“Raven.”
“I didn’t even know who it was… until they told me. There was too much smoke….”
The fear in his eyes, standing in front of the flames, being carried to the stretcher came back to her as a vivid memory.
“You—” she cleared her throat, choking back tears, “rescued her, and she’s going to be okay, and so are you, and I’m just—I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Gettin’ there.” He grinned, but it faded. “I…”
“What?” His chest heaved, and he wheezed, shaking his head. She sat, waiting for him to relax, and as he caught his breath, she leaned in and whispered, “What is it?”
“It’s crazy… but I hallucinated and… I saw you there. At the fire.”
“I was there.”
He frowned. “How? Why?”
“Raven and I have recently become friends.”
“Ah.”
“We were supposed to be getting together, and when she didn’t show…”
“I see. So, I wasn’t seeing things, then.”
She sighed. “Nope. I was there.”
“You were scared. I’m sorry.”
Why is he apologizing? He didn’t mean to scare me.
“Pfft. Don’t be sorry.” She focused on twisting her rings around her finger. “You saved the day. You’re a hero, Jack.”
“I’m just telling you, that’s what I was thinking about. How I… thought I scared you.” He frowned and squinted as she turned to him. “Don’t worry, I’m a survivor.”
He’s always put up a tough front for me. He and Drew both did. But I’ve seen a vulnerable side to him.
Lying in this bed, on oxygen, being monitored, you think he’d seem vulnerable, but he doesn’t. Maybe he can’t right now, after what happened.
She rested her arm along the back of the chair, slumping to the side. “I know you’re modest, and you brush it off, but you sacrifice so much. I know Drew would be proud of you.”
“Drew was… he was supposed to be doing this with me.” Jack choked up.
“I know,” Madigan whispered. “He would have made a great fireman.”
“It hurts to think about. A lot of things hurt right now.”
“Do you need the nurse?”
“No. I’ve just got to be patient. Not a strong suit of mine.”
“I know. Me either.”
“I know.” He smiled over at her and blew out a breath slowly, taking another in and closing his eyes. “Thanks for coming to see me.”
She stood. “Of course.”
“I’ll try not to scare you again,” he said, opening one eye, “but no promises.”
“I’m surprised it matters so much to you.” She stepped to the side and teetered her balance from one foot to the other in a playful way. “You and Drew used to love scaring me when we were kids. Especially during Halloween.”
“Every year.” He smirked, opening his eyes and staring at her. “You made it easy. You were so jumpy and always had the best reactions. If you would’ve pretended it didn’t bother you… we probably wouldn’t have done it.”
She cocked her head to the side and eyed him.
“Fine,” he coughed out a laugh. “We still would have done it, but you’re the one who made it fun.”
“That’s a first,” she snickered.
“What’s that?”
“Admitting I’m the fun one.”
“I never said that.” He let out a low laugh as footsteps clicked across the floor behind her.
Aleesia emerged from around the corner and took in Madigan’s presence, her brows raised.
“Hey,” Jack said, his voice raspier than before.
She pressed her lips together, looking at Madigan with surprise as she walked past her, and donning a smile as she turned to Jack. “Hey you.” She bent down and kissed his lips.
Is she doing it on purpose? Rubbing it in my face? What am I saying? They’re engaged.
I need to go.
“I should go,” Madigan said.
Aleesia turned to her. “You take care now.”
“Thanks for the visit,” Jack whispered.
She smiled and turned, leaving the room, her ankle boots shuffling against the floor.
There are worse things than Jack and Aleesia together. He’s safe. Why do I still feel sick about it? Why can’t I just be grateful someone cares about him?
“Hey,” Malone called from down the hallway. “You look tired. I got this. You should go home. Change?”
“I look that bad, huh?” She sauntered toward him, staring down at the clothes she dressed in for the bar. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I’ll be right here.” He nodded toward Raven’s room. “Her friend’s in there right now.”
Madigan frowned. “Who?”
“Melanie. Her assistant.”
Madigan peeked in, and Melanie sat beside Raven as she slept.
She’s been absent since last night, and now she’s here, alone with her.
“Officer Malone?” she asked, stepping back out. “I know I’m in no position to tell you what to do, but will you keep an eye on whoever’s in there with her?”
“It’s my job.” He gave a tight-lipped smile to her, and she nodded, shuffling down the hallway.
Let Buster out. Change.
She picked up her pace, striding down the hallway.
Come right back.
Thirty-Nine
“You almost there?” Mac asked.
“Almost.” Grace drove down Main Street as dark clouds rolled through the gray, afternoon sky. “Wish you were here, too.”
“I know. Me too.”
“Have fun with Kenzie this weekend.”
“Oh, I will. I think we’re going to make a fort together while we watch a movie.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Yeah, and then her mom is picking her up on Sunday before her swimming lesson.”
“I hate to think I still won’t know what’s going on by then, but maybe on Monday, you could come back out with me again? You know I could use the help.”
