Burning Down the House (30 page)

So
Dana was right. It could actually be arson. Someone really
was
that sick in the head.

“You suppose that
Murphy kid had anything to do with this?” my father mused.

“He said the baby wasn’t his
,” I murmured softly, unable to take my eyes off the smiling image. It was such an illusion. All it portrayed was the vibrant beauty queen and future valedictorian whose life was tragically cut short. No one would see in that snapshot the profound unhappiness behind the secrets she was hiding. It was too late now. I would never know what she’d been trying to tell me.
Love is a rebellious bird…

“He said
what?
When did you talk to him?” The sharpness in my dad’s voice startled me.

“Um…Friday night. Right after the play.”

“He said that to you?”

“Yes…”

His expression was sober. “What else did he say?”

I tried to recall his exact words. “Just that there was no way the baby could be his because they hadn’t been together since May.
He was ticked off that she was letting everyone think it was his.”

“And…?”

“He called her a manipulative slut. And…and said her future was shit now.”
You sure called that one, didn’t you Riley?

I turned my head as the front door opened and
Rob cheerfully greeted us with, “Lucy! I’m home!” His Cuban accent was spot on.

“Was that all?” Dad persisted.

“Pretty much. I didn’t talk to him for long.”

He was already walking away, hand digging in one of his pockets for his cell phone. “You guys go ahead and start
dinner. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

“
Fuck,
” I muttered under my breath. Who was he calling? I didn’t want to get sucked into this mess. Feeling Rob’s hand on my shoulder, I looked up at him.

“What’s the matter?” he wanted to know.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “Well, let’s see. Jordan’s dead, the fire probably wasn’t an accident, and now Dad’s freaking out because Riley tried to convince me the baby wasn’t his. I feel like I’m stuck in some overdramatic B-movie. I swear, I don’t know how I manage to get myself in the middle of these situations.”

Rob
gave me a befuddled look. “When exactly did you see Riley?”

“He cornered me
backstage right after the play. I only talked to him for a couple of minutes. He was acting all weird.”

“Why didn’t you
say anything?” He sounded more concerned than angry.

“I don’t know - after everything that happened this weekend, I just
kinda forgot about it.” It was true, it had slipped my mind when we were talking in the middle of the night. It just hadn’t seemed important at the time.

“He tried to tell you the baby wasn’t his?”

“Uh-huh. He was very insistent. Said his parents were getting a lawyer and everything.”

The
skepticism in his voice was obvious. “I don’t know…didn’t Jordan say it was his?”

“That’s the thing - I don’t think she ever did. I think everyone just assumed it.
Riley said she was letting people believe it though - she wasn’t denying it.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Beats the heck out of me.” Who could tell with her? Nothing she did
or
said made a lot of sense.

“
Sara, listen to me.” Grasping me gently by the shoulders, Rob spun me around to face him. “I don’t want you talking to him anymore. There is something really shady about this whole business and I don’t want you involved in any way, shape or form. Stay away from him. If he comes near you again, just walk away. And if that doesn’t work, I want you to call me. Will you do that?”

I nodded.

“Promise me?”

“
Sure, I promise.” I had no intention of letting that guy within fifty feet of me anyway. It was scary to think he might have had the audacity to torch someone’s house. Had he known she was inside at the time? “They said on the news that arson was suspected.”

Strangely, that statement seemed to suck all the life right out of
his eyes. Every emotion was suddenly closed off, hidden behind a wall I hadn’t seen since before we hooked up. His hands dropped from my shoulders. “Did your dad say dinner was ready?” It was the most conspicuous diversion in history.

“Ye
ah, it’s ready. Did you hear what I said?”

He was already
making his escape toward the hallway. “Uh-huh. I’m gonna go wash up.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of that
at first. But it only took about ten seconds for logic to hit me. His own parents had died in a fire. Of course this was bound to open wounds that had barely begun to heal. Even if they’d never had a loving relationship, it still couldn’t have been an easy thing to deal with. No wonder he preferred to avoid the subject. He didn’t want to go there again, and who could blame him?

We were just sitting down with our plates when my father
joined us at the kitchen table. I could have sworn he was two shades paler than he was five minutes ago.

“Hurry up and finish your dinner.
Chief Landry is on his way over. He wants to talk to you.”

The brown rice stuck in my throat, and I had to swallow some iced tea to force it down. “What for?”

“He just wants you to relay your conversation with Riley to him. To find out if there were any direct threats made. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Then why do you look so worried?” Did he think I was blind?
Clearly there was something bothering him.

He tapped his fingers on the table restlessly, staring off into the distance as if waiting for a cue card to feed him his next line. After a moment he returned his gaze to me, then transferred it to
Rob. “I want your undivided attention. Both of you.”

Rob
and I exchanged glances before giving him our full attention.

“
I don’t know exactly what the situation is regarding that girl’s death. But I do know that I have to leave for work Tuesday morning and I don’t want to have to worry about your safety while I’m gone. Sara, you are not under any circumstances to go off anywhere alone. I don’t even want you walking out to the parking lot after school by yourself. Wait for Rob and let him walk with you. While he’s at work, you’re to keep the doors locked and not open them for anyone unless you’re one hundred percent certain who it is. Got it?”

