the bullet hit.
âAnd the second?â
âRight at the edge of the porch.â Nikolai gestured to the spot, then stepped out from under the portico. âThe shooter was right at the tree line after the first shot. He ducked into the trees after the second.â
âThink you can take me to the spot? Maybe he left behind some forensic evidence. Itâs doubtful in this rain, but weâll take a look.â
âSure.â Nikolai started toward the trees, Jennaâs father and brother following, Sergeant Lawrence walking beside them.
Jenna wanted to follow, but her body refused to cooperate, and she stood where she was, staring at the hole in the wooden beam. Sheâd been close to death and hadnât even known it. If the gunman had better aim, or if it hadnât been raining, or if sheâd moved a little to the rightâ¦
âJenna?â Nikolai appeared in front of her, his tan face creased with worry.
âIâm all right.â
âNot now, but you will be. Come on. Letâs go back inside.â He put his arm around her waist, and she allowed herself to be led back into the dining room.
âI thought you were helping Sergeant Lawrence.â
âI showed him where I saw the guy. Your brother and father are taking him along the path we took through the trees.â
âAnd youâre here with me.â
âYou looked like you could use a friend.â
âI could use some answers.â
âI told you Iâd help you find them.â
âIt doesnât make sense, Nikolai.â
âDeath never does.â
âItâs not just that.â She hesitated, everything John had told her filling her mind.
âThen what is it?â
âJohn told me some things that just donât gel with what I know about Magdalena.â
âLike?â
She told him, the words rushing out and tripping over each other, almost too surreal to repeat. When she finished he was silent, his expression unreadable.
âI donât believe it, Nikolai. I will never believe that Magdalena had a drug problem.â
âHow about her husband? Does he believe it?â
âHeâs on the fence.â
âThatâs telling.â
âHow so?â
âEither he knows more than heâs saying, or their relationship wasnât strong enough and he didnât know his wife well enough to stand by her in death. How long were they married?â
âSeven years.â
âThatâs a good amount of time.â
âThey met in college and married while Magdalena was in medical school.â
âAnd theyâve always lived in Texas?â
âYes. Magdalena went to medical school here, and she fell in love with the area. After she and John married, they bought a condo near the hospital where she was doing her residency.â
âAnd lived there until they moved to this place?â
âYes.â The move had surprised Jenna. The house had surprised her even more.
âAs I said before, itâs quite a place.â
âIt makes a statement, anyway.â
âAnd you said it isnât the kind of statement Magdalena usually liked to make?â
âShe didnât like to flaunt her wealth, if thatâs what youâre asking.â
âBut she did have it, right? A place like this is expensive, and I donât imagine that a doctor who gave so much of her time to charity would have a ton of cash lying around.â
âShe wasnât trafficking drugs to finance her lifestyle. Her parents were both doctors. They left her a substantial trust fund when they died. And John is a defense attorney; he makes good money.â Disgusted, Jenna stood and paced across the room, her head throbbing more with every step.
âYou asked for my help, Jenna. I canât help if I donât ask questions.â
Of course he couldnât, and Jenna didnât expect him to. She planned to tell him that,
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