Liar's Fire: A Cooper Brothers Novel

by Dee Burks

  Tyler gave a half grin. “Oh, trust me, Chief, I’ve done much dumber things.”

  Serena ran to Tyler and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you so much. You saved his life and mine too.” She looked back at her son being loaded him into the ambulance. “He’s all I have.”

  She gave Tyler another quick hug and ran for the ambulance door.

  Tyler watched the flashing lights speed off. No, he thought, you have me too.

  Chapter 29

  Serena sat by the hospital bed and held Justin’s hand. He slept soundly, the crisis now passed, but they still wanted to keep him overnight for observation. The beep of hospital machines amplified the quiet in the room. Reaching up, she rubbed a smudge from Justin’s cheek. The soot on his face provided a stark contrast to the white sheets. She almost lost him tonight.

  Serena laid her hand on his chest. It rose and fell with each breath. How often had she done this when he was little? She couldn’t even count the times. As a baby, there were many days he’d nap a little longer than usual, and a nervous chill would run up her spine, and she’d rush into his room and do this exact same thing. Lay her hand on his tiny chest and make sure he was breathing. It didn’t seem that long ago. She gazed at his strong angular chin now covered with a crop of thin whiskers. He’d changed so much, grown up right before her eyes.

  Serena cringed at the thought of their last conversation. Did it really matter where or even if he went to college? Compared with the thought of losing him, it seemed trivial. As long as he was happy, and alive, what difference did it make? She pulled out the cross that was still jammed into her pocket and stared at the strange inscription again.

  Macy rushed into the room then stopped, proceeding on tiptoe as if her slight footsteps would wake Justin. “How is he?” she whispered.

  “He’s fine. They’ll release him in the morning if all goes well.” She smiled at the jaunty handkerchief wrapped around Macy’s head, hiding her lack of hair. The woman wore it like a badge of honor. “How are you?” Serena asked, knowing Macy looked better than she had in years.

  “The chemo is done. They’ll start a round of radiation in a few weeks. I thought I’d be on death’s doorstep by now, but, you know, I feel really good.” She smiled. “It’s funny, I’d prepared myself for years to have some horrible disease, and now that it’s happened, it hasn’t been that big a deal. Certainly nothing like I’d imagined.”

  Serena hoped Macy’s hypochondriac days were over.

  Macy shook her head. “What a waste of time it is to worry about the future.”

  Serena glanced at Justin. “I agree.” For years, she’d worried that he’d mess up his life. She’d planned out his future in great detail, never giving him a chance to make his own decisions, his own mistakes. Somehow he’d managed to become his own man with his own dreams. That was all she’d ever wanted for him. He hadn’t disappointed her one bit, but her reaction to his plans had disappointed him. Thank God she’d have the chance to make it up to him.

  Macy pulled up a chair next to Serena’s and pointed to the cross. “I haven’t seen that in years.”

  Serena handed it to her, and Macy squinted at the object turning it over. She smiled at the inscription.

  “Your father gave this to your mother on their wedding day. Arlene wore it day in, day out, for years.” She gave the cross back to Serena. “When you father died, she swore she’d never part with it.”

  Serena turned it over, rubbing a finger on the engraved words. “What does this say?”

  Macy patted her shoulder as she stood. “My heart lies within you.”

  Macy leaned over Justin and rubbed his cheek with a frail hand. “He seems to have come through this fine. It’s amazing; the boy must have nine lives.”

  “I certainly hope so.” Serena hugged Macy goodbye and resumed her place next to Justin. She rubbed a finger across the cross again. My heart lies within you. Is that what Arlene had been trying to say? Serena had seen the cross as a symbol of her mother’s rejection and abandonment all these years. Had she been wrong?

  Her cell phone rang, and she slid the cross into her purse. She hoped the call was from Tyler. He’d never shown up at the hospital as she’d expected. He was probably still at the restaurant waiting for the last of the embers to be put out. Her heart ached to comfort him and longed for his strength to soothe her ragged emotions.

