Montana Fire (11 page)

“Did they live far from you?”

A dreamy look crossed his face for a moment. “Nope. Just down the street.”

She leaned back her head, picturing Max running over to his grandmother’s house for
a snack and watching her cook. “I never knew my grandparents.”

He glanced over at her. “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.” She turned her attention back to Jonathan, trying to think what other clue
he might have given about his daughter. “Jonathan did mention he’d served overseas.
He has some shrapnel in his calf from unfriendly fire. Maybe the military has a listing
of his family.”

“Outstanding. Did he say which branch of service?”

Jamie searched her mind. “Army, I think, but I can’t be certain. Sorry.”

“That might help, but over the next few days, try to remember if he mentioned Charlotte’s
last name, what she did for a living, or even what her husband might have done for
work.”

“I’ll try.” Jonathan’s ramblings surfaced. “This is probably nothing, but when I was
visiting him this morning, he was talking in his sleep.”

Max’s grip tightened on the wheel. “What did he say?”

“I’m sure it was meaningless babble, but he mentioned
forty-seven
.” She didn’t know why she even brought it up. It didn’t relate to Charlotte.

Max glanced over at her. “Just
forty-seven
?”

“As opposed to what?”

“Maybe it’s an address. Like 47 Arbor Way or 47 Emerson Street.”

Those were streets in Rock Hard. “He just said the number. I think I asked him what
he meant, and then he said the word
concut
. At first I thought he might have been trying to say Connecticut, but I have no proof.”

Max tapped his fingers as if he thought her friend’s ramblings really had meaning.
“Anything else?”

“Just
no, no
. And then
monster truck
.”

He shot her another look. “Monster truck?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know there’s a Monster Truck Rally coming to Rock Hard in a few weeks?”

She leaned back. “No, I didn’t, but that might be it. Maybe he dreamed of going.”
Like she did. A wistful memory washed over her. “My dad used to take me to all kinds
of automobile shows when I was little. My favorite was demolition derby.”

Max chuckled. “Is that how you became interested in fixing cars?”

“Yes. My dad was good with engines, too.”

Since Max seemed to be in a good mood, she contemplated asking him to dinner right
now. Or would it be more appropriate to wait until they were at her house? She pictured
both outcomes, and decided it would be less awkward if she waited.

As soon as he passed SR25, she wiped her damp palms on her legs. He’d never been to
her home, so she gave him directions. “That’s my street.”

Once she pointed to her house, he pulled in front, put the SUV in park, and jumped
out. Benny never opened the door for her, but she found she liked it. The door opened
and she stepped out.

Max was inches from her, and she had to look up. “Once again, thanks.”

“My pleasure.” He held up a finger as if he’d forgotten something. “I spoke with the
mechanic, and he told me your starter was bad. I hope it was okay that I gave him
the go ahead to replace it. I knew you weren’t planning on purchasing a new car.”

“That’s fine. I would have said yes, too. But the starter? That’s going to cost a
lot.”

“Probably. The mechanic also told me they had to order the part given your car’s age.”

“Damn. How long will that take? Did he say?”

His lips pulled back. “He estimated three or four days.”

She groaned a bit too loudly. At least he hadn’t gloated about recognizing the problem
while she’d been in denial. Most guys would have rubbed it in. “Not good.”

“I’ll be happy to pick you up in the morning. I only live about three miles from here,
off Mountain View, south of Silvermine Way.”

He did live close, which helped lessen her guilt about him having to drive out of
his way. Until she could set up something with one of her neighbors, she’d have to
take him up on his offer. By the time she got Grayson back, she’d have to give him
her firstborn.

“I appreciate it, but only if I can treat you to dinner.” The words surprisingly didn’t
stick in her throat, though her stomach tightened, and her pulse soared.

He hesitated. Damn. He was probably trying to come up with a polite way to say no.

“There’s no need to repay me. I’m glad to help.”

“O-kay.” Even though she’d anticipated he’d turn her down, the disappointment cut
deep. She told herself that his refusal was for the best. The less time she had to
be with him the better. She was already starting to like him too much.

“I have a better idea. How about if I take
you
to dinner on Friday night?”

“What? I just asked you out and you said no.”

“Right. I’m old fashioned. You don’t owe me. I’m happy to help. Date?”

Excitement mixed with confusion, but she’d think about it later. “Great.”

He smiled. I’ll pick you up at seven thirty tomorrow morning.” He winked and strode
back to his car.

So he wouldn’t see the elation on her face, Jamie spun around and hurried inside.

*     *     *

As soon as Max drove away from Jamie’s house, the image of his rejection skating across
her face surfaced, causing a sharp twinge in his gut. Fuck. He should have accepted
her offer to take him to dinner, but she couldn’t afford it. And secondly, the man
should be the one to ask the woman to dinner.

Given how Jamie didn’t like to owe anyone, he should have expected she’d offer to
pay him back. When she’d shared something about Jonathan, and then told him that tale
about her dad, he should have seen her request coming. Shit. He never should have
gone all macho on her. Where had his head been?

Frustrated at his own stupidity, he dialed Dan, who’d texted him twice today, asking
about his progress on the case.

His mentor answered on the first ring. “What’s up? Jamie tell you something?”

Max chuckled. “Can’t I call an old friend?”

“I know you too well. What did she say?” They didn’t call Dan, the bulldog, for nothing.

Max relayed the sparse information about where Vic Hart had grown up and that he’d
been in the military.

