Page 8 of Little Dark Deeds (Georgiana Germaine #12)

I t was a somber flight home, but with Giovanni at my side, I managed to get through it. We didn’t speak much, and we didn’t need to—just being together and sharing the same space was all the support I needed right now.

We landed at a small airport a few miles out of town, and once we were off the plane and through the lobby, I saw Whitlock standing outside his vehicle, waiting. He greeted me with a nod and walked over, shaking hands with Giovanni and then wrapping his arms around me.

“How are you holding up, kiddo?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m numb, I guess. It doesn’t feel real. It’s hard for me to accept that she’s dead.”

“I get it, and I’m sorry. Hey, ahh ... Harvey called me after you left Giovanni’s family estate. He told me you two were on your way home, and I wanted to be here to greet you when you arrived. Figured you’d have a lot of questions.”

“I do, but our driver is here to pick us up,” I said.

“It’s not a problem,” Giovanni said. “I can send him home and stay with you, or if you prefer, I can head home and leave the two of you to talk.”

I considered my options.

“I’d like to talk to Whitlock and Foley, and I want to go to Tiffany’s house,” I said. “Why don’t you go home, and I’ll touch base with you later?”

Giovanni nodded and leaned in, kissing me on the forehead. “If you need me for anything, call, and I’ll be right there.”

We said our goodbyes, and I climbed into the passenger seat of Whitlock’s SUV.

“What would you like to do first?” Whitlock asked. “Would you like to talk for a spell? Or would you like to talk while we drive, do a little multitasking along the way?”

“Let’s talk on our way to Tiffany’s house.”

“You got it.”

He started the vehicle and pulled out, turning down the music so it wouldn’t get in the way of our conversation.

“Has Silas been to Tiffany’s house yet?” I asked.

“Uh-huh. Silas, Foley, and I went straight over as soon as we returned to town. When I left to come here, he was processing the scene with his new assistant, Kiera. Bet they’ll still be there when we arrive.”

“It’s surreal, you know, to catch up with a friend not knowing you’re never going to see her again,” I said, reflecting. “Life has a way of throwing curve balls, things we don’t see coming. All we can do is find a path through it, a way to keep on going, even when it’s hard.”

“Isn’t that the truth. Hey, since you and Tiffany were so close, I’ve been meaning to ask ... can you think of anyone who had a motive to kill her?”

I shook my head. “She was happy the last time I saw her. Everything in her life seemed to be going great. And I can’t think of anyone who would want to kill her.”

“Tell me about that visit, if you don’t mind.”

“We hadn’t seen each other for a while, so we spent a lot of time catching up.”

“What did you talk about?”

I gave the question some thought. “Most of our conversation was just an average conversation between two women. But she did tell me she was seeing a new guy.”

“You get a name?”

“I want to say it was Tyler. I’ve seen her giddy about men in the past, but with this guy, it was different.”

“In what way?”

“She said even though they hadn’t dated long, she thought he was her soulmate, her forever person. And the thing is, she didn’t believe in that type of thing before he came along. I asked her what it was about him that made her think he was the one.”

“And what did she say?”

“She thought she connected to him on a deeper level than she had with the men in her past. I guess they first met on a Sunday, so their song was A Sunday Kind of Love. ”

“Etta James. Good stuff.”

“Great stuff. Tyler was a lot more attentive than other guys she’d dated. He gave her flowers every week, and then one day, they were out shopping, and she spotted an emerald necklace she liked. The next day, he bought it for her.”

Whitlock raised a finger. “Could be attentive or could be too good to be true. Sounds like the man was laying it on thick. A little too thick, perhaps?”

“I had the same thought, though I never verbalized it. I didn’t want to poke holes in her blissful happiness. And besides, given I’m living my own blissful life with Giovanni, guys like that are still out there.”

“I should say, yes. I’d like to think I’m a bit of a gentleman myself.”

“From what I hear, you’re an exceptional gentleman. How are things going with my aunt, by the way? I saw you together at the wedding, looking cozy, I might add.”

