Summer Flash Burn

by Unger, Erin;

  “Let’s go outside and look at them. Is there anything else we should take with us this time, in case you have another break-in? I don’t want to leave anything to chance again. Anything of the slightest importance needs to come with us.”

  “No, only these.”

  As we headed down the sidewalk to the truck, Ava and Jillian pulled up beside his vehicle. Ava slammed the door and cringed as Jillian scowled at her. “Sorry.” She strode over to us, Jillian right behind her. “It’s no surprise someone was in Mr. Newen’s house again, but please tell me they didn’t get anything valuable. Where are the police when you need them?”

  I smiled at her and held up the papers. “Christopher didn’t notice anything new missing, so I guess the police aren’t really necessary this time.”

  Jillian grabbed the papers from me and began to read through them. “These look different than the ones we found at the shop office.”

  “That’s what I said.” Peering over Jillian’s shoulder, I almost laughed.

  Ava looked at the house. “Christopher, you need to make sure this is—”

  “I already told him. These papers are the only important things he could think of that were left in the house.”

  Rallying all of us together, Ava pointed down the road. “Why don’t we meet back at the library?”

  Christopher’s tired eyes drooped, all the stress he endured over the past months evident in his face. I’d catch this person for him. No one deserved the torment he was still dealing with.

  After one last perusal of the house, I wiped the sweat off my cheek then took in the yard. Was the trespasser still here in the trees? There were too many good places to hide for my comfort.

  30

  Christopher

  Why couldn’t I shake the feeling I was being watched? Unease settled into my bones as I scoured the side yards and the backyard of my old home. While Shauna talked with the other investigative partners, I rounded the corner of the house and stopped in the middle of the yard. No breeze ruffled a single leaf, only the dead stillness of the hot afternoon created its own void in my ears.

  The hair went up on the back of my neck.

  A sudden shift on the other side of the bushes in the next yard sent tingles through my fingertips and my heart thumping.

  I strode as far as I could go, pressing into the bushes that prickled against my skin, and sucked in the musky scent of boxwood. Squinting, I tried hard to spot if there was a person hiding over there or if it was my imagination.

  I’d better go check it out and quick. Pushing through the bushes, I snapped some branches off in an effort to get past them and scratched my arm. “Ouch.”

  When no one stood up and no animal barked at me or skittered away, I sprinted across the yard.

  Shauna's voice carried across the lawn. “What’s going on? Did you see something? Someone?”

  She was gaining on me, but I kept my eyes focused on one spot. “Hold on, Shauna.”

  Something dark hovered a ways from us—almost too far to be sure it was there. As I reached the next line of bushes I stopped. Only a dark shadow from the tree above us. But had someone been hiding there and gotten away before I made it here? Couldn’t be. I would’ve seen them. I pushed down frustration and turned.

  Shauna stopped at my side and looked into the shadows where I stared. “Don’t tell me you saw him? And we missed him? I didn’t notice anything when we were at the truck.”

  “It’s nothing. I guess I was just seeing shadows.” I took another look before dropping my shoulders and working to regulate my breathing.

  Shauna did her own reconnaissance. “Hey, it’s normal to be a little paranoid. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reacted on impulse as if I’m still back in the Army.”

  She moved around the bushes and investigated every angle of the yard. “Nothing.”

  The other two investigators also searched through the trees and bushes, but whoever may have been looking at me was gone. I shook out the energy coursing through my arms. “We better get back to the B&B.”

  At every turn, Shauna showed her concern. It was deeper than the rudimentary professionalism most would give. It had been a long time since anyone other than Aunt Eena cared about me at all. But this woman—unlike any other I’d ever dated—was getting under my skin. And in a good way.

  31

  Shauna

  Please come up with an excuse fast to stop Leona from coming over. Nope, I got nothing. “Leona’s on her way over.” I dropped my phone on the table and sat. “She insists she wants to go over any theories we have about the St. John’s Wort. Do you guys have any, or should I call her back and tell her not to bother right now?”

