Page 121 of Fatal Witness

Nathan unbuckled his seat belt and shifted toward Alex. “You think I’m not?”

She turned and stared at him. “You are?”

“It’s a big step, Alexis. And if you’re not sure...” He took her hands in his. “You’re shaking.”

“That’s what you do when you’re scared.” Then she giggled. And that was so not like her. A second later, Nathan laughed. And not just a chuckle but a belly laugh.

He traced his thumb along her jaw. “It’s okay to be scared,” he said softly. “But you can’t let fear keep you from moving forward in life.”

He cupped her face, and she leaned into his hand. “I do love you, but what if I snore and you can’t stand it?”

“I don’t think you snore—your grandmother would have told me before now. And even if you do, we’ve got God on our side—we’ll work through it, and any other problem that comes up.”

Peace settled in her heart. She took a deep breath. “You know what? You’re right—we don’t need a venue. We can say our vows on Eagle Ridge and then have a small reception at the house.”

His eyes widened. “You sure?”

She nodded. “I think just thinking about what all needed to be done overwhelmed me, and it’s not supposed to be that way. We’ll keep it simple with just family and a few friends.”

“I don’t care where it is as long as we’re married.” He took out his phone and opened the calendar app. “How about June the eighth? It’s on a Saturday.”

Alex looked at the calendar on her phone. “Let’s make it the twenty-second at 6:00 p.m. That’s the day after the Founders Day Picnic and the extra work that will take will be behind us.”

“Are you sure?”

She took a deep breath and released it before giving him a firm nod. “Done deal.” Then she smiled. “And my grandparents will be so happy.”

“Not as happy as I am.”

She grinned again. “Me too. Now let’s get this interview done.”

The miles flew by, and they were soon turning into Crystal Davis’s neighborhood. It was an older area with well-kept houses and yards.

“Did you say she’s a nurse?” Nathan asked.

Alex nodded. “Works the three-to-eleven shift and lives here with her daughter who is a schoolteacher. The officer who checked earlier said she drove a light-colored Honda Accord.” She nodded at the taupe Honda sitting in a drive on the right just as the GPS indicated they had arrived. “I think we’ve been blessed.”

Alex pulled to the curb in front of the brick, single-story house. A fiftysomething blond in blue scrubs answered the door.

“Ms. Davis?”

“Yes?” Crystal Davis said cautiously. She fingered a gold cross as she looked past them to Alex’s SUV with the Russell County Deputy Sheriff logo on it.

“I’m Deputy Alex Stone with the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, and this is Nathan Landry, Pearl Springs’s chief of police.” They both showed their badges. “May we come in?”

For a second, Alex thought Crystal was going to refuse, then she sighed.

“I suppose, but I have to leave for work soon.” She stood to the side and allowed them inside.

“We won’t take up much of your time. It’s about Kyle Peterson,” Alex said.

“I figured that.” She crossed her arms. “Look, I told that Chattanooga detective who called two days ago, I don’t know anything, and I don’t know how I can help you.”

That was in the report Todd Madden had emailed her, but Alex wanted a face-to-face. She wanted to read Crystal Davis’s body language. “We’d still like to talk with you a few minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes, then I have to leave for work.” She turned and led the way to a small living room with furniture reminiscent of the nineties.

“Sit wherever you want.” Crystal waved to a chair and sofa as she sat in a dark brown leather recliner and clasped her hands together. Alex chose the overstuffed sofa while Nathan settled in a floral chair.

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