Right Where We Belong (Silver Springs #4)(107)
“But you said you need probable cause to get a search warrant,” she said. “Without this backpack, we don’t have anything we didn’t have before.”
“Yes, we do. Thanks to you, we have the Celica.”
Unable to tolerate the stench any longer, Savanna zipped the backpack and edged away, to where she could stand at her full height. She was reluctant to go any farther, though. She hated to leave what she’d found because of what it meant. Gordon was guilty. He knew where Emma was, whether she was alive. How could she walk away and leave such proof behind?
And yet the detective was telling her she had to do exactly that.
“You think the Celica’s enough?” She needed more reassurance after all she’d done.
“You told me Gavin’s truck is blue, didn’t you?”
“It is...”
“Well, when I magnify the close-up you took of the damage on Dorothy’s car, I think I see a few tiny bits of white.”
“Emma’s car was white.”
“Yes.”
“So...you think you see that or you do?”
“There’s no way to be certain. But the fact that it could be there, and you say the car was damaged about the time Emma went missing, might be enough to make an impact on the judge.”
“Who will, hopefully, sign off on the search warrant.”
“Yes.”
“But I took those pictures in Dorothy’s garage. Wouldn’t they be considered illegally obtained, too?”
“You said the garage door was open. That means anyone could go in there. But just to be sure, we’ll handle it a different way. I know where Dorothy works. I’ll go over there and take pictures of the car myself. With any luck, we could be searching her house tomorrow.”
“That means I can leave.”
“Yes, get out of there while you can,” he said, but just before Savanna disconnected and started for the stairs, she heard movement coming from upstairs.
“Oh, my God. She’s back,” she whispered, and disconnected.
*
Gavin was eating in his office. Although he still battled a certain amount of guilt for not getting back with Heather whenever he thought about the baby, he was so much happier after making the decision to pursue a relationship with Savanna. Since he’d started seeing her, he’d been joining his mother and brother in the cafeteria for lunch with the students, as usual, but he was too stressed to interact with anyone else today. He was waiting for Savanna to let him know she’d gotten out of Dorothy’s house and was on her way to the airport, and couldn’t understand why he hadn’t heard from her. Was she still on the phone with Sullivan?
He hesitated to keep calling and texting her, just in case. It’d been thirty minutes; they had to be deeply embroiled. But he needed to hear from her.
A knock sounded at the door, interrupting his vigil.
Setting his phone aside, he got up to answer it.
Aiyana stood there, dressed in a colorful skirt and purple blouse, her black hair hanging straight and long instead of in its characteristic braid. “You’re not having lunch with us?” she asked.
“Not today.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Of course,” he replied, but she gave him that look that let him know she wasn’t buying it, and he sighed.
“I’m concerned about Savanna.”
“Why would you be concerned? You told me she flew to Utah for a couple of days to deal with some business regarding her ex-husband. Don’t tell me he’s abusive or something else that would put her in danger...”
He stretched his neck to ease the tension knotting his muscles. “It’s...complicated.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “What’s going on?”
Gavin knew, considering what his relationship with Savanna had become, that he could tell his family about Gordon. It wasn’t as if Savanna expected that to remain a secret indefinitely. He just hadn’t done it yet. They’d both been too focused on getting through her trip to Utah. “Are you sure you have time for such a long story?”
“I’ll make time,” she replied.
He beckoned her inside. “Then have a seat.”
*
Savanna hadn’t closed the door to the basement. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to do that, not with how difficult it’d been to open in the first place. She was afraid she’d get stuck down there, hadn’t wanted to feel as though she was cutting herself off from her only avenue of retreat. But the instant Dorothy saw that door hanging wide at the top of the stairs, she’d know something was up. It’d been closed tighter than a drum when Savanna arrived. Not to mention the light was on.
Savanna covered her mouth as she listened to the footfalls above her. The window in Dorothy’s bedroom could also give her away. It was open wider than it had been before, and the screen was bent back. Good thing she’d taken the time to leave everything else as it had been. Otherwise, she’d have no hope of going undiscovered.
Why wasn’t Dorothy at work? Had she gotten sick? Was she home for the day? Or had she just returned to get something she’d forgotten—or maybe lunch?
Regardless, the entrance to the basement was too centrally located for her to miss that giveaway door. Chances were she would’ve seen it already, except her phone had gone off almost as soon as she arrived at the house. Savanna could hear her talking from what sounded like the living room.