Black Orchid Girls: A completely nail-biting and gripping crime thriller (Detective Amanda Steele Book 4) by Carolyn Arnold

Author:Carolyn Arnold [Arnold, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803142142
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2022-02-09T18:30:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

Amanda drove home, her foot heavy on the gas. Tomorrow she and Trent would start looking into Chloe’s haters on Snap VidPic. Tonight, she was all Zoe’s. And this Saturday, she planned to take her to the aquarium in Washington.

The sky was dark as she reached Dumfries. Thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning streaked across the sky. Zoe was terrified of storms, and for good reason. The night her parents were murdered, she’d been in their bed due to a thunderstorm.

Amanda hit the pedal a little harder and was pulling into her driveway at five forty-five. The front light was on, thanks to Libby’s foresight. Amanda rushed from the car to the door as the sky opened. The rain pounded the pavement and bounced, splashing up to her knees.

By the time she burst through the door, she was soaking wet. For a moment, she envied dogs and how they could simply shake the extra moisture away.

“Oh my, look at you.” Libby came hustling over with a towel extended.

“Thank you.” Amanda wiped herself down and slipped out of her shoes. A puddle spilled out around them on the tile floor. She hung her jacket on the coat rack and looked into the living room that was off to the left of the entry. The couch cushions were askew, like they’d been tossed, and the throw pillows were on the floor. “Where’s Zoe?”

“In her room.”

Amanda raced down the hallway. Zoe’s bedroom door was shut, and Amanda knocked. “Zoe, sweetie, I’m home.” She waited, trying to afford the girl opportunity to respond and invite her in, but there was nothing but silence. “Zoe, I’m coming in, okay?”

Quiet except for some rumbling thunder that was getting closer.

Amanda slowly turned the handle and entered the room. The comforter had been yanked from the bed and sat in a pile on the floor. Even the bedsheets had been tugged off. Her pillow was across the room. The stuffed doll collection she’d brought from her family home had been knocked off the bookshelf.

All signs of a tantrum.

“Zoe?” She could barely get her name out. Just seeing the room in this state, imagining what the poor child was going through, wrenched her heart. “You’re safe, honey.”

The sound of sniffling.

It got louder as Amanda approached the closet. The bifold doors were shut. She slowly opened them and announced what she was doing so as not to startle her. Zoe was huddled against the wall with Lucky hugged tight to her chest.

A clap of loud thunder shook the house.

Zoe screamed out, and tears snaked down her cheeks. Amanda dropped to her knees next to Zoe and scooped her into her arms. Zoe slapped at her.

“No. Go away! You’re not my mom!”

The reaction might as well have been a knife to Amanda’s heart. The burning sensation coursed through her, setting her on fire. “Sweetheart,” she cooed softly.

“No. Go!” Zoe yelled at the top of her lungs.

All Amanda wanted to do was pull the girl to her, protect her, and heal her hurts, but Zoe needed to process these emotions for herself.

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