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Begrudgingly, people began to step away from the fire. When Wayne passed by Elise again, he whispered, “People get bored of anything so easily.”
That moment, Alex tore through the crowd toward Connell. Elise stepped away from him, her heart pounding. He looked even angrier than he had back at the restaurant.
“Connell, what happened?” Alex demanded.
Connell stuttered. “I don’t know. I was sitting in the breakfast room watching TV, and... suddenly, I smelled burning.”
“He didn’t do anything wrong, if that’s what you’re insinuating,” Marvin barked at Alex.
Connell cast his son a dark look, one that seemed to read,Be careful. This guy is my boss.
“Well. It looks like you’re out of a job for the time being, then, until we figure out who’s at fault here,” Alex said, his face stormy.
Wayne stepped forward at this, stabbed his hands in his pockets, and said, “I don’t see why it’s necessary for Connell to be out of a job. It’s still the tail-end of the season. Why couldn’t he just grab a few hours at one of your several other BnBs across the island...”
Alex snapped his eyes toward Wayne’s. Anger permeated through his body.
“So glad to get your opinion, Wayne,” Alex said haughtily. “Really. I was just standing here wondering, gee, I wonder what Wayne thinks? And now, here you are, all dressed up in your firefighter outfit. Headed to a Halloween party?”
Wayne glowered at him.
Alex, better be careful. Wayne is much stronger than him. He could rip him in two.
“Only one person was staying at the Willow Grove, Alex,” Connell said suddenly. “And she’s out. Good news, right? Everyone’s accounted for.”
Elise’s heart dropped. This was Alex’s reminder that his biggest enemy, at the moment, had been the only resident of the Willow Grove. His eyes found hers just behind Wayne, and he smirked horribly.
“That’s right,” Alex said. “Elise Darby. Why is it that wherever there’s a mess, I look over and find you in the middle of it?”
Elise scoffed. She wanted to say;If you’re insinuating that I burned this place to the ground, then you’re forgetting one little thing: you just spent a good chunk of both of our time yelling at me at the restaurant.
But was that proof enough?
“Leave her out of this,” Wayne said. “You don’t know what caused the fire.”
“I do know that we monitor these places with incredible precision,” Alex told Wayne. “Swartz is known for our attention to detail. A place like this wouldn’t have just gone up in flames.”
“So, you’re going to jump to arson?” Wayne demanded. “Gee. I wonder why you’d want to do that? Is it because you’re a tiny bit frightened of a newcomer to the island? Someone who might knock you down a few pegs...?”
Alex’s head looked ready to explode. He dropped two fists at his sides and glowered at him.
“Adults are idiots,” Marvin scoffed from the other side of Connell, before turning back toward the Willow Grove and watching the last of it smolder.
At that moment, a police officer stepped between Wayne and Alex. He didn’t seem to know there was any tension at all. Instead, he blinked out across the crowd and said, “I’m looking for the woman who was staying here at the Willow Grove? Elise...”
“I’m here,” Elise said. She stepped forward, her heart in her throat.
“Fantastic,” the cop said. “My name is Officer Ben Cutler. I just want to ask you a few questions to clear some things up.”
“Come on, Ben. It’s late,” Wayne interjected.
“I know that,” Officer Cutler said. He clicked his pen and thought for a moment. “Maybe you could come to the station tomorrow morning? I don’t want to put you through trauma at the station after midnight, like a drunk teenager who needs to call his mom.”
It was meant to be a joke, but it lay flat between them. Nobody laughed. Elise swallowed and caught Alex’s eye again.
His smirk seemed to get worse by the moment.
“I can come in tomorrow, of course,” Elise said. She was a bit uneven on her feet; her weight shifted from side to side. “Maybe around nine?”
