The problem was, now that he had the restaurant closed, how was he going to keep Daniel away from it?
He went to the desk and pulled a clean legal pad from the drawer, flicked the tip of a new pen, and started to write.
Monday morning
Sunday had passed in a blur of calm. Daniel kept waiting for something to happen, but thankfully, all had been quiet. The eye of the storm? He grimaced. Probably. Now Haley and Katie sat at Daniel’s kitchen table to map out a schedule and a plan. Riley was at school with Lizzie keeping an eye on her.
Daniel sat across from Katie and listened to her and Haley talk while he worked on a spare laptop that he’d dug from the recesses of his closet. All for naught. The thing was dead. The whole reason he’d bought the one that had taken the bullet for him Saturday. He pressed the power button and got nothing. He sighed and shut it. “Guess I’m going laptop shopping.”
“Hope you had everything backed up,” Katie said.
“I did.” He pulled out his phone and found the website he wanted. It only took six clicks and he had another computer on the way. To be delivered tomorrow.
Katie’s phone buzzed and she snagged it from the table. “Hello?” Her eyes lifted and met his. He raised a brow. “It’s Quinn . . . Detective Holcombe,” she said. “He wants to know if you’re free later this morning.”
Daniel sighed. “Sure.” He gestured to his dead laptop. “Not like I’m going to be getting anything done here. Has he heard from the arson investigator?”
Katie repeated his question into the phone. She nodded.
“Good,” he said. “Tell him to meet me at the site.”
She met his gaze. “You want to go out there?”
“Yes.”
“You hear that, Quinn?”
“I heard.”
She pressed the speaker button so Daniel could participate in the conversation.
“It’s not a bad idea, Katie,” Quinn said. “Bring him out to the site. I want to hear what you have to say. I want you to take a look at what’s left and tell me what you think.”
Her lips tightened. “You don’t need me. I would probably say the same thing as the arson investigator.”
“Nevertheless, I want you to look at it.”
Katie sighed. “Quinn, we’ve been through all of this. You don’t need me out there.” She took the phone off speaker and held the device to her ear.
Daniel wished she’d left it on speaker. He was curious about her response to Quinn’s request. He could hear Quinn’s voice, but the words were muffled now. Katie listened, her jaw tight and her face two shades lighter than when she’d answered the phone. “I know I was fine Friday night. Watching the fire didn’t bother me much, but . . .” She stopped and listened again, and Daniel’s curiosity almost got the best of him. She finally made a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a growl. “All right then. Fine. See you there around 11:30.” She hung up with a ferocious frown. “He has to get clearance to go to the site, make sure they’re done with it before we go tramping around in it. It shouldn’t take him long to find out.”
“What did you mean, you were fine watching the fire on Friday night?”
“Nothing.”
“Something.”
She grimaced. “I had a bad experience three years ago. It’s left me . . . with some issues. Quinn seems to think I need to face my fears.”
“Do you?”
“Probably.”
“Is that why you asked me about the PTSD?”
“Yes. Now I’m done talking about it.” She slapped the table and stood. “I’m going to see if your neighbor is home and ask him about his car being on the street Friday night.”
Daniel let her drop the subject. “I’ll come with you.”
She nodded. “Good idea. Jake and the others will probably be more open to talking to me if you’re with me.”
They exited the house and Daniel led the way next door. “He could have left for work. I don’t see his Jeep in the drive today.” He walked up the steps and knocked on the door. When no one appeared, he rang the bell. Again, nothing. “Guess he’s not here.”
They started back down the steps when the door opened. “Daniel?”
Daniel turned back to find his sleepy-looking neighbor staring at him. “You need something?”
“Yeah. Hey, didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“It’s fine. Come on in. It was a late night.”
Daniel stepped inside. “Thanks. This is Katie Singleton. She’s a friend.”
The two shook hands and Jake shut the door. “I was just getting ready to put some coffee on. Can I get you some?”
“I’ll pass, but thanks,” Daniel said.
“I had three cups this morning,” Katie said. “I’d better pass too.”
“Good enough.” They followed him into the kitchen where he started the brew. “What can I do for you?”
“This is going to seem like a weird question, but do you mind telling me where your Jeep is?”
Jake paused in measuring the grounds, looked at them, and cocked his head, curiosity gleaming in his green eyes. “It’s getting detailed. I drove it early this morning, and dude, let me tell you, it had some nasty funky smell in it.”
Daniel frowned. “What kind of smell?”
“Just strong. Like my sister’s nail polish or something.” He finished prepping the coffee and pressed the button. When the coffee started to drip, he turned back to Daniel and Katie.
“Okay,” Katie said. “Another weird question. Riley noticed your Jeep parked across the street Friday night. Did you leave it there or did someone else move it?”
“I parked it there. I had my parents and brothers and sisters over earlier. My flight was delayed so they beat me here and took up all the parking spaces. I parked across the street. By the time they left, I was too tired to do anything about it.” He crossed his arms. “Why all the questions?”
Daniel scratched his head. “Some things have happened. Suffice it to say, it’s been a very strange weekend.”
