Blaze (A Stone Mountain Mystery Book 2)

by Kristina Stanley

  Connor tucked his chin to his chest. “No.”

  Miller chuckled. “You don’t use many words. Is that normal or because I’m a cop?”

  “I don’t have a lot to say.”

  Miller squared his broad shoulders with Connor and leaned forward. “Tell me about your lunch today?”

  Connor stepped back. “What would you want to know about that for?”

  “I’d like to know who you had lunch with at the deli.”

  “I ate with my cousin, Neil.”

  “The one who used to own Timber Construction?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Is he home?”

  “Nope. How do you know he lives here?”

  Miller wasn’t in the mood to answer anything Connor asked. “Will he be at the bar?”

  “Don’t know.”

  Miller wrote in his notebook, more to unsettle Connor than to write anything useful. He took his time. “You talk about anything interesting at lunch?”

  “Like?”

  “Like who started the fire at Stone Mountain.”

  Connor’s face turned red, starting at his neck and ending at his hairline. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

  “No, you don’t, but I would like to know why you think Pete Chambers started the fire and why you’re protecting him now.”

  “I don’t think that.”

  “That’s not what you said at the deli.”

  “I didn’t say anything about Pete or the fire. Who told you I did?”

  Miller handed Connor a business card. “That’s not important. When you decide to be honest, give me a call.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Nora strolled along Main Street, pushing Ethan’s carriage and thinking about his grandmothers. Both Susan and Janet put her on edge. Grandmothers from hell. Nora had started to think of them as Devil One and Devil Two. She missed Lisa. Lisa would have been a wonderful grandmother. Maybe the time had come for her to start searching for her dad. He must be out there somewhere. Janet had to know who he was, but being in the presence of her again wasn’t an option.

  Nora meandered from one store window to the next. The sun shone without the impedance of a single cloud. The slight breeze spread the scent of the lake that Holden bordered. The perfect summer day with the temperature warm enough for shorts and a T-shirt didn’t match the ice building in her heart for her grandmothers.

  She crossed the street, and the curb proved too high for her to push the carriage over. Before she could walk around to the front to lift the frame, a pair of hands pulled the carriage forward.

  Pete Chambers stood in front of her, wearing a goofy grin. “How’s our little guy?”

  “My little guy is fine.” Ethan was hers and no one else’s. Not Susan Reed’s and not Janet’s, her so-called mother. Then she relented. Okay, he was Ian’s too. But that was it. Pete’s interest bothered her, yet she couldn’t say why.

  Pete smoothed Ethan’s shirt over his little chest and looked at him with what Nora thought was possessiveness. “Sorry. Just a speech habit.”

  Farley sniffed at Ethan and wiggled his entire body. Pete grabbed Farley’s collar and pulled him away from Ethan. “Farley likes babies. They must smell good to him.”

  Nora relaxed. Pete was just being friendly. There was no reason for her to be hostile. “It’s good for Ethan to be around dogs. I’d like to get one someday.”

  “Well, hello.” Susan Reed tottered toward them on heels high enough to tilt her forward.

  And here comes Devil One. Where are her horns?

  Pete smiled with genuine pleasure at Susan, and Nora didn’t understand what he saw in her.

  “How are you, Nora?” Susan asked in a tone infinitely politer than the last time they’d spoken.

  Nora rolled her eyes. She hadn’t meant to.

  Susan’s smile tightened, but she didn’t say anything. She pecked Pete’s cheek. “And what are you two talking about?”

  “I found Nora here trying to get Ethan’s carriage onto the sidewalk. Thought it would be the gentlemanly thing to do and lifted it for her.”

  Susan reached into the carriage and caressed Ethan’s cheek. Nora held her breath. She wanted to slap Devil One’s hand away, but with Pete standing there, she couldn’t. Instead she shifted the carriage. “Thanks for the help.”