His instructions were hardly putting my mind at ease. What
did Dana’s father say to him just now? “Got it.”

His expression was stern. “
Now I don’t know for sure that Riley’s responsible for any of what went on, but if he approaches you, I want you to call the police immediately. If he tries to call, email or make contact with you in any way, you’re to let Chief Landry know about it as soon as it happens.”

“Okay.”

“Rob, I’m relying on you to watch out for her. I might be overreacting here, but I have to agree with the motto of better safe than sorry. I don’t like the fact that this punk has had any association with my daughter.”

“I won’t let anyone near her that shouldn’t be
,” Rob assured him before turning his attention to me. “You can come with me to work. It might be a little boring, but you can sit in the office where it’s warm and do your homework.”

I was beginning to feel like a child who required a babysitter.
What was going on here? “Dad…what did Chief Landry tell you?”

“An accelerant was poured all over the front porch and around the house before being ignited.
There’s no question about it. It was definitely arson.”

25

As expected, all anyone was talking about at school on Monday was the fire. I tried to tune out the gossip as much as possible, but judging by the snippets that reached my ears the general consensus was that
everyone agreed Riley was the culprit. It was astounding to see how easily a crowd’s loyalty could be swayed. In November he was star quarterback and the school darling. Fast forward to December, and he’d already been branded a ruthless killer. It was mind-boggling.

Fortunately
Dana, Trent and Rob were the only ones who knew what Riley had said to me, and only Dana and Rob were aware that I’d spoken to Chief Landry. I told him everything. Not just what Riley said, but Jordan’s misplaced comments as well. But instead of feeling that I’d helped in some way, I could only view myself as a narc. I’m not sure why. That’s just how I felt. Don’t ask me to explain.

In first period t
here was an announcement over the intercom informing us that we would be notified of the date and time of the funeral as soon as arrangements had been made, and anyone who wanted to attend would be excused from class. Then something about counselors being available. Larry Adams thought it would be amusing to ask if seeing one of the counselors counted as a grade. All he got was a bunch of nasty glares. Nobody found that funny.

I
trudged through the morning in a fog, stoic and detached, but somewhere around fourth period it all caught up with me.

Mr.
Weston was rambling on and on in a monotone about partial derivatives but all I could manage to focus on was the empty desk across the room. Jordan’s desk. If I concentrated hard enough, I could almost see her sitting there now with that perfect posture, ankles crossed daintily in front of her. Crinkling her nose the way she always did when she was concentrating. It was a quirky habit of hers.

I pictured the highlights in her auburn hair and the way her nails were always neatly manicured. I thought about
the blue Hello Kitty shirt she wore sometimes. How she always smelled like watermelon. The knack she had for answering questions effortlessly when everyone else was stumped. The way her flawless porcelain skin was undoubtedly now charred and crumbling, that beautiful red hair all singed and burned away…

I knew
without a doubt that I was about to throw up. Without even asking, I bolted out of class and barely made it to the restroom to hover over a toilet before puking. And crying. At the same time. It wasn’t my finest hour. At least the restroom was empty so there was nobody to witness me losing it. The strange thing is, I felt a lot better afterwards. After spending fifteen minutes hunched over, gagging and sobbing and shaking, I began to feel purged of more than my morning bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Maybe I just needed a good cleansing cry. Girls are like that sometimes.

Not looking forward to
twenty-six faces all turning to gape at me, I waited until the bell rang before returning for my books. Mr. Weston was flipping through his notes and glanced up at me to ask, “Feeling all right, Sara?”

Gathering my things, I nodded sheepishly.
“I’m fine. It’s probably just a stomach bug or something.”

“
Go and see the nurse if you need to.”

“That’s okay. I mean, I’m feeling better now.”

“Hm. Deanna was planning on giving you a call later to see if you were available to babysit Friday night, but I don’t know…if you’re coming down with the flu or something…”

“
It’s not the flu,” I hastily reassured him. With Christmas coming up, some extra cash would sure come in handy. “Really, it’s just a little upset stomach. I’m not contagious or anything.”

“All right
, I’ll have her give you a call then. I’d go ahead and tell you what time to come over but I’m not sure yet what our definite plans are.”

“Okay. Tell her I’m available.”
I headed for the door as students from his next class began to trickle in. “See you tomorrow.”

“Sure thing. Take care of that tummy.”

Lunchtime was unusually quiet. Nobody seemed to be in the mood to joke around, not even Colin. The whole subject was avoided like the plague, and I for one was glad. I didn’t want to hear any more theories about what happened, or who did it, or why. What was the point of guessing? We’d all know soon enough. Then Chief Landry could arrest the bastard and bury him beneath the jail.

The one bright spot in my day was
Rob. He was even more attentive than usual, and that was appreciated more than words could express. After the weekend’s emotional rollercoaster, he must have sensed that I needed him more than ever. He was by my side at every available opportunity. And instead of just dropping me off at the ballet studio after school, he parked and walked me inside. Maybe he was just being protective.

