Ian handed the sergeant’s card to Ken. “In the meantime,” Ian said, “bring your tipster forward, and perhaps we can get to the bottom of why he would lie to you.”
“Unless, of course, the person who gave you that tip failed to identify him or herself?” Jake Kendall shifted his briefcase so he could shake hands with Ian and Ken and offered Alice a grin and a wink.
Sergeant Portman put his hands on his hips. “It was an anonymous tip, yes.”
“Likely called in by the arsonist,” Jake said. He turned his attention to Ian and Ken. “So, not only do we have an arsonist on our hands but one intent upon framing the two of you.”
“The potential for a secondary crime does not make my life any easier, Mr. Kendall.” Portman said.
“I actually think the attempted framing is the primary crime,” Alice said. “The fire was simply a means to that end.”
Alice clamped her lips closed and worked at trying to get her ire under control. This guy is a real piece of…work.
“Perhaps we can offer something that will shed some light on the situation,” Ken said. He shot a quick look at Alice. She grinned, because she understood that he knew she’d stepped in to give him a moment, and now he was returning the favor.
Ken put his gaze back on the sergeant. He indicated his laptop. “Jake urged us to install video surveillance equipment covering the exterior and interior of the building before we begin the renovations, which we did, last week. The camera feed is a twenty-four/seven feed and is recorded to a secure site, online. If you access that site, you might find some evidence as to who your perp really is.”
Portman frowned at Jake. “You didn’t mention that, Mr. Kendall.”
“Oops.” Then Jake shrugged. “I probably would have, first thing, if you hadn’t been so myopic and certain that my cousins had committed this crime.”
Another man approached them, and Ian introduced him as Cameron Drake, the contractor who’d agreed to take on the renovations. “I don’t have any kind of an idea how bad the damage is,” Cam said. “Once I’m allowed in there, we’ll reassess and make a new game plan.”
“Sounds good, Cam, thanks.” Ian and Ken shook hands with the man. Cam nodded to the rest of them and headed off.
Portman barely waited a moment before continuing. “So I guess my next question is, who would want to frame the two of you for arson?”
The police sergeant glared at both Ian and Ken. His stare struck Alice as being way over the top. It sure as hell wasn’t Ian’s or Ken’s fault some asshole was striking out against them. She wasn’t very old yet, but she’d seen enough to understand that some people didn’t need a reason to be shitheads. Oh, there was no doubt, at the bottom of it all, some reason this firebug had targeted her men. There was undoubtedly, in his mind at least, a good reason to do that.
She just knew, down to her bones, that his reasons were not the responsibility of Ian or Ken Kendall.
“Honestly, Sergeant Portman, we don’t have a clue. In business, one always has competitors. But no one we know—no one—strikes us as being sick enough to do something like this.”
“You’ll provide us with a list, and we’ll determine if they’re sick enough, or not. You can also provide us with the site you referred to and access to same. Our IT detectives will have a look to see if your security cameras are as solid as you claim and if they caught anyone in the act, or not.”
Alice stiffened and knew that Ken had, as well. Ian stepped forward.
“I’ll give you the website and the password right now. Feel free to reach out to the security company, as it’s their program. Perhaps you want to pull out your pen and notebook and write it all down. These darn passcodes can sure be tricky.” Ian’s snark wasn’t as practiced as either hers or Ken’s. But Alice had to give her man credit. Sergeant Portman had just been expertly dissed—and didn’t even appear to know it.
* * * *
Ian looked around the large dining room table in the Big House. I should have made a bet with Ken. He’d known that they’d all likely wind up here, once they made their way back to Lusty from Waco.
Grandma Kate as well as Grandpa Noah were in attendance. His Aunt Samantha and his three uncles, Preston, Charles, and Taylor were there. Caleb Benedict, Texas Ranger retired, looked at ease, pad of paper and pen at the ready.
The three private detectives of the Richardson, Talbot, and Jessop Security Agency were there, as were as his cousins Adam and Jake.
“Portman will come around.” Jake Kendall sat back, a cup of coffee at his right hand.
“It’s a common mind-set,” Caleb Benedict said. “The reason the cops looked at the two of you first wasn’t personal. It was statistics.”
“Yes, sir.” Alice nodded to Uncle Caleb. “The guys had that figured out on the way from Austin, and Ken even had all the relative files assembled for them.” Then she frowned. “Sure made me mad, though.”
“You’d have been proud of both of these two,” Ian said, indicating Alice and Ken. “One of them would get ready to blow, and the other would step in, diverting attention, allowing everyone’s better angels to prevail.”
“We are proud of all of you,” Kate Benedict said. “And we all share your mad, Alice. What remains then is for us to find out what’s going on. Anyone who would go to the lengths this person has to try and cause trouble for the two of you won’t stop just because his first plan didn’t work out.”
“I didn’t care for the sergeant’s attitude,” Alice said. “But do you really think that he and the Waco Police Department are incapable of investigating the situation?”
“It’s not a question of our faith or lack of same in the sergeant’s
