Hot Water (19 page)

He made a salad to accompany the chicken she was grilling on the patio. While he rinsed and chopped, her aunt called. Snippets of Laurie Ann’s side of the conversation drifted through the open window. He cringed when she repeated, “No, I haven’t lost my mind.”

Laurie Ann marched back inside, charred meat on a plate, her three-legged dog darting in and out of her way. “My aunt heard the news at the beauty shop. She just disowned me.”

“She’s upset. Give her emotions time to cool down.”

“You don’t know my aunt. The longer she chews on something, the more worked up she gets, and she’s pretty darn worked up.”

Wyatt set the knife and cutting board in the sink. He’d brought this trouble on her. Guilt crowded him like the twilight edging the sun from the sky. “I’m sorry.”

She glared at him. “How would you feel if I put out a warrant for your brother’s arrest?”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“Not without proof. You only have a pattern. Lester is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. He’ll be spooked out of his mind. He’ll probably hit the road because he thinks the evidence is stacked against him.”

Wyatt carried the salad to the table and dished it out. “Guilty men run.”

She followed with the chicken. “So do scared ones. Men run from cops every day because they’re scared.”

So far, so good. She hadn’t come after him with a knife, and hers were particularly sharp. “They’re guilty of something.”

She snorted. “It must be nice living in that black and white ivory tower of yours.”

“Insults, Dinterman? Is that where we’re headed?”

She pushed the food around on her plate. “I’m frustrated. I’ve never been so conflicted, even when I was getting my butt kicked at the academy. This is my family we’re talking about.”

“Lester’s been of interest to me since the church picnic, but I didn’t leap to any conclusions. Things about him don’t add up. His employment and income. His disappearances. His living arrangements. His early history of setting fires. His knowledge of guns. His avoidance of me. I delayed taking action against him until we received that employment log of his travel. You made the connection about the scrap yards, which puts him in the company of people who are ripping off others. Once the fire log and his travel log matched, I knew Lester was the person I’m looking for. I believe he’s stealing metal and starting fires to cover the theft.”

“There might be another explanation. This is circumstantial evidence.”

Wyatt picked up his fork and knife. “For your sake, I hope there is.”

Her shoulders slumped. “If he is the person you say he is, that means I’m not a very good cop. How could I have missed a serial arsonist right under my nose?”

“You weren’t looking for a serial arsonist. I’ve been chasing this guy for two years. He’s good at covering his tracks, like a hunter. He varied his pattern and location. He didn’t fit a standard profile. Now I know why. His opportunity for random fires came about through his part-time employment. I considered a traveling salesman for the arsonist’s occupation early on, but the territory was too broad. A firm that delivered to Statesboro wouldn’t necessarily have business in Helen, Rome, and Valdosta. Lester’s furniture moving job gives him the perfect excuse to travel anywhere in the state. He might have even used the moving truck to haul away the scrap metal.”

“But he didn’t sell the metal himself, or his name would have cropped up on the lists of sellers I perused. If he’s tied into scrap metal thefts, he must have accomplices.”

“Did he know about the task force? Did you talk about that with him?”

“He didn’t ask me about the task force, but I must have mentioned it. Dad would have mentioned it, if I didn’t. He was proud I organized one for the southeast that connected us to the statewide network.”

Wyatt gave up the pretense of eating, putting down his silverware. “Playing devil’s advocate here, how would Lester have enlisted locals to sell the metal for him? Does he know people all over the state?”

“He has hunting and fishing buddies, but I don’t know as they would help him move stolen property. Early in his employment with Jimmy’s Moving, he told me they often stopped at local dives and hired extra workers for unloading. It was cheaper than paying people from Brunswick for the entire trip.”

“Those names would be different every time.” Understanding dawned as the pieces fell together in Wyatt’s thoughts. It made sense now. This was the final link he’d been missing. “Those day-laborers might be willing to look the other way for a few extra dollars. They might even help him scout locations for scrap metal.”

Laurie Ann’s face paled. “In which case, I fear for Ray Spivey and Frankie Miles. They’re the type of worker Lester would have hired. As homeless men, they’re invisible, like James Brown was.”

Wyatt reached across the table and touched her hand. “With Brown dead, Spivey and Miles know to be wary of your cousin.”