  Ava raised an eyebrow. “Oh no, she’s more than welcome. We need some of her insight on a few things while she’s here.”

  Jillian’s nose was buried in her computer and she didn’t look up from it. “Oh, I agree. She’s got my curiosity up about this herbal supplement.”

  Well, they might want her around, but I couldn’t stop my hackles from rising. “I figured you’d say that.”

  Within minutes, Leona sat beside me in our room. Couldn’t she sit at the other end of the table?

  We all shared information and passed papers back and forth for a few hours. Leona was too bubbly as she moved from one end of the desk to the other. Why didn’t it bother the others that she was so…overinvolved? I glared at her again.

  When I looked across the table, Christopher kept his eyes on me. Had he been watching me the whole time? Had he seen my open dislike of Leona? I winced. “Uh, what do you think about that third product? It seems questionable to me.”

  He laughed and everyone turned. “You mean the peppermint? What’s odd about peppermint?”

  He’d seen me watching Leona, and I wanted to bury my face in my hands. I took the paper from him and tried to focus on the words and not the quick stares of my partners and Leona. “I mean the fourth one down.” I handed back the paper. “We’re all guessing these are personal items he bought, not things for the store. Why does any man need ten shoe horns?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” He laughed again. “But I don’t think he was killed for the shoe horns.”

  Ha-ha.

  His merriment was catching. He held my eyes a moment too long. When his shoe bumped mine, I looked up at him. He was still smiling and making my pulse race in a funny way. Why couldn’t I maintain the employer-employee relationship I should have? I might as well be in middle school pining after my first love.

  Leona swept across the room and butted into the undercurrent that was carrying me away. I gave myself a mental shake and cleared my throat.

  Scooping up the paper, Leona studied it. “I don’t see anything on the sheet that helps this investigation. Is there something you guys are getting out of this that I’m not seeing?”

  Both Christopher and I gave her an innocent stare, but I was the one to answer first. “We’re just trying to be very thorough.”

  She squinted at me. “OK.” Then she turned to Christopher. “It’s been a long day, and I guess I better be getting home.”

  She went to the other end of the table where Jillian sat. “I’ll continue my search online for St. John’s Wort and we can collaborate together later.”

  Jillian continued to type, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “Good plan. I’ll send you anything interesting that can’t wait.”

  Sitting back, Ava waved to Leona. “Same here.”

  Once she’d gone, the perfect little blonde left her perfume scent behind. She should’ve taken it with her because I sure didn’t want to gag on it all night.

  Christopher stretched. “I’m ready for a break. I think I’ll go check out my room. Aunt Eena said she went in there and cleaned the soot off everything.”

  “I’m sure she wasn’t happy at all about that burn mark.” I rested on my elbows. “Was she able to do anything to save that old rug?”

  He stood up and stretched for a sec
ond time, adding a yawn. “I’m not sure but knowing her, she did everything she could to keep from replacing it.”

  Frugality. It was a good trait. “Tell her hello if you see her. I haven’t seen her since last night.”

  His eyes softened, and he gave me a salute. “Will do.”

  I watched him leave, reluctant to take my eyes from him. There was no doubt how much he loved his aunt. Could he love anyone else that much?

  When the door closed, I got up and moved closer to my partners. “How can I help you two?”

  Ava wiped her eyes then picked up her phone. “Jillian, can you find Tony’s address? We need to go visit him tomorrow, and I also have to call the fire marshal first thing in the morning. I hope he has his report on Christopher’s house almost finished. We know the fire was set on purpose. By whom we don’t know, but maybe there’s something…anything he can tell us that can get us somewhere in this investigation.”

  Jillian nodded. “Got the address for you. I’ll send it to your phone and input it into my own.”

  I laid my hands on the table and studied my cuticles. “Christopher really believes Tony’s responsible for his father’s death. Have you guys found any evidence against him? What are the new theories that you’ve been working?”

