The Rocky Road to Ruin

by Meri Allen

  Chapter 38

  A soft touch on my shoulder woke me. My eyelids flew open to the dark.

  Rocky gave a long, drawn-out meow, then I heard him drop to the floor. He called again.

  “What is it, you infernal beast?” I groaned and sat up. As soon as my feet touched the floor, my skin prickled and my senses went on high alert.

  Rocky led me across the darkened hallway to the window in Buzzy’s room. Sprinkles sat up on her royal bed, her eyes gleaming and her head swiveling as I crossed the room. Here I could see to the north, up to the Love Nest and the far end of Farm Lane where the orange gleam of fire pulsed. The pungent smell of smoke rode a soft breeze that gentled the curtains.

  Unlike the previous nights, the flames were bigger, much bigger.

  “Caroline! Get up! Fire!” I shouted.

  I threw on clothes and shoes, grabbed my phone, and raced down the stairs and out the door.

  I stopped for a few seconds to dial 911. “Farm Lane—north end. Fire!” I gasped as I ran toward the glow that silhouetted the Love Nest. As I approached, I could see the cottage wasn’t on fire. The fire was behind it—Aaron’s house. I thought of all the trees and vegetation there … the fire could catch and spread everywhere.

  As I ran full out, I remembered at the last minute the almost invisible barbed-wire fencing around Aaron’s property. The only way in was up his driveway.

  The heat made an almost physical wall as I hurtled toward the house. I held up my arms to protect my face from the scalding heat. Flames consumed the front door, and the pungent scent of gasoline assailed my nose. Over the roar of the flames that consumed the house, I could hear McGillicuddy barking. I raced left, but flames ringed that side of the house. I retraced my steps, skirting a thread of fire that made a barrier around the house. In one spot, at the stone patio, this wall of fire was broken. I skirted heaps of trash, following the sound of McGillicuddy barking, almost drowned out by the crackle of the flames shooting up the side of the house. A blast of heat stole the air from my lungs. A far-off siren added to the cacophony, hyping my adrenaline.

  I looked up. Aaron was at a second-story window, his hands working at his dog’s collar. “Take McGillicuddy!” he shouted. He flung himself over the sill, leaning out to hand the struggling dog out to me.

  “You have to get out. Come on!” I yelled.

  “The doors are blocked,” he rasped.

  “Lower yourself out the window.”

  He dropped McGillicuddy and I somehow caught the wriggling dog, gathering his trembling body against my chest.

  “Riley!” Darwin ran from the back of the house and grabbed my shoulders. “Come away now! It’s not safe!” He dragged me back through the opening in the flames, shielding me with his body. Pru, Willow, and some of the farm interns ran up and gathered around us.

  “There’s a man in there!” I shouted to the firefighters. Darwin led them to the side of the house. McGillicuddy struggled, yelping madly. Trying to soothe him, I stroked his neck, my fingers tangling in the tags hanging from his collar. Suddenly, he nipped me.

  “Ow!”

  Gentle hands touched my shoulders. Dandy’s concerned face loomed out of the dark, yellow in the reflection of the flames. “We can put McGillicuddy in my front yard. It’s fenced, he won’t be able to get out.” Police officers pushed us back as the fire crew aimed hoses at Aaron’s house.

  Dandy steered me to her yard then touched my hand. “My goodness, McGillicuddy broke the skin. Come in, you can sit down.”

  “Riley! Thank God you’re safe!” Caroline ran up and threw her arms around me, setting off another round of barking from McGillicuddy. In the glare of a cruiser’s headlights, I saw the Gravers, Gerri in a flowing ruby velvet robe and turban, and Flo in green sweats, hurry toward us. Emergency vehicles created a wall between us and the fire, and we huddled together in Dandy’s yard, unable to stop watching the flames.

  “Riley, you’re hurt,” Dandy said. “Let’s wash that bite.”

  Rocky threaded my ankles, hissing up at McGillicuddy.

  “McGillicuddy was so scared. I can’t blame him.” I tried to make sense of what I was seeing: Aaron’s house encircled by flames, like a noose being pulled tight.

  An ambulance pulled up as shouts rang from the yard. EMTs pulled a stretcher to the road, Aaron’s form limp on top. I held McGillicuddy tighter.

