“How so?”
She shrugged. “A lot of guys really like Dixie, but she can’t seem to commit. I used to wonder if she was waitin’ for Trent to grow up and marry her, but now I wonder if she just needed to let go of him, you know?”
“Yeah.” It only brought home how much I didn’t know about my cousin’s life. But that was one of the reasons I’d come home—to get to know my cousins better. But first I needed to find out who’d drugged Dixie . . . and why. “Do you know if anyone else was in the house when she went to the bathroom?”
“I don’t remember,” she said. “Maybe. People were comin’ and goin’, gettin’ more drinks. Trent had beer on tap in his dad’s bar inside.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a text from Bill.
We’ve gotten as much B-roll as we need. Are you going to make it over, or should we leave?
I glanced up at Clementine. I doubted she had much else to tell me.
I’m wrapping up and I’m about to walk over. We REALLY need to talk to Gabby and Mark. Especially if they were part of the small group who’d stayed at the party late into the night.
After I stuffed my phone back into my pocket, I pulled out a business card and slid it across the table to Clementine. “If you think of anything else that you think might be helpful, could you let me know?”
She picked up the card and scanned it before lifting her eyes to mine. “What exactly are you lookin’ for?”
I hadn’t told her about Dixie being drugged, and although I was sure she could figure it out from my line of questioning, I wasn’t ready to just announce it yet. I reached into my purse, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and set it on the table. “I think someone wants to hurt Dixie, and I’m trying to figure out who it is.”
“Then April Jean is your number one suspect, because she hates that girl.”
I stood and gave her a grim smile. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
I headed back in the direction of the office, then turned right. The insurance office was two blocks to the east, a few buildings down from the theater.
After I’d walked one block, I caught the faint hint of smoke. I crossed the street, and something caught my eye halfway down the block. Someone wearing a gray hoodie darted out of an abandoned thrift store—a guy, based on his height and his broader upper body. He took off running toward the end of the street, sticking close to the buildings and staying in the shadows.
Why would someone wear a hoodie in this heat, and why was he sneaking off? This guy was obviously up to something.
“Hey!” I called out, heading toward him, but he raced across the street and around the corner, over to Main Street.
I stopped, realizing it was pointless to pursue him. Just as I was about to turn around and continue toward the insurance office, the burning smell became stronger, and wisps of smoke floated up from the thrift store.
Oh, crap. I’d just seen the arsonist in action, and I knew for a fact it hadn’t been Dixie.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I dug out my phone as I ran down the street, dialing 911. The building was quickly becoming engulfed in flames. The dispatcher answered within two rings.
“I just saw someone set a fire,” I said, trying to stay calm as the smoke grew thicker. The building was sandwiched between another vacant building and a bakery that had closed at two. I glanced at the address painted above the doorway, which was difficult to see through the smoke escaping out of the broken window in the door. “It’s at 501 Pine Street. The old thrift shop. Send someone quick. It’s spreading fast.”
“We’ll have someone there right away.”
I hung up and called Bill. “Get over to Pine Street. I just saw someone set the abandoned thrift store on fire!”
“What?”
I heard sirens in the distance. “Hurry.”
Just as I was hanging up, I saw a car turn the corner. It barely came to a halt before Connor’s crew jumped out and started unpacking their gear, but there was no sign of Connor himself. Nearly a minute later, Connor rounded the corner, his chest heaving with exertion. Lauren said something to him, and he jogged toward the front of the burning building. She shot me a glare when she saw me.
Connor took one look at me, and anger filled his eyes. “Back off, Summer!”
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to check his appearance in the screen, but something else fell out of his pocket and hit the ground.
A lighter.
“And we’re rolling,” Lauren shouted as she shot me a dirty look. She held up three fingers and began to count down. “Three, two . . .”
Connor’s face lit up with his fake smile, and he started talking to the cameras. “The arsonist has struck again in the once-sleepy town of Sweet Briar.”
“How do you know it’s an arsonist?” I called out to him.
“Go away, Summer!” he shouted.
I moved closer to him, surprised to see his face covered in sweat. It was hot outside, but not hot enough for him to be that sweaty. How long had he been out in the heat? “How do you know the fire was started by an arsonist?”
“Because there’s an arsonist running around town!”
That was true, but why did he seem so manic about it? Was he that desperate for a good case? “But a lot of fires are accidental. You can’t know for certain that it was arson.”
“Get out of here, Summer! Go get your own story!”
My crew pulled into a parking space toward the end of the street, so I left Connor to his guessing game and headed down toward them. Bill got out, cursing under his breath. “Lauren beat us here.”
“Connor’s certain it was the arsonist, and of course he’s right, but he’s just guessing. He doesn’t know anything.”
Connor continued with a stream of word vomit, clearly uncertain about what he was supposed to be saying. “We arrived first to the scene to look for clues.” He glanced behind him toward the burning building. “Yes, the building is on fire, our first clue that this heinous act was perpetrated by an arsonist.”
“I’m surprised Connor knows such a big word,” Tony said.
