Familiar Fire

by Caroline Burnes

  Jake had been so focused on Kate that he hadn’t even given Anne a thought. But what if she hadn’t really walked out oh her daughter? If the body in the casino somehow happened to be Anne McArdle, he didn’t want Kate to see it. He wanted to spare her that memory.

  “Hey, Jake, are you going to talk to me or just stand there with your socks in your hand?” Kate threw a pillow at him. “Are you okay?”

  “Sorry.” Jake sat down and pulled on his socks. “I was thinking about the fires.”

  “A clue?” Kate crawled across the bed and kissed him on the ear. “Tell me.”

  He turned to her and pushed her long beautiful hair back from her face. She looked maybe twenty, her eyes sparkling in the morning light and her skin lightly tinted a soft rose. She was right not to trust happiness. It was so precarious.

  “Not exactly a clue. A hunch. But I want to think it all through before I talk about it.” What he wanted was solid proof.

  “I didn’t know you were superstitious.” She kissed his chin and then his lips.

  “Not superstitious, just cautious.” More than anything, he wanted to pull her back into bed and stay there with her.

  “Tell me today at lunch,” Kate pressed, her voice light and coaxing.

  “Maybe,” Jake said, wondering when he would be able to get Mortimer Grell’s report. Maybe the coroner had already done his work. Whoever turned out to be buried at the Golden Nugget, he wanted to know before Kate did.

  “We’d both better get busy.” Kate swung her feet to the floor and almost hit Familiar. “What’s this?” she asked, bending down to pick up a map the cat held in his mouth. She unfolded it on the bed. “Look at this Jake, it’s your property map of the Double J. Familiar found it.”

  “I wonder where.” Jake reached across the bed and picked up the map that was tattered and worn at the folds. “I haven’t seen this thing for years and years. I didn’t even know it was still around.” He lowered the map so he could look into Kate’s eyes. “The Double J doesn’t mean what it once did to me. Land is no substitute for love and a family.”

  Kate knew what he was referring to, but it wasn’t that simple. “Loving the Double J wasn’t the problem, Jake. It wasn’t,” she added when she saw the skepticism on his face. “My problem wasn’t the ranch, and it wasn’t you. It was me.” Now wasn’t exactly the time, but she had to make a point. “There’s a lot about the past that I need to unravel. You’ve given me the desire to do that. But I have a lot of work to do before I can go forward in a relationship. I want you to know that up front. I have to get myself in order. That’s work that only I can do.”

  “We have a lot of work to do.” But Jake’s face showed his concern. If the body at the casino was Anne’s, he had to keep the door open between him and Kate. This time, he’d be there to help her through the shock and grief. This time they’d weather whatever came, together. Jake dropped the map on the bed. He wanted to reach out and grab her, but he knew he couldn’t hold her if she chose to run. There was also no use in trying to corner her. He had to do it right He had to trust her to want to stay. There would be doubts and fear. Kate couldn’t overcome a lifetime of running in one night “You take whatever time you need, Kate. I’ll wait.”

  Kate shook her head, a slow smile lighting her face. “You know, you’re too good to be true. Even when I feel the first jitter, you hold steady.” She picked up her boot. “Let’s go find an arsonist.”

  “Meow!” Familiar jumped on the bed. He patted the map with his paw. “Meow.”

  “That’s good,” Kate said as she dressed. “Good kitty.”

  “Meow!” Familiar grew more strident.

  “Good kitty.” Kate scratched him behind the ears.

  “Me-owww!”

  “Maybe he’s hungry,” Jake suggested.

  “Damn!” Kate looked guiltily at the cat and then at Ouzo asleep at the foot of the bed. “I promised them something wonderful to eat for saving my life. I dropped the ball on that one.”

  “We’ll bring them something back.” Jake checked his watch. “In fact, why don’t you take care of your promise, and I’ll grab a chat with Roy. He may be more open with me alone.”

