Page 100 of Nothing to Fear

“Hey!” she objected, catching those wandering digits to free herself. “At least pull the curtain.”

“Go for it.”

She laughed. “This is frisky, even for you.”

“The drugs lower sexual inhibition,” the younger of the doctors said.

“Think it’s you being in the room that does it, doc,” Tripp said, swaggering a few steps closer, putting a blush in the doctor’s cheeks. “I’m coming down with a case myself.”

“Oh, Tripp,” Alice said, taking her son’s arm, “let the woman alone.”

Darroch squeezed her hand. “If you don’t walk back through that door with the rest of the family, I’ll come find you. Skull or no skull.”

Okay, he’d find it pretty hard to do anything without a skull, but she got what he meant.

“I’ll come back,” she said and kissed him again.

A good few seconds passed before he let go of her hand. His parents were by the door and ushered her out before closing it.

The mass of Breckenridges clogged the hall.

“Take the boys home to bed,” Alice said to the big biceped Breckenridges. “We’ll wait to see what the doctors say.”

“Carver will take them. We have to talk to Darroch, find out if he was targeted.”

That possibility startled her as much as Alice. “Do you think…? No, it has to be random.”

“Maybe. But that won’t be the only avenue investigated.” This Breckenridge brother was no nonsense, which was good, the night didn’t call for it. She followed his eyeline up to a couple of unknown guys loitering further up the hall. Plainclothes cops? Maybe they’d heard Darroch was awake too. “We have to look at this from every angle.”

“If someone is hurting Breckenridges,” Savanna said, “neither of you should be anywhere near it.”

Unfortunately, the potential cop nearest her made eye contact. That was enough to bring both of them through the other Breckenridges to her side.

“Mr. and Mrs. Breckenridge,” the blonde cop said. “Ax.” So they knew the bicep Breckenridges. “And you are…?”

Wow, not so subtle.

“This is Savanna,” Alice said, twining their arms. “Darroch’s girlfriend.”

And weren’t partners always the first suspects?

“Girlfriend, huh? Where were you tonight?”

“Sitting in a restaurant, waiting for Darroch to show up.”

“So you had plans? You knew where he’d be?”

“Actually no, I didn’t know where he was coming from. We were meeting there.”

“Is that typical for you?”

“Savanna is not a suspect,” Alice said. “She would never hurt Darroch.”

“Alice,” Benedict said, putting an arm around her waist. “This is their job.”

“I don’t mind answering questions, I have nothing to hide. No, Darroch usually picks me up.”

“Why was today different?

---