He lowered his hand, and his expression went all business. “Good. Then understand something. My condition for taking this case was that Izzy tell you, not that she get your permission. This is between me and her.”
Tessa stared at him, her anger rising. “Wait a minute, you can’t just blow into my house and tell me how it’s gonna be.”
“Tessa, if I don’t start looking into this, Izzy won’t stop, and if there’s something bad to find, I’d rather it be me than her that finds it. Wouldn’t you?”
“There’s nothing bad to find,” Tessa said. “It’s just her imagination in hyperdrive. She’s sixteen. She’s incapable of being rational about this.” The words sounded good as they came out. If only they weren’t followed by a niggling bit of doubt...
Finn eyed her for a minute, his expression serious. “You don’t think there’s a connection between all these fires?”
“Over the course of some seventeen years?” Tessa felt a tug in her chest, but ignored it. “No.”
“Well, Izzy does,” Finn said. “And I don’t think she’s gonna stop poking around just because you said so.”
“And I don’t think it’s your problem. She’s my sister.”
“She’s my client.”
Tessa threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know why I bother talking to you.”
“Because you need to talk to me,” Finn said. “Because I’m the only person in your life who knows how full of crap you are.”
Tessa narrowed her eyes at Finn and dug her nails into the palm of her hand. “Excuse me?”
Finn sighed. “Tessa. This isn’t you. You’re not the kind of girl who does this. Ignores reality, cowers in corners afraid of social workers—”
“Excuse me? Protecting my sister is cowering now?”
“You’re letting this social worker completely bully you until there’s no you left, and you’re burying your head in the sand over this fire thing, which I personally think might just hold some water. This isn’t like you.”
Tessa felt the rage swell up and over her. How dare he? “Yeah, well, people change when they lose everything that means anything to them in a single night.” Her voice cracked and she took a deep breath, blinking wildly against the tears threatening to come. She was not going to break. Not now. Not now.
Finn’s face was tight, his eyes hard and unreadable. They stared at each other for a moment, neither one of them backing down. Finally, Finn spoke.
“Get over it.”
Tessa blinked, surprised at the verbal slap. “What?”
“I said get over it.” He shook his head, looked at her, his eyes suddenly plaintive. “You were dealt a shit hand, sweetheart. No one’s gonna argue that. I’m not gonna tell you what I did wasn’t total bullshit because it was. I’d give my right arm to take it back, but I can’t. And nothing is going to bring back your mom, or give you back those years without Izzy. But shutting down inside because of all that...” He released a deep breath. “Baby, you lose. Everyone loses when you’re not here.”
“I’m here,” she said tightly. “I’ve been here. I’m not the one who ran off.”
“Oh, yeah, you did,” he said. “Maybe not in the same way, but you did.”
“Oh, so because you managed to talk me out of my underwear in the back of a Volkswagen, you think you have some kind of insight into my soul, is that it?”
“No,” he said, not flinching, not looking away. “That’s not why.”
Tessa rubbed her hand over her face. She didn’t want to go there. Not with Finn. Not with anyone. “Get out of my house.”
Finn went quiet, stared out the window for a minute, then turned his eyes back on her. “I’m going, but I’ll be coming back. Izzy’s my client, and I’m going to figure this out for her.”
“Yeah, best of luck with that, Magnum,” Tessa bit out.
He took a step closer, gesturing angrily up the stairs. “You keep pushing her, babe, she’s gonna push back. She’s a kid. You wanna live in a glass box, that’s your choice, but she is gonna shatter everything all around you if you don’t start listening to her.”
Tessa folded her arms over her chest, embracing the numbness that was finally washing over her. “I thought you said you were leaving.”
Finn shook his head and let out a mirthless chuckle. “Good to see some things don’t change. You’re still stubborn as hell.”
“Let me get the door for you.” She turned and headed to the front door, pulled it open, and stepped back. Finn walked over and stopped in front of her.
“First, I need you to do something for me.”
Tessa felt her mouth drop open. “What, are you kidding me?”
“No,” he said. “I think Babs and Wallace should stay here with you guys.”
Tessa blinked. Hello, left field. “What?”
“If, on the off chance that there’s a bad guy out there setting people on fire, I’d rather there were more eyes here keeping an eye out.”
Tessa opened her mouth to tell him to get out, but paused. She didn’t know what she thought about Izzy’s theories. But she knew she liked Babs, a lot, and the idea of having her there was oddly comforting. And if Izzy was right... well, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone else around.
“Okay,” she said. “Um, Babs can stay in Mom’s room, I guess.”
Finn’s face softened. “Thank you. What about Wallace?”
“Who’s Wallace?”
Finn put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Tessa jumped back. A sound of scurrying came through the bushes at the front of the property, and the little mutt from the shack shot up the steps, past her, and into the house. She looked up at Finn.
“Still not my dog,” Finn said, a smirk curling up on the edge of his mouth. Tessa fought an urge to smile, knowing that if she did, he’d win. Instead, she leaned back against the doorway for support.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“Has Izzy ever had her fingerprints taken?”
Tessa felt a stab of alarm. “What? Why?”
