Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
The doors burst open, and the four of us working at the time all snapped our heads up to see what the hell was happening.
“Praise Jesus and pass the potatoes, you’re here,” she gasped, seeking me out among my dispatcher, deputy, and clerk.
“Mrs. McCutcheon, nice to see you,” I said, standing and making my way to the front counter. “What can we help you with today?”
“It’s that firefighter. You know, the gay one.” She whispered the word gay in case it was contagious or in case God overheard and smote her right where she stood.
At least that was what I guessed.
But how she didn’t know that the gay firefighter was sleeping with the gay sheriff in this tiny, nosy town was beyond me.
“What about him?” I asked, trying not to snarl. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luanne reach for her Minnie Mouse letter opener. As if she’d cut a bitch should Mrs. McCutcheon go a smidge too far.
“He did it. He set those fires. I heard it from a witness.”
Of course my mind immediately shot to Tisha since she was the only official eyewitness to anything as far as I knew.
“Who’s the witness?” I asked. “And what did they say?”
I knew it was improper of me to ask. I should have shuttled her off immediately to Chief Paige instead. But I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know.
“Well, as you know, my son is best friends with your nephew, Hal. I overheard them talking about it last night by the swimming pool when they didn’t realize I was there.”
Which meant she was spying on them from the shadows, no doubt.
“Go on,” I encouraged.
“Hal said that he didn’t want to get anyone in trouble or anything but that he’d seen that firefighter set the brushfire at his aunt Jolie’s house that day.” She finished her big announcement with wide eyes and an expectant gaze. “So what do you have to say about that?”
My stomach rolled even though it sounded like typical teenage bullshit bragging to me. “Did he say why he was there that day?”
“Something about being at his grandparents with his brother and sister. Said he could see clear as day from his grandparents’ house.”
I swallowed down the sigh trying to escape. There was no way you could see the back of Jolie’s house from my parents’ house. Clearly Hal had been making shit up. The fact he was implicating Otto made me see red, though.
“Mrs. McCutcheon, Otto Wilde is the one who put out the fire. Even if Hal saw him, how would he have been able to tell whether he was setting a fire or putting one out? And you can’t see the fire from my parents’ house anyway.”
Her jaw stuck out. “Aren’t you going to write this up in a report? I know what I heard.”
“That’s another thing, ma’am. You hearing a couple of boys gossiping is just hearsay. It’s not evidence.”
“Then are you going to interview the witness?”
Oh boy, someone sure liked her Law and Order episodes.
“I’m not, since he’s my family, but I’ll make sure to let Chief Paige know what you told me so he can look into it as part of the investigation.”
I could just picture Hal pissing his pants when big, strong Evan Paige stared down at him in an interview.
The woman in front of me sniffed and glanced at the other people in the office. “See that you do. I’ll check in with him myself just in case.”
You do that, lady.
“Yes, ma’am. Have a nice day.”
Once she was gone, I turned to Luanne with a sigh. “Let Chief Paige know I’m on my way, will you please?”
She rolled her eyes and I could have sworn I heard her mumble, Nosy bitch.
When I arrived at the firehouse, Chief Paige was out front overseeing the washing of one of the engines. Several firefighters were displayed in tight, wet undershirts or none at all while their muscles bunched and shifted as they dragged large sponges across the shiny red surface of the truck. Wet spray caught the sun and shot rainbows across the driveway as the men laughed and teased each other, clearly enjoying some cool water on the hot June day.
Hnngh.
“Sheriff Walker,” Evan called. “See something you like?”
“Huh?”
His knowing grin totally busted me, and I blinked to get all that eye candy unstuck from my retinas. I had my own hot firefighter, after all. I didn’t need to drool over these other ones.
“Need to talk to you,” I said. “You got a minute?”
“Sure, come on in and we’ll find a private place to talk.”
We made our way to the same meeting room and shut the door.
“What’s up?” he asked, clasping his large hands in front of him.
“Mattie McCutcheon claims she overheard my nephew Hal say something about seeing Otto set the fire at Jolie’s house,” I said. The tension was knotted all through my shoulders and jaw, and I knew I’d have a raging headache before the day was over.