Monroe, Melody Snow - Truth and Seduction [The Callens 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

He was tan, like his rancher father. Given his father and two uncles owned seventy-five thousand acres of prime ranch land, to say Cody came from an influential family would have been like saying she was a shy girl.

“I own the town newspaper.”

She huffed out a breath. “The
Intrigue Sun
?” That was the name of the paper in high school, but it had more fluff than substance. Maybe that was because there wasn’t much to report back then. Once again, she’d always imagined him either helping run his dad’s ranch or being a professional football player. Cody succeeded in everything he set his mind to.

“The one and only. It’s not like you remember, though. I pride myself in being a good journalist and telling the truth.”

Wouldn’t that be nice if every newspaper had the same philosophy? Her news station in Denver always had to be super concerned about stepping on the sponsors’ toes. They’d pulled one of her best investigative stories on fraud at a local department store because the station’s general manager had been afraid they’d lose advertising dollars. That had been the beginning of the end for her. Given Intrigue was so accepting in their belief in diversity and freedom of expression, she hoped politics or revenue wouldn’t play much of a role in her ability to report the news.

Even though she’d never gone out with the rich boys in high school, she’d fantasized about them. Bad boys always attracted her, but she was savvy enough even back then not to accept their overtures. Looking back, she realized she might have been wrong in turning them down. These two had to be the hottest men she’d seen in a long time.

A quick glance at Cody’s ring finger confirmed he might not be married. Though how all the women in Intrigue had failed to snag such a catch, she didn’t know. He was smart, rich, and almost too easy on the eyes. Cody had on a long-sleeved T-shirt with his pecs straining the top. What she wouldn’t give to run her hands down his abs. His slim hips implied he kept up with his horse riding and working the ranch. As for his face, his blue eyes and chiseled jaw still got to her.

She slipped her business card out of her pocket and handed it to him. “Maybe we can keep in touch.”

His grin reached his eyes. “You can count on that.” He flipped over her card. “Got a cell number?”

Her pulse skipped a beat. Standing in front of his locker flashed in her mind when he’d asked her out to homecoming. She’d said no then, but not this time. “Sure.” She slipped the card from his grasp, making sure their fingers touched. Heat tripped up her spine. Something was wrong with her today. She never got weak-kneed in front of the camera and certainly not in front of a man. Ever.

She located a pen, scribbled her number on the back, and handed him the card. “Call me.”

“I will.”

Shane had finished with his boss. He walked over to them, but he kept glancing at the burning building, almost as if he wished he were suited up and could run in and check to see if anyone else was inside. Just then, the firefighters raced from the building as part of the roof collapsed behind them. The loud crash made her jump.

“Excuse me.” Shane took off at a jog.

He was too far out of range to hear the conversation with the fellow firefighters. One way or another, she’d get the scoop.

Five minutes later, Shane returned. Only this time, he was almost dragging his feet. He turned to Cody. “You better go. I’ll need to wait until the fire has cooled before I can investigate.”

Cody grabbed his friend’s arm. “I’m not leaving. Did you learn what happened?”

Shane glanced at Jessie, acting as if he wanted her to go away. That wasn’t going to happen. She had every right to be there and stayed her ground.

“Chuck spotted two bodies on the bed just as the roof was coming down, so he and the men had to get out of there.”

“I’m sorry.” Cody’s voice sounded thick. “You’ll find out what happened to them.”

Dear God
. Andy’s parents were dead. She couldn’t imagine a worse way to die than being trapped in a burning building.

“You got that right. If the bodies are the Tanners, I can’t imagine what Andy will do.” He ran a hand down his smoke-covered face.

She waited for Shane or Cody to ask her to stay around. When they didn’t, she headed back to the van. Not only did her stomach churn and ache for the little boy, but from the way Shane seemed to be reining in his emotions, he, too, was battling with his demons.

As she slipped into the van, she knew Intrigue was going to live up to its name.

