tight embrace, and for a moment, I let myself sink into it, wishing I could remain in the comfort of his arms a lot longer.
When he pulled away, he met my gaze.“If there’s anything I can do, say the word.”
I nodded and headed to the bedroom.Somewhere beneath the calm of the morning was a restless feeling that wouldn’t go away, the same feeling I’d had since the case began.I felt like I was standing too close to something dangerous, and I still didn’t understand what it was yet.
32
Mia said almost nothing during the drive.It wasn’t until we turned onto her street and approached the house that she showed any sign of what she was feeling.She let out a long breath, the nerves she’d been holding in beginning to show.
I’d hoped to find a sign that Adrian was home as we neared his place, but as we approached, Mia said, “Adrian’s not home.”
“How do you know?”
“If he was, his truck would be in the driveway.”
I parked along the curb and saw a silver SUV waiting in Mia’s driveway.The moment Renee spotted us, she waved, stepping out of the vehicle with a look of excitement on her face.And she wasn’t alone.Bryan was with her.
Renee hurried across the driveway, wrapping Mia in a tight embrace the moment she got to her, saying, “It’s so good to see you!”
Mia’s body tensed beneath the embrace, the reaction of someone unaccustomed to such open displays of affection.If Renee noticed, she gave no indication.
“It’s good to see you too,” Mia said, though the words came out as more of a formality than anything else.
Renee released her and stepped back.“You look exhausted.”
“I suppose I am.”
