Burned to a Crisp (Cookies & Chance Mysteries Book 3) Page 5

  We waited until she got inside, and then I slid into the front passenger seat across from Brian, thinking about what she'd said. Neither one of us spoke for the first few minutes.

  Finally, he cleared his throat. "I hope there's no trouble between you and Mike."

  "We'll be fine."

  There was another awkward pause. "When's the wedding?"

  Oh, jeez. I really didn't want to discuss this with him, on top of everything else currently going on in my life. "In a couple of weeks."

  Brian grew silent again. "Sally, I wanted you to know that I still—"

  I cut him off, having a premonition of what was coming next. "Brian, please don't say it. I can't deal with this right now."

  His response was to pull the car over to the side of the road and place it in park. I wanted to run and hide as he turned to face me, but we were in a desolate part of town after midnight. Still, I thought being in the car with Brian might be even more dangerous.

  "I'm still in love with you."

  I sucked in some air. Another awkward moment of the day for me. "Brian, nothing ever happened between us. A couple of kisses. How could you possibly be in love with me?"

  "I have been since the first day I laid eyes on you in the bakery. Does that make any sense?"

  Actually it did, for that was the way I'd always felt about Mike, although I chose not to mention it at the moment.

  I rubbed my eyes wearily. "I love Mike and always have. No one else ever stood a chance, not even Colin, to tell you the truth."

  "Do you think Mike's worried you might still have feelings for me?"

  Okay, he clearly wasn't getting it. After everything that had happened tonight, I couldn't believe that Brian—a police officer who was supposed to uphold the law nonetheless—was putting me through this crap.

  I reached deep down inside for some patience, currently in short supply. "Brian, I'd like it if we could be friends. That's all."

  Brian's voice was low and emotional. "But I don't want to be just friends, Sally." He reached across the seat and pulled me into his arms. Furious and stunned, I pushed at his massive chest. The back of his head hit the driver's side window, and I was shocked. From the expression on his face, so was he. I hadn't realized that I possessed so much strength. Maybe it was a result of my newfound anger.

  I edged as far away from him as possible and spoke to my side window. "You need to move on."

  From the corner of my eye, I could see him staring at me, motionless. Finally he turned and meekly put the vehicle in drive, saying nothing. A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of my house. The porch light was on, a welcoming sight. I sat there staring into the night, wondering what I was going to say to the man I loved.

  Brian's voice interrupted my thoughts. "I'm sorry. I can't believe I just did that."

  "I can't believe you did either." I refused to look at him. "What time is the investigator coming by the shop in the morning?"

  "I'll call you first thing and let you know," Brian said. "I'll be glad to help in any way that I can."

  I opened the door. "You've helped enough. Have him call me directly. Thanks for the ride."

  "Sally—"

  My answer was to slam the car door as hard as I could. As I ran across the driveway, I spotted Mike standing on the porch, one hand on the door jamb, the light enhancing his handsome face. He watched me in silence, and then his eyes narrowed on Brian's squad car. Wonderful.

  I approached him cautiously, wondering if it might be his turn to slam the door in my face. "Hi."

  He held the screen door open, allowing me to enter, but said nothing. I reached down to pet Spike, who had come out to greet me. Mike closed and locked the door behind me and set the security alarm. I followed him into the kitchen, where he grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

  "Want one?"

  "No thanks." I waited, but Mike said nothing else. He turned and stared out the window over the kitchen sink, sipping his beer. I glanced at the wall clock. Almost one in the morning. I was bone tired and ached all over. The ache wasn't just physical—it was emotional as well. What on earth had possessed me to do such a thing? I'd never lost control like that before. It was both terrifying and surreal. The only thing I'd accomplished was hurting the man I loved more than life itself.

  I reached out and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I'm sorry. I acted like an idiot."

  Mike didn't move or respond.

  "Please don't be angry with me." I leaned my head against his back.

  He turned around and gathered me into him, brushing a soft kiss across my lips. I could see the unmistakable shadow of pain reflected in his eyes and longed to take it all away.

