Neighing with Fire: A Mystery (Colleen McCabe Series) (16 page)

The television played in the living room. She was only half listening, using it more for background noise as she prepared the food. The bell tone signaling breaking news sounded. She cocked her ear and heard the WAVE news reporter announce that there had been another fire on the mainland. She reduced the heat for the noodles and dashed into the living room.

“We’ve received confirmation that there has been another fire in Currituck County, North Carolina,” said the newscaster. “County fire and EMS are on the scene. We have reporters on their way and will bring you the latest as it becomes available. Now for the weather…”

She watched the weather forecasts and maps flash across the screen, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She wondered if Agent Morgan was on his way to the scene and realized she hadn’t heard her pager go off alerting her to local emergencies. She surveyed the living room, remembered that she had left it in her bedroom when she had been getting dressed for dinner, and sprinted upstairs to retrieve the pager in case a call came in.

Sparky barked and growled below. Seconds later, the doorbell rang. She dashed down the stairs, checked her appearance in the hall bathroom mirror, crossed the foyer, took a deep breath, and opened the front door.

Bill gave her an appreciative once over. “You look nice.”

“I clean up okay,” she said, playing it off, and moved aside to let him in. What she didn’t tell him is that she had spent a great deal of time agonizing about what to wear and how much makeup to apply—something she hadn’t done since her college days. She had finally decided on jeans, a blue blouse that matched her eyes, and a little mascara, shadow, and lip gloss. Yes, she had thought to herself while getting ready, I must really like this man to be doing all this.

“Did you cook?” Bill said, gaping at the stove.

“Don’t look so surprised,” she said, and gently pushed him aside to stir the noodles.

“Well, I’ve never seen you … I didn’t know you knew how.”

“Sparky and Smokey are having the same reaction,” she said with a grin, and gestured to the dog and cat, who had once again taken up their posts near the stove. “I hope you like it.”

“It smells wonderful. What’s the occasion?”

“It’s hard to think on an empty stomach.”

“True,” he said. “But that still doesn’t explain why the special meal.”

“Wait to see if you think it’s special once you’ve tasted it,” she said, but knew he’d find it delicious. She didn’t know how to prepare many dishes, but what she did know how to make was quite tasty—if she did say so herself.

She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was admiring the table. She had set it with the nice china her mother had given her as a housewarming present—the china she never used because it was too nice for her everyday purposes—and had a bottle of white wine chilling in a bucket.

“Would you mind opening the wine?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he said with such enthusiasm that Colleen wondered why she hadn’t thought of cooking for him before. Evidently, like most men, the way to Bill’s heart was through his stomach.

“Did you hear? There’s been another fire on the mainland,” she said, removing the noodles from the stove and draining them in the sink.

“Bet it’s arson,” he said as he uncorked the wine and poured two glasses.

“I’ve got a meeting with Morgan tomorrow. I can ask him then,” she said, and set the food on the table. “Speaking of meetings, how’d it go with Autumn?” What she really wanted to ask was if the woman had flirted with him.

“Fine,” Bill said, his cheeks flushing pink. “What?” he asked, noticing her studying him.

“You know,” she said, serving the salad onto plates. “Autumn thinks you’re quite handsome. I believe her words were ‘He could give George Clooney a run for his money.’”

“Really?” A corner of his mouth rose in an impish grin.

“Try not to look so pleased,” she said. She stabbed a radish and crunched it in her mouth.

He pretended to sift through his notepad. “Now where is her number?”

“Very funny.”

Bill tried the salad. “The dressing is delicious,” he said between bites.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said, pleased.

He held up his wineglass for a toast. “To the chef.”

She clinked her glass against his and took a sip. “Wait until you taste the rest,” she said. “My family loves this meal.”

“I gotta say. I never pictured you puttering around a kitchen.”

“Get a good look. I don’t do it often.”

“I know,” he joked.

She kicked him under the table and laughed. “Ready for the main course?”

“Bring it on,” he said with delight.

