by Hope, Amity
This caught the officer’s attention and Sarah’s as well.
“Why would you ask that?”
Cole explained to him about the break-in. “It just seems a little too coincidental.”
The officer nodded grimly. “It’s too soon to be certain, but judging by how thick and black the smoke was and how the fire responded when they initially began to hose it down, I’d say there is a good chance it wasn’t an accident.”
Sarah was staring at him with wide eyes.
“Now if you’ll just follow me, back this way a bit?”
“Sure,” Cole said. Sarah didn’t say anything. She felt limp in his arms. Shock was setting in, he was sure. That didn’t stop those damn, silent tears from streaming down her face. “Come on,” he said quietly as he guided her away. She moved with him but as he pulled her in the opposite direction, her head snapped back around, toward the flames.
“That’s my grandma’s house,” she said around a choked sob. “That’s all I have left of her.”
“I know, baby,” he said. He felt like an ass because he wanted to come up with something more comforting than that. But what the hell could he possibly say? Her home, her legacy from her grandmother, all of her hard work over the last month, it was all going up in flames.
“My sweet little kitten is in there,” she whispered.
“Sarah,” Cole said, as he tried to pull her attention away from the nightmare, “look at me.”
She slowly pulled her eyes away. In the light of the raging fire, he could see her eyes were red and her face was puffy with tears. She wore a look of pure misery on her face. “You’re safe and that’s the only thing that really matters.”
“He’s right.” Cole glanced at the officer’s nametag. It read ‘Jones’. Officer Jones continued. “It’s a good thing you weren’t home. You were damn lucky, actually.”
Cole agreed. However, what he hadn’t told Sarah was that while they’d been debating the issue at the end of dinner, he’d already made up his mind. If she’d told him he couldn’t spend the night at her house, he would’ve stayed anyway. Not inside, but his mind had been spinning because there was no way he’d been about to leave her alone. He’d decided he’d come back with his truck, turn the headlights off before turning into her drive. He knew if he parked back far enough on the trail that led to the pond, he would’ve remained unseen by anyone turning into the driveway. But he would’ve been able to hear a car approaching.
Then again, he decided it was for the best he hadn’t had to do that. If the culprit had managed to creep past him, or go in on foot, the house could’ve gone up in flames with Sarah inside. A cold, hard, gut-twisting dread snaked through him at the thought.
He might’ve been able to catch the person in the act. Or he might not have. He was glad that Sarah was safe and they hadn’t taken that gamble.
She burrowed a little deeper into his side. Officer Jones had asked her a question. Cole was only half-listening to her answer. What bothered him the most was that her car was in the yard. It was the first night that his truck hadn’t been. By all appearances, she was home alone. Was that just a coincidence?
He sure as hell hoped so. Because if not, if whoever did this thought Sarah was home, that meant they’d intended to do something far more horrific than burn down an old house.
His gut twisted up painfully as anger, more intense than anything he’d ever felt before, coursed through him.
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Chapter Twenty-Four
An acrid smell clung to the air. The entire front of the farmhouse had been destroyed. It was nothing more than skeletal, charred remains. The backside had fared slightly better but was heavily damaged by smoke and water. The grass surrounding it was blackened as well. Sarah’s heart ached and it felt nearly as destroyed as the house itself. She had spent so much of her childhood in that house. Her mind was full of precious memories that Cora had created for her.
Last night, she had answered what felt like endless questions. Finally, Cole had been able to pull her away from the scene, convincing her there was nothing they could do. She had sobbed uncontrollably. But today, her tears seemed to have dried up. Her body felt numb as it slid into the familiar mode of trying to cope with yet another loss.
A light breeze flitted through her hair. It was early enough in the morning that the air wasn’t sweltering yet, as it undoubtedly would be later. She wrapped her arms around herself, not sure if she was trying to protect herself from the breeze or if she was simply trying to hold herself together.
She turned away from the rubble. Cole was on the opposite side of the house, assessing the massive amount of damage. Sarah knew he was looking for something, anything that was salvageable. He was careful not to cross the bright yellow crime scene tape that enclosed the area. But his gaze was scouring the destruction, searching in the places where the walls had been burned away.
She desperately hoped that somewhere in the rubble, she would find a few of her grandmother’s things. It was doubtful, though, that anything had survived. What hadn’t been destroyed by the fire would likely have been destroyed by water and smoke.
As she stood staring at the devastation, she felt such an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and loss.
Suzie and Frank had come out earlier but they’d both left for work. It wfort size="asn’t as if they could accomplish anything by staying.
Sarah knew she should really leave too. She just couldn’t tear herself away yet. Initial findings showed that some type of accelerant was probably poured on the old front porch. The old wood had burned ferociously, easily setting the stage for the rest of the house to quickly ignite.
“We’re all so lucky that you weren’t home,” Gretchen said as she followed her sister.
While Sarah knew she was right, she didn’t feel too lucky at the moment and she wished people would stop saying it.
“You know, maybe this doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” Gretchen said.
Sarah turned to her, not sure that she wanted to hear what Gretchen had to say. “There’s a bright side?” she asked.
