The Comeback Kiss (25 page)

“
No,”
he said, not flinching, not looking away. “
That
’
s not why.”

Tessa rubbed her hand over her face. She didn
’
t want to go there. Not with Finn. Not with anyone. “
Get out of my house.”

Finn went quiet, stared out the window for a mi
nute, then turned his eyes back on her. “
I
’
m going, but I
’
ll be coming back. Izzy
’
s my client, and I
’
m going to figure this out for her.”

“
Yeah, best of luck with that, Magnum,”
Tessa bit out.

He took a step closer, gesturing angrily up the stairs. “
You k
eep pushing her, babe, she
’
s gonna push back. She
’
s a kid. You wanna live in a glass box, that
’
s your choice, but she is gonna shatter everything all around you if you don
’
t start listening to her.”

Tessa folded her arms over her chest, embracing the numbn
ess that was finally washing over her. “
I thought you said you were leaving.”

Finn shook his head and let out a mirthless chuckle. “
Good to see some things don
’
t change. You
’
re still stubborn as hell.”

“
Let me get the door for you.”
She turned and headed t
o the front door, pulled it open, and stepped back. Finn walked over and stopped in front of her.

“
First, I need you to do something for me.”

Tessa felt her mouth drop open. “
What, are you kidding me?”

“
No,”
he said. “
I think Babs and Wallace should stay h
ere with you guys.”

Tessa blinked.
Hello, left field.
“
What?”

“
If, on the off chance that there
’
s a bad guy out there setting people on fire, I
’
d rather there were more eyes here keeping an eye out.”

Tessa opened her mouth to tell him to get out, but pause
d. She didn
’
t know what she thought about Izzy
’
s theories. But she knew she liked Babs, a lot, and the idea of having her there was oddly comforting. And if Izzy was right... well, it wouldn
’
t hurt to have someone else around.

“
Okay,”
she said. “
Um, Babs c
an stay in Mom
’
s room, I guess.”

Finn
’
s face softened. “
Thank you. What about Wallace?”

“
Who
’
s Wallace?”

Finn put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Tessa jumped back. A sound of scurrying came through the bushes at the front of the property, and the l
ittle mutt from the shack shot up the steps, past her, and into the house. She looked up at Finn.

“
Still not my dog,”
Finn said, a smirk curling up on the edge of his mouth. Tessa fought an urge to smile, knowing that if she did, he
’
d win. Instead, she lea
ned back against the doorway for support.

“
Where are you going?”
she asked.

“
Has Izzy ever had her fingerprints taken?”

Tessa felt a stab of alarm. “
What? Why?”

Finn shrugged. “
Just making small talk.”

“
No. Not that I know of. Why?”

“
Like I said. Small tal
k.”
He put his hands in his pockets and glanced out at the street. “
I should get moving, though. Is Babs still at the diner?”

Tessa tried to shrug the uneasiness out of her shoulders. It didn
’
t work. “
Um, I guess so. She, uh, insisted on taking my shift.”

“
Sounds about right,”
he said, smiling. “
Something else. In about fifteen minutes, I need you to call Joe and tell him that I was asking questions about the pet shop, and now you can
’
t find me. Try to sound a little concerned, but not too much.”

Tessa gave
him a sharp look. “
Why?”

Finn shrugged, started toward the steps. “
Been a while since he
’
s jumped to any conclusions. Man
’
s gonna need a fix.”

Tessa watched as Finn jaunted down the steps. What had just happened? She remembered ordering him out of her hou
se. Things had seemed about right at that point. Now she was putting up his business partner and his dog and doing him favors. Why?

What is it about you?
she heard him saying, an echo in her memory.

She had to wonder.

He was almost to the street when she c
alled his name. He stopped and looked at her, waiting for her to speak. She didn
’
t say anything. She wasn
’
t sure what she wanted to say, if she wanted anything other than just to look into his eyes for another moment. For some reason, there was comfort th
e
re, and she was running low on comfort at the moment.

After a while, he smiled, touched his fingers to his lips, and tossed her a kiss, then turned and headed down the street.

Tessa watched until he was out of sight, then went inside to have a drink and ca
ll Joe.

Chapter Thirteen

Finn ducked under the tape at Vickie
’
s and gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. He
’
d already wiped the railing, the doorknob, and one of the outer windows where he
’
d seen some smudges that may or may not have been I
zzy
’
s work. He figured the chances were slim that Izzy
’
d ever had her fingerprints taken. It was a small town; Tessa would have known about it. But still, when it came to the Scuderi girls, Finn knew he was better safe than sorry.

