“Wait, you eat French food?” Metcalf asked Isandro.
He nodded. “It’s damned good too. Not cheap, but I already know my sister loves the place. And it’s not something she’d treat herself to.”
His brow arched. “Why is that?”
“Because I took her for her birthday after Chris dumped her.”
Trent spoke up. “Yeah, and she’s joined Ella, Mila, Cadence, and Arianna when they all went out the previous weekend. They all love it.”
“Thank you.” Metcalf started the engine and drove back to the firehouse. “Shit, it’s been a long time since I took a woman on a date.”
“Like, forever,” Gavin jabbed. “Damn, when was the last time you took Jeanette on a real date?”
He sighed. “Before she left me the first time. Things were never the same after that. I couldn’t trust her, and I held myself back. I should have known better.”
“Wish you had told me the whole damned story,” Gavin said.
“Yeah, well, it’s ancient history.”
He pulled into the station and climbed down. He looked back to find Ramirez pull in with Marissa in the passenger seat.
“That can’t be good,” Metcalf stated.
Isandro shrugged. “She may have noticed something.”
Metcalf stored his gear and started for the truck.
Ramirez nodded toward the doors. “My office. I want to hear this theory.”
They headed back. Marissa nudged Metcalf’s shoulder with a covert smile.
The desire to stop in his tracks, pull her close, and lay a kiss on her nearly overwhelmed him. Come over tonight, he mouthed.
Her eyes sparkled as she nodded. They followed Ramirez into the office. “Since you’ll be working together, if this looks like an arson, and you’re both here, I figured it was best to discuss the facts now.”
Marissa nodded. “Zerr already gave me the go ahead.”
Metcalf gave her a quick smile.
Ramirez turned to Metcalf. “First what can you tell me about the start of the fire?”
“Someone poured something down the exterior wall from the roof, along the pipework. Smelled like they used kerosene. Luckily the damaged line wasn’t a gas line. My guess is they thought it was.”
“And Rick was inside.” Marissa rubbed at her head. “I want to see the video, but he’s honestly distraught.”
Metcalf turned to Marissa. “You thought he could have been involved?”
“I noticed something on the video from Barnes Hardware. The robber had a limp.”
“So, Bridges had reason to be annoyed with you?” Metcalf asked.
“Why would Bridges care?” Ramirez asked.
Marissa sat back. “I looked at her case. I didn’t take it from her, but I needed to examine the video and the list of stolen items.”
Metcalf chimed in, “Which you gave me, and the lab confirmed that the same paint thinner was used to start the fire at the Cosgroves’. And they also stole kerosene, which I believe was used today.”
Ramirez held up a hand. “Why does that put Rick on your list of suspects?”
“The person never showed their face, and with their clothing I couldn’t tell if the robber is male or female, but they do have an obvious limp. I can think of three people in this town with the same limp. Old Man Tombs, Rick, and Chelsea Bauer.”
“Old Man Tombs was in the hospital a couple days ago for pneumonia. I believe he’s still there. If Rick was inside, that leaves the new girl in town,” Metcalf said. “Unless there’s someone else.”
“Which there could be.” She shifted in her seat. “I’ve been paying attention to everyone, but I can’t think of anyone else who limps like that.”
“Here’s a couple more,” Ramirez offered, “Josh Manning, injured war vet. And Brad Cosgrove, injured in an accident two years ago.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can find on both,” she answered.
Metcalf turned to her. “Guy Reardon’s girlfriend was limping after their fight, just days before the fire.”
“She’s dead. I found her, but she died a week after the fire, somewhere in Idaho.”
“So, not likely revenge?” Metcalf asked.
“Hope not,” Marissa answered. “At least I have more leads to follow. We’ll find this person.”
Person, not him. She still thinks it’s Chelsea. Why her? Didn’t matter. He planned to get that answer out of her later.
Ramirez smiled. “I trust you will.”
“Unless they take this case out of our hands,” Marissa said.
Ramirez shook his head once. “They’re going to have to believe a serial arsonist is involved before they will. Two fires won’t do that. Especially since they were started different ways. We don’t have enough answers at the moment.”
Metcalf nodded. “Then I’m going to need to check out the fire with Marissa in the morning.”
“Of course,” Ramirez answered.
Marissa tipped her head. “I’ll be ready.” She hopped up. “Got to get back to the station.”
“Need a ride?” Metcalf asked.
“I can walk. It’s not far.”
Ramirez tossed Metcalf the keys to the truck. “He’s got you covered.”
“Thanks.” She smiled, walking out the door.
“Don’t be long,” Ramirez said. “And if you’re all called out, meet us there. I’ll make sure your gear is on the truck if we are.”
“Will do.”
* * * *
Marissa walked through the firehouse, passing by Isandro with a hushing motion.
He turned to watch her go, and she flipped him off as Dave caught up.
Dave nudged her shoulder. “He’s not giving us hell.”
“Good, but that look, he wants to ask. And he may be fine sharing his secrets with me—and I wish he wouldn’t—but I don’t share mine.”
“You prefer your private life private.”
