by Nancy Mehl
“Hello to you too. I assume this is Special Agent Quinn,” he said.
“Sorry. Yes. Josh said you knew him pretty well.”
“As well as anyone, I guess. Doc Roberson lives on the edge of town. I can visit with him if you want me to so you can stay with Agent Hunter. Just tell me what you want to know.”
“No, I want to go with you,” Kaely said.
“Because you think you’ll know if he’s telling the truth and I won’t?”
Kaely didn’t respond. She didn’t want to offend Tuck, but he was right. Finally she said, “Because of my training it’s possible I might pick up on something you wouldn’t.”
“My ego isn’t that fragile,” he said, chuckling. “I’d like to have you there. When do you want to go?”
“Tomorrow morning, if possible,” Kaely said. “Can you set it up, Tuck?”
“Let me call him now. I’ll get right back to you.”
He hung up. Kaely stared at her phone, waiting for it to ring. Even if Dr. Roberson agreed to talk to them, would he tell Kaely what she needed to know? If his office had made mistakes, would he admit it?
As she waited, she saw Jason walking down the hall. He came over and sat down on the bench next to her. “I called the motel. They don’t have any vacancies tonight, but I reserved a room next door to me for tomorrow. Of course, no one’s staying in Noah’s room, but it’s on the other side of the complex. Why don’t you stay in my room tonight? I think you should remain close to me, sis. If the arsonist you’ve been looking for set Mom’s house on fire, I seriously doubt he selected it randomly. Didn’t you say he was targeting families? Where there were mothers, fathers, and children? That’s not us.”
“You’re jumping the gun, Jason. Give the fire department time to investigate. That will help us to figure out what’s going on.”
Jason took a ragged breath. Kaely could see how upset he was. She wanted to tell him about the figure she saw walking past the window during the fire, but she couldn’t. It was clear to her that it might push him over the edge. He was worried about Mom and had watched her house burn down. Now he was afraid a madman was targeting his sister. She needed to keep him as relaxed as possible. She didn’t have time to worry about him. She needed time to think. To figure out why the arsonist had targeted her.
“I need to contact Mom’s insurance agent,” Jason said. “Thankfully, I have his card. Not long after I got to town, a pipe in Mom’s basement burst. The agent was really helpful.”
“Where will Mom go when she gets out of the hospital?” Kaely asked.
“The insurance company will provide her with a place to stay. Probably an apartment. Something she can handle.”
“We need to talk about home health care once she gets into her apartment,” Kaely said. “I can’t stay forever, Jason. And neither can you.”
“I know that.”
Kaely put her hand on her brother’s arm. “I won’t desert you. We’re family. We’ll make it through this together.”
Jason blinked back tears. “I’m so glad you’re okay. If I’d lost you . . .”
“You’re not going to lose me, I promise. I know my job seems scary, but just remember, I’m packing heat, and I’m not afraid to use it.”
Despite the situation, Jason laughed. “You know, I don’t remember you being funny.”
Kaely patted his hand. “We didn’t have much to laugh about when we were kids, did we? Dad wasn’t big on laughing. Found it annoying. Do you remember that? It got to where we felt it was . . . inappropriate.”
“I remember,” he said softly. He smiled. “Audrey taught me to laugh.”
Although she didn’t say anything, Noah was the person who’d brought humor into her life. And so much more.
“Look, just stay close, okay?” he said again. “Make sure I know where you are.”
Kaely started to say something, but Jason held his hand up. “I know, I know. You can take care of yourself, blah blah blah. But to be honest, I’m not afraid for you—I’m more afraid of Noah. Once he’s not so doped up, he’s gonna jump all over me if I don’t tell him I’m keeping an eye on you.”
Although Kaely wanted to object to her brother’s offer, she couldn’t. He was exactly right. It was the first thing Noah would say.
“Okay. I accept. I’m about ready to drop, so I’ll head over to the motel as soon as Noah wakes up. Please tell me your room has two beds.”