  Before she could get far enough away, Susan spoke. “Pete and I would like to have you and Ethan for dinner.”

  Nora could tell by the expression on Pete’s face that was the first he’d heard of the invitation. He recovered in a flash. “We sure would,” he said. “What’s a good night for you?”

  Nora was trapped. She tried to think of an excuse that would make her busy every night for the rest of her life but couldn’t come up with one. “I’ll talk to Ian and see when he’s free.”

  “I wasn’t inviting Ian,” Susan said, freezing her lips into a smile. “I’d like to get to know you.”

  “That would be sweet,” Nora said, thinking being alone with Susan and Pete would be anything but sweet. “I wouldn’t feel right having dinner with you and not Ian. I’ll call him and see when would be good.” Before they could say more, Nora escaped.

  * * *

  Pete watched Nora walk away from the front of his office. Clearly she was uncomfortable around Susan. Susan hadn’t been friendly to Nora when they bumped into her in the deli with Ian and the rest of the Reed family. She put her guard up in front of others but not when she was alone with him. She was broken inside, like him, and he understood her need for a barrier.

  “Ian must have influenced her,” Susan said. “You’d think she’d at least be polite to her child’s grandmother.”

  “You need to give her time. She lost her mother last winter. Maybe she resents you because her own mother never got to know Ethan.”

  “That’s silly. Lisa Hudson was only her adoptive mother. She should be happy I have an interest in her son.”

  Before he had a chance to comment, Constable Miller pulled his SUV into the parking space in front of Pete’s office. Pete closed his eyes and sighed.

  “Afternoon,” Miller said.

  Pete introduced Miller to Susan.

  “Hey, Farley.” Miller crouched to pet the dog, and Farley licked his nose. Pete caught Miller trying to suppress a grin and liked him for it.

  “What’s the latest on the fire investigation?” Susan asked.

  Miller tucked his cap under his arm. “It’s ongoing.”

  “I’d like to know more than that. I used to be married to the president of the resort. He supports my kids. I have a right to know what’s going on. Do you have any suspects?”

  Yeah, he does. That’s why he’s here. Pete motioned to the door to his office. “Do you want to come inside? We can talk privately there.”

  Miller turned his dark amber eyes on Susan. “Were you up at the resort within twelve hours of the fire starting?”

  Susan crossed her arms, stretching her suit jacket tight across her back. “Obviously because you asked, you already know I was. So what? A lot of people were up there.”

  By Miller’s expression, Pete didn’t think he’d known. He suspected Miller had thrown the question out there from habit and hadn’t expected the answer he’d received.

  “Exactly when?”

  “The night before. It wasn’t dark yet, so maybe around nine.”

  “Did you see anything suspicious?”

  “I wouldn’t even know what suspicious is, the way kids behave these days.”

  “What were you doing there?” Miller asked.

  Susan jutted her delicate chin at Miller. “Keeping an eye on my kids’ future. If they ever decide to go to university, Gavin is going to have to pay for their education. He’d better keep the resort profitable.”

  “Why were you there on that particular day?”

  “I had nothing else to do,” Susan snapped.

  Pete frowned and touched her arm. “Let the man be. He’s doing his job.” />
  She took a breath. “You’re right. I apologize.”

  Miller continued to pressure her. “And why were you at the site where the fire started?”

  “Did you tell him you saw me driving out when you drove in?” Susan asked Pete.

  “What do you mean?” Pete hadn’t seen her driving away from the site. He understood Miller had a keen sense when something was amiss and that he was honing in on Susan. Didn’t she get Miller was probing without proof? She was handing him more information than she needed to.

  Susan looked up at Pete with wide grey eyes, eyes that matched Ian’s. “I thought you might have seen me.”

  “I’d like to know why you were at that site,” Miller said.

  Susan huffed. “I was curious to see what that Kalin woman was building. I don’t see how she could afford such a place. I know what she earns.”

  “How could you know that?”

  She pursed her lips and didn’t answer.

