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“Arson,” the fire inspector who had introduced himself as Lonnie said.
Andrew frowned. “You sure?”
“I still need to conduct a thorough inspection, but at first glance it’s pretty clear we’re looking at gasoline as our main accelerant. Someone dumped a hearty portion of it in the den.”
“Just the den?” Kat asked.
“That’s what it looks like,” Lonnie said. “Luckily the fire only spread to the dining room before we doused it.”
Matty squirmed in Kat’s arms, but Kat held firm. This neighborhood was a few blocks beyond where she would normally take Matty, and she didn’t feel comfortable setting the animal down yet, even if she was on a leash. She was still shaken after witnessing all the commotion that went along with wrestling a fire under control. From the firefighters running around shouting commands at each other, to the growing crowd yakking in the street, her ears hadn’t stopped ringing yet.
She hugged Matty to her chest. “Was anybody inside?” She hadn’t seen the firefighters carrying anyone out, but if someone had perished in the flames, the body might have been left in place until the medical examiner arrived.
“Nope,” Lonnie said, “no casualties. Lucky for the Jeffersons, they’re out and about this morning.”
Kat wasn’t sure how lucky that was. Perhaps if the family had been home the arsonist wouldn’t have targeted their house.
“What about pets?” Andrew asked.
Lonnie shook his head. “No sign of any pets.”
Kat breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”
“’Course, the garage window was shattered,” Lonnie continued. “Could be a cat or something escaped outside if there was one. But I didn’t see any food bowls or other signs of an animal living here.”
Andrew glanced at the garage. “You said a window was broken?”
“Yep. Come and have a look.”
Lonnie led them around to the side of the house. The yard wasn’t very wide in this area. The dense, five-foot-high privacy hedge that demarcated the property line took up most of the available space. Through the thick foliage, Kat could barely make out the house next door, despite how it had been painted a dazzling, azure blue.
Lonnie aimed his finger at the lone window built into the side of the garage. “See how this top pane was smashed in? Looks like someone reached through there to unlock the latch. After that, access to the house would have been a snap. That door inside leads straight into the kitchen.”
Andrew looked at the hedge. “I can see why they chose this window. Nice, isolated spot. You’d be nearly invisible here unless someone happened down the street at the exact right time.”
“Yeah, good luck finding a witness.” Lonnie paused. “Forgive me, but other than some harmless mischief here and there, arson is something I’ve never encountered during my thirty years in Cherry Hills. Am I correct to assume CHPD will be handling the criminal portion of the investigation?”
“I’ll verify with the chief, but that sounds reasonable,” Andrew said.
Kat stroked Matty as she eyed the people gathered in the street. The crowd had doubled in size in the past few minutes, word of the fire clearly having spread throughout the neighborhood. A young woman who couldn’t be older than twenty fiddled with her hair, her eyes trained on Lonnie and Andrew as they conferred about the broken window. Next to her stood an older woman who whispered in her ear while pointing in their direction. Unfortunately, Kat doubted either of them had been paying such close attention to this spot when the arsonist had struck.
Lonnie held a plastic baggie out to Andrew. “You might want this. I recovered it from the dining room floor.”
Kat peered over Andrew’s shoulder as he took possession of the bag, catching a flash of white and what looked to be a scratched-up friction strip inside the plastic. “Is that a matchbook?”
“Sure is,” Lonnie replied. “Judging from where I found it, I’m banking whoever did this dropped it in their haste to get out before the flames cut off an exit path.”
“There’s no logo on here,” Andrew commented, turning the bag over in his hands. “That’s going to make it more difficult to track down.”
Lonnie chuckled. “Good thing that’s your job and not mine.” He rolled back on the balls of his feet. “You want me to take you through the inside? The place is structurally safe, so it’s in no danger of collapsing.”
“That would be appreciated,” Andrew said.
Lonnie waved him toward the front yard. “Let’s get you some protective gear and have at it then.”
Andrew touched Kat’s elbow. “Sorry to leave you like this.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “You go do your job.”
He planted a quick kiss on her cheek and scratched the top of Matty’s head. “I’ll catch up with you tonight, okay?”
“Okay.”
But before Andrew could get anywhere, a gray minivan came honking down the street. The crowd parted to let it through. When it came to a stop by the curb, a slightly overweight woman with shoulder-length ash-brown hair jumped out of the passenger seat.
