you.” She didn’t know if she should act grateful or smack him in the face and demand to know what he’d done with Nick. She still wasn’t sure Stanley could take him, and if he set the fire specifically to kill Jaymee, why pull her out? “I’m so grateful.”
“I’m just glad I heard your screams. I had no idea you were still there.”
“I shouldn’t have parked in the garage. If I hadn’t, things might not have gotten so bad.”
“You couldn’t have known that.” Stanley rubbed his arm across his forehead leaving a thin trail of soot.
Dani pulled a tissue out of her purse and handed it to him. “Do you have any idea how the fire started?”
Stanley hesitated long enough for Jaymee’s attention to focus on the man coming to stand behind him. Tall, imposing. Good-looking baby boomer type. Wrinkles around his blue eyes.
Dani elbowed her, but Jaymee already had the answer: the man they’d seen talking to the warden at Delta Correctional. The ex-senator.
“They believe it’s arson.” The man’s deep voice sent a foreboding tremor down Jaymee’s spine. He extended his hand. His eyes were a pretty blue, a familiar…
Jaymee stilled. The man in the picture she’d seen at Stanley’s stood in front of her. “Wyatt Booth, CEO of Norton Investments.”
“Stanley’s visitor.” Jaymee tried to be polite even though he was the source of much of Roselea’s squabbling these past months.
“That’s right,” Stanley said. “Guess we’ll get a hotel, preferably out of town.”
“It’s all settled,” Booth said. “Mayor Asher has offered to put us up.”
“How nice of him,” Dani said. “I’m sure he’s worried about his son since Dylan’s a volunteer firefighter.”
Jaymee’s brain was still rebooting. Of course Dylan would be out there fighting the fire. Damn. I hope he’s all right.
“He is,” Booth said. “And very worried about the town.” His calculating eyes were mesmerizing, and Jaymee got the feeling he knew how to manipulate people. “Much of the fire at the house is under control,” Booth continued. “But with the speed and force of the blaze, the fire marshal believes an accelerant was used. Do you have any enemies, Miss Ballard?”
“I—what?”
“I wasn’t there,” Stanley said. “But you were. Whoever started the fire waited until that moment.”
“But her car was in the garage,” Dani said. “I assume that’s where yours would have been. Since it’s your house, I’d guess you had the enemy.”
“Unless you set it yourself.” The words popped out of Jaymee’s mouth before she could stop them. Whoops. So much for politeness and decorum. Oh well. Treading lightly wasn’t exactly her strongest trait.
“Excuse me?” Stanley’s thin face twisted into a weasel-like expression.
No sense in backtracking. “My boyfriend is missing. You were questioned by the police.” Dani’s nails dug into her hand. Jaymee got the message. She wouldn’t mention her findings. “Then your house catches fire with me in it. Maybe you think I know whatever Nick did.”
“I saved your life,” Stanley snapped. “At risk to my own.”
“Because you had to. Other people were around.” That thought only just occurred to her. Maybe Stanley hadn’t counted on her being upstairs and had assumed she’d die from the smoke before anyone heard her scream. Her snooping might have saved her life. She’d have to remind Cage of that next time he got on her ass.
“This is a lousy way to show your gratitude. And for all I know, you set the fire and screwed up.”
“Now Joe,” Booth admonished. His voice was the perfect contrast to Stanley’s knife-like accusations. Warm and soothing. The carefully practiced speech of a politician. He studied Jaymee with a silent question in his eyes. This man didn’t miss much. “This young lady’s been through a lot. Let’s give her some leeway. As for your boyfriend, it’s Nick Samuels, isn’t it? The reporter out of
“I’m just glad I heard your screams. I had no idea you were still there.”
“I shouldn’t have parked in the garage. If I hadn’t, things might not have gotten so bad.”
“You couldn’t have known that.” Stanley rubbed his arm across his forehead leaving a thin trail of soot.
Dani pulled a tissue out of her purse and handed it to him. “Do you have any idea how the fire started?”
Stanley hesitated long enough for Jaymee’s attention to focus on the man coming to stand behind him. Tall, imposing. Good-looking baby boomer type. Wrinkles around his blue eyes.
Dani elbowed her, but Jaymee already had the answer: the man they’d seen talking to the warden at Delta Correctional. The ex-senator.
“They believe it’s arson.” The man’s deep voice sent a foreboding tremor down Jaymee’s spine. He extended his hand. His eyes were a pretty blue, a familiar…
Jaymee stilled. The man in the picture she’d seen at Stanley’s stood in front of her. “Wyatt Booth, CEO of Norton Investments.”
“Stanley’s visitor.” Jaymee tried to be polite even though he was the source of much of Roselea’s squabbling these past months.
“That’s right,” Stanley said. “Guess we’ll get a hotel, preferably out of town.”
“It’s all settled,” Booth said. “Mayor Asher has offered to put us up.”
“How nice of him,” Dani said. “I’m sure he’s worried about his son since Dylan’s a volunteer firefighter.”
Jaymee’s brain was still rebooting. Of course Dylan would be out there fighting the fire. Damn. I hope he’s all right.
“He is,” Booth said. “And very worried about the town.” His calculating eyes were mesmerizing, and Jaymee got the feeling he knew how to manipulate people. “Much of the fire at the house is under control,” Booth continued. “But with the speed and force of the blaze, the fire marshal believes an accelerant was used. Do you have any enemies, Miss Ballard?”
“I—what?”
“I wasn’t there,” Stanley said. “But you were. Whoever started the fire waited until that moment.”
“But her car was in the garage,” Dani said. “I assume that’s where yours would have been. Since it’s your house, I’d guess you had the enemy.”
“Unless you set it yourself.” The words popped out of Jaymee’s mouth before she could stop them. Whoops. So much for politeness and decorum. Oh well. Treading lightly wasn’t exactly her strongest trait.
“Excuse me?” Stanley’s thin face twisted into a weasel-like expression.
No sense in backtracking. “My boyfriend is missing. You were questioned by the police.” Dani’s nails dug into her hand. Jaymee got the message. She wouldn’t mention her findings. “Then your house catches fire with me in it. Maybe you think I know whatever Nick did.”
“I saved your life,” Stanley snapped. “At risk to my own.”
“Because you had to. Other people were around.” That thought only just occurred to her. Maybe Stanley hadn’t counted on her being upstairs and had assumed she’d die from the smoke before anyone heard her scream. Her snooping might have saved her life. She’d have to remind Cage of that next time he got on her ass.
“This is a lousy way to show your gratitude. And for all I know, you set the fire and screwed up.”
“Now Joe,” Booth admonished. His voice was the perfect contrast to Stanley’s knife-like accusations. Warm and soothing. The carefully practiced speech of a politician. He studied Jaymee with a silent question in his eyes. This man didn’t miss much. “This young lady’s been through a lot. Let’s give her some leeway. As for your boyfriend, it’s Nick Samuels, isn’t it? The reporter out of
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