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Ben jumps in. “Considering the size of it when I arrived, it can’t have been going for more than ten minutes. Probably less.”
“I left my office at five minutes to twelve,” I add. “Not long after I got your text, Ben.” Thinking back, I recall, “Your message came in, and then Jess left. I took a few minutes to gather my thoughts, and then—”
“Jess was there?” Ben’s eyebrows jump to his hairline. “Just before the fire started?”
“Who’s Jess?” Leo’s friendly tone is gone, replaced by something far more serious.
“I went to high school with her. We’re not friends, but—”
“She lied about you,” Ben grits out, scowling. “She chased you out of town. After she was injured in an accident with your ex-boyfriend.”
“That could be motive,” Cole says thoughtfully.
Leo gives a short nod. “I’ll start investigating her.”
The little muscle in Ben’s jaw is twitching. “I’ll do some searching on my own.”
“She was there to apologize.” Casting my gaze between the three men, I explain. “Jess wanted to apologize. Why would she do that and then try to kill me?”
After a beat, Cole says kindly, “Maybe she didn’t. But it’s still worth looking into.”
“But she seemed so sincere…” Could Jess have really tricked me? Tried to hurt me for real this time?
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Ben rubs my back in long, soothing strokes. “It’s likely that Jess is innocent. But we have to check out everyone.”
Leo looks at me apologetically. “I know we’ve asked this before, and I understand it’s hard to think about, but is there anyone else you can think of who might want to hurt you?”
“I don’t know.” A band of tension wraps around my head, making it throb. “I’ve thought about it over and over. But aside from the guys I mentioned before, I can’t think of anyone.”
Ben’s hand stills midway up my back. In a careful tone, he asks, “What about Stella?”
No. My immediate instinct is to deny it. Mrs. Richardson—Stella, I’ll never be able to call her that—is in her sixties. She’s wealthy. She was angry, but that was fifteen years ago…
“Ben.” My stomach squeezes into a tiny knot. “Could she? But… what about my car and the accident? She doesn’t even live around here. It couldn’t have been her. Right? Don’t you think it’s the same person?”
With each word, my voice pitches up until I’m almost squeaking. Tears prickle behind my eyes, and I can feel my chin wobbling.
“It’s possible.” Ben pulls me into his side and presses a soft kiss to the top of my head. “I’m sorry, Thea.” To Cole and Leo, he says, “I would have mentioned her before, but I didn’t know…” he trails off. “I’ll tell you later.”
I don’t even care that Ben is trying to leave me out of the explanation. The idea that Stella or Jess could be trying to kill me is hard enough to think about.
Could one of them really hate me that much? I never thought…
But Mrs. Richardson called me a killer. Could this be her idea of an eye for an eye?
I’m dimly aware of the conversation going on around me, but it’s not until I hear Cole say, “I think it’s time for Thea to move somewhere more secure,” that I jolt to attention.
“What?” My gaze jumps from my lap to Cole. “Move?”
“Yes.” Cole nods solemnly. “Given that whoever is behind this set fire to the library, with other people in it—”
Ben snaps, “Cole. We don’t need to discuss this right now. Thea is hurt, this is too stressful for her—”
The little whisper in my head turns to a shout.
The library was set on fire. With me in it. But so were all those other people.
My coworkers. All the regulars. Sweet Mrs. Rodriguez, who makes handmade cards for all the staff on every holiday. Mrs. Plimpton, who told Ben where to find the fire extinguisher. And all the kids.
