Chapter 26 #2
“It appears that whoever set the fire poured the gas out along the base of the wall.” He traced a line along the screen to show what had been the north wall.
“If we’re going with the story that Avery Sawyer did this—” He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to object.
When I kept my mouth shut, he went on. “She would have had to go in with the cans, empty them along the north wall, then bring them back out, set them by the trunk of her car, and return to the brewery, locking herself inside, all before she set the fire.”
I sat back, thinking it through. “Why would anyone take the cans back outside, put them outside their vehicle instead of in the trunk, then return to start the fire, locking the door behind themselves?”
“My question exactly.” Henry agreed. “I could make a case for locking the door to keep a random person from interfering or getting caught in the fire. But then why break through the front door when she could have escaped out the back? If she were the arsonist, she’d have to know that would increase her chances of being caught.
What happened to the key she used to lock the door? And why park right out front?”
“It doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Did you get any prints off the gas cans?”
“We got a few partials. They don’t match Avery’s prints. Otherwise, the cans were clean. Very clean.”
“Odd,” I said, turning over the details in my head.
Henry nodded. “All of this is odd, West. On the surface, when Jim showed up, I can see why he thought it was a slam dunk. And it could be. People are stupid. It doesn’t make much sense to go in, pour out the gas, bring the cans back out, but not bother to put them in the back of her car, leave them out in the parking lot, then set a fire, locking herself inside.
” He shook his head. “I don’t know Avery Sawyer personally, but from what I’ve heard—” He shrugged a shoulder. “She’s never struck me as dumb.”
“She’s not,” I said. “Though smart people do dumb shit every day.”
“Don’t we know it,” Henry agreed. “I don’t have anything here that directly pins this on Avery Sawyer. I also don’t have anything that lets her off the hook.”
I nodded, standing. “I appreciate your time, Henry. I know you’re going to keep investigating.” I rapped the surface of his desk with my knuckles. “I’ll do the same. One way or another, we’ll find out who set that fire.”
“But you don’t think it was your girlfriend?”
I was smart enough not to answer that one directly. “I follow the evidence, Henry. You know that. We’ll find the evidence, and then we’ll know the truth.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “If we turn up anything else, I’ll let you know.”
I stopped as something occurred to me. “Did you check the surrounding buildings for cameras? I already know Bob didn’t have any at Wild Haven.”
Henry shook his head. “I haven’t gotten to that yet.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I said. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
“Appreciate that. Good luck, West.”
I nodded. I wanted to say I didn’t need luck, that old-fashioned detective work would get the job done. But luck never hurt, especially when I was looking for a needle in a haystack.
I drove back out to Wild Haven Brewing. The building wasn’t in great shape—the north wall burned away, and the roof was sagging. Whoever had done this deserved to pay, but I knew it hadn’t been Avery.
Wild Haven Brewing was surrounded by other warehouse-style buildings, close but not right on top of each other.
One of them looked like it had cameras up by the roof that might have been pointed close enough to Wild Haven to catch something.
No one was there when I knocked. I’d go back later and track down the owner if they still weren’t there .
My next stop was Bear Run Brewing, Matthew Holt’s new place of employment.
I wasn’t getting tunnel vision, but it’d be foolish not to check on the one person I knew had a motive to frame Avery for arson—her former brewmaster and ex.
Unless Prentice’s killer had set the fire, Matthew was the only person in Sawyers Bend who had reason to go after Avery.
My phone rang as I turned into the parking lot. Sterling. I answered, and she started talking before I got a word out.
“You can’t ask how I know, but Matthew was at Wild Haven when the fire started.”
“How do you know that?” I demanded, despite her warning.
“I’m not telling you,” Sterling said with a huff of exasperation. “That’s why I said you can’t ask how I know.”
“Fine,” I said, reframing my question to find out what I really needed to know. “How solid is that information?”
“His phone’s location showed he was at Wild Haven Brewing between 4:40 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on the day of the fire.”
“And if that information had been obtained legally,” I asked, annoyed and grateful at the same time, “would it stand up in court?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Sterling,” I admonished.
“Hey, look, I made some calls, okay? I’m not going to let my sister go to jail for something she didn’t do.”
“Neither am I,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, well, now you know it was him. You won’t waste your time looking for somebody else. ”
I wanted to argue, but I wasn’t going to waste my time. “I’m at Bear Run Brewing right now,” I told her.
“Oh, good,” she said cheerfully. “When you arrest him, I want a copy of the mugshot.”
“Uh-huh,” I said. She could want one. Didn’t mean she’d get it. “Are you at home or Sawyer Outdoor Adventures?”
“I’m at work,” Sterling said. “Quinn just had a group go out, and I’m working on a project. Top secret.”
“All your work is top secret these days,” I said, “but thanks.”
“Anytime, Chief,” Sterling said with a laugh, hanging up on me.
I should be mad she’d gone around me. If we’d really needed it, I could have figured out a way to get a warrant for Matthew’s cell phone records—probably bending the rules in ways that would grate on me because I didn’t have enough yet to get that warrant.
And while I couldn’t use that information to arrest him, Sterling was right.
Now I had no doubt who was responsible. I just had to prove it.