  Pete thought maybe she had a bit of loyalty left for her ex-husband. It scared him that she’d been at the site so close to the start of the fire. He thought back to how they met. She’d singled him out at a church social. He hadn’t gone after her. She wasn’t perfect, but she eased the dreadful loneliness he’d lived with for so long. An uncomfortable lump formed in his stomach. He didn’t understand her motives for their relationship.

  Miller turned to Pete. “All right. If the offer is still open, let’s go inside.”

  Pete opened the door to his office and let Miller enter before him.

  Susan remained on the sidewalk. “I’ll just make myself disappear then.” She turned on her heels and clicked along the sidewalk.

  “Sorry about that.” Pete nodded in the direction of Susan. “She gets wired sometimes.”

  “Is something in particular bothering her?”

  “The mother of her grandson doesn’t want to see her.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Nora Cummings.”

  Miller made a note in his book. “Any reason?”

  “I don’t know. Ian Reed is the baby’s father. I’m not sure Ian gets along with Susan. It might stem from that. I haven’t been dating her long, so I’m not included in the whole story. In fact, I try to stay out of it. Did you come to ask about her?”

  Miller sat in the same leather chair he’d occupied the last time he’d been in the office. “No. I want to ask you about Connor Olsen.”

  Farley followed Pete to the opposite side of the desk and tucked underneath. Pete rolled his chair, careful not to crunch Farley’s tail. “About Jason’s death?”

  Miller hesitated, and Pete reminded himself to be more careful.

  “Is Connor responsible?” Miller asked.

  “Are you saying it wasn’t an accident?”

  “Connor thinks you started the fire.”

  Pete planted both feet, and dried mud scattered on the slate floor. “What?”

  “He was overheard saying he suspects you started the fire.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “You tell me.”

  “I had no reason to. My clients are waiting to have their homes finished, and they all want to be first on the list to get things done. I might lose some of them to other builders if I can’t keep up.”

  “Your insurance policy is quite hefty. That’s a good motive.”

  “I don’t know why Connor would say such a thing, but my life is that business. I have no future without it. My insurance covers rebuilding. It’s not like I could take the money and not deliver to my clients.”

  “Unless you had other plans. Like disappearing, for instance.” Miller read something in his notebook. “The date of the fire is interesting.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “The fire occurred on the anniversary of the death of your wife and daughter.”

  Every year on the day, Pete kept himself busy. He worked, sometimes through the night, to avoid thinking about them. His guilt over missing his daughter more than his wife drove him crazy. Guilt on top of guilt. His wife hadn’t known about his first-born daughter. His first-born daughter didn’t know about him. “You think I lost my mind and set fire to a building site? That makes no sense.”

  “Maybe. So, what were you doing at the site that night?”

  Pete couldn’t lie. Susan had already let it slip he’d been there.

  “I was checking the status. I hadn’t been there all day and wanted to make sure the work was progressing as scheduled.” Pete kept his exterior pleasant for the remainder of the conversation, trying his best to hide his anger.

  After Miller left, Pete’s first instinct was to kick the shit out of Connor Olsen, then fire him. He knew his first instincts were sometimes wrong, so he waited. Let himself settle down. Instead of confronting Connor, he decided not to say a word. He’d watch Connor for a while and see what he was up to.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Hey, Babe.”

  “Connor,” Tessa said without turning her head. She realized her mistake the instant she said his name. She considered the Wild Game Deli her second home, and with only hours to go until she left for a profession with a future, she was enjoying her final lunch shift. Why did Connor have to spoil that?

  “What the fuck?”

  She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then turned to face him. “Don’t swear in here. There are families eating.”

  He shoved her along the hallway that led to the washrooms and held her in a corner.

  She felt his breath against her cheek, his hands crushing her biceps. He smelled like diesel fuel.

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

  Tessa pushed his shoulders, but he didn’t budge. Her throat tightened. “Let go of me.”

