Arson in Cherry Hills Read online

  “Nice, isn’t it?” Nikki said. “And we’re only paying for a double. When Kevin told them about the fire, they upgraded us at no charge.”

  Kat set Matty on the carpet and held the tortoiseshell steady while she undid the harness. “That was generous of them.”

  “Wasn’t it though?” Nikki sat on the edge of the sectional sofa. “My only wish is it came with a kitchenette. I guess they figure people staying in suites prefer to eat out.”

  No longer tethered to Kat, Matty started drifting away. Her steps were cautious, and she paused every few inches to reassess her surroundings. The room must have been saturated with foreign smells. Kat had never seen Matty’s little pink nose twitch so furiously.

  Timothy watched her, his hands clasped in delight. “What’s she doing?”

  “Checking out your suite,” Kat said. “She’s not used to such swanky digs. This place is huge.”

  Carmella, who had been sitting cross-legged on the rug, abandoned the card game on the coffee table and crawled across the room on her hands and knees. When she reached Matty’s side, she sat on the floor with her feet tucked under her and started petting the tortoiseshell.

  “Did you bring her for us?” she asked Kat.

  “I did. Your mom thought you might like to see her again.”

  Timothy turned pleading eyes in Nikki’s direction. “Can we keep her? Can we?”

  Nikki shook her head. “Kat only brought her over for a visit.”

  Timothy’s face fell. “Oh.”

  Nikki aimed her next words at Kat. “They’ve been begging to get a cat of their own.”

  “If you’re interested, Furry Friends Foster Families, the nonprofit I volunteer with, has several very friendly kitties in foster care,” Kat told her.

  Timothy grabbed his mother’s hand with both of his. “Can we get one, Mom? Pleeease?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Nikki bit her lip as tears flooded her eyes. “We don’t even have a home anymore, sweetie.” She drew in a breath, mustering up a smile for her son. “But you can enjoy Matty’s company while she’s here.”

  “Okay.”

  If Timothy was disappointed by his mother’s response, Kat couldn’t tell from the way he skipped over to Matty. He dropped onto the floor with all the grace of a cannonball, but his motions turned gentle when he reached out to run his hand down Matty’s back.

  Matty didn’t pay the children any mind. She wiggled past them to check out the loveseat across the room. After giving the base a thorough sniffing, she jumped onto the cushions.

  Timothy and Carmella scrambled after her. Carmella squeezed onto one end of the loveseat while Timothy flung himself onto the floor next to them. He rested his chin on the edge of the cushions and watched as Matty circled around in search of a good napping spot.

  Kevin Jefferson strolled out of what had to be a bedroom, a laptop under one arm. He gave Kat a nod. “Evening.”

  “Hi.” She gestured toward Matty, who had evidently decided the loveseat would suit her needs and was now curled up in one corner as Carmella and Timothy petted her. “I brought Matty for the kids.”

  Kevin slid the laptop onto the edge of the coffee table, careful not to disturb the card game. “Nikki told me you were coming by. That’s mighty nice of you.”

  “Matty likes the attention.” Kat wasn’t sure if that was entirely true, but at least the tortoiseshell hadn’t bitten anyone yet.

  Nikki lowered herself onto the sectional sofa, and Kevin sat down beside her. He draped one arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss against her temple.

  She gazed up at him. “Did you get everything settled?”

  He smoothed back her hair. “It doesn’t work like that, hon. But I did call the agent. He’s going to do what he can to expedite things.”

  “Kevin’s working on getting our insurance to pay out,” Nikki told Kat.

  Kat took a seat in one of the wingback chairs. “Is that a difficult process?”

  “We don’t know yet,” Kevin replied. “This is the first time I’ve ever had to submit a claim.”

  Nikki looked at Kevin. “How soon do they think we can get reimbursed for the damage?”

  “He wouldn’t give me a date, but things like this always take time.”

  Nikki sighed and drew her feet up under her. “Well, tell them we don’t have forever. Our credit is already maxed out from all the supplies I bought to make those headbands. We need that money.”

