Page 73 of Midnight Secrets

“I have a Ring camera on the back door. It’s hard to hear when the delivery guys knock, so that was my solution.”

I glanced at the building. The rear of it faced the street behind. She had entrances to her parking lot on the side and the rear, since it was on the corner. Most of the parking was on the side or on the street in front.

“Did Savannah tell you where she saw the car?” I asked Riggs.

“No. I got about as much as you did. She couldn’t talk much without coughing. Maybe once she’s been treated for her smoke inhalation, she’ll be able to talk better, and we can get a few more details.”

Propping my hands on my hips as I continued to study the area, I made a soft, non-committal grunt, then looked at Claire. “Can you access the Ring footage from your phone?”

“Yes.” She shifted Pebbles, then held her out to me. “Here. Hold her for a minute.”

I took the little dog, cuddling her to my chest. She licked my chin.

Claire dug into her bag for her phone and came up with it a few seconds later. After a couple of clicks, she had the app open and the footage pulled up.

“May I?” Riggs held out a hand.

“Of course. You’ll know better than me what’s suspicious.” She passed him the phone, then shuffled closer so she could see the screen.

I did the same on his other side.

“Bateman?” Riggs glanced over his shoulder at the fireman supervising the fire scene.

“Yeah?”

“What time did the fire start?”

“Call came in at twenty-sixteen.”

Riggs’s head bobbed, and he returned his attention to Claire’s phone, rewinding to about eight o’clock.

Fast-forwarding in increments, we watched until a hooded figure appeared.

“Is that a gas can?” Claire pointed at the screen. The person held a rectangular object with a spout in their left hand.

“Looks like it,” Riggs said. “Might be diesel or kerosene, though. Can’t tell the can color.”

Silently, we watched the figure pour a liquid from the can along the back wall of the building, then disappear out of view. For several minutes, there was nothing else, then smoke drifted into the picture. Moments later, flames erupted.

Banging and a woman’s screams came from inside the building.

Claire gasped and covered her mouth.

The back door rattled, and the screams and bangs were closer now, but soon faded. Moments later, glass shattered.

“That’s Ms. Smith climbing through the front window. She smashed it with a chair from the reception area. She managed to tell me she couldn’t find the door locks in all the smoke and that the front door was too hot for her to open. That’s when she saw the car driving away too—when she came through the window to get out.”

“God.” Claire closed her eyes, distress etched into every line of her face.

I gave a soft head shake. Savannah Smith was lucky to be alive.

“Do we think the perpetrator knew she was in the building?”

“I’d say it’s a distinct possibility.” Riggs paused the video. “Her car is in the lot. She had the lights on inside.”

“Maybe—” Claire spoke up, but paused, swallowing hard. “Maybe they thought it was me there. People know I own the business because my name is on it, but they might not know what kind of car I drive. Or that I have other realtors on my team. We live in a small town, but it’s not that small. It could be they saw the car and thought I was working late.”

Riggs and I shared a glance. I could tell he thought the same thing: she could be on to something.

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