  “Hello?”

  Nolea’s voice greeted her. “How is Justin?”

  “Fine. He’s sleeping. Tyler ran into the building to save him.” Tears threatened again. Tyler had risked his life to save what was most precious to her. He was a better man than she deserved.

  “I’m glad to hear he’s okay. Now for the bad news.”

  Serena sat up straight in her chair. “What bad news?” She’d had enough close calls for one day. Her stomach gurgled with what had to be the beginnings of an ulcer.

  “Turn on the TV. Jackie the bimbette just screwed us.”

  Serena grabbed the TV remote and pointed it toward the set hanging from the wall in front of Justin’s bed. It blared to life. Quickly finding the channel, she listened in stunned silence.

  Jackie’s jet black hair and too-white teeth gleamed in a satisfied sneer. “To recap, this reporter has discovered that the “Lone Star Love Affair” series appearing in the Cranfield Reporter-Star is a sham, a deception developed and perpetrated by several staff members and written by the acting editor-in-chief, Serena Finley.”

  “Oh, shit,” Serena whispered into her phone.

  “To say the least. It gets worse,” Nolea said.

  The camera pulled back showing the remnants of the still smoking restaurant in the background. “Sources have named Tyler Copper, owner of JT’s restaurant, as a participant in the “Lone Star Farce” as well.”

  “Lone Star Farce?” Serena squeaked.

  “Catchy isn’t it? I’d damn sure like to know their sources of information, if there are any.” Nolea paused. “Hey, do you see that guy on the far left of the screen?”

  “What guy?” Serena asked. This was a potential career-ending crisis. How could she pick out a guy in the crowd?

  “The one that ducked away from the camera.”

  “No, I don . . .” The words died in her throat as the reporter continued.

  “Tyler Cooper is being held for questioning by authorities this evening in connection with a suspicious fire that destroyed his business only hours ago. We’ll bring you more details as they become available.”

  “I hate that woman,” Nolea growled.

  “Tyler’s in jail?”

  “Held for questioning. That doesn’t mean he’s been arrested. It’s pretty standard with these type of deals from what I understand. I used to date a cop, you know.”

  Standard? Nothing about this situation could be called standard, and Serena didn’t see any reason to take chances. “Nolea, I have to make some calls. Would you mind going down to the paper? We have to come up with some kind of statement by tomorrow. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Will do. I’ll deal with Jackie. But if that witch tries to get a comment out of me, I’m using her as a speed bump.”

  “Then you’ll be in jail, too.”

  “Some things are worth doing time for.”

  Serena hung up and sat for a moment, her hands shaking. Tyler needed help. Right now. His brother that lived in Dallas. What was his name? The lawyer. Jerry? John? Jeff? That was it! Jeff Cooper. She dialed information only to be told there were six Jeff Coopers in Dallas proper. Starting with the first number, she went down the list. The first one connected her to an answering machine. A female voice recited, “You have reached the Cooper family.” She hung up. Jeff wasn’t married. The next produced an elderly man.

  “I think I have the wrong number. Are you the Jeff Cooper who is an attorney in Dallas.”

  “No, I’m sorry.”

  Serena let out a sigh of frustration; then her old newspaper skills kicked in. A lit
tle help from someone who knew the area is what she needed. “All I have is a list of Jeff Coopers and I’m trying to find him. There’s been a family emergency.”

  “Well, if I can help you, I will.”

  Great. She tried to sound as sweet and helpless as possible. Which she was right now, except for the sweet part, but she could fake that. “I know he lives in a condo.”

  “Hmm. A condo?” The old man paused a minute. “Read me the addresses.”

  Serena read the first one.

  “No, that’s an assisted living building. Have a friend up there. You can see Cowboy stadium over in Irving from his living room window.”

  They went through two more addresses. One in a slum area and one in an older residential section. Frustration mounting, Serena read off the next to last address, desperately hoping Tyler’s brother didn’t have an unlisted number.

