The Fire Still Burns Read online

  “Zeke was a good guy. He was looked up to, respected by his peers. He held a steady job and stayed on the right side of the law. Sure, he could throw back some beers, but he never touched drugs. There was no reason for him to be murdered.”

  “Apparently there was.” She closed the folder holding his report and pushed it back toward him. “I'll check into the drifter, but don't bet all your chips on this guy. He just might be simply passing through.”

  “Might?”

  She shrugged, rising from her seat. “He might be a psychotic crackpot. We'll find out soon enough. Now, let's go.”

  “Go where?”

  She looked over her shoulder at him as she paused with one hand on the door, giving him a good eye roll. “The crime scenes, of course.”

  Chapter Two

  “That thing will never make it where we're going.” Adam looked at Brynn's compact in disdain, his lip curling up at the little dark gray Jetta as if it were a cockroach. Brynn almost grinned, remembering how much Adam loved his trucks.

  “I'm sure it'll do fine.”

  “Have you been away from here so long you actually believe that? The road we're headed to is all dirt with deep ruts. You'll get stuck and I'm not about to waste what’s left of the day digging you out of the road. Come on.”

  Brynn bristled at his tone, but bit her tongue as she followed him to his black Ford F-250, which, fortunately, was not the same truck he had driven in high school. There were memories made in his old truck that she couldn't deal with now.

  “Are you getting in or not?” Adam called from inside the cab as Brynn stood outside the passenger side, her hand gripped around the handle of the open door.

  The bench seat wasn't as long as she would have liked it to be, and she didn't want to sit so close to Adam, not with her emotions in an uproar. Because of the pain she’d caused him, she’d never intended to return to Black Bear Gorge. If Calvin Wylie, his former best friend and her supposed husband hadn’t stolen her money and blown his brains out, she wouldn’t have come back. Adam thought she’d betrayed him, and she’d done nothing to disprove him, but the way he glared at her got under her skin.

  She battled between wanting to comfort or hit him. He wasn’t the only who’d been wronged. She still hurt.

  “Well?” He looked at her impatiently, which was all she needed to spur her into action. She hopped into the truck and slammed the door shut behind her.

  “Easy with the door,” he growled.

  She grinned.

  Black Bear Gorge hadn't changed much over the past thirteen years. Brynn looked out the window at the passing scenery as they drove through the town, not caring what she looked at as long as it took her attention away from the tall, sexy, brooding man next to her in the small confines of the truck's cab.

  The drugstore and the bank looked exactly the same, as did the local diners. Most of the businesses appeared to be under the same management, nothing at all having changed except maybe a few fresh coats of paint.

  Women walked down the street with their hair big and teased, or braided at the sides. They wore sundresses and sandals, or tight jeans and cowgirl boots with cropped tops as they pushed their babies in strollers.

  Most huddled in and around Flora's Beauty Shop where they'd get their hair colored and their nails polished and shaped. Brynn looked at her own scraggly nails and cringed. She had never fit in with the women of Black Bear Gorge during her youth. Sure, she liked to dress up for parties, but part of her had always wanted adventure. Something outside the normal day-to-day life of being just a mother and housewife.

  She may have not relished the idea of being just a housewife, but she had intended on marrying Adam once he made it on the police force and she became a firefighter. Their grand plan had included three children by the time they hit thirty. She had already reached that mark.

  She risked a sideways glance at Adam and caught him looking at her curiously before quickly redirecting his eyes toward the road before them. His hands on the steering wheel were large and strong, unadorned. The absence of a wedding band didn't mean he was available though.

  Brynn wondered again who the blond was in Chief Parker's office. She was obviously close to Adam. She didn't know which bothered her most—the fact the woman was close to him or that she was apparently Black Bear Gorge's first female firefighter. Whoever the woman was, she had taken her dream and possibly the only man she'd ever loved.

  Brynn rolled her eyes in self-disgust. Those days of adolescent adoration were over. Adam had thrown her aside like garbage when she'd needed him most. Once enough money was saved, she and her son were leaving Black Bear Gorge for good, and, this time, the image of the small town fading away in her rear view mirror would be the only memory taken with her.

  “So why do you have to go to the scenes when you have all the information in my reports?” Adam didn't look at her, just stared straight ahead at the road. Deep frown lines marred his smooth complexion.

  “I'm not doubting your abilities as an arson investigator, Adam.” She let out a sigh, struggling to keep her hands in her lap instead of giving in to her yearning to grab his head and yell in his face to get over it, she wasn’t trying to steal his job. “I just like to be thorough and besides, I'll be looking at the damage from the viewpoint of a detective.”

  “What do you think I am?” He cast her a heated glance.

  “An arson investigator and a P.I. are slightly different. Just trust me on this.”

  Adam snorted, mumbling a word that sounded like trust under his breath as he negotiated a left turn and passed Calvin Wylie's family home. Time seemed to stand still as they drove past the house, both of them undoubtedly remembering what had led up to her leaving town. Brynn wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans, her stomach churned as she wished for the millionth time she had never met Calvin Wylie.

