Page 16 of Ambush

“He means it too. He’s got the softest heart.” Her attention moved from Paradise to just over her shoulder. “The fire marshal is coming over. Maybe he knows something.”

Paradise turned to see a slim man in his fifties approaching. He nodded at them. “Heck of a problem to be having on the heels of finding that body.”

“Can you tell what happened?” Blake asked.

“We’ll know more when things cool, but I think it was arson. I saw patterns of an accelerant, and I smelled kerosene.”

Arson. Why pick on her cottage? Was it dumb luck or something more?

Chapter 8

The stench of ash and ruin permeated Blake’s clothes and clung to his hair as he walked with Paradise back toward the main house. “I’d be glad to take you to Foley to buy a few things.”

The only comfort he could offer was to try to meet her physical needs. Nothing had survived the fire—not clothing, toiletries, or personal belongings. He fully expected her to turn down the help, but her eyes held more vulnerability than he’d ever seen and she nodded. “I’d appreciate it, but I’d rather not face the hubbub of Foley. Could you take me to Pelican Harbor? I’m not sure I could focus enough to drive. I can’t think of what all I need.”

“I’m good at lists. I buy supplies for the park all the time. Let me tell Mom we’re heading out. She’s searching for the insurance papers and other documents she needs for the police.” He didn’t want to think about what the fire meant for the refuge. Insurance money could be tied up a long time with the reality of arson hanging over the settlement. He wanted to think no one in town would believe any of them had set fire to the cottage, but he knew how fast rumors could spread in a small town.

She stopped and put her hand to her mouth. “I started to sayI’d get my purse, but it’s gone. I have no ATM card, no credit cards, no cash.”

He checked the impulse to tell her he’d buy her things. Paradise had never been one to accept financial help. She was fiercely independent. “What bank are you using?”

The stress lines around her mouth eased. “You’re right. See, I can’t think. I would have gone to town by myself and come right back without anything.” She named her bank, a national one.

“There’s a branch in Pelican Harbor. You can get a new debit card and withdraw some cash from your account too.”

He handed her the keys. “Start my truck and get in out of the wind.” He felt sweaty and sticky from standing near the heat, but if she couldn’t shower and change, he wouldn’t either.

He told his mother what they were doing, and she nodded. “I think we’re in trouble, Blake. We won’t have funds to rebuild the cottage until the insurance money comes through. We promised Paradise lodging as part of her pay, and I have nowhere to put her.”

He thought through their options. “She can have my studio over the garage. I can bunk with the boys, sleep on an air mattress on their floor.”

“You could sleep on the full-size bed that’s the bottom bunk, and Levi can take the top bunk. Isaac can sleep with me. He does half the time anyway.” Amusement lit her eyes. “Though be prepared for them to fight over getting to sleep with you.”

“True enough.” They already took turns getting to stay with him in his tiny apartment.

“I’ll let the boys know you’ll be staying in their room as soon as I deliver the documents to the detective.”

“Do you know how the policy reads?”

“Not yet.” She tucked her dark hair behind her ears and turnedback toward the files. “I think we can prove we had nothing to do with it. You were in town with McShea, and the boys and I were with other employees.”

He hadn’t thought of alibis, and a load lifted from his shoulders. Maybe it wouldn’t take as long as he thought. “I’m going to take her to Pelican Harbor. There are more shops there than in Nova Cambridge, and she doesn’t want to go to Foley.” He left his mother digging through the files and went out to his truck.

Paradise was in the passenger seat with her head back and her eyes closed. His chest squeezed at the dampness on her cheeks. No family, no close friends here. Did she have close friends in Montgomery? She’d always been closed off with shields firmly in place. Her one friend, Abby Dillard, now a McClellan, lived in Pelican Harbor and worked at the bank. He should give her a call and let her know Paradise was back.

She opened her eyes and caught him staring. His face heated, and he went around to the driver’s side and slung himself under the steering wheel. “Mom mentioned we had good alibis, so I hope insurance will kick in right away. Make sure you keep your receipts. That’s one thing Mom insisted on—replacement insurance. I thought it was silly to spend the money for that, but she was right.”

She leaned her head against the window. “I’ve got enough in the bank to buy what I need for now. I’m not high maintenance.”

“You never have been. Any special shop you like?”

“I don’t know what’s still around. Is Island Bling still there?”

The women’s apparel shop was the largest in Pelican Harbor. “Sure is. Not that I’ve ever been inside. Nothing tall enough.”

She smiled at his pathetic attempt at a joke. “I won’t make you go inside. You can sit on a park bench or go find a sporting goods place.”

“I think I can manage my first visit.”

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