  “That one might be it. It’s not too far from Stevens Golf course. Was just a creek over there when I was kid. But I figure it’s a good area for condos.”

  Serena quickly thanked him, hung up, then dialed the number. Within minutes, she was connected to what she hoped was Jeff Cooper’s condo.

  “Hello?”

  She hesitated a moment. The man sounded so much like Tyler it interrupted her train of thought.

  “Hello?” he repeated.

  “Uh. Hello. Is this Jeff Cooper, Tyler’s brother?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fabulous.” Relief washed over her. Taking a deep breath she plowed into her story. “Tyler’s in trouble. How fast can you be here?”

  “Who is this?”

  “Serena.”

  “Serena the Wonder Ho?” He laughed. “This is one of Tyler’s pranks, isn’t it?”

  She jammed the scrap of paper into her purse. “Listen to me,” she said in short staccato bursts. “Your brother’s restaurant burned to the ground tonight, and the police are questioning him now.”

  Hesitation lingered on the line. “Who did you say you are?”

  She could tell from his tone that she had his attention. “It doesn’t matter. I didn’t think he could have called you yet, and I didn’t want to upset Chelsie in case she doesn’t know.” Serena paused. “Although it was on the news tonight, so the whole town will know by morning.”

  “What happened? Is everyone all right?”

  “Yes. Justin’s in the hospital, but he’ll be fine. I don’t think there were any other injuries.”

  “Who’s Justin?”

  “My son. Can you come right now?”

  He hesitated. “I’ll need to call Chelsie and verify this.”

  Serena stood, her patience at an end. “You just do that, buddy. You call and upset a very pregnant person with the news that her brother is in the slammer.”

  “I, uh . . .” Jeff stammered at her tirade.

  “And by the way, the next Cooper that calls me the ‘Wonder Ho’ will have his nuts knocked into his throat. Now you get your ass up here, got it?”

  “Got it. I’ll be there by morning.”

  Chapter 30

  Tyler sat in a wooden chair at a table in the center of the interrogation room. How long had he been here? One hour? Two? The cinder block walls, painted a pale green, shimmered with the flicker of florescent light.

  He stood and paced. Peeking out of the tiny vertical window on the door revealed nothing but one empty desk and the long hallway the police had escorted him down. Maybe they’d forgotten him.

  He strolled the four steps to another small window covered with wire mesh. A full moon greeted him from the world of freedom. He hadn’t thought about it in those terms in years. Not since the accident. Not since Matt’s death. That was his only other time behind bars and, though the circumstances were different, this felt very much the same. Back then he’d lost his future, what might have been, if not for that tragic mistake. Convinced he’d spend his whole life behind bars, Tyler had ceased to care anymore. His best friend gone. The guilt that plagued him every waking hour of the day. He’d wrestled with his own will to live.

  Why was his life spared and Matt’s taken? He’d have gladly traded places with his friend as he would have traded places with Justin this evening.

  Thank God the boy had survived. JT’s, though, was a total loss. Gone, just like that. Tyler’s future, his dream, the only hope of having a decent life with Serena now lay in ashes. He had no insurance that he knew of, no miracle that would come along and save him.

  He’d always expected the worst from every situation; for a time it worked, kept him grounded, living within his means, not chasing dreams that would never come true.

  Serena had made him think he could achieve more. She had believed in him even when he didn’t believe in himself. What in the hell was he supposed to do now? Work as a cook until he got his debts paid off and could start again? It had taken 10 years of scraping and saving to start JT’s. He couldn’t go through that again, and he couldn’t ask Serena to stand by and wait. She deserved better.

  Two detectives entered the room. The older one, short and balding, held out a hand to Tyler. “I’m Detective Rossnagle, and this is Detective Hammond.” The bandages on Tyler’s hands prevented a handshake. Detective Rossnagle motioned him to a chair. Hammond sat opposite Tyler and opened a manila folder. His bushy mustache twitched. “We need to ask you a few questions about the fire, Mr. Cooper.” His booming voice echoed off the cinderblock walls. “Nothing formal, mind you. We’re just gathering some facts. Are you okay with that?”

