“That won’t happen if I can do anything about it,” Kate promised him.
The lights of Silver City were coming up fast, and Jake’s fatigue showed in the furrow on his forehead. “We’ve got our work cut out for us tonight.”
“I know.” The cat was stretched full-length on her lap. She stroked him and felt his purr rev even higher. “I’ve grown accustomed to this cat. Maybe, when all of this is over, I’ll adopt a kitten.”
Ouzo groaned in his sleep, and Jake laughed. “Good, that’ll give this old boy something to chase.”
Kate’s eyebrows arched. “As the law in this town, I’m ordering his attendance in obedience school.”
“He doesn’t even get a reprieve for helping to save your life?”
Kate was so glad to see a twinkle in Jake’s eyes that she almost relented. “We’ll talk about it later. Maybe you could go to obedience school instead.”
Jake’s laughter stopped short as he pulled into the parking lot behind the sheriff’s office. He rolled his eyes and lightly banged his head on the steering wheel in mock desperation. “Oh, no,” he said. “I told you about Alexis and the bomb, but I forgot to tell you that she’s in the jail.”
“Alexis?”
“I didn’t know what else to do with her. I put her under protective custody.”
“You’re not a deputy,” Kate pointed out.
“I really didn’t think she’d stay put—and stay safe,” Jake said, nudging Ouzo awake. “Now I may need protection. From Alexis.”
Kate couldn’t help her smile. “You might. Just remind her that you saved her life.”
“That’s right. If I hadn’t stepped in, she would be singing in a heavenly choir. That’s what I’ll tell her.”
“Somehow, I can’t imagine Alexis in any posture that might even vaguely be construed as angelic. I don’t think they’d let her have plaid wings.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t know if Alexis will ever have to worry about a heavenly dress code.”
Kate laughed out loud, and in that moment she reached out to Jake. Her fingers curled around his arm and she squeezed lightly. She did it without thinking, but as soon as she felt his skin beneath her fingers she knew that it was more than a casual touch. Even the slightest brush with Jake had her wanting more. His gaze was on her, as intimate as a kiss, and she looked up into his brown eyes.
“You’re a beautiful woman when you laugh, Kate.”
Instead of the panic she expected, she felt a rush of warmth. “I wouldn’t be alive to laugh if it wasn’t for you. I can never thank you for saving my life.”
“Oh, I’ll think of a way.” Jake’s brown eyes sparkled with mischief. “Count on it.”
Kate’s expression turned thoughtful. “You know, I don’t mind a bit being in your debt. You won’t ever ask more of me than I can give. I believe that.” Her hand reached out to touch his face. “Better than that, I trust it.”
Jake caught her hand and lightly kissed the palm. “You can trust me, Kate, but it’s more important that you trust yourself. I’ve always known what a’ special person you are. You just have to learn to see it for yourself.”
“Meow.” Familiar nuzzled against her leg.
“See, even the cat knows I’m telling the truth,” Jake added.
Kate knew he was right. Part of her running away was to try to escape the pain, part was fear, and a large part was because she was afraid she wouldn’t measure up—that she didn’t deserve better. The woman she saw in Jake’s eyes, though, was someone who was strong and capable of loving. That was the woman she knew she could be. “I have to believe in myself, if only to keep you from looking like a damn fool,” she said, working hard to hide the emotion she felt so strongly. “I owe you that, at least.”
Jake sighed, “Ah, Kate, why is it that you always melt for me just before we have to go out and kick some butt?”
“It’s a tactic I learned from your dog,” Kate said. She leaned across the seat and kissed Jake lightly on the lips. “It’s how Ouzo keeps you so well trained.”
“My life is going to be hell. I can see you and the dog teamed up against me.” He clutched his heart.
“You should be so lucky,” Kate said, laughing. “Now we have to think of a way to take Roy into custody. And we should send one of the deputies, first thing in the morning, to show his photo to the manufacturing company in Denver.”
Jake nodded. “When we find Roy, let me go in and try talking to him.”
“Why?” Kate frowned. “He’s tried twice to kill me. And Alexis once.”