She served the noodles and covered them with the meatballs and sauce. Steam rose from their dishes and Sparky’s nose twitched. She spotted Smokey preparing to jump onto the table and held her hand in front of the cat’s face to stop her. The Siamese rubbed a cheek against her hand in an attempt to charm food from Colleen. If there were any leftovers Sparky and Smokey would each get a little treat.

“This tastes even better than it smells,” Bill said.

“It is good, isn’t it?” Her dinner conquest was complete. “So, seriously, what happened with Autumn? Did she confirm being with Pinky the morning of the fire?”

“Salvatore was with her that morning but, given the timeline, I’m still not sure she or he didn’t set that fire. There would have been time.”

“But you did let Pinky go?”

“You’ve taken a particular interest in Salvatore’s freedom,” he said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

“Only because he obviously isn’t guilty,” she said. “You don’t really think I’m interested in Pinky.”

“Are you?”

The directness of his question surprised her. Was he really jealous? The notion was absurd. “Let’s put it this way … I’ve never cooked a meal for Pinky,” she said, and placed her hand on his.

His face softened. He squeezed her hand and suddenly it felt ten degrees warmer. “Thank you,” he said softly, gazing into her eyes.

She blushed. It was still a delicate process, but they were ever so steadily transitioning from friends to … well, she didn’t know what to call it. Partners seemed cold. Boyfriend or girlfriend seemed juvenile. Maybe what they had didn’t need a name. Whatever it was, though, it was making her happy.

“Do you want another helping?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Definitely.”

She served him seconds before giving herself the same. “Do you think Autumn was telling the truth about being with Pinky? Maybe she’s lying.”

“I thought you were leaning toward her innocence.”

“After what Rosalinda told us, I’m not so sure. Did you notice how close her house was to the car fire?”

“If living near the car fire makes someone a suspect, then I’ve got a lot more names to add to the list.”

“You have to admit that it’s an interesting coincidence. And Sparky reacted the same way to the car fire as he did when we were at Pinky’s house.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I think the same accelerant was used. Meaning I think the same person who set fire to Pinky’s house set fire to Denny’s truck.”

Bill was quiet a moment, considering what she had said. “You think someone murdered Custis, set the fire to cover it up, and then did the same with his truck?”

“Yes.”

“And you really believe that person is Autumn Harkins?”

Did she believe Autumn capable of arson and murder? In her gut … no. But there were quite a few fingers pointing her way. The biggest one being Rosalinda’s.

“Didn’t you find it strange how quickly Rosalinda named Autumn?” she asked.

“Now you think Rosalinda’s our killer?”

She sighed. “I don’t know anymore. Everyone we’ve met had a reason to want Denny dead. Is there a person in Corolla that didn’t hate him?”

“We didn’t,” Bill said. She bit her lip. “What? Now I’ve got to add you to the suspects list, too?”

“No, but he did have a remarkable way of getting under my skin. Who knows what I’d have done if I had to be around him all the time or if he had tried to interfere with my job. Which reminds me, we need to speak to the Snellings at the Tour-zilla office tomorrow.”

“Agreed. And I’m still waiting to hear from the ME about cause of death for Fuentes.”

“Our guy under the walkway. I almost forgot about him.” She got an idea. “Jimmy’s friend Aaron worked for Denny. He must have known Fuentes. Maybe I can talk to him and see if he has any additional information to give us until we hear back.”

“Wouldn’t hurt,” he said, and leaned back in his chair. “I’m stuffed.”

Her phone rang in the living room.

“You going to get that?” he asked when she didn’t move.

“Probably a solicitation. They always call during dinner. The machine will get it.”

After the fourth ring, the landline phone picked up with Colleen’s voice mail message and then a beep.

A recorded message said, “This is a collect call from…” and then they heard Myrtle say, “Myrtle Crepe.” The message continued with “at the Currituck Sheriff’s Department.”

“For crying out loud,” Bill said, throwing his napkin down.

“She’s still locked up?” she asked with surprise, and hurried to the living room as the message continued with: “To accept the call, press one. To refuse the call, press two. To block all future calls—”

Colleen hit the button to accept the call and put Myrtle on speaker. “Myrtle,” she said, eyeing Bill as he joined her in the living room, “why are you calling me?”

