Bitter Sweets

stepped from the hallway, where Savannah had left him, into the living room.

    The colonel jumped, Bloss snorted, and Dirk’s hand went to his gun.

    “Did I hear you say that Susie O’Donnell is your daughter?” Brian asked Neilson.

    The colonel said nothing for a long moment. Even in the dim light, Savannah could see him turn pale beneath his deep California tan. Then he snapped, “Who the hell are you?”

    “Brian O’Donnell.” The younger man held out his hand to Neilson. “I’m Susie’s brother, Brian. I’ve been looking for you a long time...and for Susan.”

    “Her name is Lisa now.” The colonel’s voice was brusque, but Savannah could hear the emotion beneath the clipped words.

    “I understand,” Brian replied, lowering his hand when the colonel refused to shake it.

    “Well...” The colonel cleared his throat and pulled himself to attention. “... it seems we’re all looking for her right now.” He pushed past Brian and Savannah and headed down the hall toward the bedrooms.

    “Since when does a citizen get a police captain and a detective all to himself, just because his daughter isn’t answering her telephone?” Savannah asked, keeping her voice low.

    “Since he’s Colonel Forrest Neilson,” Bloss returned, his round face flushed a bit darker than usual. “He’s a close and personal friend of the chiefs.”

    “Gee, that explains everything,” Savannah said sarcastically. “Let’s see now...the last time I investigated one of the chiefs ‘close and personal friends’ I was fired. Right?”

    “You aren’t too swift; are you, Reid?” Bloss sniffed again, then carelessly swabbed the used tissue across his sweaty forehead. “You got one of them learning disorders or something?” Savannah shrugged and gave him a demure, if somewhat insincere, smile. “Not all of us are cerebrally gifted, like yourself,” she said. Dropping her voice, she added, “Not to mention phallically challenged and testicularly limited.”

    He gave her a quizzical look, followed by a scowl. Even if he hadn’t understood her words, her smirk was enough to let him know that he had been insulted.

    “You’d better watch yourself. If anything has happened to Mrs. Mallock and I find out you had something to do with it...” he muttered as he brushed past her and followed the colonel down the hall.

    Savannah’s brief sense of satisfaction was followed by a wave of misgivings. Once again, her smart mouth had provided her with a high-ranking position on Bloss’s “shit list.” An honor she didn’t relish.

    “Has something happened to my sister?” Brian asked, looking miserable, bewildered, and upset.

    “I certainly hope not.” Savannah wished she had some genuine words of comfort, but she couldn’t lie to the man. Under the circumstances, she couldn’t even lie to herself.

    She found herself wishing she had never heard the name of Brian O’Donnell. By now, his sister surely wished she had never heard of Savannah Reid. Everyone would have been better off unacquainted.

    “They aren’t going to like what they’re going to see in there,” she said softly to Dirk as Neilson and Bloss disappeared into Lisa’s bedroom.

    His eyes widened a little, registering a question mark. “Not a body ...” he whispered.

    “No.”

    “Good.”

    “Bloody sheets.”

    “Oh.” Dirk’s face sobered. “ Not so good.”

    Savannah glanced at Brian and noted that he looked as though he were about to be sick. She thought of Lisa Mallock and little Christy, the ballerina snow queen. “No,” she said, her throat tightening, a bitter taste welling up from her stomach. “Not good at all.”

    “Charge me or release me. Now!”

    Savannah rose from the rusty metal chair and shoved away from the table where she had been sitting, getting grilled, for the past hour and a half. She had enjoyed about as much of Captain Norman Hillquist’s charming company as she could stand.

    “Sit down!”

    “No!”

    He towered over her by at least ten inches, 180 pounds of barbell-inspired bulk, but Savannah was past caring. He was chief of police of the city of San Carmelita and capable of doing her great harm-heaven knows, he had done so in the pastbut she didn’t give a damn. Enough was enough.

    He made a move as though to shove her back onto the chair. Instinctively, her karate training came to the fore and she snapped into a defensive stance. Great move, Reid , she told herself. Are you really