Chapter 4
H ow had this happened? Trina stared in horror at the yellow fingers of flames crawling up and around the front door of her house, trying to pry their way inside.
Had someone tossed a cigarette onto her front porch that had started the blaze?
The past week had been unusually dry, no rain for almost ten days.
Yet as she watched Joel use the hose on the house to douse the flames, she knew that wasn’t it.
The fire had been set on purpose. Likely by the same person who’d taken shots at her. But why? That was the part she didn’t understand. Ben’s father Brian? What did he gain from doing something like that?
“Aunt Trina, what’s going on?” Ben’s voice had her turning in her seat to look at him. He’d been so preoccupied with Royal when they’d pulled up that he hadn’t noticed the fire. But now his eyes were wide with fear.
“It looks like there’s a small fire.” She had no idea how much to tell him.
The last thing she wanted was for him to be scared to death that something bad would happen to him, the way it had taken his mother.
The shrill sirens grew louder, so she had to raise her voice to be heard.
“Don’t worry, Joel has the hose going, see?
The fire is almost out. Everything will be fine. ”
Ben’s expression was troubled, but he didn’t ask anything more. His attention was diverted by the long red fire truck that passed them, coming to a stop directly in front of her home. Joel continued working with her garden hose as firefighters bailed from the truck and ran forward to assist.
The fire truck hoses were huge, and soon the firefighters had gotten Joel out of the way to take over fighting the blaze. After a moment, he returned to the car. His grim expression proved her assumption that the fire was set on purpose was correct.
“The front door was doused with gasoline.” He shot a quick glance at Ben who was clearly listening. “Thankfully, we caught it early, all because we came back to get Ben’s video game. I’m hoping the damage won’t be too bad.”
She nodded. Her throat tightened as the realization sank deep. Arson was a big deal. Even if the damage was limited to the front door of the house, the water used to put the fire out could be a problem too.
“I helped?” Ben asked.
“Yes, you did,” Joel assured him. “But I’m sorry to say we won’t be able to go inside to get your game.”
Ben frowned, then glanced at her. “That’s okay.”
She wanted to hug him for being so understanding. “Thank you, Ben. We’ll get your game another time.”
“The police are here.” Joel gestured to the squad that pulled up next to the fire truck. “They’ll want to talk to you, Trina.”
She didn’t know any more than the last time they’d questioned her about the gunfire, but she nodded and pushed out of the SUV.
The acrid scent of smoke was overwhelming.
She stood waiting, but the two officers split up and walked the area.
It took a moment to realize they were making sure the person who’d done this wasn’t hanging around nearby.
She glanced around with apprehension. What if the killer was out there watching her? Her neighbors typically worked during the day. Eyeing the properties on either side of her home, she didn’t see anyone peering through the windows or standing on the porch gawking.
And that meant nobody had likely seen the person who’d set the fire either.
After a few minutes of walking the street, Burt Jones and Heath Anderson crossed over to her.
“The preliminary report is that this is arson. Sometimes fire bugs like to stay close to watch things burn.” Burt’s expression was grave. “Any idea who could have done this?”
“The same person who’d taken shots at me, but I can’t imagine why he switched from firing a gun to starting a fire.” She swallowed hard. “I’m grateful we weren’t home when the fire was started.”
“Yeah, I thought Sullivan was taking you away from here?” Heath asked.
“We’re staying at a hotel in town but came back for Ben’s video game.” She gestured to the house as Joel slid out of the driver’s seat to join them. “Joel used the hose to douse the flames prior to the fire department showing up.”
“The gasoline scent was very strong,” Joel added. “No question in my mind that this was arson.”
Burt and Heath eyed each other somberly.
“We called the Laramie PD to request information on your sister’s ex-husband, Brian Ashland.” Burt grimaced. “They haven’t responded yet.”
“Based on this, we’ll call them again,” Heath said with a dark frown. “We need to know where this guy is ASAP.”
She was grateful they were taking the threat seriously, even though she really couldn’t imagine Brian doing such a thing. Granted, he had struck Evie in anger, but that was different from this level of rage.
It was terrifying to have this much fury directed at her.
