A Silent Terror & A Silent Fury: A Silent Terror / A Silent Fury. Lynette Eason

“Marianna?” He moved farther into the room.

      Looking up, she gasped. “Oh, Detective O’Hara.”

      “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. And it’s Ethan.”

      “Ethan, then. And it’s all right.” She held up a shoebox. “I’d forgotten to give this to Josh to take home last Friday, and with all the craziness this week, I forgot to give it to him today. He loves to bring me computer parts each week. I believe in recycling, so I was just going to rush down to the bus pick-up area and give it to him.”

      “Come on, I’ll drive you. I’ve got a few questions to ask if you don’t mind.”

      She blew out a sigh, grief crossing her flawless features for a brief moment. She shut the drawer and walked around the side of the desk. “I don’t mind. I can’t think of anything I haven’t already told you, but maybe your questions will jar something.”

      Together, they walked back to his car, with Marianna greeting various staff and students along the way. When they reached his vehicle, he drove her around to the where the buses picked up the students and she hopped out. Ethan stayed put and watched her approach an on-duty staff member. She asked in sign language while voicing, “Cleo, has Josh already gone?”

      Cleo signed back, “Yes, his bus left about five minutes ago.”

      Marianna sighed, hands gracefully forming the words, “Oh well, it wasn’t anything major, just his box. I guess I’ll save it for next week.”

      “You want me to keep it until Monday? I have to go back to my classroom anyway, so I don’t mind.”

      “Sure, thanks.” Marianna handed over the box of treasures with a dimpled smile, then walked back to climb in Ethan’s car. “Do you want go up the street to the coffee shop to talk?”

      “Sounds good to me.”

      The sooner he got this investigation out of the way, the sooner he could start thinking about asking Marianna Santino out on a date. Maybe. If he thought his heart could handle it.

      * * *

      Ice Cream and Coffee Beans, home to tasty milk shakes and fresh-brewed coffee. Sandwiches could be ordered, too. Marianna chose a peanut butter shake with whipped cream. Ethan decided on a chocolate one, sans the white topping, and a club sandwich.

      A plain, no-frills kind of guy, she thought. Nice. He kept his beard trimmed close and his mustache neat. A well-shaped mouth with firm lips smiled at her through the facial hair. Sometimes it was hard to read the lips of people who hid them behind beards and mustaches, but not Ethan. He was an easy read. His lips anyway; his eyes were another story.

      He said, “I can’t believe you went to work today.”

      Taking a sip of her milk shake, she relished the sweet richness on her tongue for a minute before swallowing. “I had to.” She leaned back against the booth. “I love my parents, and my mom would like nothing better than for me to come home on a permanent basis, but one day was enough.” She gave a wry smile. “And Joseph was driving me nuts.”

      “Your brother?”

      She nodded, admiring the breadth of his shoulders, the strength that he exuded. “He’s an FBI agent who works in New York. He works a lot of missing person cases. It’s the first time he’s been home in almost a year, and he gets confronted with this. I told him to stay out of it, but don’t be surprised if you get regular calls for updates from him.”

      “Not a problem.”

      Sucking in a deep breath, she asked, “So, what kind of questions did you have?”

      “Catelyn and I were hashing over the case and we realized there was only one car in the driveway—yours. Where’s Suzanne’s?”

      Marianna furrowed her brow. “Oh, I’d forgotten all about that. It’s in the shop getting new brake pads. She was supposed to pick it up yesterday. Since we live so close to my school, I let her use my car to drive to work and I just walked.” She rubbed a hand across a forehead that was beginning to ache. “I’ll have to call her parents and let them know to go get it.”

      “I’ll take care of that. I also called Suzanne’s school. They said she arrived on time Tuesday morning and signed in but left early because she was sick. We do know that she signed out at four minutes after ten. Assuming she didn’t stop anywhere because she felt bad and wanted to get home and go to bed, I think it’s safe to say she probably arrived home around ten-fifteen. The murder happened shortly after that.”

      Grief cut into Marianna. She didn’t want to think about it anymore but was determined to do whatever it took to catch Suzanne’s killer.

      Running a hand over her hair, she smoothed it down around her ears, a habit she’d picked up two years ago. Curt Wentworth, her ex-boyfriend, hadn’t wanted to see her hearing aids. They made him self-conscious and uncomfortable. Which was really strange, since he’d chosen audiology as a profession. She hadn’t realized until too late that his constant stroking of her hair hadn’t been out of affection; he’d been covering up her hearing aids. Marianna sighed. No use thinking about him.

      Forcing her thoughts away from Curt’s unpleasant memory, she focused on an awful thought. “So, Suzanne came home sick and walked in on a burglary. He killed her and ran.”

      “That’s what it looks like.”

      Tears choked her, blurring her vision. She blinked, refusing to let the endless tears fall. “She should have stayed at work,” she whispered.

      His hand covered hers, and she shivered at the contact. It had been a long time since she’d been attracted to a man; she had been a little gun-shy since she and Curt had broken up six months ago. Her surprising feelings scared her and yet…

      She watched his mouth and focused on his words. “Yes, if she had she would probably be alive. But, she didn’t and…” he sighed, then looked up at her. “Was Suzanne a Christian?”

      That question startled her. “Yes, she was.”

      “Then there’s comfort in that, right?”

      Marianna relaxed a fraction but nodded and offered a feeble smile. “Yes, of course, but I, and everyone else who loved her, will miss her.” Tears gathered again. She sniffed, grabbing up the napkin with her free hand to dab her eyes.

      “I know.” His fingers squeezed. Marianna started at the tingle that raced up her arm. Trying to be discreet, she pulled her hand from his and picked up her milk shake. The sparkle in his eye said she hadn’t fooled him.

      But now wasn’t the time to pursue the mutual attraction. Marianna had a funeral to attend, and Ethan had a murder to solve.

      * * *

      Feet thudded against the stairs, phones rang, voices raised in argument filled the air. The person seated at the desk ignored the chaos coming from the room to the right. “Where have you been?” Tense fingers gripped the phone as the frantic voice shook, wobbled, fought for control and said, “I had things to take care of. The girl’s dead. She surprised me. I didn’t mean to kill her. She fought back and I pushed her….”

      “Do you know what you’ve put me through having to explain your absence? Look…never mind. So, you didn’t find it.”

      “No.” Harsh, frantic breathing.

      “Calm down. We have to have it. If the wrong people get their hands on that…everything we’ve worked so hard for is down the toilet.” A string of curses rent the air.

      “I know, I know. But she probably doesn’t even realize what she has.”

      “Doesn’t matter. If she looks at it…”

      “I can’t do this. If anyone finds out, if I get caught, our careers are finished. I can’t believe this. I never meant for…” A frustrated sigh sounded, then, “Let someone else do it. I can’t.”