Robert was toying with her. Playing hide-and-seek to frighten her. Enjoying keeping her on edge.
And it was working.
Ginny kept her gun in the bathroom while she showered and dressed. As she checked the dating site on her computer, her phone pinged that she had a message, and she quickly checked it. It was Thad Rigden, the real estate developer buying up the block of businesses housing Joy’s Nail Salon.
The voice sounded slightly higher-pitched than Robert’s, but if this man was Robert, he could have disguised it. He suggested they meet for coffee at Mitzi’s at ten-thirty, so she agreed, then spent the next half hour scrolling through online dating profiles reviewing every William and Winston she could find.
The man she’d pinged the night before responded that he’d like to meet her for a drink around five. She confirmed, then stowed her gun inside her purse, grabbed her jacket and headed outside. She checked the hallway in all directions, then hurried downstairs. Pausing at the bottom of the stairwell, she scanned the entryway and parlor. An older couple was enjoying coffee and a late breakfast, and two young women dressed for hiking rushed out the door, backpacks slung over their shoulders.
A gusty breeze whipped her hair around her face as she stepped outside, and a cigarette glowed near a tree at the edge of the woods.
Robert?
He hadn’t smoked cigarettes when she’d known him but had occasionally enjoyed a cigar. She thought about the wildfires Griff had been putting out and wondered if Robert could possibly be responsible. Deciding she needed the exercise, she veered onto the sidewalk leading to the heart of town, keeping one hand securely on her purse to give her easy access to her gun if needed as she walked to Mitzi’s.
A midmorning crowd filled the café, a mixture of retirees, campers and hikers preparing to set out on the AT. She waved to Mitzi as she entered, then started to take a booth near the front, but Mitzi motioned for her to follow her.
“That real estate developer is back here,” Mitzi said as she led Ginny through the center of the café to a booth in the corner near the back.
Ginny’s stomach tightened as they approached. The man was facing the rear wall with his face away from her. He had short, neatly groomed brown hair, and a gold signet ring glittered from his hand as he lifted his coffee cup for a sip.
Robert had worn a gold signet ring with the letter R etched in the design. The imprint of it on her cheek had lingered for days after he’d hit her.
* * *
GRIFF WAITED FOR Jacob in the entrance of the school while Jacob questioned the two boys he’d identified as persons of interest. Memories of attending Whistler High flooded back.
Griff had played defense on the high school soccer team and helped them make it to the state championships. School shootings and drugs and violence had not been part of his experience. Boys had roughhoused, enjoyed off-roading and met girls behind the bleachers to make out. Not one for online social media, he’d attended high school pep rallies, football games, dances in the gym and he’d hung out by the river with friends.
On camping trips, his father had taught him and his brothers how to read maps, fish and kayak. He’d loved the fresh air, outdoors and endless miles of forests. Sure, he and his brothers had sneaked a few beers in their day, but they’d been harmless and respected the land and the people in town.
His father had run for sheriff to protect the residents and had instilled the same values in him and his brothers. Each of them had become first responders to honor him.
Then that fire had taken his life. Gone in a minute.
Griff should have insisted his father stay outside that horrible day. His father hadn’t been prepared to run into the fiery building. Hadn’t been wearing safety equipment. No oxygen mask or helmet or fireproof clothing.
But the fire had created such chaos, and with so many lives in danger, his father hadn’t thought once about joining the rescue attempts. Dozens of sick patients, disabled, people in wheelchairs and bedridden needed help. Mothers and children and babies were among the needy, too.
They’d tried to save them all. And even then, they’d failed.
Footsteps dragged him from the haunting memory. Jacob approached him, grim faced. Griff expected him to escort the boys to the jail, but he was alone. The teens’ parents were accompanying the boys through the exit.
Jacob paused to shake hands with the principal and counselor, then joined Griff.
“What happened? Aren’t you making arrests?” Griff asked.
Jacob motioned for them to go outside, and they left together, then walked over to Jacob’s squad car.
