Twisted Fire (24 page)

“
Why?”

“
I won’t be tossed aside again.”

“
You think that’s what I’ll do to you?” Her full lips pursed as the crinkle between her eyes appeared.

“
Maybe. You told me you’d never had anything but casual relationships.”

“
Before you that was true.” He suddenly became aware of how close they were, how her legs still held him to her, her arms entwined around his neck. His hands still cupped her head beneath her hair.

“
When I thought you’d betrayed me and then when you were unconscious, I found out what it would be like to live without you. It was almost more than I could take.”

“
It was like that for me too when you wouldn’t talk to me.”

“
I don’t know if I can trust you, that you won’t break my heart. It’s easier to try to move on now rather than later, when my feelings will only be stronger, if that’s even possible.” With reluctance he lowered his hands. He couldn’t think when he was touching her.

“
Why do you think I’ll do that to you? I have never cheated on anyone, ever. I wouldn’t do that, especially to you.”

“
Yeah, you’ll just leave me first.”

“
What?” She pulled away as though she’d been slapped. His defence went back up.

“
You’ve never been serious about anyone before. Why would now be any different?”

“
I can’t believe you are saying this to me, that you assume this about me, about us.”

She pulled herself back on the bed trying to drag her heavy cast and herself away from him.

“
Who was at the clinic with you?”

“
I already told you I didn’t know anyone was there.”

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I just don’t know what to think, Charlotte.”

The same puzzled expression filled her face and he wanted to believe her.

“
Get out,” she said in a tone he’d never heard from her. It was like being shot all over again but this time the pain didn’t feel like it was going to fade.

“
I … Charlotte … God, what are you doing to me?” he said in frustration running his hands through his hair.

“
Please, just leave me alone. I think maybe it would be better if I don’t stay here after all and go home like I’d planned.”

“
I don’t want you to leave.” He stood up.

“
You can’t have it both ways, Jared. You think about what you really want - either you love me or you live without me altogether, but I can’t stay here and … and … ”

“
I won’t touch you again unless I’m helping you.”

“
That’s the problem. Now leave me alone and let me know what you decide.” She rolled onto her side to face away from him. It hurt far too much to look at him.

* * *

As Jared strode outside to try and clear his head, his phone rang.

“
Yeah.”

“
Bad time?” Lucas replied.

“
No, it’s OK. Just women.”

“
I hear that, but it’s worth it.”

“
Hmm.”

“
Anyway, the reason I’m calling is we have received the files regarding Stevens and the arsons in Newberry. We have compared them with our investigations and they seem to correspond. The ME was also able to obtain fingerprints from the body and they match the prints on file, so either Stevens started the fire or he was murdered. Dr Shaw’s mystery disappearance has me very suspicious. Shaw doesn’t have a record, so we have no prints on file for comparison.”

“
You think he might be Stevens?”

“
It’s possible, aliases are used all the time. The other option is he is involved somehow and has done a runner, although he may not be involved at all. It is all speculation at the moment. The file, of course, was missing a photo and we’re waiting for them to chase one up for us in Newberry. Of course when we get it we will know if Shaw is Stevens. If it isn’t him, the question will then be where is he and why has he gone AWOL? Until we know we have to be cautious as he may want to finish what he started.”

“
Let’s say the body is him or he’s involved. Why would he try and kill Charlotte?” Jared paced as he spoke, agitated and concern tying him in knots.

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Who knows? Maybe because she rejected him.”

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So she claims.”

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Claims? She’s telling the truth.”

“
She might be.”

“
Man, I thought I was pig-headed.”

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I have my reasons.”

“
Fair enough. Anyway, I thought I would update you. I wanted to bring the files around for you to look at, see whether Stevens’ firebug background or MO in Newberry can help us here. If the signature of the arsons seems similar, we may have a closed case. If it appears Stevens is the arsonist, then we can assume he got caught in the fire. If he isn’t Shaw, the puzzling thing is why he would target Charlotte? That is why it would make more sense for it to be him as he would have a motive, even if it is a flimsy one. But, as I said, until we find Shaw or get the photo … ”

“
We don’t need to tell Charlotte who we suspect, do we? She’s not in the best of moods.”

“
What did you do?”

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What makes you think I did anything, Hudson?”

“
Summerville women become … challenging when provoked.”

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Yeah, well, she certainly has my head spinning.”

“
Is that so bad?”

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Don’t know.”

“
You don’t know much, do you?” Lucas said laughing.

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Not when it comes to Charlotte.”

“
Hmm, well anyway, I’ll be there in half an hour with the files.”

Jared went into Charlotte’s room hesitantly and found her curled in a ball on the bed.

“
That was fast,” she said. “Do you start packing for me now?”

“
No, you’re not going anywhere.” She sat up and winced when she leant on her sore arm.

“
What do you want?” Her face held the same frost as her voice.

