Steve’s brows lifted in surprise. “Well, that’s good. I’m real happy to hear that. Have you been able to prove that Calvin did it yet?”
Lane shook his head. “We’re still working on it. But listen, Dad, one of the people we suspected was Bluebell Adams.”
Steve’s face soured. “Heather?” He shook his head. “Son, I told you it wasn’t her.”
Lane frowned. “But, Dad, how do you know it wasn’t her.”
Steve shrugged. “I just know, that’s all. You’ll have to take my word for it. Heather could’ve never done something like that. She just doesn’t have it in her.”
“But we found out that she knew Mom was at the fire hall, Dad.”
Steve crossed his arms over his chest and then lifted a shoulder. “Well. I don’t know what to tell you, son. I know she didn’t do it. It had to be Calvin.”
“Dad, tell me the truth. Did Bluebell, or Heather, rather, come to see you that day? The day of the fire?”
Steve’s face paled. “Where did you hear that?”
“Bluebell told us,” said Evanee quietly.
Steve’s head rolled back on his shoulders. “So she told you, did she?”
“Dad, why would you not tell me this? Why would you not have told the police? It could’ve been an important clue!”
Steve sighed. “Look, I didn’t tell you or the police because it wasn’t important.”
“But it could’ve cleared your name all those years ago. Bluebell was your alibi!”
Steve sighed. “Yes, I realize she was my alibi, but I thought it would have made things worse.”
“Worse? How?”
“Son, Heather came here to see me on the day your mother died. She had regrets that we’d broken up. Do you have any idea how that might’ve looked to the police… to everyone? To my folks. To Rachel’s folks. They might’ve thought I was cheating on your mother! I couldn’t bear that.”
“So instead you just let everyone think that you’d killed Mom?” Lane shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Look, I didn’t start that fire. That’s the truth, and I knew the police wouldn’t be able to find a shred of evidence that tied me to the fire because I wasn’t there. And I also knew that anyone who knew me and Rachel would know that it wasn’t me.”
“But obviously they found something!” ranted Lane. “All these years, everyone in town has pointed their finger at you!”
“That’s only because your mother took my truck that day. Several people driving by saw my truck out there at the fire hall and assumed I was there. But I told the police, just like Rachel had told her parents—she had my truck because her car was acting funny, and she didn’t want to drive it around with you inside. So I told her to go ahead and take my truck.”
Lane’s voice crackled as he spoke next. “My whole life, this town has thought you had something to do with that fire. And this whole time, you could have cleared it up, just by telling them Heather had come to see you, and you didn’t do it. Dad, I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but I have to know. Were you cheating on Mom?”
“Absolutely not, Lane! How could you even ask that? I loved your mother. I’d loved your mother for years, even before I finally got up the nerve to ask her out!” Steve’s face was red and his eyes were glossy now. Lane could hear the raw emotion in his voice.
“Heather came here that day. And, yes, I’ll admit, she came on to me. She told me she wanted me back. She was so brazen as to kiss me. Now, I swear to you on everything that I love, I didn’t kiss her back. I forced her to leave. We fought about things. I said my piece and she said hers, and then I made her leave. The minute she left, I headed out to pick up your mother, but it was too late. The fire was already blazing.”
His voice had lowered to barely a whisper as he began to get choked up on his words. Reliving the day had him extremely emotional. He blotted at his eyes with the cuff of his shirt.
“I’d already lost her.”
Lane shook his head slowly. “I can’t believe all these years, you never told me any of this.”
“What difference would it have made? It doesn’t change the fact that your mother was gone. The only thing it would’ve done is to make Heather and me look guilty, and it would’ve driven a wedge between her and Ace. I didn’t think she deserved that.”
“So instead you took all the blame,” said Lane bitterly.
“People that really knew me knew that I wasn’t capable of something like that. And those are the only people whose opinions mattered, Lane.”
“People’s opinions mattered to me! I grew up on the fringes. People didn’t know if they should think I was being raised by a murderer or not! I hated it.”