Jacob scrubbed a hand over his chin. “Both boys admitted to drinking in the woods, to smoking a couple of cigarettes and building a campfire on two occasions. But they claim they covered the fire with mounds of dirt before they left.”
“Could have accidentally started back up.”
Jacob shook his head. “That’s just it. Both kids have alibis for the nights of the wildfires that spread. Parents confirmed they were home studying for tests during the time of the first fire, and one of the teachers verified that the boys play baseball and had an away game during the time of that last one.”
Griff muttered a frustrated sound. “If they didn’t set the fires, maybe some other kids are responsible.”
“That’s possible, but I’m beginning to wonder if it was teens.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The boys mentioned seeing a man in a long coat and hat with binoculars on a hill near the locations of the fires. They both insisted they’d seen his footprints around before, up around Raven’s Ridge.”
“I’ll go back and search that area,” Griff said. “If whoever they saw is our arsonist, he may have left some evidence behind.”
* * *
GINNY SLID HER hand inside her purse and gripped her gun as she walked around the table. Her legs felt shaky, but anger heated her blood as she braced herself to face Robert once more.
The man stood and lifted his hand, the signet ring glittering beneath the overhead light. This man was the right height and build, but his eyes were set farther apart, his nose slightly longer, and his forehead not as high. Not Robert.
Relief mingled with frustration. Dammit, she wanted to get this over with. Make Robert confront her so she could…kill him? Could she really pull the trigger?
Tess’s sweet face taunted her, and she swallowed hard. Yes, hell, yes, she could.
But this man hadn’t killed her sister. She was wasting her time. Unless…he’d killed Joy and the similarities were coincidental.
The man extended his hand. “Thad Rigden. You’re Ginny Bagwell, the woman who called about looking for property in town?”
Ginny nodded and claimed the chair across from him. Mitzi appeared, and she ordered plain coffee while he ordered a latte.
“Tell me about yourself, Ginny,” Thad said. “Where are you from and what do you do?”
“I live in Asheville,” she said simply. “And actually, I’m a journalist.”
His eyebrow rose. “I thought you were looking for property for a business.” He sipped his coffee. “Or did I misunderstand your message?”
“I’m sorry to mislead you,” she said, deciding to opt for a half-truth. “I talked to Joy Norris’s neighbors and they said you offered to purchase her property. That you had plans to rebuild the entire block.”
His friendly smile faded. “That’s true. Everyone except Joy agreed to sell. But I thought I could convince her to do so in time.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I suspected she was holding out for more money, so I was working on securing a more lucrative deal for her.”
“I see. But now that she’s dead, it’ll probably be easier to take over.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Actually, that’s not how it works. If she didn’t have a specific will dictating who the property went to, it will go into probate. That could take months which will slow down the entire project.”
That was true. “Did she have a will?”
Irritation carved frown lines around his mouth. “I don’t know. Since the police ruled her death a homicide, nothing can happen until the investigation is complete.”
“One of the other store owners mentioned that Joy had a silent partner. Do you know who that was?”
“No. If I had, I would have tried to convince him or her to talk some sense into Joy.” He studied her with hooded eyes. “Now, Ms. Bagwell, why are you asking me these questions?”
Ginny knotted her hands in her lap under the table. “I had the impression the two of you were more than business acquaintances.”
A flicker of unease settled across his features. “We had dinner a few times, but it was mostly business. I thought if I showed her my plans for the development, she’d be swayed into selling.”
“But it didn’t work?”
“No, she was stubborn,” he muttered.
“That must have angered you, especially if your business plans relied on her cooperation.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “If you’re suggesting that I killed Joy because she refused to sell, you’re way off base. Maybe you should talk to the sheriff instead of running around making accusations.”
“I did speak to him, but he isn’t sharing.”
“That’s for damn sure. I asked him what happened, but he shut me down. Even implied that I might have killed her to get hold of her property, just like you did.” He released an angry sigh, stood and tossed his napkin on the table. “If I were you, Ms. Bagwell, I’d go back to Asheville. If you keep running around making accusations, you might end up like Joy.”