“I’ve known Roy a lot of years. He stood up for me when I was first hired as fire chief, and he’s the only one who’s remained behind me during the fires. In all of my dealings with him before this, he was an honest man. Call it a hunch, but I’d rather try to talk him into surrendering than go in, guns at the ready.”
“Okay,” Kate agreed reluctantly. “Plan A is for you to talk him into giving up. Plan B is that I and my deputies do whatever it takes to stop these fires.”
“I understand.” Jake brushed his hand over her hair.
Kate captured his fingers and moved them to her lips. “Don’t do anything foolish, Jake. Promise me that. I’ve finally come to the place in my life where I can tell you that I love you. Where I can admit it to myself that I’ve put my heart on the line. Don’t hurt me by getting shot.”
“You have a peculiar way of telling me to be careful,” Jake grinned, “and I feel the same about you.”
“Let’s do it,” Kate said. With the dog and cat behind them, they walked into the sheriff’s office where half a dozen deputies were gathered and waiting.
ALEXIS GAVE JAKE a cold glare as she sauntered out of the jail cell. She stopped in front of Kate. “I hope your bond is good because I’m going to sue you for everything this county has.”
“Please, Alexis,” Kate said. “I want to assign a deputy to you. Someone tried to kill you. They may try again.” She had serious reservations about letting Alexis go, but Jake’s methods of protecting the woman weren’t something Kate could legally employ—not if Alexis didn’t want help. Alexis had not been able to identify her attacker and she vehemently denied knowing anything about the body buried beneath the Golden Nugget. In fact, she’d paled when she first heard about it.
There was no physical evidence to tie Alexis to the body, so far, and the casino owner had steadily maintained that she was bushwhacked from behind and couldn’t begin to identify the attacker. Kate had no choice but to set her free. She couldn’t even force Alexis to accept protection from a deputy.
Alexis pointed a coral-tipped finger at Jake and Kate. “I’ll be perfectly safe on my own. I wouldn’t dream of doing anything that will diminish my satisfaction in hounding the two of you out of office.”
Kate gave her a long look. “It would seem to me that you’d be a little more interested in finding who tried to kill you and a little less interested in trying to get even with Jake for keeping you safe.”
“It would seem you’d be more interested in identifying the body beneath my former casino than in harassing me.” Alexis stalked down the corridor and left.
“I think we made her very angry,” Jake said, with a sigh.
“I didn’t arrest her,” Kate pointed out. “And I didn’t toy with her affections.”
“I resent the word toy. I had dinner with her once.”
“Sheriff, I checked on that list of suspects,” one of the deputies said, hurrying toward Jake and Kate. He rubbed his jaw. “I came up with something interesting.”
“What’s that?” Kate sat on the corner of her desk and gave him her full attention.
“It’s Ms. Winn. Evelyn Winn.”
“What about her?”
“Well, she’s dead.”
Kate stood up. “That’s impossible.”
“That’s what I thought. But it’s true. Evelyn Winn of Denver, Colorado, was killed in a car accident two years ago.”
“Get o
n the phone and get more details about that death. If Evelyn Winn is dead, who the hell is the woman running Evelyn’s Boutique? Find out. And fax our Evelyn’s photo over to the Denver P.D. See if they can give us an identification.”
Before Kate could issue another order, the telephone rang. A deputy answered it and held the receiver out to Jake. “It’s for you.”
Kate watched his expression change from interested to guarded to sad. When he hung up, she knew the news he had was not good.
“What is it?” she asked.
“That was Mortimer Grell. He got the full lab reports back on that skeleton at the Golden Nugget.”
“And?”
“There’s nothing conclusive. Not yet. The dental records don’t match anyone who has been reported missing. It’s still a mystery. The only thing certain is that the body was buried ten months to a year ago, and that it is a middle-aged male, Caucasian. That’s all he has so far, but he’s still working.”
