Page 5 of Burning Truth

“When do you think he’ll strike?” she asked carefully.

“I don’t know exactly, but within the next few days.”

She stared at him for a long moment, before glancing away, back at Parker.

“I think I can remove some of your suspicion from Severn. Do you believe the Miller tow yard was done by the same man?”

The two detectives shared a glance, and Severn could see the debate going on in their silence. “Yes,” Detective Johnson admitted somewhat reluctantly.

“Severn was in Florida that week. All week.”

Johnson glanced at him. “And you can document that?”

Severn fought not to roll his eyes. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved his phone and scrolled through a couple of screens. He settled on one. “That’s my app to document my expenses for the company. You can see I was there for five days. I used the company credit card every day.”

Rodrigo took his cell phone out and snapped pictures of Severn’s phone screen. “You don’t mind if we confirm this, do you?”

The question was rhetorical, but he shrugged. “Have fun. Hopefully, nobody dies while you’re doing that.”

Severn knew it wasn’t fair, but he was getting aggravated.

“A lot of arsonists have burns,” Johnson said, her eyes drifting over his face and down his neck, settling on his hands. Severn knew he looked monstrous, but he’d gotten used to the looks. Kind of.

“Yes, they do. But I earned mine in Afghanistan at the hands of a thirteen-year-old suicide bomber. Again, completely documented. Would you like to see the pictures from where they dug me out of the burning rubble?”

The woman blinked, and he thought he saw a glimmer of compassion. “That won’t be necessary.”

Again, she stared at him for several seconds, as if trying to dig into his brain to see his truth. “Do you have social media, Mr. Moran?”

“I do. I’m not on it much unless I’m investigating a case.”

“Can you pull up your accounts?”

Severn sent a look toward Parker. His boss shrugged lightly.

“If you don’t have anything to hide, it shouldn’t be an issue,” Rodrigo said, voice snide.

Severn was really growing to dislike the little man. “I’m going to be watching for extra charges on my account. I know cops don’t make much.”

Rodrigo moved to lunge up out of the chair at Severn, but Johnson stopped him.

Severn scrolled through his phone again. “Which platform?”

“Facebook and Instagram.”

He scrolled to each of the accounts and showed Detective Johnson. Taking his phone, she swiped around in his profile. It looked like she was searching for other accounts.

“Can I ask what you’re looking for?”

“Do you follow Addie Kingston on any of the platforms?”

Severn frowned. “No, I watch her on TV sometimes at night when I get home.”

Actually, every night, but he wasn’t going to tell them that. And he certainly wasn’t going to tell her about the recordings he had of her in another file.

Johnson handed his phone back and sighed. “I was really hoping you were my guy, Mr. Moran. It would have made my life easier.”

“I’m not apologizing for not being an arsonist,” he growled.

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