“Nick,
“Jasper’s serial arsonist might not even exist. He never could prove his theory. One thing at a time, Rose,” Nick said quietly, winking at her as he opened the back of her Jeep for Ranger. “Let’s go to Three Sisters Cafe and see what’s cooking.”
Ninety minutes later, Rose let Ranger out of the back of her Jeep. He leaped onto the snow-packed driveway of the sprawling Whittaker estate, which, she thought, had to occupy one of the most scenic stretches of the shallow, twisting branch of the Black River.
Nick went ahead of her onto the shoveled walk. She tried to relax, but sitting next to him on the drive into the village, then across from him at the cafe and again on the drive out to the river had nearly done her in.
He was the sexiest man she’d ever met.
Telling him about Derek—giving Hannah permission to tell Sean and Beth—had been difficult but also a relief. Her past with Derek had turned into a secret that rapidly had taken on a life of its own. Derek’s lies and exaggerations and the fight at O’Rourke’s had only made matters worse.
For months, Rose had wondered if she’d have fallen into bed with Nick if not for her brief, awful relationship with Derek Cutshaw.
Ranger looked up at her, as if he remembered that their last visit here hadn’t gone well. The wind whipped the dusting of snow into the cold, clear air.
Nick eased close to her, putting a hand on her hip. “Hold on.”
“I see,” she said, noticing a man coming down the walk from the boarded-up farmhouse, then recognized Brett Griffin.
Brett waved as he approached them, his camera hanging from his neck. “I heard the investigators were done here and thought I’d stop by and see for myself.” He gestured down the slope toward the stone guesthouse. “I parked in the turnaround and walked up the road. It’s windy as all get-out. Took me by surprise.”
“Did you come alone?” Rose asked.
He nodded. “The police came to see me last night to ask about Robert. I heard he tried to break into your house.”
“That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it doesn’t matter. He should stop sneaking around and talk to the police.”
“I think so, too. I told him as much yesterday morning. Whatever he’s hiding, it can’t be as bad as having the police think he was involved in Derek’s death. That’s what’s going on, isn’t it?”
“I wish I knew,” Rose said. Another strong gust of wind blew up from the river. She felt a spray of snow in her face and could see Nick, who remained at her side, was hit with it, too, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Brett looked up toward the boarded-up farmhouse, his face pale even in the wind. He seemed to force himself out of his thoughts. “I ran into Bowie O’Rourke at the guesthouse when I got here. He was checking on the work he did for the Whittakers in January. You two aren’t meeting him, I take it?”
Rose shook her head. “No, we’re not. Is he still there?”
“I don’t know. Bowie and I don’t exactly get along. We only exchanged a few words.” Brett raised his camera and eased the strap over his head. He had on layers that were well suited to the conditions, and he could easily spend the day in the cold. “I thought I’d take some pictures of the river while I was here. It’s therapeutic.”
“Did Feehan mention coming out here?” Nick asked.
“Not to me. I’ve tried his cell phone a few times but it goes right to voice mail. He hasn’t called back.” Brett grimaced as he squinted past Nick toward the shed. “I don’t know why Derek or Robert would want to come here. They had nothing to do with the Whittakers.”
“Was there any tension between them?” Rose asked. “They were housemates. It’d be understandable if they got on each other’s nerves.”
“To the point of Robert setting Derek on fire?” Brett turned ashen, obviously taken aback. “Damn, Rose. No.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He started up the walk, leaving footprints in the light snow, but stopped after a few steps and looked back at Rose. He seemed pained, but also resigned, as if he’d come to terms with what they were thinking about the man he’d once called a friend. “There was tension between Derek and everyone. He and I got along okay because I didn’t cross him. That’s why I finally backed off. I didn’t need all that drama. The guy had no sense of his own limits. No boundaries. He was a great skier, though. Confident. I’m not nearly as good as he was. Robert’s better than I am, too.” Brett nodded to Nick. “Did he give you that scrape on your face?”
“Yes, he did,” Nick said.
“This is crazy,” Brett said half under his breath. “I don’t even know why I’m here. Just couldn’t stop myself, I guess.”
Rose watched him continue tentatively up to the farmhouse, as if every step were torture. Nick edged closer to her. “More company,” he said, pointing down to the driveway.
She noticed Zack Harper’s pickup truck pull behind her Jeep. Ranger bounded to her left side, and she stroked his broad back, settling him down and combating her own uneasiness.
Zack clearly wasn’t expecting to find anyone there. “What’re you all doing,” he said as he ambled up to them, “setting up for a winter picnic?”
Rose grimaced at his sharp tone. “Just wanted to have another look now that the police are done here. What about you, Zack?”
“The same.” He glanced down the snow-covered slope. His jacket was open, and he wasn’t wearing gloves, a hat or a scarf. He seemed unaffected by the cold and the wind. “Bowie and Dominique left, huh? I saw them down by the guesthouse when I drove by about an hour ago.”
“Dom Belair?” Rose couldn’t contain her surprise. “She was with Bowie?”
“She was in her own car. Bowie had his van.”
Rose frowned. “I didn’t realize she even knew her way out here.”
“I didn’t stop,” Zack said. “I had a call to make down in the hollow. I was on my way back to town when I saw your Jeep.”
“Brett Griffin’s here, too,” Rose said.
“Yeah, I saw his car.” Zack turned to Nick. “Want to take a look at the fire damage with me?”
“Sure,” Nick said.
Rose let Ranger poke around in the snow and went with Zack and Nick to the farmhouse. Brett seemed frozen in place by Lowell’s woodpile and said nothing to the two firefighters as they headed onto the narrow path behind the shed.
“You okay?” Rose asked Brett.
He sucked in a breath. “Those two will look at the scene differently than either one of us. I understand that Nick and your brother Sean are elite smoke jumpers. Do you think Zack feels inadequate?”
“Zack? Not a chance.” Rose smiled. “He’s a Harper, for one thing.”
She noticed Brett had pulled off his gloves. He fiddled with a knob on his camera and chuckled. “There’s that. I heard all four Neal sisters have a crush on Zack.”
“They wouldn’t be the first. It’ll be interesting to see if they all turn up for winter fest.” Rose realized there was still a faint smell of smoke in the air. “Unless Derek’s death isn’t resolved by then.”
“Why should that make any difference? The Neals live in Washington. Imagine all the ongoing death investigations there. They’re under Secret Service protection. They’ll be fine wherever they are.”
“Good point. Brett, did you see Dominique when you arrived?”
He shook his head. “Just Bowie, unless they came together—”
“She came in her car.”
“I didn’t see it when I arrived.” Brett abandoned his adjustments to his camera. “Coming out here’s harder than I imagined it’d be. I thought I wanted to see for myself where Derek died. Now I don’t know if I can look.”
“You don’t have to look,” Rose said sympathetically.
He raised his gaze to her. “It really was bad, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was. I’m sorry.”
“Have you talked to Elijah and Jo yet? I don’t know them myself. I saw Elijah at O’Rourke’s last year when
