Chapter 13 #2
He exhaled with relief. It was a long jump from the things they’d admitted to doing to intentionally setting fires.
“We didn’t have anything to do with fires,” Bella echoed.
“You understand how we would have a hard time taking your word for it with the lies you’ve been telling.” Liam studied the two teens in front of him.
Tears spilled down their faces.
“I know, Uncle Liam, but I swear it wasn’t us.”
Bella stared at her sister, pleading with her eyes. “We did the fire alarm and some graffiti, but we didn’t have anything to do with fires. When that guy set the trash can on fire, we left.”
Sam looked between the two girls and then to Liam. “I think they’re telling the truth. Finally.”
“I think so too.” He tapped his hand on the tabletop. The doorbell rang, interrupting the tension. “That’s the pizza. Soph, will you get some paper plates while I get the pizza?”
Sophia nodded and wiped the tears from her face.
Liam walked to the front room to collect the pizza. When he returned to the kitchen, he found Sam embracing the girls.
“It’s okay. We’ll get everything figured out,” she told them. “But we need you to be honest with us from now on, okay?”
Both girls nodded into her arms.
Something in his chest shifted, and he now saw Samantha in a whole new light. This woman, with her tough exterior, worked a physically demanding and often heart-wrenching job. But she hadn’t let it make her callous. She still cared about the people she loved.
He pushed those thoughts away and entered the room.
“Pizza’s here.” He was overly cheery. There would be plenty of time for them to discuss what was going on, but right now, everyone needed a break from the heaviness. “Let me say a blessing, and then we can eat.” He set the boxes on the table.
Sam’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t say anything.
He bowed his head and closed his eyes. “Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for Your mercies that are new every morning. I pray that You bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and bless the hands that made it. Be with us each and every day and guide our steps. Amen.”
Bella and Sophia echoed the amen. Sam remained silent. He wanted to dig into that, but now was not the time.
At first, the kitchen was quiet, then Samantha started asking Sophia questions, like what kind of hobbies she had. The conversation flowed between bites.
Sam was genuinely interested in what was being said, focusing on each person who spoke. The conversation hadn’t been started to fill the silence, and she wasn’t dismissive when questions were answered. She asked like she really wanted to know. The complete opposite of Giselle.
He listened as they laughed and talked about their favorite movies and television shows. Sam surprised him when she mentioned a classic cartoon. One he loved as well. Nothing like a talking dog solving mysteries.
His gaze kept going back to Samantha. Wisps of her dark-blonde hair had escaped from its braid and framed her face. Her right eye crinkled more than the left when she smiled. Her laugh was like a balm, softening the hard edges of his day.
Another shift in his chest. He was noticing too much. Not good.
He stood up, gathered the trash from the table, and stuffed it in the can. He needed fresh air. He pulled the full bag from the can and took it outside to the garbage bin he kept next to the garage door.
He looked at the sky filled with blues, pinks, and purples as the sun set. God was an amazing artist.
The front door opened, and he turned to see who was joining him. Sam shut the door behind her, shoved her hands in her pockets, and met him in the driveway.
She looked at him, dead in the eye. “Thank you.”
The urge to reach out and touch her was strong. God give me strength. He shoved his hands in his own pockets to keep them under control. “No problem.”
“I really mean it.” She sighed and looked away. “The last week has been stressful. Bella has been acting so out of character.” She turned back to look at him. “And to be honest, I kind of blamed Sophia.”
Liam started to say something, but she shook her head.
“I didn’t want to believe that Bella would make those kinds of decisions without someone influencing her. It turns out I was wrong about who was doing the influencing. And for that, I owe you and Sophia an apology.”
He gulped. “Thank you. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I might have thought Bella was a bad influence once or twice.” He gave a small smile.
One she returned. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. With the sun going down, the temperature was dropping. “Do you think the fire at my house has anything to do with the girls and the friends they’ve been keeping?”
“My first inclination is no. They were with the group of kids when your house was set on fire. Not to mention that none of the other fires included murder. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other players in our group of firebugs.”
She shivered.
He unlocked the SUV, pulled out a windbreaker, and handed it to her.
She paused for a second, accepted it, and slipped it on. “Thanks.”
Did she even notice that her touch on his hand lingered?
Liam wanted to draw her close and give her a hug. They’d both had a crazy day, but things were looking up. Only the silver star badge on his belt and a quiet check in his spirit stopped him from doing what he wanted to do.
He cleared his throat. “I plan to look into the names that Isabella and Sophia gave me and see if I can pull anything. I’ll get in touch with RPD too. Those kids may not be involved with your house, but it is likely they are, or know who is, involved with the other arsons.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Does it make me a bad person that I don’t want to do that?
That opens the possibility of them forcing the girls to testify.
I just don’t want them to have to go through what I went through.
Not to mention them digging into Bella’s and my past and discovering our secret. ”
He reached over and cupped her shoulder. “It’s the right thing to do, and I’ll be with you guys every step of the way.”
“That’s something else we need to figure out. You can’t keep showing up at the fire station. The guys are asking questions. I can’t tell them the truth.”
“Why not? I’m helping you with Bella. That’s all.” He let his hand drop.
“But it’s not all. I think we’ve turned a corner on the acting-out problem, so that excuse is gone. Now we have to move on to the bigger issue. Are we safe?” She bit her bottom lip.
“I don’t know that for certain. My gut says you are, but that’s not proof. Until we have solid evidence one way or another, you have to be careful.”
She nodded.
“Can we not be friends? Friends visit each other. Hang out. Things like that.” He shrugged his shoulders.
Even if he could see it leading to something more, he needed to tamp down the attraction. Not only was it unprofessional, but she didn’t seem to have a positive view of God.
Still, until they knew more about the arson and murder at her house, he would need to be in frequent contact with her.
He could touch base with her via phone, but he would need to occasionally see her in person.
And since she didn’t have a home, it would have to be around someone she knew—or at least in public, where someone she might know would spot her.
“The only way they’d believe us hanging out together is if we were dating.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
He choked on air and started coughing. How did she know he’d been thinking about that exact thing?
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Relax, I wasn’t serious. I’m not even sure they’d believe it then.”
He thought about what she’d said as he regained his composure.
It wasn’t that bad an idea. Definitely a good reason for him and Sam to be seen together and talking to each other so much.
He had been going to suggest using the girls’ friendship as an excuse, but that would only get them so far. “You know, that could work.”
She looked at him, dumbfounded. “You’re serious?”
“Think about it. People in new relationships can’t get enough of each other.
Always calling or texting each other. Finding ways to be together.
If we’re dating, people won’t read too much into it.
They’ll be like ‘Okay, honeymoon phase’ and move on with their lives.
Anything else we come up with will have an expiration date.
I mean, even if our girls are BFFs, your coworkers will think it’s odd that you and I spend so much time together. ”
The more he talked, the wider her eyes grew.
“Plus, there’s Sophia. We can’t tell her the truth. This will be the easiest thing to explain to her.”
Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“If we do this, we don’t need to tell Bella the truth either.
She needs to believe it’s real too. I don’t think she’d let it slip.
We’ve been in WITSEC six years, and she’s kept her mouth shut so far.
Given the last couple of days, maybe it’s best to keep her in the dark as well. ”
She made a good case, and he was almost convinced it might work.
If he could keep from falling in love with her in the process.