  Kate’s brow furrowed. She started to say something, then changed her mind. She nodded. “Okay, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

  Jake smiled as he walked to her and kissed her forehead. “I’d prefer that you never leave my side. But I know you, and that would chafe you worse than hobbles on a wild pony. So I think we should maximize our time and talent and get this case solved.” He intended to talk to Roy—after he spoke with the coroner.

  “Okay,” Kate agreed. She scooped Familiar in her arms. “What’ll it be today? Caviar? Peking Duck? Name it, cat.”

  “Me-owwww!” Familiar leaped from her arms onto the map. “Meow!” he demanded.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mortimer Grell was a somber man who wore the title of coroner as if it were the most important job in the world. Jake entered his office with a heart full of serious concerns and took a seat in a straight-backed wooden chair across the desk from him.

  “Good morning, Jake.” Grell spoke in a clipped, to-the-point tone.

  “Have you had a chance to examine the body?” Jake asked, equally direct.

  “Yes. I collected the remains and they’re down in the morgue. The bone you first discovered led me to believe that the victim had been buried for some time. After a more thorough examination, I have my doubts.”

  Jake did not question Grell’s expertise, but the man seemed to talk in riddles. “How old, exactly, is the body?”

  “It’s fairly recent,” Grell said.

  Jake felt- a bubble of relief rising straight from his heart to his brain. “How recent?”

  “Well, even without the official lab results, I’d say within the year. And to further ease your mind, the body is male.” Grell looked over his half glasses. “You certainly seem relieved.”

  “I am,” Jake admitted.

  Grell pondered Jake, and when he spoke it was in a softer voice. “Why didn’t Sheriff McArdle bring this to my attention? I would think that mysterious remains are more in her line than yours?”

  It was obvious to Jake that Grell had his own set of suspicions. “I found the body, and…” He couldn’t think of a truly plausible excuse except the truth. “I was afraid it might date back farther in time.”

  “You were afraid it might be Anne McArdle, weren’t you?”

  Jake was surprised at Grell’s dead-on guess. Grell was a quiet, private man who never seemed to notice his neighbors or anyone else around him. He’d always seemed to be in his own world. “Yes, that was exactly my concern.”

  “It crossed my mind, too.” Grell took off his glasses and looked at Jake. “I never believed Anne ran off and left Kate. Never. Anne loved her daughter more than life itself. She was smitten by that gambler, but she wouldn’t have left Kate. In fact, I tried to track down Goodloe and Anne after they left. They vanished. They simply disappeared. And no one in Charleston, where Goodloe claimed he was from a prominent family, knew him. It was very suspicious.”

  Jake was more than a little curious. He looked at Grell with new interest. He’d always known the coroner as a tall, quiet man, self-contained and rather standoffish. “Why were you so interested?”

  “I was in love with Anne.” He smiled. “I don’t think she reciprocated my feelings, but that didn’t stop me. As a result, I got to know her pretty well, as a friend. I know she was devoted to Kate. So, when that body turned up, I was afraid my old suspicions were about to be resolved.”

  “And you’re certain it isn’t Anne?”

  “Quite positive.”

  “Who is it?”

  “That, Jake, is another question. Without the skull, identification may take a long time—if we ever find the identity of the man. There’s very little to go on. But now that you know it isn’t Anne McArdle, Kate’s got to examine the scene. This man hasn’t been dead that long,
and someone is guilty of murder.”

  “Right,” Jake said. He reached across the desk and shook Grell’s hand. “Thanks, Mortimer.”

  JAKE WALKED BACK to the Golden Nugget. Several people who had stopped on the street to examine the damage nodded to him.

  “Bad business,” one man said as he shook his head. “Bad luck for Alexis.”

  “Sure is.” Jake eased past them, feeling the lack of sleep from the night before. He wanted to check out the crime scene and then he’d have to track Kate down and tell her about the body. This was going to be delicate. Grell didn’t know the half of it If Kate felt that he’d deliberately held back the information about the body, then she’d be mad as a hornet What could he say—I thought it was your mother? That would only make matters worse. Yes, it was going to be a very delicate matter to tell Kate so as not to rouse her anger. Mortimer Grell was right on target

  Stepping through the mess that was what was left of the casino, he went back to the place where he’d found the bone. Weak sunlight filtered in through holes in the roof, and he took a moment to assess the damage. He’d have to do an intensive examination, but the part of the old opera house that contained the stage and bar seemed to be salvageable. The pleasure he felt at that thought was partly for the sake of history, but a lot for Kate. He’d seen the expression on her face when she’d realized the building was burning out of control. Deny it as she might, she loved the old place.

