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“Look, I don’t know what happened overseas, but given other horror stories I’ve heard, I can’t begin to imagine what you suffered. Were you a prisoner of war?”
“Yeah, I was. Held captive for a few months, but I considered myself luckier than others.”
“How so?”
“The torture the insurgents performed wasn’t as bad for one thing. They lost interest in me when they thought I was nuts, which I was effective at making them think that I was.”
“Do you have nightmares?”
“Sometimes.”
“But that’s not what’s haunting you completely. Is it?”
The woman was too damn smart for her own good. “You want answers, but there’s only so many I’m prepared to give. What you do need to know is that there is a serial arsonist using a highly flammable accelerant. If too much of the chemical is used, the fire is virtually impossible to put out. Gage is coordinating trying to track down where it could have been purchased from. A cannister of the substance was found near the cabin you rented. There’d been several controlled burns started in the forest, which tells me whoever is behind the fires was testing the chemical in their attempt to keep it from getting away from him.”
“That was the nasty stench,” she said.
“Yes. And the owner of the dog you found was also murdered, just like several victims of recent fires, all with use of the same military-style handgun.”
“Close range.”
“Yes.”
She exhaled, taking a few sips of her wine. “The horses? The same?”
“It looks like it.”
“Why?”
“Well, for one thing, my land, Snake’s as well. But I think the horses were used as a warning.”
Wren huffed. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why warn you?”
“The only reason I can think of is to get me to default on my grandfather’s will.”
“I don’t understand.”
As I explained what both Adam and Bryce had learned, I sensed she finally understood why I was so concerned about her safety, Justin’s as well.
“Do you think your father is capable of doing this to you?” she asked after a few seconds had passed.
“I honestly have no idea, Wren. My father isn’t the man I thought he was. That’s for certain.”
I could tell she was mulling over everything I’d told her.
“Then we’re going to figure it out together,” she said in her usual defiant tone.
“No,weare doing nothing. I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you whether you like it or not.”
“I can take care of myself. I’m sure you have a gun or two lying around here. I told you I know how to shoot.”
“And I’m not doubting you, but you’re not doing a damn thing.”
“Bet me.”
I turned to face her. She wasn’t going to pay a damn bit of attention to me. The last thing I needed her to do was go off halfcocked. She’d get herself killed. “Listen to me. Whatever is going on, I don’t want you to get in the middle of it.”
“I’m already in the middle of it. I know some people. I can help you.”
