Page 59 of Burning For You

Once that was done, he went to the sheriff’s department. Not that he was reporting it, but he needed to talk to someone and Ford was his best bet.

“That’s interesting,” Ford said, leaning back in his chair behind his desk. “Do you think it’s the real person reaching out to her?”

“They are going to find out. I want to say no, because I don’t want it to be.”

Ford nodded his head. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“Ash. I’m going to address the elephant in the room. What were you doing at Skye’s this afternoon?”

“Talking to her,” he said. “She asked me to look into something for her and I did.”

“What?”

His nose scrunched up. He didn’t want to make this into something bigger than it was, but he was the idiot who came here and started this.

“She’s got it in her mind that she wasn’t told the truth about her parents’ fire. That her memory is different from what she was told and wanted to see the report. She asked if I’d look into it and let her know since I’d understand it more.”

“She could have easily asked for that information herself.”

“I know that. I brought it up. She said she’d been calling there a lot and didn’t want to do it for something else. She didn’t want to get the two things mixed up.”

Ford’s upper lip disappeared behind his bottom one. “Do you believe that?”

“I don’t think she’s lying to me. I know she believes that what was in the report isn’t right. By the way, the report said exactly what we all knew. It was an accidental fire started by a cigarette that ignited papers.”

“So why doesn’t she believe that?”

“She insists her mother puffed the cigarettes down to the filter. There is no way it could start a fire. She also said she didn’t remember any papers being anywhere near the ashtray. Yes, there was cardboard around, empty food boxes and containers, but no paper.”

“Could be her memory is faulty. Maybe it was mail.”

“I said that too, but she said it was kept in the kitchen. I don’t know. It was years ago. She wanted closure and I think she finally got it.”

“There is no way she thinks this has anything to do with the car fires, does she?” Ford asked.

“No. She said it just triggered it for her. I think it gave her the courage to at least finally look into it. She wants to write a book about what happened. A fictional book, but I think she just needed some facts first.”

“A book?”

“She’s always loved writing. I remember that now. She always had her nose in a book too. It’s her job. Not writing books, but she writes manuals or documents for her full-time job and then the freelance reporting stuff.”

“And now she wants to add a book to it? She should talk to Rory.”

He snorted. “I actually thought of that. I’m not sure she even knows Gale is engaged to Rory. Or that Rory Connors is Rory Rene. I want to say she might not even know who he is, but he writes crime fiction and that is what she wants to write, so my guess is she’s read his stuff.”

“What’s this all about?” Ford asked. His brother could play this game all day long.

Ask one question after another until he spilled it all out of his mouth.

“What’s what about?”

“Why you’re here telling me this? From a law enforcement standpoint, I appreciate it and would have been looped in anyway. It’s still my county and I need to be aware if it moves outside of Glens Falls.”

“I know. I hope it doesn’t.”

“You’re worried that might not be the case though, right?”