* * *
GRIFF CALLED FLETCH, explained his conversation with Jacob and asked him to meet him at the put-in to the trail near Raven’s Ridge. There, Griff led the way. Three miles in, they passed the point of origin for the latest wildfire.
The ridge overlooked the burned area, so the arsonist could have set it, then climbed to higher ground and watched it sizzle along the forest floor, eating up leaves, twigs and brittle grass as it spread.
Although crime-scene investigators had combed the area, he and Griff searched the territory again to make sure they hadn’t missed something. When they were satisfied they hadn’t, they climbed upward toward the ridge, following the path leading to the top. More rain threatened as dark clouds rumbled and swallowed the light from the sky.
Griff and Fletch hiked past trees so thick they had to turn sideways to weave between them. When they reached the top, the steep overhang jutted out over the woods below and offered an expansive view of where the fire had started.
The perfect place for an arsonist to watch his handiwork and bask in the glory as the flames licked higher and higher.
Griff and Fletch divided up and searched separate areas, the threat of bad weather forcing them not to waste time. Near a cluster of hemlocks leading away from the overhang, Griff spotted boot prints that had been somewhat protected from being washed away by the rain the night before. He shone his light along the edges and thought they might be able to make a cast, then noticed a path of crushed weeds a few feet from the prints.
He panned his light across the brush. Something shiny was trapped in the weeds. He pulled on gloves, and stooped to his knees. His fingers brushed over the shiny metal object, and he freed it, then held it up to examine it. A lighter—fancy, expensive, with the emblem of a black panther on the side.
Not one teens would own.
A hiker on the trail could have dropped it. But considering the location where he’d found it and the proximity to the latest wildfire, it raised suspicion. He bagged it and put it in his pocket, then strode over to Fletch where he finished making the cast of the boot print. They searched for another hour. Unfortunately, they found nothing else. Rain threatening, they hiked down the mountain to their vehicles.
“I’ll run these by Jacob’s office,” Fletch offered.
“Thanks.” The lighter might belong to the arsonist, but the fact that Joy’s business and home had also burned down was seeming less like a coincidence. And more like they could be connected.
Which led him back to Ginny Bagwell.
She’d been shaken the night before. Had bruises where she’d fallen—or been pushed. He’d warned her she was flirting with danger.
What if something had happened to her while he’d been gone today?
* * *
GINNY SPENT THE afternoon at the coffee shop researching Thad Rigden on her computer. She looked for anything she could find indicating he was shady, dangerous or that he might have killed Joy out of anger over the fact that she refused to sell.
He had been through a nasty divorce settlement, which had gone public when his wife sued him for half of their assets, assets that amounted to almost a million dollars. The wife had filed a restraining order against Thad during the divorce proceedings with claims of intimidation tactics.
Had he used those tactics on Joy and the situation had spiraled out of control? Was he so desperate for the investment opportunity to replenish the money he’d given his wife that he’d resort to murder?
The clock on the wall ticked off the minutes to the next hour, and she realized it was time to meet her next date from Meet Your Mate. She hurried back to the inn and changed into a nice sweater and black slacks, then walked to the wine bar William Roberts had suggested.
As always, she checked her surroundings and seated herself to face the doorway. For the next hour, she watched couples and individuals come and go, but her date didn’t show. Wondering if she’d misread the time and place, she checked her phone for messages and reviewed the original interchange. No. She had the date, time and place correct.
The creep had stood her up.
Annoyed, she polished off the one glass of merlot she’d allowed herself to sip while waiting, paid the bill, gathered her purse and headed outside. More dark storm clouds threatened, thunder rumbling, and she increased her pace hoping to make it back to the inn before another deluge of rain descended.
The sun had come and gone while she was in the wine bar, and night had fallen with the temperature dropping again, adding a crispness to the air. Just as she passed the alley between Mitzi’s and the craft store, footsteps pounded behind her.
She halted, sliding her hand to open her purse, then spun around to see who was there. A shadow moved into her vision, then suddenly jumped her. She tried to steady herself, but two strong hands shoved her backward and she hit the brick wall and fell into the dark alley.