  “Nik, the fire only happened today. They haven’t even had time to assess the damages.”

  A sob wracked Nikki’s body, and she stood up. “I’m sorry,” she said, aiming the words in Kat’s direction. “Excuse me.” She stepped around Kevin’s legs and slipped into the room her husband had recently come out of, the door clicking shut behind her.

  Kevin crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s been a rough day for her.”

  “I understand,” Kat said. “It can’t be easy losing all your hard work.”

  He didn’t respond, leading Kat to silently question whether he might resent Nikki’s business endeavors. He had seemed rather short with her before she’d fled the room. Maybe he was old-fashioned enough to believe a wife should focus all her energy on maintaining a household. And hadn’t he mentioned baking muffins that morning? If preparing breakfast was a task Nikki had once performed before she became too busy to bother, Kevin might harbor some bitterness over having to pick up her slack.

  Kat jolted. For that matter, could Kevin have set that fire for the sole purpose of sabotaging his wife’s business? After purchasing that gas at the Fuel ’Er Up he could have waited until the morning of Carmella’s dance competition before putting his plan into action. He could have snuck back home while his family was busy watching Carmella’s routine, broken that garage window to throw the investigators off his trail, then lit the fire himself.

  It seemed awfully extreme, but desperate people tended to do desperate things.

  But Kevin wasn’t the only person worth looking at, Kat reminded herself. Walker Jefferson was still at the top of her suspect list.

  “Have you heard any more details about the fire?” Kat asked Kevin, deciding to ease into talk of Walker.

  Kevin folded his hands in his lap. “I was about to ask you the same question.”

  Kat eyed him. “Why would you think I know anything?”

  “Because of your ties to Detective Milhone.”

  “Oh, right.” Kat slid her palms along the chair armrests. “I don’t think he has any leads yet. In fact, maybe you could help with that.”

  Kevin’s eyebrows crept up his forehead. “How can I help?”

  “Maybe you know of somebody with motive to start that fire. Somebody who was unhappy with you for some reason, perhaps. Maybe somebody who wanted revenge for something and figured forcing you out of your home would be the perfect way to get it.”

  “As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know anybody as deranged as that.”

  Kat studied him for some indication that he’d at least considered the possibility of his brother’s guilt—assuming Kevin himself wasn’t the culprit, of course. But she couldn’t pick up anything from his expression. He was a lot harder to read than Nikki.

  Deciding to try a different tack, Kat asked, “How long have you lived in your house?”

  “If you mean with Nikki and the kids, it will be a year in May. But it was also my childhood home. It belonged to my parents, before they passed away.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Kevin waved his hand. “Their deaths weren’t anything unexpected. They were both getting on in years, and neither one was in good health.”

  “Even so, I’m sure losing them was difficult.” Kat paused. “Do you have other family?”

  “Not in the area.”

  “What about outside the area?”

  “I have a brother.”

  “Oh?” Finally, she was getting somewhere. “Where does your brother live?”

  “Here and ther
e. He doesn’t stay in one place for very long.” Kevin gave a snort. “Fitting, since his name is Walker.”

  “Makes you wonder how much a name influences a person,” she said. Now if Walker’s middle name turned out to be Torch or Blaze, she might really be on to something.

  “Yeah, well, Walker’s one of a kind.”

  “You don’t get along?”

  Kevin’s lips puckered. “Let’s just say our relationship is complicated.”

  Kat decided to go for broke. “Complicated enough that Walker might have set that fire?”

  Kevin stared at her for a beat before saying, “No, not that complicated.”

  “You don’t think he did it?”

  He hunched forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Do you have any siblings?”

  Kat shook her head.

  “Well, Walker might not always be the best brother, but he’s the only brother I have.”

  Kat wasn’t sure what that meant, but Kevin’s tone made it clear he wasn’t willing to entertain the possibility of Walker’s guilt any longer.