“You know the house was old. You have really good insurance. Now you can build brand new if you want.”
“Gretchen,” Sarah grated out, “the house belonged to my grandma. Any trace of her was burned away! My kitten,” she said as she swiped at a tear, “was killed in that fire. There is no bright side! What’s even worse?! Someone did this on purpose! They maybe even wanted me to be inside!”
Sarah turned, ready to stalk away but Gretchen grabbed her by the elbow.
“Sarah,” Gretchen said quietly, “don’t be mad. I wasn’t trying to be insensitive. I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that I’m so glad you’re okay. Every time I let myself think that you could’ve been inside, that we could’ve lost you…” She faded off as tears filled her eyes. She visibly shook them off and continued. “You’re right, this was a horrible thing and I wish I knew the right thing to say. But I don’t. I know you loved the house. I know you’ve been working so hard on the house the last few weeks. You put all of yourself into it, trying to restore it. And I know it wasn’t just any house. But it was just a house. I’m rambling now,” she admitted. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I know how important this place was to you. But it’s gone so you’re just going to have to move forward. And I know that’s not fair because you have had to deal with so much loss the past few years. But don’t they say bad things happen in threes?”
Sarah shook her head, confused by Gretchen’s line of thinking. “What?”
“First Cora, then Aaron, now the fire. The bad things should be behind you now. You should have only good things in your future.”
She couldn’t respond to that. She was not nearly as superstitious as her sister and she never would be. At the same time, she knew Gretchen firmly believed what she said. She was a true believer in signs, fate and karma.
“Sarah?” Gretchen said her name softly t naat his time.
Sarah’s eyes darted to her sister. “I am truly sorry that bad things keep happening to you. You don’t deserve it. You don’t deserve any of it. I hope they find whoever did this. And I hope they make them pay.”
She sniffled as she wiped at her eyes. She hated to cry. And her sister was making her cry again. Yes, she’d lost her grandmother and then Aaron only half a year later. They had been two of the most important people in her world. And now Cora’s house, the house that had been so full of wonderful memories was gone as well. So were all of the doilies, the silly little knickknacks, the teddy-bear shaped cookie jar that she remembered so well from when she was a child, the antique bedroom sets, all of the photo albums—
She had to force herself to stop thinking about it. Everything had been destroyed.
Her precious little Penelope was gone as well.
“But you have us,” Gretchen said, speaking of herself and their parents. “And Cole. And I know it’s not the same but you can rebuild the house, right here.”
Cole nodded as he joined them. “Gretchen’s right, Sarah. I know it had sentimental value but—”
She threw her hands up in the air. Frustration sizzled through her. “You don’t get it! Everything I owned was in that house! Every keepsake of my grandma’s was in that house. I am so tired of just having to deal with my life. I am so tired of just having things taken away. I am tired of trying to move on only to feel like I’m always thrown right back where I started. I just…I don’t want to do it anymore.”
A strangled sob escaped her lips. It was as if her uncharacteristic outburst had depleted her of the rest of her energy. Her body felt so heavy and she was so tired. She felt her knees begin to give way but Cole’s arms were suddenly around her.
“Sarah,” he said quietly as she crumpled into his chest. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do it alone this time.”
*****
Gretchen had taken Sarah back to their parents’ house to try to get some sleep. The initial findings suggested the fire had been set. Sarah had talked to Officer Duncan again. She had admitted to him everything that Brynn had done in the past. She didn’t think Brynn was capable of starting the fire. Quite frankly, neither did he. But at least it gave the police department somewhere to start.
As long as they were actively looking into it, Cole felt better. Arson was considerably more attention grabbing than a robbery. He’d been worried that the investigation into the robbery would simply fade away quickly.
Now, he knew that finding whoever had done this would be a top priority. They had no way of knowing if the person thought Sarah was in the house. Bn t that fiut if that had been the case, then it was possible, even likely, that murder had been the motive.
He still had his own suspicions as to who had set the fire. Toby had been convincing the other day. But most conmen were. Most were skilled liars. A nagging little fear was eating away at him. What if his visit to Toby had done the opposite of what he’d hoped? He’d wanted to warn Toby away. But if it had been Toby, what if he’d simply antagonized him?
He shook his head as he dropped himself down in his chair. He had to start thinking about this from a different angle. It could’ve been Toby but it could’ve just as easily not have been.
He glanced at the clock. It was after dinnertime. Sarah was supposed to call him when she woke up. He wasn’t surprised she was sleeping so long. She’d barely slept the night before. She’d been exhausted.
He, on the other hand, was vibrating with anxious energy.
He sat on the edge of his chair, methodically tapping his fingers against his knees as he tried to decide what he was going to do about this.
It twisted him up inside to think that it might be because of him that Sarah had almost died. And that damn cat. He couldn’t get the broken-hearted look out of his head when she’d cried over the damn thing. Her sobs were quiet but wracking. He found himself wishing yet again that he’d never gotten the kitten for her. She was upset about losing Cora’s keepsakes but she had been devastated over the kitten.