“That doesn’t surprise me. What we need to know is Vic’s take on homegrown terrorists.
Did he mention a name or anything to Jamie?”

Normally, Dan was totally level-headed. Now he seemed almost driven, like Max had
been for all those years. “Easy there. Why would you think an undercover FBI agent
posing as a homeless man would tell Jamie sensitive information?”

“Shit. I don’t know. Just hoping, I guess. The idea of an extremist group in our neck
of the woods creeps me out.”

“You and me both. Jamie did say that Jonathan was mumbling rather incoherently. He
mentioned the number
forty-seven
and then the word,
concut
. Does that mean anything to you? I thought it might be an address. Or possibly the
name of someone.”

“Want me to check it out?”

“That would be great.” It would be one less thing Max needed to do. Ringing phones
and noisy chatter sounded in the background. Dan must be at the station.

“Did Vic say anything else?” Dan asked.

“Monster truck.”

“Like the rally?”

“Yup.”

Someone called Dan’s name. “I’ll check that out, too. Gotta go. I’ll let you know
if I find out anything.”

“Be careful. Terrorists are dangerous people. They’re already paranoid. Don’t stir
up the hornet’s nest.”

“I’ll try not to. If Vic’s other agents would just step in and let us know what the
hell was going on, we could help instead of possibly hinder the investigation.”

“That’s the FBI for you. I’ll touch base if I learn more, too.”

Max had work to do at the office. Just because there had been a fire to investigate,
didn’t mean he could let the rest of his job slide. Not having found a replacement
for his old job was dragging him down. He never realized what his former boss went
through each day with juggling basically two positions.

Max called in a to-go order from Italiano’s, requesting one of the specials. He figured
it would shorten his wait time. As soon as he stepped inside the restaurant, Elissa
walked out of the kitchen with his bag in hand. “Here ya go. Put it on your tab for
next time?”

Max did enjoy the service there. “Sure thing. Add on a tip for yourself.”

She grinned. By six, he was seated at his desk, ready to eat the delicious smelling
food. As soon as he made progress on the building inspections that were way past due,
he wanted to check out the conspiracy sites in the hopes of learning something about
the location of any possible cells near Rock Hard. He also wanted to see if
concut
meant anything.

First order of business was to give Trent a call before he left for the day. His friend
answered right away. “What’s up?”

Max explained about the need to locate Jonathan Rambler’s daughter.

“You want to know because Jamie asked you to find her, or because you think the daughter
might spill the beans on her old man?”

“The former.”

“You and Jamie getting close?”

He didn’t need any interference from his friend. “We’re going out to dinner tomorrow.”

Trent laughed. “Oh, yeah? It’ll be good for you to cut loose. It might help that sour
ass personality of yours.”

“Thanks for the psychological profile, dickweed. I’m well adjusted, in case you haven’t
noticed.”

Trent laughed. “If you say so.”

Max refocused his attention. “So, you’ll look into the whereabouts of Charlotte Rambler?
I mean Charlotte Hart. Hell, if she’s been married, she’ll have a different last name
anyway.”

“If Vic was a member of the armed services, we might be able to track her down.”

“I wish the FBI would lend a hand.”

“Good luck with that. I doubt the Feds trust anyone in Rock Hard, which is why they’re
keeping a low profile. This daughter may not even exist, you know. An undercover agent
would have a fabricated background.”

“You have a point.” They talked a bit more and then said goodbye.

Max had a ton of work to get done. At least he could cross one thing off his list.
He’d promised Jamie he’d ask Trent for the favor, and he had.

Max almost didn’t know where to begin. When Rich came in tomorrow, Max would ask him
to work on the new building inspections. That would be one less thing Max would have
to deal with. He was thankful his assistant was capable of handling the day-to-day
work, so Max could concentrate on the warehouse fire.

He needed to bug Margaret, the owner of All Professional Employment, about her progress
on finding him a replacement for his old job. Just as he pulled up his newly created
spreadsheet, his cell rang.

“Margaret! You’re working late. Please tell me you’ve found someone.” His heart jerked
hard in anticipation of good news.

She giggled. While she was in her late fifties and had this wonderfully upbeat attitude,
she often sounded like a teenager. “I did, indeed.”

He glanced to the ceiling in silent prayer. “Tell me about him or her.” He didn’t
care who the applicant was as long as this person was competent. Hell, he’d hire a
cat if the animal could get the job done.

“His name is Brandon Caulfield. He’s thirty-two, and from Billings. He’s a fireman
looking for advancement.”

Being from Montana was a plus. “What’s his education?”

“He’s a civil engineer.”

“That’s almost too good to be true.” Perhaps Max could pass off the building inspections
and subdivision reviews to the new guy. He had the education for it. “Why isn’t Billings
doing everything in their power to keep him? Something wrong with Caulfield?”

She laughed. “Nothing that I can tell. He has glowing recommendations.”

Maybe there weren’t any openings in Billings or bad karma existed there. As long as
the man knew his shit, Max didn’t care what demons were chasing him. This guy was
the first qualified candidate Margaret had offered them. “Invite him for an interview,
though I’m tempted to take him sight unseen.”

“I’ll set it up.”

After he disconnected, a hint of satisfaction seeped in. If Caulfield worked out,
when Max wasn’t searching for answers to the arson, he could concentrate on the feisty
Jamie Henderson. He couldn’t wait.

Chapter Nine