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Mr. Forrest leaned in. “Layne says I was wrong about you.”
Gabriel didn’t know what to say to that, either.
“She has a whole timeline written out. She showed me some newspaper articles. Thinks you were the one to save the Hulster girl. Is that true?”
A timeline. That was so . . . so Layne. If he weren’t knee-deep in drama, he’d smile. Instead, he just shrugged and looked away. “The little girl went down the laundry chute. They didn’t think to check in the basement first.”
“And the fireman who went through the floor?”
Another shrug.
“Are you crazy?”
Gabriel met his eyes. “Probably.”
“They’re going to want to question you some more. Think you can handle it if I stay?”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “Why would you do that for me?”
“You saved my daughter’s life and protected my son. Why wouldn’t I do that for you?” Mr. Forrest didn’t wait for an answer, just glanced at his watch. “Let me make a few calls.”
Before he was through the door, Gabriel said, “Do you really think they’ll let me go?”
“I’ll be honest. An hour ago, I wasn’t too sure.”
“So what’s different now?”
Mr. Forrest gave him a grim look. “There’s been another fire.”
CHAPTER 37
Gabriel got to leave.
At five o’clock in the morning.
He hadn’t eaten anything in almost twenty-four hours, and he sure as hell hadn’t slept. Mr. Forrest was driving him home, the radio in his BMW playing some kind of light rock. The streets were deserted this early on a Saturday, especially with a cold front moving in, bringing rain to spit at the windshield.
Layne’s father had stayed all night.
Gabriel cleared his throat. “Thanks.” It felt woefully inade-quate, but he wasn’t sure what else to say.
“I don’t mind driving you. Your brother has been dealing with the cops all night, too. No sense making him come out.”
Michael was probably fit to be tied. “No . . . I meant, for all of it.”
Mr. Forrest glanced over. “You know, they could still arrest you again. If you give them just cause.”
Gabriel ran his finger along a seam in the leather upholstery and stared out at the darkness. “You’re telling me to stay out of trouble.”
“I’m telling you to stay away from fires. Don’t even go out and buy a new lighter.”
The cops had kept the ones they’d confiscated at school and they’d probably taken all the ones in his bedroom, too. Gabriel felt like he was missing a limb.
And he was already wondering about the fire he’d missed tonight.
“I’m serious,” said Mr. Forrest. The car rolled to a stop at a traffic light, and he looked over. “I’m not a miracle worker. If they catch you at another fire, especially now, you’ll be charged for sure.”
Gabriel nodded. “I know.” He wished he could text Hunter to let him know what was going on, but they’d kept his phone too. Thank god he’d been careful about deleting all the text messages relating to the fires.
