Untitled (30 page)

   "So Brad had to die." I gulped down the sour taste in my mouth.

   "And I do appreciate you giving me all those articles." He pointed to the file folder on the table. It was soaked with gasoline. "I planned to conveniently lose them, but this makes more of a statement, don't you think? If you had just kept out of it, Annie. Instead, I had to—"

   "Take a couple shots at me at that protest rally! I thought it was Reggie."

   "Reggie was a convenient scapegoat. Things would have been just fine if you would have left it that way."

   "But I didn't. I couldn't. Not with Eve's life on the line.

I still can't stop, Kegan. You know that. Just like you know that if we didn't find the proof Brad claimed to have, it's still out there somewhere."

   "Exactly why I've got to make sure there's no trace of me left once I get out of town." Just for good measure, Kegan sprinkled a few more drops of gasoline on the table. "No fingerprints. No nothing. That's the really good thing about fire, it has a way of taking care of things like evidence."

   I gulped, and though I knew it was probably not the right thing to say to an arsonist with a gasoline can in one hand, the pulsing sound of fire sirens in the distance gave me courage. "That's why all those years ago, you faked Joseph Grant's death."

   "Another sucker helped me out. A homeless guy who thought I was being charitable when I offered him a place to sleep for the night. You think he would have noticed that we were about the same height and weight, about the same age and build. Bones are bones, Annie. And it's hard to tell who they belong to when they're charred enough."

   "You can't mean that." I took a step closer. "You can't be a stone-cold killer. We were friends, Kegan."

   "Oh, please!"

   "And Grandpa Holtz?"

   "Got you on that one, didn't I? As soon as I realized you were one of those chicks who can't keep her nose out of other people's business, I knew I had to win you over. So I played the dead grandpa card. Works every time. Don't look so upset." He rolled his eyes. "You wanted to prove Eve was innocent, didn't you? There you go. You did it. Too bad you're not going to be alive to tell the cops when they get here."

   I didn't see it coming, and even if I had, I never would have been able to move fast enough. Kegan reared back and pitched the open can of gasoline at me. Gas rained down on me, soaking my hair and my clothes. Instinctively, I closed my eyes and turned away so that I was facing the door, and by the time I did that, Kegan was already there.

   "Thanks for all your help, Annie." He had a lighter in his hands, and he held it up for me to see. "I'm going to be heading out now. My guess is that when they find you in the rubble, they'll figure you were just trying to get even. You know, for all that unrequited love."

   "You mean even that wasn't true?" Yes, I had more important things to worry about, but talk about a blow to the ego! "You came on to me—"

   "Just so you'd feel sorry for me. You were getting too close, asking too many questions. Now the cops will think you were depressed because I left town and left you all alone. Why do you think I made sure I called Jim so many times when we were out together? He'll tell them the truth. That he was worried and jealous. That you wanted me more than you wanted him."

   "That's crazy!"

   "Not so crazy. As a matter of fact, it's brilliant."

   "Too bad it's not going to work."

   These brave words didn't come from me, because by that time, I was shaking in my shoes. Thank goodness, help had arrived. Tyler and the SWAT team were right outside the door. Tyler had his gun out, and he held Kegan in his sights while another officer ripped the cigarette lighter out of his hands.

   "You OK, Annie?" he called to me.

   I wasn't. I was soaked with gasoline and scared to death. I needed a bath. And a hug. And—

   "Annie!"

   I saw a blur and heard my name. The fumes must have gone right to my brain, because I swore it was spoken with a Scottish accent.

   The next second, Jim's arms were around me.

   "Water." He said this at the same time he scooped me into his arms and carried me to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and plunked me down in it. "We need to get that gasoline off you. Hold still!"

   This wasn't fair, since I wasn't squirming. I was too surprised to move.

   He grabbed the handheld shower and poured water over my head and across my shoulders and down the length of my body.

   "What on earth!" I sputtered. "How did you—"

   "Putting the chocolate fountain away. I found an envelope. In the storage room. Brad must have hidden it in there."

   "He stopped at the restaurant the Saturday before he died." This had not seemed significant when I first heard about it. Now, if I wasn't too stunned to move, I would have slapped my forehead. "And the envelope?"

   "Had copies of old newspaper articles. And Brad's notes proving that Kegan was really this Joseph Grant character. And one of the forks from the restaurant. Carefully wrapped."

   I squinted at Jim. It was the only way I could see him through the cascade of water.

   "Can't say for sure." He worked the water through my hair. "But I think maybe Brad picked it up at class after Kegan had used it. Fingerprints, do you think? Or maybe DNA. It was the last thing he needed to prove that Kegan wasn't who he said he was. He was really Joseph Grant."

   "I think you are brilliant!"

   "And I think you take far too many chances." He kissed me. Hard. "I'm sorry I'm not the kind of man you want," he said when he was done.

   And I looked at him like he was crazy, because of course he was. "That's why you were spouting that really bad poetry? You thought—"

   Jim turned nearly as red as Kegan. "Lavoie is French. I figured he must know how to woo a woman. I thought if I could be more romantic, you'd stop hanging around with Kegan and—"

   "You're the most romantic man I know." It was my turn to kiss him. "And the most generous and the most wonderful. I was investigating with Kegan. Nothing else. At least I thought I was investigating."

"Which means you never liked him."

"Which you wouldn't even ask unless you were jealous."

"A little."

   I smiled. No easy task, since I felt as if I was standing under Niagara Falls.

   Jim smiled back. Right before he climbed into the bathtub and wrapped his arms around me.

   When the firefighters found us there, we were still liplocked.

Kegan's Smokin' Good

Chicken Dip

E
Brad's Favorite Onion Soup

Jim's Dilly of a Chili

As Corny as Monsieur Lavoie's

Advice on Love

Grilled Corn on the Cob

                                                   
E
E

E
Annie's Hot

(But Not Too Crispy)

                                                   
E
E

Chicken Wings

                                                   
E
E

E
Eve's Divine Mac 'n' Three Cheese

                                                   
E
E

Damien's (Organic!)

                                                   
E
E

Horseradish Slaw

                                                   
E
E

Marc's Zesty Burgers

                                                   
E
E

E
Hot off the Grill Ice Cream Sundae

for Emma, Lucy, Doris, Gloria,

                                                   
E
E

Wendy, Rosemary, Alice,

                                                   
E
E

and Little Ricky

                                                   
E
E

The Bellywasher's Mojito

e
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32 ounces low-sodium beef br

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1 can white norther

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