“Oh yeah, hey, I heard about your restaurant burning down. Man, that’s a tough break.” His expression morphed into confusion. “But that still doesn’t explain the questions about my Jeep.”
“Someone was sitting in it Friday night, watching my house.”
“Whoa. No way. Sitting in my Jeep?”
“So I guess it wasn’t you.”
“No, it wasn’t me. But maybe that’s where the weird smell came from. Maybe some homeless dude used it to get out of the cold or something.”
“Could be. You don’t lock your Jeep?”
Jake shrugged. “Sometimes. When I think about it. I don’t keep anything of value in there so I don’t worry about it.”
Daniel shook the man’s hand again. “Thanks for your help.”
“Don’t know how much help I was, but you’re welcome.”
Daniel walked out of the kitchen to the front door. He opened it for Katie and she slipped through. He followed and shut it behind him. He stood for a moment staring at the spot where Riley had said she’d seen the Jeep.
“What are you thinking?” Katie asked.
“I know most of my neighbors pretty well. I’m just trying to figure who would have been home. I don’t have any really nosy neighbors who stay up at all hours of the night peering out their windows. At least not that I’ve noticed.” He rubbed his chin. “And I can’t think of anyone who works second or third shift—except for the pilots—and they’re usually gone first thing in the morning to make their shift. Occasionally, there’s one that leaves extra early or comes in late, but most of the residents in this neighborhood are really nine-to-fivers. Not all are commercial pilots, some just want to live out here so they can fly whenever they want. Like me.” His eyes landed on the house three doors down from Jake’s and diagonal to the house the Jeep had been parked in front of. “Zachary Drews works from home. He owns Drews Landscaping, but he’s got enough people working for him he doesn’t
go out on jobs much anymore. He sits back and rakes it in.”
“Like you do with your restaurants?”
He laughed. “Hardly. I still put in a good forty-hour workweek. Most weeks anyway.”
She lifted a brow. “Maybe so, but something tells me you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“No. I don’t. But I’m a hands-on kind of guy. I need to see and know what’s going on on a daily basis. I can’t just hang out at home, I’d be bored stiff.”
“And you’re not bored sitting in an office all week?”
He pursed his lips and cut his gaze to her. “Let’s go talk to Mr. Drews.”
Unfortunately, while Mr. Drews was home, he hadn’t seen anything suspicious that night. Nor had the other neighbors they found at home.
They were heading back to Daniel’s house when Katie’s phone rang. She answered, listened, then looked at him. “Quinn said the investigator ruled it arson.”
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, then pressed his thumb and forefinger against his eyes. “So, it’s official then.”
“Yes. Afraid so.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. “Well, can’t say I didn’t expect it.” His phone buzzed, and he checked the text, then groaned. “I can’t go out to the site until later after all. I forgot I have a couple of conference calls that will take me until after lunch. And maybe beyond. Could we meet Quinn around four?”
“That should be fine. I’ll let Quinn know.”
For the rest of the afternoon, Katie was his shadow, but she was a subtle one, making sure she stayed between him and any potential threat. His nerves were tight, his patience wearing thin. If Katie felt the same, she didn’t show it.
After the last meeting, he stood up from the chair he’d occupied for the last hour and stretched. “I’m ready when you are.”
“I’ll drive.” She pulled her keys from her pocket and he followed her to the Jeep.
When they pulled up to the restaurant’s charred remains twenty minutes after that, Daniel’s jaw tightened. He sat still in the passenger seat for a long moment and simply stared. Black wood, soot, destruction. The loss was significant, but not as bad as it could have been. Antiques were valuable and he regretted that they were gone forever, but they could be replaced. And a building could be rebuilt. At least no one had died in the blaze. He was grateful for that.
Katie stayed quiet, seeming to understand his need for a moment. Either that or she was grappling with her own demons. He glanced at her pale features. “If you clench your teeth any tighter, they’re going to shatter.”
She shot him a startled look, then flushed but relaxed her jaw. When the quick flash of color faded from her cheeks, she was still pale. Daniel wanted to comfort her but wasn’t sure how—or if she would welcome it. He took her hand and squeezed just in case. She pulled in a deep breath and gave him a grateful look.
When Detective Holcombe arrived, Daniel climbed from the Jeep and shut the door. Katie walked around to his side and Quinn did the same. The detective held an iPad in his left hand.
“You okay?” Quinn asked him.
Daniel lifted a brow. Was that concern in the man’s voice? For him? “I’m all right.”
“And you?” Quinn asked Katie.
“Fine.”
Her snapped answer didn’t seem to bother him. “Ran the plate on that guy you said assaulted your waitress. In all the excitement I haven’t had a chance to pass it on to you.”
“You haven’t arrested anyone, so I’m going to assume the check came back clean?”
“Yeah. Your guy is Terrance Parker. I did some checking into his background and, like you said, he came back clean. No record, no nothing.”
Daniel frowned. “Okay, thanks.” He rubbed his chin. “Guys like that usually have a history of that kind of behavior, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere.”
