CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Grace, Zoe, Jessica, Remy, and Robbie related the events of the day, especially the last hour. Luke frowned, staring at the three women.
“Were you hurt?” he asked.
“Seriously?” frowned Robbie. “You think we’d let them get hurt? Even if we weren’t there, Monster was ready to rip his balls off.”
“Sorry, brother. I didn’t mean that you wouldn’t take care of them,” said Luke.
“This is all feeling more complicated than it should. Dorothy was good about managing her diabetes. Kennedy and Layla spoke to her endocrinologist. She was faithful about reporting her blood sugars, taking her medications, and watching her diet. Even with her blood sugar dropping low, she would have known enough to drink some juice or a regular soda, anything to give it a kick.”
“We need a timeline on the fire in the oleander,” said Cam. “There had to have been flames or smoke. Did we speak with any neighbors?”
“Not yet,” said Eric. “I was going to speak with them tomorrow when Rod is available to go with me. Since he’s the new neighbor, we can serve two purposes.”
“If anyone has cameras or a camera on the doorbell, we might be able to tell when the fire was started. Even if she put out the fire, with the low blood sugar and oleander on her skin, why would she have gone to the front porch to sit. Why not call for help?” asked Hex.
“If she wanted to die, to bring us in to investigate Hollis, she might have thought that was the best way but it doesn’t make any sense at all,” said Luke. “Grandma? Grandpa?”
They all waited, looking around the room, waiting for them to appear. Sure enough, a few moments later they came into the room.
“What do you need, baby?” asked Irene.
“Is there any way we can speak with Dorothy? Just for a moment,” asked Luke.
“I’m sorry, son,” said Matthew. “She’s gone. Permanently. She felt she’d done what she needed to do on this earth.”
“Damn,” he muttered, nodding at his grandparents. “AJ? Hiro? Any word on the drives we found behind the paintings?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” said Hiro, “but Dorothy Martin was damn good at encrypting and hiding data. We’re still working on them to get them open.”
“You’re fucking joking?” frowned Eric. “How would an English teacher know how to do that?”
“Don’t ask me,” said AJ. “Seems like Dorothy had a lot of secrets we didn’t know about.”
“Which is what scares the fuck out of me,” frowned Luke.
“Eric, you and Rod get to the neighbors today. We have to find something, anything that gives us a timeline of the events. We also need to figure out who Stuart Trager was paying off his debts to. I have a feeling that Burton was involved but it seems an odd connection.”
Eric left and drove to the station to pick up Rod. He still had a few hours left on his shift but the others were happy to cover for him.
“We’re pretty slow out here,” said Theo Jackson. “Honestly, it’s a great job. We’re able to connect more with the neighbors, get in our workouts, make sure the equipment is in good shape, all the things you can’t do at a busy city station.”
“I’m glad it’s going well for you,” said Eric.
“Where are we going?” asked Rod.
“I want to see if any of the neighbors saw flames or smoke that night or early morning. We also want to see if they have cameras that could have caught something. We need a timeline, Rod. We have to figure out how all this works together.” Rod nodded as they drove to his new cottage, thanks to Ms. Martin.
They parked in the driveway, then walked to the neighbors.
Most were like Dorothy. Retired, elderly, and living alone or with their spouses. Three were single parents. A single father with a son in high school and two single mothers, one with a seven-year-old daughter, and one with an eight-month-old boy.
A few of the neighbors had doorbell cameras, but the angle was all wrong to see the Martin home. They were thrilled to know there was a firefighter living in the home now, and everyone welcomed Rod to the neighborhood.
The last house was the single mother with the eight-month-old. She looked tired, as if she hadn’t slept and both men apologized for the intrusion.
“Please come in,” she said waving them into the house. “It’s a mess. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” smiled Eric. “I remember those nights of staying up with our son.”
“He’s got his nights and days mixed up and it’s killing me. I write computer code from home, so I’m forced to work mostly during the day when he’s sleeping but that means I don’t get any sleep.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, you didn’t come to hear me whine. What can I do for you?”
“My name is Eric Bongard and this is Roderick Sutton. He now lives in Ms. Martin’s home. He’s also a firefighter at the local station.”
“Oh, that’s good to know,” she said smiling at him. “Welcome.”
“Thank you,” he said as her son screamed to be picked up once again. She started to stand and actually fell back into the sofa. “Let me.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I’m sure. I’ve had a little experience with babies.
I think your little guy is teething,” he smiled picking him up.
He stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a clean wooden spoon from the canister next to the stove.
Turning it around, he placed the handle end near the boy’s mouth.
The little guy immediately starting chomping down on it.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered with tears in her eyes. “He’s quiet.”
“For the time being,” laughed Rod. “You’ll need something long-term. Iced teething rings always work, even foods like carrots can help.”
“Whiskey works,” smirked Eric. “At least that’s what my mother used.”
“We don’t use whiskey much any longer,” laughed Rod. The infant closed his eyes, while still chomping on the wooden handle. The grateful mother had tears in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself,” she said shaking her head. “My name is Gracyn Scott. That little devil is my son, George.”
