"You can rent darkroom time."
"Yeah, and that might be what he did. Or he rented an apartment, a house, brought in his own equipment. Or bought new. He would have more control, wouldn't he, if it was his own place, his own equipment?" Her eyes met Nathan's. "That's what drives this. The control.
He could go back and forth between the mainland and the island. He'd be in control."
To control the moment, to manipulate the mood, the subject, the outcome. That is the true power of art. His father's words, he remembered, neatly written on the page.
"Yes, it's about control. So we check photo supply outlets, find out if someone ordered equipment to outfit a darkroom and had it shipped to Savannah. It won't be easy, and it won't be quick."
"No, but it's a start." It was good to think, to have a tangible task.
"He'd likely be alone. He needs the freedom to come and go as he pleases. He took pictures of me all over the island, so he's wandering around freely. We can keep our eye out for a man alone with a came though we're just as likely to jump some harmless bird-watcher."
"If it was Kyle, I'd know him. I'd recognize him."
"Would you, Nathan? If he didn't want you to? He'd know you here. And he'd know that I've been with you. Annabelle Hathaw daughter with David Delaney's son. There are some who might see It as coming full circle. And if that's so, I don't believe you're any s than I am."
o slept into midday and woke alone. she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept until ten, or when she had enjoyed such a deep and dream less sleep.
she wondered if she should have been rest less, edgy, or weepy. Perhaps she'd been all of those things long enough, and there was no need to go on with them now that she knew the truth.
she could grieve for her mother. And for a woman the same age as Jo was now who had faced the worst kind of horror.
But more, she could grieve for the years lost in the condemnation of a mother, a wife, a woman who had done nothing more sinfill than catch the eye of a madman.
Now there could be healing.
"He loves me, Mama," she whispered. "Maybe that's fate's way of paying us all back for being cruel and heartless twenty years ago. I'm happy. No matter how crazy the world is right now, I'm happy with him."
she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Starting today, she promised herself, they were going to stand together and fight back.
In the living room, Nathan finished up yet another call, this one to the American consulate in Nice. He hadn't slept. His eyes were gritty, his soul scorched. He felt as if he were running in circles, pulling together information, searching for any hint, any whisper that he'd mis months before.
And all the while he dealt with the dark guilt that his deepest hid was to confirm that his own brother was dead.
He looked up as he heard footsteps mounting his stairs. Wo up a smile when he saw Gaff behind the screen, he waved him in completed the call.
"Didn't mean to interrupt you," Giff said.
"No problem. I'm finished, for now."
"I was heading out to do a little work on Live Oak Cottage thought I'd drop off these plans. You said how you wouldn't minding a look at the design I've been working up for the solarium at Santuary.
"I'd love to see it." Grateful for the diversion, Nathan walked over to take the plans and unroll them on the kitchen table. "I had some ideas on that myself, then I got distracted."
"Well." Gaff tucked his tongue in his cheek as Jo walked out from the bedroom. "Understandable enough. Morning, Jo Ellen."
she could only hope she didn't flush like a beet and compound the embarrassment as both men stared at her. she'd pulled on one of Nathan's T-shirts and nothing else. Though the bottom of it skimmed her thighs, she imagined it was obvious that she wore nothing under it.
This would teach her, she supposed, to follow the scent of coffee like a rat to the tune of the pipe. "Morning, Giff
"I was just dropping something off here."
"Oh, well, I was just ... going to get some coffee." she decided to brazen it out and walked to the counter to pour a mug. "I'll just take it with me."
Giff couldn't help himself It was such a situation. And since he was dead sure Lexy would want all the details, he tried for more. "You might want to take a look yourself Icate's got that bee in her bonnet about this sunroom add-on. You always had a good eye for things."
Manners or dignity) It was an impossible decision for a woman raised on southern traditions. Jo did her best to combine both and stepped over to study the drawing. she puzzled over what appeared to be a side view of a long, graduated curve with a lot of neatly printed numbers and odd lines.
Nathan ordered himself to shift his attention from Jo's legs back to the drawing. "It's a good concept. You do the survey?"