“I need to talk to Sheriff Dorman. I figured he was with you.”

She signaled Bill to stay quiet. “Why would you think that?”

“He’s your boyfriend, right?” came the reply.

Colleen avoided looking at Bill.

“So is he there or not?” Myrtle asked.

“I’m right here,” Bill said, stepping forward.

“You cut Salvatore loose,” she said. “So when am I getting out?”

“Why are you keeping her?” Colleen whispered.

“She admitted to tracking Custis to the scene and arguing with him. She has no alibi,” he whispered back.

“Hey,” Myrtle said. “My minutes are ticking away here. Am I getting out or what?”

“Come on, Bill,” Colleen whispered. “Let her out.”

He studied her a moment and then said toward the phone, “All right. Given your ties to the community I don’t see you as a flight risk, but I’m releasing you under Chief McCabe’s supervision.”

“Fine by me,” Myrtle said.

Colleen wished she had the ability to shoot laser beams from her eyes and burn Bill in the butt.

“As soon as I’m out I’ll pack my bags and be right over,” Myrtle said.

Colleen motioned to Bill as if to say “See?” and his amused smile disappeared.

“That’s not necessary, Mrs. Crepe,” Bill swiftly added. “Chief McCabe will just be responsible for you.”

“How’s she going to do that if I don’t stay at her house?”

“I trust you,” Colleen said. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to put me or my job in jeopardy, isn’t that right?” There was silence on the other end. “Myrtle?”

“Right, right,” Myrtle said. “Now can you call your deputy?”

“I’m on it,” Bill said and hit the button to disconnect.

Colleen stared at Bill in disbelief. It wasn’t like her to be at a loss for words, but she couldn’t imagine what she had done to deserve being saddled with Myrtle. “You didn’t like the meal? Is that it?” she finally said.

“You believe she’s innocent, right?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“Even though she’s still our primary suspect.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I released her.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, puzzled.

He gently took her face in his hands. “I’ve learned to believe in that gut of yours, McCabe. That’s why I cut her loose.”

She gazed up at him. The way he was looking at her now, it made it hard to stay mad at him.

“And I could only hold her for twenty-four hours anyway,” he added.

She took his hands in hers. “You still could have kept her there overnight.”

“Have you seen those benches? They’re fine for a few hours but Mrs. Crepe would be a pretzel by the morning if she slept on them.”

She smiled. “You don’t think she did it either.”

“No,” he said, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“So why’d you make me Myrtle’s overseer?”

“Because you’re the only person I know that can keep her in line. And she respects you.”

“Is that your version of sweet talk?” she joked.

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

Smokey meowed loudly at their feet, and they discovered the cat and Sparky staring up at them expectantly.

“Looks like some critters would like leftovers,” she said with a chuckle.

“I don’t blame them,” he said. “The dinner was delicious. Thank you.”

He leaned down and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Her heart raced, competing with the sound of the clock ticking on the mantel. Yes, she thought, I could get used to this.

Chapter 15

“What are you doing
here?” Colleen asked Myrtle, who was standing on her front porch, suitcase in hand.

“Reporting for supervision or duty or whatever it is you report for when under house arrest,” she said, marching past Colleen into the house.

“You’re not under arrest, house or otherwise,” Colleen said, still holding the door open.

Myrtle scanned the living room, the kitchen, and then up the stairs. “Where’s your boyfriend the sheriff?”

“He’s not here,” she said, curtly. “And stop calling him my boyfriend.”

“That’s what he is, isn’t he?” Myrtle asked.

“I’m not going to discuss this with you. Now would you mind leaving … please? I’ve got a meeting with the arson investigator.”

“Relax. It’s only seven.” Myrtle scooped Smokey from the floor. “Smokey, wouldn’t you like it if Myrtle stayed for a little while?” she asked in a baby voice.

Smokey purred and blinked kisses at the woman. The cat had taken to Myrtle after she had spent some time staying with Colleen last summer. Traitor, Colleen thought, watching the two rub cheeks. It was no use. She was stuck with Myrtle, at least for a few minutes while she ate breakfast before heading to the mainland for a meeting with Agent Morgan.