Page 113 of Rest In Pink

“Yes,” I said, spotting the soft glow from the lights inside. Kitty was probably cleaning up after closing. “Those are good memories, mostly, Molly and I laughing and singing. Kitty wasn’t running it then, but it was still a good place.”Except for Cash bringing in another girl even though he was supposed to be my boyfriend and sitting in another booth and kissing her in front of me. Because he knew I’d come back anyway.

“Some bikers came into town the other day,” Vince said.

“I heard about that.” I turned to face him.

“And I was all alone out there in front of the Red Box, facing down three guys with ARs strapped to their backs, realHigh Noonsituation, and then here came George with a shotgun. I said, ‘Thanks for being here,’ and he said, ‘Where the hell else would I be?’ And that fight at JB’s, Cash and Thacker? That could have been a real clusterfuck, but George was right there, and right behind him was Mac, a firefighter, not a cop, asking me who he should hit first.”

“Yes,” I said, beginning to understand. “You belong here.”

“Liz, all those people have your back, too,” he said. “Webelong here.”

I shook my head. “I know you can’t leave. But if I stay, I lose. I got my freedom, I got away from all the bad—”

“You got away from all the good, too,” Vince said. “Look at the town, Liz. It’s not good or bad, it’s a bunch of buildings with people in them. And some of those people are Molly and Mac and Will and Patsy and Jill and George and Peri, people like Jim who’s trying his best and Hen who’s seen it all and still sees it as good, and Sun and Alex making it new, and the outside people coming in like Jason and Raina. Liz, you’re never going to find a place that’s all good. Trust me on that. There is no place where everybody is good. There are just places with good and bad people, and when you find one that fits, you stay and you make it better. You make your place and you make your stand.”

Burney spread out below me. It looked like a Grant Wood painting, one of my favorite artists. A Grant Wood painting done with Hieronymus Bosch in the dark. Who, ironically, was also one of my favorite artists.

“And then there’s me,” he said, the smile back in his voice, and I turned, and his face was near, and I kissed him because I loved him.

Damn it.

“Just think about it,” he said against my mouth, and I pulled back.

“I really am afraid of heights,” I said.And Burney.

“I know. We’ll go down.”

I wanted to be with him always.

I opened my mouth to tell him that, and there was an explosion below, and we turned and saw Margot Blue’s house blossom into flames.

Chapter Fifty-One

Liz got down the ladder a lot faster than she’d gone up, but I knew there wasn’t a rush. Whatever was happening would be over no matter how fast we moved. As I drove back Short Hill Road, I updated Liz on the briefcase, the money, and my plan.

“I have questions,” Liz said as we got to Margot’s.

The fire department was there and the blaze was under control. But there wasn’t that much left of the house. Faye Blue and Pete OneTree stood in the road, huddled together, a single blanket wrapped over their shoulders. They were both barefoot. Pete wore just his jeans and Faye had a robe on. Pete was leaning on her, the left leg of the jeans empty. He hadn’t had time to grab his prosthetic before escaping.

They did not look happy in the flashing lights.

“I know,” I said to Liz. “But now is not the time. You’re going to have to trust me on this.”

“I trust you,” she said. “I have from the beginning.”

And I knew she did, which gave me a strange feeling, but now was not the time for that either. We got out of the Gladiator and walked over to Pete and Faye.

“Mickey saying hello?” I asked.

Faye glared at me. Pete was staring at the smoldering ruins. “My bike was in the garage. And my leg is in there.”

“What happened?” I asked.

Pete refocused and like a Marine Raider would, gave a succinct report. “We were in bed. My cell rang. It was Mickey. He said he’d seen the cops here. Wanted to know what you wanted. I told him about the money and gave him your number. As soon as he got that, he told us to get out of the house. I know Mickey. We got the fuck out. Just in time. Something exploded in the garage and the fire spread fast.”

I processed that. Mickey had known Rain and I were here earlier. Had he been hiding out in the old factory and saw us drive by and followed to see where we were going?

“Poor Margot and Peri,” Liz said staring at the smoldering remains. “They’ve lost their home.”

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