  When I looked down again Rocky was gone. I hoped his survival instincts would keep him from the vehicles and the fire.

  Radios squawked: “He was trapped in the house … both doors blocked by fire … if the stone patio hadn’t been there … some woman got the dog out.”

  Next thing I knew, the Gravers surrounded me in Dandy’s kitchen as Dandy washed and bandaged my finger, then we crowded into the living room. Outside the picture window, I saw Darwin, Pru, and Willow huddled together, their faces orange in the firelight; the interns, chattering and trying to film the fire on their cellphones; Voelker’s stern face, looking down at Caroline; ambulance lights receding down Farm Lane. The last thing I remembered was the jingle of McGillicuddy’s dog tags as he ran across Dandy’s living room floor, mournfully calling for his master.

  Chapter 39

  “Riley, I brought you some breakfast.”

  I peeled my eyes open. Dad sat next to my bed, Rocky serene in his lap. There was a tray with a teapot, a glass of orange juice, and golden brown toast on the bureau. I sniffed. “Is that Paulette’s cranberry walnut bread?”

  He set Rocky down and got the tray. “You bet.”

  Yellow sunlight streamed through the window. I sat up and he settled the tray on my lap.

  “What time is it?” I yawned. “Did I pass out?”

  He sat again and Rocky blinked up at him. Dad took Rocky back into his lap. “It’s ten o’clock. You were wiped out when Darwin and Pru took you back here and put you to bed. Caroline called me this morning. She had to go to Boston for meetings. She wanted me to tell you that Pru was running things at the ice cream shop and you’re not to get out of bed until you feel ready.” He squeezed my hand. “I wanted to check in on my hero daughter.”

  I gulped some tea. “Hero?”

  He put Rocky on the bed with me and turned his phone so I could see the screen. The heading on the Penniman Post website read “Fire Ravages Farm Lane Home” and under that “Hero Ice Cream Shop Manager Rescues Dog from Flames.”

  I shook my head, sorting through disjointed memories. “Darwin pulled me away from the house. He’s the hero.” I rubbed my eyes and noticed my bandaged finger. “Aaron saved his dog. All I did was catch McGillicuddy and look what I got for my trouble.”

  Dad chuckled, but his eyes were serious as he patted my arm.

  “Aaron put his dog’s life before his own,” I said. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s being treated at the hospital and Donna Danforth is watching McGillicuddy.” Dad frowned. “People are wondering if the fire was started by whoever’s been camping around here.”

  Had the camper escalated to arson? Stretch’s face materialized in my mind. Was Cadillac Ranch unknowingly hanging out with an arsonist? It didn’t feel right. “The camper’s only made cooking fires, and tidy ones at that.” Or had a cooking fire simply gotten out of control? I recalled the ring of fire circling Aaron’s house, the pungent smell of gasoline. That was no accidental fire.

  Dad nodded toward a plastic bin next to the closet. “Paulette thought you’d like another box of your things.” It was my turn to chuckle. Forget the hero business, Paulette was determined to move the rest of my stuff out of the house. Dad and I chatted for a few more minutes, then he gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Off to the bookshop. Glad you’re okay, honey. Check in when you can.”

  Dad went downstairs, trailed by Rocky.

  After I finished Paulette’s delicious toasted bread, I showered, the warm water soothing my tense muscles and releasing the smoky smell from my hair. I dressed in shorts and a pale blue linen shirt. Now what?

 
; Answers. I wanted answers. First, I’d see how McGillicuddy was doing and then check out the scene of the fire.

  The driveway to Aaron’s house was blocked by the Fire Chief’s SUV. Two vans with state police decals parked along the street and I could see the investigators conferring in the clearing in front of Aaron’s house. Smoke seeped from the singed lawn and weeds that ringed the foundation of the structure. The exterior was charred, the windows gaped open, and part of the roof had collapsed.

  I kept walking, my mind reeling. Faint barks came from inside Dandy’s house as I opened the front gate into her rose-filled yard. I knocked at the door but there was no answer.

  Her van wasn’t in her driveway. I walked down her driveway to the sagging garage. Beige curtains covered its front windows but through a side window I saw old lawn furniture, bicycles, and a kayak. No van.

