31. Anything To Gain
ANYTHING TO GAIN
“Hey, everyone,” Ash said hours later when they walked into the back door of his parents’ house.
Dinner was being cleaned up and Skye felt bad showing up like this, but they had eaten earlier at her parents’ house since Keegan and Tate were both working tonight.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Brooke said, coming over to give them both a hug. “Can I get you a plate of anything?”
“I’m good,” she said. “We ate a few hours ago.”
And thankfully the big meal was settling to give her room for dessert. Which she was positive was going to be awesome since everything Brooke baked was.
“I’ll take some leftovers,” Ash said. “Then I’ve got food for tomorrow at the firehouse.”
“I’ve got your containers all ready for you,” Brooke said. “Go sit and visit with the rest of the family while we clean up.”
Reenie, Meredith, Arden, and Gale were moving around the kitchen like a well-choreographed machine. Not even her mother moved this fast or efficiently with her and Brenna helping.
“Hi,” she said to the Ridgeway men and Rory, moving into the living room.
“I got your email yesterday,” Rory said. “I’m not ignoring you. I knew I’d see you today to chat about a few things. I looked over your outline.”
“Thanks. I don’t want to bother you or anything.”
“No bother,” Rory said.
“We can talk about that later,” Ash said.
“Yeah.” Gale came running in. “Sorry, I’m not missing this. That article yesterday was ballsy and I loved it. I’d do the same thing.”
“Of course you would,” Clay said sarcastically. “Because you never do what you’re told either.”
“And not everyone is you,” Ash argued, staring at his sister.
“That’s right,” Gale said proudly. “You boys taught me well.”
Ford sighed. “Yeah. We won’t go into how well you were taught, nor talk about shooting when you’re told not to.”
Her eyes went wide. “What?”
Rory smiled. “Gale is the one who shot Rocco to get him to let go of me.”
Skye hadn’t known that. It wasn’t in anything she’d read.
She turned to Ash. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
He shrugged. “It didn’t seem important.”
Things weren’t great with them right now.
She knew it. She felt it. And it was frustrating.
They hadn’t really made up, but they weren’t pissed either.
Ash storming out to the front porch at her parents’ hours ago had startled her. She’d never seen him lose his cool like that.
Then to find out that he’d fought a coworker because of her.
She’d known he was protective. That was a given.
But she’d never thought he’d be violent. That he’d go to the lengths he had.
Keegan? Sure, that brother would in a heartbeat. Even Tate. And looking around this room, she was positive Clay and Ford would be the first in line here.
But Ash—he’d always been the one laughing and joking. Never really standing on the serious side of anything.
He’d changed. Not just recently, but somewhere along the past several years and she had to remind herself that she had too.
“It’s not,” Gale said. “But let’s change it back to you. Have you heard anything since you released that yesterday?”
She sighed. “No. I’m surprised too. It doesn’t make sense. I literally insulted this person in the article. Told him he’s not very original, that he can’t make up his mind. There are no traits there making him memorable.”
“No need to rehash it,” Ash said. “We all read it, right?”
Skye looked around the room and saw the nods.
“There are no leads at all?” Clay asked.
“One that turned into nothing,” he said.
“I heard,” Ford said. “And some aren’t happy Alan isn’t being thought of seriously?”
She frowned. “I didn’t hear it like that. What aren’t you telling me, Ash?”
Ash was staring at Ford as if he’d just let the biggest cat out of the smallest bag. “There isn’t anything to tell that you don’t know. I said it. Alan explained why he was at the fires. He’d pointed out that he’s been to a lot of them. Most of them.”
“Which makes no sense for a guy who is married with kids at home.”
“That’s not my life,” he argued.
“Maybe he and his wife don’t get along well,” Brooke said, coming into the room, her apron off, and everyone taking a seat. Skye had a full audience now and it was the last thing she wanted.
“Enough to leave in the middle of the night when the scanner goes off?”
“Alan brought up Skye as a suspect,” Ash said.
“That’s bullshit,” Gale snapped. “He’s grasping and it’s defamation.”
“Easy, counselor,” Rory said, laughing and patting her hand.
“It’s not when she’s been to the same fires as him,” Ford said. “I know that as well. Do I believe it? No, but he’s defensive.”
“That’s guilt,” Gale said.
“I don’t know,” Ash said, throwing his hands up. “I don’t know anything. Am I happy that they only questioned him and let it go? No. Just like he showed his ass up at the fire of the new house smirking like he’s not changing who he is.”
“Keegan told me,” Ford said. “Came with his father and uncle.”
“For support,” Clay said. “I did some digging on Alan.”
“What?” Skye asked, her head swinging toward Ash’s oldest brother. “Like what kind of digging?”
“We don’t ask those things,” Ash said. “What did you find out?”
“Why did Clay do it over Ford?”
“Because I have no cause,” Ford said, “and don’t want to get jammed up using county resources for that. Just like your brother couldn’t do it either.”
“Did Keegan ask you to do it, Clay?”
“I asked him to,” Ford said. “After talking to Keegan. Then after that article came out, I’m glad I had him do it. I would have anyway.”
“If I had known Alan was a suspect I would have done it long before now, but there isn’t anything on him. He’s a fucking choirboy,” Clay said.
“Seriously?” she asked. “Can’t you hide that stuff?”
“Sure, you can, but he’s never been in trouble.
I found one speeding ticket when he was a kid and nothing more.
Do firemen get let off with the police locally?
Sure,” Clay said. “But the guy has been married nine years, two kids, ages seven and two. His wife works remotely and has a decent job. No credit or money issues. I don’t see it at all. Nothing.”
