Page 20 of Betting on Lizzie

“I may have ruled you out as not lighting the fire yourself, but I’m still looking into the scenario that you hired someone to do it.”

“That’s a waste of time.” She huffed. “We need to find out who actually did it so the insurance company will pay me. I gotta get repairs started on the building as soon as possible.”

“Or what?”

“Or I lose money. Which I understand to you is a motive, but to me, it’s just business.”

“I hear all of your sisters have already moved over here, and you’re eager to follow.” Coffee-brown eyes bore into hers.

“Sure. But I’m not willing to burn down my bar just to move faster. I love my sisters, but you’re grossly overestimating how badly I want to be neighbors with them. Also, the date I planned to move was set long before the fire. The grand opening’s in three weeks. The Drop burning is actually worse for me business-wise. I was going to run both bars until I sold the Main Street one. Now, I won’t have any income off of it for months. How’s a pile of ashes gonna benefit me?”

“The insurance payout.”

“Is only enough to rebuild. Maybe upgrade a little, but not worth the hassle it’ll be.”

He seemed to mull that over for a second, then changed topics completely. “Why didn’t you tell me your cousin had a friend with her?”

“Oh,” she said, shifting gears. “I don’t know much about her situation. She said her dad might get mad, and I figured Bella’s statement would be enough.”

“You don’t think her dad has a right to know she was out drinking?”

“Of course he does. I intended to talk to them Sunday morning, but Maya—that’s Bella’s friend—was gone when I got back from the bar. I gave Bella the what-for, and she was supposed to pass the message along. What else could I do?”

He hummed his disapproval, then reached into his bag and took out her phone. “Here,” he said, offering it to her. “I’ve gotten all I need from it.”

“Did you read through my personal business?”

“No more than I had to. Look, like I said, you may be exonerated, but the possibility of you hiring someone is still on the table. However, to cover all the bases, can you make me a list of anyone you think might want to do you harm? Ex-employees. Ex-boyfriends. Business competitors. Someone mad you took the last carton of mint chocolate chip at the grocery store. Anything.”

“Like all ex-boyfriends? Or just the ones that might be pissed about something?”

“Too many to remember them all?” He smirked.

She glared. “I’ll make a list.”

After he left, she picked up her phone to see what she’d missed. A million calls and texts from her family about her father, but that was old news. A couple of texts from her employees, but she’d already handled all that as well. She jumped over to her recent calls just to peek at what Ben might have seen and to start her list of potential suspects.

There wasn’t anyone who stood out as really pissed at her. She always tried to let men down gently. If possible, make it seem like the breakup was their idea and that getting rid of her was a blessing. Similar to the feeling you get when a policeman pulls you over, tells you all the things he could cite you for, but then only writes you up for one. You still drive away with a ticket, but somehow you’re thanking the cop.

While scrolling, the phone vibrated. Her dad was calling.

“Hey, Dad,” Lizzie said. “How you feelin’?”

“Good, honey. Almost a hundred percent again.”

“Easy, tough guy.” She chuckled. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’m bustin’ outta here tomorrow, but Bella has an away game tonight. Your mom and I were hoping you could go represent.”

“Oh, sure. Since I have no place to work, my calendar’s pretty wide open. When and where?”

She jotted down the name of the school and told her dad to rest. Now that she had reacquired her computer in a box, finding the school would be easy.

On her way out, she noticed Noah had already hired security. A tall, handsome man with a gun on his hip paced the property. He gave her a business-like nod, which she returned. She drove home, fed and walked Charlie, and put on her “New Bern High” hoodie.

“Sorry, buddy,” she said, petting Charlie’s head. “Schools aren’t dog-friendly. You get a good nap here, okay?”

He whined his disapproval at being left behind as she slipped on her coat and left. Midweek away games were hard for most people to get to, so she was one of only a few New Bern fans.

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