Blazing Summer (Darling Investigations Book 2)

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Who says I have a scowl?”

  “I know how much you hate that line. Your scowl is a given.” He turned serious. “Fill out the complaint, Summer. You won’t be part of some elaborate scheme to catch the mayor and his son in some undercover sting.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re working on your big case, and I suspect it has to be something to do with Dixie. You won’t let the mayor get in the way of that.”

  I started to protest . . . until it occurred to me that he hadn’t asked for any details. If I had to lie to him, much better to tell a lie of omission than a blatant untruth. As long as the mayor left Dixie alone, I’d let him go about this seedy business until next season.

  Luke sighed. “Summer, fill out the paperwork, and help me get Elijah Sterling off the force. Trust me, he’s much more dangerous running around with a badge than without, even if you’re tryin’ to tie him to something. We’ll deal with him and Garner Sterling later.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thank you.”

  I could hear the relief in his voice when he asked, “How’s tonight lookin’ for you?”

  “Too soon to tell,” I said. “I’ve got a lot of people to interview, but I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out.”

  Right now I had to focus on getting Elijah Sterling off the force and protecting Dixie.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The form to file a complaint was more tedious than I’d expected, but I supposed it was serious business to accuse an officer of excessive force, and plenty of documentation was needed to back it up.

  I was in the middle of writing my statement when I heard April Jean’s voice in the waiting room. “My trailer’s still burned down, Mayor Sterling!”

  I moved to the opening of Luke’s office. April Jean was standing in front of Amber’s desk—directly in my line of sight—and she quickly turned her wrath on me. “Why were you really out at my trailer yesterday, Summer Baumgartner? Were you scopin’ it out for your cousin?”

  My mouth dropped open in shock. I advanced toward her, but the look on her face suggested she didn’t want me too close, so I stopped several feet away. “No! It’s just like we told you yesterday—I was with Luke when he got the call, and since he was off duty, I went with him. I would have been perfectly happy to hang out in the truck.”

  A sneer spread across her face. “You can’t deny it’s pretty convenient that you showed up at my trailer the day it went up in flames.”

  “April Jean,” I said, softening my voice, “I don’t know anything about what happened to your trailer, but I’d like to help you figure it out.”

  Disgust washed over her face. “More like help your cousin get away with it.”

  I pushed out a breath of frustration. “Dixie didn’t do this, but I want to find out who did.”

  April Jean shook her head. “You just stay the hell away from me.” Then she stomped out of the front door to her car.

  “Ain’t that a fine how-do-you-do?” Amber said from behind me. “I’ve never seen April Jean that snippy before.”

  “Well,” I said, realizing belatedly that Tony was still filming, “she just lost her home, and she’s under a lot of stress. Sometimes it brings out the worst in people.”

  “Like stress made you punch that guy in the pineapple shirt in public,” she said with a nod, reminding me of the drunk guy who’d demanded I say Gotcha! In all fairness, I’d been on edge after just getting belittled by the reality TV producer for being too vanilla.

  “Palm trees,” I said with a grumble. Punching that guy had been the catalyst to get me here, so I couldn’t regret it too much. Especially since he’d deserved it.

  Amber glanced over the counter at the clipboard in my hand. “Did you finish your form?”

  “Not yet.” As hostile as April Jean had been, I was worried about Dixie. What if April Jean headed over to the office to confront her? I pulled out my phone and sent Dixie a text.

  I just had a run-in with April Jean at the police station and wanted to warn you in case she shows up. xoxo.

  I wanted to check on Dixie in person, so I finished the form as quickly as possible and handed it over to Amber.

  “What now?” I asked. “Does Luke pull him off the force?”

  “I don’t know about that, but Luke wrote him up and made him take a paid leave. He’ll be back to work in a few days.”

  Then what was the point? But I told myself Luke needed a paper trail, a solid foundation to back up his decisions regarding his renegade officer. At least I didn’t need to worry about Officer Sterling harassing me in the near future. I could deal with Elijah Sterling, Sweet Briar resident. After this morning, I was even looking forward to it.