The line was silent as she pulled into the college parking lot. “Mac?”
“Yeah, sorry. I talked to Banning, and he asked me to return to my beat on Monday.”
“Maybe if I talk to him, he’ll understand. It’s not like I’m just dealing with trying to see Gaines. I have Raven’s case to investigate now too. There could be someone out there still after her and Newcomb.” More silence. “I just wish you could be with me.”
“I know. I wish I could too. If you’re not in a public place, get an officer to go with you, okay?”
“I know. I will.” She pulled into a parking spot by the back lot. “I’m here now; I have to go.”
“Okay, be careful and call me if you need me—well—not to come, but just for support or to bounce ideas off of.”
“I get it. Thanks.” She ended the call and stepped out of the car, the wind whistling as she pulled her phone from her pocket.
Banning doesn’t understand. I need someone who knows what’s been happening so I don’t have to fill them in again.
She hit Banning’s number and pressed the phone to her ear.
“Sheppard. What do you have for me?”
“A request,” she said, striding past rows of student parking. “On Monday, could you schedule Mac with me again? I need someone who knows the case with me.”
“Are you presuming you won’t have this case under control by then?”
“I’m saying, if it’s still open, I could use his help.”
“So, I guess he didn’t talk to you, then?”
Grace frowned. “Mac? About what?”
“Due to the rumors circulating through the department about your relationship, I suggested the two of you not work as closely for a while. Others have implied that neither of you are as focused, and that personal business is happening during work hours.”
Grace sighed. “I knew this would happen, but that’s not what’s been going on at all�
��”
“And I believe you, but when I suggested the two of you not work together for now, Mac agreed, starting on Monday.”
Why didn’t he tell me he talked with Banning about this?
After a pause, he continued, “Maybe he was sure you’d have figured out what’s going on by now. Regardless, I hope you understand that you can request to have an officer present with you at any time, and you’ll have one.”
Sounds exactly like what Mac said.
“Just not him,” she muttered. “Fine.”
“Let me know when you have something.”
“Yes, sir.” She hung up and strode into the college.
Mac could have brought it up with me any time today, and instead, he didn’t mention it. Does he feel the same way I do now? Does he care more about what the others think too? Why didn’t he talk to me about this instead of letting me think we were a team?
She strode into to the empty cafeteria. A man in a custodian’s gray jumpsuit sat in the corner at a two-seater table and nodded to her as she approached. “Don?”
“That’s me,” he said as she sat across from him. “I have fifteen. That okay?”
“Yes, thank you for speaking with me. I was reviewing the case notes from the investigation into Donelle Gaines’ death here at the school three years ago. Your name came up as someone who was questioned, but the note was not detailed, and I have some questions about it. What exactly were you asked, to the best of your recollection?”
He cleared his throat and balled his hands together on the table before him. “The detective asked me if I’d seen or heard anything that night.”
“And what did you say?”
“I don’t remember what I said.”
“And do you remember anything about that night in question? You were working that night?”
“I was working.”
“And do you remember anything?”
He sighed, licked his lips, and turned over his shoulder, scanning the empty cafeteria. “The detective said we could keep this confidential. Just between him and me. Do I have that same deal with you?”
“I don’t know, Don. Could you give me some context?”
He seemed to chew on his cheek and stared at his hands, wringing them. “This could get me in a lot of trouble, and I can’t have that. Not then, not now. I’m too close to retirement.”
“If you can help me with this case, you need to tell me what happened.”
He ran his fingers through the few strands of hair left on his head. “Yeah. Okay. Listen, I’m not proud of how I was back then, and I’ve changed. I swear on everything. I’m in AA. I got my three-year chip this month.”
“You’re an alcoholic?”
He nodded. “I used to drink a lot on the job. Got away with it too, until that night.”
“What happened?”
“I was drunk, so the detective said he couldn’t use my statement.”
“Don, please just tell me.”
“Well, take this with a grain of salt, because I do. I was mopping the floors upstairs, and I went by a doorway, and I heard two people arguing. It could have been the open access to the roof, but I don’t remember. I just know there was hardly anyone else here at that time, and it was a woman and a man.”
“Did you see anything?”
He shook his head. “I just remember the arguing. Not real loud, but loud enough that I heard. I just kept mopping. Didn’t stop to listen. Just kept on going by.”
“What were they arguing about?”
“I don’t remember. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“How do you know they were arguing, then?”
“Raised voices—they annoyed me.”
“And you told the detective this?”
He sighed. “When he questioned me, I was drunk again. I don’t remember what I told him. Shouldn’t it be in his notes or something?”
It should—if he had taken proper ones.
“Do you remember anything else from that night?”
“Well, maybe it was because I was drunk, but the guy’s voice. I think I recognized it—but after the fact.”
“Do you have any guesses as to whose voice it was?”
“No, not at all. I could have been imagining that too.”
“At that time, were you close with any students here?”
