Page 47 of No Good Deed

She nodded and finally hugged him back. “There is no try.”

The Yoda quote made him laugh. “A Star Wars fan to boot? I think I’m in love.”

The words had spilled out in jest, but Troy didn’t want to haul them back in.

Piper laughed with him, covering the fact that she’d stiffened at his words. Should he talk about it, or would he scare her off?

Marcus opened the door at the back of the shop and waved at them. “I’ve got something.”

CHAPTER 17

Phail Better

Troy took Piper’s hand, relieved when she squeezed it and held on rather than pulling back. He was also relieved that he could now ignore the fact that he’d said he’d loved her. It had been in jest like he would say to anyone.

But it had also been the truth.

She’d reacted to his words. Not much, but enough to know that she’d registered them. Had her reaction been surprise? Unease? Happiness?

He didn’t have a clue, and wasn’t quite brave enough to tell Marcus he needed a minute to find out what she thought.

Instead, they walked into Marcus’s office and closed the door once Oreo trotted through. They sat on the couch, and Marcus took the chair, bringing his laptop with him. Piper released Troy’s hand to scoop up her dog and hold him in her lap. The dog licked everything he could reach, making her relax and smile.

Marcus set the laptop on the table where they could all see. “We weren’t lucky enough to get a hit on the fingerprint yet and it will take time to get DNA results from the gum. Westerlake doesn’t have a record, nor was he in the military. Some systems take time to run prints, but I’m not counting on him showing up in any of them. Once he’s in custody, the prints and the gum will be good evidence, though.”

Troy had hoped for better news on that front. “So, what did you find?”

Marcus grinned. “Your security cameras aren’t the only ones in town.”

Excitement rippled through him. “You’re right. There are some at Doc’s, and at the Firehall. Did someone catch something useful?”

“Maybe. I’ve put in a request to find out what kind of car Westerlake drives. If this one isn’t a match, I’ll reach out to some car rental agencies near where he lives. But both sets of cameras got pictures of an unfamiliar car driving through.”

Piper looked at Marcus. “You know all the cars in town?”

They both laughed. “Small town. It’s a big deal when someone gets a new ride. At this time of year, we don’t get many visitors, so unusual vehicles stand out.”

She shook her head. “I can’t tell you what kind of vehicle any of my colleagues drive.”

Marcus frowned a little. “Didn’t you park beside the same people every day? Do you know those people?”

Another laugh. “I didn’t own a car until after I got laid off and needed to come here. I used transit to get to my job.”

Marcus nodded. “Another way small towns are different. No transit. If you don’t have a vehicle here, you walk everywhere. Which is great until you need something we can’t provide.”

Troy agreed. “Which is another reason we’re hoping to grow the town. Keep people here and keep them spending their money here, too. More services and more options equals more people.” He shook his head. “And I’m preaching to the choir. We didn’t get a chance to show Marcus your presentation before everything went sideways.”

She shrugged, and the sadness returned to her eyes. “This is more important. I’m so sorry about your garage.”

He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “Stop apologizing. It’s still not your fault. We need to get home soon so I can cover up that window once Bella and Mitch are done with the scene.”

Marcus nodded. “Let me show you the videos first. This car has driven through town multiple times over the last few days. Joe and Mitch rewatched their footage to see what they could find.”

A silver Honda Accord drove through the videos. The driver wore a ball cap in every video. “Were you able to catch the plate on any of them?”

“No. But Joe is adding another camera at a different angle to try to do exactly that. It will be less obvious than one at your place, but maybe you could change up some of your angles, too.”

“I’ll do that. I’ll also check my own feeds once I’ve boarded the window up. The arsonist might have been doing reconnaissance on the street, either walking or driving.”

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