Page 47 of Ink and Ashes
I swallow roughly, and for the first time since she arrived, I feel for the woman standing in front of me. Her words are a punch to the gut. I still don’t know what happened to her back home, but it’s clear that her confidence has taken a beating.
“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying…” I trail off, trying to gather my thoughts. “I do think you’re onto something. I’m just not willing to accept that it’s arson until we find more concrete evidence.”
Her eyes narrow. “We? What, you’re helping now?”
“You,” I correct, swallowing roughly. “You and Dom.”
She nods, and I hand the evidence bag back to her.
“Right. On that note, do you have his address?”
I rattle it off for her as she puts it into her phone.
“Thanks. I’m gonna…” Holland trails off, hiking a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later, Lieutenant Killjoy.”
I huff a laugh at the nickname, jerking my head even though she’s already turned her back on me. “See you later, Rhodes.”
CHAPTER 17
Holland
Ileave the fire station with glares from a few of the firefighters, Ray Morgan included, and it sends a shiver up my spine. Even though Colson’s not quite there yet, I can sense I’m starting to get through to him, and I’ve been holding onto the hope that once I do, others will fall in line too. But judging from the looks on their faces right now, I’m not sure I’ll be so lucky.
I swallow roughly as I walk by them, and when I catch the small smirk playing across Ray’s narrowed eyes, I make a mental note to keep an eye on him.
To this point, I haven’t given a ton of thought towhocould be responsible for the fires, despite my positivity that someone is. But not for a lack of trying—more for a lack of knowing. Everyone in this town is just as suspicious of me as I am of them, which means no one is willing to talk to me. People walk in the opposite direction when they see me coming or give me snide remarks when I do manage to approach. I can’t exactly narrow down the suspect pool when no one will provide me with information.
The only personal suspects I’ve had are Georgefrom the paper and Liam from the café. But George has been nothing but helpful toward my investigation so far, and his only motivation for starting them would be for the stories. But there aren’t many stories on fires from the paper, and with his age, I don’t think he’d have the energy to hike hours into the woods and back to set a fire anyway. I haven’t completely discounted him, but he’s not at the top of my list.
Liam, on the other hand, I do still have suspicions about. I’ve run into him a few times over the past week and a half since I first spoke with him, and each time he’s shown a significant interest in the fires. He’s even gone so far as to offer his help multiple times, which I’ve politely refused. But it raises a massive red flag for me, because Liam has no connections to any part of this case, so it’s weird that he would want to get involved. And after his comment the other morning about how he would hate to see something happen to me, those flags are up even higher.
Criminals love to insert themselves into investigations, and that’s exactly what Liam has been trying to do. He doesn’t fit a single piece of the rough profile I’ve put together for the arsonist, but his behaviour every time I’ve been around still has me questioning whether it could be him.
I also did look into Tony Watkins, the guy Liam suggested. My suspicions toward Liam made me wonder if giving me Tony’s name was just a cover-up, but after looking into him more, I discovered that Tony does fit an arsonist profile. He’s a loner, has a criminal record, and a history—and present—with substance abuse. But it’s hard to pinpoint what his motivation would be based on what I’ve found online, and I’m not about to start accusing a drug dealer of arson without real evidence.
I also don’t really think a firefighter would be responsible, which all but rules out Ray. It seems wild to me that someone who has dedicated themselves to putting out fires would also be the person responsible for setting them.
But that doesn’t stop me from moving Ray up my metaphorical list of suspects. Something about him rubs me the wrong way, and it’s not just how his gaze lingers a little too long on my ass.He doesn’t quite fit the parameters of an arsonist profile, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t one.
Steeling my expression, I continue walking by without a second glance. When I make it to my car, I hop inside and lock the doors before heading in the direction of Dom’s house.
The drive from the station to his place is short, and once I arrive, I make my way to his front door. Before I have a chance to knock, he swings it open.
Brows tight, he says, “Hey. I was actually just about to come by the inn.”
I chuckle. “Yeah? What’s up?”
“I have the day off so was wondering if you wanted to go check out the barn scene. We cleared it the other day, but even though FI labelled it an accident, it’s still bothering me. I wanna take another look through, see if I can find something we missed the first time.”
I reach into my purse and pull out the Ziploc bag. “Something like this?”
His brows tighten further as he examines the bag. “Should’ve figured you’d go without me. Come on in.”
He opens the door wider to allow me inside, and I follow him toward his dining room table.
“Liv mentioned you guys cleared it, and I was eager to check it out myself.” Dom fills two glasses with water, placing one in front of me before taking a seat across the table. “Thanks.”
“Sure,” he says, then turns his attention to the bag. “What is this?”
