9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
VIOLET
Seth acted like he wanted to say something else when he dropped me back off. He was so awkward, it was actually kind of cute. I didn’t want to push him. It was obvious conversation didn’t come easy to him. Somehow I didn’t see the reclusive, quiet, burly man as much of a dater.
I sat back down at my desk and pulled up the footage I’d been looking through before I left for lunch.
It was from the bakery that faced the road to the old BBQ joint.
Dylan’s hope was that we would see who drove or walked in or out from Main Street.
Patrols were out, working on canvasing the homes further up the road to see if we could gather any ring camera footage as well.
He didn’t want to rule anyone out, and if I saw something even remotely suspicious, he wanted me to bring it to his attention.
Our original suspect’s godfather hadn’t been on any footage near any of the fires so far.
But whoever it was had been vigilant about not being seen by anyone, so none of us were surprised.
The fire at the BBQ place didn’t match the others under investigation.
They were started in the very early morning hours, before the sun came up and businesses were open.
Not this one. This one was started in the late afternoon.
It also didn’t have the same burn patterns or broken window that the others did.
All that added up to the reason the lead arson investigator suggested we focus on this one.
If it was our arsonist, and it was an unplanned fire, they would have been more likely to mess up, leaving vital clues behind.
I had started my day early, and after watching another hour of footage, I was almost ready to call it a day.
There was only so much my eyes could take.
But then I startled, sitting up straight and abruptly pressing the button to pause the video as I stared at a familiar face glancing back across the street as they turned to walk down the road.
What the hell was he doing there? I pushed play again and watched intently as James continued down the street toward the BBQ place. He glanced back once more, his actions more than a little suspicious.
We were still together at that point. He knew I had been helping the investigators. Why didn’t he tell me he was there right before the fire started? Maybe he saw something.
Only one way I was going to find out. I pulled out my phone and shot off a text.
Me: Can you meet? I need to talk to you.
Asshole: Did you come to your senses and realize you made a mistake?
I rolled my eyes. The mistake was ever dating him. But you get more bees with honey than vinegar, right?
Me: I just need to talk. It’s important.
Asshole: Fine. Coffee shop?
Me: Perfect.
The coffee shop was on the far side of town from the police station, but just across the street from the auto shop where James worked. It was extremely convenient for him, not so much for me. Nevertheless, it had been our usual meetup on weekdays when we were both at work. Shocker, I know.
I grabbed my bag and headed out of my office, pausing in the hallway. Should I let Dylan know? He probably wouldn’t let me go alone. James was harmless, I knew that, but Dylan didn’t. He was trained to think everyone was a threat.
Was this really a situation where I would need protection? We were meeting in a busy public place. And I just wanted to see why James was even on the video. He could have parked his car on that street and gone to the bakery. But on a Friday afternoon? That just didn’t track for him.
I walked quickly out of the station and turned right, heading down Main Street.
It wasn’t that far, maybe only fifteen or twenty minutes, and on a nice day I enjoyed the walk.
But the walk over also brought back memories of too many times we’d met there when it was raining or cold.
Definitely more of an inconvenience for me, and there were closer places to my job we could have met.
Just one more example of things being all about him.
Well, not any more. Fake relationship or not, whatever I had now was better than anything I’d had with James.
Inside the small space, I glanced around. James was at a table in the far corner. Once I reached him, I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down.
“You’ve ignored me for days and now you desperately need to talk?”
I sighed. It wasn’t my fault he couldn’t take a hint. “It’s work-related. About the fire back in May.”
All the color drained from his face, and he looked around the shop and then back down at the table in front of us. “What about it?”
Geesh. Why was he acting so weird?
“Why didn’t you tell me you were in the area around the time of the fire?”
He whipped his gaze up and his eyes widened. “What?”
Did I want to lay all my cards on the table? If I wanted his help, I had no choice. “I’m going through a bunch of video footage and saw you walking up the street minutes before the call came in.”
