Page 24 of Fear of Flames
The reason that handgun was in a gun safe at the top of her closet was because while she could hit a flying piece of clay and any target at twenty-five yards, the idea of killing was inconceivable to her.
Killing.
Her father.
Someone had done that.
Taking a breath, Michelle reached for her phone. It wasn’t there. It was a melted glob of goo back in Iron Falls. Quickly, she activated her doorbell app on her desktop. Two uniformed police officers were on her porch. She studied their attire and body types, determining that they weren’t from Iron Falls.
The attire looked correct for the local police department.
“Hello,” she said through the doorbell.
The female officer spoke into the camera. “Ms. Holdcraft, we need to speak to you.”
“It’s late.”
“We won’t take too much of your time.”
“Do you have a warrant?” Michelle asked.
The female officer responded, “Please, ma’am, this is important.”
Michelle hurried to her bedroom and pulled a hoodie over her shirt. All the time she mentally repeated the alibi Fletch had provided to her.
Unlocking the door while keeping the chain latched, she peeked through the opening. “May I see your badges?”
Both officers produced their badges.
Officer Darla McCoy and Officer Jamison Andrews.
Michelle closed the door and released the chain lock. Opening the door, she stood in the doorway and looked up and down her street. “Is there a problem? Someone in the neighborhood?”
“Ma’am, we’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday.”
She feigned a smile. “I was working. I turn off all my notifications when I’m working so as not to be disturbed.”
“The doorbell?” Officer McCoy asked.
“Earphones.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a shiver. Civility was hard to restrain. She motioned into the living room. “Would you like to come in? It’s cold out here.”
“Thank you,” the officers said in unison.
After closing the front door, Michelle turned to face her visitors. “Why have you been trying to reach me?”
Officer Andrews removed his hat. “Ms. Holdcraft, we’re sorry to inform you that there has been an accident at your father’s home in Iron Falls, Massachusetts.”
Michelle knitted her eyebrows together. “An accident? What kind of accident? Is my father okay?” She took a step back. “I need to get to him.”
“We’re sorry to inform you that your father perished in a fire. Sheriff Ralph Perkins from the Iron Falls Police Department called our department late yesterday. That’s why we’ve been trying to reach you.”
“By phone and in person,” Officer McCoy added.
The sound of Sheriff Perkins’s name sent a shiver scattering over Michelle’s skin. Tears teetered on her eyelids. “I just saw him a few days ago.” She shook her head. “There’s some kind of mistake.”
Officer McCoy handed Michelle a business card. “Here’s my card. On the back, I’ve written the contact information for Sheriff Perkins. He’d like you to contact him as soon as possible. He has some questions.”
Michelle stared down at the card in her grasp, reading the information. “It’s late.”
