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“It’s not like you wound up there alone. You had alibis, witnesses. They might not have any real leads now, so they have to explore every possibility, as annoying as that is.”
“But Dorian and his pack are my witnesses. That drags them into it.”
“From what I’ve heard at work, I get the impression that they wouldn’t be asking so many questions if your boyfriend was Irish. What is his nationality anyway?”
“They don’t seem to define themselves in terms of nationality. Dorian doesn’t even know where he was born, but he has an Irish passport now anyway.”
She glanced at me. “Is there any chance a werewolf is causing the fires?”
“I doubt it. The smell of smoke bothers them. The others would know straight away if somebody kept coming home smelling like fire. Well, Nathan’s a firefighter, so they’re used to him, I suppose.”
She inhaled sharply. “Isn’t there something about firefighters who start fires?”
“You can’t be serious.”
She made a face. “Maybe not completely.”
“I’ll pretend you didn’t say that. This has to be a human problem.”
“That’s more worrying somehow,” she said. “From what you’ve said about their pasts, the pack at least have an excuse to be screwed up.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“It’s not a judgement.” We reached the police station, but we remained in the car once we parked. “We should try to take a holiday this summer, even a weekend with your cousins. We all need a break, especially you once your exams are over.”
I smiled noncommittally. I couldn’t imagine our lives being peaceful enough that we could go on holiday.
Inside the police station, we had to wait for a long time to be seen. Mam grew more irritable by the second. Later, Emma came bustling into the corridor, teary-eyed, until she spotted me.
“Oh, my God. Margo!” She flew at me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I patted her back. “Are you all right?”
“No!” She let go to wipe her eyes. “They think I started the fires. Wait, what are you doing here?”
“They asked me to come in. They have more questions because I was at most of the fires.”
“You’re a witness then,” she said bitterly. “They didn’t call in Chloe, even though she’s my alibi for tons of fires. And did you hear?” She brushed away fresh tears. “Somebody at our table told them everything I say and do at lunch.”
“Yeah, they tried to use that to get me to talk about you,” I said. “I told them it couldn’t be you.”
“Right? Why would I mess around like that? Can you imagine?”
“It wasn’t you.” It wasn’t a question, but it wasn’t a statement either.
“Of course not!” She brushed under her eyes with her sleeves, wiping away smudges of eyeliner. “But I don’t think they believe me. I’m so scared.”
Mam patted Emma on the shoulder. “If you didn’t do anything wrong, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“I didn’t! But even my dad is looking at me weird.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Mam said reassuringly. “He’s worried about you.”
Emma sniffed. “There he is now.”
Her parents came over, her father looking as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Mam chatted to them about how unfair it all was while Emma dragged me over to a nearby bench.
She clung to my sleeve, and I felt the same pity for her as I had for Victor. “This is so messed up,” I whispered. “Why would either of us want to burn down the community centre anyway? And that unfinished house. It makes no sense.”
