Page 63 of Cold Vengeance

“Good. I’ll try to be quiet so I don’t disturb them.”

River could hear the weariness in his voice. She quickly grabbed the tote bag with a picture of a dog on it. This was what Tony always used for Watson’s things. She smiled as the little dog followed her into the kitchen. She found a couple of bowls, filled one with water, and then looked through the bag. Sure enough, his treats were in there. She opened the bag and said, “Don’t tell on me, okay? I think you deserve a treat.” She grabbed two small treats and dropped them into the other bowl. Watson’s tail always pointed up when he was happy, and when it suddenly shot up, River laughed.

“I know what you’re doing in there,” Tony said from the living room. “Don’t spoil him.”

“Oh, hush. My house, my rules.”

“Well, I see we’re going to have to talk about how to be a responsible parent.”

“Don’t listen to that bad man,” she told Watson. “He doesn’t understand.” She quickly poured a glass of water and took it to Tony, who accepted it gratefully.

“I’ll be back with your hot chocolate in just a minute.”

Tony grinned at her. “I don’t suppose you have any of Mrs. Weyland’s delicious cookies, do you?”

River laughed. “As a matter of fact, I think she just made some today. I think I can scare some up. Do you want a sandwich or anything?”

“No, thanks. I’m only craving a sugar rush right now. Hot chocolate and cookies should do the trick.”

River went into the kitchen and began heating cups of milk and putting cookies on a plate. But before she finished, she stopped, leaned against the counter, and thanked God for saving the man she loved and the little dog they both adored.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FOUR

By the time River brought the two mugs of hot chocolate into the living room, she’d finally composed herself. She didn’t want to cry in front of Tony again. She needed to help him get through this, not think about herself. She understood her earlier reaction. She’d faced the possibility of losing him once before, and tonight it was as if a nightmare had awakened from somewhere inside her. She’d suffered from PTSD after their confrontation with the Strangler, but she thought she’d moved past it. Now, here it was again, rearing its ugly head. She felt disappointed in herself. Shouldn’t she be completely healed by now?

“Here we go,” she said, trying to sound light-hearted even though she didn’t feel that way.

Tony held his hand out for his cup. “Thanks.” He took a sip. “Hot,” he said.

“That’s probably why it’s calledhotchocolate,” River said, rolling her eyes at him.

“Oh, is that why?” Tony shook his head and smiled at her. When he set the cup down, he looked at River, his expression tight. “The fire chief on the scene tonight wanted my contact information. I got the feeling he thinks I caused the fire.”

“What? That can’t be right, Tony. Surely you misunderstood.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so.” He took another sip of his cocoa, then he said, “Before the explosion, I thought I heard something. Like glass breaking.”

“You know hot temperatures can shatter glass,” she said slowly. She met his gaze. “But are you saying you think someone threw something through your window? Something that started the fire?”

“What else could it be? I mean, there wasn’t anything flammable in my room. An electrical short wouldn’t explode like that. It would burn, but it would be a more controlled fire. This was ... different.”

“I guess there’s no way to know for certain until the fire investigator looks things over,” River said. “You don’t want to jump to conclusions.”

“What if it has something to do with the person who killed the security guard? Or maybe it’s the Strangler’s partner.”

“I wouldn’t think so. You know serial killers that don’t deal with fire rarely change course. Fire is a very specialized signature.”

Tony nodded. “Yet most serial killers set fires when they were young.”

“True, but this guy has moved way beyond that,” River said. “I don’t buy it.”

“So, could it have been whoever killed Kevin and threatened Nathan?”

“Maybe, but it could also be someone else,” River said. “Teenagers trying to set a fire for kicks? They might not even know who you are.”

“But most firebugs set something on fire—like trash cans or trees. They don’t throw something flammable through an apartment window. They aren’t trying to kill. I could have easily been in my bedroom. This was done at night.”

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