  Her thoughts turned to Alyssa and Andrew, a sibling pair who hadn’t known each other long enough to have developed a strained relationship. At least, Kat hoped that was still the case. If Andrew had taken her observations about the matchbook and gum to heart and confronted his sister, there was no telling where the two might stand now.

  She shifted in her chair, discomfited by the notion that she might be to blame if Andrew never really got to know his sister. She finally understood why Nikki had been so hesitant to bring up Walker. Accusing the sibling of a significant other felt like the ultimate betrayal.

  Now Kat just had to pray her mistake didn’t cause any lasting damage between her and Andrew as well.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “She’s a pyromaniac,” Andrew said, brushing past Tom as he pushed his way through Kat’s front door.

  Kat gaped at his back. “What?” Andrew’s brusque entrance left her feeling as bemused as Tom looked.

  Tom bounded after Andrew, releasing a frantic series of meows. Andrew was one of Tom’s favorite people, and the big cat was clearly befuddled as to why he hadn’t received any belly rubs upon his arrival.

  Andrew didn’t appear to notice the animal. He spun around, dragging one hand through his hair. “Alyssa. She’s a pyromaniac.”

  Kat was so shocked she almost didn’t see Matty creeping toward the exit. She scooped up the tortoiseshell and kicked the door shut just in the nick of time.

  Andrew collapsed onto the sofa. Tom didn’t waste any time jumping into his lap. He pressed the top of his head against Andrew’s chin and cooed.

  “I called my aunt up after Alyssa and I had dinner,” Andrew said, leaning away from Tom. “I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said.” He glared at Kat for a moment, as though he blamed her for his ruined evening. “And you know what she told me?”

  “That Alyssa’s a pyromaniac,” Kat said, feeling numb.

  Andrew’s head flopped against the back of the sofa. Tom used his nose to nudge Andrew’s limp hand, but Andrew didn’t respond.

  Kat lowered herself beside them, setting Matty on her lap. She didn’t speak. She didn’t know what to say. She’d never seen Andrew look this devastated before.

  Andrew stared at the ceiling. “Aunt Deb said Alyssa’s always had a sort of fascination with fire. I guess she played with candles and lighters and whatever else she could get her hands on when she was younger. Aunt Deb said she was always setting something ablaze, although the term she used was ‘experimenting.’”

  “Experimenting,” Kat repeated.

  Unhappy with being anything less than the center of attention, Tom set his front paws on Andrew’s chest and yowled. Andrew finally acknowledged his presence with a pat. However brief, the gesture was enough to elicit a deep, rumbling purr from the depths of Tom’s chest.

  Andrew continued to stroke Tom as the cat snuggled in his lap. “Aunt Deb said Alyssa liked to watch how things changed when they burned, to see how quickly the flames could devour different items they came in contact with. She said Dad and his wife even had to call the fire department out to the house once when a bonfire in the yard got out of control.”

  “Only once?” Kat blurted out, seized by a sudden urge to downplay Alyssa’s childhood behavior. She supposed it was guilt over her role in dredging up all this old history.

  “Yes, but every firefighter in town showed up. At least, that’s what Aunt Deb told me.” He sat up, turning hope-filled eyes in Kat’s direction. “But my aunt does tend to exaggerate. Remember how she convinced Dad to file an abuse charge when one of my foster parents let me go outside in February without a jacket? Do you think she might be exaggerating about Alyssa, too?”

  “I don’t know,” Kat said carefully. Having met his aunt a couple times when they were younger, she remembered the woman’s constant need to be in the spotlight. She was worse than Tom. But Kat refused to repeat her earlier mistake of voicing any more less-than-positive opinions about his family.

  Andrew slapped one palm against the couch. “Oh, what am I saying? She said she was there. What more proof do I need?”

  “Who was where?”

  “Alyssa. She was at the Jeffersons’.”

  Now it was Kat’s turn to sit up. “What?”

  She didn’t realize she’d dumped Matty off her lap until she spotted the tortoiseshell on the carpet. Matty gave her hindquarters a lick to emphasize her contempt over her poor treatment before strutting into the kitchen, nose and tail held high.

