Page 13 of Rescued Heart

Would he really agree to a plan that would save her career? Maybe if she could figure out a deal. One he couldn’t resist. “Okay. Give me the dress.”

FOUR

Sometimes quiet didn’t hush the thoughts in Eddie’s head. He hopped out of his truck and glared at the spot in the mayor’s drive where he’d last seen Bianca almost forty-eight hours ago. No, that wasn’t true. She’d been in his dreams last night. Except, opposite of reality, he hadn’t rescued her from the masked arsonist.

“Rice.” His chief waved him over to where he stood behind two wooden barricades in front of the steps leading up to the mayor’s house. This time, they weren’t covered in a carpet overlay.

When Eddie swung his leg over the caution tape, Macon tilted his chin toward where Mayor Gregory Harrelson and Police Chief Conroy Barnes stood outside the entrance. “Thanks for coming. Once the police chief is done speaking with the mayor, I want us to meet with him. We need more of the story. Things aren’t meshing together perfectly yet.”

Eddie pointed to the front door of the mansion. “What does the arson investigator think?”

Macon inhaled. His broad shoulders rose and then fell. “Your statement was enough to rule it deliberate, yet we have no further clues on who or why, unless you can give additional ones.”

The wind blew, and the scent of smoke hit Eddie’s nose, even though the fire had been put out nearly two days ago. “What did the security cameras reveal?”

Macon squinted at one of the cameras placed above the front door. “There’s no actual footage of the guests arriving at all. If you hadn’t been there, I’m not sure we would have gotten the exact location of the fire inside so quickly.”

Eddie swallowed. Would Bianca have still seen the supposed bribe and followed the arsonist? She would have been trapped and hurt without him to help her.

Macon’s gaze swept over the property. “That night, the police took names and questioned everyone, but no leads.”

The mayor and the police chief stepped down toward them.

Gregory was dressed in a silver button-down shirt complete with black suspenders. He stuck out his hand to Eddie. “Thank you, young man. I heard you were the first on the scene.”

“It’s Eddie Rice, sir.”

Gregory kept shaking his hand.

Eddie’s phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. “I’m the one wanting the grant for the rec center.”

Gregory squinted. “Ah, yes, I see that now.”

Eddie stiffened. The mayor hadn’t even recognized him. Not a great sign for the youth center.

Conroy, the tallest of the men, eyed the uninvited crowd that hovered behind the gated driveway. “Can you recap that night for us, Rice?”

Eddie crossed his arms. This was not at all what he’d hoped he and the mayor would be discussing the next time they spoke. “After the speech, you and one of your guards left the ballroom. Once you exited, I saw a handoff of some sort between a security guard stationed at the door and a man. When the pair followed you through the doorway, I worried you might be in danger. In precaution, I trailed behind.”

Gregory frowned.

“When I got to an empty hallway, I smelled smoke. I opened the first unlocked door to check to see if they or you had entered.”

The mayor trailed his fingers along his mustache. “You need to be awarded for your keen eyes. I thank you for your dedication to my well-being. Not everyone is on my side about Last Chance County’s future.”

Conroy shifted and sent Macon a look Eddie couldn’t quite read.

Eddie smiled. “Well, sir, my good deed could be awarded to the kids of this city.” When the mayor didn’t grin, Eddie cleared his throat. “As I peered inside what I assumed to be a storage room, other than the smoke smell, nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I spotted a man with a lighter.”

“You saw him?” Gregory pulled out his phone and checked his screen.

Eddie heaved out a breath. If only it were that simple. “He wore a masquerade mask, so we never saw his entire face. Only that he wore a black suit.”

Gregory sighed. “The masquerade masks sounded like a grand addition to the night when Janice brought the idea to me.” He turned to the police chief. “It’s obvious who’s behind this. My campaign funds are nowhere near where they were projected to be. Roger Pointe is responsible. He tried stealing my supporters, however my team found a way to outsmart him with the auction. But now he’s broken the law to try to stop me again. And the voters think that he’s the right man for our town? If only the news would report the entire truth.”

Conroy held up his palm. “There’s currently nouseableevidence that Mr. Pointe has done anything wrong.”

Gregory ran his thumbs underneath the front side of his suspenders and then gripped the elastic fabric. “He never should have run against me. He’s not even been here long enough to know what Last Chance County needs. Obviously, I must weed through my security guards. Can we do anything else to find the arsonist? What was the man lighting on fire?”

---