  “Not until you tell me how you heard me.”

  Her pulse hammered up her neck and a sharp pain filled her head. She swallowed her fear. “Back off, and I will.”

  Connor released her but blocked her passage out of the hallway.

  She pressed her skirt over her thighs and pulled at the cuffs of her blouse, putting the sleeves back in their original position. She wanted to wash his stink off her. “I had ear surgery.”

  “So now you can hear?”

  She nodded.

  “And why is that such a big secret? So you can spy on your friends?”

  “It’s not a secret. I wanted to be sure it worked before I told anyone.” Soon she’d have to announce she could hear. But not yet.

  “That’s bullshit. You talked to Miller.”

  “You should have told him yourself you thought Pete started the fire.”

  “Is that what you told him?”

  “Yes. What else would I have said?”

  “Why didn’t you talk to me first?”

  Tessa shrugged. “I don’t know. Then I would have had to tell you about my hearing implant. There was a risk the surgery wouldn’t work, and I didn’t want to tell people if it had been a failure. I’m sick of being deaf. And anyway, it’s my business how I deal with it.”

  “If Miller talks to Pete, I’ll probably get fired. If that happens, it’ll be your fault. What else did you tell him?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You better not be lying.” Connor leaned forward. “Where is this implant?”

  Tessa didn’t want to show him, but she lifted her hair, exposing the magnet that attached her battery pack to the implant.

  Connor poked her ear. “What happens if you get hit in the head, right where your implant is?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve got to get back to work.” Tessa squished by him and entered the restroom. That wasn’t the first time he’d violated her. Her heart hammered in her chest. She scrubbed her hands up to her elbows, dried them, and scrubbed them a second time. She washed her ear where Connor had touched the lobe.

  * * *

  “Do you see that?” Kalin sat with Ben at a table in the Wild Game Deli. She’d been driving along Main Street with Ben when the desire
for a fresh sandwich hit.

  “What’s he doing?” Ben shoved his chair backward and stood.

  Connor stormed along the hallway and into the main dining area. He stopped inches from Ben, standing chest to chest with him. “You want something?”

  “You bothering Tessa?” Ben asked.

  “Fuck off.” Connor shouldered Ben as he walked past him.

  Kalin grabbed Ben’s wrist. “Don’t go after him.”

  Tessa stopped at their table and asked if they wanted more coffee. The coffee rippled as the pot shook in her hand.

  “Is everything all right?” Kalin asked.

  “Sure.”

  “What was that about?”

  Tessa watched Connor leave the deli. “He’s upset about something I said. He has a bit of a temper. It’s nothing. Really.”

  Kalin let it go. “I’m looking forward to Monday. It’s going to be a relief for Monica to have some help. She’s been carrying a big load for a while.”

  “I’m nervous,” Tessa admitted.

  “That’s part of starting a new job. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

  Outside the deli, Connor hooked up with an out-of-shape, thirty-something man. He tapped the window with his index finger and pointed at Tessa, laughed, and the two men bolted.

  “Is he threatening you?” Ben asked.

  Tessa sighed. “He’s a jerk. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Who was that other man?” Kalin asked.

  “That’s his cousin, Neil.” Tessa placed their bill on the table. “I need to seat those people.” She nodded in the direction of the entrance. “I’ll see you Monday.”

  After they finished lunch, Ben and Kalin returned to Chica. She wagged her tail but didn’t leave her sitting position until Ben released her. He untied her leash from the lamppost, and they strolled to the lakeshore. The lake beside Holden was warm in comparison to Silver Lake, and Kalin shivered at the memory of Ethan being born beside the glacial water.

  Kalin removed her windbreaker and let the sun fall on her bare arms. “What do you think?”

  Ben showed Kalin his watch. “Twenty-five seconds.”

  She elbowed him.

  “Twenty-five seconds. That’s how long you took to get into investigation mode.”