“And he seems to think he’s a news reporter,” Chuck said with a grin.
Lauren stood behind the cameras, reached into the bag hanging from her shoulder, and pulled out a flask. She took a long drag, then stuffed it back into her purse and started barking orders.
I took satisfaction in the confirmation that working with Connor was a nightmare. Maybe it would help her appreciate me more.
“I wonder if he started it,” Tony said.
I turned to him in surprise. “What makes you say that?”
He shrugged. “I know someone on the camera crew working with Connor. She texted earlier to ask about you nearly getting run over in the street.” He held up a hand when I started to protest. “I didn’t tell her anything. I’m loyal to you, especially since it sounds like her day was a snooze. She texted that Connor said not to worry, he had his own excitement planned.”
“You think Connor Blake started this fire?” Bill asked with a deadpan expression.
Oh, my God. What if Tony was right?
“I saw someone,” I said. “A man, I think, in a gray hoodie. I saw him run out of the building, and then he took off, sticking to the shadows.”
“Really?” Bill asked with excitement in his voice.
“Yeah. Connor’s team showed up as soon as I called the fire in, but he didn’t show up until nearly a minute later, running and out of breath. He was all hot and sweaty. And . . .” I paused, wondering if I should share this next part, but why not? We were just speculating, and this was too good not to mention. “He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and a lighter fell out.”
“So the lighter was on top of the cell phone,” Tony said. “Because he’d just set the fire.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But we can’t jump to that conclusion.”
“We know he’s not a smoker,” Chuck said. “Thanks to the
Connor Life.”
Tony chuckled. “My friend Dee said he threw a fit this morning when they stopped at a convenience store so Karen could go to the bathroom. He complained about being too close to the gas fumes.”
“Did you see how tall the guy was?” Bill asked. “Was he Connor’s height?”
I grimaced. “It all happened so fast, and then he darted into the shadows.”
“What kind of pants did he have on?” Bill asked.
“Jeans.”
Connor was a sweaty mess, his perfect hair now damp and plastered to his forehead. He kept shooting nervous glances at the fire like it was going to jump out and cause him to burst into flames.
Tony eyed my ex-costar suspiciously. “Connor has on jeans.”
“And so do half of the other people in this town,” Chuck said.
“But those people don’t look as suspicious as he does.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “Connor just got into town a day or two ago. The first fire was last Friday.”
“Connor got into town last Friday,” Tony said. “Dee said Karen was complaining about trying to keep him under wraps so Lauren could surprise you with him on Monday.”
“That’s a stretch, don’t you think?” I asked. “He’s probably nervous because he’s terrible at this. Look.” I gestured toward him.
Connor had started rambling about items that could have caught on fire inside the building. “. . . a desk, possibly an office chair . . . although the metal wouldn’t catch on fire . . .” He swiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “There could be pencils in there. Made of wood. I’m sure those are very flammable.”
Bill stared at him in disbelief. “He’s not known for thinking things through. The tabloids have been full of stories of Connor Blake going off the deep end. Maybe he decided to create his own stories.”
“Before the show even started?” I asked. “Lauren gave him all the good stories. Why would he bother?”
“Maybe he didn’t know that,” Tony said. “Dee said he’s obsessed with having better segments than you. And you’re coming up with your own. He can’t let you best him with that too.”
I sucked in a breath and instantly regretted it when I got a lungful of smoky air. I coughed.
“And there’s something else,” Tony added. “You said he was at the fire yesterday. He was working the scene before you got there.”
“And,” Bill said, “he was insistent that he get the fire cases.”
“True.” Still, we couldn’t just accuse him of arson. “Maybe Dixie knows something,” I said, scanning the growing crowd. “I don’t see her anywhere.” Had Lauren turned her away? Surely Dixie would have told me before now. I sent her a quick text.
Where are you? There’s a fire downtown on Pine Street, and I saw the arsonist.
A fire truck pulled up in front of the fire from the opposite side of the street, and we watched the firefighters jump out and start suiting up. More cars pulled into the nearby parking spots as people stopped to check out the latest excitement.
“I’m telling you,” Tony said, gesturing to Connor. “He looks guilty as shit.”
He had a point. Connor’s shirt was soaked through, although to be fair, he was standing close to a now-raging fire. Still, there was no denying that the look on his face read pure guilt. We might be onto something.
“I saw the person who started the fire,” I said, “but I never saw his face, so we should be careful about accusing Connor without more proof. He’s liable to sue us for slander.” Lord knew I had enough potential lawsuits on my hands.
“You saw who started the fire?” a male voice asked behind me. I turned around to see Garrett Newcomer opening the trunk of the car next to us.
“Oh, hey . . . yeah.”
He pulled out a pair of pants attached to boots from the trunk and dropped them to the ground. “What did you see?”
As he kicked off his shoes and stepped into the pants, I told him what I’d told my crew.
His mouth pinched with concern as he pulled his suspenders over his shoulders. “This is the fourth fire in less than a week. This guy is dangerous. Where’s Luke?” He looked around the crowd as he grabbed his fireman’s jacket out of his open trunk. “You need to tell him.”