“He could be living a double life,” Rory said. “It happens.”
“It does,” Clay agreed, “but I’ve never met him to make that assessment.”
Everyone was looking at Ash. “I don’t see it. I could be wrong, but I never saw it. Is it all strange? Yep, it is. I’ll be the first to admit it, but starting fires? At first it was cars and no one was really in serious danger. People could have died with a few of the last ones.”
“This last one was a statement,” Skye said. “I know it. And that is why I called him out on it.”
“Ballsy,” Gale said again.
Clay shot his sister a glance. “Take Alan off the table. Take anyone off the table that you’re trying to see there. This person could be watching, but it’s from a distance. You’re not seeing him because they don’t want to be seen.”
“That makes it harder,” Skye argued.
“If it were easy, they would have been caught by now,” Ford said.
“Exactly,” Ash said. “So what are you saying, Clay?”
“I’m saying, has anyone had anything to gain by this?”
“They are getting attention,” she said. “That’s why they reached out to me. Why they keep doing it.”
“But they haven’t since?” Gale asked. “Not after yesterday’s article?”
“No. I don’t get it. Maybe I pissed him off.”
“Or he’s thinking of his next move,” Ash said. “Which is why you aren’t staying alone tonight.”
She growled. “I told you I’m fine. No one is going to come after me in an apartment building. They can’t even get in, nor can they throw anything through the windows. They won’t break easily.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he argued. “You’re staying with me tonight, or I’m staying with you and going to work in the morning.”
“The second one. I’m off tomorrow and maybe I don’t want to get up early if I don’t have to.”
Ash grinned at her, as if he wanted to pound his chest that he’d gotten his way. “Works for me.”
“Back to what Clay was saying,” Blaze said. “From someone who missed something right under my nose with Erika, you have to ask yourself, both of you, do you know anyone who might gain from this? It’s a long shot, but focusing on the wrong person doesn’t help anyone.”
She’d heard what happened to Arden. That a coworker had tried to kill her to get revenge on Blaze. That they’d spent all the time looking at Arden’s ex when it had nothing to do with Arden and everything to do with Blaze.
“Could it be about you?” Skye asked, turning to look at her boyfriend. “Like what happened with Blaze?”
“I doubt it,” he said. “There would be no reason for that.”
“But maybe it’s someone else on your shift? Or any shift? Not all fires have been with you working, right?” Callum asked.
He’d been quiet so far. Just absorbing the conversation.
“No, two of the fires have been on other shifts.”
“Not Alan’s shifts,” she pointed out.
“Take Alan out of the picture for now,” Ford said. “I know it’s hard.”
She shrugged. “The only other person who comes to my mind right now who might be acting odd but I don’t really know him is Kyle.”
“Your editor?” Ash asked.
“Yes. I just met him when I moved back here.”
“What’s odd about him?” Ford asked.
“How excited he is about the stories. But that is normal for an editor. It’s good for them and the paper.
He’s just thrilled over the coverage. Yesterday, he was super excited to read the second story, but then cautious.
Even hesitated a few times, then got all gung-ho again.
It’s not like him to jump around like that. ”
“What’s his last name?” Clay said, standing up.
“Norman. Kyle Norman. Why?”
“I’ll be back.” Clay walked out.
“Where is he going?”
“To get his laptop,” Ford said. “What else can you tell us about Kyle?”
“Shouldn’t we wait until Clay returns?”
“It’s fine,” Ash said. “He’ll find more than you can say, trust me.”
“I know nothing about him. I just know that he’s been almost giddy with every story that comes in about this guy and when I sent him the article to look over before it was printed, he almost hesitated. I expected him to say it was gold.”
“Hesitated how?” Ash asked.
“I don’t know. He wanted to have legal look it over.
Which made sense. But it felt like an afterthought.
Like he was going to stop the story, then realized he should go through with it and what the next steps were.
Not only that, he knows Tate and Keegan are my brothers.
I’d said that I was dating Ash recently, kind of saying I had an inside there. ”
She heard Ash growl next to her but had to ignore that.
“So a connection right there,” Ford said. “Is he from this area?”
She shook her head. “I really don’t know. I moved back here almost two months ago and reached out to several editors in the area. Told them what I was looking to do and that was it. I submitted my stories like normal. Now I’m his go-to person.”
“Does he want you to do more than just the coverage of the fires?” Brooke asked.
Her shoulders dropped. “He had asked me to cover a few other things, but I’ve got another job. And early on, I tried a few other stories and he didn’t take them, so I was discouraged and told myself it wasn’t worth running around for it.”
“But now that you’ve gotten a lot of coverage?” Ash asked.
“Now he wants me to do more, but I’ve told him no.”
“I don’t like any of this,” Ash said, the look on his face telling her they’d be arguing again. “I wish you had told me more about it earlier.”
“I didn’t even think about it until Clay brought it up. Cut me some slack. Do you think you’re the only one going through this? Don’t think for one minute that it isn’t affecting me. I lost my parents in a fire. I lost everything I knew and had in my life. Even my brother.”
Ash hissed. “You’ve got him back in your life now.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t. I get it. I don’t even care about that. I’ve got a new family. I’ve got people who love and care for me, but I still have demons and you putting all this pressure on me isn’t helping.”
She stood up and walked out the back door just as Clay was coming in. He didn’t try to stop her, but it wasn’t like she could leave. She had no way to get off the grounds with Ash driving them here.
But she needed some damn air.
And she needed to be away from anyone with the last name of Ridgeway right now.