“What’s going on?” she yelled, running toward them.
Lonnie stepped in front of her, his arms spread wide. “Nikki, you’re going to have to stay back.”
“Why?” She pressed her fists to her mouth, her eyes swinging from the giant monstrosity of a firetruck parked on her front lawn to her house. “Oh, no. Please, no.”
She lurched forward, looking as though she might topple onto the driveway. Lonnie grabbed her arm before she hit the concrete.
“Take it easy,” he said, steadying her with both hands.
“Nik!” A tall, lean man dashed over from the minivan and wrapped one arm around Nikki’s waist. “Deep breath, hon. I’ve got you.” He blew his chestnut-colored hair out of his eyes and peered at Lonnie. “What’s with all the people?”
Lonnie let go of Nikki and folded his hands in front of him. “Fire, Kevin. I’m sorry. We did what we could, but there’s still some damage. Most of the den is pretty well gone.”
Nikki’s eyes widened. “All my headbands? Gone?”
Lonnie screwed up his face. “Headbands?”
“The stuff I was working on for Carmella’s dance troupe. I’m customizing their hair accessories. That’s my business, you know. I was almost done with the ones for the routine they’ve been practicing.” A strangled sound emerged from Nikki’s throat. “This will set me back a month. I’ll end up missing my deadlines for the school contracts. Who will want to work with me then?”
Lonnie bowed his head. “Sorry, Nik.”
Nikki sucked in a breath. “Our memories.” She clawed at Kevin’s arm, as though she were desperate to get a better hold on him. “Our photos, the kids’ photos—” She choked back a sob. “I kept them all in the den.”
Kevin patted her back. “I know, hon.”
She looked at him with wide, pleading eyes. “Do you think they’re okay?”
“I don’t know. The important thing is we’re all safe.”
“Dad!” A young girl who Kat put at around ten years old exited from the back of the minivan. She was dressed in a purple leotard and gold tights, her face fully made up. But the most striking part of her appearance was the sparkly gold headband holding her brown hair back. It made her eyes shine.
“Hey, wait for me!” A boy who looked to be a few years younger than the girl exploded from the minivan like a bullet. He sprinted toward them with all the speed and enthusiasm of a puppy.
The girl surveyed the activity before her eyes locked with Kevin’s. “What’s up?”
“Yeah, Dad, what’s up?” the boy singsonged, latching onto Kevin’s thigh. His hair was the exact same shade as his father’s. “Did our house burn up?” He jumped up and down as he said the words, looking more excited than devastated by the prospect.
Kevin draped his arm around the boy’s shoulders. “Some of it, yeah.”
“Cool.”
Nikki spun toward him, her brows knitted together. “Timothy James, it most certainly is not cool.”
Together, the four of them looked like the archetypal all-American family. Father, mother, and a boy and girl to round things out. All that was missing was the white picket fence.
The thought of fences drew Kat’s gaze back to the privacy hedge. She gave a start when some of the leaves seemed to shift. Was someone back there? She stared at the spot for another moment before shaking her head. It had probably just been a bird.
“Carmella.” Kevin rotated the boy around and gave him a gentle nudge in the girl’s direction. “Take your brother back to the car, will you?”
The girl didn’t move, a defiant look on her face. “Why?”
“Because I said so.”
Watching father and daughter stare each other down, the picture of the all-American family cracked a little. At least four-legged kids couldn’t talk back, Kat thought, dropping a kiss onto Matty’s head.
But Matty wasn’t in the mood for kisses. She squirmed, using her paws to push Kat’s arms away. When she didn’t give up after several seconds, Kat relented and set her in the grass.
“How did this happen?” Nikki moaned, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at the house.
“I must have left the oven on after taking those blueberry muffins out this morning,” Kevin said.
Lonnie shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault, Kevin. Or yours, Nik. This is a pretty clear case of arson.”
Nikki gasped. “Arson?”
“Somebody poured gasoline in the den,” Lonnie informed her. “The fire spread from there into the dining area, but the flames didn’t quite reach the kitchen. And the rest of the house is intact.”
Timothy grinned. “Cool.”
Nikki skewered him with a glare that had him retreating a few steps.
Carmella took his hand in hers. “Let’s sit in the car, okay, Tim?”
“Okay.” But before Timothy made it more than two steps, he caught sight of Matty. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes landing on Kat. “Hey, is that your cat?”