  The staircase to the second-floor apartment was gone, but if he had to guess, he’d say the upstairs—Alexis’s haven of pastels—was probably still in pretty good shape. The whole building would need a new roof, and everything in it was a total loss, either from the fire, smoke or water. Still, it was a historic site, and Kate, or someone, might be able to save it.

  Pleased at that thought, he went to the spot where the skeleton had been discovered. To his surprise, there were signs of recent excavation. About fifteen feet from the place where the femur had been found was a deeper hole. Peeking out of the earth was what appeared to be white bone.

  “Holy smoke,” Jake said, kneeling down to examine it. In the dirt he could see traces of sharpened claw-marks. “Ouzo,” he said under his breath. So the black rascal had actually done some work before he went over to Susan Tanner’s and conned her.

  Jake carefully brushed at the earth and rocked back on his heels with a smile of satisfaction. Ouzo had discovered the skull.

  He turned to leave and took a sharp breath. Familiar stood not three feet from him. “Meow,” the cat said.

  “Hello, Jake,” Kate said from three feet behind the cat. “Who’s your friend?” She looked at the skull, then looked at him.

  Jake rose slowly. “I was on my way to find you. Ouzo found the skeleton last night—”

  “You knew about this last night?” Kate’s eyebrows drew together. “And you didn’t bother to mention it to me? Jake, I can’t believe this.”

  He could see the hurt in her eyes. “I know you might not see it my way at this moment, but I was trying to protect you.” This was the thin ice he knew was treacherous.

  “Protect me?” Kate’s voice still registered more hurt than anger. “How? I thought we were working this case as partners. I thought we were a team.” She waved her hand at the skull. “I find you hunkered over a skull buried in Alexis Redfield’s casino. Alexis, who along with Roy is one of the top suspects in the arsons. Alexis, who has a key to your apartment. There’s a body, which I don’t know a thing about, and there’s the guy I just spent the night with—” She broke off as the full extent of the betrayal touched her. “We made love, and the entire time it was a lie. You knew about this and you didn’t tell me.” She stepped back from him.

  “Kate, give me a chance to explain this.” Jake stood slowly. “If you listen—”

  “I’ll contact the coroner and have him come for the skull.” Kate stepped back further. “I have work to do.” She whirled and was gone.

  Familiar edged over to Jake and brushed against his knee, purring. He absently stroked the cat as he looked at the space where Kate had stood. She was so angry, so unwilling to listen to reason—to listen to anything at all. He loved her. That was simple enough. But did that count for much if every day was going to be a struggle of basic communication?

  What he’d done was the right thing. Maybe the way he’d handled it hadn’t been the smartest way, but he’d accomplished his goal. Kate had been spared a lot of painful speculation, even if she didn’t appreciate that fact.

  “Meow,” Familiar cried, rubbing against him.

  Jake stroked the cat with a sigh. He was too tired to pursue Kate, too sore to try. Only an hour before he’d been so positive of their future together. Now he didn’t know if he’d ever have a chance to explain to her. Maybe he was too old for the roller-coaster ride that was Kate’s stormy emotional life. “Let’s go to the courthouse and check on building permits,” Jake said out loud.

  “Meow,” Familiar agreed.

  JAKE RIFFLED through the sheaves of paper as he sat in the close confines of the Gilpin County record room. Permission to build an addition had been applied for by Alexis only a few weeks after she’d bought the Golden Nugget. He already had that date, July of 1996. That was just about the time frame Grell projected for the body to have been buried.

  He considered what he knew of Alexis Redfield. She’d never struck him as a woman capable of murder. Then again, what did he really know of her? The answer was nothing. And she’d had a key to his apartment, which meant she also had access to the fire suits, and she was strong enough to have knocked him out.

