Twisted Fire (19 page)

“
Caught her doing what?”

“
Kissing him.”

“
So it was just kissing.” Jared turned to send him an incredulous look.

“
So anything is cheating as far as I’m concerned.”

“
Ah, now it’s making sense. You are serious about her and now she’s done this.” Sam sighed. “Is she sleeping with him?”

“
I don’t know. It’s possible.” He ran his hand though his hair. Frustrated, confused and hurting, the ache in his chest threatened to consume him.

“
Didn’t she say anything?”

“
I haven’t talked to her.”

“
So there might be an explanation?”

“
Or just more pathetic excuses - you sound like Mitch. She fooled him as well. She came to the house and told him some story I do not want to hear and he believed her. I knew she was the wrong type of girl to get involved with, and once again I got conned. I just cannot seem to stay away from them.”

“
Why don’t you give her the benefit of the doubt and talk to her?” Sam walked over to Jared, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. What little was left of his meagre restraint almost crumbled to the floor.

“
Because I don’t want to be fooled again, Sam, and, besides, I’ve heard it all before. She told me a few weeks ago that he was coming onto her. Maybe she changed her mind about us and him. She’s done it before.” He turned from Sam again. It was the only way to shield his emotions.

“
Be difficult then. It’s your life but quit taking it out on your crew.”

“
I will. I’m sorry.”

After Sam left, Jared gave a fleeting thought to what he’d said. Sam wasn’t the only one suggesting he give her the benefit of the doubt. Mitch had also tried to explain on her behalf last night too. Should he believe her or was she just being devious? He knew she wasn’t to be trusted yet he’d gone and done it anyway. He thought he’d seen a side to her which indicated she was different to Emma, but as it turned out maybe she wasn’t. Was it like she said? Was she fending Shaw off? He now wondered if she had been deceiving him from the start, and when she’d told him about Shaw she was merely deterring suspicion. Had she been seeing them both all this time?

Deciding to concentrate on something else, he called Lucas to obtain an update on the investigation.

“
I was just about to call you but I didn’t know what shift you were working, so I wasn’t sure when to call.”

“
You can ring anytime, it doesn’t bother me. What’s happening?”

“
Well the information you gave us regarding the similar arsons has led us to a suspect in Newberry. Unfortunately, as they always are, he is AWOL. We have no lead on his current location but we are working on it. His name is Michael Stevens and he was a student at the time of the murders. All three girls were connected to him in different ways. He was a fire bug as a child, so he was the local police’s main suspect. When they went to bring him in for questioning, they found his house empty. We have done a search for him in our databases and his address is still listed as Newberry. We’re waiting for the files to be sent down to us. I got the low down from the officer who handled the case.”

“
At least you have an idea who you’re looking for.”

“
Yeah, hopefully he’s still using his real name. It happens regularly that they move and change their name. As we don’t have the file we don’t actually know what he was studying at this stage to give us an idea of his occupation. The officer couldn’t remember all the details and the files were in archive so it may take up to a week before we get them. Have you had any luck locating any fires out of state within the last five years? We checked our records but there are a lot of files to go through. If we had a more definite avenue to look it would help.”

“
I made a few calls but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll chase it up.”

“
Great, that would be helpful.”

“
Let me know if I can be any more help when you receive the files from Newberry.”

“
Yeah, will do.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “I know I might be speaking out of place but your brother is my closest friend so I feel I can be honest with you.”

“
If it’s about Charlotte I have heard it already from Mitch and Sam. Carrie even rang me yesterday to say her bit. I’m sorry if she’s upset, but she brought it on herself. I am fine by the way.”

“
Alright I see enough has been said. I just wish you would think about it. They’re a really great family and I don’t believe any of them would do something deceitful.”

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I know what I saw.” His jaw constricted at the memory.

“
There is an explanation.”

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So everyone says but I can’t, I won’t, go through it all again. Even if I believe her, I will always be wondering if she will leave me or run off with someone else.”

“
Like I said, just think about hearing her out.”

“
Fine I’ll think about it.”

“
Good. Sorry for butting in.”

“
It’s OK.”

* * *

That evening when he arrived home, Jared took a beer out the back and watched the sun set over the ocean. He remembered the sunsets he’d shared with Charlotte over the past weeks and the pain in his heart squeezed tighter. Was she telling the truth that she wasn’t a willing participant? Could he take the chance? Could he trust her not to leave even if he did believe her?

* * *

After advising Dr Shaw she would finish out two weeks and after apologising for storming out without giving the appropriate notice, Charlotte tried to get through the following couple of days as best she could. Martin finally backed off but it was now too late. She wouldn’t be rescinding her resignation and staying on. She would never feel comfortable around him again.

She’d called Jared’s house the previous evening and Mitch had told her he wouldn’t come to the phone. She managed to prod out of Mitch that Jared would be home that evening. The day crept along slowly and, when it was finally over, butterflies flew circles in her stomach. Charlotte drove towards his house, hoping he would give her the opportunity to explain.