A few minutes later, a deputy rushed in. “I’ve got more information on Winn,” the deputy said. His eyes were bright with excitement. “The Denver police department identified the photo immediately. Her name is Karen Black, but she has a string of aliases a mile long.” His grin widened. “And she’s wanted in Las Vegas on an arson charge. In the past she’s worked with a partner. There’s evidence she may be an arsonist-for-hire.”
“That makes perfect sense. Vegas is where she got involved with the DDC,” Jake said. “And I still believe that some outside force is behind these fires.”
“Let’s pick her up first Maybe we can elicit some helpful facts from her,” Kate said, waving the deputies into action. “We want to surround the Winn house and bring her in. Use extreme caution. She’s a dangerous woman,” Kate warned.
EVELYN WINN’S carefully decorated home was completely dark when Kate, Jake and the deputies pulled up. The only sign that she was home was the car in the garage.
“Thank goodness we left Ouzo in the office,” Jake said. Familiar rode beside him, but they’d decided that the dog was too headstrong to risk bringing.
Kate eased her truck into the shadows of a fir. “We don’t have a lot of time to wait. I’m thinking we should surround the house, rush in through all entrances. I don’t want to risk a chance that she’ll escape.”
“Remember, if Roy’s in there, I get a chance to talk to him.”
“I remember,” Kate answered, regretting her earlier promise. She kept her attention on the job at hand, but she chanced a look at Jake. In the dimly lighted cab, his face was a mask of concentration. The idea that he might put himself in danger made her heart constrict with pain. In a single day he’d risked his own life to save hers. And he’d waited her out—until she could admit to herself how much she loved him.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m more than okay. I’m ready,” she said.
Familiar sat up and put a paw on Kate’s mouth. “Meow.” His tail flicked as he stared out the windshield.
Kate saw the strange car slowing as it approached the Winn house. At last it stopped several houses back from Evelyn’s. A tall, slender figure got out of the car and walked with fast clicks toward Evelyn’s door.
“It’s Alexis!” Jake and Kate said together. Kate punched her radio to alert the other deputies. “Hold your position. It’s Redfield. Let’s see what happens.”
Unaware that at least a dozen pair of eyes followed her every move, Alexis went to the front door. When no one answered the bell, she banged with the knocker. When that didn’t work, she banged with her fist and kicked.
“Open this door, Evelyn. Open it this instant. Your car is in the garage and I know you’re there. Open it now! I demand that you open—” She hurled her body against the door. “This—” And again. “Door!” Alexis fell back, panting.
With the same quick, high-heeled step, she headed back to her car. She started it up and drove away.
“Unit Three, follow Redfield. Everyone else, take a position. We’re moving in.”
Jake was the first one in the door, followed by Kate and Familiar. Even as Kate flipped on the lights, she knew the house was empty. There was the sense that it had been abandoned, though all of the furniture remained in place.
“Search it thoroughly,” Kate told two deputies. She turned to Jake. She had put off the inevitable as long as possible, for Jake’s sake. “We have to find Roy,” she said softly.
“It’s time,” Jake agreed.
Across the clear night the clamor of bells rang out. Kate felt Jake tense beside her, an instinctive reaction to the summons. Her radio crackled. “It’s a fire. Eighteen hundred Rock Court Avenue.”
Kate was right behind Jake as he ran to the truck, Familiar on their heels. “That’s Theodore Lyte’s residence,” Kate said, remembering the night that Ouzo had stolen the shoe.
“Let’s go!” Jake slid behind the wheel while Kate and the cat jumped in the passenger side. Before Kate could close the door they were rolling.
They arrived at the scene seconds after the fire truck. Kate stood back, waiting for the moment when she might be needed. Flames were licking out the upstairs windows, and it was obvious to Kate that the fire had started somewhere on the second floor.
“Where’s Lyte?” she asked one of the firemen.
“No one came out of the house. A neighbor called in the fire.”
Even as the man spoke, Kate saw a silhouette in the top story. She pointed and yelled. “Jake! Jake! Lyte’s in the house!”
“Get the ladders,” Jake ordered as he took charge of the fire.