“Look, Lane. I’m sorry for how it negatively affected you. You know I didn’t want anything like that for you. I did my best where you were concerned.”
Lane glanced over at Evanee, who had managed to stay relatively quiet during his father’s whole confession. “We should go.”
Evanee nodded and took a step back, towards the ATV they’d ridden in on. “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, Lane,” said Steve.
Lane swatted a hand in his father’s direction as he mounted the ATV. He was tired of talking about it. He needed time to swallow the pill he’d just been handed.
“Lane!” said Steve.
“I can’t talk about it now, Dad. I need a minute.”
Steve nodded. “Alright, son. Take whatever time you need.”
“I’ll be back for you in one hour,” said Lane as he dropped Evanee off in front of her shop.
Evanee smiled at him patiently. “Lane, there’s no sense in you driving me back to the fairgrounds,” she said. “I’ve got a list of errands to run before I head over there. Why don’t you just meet me there around noon?”
Lane looked at the clock on his dash. “I’m not sure I like the idea of you running around town alone. More and more people know what we’re up to. That means things aren’t safe right now.”
“Lane, it’s broad daylight. I’m literally going to pack up my dress and all the stuff I promised the committee I’d bring, run three or four errands, and then head over to the fairgrounds. Nothing is going to happen to me in the next hour and a half.”
He looked at her closely. “You promise you’ll keep yourself safe?”
Evanee gave him a winning smile. “Yeah, Lane. I promise. Alright? Now, I know you’ve got work to do, and I know you and your dad probably have some more stuff to hash out without me hanging around. Why don’t you go handle that?”
Lane shook his head. “Naw, I’m not in the mood to have it out with Dad today. There’s too much going on in my brain right now. I’m gonna need some time to chew on it a bit.”
“Totally understandable,” said Evanee softly.
“But I do have a few of my own things to do. I’m supposed to make an out-of-town delivery, but that shouldn’t take too long. I’ll just meet you at the fairgrounds at noon, and I’ll help you set up the pub like Bluebell asked us to do.”
Evanee wasn’t looking forward to seeing Bluebell again. Not after they’d practically accused her of killing Lane’s mother and outed her to her husband. She sighed. “Okay, I’ll see you then.”
She fluttered her fingers at Lane as he drove off, and went inside. No sooner had she climbed the stairs to the loft than Whitley jumped her.
“Oh my gosh! You’ve been gone forever! What’s going on?”
Evanee plopped down backwards on the bed. “So much stuff. I just can’t wrap my head around it all.”
Whitley’s green eyes widened. “Like what? Come on! We’ve been dying to know over here. I feel like we’re totally out of the loop lately.”
“She’s been dying to know. I’ve been trying to keep your cat from making me a mother at age twenty-three,” said Esmerelda, keeping one eye trained on Prim.
Evanee groaned. She stood up and scooped Prim up. “Prim, why do you keep antagonizing Essy? She doesn’t
like it!”
Prim meowed.
“He says because he’s a dude and that’s what dudes do,” said Esmerelda, unimpressed by Prim’s candor.
Evanee quirked a brow. “Prim seriously said that?”
Esmerelda pawed her forehead. “Yes! I’ve been telling you!”
“Enough about Prim’s hormones,” cried Whitley. “Evanee, can you puh-lease tell me what you found out about Steve’s old girlfriend, Heather!”
“Well, you’re never going to believe this, but Heather is actually this woman that I know, Bluebell Adams, and she lives here in town.”
Whitley’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. Did you go to see her?”
“We did,” said Evanee. Then she went on to explain the whole scene between Bluebell and Ace and how they’d gone over to see Steve, who’d confirmed that Bluebell had come to see him the day of the fire.
“Wow,” sighed Whitley. “He knew all that time and he kept it to himself. That had to be so hard.”
“Well, I think he figured he’d rather have people think he started the fire than to think that he’d been cheating on Rachel.” Evanee shrugged. “I guess that’s how much he loved her. He couldn’t bear the thought of someone thinking he’d been unfaithful to her.”
