Murder Made to Order

by Lena Gregory

  He petted Thor’s head, then followed her to the kitchen with Thor trotting at his side. “He’s getting big.”

  “Yes, he is.” She tried to smile as if he weren’t a bloodied mess and this was nothing more than a casual visit in the middle of the night. “Who knows? Maybe he’ll even grow into his paws one of these days.”

  “Sure he will.” He pulled out a chair and sat, scratching behind Thor’s ears when Thor sat beside him. “Won’t you, boy?”

  Thor barked, the sound noticeably deeper than it had been until recently.

  Gia filled a dish towel with ice and handed it to him. “Put this on your eye.”

  “Thanks.” He pressed the makeshift ice pack against his eye, then frowned. “How do you feel?”

  “Me?”

  He gestured toward her face.

  “Oh, that.” She’d totally forgotten about the damage done to her chin and cheek when she’d fallen in the woods what seemed like ages ago. “It’s fine, thanks. I’ll be right back.”

  Leaving Thor to watch over him, she ran to the bathroom and rummaged beneath the sink for the first aid kit. Thankfully, she’d just used it to clean up her own injuries, so it didn’t take long. She took a moment to consider calling Savannah, then decided against it. If Hunt had wanted her to know what happened, he’d have shown up on her doorstep instead of Gia’s. She’d just have to suck it up and accept the consequences when the news reached Savannah through the grapevine.

  She snapped open the kit as she strode back through the kitchen doorway. “You should really call Savannah. You know how much she hates hearing things secondhand.”

  “I’ll call her in a little while.” He bounced the side of his free fist up and down on the table.

  “Are you sure? You know how she ge—”

  “Stop,” he snapped, then clenched his jaw, tossed the ice pack onto the table, and pressed his fists against his eyes. He groaned at the pain it must have caused and yanked his hands away. He dropped them into his lap and softened his tone. “I can’t right now. Okay?”

  Gia nodded and set out what she’d need to clean him up. She soaked gauze pads with antiseptic, then bent over and wiped the blood that had dried on his right cheek and the corner of his mouth. When she had him cleaned up as best she could, she rolled a few gauze pads into a compress. “Here, hold this on the inside of your lip. It’s still bleeding.”

  He took the compress but dropped his hand back into his lap without using it. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not.” He frayed the ends of the gauze. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “I understand,” she said as she smoothed antibiotic ointment over a small cut at the corner of his eye and his knuckles. She tried to dab some on his cut lip.

  He caught her wrist, then pulled her closer and ran a finger along her jawline, holding her gaze. “It’s never okay to be nasty to you.”

  “You weren’t nasty, just a little…” She forced a smile, trying to reassure him things between them were really okay. “Snippy.”

  He lowered his gaze and pulled back. “I’m sorry, Gia. I just can’t talk about it tonight. Not to you, and not to Savannah. I need some time to calm down and figure out what to do.”

  Witnessing the pain he was in—more emotional than physical, it seemed to her—she tamped down her curiosity. “Come on. Thor and I were just getting ready to go to bed. As it is, I’ll be lucky to get four hours before I have to get up for work. I’ll get sheets for the couch.”

  His smile did nothing to lessen the pain filling his eyes. “Thanks.”

  “Come on, Thor.” She left the first aid kit on the table, in case he needed anything after she’d gone to bed, then got sheets, a thin blanket, and a pillow and left them on the couch.

  When she went to let Thor out one last time before bed, she found Hunt on the back porch, leaning both hands on the railing and staring out into the dark woods.

  She watched Thor trot down the steps to his pen, then studied Hunt’s profile in the moonlight. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” He sniffed. “Just tortured by my own guilt.”

  “Guilt about what?” She couldn’t help wondering if it was Marcia. It would seem it had to be, and yet, she didn’t know Hunt well enough yet to gauge his moods.

