Oh God. She knew what he was telling her. If she needed to talk about her relationship with Savage to someone outside of Torpedo Ink, meaning their sexual relationship, he was giving her his permission. He was telling her he wanted her to be comfortable if she needed advice. Or if she wanted out. Or just needed someone else to lean on. She didn’t. She knew what she was doing. She had her eyes open. There were no rose-colored glasses. But it was nice to know she had her Red Hat ladies as her posse should she need them, because she knew they were formidable.
Thank you, honey. I’ve got things worked out just fine, but this is the most perfect gift you could have ever given me.
Savage turned from where he was grilling the steaks and chicken and looked at the woman he loved. Right there in front of all those women, he gave her everything she deserved. He let her see he loved her. There was no saying it because he just couldn’t, not without being alone with her, but he could give her this, an open look, stark and raw and real. Because he meant it. He didn’t understand how she could love him, but he was choosing to believe she really did. Regardless, he knew his love for her was as real as it could get.
The evening was full of fun and laughter. He went inside and left them to it after he saw to it that Seychelle had a plateful of food and all the ladies had their steaks or chicken grilled just the way they preferred them.
Seychelle blew Savage a kiss and proceeded to try to eat everything on her plate, the food was that delicious. Each dish was amazing. It was quiet for about all of five minutes, and then the conversation started up again. The women talked about everything from knitting to quilting and gossip Inez had heard in the store.
“Did you hear about the murder near Caspar?” Doris asked. “Everyone’s talking about it. The woman lived in Sea Haven for a while. I think she worked at one of the hotels as a waitress. You remember, don’t you, Marie? She was a pretty thing, but hard features. Her name was Tawny Farmer.”
Seychelle stilled, a forkful of apricot scone halfway to her mouth. She put it back on her plate and reached for her phone with shaking hands. She just needed to feel Savage close to her. Tawny was dead, and she’d been left practically on the club’s doorstep.
Marie nodded. “I remember her. She actually grew up just outside of Fort Bragg. Always wanted to leave, she said, but kept coming back, even after her mother was long gone.”
“She ran with the wrong crowd,” Inez said. “There was no stopping her.” She shook her head. “There was no talking to that girl.”
“Still,” Marie said. “She didn’t deserve to be murdered and left on the highway like garbage. It was terrible what they did to her. Beaten and strangled.”
Doris nodded. “It was grisly. Beaten almost beyond recognition and then strangled.”
Seychelle could barely breathe. Her lungs burned. Grateful for the cover of semidarkness, she could only sit very still while her mind tried to process what the women were saying. Someone had killed Tawny and left her close to Torpedo Ink. Had Pierce implicated Alena? Did Savage know and he just hadn’t told her?
Did you know that Tawny was murdered and found near Caspar?
“So close to Sea Haven. Practically on our doorstep,” Anat said. “There aren’t that many miles between Sea Haven and Caspar but so many places to hide a body.” She gave a little shiver. “Still, they dumped her right on the highway, where they must have killed her.”
Just getting the news now from Czar. He sent out a mass text.
Marie and Doris said she was beaten and strangled. That lets out Alena. The cops would never buy that she could beat and strangle her.
Best not to talk about this on phones, baby.
She hadn’t thought about that. She had so much to learn. She wasn’t happy that Tawny was dead, but then she hadn’t asked very many questions about the woman. She knew that Tawny had hated Torpedo Ink, that she had some grudge against them all.
“Thankfully, there was a witness. At least, it sounded like the cops did have a lead of some kind,” Anat said. “Hopefully, they’ll solve the murder very fast.”
Inez gave a sniff. “Ha. Don’t believe everything you hear, Anat. Witnesses crawl out of the woodwork saying they saw all sorts of things, when they didn’t really see anything.”
“Do they really?” Rebecca asked. “I would think when it comes to murder, people would be afraid to talk.”
Seychelle noticed the women had no trouble eating their dessert, or downing their drinks and getting up to pour themselves more from the pitchers Doris had put out.