Page 101 of Cornered

“No.”

Her face instantly flashed with hurt, and he stretched his hand across the table, taking hold of hers.

“Ifthis was a date, it would be our first, and I have plans that don’t include us staring at uneaten sandwiches in a noisy café.”

Her eyes locked on his and filled with something that looked very much like hope. “Oh yeah? Where would it be?” She lifted a brow. “Ifit was our first date?”

He didn’t have to think hard because he’d been planning this date in his head for months.And all the dates after that.His cheeks burned again. “On our first date”—not if, he hoped she caught that—“I’d take you—”

Lahela’s cell phone rang, startling her so much she jerked her hand from his. There was no mistaking the fear in her eyes. She cautiously flipped her phone over so she could read the screen and her shoulders relaxed a smidge, but her expression was full of anxiety when she looked up at him. “It’s the police.”

He nodded, expecting her to step away to answer the call, but instead she answered and put it on speaker.

“Hello?”

“May I speak to Lahela Young?”

“Speaking.”

“Hello, Ms. Young, this is Officer Sandberg. I took your report yesterday.”

“Yes, I remember.” Lahela sounded as anxious as Briggs was feeling. He opened his hand to her and she slipped hers into his. “I’m here with my friend Briggs Turner. Do you have any news?”

“Yes, ma’am. Officer Blair spoke to a few of your neighbors to see if they saw anything suspicious.” Lahela’s grip tightened on his. “Mrs. Rosemary Truitt has a doorbell camera, and Officer Blair pulled video from around the time you arrived at your home to just before the fire started. There was a vehicle that drove by Mrs. Truitt’s property twice before parking for a few minutes and then leaving. We couldn’t get a license plate number, but the make, model, and description of the vehicle are a match for Trevor West.”

Lahela’s hand flew to her mouth, barely blocking her gasp. Her body stiffened even as she shook her head like she didn’t believe it.

Anger pulsed through Briggs and he got up, moving to her side. Why hadn’t he insisted Officer Sandberg find Trevor and pull him in for questioning? Lahela may not have seen thecalls on his phone, but that didn’t mean anything, considering this information. It wouldn’t be the first time a stalker used a burner phone to antagonize their victim.

He reined in his emotions and focused on his next question. “So the firewasarson?”

“According to Investigator Sinclair, the origin of the fire started at the rocking chair, but she ruled out all spontaneous ignition and has sent the evidence to the labs. It’ll take a few weeks, but she’s classified the fire as arson, yes.”

Lahela leaned into Briggs’s side and he could feel her shaking.

“Ms. Young, we have officers bringing Trevor West in for questioning, and if we find out he’s responsible, we’ll have enough for you to file a protective order against him.”

TWELVE

“TREVORWESTdid not set the fire, and no evidence was found on his phone that he’s called or sent you messages or photos. We have no evidence.”

Lahela pressed the stapler against the bulletin board and pinched the skin of her finger.Ouch. She’d come to school early this morning to distract herself from Officer Sandberg’s explanation about why her ex-boyfriend wasn’t being charged and why she wouldn’t be able to file a protection order against him.

It wasn’t him.

Trevor admitted he came by her house Saturday night only to apologize after what happened at the festival. According to him, he chickened out when he saw Briggs’s truck and left, and he denied starting the fire.

But someone did start the fire.

She spent another sleepless night at Daphne’s, pacing the floor until it woke up her friend. Daphne was an Army medic and working unusual hours while her unit was in the field for a training exercise. Lahela wasn’t going to impose on her a second longer, and since the investigator was done, there was no reason why she couldn’t move back home.

Home.Her gaze moved to the posters of Hawai?i on thewalls of her classroom. She’d taken so much effort decorating the space with bright, tropical colors, and decor like plumerias, palm tree fronds, a volcano where new spelling words flowed in the lava. She told her kids it was so they would learn tolavalearning, and they embraced it with enthusiasm, using the term any time they enjoyed a subject she was teaching.

Ms. Young, I lava reading about butterflies. Ms. Young, I lava’d PE today, we played basketball. Ms. Young, I lava Hawai‘i, can you tell me about the ocean?

Lahela lava’d her students, and walking into the classroom each morning reminded her that not everything about her decision to move to Texas was bad. But after all that had happened this weekend, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

And that led her to look up the price of flights back to O?ahu and what an apartment would cost. Living on the islands wasn’t cheap, and moving her whole life back there would cost her money she didn’t have.

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