Page 18 of A Perfect Target

“Of course, I’ll be available if you need to talk with me again,” she said.

Suzanna and Seth also stood, and the three of them left the office just in time to see the coroner and his assistant pushing a gurney inside the front door.

Everyone in town knew Josiah Mills, the coroner, and his assistant, Gary Walters. Josiah was past retirement age, but told everyone he would retire when he was the one on the stretcher. Josiah had a shock of gray hair and blue eyes that were sharp with intelligence.

His assistant, Gary, was around thirty years old and was as quiet as his boss was colorful and loud. His brown hair was cut short, and as far as Suzanna knew, he was somewhat of a loner.

At the sight of them coming in, Suzanna grabbed Seth’s arm again and fought off another wave of tears. Josiah’s presence here made it all so real. The poor young woman was really dead, killed by a true monster and left in Suzanna’s desk chair.

Seth threw an arm around her shoulder and guided her past the coroner and out the front door. “Thank God the kids didn’t see anything,” Seth said. She knew he was concerned about Sammy.

“All they know is I’m not there to teach them today. Other than that they all should be fine,” she replied.

“Would you like for me to drive you home?” he asked.

“Would you mind?” She still felt shaky and overly emotional and welcomed his offer. She’d figure out a way to get her car back home later. At the moment she felt like she needed Seth’s support and friendship.

“I don’t mind at all.” He kept his arm around her shoulder, and the warmth of his body heat radiating toward her helped a little bit in easing some of the icy chill still left deep inside her. Although she felt like she might never be fully warm again.

Minutes later she was in Seth’s car and headed to her home. “I’m so sorry you had to be the one to find her,” he said softly.

“It was truly terrible.” She fought off a new shiver as a vision of the woman filled her brain once again. “You hear the rumors about these murders, and you read the news stories, but nothing really prepares you for seeing it up close and in person.”

“I’m so damned sorry, Suzanna. I wish there was something I could do to make it better.”

She cast him a wan smile. “You’re doing it.” She released a tremulous sigh. “I’m just grateful none of the students saw her,” she replied. “That would have been truly terrible.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes. It was obvious that he was allowing her to take the lead. If she needed quiet, then he would give it to her. If she needed to talk, he was there for her.

When they reached her house, she turned to look at him. “Would you like to come in for some coffee and maybe hang around with me for a little while?”

“There’s nothing I’d rather do more,” he replied with a soft smile.

Together they got out of the car. They walked to the door, and as they did, Suzanna recognized that she had, indeed, suffered a terrible shock and right now she just didn’t want to be alone.

However, what worried her was how much her feelings toward Seth were growing. It was an affront to all she held dear with Davy, but at the moment she needed a living, breathing man and not the ghostly love of a man from her past. At this very moment, she desperately needed Seth.

Seth’s heart ached over what Suzanna had been through that morning, and he wanted to be a support to her. Despite the horror of her morning, she looked very pretty in a pair of navy dress slacks and a long-sleeved, button-up royal-blue blouse that matched her beautiful eyes. However, she also looked small and achingly vulnerable as she unlocked her door and ushered him inside her house.

He entered and looked around curiously. The living room held a dark brown sofa with bright yellow throw pillows, a matching chair and a television mounted on the wall. There was a bookcase holding not only books, but also what appeared to be students’ artwork in the form of small clay figures painted in primary colors. Green plants in a stand gave the room a feeling of life, and on one wall was an array of framed photos.

“Sit tight and I’ll bring the coffee in,” Suzanna said.

While she went into the kitchen, Seth walked over to the wall of pictures. There was one of her with an attractive older couple who he assumed were her parents. Suzanna had already told him that she’d lost both of them to different health issues.

Most of the photos were of her and her students, and in each one Suzanna’s joy was evident in her beautiful smile. Once he was finished looking at the photos, he sank down on the sofa to wait for her.

On the end table he couldn’t help but notice the framed photo of a young man. He was a handsome guy, and Seth assumed this was her Davy. That loss had obviously devastated her when it had happened.

It wasn’t long before she came back into the living room carrying two mugs of coffee. She placed them on coasters on the wooden coffee table and then sank down next to him on the sofa.

When she gazed up at him, he saw all her emotions in the depths of her eyes. Besides a bit of shock, he also saw her residual terror and horror, and as he gazed back at her, her eyes began to fill with tears. She released a small laugh that held no humor. “I’m so sorry, I just can’t seem to stop crying.”

“Come here,” he said and then pulled her into his arms.

She buried her face in the front of his shirt and began to cry in earnest. Her familiar scent wrapped around him as he tried to console her.

“That’s it,” he whispered softly in her ear as she wept. “Cry it all out.” With one hand he caressed up and down her slender back.