Page 31 of Colton First Responder (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Grayson tried a little further digging. It appeared that Zane’s investment bank was still alive and profitable even without his presence. If so, Zane probably hadn’t been trying to run from a career gone bad.

It was a shame, though, that Grayson couldn’t instantly find information about Zane’s personal finances.

Maybe Savannah’s ex had invested his money back into accounts in the company to keep incurring further profits, still growing on behalf of his heirs, whoever they were, now that he was divorced.

That was something Grayson would have to look into, too. But not right now.

Next he researched that real estate developer Schuyler Wells, with whom Savannah had been accused of having an affair during her marriage. The guy was featured on a lot of websites mentioning construction and property sales, primarily around Mustang Valley. His picture was included in several of them, as were videos in which he described what wonderful homes and apartments and office buildings he’d been involved with planning and constructing—and now selling, undoubtedly for a nice profit, Grayson assumed. From what Grayson could see in the photos the middle-aged guy looked earnest and dedicated, with eyes staring straight into the camera, a tenor voice, and a hint of a knowing smile on his long face. His hair appeared short and impeccably groomed. He appeared to be of moderate height and mostly wore suits. A real real estate agent.

But Grayson began getting bored with all the hype, finding nothing particularly exciting about Wells. Grayson figured it was nearly time to go on to his next subject—

Only, oddly, he found something on one of the sites he next checked. Or not so oddly. Real estate moguls, with lots of construction and sales to their names, undoubtedly needed good attorneys to handle issues with buyers who found flaws or were otherwise unhappy with their purchases.

Therefore it wasn’t a huge surprise to learn of a lawsuit that had been filed against Schuyler Wells Real Estate—or that his defense attorney in the tort action had been none other than Savannah’s criminal lawyer, Ian Wright.

So the two of them knew each other. That didn’t necessarily mean they discussed Savannah.

But of course they could have. And the impression Grayson had gathered was that Schuyler Wells had lied about an affair with Savannah to make her appear to have a stronger motive to kill her ex—although that didn’t make complete sense, since they were already divorced. Even if Zane had heard about a supposed affair and used that as a reason to divorce Savannah, once they were no longer a married couple, there’d be no reason for Savannah to murder Zane. He would have had more of a motive to murder her.

Although of course Grayson didn’t know what the settlement of their assets involved. Even so, it was unlikely Savannah would become better off with Zane dead. She wouldn’t inherit anything since they were divorced, and it might be even harder for her to obtain whatever their divorce settlement was, if she hadn’t received all of it yet.

Anyway, Grayson compiled the information that he had found on researching all three men. He’d show it to Savannah tomorrow.

And then? Well, Grayson thought he might pay a visit to at least the lawyer, Ian Wright. Maybe just indicate that, since he’d found the van that had been transporting Savannah, he’d become interested in the murder case against her—and where would Ian go with it now if and when Savannah was found. What were his thoughts about that bloody knife that had become so vital in the case against Savannah? What else would he do to prove her innocent?

Of course the guy would undoubtedly rant about attorney-client privilege. But even so...well, maybe he’d say something that would give Grayson a better idea of whether it would make sense for Savannah to turn herself in—or to run far, far away.

Only then would Grayson let her know what he’d found out from Ian.

And he wouldn’t be at all surprised if that lovely, determined woman who definitely thought for herself would listen to what he hoped would be his sound advice.

* * *

It was late afternoon. Savannah sat in her usual spot, reading an article on the Mustang Valley city government website about the history of the town. She already knew most of it, but at least it occupied a fragment of her mind. She’d used the battery-operated charger to make sure her new phone continued to have power.

So far, no new ideas about chasing down Zane. And she hadn’t admitted it to herself, but she’d hoped that Grayson would come visit her sometime that day.

That was just because she now had something else to ask him. Or so she told herself—even without believing it.

Added to that was that she was lonesome, of course, with no one else around to talk to, no one she could trust enough to call even just to say hi.

And—well, she refused to admit to herself that she really enjoyed Grayson and his company. His obvious determination to help her.

His appealing looks that she could speculate about for the future...

Not.

Okay. Enough of this. She exited the website and pushed the button to make the phone’s screen go black, saving at least a little power.

She glanced down at the notebook on the table beside her. Oh yes, she’d been making notes.

Notes about things she would ask Grayson to do to help prove her innocence, though those remained sparse, and she couldn’t be sure he would do them anyway. More of her notes contained items she would ask Grayson to purchase for her—and of course she would reimburse him. Eventually. As a Colton, he undoubtedly had enough money to buy it in the first place.

But he shouldn’t buy it anywhere in Mustang Valley or in a town near here, because she had listed a lot of things she needed to disguise herself so she could at least escape this cabin. Maybe go into town and eavesdrop or snoop around to find evidence against Zane. Even ask questions without being recognized. Or so she hoped.

She grabbed the notebook and returned to the bathroom, where she again looked in the mirror.

Good thing she’d been a thespian in a local high school, though she hadn’t followed up afterward. She’d acted in a couple of different plays,

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