Anticipation by Michelle Patrice

Author:Michelle, Patrice [Michelle, Patrice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2007-10-09T23:00:00+00:00

* * *

A sense of relief washed over Deidre when she walked out the screen door with a tray of plastic cups and a pitcher of water for the firefighters. The yard reeked of smoke and wet, charred wood, but at least no more flames flickered in the burned-out barn. Three-fourths of the old building had burned to the ground. The men had spent an hour putting out the flames. The firefighters were currently walking around the debris, lifting pieces of blackened wood with their axes to make sure no more hot spots remained. Jonas and the fire inspector met halfway through the yard and approached the porch together.

Emergency vehicles littered the property, their lights highlighting Jonas’ soot-marked face in a red, white and blue kaleidoscope. His gaze locked with her questioning one. “It was deliberately set.”

Deidre quickly glanced at the charred stairs, guilt tightening her gut. “I should’ve been more careful with the fertilizer bag I used this morning. It was heavy so I dragged it out of the barn all the way to the front of the house. I didn’t know it had a hole in the bottom until I’d reached the flower bed. The fire must have caught on the fertilizer trail and made its way over to the stairs.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Miss Nelson. As the sheriff stated, the fire was deliberately set.” The fire inspector reached out his leathery hand and shook hers. “Edward Ross, ma’am.” He released her hand and pushed his fireman’s hat back from his sweaty, black brow. “The arsonist must’ve used a Molotov cocktail type igniter. We found some melted plastic among the debris. He’d apparently tried to be careful about what material he used… I’m sure he hoped it’d burn up in the fire. We’ve got proof, but I doubt we can get prints.” He paused and glanced at Jonas with an expectant expression. “I saw your men making an impression on the ground below the window where the flames never reached.”

Jonas nodded. “Good thing it rained hard last night. The imprint has distinctive markings on the shoe’s sole. We’re hoping the evidence might make it easier to find the person who did this.”

Anger whirled inside Deidre at the near miss with her parents’ home. “Who would do such a thing? I know it’s the end of the summer and antsy kids get into all kinds of mischief…” She trailed off while she poured a cup of water for Edward then handed the tumbler to him. “Anyway, thank you for your help. I hope you catch the person responsible. My parents will be so relieved, and me for them, that they can put all these pranks behind them.”

“We don’t know for sure this is connected to the pranks yet.” Jonas directed his gaze her way. “This went beyond petty vandalism. Fortunately no animals were in that barn, but what if you’d been asleep when this happened? The fire could’ve continued to spread to the B&B and you could’ve been killed.”

Her chest

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