Page 137 of Burning For You

“We have to let the police do their job,” Jim said, looking at Ash. Hopefully feeling some sympathy for the can of worms he just opened.

“I’m the police,” Tate argued.

Keegan pulled in and slammed out of his truck, not looking so thrilled.

He knew the Lancasters were pissed they didn’t find out what Skye was thinking, but they didn’t have any proof either.

“What’s your problem?” Tate asked Keegan. “Get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

“No. I just talked with Ford. They are looking into Kyle a bit more before they approach him.”

“What the fuck?” Tate said. “I don’t get it.”

“They have nothing,” Ash said. “Trust me. I want the guy questioned too, but I heard enough from Ford over the weekend to let them do their job. He’s not even doing much, but enough.”

“Which I appreciate,” Keegan said. “Because I get it. It’s not really his case and he’s doing it as a favor.”

“It’s family,” he said. “Me and Skye. You guys are pissed. I know you are. Do you think Skye isn’t feeling some of this? Cut her some slack. She’s struggling.”

“With what?” Jim asked, dropping the two by four he had in his hand. “Why aren’t we being told much? It’s my daughter.”

That. That right there.

The family she had always wanted. It didn’t matter when she came into their lives, she was one of them.

“There isn’t much to say. I wish there was. No one has seen Kyle at the fires. There is nothing more than a sketchy work history. There are a lot of people out there with that and we can’t go around questioning them all, right, Tate? Keegan?”

“I can,” Keegan said. “I don’t give a fuck. Fire me.”

“Enough,” Jim said firmly. “We are all out of sorts with this. And the fact that the guy hasn’t even replied to Skye’s last article. I want to think she scared him away.”

“No,” Ash said. “I don’t know why he’s being quiet. It’s making me more nervous than anything.”

“And now that everyone is here, I can say that Ash and I talked to Sean before we showed up.”

“Fuck you,” Keegan said. “I should have been there for that.”

“And we wouldn’t have gotten anything if you were,” Tate said, standing firm.

“What did you get?” Jim asked, calmly. Always the voice of reason.

“He’s got alibis for the fires. All but one. He was working, showed us the paycheck stubs with punch in and out times. He was with Sara and Skye the time of the email that night and even handed over his phone,” Tate said.

“It was a burner,” Keegan argued.

“I didn’t say that. He voluntarily handed it. Sean didn’t have to talk to us and did. I’m not sure much about him, but he cooperated and, for now, he should be off the short list.”

And that was hard for Ash to wrap his brain around also.

“Then let’s move on. If it’s this Kyle guy,” Holden said. “maybe he’s building the anticipation. Or maybe the person went away for the holidays. We know nothing about him. He could be a family man. Didn’t you say this fireman has a wife and kids? I’m not convinced it’s not him. He could be smarter than we all think.”

He blew out a breath, the steam coming with it on this cold end of November day. “Yes, Alan has a wife and kids.”

“And is he around? Do you know?”

Ash hated to admit this. That he was even paying attention, because his eye was still on Alan’s moves. “He’s on vacation. He would have shown up on Saturday for his shift but didn’t. He wasn’t working the day the article went out either and that’s his shift. He’s blocked off so I’m thinking he went away.”

“That’s just another arrow pointing toward him, don’t you think?” Holden asked. “It might explain why he hasn’t replied. If he went away, it’d show if he emailed if it was from out of the area.”