“Nice to meet you, George,” whispered Rod smiling down at the baby. Eric stared at him with the baby in his arms, then back at the exhausted mother.
“Gracyn, is your husband here?” he asked. Eric knew damn good and well she was single, he was just testing the waters for Rod.
“Oh, I’m not married,” she said calmly. “George was a happy accident with an ex-boyfriend. We’d been dating about a year and even though I was on birth control, surprise!” They all smiled and she looked down.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed for,” said Rod. “It’s obvious you’re a good mother.”
“Is it? Because most days I feel as though I’m rowing a boat upstream and I’m losing the battle. The house is a mess, the dishes are in the sink, I need to get to the grocery store, and I can’t do any of those things when I need to finish my work.” She let out an exhausted sigh, shaking her head.
“God, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” he smiled. “I tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. Help us with this and I’ll watch little George while you run your errands.”
“You can’t be serious,” she gasped.
“Very serious,” said Rod. Eric leaned back in the chair and grinned inwardly.
“What is it you need help with?” she asked.
“Do you have a camera on the outside of your home?” asked Eric.
“I have two,” she said nodding. “Initially my ex-boyfriend was harassing me, trying to get me to have an abortion. Once I was past the first trimester he stopped bothering me. He also realized I wasn’t going to ask him for a thing or involve him in George’s life.”
She stood and walked into the kitchen, then returned with her phone.
“Here’s the feed from the doorbell camera,” she said. Eric scrolled through until he found the date of Ms. Martin’s death. The angle was slightly off, but he could see smoke.
“Can I send this to our team to review?” he asked.
“Of course. Anything to help Ms. Martin,” she said. She opened her laptop, staring at her still sleeping son, Rod holding the handle of the spoon in the baby’s mouth.
“Here’s the feed from the outdoor camera that faces my carport. I was always worried someone would try to come in through that door. I’ll send you the forty-eight hours around the time of her death.”
“You’re awesome,” said Eric. “Why don’t you run your errands and I’ll help Rod with some things around here.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this for me,” she said standing up. She stared down at her food-stained t-shirt and ragged jean shorts. “Let me change this top.” Eric watched as she disappeared.
“She’s pretty,” he smiled.
“Don’t. Do not start matchmaking with me, Eric. I don’t care how big you are, I’ll kick your ass.” Eric snorted, laughing at him.
“You wish.”
“I promise I won’t be longer than an hour,” she said grabbing her purse and keys. “He has bottles in the refrigerator and diapers in his room.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” said Rod. After she left, Eric pulled up the feeds and frowned, as he watched them.
“From this angle, it looks like the fire started around 0412. I don’t see her running out there to stop it. I don’t see anyone from this angle.” They both stared at the footage, Rod still holding the little bundle to his chest.
“It’s raining,” Rod said softly. “Look at the camera lens. Drops of rain. That’s what put the fire out. Not her.”
“Then how did she get the oleander on her skin?” frowned Eric.
“I don’t know. I’m going to bet when we send this to the boys in comms they’ll find something we don’t see,” he said. Eric nodded, closing his phone and laptop.
“You keep the kid happy. I’m going to do her dishes for her and straighten up.”
Rod nodded, staring at the angelic fat cheeks of the little cherub in his arms. He heard Eric making fast work of the kitchen, then the sound of the washing machine starting.
He stripped the baby’s crib, washed the sheets and put clean ones on the mattress. From there, he moved into the living room, picking up toys, blankets, and other items, placing them in the waiting baskets.
“You’ve done this before,” smirked Rod.
“Brother, when Sophia Ann was at the end of her pregnancy, she was huge. She was so uncomfortable and I felt guilty for that. It was my big ass that made her have a huge baby. Afterward, she was exhausted those first few months, just like that poor woman. This is the least we can do for her.”
At almost exactly an hour later, Gracyn walked in with bags of groceries, and diapers enough to last a month.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered. “Am I in the wrong house?”
“Not at all,” laughed Eric. “We just thought we’d give you a hand. Did you get everything you needed?”
“I-I did,” she said staring at the unrecognizable space. “I just can’t get over this. And he’s still sleeping?”
“He is,” smirked Rod. “I put him down a little while ago. Riley sent over something to help with the teething. She said to give it to him after his nighttime bath and bottle. It’s not addictive, just something to hopefully get you some rest.”
“I can’t thank the two of you enough,” she said wiping the tears in her beautiful green eyes. Rod stared at the woman realizing that Eric was right. She was beautiful, even exhausted.
“We can’t thank you enough for the camera footage,” said Eric. “We’ll touch base again soon. Right, Roderick?”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll pop by in a day or two to see if you need anything.” She reached for him and hugged him tightly. His face blushed, turning the caramel of his skin a different color. She didn’t reach for Eric and he knew why. Gracyn had a crush on Rod.
They waved goodbye and walked silently to the SUV, all the while Eric whistling and smirking. Mama Irene would be proud of him. When they were in the car, he turned to Rod. The other man raised a finger, not looking at him.
“One word, just one word and I swear I will find a way to wrap you in fire hose so tightly you won’t get out.”