Read Online Incandescent by Madeline Sloane - Free Book Online Page B

was
correct.”
    Anna pushed away from the door, moving past
Aaron into the living room. “That can’t be right,” she said, her
voice rising in alarm. “Gretchen’s already told you Lacey was
asleep when she left. No candles were burning.”
    Aaron shook his head. “Lacey must have woken
after she left. Or maybe Gretchen lit them and won’t admit it. We
found several candles in the downstairs bathroom, arranged around
the bathtub. We also found charred remnants of bath towels and the
path of the fire as it swept from the bathroom, igniting the
carpets first and then the curtains. The bath and hallway are the
flash point and the smoke detectors didn’t work. The batteries were
dead.”
    Anna stared at Aaron as if he had two heads.
“You’re wrong. Lacey is the most careful person I’ve ever known.
She wouldn’t have lit candles before going to bed. And she had her
own bathroom upstairs. Why would she use the downstairs tub?”
    “I’ve been investigating fires all my adult
life, Anna. I know what I’m doing. It was an accident. There is no
indication of foul play,” he said. “If it wasn’t Lacey who lit the
candles, it was Gretchen, and she’s too afraid to admit it.”
    Anna shook her head stubbornly. “I’m telling
you, you’re wrong. Gretchen wouldn’t lie about the candles and
Lacey wouldn’t have forgotten to change the batteries. You don’t
know them like I do. They’re my best friends.”
    “According to your statement, everyone had
been drinking. Perhaps the women were inebriated and made mistakes.
It happens more often than you think.”
    Anna sat on the edge of the sofa. “Gretchen
did have a lot to drink,” she said, her voice subdued. “She
finished our drinks and when she left the bar, she had a small
bottle. She said they were going to keep partying.”
    Aaron leaned against the wall, his face in
the shadows as he listened.
    Anna wrapped her arms around her stomach and
leaned over, a strangled sound in her throat. “You think Gretchen
may have done this and now she’s too afraid to tell the truth?”
    Aaron remained silent, letting Anna recall
the night of the fire.
    Anna shook her head, with determination. “No,
you’re wrong. Gretchen isn’t lying. I’d swear on my Mother’s grave,
she’s telling the truth. She is as angry and devastated by Lacey’s
accident as I am. If she were responsible, I’d know. I’d be able to
tell. She isn’t blaming herself. She isn’t hiding anything.”
    “The evidence says otherwise.”
    She scowled at Aaron. “You’re going to have
to do better, Mr. Fire Marshal,” she said, her voice heated. “Don’t
look for a scapegoat. Look for the truth.”
    Aaron frowned. “The last thing I want to do
is blame this on someone innocent,” he said. “I always look for the
truth.”
    She strode to the door and opened it. With a
curt nod, she indicated he should leave. “Look harder.”
    The door slammed behind Aaron and he stood on
the porch, fists clenched at his side. Was there some piece of
evidence he’d missed? Was he becoming complacent? He wished it
weren’t an open-and-shut case. All the facts indicated the fire
started in the bathroom, as he said.
    He knew how to read the clues. The fire
worked its way from the lit candles to the towels on the bar. From
there, it spread to the shower curtain and all the clothes piled on
the bathroom floor. The flames leapt to the hallway rug. From
there, the fire engulfed the living and dining rooms.
    If Lacey Martin had monitored her fire
detectors, chances are she would have walked out of the fire
unscathed. He shook his head wearily. Too many people failed to
keep fresh batteries in that one small device and it often meant
the difference between life and death.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Fourteen
     
    The man walked out of the truck stop diner
and paused between several parked vehicles to light a cigarette. He
cupped the matchstick and sucked, drawing the tobacco through the
filter