“Exactly. I did a little more checking and he and his wife separated about a month ago. She said he had a temper and she was sick of it. Told him to get out.”
“Ah. Well, that explains his comment about his marriage being on the rocks. So he could have been acting out a bit with Sarah and then got scared when he got caught,” Daniel said.
“Looks like it. Who knows?”
“Let’s hope he learned his lesson and will keep his hands to himself in the future.”
“We can hope,” Quinn said. He turned his focus on the building—or what was left of it. “Let’s take a look then.”
Together, they approached the area. Quinn stopped just outside the yellow, taped area. “Jarrod Lamb was the incident commander. He sent me his notes.” He swiped the screen of the iPad. “Here we go. No bodies found inside or in the surrounding area. No accelerants found inside or out. Jarrod determined that someone turned the gas stove on and simply threw something onto the flame that burned and spread—probably a roll of paper towels. Easy peasy.”
“Wait a minute, Detective,” Daniel said. “Why didn’t the sprinkler system attached to the fire alarm come on?”
“Told you that you could call me Quinn.” He read more, then said, “It was disabled.”
The muscle in Daniel’s jaw began that twitching thing it did when he was exerting extreme self-control. “What do you mean? Disabled how?”
“The water was shut off from outside. The arson investigator said there was very little damage to the system’s wires and they were all intact from the inside.”
“So the question is, was the actual burglar alarm activated when the fire broke out?”
“It never went off, according to the alarm company.”
“Then whoever set the fire knew the code,” Daniel said. “Because the last person to leave—the manager—always arms it as he or she walks out the door. So what was it that the arson investigator found that convinced him without a doubt that it was actually arson? Why couldn’t it have been an accident?” He glanced at Katie, then back at Quinn. “For example, why couldn’t something have fallen on the stove? There were shelves above it. Maybe someone got careless and placed something flammable above it and it fell.” No one was supposed to, of course. Only pots and pans were kept on the wire shelf above the stove, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.
Quinn nodded. “That’s a lot of speculation. I’m not comfortable with that. Yes, it could have been an accident, but when you factor in what happened with your other restaurant and the fact that the water was turned off here after everyone was gone—and the fact that the investigator found RDX—”
Katie jerked. “RDX?” Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine.
“Military-grade explosives.” Daniel grimaced and ran a hand through his hair.
Quinn looked at Katie, then Daniel. “I’m thinking it’s a stretch to believe this was an accident. And hanging that body in your basement certainly wasn’t an accident.”
“Okay, it’s arson,” Daniel said. “The RDX sealed it for me. So now that I’ve come to terms with that, what else do you need to know?”
Quinn looked at him. “Can you arm and disarm the alarm with your phone?”
“Of course.”
“And will it tell you when the system was armed and then shut off?”
“Yes.” He pulled up the alarm app on his phone. “Armed at 12:06 a.m. Saturday. Disarmed at 1:32 a.m.” He blew out a breath. “So, the person entered the code and shut the system off.”
“Exactly. And the fire started shortly after that. And the only alarm that sounded was the fire alarm, not the security alarm. And the person who set the fire wanted to make sure the place burned, so he turned off the water.”
“I found Maurice Armstrong hanging in my basement shortly before 1:00 a.m.,” Daniel said.
“The suspect then went straight from there to here and set the fire,” Katie said.
“Or,” Quinn said, “he had help. I requested video from the convenience store across the street.” He pointed in the direction of the large QT gas station that took up most of the block. “I was ho
ping it would have something, but there weren’t any cameras aimed in this direction. However, the good news is, I’ve got something to work with here.” He held up the iPad. “I’ve downloaded the footage from the Elmwood location.”
“I’m still on the fact that more than one person could be involved in this,” Daniel said. “You think there could be two people who want to see me destroyed, out of business, or dead?” He shook his head. “Awesome.”
“Could this be related to one of your cases when you were a CID investigator?” Katie asked.
“Anything’s possible.” He shot a wry smile at the detective. “I could speculate all day.”
“Any particular case that stands out as more possible than the others?” Katie asked.
He sighed and pursed his lips. “There are a few. Billy Kendall is the one that instantly comes to mind.”
“Who’s he?”
“A Marine. He killed his roommate because the young man, Carl, danced with Billy’s girlfriend one night when they were at a bar. She asked him and he said yes. When they got back to their room, Billy cut Carl’s throat after Carl fell asleep.”
“And you investigated the case?” Katie said.
“I did.”
“And?” Quinn asked.
“I proved without a doubt he did it and the jury found him guilty. The judge sentenced him to life without possibility of parole.” He shook his head. “His brother, Lee Kendall, vowed to get even and I watched my back for a while. I caught him following me a few times. The last time I caught him, I confronted him and I haven’t seen him since.”
Quinn rubbed his chin. “Sometimes it takes people a while to plot their revenge. Or maybe after you confronted him, he may have decided he needed help if he was going to take you on. He might have been angry that you made him back down.”
“Maybe,” Daniel said. “But I’ve checked up on the guy off and on over the last four years and he’s been a model citizen. Haven’t looked in on him lately, though, I’ll admit.”
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