“No way. I hate ‘em. Bunch of lazy pigs. The mess they leave around here…”
“Any faculty?”
“Oh, yeah. Most of ‘em. Especially the teachers in the afternoon. That’s my shift. Start in the afternoon and end late.”
“Could you give me a list of the male teachers you were close with at the time?”
He nodded and wrote several names in her notebook. “Now, can this please stay between us?”
“I can’t make those promises, Don.”
“But you don’t have to report it to the college, do you?” He stopped writing and looked up at her.
I need those names. And maybe he has changed.
He dug a chip out of his pocket with the number three on it and held it up to her. “This means something to me, even if it doesn’t to you. There’s no other way I can prove I don’t drink anymore.”
He doesn’t smell of alcohol. He’s not putting anyone in danger.
“Fine. But like I said, in relation to the investigation, this can’t be a secret.”
He finished writing the names and turned the notebook back toward her. Over twenty names and professor Redding’s was among them.
“Professor Redding,” she said, “you’re close with him? He was one of Donelle’s teachers. Did you know that?”
He shrugged. “No, but Dave’s nice. Real smart too. At one point, I was actually deciding if I should finish up my degree in architecture. The money’s better here, and I have a pension and all that, but he encouraged me to do it if I wanted. Said he’d help if he could.”
“Do you think it was his voice that night?”
“I don’t know. It could have been, but I don’t remember… There’s one thing that’s stuck with me, though. When I thought about telling the detective about the arguing, I kept thinking—no one will believe you. To this day, I don’t know if it’s been something I’ve said to myself, or something I heard that night.”
“You think someone might have said that?”
“Maybe…”
“Well, thank you for your time and honesty, and for this.” She held up the notebook and stood.
He stood and shook her hand, holding on as he leaned in. “I shoulda done something…when I heard the arguing, and maybe I would’ve if I were sober. That haunts me, Detective. I’ve been afraid this day might come, that I’d have to admit I turned away instead of helping that girl—if it was that girl. That’ll stay with me forever.”
Grace stood outside the door of the Tall Pines Financial Office as the wind blew through her hair.
It all points to Redding. His care for Donelle and distaste for Tyler. The voice Don heard in the hallway.
Maybe Gaines really did it, but what about the fire? He couldn’t have done that. I need something more to go off.
She hit Malone’s number on her phone screen and stepped into the corridor for unobstructed sound during the call.
“Malone.”
“It’s Sheppard.”
“Oh, hey. Raven’s doing a bit better. No action here. How about you?”
“I’d like to speak with her. Can you put me on?”
“Sure. Hey, is something wrong?”
Does he really want to go there right now?
“I just need to speak with her.”
“Sheppard, are you upset with me? Is this about how I’ve been teasing you?”
“Malone, please.”
“Fine, fine. Listen, I’m sorry if I offended you, okay? Geez, I guess I should have known you’d be sensitive about it.” Branches swayed in the wind on the maple trees outside, mimicking the emotions swirling inside her as he spoke. “Mac’s been the same. It�
��s not like him.”
“You’ve put my position under a microscope at work, having people scrutinize me and my job, not to mention Mac’s, and you can’t admit you’re in the wrong? That’s on you, Malone, but I’m not putting up with it anymore. It’s affecting our jobs and reputations. I’m not being overly sensitive. I’m making sure you treat us with respect like we have with you. I’m making sure you understand it’s not just teasing. It’s messing with my livelihood.”
“Geez, you know that’s not what I wanted. It’s just a bit of joking.”
“When your words and actions, along with whoever else is talking about me, interfere with my ability to do my work, it’s not a joke anymore.”
“Okay, sheesh.” He lowered his voice.
“Okay. Put Raven on.”
A muffled scuffling came from the other end.
It’s not a joke, but I’m tired. I don’t need to deal with gossip and jokes right now… but I was probably too defensive with him.
“Hello?” Raven’s voice sounded a bit stronger.
“Raven, it’s Grace. How are you?”
“Pretty much the same. How are you?”
“I have something to tell you, but I don’t want to upset you. I need your help. Can you stay calm for me?”
“Yes.”
“Is Madigan there?”
“No, but Melanie is.”
“Okay, good. The case of Donelle Gaines’ suicide? There’s evidence that points toward homicide now, and while I don’t have much to go on, I was hoping you could review the case again, your notes, and see if there might have been anything you missed.”
“Okay—”
“You were the M.E. on the case, and the girl’s father was targeting everyone involved with the case. He was the one sending you things. The dried flower. The bracelet. The stuffed bear. He’s in jail, though. He’s being watched. He couldn’t have set the fire in your home, but that doesn’t mean it was an accident, either. You said you heard something that woke you, but you went back to sleep. Someone could have broken into your home, and again, I don’t have the answers right now, but we’re keeping you protected because someone else could have interest in the case too. I just need you to do what you can about seeing if there’s anything you missed.”
“I will.”
She’s so calm.
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