He smiled. “Well, we used to climb into bed together when we were kids, remember? You’d read to me until I fell asleep. I’d wake up next to you, and there would still be a book clutched in your hand.”
“I hope you’re not counting on an encore.”
Jason laughed. “No, I’ve learned how to read all on my own.”
Before Kaely could respond, her phone rang. “Give me just a minute,” she said. “I need to take this.”
As soon as she answered, she heard Tuck’s deep voice. “Marvin said we could come by tomorrow around ten. I told him it was about an old case, but I didn’t mention which one. I didn’t want to give him the chance to say no.”
“That’s great, Tuck. Can you text me his address? I’ll meet you there in the morning.”
“Sure thing. See you there.”
Kaely hung up and put her phone back in her pocket.
“Where are you going in the morning?” Jason asked.
“Going to talk to a guy who used to be the medical examiner. I have some questions about an old case.” She nudged her brother. “I’ll be safe. I’ll be there with Tuck.”
“All right,” Jason said slowly. “But keep in touch. And either come here or go to the motel when you’re done, okay?”
“I will.” She leaned up against her brother’s shoulder. “Thanks for watching out for me.”
He put his arm around her, and they sat there for a while. In the crook of her brother’s arm, Kaely felt safe, as if nothing bad could possibly happen to her.
thirty-four
Kaely spent the afternoon in Noah’s room, looking through the files Josh had given her. Noah woke up several times but would drift off after a while. He kept asking Kaely if she was all right. She assured him more than once that she was fine.
“He knows who you are, Kaely,” he mumbled one time when he seemed coherent. “Please be careful. I’ll get out of here as soon as I can. I’ll protect you.”
“I’m fine,” she told him. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Sorry I didn’t get to check out the veterinarian clinic. I’ll do it tomorrow. I’m a little tired right now.”
After that, he fell asleep again. Had her obsession with this arson case almost cost Noah his life? Guilt overwhelmed her. Most of it came from her relief she had her bag with the case notes—and her books. That made her feel even worse. What was wrong with her?
She gazed at Noah. He deserved better. Someone who didn’t put a case before her partner.
The doctor stopped by and told her he was doing well, but that he would be in the hospital for several days. “We want to make sure his lung heals adequately,” the doctor said. “A punctured lung can be very serious. So far, we’ve kept him out of surgery. I hope we won’t have to use that option. We need to make sure he stays still and doesn’t fight the tube in his chest.”
Kaely assured the doctor she’d do what she could. She didn’t tell him that Noah was pretty stubborn. Keeping him in a hospital bed for several days might be tough.
Kaely wrote in her notebook some, but around three in the afternoon she finally fell asleep with her head on her hand. She was awakened by someone calling her name.
She looked up to see Noah staring at her. “Hi,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired and sore,” he said. “And drugged. What is this?” He cocked his head toward the morphine pump.
“Something you need to lay off of for a while. You’ve been pushing that stuff into your body since you got out of surgery.”
“Surgery?” he said, looking s
urprised. He looked down at his bandages and then noticed the tube. What little color he had drained from his face. “What happened?”
“Don’t panic. A broken arm that will heal just fine. You had surgery to repair it, so stay still. You have some cracked ribs, and your lung was punctured. That’s the reason for the tube. You have some third-degree burns on your legs and arms. The doctor said you’ll be fine as long as you follow orders.”
“Thank God.” He tried to take a deep breath, but he grimaced in pain. He nodded toward the side of the bed. “Could you adjust this thing so I’m sitting up?”
Kaely got up and found the automatic control for the bed. She raised the back slowly, not wanting to put pressure on Noah’s chest.
“That’s good,” he said when he was in a more upright position. “Thanks.” He looked around the room. “I remember being in the house. Pushing you out. Don’t remember much after that.”