“She is,” Kat replied. “Her name’s Matty.”
“And you walk her on a leash?” He grinned, exposing a few gaps where his baby teeth had fallen out. “That’s way cool.”
Kat returned his smile, finding it infectious. “Thank you. She likes it outside, and it’s the only way to make sure she doesn’t run into the street.”
Timothy pulled his hand away from his sister’s and stepped closer. “Can I pet her?”
“Sure.” Kat glanced at Nikki and hastily added, “If it’s okay with your mom.”
“She won’t mind,” Carmella piped up, following in her brother’s footsteps.
The children crouched down on either side of Matty. Their fingers barely grazed Matty’s fur as they bestowed her with a few tentative pats. Matty arched her back, her silent approval for them to continue.
Apparently Carmella had her mother pegged correctly. Nikki looked in their direction, but she turned away just as quickly, seeming not to care that the kids had defied her order to wait in the car.
“I don’t understand,” Nikki said to Lonnie. “Somebody set our house on fire? On purpose?”
Lonnie offered her an apologetic nod. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
“Who would do such a thing?” Nikki cried.
Lonnie clapped Andrew on the shoulder. “Detective Milhone here is going to answer that one. He’s with the Cherry Hills Police Department, and he’ll be looking into the arson.”
Andrew flashed his badge at the Jeffersons. “As soon as I conduct a walk-through with Lonnie, I’ll want to get your thoughts on who might have a grudge against you or your family.”
“I can save you some time and answer that right now,” Kevin said. “We don’t know anybody who hates us enough to burn down our house.”
Beside him, Nikki stood as still as a statue. When she realized Andrew was waiting for her response as well, she jerked. “I don’t know anything,” she said.
The hair at the nape of Kat’s neck tingled. Was it her imagination or was that a guilty flush creeping up Nikki’s neck?
Lonnie clapped his hands together, prompting Matty to prick her ears. “All right, Detective Milhone. You ready to go in?”
“Ready when you are,” Andrew replied.
“How long will you all be?” Kevin asked.
“We shouldn’t take more than a couple hours,” Lonnie replied. “Regardless, you might want to start looking for other accommodations tonight. The house isn’t in danger of collapsing, but there is some smoke damage.”
Kevin gave Nikki’s shoulders a squeeze. “You want to go pack up some stuff?”
Nikki stepped away from him. “No. I don’t have the stomach to go in there right now.” She pivoted sideways and swept her arms toward the minivan. “Kids, say goodbye to the kitty. It’s time to go.”
Carmella stood up. “Where are we going?”
“We’ll have to stay at the Cherry Hills Hotel for a while.” Nikki drew in a shaky breath. “At least for the night.”
“A hotel.” Timothy jumped to his feet and bounded toward the minivan. “Cool!”
Nikki hung her head as she shuffled after the children. Kat’s heart went out to her. Nikki obviously didn’t think the idea was nearly as cool.
Matty’s tail twitched as she watched her new friends depart.
Kat reached down to pet her. “What about you? You ready to head home?”
In response, Matty began trotting across the yard. Kat tried to guide her toward the sidewalk, but Matty aimed for the blue house instead, making a hard left when she reached the other side of the hedge.
Kat started to stop her, then she remembered seeing movement back here earlier. Perhaps she could take a quick peek around, just to satisfy her curiosity.
Hoping the residents wouldn’t give her grief for trespassing, Kat held her breath as Matty led her down the side yard. The hedge only extended a few feet beyond the back of the house, leaving a clear path between their backyard and the Jeffersons’. But there was some overgrowth in this area. If someone wanted to hide here, they could do so very easily.
Except, no one was anywhere near the hedge. Assuming Kat hadn’t been mistaken, whoever had been here earlier was gone now.
Kat turned around, anxious to get back onto public property now that her mission was complete. But Matty had other ideas. The tortoiseshell plopped her hindquarters onto the grass and threw her left hind leg into the air as casually as if she owned the place. Then she shoved her foot into her mouth and began licking furiously.
Kat crouched down beside her. “You get something on your paw, baby?”
Matty didn’t respond, too busy nibbling her toes.
Kat leaned closer. Sure enough, she spotted a wad of purple chewing gum stuck to the bottom of Matty’s foot.
She groaned. “Well, this day just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?”