“So now that we know it couldn’t have been Heather, where do we go from here?” asked Whitley. “It seems like we’re basically back to square one again.”
Evanee sat down at her kitchen table with Prim slung over her shoulder. “You’re telling me. First we thought it was Calvin. Then maybe it was Maddie Carlson. Then it was like, no, it’s Calvin again. Then it was like, oh my gosh, what if it was Bluebell Adams! And now it’s not her. Heck, maybe it really was Maddie Carlson, or maybe it really was Calvin. I just don’t know!”
“We have to be missing something,” said Whitley. “I mean, there has to be some kind of actual evidence that we’re missing.”
“Like what? There’s no evidence left. The fire happened thirty-five years ago!”
Whitley shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. I just feel like we’re missing something.”
They were quiet for a few long minutes before Whitley finally stood up. “I think we should go back to the fire hall. I feel like there’s something we’re missing, and where else would it be but at the scene of the crime?”
Evanee sighed. “But we’ve already been there, Whit. What do you expect to find?”
Whitley shook her head, her brown waves dusting her shoulders. “I don’t know, but do you have a lot of other options?”
Evanee glanced down at her watch. “Look, Whit, I’ve got errands to run, and then I need to get over to the fairgrounds. I promised Bluebell I’d take care of setting up the pub for the parade tonight.”
“It’ll only take a few minutes,” begged Whitley. “Then we’ll go to the fairgrounds with you. I’m so tired of being cooped up in this loft all day!”
Esmerelda sat up, excited by the possibility of going somewhere exciting. “But we’re not taking the testosterone king over there with us, right?”
Evanee hugged Prim to her chest. “No, Prim can stay here for the day. You deserve a break. Okay, let me just load up all my stuff and we’ll go!”
37
The day had shaped up to be a scorcher by the time Evanee, Whitley, and Esmerelda got back to the crime scene. The crumbling walls and overgrown weeds were just as they had been the first time, but today the sun shone brightly, illuminating the eerie remains.
The women wandered around quietly for five minutes, each lost in thought, before finally, Evanee threw her hands up. “Whit. I’ll say it again, I don’t know what you expect to find after all these years.”
Whitley’s hands went to her hair. She held her head in her hands and shook it. “I don’t know either. I just felt like we needed to come back here.”
Esmerelda hopped up on the concrete block on the sidewalk in front of the building. “Maybe you need to reenact Rachel’s day.”
Whitley smiled at her. “Essy! What a great idea! Finally you’re…”
Esmerelda narrowed her cat eyes at Whitley. “Finally I’m good for something? Gee, thanks, dear sister.”
“I didn’t say that—”
“You were about to.”
“Well, I didn’t mean it like that!”
“Of course you did!”
Evanee groaned. She was already stressed out, and hearing the sisters go at it was making her even more tense. “Can you two please stop fighting? I don’t have a lot of time. I really need to get to the fairgrounds.”
Whitley nodded. “You’re right. Okay, so Rachel comes and she’s inside. She’s waiting for her dress to show up.”
“Probably impatiently,” added Esmerelda. “Her dress was late. I’d be getting annoyed.”
“So she was probably looking out the window,” said Whitley with a nod.
Evanee pointed to the front of the building as if she could picture someone finally showing up. “And then Calvin came. According to him, he showed up, they fought, he attacked her and she fought back, and he left.”
“Well, what would you do next?” asked Whitley. “You’ve just been attacked by this creep, would you want to stick around all by yourself? Or would you want to leave?”
Evanee wagged her finger at Whitley. “I think you’re right. I’d be too scared to stay there. She would’ve wanted to leave.”
They both looked at the street. “Well, then, why didn’t she?”
“Maybe he knocked her out,” suggested Esmerelda.
“Maybe he did,” said Whitley sadly.
“Or maybe he locked her inside the fire hall,” said Evanee. She looked at the doorway. The door was long gone, likely burned in the fire. “But doors lock from the inside, not the outside. You’d think it would’ve been the other way around. How could’ve he locked her in?”
