Rita frowned. ‘What am I looking at?’
‘The stride. The hips. It’s… I don’t know. Lighter. More like a woman’s gait than a man’s.’
No one spoke for a moment.
‘You can’t tell that from that image surely, can you?’ Rita announced, though there was no conviction in her voice.
The kettle clicked off, startling them all.
Rita pushed herself upright. ‘Right. Enough guessing. The fire inspector’s due any minute. Get another mug out please, Sen.’
As if summoned, a car pulled into the courtyard. Rita watched through the window as a man in a black branded polo shirt got out, followed closely by a black Labrador, its paws encased in tiny protective booties. He had a clipboard in his hand.
Thom helped Rita to her feet. ‘Do you want me to come too, Mum?’
‘No, you have a rest, darling. It’s been an emotional couple of days,’ Rita said softly.
She made her way outside, crutches sinking slightly into the soft ground. The man looked up, his face open and friendly, lines etched around eyes that had clearly seen worse than this.
‘Morning, I’m guessing you must be Rita Jory? Ouch.’ He pointed to her ankle. ‘Caused during this?’
‘That’s me and afraid so; would you like a drink of something before you start?’
‘Mark Evans. Devon and Cornwall Fire Service and no, no thank you.’ He gestured to the dog, who sat obediently at his side, tail thumping once. ‘And this is Ash. He does the clever work.’
‘Aw, I just lost my black Lab, so this is a delight.’
‘I’m very sorry to hear that; like one of the family, aren’t they?’
‘They really are.’ Rita balanced and put her hand down to stroke the young dog’s silky ears. Then on seeing the protective coverings on its feet raised an eyebrow. ‘Booties?’
‘Hot spots. Sharp debris,’ Mark said easily. ‘He’s precious cargo.’
Ash looked up at Rita, dark eyes calm and curious. Tail wagging furiously.
‘Good to meet you, Ash,’ she said solemnly. ‘You behave yourself now, won’t you?’
Mark chuckled. ‘He’s better behaved than most people I know.’
‘I hear you there,’ Rita laughed back.
They walked slowly toward the barn, Mark matching his pace to Rita’s without comment. She appreciated that more than she could say. She was delighted to see the jukebox looking pretty much untouched in one of the open outhouses where other stuff had been thrown in at speed to save.
‘We’ve got CCTV,’ she said. ‘One camera didn’t survive the fire. Another did, and we’ve clocked a suspicious person.’
‘That’s helpful,’ Mark said mildly. ‘Let’s have a look around here first.’
Inside the little that remained of the Cosy Café, the smell of smoke lingered, sharp and unforgiving. Ash immediately went to work, nose low, movements precise. Mark watched him closely, his easy manner shifting into quiet focus.
‘Deliberate fires leave a trail,’ he said. ‘Even when people think they’ve been clever.’
Rita swallowed. ‘And if it was deliberate?’
Mark met her gaze. ‘Then we’ll know.’
Ash paused near the doorway, sat, and looked up.
Mark exhaled slowly. ‘That’s interesting.’