“We’ll check into your sister’s boyfriend too. Peter Thomas, right?” When she nodded, Burt continued, “At this point, everyone is a suspect until we can rule them out.”
She tried to remain positive. Burt and Heath were good cops. She knew they’d do everything possible to get to the bottom of this.
“We need you to keep thinking about other possible suspects.” Heath gestured to the house. “This guy knows where you live, so he must be someone familiar with you.”
“Other than the three boyfriend names I gave you, Robbie Rawlings, Toby Silver and Luke Davenport, I can’t think of anyone else who would stoop to this level.” To her mind, even her previous boyfriends were a stretch.
In truth, there weren’t as many women as there were men in Cody, which is likely the main reason each of the three men had asked her out in the first place. She knew she wasn’t any guy’s first choice. She wasn’t pretty or outgoing.
Quite the opposite. Prior to taking custody of Ben, there had been several days she’d never changed out of her pajamas, especially when she was lost in one of her stories. That was the biggest perk of working from home.
“Do you need anything else?” A hint of impatience underscored Joel’s tone. “I’d like to get Ben and Trina back to the hotel.”
“Go ahead.” Burt waved a hand. “We’ll be in touch if we learn anything new.”
Trina frowned. “What about my house?” The idea of driving away didn’t sit well with her. “What if the arsonist comes back?”
“Good point. I’ll talk to our sergeant about having an officer keep an eye on the place,” Heath offered. “Our resources are limited, but this is an extreme case. Maybe we can get someone in plain clothes to hide nearby. That way we can arrest him if he does come back.”
“That’s a great idea.” Joel flashed a reassuring smile. “I like the idea of this guy getting caught sooner rather than later.”
“We’ll canvass the neighborhood,” Heath added. “Hopefully, someone noticed a car parked nearby or someone hauling a gasoline can toward the house.”
“Maybe check gas station video to see if anyone filled a gas can recently,” Joel suggested. “I know people use them for lawn mowers, but it might give you a starting point.”
“Yeah, that’s a strong possibility.” Burt looked thoughtful. “If you think of anything else, let us know.”
Trina wondered if Joel would mention his brother-in-law the federal agent or the other brother-in-law who was with the DEA, but he didn’t.
“You’ll want to let your insurance company know about this.” Heath gestured to the house. “They’ll want to send someone out to assess the damage.”
“Okay, thank you.” She made a mental note to make the call sooner than later.
One of the firefighters jogged over. “Ms. Warren?”
“Yes?” She took a step toward him. “Is the fire out?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded at Joel. “Thanks to the quick work of Sullivan here, we believe the damage has been mitigated. The fire mostly involved the front door of the property. I’m afraid your flower bushes may not survive.
It’s hard to know how much gasoline was used around the front door, and it looks some of the fuel seeped into the earth. ”
She’d enjoyed those flower bushes, but they were the least of her worries. “I understand.”
The firefighter gave her a nod and turned away. She blew out a breath and focused on her blessings.
She and Ben were fine, and her house wasn’t a complete loss. The fire shouldn’t have happened, but it could have been so much worse.
“Are you okay?” Joel eyed her over the hood of the car.
“I guess.” She slid into the passenger seat, pulling the door closed behind her.
“What did the police say?” Ben asked. “Did they arrest the bad guy?”
“Not yet, but soon.” She forced herself to sound upbeat. “They’re going to keep a police officer here to watch over our house to make sure nothing more happens.”
Ben seemed to accept that at face value. She’d expected dozens of questions, but he surprised her by changing the subject. “Are we still going swimming?”
“Absolutely.” Joel slid behind the wheel. The SUV engine had been idling the whole time to keep Ben and Royal cool, so he put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb. “We’ll have a great time.”
As Joel drove down the street, Trina watched via the side mirror as the firefighters conversed with the Cody police officers. She hoped their canvass of the neighborhood and checking gas station video in town would give them something to work with.
The sooner the Cody police arrested the arsonist, the better.
The pungent scent of gasoline and smoke clung to Joel’s hands and clothes. He kept a keen eye on the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t followed. And to be extra safe, he made several turns, going around blocks and eventually approaching the Elk Lodge from the opposite direction.