  Both partners stopped what they were doing and shrugged.

  Ava tapped her phone on the table. “Nothing yet. But I’m pretty sure Queenie had nothing to do with this crime.”

  “I have to agree with you.” Jillian scrolled through her computer screen. “The antique manager had an alibi we confirmed again. Tony also has an alibi even though it’s very weak. This is going to take someone talking. And who knows how long it’ll be before we find the right person.”

  “And he may not be the right guy,” Ava piped in. “There’s another man named Steven Holmes. He’s come up several times in connection with Tony Slaiger. Jillian found quite a record on him, and he is a local. Like Tony, he hasn’t been convicted of any crimes in the past several years, but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t committed any. Most of his past convictions were drug related. I’m not sure how that would play into Mr. Newen’s death. We haven’t found anything that he used illegally. Nothing in his system. It might be a dead end.”

  Jillian looked around the side of her computer. “I’ll get his address for you too.”

  No wonder the police hadn’t found the killer. We were getting nowhere on this case too. But someone had to know something; someone had to have seen something.

  Picking up the papers, Ava shuffled them back into order. “And while we were at the property behind the shop, nothing was found there either. Nothing to lead us in any one direction.”

  I patted Ava’s arm. “That’s why they called us. We’re the best in the Blue Ridge, and we’re going to find the truth. Even if I have to convince,” I made air quotes, “someone to talk.”

  Jillian’s typing abruptly stopped. “Oh, don’t you even think about convincing anyone.”

  I chuckled. “But that’s my specialty.”

  Ava tucked the invoice papers into her binder. “I’m ready for dinner. Then we can get back to computer work.”

  To be sitting with my friends and working like a well-oiled machine brought all the guilt back for not talking to them about my possible re-enlistment. But how would they take it? I’d be making their investigation team less effective. And Ava had gone on and on about how great it was to work together, and how we all got along. It was hard to find three people who worked long hours together and were happy to do it.

  Indecision filled me to the core again, and I rested my head against my arm on the table.

  Ava grew quiet, and I looked up at her. She wiped at invisible marks on the table. “What’s wrong? I can tell you’ve been down lately. Why won't you talk to us?”

  Jillian popped her head up where I could see her eyes over the computer screen. “I noticed it too. Speak up and tell us what’s going on. You had to have learned in our line of business that keeping secrets is no good.”

  Should I tell them? Was now the time to bring up my discontent and the problems that I had at home, including all the bullying I’d suffered because my brothers didn’t understand why I’d left the military? I rested my head back and looked up to the medallion on the ceiling that sparkled with gold paint. The decoration was quite beautiful. “Oh, don’t worry about me.” That wasn’t very fair because if I did re-enlist, they would add a whole different kind of worry to their armory of stress. “I just feel after this case, I need a little time to think. A little vacation.”

  Ava squeezed my arm and made huge eyes at me. “Whoa, whoa. What does that mean?”

  Great. I’d said the wrong thing. My hands went up. Should I play it off? In January, we’d had a vacation in the mountains thanks to solving the murder of a farm owner’s son. It was only seven months ago, and I wanted another vacation? “I need a little rest. Everything’s coming out wrong, and I don’t want you to think anything of what I’m trying to say.” Standing, I hurried to the door. “See you in a bit?”

  I didn’t miss the worry lines that creased Ava’s forehead. So much for keeping it to myself until I figured out things. Now my friends would harass me until I gave them an answer, even if it wasn’t tonight.

  I marched down the hall. Christopher rounded the corner. Did he need more space? “Hey.”

  “I couldn’t rest. This whole thing seems like it’s going nowhere.”

  For the first time, I saw the vulnerability in his being. I’d bet he never showed it to anyone. This time I didn’t stop myself from reaching over to squeeze his arm. The taut muscles rippled against my palm, creating an inner dance in my gut. “Look, I feel like I said this a zillion times, but it’s true. It’s going to be OK. We have to trust that God will work this out…to His glory. Do you believe He can?”