  “I thought your last name was Wylie now.”

  Brynn took in a deep breath, decided to answer him as truthfully as possible without saying too much. “I’ve always gone by my maiden name.”

  He took his attention off the road long enough to look at her through narrowed eyes, his brow wrinkling as he lowered his gaze to her left hand. Brynn covered it with her right, blocking his view of her naked ring finger.

  He returned his gaze to the road, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “You're divorced?”

  “Cal’s dead. The way gossip is spun out in this town I figured you would have known that.”

  Judging by the way his eyes widened, he really hadn't known. He shook his head, then focused on the road again, his fingers flexing on the steering wheel. “His family moved away last year. I guess they haven't kept in touch with anyone. I take it he passed recently.”

  “A few months ago.”

  “How?” The word came out forced.

  Brynn twirled a strand of her hair as she gazed out the passenger side window, thinking how she should answer the question. She had planned on telling anyone who might ask that he died in an accident and leave it at that, but she didn't savor the idea of lying to Adam again, especially not within a few hours of reuniting with him.

  “I'd rather not talk about it.” Still not completely open to the idea of letting Adam know Cal had committed suicide, she sidestepped the question. The way he and his mother viewed her, they would most likely say she was to blame for it.

  In a way, she supposed she was, but they didn't need any more ammunition against her. In the end, it was Cal who made the decision to end his life, unable to deal with his guilt over what he’d done to her. No matter how deeply she loathed him, she would never have wanted him to kill himself.

  Silence ensued for the rest of the drive, tension sitting between the two like a third passenger. Other than the awkwardness between them, the ride itself was smooth and pleasant. The late afternoon sun wasn’t particularly brutal and the breeze blowing through the open windows as they traveled on was refreshing. Still, anxiety produced fresh sweat on Brynn’s palms and she wiped them o
n her pant legs. The drive wasn't actually taking that long but it seemed like hours had passed already.

  They turned down a road which, true to Adam's word, was all dirt and badly rutted. The truck jostled about and Brynn slid toward Adam. Unable to stop herself, she mashed against his side and felt him instantly go rigid.

  “Sorry,” she quickly apologized, scrambled back to her side of the truck and fastened her seatbelt. When he didn't say anything, she glanced his way and again her gaze fell on the spot where his hand gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

  “We're nearly there.” Adam’s words came out strained.

  Thank goodness.

  They wove around a bend and the smell of burnt lumber scented the air as they neared the property, which had been destroyed the day before. It was still taped off but otherwise non-secured, not that there were many options available to secure the property. Only skeletal remains of the structure were left.

  “How long did you actually inspect the property?”

  “Long enough,” Adam answered brusquely as he rolled to a stop in front of the burned remains of the one story house. “I know how to do my job, Brynn. I did everything by the book.”

  Brynn cringed under the weight of his hateful glare. “I wasn't implying anything. It's just that this happened yesterday. Taking into account the amount of time it took to put out the fire and then make sure the property was secure, it seems like you wrapped things up pretty quickly.”

  “So you're implying I rushed and quite possibly missed something?” Adam flung his door open and stepped out, not waiting for an answer. He slammed the door closed with enough force to jar her bones.

  “I'm not implying anything, Adam.” Brynn hurried out of the truck and caught up to him as he rounded the rear. His cheeks were flushed and his nostrils flared from his heavy breathing. He was so full of anger she was surprised she couldn't see drops of it spilling from his pores. If any chance of them working together on this case remained, they needed to diffuse the hostility.

  “Look, I know we've gotten off to a rough start today and you don't want to have anything to do with me. I understand that. The thing is, I really do want to help. I'm sure you're a great investigator, but if we both put our heads together we're going to get results much quicker.”

  He turned toward her and seemed to think her statement over while she waited with her arms folded across her chest. He nodded his head once and reached into the truck bed. “I guess you're right.” He picked up two hard hats and gave her one. “But I don't have to like it.”

  “Neither do I,” Brynn said to his back as he walked past her toward the house. Her eyes slid down his back, taking in the view of his tight butt in faded jeans, which fit sinfully right, and she mentally scolded herself for the lapse. His rock hard body was the last thing she needed to be thinking about. Unfortunately, it was just too well-sculpted to ignore.

  “Are you coming or not?” Adam turned back toward her and her cheeks instantly warmed.

  “Right behind you.” She ducked her head as she followed him up the concrete steps of the porch and into what used to be a living room, all but praying he hadn't seen the female appreciation in her eyes.

  “Put the hat on. The property was declared stable but you never know.”

  Brynn followed his order, knowing how fire and water damage could weaken beams and not all of them fell immediately. The floorboards were still waterlogged, wet ash nearly covered the remains of the owners' belongings. “Have the owners been notified?”

  “Yeah. They're visiting family in North Carolina and won't be back for about another week, not that they have much to come back to.” Adam emphasized his point by gesturing with a wave of his hand at the charred remains of the property.

  He was right. A large hole had burned out of the center of the floorboards in the house, most of the walls were gone and the furniture a total loss. According to the report, the accelerant in both fires was gasoline, easily obtained and transported, but the amounts used were excessive.