  Kat let the feline stalk off. Her mind was reeling. “Alyssa was at the Jeffersons’ house? She admitted this to you?”

  “Yup, right after I asked her about that gum.”

  Kat sucked air through her teeth. “So it was her.”

  Andrew held up one palm. “She only admitted to being there. But she says she didn’t set the fire.”

  Kat arched one eyebrow. “And you believe her?”

  “I don’t know.” Andrew huffed, the expulsion of air sending a chunk of his sandy hair falling over his forehead. “I don’t know what to believe.”

  To Kat, the answer seemed obvious. “Does she know the Jeffersons?”

  “No.”

  “So she just happened to be at their house? For what reason, if not to set that fire?”

  “She claims she saw the smoke from her hotel room window so she ventured outside for a better look.” Andrew searched Kat’s face. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”

  “Did you show her the matchbook Lonnie recovered from the dining room?” Kat asked, avoiding his question.

  “I told her about it, but she said it couldn’t be hers because she never went in the house. She only watched from behind the neighbor’s hedge.”

  “You mean she was hiding.”

  Andrew ground his teeth for a moment before saying, “After talking to Aunt Deb, I’m guessing she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. I take it her past experiences with fire officials haven’t always been positive.”

  “Because of her experiments.”

  Andrew cut her a look. Kat shrugged. The more she learned about Alyssa, the less guilty she felt about suspecting her.

  “Anyway,” Andrew said, stroking Tom, “I don’t know if she was hiding exactly. She probably just didn’t want to complicate things by revealing her presence. I can understand that. Given her history, we’d have to question her. And that would only take time away from looking for the real arsonist.”

  Kat wondered why he was defending her. Five minutes ago he had sounded ready to formally charge his sister for that fire. Now he was making excuses for her.

  “Did she even call 9-1-1 when she first noticed the smoke?” Kat asked, not ready to let Alyssa off the hook as easily.

  “She told me she figured there was no point, since she’d already heard the sirens.”

  “Huh.”

  Andrew set Tom on the floor and jumped off the couch. “You kno
w what?” he said, talking over Tom’s meows of protest. “I should go see her again.”

  “What do you think she’ll tell you that she didn’t already say at dinner?”

  “I don’t know. But I need to question her some more, eliminate her from the suspect pool once and for all.”

  Kat could think of another possible outcome to his continued questioning, but she bit her tongue.

  Andrew yanked his cell phone out of his pants pocket, pressed a button, and held the phone up to his ear. His foot tapped against the carpet as he waited.

  He pulled the phone away ten seconds later. “She’s not answering.”

  “It is pretty late for someone on East Coast time,” Kat pointed out. “She’s probably sleeping.”

  Andrew raked his fingers through his hair. “You’re right. I should wait until tomorrow. I’ll call her in the morning and invite her to lunch before she heads back to Seattle to catch her flight home.” He peered at Kat. “You want to come with me this time?”

  “To lunch while you interrogate your sister?” This wasn’t the get-to-know-your-boyfriend’s-family dinner she had envisioned this morning.

  Andrew nodded. “I want your opinion on how she behaves. Maybe you’ll pick up something I won’t, something that will indicate if she’s hiding something.”

  “What makes you think I’ll be able to tell?”

  “I don’t know. Because you’re a woman?”

  Kat gawked at him. “That doesn’t mean I can tell when another woman is lying!”

  “I want you there anyway.” Andrew shoved his cell phone back in his pants pocket. “We’ll do lunch at noon. Be ready.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to protest. He marched out the door without even a backward glance, leaving a confused Kat and an even more confused Tom in his wake.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The next morning, Kat couldn’t eat. She sat at her dining table, sliding a piece of toast listlessly around her plate as she watched the seconds tick by. Noon was still four hours away, and already she felt sick over the unwanted role she’d been tasked with. The thought of being the person who decided whether Andrew’s sister deserved to be in his life or in jail had her stomach in knots.