“In a nutshell, after probably saving my life, the house fell on you when you went back for my bag.” She took his hand. “I’m so sorry, Noah. I wasn’t thinking. I should have left the bag behind.”
“Yeah, you should have, but then you wouldn’t be Kaely Quinn.” He squinted and shook his head slowly. “Wait a minute. How did I get out of the house? You couldn’t have pulled me out.”
“I didn’t. Sam showed up. He pulled me out into the yard. Then he went back inside for you.”
“Sam was there?”
Kaely nodded. “Saw the fire and showed up just in time.”
She wanted to tell him about seeing someone out the window during the fire and about her conversation with Josh, including how she was going to see Dr. Roberson tomorrow. But she couldn’t. Noah needed to rest and heal. Getting riled up would make it harder for him to stay calm.
“Guess who showed up this morning?” she asked, hoping to divert his attention from the arsonist case.
He shrugged and then winced. “I guess I can’t do that for a while.”
“Turner came to the hospital. He found out Frank Navarro was working with Guzman. He came to apologize. We’re off the hook, I guess.”
“So now what? Will we be called in for something else?”
Kaely chuckled. “You’re done, my friend. You’ve got physical therapy in your future. Besides, Turner said they were suspending the operation for now. Actually, he told me to work on the arson case with his blessing.”
“Are you talking about SSA Turner or someone else with the same last name?” Noah asked, a look of incredulity on his face.
“I’m pretty sure it was our Turner,” Kaely said. “I felt bad for him. I guess he and Navarro were friends. He just couldn’t believe he would sell out the Bureau.”
“Everyone has a price,” Noah said with a shrug. “Ouch. Why don’t you stop me from doing that?”
“Not sure I can.”
Noah locked his gaze on Kaely. “The fire at your mom’s wasn’t random, Kaely. You know that right?”
“Yeah, I know. Please don’t overreact. I don’t have another house to burn down. I’m pretty sure he won’t torch the Darkwater Inn.”
“What if he comes after you again, Kaely? Some other way?”
Kaely tried to answer him without actually lying. “Arsonists are cowards, Noah. They like to do their damage from a safe distance. I’ll be fine.”
“Still, I wish I was with you.” He pointed his finger at her. “I want to talk to Jason. Send him by here.”
“I will. Hey, I need to head out. I haven’t really slept for quite a while. Just catnaps waiting for you to wake up. And I need to check on Mom before I leave.”
“How’s she doing?”
“About as well as can be expected when you have cancer and find out your house is gone,” Kaely said. “The hospital is going to keep her until she’s stronger, and Jason is checking with her insurance company. He thinks they’ll arrange for her to move into an apartment until her house can be rebuilt.”
“Tell her I’m thinking of her, will you?” Noah was starting to blink a lot. It was clear he was still sleepy.
“I will. You take care of yourself and do what the doctors and nurses tell you to do. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Okay. Hey, where’s my cell phone?”
Kaely went over to the small closet near the bed and looked through the bag with Noah’s clothes and belongings. She found his phone and brought it over.
“Humor me,” he said. “Check in with me every few hours, okay?”
“Can we start that tomorrow? I’d rather not have to wake up several times during the night.”
“Very funny. Call me only when you’re actually awake. If you wait too long, I will call you. You know that right?”
She smiled at him. “Yeah, I know that. Anything I can do for you before I go?”
“Some water would be nice. My mouth is so dry.”
Kaely poured some water from the pitcher on Noah’s tray into a small glass and handed it to him. He drained the glass and put it back on the tray. “Thanks. That’s better.”
Kaely could hear a rattling sound outside the room. She stuck her head out and saw a large cart with trays. She went back over to Noah’s bed. “Supper’s on the way. Hope you get something good.”
“Me too. I’m surprisingly hungry.”
Kaely snorted. “Yeah, that’s shocking since you’re such a light eater.”
Noah stuck his tongue out at her. “Get out of here. Get some shut-eye. Call me tomorrow.”
