Page 20 of Critical Doubt

"Okay." She followed Ryker out of the room and closed the door behind her. "I'm worried about her."

"She's a strong woman."

"But she's under a lot of pressure. Dealing with Paul's death was difficult enough. Now, she has to worry about Todd."

He nodded. "It's rough. Do you know where Todd lives?"

"Yes. Abby said he was renting a house a few miles from here, the old Thatcher place by the river."

"Can you give me the address? I want to check it out. I can't just wait around here and do nothing."

She liked the idea of being proactive. "I'll go with you."

"Can't get enough of my company?" he asked.

"That's exactly it," she said dryly. "But I'd also like to check out his house, see if there's anything to see."

Ryker stared back at her. "There won't be a good-bye note, Savannah. Todd didn't kill himself. This wasn't suicide."

She met his gaze. "I hope you're right."

Chapter Five

Todd livedin a two-story ranch-style house on a large lot that was thick with trees. While the homes were modest in this neighborhood, each one sat on at least a half-acre. As Ryker got out of his car, he appreciated the quiet. The bells in his head were silent for the moment. He hoped that would last.

Savannah was waiting for him at the front door, and he was surprised to see her slip a key into the lock.

"I thought we were going to have to break in," he said.

"I grabbed the key from Abby's kitchen drawer on my way out. Actually, I didn't know which one it was," she said, holding up the large key ring. "She has all her neighbors and friends' keys on this thing. But I got lucky. The second one worked."

He shook his head at the thick key ring. "Looks like she could get into a lot of houses in town."

"And they could get into hers. That's how it is in Dobbs. It's one very big dysfunctional family."

As she turned the knob and opened the door, he wondered if the police had already come by. But with their limited resources busy with search and rescue, and Chief Tanner being so convinced it was a simple motor vehicle accident, he doubted checking out Todd's house was a top priority.

He followed Savannah inside. The wood-paneled walls, dark hardwood floors, and the comfortable but mismatched furniture in the living area felt very masculine. As his gaze narrowed on the large, tall mug on the coffee table, the cigarette butts in the ashtray and the piles of sports magazines, he could feel Todd's presence. The feeling was so strong, he had to believe that Todd was coming back, that the house was waiting for him for a reason.

Savannah wandered around the living room, pausing to look at the framed football jersey signed by Mark Brunell, former quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"Todd's favorite team," he said, moving next to her. "He grew up in Jacksonville. His dad had season tickets when he was a kid. They went to every home game, until his dad passed on. Then it was just him and his mother. But she started losing her mind a few years ago, and Todd told me earlier that she doesn't recognize him anymore."

"Abby said that's why he moved to Dobbs."

Turning away from the jersey, he moved toward the stairs while Savannah wandered into the kitchen. There were two bedrooms on the second floor. In both rooms, the king-sized beds were unmade. Seeing jeans on the floor of one room, and a shirt tossed on the bed of the other, once again brought forth a wave of disbelief.How could they both be gone just like that?

It didn't feel like either one had planned to leave, had decided today or four days ago that that day would be their last one on earth. Everything felt off, like a mistake had been made, like he was trapped in a nightmare. In fact, that almost made more sense than anything else. Maybe he was dreaming.

But as Savannah came into the bedroom, he knew it was all too real.

"What do you think?" she asked quietly.

"It looks normal. It feels like they'll be back any minute."

"Todd only left a few hours ago, and the heat is on. The house hasn't had time to get stale."

"No, it hasn't." He folded his arms across his chest.

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