Page 94 of Ink and Ashes
Whitlock rattles off what he knows about the investigation, and I’m not surprised that Colson has filled him in on just about everything. The timeline, the candle wick tabs, our suspects so far. At least everyone who isn’t a firefighter, which suggests that Colson hasn’t shared that theory with him. And I’m sure as hell not going to tell anyone without letting Colson know first.
“Are you any closer to finding this son of a bitch?” Whitlock asks when he finishes, his voice rough.
“Everything so far has led to a dead end, but I’m working on it, sir.” I pause. “Do you happen to know anything about the Welland Ranch?”
Whitlock’s brows pull together as he rubs his hand over the back of his neck, shaking his head. “I wasn’t around for it, but I know it left a lot of scars.” He pauses. “You think these fires have something to do with that?”
I study him momentarily as he shifts his body weight, a wave of anxiety flowing off him. I can only imagine how much pressure he’s been under over all this.
“I’m not sure. It seems too coincidental for this to happen thirty years after that, but I also haven’t been able to find any connections between the ranch and anyone in town, and the entire Welland family is dead. I’m just trying to cover all my bases.”
Whitlock’s throat works as he swallows. “I’m counting on you and Caldwell to figure this out, Miss Rhodes.” His eyes begin to water, but he holds the tears back. “If you need assistance, let me know. The whole team will jump to help, all you have to do is saythe word. Either way, we need you to get to the bottom of it. One of our own has been killed because of this guy, and I’ll be damned if anyone else gets hurt.”
His voice cracks on the last word, and so does my heart. It hurts me to think about any of the men at this station being behind such a horrific situation, and I can only imagine what they’ll have to say once we tell them the truth.
Whitlock jerks his head, then takes off in the direction of his office. I stand there frozen as I watch him walk away. He passes Colson who’s returning from the lobby, and they chat for a minute before Colson continues making his way to me.
“You talked to Whitlock?” he asks as he approaches.
I nod. “I didn’t tell him anything new. Just that we’re still looking. He offered his help, but I figured I’d let you be the one to decide if you want to involve him or any of the others on the team.”
Colson’s shoulders fall. “Not yet.”
“Okay.” The two of us make our way back to the table.
“Is everything alright with Julie?” Cass asks, referring to Finn’s widow.
He shakes his head. “Beau said he was gonna take her and the girls home.”
Cass’s face falls. “I hate this so much.”
Dom clenches his teeth. “Don’t we all.”
I swallow, turning my attention to Colson. He’s still cleaned up nicely in his dress uniform, but I can tell his head is a mess. I place a hand over his, and after a moment, he shifts so he’s holding it properly.
None of this is okay, and regardless of what we do, the arsonist is always three steps ahead. Just when we think we’re closing in, he switches directions. I’m starting to wonder if we’re in way over our heads, and I have no fucking clue how we’re going to catch this guy.
Over an hour passes before people begin to clear out. Mary and Emmett stop by our table to say goodbye, and so do a bunch of other townspeople Ihave yet to meet.
Beau returns, and Dom excuses himself to go talk to him at the same time a woman approaches the table. She looks somewhere around my age, and Cass rolls her eyes when she sees her.
“Hi, Colson,” the woman says, taking the spot Dom just vacated. Her eyes flash to his hand holding mine, a slight grimace filling her face that she quickly masks.
Colson huffs when he notices the woman. “Marcy,” he says, his hand tightening around mine. I get the sense there’s a history between them, and I bite back the jealous feeling that gives me.
Marcy starts talking again, but I’m pulled from the moment by the sound of my phone ringing. I remove my hand from Colson’s to pull it out of my purse, apologizing to the table as I do. When I see Mary’s name flash across the screen, I stand from my chair and walk out to the lobby to answer.
“Hi, Mary. Everything okay?” I ask at the same time Colson walks through the doors.
I glance past to see Marcy staring after him with a frown, and I feel butterflies knowing he left her there alone to come be with me. His brows pull tight when he sees me, so I mouth Mary’s name, and he relaxes a touch.
“Holland?” Mary says over the line, her voice panicked. “You should come back here. There was a break-in.”
As soon asI hung up with Mary, I told Colson what happened, and he insisted on coming with me back to the inn. I told him he should stay with his crew, but he refused. The reception is dwindling down now anyway, and I could tell he was desperate to leave, so it didn’t take much for me to agree.
We say our goodbyes to the crew, then make our way out to Colson’s truck. As he always does now, he opens my door for me, then makes his way to the driver’s seat. Nerves flow off both of us on the drive to the inn, neither of us saying a word.
We make it back in record time, and I’m out of Colson’s truckbefore he even has it in park.