“
The victim has been identified and Lucas is coming around with the files from the arsons in Newberry. He wants to see whether you know him, to see if they can work out why you were targeted.”

“
What’s his name?”

“
Michael Stevens.”

“
Don’t know him.” Now she was being inflexible.

“
Do you know anyone in Newberry?

“
No.”

“
Lucas is suspicious about Shaw’s disappearance.”

“
Are you trying to say that Lucas thinks Dr Shaw is Michael Stevens?”

“
I’m not trying to say anything. I just thought you might know him. Lucas is waiting on the Newberry Police to send a photo. When they do, will you look at it to see if you know him?”

“
I suppose.”

Lucas arrived about half an hour later and Jared decided they should talk on the patio. Lucas handed the files he was carrying to Jared.

“
There, it isn’t much but you know more about arsonists than I do.”

“
No problem, I’ll look them over and let you know.” He paused. “Damn.”

“
What is it?” Lucas asked.

“
I forgot to check on out of state arsons, to cover the five year break.”

“
It’s OK, we have looked into it and found a couple of possible cases. Once again we are waiting for the detectives to get back to us. There aren’t any solved cases, just cold ones. With cold cases it all takes time.”

Jared shook his head in frustration. “Clever bastard, moving around.”

“
It happens more than you would think, making it all the harder for us. For now we have to focus on the cases we think are the same and the next thing we have to find out is how the Newberry victims and our three, along with Charlotte, link to our suspect. If Shaw isn’t Stevens we need to work out how they are connected to him.”

“
Let’s say we find out its Shaw as it isn’t too much of a stretch. Why would he try to kill her? All she apparently did was reject him.”

“
I’ve seen people murder for less.” Jared shook his head, it didn’t make sense to him.

“
Charlotte didn’t go out with him, though.” Jared stopped and a dark look came into his eyes. “There must have been something going on between them after all.”

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Why?”

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He went after her for dumping him or perhaps for seeing me at the same time.”

“
We don’t know the killer’s motivations yet. According to the other girls' files from Newberry, only one of these girls actually had a relationship with him. We don’t know if the others knew him. We interviewed the families and they didn’t know Stevens or Shaw. Perhaps they hardly knew him and they refused him like Charlotte did, if of course, it is Shaw. Perhaps none of the victims knew him at all and they were all random. So many maybes until we know.”

Jared didn’t want to think about the why anymore. It agitated him. “The way this fire was started was different.”

“
As it was his clinic, he might have tried to make it seem like an accident. What he didn’t count on was us finding out who he really is, once again, if it is Shaw. Now we just have to wait for the photo and find out if it’s actually him. At the moment we are only speculating and going around in circles. Either way, Charlotte could still be a target.”

“
I’ll protect her.”

“
I know.” He paused. “What’s going on Jared?”

“
Nothing.” Lucas’s scrutinising gaze caused Jared to walk to the rail and turn away from his disapproval.

“
Why?”

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I don’t trust her fickle heart.”

Lucas joined him but Jared stared at the ocean in the distance. “She was like that, before she met you, but I’ve seen a different girl since then. Don’t forget she was living at our house.”

“
I’ve seen that girl too but I’ve had a taste of what it would be like if she left, and I didn’t like it.”

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I was scared too but I took a chance and now I’m the happiest man in the world.”

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Chelsea is different.”

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Not really, just a bit more prim and proper on the outside.” He smiled. “They’re not as different as they appear, at the core.”

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Let’s just concentrate on finding Shaw and I’ll deal with my feelings for Charlotte later.”

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OK, your call, but I wouldn’t push for too long. You might push her too far.”

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Rather now than later.”

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That’s what I thought too until I thought I wouldn’t see Chelsea again. That was harder to deal with than how afraid I was to get close to her.”

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That is why I’m keeping her here.”

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You don’t know if you can be in a relationship with her but you don’t want her to leave?” Lucas shook his head.

“
Something like that.”

“
That is really selfish, Jared. What about her feelings?”

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Maybe she’ll make them known.”

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Are you blind? She wears them on her sleeve.” Lucas shook his head again. “Anyway, I’d better get back to the station.”

After Lucas had gone, Jared thought about what he should do. He realised Charlotte had a lot of people who believed in her, maybe he should too. After kissing her today he didn’t want to go on without her any longer but was too afraid to admit he was in love with her.

Chapter 26

Caution

Charlotte thought about Jared's words regarding Dr Shaw and she couldn’t comprehend them. Why would he try to kill her - because she’d rejected him? If she killed all the guys who rejected her, she would be spending a long time in prison.

Right at this moment she was having murderous thoughts about Jared, but to kill over something so trivial was just extreme. She couldn’t believe she’d been working for a maniac. Why would he kill this Stevens? It had to be Dr Shaw and he got caught in the fire he created. Then again why target her? This confused her most of all. Rejection seemed a totally ridiculous reason to kill someone.