Page 72 of Midnight Secrets

“Stuff it, Jedidiah. She’s my friend.” Claire stepped into the ambulance. Pebbles barked and wagged her tail, recognizing Savannah.

I moved in behind Claire and introduced myself. “I’m Detective Quartermaine.” My gaze went to Savannah’s soot-streaked face. “Are you all right?”

She coughed again but nodded.

“Smoke inhalation,” the paramedic said, still frowning. He pushed a button on the monitor by Savannah’s head, and the cuff on her arm began to inflate. “She really shouldn’t talk much.”

Savannah rolled her head to the side to look at him, then turned back to us. “Black—” she coughed, waving a hand. “Black SUV. A woman.”

My brows knit together. “A woman? You’re sure?” I had chased a man away from Claire’s house after the break-in.

At least, I was pretty sure it was a man.

My frown deepened as I thought about the foot chase into the woods. The person had been tall and wearing men’s clothes. It had looked like a man, but I hadn’t actually seen his face.I supposed it was possible it was a woman hiding under the hoodie and jeans.

But that just didn’t feel right. I’d been so sure it was a guy.

“Did you recognize her?” I asked.

Savannah shook her head. “Only saw… hair,” she said between slight coughs.

“Hair? Long hair?” I asked.

Again, she nodded. “Brown.”

“What were you doing here?” Claire asked. “It’s Saturday. And it’s late.”

“Showing. I had… paperwork, and I needed the home… info.” Her soft coughs punctuated her words until she finally broke into another round of deep hacking.

“That’s enough questions for now.” Jedidiah wrote down the blood pressure reading on the monitor and speared us with a look that clearly said we should leave.

I nodded to him, recognizing Savannah’s rough shape. “Are you taking her to Juneau?”

The man nodded.

“All right, thanks.” I took Claire’s hand, tugging her back to the ground. “Let’s go talk to Riggs.”

She spared me a quick look as we stepped out, then turned to Savannah. “I’ll call your parents. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

Savannah offered her a weak smile. “Thanks,” she rasped.

Claire gave a final wave as I shut the ambulance door.

Her face crumpled as the panel shut, and she sniffed, blotting at her eyes with her sleeve. “She looked terrible.”

I agreed. “She’s in good hands. Come on.” I squeezed her hand and took a step away from the ambulance.

This time, she followed me.

“Riggs!”

The chief looked up as I called his name. He motioned us over.

I helped Claire navigate the firehoses littering the ground on our way to him.

“We saw Savannah Smith just now.” I tipped my head toward the ambulance. “She said she saw a dark-haired woman get into a black SUV.”

“That’s what she told me too.” Riggs turned to Claire. “Ms. Holmes, do you have any surveillance cameras? Perhaps some that back up to a cloud server?”

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