  Christopher’s mouth made a straight line, but then he softened it. “I want to believe it. At one time I did…”

  I released his arm before the urge to hug him took control. “It’s never too late to start again. He’s waiting…He’s always waiting for us to return.” I continued before my nerves stopped me, “And He needs to be the one in control, not us.”

  He seemed to think about what I said, but he didn’t acknowledge my last statement. He must need time.

  Christopher leaned a little closer. Too close. His breath whispered through my hair and caught on the crook of my shoulder. Whoa. What was he doing? I stood very still. What had created the sudden shift in him? He touched my fingers, running his own across my knuckles. Tingles shot up my arm as I held my breath. Everything he did put my stomach in a frenzy. After six years of being surrounded by men, why was my heart insistent on falling for someone I couldn’t have? He stopped and stared into my eyes. What do I do?

  His brows drove together in a frown. What now? When his hand lowered, I pressed my lips together. Shouldn’t I be happy? Why couldn’t I let myself enjoy the intimate touch, the gentle brush across the hand? And why did I want to smooth his furrowed brow with my fingers and feel his warm breath on my cheek?

  He seemed to shake himself before giving a gruff good night and striding away…taking my heart with him.

  What now? Had we crossed into a zone from which we couldn’t backtrack?

  32

  Shauna

  A bright sunbeam fell on the top of the newspaper like a spotlight, highlighting Christopher’s house fire story on the front page—a skewed version for sure. I eyed it as I ate a piece of toast and mulled over the incident last night. Try to concentrate on the news. This town could keep the story alive for months since nothing else probably happened around here very often.

  Ava leaned a little closer to me. “The fire marshal says his investigation is complete.”

  “And…”

  “An accelerant was used as we suspected, which was gasoline. And the fire was started around the sink area. Thankfully, only a small part of the floor was compromised by the wall. But th
e fire damage to the back hall and upstairs did weaken the upper floor. At least it’s not so bad that the house was condemned. I’m sure Christopher will be glad to hear it.”

  Dropping the corner of toast, I raised an eyebrow. “That’s very good news. I’m sure he’ll be glad he doesn’t have to leave his father’s home.”

  We collected other dishes and piled them on the side of the table to make it easier for Eena to gather them. I moved the paper to the corner of the table. “We’d better get going.”

  Jillian entered the dining room, took a clean mug, and filled it with coffee. “Did you say we’re leaving?”

  Ava pushed her chair up to the table. “Yeah, we need to get to the trailer park. Has anyone seen Christopher this morning?”

  We all moved into the foyer. Pulling out my phone, I began to search for his number, but before I called him, he came downstairs.

  “Where do we have to go this morning?”

  A smile crossed my face, but I tried to squelch the dorky grin before he read into it. “I hope you had time to eat breakfast, because we need to get out of here and you need to go with us.” I held up my arm and flexed my muscle. “Bodyguard, remember?”

  He gave a snort. “If you must.”

  We all headed to the SUV. It was much cooler this morning. I hoped the heat wave had broken.

  Jillian followed the GPS to the trailer park.

  I sent a furtive glance to Christopher. As quick as he’d touched my hand the night before, he’d strode away. Men. And people thought women were hard to understand. Now he was acting like nothing had even happened between us. Had I imagined it? No, he was the one who caressed my hand, not the other way around.

  I had to know what he really thought. Forget the furtive glances, I spun in his direction and waited for him to feel my eyes boring into his head. But he refused to turn. Fine. We wouldn’t acknowledge the turn of events last night. I crossed my arms.

  The trailer park in front of us flowed up the side of the mountain with little plateaus to hold each trailer. Even the sprouts of tall grass couldn’t hide some of the junked-up cars and lawn ornaments that were in huge abundance. Some trailers were perfectly groomed while others looked as if they should’ve been condemned years ago. The owner must never come up to this place. Either that or he didn’t care and charged an exorbitant amount of rent for the small plots of land each trailer sat upon.