“You got it.” She stood there a moment, unsure of what to do. The urge to kiss him was strong. Instead, she patted his unwrapped shoulder. “Be good,” she said, her voice husky. Before she said or did anything embarrassing, she left the room, almost running into a woman carrying a tray into Noah’s room. Kaely apologized and hurried down the hall. She was having feelings for Noah she couldn’t handle. She wanted him in her life, but things couldn’t go on like this. They just couldn’t. Her job was everything to her, and she couldn’t allow anything to get in the way. Even Noah.
thirty-five
Kaely took the elevator up to her mother’s room and found that she was also having supper. She stayed for a while but finally begged off by telling Marcie she’d been up all night and needed some sleep. After she left, she stopped by a local department store to get some clothes, makeup, and other personal items. Then she drove to an Italian fast-food place that had pretty good lasagna. She bought lasagna and a salad, along with a drink, and drove to the motel. She was just getting out of the car when her phone rang. It was Solomon.
“Just wanted you to know that I talked to SSA Turner. He told me what happened. He had nothing but good things to say about you, Kaely. Wishes he would have listened to you.”
“He’s a good man, Solomon.”
“I know. That’s why he’s taking full responsibility for the failure of the operation. I’m not sure what will happen to him.”
Kaely didn’t say anything.
“So have you found out anything helpful about the fires?” he asked.
“Not sure. One of the possibilities is just . . . well, it’s hard to accept.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
Kaely would like Solomon’s opinion, but she was afraid to tell him about Sam and Jack. He’d probably think she’d gone off the deep end. “Not yet,” she said finally. “Not until I have more information. But thanks.”
“How’s your mother?” he asked, clearly not offended by her rejection of his offer.
“She’s involved in some kind of clinical trial for treating the cancer, but she just recently had a setback. My brother still seems very encouraged by her prognosis. To be honest, he knows more about her condition than I do. I’ve been so busy with Omaha and the arsons in Darkwater that I haven’t spent as much time with her as Jason has.”
“Be careful, Kaely,” he said. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret later. Your mother is more important than any case.”
Although she knew he was trying to hel
p, for some reason she felt a little defensive. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll keep you updated.”
“Is it too soon for me to talk to Noah?”
“I’d give him a little time. Not unless you want to know how Noah Hunter sounds drugged up,” she said.
Solomon laughed. “I think I’ll pass. I’ll call him tomorrow.”
“Thanks. Talk to you soon.” She hung up, still feeling a little irritated about his admonition to put her mother ahead of her investigation. However, as she got out of the car, she admitted to herself that the case had been a way to escape from her mother and what she was going through. As Kaely unlocked the door to Jason’s motel room, she heard a small, still voice remind her that she’d spent the last few years pushing people away. Her mother was toward the top of that list.
Kaely shook her head. She needed to get her mind on the case. She’d have to think about Mom later.
She pulled the door shut behind her and put the bag of food on the table. Then she took off her coat and changed into a comfortable T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants she’d picked up at the store. She sat down and flipped on the television so she could watch it as she ate. The local news was just starting. She was surprised to see Josh being interviewed by one of their reporters. She quickly turned up the sound.
“Sheriff, some citizens say we’re dealing with a serial arsonist, one that you don’t seem capable of finding and arresting. What do you say to those people?”
Josh, who looked angry, replied, “I’m not sure who those people are, Andrea. Maybe they need to talk to me instead of spreading false rumors. The truth is, we don’t have any proof there’s a serial arsonist in Darkwater. Of course, we realize the recent rash of fires seems unusual, and we are looking into the reasons behind them. If we determine this actually is the work of an arsonist, we’ll let our citizens know immediately. For now, I will repeat what I’ve been saying all along: Don’t buy cheap space heaters. Make sure you’re not overusing your electrical outlets, and keep covers in front of your fireplaces. That’s all I have to say.” With that, he stormed off, ignoring questions from the other reporters gathered around him.