Page 38 of Critical Doubt

She was surprised again. "You have his number?"

"He gave it to me. He said if I find anything out, I should let him know."

"Or if I find anything out, you should let him know," she said.

"I wouldn't betray you, Savannah. But it's not a bad thing for him to want to talk to me. We can use the information channel both ways."

She knew he was right, but she hated the fact that Tanner was trying to play around her. "Fine, but let's call him from Abby's house. I want to make sure everything is all right there and that no one left a similar device in her laundry room. If Todd and Paul are tied together in whatever is going on, I need to make sure she's safe."

At her words, Ryker put the car into drive and pressed his foot down on the gas. The car leapt forward. She braced her hand on the side, but she wasn't afraid of the speed. She was more afraid of what they might find when they got to Abby's house.

Chapter Nine

They wentthrough Abby's home from top to bottom, checking under every sink, in every cabinet, for any sign of an explosive device. Thankfully, they found nothing. But she didn’t want Abby to be in the house for another day or two, not until they knew more about what might be going on.

Ryker called Tanner and left him a voice mail to inform him that they hadn't gone upstairs in Todd's house, so they didn't actually know if anyone had been up there when the fire started. Then Ryker headed upstairs to find something of Paul's to change into, and she settled onto the couch in the living room and called Abby.

"Is there any news?" Abby asked, picking up the phone on the first ring.

"They haven't found Todd yet. But something else has happened. Are you with Tyler or your parents?"

"I'm going into the other room. Hang on." Abby went away for a moment and then came back. "All right, I'm on my own. What's happened? No one else is hurt, right?"

"No, but an explosive device was planted at Todd's house, and it went off. The house is completely destroyed."

"Oh, my God! I don't understand. Why would someone put a bomb in Todd's house?"

She could hear the fear and bewilderment in Abby's voice.

"That's what we need to figure out. Ryker and I were actually at the house. But he heard a suspicious ticking sound, and we got out in time."

"You were there? You were almost killed? I can't handle this, Savannah. I can't keep losing people I love."

"I'm fine. I shouldn't have made it sound that close. It wasn't really," she lied.

"Now you're just trying to backtrack. Are you sure you and Ryker are both all right?"

"We are. We're actually at your house now. I wanted to get my bag."

"You're leaving town? I thought you were going to stay a few days. I know I bailed on you today—"

"You did not bail on me. You're exactly where you should be, Abby, and I think you should spend a few more days with your folks. Tyler doesn't need to hear about search parties and bombs. It's too much."

"You're right. Maybe you should come here, too. I can get you a hotel room."

"I will come at some point, but right now I want to see if I can figure out what's going on. Did Todd ever mention any trouble to you? Problems at work or with a coworker?"

"No. He didn't talk much about his job. His work schedule was sporadic. He would be home for a week and then be gone for a few days. He never really said what he was doing or where he was going, but I don't think he liked it all that much." She took a breath. "Todd did tell me the day after Paul died that he'd probably move to Atlanta. With Paul gone, there was no reason for him to stay in Dobbs. I told him we'd miss him, but I understood why he'd want to leave. I just hated the thought of Tyler having to watch another man exit his life. Of course, now it's so much worse. We don't even know if he survived the accident."

"I haven't given up hope."

Abby let out a sigh. "I feel so tired, Savannah."

"I know you do, and I don't want you worrying about all this. Just be with your son and your parents and let me figure things out."

"Is Ryker staying with you?"

"I think so. He wants answers, too."

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