Chapter 8 #2
“I haven’t told her anything, sir. However, I picked them up on my way to the house fire, so she might be wondering how I knew their house was on fire and why I was going there.”
“Has she asked yet?”
Liam shook his head.
Howard put his hands behind his back and walked to the window. “I’m sure we can spin a believable tale to explain that.” He turned back to Liam. “Go talk to the sisters and see what you can find out. Report back to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Liam exited the office and made his way to the conference room.
Isabella sat with her head on her arms on the table, but Liam didn’t figure she was asleep. Sam was beside her sister, massaging her temples. His heart ached for them.
He knocked on the doorframe. “Ladies.”
Two sets of eyes focused on him.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” He pulled out a chair and took a seat. Standing over them could intimidate them. Something he didn’t want to do. So he got on their level. He looked from Samantha to Isabella. “Can you tell me about this morning?”
Sam shifted in her chair. “I got up at five like I usually do and ran on the treadmill. Left the house at six and was at the station by six fifteen. I did not see anything suspicious when I left. I haven’t noticed anything suspicious or out of the ordinary in the last few weeks.
Other than Bella’s school trouble and getting a new marshal. ”
Yeah, she’d done this before.
She folded her arms over her chest. “I’ve followed protocol like I have been the last six years. No contact with anyone in our past, and I stay away from social media.”
“Okay.” Liam turned his attention to Isabella.
She huffed. “Same. I didn’t see anyone unusual when I left. Yes, I’ve gotten into trouble the last couple of days, but I haven’t talked to anyone I used to know, and I haven’t told anyone about us being in WITSEC.”
“Not even Sophia?” Liam held his breath.
“Not even Sophia. I know the rules.” She, too, crossed her arms.
He released his breath. At least his niece was still in the dark on that one.
Samantha looked at her sister. “Vaping in the bathroom and pulling fire alarms unnecessarily are also against the rules, but you still did that.”
“For the last time, I wasn’t vaping.” Bella sighed. “Pulling the fire alarm is different. It won’t kill us in horrible ways.”
“People have been trampled to death during fire alarms, Isabella.” Samantha put her palms on the table.
“Sorry.”
“Okay.” Liam wanted to interrupt before this got too far off topic. “Have either of you received any threats recently? Weird or unusual telephone calls, text messages, or emails?”
Both shook their heads.
“Are either of you seeing anyone?”
“As if.” Isabella pouted. “She won’t allow me to date.”
“You’re too young. You need to focus on school.” Samantha pinched the bridge of her nose.
Liam agreed with her, but fighting that battle with Sophia was another story. He looked at Samantha. “How about you?”
“No. I’m forever single thanks to my poor decision-making skills.” She sighed.
Something he had in common with her. Choosing Giselle had been one of a list of poor choices he’d made.
Was Sam referring to the decisions that had led to her going into WITSEC? Or had there been more boyfriends?
“Can you clarify that for me?” He tried not to sound personally interested in the answer. Just professionally. “Are you saying you have some ex-boyfriends that could potentially be a problem?”
“No. I was talking about Matt Marino.”
Liam filed that one away. “Do either of you have a reason to suspect that your covers have been blown?”
Samantha looked at Isabella. “I have no reason to believe that. Bella?”
The teen shook her head. “I promise, the only thing I’ve done that’s against the rules is the fire alarm and sneaking out.”
“What happens now?” Samantha asked him.
“Right now, there’s no proof that this incident is in any way related to your past. Apparently, there’s an arsonist running around in Renegade. This could be as simple as the arsonist making a mistake and paying dearly for it.”
Still, if he was going to do his due diligence with this, Liam would need to do a deep dive into the DeLuca case to see where those pivotal players were these days.
Sam sighed. “The Arson Investigation Unit will know more once the body in the house is identified.”
Liam nodded. “I’m leaning toward this being an isolated incident and not related to your case. I don’t want to risk blowing your covers or moving you until we have proof otherwise. So for now, it’s just an unfortunate occurrence.”
“An unfortunate occurrence,” Sam deadpanned.
Liam’s face heated. “I’m sorry. That was a poor choice of words.”
“I understand what you mean.” She smiled weakly. “I’m assuming since we’re playing that angle, it will be up to me to handle our living arrangements and property loss.”
“I can help you as much as possible in an unofficial capacity.” Unfortunately, no US Marshals services or funds could be used.
Hopefully, the investigation wouldn’t reveal a targeted attack. Or, for their sakes, a personal one.
Sam stood and rubbed her hands on her turnout pants. “Can you take us to the station, or do I need to figure that out on my own as well?”
He grimaced. “I said the Marshals wouldn’t help right now, but I can still do a few things. I can take you to the station. And if you’d like, I know a church that has a donation closet that can help you and Isabella with some clothes and toiletries for now.”
It wasn’t much, but every little bit helped.
Sam’s face pinched.
“It’s Orange Street Church, isn’t it?” Isabella piped up.
“It is,” he answered.
“I’ve been there a couple of times. The people are really nice.” She smiled.
Sam’s brow was still furrowed, but she nodded. “We’d appreciate it if you could connect us with the church.”
She didn’t really seem all that appreciative—more like reluctant. Did she have an issue with that particular church or just church in general? If so, maybe this would be a step in the right direction.
“Let me grab Sophia, and we can be on our way.” He turned and looked at Isabella. “Just because she’s my niece doesn’t mean she knows anything about how the three of us are connected. My job is strictly confidential. I haven’t told her anything. I expect you to keep it the same, okay?”
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Sophia. He honestly didn’t think she would do anything to purposely put her friend in that kind of danger. But he’d seen it happen before. In his line of work, a simple slip of the tongue could have deadly consequences.
Bella nodded solemnly. “Yes, sir.”
As soon as they were in his vehicle, Sam pulled out her phone and started messing around on it. He assumed she was trying to locate a place to stay. Heaviness filled his stomach.
The teenagers whispered quietly in the back seat.
Liam wanted to call the church, but his phone was connected to Bluetooth, and he didn’t want to have the conversation broadcast on speaker phone.
Especially when he’d decided he would donate a little bit of extra funds to help the closet with the monumental task it was about to undertake.
“Uncle Liam?” Sophia asked from the back seat.
He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Yes?”
“Why don’t we have Sam and Bella stay with us?”