She nodded. “I don’t need public speculation. Don’t get me wrong. It’s too late to hide this and I’ll admit to being relieved, but I don’t need to flaunt it either.”
“Don’t want to flaunt it, but I don’t want to deny it.” He opened the door to the SUV and helped her in.
Her eyes danced. “I would have walked.”
“Ramirez wanted to give us a few.”
“He has a lot of confidence in us.”
“Because you’re pretty damned smart.”
“So are you.”
He shook his head. “I know what to look for where fires are concerned. You notice a million things about people surrounding the fires. The limp. No one else would have noticed that.”
“Someone would have. And I couldn’t find any other clue.”
“Yeah, but you have a knack for finding the little details. I bet Bridges didn’t notice.”
She snorted. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not trying to outdo her, just solve this case.”
“Because you’re more concerned with getting the job done than showing off.” He pulled into the parking lot.
“Thank you.” She leaned over and gave him the softest kiss before climbing out. “Looking forward to tonight.”
“Me too,” he called as she backed toward the precinct.
Marissa found Bridges at Brian’s desk, reaming him about where she was.
Groaning, Marissa cut across the room and answered, “The firehouse, discussing the initial findings about the start of the fire on Main Street. Seeing as I’m on this case, I have to work with the fire investigator.”
Her eyes narrowed, her jaw clenched. “Ridiculous. There’s no evidence it was an arson.”
“I don’t have time for this.” Marissa sat down at her desk and started looking for anything she could find on the two new names.
Zerr stepped out of her office. “Officer Bridges, do I need to give you another warning? Detective Cortez is doing exactly as she should. Now go back to work.”
Brian snickered and focused back on his computer.
> Chapter 13
Marissa pulled in to find Enrique sitting in his car in her driveway. She hurried over to him. “Hey, what’s up?”
He rubbed at his head. “Can we talk?”
“Sure.” She locked the car and let them into her home. “What’s going on, Enrique?”
“Keep having nightmares. I think I know who hit me.”
“Who?”
“Her name was Cameron something—don’t remember the last name. She used to live down the road from us. Aunt Ava had her watch us a few times when we were little.”
She rubbed at her neck. “Cameron Monty?” She vaguely remembered the dark-haired girl with big green eyes and thick glasses.
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.”
Marissa shook her head. “She’s dead. I found her death certificate.”
“No, it was her.”
“You said nightmares. Are you sure it wasn’t just a bad dream?”
His face scrunched and he rubbed the back of his head. “Maybe. But I doubt it. It was her. Her eyes. She looked scared, like when she let us watch horror movies.”
“But she died in a car accident in Idaho.”
He shook his head. “How do you know that?”
She drew a breath. “Because she would have been a suspect if she were alive. I needed to talk to her about the previous slew of arsons, but you can’t talk to a corpse and expect answers.”
“Arsons?”
“Yeah, remember all the fires a few years back? The one where one of Isandro’s co-workers got shot?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
She explained what she knew about that and the death of Cameron Monty.
“I don’t know, Marissa. It looked just like her. Estevan had a crush on her. I’ll never forget.”
“But you said nightmare.”
“Maybe.” He sighed. “Hey, do you mind if I bring Miley Friday?”
“Of course not. Why would I?”
“Just making sure.”
“That’s fine. I’m bringing Metcalf and his son.”
“Wait, you’re bringing the guy who was shot at that fire?”
“I was dressed up because I went to Lourdes Bistro with the girls. Then I went to the bar.”
“And went back to his house?”
“Yeah, happy?”
“As long as he’s good to you. If he’s not, Isandro will kick his ass.”
“Yeah, I know. Don’t make a big deal about it. We’re seeing each other. It’s exclusive, but I wouldn’t call it serious yet.”
“Fine, not a word.”
“Good. Now, was there anything else? I have plans tonight.”
He smirked. “With Metcalf?”
One corner of her mouth lifted with her shoulder. “Does it matter?”
“Go get some!” He started toward the door.
“His kid will be there. Oh yeah, watch the mouth Friday night. Ashton is only ten.”
“Ooh, I better talk to Dale about the speakers beforehand, huh?”
“Please. Funny as it may be when it’s just us, that kid doesn’t need to hear it.”
“Has he heard you two?”
“No, and it’s going to stay that way. Shit, why am I talking about this with you? Don’t you need to go see Miley or something?”
“Yeah.” He got himself turned around on the crutches. “Get the door for me?”
“Sure.” She saw him out, then hurried to hop in the shower.
* * * *
Metcalf moved through the kitchen, trying not to listen to Ashton’s conversation with his mother. She refused to Skype because she said she didn’t want to scare Ashton.
Jeanette claimed she looked worse. Part of him got it. The other side thought it might help Ashton accept her inevitable death. Did that make him an asshole? Maybe.
And he didn’t give a damn. He had Ashton put the phone on speaker. Not that he wanted to interrupt, but he wanted to make sure Jeanette didn’t trash Marissa, or his choices on how to raise Ashton.
So far, Marissa hadn’t come up. Neither did the new rules.
Yup, he was a dick. But Jeanette crossed a line when she assumed she had a say in his life, or who he chose to make a life with.
