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She grinned at him. “Does that surprise you?”
“It shouldn’t,” he said, grinning back. “Not after all these years.”
After a moment, she cocked her head. “Thereisone other possibility. But it’s farfetched. I suppose Grady could have killed Rex, who’d been planning to kill someone else with the cocktail but ended up killing his own murderer from beyond the grave.” She blew out a breath. “That sounds ludicrous now that I’ve said it aloud.”
“Ludicrous or not, I said the same thing to Bodhi.”
She giggled. “You did not.”
“I did. And he told me my mind is a dark place. So that means yours must be, too.”
She nudged him playfully. “That’s why we’re soul mates. Our dark minds.”
He gave her a heavy-lidded look that she recognized. “That’s not the only reason.”
She stretched up onto her toes and covered his mouth with a kiss. “What an anniversary.”
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to salvage this weekend.”
“I’ll consider the weekend salvaged if no one else dies,” she murmured against his lips.
He whispered, “Bite your tongue.”
Instead, she gave his a playful nip. “We need to get these people out of here so I can fill you in on what we learned from Bethany and Chance.”
“Speaking of Chance, you had a strange look on your face when he was talking about running into Paul. What is it?”
“I’ll tell you when the room clears out.”
Before they could send everyone back to the library, Maisy clapped her hands together.
“Listen up, y’all. It has been truly one heck of a bitter day. We’ve earned a little sweetness. I’m gonna make a big batch of hot cocoa and bake this tray of cookies I found in the refrigerator. How’s that sound?”
The college friend group welcomed the suggestion of sugar with enthusiasm.
“There goes our privacy,” Sasha grumped.
Leo shrugged. “It’ll keep them occupied. In the meantime, why don’t you and I commandeer the library to hash through the timeline and their stories for discrepancies?”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
They were edging out of the room when the scanner in Hank’s pocket squawked. They turned back in unison as Hank headed toward them.
The radio crackled. “Officer Duncan to dispatch. Mary Lou, can you hear me?”
“Go ahead, Duncan.”
“The Carlisles’ car is stuck in a snowbank. It’s currently not operable. I’ve got flares, flashlights, and emergency rations. We’re going to head over to Silverwood Manor on foot.”
“On foot.” The dispatcher repeated the words flatly, but her disbelief came through all the same.
“Yes, through the woods. Doctor Graham insisted on coming along in case we ran into someone stranded on the roadside who needed medical attention. I’m not leaving him alone in a disabled vehicle, so the four of us are setting out for the house now. Any word on when the cell tower might be back up?”
“No. They still haven’t been able to get a truck out there to see what happened to it.”
The police officer muttered something that Sasha couldn’t quite catch. “Great. We tried to call the manor before we left Dr. Graham’s office, but the Carlisles’ landline is a steady busy signal. Don’t know if that’s from the storm, but there’s no way to contact the guests.”
“This is a bad idea, officer.”