  "It's okay, Sal. You were upset."

  I buried my face in his chest, relief washing over me as he stroked my hair. "That was wrong of me. I didn't mean to push you away. I need you so much."

  He tipped my chin up so I was forced to look at him. "This is a lot for someone to deal with. I know how much you love your sister—and the shop. But don't shut me out next time, okay? You're going to be my wife very soon, and it's my duty to be here for you, now and hopefully in fifty years too."

  Tears fell from my eyes and blurred his image. "I was so worried you'd be upset with me."

  He swiped his thumb underneath my lashes and spoke quietly. "I'm not going anywhere, Sal. I lost you once. Remember? It took me ten years to get you back. I'm never going to let that happen again."

  A sob escaped my lips as Mike leaned down and kissed me. He crushed me against him as the kiss deepened and became more urgent. Without saying another word, he scooped me up into his arms as if I weighed nothing and carried me down the hallway toward our bedroom.

  "Fifty years isn't enough," I whispered. "I'll love you for eternity."

  CHAPTER FIVE

  My cell phone rang at eight o'clock sharp the next morning, startling me out of a deep dream I couldn't remember. I glanced over at Mike's side of the bed, which was empty, then reached onto the nightstand for my cell, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. I prayed for my sister's name to pop up on the screen, but instead it was Brian's.

  Great. "Yeah?"

  There was a brief pause. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

  "It's all right." My voice sounded shrill. I was still peeved at him after the stunt he had pulled last night. I hadn't told Mike and didn't plan on it. Mike had more self-control these days than I did, but there was no reason to tempt fate.

  "I spoke to the arson investigator," Brian said. "He'll be at the building around nine and would like to speak with you then. Will that work?"

  I jumped out of bed and searched for clean clothes while making a mental note to text Josie. "That's fine. Josie and I will both be there."

  "Have you been in touch with your insurance company yet?"

  "I left a message for them before I went to sleep last night. They have a 24-hour hotline. I'll follow up on my way over to the shop this morning."

  He cleared his throat. "Okay. I don't work until this evening, so I'll be there as well."

  "That's nice of you, but there's really no reason to bother."

  An uncomfortable silence ensued. "Sally, I know you're probably still pissed at me about last night—"

  "Gee, why would I be pissed at you?" I snapped. "A man is dead, my bakery caught fire, and Gianna's missing, but all you cared about was getting cozy in your cop car with me."

  "I'm sorry," Brian said quietly. "I didn't mean for that to happen. Honest." He hesitated. "Did you tell Mike?"

  The shower was running, so I knew Mike couldn't hear our conversation. "No. I didn't tell him—for your sake."

  He laughed out loud. "Well, that's nice of you, but I'm not afraid of Mike."

  Oh, you should be. "Look, I think it's best if we stay away from each other."

  "Your sister is wanted for questioning. A neighbor saw her and Bernardo entering the bakery after closing last night."

  An overwhelming chill of fear ran down my spine. That would
have been after she'd left the party. What the heck had happened? "She didn't do anything, Brian."

  "I wasn't implying she did," he said quietly. "But we do need to speak to Gianna, so please let me know if you hear from her."

  Don't think so. "Sure. No problem."

  "I'll see you in a little while." He disconnected.

  Annoyed, I clicked off and noticed I had a text message. My heart almost leaped out of my chest when I saw who it was from.

  Got your texts and calls. Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Just needed to get out of town. Tell Mom and Dad I'm okay. Love you.

  Gianna.

  I sent up an infinite prayer of thanks to the heavens above and hugged the phone tightly to my chest. Then I checked the time on the text. She'd sent it after three in the morning. Even though I was relieved, I still worried about her and the tone of her message. She'd clearly been upset at the party, and I wondered if something had happened afterward to push her over the edge—maybe related to Bernardo.

  I typed a message back. Where are you? Need to see you. Things to tell. I didn't want to come right out and tell her about Bernardo in a text, or that she no longer had a place to live. Some things were best relayed in person.