Kate watched, her heart pounding with dread. Jake was absolutely fearless as he donned the protective fire gear and started up the ladder. In a matter of moments he was guiding Lyte out the window.
“Grrrrrr!”
Startled, Kate looked down to find Familiar arched and spitting toward the back of the house. She leaned down to pick him up, but the cat darted away.
“Familiar!” He was running straight toward the back of the house, as if he intended to throw himself into the flames.
“Familiar!” Kate made sure Jake was coming down the ladder safely and then took off after the cat As she rounded the corner, she caught sight of someone running through the yard. The fleeing figure darted from behind a tree just as the flames roared higher, illuminating the yard. It was a small, petite woman with dark hair.
“Halt!” Kate called. “This is the sheriff and I order you to halt now!” Her hand dropped to her weapon, but she couldn’t bring herself to draw it. Instead, she took off in pursuit
The woman wove in and out, among the trees, but she was no match for Kate. She had reached the property line when Kate launched herself in a flying tackle. She caught Evelyn Winn at the knees and dropped her hard. Evelyn hit with a thud that expelled the air from her lungs and left her gasping.
Barely winded, Kate rolled Evelyn on her stomach and cuffed her before she could draw a solid breath.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Kate said, giving her the full Miranda recitation. “On your feet.” Before Evelyn could protest, Kate had her up and moving. “Where’s Adams?” Kate asked as she pushed Evelyn toward the car.
Still drawing ragged breaths, Evelyn stopped and looked back at the fire. The roof gave, collapsing down on the second floor. “He’s dead, I suppose.”
“He was in there?” Kate was horrified. “You left him in a burning building?”
“I don’t have to tell you a thing.” Evelyn tried to use her shoulder to rub her eye.
Kate nudged Evelyn toward the car. She had to tell Jake that Roy Adams was in the burning building, though there was nothing anyone could do to save him now.
Opening the squad car door, Kate put her in the back seat. “Duck. Lift your legs.” She slammed the door and motioned a deputy over. “Take her to the office, lock her up, she’s had her rights, and she gets one call.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the deputy said as he hurried around the car.
Jake was at the front of one of the fire trucks. The blaze was slowly coming under control, and Jake watched his men as they worked the hoses. Kate went to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder. “I just arrested Evelyn Winn. Jake, I hate to have to tell you, but she said Roy Adams was in that building.”
“He was.” Jake grinned, then pointed to the side of the truck where a man sat coughing. For a moment, Kate didn’t know who she was looking at, but then she recognized Roy. A deputy stood over him, guarding him. “He’s okay?”
“I’m certain he’s felt better. He knows that he’s going to jail. He’s not going to try and run.”
Beneath the sounds of the fire and the shouts of the firemen came a constant, grating bark. Kate’s eyes widened. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s your dog.”
“Impossible! I locked him up.” The conviction faded from Jake’s face. “It’s coming from—he’s not after the cats this time.”
“Finish it up, boys!” Jake called as he and Kate took off on foot.
“GET BACK! Get back!”
Jake and Kate, panting from the two-block run, heard the angry cries before they caught sight of a tall, dark-clad figure cornered in Susan Tanner’s yard. It was too dark to identify the man as Theodore Lyte, but Kate recognized his voice. It took her a moment to see the can of gasoline in his hand.
“Jake,” she said, pointing.
“Ouzo!” Jake started forward, but Kate caught his arm. Even as they watched, Lyte flung some of the gasoline onto the dog. Undaunted, Ouzo closed the distance, teeth bared and hackles raised.
“My God! No!” Kate couldn’t believe it, but Lyte had drawn a cigarette lighter from his pocket.
“This is the last time you’ll torment me.” Lyte struck the flint of the old-fashioned Zippo, and a yellow flame jumped up.
“Don’t do it!” Kate drew her gun and pointed it right at Lyte’s heart. “Put out the flame!” Kate ordered.
“The penalty for killing a dog isn’t much. I won’t get any more time than I will for arson.” Theodore Lyte’s face was a mask of fury. “I’ve had it with this beast.”
Familiar Fire Page 20