  She must have gone out. I couldn’t believe she’d left McGillicuddy alone. I wondered if he was tearing her house apart.

  I walked up the lane and saw Gerri leaving her house. “Riley!” she called as she rushed toward me. She power walked, doing a little hop every few feet, as her scarves trailed her. I almost laughed when I realized Gerri was running.

  “Riley, what an ordeal you’ve been through!” She gave me a quick hug and I melted at her concern.

  “It was nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done,” I said.

  “Hardly,” she scoffed. “You wouldn’t catch me risking my life for Aaron.” She arranged her scarf around her shoulders and jutted her chin toward my bandaged hand. “I’m glad you’re unscathed—except for where that ungrateful dog bit you.”

  “Where’s Mrs. Danforth?” I asked as we walked past Dandy’s rose-filled yard. “It looks like she left McGillicuddy alone in her house.”

  “I’m sure it wasn’t something she wanted to do. She does like things just so.” Gerri looked at the garage and sighed. “Except for that garage. What an eyesore. It ruins the view from my pergola. Well, we all have our blind spots. Here, she left a note for you—I was bringing it down just now. She had a golf match in Providence this morning and had to leave early. That’s probably why she couldn’t make other accommodation for McGillicuddy.” She pulled a note from a pocket in her tunic top. “She left this before Flo or I woke up. It has the number of the vet on McGillicuddy’s dog tag. She said you should make sure he doesn’t have rabies.”

  “Rabies!” I couldn’t imagine Aaron’s well-loved pet wasn’t vaccinated, but still I reeled as she handed me the note.

  “It’s the same vet Flo uses for Mr. Cuddlesworth.” I glanced at the note and the name Liam Pryce jumped out at me.

  A silver lining. I stuck the note in my pocket. “Mrs., ah, Gerri, Aaron told me that some neighbors were planning on selling. You haven’t changed your mind?”

  “Aaron?” She snorted. “You can’t trust a word he says. I’ll never leave the homestead. You’d have to take me out—what is that vulgar saying?—feet first. No matter what that hussy in the pink car offers.”

  “I guess he meant Mrs. Danforth?”

  She reared back. “If Donna’s moving, that’s a big surprise to me. A very big surprise indeed. But,” Gerri paused, “she is retiring next year and things are very different from when you were in school, Riley. The things students do now. They just broke up a drug ring in the high school last week.”

  We stopped at the driveway into Aaron’s property. Gerri sniffed. “I didn’t think it was possible, but Aaron’s place is now even more of an eyesore.”

  “Did you notice anything unusual last night?” I asked.

  Gerri’s dark eyebrows knit. “I did notice, well, it’s nothing unusual really. We’re all women of a certain age here on the lane. We all have trouble sleeping. Donna must’ve been quite upset by all the goings-on. I noticed the light on in her shed very late. Sometimes she goes there when she can’t sleep.”

  “Before the fire?”

  “No, I was sleeping like a log until I heard the fire engines. This was after we all went back home and most of the emergency vehicles left, very early in the morning. Three or four a.m.?” She adjusted her scarf. “Your actions really were quite heroic, Riley.”

  I watched the investigators inspect the foundation by the charred front door. “Darwin’s the hero. He pulled me away from the house.”

  “Darwin’s a good man.” Gerri waved and called out to the investigators but my mind drifted.

  Darwin hasn’t been himself, Pru had said. Darwin was behind Aaron’s house last night. I’d run up and he’d been there before me.

  I pushed the uncomfortable thoughts away as the fire chief obeyed Gerri’s summons. He didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know from watching the previous night. “I smelled gasoline,” Gerri said, as if accusing him. He shook his head. Even if he’d learned anything, I’m sure he couldn’t divulge any information.

  When we entered the shop, everyone dropped what they were doing and surrounded me. “Are you okay?” “How’s your finger?”

  I was overwhelmed by everyone’s concern. As Pru hugged me, I felt tears well. “I’m fine really.” I blinked them back and said, “I have to make a phone call and then it’s back to work for me.”

  I went into Buzzy’s office and read the note from Dandy. “I don’t want to disturb Riley. Please give her this number from McGillicuddy’s collar. It’s for Dr. Liam Pryce. She must make sure McGillicuddy’s rabies vaccination is up to date.”

