Snowed In (20 page)
“Was there anyone here who wasn’t a member of the family?”
“You mean besides all the bodyguards?”
“Besides them, yes. Any visitors?”
“Elizabeth was a visitor. She doesn’t live here.”
“Anyone else?”
She shook her head. “But I don’t keep track of everyone who
comes and goes.”
“Because you’re not interested?”
“That, and because I don’t want to know about the Giardino
business.”
“Sir, the M.E. says he’s finished in the library,” one of the
black-clad officers addressed Thompson.
Thompson nodded. “All right. Then you can seal off the
room.”
“Where is everyone?” Stacy asked. The first shock of the
invasion had worn off and uneasiness stole over her like a virus, making her
feel sick and a little dizzy. “The other women and the rest of the family.”
“They’re being taken care of. You were the only one unaccounted
for. Where were you when the shooting started?”
“In the bathroom, if that really makes any difference.”
The double doors leading into the hall opened and a man in
black backed into the room, wheeling a gurney. Stacy stared at the figure on the
gurney, covered by a white sheet. A bone-deep chill swept through her. “Who is
that?” she asked, forcing the words out.
“Mrs. Giardino—” Thompson put out his arm to stop her, but she
threw off his grasp and ran to the gurney.
The men wheeling it past stopped and looked at Thompson.
“Sir?”
“It’s all right.” Thompson glanced at Carlo, who had crawled
under the coffee table and was absorbed in orchestrating elaborate car crashes.
“Let her look.”
She hesitated, staring at the outline of a face under the white
sheet, afraid of what she’d see there, yet knowing she had to look.
The man at the head of the gurney leaned over and flipped back
the sheet.
Stacy gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Thompson’s
hand rested heavy on her shoulder. “Can you identify this man for me, please?”
he asked.
“That’s my husband,” she whispered. In death, he looked older
than she remembered, his skin waxy and slack, the cruelty gone from his
expression. “That’s Sammy,” she breathed, and staggered back into the marshal’s
arms.
Copyright © 2014 by Cynthia Myers
ISBN-13: 9781460327746
SNOWED IN
Copyright © 2014 by Kay Bergstrom
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