But the conversation was anything but cozy. Deciding the best way to nail a crooked cop, especially a lieutenant, was somber business. Jake McMurtry had joined them tonight. His misery was palpable, his position being more tenable than anyone else’s at the table… except for Dirk, who was equally ...
the voice said as Savannah stood beside the answering machine, scooping Pacific Salmon Pâté into the cats’ dishes. When she heard the distinctive ca-wl-led Savannah nearly dropped the spoon. Hot damn! It was that New Yorker who had given her two lousy tips so far; the first too general, the secon...
Standing among the grave markers that lay flush with the earth was the occasional palmetto. But there wasn’t a woods, or even a leafy tree, in sight. And since the drought-inspired water restrictions had required southern Californians to shower together, flush only when necessary, and water the l...
The third mile, the romance began to fade. The breezes were too damned gentle—hardly even there at all. The pines and the cedars were too few and far between. And she had decided that the wild sage and daisies stank. Four miles in, she consoled her aching feet and back that this was some sort of ...
Savannah told Dirk as she _L settled among the pillows on her bed, the phone cradled under her chin. “And I’m not just talking about the fashion faux pas of wearing an outfit that looks like something you’d bake a turkey in, either.”“You don’t like the way her clothes were sorta scrunched up arou...
Tammy sat on the edge of her bed, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, and from the look on her face, Savannah knew she wasn’t kidding. “I mean, this is just too spooky. Kat dies like that, and then somebody’s watching you from the bushes and now this.” She waved her hand, indicating the to...
Granny Reid declared, lifting her glass of lemonade in a toast. “All members, and us honorary members, too, are present and accounted for!” “Let the revelries begin!” John shouted, hefting his glass of merlot to the stars. Ryan did the same. Dirk, who was exhausted, simply grunted and raised a be...
“Tammy, I can’t believe you did all this. Bless your little pea-pickin’ heart.” Savannah gave her assistant a hug as she surveyed her “child-proof” guest bedroom, stripped to the bare minimum in anticipation of the arrival of the twins from Hades. “You put away the china knickknacks,” she said, “...
Savannah stood over her shoulder, staring at the screen, looking just as irritated. She didn’t know exactly why she was irritated. But Tammy was out of sorts, and when Lady Sunshine and Light was in a funk, things had to be bad. “No luck so far, huh?” she asked her. “Not really. Sergio was a pret...
She wasn’t home, but one of her chatty neighbors told them that she was a teacher’s aide at a private day school in the neighboring town of Arroyo Verde. As they pulled into the school parking lot, Savannah sized up the school. With its pristine green lawns, generously equipped playground, and sc...
It was rimmed with pastel pink and aqua tiles with an Egyptian motif, and in the center, a fountain sprayed an iridescent jet of water into the air. The tiles were accented with flecks of gold and something told Savannah that in this case, if it looked like gold, it probably was. Elegant palms gr...
She was all too familiar with the physical sensations they produced: the queasiness that went far deeper than the average upset tummy, the loss of equilibrium, the sinking feeling that the ground beneath your feet was about to rise up and smack you in the head. Not to mention the pure panic of it...