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“So, what, you’re just going to make sure I get locked up? I didn’t start those fires.”
That vicious smile again. “It doesn’t really matter if you did or not.”
“It sure seems to matter to everyone else.”
“Not to me. I help people who ‘didn’t do it’ all the time.”
Wait a minute. “Are you saying you’re here to help me?”
“I’m going to try.”
Gabriel didn’t trust him. “Maybe I don’t want your help.”
“They have several fires, a dead firefighter, and an eyewitness.
Not to mention motive, a prior record, and a bedroom full of lighters. You want my help.”
Gabriel frowned and looked away.
Mr. Forrest leaned back in his chair, spinning the pen between his fingers. “Did you really help Simon get a starting position on the basketball team?”
Gabriel couldn’t get the fire marshal’s threats out of his head, to say nothing of this mystery with the pentagrams, and Layne’s dad wanted to talk basketball? “You want to talk about this now? Seriously?”
“If you want my help, yes. I want to talk about this now.”
Gabriel glanced at the door. “Don’t we have a time limit or something?”
“No.”
“Fine. I gave Simon a few pointers. The coach made the decision. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“He came home with a black eye last night.”
“Look, I didn’t do that ”
“I know you didn’t. He told me what happened.” A pause.
“Layne told me about the party, too.”
“She did?” Layne had stood up for him? After everything that had happened? Then Gabriel felt his anger swell. “Why aren’t you on that guy’s case?”
“I will be. Don’t worry.” Mr. Forrest hesitated, and for the first time, his arrogance faltered. “She also told me you pulled her out of the barn yesterday morning.”
Gabriel stared back at him. Talking about the fires felt like a trap.
“Anything you say to me is confidential. They can’t use it against you.”
Gabriel glanced at the corners of the room and dropped his voice. “What if they’re recording what I tell you?”
“I hope they are. It’s against the law, and then they’d never get a conviction.”
Gabriel had to clear his throat. “I thought maybe Layne was the one to turn me in.”
“No. From what I could find out, someone reported seeing you at the scene of the barn fire. Since you were already on their radar, they pulled you in.” Mr. Forrest steepled his fingers.
“Layne was ready to march down here and tell every officer she saw that you didn’t start that fire. She said she was with you when it started. Is that not true?”
“It’s true.”