The screen door banged shut. Wyatt glanced up in alarm, but Laurie Ann made a dismissive gesture with her wrist. “Gabby went outside.”

“We should make sure your doors are locked. You don’t want to have a surprise visitor tonight.”

Her eyes rounded. “You think he’s here?”

“I don’t know where he is. You called his helpers invisible, but Lester’s been smoke this whole time. He’s a master of getting around undetected. He’s good at going to ground, too.”

“You’re certain Lester is the arsonist?”

“As certain as I can be without his signed confession.”

“I follow your logic, but it doesn’t change how torn up I feel. I’m blindsided and feeling guilty about betraying my family and feeling angry at being caught in the middle of this situation. And I’m not an emotional person.” She went silent for a moment. Her eyebrows shot up. “My dad! Is he in danger?”

“Don’t worry about him. I passed the word up my chain of command earlier today. I got a text before dinner that your dad was enjoying fishing with his buddies. Lester is not around.”

“What about tonight?”

“Your dad will be fine. I’ve got someone looking out for him.”

“Who?”

“One of Sloan Harding’s security guys. Lester won’t get past him. This guy is a former special forces agent.”

“What do we do now?”

“Investigate. We follow the leads we have, starting with the islands tomorrow. Lester will be found. He escaped detection before because no one was looking for him. This time around the entire state is on alert for Lester Church.”

She pressed her lips together at his last statement. He wished he could soften the blow, but her cousin wasn’t the man she thought he was. He was a killer and an arsonist. Of that, Wyatt was certain.

They dug into the dinner. Wyatt’s thoughts wouldn’t settle. He was close to getting his man. He couldn’t let up now.
I’ve got your back, Bobby. Justice is near.

“Do you hear that?” she asked.

Wyatt listened, his senses revved on high alert. Faintly, he heard barking. “Your dog?”

She rose. “Gabby must have gotten tangled in the briars again. That dog thinks he’s Superman. He doesn’t take into account he’s missing a leg or that it’s dark. I’ll go get him.”

“Wait for me.”

Chapter 38

Their flashlights bobbed as they hurried through the woods. Wyatt had no doubt they were heading for the barking dog, his ears told him that. Like last time, he’d put on his boots. This time though, he’d also donned his fire helmet with searchlight. They’d left the house on a northwestern heading and seemed to be arcing westward, but without visible landmarks, he couldn’t be certain.

On the plus side, Laurie Ann seemed surefooted as a deer and completely at home in these trees. He stepped over a tangle of vines, the heel of his boot catching one and nearly toppling him. His light flashed up the treetops momentarily.

“You all right?” Laurie Ann called over her shoulder.

“Minor navigation error.” He ducked under another low hanging branch. “You know, if not for your barking dog, I might be worried you were dragging me out in the woods for ulterior motives.”

She snorted. “You wish. You’d love to get your hands on my ulterior motives.”

He opened his mouth to laugh and ate a bug. After he got rid of it, the moment had passed for witty repartee. He definitely wanted to get his hands on her. That feeling hadn’t lessened one bit. But his chances of that happening approached zero. As soon as his investigation had pointed toward her cousin, he’d known this would be a bumpy ride.

“How’s that arm of yours?” Laurie Ann asked. “I keep forgetting to ask you about it.”

“Fine. Doesn’t bother me much.”

“Good.”

Gabby kept barking. How did the dog manage to get this far away from the house, through all this underbrush, with only three legs? Wyatt focused on staying upright with his ears attuned to the night. Except for the barking, it was quiet.

Too quiet.

“Laurie Ann. Hold up a sec.”

She didn’t break stride. “Can’t keep up, city boy?”

He highstepped across tangled vegetation and gripped her shoulder. “Stop.”

The look she shot him would’ve ignited Atlanta’s Turner Field. “Listen,” he urged.

“My dog is barking.”

“Listen again.”

She cocked her head. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. There should be frogs. Crickets. Owls. Other sounds. The forest is too quiet. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I can’t leave my dog out here.”

“I’m not asking you to. Be careful.”

“I’m armed, and I brought my phone. I don’t go anywhere without protection. I’ve spotted six-foot rattlers out here.”