He stared at me but didn’t say anything.
I shifted slightly in my seat, starting to feel a tad uncomfortable. “You knew I was brought in to help, so I’m confused why you didn’t tell me. Did you see anything?”
He shook his head and looked away, refusing to meet my gaze again.
He was almost acting paranoid, on the verge of suspicious.
Suddenly, I felt nervous that I came by myself.
But I was in a public place, and there were plenty of people in here, so I took a deep breath and asked the question that came to mind.
“It wasn’t you, was it?” I muttered, instantly regretting it. It wasn’t like he would admit it or anything.
His gaze met mine again and he narrowed his eyes. “No, of course not.” Then he sighed, dropping his head and fiddled with the napkin on the table.
“Then why are you acting so weird?”
He leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table. “I was meeting Evelyn,” he finally whispered.
My stomach turned in the worst way. “But—” That was a month before I showed up at his apartment and caught him with her. “You said?—”
I didn’t need to finish that sentence. Obviously, he’d lied when he said it was a one-time thing. A fucking month. Bile rose in my throat. He was sleeping with both of us for a month? Oh God. Or longer?
I pulled my shoulders back and schooled my features. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of me. Frankly, catching him cheating was the best thing that could have happened to me. It showed me who he really was.
“Whatever.” I waved my hand. “I just need to know if you saw anything. Anyone or anything suspicious?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Didn’t see anyone except a bunch of teenagers goofing off.”
“Teenagers?”
“Yeah. We were in the car, um…talking.” He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, and I fought the urge to vomit at what he wasn’t saying. “A bunch of teenage boys walked by. They were the only people I saw come up or down the road.”
I made a mental note to look at the footage again and let Dylan know. If we could find the teenagers, maybe they could tell us something helpful.
“Okay. Thanks.” I pushed my chair back and stood up.
“Violet—”
I held up my hand, cutting off whatever he was going to say. “James, I’ve moved on, and there’s absolutely no chance in hell I would consider getting back together with you. So please stop texting me.”
With that, I turned and walked away.
Good thing I didn’t have to go back to the station because there was no way I could focus after what I’d just found out. My body vibrated with anger and I felt like I was on the brink of fighting tears. I needed a minute to process and collect myself.
Once I was far enough down Main Street, I pulled out my phone and opened my text thread with Hattie.
Me: Please tell me you’re at work.
Her family owned The Dock and she took care of the accounting side of things, so I was praying she was there today.
Hattie: Yeah, I’m here.
Me: I’m coming over. Might need a drink.
Hattie: Uh oh. What did asshole James do now?
I smiled. My nicknaming habit seemed to be rubbing off on her.
Me: He was cheating on me for at least a month. Probably more.
Hattie: I’ll have a shot ready for you when you get here.
Me: Thanks.
One drink, and then I would head home and lose myself in a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.
The Dock was super close, which was good. Less time to stew on it all. Or less time to plan a murder and decide which endangered shrubs to bury the body under.
Once I stepped through the door, I spotted Hattie standing with Savannah behind the bar and made my way toward them. Climbing up on a stool, I took the shot from Hattie and threw it back.
“Starting happy hour with shots?” Savannah smirked. “My kind of girl.”
“Well, when you find out your ex was cheating on you for more than a month, it requires shots.”
“Oh shit,” Savannah said before giving a slight shrug of her shoulders. “But you’re dating that hot as fuck firefighter now. Definitely leveled-up.”
I met Hattie’s gaze, and her lips twitched. “She has a point.”
I tried not to react. She knew I wasn’t really dating Seth. Telling her all about it at breakfast after Seth asked me to fake date him was a no-brainer. I couldn’t keep something like that from one of my close friends.
“Best thing you can do is show him you’ve moved on, and with someone a hell of a lot better than him.”
Right. That was my plan. That didn’t mean Seth wanted to continue to pretend to date me. But he was the one who started this crazy idea, after all, so maybe I could get him to agree to continue it.