Just one more thing he’d screwed up.
There was nothing he could do about the cat. But Toby? That was another matter. He sighed in frustration because his thoughts had swung around, full-circle again. He had yet to mention his suspicions about Toby to Officer Duncan, or anyone else in the department. But he decided that’s what he needed to do. He couldn’t very well point an accusing finger without having reason to back it up.
He was lost in his thoughts, simmering, trying to decide if he was finally ready to come clean. Was he ready to finally share that he’d been the one to make that anonymous call all those years ago?
When there was a knock on the door, it took him by surprise.
He bounced up from the chair, quickly crossing the room. He expected to see his mom or Alex, the only two people who had ever knocked on his door before. When he pulled it open, Sarah’s tear-streaked, pained face nearly broke him.
Without waiting for him to say anything, she tossed herself into his arms. The moment she was in his embrace, she began to sob.
“Talk to me,” he muttered against her hair. He wasn’t sure if something had happened in the hours since he’d seen her last, or if the trauma was just hitting her all over again.
“They arrested her,” she sniffled against his chest.
Her? Not him, her. The single word was a mental blow to him. He had been so sure it was Toby. And it was Brynn? His blood ran cold at the thought of all of those months Sarah had put up with that lunatic. She could so easily have done this while Sarah still lived in Crawford and he wouldn’t have been there to keep an eye on her. He shoved that thought away because he couldn’t deal with thinking about it.
“They arrested Brynn?” he asked as he tried to prod her along.
She shook her head and he furrowed his brow in confusion.
“Melinda,” she grated out.
“What?”
“It was her,” Sarah said grimly. “We just found out.”
“How?” Cole asked as he led her to the couch. He sat down and pulled Sarah into his side.
“Apparently, Melinda does not make a very smart criminal.” Sarah tried to be sarcastic through her tears. “She was pulled over for speeding last night over by Danville. The officer got suspicious when he smelled gasoline in her vehicle. She said she had gotten gas for the lawnmower but that she forgot to take the gas can out of the car. He wrote her up for speeding and sent her on her way.
“Let’s just say when a fire was reported the next county over and arson was suspected, the officer pulled her information up again. They made the connection of our last names. After searching her house, they found both rings.”
“That bitch tried to kill you?” Cole grated out.
Sarah shook her head. “She swears she knew I wasn’t there. She just wanted to destroy the house. She’d told me she still had friends in the area. Apparently one of those friends was at Lucky’s the night that Gretchen was talking about finding the coins. This friend mentioned it to Melinda. I think that’s what she was really looking for the day I let her go down into the basement. I don’t think she found anything then.” Sarah paused. “Or maybe she did. Maybe there really weren’t any ornaments in that box. I’ll probably never know. She admitted that she was the one that broke in. That’s why the house was trashed. She was looking for anything that Grandma had stashed away.”
“Why the hell did she burn down the house?” Cole demanded.
“She was furious that Grandma left it to me and not her. She thought there were probably things still hidden away that hadn’t been found yet. If she couldn’t have any of it, she didn’t want me to have it either. She said I’d taken enough from her.”
Cole didn’t know what to say so he simply pulled Sarah into his arms. Her body trembled against him as she sobbed silently. He didn’t want to say it to Sarah, because it seemed cruel, but he wasn’t sure he believed Melinda’s story. Not entirely. The woman was so cold-hearted. He would
not have been surprised to learn that she hadn’t known whether Sarah was inside or not.
“I never realized she hated me so much. I knew she didn’t love me. But I never realized just how much she hated me,” Sarah said.
The despair in her voice broke his heart.
When he had walked away from Sarah, he’d been so young. So naïve. So single-minded. He’d convinced himself that she’d be better off without him. She’d slammed into his thoughts time and again over the years. He’d always assumed she was happy. It had never occurred to him that she’d been fighting her own demons. But he’d meant what he said that morning.
She wasn’t going to have to fight them alone anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sarah was curled up on her bed, trying to sleep but unable to. The peach walls of her childhood bedroom surrounded her.
Usually, she was able to avoid feeling sorry for herself. But today, she decided to give in and allow herself to wallow for just a while.
Her move to Laurel was supposed to have been a positive change. Now, she was starting to feel like everything she touched was tainted with bad luck. Cole, of course, was the one bright spot in it all. He’d been supportive but Sarah was worried that if she didn’t cancel her pity party pretty soon, he’d tire of her.
Melinda. She couldn’t even think of the woman without feeling like her whole world was shattering around her.
She reached for another tissue and swiped at her face. Maybe Gretchen was right. Maybe she could rebuild. It wouldn’t be the same but she knew better than most that things change. Life goes on. You make the most with what you have. You remain grateful for everything you’ve been left with.
Her internal pep talk hadn’t exactly cheered her up but it was beginning to pull her out of her stupor when Gretchen gently knocked on her door.
“Sarah?” she said as she pushed it open, “Cole’s here. I don’t know if you were expecting him but he just pulled up. I’ll just…” Her hands flopped around in front of her as she tried to decide. “I’ll be in my room.”