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“I’ll work them in.” She sat back as Tomas served their plates with avocado omelets, fried potatoes and crisply fried bacon. “Thank you so much, Tomas. I’m so hungry I may ask for seconds.”
“I’d be happy to prepare whatever you wish.”
The chef’s smile widened, and Santos nodded to send him back to the kitchen. Refusing to be jealous, he blamed the lack of sleep for the painful sense of dismay twisting his gut. “Do you want to call the guy who went to New York?”
“Hmm?” She kept chewing and swallowed. “What made you think of him? I never do.”
He shrugged and ate his breakfast. Libby was so damn obvious about how much she enjoyed being with him, and he couldn’t stand the thought of the other men she’d known. He wouldn’t even try to recall more women’s names than he’d given Javier Cazares, but he’d never forget Libby.
Josue Vargas, the arson inspector, arrived soon after they’d eaten breakfast. He was remarkably thin, and a large hatchet-like nose overshadowed his pinched features. He looked down it as he queried Santos. “You have no security system?”
“I do, but it failed last night.”
He shot a quick glance toward Libby. “Did you forget to arm it?”
“I saw him do it before we went upstairs in the elevator,” Libby interjected. “Whoever set the fire must have disarmed it when they broke in.”
“I’ll make a thorough inspection,” the man promised. “You needn’t follow me around. I find it distracting.”
“I understand,” Santos replied. “The elevator repairman should be here soon. Will you clear
it for repair?”
“After I’ve taken sufficient photographs. I’m taking the wastebasket and its contents with me. I’ll survey the house and let you know if there’s any evidence of a break-in.”
“Please do.” Santos sank down on the sofa in the living room. “I’m going to stay here. Will you please see if Adolfo is back with the papers?”
She’d taken only two steps toward the door when Adolfo appeared with his arms full. She moved behind the sofa to look over Santos’s shoulder. Several of the tabloids had photos of the fire, but they were taken from the beach side, and she and Santos weren’t in them.
Santos skimmed through the papers. “Here’s one where we’re in front. The consensus is we barely escaped death in the flames.”
“Have there been any other suspicious fires nearby?” she asked.
“There’s no mention of a serial arsonist. I’ll ask Inspector Vargas before he leaves.”
She whispered, “He gives me the creeps. There was a famous case in California where an arson inspector set fires he’d later investigate.”
He turned to look up at her. “A lot of strange things happen in California, don’t they?”
“Some say so, but it’s a large state, so naturally more occurs there.”
He rested his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. She caught herself before she touched his hair and withdrew her hand. He was just so damn appealing. She loved men, but she didn’t hang on them the way some girls did.
She’d never spent the night with a boyfriend either. She’d always bolt before dawn, and not because she worried about how she’d look in the morning. She just didn’t need to remain close after sex and liked waking up alone in her own bed. She hadn’t even thought about leaving Santos’s bed last night. The smoke reached his room before it would have reached hers, so it was a good thing she’d stayed. He might have been overcome with smoke before the first hint of it reached her room. She rubbed her arms, but a chilling shiver remained.
Josue Vargas checked in with them as promised. “There’s no sign of a break-in. Someone knew the security code, or there’s a flaw in the company’s service. You should consider switching companies. I’ll send you a copy of my report for your insurance firm.”
“Have there been other cases of arson near here?”
Vargas pursed his lips thoughtfully. “A couple of ridiculous attempts for insurance money, but nothing close to you. Neither involved disabling the security system. Most fires are due to accidents or carelessness, not arson.”
Santos thanked him, and he left, leaving them at a loss for answers. “You likened Patricia to a sieve. Could she have gotten the code from Maggie and passed it along to someone?”
“To Victoria? Yes, but Maggie is smart enough not to give it to her. Where do you suppose she and Rafael have gone?”
“He wouldn’t tell me his plans, but I asked him to call in, and he hasn’t.”
“Now I’m worried. Call Maggie and see if she answers, but don’t tell them about the fire.”