  The guys packed up their equipment, and we headed out to my car. The clouds had cleared off, and the day was heating up. I turned on the a/c, but the vents were a touch loud, so I stepped out of the car to place my call to Garrett.

  “Garrett Newcomer,” he said when he answered.

  “Hey, Garrett, this is Summer Butler, Teddy’s cousin.”

  “Summer,” he said, sounding surprised, “what can I do for you?”

  “I know that you were working Bruce Jepper’s fire, but I was wondering if you also responded to the fire at April Jean Thornberry’s trailer out on Highway 10 last night.”

  “Yeah. I was there. I live out that way, and I was home for the night, so it was an easy drive. I keep all my gear in the trunk.”

  “I still can’t believe you just volunteer your time to put out fires. If you lived in a big city, you’d get paid.”

  “Yeah,” he said, “but I like livin’ in Sweet Briar. Most people have hobbies. Mine just happens to be puttin’ out fires.”

  Seemed like a dangerous hobby to me. “Say, do you think we could get together and talk about what you do as a volunteer firefighter?” When he didn’t respond, I added, “Last season we focused on Teddy and what he did for the sheriff’s department to help bring down Cale Malone. I’m sure the fires will play a part this season, so I’m thinking we could put you in the show—another hero, just a different branch.” I wasn’t sure that he’d be allowed to tell us many details, but it was worth a try.

  He was silent for a moment, then said, “Sure. I’m guessin’ you’ll be bringin’ your cameras.”

  “If we want to put you on the show,” I teased. “And I do want to put you on the show.”

  “I have to work late, but I can be home by seven. Will that work?”

  I hid my disappointment and frustration. I had hoped to have dinner with Luke, but figuring out who’d set April Jean’s fire was more important than my love life. Maybe I could still head over to Luke’s for a late dinner after shooting at Garrett’s house. “That sounds great, Garrett. Thanks.”

  “I’ll text you my address.”

  I hung up and looked back at the guys. If we couldn’t see Garrett until seven, we needed to start interviewing the people who’d attended the party. Which included Rick Springfield’s mysterious cousin. I still knew next to nothing about Nash Jackson, but it occurred to me that I might be close to a source who did. Hopefully, she’d give me the info I wanted without being too gabby about my asking.

  I held up a finger to the guys, then went back inside the police station.

  Amber’s face lifted as the door opened. “Oh, you’re back.” She glanced around me. “You didn’t bring your cameras this time.”

  “That’s because I just have a quick question. This morning I ran into someone when I was working on a case, and since you said you see and hear all kinds of things, I thought you might know something about him.”

  She grinned from ear to ear. “Finally, someone takes me seriously.” She rested her hands on the counter and leaned forward. “Shoot.”

  “Well,” I said, resting my hip on the short counter wall, “this morning I was talking to Rick Springfield out on County Road—”

  Her eyes flew wide open.
“Rick Springfield? I have two questions. What were you talkin’ to him about, and does Luke know?”

  “The quick answers are his alligator and no.”

  “His alligator? He really has one? I thought that was an urban legend.”

  I grimaced. “I can assure you that Kitty very much exists.”

  “Kitty?”

  “Yep. I got up close and personal with Kitty right before Rick’s cousin tossed me up onto my truck. I want to know more about the cousin.”

  “Herbert? His beer gut’s so big I’m surprised he could lift you up and over the bulge, let alone toss you.”

  I shook my head. “Not Herbert. This guy was in his late twenties or early thirties and had dark-brown hair. He was tall and pretty fit.”

  She winked. “No wonder you want to find him.”

  I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Not for that. I’m datin’ Luke.”

  Amber looked like she was a five-year-old who’d just gotten a pony for Christmas. “You two are datin’?”

  Oh crap. Luke hadn’t told her . . . Then a new thought hit me.

  Oh. Crap. He hadn’t told people we were together. Did that mean he was waiting to see if we worked out?

