Page 32 of Little Ballerina

“Maybe.” She wasn't altogether sure.

“Whatever it is it could be important,” Jonathon reminded her.

“The heater. It wasn’t the usual one.”

“What do you mean?” Allina asked.

“Ours had scratches on it from Seth and David using it as a pretend prison in one of their games, but this one was new.”

Blue eyes bright with excitement, Allina asked, “Do you remember how long it had been in your house?”

“I think that’s the first time I saw it. But that doesn’t prove anything. So, my parents bought a new heater. A faulty one. And it burned down our house. So what?”

“What happened next?” Jonathon asked.

“My stepdad got home from work, he told my mom to put Eli in his bed. Then it was time for Ruth and me to go to bed. I asked if the new heater could go in our room that night because Ruth always opened the window, and I would get cold. My mom told me …” she broke off as she realized what her mom had said to her.

“What?” Jonathon demanded.

“She asked what I was talking about and said we didn’t have a new heater. But we did. I'm sure it wasn't the same one. She didn’t let me take it upstairs, it was still in the living room, it’s the one that started the fire. Where did it come from? If my mom didn’t know we had a new heater, then how did it get in our house?”

* * * * *

8:48 A.M.

“This feels like déjà vu, but how is Naomi doing?” Heidi asked as they filed into the room.

“She’s pretty shaken up, but she’s Naomi so she’s handling it pretty well. Mild smoke inhalation, she's lucky Sam got her out when he did,” Allina replied.

“I'd feel better if she was in the hospital under observation, smoke inhalation symptoms can get worse.” Jonathon wasn't sure why Sam was letting Naomi call the shots on this one, it wasn't like him at all. He suspected Naomi had said something compelling enough to sway Sam. If he had to guess, something that explained her hatred of hospitals and sedatives.

“Sam’s monitoring her,” Allina reassured him.

“And who’s monitoring him?” One person suffering smoke inhalation monitoring another person suffering smoke inhalation wasn't particularly reassuring.

“How is Sam?” Heidi asked.

“He’s okay. I think his main concern is Naomi. She’s holding it together right now, but I don’t know how much longer that can last.”

Jonathon was in complete agreement with his partner on that one. He was extremely concerned that once Naomi knew who her stalker was, she would offer herself up to him on a silver platter.

“And how are you, Allina?”

“I’m fine,” his partner replied. Other than dark bruises under her eyes and sounding like she was all stuffed up with a cold, Allina didn’t seem to be suffering any other effects from her broken nose.

“Where are we on Lennox Tyson? We know he’s the mugger, but is he also Naomi’s stalker?” Heidi asked.

“No, I don’t think so. He was in custody when Oscar Yla was murdered. Whoever killed Oscar left another photo of Naomi at the scene, same message on the back. So safe to say the same person killed Nicole and Oscar. Lennox was in custody when Oscar was murdered so he couldn’t have done it. He’s not the stalker, just an addict after money to buy drugs,” Jonathon replied.

“You ask Naomi about the photo?”

“She said it was taken a few days before the fire. It was the last dance competition she attended,” Allina answered.

“The dance connection again, and all centered around the time of the fire.” Heidi’s angular face was thoughtful. “Everything seems to connect back to it. Did you talk to her about it again? Was she more forthcoming this time? I know she’s sensitive about it, but we need to know if there is anything at all to throw suspicion on the fact that the first fire was an accident.”

“We may have something,” Jonathon told his boss. Thanks to Sam softening her up, Naomi had been a lot more helpful this time around. He was glad she was finally talking about the fire. He knew it was traumatic but her holding her feelings in for two decades wasn't helping her, hopefully opening up about it would. “Naomi remembers something about a different portable heater in their living room that night.”

“And the significance of that is . . .?”