  He’d also discovered another interesting fact. There had been another buyer interested in the Golden Nugget before Alexis purchased it. A man named Black. But Alexis had outbid Black for the casino. So, where did Alexis come from and why had she decided on Silver City? That was something he intended to chase down, with or without Kate’s help.

  Even with his mind focused on Alexis, he couldn’t help thinking of Kate. He wanted to find her and tell her this latest information. Well, he’d be damned if he was going to her. She had a right to feel betrayed, he’d give her that. But she owed him a chance to explain. And it was up to her to find him and give it to him.

  “You need some help, Jake?” Meryl Jones asked as she eased up beside him. She was in her sixties and had never missed a day of work in the records department.

  “Do you remember a man named Black, James Black?” Jake asked.

  Meryl’s brow wrinkled. “No, not really. I’ve been clerk here a long time, and I know that was the name of the fella that wanted to buy the old opera house last year. But as far as I know, he never came to Silver City. He had folks who worked for him.”

  “No one in town ever saw him?” Jake wondered if the body belonged to James Black. Perhaps Alexis had outbid him, or perhaps she’d simply gotten him out of the picture, permanently.

  “Not to my knowledge, and you know how hard it is to keep a secret here in Silver City.” She chuckled softly, but her eyes held worry. “I’m surprised you haven’t found that firebug, Jake. Folks in town are getting worried.”

  “I’m worried, too, Meryl, but I’m working on it. And Sheriff McArdle, too.”

  “I know that tore at Kate’s heart.”

  “It did.” Jake rubbed an eyebrow. “Who all has owned the old opera house? I know after Anne sold it that it changed hands several times.”

  “Oh, it went first to some California movie star, Clay Cobar, who thought he was going to do something with it. Bring back Wild West shows or something. Then Cobar sold it to a developer, and then the town had it, and the last to buy was Ms. Redfield.” Meryl shook her head. “It’s a pity, isn’t it? Alexis had that place up and running, and I’ll tell you, her slot machines paid off better than any in town.”

  Jake couldn’t help smiling. “While we’re talking old times, Meryl, do you remember when Anne McArdle left town?”

  “Lord, like it was yesterday. That w
as a shock. No one ever imagined Anne to do such a thing. She was one pretty woman. A brunette in among all those McArdle redheads, and she stood out. I believe she was from Maryland, but I can’t say for certain. Miss Kitty’s son met her when he went east to study. You know Miss Kitty never wanted him to come back here. She must of had a premonition because he hadn’t been back in Silver City for ten years before he died.”

  “I was just a kid then.”

  “Yes, you and Kate turned out to be sweethearts, didn’t you?” Meryl gave him a sidelong look. “You been stoking old coals?”

  Jake just smiled. “After her husband’s death, Anne stayed on here in Silver City, right?”

  “She did. She was the bookkeeper for Miss Kitty. If she knew what was going on there, she never showed it. She and that red-haired baby girl would go from the old opera house on Sunday morning to the church.”

  Jake felt a need to push, but he knew his purpose would best be served if he took his time and let Meryl get around to the story. “Do you remember the man that Anne left with?”

  “His name was…Johnny. Johnny something.”

  “Johnny Goodloe.”

  “That’s it.” Meryl smiled. “He was dark and handsome with a mustache. And that man could dance. Why, at the spring dance, he waltzed Anne all the way down Main Street until they just ran out of music.”

  “Where’d he come from?”

  “Charleston, I heard. He had a Southern drawl, too, so I guess it was the truth. He was supposed to be from a family with money, but I heard they’d fallen on hard times.”

  “How’d he end up in Silver City?”

  “He was traveling through on the way to Hollywood. He was in a show, one of those actors who played at Kitty’s from time to time. He and his friend, I can’t recall the man’s name, but they were quite popular for a time. They could recite poetry and talk about their travels. It was fun for the town. Johnny, of course, was the handsome one of the two, but the other one wasn’t bad. ‘Course he went on with the show when it left. It was Johnny who stayed behind with Anne.”