  As soon as the panic eased off, I reminded myself that he’d kissed me in public this morning after declaring himself my boyfriend on the show last night. I was being paranoid.

  Waving off her question, I said, “He came over for dinner last night.”

  “With Teddy? He hates Luke.”

  Sounded like Amber knew her stuff, all right. “Back to Rick’s cousin. His name is Nash Jackson, and he drives a really nice blue Dodge Ram pickup. What can you tell me about him?”

  Her mouth twisted to the side. “He doesn’t sound familiar.”

  “Really?”

  She shrugged. “Sorry. It happens occasionally. I’ll keep my ears open for anything about him.”

  “Can you keep it from Luke?”

  Her eyes narrowed, and her back stiffened. “So you are interested in this Nash Jackson.”

  At least she was loyal to her boss.

  “No,” I groaned out. “I’m not. I just don’t want Luke to know because I’m trying to keep my big case from him. The more he finds out about it, the more likely he is to guess what I’m doin’.” I paused and leaned my arm on the counter. “You know, you could be a big help to the show, Amber. I need someone to feed me information without blasting everything on the Sweet Happenings page.”

  She chuckled. “Maybelline has a hard time sittin’ on a scoop.”

  I knew she was capable of it. She’d kept quiet about something involving Otto this past April, but I got the impression it was a one- or two-time thing, something I’d be foolish to count on. “But this has to stay between you and me. You can’t tell Luke when you’re givin’ me information.”

  She looked leery. “What kind of information?”

  I stood upright and held up both hands. “Nothing confidential. Right now I’m more interested in what you know about people around town.”

  Her face brightened. “Okay.”

  “But—and this is the but that might make you change your mind—I don’t want you to share the information with me on camera.”

  Excitement filled her eyes. “Oh! I’ll be like your Deep Throat.”

  I grinned. “Exactly. You can be my mysterious, anonymous source, and everyone will go crazy trying to figure out who you are.”

  She clapped her hands together. “I love it.”

  For a spur-of-the-moment plan, this was going better than could be expected. I pulled out my phone. “If you’ve got a moment, we could start right now. There are a few people I’m hoping to question, and it might help if you could tell me what you know about them first.”

  She settled back in her seat, beaming. “Go for it.”

  “Gabby Casey.”

  Amber rolled her eyes. “Total. Bitch. She tries to pass off cheap knockoffs as designer. It works around here because no one knows the difference, which only makes the whole thing pathetic and sad since no one even cares.”

  Ouch.

  I copied the whole list of party guests, pasted it in a note on my phone, and typed in what Amber had said. “Do you know if she’s friends with Dixie or April Jean?”

  “Nah, I know she and Dixie worked at the Dairy Queen together when Dixie came back from . . .” Amber cringed. “You know.”

  Juvie.

  She shifted in her seat. “I don’t think they were enemies or anything, but Dixie was interested in Trent, which made Gabby instantly dislike her. April Jean dislikes them both for the same reason.”

  “How much does April Jean dislike Dixie? Enough to set her up?”

  Amber went still. “I don’t know. She seemed genuinely upset when she came in lookin’ for Luke and then the mayor. She lost all her drawings in the fire, and she was pretty proud of ’em.”

  “Did you see them?” I asked with a raised brow.

  She leaned forward with a conspiratorial gleam in her eyes. “No. But I heard about ’em. Everyone in town has.”

  “I saw them in person yesterday. They were . . . something. It truly was a loss, but do we know if they really burned up? She could have taken them down, then set a fire.”

  Amber looked surprised. “You think April Jean burned down her own trailer and is blaming Dixie to throw off the sheriff?”

  I rubbed my temple. “Honestly? I’m not sure.” I needed to be more careful about brainstorming aloud. “Back to Gabby Casey,” I said. “Do you happen to know where I might find her? I take it she doesn’t work for the Dairy Queen anymore.”

  “Nope. She works for an insurance agent. Thelma Kuntz.”

  I perked up. “Hey, that’s Bruce Jepper’s insurance agent.” Now I really needed to talk to Gabby. “Anything else about her?”

