Page 14 of Where Secrets Lie

“It sounds like she’s trying hard to do exactly that. Look at it from her perspective: she can either assume you’re lying or assume you’re being as honest as you can, but you took a hard shot to the head a couple of months ago.”

“Or she could believe me when I say someone must have planted the bottle.”

“Which you just said doesn’t make any sense,” Jimmy shot back. “So you’re saying she should believe something that doesn’t make any sense. Listen to yourself!”

Hez was cornered, but he didn’t want to admit it. He sat in silence and looked at the national championship ring in a case on Jimmy’s desk. The thing looked as heavy as a paperweight and as wide as a napkin ring.

Jimmy sighed and continued more gently. “Look, this thing may make sense after you’ve done some more digging. It probably will—no one hunts down evidence better than you. But for now, you’ve got to ask yourself: Would you rather be right or be with her?”

Chapter 8

Savannah kept sneaking glances at the clock. Would this class ever end? Hez would be as blown away by the job offer as she was, and she couldn’t wait to get his take on it, but it would have to wait until he got back from Birmingham.University president.She wasn’t under any illusions that it was anything more than her father using his influence, but that didn’t matter. She could do good work here.

The students gathered their books and backpacks and filtered out the door. Savannah grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, but before she stepped away from her desk, she heard the staccato of heels on the hallway floor. It had to be Jess. No one else walked with that purposeful stride in pumps.

Her sister hurried into the classroom and shut the door behind her. Her navy suit deepened the color of her hazel eyes, which were fixed on Savannah. “I saw Pierre and the rest of the committee come into the building. Were they here to see you?”

“They were.” Savannah exhaled and sat back down in her chair. “They offered me Abernathy’s job. They want me to take over as president of TGU. I still can’t believe it.”

Jess took a couple of steps closer. “You’re not going to take it, are you? I haven’t said much because of my confidentiality clause, but, Savannah, you’d be foolish to try to save the university. It’s going down. The fallout from the murders and the smuggling of artifacts affected our enrollment, and that’s only going to get worse. Get out of the blast radius while you can. The way I see it, it was a good thing not to get tenure. It left your options open.”

“We’ve always worked well together. The two of us could turn things around. I know we could. We’d have Hez’s legal support too. A trifecta of sharp minds.”

Jess’s eyes narrowed. “You’re parroting your dad. That’s more of Pierre’s scheme to harvest as much money from TGU as possible. All he cares about is his fat university-funded trust fund. If he was concerned about the university, he wouldn’t have put Abernathy in charge. He knew he was a corrupt incompetent, but Pierre got a promise from him to turn a blind eye to the embezzlement. Think it through, Savannah. Why would he suggest a history professor with zero executive or fundraising experience to take over as president? I’m sure he thinks you’ll do the same.”

Savannah stiffened. “I didn’t realize you thought so little of my skills.”

“You know I love you, but sitting at the helm of a failing university is a big job. It will be a lot of hours and high stress. Do you want that when you’re trying to start over with Hez? Especially now that he’s started drinking again.”

“He says he didn’t drink that wine.” Savannah winced inwardly at that feeble statement.

“And someone just magically put it there. Listen to yourself.Surely you aren’t swallowing that line. Don’t be gullible about him or this job offer. Did you stop to think about why they didn’t offermethe job? Wouldn’t that be the logical thing to do with my experience? He knew I’d take all that stolen money out of his trust. He’s afraid of me.” Jess’s lips curved in satisfaction. “And that’s exactly how I want him to feel.”

Her sister wasn’t wrong. The ill will between Pierre and Jess worsened every year. “But we have to at leasttryto save the school. The three of us make a formidable team.”

Jess folded her arms over her chest. “Why should we save something that’s rotten at the core? We didn’t create this mess, and we risk our reputations to save it. If it goes down, it will take us with it.”

“Are you going to quit?”

Jess lifted her chin. “I don’t know yet. Maybe it would be worth my reputation to stick around and watch the place fall to ruin.”

“I know Hez thinks it can be saved.”

Jess rolled her eyes. “Oh please. How reliable is Hez? I know he’s a brilliant attorney and means well, but his behavior lately calls everything into question. If he truly believes he didn’t put that wine bottle in the trash, he’s having blackouts. Otherwise, he’s lying. Neither option bodes well for helping us. Or for your marriage for that matter.”

Savannah didn’t want to examine her sister’s logic. Hez’s face when he thought she didn’t believe him still pierced her heart. He was depending on her to help him get through this. “I don’t believe it’s as bad as all that.”

Jess leaned forward. “I handle the financials, Savannah, and I am telling you it is. I don’t want you left holding the bag. Yourealize you’d be blamed if you’re at the helm when it all falls apart, right? I’m already planning my landing spot, and you should do the same.”

“Where’s your landing spot?”

A mysterious smile lifted Jess’s lips. “You’ll know when it’s time. I haven’t decided what to do just yet, but no matter what happens here, I want you safe and protected from the fallout. You have to believe me—get away from here before the nuclear blast levels everything.”

No matter what, Jess had always tried to give Savannah good advice. The ring of truth and genuine concern in her voice proved Jess believed what she was saying. Savannah’s inclination to take the job wavered. Maybe she and Hez would be better off in a low-pressure environment. What if staying here increased the stress Hez felt and the drinking got worse? She didn’t want her desire to save the university to doom their fresh start.

But could she really walk away from the place that generations of her family had devoted their lives to? “I’ll talk to Hez.”

Irritation flashed across Jess’s face. “You do that. Maybe he can talk some sense into you.” She turned and strode away.

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