Page 22 of Never Fall Again
“No.”
“Mean?”
“As the devil.”
“Great.” Gray closed his eyes.
Cal looked at his friend closely. He was in clean clothes. He didn’t smell like smoke. He’d had a shower. But that didn’t mean he’d been home. “Have you slept?”
Gray pointed to the corner of his office. “I caught a few hours on the sofa. I thought Meredith was nuts when she redecoratedthis place, but that sofa has saved me more than once. Now, why am I just now hearing about the Staton boys? They haven’t hit my radar yet.”
“They’re mean, but I’ve never known them to be criminals. Bullying. Snide remarks. Pretty sure they would have vandalized The Haven if they could have gotten on the property. I’m not accusing them of anything. I’m just trying to give you the full picture. Their granddaddy died three months ago, and he left some of the money to their mom, but a big chunk of it went to them directly.”
Gray quirked an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know how you know that?”
“It’s not a secret. They bragged about it everywhere, from the church fellowship hall to The Dry Gulch.”
“How do you know they bragged about it there?” The Dry Gulch was the oldest bar in Gossamer Falls, and not the kind of place any Quinn, Shaw, Pierce, McClure, Nelson, or Staton should be seen in. Not that they weren’t.
“One of the guys on my crew came in talking about it. Said those two fools marched in, ordered drinks for everyone, and toasted to their good fortune.”
Gray glanced at his watch. “Okay. Let’s sum up before everyone else gets here. The Quinns have a perpetual beef with the Pierces but have never stooped to any sort of criminal activity. This doesn’t look like something a Quinn would do.”
“Glad you see it that way.”
“The Pierces have two distinct branches of their family. One is on the straight and narrow. The other seems a bit wobbly to me. But lighting the place on fire cuts into their profits and serves no clear purpose.”
“Unless they’re trying to damage Bronwyn’s standing.”
“True.” Gray scribbled something on his notepad. “We have a total of five families in town who might have the financial resourcesto hire someone to do this, but only the Statons have any possible motivation, and that’s thin.”
“Agreed.”
“Anyone who’s stayed at The Haven has the resources and might have the contacts.”
“True.”
“And bottom line, someone started that fire. Whether they did it in person or remotely, at some point someone was inside and left behind flammable materials.”
Cal’s skin chilled. Getting inside The Haven grounds was no small feat. “Are you leaning toward a guest?”
“I’m not ruling anyone out. But based on what we currently know, I’m leaning toward a guest, a Pierce, or a disgruntled employee.”
Landry and Bronwyn walked into the police station at 12:58 p.m.
“Good afternoon, Glenda.” Bronwyn spoke to the woman behind the desk.
“Good afternoon, Bronwyn.”
“Glenda, this is Landry Hutton.”
Landry extended her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.” A low woof came from under the desk, and then Maisy came around the desk. “Maisy!”
“You know Maisy?”
“We’re great friends.” Landry held Maisy’s head and brushed her nose with hers. “Aren’t we, girl? Yes, we are.” Maisy had kept her sane last night. She made a mental note to find out what kind of treats Maisy was allowed to have. She needed to stock up. They were going to be neighbors, after all.
Glenda pushed a button on her phone and spoke into the receiver. “Gray, Bronwyn and Ms. Hutton are here.” She looked behind them and said, “Looks like the rest of the party’s on their way in.”