Suddenly, Evanee sucked in her breath. She pointed at the big concrete block Esmerelda was sitting on. “I bet he put this in front of the door!”
They all stared at the block. “Oh my gosh,” she whispered. “That’s the clue that we missed. Whoever set that fire put the block in front of the doorway to keep Rachel from escaping.”
Evanee waved Esmerelda off the block. “Essy, move. I want to try and put it in front of the doorway.” Esmerelda jumped down and Evanee tried to move the block, but it barely budged an inch. “Oh my gosh, that’s heavy. There’s no way Maddie Carlson moved that block. Or any other woman for that matter.”
Whitley frowned. “Well, that means it’s more than likely that a man was the killer.”
Evanee threw her hands up. “It had to be Calvin. I just don’t know who else it could have been. Maybe he was so blackout drunk that he just doesn’t remember starting the fire.”
“Or maybe he’s just flat out lying,” said Esmerelda. “It’s not like killers are all exactly honest people.”
Evanee grimaced. Calvin had fooled her. She’d actually believed him when he’d admitted to attacking Rachel, but not starting the fire. She’d bought the story hook, line, and sinker. She felt sick to her stomach.
“Ugh, Lane thought it was him this whole time, but I was never sure. I guess Lane was right. I mean, this pretty much proves it wasn’t Maddie Carlson. Steve and Bluebell were each other’s alibis. It had to be Calvin. No one else even knew Rachel was at the fire hall.”
And suddenly, Evanee was striding towards her Tahoe.
Whitley chased after her. “Ev, wait! Where are we going now?”
“We’re going to see Calvin Lancaster. I’m settling this once and for all!”
“But what about Lane?” asked Whitley as they drove down Calvin Lancaster’s driveway. “He should be here for this. You shouldn’t confront Calvin alone.”
Evanee sighed. “I just don’t want there to be any trouble. I only want to talk to Calvin. Lane makes it so hard to just talk to him because all he wants to do is yell at him or punch him. Not that I blame him. Calvin was so terrible to Rache
l.”
“And you want to go see this guy alone?” said Whitley, nibbling on her fingernails. “Ev, I don’t think this is such a good idea.”
Evanee’s stomach did flip-flops as she pulled to a stop in front of his house. She didn’t want to admit that maybe Whitley was right. She put on a brave face. “It’ll be fine, Whit. Don’t worry.” Evanee glanced at the small shack. The door was wide open, but there was no sign of Calvin. “Maybe you guys should stay out here, you know, just in case something happens.”
Esmerelda hopped up on the center console and then curled into a ball. “You read my mind.”
But Whitley shook her head. “Nuh-uh. There’s no way we’re letting you go in there alone.”
“How about this? You two go in, I’ll stay out here and guard this center console,” said Esmerelda, closing her eyes sleepily.
“Fine, Whit, you come with me. Essy, you stay in the car. Come on, we’re running out of time. I have to meet Lane back at the fairgrounds at noon, and I’m cutting it close.” She climbed out of the vehicle and started towards the house.
Whitley scrambled after her.
Evanee’s heart pounded as she stood at the bottom of the porch steps looking towards the old run-down house. “Calvin?” she hollered up the stairs.
Whitley and Evanee were quiet as they listened for any sign of Calvin. Evanee looked back over her shoulder, towards the woods where Calvin had come from the first time she’d met him, but she didn’t see anything.
She cupped her hands and hollered louder towards the house. “Calvin! It’s Evanee Woods. May I have a word with you?”
Once again, her shouts were met with silence.
Evanee sighed. She really hadn’t wanted to go up into the house. She glanced over at Whitley, who merely shrugged. Her shoulders crumpled inward. She knew what she had to do.
Slowly, Evanee climbed the stairs, being careful to avoid the dry rot that had crumbled parts of the wood, and stepped gingerly once she got on the front porch. She walked to the open front door and knocked on the doorjamb.
Snow Way Out: A Mystic Snow Globe Romantic Mystery (The Mystic Snow Globe Mystery Series Book 2) Page 27