Finn shrugged. “Just making small talk.”
“No. Not that I know of. Why?”
“Like I said. Small talk.” He put his hands in his pockets and glanced out at the street. “I should get moving, though. Is Babs still at the diner?”
Tessa tried to shrug the uneasiness out of her shoulders. It didn’t work. “Um, I guess so. She, uh, insisted on taking my shift.”
“Sounds about right,” he said, smiling. “Something else. In about fifteen minutes, I need you to call Joe and tell him that I was asking questions about the pet shop, and now you can’t find me. Try to sound a little concerned, but not too much.”
Tessa gave him a sharp look. “Why?”
Finn shrugged, started toward the steps. “Been a while since he’s jumped to any conclusions. Man’s gonna need a fix.”
Tessa watched as Finn jaunted down the steps. What had just happened? She remembered ordering him out of her house. Things had seemed about right at that point. Now she was putting up his business partner and his dog and doing him favors. Why?
What is it about you? she heard him saying, an echo in her memory.
She had to wonder.
He was almost to the street when she called his name. He stopped and looked at her, waiting for her to speak. She didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, if she wanted anything other than just to look into his eyes for another moment. For some reason, there was comfort there, and she was running low on comfort at the moment.
After a while, he smiled, touched his fingers to his lips, and tossed her a kiss, then turned and headed down the street.
Tessa watched until he was out of sight, then went inside to have a drink and call Joe.
Chapter Thirteen
Finn ducked under the tape at Vickie’s and gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. He’d already wiped the railing, the doorknob, and one of the outer windows where he’d seen some smudges that may or ma
y not have been Izzy’s work. He figured the chances were slim that Izzy’d ever had her fingerprints taken. It was a small town; Tessa would have known about it. But still, when it came to the Scuderi girls, Finn knew he was better safe than sorry.
Which was why he needed Joe.
After a moment, the room started to come together. The office door, charred within an inch of its life. Empty cages lining the south wall. All manner of pet food lining the north. Cash register. Counter. There wasn’t a whole lot of soot in the store itself, definitely not enough to get Izzy’s hands so dirty. Finn made a beeline for the office.
“Ten years,” he muttered. “Ten years breaking and entering all over New York City, and I’m gonna get caught in a pet store in Lucy’s Lake, Vermont.” He knew that investigation teams very rarely returned to a scene once they’d processed it, but sometimes they did. He wasn’t in the mood to roll the dice on their finding any evidence of Izzy if this was going to be one of those times.
He clumsily handled the doorknob and pushed into the office. Thanks to the full moon and windows that had apparently exploded outward in response to the heat, there was enough light for him to see the basics of the office. The blackest area was the corner, and a little investigating showed a series of three-way extension cords melted and mangled into a jumble of electrical cords leading to the coffeemaker, the computer, the small microwave, the printer, etc.
Well. Nothing suspicious about that, except that it pointed to an absurd level of stupidity on Vickie’s part. In the day of power surge strips, there was no excuse for that kind of electrical setup, but it certainly wasn’t rare by any standard. People did it all the time, took their chances. It certainly looked like an accidental fire so far.
His eyes adjusting more to the limited light, he started looking for places where the soot had been disturbed by Izzy’s snooping fingers. Vickie’s desk drawer. The filing cabinet in the corner. The knob on the back door. Finn went around touching every place where Izzy might have been, then went through the back door and up the outside steps to Vickie’s front door, where he found sooty prints on Vickie’s mailbox, but not on the doorknob.
Interesting.
Finn carefully wiped the mailbox, then checked out the door lock so he’d know what tools to bring when he returned to pick it.
The store’s front door opened. Showtime. Finn headed down the steps and back into Vickie’s office just in time for Joe to open the door, his hand carefully swaddled in a handkerchief, then scope the place with a flashlight until it landed on something interesting: Finn. On cue, Finn opened the drawer to Vickie’s desk.
“Hey, good thinking. Can you point that thing over here?” Finn said, shutting the drawer and ducking his head under the desk.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Joe said. “This is still an active investigation.”
“Really?” Finn popped back up from under the desk. “So you think it was arson, then?”
Finn couldn’t see Joe’s expression, but suspected it was dead serious. “Why don’t you tell me?”
Finn shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. I’m just a guy looking for his keys.”
He moved past Joe out into the store. Joe, of course, followed.
“Do you know if anyone found a set of keys during the investigation?” Finn asked. “One deadbolt key, one outer door key, one mail key? All on a Marvin the Martian key ring?”
“You’d have to call the county and ask them.”
Finn turned to face his brother. “You work for the fire department, right?”
“I volunteer.”
“Think you could get me access to the files?”
Joe eyed Finn suspiciously. “Once they’re done with the investigation, it’s possible I could go through channels—”
“Oh, Jesus,” Finn said. “I’m not talking about channels. I mean, can you get me access to anything? Pictures, information, anything?”
Joe crossed his arms over his chest. “Why do you want access?”
“You obviously have no idea how hard it is to find a Marvin the Martian key chain.”
“What are you up to, Finn?”
“Me? Nothing. So you really haven’t looked?”
