Brody leaned forward, forcing Greg to meet his stare. “Did your mom or dad know what you planned? Did they ask you to set the fire, hoping for the insurance payout?”
“No! Brody, I swear they don’t know anything. They don’t even know about the insurance policy being continued.”
“Are you sure? Because I checked with the carrier, and they said they sent the renewal notice for the recent policy to the address in Florida.”
Greg’s eyes widened even as he shook his head vehemently. “That’s not possible. They mail everything to me in San Antonio. I’ve got all the paperwork, the policy information. It’s all at my place. As far as my parents know, the policy lapsed over two years ago. This is all on me, Brody.”
Brody leaned back. He’d been bluffing, hoping to catch Greg in a lie, glad the Summers weren’t involved. That would have been a blow not only to his dad and momma, but for all the people in Shiloh Springs who liked and respected the Summers. It was going to be hard enough when they found out about Greg’s involvement.
“Talk to me about the fires. Take me through how you did it.”
“All of them, or just the barn?”
“I know how the first two were started, so skip those. How’d you burn the barn down?”
Greg scrubbed his hands across his face, then rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “You know about the gasoline. I bought it on my way from San Antonio. Filled a container. I had a lot of old beer bottles and some old towels. Made homemade Molotov cocktails. I wiped down the bottles before I filled them. I bought some disposable gloves, but I guess I wasn’t careful enough, if you found prints.”
Rafe placed a bottle of water in front of Greg, who twisted off the cap and guzzled it down before continuing.
“Honestly, after the first two, I thought it would be easier to torch the barn. But it wasn’t, it was ten times harder. I tossed in the first bottle, and the fire refused to catch. Can you believe it? I waited and waited, and nothing. Finally, I tossed in another one, aiming for the wall, and it caught. I used a total of six.” Greg stared off in the distance, as if reliving the moment. “It was oddly beautiful, the flames shooting upward. The colors seemed more vivid, vibrant against the darkness. An ethereal beauty in its simplicity. The fire seemed to dance, sinuous and exotic, shooting sparks. It seemed alive, with a voracious appetite, consuming the building, yet leaving the surrounding area untouched. Like it had a mind of its own and once satisfied, dissipated and disappeared.”
“Tell me about last night. Why burn Santiago’s restaurant?”
“I told you, it was a distraction, to get your attention off our place. If you were focused on putting out the fire there, investigating it, you’d stop looking into a simple old barn fire that didn’t hurt anybody.”
Brody shook his head. “That’s not how it works, Greg. All you’ve done is dig an even bigger hole to bury yourself in. The evidence is mounting.”
“You won’t need the evidence. I confess. I’ll plead guilty, as long as you keep my folks out of this.”
“You know the insurance company won’t pay out for arson, don’t you, Greg? Your parents won’t see a dime. You did all of this for nothing.” Rafe stood and pushed the button on the recorder, shutting it off. “I’m sorry about your mother.”
Greg hung his head, hands twisted in his lap. “Yeah, me too. I did it all for them.”
Brody stood and laid his hand on Greg’s shoulder. “Rafe, place him under arrest. I’ll contact the Texas Department of Public Safety and let them know he’s been apprehended and confessed to multiple arsons.”
With a heavy heart, Brody walked out of Rafe’s office, as Rafe led Greg to an awaiting empty cell. Case solved. So why did the resolution leave him feeling gut punched and sad?
“Brody, wait!” Sally Anne clamored from behind her desk, blocking him from exiting the building.
“Not now. I’ve got to—”
“You’ve got to head to your parents’ house stat. Nica called. Jamie’s missing.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Beth raced through the front door of the Big House, out of breath, Camilla close on her heels. Nica stood in the hall, phone to her ear. She held up her hand, and continued her conversation, her voice low, almost a whisper. Beth wanted to shake her, scream at the top of her lungs for her baby. Instead, she sprinted past Nica, head up the stairs. Maybe Jamie was hiding, thinking everything was a big game. She threw open every closed door, calling out her daughter’s name at every single one.
Camilla stayed mere steps behind, arms wrapped across her middle, her face pale and drawn. She looked guilty, and even though Beth wanted to hug her and tell her it wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t stop. Jamie was missing.
“I’ve called Momma and Dad, they’re on their way. Heath’s heading for town, but he’s keeping his eyes open. Brody’s in a meeting with Rafe, and can’t be disturbed. Sally Anne said she’ll tell them as soon as they’re free. I’m alerting the rest of the posse. We’ll find her.”
Beth slumped down onto the edge of somebody’s bed, she wasn’t sure whose. “What happened? Everything was fine when I left.”
“She was playing upstairs. Drawing and coloring a picture for Uncle Brody, that’s what she said. I went outside to chase down Otto. He got out of his pen again. I swear he’s Houdini reincarnated. I wasn’t gone more than five, ten minutes tops. When I came back in, I grabbed some stuff from the fridge, figured I’d whip up sandwiches for everybody for lunch. I though Jamie might