* * * *

While Shane had investigated many fires over the years, knowing the people who’d died had to be the hardest burden to bear. Before the fire truck took off, he borrowed some heavy boots and gear so he could perform his arson investigation. Once he was convinced the structure was cool enough to go in, he carefully stepped onto the fallen boards, making sure to choose the sturdiest ones to stand on. He’d already photographed the outside and surrounding area for evidence of foul play. It would have been nice if the arsonist had left the gas can outside the front door with his fingerprints on it. Then his job would have been done.

If he finished checking the scene before it got dark, he’d see if Andy felt like talking. He wouldn’t be surprised if the little guy was too traumatized to speak, at least for a while. When Shane was six, he’d found his mother dead in her bed. He’d shaken her but gotten no response. It wasn’t until his dad came home that he learned his mom had gone to heaven. His father told him later on that Shane hadn’t spoken another word for days. Andy might go through something similar. Poor little guy. He wished there was something he could do for him. He just hoped child services could find someone to take the boy.

You might as well get this over with
.

Since Shane had visited Greg and Rhonda on numerous occasions, he basically knew the location of the bedroom. This was the worst part of the job. Seeing where they died always tied up his gut. As he approached, his stomach soured. The burning building smelled like sweet, rotten food, an odor he never got used to. With camera in hand, he photographed the destruction.

When he came to the bedroom area, he pushed aside the angry thoughts swirling in his brain. The injustice of it tore him up. His father, who he’d kept at arm’s length since he graduated high school, had taught him one valuable lesson. Showing emotion was a sign of weakness. Shane inhaled and drew on his professional skills, telling himself he needed to stay focused for the sake of the Tanners.

The roof had collapsed on top of the bed. He’d have to move the wreckage himself. While Cody was somewhere sniffing out clues, and a bunch of cops were either cordoning off the area or searching for what police looked for at crime scenes, he needed to work solo. He couldn’t afford to have any untrained men come into the burned-out shell.

Shane donned his well-insulated gloves and managed to shove the trusses to the side. When he uncovered the bed, his heart sank. Greg and Rhonda were lying there peacefully, as if they were unaware the house had ever been on fire. To him, that implied they might have been killed before the blaze started. At least he hoped that was the case.

He shot photos of the bodies. Something tugged at him. Greg’s hands were in a prayerlike position with the tips of his fingers nearly touching his left shoulder. Under normal circumstances, when people burned to death, their muscles shrank and the body curled up in the fetal position. In this case, Greg’s hands were together, and that wasn’t normal.

He’d almost finished documenting the scene when he spotted some cigarette paper on the bed. In fact, part of the cigarette was still intact. The problem was that to his knowledge neither Greg nor Rhonda smoked. He bagged the stub, hoping the lab would give him some answers.

A glass bottle sat on the nightstand. He picked it up and placed it in another evidence bag. Maybe they’d been poisoned. That would explain why neither moved when the house caught on fire. But if so, why would the killer leave the evidence behind? Nothing was adding up, and yet so far, he saw no sign of arson. There weren’t the usual fire lines associated with an accelerant. Regardless, he took samples of what was left of the bed and drapes and would ask the lab to analyze it. The bedroom clearly was the origin, but how the fire started confused him. To someone who didn’t know the Tanners, they’d conclude the cigarette caught the bed on fire. Even if that were the case, two people would not watch the bed go up in flames and not move. Nope, this case was anything but cut-and-dry.

By the time he actually finished, it was almost too dark to see. He spotted Cody on the other side of the house talking to one of the cops and made his way over there.

“I’m through here for now.”

Cody finished his questioning, joined him, and scrunched up his nose. “You stink.”

“The hazards of the job. You’re no sweet peach either.”

Cody shrugged. “You want to get something to eat?”

Shane laughed. “Like this? What planet are you from?”

“I meant after you and I clean up, dork.”

Cody’s teasing was his way of lightening the mood. His roommate knew all too well that after a fire investigation, he’d be in a bear of a mood. “Works for me.”

Shane took one last look at the house. Half of the structure still stood, but the roof was mostly gone. Good thing Andy’s room was on the side that was still standing. If Jessie hadn’t spotted the fire when she did and called the department, Andy would be dead.

With the arson investigation on hold until he got the lab results back, he let his mind wander to the now-grown-up woman. He smiled. She never knew it, but she’d been the one who’d changed his life.