“Me and Bella are at the corner of—” She paused. “Oak and Fourth Street.”
“Isabella Williams is with you?” The decision was made for him.
“Yes.”
“Are you two safe? Did you sneak out of the house?” And yet she’d called him, even knowing how much trouble she would be in. Something was wrong, but she’d done the right thing.
“We’re fine.” She sounded exasperated. “We’re at a gas station. They let us use the phone.”
And she didn’t think he’d want to know why?
“Stay where you’re at. I’ll be right there.” He killed the lights and sirens and busted a U-turn, gripping the steering wheel until his fingers were numb.
What were the two girls doing out in the first place? He couldn’t speak for Isabella, but Sophia was grounded. And why was Isabella’s house on fire? Unease swirled in his gut.
He pulled the vehicle into the parking lot of the gas station, jumped out, and headed to the entrance.
Sophia and Isabella pushed through the glass door and met him in the parking lot.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Liam.” Sophia at least had the good sense to look ashamed.
“Get in the vehicle.” He marched back to the driver’s side.
The girls slid into the back seat of the SUV, tossing their backpacks on the floorboard.
“Buckle up.” He pulled out of the parking lot and activated the lights, foregoing the sirens so he could question the girls. “I need to know right now where you two have been and how long you’ve been gone.”
In the rearview, the two girls looked at each other. Something passed between them.
“This is extremely important. Do not lie to me. This is more than just breaking the rules and sneaking out.” He slowed at a stoplight and made sure all vehicles yielded to him, then accelerated quickly.
Sophia sighed. “We met at the skate park a couple hours ago.”
“Isabella, what were you doing before you left your house?” He glanced at her in the rearview mirror, wondering if she’d left the stove on or something.
“Um, nothing? I mean, my sister gave me some chores. I did a few of them. I was supposed to be back in time to finish them before she got home, but?—”
Sophia nudged her, and Bella stopped talking.
Liam made a mental note to dig into that later. First, he needed to determine what she knew about the fire. “Were you burning candles or did you leave the oven on?”
He slowed at another intersection.
“No, why?”
“Because when Sophia called me, I was on my way to a fire at your house.”
He was opening a can of worms in front of Sophia. She would surely have questions as to why he knew their house was on fire and why he would be responding to it. He’d have to think about an excuse to give her later. Right now, information was needed.
Isabella leaned forward. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know anything other than there is a fire. Did you notice anything odd or unusual in the neighborhood when you left?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Oh my gosh, does my sister know?” Isabella’s eyes widened.
“I assume so. Why don’t you call her and let her know we’re on our way?”
Isabella looked at her lap. “We didn’t take our phones with us.”
