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“Good thinking. CSU will take care of the truck, and we can give our statements to the officers, but it’s going to take a while. We’ll need to call Penny and let her know what’s going on and ask her to wait on us.”
“She can also get us some clean, dry clothes to change into and a couple of phones to get us through the next few days—assuming we don’t find ours.”
“Even if we do find them, there’s no guarantee they’ll be in working order if they’ve been submerged.”
Raina grimaced and nodded. Fighting the cold and the wind, they retraced their steps back across the field, giving the burning barn a wide berth. Although Vince didn’t mind the blast of heat he got from it. From Raina’s expression, she was fine with it as well.
Firemen worked quickly, aiming the streaming hoses with precision. With each step, the ache in his leg intensified and he wondered if he’d been shot. Again.
“Hey.” Raina grabbed his arm, distracting him a moment from his pain. “I know that officer. That’s Kira.”
“You know everyone.”
“Just about. You do what I do long enough, you meet a lot of people. Especially the ones who work a lot of hours.” Vince followed her as she hurried over to the dark-haired officer speaking into her radio. “Kira.”
The officer looked up and her green eyes widened. “I’ve got to go. I’ll report back shortly.” She lifted her thumb from the side button of the radio. “What’s going on, Raina?” Her gaze traveled to Vince, then swung back to Raina. “You guys are soaking wet and freezing.”
“It’s a long story,” Raina said, her teeth chattering and shivers racking her once more. “B-but can I borrow your phone to make a call?”
The woman, who appeared to be in her late thirties, unhooked the device from the clip on her belt and handed it over. “You were in the truck?” She walked to the trunk of her cruiser and opened it, reached in, and pulled out two blankets. Vince took one and wrapped it around Raina. Then did the same for himself.
Raina nodded, pulled the blanket tight beneath her chin, and held it with one hand while she dialed with the other. “This is Vince Covelli. It’s his truck.”
“Whoever peppered you with bullets didn’t want you walking away.”
“No kidding,” Vince said.
“People are crazy.” Kira motioned to someone behind them. “You’ll need to talk to the leads on this one. Give your statements.”
“I know.” Raina gripped the phone and hit Send. “I just need to call Penny and let her know we’re running late.”
As soon as that was done, she handed the phone back to Kira. “Penny’s not there yet,” she told Vince, “but promised to wait.”
A large van pulled to a stop behind the last police car in theline and four people climbed out. “Crime scene unit is here,” Kira said.
“Good.” Vince pulled the blanket tighter, but they were both still wet and cold. Only dry clothes and a big mug of coffee were going to help them warm up again. “Since it doesn’t look like we’re going to be leaving anytime soon, I’m going to see if I can find our phones. I’ll be right back.”
Looking resigned at the delay, Raina nodded.
He headed to meet CSU, badge in hand. “Excuse me.” He introduced himself. “That’s my truck. You mind if I get my phone? It’s got nothing to do with this crime scene and I’d like to see if it’s still working.”
The older man nodded. “Not at all. Follow me.”
Vince fell into step behind the man, gritting his teeth at the shooting pain in his leg. “And I think you’ll find my gas can if it hasn’t completely melted. The guy who set the barn on fire stole it out of the back of the truck.” He shook his head. “There’s a lot of dry hay in there. That fire’s going to burn hot and hard for the next few hours despite the rain.” Some people didn’t realize it, but a light rain could actually cause the fire to spread more rapidly, depending on certain conditions.
Leaving the problem to the professionals, Vince waited while the investigator crawled through the shattered rear windshield and searched the truck. Now that the adrenaline was fading, all Vince wanted to do was climb in a warm shower, then slip between his sheets and sleep for a few days. He glanced back at Raina. She was still wrapped in her blanket and talking to Kira.
“This it?”
Vince whipped his head around to find the man popped out of the back windshield, holding his phone. “How bad is it?”
“With the truck tilted like it was, I don’t think the water touched it. It was wedged between the console and the driver’s seat.”
Vince took it and tapped the screen. He had voice mails andtexts he’d answer when he had a moment. “I really appreciate it. You see another one? My passenger had it in her pocket. Could be on the other side.”
The man ducked back into the king cab and seconds ticked past while he looked. Vince couldn’t stop his gaze from scouring the area. Was the guy out there reveling in the chaos he’d caused, or was he just mad that he’d missed once again and had to come up with another plan? Vince knew what he’d put his money on.
“Got it.” The guy made his way back out of the vehicle, joined Vince, and handed him the device.