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course, it matters.” She laid a hand on his shoulder, then laid a finger gently against his chin and turned his head toward her. “I understand you have a lot going on, and you seem to be having a tough time dealing with it, but I’m here for you. If you just need to be left alone, then that’s what I’ll do. You’re my friend, and I’ll always be here for you.”

  Thor started toward her, then froze at the bottom of the steps. He turned back toward the woods on the side of the house and barked. The fur around his neck bristled.

  Gia straightened. “Thor, come.”

  Thankfully, he obeyed her instantly, trotting to her side and standing alert.

  Hunt started down the steps.

  She grabbed Thor’s collar. “No, Hunt.”

  Hunt turned toward her. “Take him in the house.”

  “I will, but don’t go out there. It’s too dark, and he only does that when bears are around.”

  Hunt nodded and continued to scan the yard.

  Leaving him to brood in peace, Gia took Thor to the bedroom. She put her pajamas on, then slid into bed, remembering too late she’d left her tea steeping on the counter. It was too late to make another cup. Her book lay on the nightstand, and she longed to pick it up and lose herself in the story for a little while, but it was too late for that too. She needed to sleep, at least for a few hours.

  If Thor would just stop pacing in front of the door.

  “Thor, lie down.”

  He studied the closed door once more, then ignored his crate and lay across the doorway, sulking.

  “He’ll be fine, Thor. Right now he just needs to be alone.” Gia lay down, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to drift. She’d expected to fall asleep the instant her head hit the pillow, but it didn’t seem that was going to happen. She cracked her eyes open and glanced at the nightstand clock just in time to see it creep a minute closer to her alarm going off.

  She groaned.

  Exhaustion burned her eyes and she let them fall shut again. She dozed in and out, fitfully. Too much on her mind to allow a peaceful rest.

  What reason could anyone have had to kill Marcia? Maybelle was the only person she could think of who had any kind of motive.

  Bradley had cheated on Gia, numerous times, but no matter how angry or hurt or upset Gia had been, she’d never once even thought about killing him, and yet, people killed in fits of jealous rage all the time.

  Which brought her back to Hunt. Savannah thought he already knew about Marcia and Hank, but when had he found out? And how would he have reacted when he did? She had no idea, but she did know he wouldn’t have killed her.

  But maybe Hank had. He’d have had the opportunity. It wouldn’t have been hard to lure his lover out to the woods and kill her. But why?

  Thor lurched to his feet and started barking. He scratched at the door.

  Gia threw back the blanket and jumped out of bed. “What’s the matter, boy?”

  She’d never seen him like this, like he was frantic to get out of the room. She’d left her bear spray in her purse in the kitchen. Though she hated guns, she kept a baseball bat in the garage. First thing in the morning, she’d grab it and put it under her bed. Of course, that did nothing to help her current situation.

  She yanked her jeans on over her boxer shorts, threw a shirt over her pajama tank, and jammed her feet into her sneakers without bothering with socks. She didn’t want Thor to run out into the unknown, but she didn’t
have his leash in the bedroom, so she had to settle for holding his collar. “Stay, boy.”

  She flung open the door, and the smell of smoke hit her in the face.

  Chapter 10

  “Hunt?” Gia released Thor’s collar and ran down the hallway.

  Thor remained glued to her side.

  “Hunt!” The smell of smoke got stronger as she ran. Hunt’s bed was made up on the couch, but there was no sign of him in the living room, nor in the kitchen. The thin blanket she’d left for him lay crumpled on the floor. “Hunt, where are you?”

  The fire alarm started blaring.

  Thor barked again. This time, he didn’t stop.

  She recalled the signs she’d seen all over the county, warning of the dry conditions, the risk of the entire neighborhood going up in flames.

  Okay, think, Gia. Think. She couldn’t through Thor’s frantic barking.

  “It’s okay, Thor.” She patted his head, offering what reassurance she could in her current state. She had to find Hunt. The memory of his injuries worried her. Had someone found him and decided to finish the job? She ran back to her bedroom, grabbed the phone, and dialed 911.