After knocking she heard his voice call out and her heart leapt into her throat. She waited anxiously at his door. When he opened it, she realised why she’d been nervous; his facial expression was not a friendly one.

“
What do you want?” he asked her bluntly.

“
To tell you what happened and that I have absolutely no feelings for Dr Shaw.”

“
I have heard something similar to this before and it was all lies.” He stood in the doorway and Charlotte realised he wasn’t going to invite her in.

“
I’m not lying to you. I was going to tell you about him again but I didn’t want to upset you. When I tried to deal with it myself, he kissed me.”

“
It looked like you pushed him away so I wouldn’t catch you. Besides, I don’t care, Charlotte. I don’t want to hear it.” He turned his face from hers, his eyes dark as though a storm brewed within.

“
It really isn’t how it looked.”

“
Mitch told me your story and I’m not interested. I knew I should never have gotten involved with you but my attraction got the better of me. I’m not going to fall for it again. Goodbye, Charlotte.”

He shut the door.

It wasn't possible that he didn’t feel the same way as her. It wasn't just about chemistry, a simple attraction - there was much more between them. Was it possible that he didn’t actually love her? Her heart threatened to shatter into a million pieces.

* * *

As soon as Jared closed the door, he stood with his head resting against it, struggling to obtain command of his conflicting emotions. She’d seemed genuine and looked so beautiful and vulnerable. His heart ached at the sight of her.

His mind flashed to the last time his trust had been destroyed and he couldn’t stop the memory flooding into his mind.

Jared had chosen to surprise Emma that evening. Work had been particularly slow so he’d left early and picked up supplies to cook for her. They’d been unable to celebrate their anniversary the previous week as he’d been working, so they’d planned this evening together as a belated celebration.

Instead of knocking, which could have saved him the vision to follow, he used the key she’d given him only weeks before and slipped quietly into her apartment. The familiar noises coming from her bedroom halted his heart and, for a moment, he hoped he was hearing things. As Jared drew closer, there was no denying exactly what was going on behind the slightly closed door.

What he hadn’t been prepared for was Rick.

Was this the same? Had he stopped them as they were just starting? If he’d arrived five or ten minutes later, would he have walked in on a similar scene? He couldn’t be sure. He wanted to believe Charlotte but how could he trust her? Without trust, being with her would drive him to insanity.

Although, wasn’t he going crazy without her anyway?

Chapter 22

Fire

After her visit with Jared, Charlotte appeared to fall into an abyss which she didn’t seem to be able to climb out of. She meandered through her work and spent little time away from home and her bedroom. She joined Chelsea and Lucas for meals but would disappear again, spending endless hours on the balcony in unrelenting pain.

Chelsea was beginning to grow concerned. Charlotte always bounced back from everything, even being shot by that maniac Andrew Smyth. Charlotte had told Chelsea that Dr Shaw insisted he was deeply sorry, that he didn’t want her to leave. Charlotte refused to change her mind, insisting it would be too difficult for her.

After waking up on Saturday morning, Charlotte somehow managed to drag herself downstairs for breakfast. The sight of the newlyweds, enjoying each other’s company was almost too much to handle. She sat at the dining table hugging her legs while she waited for them to join her. Chelsea came and sat down beside her, deciding it was time to talk to her before she fell too far.

“
Can you come and help me in the shop today? Lauren is sick and I have a sizable amount of orders to finish.”

“
Sure,” she answered in a lacklustre tone.

“
Charlotte, honey, I’m worried about you.”

“
I’m OK.” She swiped at tears betraying her words.

“
You don’t look it, sweetie.”

“
I just have to get through next week and then I think I’ll go home and work with Mum again while I finish out my last year.”

“
That is a sensible idea but I don’t think it will make you happy. Stay here where you want to be.”

“
I don’t think I can,” she said so softly that Chelsea barely heard her.

“
I’ve never seen anything get you down before and you’ve been through worse.”

“
Being shot was better than this. At least my body healed.”

“
Maybe he’ll change his mind when he calms down.”

“
Chelsea, he was calm, that’s the problem. You should have seen him on Thursday night, there was nothing there.” She stopped wiping again and the tears ran in streams. A small sob escaped and she hugged her legs tighter.

“
Men are good at hiding their emotions. Lucas does it perfectly but I can see through it now.”

“
I have to do something about my career and there may be no other option.”

“
I know, honey but just give it some time, really think about it.” Chelsea brushed Charlotte’s curls back from her face, red rimmed eyes and splotchy cheeks indicating her distress. Chelsea couldn’t recall ever seeing her sister this way.

“
I will but I don’t think I’m going to change my mind … I can’t … live here … He is everywhere,” she broke off as tears continued to fall.

“
I’ll make you some breakfast and then you’re coming to work with me.”

“
OK,” she said weakly.

When Chelsea went back into the kitchen, she walked over to Lucas who was reading the newspaper while drinking his coffee. She hugged him from behind, thinking how thankful she was that he’d come to his senses. He turned around and saw the concern for her sister in her eyes.