“For your keys? No.”
“Not for my keys. How would you know my keys went missing as I was heroically rescuing itty-bitty furry things? No, I mean, you haven’t tried to get access to the investigation? Not even one little peek? You’re not curious about it at all?”
“My curiosity isn’t the issue,” Joe said. Amazing he didn’t choke on all that sanctimony. “It’s classified information. Investigative team only.”
Finn took a moment to absorb this, then huffed out a laugh. “You’re kidding.”
“No.”
Finn paused. “You’re kidding.”
Joe didn’t respond.
“Are you for real? Here you have a possible sister crime to the one that may have caused Karen Scuderi’s death, both of which you suspect your brother of committing, and you haven’t even taken a peek at the files?”
“I’m not on the investigative team.”
“So... what? You’re saying the only reason you haven’t taken a look is because you’re not allowed?”
Joe said nothing. Finn let out a little whistle.
“Wow. You are amazing. If you have that kind of self-control in bed, you’re gonna make some nice librarian very happy someday.”
“What are you doing here, Finn?”
Finn took another look around the store, let out a sigh of disappointment. “Not finding my keys, looks like.” He looked up at Joe and grinned. “Well, see ya, bro. It was great having this little chat.”
“I never said I suspected you,” Joe said.
Finn let his grin fade. “Never said you didn’t.”
They stared each other down for a moment, and Finn felt the anger rise. Despite his better judgment, he gave in to it. “So, just out of curiosity, why do you think I would burn down Karen Scuderi’s place?”
Joe sighed. “I don’t think you meant to hurt Karen.”
Finn had to laugh at that. “Of course not. What’s the harm in burning down a woman’s livelihood? Still, I can’t come up with a motive for myself. Can you?”
Joe shrugged. “She didn’t like you dating Tessa. She attacked you with a two-by-four.”
“Oh, hell, Joe. If being chased with a two-by-four by a woman who wanted to put some distance between me and her daughter motivated me to burn places down, then 1860s Atlanta would have nothing on this place.”
Joe didn’t so much as crack a smile. “You used to mess around with explosives. You’ve got experience with flammable materials.”
“What, you’re talking about the nativity scene? I was sixteen and that was a prank. A prank is not murder.”
“I never said murder,” Joe said.
“Just arson with a side of manslaughter, then?”
This was followed by a long silence. Joe, carefully choosing his words. Which meant that Finn had pretty much hit the nail on the head.
“You were a kid. Maybe you didn’t know Karen was in there.” Joe took a step forward. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened.”
“You really are a piece of work, you know that?” Finn said. “You’re just determined to believe that I’m no good.”
“About as determined as you are to prove me right.”
Finn let out a sharp breath. “Well, hey. I may be a murderous good-for-nothing, but I do have a knack for knowing when a conversation is over.”
He turned and started toward the door.
“If they need to come back here for anything,” Joe called after him, “I’m going to have to report that I saw you here.”
Finn didn’t stop moving.
“I’m counting on it, bro.”
***
Tessa scrubbed the last plate with yellow rubber hands and looked up at the clock. Nineteen minutes to ten. The living room was clean. Bills all ready to go in the m
ail tomorrow. The only thing she hadn’t done was wash the windows, but she wasn’t about to do that. She was desperate to distract herself, but not that desperate.
Everybody loses when you’re not here. She’d heard his voice in her head all night, and it was really pissing her off. Where did he get off judging her? She’d done what she needed to do. She hadn’t shut down. She’d moved forward. It was what her mother would have wanted her to do, and she did it, damnit.
The click-clack of dog nails sounded softly on the linoleum behind her. She smiled, turned, and looked down at Wallace as she pulled the rubber gloves off her hands. “There’s nothing wrong with me, right, Wallace?” She dropped the gloves on the counter, then crouched down to his level. “I’m cute. I’m a good dancer. I know how to have fun. Right?”
Wallace wagged his tail and wedged himself between her legs, resting his snout on her left knee. She scratched him behind the ears, then snuggled her face next to his.
“Wanna go to Vegas and get married, Wallace?” She pulled her face up and scratched under his chin. “I could use a guy like you in my life. Silent and loyal.”
Wallace raised his head and lapped at her face. Tessa laughed lightly, pushed herself up, and wandered into the living room, where she stopped and stared out the window. Wallace followed her and sat at her feet. She looked down at him and smiled.
“You gonna be my protector, big guy?”
There was a knock at the front door and Wallace turned around three times and thunked himself down on the rug.
“Guess that answers that question,” Tessa said as she pulled the door open to see Babs, cashmere coat draped casually over a waitress uniform. She had a suitcase tucked under one arm and a plastic bag holding the clothes she was wearing earlier in the other hand.
“Good evening!” Babs’s face broke out in a wide grin as she stepped inside and set her suitcase down in the foyer. “Finn tells me we’re to be roommates. I’m so thrilled to be staying in this lovely town for a while longer. Thank you.”
“No problem,” Tessa said. She shut the door behind Babs and wrapped her arms around her stomach. “So, when did you see Finn?”
The Comeback Kiss Page 13