  “I think she’s still livin’ with Mark Willis, but last I heard, they were fightin’ big-time since Trent came back to town.”

  “He’s jealous?” I asked. His name was also on the list of attendees. Was he the Mark who’d been at the poker game with Bruce, Trent, Wizard, and Garrett?

  “Like I said, it’s no secret she’s always had a thing for Trent Dunbar.” She shrugged. “Most girls did.”

  “And you?”

  She rolled her eyes so far back in her head I saw mostly white. “Please. I’m not stupid.”

  But neither was Dixie. I reminded myself that loyalty had played a part—she’d stuck by him because he’d stuck by her while she was in juvie. “You’re too young to have graduated with them. At least by a couple of years.” I guessed her to be around twenty-one or twenty-two. “How do you know so much about them?”

  “My sister graduated with Trent. And it wasn’t a big graduating class. About fifty.”

  “Gotcha. And Mark Willis? Did he graduate with them too?”

  “He graduated with Trent’s brother, Troy.”

  “Ah . . . Troy.” I felt bad for thinking ill of the dead, especially someone who’d died so young, but Troy had been as much of a scumbag as his brother.

  “Did you know Troy?” she asked.

  “Yeah. He was in Teddy’s class.” And Teddy had had plenty of run-ins with the kid. I cocked my head. “If Mark Willis was pissed about his girlfriend wanting Trent, then Trent probably isn’t his favorite person.”

  “That’s an understatement.”

  “Where does Mark work?”

  “Dunbar Lumber. In the lumberyard.”

  Now, that had to sting. “Do you know if he has a grudge against April Jean or Dixie?”

  She shrugged. “Not really, but I know for a fact he slept with April Jean before he started datin’ Gabby. April Jean had a drawing of him up on her wall. When Gabby found out, she was pissed.”

  “And when did she find out?”

  “A couple of weeks ago. She and Mark have only been together for a month or so. He slept with April Jean a month or two before that. Gabby and April Jean got into a huge girl fight over it,
hair pulling included. Willy had to go break it up.”

  “Did he charge either of them?”

  “Nah. He has a crush on Gabby, and April Jean scares him, so he let them off with a warning.”

  “How did Mark feel about being up on April Jean’s wall?”

  “He loved it . . . until Gabby found out. When he asked April Jean to pull it down, she told him no.”

  So Mark had a motive to burn down the trailer too. Interesting.

  I was getting ready to ask her about the next name on the list—Amelia Bourdain—when my phone vibrated with a text. I slipped it out of my pocket, my heart catching when I saw it was from Dixie.

  I have a situation at the office. Can you come ASAP?

  I answered, I’m still at the police station. I’ll be right there.

  I slipped a business card out of my pocket and handed it to Amber. “Would you text me at this number so I can get ahold of you later? I have more names on my list, but I need to get back to the office.”

  Before she could do anything other than grab the card, her phone rang. Holding up a finger, she answered, “Sweet Briar Police Department, how can I direct your call?” Frowning, she shook her head. “Slow down, Hugo.” She paused and listened for a moment. “Okay, I’ll send Luke or Willy over. No!” she said emphatically. “Do not do anything. Willy or Luke will take care of it.” She hung up, groaning, and shot me a sympathetic grimace. “There’s a disturbance of some kind outside your office. I’m calling Willy to go check it out. I think he’s closer.”

  “Thanks, Amber.” I headed for the door, then stopped and turned around. “You’ve really helped me. If I can ever help you with anything, just let me know, okay?”

  She looked surprised. “Okay. Thanks.”

  When I got in the car, Tony said, “What were you doing in there? Writing up the whole damn town?”

  “I was getting information about the people on my list until Amber got a call about a disturbance outside our office.” I pulled out of the parking space. “And seconds before that, I got a text from Dixie asking us to come back ASAP.”

  “Any idea what’s going on?” Chuck asked.

  “Not a clue, but I’m worried April Jean might have done something.”