Or maybe he wanted to make sure
Erik got an eyeful of the toe-curling kiss he gave me before he left.

Since Dad had Monday off,
I called him to come pick me up when I was finally done with practice around six. The performance was a week from Friday, so starting on Wednesday we’d be converging at the Allegany College theatre for daily rehearsals. I was looking forward to it. Dancing onstage is exhilarating - you have so much more space, so much more freedom to move. I also couldn’t wait to see some of the other routines performed by the younger classes.

“You’re a hundred percent sure you’ll be off next Friday, right?” I asked Dad for what was probably the fourth time.

“Positive. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

It
would be his first time seeing me dance since I was the Fairy of the Woodland Glade in
Sleeping Beauty
way back in eighth grade. My mother would be missing this year’s performance of
The Nutcracker
, but she’d been there for all the others so it wasn’t as if she’d be seeing anything new. It would be a little silly for her to come when I’d be going to visit her a few days later.

Which reminded me… “Dad
, do you think there’s any possible way you could get Rob on that flight with me?”

“You sure know how to wait ’til the last minute, don’t you, ladybug?
You know that’s only two weeks away.”

“Is it too late?” If so, I
’d just cancel my reservation and go some other time. How could I leave Rob all alone at Christmas? Mom would understand, once I explained the situation. Hopefully.

“
Oh, I might be able to pull a few strings. Let me see what I can do.”

“
Please try. Consider it my Christmas present. That’s all I want.”

He glanced over at me with a
dubious expression. “Have you mentioned this to your mother?”

“
Well, no. Not yet.”

“
Hmph. That should be an interesting conversation,” he muttered.

I grinned at him. “She’s not
quite
as uptight as she used to be. I think she’s starting to mellow out in her old age.”

Dad
barked out a laugh. “Old age! Listen, young lady, don’t start packing us off to the retirement home just yet! Personally I’m a long, long way from being over the hill.”

“
I was just kidding...” Then in a softer voice I playfully added, “Geezer.”

“
Whippersnapper!” he retorted, before changing the subject. “Hey. Let me get your opinion on something.”

“Sure. What?”

“One of the other pilots is about to trade his truck in on a newer one. The other one’s not that old and from what he says it’s in good shape and very dependable. I was thinking of offering him the trade-in value for it. If you think Rob might be interested.”

My mouth fell open in astonishment.
“You’re buying Rob a
truck?
”

“The thought had crossed my mind.
He needs his own transportation. I know you’re probably getting tired of sharing yours. And this way he wouldn’t have to dip into his college fund.”

I couldn’t even wrap my
head around that proposal. It would totally blow Rob’s mind. “Well…I mean, I think it’s an extremely generous offer. I’m sure he’d think so too. But why…?”

He shrugged modestly. “If I don’t
help him out, who will? He’s a smart young man with a bright future. He deserves the opportunity to cultivate that future. Since I’m in a position to give him a hand, I’d like to do it. And before you ask, no, this has nothing to do with you. I was considering something like this long before your little disclosure.”

I smiled at him
affectionately. “You are one in a million, you know that?”

“I try.”

“So what kind of truck is it?”

“It’s a
black Toyota Tacoma. Only has about fifty-five thousand miles on it. From what I understand his wife wants something a little smal-”

“Sh, hang on a sec
,” I cut in, quickly turning up the radio’s volume. The weather report had suddenly morphed into a news broadcast, one that grabbed my undivided attention.

A Saturday evening fire has turned into a homicide investigation after preliminary autopsy results showed the
Cumberland teenager likely died of blunt force trauma, according to local police.

Jordan Miranda Cox, 17, was found dead after firefighters responded to a blaze at
the family’s Majestic Street home. Her body was sent to the state medical examiner’s office in…

Dad
hastily snapped off the radio. “I don’t think we need to hear any more about that.”

“She was
murdered?
” I stared at the console as if I expected the guilty party to dive out of the radio and reach for my throat. “Somebody actually deliberately killed her! Blunt force trauma? Oh my God, and she was pregnant…I can’t even believe…you already knew it too! Didn’t you? That’s what Chief Landry told you last night, isn’t it?”

Inhaling deeply, he released a long sigh. “Uh-huh.”

“Why would anyone
do
something like that?”

“I don’t know, honey.
But I did speak to Chief Landry earlier today. Riley Murphy was brought in for questioning this morning.”

“He was?”

“He was. He’s also been released.”

“
So he didn’t do it?” As much as I thought Riley was a jerk, I didn’t want to believe that he was a heartless murderer.

“I didn’t say that.
He had an alibi though. Some college freshman friend of his claims they were together at the time, hanging out and drinking at his apartment. What worries me is that no one else has stepped forward to corroborate their story. So far nobody claims to have noticed the kid’s Mustang parked at the apartment complex. That seems a little odd to me. Car like that attracts attention. Seems like
someone
would have remembered seeing it there.”

“It was dark,” I pointed out
impartially. “Plus it was a Saturday night. Maybe most of the people weren’t home.”

“Maybe. And t
here’s always the possibility that this ‘friend’ of his is covering for him. There was no sign of forced entry, so whoever did it was someone she knew and trusted enough to let inside.”