Snakes. He hoped they didn’t run across any of the two-legged kind. “Be alert. If your dog wasn’t stuck, I’d insist we seek cover. I don’t like this. Our flashlights broadcast our location, so do our voices.”

He wasn’t sure how she’d respond. A mosquito whined near his ear as he waited.

“Good points,” she said. “I feel edgy too, but I thought it was because of Gabby. Shine your light at the ground, turn off that head lamp, and keep conversation to the bare minimum.”

“Roger, that.”

Her pace through the woods slowed, and Wyatt stayed close to her, stepping in her tracks. The dog’s barks became louder. Finally, they rounded a bend in the trail and came upon a familiar thicket of briars. Gabby was tangled up with the briars. So was his leash.

His leash?

He hadn’t been on a leash when he left the house.

Laurie Ann made cooing noises to the dog. While she reached in to get Gabby, Wyatt swept the perimeter with his light. He saw no movement, no telltale gleam of a gun barrel, no flare of a bullet being discharged.

“This is a trap,” he said.

“I’m not leaving my dog,” Laurie Ann said. She pushed further into the thicket, muttering under her breath.

“He didn’t wander out here by himself. Someone brought him here. Someone wanted us in the woods tonight. The question is why.”

She reached for the dog and missed. “I’d say you watched too many conspiracy movies, except for Gabby’s leash. I’ve never seen it before.”

He pushed in beside her. “Let me try. My arms are longer.”

Ignoring the thorns tearing at his clothes and forearms, he thrust into the thicket and grabbed the dog. He retreated and sat on his haunches with the three-legged canine.

Laurie Ann cheered and swooped a grateful Gabby out of his arms and into hers. The dog licked her face, her hands, her clothes. His whole body quivered with gratitude.

She lifted her face up to Wyatt’s and beamed a megawatt smile at him. He drew in a deep breath, content that he’d helped her. Would she give him another chance? He hoped he’d redeemed himself. He reached over and patted Gabby, and the squirming dog started licking him all over.

“Thank you,” Laurie Ann said.

“What? No licks of gratitude?” Wyatt teased as she took the dog back.

She grinned. “I’m very selective about who I lick.”

His pulse jumped at the thought of her licking him. Maybe this would come out all right. Maybe she wouldn’t hate him for arresting her cousin.

Wyatt smelled it then.

Smoke.

This wasn’t any old trap. This was his arsonist. He’d lured them out in the woods, away from safety, away from water. In woods that were thick with underbrush and natural fuel.

“Is there another way out of here?” Wyatt asked.

“There is, but why would we go through the swamp when we can walk back down the path to my house?”

“Because I smell smoke.”

Laurie Ann scrambled to her feet, the dog cradled in her arms. She sniffed. “Smoke. You’re right. But I don’t see any flames.”

“We’ll see them soon enough. We should head to the swamp. Less chance of that catching on fire.”

“What if that’s what he expects us to do? We should run back down the path to the house. If we hurry, instead of mincing our way along, we can be back to safety in five minutes.”

“I’m willing to give it a try.” But he knew in his heart that the sure way to safety was blocked. Hell, as smart as this guy was, the unsure way to their safety might be blocked as well.

They raced down the path. The smell of smoke clogged his nostrils. He squinted through the thick haze, praying he didn’t fall flat on his face. Flames crackled.

Through the blanket of smoke, he saw a line of fire blocking their progress as surely as a battle line of soldiers.

“We have to turn back.” He caught her arm to stop her. “This way is blocked.”

“We can make it. We’ll jump over the flames. They don’t look too bad.”

If he’d put on his full turnout gear, maybe. But his boots alone wouldn’t offer them the protection they needed. “Bad idea. You could be jumping into more trouble. We don’t know if he’s set backfires. Going that way is too dangerous.”

“But we’re so close to home. Couldn’t we try it? We could turn back if there were more fires. I’m not afraid.”

His eyes watered. With the smoke whirling around him, the flames heating the air, his thoughts veered to the night he’d lost his buddy. He couldn’t let Laurie Ann make the same mistake.

He turned her around and drilled his gaze into her eyes. “You will not jump into a fire. It’s too dangerous. I’m not letting go of you until you head back the way we came. The further we get from these flames the better. I don’t know my way around here. You have to lead. You have to take charge.”