  “911. What is your emergency?”

  Gia gave her address and then said, “I smell smoke and my fire alarm is going off.”

  “Do you see smoke or flames?”

  “No. I’ve walked through the whole house, but I didn’t go outside, and I was just about to check the garage.”

  “Okay, go ahead and check the garage, but feel if the door is hot before you open it.”

  She pressed a hand against the door. It didn’t feel hot, so she cracked it open. Smoke filtered in through the open door, and flames spiked high just outside the window. She slammed the door shut, frantic to find Hunt. He must have gone outside. “The garage is filled with smoke and I can see flames through the window!”

  “Shut the door.”

  “I did.”

  “Is anyone else in the house with you?”

  “Detective Hunter Quinn was here. He was hurt, and now I can’t find him,” she blurted. “I have to go check outside.”

  “No. Stay where you are. Wet towels and put them against the crack beneath the door.”

  “I can’t. I have to find—”

  “You have to stay put until we know what’s happening there. Going outside might be more dangerous.”

  “Okay.” She started to turn and tripped over Thor, landing hard on her knee. “Sorry, boy.”

  Thor scrambled backward.

  She jumped to her feet and limped to the linen closet.

  “I’ve already dispatched help. They should be there shortly.”

  “Okay, thank you.” With nothing more to say, she settled for thanking the woman again and hung up. She dialed Hunt’s number. His cell phone vibrated against the living room coffee table. She disconnected and looked out the front windows.

  The fire’s glow lit the night, but she couldn’t see flames. Nor could she see Hunt. She ran to the back door. Nothing.

  Thor still barked frantically.

  Indecision beat at her. She had to find Hunt, but she couldn’t take Thor outside. The smoke couldn’t be good for him. And she wouldn’t put him in danger. Yet, she couldn’t crate him. What if something happened to her and she couldn’t get back to him and the house went up in flames? A wave of nausea hit her. She pulled a dish towel from a drawer, soaked it in water from the sink, and started toward the living room.

  Thor followed at her heel.

  “Thor, stay.”

  He whined but continued to pace the small kitchen.

  Gia ran through the living room. She looked out the window and pressed her hand against the cool surface before cracking the door open, slipping through, and shutting the door behind her. Flames engulfed the wooded area between her house and the one next door. They licked at the side of the garage.

  “Hunt!”

  No sign of him.

  “Hunt?”

  Men’s raised voices came from the side of the house. She couldn’t tell how many but definitely more than one.

  Gia ran toward the road, then cut across the driveway toward the far side of the garage, keeping a good distance between her and the flames… and whatever else might be waiting in the dark. She pressed the towel against her nose and mouth.

  A man and a teenage boy with something slung over his shoulder ran up the road toward her. The man yelled, “Do you have another spigot?”

  “Uh…” Gia had no idea what was going on.

  “We’re using both.” Hunt emerged from the side of the house, hose in hand, stream directed at the wall of flames beside her garage.

  Relief rushed through her.

  A man she didn’t know, dressed in plaid pajama pants, a tank top, and slippers rounded the garage from behind Hunt. He pointed toward the house next door, on the other side of the burning trees and yelled, “Use mine, Jim, and get it from the other side.”

  Jim nodded and gestured for the boy to cut across her neighbor’s yard. He grabbed one end of the long hose the boy had over his shoulder.

  The boy unrolled the hose as he ran toward the house, presumably to attach it to her neighbor’s spigot.

  The man in the pajamas pointed at Hunt. “We’re probably gonna lose the garage. We’ve gotta soak the roof.”

  “Got it, Scott.” Hunt yanked the hose Gia could now see was hooked up to the spigot at the front of her house and backed away from the flames. He redirected the flow of water toward the roof.

  Sirens—a lot of sirens—blared through the night, drowning out the crackle of the flames.

  Thor! Gia ran back up the front yard toward the house.