  Well, that was one good thing about the morning: I had an excuse to see Dr. Pryce. But no time. A phone call would have to do.

  After I told the receptionist what I needed, she put me on hold. To my surprise, Dr. Pryce’s warm voice came on the line. “Riley, I wanted to reassure you. McGillicuddy has been well cared for and is up to date on all his vaccinations.”

  My heart rate picked up at the sound of his voice.

  “I want to commend you for your bravery. Not everyone would’ve run toward a fire to help like that.”

  He said something else about watching for redness or other signs of infection, but I only heard the end. “And if you have further questions, please call me anytime, or stop in.” Oh, how I wished I could think of some further questions.

  Brandon knocked on the open door.

  I managed to say, “Thank you, Dr. Pryce.”

  I floated for a moment then turned to Brandon. “Yes, Brandon.”

  “We’re out of mocha almond fudge?”

  I tried to focus on my work, but so many customers asked about the fire or congratulated me for saving McGillicuddy. Their concern felt good, but I couldn’t shake the unsettling memory of Darwin running from the back of Aaron’s house.

  At one o’clock Pru handed me a covered dish. “I made you lunch. You’ve been through something very stressful, young lady, and you need to rest. We’ll close tonight.”

  I felt fine but I needed answers. “I’ll head up to the house. Thanks, Pru.”

  As I headed out the door, I saw Darwin in Pru’s kitchen garden.

  He ran over to me. “Riley, how are you?”

  I gave him a hug. “Darwin, you may well have saved my life and McGillicuddy’s.”

  He laughed softly as he rocked back on his heels and jingled the change in his pockets. “McGillicuddy. Take my advice, Riley, next time don’t risk your life for a spoiled little dachshund. That’s not a good trade for the rest of us.”

  “You were up there before I was.” I watched him intently, my stomach churning. “How did you get there so quickly?”

  Darwin ran a hand along his short white beard. “I wasn’t able to sleep, so I took a walk. I walked up to Town Road, then turned and came back. That’s when I saw the flames. Had my phone, thank goodness, and called it in. When I saw the front door was blocked by fire, I ran to the back because I thought I could get in that way. But whoever set the fires blocked the back door too.” He shook his head. “Who could do such a thing?”

  I hated that my first thought was it would be easy eno
ugh to check if Darwin called in the fire. I’d ask Tillie. But I’d never met a man who looked so honest.

  Darwin seemed more relaxed than I’d seen him in a while. “The fire helped me put some things in perspective, Riley. I know Pru told you that Emily and Kyle offered us scholarship money for Willow. But I made a decision last night. Their scholarship was just another name for bribe. I have faith that things’ll work out in the end.”

  Detective Voelker pulled his Penniman Police SUV up to Buzzy’s kitchen door. If he turned his head, he’d see me. He turned his head.

  Sigh. “I’d better go.”

  “Good luck, Riley. Before I forget, peaches are in. Time to make peach ice cream?”

  “Yes, absolutely.” How will I get all those peaches peeled with my hand bandaged?

  I walked up the hill. “Detective Voelker!” He waited by the steps. I remembered last night, how he’d stood close to Caroline, his posture protective, concerned. Was he married, I wondered? I threw a careful look at his left hand—no ring—but I knew several married guys who didn’t wear a wedding band. I felt my wariness warm into something close to friendliness.

  “Would you like some lunch?” I peeled back the cover on the dish. Pru had made a beautiful grain bowl, full of veggies and cheese, enough to feed a family of four.

  “No, thanks,” he cleared his throat. “How are you?”

  My approach had thrown him off. I waved my bandaged finger. “Just a scratch.”

  “I need to take your statement about last night.”

  “Do you mind if I eat this while I talk to you? I’m starving.”

  We went inside and I asked him to sit down at the kitchen table.

  “Coffee?” I said.

  “No, thank you.” He pulled out a pen and notepad. Without Caroline here, he was all business. Sprinkles and Rocky sauntered into the kitchen. Sprinkles yawned and settled into a patch of sunlight. Rocky watched us, his eyes hardly blinking, tail swishing. He was sizing up Voelker. So was I. As I related my experience the previous night, I wondered: How much did I share of my own investigations? Could I get any information from him?