“I plan to.”
“But you saw the arsonist,” Tony said, obviously gloating. “You need to let us interview you on camera with the fire in the background.” A huge grin spread across his face. “Connor can’t report seeing himself.”
I shot him a dark look.
“Hey, it’s true.”
Garrett slipped his arms through the straps of his oxygen tank. “I would think the fact that you personally saw the arsonist would be great for your show. You should definitely play it up. The publicity might help us catch him.”
He was right, but the suggestion caught me by surprise. I was sure Luke would have asked me to keep quiet.
As though sensing my hesitation, Garrett said, “If this guy is worried about you identifying him, it might make you a target.”
“What?”
“Hear me out.” He moved closer and held my gaze. “But if you take this to the public, the whole world will be watching. I suspect the guy will be less likely to go after you.”
I made a face. “Not the whole world. Only about thirty percent of the eighteen-to-twenty-five demographic.”
Bill chuckled.
Garrett tugged his helmet onto his head. “You and I should definitely talk later, cameras or no cameras.” He started to walk off, then stopped. “But in the meantime, promise me you’ll tell Luke.”
I couldn’t figure out why he thought I wouldn’t, but he took my confusion as hesitation.
He looked me in the eye. “As soon as I finish here, I’m texting Teddy to let him know what’s going on. I know he’ll make sure you’re safe.” Then, before I could protest, he ran over and grabbed a hose to help several other guys who were already spraying down the fire.
I grumbled under my breath about being able to take care of myself.
“Are you going to tell Luke?” Bill asked.
“Of course I will,” I said, regretting that I sounded so indignant. “I’m not sure why Garrett thinks I’d try keepin’ it to myself.”
“Because it’s a scoop, and that’s exactly what Connor would do,” Tony said.
“Well, I’m not Connor,” I said in disgust while I scanned their group. “Where’s Dixie? I can’t believe she hasn’t shown up for this.” I glanced down at my phone, getting worried when I didn’t see a reply from her.
“Maybe Lauren turned her down, and she left,” Bill said, voicing my own thought.
I sent her another text.
Dixie, I need you to answer me. This is important.
When another minute passed without her responding, I started getting really worried.
Connor was making exaggerated gestures toward the building, and I was about to walk over and ask Lauren if she knew where Dixie was when Luke’s patrol car turned down the street. As soon as he parked next to Garrett’s car, he got out and headed straight for me. “You were the one who called this in?”
“Yeah.”
He shook his head. “Are you actually looking for trouble everywhere you go, or do you just stumble into it?”
I saw no reason to answer, but I didn’t appreciate his attitude. I put my hand on my hip and gave him a deadly glare. “Would you prefer for me to ignore it next time?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, then dropped it. “No. And sorry. You’ve been part of two emergency calls in as many hours. I can’t help worrying about you.”
He had a point.
“I was walking over to the insurance office and smelled smoke. Then I saw someone run out of the building that’s now on fire.”
His eyes went round. “You saw the arsonist?”
“Yeah, but not enough to identify anyone. Sorry.”
“What did you see?”
I told him
about the person in the hoodie and how he’d slunk through the shadows.
“How tall was he?”
“I’m not sure. Tallish.” Some detective I turned out to be. “I’m sorry. I wish I’d paid better attention.”
Luke wrapped an arm around my shoulders and snugged my side next to his. Leaning over, he placed a kiss on top of my head. “You’ve given us more than anyone else so far. Besides, the important thing is that you’re safe.”
“But I could have helped find the arsonist.”
He turned me to face him and gave me a sympathetic look. “Summer. It’s okay. Really.”
But it wasn’t enough, and we both knew it. “I don’t suppose anyone has any security cameras on this street.”
He pursed his lips as he watched the firefighters spray down the building. “Not likely. There aren’t many break-ins, so these businesses can’t justify the expense. Most are barely making it as it is.” His gaze landed on the vacant business next to the fire, which was now engulfed in flames too. “Or didn’t make it at all. But we’ll ask around and see if we get lucky.”
“Tell him the rest,” Bill said.
Luke gave me a pointed look. “There’s more?”
I frowned. “Speculation.”
“Observations,” Tony said.
Luke studied my crew. “Did you guys see this too?”
“No,” Tony said. “We were at the insurance office waiting for Summer.”
Luke turned back to me. “Why weren’t you with them?”
“I had another interview.”
“Not on camera?” When I didn’t answer, I could tell he wanted to ask more questions about my interview, but he shook it off and asked, “What else did you see?”
I told him about Connor showing up late and out of breath and dropping the lighter. “I hate to accuse him of anything.”
“But he’s shown up early at two fires now,” Bill said. “He was at this one before the fire trucks showed up. It feels suspicious.”
Luke squinted at Connor. He was gesturing widely while a firefighter tried to push him out of the way. “Do you know if he showed up at April Jean’s fire?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
Blazing Summer (Darling Investigations Book 2) Page 20