  “Sure.” Tyler nodded ready to end this so he could get some sleep.

  “We show you and Krista Langford to be the owners of JT’s Restaurant. Is that correct?”

  Tyler frowned. “My attorney is still looking into her claim.”

  “What claim?”

  “My former partner signed over his half to her, but I don’t know if it’s legal or not.”

  The detectives exchanged a glance. Hammond continued, “Weren’t you and Miss Langford involved romantically at one point?”

  Tyler sighed. Might as well air out all the dirty laundry. The restaurant was gone anyway. What good would it do now to fight Krista for the ashes? “Yes. But my partner, John Suther, ran off with her over a year ago. I didn’t hear from either one of them until a couple of months back when she showed up trying to get me to pay her off.”

  “Pay her off?”

  “She showed me the paperwork giving her half ownership and said if I didn’t pay up she’d drag me through the courts.”

  “Blackmail?’

  “I wouldn’t call it blackmail.” But that’s exactly what it was.

  “So, there were problems between you and Miss Langford?”

  “Yes.” Of course there were problems. What were they getting at?

  “One of your employees stated that they overheard you threaten to burn your restaurant to the ground before letting Miss Langford have half. Did you say that?”

  A chill went through Tyler. This conversation seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. This sounded bad. Really bad. “Well, yes, I said it, but I was angry at the time. I didn’t mean it literally.”

  Rossnagle scribbled something on a legal pad. “We’ve been told that your business has had recent financial difficulties. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, but it was turning the corner.”

  The detective nodded. “Was it insured?”

  “Not that I know of. I’m not the best bookkeeper.”

  Rossnagle nodded again, then glanced up at Tyler. “Were you at the restaurant when the fire started?”

  “No, I was at home.”

  He scribbled some more. “We’d like for you to write a statement of the series of events this evening. Can you do that?”

  “I think so.” Tyler flexed his fingers, ignoring the pain.

  The detectives left him alone with a legal pad. He stared at the yellow paper. Did they think he burned his restaurant to the ground? He’d seen enough Crime TV to know that’s exactly w
hat they thought. And why wouldn’t they? The ex-girlfriend shows up and tries to blackmail him, he threatens her, and the place burns to the ground. It could be a movie of the week with Tyler as the fall guy. He needed to talk to Jeff. Right now.

  Tyler printed his statement on the paper as best he could with bandaged hands. After about 20 minutes, Detective Rossnagle returned and looked it over. “We appreciate talking with you, Mr. Cooper. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.” The detective’s glare pierced him. “You will be in town, won’t you?”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Make sure you don’t.”

  As the sun peeked over the horizon, Tyler hurried out the station’s revolving door. Footsteps followed behind him.

  “Hey!”

  Tyler froze and turned. Jeff caught up, and relief flooded through Tyler. “Man, am I glad to see you.”

  Jeff smiled at him. “I bet. I heard you had a rough night.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “You okay?” He pointed to Tyler’s bandages.

  “Yeah. It’s pretty sore, though. Did Chelsie call you?”

  “Not exactly.” Jeff shook his head. “Why don’t I drive you home and have someone pick up the Jeep?”

  Tyler nodded, grateful he wouldn’t have to shift gears with sore hands.

  They climbed into Jeff’s Mercedes. The car’s leather seats and top-of-the-line appointments made Tyler all the more aware of how far his life had fallen. This is what Serena needed. A professional guy who could give her everything. Not some loser who couldn’t even drive himself home from jail. The motor hummed like a lion’s purr as they flew down the street. Maybe Serena’s friend was right. There came a time when a man had to step out of the picture. The last thing he wanted to do was hold her back.

  “I talked to a few of the cops. Seems the fire looks suspicious, and they consider you a strong suspect,” Jeff said.

  “So would I, except that I wasn’t there.”

  “Do you think Krista’s capable of setting you up?”