  I waited a few minutes, but there was no response. I tried phoning, but my call went directly to voicemail. Something was definitely wrong.

  The door of the bathroom opened, and Mike appeared with a towel wrapped around his waist. He grabbed a pair of jeans out of the closet as I ran toward him and leaped into his arms.

  "Let me get rid of this towel first," he joked.

  "Smart aleck. Gianna's all right. She just texted me."

  He held me close against his bare chest. "You see? I told you she'd be okay."

  I released him and dashed off a quick text to Josie. "But I'm still worried. There's something wrong. I know my sister."

  Mike reached for a T-shirt in the dresser drawer then walked back into the bathroom to shave. "Where is she?"

  I grabbed a towel out of the linen closet for my shower. "Gianna didn't say. I texted her, but she hasn't answered yet."

  He turned his attention back to the bathroom mirror. "At least you know she's all right. She'll come back home soon, and everything will be fine, sweetheart."

  "I hope so." I studied the screen of my phone, as if somehow I could will Gianna to send another message. "Brian called me while you were in the shower. The arson investigator is willing to talk to me in an hour. Can you come too?"

  "Dammit, I can't," Mike said. "I'm meeting a client about a new job."

  "On a Sunday? You never schedule work then."

  He hesitated for a moment. "It was the only time the guy had available, but I can cancel if you really need me. I don't want you going there alone or—excuse me—with doughnut cop. I wouldn't put it past him to try something with you, even though he knows we're engaged."

  Oh, boy. I definitely wasn't telling him about last night now. My phone pinged, and I glanced down at the screen again. "No, that's all right. Josie just texted and said she'll be here to pick me up in forty minutes. We'll probably head over to my parents afterwards if you're able to meet me there."

  He wiped his face with a hand towel and then gazed at me, concern in his eyes. "Sal, maybe you shouldn't do this to yourself. Ask the inspector to call you or wait a couple of days. You haven't even had time to process everything yet. I've seen the damage a fire can do. It was dark last night, and you have no idea how bad the building is going to look today. It's going to break your heart."

  I bit into my lower lip. I knew he was right, but I had to face it sometime. "Can we rebuild the shop? You could do it, right?"

  Mike sighed and reached out to stroke my cheek tenderly. "I don't want to lie to you. It all depends on the extent of the damages. My guess is it would take several weeks at least, maybe longer. Plus, if it is arson, like they suspect, your insurance company might not pay out."

  That stopped me cold. "But—but they have to! There's a mortgage on the building I need to pay. They won't think I did it—will they?"

  "I'm not sure of all the details," Mike said. "Why don't you wait and see what this fellow has to say? Somehow, somewhere, you will have your bakery again, I promise. But for the time being, maybe you and Josie can rent a space. Plus, you're going to need all new equipment too. I've got about twenty grand in the bank. It's yours."

  "No. That's your money," I objected.

  "Wrong. It's our money."

  My throat went tight with tears as I threw my arms around his neck. "Thank you. I hate feeling so helpless right now. But I do have to find another place soon. This isn't just about me. Josie needs the job, and so does Sarah."

  "We'll find something." He motioned toward the shower. "You'd better get moving if you want to get there on time. I'll bring you some coffee."

  I smiled up at him gratefully. The rest of my life might be in shambles, but at least I'd hit the jackpot with this man. "How can I thank you?"

  He grinned wickedly. "I'm sure I can think of something later."

  * * *

  Mike was right. I shouldn't have gone.

  Since we weren't allowed inside the building yet, Josie and I stood helplessly on the lawn, inhaling the remnants of smoke that still lingered in the air. Peering inside, I'd noticed that the firemen had torn down the wall between the front room and the prep area. This had been done last night, Brian explained, to ensure that the fire didn't spread. I couldn't see the entire portion of the back room and wasn't sure I wanted to. I already knew it was probably a total loss, not to mention the thousands of dollars to replace my appliances. The front part of the building wasn't as bad as I'd feared, but the overall picture left me nauseated. I turned away for fear I might be sick.