He tapped a thumb to the steering wheel. “Laura is a funny bird, the kind that’s hard to keep once you catch it, though I keep trying.”

“Is everything all right between the two of you?”

“I should say, yes. She’s a wonderful woman. It’s just ... I’m not getting any younger. I turn seventy-two next month, and you know something—if there was one thing I’d like to have, it would be the two of us living together.”

“I’m guessing you’ve talked to her about it.”

“A few times. And look, I get that she doesn’t want to get married and that she thinks living together won’t allow her the independence she needs, but I think it would be splendid.”

“I know how much she cares about you. Who knows? Maybe she’ll come around.”

“I’m not too sure. She’s set in her ways, as feisty as they come.”

“So was I ... and look where I am now, married to a man I never thought I’d ever see again after college. Hey ... speaking of marriage, Tiffany was supposed to bring the new guy to the wedding. Not long before she died, she texted me and said something came up, and she’d be coming on her own.”

Whitlock raised a brow. “Did she explain the something that came up?”

“She didn’t. I texted her back and asked how things were going with the guy. She said she’d tell me all about it after the wedding, which didn’t seem like a big deal to me at the time, but now ...”

“You’re thinking something may have happened between the two of them.”

“It’s possible. I’m sure I’ll be able to track him down. I just need his last name.”

Whitlock turned, smiling at me. “I just may be able to help you out.”

“How so?”

“When you told me his name was Tyler just now, I remembered something. We found a day planner on the counter in the kitchen in Tiffany’s house.

When I opened it, I noticed a pocket in front.

Inside, we found a business card for a man named Tyler Seymour.

And get this, there were hearts drawn on the back of the card in red pen. ”

I guessed the hearts had been drawn by Tiffany. When we passed notes to each other in high school, whenever she talked about a guy she liked, she drew hearts around their name.

“What business is Tyler in?” I asked.

“Real estate.”

“It makes sense. When we met up, she said she’d been looking into buying a second house as an investment rental.”

“Huh, wonder why she gave you the guy’s name but didn’t tell you what he did for a living?”

“Tiffany’s been through some rough breakups over the years.

Whenever she was seeing a new guy, she gave me a little information at the start.

She’d wait a few months because she didn’t want to ‘jinx it.’ She did say she expected their relationship would move fast, and as long as they were still going strong by the time my wedding came around, she’d tell me everything I wanted to know about him. ”

We pulled up to the house, and Whitlock parked curbside, right behind Silas’ VW bus.

Turning toward me, he said, “Listen, kiddo, I know you’re a tough cookie. A much tougher cookie than me. But this is one of your closest friends. Seeing the crime scene of such a good friend ... well, I just want to make sure you’re ready for it.”

When it came to family, friends, and loved ones, was anyone ever ready for it ?

“I appreciate your concern,” I said. “And I know you’re trying to look out for me. But if I’m going to investigate her murder, I need to see everything and know everything, whether I want to or not.”

He went quiet for a moment, then said, “There is another option, you know. Not that you’d agree to it.”

He didn’t even need to tell me what the option was; I knew what he was getting at.

“Is the other option to step away from it and allow you and Foley to investigate without me?” I asked.

“It is our job to find out what happened and give her the justice she deserves. If it’s too hard, it doesn’t have to be yours.

This isn’t like your other cases. It’s personal.

I may not be the detective you are, but I’m not too shabby.

And I wouldn’t let up until we caught the guy, or gal, responsible. ”

“You’re a great detective. And I’ve worked personal cases before. Yes, they’re hard, and they take a lot out of me, but they’re far more rewarding when they’re solved. The way I see it, the more of us looking into her murder, the better.”

“I figured you’d say as much. I just wanted you to know that you have our full support. Promise me one thing, though. If it ever feels like too much, I need you to tell me.”

It was already too much, and I was in more pain over her death than I thought possible. And I hadn’t even stepped foot inside her house yet.