Sirens blared! Red and blue lights bounced off the homes in my neighborhood. An EMS truck was parked across the street from my house on Continental Boulevard, right in front of Sarah Lawford’s house. There were also a couple of police cars and a few media vehicles. I shuddered when I saw the coroner’s van. I hoped that it wasn’t Sarah. She was one of Savannah’s teachers at the Academy. Kelly parked the Stingray. We got out, donned our FBI windbreakers, and flashed our credentials.
As we approached the house, something inside of me prodded me to turn around. I did. I saw Savannah and Jill Fisher, our babysitter, standing on our lawn watching.
“Kelly, I’ll be back. My daughter’s watching.”
Kelly turned around. “Okay, Phoenix. I’ll take a look around. See what happened here.”
I walked across the street. The closer I got to my daughter, the more evident her grief became. Dry tear stains and a blank stare defined her. I didn’t know if she was in shock or what. But I did know that she had seen enough, even though she hadn’t seen anything at all. At least, that was my hope.
“Ms. Lawford’s dead, isn’t she, Mommy?” Savannah managed to say, fighting back the tears that welled up again.
“I don’t know, honey,” I said. It breaks my heart to see my daughter hurt this way. I hugged her and took her back inside without answering her question. Somebody was dead. That was certain. And in all probability, it was Sarah Lawford. It was her house. I didn’t see her outside. Unless she wasn’t home, I could only assume it was her that the coroner’s office was here to pick up. “Savannah, I think you oughta get some sleep, honey. I’ll let you know what happened, if anything, in the morning, okay?”
Without a word, Savannah turned around, walked down the hallway and entered the bathroom. A few seconds later, I heard the water splashing in the bathtub.
“What time did Keyth say he would be home?” I asked Jill.
“He said he would be late.”
I looked at my watch. It was nearly ten p.m.
“Make sure Savannah goes to bed when she gets outta the bathtub.”