The Colonel's Daughter by Debby Giusti

Author:Debby Giusti [Giusti, Debby]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2012-08-08T23:00:00+00:00

TEN

Michele woke the next morning with a dull headache and the sniffles. She felt achy and sore as if she’d battled some unseen foe all night. Truth was, she had slept little and had been barraged with images of Yolanda’s and

Alice’s battered bodies.

Jamison’s face had traveled through her thoughts, as well. His smile of old had been replaced with a perpetual look of determination that revealed his own personal struggle to find the killer. In endless waves of terror, the knife, the blood, the carnage had all visited her in the night.

Wiping her hand over her face, she pulled herself from the bed and padded toward the window. Low cloud cover hid the sun and cast the day in a dirty gray that felt as heavy as her spirits.

Once upon a time, she had been strong and self-reliant. Now she doubted her own ability, her resolve and even her desire to do the right thing. Everything inside her was mixed together in a chaos that got darker with every turn.

She peered around the curtain at the yard below. Two military policemen stood on the sidewalk. Even without checking, she knew two more would be guarding the house in the rear.

Straining to glance down the street, she failed to see Jamison’s car. He must have left sometime in the night. No reason for him to stay round the clock. He needed rest and time off. Surely he had a life outside of work. Maybe even a new girlfriend, although the thought of him with another woman soured her stomach and turned the gray day even darker.

Coffee would clear her mind. Michele headed to the kitchen and was soon pouring the first cup from the pot she brewed. The rich aroma filled the kitchen and stamped normalcy on the new day.

Except nothing was normal about this Thursday.

“Morning, honey.” Her mother stepped into the breakfast area and pulled a cup from the cupboard. “Coffee smells good.”

“I didn’t hear you come down the stairs.”

“That’s because I was in the living room. I couldn’t sleep and got up at the first light of dawn. I’ve been reading my devotionals and writing in my journal. Somehow it’s helped.”

Michele took another long sip from her cup. There was no reason to upset her mother by sharing her own thoughts on God.

“I walked by your door a number of times.” Her mother raised her brow. “You were tossing and turning most of the night.”

Michele tried to smile. Her mother had an innate ability to sense whether her daughter had had a good night’s sleep. “I couldn’t seem to get comfortable. The last time I looked at the clock, it was 4:00 a.m. I must have dozed off by the time you came downstairs. I kept thinking about Alice. Any news on her condition?”

“Only that she’s still in ICU and critical.” Roberta poured coffee into her cup. “Your father called this morning. The planes are on the tarmac. He’ll let me know once they board.”

Michele thought of his smile and twinkling eyes and wanted him home safely.

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