  “Whoever did this, definitely wanted to burn it to the ground.” Brynn glanced around at the pile of blackened remains, searching for something, some small clue that would hint at the arsonist's identity or at least the motive behind the fires. She picked up a long piece of wood, wishing she’d remembered to get her gloves out of her car, and started poking around the debris littering the floor.

  “I've already rummaged through everything.” Adam nodded toward the large pile of soot-covered objects that had been pushed outside of what remained of the house. “Meticulously.”

  “It doesn't hurt to have a second set of eyes, Good.”

  “It's unnecessary when the first set is perfectly capable,” came his reply from behind her.

  She turned to look at him from across the small room. “The first set didn't seem to find a calling card unless it was left out of your reports.”

  “A calling card?” He stood with his feet firmly planted, his arms crossed.

  “Many arsonists like to leave something behind—”

  “I know what a calling card is,” Adam snapped, interrupting her. One hand balled into a fist while the other ran through his hair. “If I found one, it would have been in my report. Have you ever stopped to think maybe some teenage punk is doing this for kicks?”

  “You really think some teenage punk would kill your brother just for kicks?”

  Adam's face reddened and drew tight as he glared at her, seeming at a loss for words or maybe just too damn mad to speak.

  “Someone murdered your brother on purpose. Then, they torched this house a month later. They're making a statement. We just have to figure out what the statement is.” Brynn focused her attention back on picking through the remains, looking for anything that stuck out as odd or out of place.

  “So, who are the Mulroneys anyway?” She referenced the owners' names.

  “You probably didn't know them. They were Billy Jack's grandparents.”

  “Billy Jack Perkins?” She cocked her head, planted her hands on her hips.

  “Yeah.”

  “Your brother's best friend? How could you leave that out of your report?”

  Adam shrugged, his movements hostile. “What's so important about that?”

  Brynn straightened herself to her full height and stomped across what remained of the living room floor to face him. The floorboards beneath her cracked, and her foot sank in the hole that was formed just as she reached him. She stumbled and fell forward, but two strong arms caught her before she could land flat on her face.

  “Shit, Brynn, are you all right?” Adam pulled her up and helped her to the porch. He forced her to sit on the steps as he checked her ankle. “Did you break anything?”

  “No, I'm fine.” She tried to keep the embarrassment out of her voice. She knew better than to go stomping through a house which had sustained such a large degree of damage, yet, she had let her temper get the best of her. Embarrassment soon turned to anger as she recalled why she stomped toward Adam in the first place.

  “Your brother was murdered in the first fire and the second fire destroyed his best friend's family home. How could you not see the connection?”

  Adam's face colored as he averted his gaze and pulled her to her feet. He turned his back to her and stepped away.

  “You did see the connection! You intentionally left it out of your report so nobody would know. Who are you covering for?”

  Adam spun around with a look in his eye that would frighten the most hardened criminal. She stepped back as his features hardened and his eyes blazed with fury. “You think I'm covering for my own brother's killer?”

  “No,” Brynn tried to dislodge her heart from her throat. “I think you're covering for your brother. What did he do?”

  Blue eyes darkened to a shade not found in nature as they narrowed on her, pinning her to the spot where she stood. His breaths were short and shallow, his jaw clenched to a painful degree, and the vein in his nec
k bulged to the point Brynn was afraid it might burst. Adam towered over her, his fury radiating out from him, burning her with its force and for the first time ever, she was afraid of him. Her heart racing, she tried to open her mouth but found herself incapable of the action.

  “My brother was a good man.” Adam spoke softly, menacingly. “I don't expect a woman of your morals to understand what it's like to be a good person, so I'll let that last remark of yours slip.” He let out a mirthless chuckle and brought his face close to hers. “If you think you're going to come back to my town after thirteen years and defile my family name because you're upset that guilt and shame made you leave, you're sadly mistaken, sweetheart. I won't allow it.”

  Brynn struggled to hold his stare with tears burning her eyes and threatening to spill. She’d hurt him but she’d be damned if he was going to make her feel like a cheap whore for something she had never meant to happen.

  She didn't want him to know his words had cut into her, so she mustered all the strength she had to keep her voice level and smooth. “I think I found what I was looking for.”

  Backing up a step, she turned and left what remained of the property, keeping her back straight as she left him behind with the rubble. Hold your head high, she reminded herself. Don't ever let them see it fall.

  ~~~

  Damn it! Adam cursed himself as he watched Brynn walk away. He shouldn't have said anything about her morals, but hadn't he wanted to hurt her? All of those lonely nights he'd laid in his bed staring at the ceiling, wanting to forget her, hadn't he yearned to inflict pain on her just as she had inflicted it on him?

  Didn't he want to make her feel as if she'd been kicked in the gut, stabbed in the back and had her heart ripped out bare-handed, just as she had done to him? Still, he didn't have the satisfaction he had thought hurting her would give him. Hurting her didn’t feel good at all. He felt like slime.

  That’s just great. She cheats on me with my best friend, runs off to have his baby and I’m the one feeling guilty now?