  Josie and I moved near the shed. She wiped at her eyes and blew her nose into a tissue. "Sal, what are we going to do? I've got to have a job."

  "We'll rent space until I can afford to buy a new building," I said. The question was where, though. For the life of me, I didn't know of any vacant buildings in Colwestern right now. So many questions were jumbled inside my head. What had Bernardo been doing in the bakery alone? What had happened between him and Gianna? Where was my sister now? And last but not least, who had done this?

  Brian and the arson investigator I'd seen last night walked toward us. "Sally, this is Clint Rogers. Clint, Sally Muccio. She's the owner." He gestured toward Josie. "And this is Josie Sullivan, her head baker."

  We all shook hands. Clint tapped his pencil against his clipboard, wrote something down, and then stared up at both of us.

  "Well?" Josie asked impatiently.

  I nudged her slightly in the side with my elbow.

  Clint spoke with a slow Southern drawl. "In my opinion, there's no question about it. There are things that are consistent with the fire being deliberately set."

  Dread as heavy as a mountain settled in the pit of my stomach. "But how? Did they turn on the ovens? I don't understand."

  "Matches or a lighter?" Josie asked.

  He shook his head. "We've seen this before. Pretty common. A fire doesn't usually start in the middle of a bare concrete floor unless someone has used an accelerant. My guess is gasoline. I can tell from the unusual burn patterns. It has to be confirmed in a lab analysis, of course."

  "But why?" I sputtered. "I don't have any enemies. Who would do this to me?"

  Clint ignored my question. "I'll have the report to your insurance company as soon as possible." He turned to Brian. "Sorry to rush off, but I've got another place to investigate. You'll see that I get the details on the autopsy?"

  Brian nodded. "Thanks for coming out."

  Clint cut his eyes to Josie and then back to me. "Sorry about your bakery, ladies." With that, he turned and walked toward his car while still making notes on his clipboard.

  "Gee, thanks for the concern," Josie muttered under her breath.

  Dazed, I watched as Clint got into his vehicle. "Wow. That was quick."


  Brian sighed. "Sally, you have to understand. There's only so much he's going to tell you. For all he knows, you could have been the one to set the place on fire."

  "What?" Josie exploded. "Why the hell would we do something twisted like that?"

  Brian held up a hand. "I know you two didn't have anything to do with the fire. But, sad to say, there are plenty of times when the owner has played a part. Maybe someone's in debt and trying to get out from under. The business might not be doing well, so they think they'll collect on the building. I could give you half a dozen different scenarios."

  This was all too much for me to absorb right now. "I don't believe this. It's bad enough that my place was torched, and now they think I might have committed the deed?"

  Brian put a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched. His face reddened, and he removed it quickly. "There are other possibilities. Bernardo might have been the intended victim, not your bakery. Maybe someone followed him here. That would really stink for you guys—a rotten twist of fate, so to speak."

  I glanced at Josie. For some reason I was thinking about those blasted fortune cookies again. "So you're saying someone might have deliberately set the fire to kill Bernardo?"

  "We're going to have to wait until we hear from the coroner's office," Brian replied, "and discover exactly how he died. There's a chance I might have the results tonight. Would you like me to stop over at your house after I get the report?"

  I was tempted to say no, but the urge to find out what had really happened surpassed everything else. "I'd appreciate that. Thank you."

  He watched me closely. "Have you heard anything from Gianna?"

  I debated about how much to tell him. "Yes, earlier this morning. She texted me and said she needed to get away for a while. Brian, she doesn't have anything to do with this mess."

  He leaned against the shed and watched me, the sun reflecting off his fine, blond hair. "Where is she?"

  "She didn't say."

  Brian held out his hand. "Can I see the text?"

  I stepped back from him, furious. "No, you can't see the text. Maybe you should get a court order, and then I'll let you see it."