He paused.
Make a life with Marissa? Shit, where did that come from?
He slowed his thoughts. He had no plans for marriage or commitment. They’d reconnected less than a week ago. He didn’t want to promise forever. He’d been down that road and it all fell apart. But he didn’t want to watch her walk away either.
They needed time so he could do things right and make sure they were on the same page.
That had been his problem with Jeanette. He wanted a family. She didn’t want to be tied down. Then they had Ashton and she shackled him into the marriage that was already broken and falling apart.
Maybe when Marissa stopped being so cautious and accepted him into her life, then he would have no problem making promises.
“How’s Daddy? Is he taking good care of you?” Jeanette’s voice cracked.
His heart twisted. Giving up their son had to be hard. It nearly destroyed him when she took him across the damned country.
Ashton grinned up at him. “He’s awesome. I missed him so much. We’re having a lot of fun, but he’s making sure I get all my homework done. Then we have fun hanging out.”
“Good. I’m glad. I know how much you missed him.”
Metcalf leaned against the counter and closed his eyes.
“Miss you too, Mommy,” Ashton answered. “But we’re okay. Just get better.” Ashton sniffled.
Metcalf dropped the dish towel and moved around the counter to hug Ashton. He wrapped his little arms around his neck.
Jeanette sucked in a breath. “I love you, Ashton. More than anything.”
“You too, Mom.”
“Got to go, baby.” She hung up, and Ashton squeezed harder.
“She’s not getting better, is she?”
“Don’t think so.” Metcalf pushed Ashton back to capture his face. He looked into his son’s eyes. “She’s really sick and hurting bad.”
“You got better,” Ashton whispered.
He nodded. “I didn’t have cancer. I was shot and saw something horrible that messed up my head.”
“But you aren’t messed up now.”
He wiped away Ashton’s tears. “It’s different, buddy. Sometimes we get sick and we can’t get better. That’s what’s going on with your mom. It’s scary and sad, and if there were anything we could do, we would do it.”
Ashton blinked, and Metcalf wiped away his tears.
“I’m scared for her.”
Metcalf kissed his head. “Me too, buddy, me too. No matter what, we’re going to be okay.”
The bell rang.
His face lit up. “Is that Marissa?”
Metcalf smiled. “Yeah, is that okay with you?”
“Yeah. She’s fun.” Ashton pulled back to open the door, wiping his eyes on the way. Metcalf took two steps when he opened the door.
Marissa smiled down at Ashton, but a frown quickly replaced it. “What’s the matter?”
His shoulders rose and fell before saying, “Mom’s dying.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Ashton.”
He hugged her waist, laying his head on her chest. “Thank you.”
Squeezing Ashton, her brow pinched. “Don’t thank me. I haven’t done anything.”
“You make Daddy happy.”
Her eyes locked on Metcalf’s. “He makes me happy too. But you know what else makes me happy?” She looked down at Ashton.
He leaned back. “What?”
“When you smile. So how do I make you smile?”
Metcalf’s heart melted.
“You did,” Ashton said, taking her hand and pulling her toward the counter. “How was your day?”
“Busy,” she answered. “I was working a case. Why don’t you tell me about school?”
He launched into his story. Metcalf came up
beside her and leaned in to whisper, “You’re amazing.”
She smiled up at him before turning back to Ashton, who forgot about being sad because he was working on a cool new art project.
* * * *
Marissa sat on the couch, waiting for Metcalf to finish putting Ashton to bed. Every night, Metcalf would sit down with Ashton and talk about the day and their plans for the next.
It was sweet. Ashton was too old to be read to, but this way, they still got family time.
At least Ashton liked her. That could change, of course, and she expected at some point he would hate her, for a while. Hopefully that wouldn’t last, but almost all the kids she knew went through that phase when their parents found someone new.
“Hey,” Metcalf said from the hall.
She smiled up at him. “Hmm?”
“Come here, darling.”
A shiver traveled down her spine. She liked the way he said that. Smiling, she climbed to her feet and closed the distance.
Metcalf wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward his room. “He’s excited about staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s after the barbeque.”
“They picking him up, or are you dropping him off?”
“Figured I’d take him over then come back to your place if you want.” He locked the door without letting her go.
“All right.”
“Then I get you to myself all night long. No sneaking away, no leaving before he wakes up. You and me, and no one else.”
She dipped her head slowly. “I’m looking forward to that.”
“Sooner or later, you’ll stay here while he’s here.”
Her breath caught. “Not yet. He hardly knows me.”
He grinned. “You’ve swayed him. He likes you, Marissa.”
“Don’t rush this, Metcalf. Don’t want it all to crash and burn.”
“I’m not. I’m stating a fact.”
She pressed her finger over his mouth before opening his pants. “No more talking. I’m tired of waiting for you.”
Smiling, he pulled her T-shirt over her head and removed her bra before pulling his shirt off. Then he took her into his arms. “Missed your body against mine. God, you feel good,” he murmured.
“Shh…” She shoved his pants down, then her own. He sat, and she climbed into his lap. “Want you,” she whispered.
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