He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening the attached file. Skimming through the usual rigamarole, stuff the arson lab had already reported to him about the accelerant use, until he zeroed in on the one thing that mattered, the analysis of the fingerprint evidence. The Texas DPS had run the prints and had a match.
He had a suspect, a flesh-and-blood villain to focus the blame on. Somebody who could be arrested and thrown in jail. But first, he had to finish dealing with the current blaze, and ensure the fire was out and not a danger to life or property. Focus on doing his job.
Then he’d arrest the person who’d been behind torching the Summers’ property.
Greg Summers.
Evan bit down hard on the hamburger he’d grabbed from a drive-through fast-food place, one of those big chain ones where nobody paid attention to who moved past their congested drive-up window, as long as they paid and got moving, so they could attend to the next customer. Compared to the lousy food he’d eaten in the prison, this tasted like a gourmet steak.
He’d driven out of town, over an hour away from Shiloh Springs, clear into the next county, staying on the backroads to avoid any patrol cars who might have spotted him. Pouring some of his previous bottled water onto the ground, he’d made enough mud to coat the back and front license plates, partially obscuring the letters and numbers. A cop probably wouldn’t pull somebody over for that, not unless they spotted another infraction, and he’d been careful to stay under the speed limit and do nothing to draw attention to himself.
Now, with a full tank of gas and a full belly, he cruised by the cottage where one of Beth’s former neighbors at the apartment complex told him they’d moved to. It wasn’t much of a place. He’d have thought his ex would have splurged a little with all the money she’d gained from all his hard work. Even splitting the proceeds with her sister, she still should have had a couple of million bucks stashed away. Surely she could afford something better than this dump.
He’d had the forethought to park a few houses down, because he didn’t want Beth to spot him too soon. The timing had to be perfect, because he’d only get one shot. Too bad it was Sunday, because even if she wired money to his account—one nobody but him knew about—it wouldn’t process until Monday at the earliest, maybe Tuesday, so he had to be patient.
In the rearview mirror, he spotted a white sedan driving slowly toward him, and he scrunched down in the seat, obscuring him from immediate view. There was no disguising that white car as anything but a cop car, even in this backwater burb. They continued on past, and he waited, knowing if he got up too soon and blew it, he’d end up back in Huntsville, this time in solitary.
Once he had the money, he’d leave. He had it all plotted out. There was a lovely seaside bungalow in Rio calling to him. With Beth’s share of the bond, he could live comfortably for many years, without encumbrances like a wife and a child. He felt a twinge of guilt thinking about Jamie. It was a shame she’d be dragged into this because her mother betrayed him.
The white sedan pulled into the drive of Beth’s cottage, and a tall man in a tan shirt and dark pants stepped out, walking slowly around the side of the house, disappearing from view. Definitely a cop, from the way he walked and the way he carried himself. A thief wouldn’t have pulled right up into the drive and gotten out; he’d learned that much while incarcerated. Keeping his head low, he watched and waited. Long minutes passed before the cop came around the other side of the house, his long strides now purposeful as he walked to his car, climbed in and pulled away.
Shifting to sit upright behind the wheel, he took another bite of his now cold burger, before wrapping it up and tossing it into the trash bag. He took a long drink of the milkshake he’d gotten to go with the burger and added it to the trash.
Movement from the side caught his attention, and he watched an older woman carrying a black trash bag out of her house and head toward one of the bins standing at attention like soldiers at the side of her drive. Taking a quick glance in the mirror again, he made an attempt to smooth his hair, and scrubbed a hand across his scruff, and opened the car door.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m hoping you can help me.”
“Of course. What can I do for you?” She hesitated, watching him closely as he moved a few steps into her driveway.
“I’m looking for a friend who recently moved into this area. I know she’s renting a place on this street, but I can’t for the life of me find the paper I wrote her address down on. Maybe you know her? Beth Stewart?”
The woman’s face lit with a smile. “Oh, of course. Such a lovely lady, and sweet little girl, too. She hasn’t been here long, but she lives right over there.” She pointed to the cottage Evan had been staking out. “Although I heard there was a spot of trouble, and she’s been staying with the Boudreaus.”
“Boudreaus?”
“They own the big ranch outside town. Biggest one around for miles. Just follow Main Street through town, and keep heading north. You can’t miss it.”
Evan seethed, gritting his teeth in a semblance of a smile. Looked like his wife had gotten further ensnared by the Boudreaus, the same way Tessa got pulled in. Good
