This was so embarrassing. “No, I mean I've had sex before, but I've never stayed the night after. I always do it at the guy’s place and then make up an excuse as to why I have to leave.” She didn’t like the intimacy of spending the night lying beside another person, vulnerable in sleep.
“Oh, why?”
This is so embarrassing, she thought again.
“I’ll bet it is,” Sam said with a chuckle.
“Did I say that out loud?”
“Yep,” he replied, uncharacteristically cheerfully.
“Sam, why are you laughing?”
“Because you're cute when you're nervous.” He sobered. “Look, Naomi, I'm not good at the whole communication thing, but I want you to feel safe talking to me because you are safe with me. I care about you.”
“Monsters under the bed,” she blurted out in a rush before she lost her nerve.
“Monsters?” Sam repeated.
“I know, it’s stupid, I'm an adult, I shouldn’t be afraid of monsters under my bed anymore, but I am, I can't help it, so I always sleep right in the middle of the bed, but if someone else is there then I can't, and . . .” she babbled.
“And you need to feel safe,” Sam finished for her. “Naomi, you are safe with me. I hope you know that. And I don’t just mean physically safe. This is a safe place for you to say anything you need to say.”
It sounded like he was fishing for information. He knew there was more to what happened in her life around the time of the fire. She wasn't going to indulge him though. But shedidknow that she was safe with Sam.
“Let’s go to bed. You need rest.” Sam picked her up and carried her to the bed. One handedly he pulled back the covers, set her down, lay beside her then tucked them both in. He tugged her to his side so she was half draped across his chest. “There are no monsters under this bed, Naomi, you can sleep peacefully.”
Snuggling closer, enjoying the feel of his strong, lean body against hers, Naomi sighed contentedly. There were always monsters under the bed, but she believed that Sam could keep them at bay.
* * * * *
8:08 A.M.
“The third scene is just as devoid of forensics as the first two,” Kane informed them.
“Nothing at all?” Heidi asked.
“No fingerprints, fibers, DNA, nothing, nada, zero, zilch . . .”
“We get it,” Heidi snapped. “You don’t have anything to contribute. He left another photo, correct?”
“Correct,” Jonathon nodded.
“And you showed it to Naomi?” Heidi fired off her next question.
“Of course,” he replied. His boss was not in a good mood this morning.
“And …?”
“And she said the photo was taken the Christmas after the fire,” he answered what he assumed would be his boss’ next question.
“Two photos from before the fire, then he recreates a fire in her home, then a photo from after the original fire. What does all of that mean?” Heidi looked at a loss to make sense of the situation.
Jonathon didn’t care about the details. He knew it meant that this guy had known Naomi as a child. That he had probably switched out the heater in her family’s home the day of the fire.
He needed this over.
He needed to know that his family was safe.