  “Get Thor,” Hunt yelled.

  “I’m going.” She burst through the front door, tossed the dish towel aside, and grabbed one of Thor’s leashes from a basket in the foyer.

  Thor jumped up, planting his front paws against her chest.

  She gave him a quick hug, then hooked the leash to his collar. Should she try to salvage anything else? With Thor safely leashed at her side, she ran toward the kitchen and grabbed her purse and stuffed her cell phone inside it. “Come on, boy.”

  Gia ran back out and joined a group of neighbors who’d gathered by the road in front of her house.

  “What happened?” An older woman pulled her bathrobe tighter around her.

  “I don’t know. My dog started barking, so I got up to see what was going on and smelled smoke.”

  “Seems to have started in the woods next to the house,” she observed as she petted Thor’s head. “You’re a good boy waking your mama.”

  Thor looked back and forth between Gia and the woman.

  “That’s odd. There’s nothing over there that could have ignited it.” Gia racked her brain but couldn’t think of anything that would have started the blaze. “Lightning?”

  Maybe she’d fallen into a deeper sleep than she realized and hadn’t noticed a storm. They seemed to flare up out of nowhere in Florida.

  “Not that I heard, but you never do know.”

  The first fire truck pulled up, the chaos of the firefighters clambering out of the truck and unwinding hoses making it impossible to hear the woman if she said anything else.

  Thor bounced back and forth from one side to the other.

  A squad car skidded to a stop, and Leo jumped out. He ran to Gia. “Are you and Thor all right?”

  She nodded.

  “Where’s Hunt?”

  “Over there.” She gestured toward where she’d last seen him, but she’d lost sight of him in the confusion of the firefighters arriving.

  “How badly is he hurt?” Leo started in the direction she’d indicated.

  She hurried beside him. “Hurt?”

  “The call came over as an officer down. W
hen I recognized the address, I figured it was Hunt.”

  “Oh, uh…” Uh-oh. She hadn’t realized it would sound that way when she’d spoken to the 911 operator. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. He’s okay. It’s just…”

  Leo took her elbow and indicated a fire hose on the ground a few feet in front of them.

  She stepped over the hose and watched to make sure Thor didn’t trip. She didn’t know how much Hunt would want anyone to know, but as soon as Leo laid eyes on him he’d know there’d been a fight. “He showed up on my doorstep a few hours ago. He didn’t tell me what happened, but he had a black eye and a split lip. If the condition of his knuckles was any indication, it should be pretty easy to tell if you find whomever he fought with.”

  “All right.” Leo swiped a hand over his mouth, glancing back and forth between Gia and the fire. “Go back and wait with the others. I’ll find him and see what’s going on.”

  Gia nodded and turned. No matter how much she wanted to know what was happening, saving her house and probably every other house in the neighborhood, which was pretty much a tinderbox at the moment, took priority.

  Leo yelled after her. “And if you know what’s good for you, call Savannah and let her know what’s going on before she hears your house is on fire and Hunt is hurt.”

  Yikes. She hadn’t thought about how that sounded, but Hunt’s family would be worried sick once that rumor reached them. She returned to the street, but instead of joining the growing group of onlookers, she led Thor to a somewhat quiet spot across the street, took her phone out of her purse, and dialed Savannah.

  Her groggy voice came over the line after four rings. “Gia? Is something wrong?”

  “Everyone is okay, but I wanted to call you before the gossip mill started running for the day.” She shot Leo a silent thank-you for reminding her to call. “There’s a fire in the woods by my house. It seems to have spread to the garage, but the firefighters are here, and Hunt and some of my neighbors were trying to fight it until they arrived.”

  The rustle of sheets came over the line, and she figured Savannah was getting out of bed, probably getting ready to rush right over.

  “What was Hunt doing there?” Savannah’s voice was already strained, even without knowing about the fight. “I was trying to reach him all night, and he never called me ba—oh, uh… Fireworks set the woods on fire?”