36. amelia
36
AMELIA
I stared at the photo on the sergeant's phone.
"And the only reason the house is still standing is the… sprinkler system?" It was just a fleeting thought to which I had succumbed.
"Yes. That was quick thinking, Amelia. One could see from the side of the house that the flames had reached quite high, but the sprinkler in the back garden put it out before it could do any real damage."
I closed my eyes. So it had been arson.
"If I hadn't woken up to…" I began, suddenly finding my mouth dry.
Sergeant Williams had insisted on questioning us individually, so now I stared out the window, where Gray was waiting. That had been the compromise—because he had told her he would head straight back to the mountain otherwise, and she could shove her questioning elsewhere.
"Let's not even think about that. The situation now is four destroyed cabins. The fire didn't spread to the forest. Two cabins are intact. Apparently, the arsonist couldn't reach them."
"Because he collapsed on the porch?"
"The fumes from the fire accelerant are toxic. It's akin to mixing the wrong cleaning products… He probably lost consciousness because of that."
"That's speculation, right?" I pressed.
"Yes. But it will likely prove correct in the next few hours. We just need more information."
"Why he did it."
"Exactly. Do you know if anyone had anything against Gray or the B and B?"
"You mean besides the entire town population because rumors have been swirling for weeks?"
"These people understand its importance to the infrastructure. Without the bed-and-breakfast, without Gray Fletcher, this town would be in big trouble." Sergeant Williams sounded serious.
"Do you know anything about the arsonist himself? Did he have any ID on him?"
She shook her head. "Most of his clothes were burned. If he had any documents on him, they're now ashes and probably fused with his skin."
That was a ghastly detail that made my stomach churn. Why was she telling me this?
"But we did take a photo of his face. The guests we questioned didn't recognize him."
Then it was certain that I wouldn't recognize him either. I knew no one from the city, and even if Sergeant Williams were to show me photos of the guests now, I would barely recognize any of the faces.
"Can I show it to you? It shows some of the injuries, so it's not pretty…"
Her warning was moot as she was already tapping on her phone.
I glanced again at Gray. He had insisted on hearing every word of our conversation.
I could see that he was at the end of his rope. Deep furrows were etched into his forehead, which was smeared with soot. His shirt was singed, and the emptiness in his eyes…
"Amelia?"
"Hm?"
"The photo."
I grimaced in pain. I didn't want to see it. But I forced myself to tear my gaze from Gray and instead look at the screen.
The next moment, I was bent over, retching beside the table. The door burst open, and then Gray was by my side. One hand on my back, the other holding my hair back as I succumbed to the floor.
I would have liked to blame it on the alcohol from earlier in the evening.
But it was more likely because the face of my ex-boyfriend leaped out at me from the photo shown by Sergeant Williams.
"I did warn you…" she muttered.
Gasping, I straightened up.
"I don't care about his condition," I let her know, gagging again. "That's… my ex. Gray had banished him from his property a few days ago after I made it clear to him that I wasn't…"
I had to vomit again.
"That she's no longer interested in him." Gray finished my sentence with a growl. From the corner of my eye, I saw that he, too, had glanced at the photo. "That's definitely him. This…"
He bit back an insult in front of Sergeant Williams, who had cleared her throat uncomfortably. She then handed me a bottle of water.
"Here. I'll check if we have something to clean up. But… it's reassuring that it confirms my suspicion. I only met him once, so I wasn't completely sure."
As soon as she left the room, tears welled up in my eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Gray. Because of me, your whole life's work is ruined. I… oh, god." My sobs turned into more gagging.
Whenever the image of the photo flashed before my eyes, I felt sick again.
Gray reached for my chin and looked at me seriously.
Fear coursed through my veins.
"Did you tell him to do this?"
"N-no?!"
"Then it's not your fault, little one. Do you hear me? He chose to be a terrible person. And none of it is your fault." His voice soothingly wrapped around all my frayed nerves. Still, tears spilled over, which he immediately wiped from my face.
I pushed myself to my feet and into his arms, syncing my breathing with his. Gradually, my heartbeat slowed down and my stomach felt less upset.
"It seems I owe you an apology."
We both looked up at the same time to see Sergeant Williams standing in the doorway. How long had she been watching us?
I detached myself from Gray and sank back into my chair.
"And why, if I may ask?" Gray stared at her over my head.
"Because I misjudged both of you. Right from the start, it seems. I doubt any other man would have reacted the way you did, Fletcher. You're facing millions in damages, and it appears that your current partner's ex is responsible."
"As I've already explained to Amelia, that doesn't mean it's her fault," Gray replied.
"Of course not. But other partners might not see it that way. Spiteful ex or not."
Gray let out a sigh. "Listen, Sergeant Williams. Amelia saved my home and one of my employees. She called the fire department and made sure we checked that all guests were accounted for. She'll be the first to think about how we can fix the damage, and, more importantly, she'll make sure I don't lose my mind over this tremendous loss. I see no reason why I should hold anything against her." His large hand rested on my shoulder reassuringly. "Ask any remaining questions you have, and then we'll leave. We'll sort everything out over the coming days and, if necessary, with my lawyer. Though he surely won't enjoy flying here from Hawaii for a chat with you."
Over the next hour, Sergeant Williams asked me what felt like a hundred questions about George. Gray never left my side, so she grilled him too about the argument my ex and I had, whether he had made any implications, what exactly had happened, and if there had been any strange occurrences since.
But in the end, there was no indication of what he had planned to do. He hadn't made any threats. No one had seen him on the premises or in Wolf Creek. It had just happened while we believed he was long back in Toronto.
He had decided to take everything from Gray if he couldn't have me back. I revealed every detail to Sergeant Williams: his infidelity, how I had left him and found refuge with Gray, that he had shown up out of the blue but only because things hadn't worked out with his affair. I left out no detail and painted a clear picture of the story up until this evening.
I skillfully ignored her apology. Just because she had witnessed an intimate moment between Gray and me, she thought that just changed things?
By the time she finally released us from the interrogation, the sky was already turning gray. Before we left the station, she informed us that the firefighting efforts had concluded and Gray was allowed to continue living in his house since it had only sustained minor damage.
There was still no news about Manon and Declan, but Wilder sent word that he had already gone to the clinic and that we should take care of everything else first. He would keep us updated if there were any developments from the hospital.
Despite feeling bone-tired and overwhelmed, I went with Gray toBrewtifulafter spotting the thick smoke plumes in the sky over the mountain.
One last breakfast before we faced the harsh reality waiting for us up there.