Which was why he needed J
oe.

After a moment, the room started to come together. The office door, charred within an inch of its life. Empty cages lining the south wall. All manner of pet food lining the north. Cash register. Counter. There wasn
’
t a whole lot of soot in the store it
self, definitely not enough to get Izzy
’
s hands so dirty. Finn made a beeline for the office.

“
Ten years,”
he muttered. “
Ten years breaking and entering all over New York City, and I
’
m gonna get caught in a pet store in Lucy
’
s Lake, Vermont.”
He knew that
investigation teams very rarely returned to a scene once they
’
d processed it, but sometimes they did. He wasn
’
t in the mood to roll the dice on their finding any evidence of Izzy if this was going to be one of those times.

He clumsily handled the doorknob
and pushed into the office. Thanks to the full moon and windows that had apparently exploded outward in response to the heat, there was enough light for him to see the basics of the office. The blackest area was the corner, and a little investigating show
e
d a series of three-way extension cords melted and mangled into a jumble of electrical cords leading to the coffeemaker, the computer, the small microwave, the printer, etc.

Well. Nothing suspicious about that, except that it pointed to an absurd level of
stupidity on Vickie
’
s part. In the day of power surge strips, there was no excuse for that kind of electrical setup, but it certainly wasn
’
t rare by any standard. People did it all the time, took their chances. It certainly looked like an accidental fire
s
o far.

His eyes adjusting more to the limited light, he started looking for places where the soot had been disturbed by Izzy
’
s snooping fingers. Vickie
’
s desk drawer. The filing cabinet in the corner. The knob on the back door. Finn went around touching ev
ery place where Izzy might have been, then went through the back door and up the outside steps to Vickie
’
s front door, where he found sooty prints on Vickie
’
s mailbox, but not on the doorknob.

Interesting.

Finn carefully wiped the mailbox, then checked out
the door lock so he
’
d know what tools to bring when he returned to pick it.

The store
’
s front door opened. Showtime. Finn headed down the steps and back into Vickie
’
s office just in time for Joe to open the door, his hand carefully swaddled in a handkerch
ief, then scope the place with a flashlight until it landed on something interesting: Finn. On cue, Finn opened the drawer to Vickie
’
s desk.

“
Hey, good thinking. Can you point that thing over here?”
Finn said, shutting the drawer and ducking his head under
the desk.

“
What the hell are you doing here?”
Joe said. “
This is still an active investigation.”

“
Really?”
Finn popped back up from under the desk. “
So you think it was arson, then?”

Finn couldn
’
t see Joe
’
s expression, but suspected it was dead serious. “
Why don
’
t you tell me?”

Finn shrugged. “
Beats the hell out of me. I
’
m just a guy looking for his keys.”

He moved past Joe out into the store. Joe, of course, followed.

“
Do you know if anyone found a set of keys during the investigation?”
Finn asked. “
One d
eadbolt key, one outer door key, one mail key? All on a Marvin the Martian key ring?”

“
You
’
d have to call the county and ask them.”

Finn turned to face his brother. “
You work for the fire department, right?”

“
I volunteer.”

“
Think you could get me access to
the files?”

Joe eyed Finn suspiciously. “
Once they
’
re done with the investigation, it
’
s possible I could go through channels
—”

“
Oh, Jesus,”
Finn said. “
I
’
m not talking about channels. I mean, can you get me access to anything? Pictures, information, anyth
ing?”

Joe crossed his arms over his chest. “
Why do you want access?”

“
You obviously have no idea how hard it is to find a Marvin the Martian key chain.”

“
What are you up to, Finn?”

“
Me? Nothing. So you really haven
’
t looked?”

“
For your keys? No.”

“
Not for
my keys. How would you know my keys went missing as I was heroically rescuing itty-bitty furry things? No, I mean, you haven
’
t tried to get access to the investigation? Not even one little peek? You
’
re not curious about it at all?”

“
My curiosity isn
’
t the
issue,”
Joe said. Amazing he didn
’
t choke on all that sanctimony. “
It
’
s classified information. Investigative team only.”

Finn took a moment to absorb this, then huffed out a laugh. “
You
’
re kidding.”

“
No.”

Finn paused. “
You
’
re
kidding
.”