Page 61 of Canyon Killer
He assured her he wasn’t, that he didn’t have any underlying medical conditions and didn’t take any medications.
“Your arms and face are a little burned, too.” She carefully examined him. “First degree. They’ll be uncomfortable, but nothing worse than a bad sunburn. You’ll want to have a doctor look at those hands, though. I’m going to clean and bandage them, then we’ll transport you to the hospital. Are you experiencing pain anywhere else?” She strapped a blood pressure cuff to his arm as she spoke.
“No.” He looked over his shoulder toward Bethany. The male EMT was leading her to the ambulance.
“I’m going to dress some minor cuts and make sure we’ve got all the glass out of her,” the EMT said.
“I’m fine.” She flashed a smile at Ian. It was a wobbly smile, but it lifted his spirits. “How is Ian?” she asked Hannah.
“He’s going to be okay,” Hannah said. She removed the blood pressure cuff. “He’ll need treatment for his hands and they won’t feel that great for a while, but you’ll both be okay.”
Aaron moved over to Ian’s side. “What happened?” he asked. “The 911 operator said you called in a fire and that you thought it was deliberately set.”
“We were in the trailer when we heard the crackling and smelled smoke,” Ian said. “Then the smoke alarms started going off, and we could see flames coming from the kitchen.”
“Were you cooking earlier? Maybe you left a burner on,” Aaron said.
“We weren’t cooking. This wasn’t a cooking fire. When we tried to go out the front door, the door was jammed. I tried breaking it down, but I couldn’t.”
Bethany joined them. “When I tried to call 911, our phones wouldn’t work,” she said.
“I have satellite internet,” Ian said. “When it’s working, we can use Wi-Fi to make calls. Otherwise there’s no service in Humboldt Canyon.”
“How did you get out?” Aaron asked.
“Ian hit the window with a chair,” Bethany said. “He had to hit it a few times to get it to break, and as soon as it did, the fire really roared to life. It was terrifying. And then I had trouble climbing out of the window.” Her eyes widened as she remembered that terror. “Ian had to pick me up and throw me out.” She reached over and gripped his shoulder. “You saved my life.”
He couldn’t speak past the knot in his throat. All he could do was nod and blink back the stinging in his eyes.
“Did you see anyone suspicious in the area in the last day or two?” Aaron asked.
“Walt Spies was waiting for us when we pulled in tonight,” Bethany said.
“Walt Spies?” Aaron looked surprised. “What was he doing there?”
“He came to tell me if I didn’t stop the via ferrata project, bad things were going to happen,” Ian said.
“Walt threatened you?” Hannah asked.
Aaron sent her a quelling look. “What did Walt say, exactly?”
“He showed us a note he had received that said if he didn’t stop the via ferrata, he would be next.”
“The note said, ‘Stop the via ferrata, or you’re next,’” Bethany said. “It was typed. He said someone left it in his home mailbox. I think he was making up the whole story to divert suspicion away from him. He’s been the biggest opponent of the project all along, and now this fire starts not half an hour after he left us.”
“He could have driven a short way up the canyon and walked back,” Ian said.
“Did you see any other vehicles or any other people around when you left?” Aaron asked.
“No one until we were almost to town.”
“I’ll call this in,” he said. “In the meantime, you should get those burns seen to. I’ll take Bethany home.”
“No. I’m staying with Ian.” She glared at him, and Ian wondered if Aaron was going to make the mistake of ordering her to go home. Bethany was already furious, and that wasn’t going to help matters.
But apparently the man did have some sense. “At least call and let Mom and Dad know you’re okay,” he said. “Half the town listens to the emergency scanner. This is going to be all over the area by morning.”
“I’ll call them,” she said.
