The Fire and the Veil (Veronica Barry Book 2) (34 page)

After a moment Veronica excused herself and hunted Melanie down.

“Hey!” Melanie said. “Tawna Anderson’s all in a tizzy. Did you have something to do with that?”

Veronica moved a box of files off the extra chair in the corner of Melanie cubicle and sat down. She crouched forward so Melanie could hear her as she whispered, “Amani Ahmad is making a statement that alibis Lola for the arson.”

Melanie’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s that then. Between the ME’s report and that statement, the DA’s not going to want to risk a trial against Lola.”

“Can you check on Paul Carver’s status in your computer?”

Melanie turned and typed rapidly, stopping only to shift her mouse around and click on links. “Okay, says here he’s still in custody.”

“Does it say anything about why he was arrested?”

“It says ‘Arrested in connection with murder investigation,’ but there’s nothing specifically about the Carver fire here.”

Veronica chewed on her thumb nail. “I don’t want them to release him. Do you think he’s going to get out soon?”

“I can’t tell, V. But I know it probably won’t take much if there’s nothing here about what murder investigation and all,” Melanie said. “In fact, Daniel’s probably lucky he’s in the hospital right now. He signed off, it looks like, and someone is going to want to talk to him about arresting people and not properly filling out the paperwork.”

Veronica sighed. “Okay. We’ve almost got everything together. I have Maya Nakaela here from Hawai’i, ready to pick up Lola and Lei and take them home. Amani made a statement and the ME’s report supports the idea that a tall person hit the Carvers. There’s that arson expert Daniel is friends with who thought it was probably an adult male. How do I get Tawna Anderson to look at Paul Carver for the murders, now?”

“Well, with Amani’s statement, I’m betting the hall will release Lola today—they can’t afford to just keep kids in there for no reason, it’s too crowded already,” Melanie said thoughtfully. “So maybe Lola could come and talk to Tawna herself. She could tell her it was Paul. Tawna will probably want to have Lola questioned again about the whole thing anyway.”

Veronica widened her eyes. “Mel, you’re a genius.”

“Aw, shucks.”

Chapter 24

“So I gave Mel’s car back to her, and then Khalilah let me drive hers when Maya and I went to pick up Lola,” Veronica told Daniel as he sat up in his hospital bed, listening.

“How’s Khalilah holding up?”

“She was glad to have something to do. She’s taking a couple of weeks leave from school, but I think being home alone was making her a little crazy.”

Veronica sat in the chair pulled up close to his side.

“Have you heard anything about Yesenia?” Daniel asked.

Veronica took his hand and laced her fingers through his. “Khalilah says she went to visit some friends she has in San Diego.”

Daniel smiled at her and squeezed her fingers lightly. “So Lola’s free and the DA likes Paul for the murders?”

“That’s what I hear,” Veronica said.

“Felsen came by a couple of hours ago. She said things look pretty bleak for Hamza, Ghattas and Colston,” Daniel said.

“Well, they did try to kill you,” Veronica said, thinking she hoped they disappeared into the prison system and never reappeared again.

“You mentioned something before. Your father helped you get into the storeroom?”

“Yeah,” Veronica nodded. “I haven’t heard anything from him since. I wonder if maybe when he did his white light thing, it used up his resources or something. I hope he’s okay, and still out there.”

Daniel gazed at her, running his thumb up and down hers. “I don’t know how it works at all, Ronnie. But it seems like he’d have to still be out there. Maybe he’s just backing off for a while.”

Veronica gave him a small smile. “Yeah, I just wish I had a chance to talk to him. I’ve missed him so much.”

“More than your mother?”

“She left us. I think I never really forgave her for that. And my father… well, I guess he left me too, but… I don’t know. I grew up feeling like that was my fault, you know, even though I was too young to really articulate the thought. So I guess I wasn’t as angry at him as I was at myself. And my mom.”

“Do you still blame yourself?” Daniel asked, his eyebrows drawing together in concern.

Veronica shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t consciously. But I don’t know. Maybe I still do. He killed himself right after he found the drawing I made of my mother’s car accident. He knew what I could do—so when he found that drawing, he knew she was dead. I think I blame her too, though. If she hadn’t left, she wouldn’t have gotten killed in the car accident, and he’d still be alive.”

Daniel shook his head, still resting it back against the big white pillow. “You don’t know that. You told me your father was an alcoholic and that your mother knew that—so it started before she left. I think he sounds like a man with some problems. If she stayed… you don’t know that he would have been better off.”

Veronica tried to raise the corners of her mouth in a smile, but the best she could do felt like an ugly grimace. “Yeah,” she said. “But at least then I wouldn’t have been alone.”

“Is that why you care so much about what happens to Lola and Lei?” he asked.

She swallowed, trying to clear the lump in her throat. “Yeah,” she breathed. “I know what it’s like, to be an orphan.”

Daniel raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Well, you’re not alone now.”

“You’re right. I mean, Cybele took great care of me, like Maya will care for Lola and Lei—”

“No, I didn’t mean Cybele,” Daniel said. “I meant me, Ronnie! I’m here for you.”

A genuine smile broke on Veronica’s face. She beamed at him. “Yeah, okay. And I’m here for you, too. But there’s one thing I think I need to say to you before we go on.”

“And that is?”

“You have to trust me from now on.”

“I do trust you!”

“No, I mean you have to trust me to do dangerous stuff sometimes. And I think the key is going to be us talking about it—when I have a vision or a dream or I see a ghost. If you and I hash it out, maybe we’ll understand what I’m seeing better.”

“And maybe I won’t go get knifed after you dream a warning about it? Yeah, that would be good.”

“Exactly. But the point is, I went to that market and I had my father’s help, and that made it possible for me to get in and out without getting hurt. I’m not just your average civilian blundering into dangerous situations, right?”

“You’ve made your point,” Daniel said. “I get it. But I’m never going to stop worrying about you, Ronnie.”

“Well, I guess I can’t argue with that,” she replied, and she leaned over and kissed him.

~***~

If you liked
The Fire and the Veil
, you can continue with
The Plane and the Parade
, its sequel. All of Sophia Martin's novels are available
on Amazon
.

About the Author

Sophia Martin lives in Mount Shasta, CA with her husband, son, dog and three cats. She teaches high school and likes to go hiking and foraging for wild food. She writes a lot, often about ghosts.

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