Mabel’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “You arenottelling me you had anything to do with this mess.”
She shook her head violently. “Nope. No. Definitely not. It’s just I don’t want Kellen to think we had anything to do with this. You know how suspicious he is.”
The sergeant gave her the scary eyes, then sighed. “All right. But if there’s anything I need to know about this particular fire that looks like it was caused by a lone, intoxicated, hormonal lunatic, I’d appreciate a courtesy call.”
On cue, Lance started howling about spiders from the back seat of a nearby police cruiser.
“Absolutely,” Riley said. Her eyes were so wide she was afraid they were going to pop out of her head.
“You all better get out of here before anyone gets the wrong idea,” Mabel said.
Riley glanced over her shoulder, where her Jeep was blocked in by two fire trucks and an ambulance.
Dammit.
She started back toward her friends, then stopped and pulled out her phone.
Riley: Finger belongs to Wilson Trots, FDA auditor.
Nick: Damn, Thorn! Did your woo-woo come back online?
Riley: I wish. Ran into Mabel Jones at a fire in Camp Hill. Don’t ask.
Her phone rang instantaneously, and Nick’s dimples flashed across the screen.
“Uh, hi,” she answered.
“Byfire, you better mean you’re at some bonfire with a bunch of drunk college kids and not an actual fire,” Nick said.
“I told you not to ask,” she reminded him.
“I’m definitely locking you in the Creepy, Smelly Closet when you get home.”
“Well, that might be a while. I’m parked in by half of the rescue vehicles in Cumberland County.”
“You want a ride? I can take a break here and be there in ten.”
“No. You keep working on your end. We’ll get a ride. Oh, and don’t mention to Weber that Mabel was the finger source. Or that we’re at a fire. You know how suspicious he gets.”
Nick’s sigh sounded like a Category Three hurricane. “Fine.”
“Are you guys making any progress digging into Lucore?”
“It’s slow going with Weber being a dick about Brian hacking into their corporate servers. Doing things by the book is stupid and annoying.”
“Poor baby,” Riley teased.
“Keep an eye out for a big guy with extra fingers. I don’t want my girl getting herself into any more dangerous situations.”
A window shattered on the second floor, raining glass down onto the driveway. “No problem. I better go. I love you.”
“Love you too, Thorn,” he said with affection. “But I’m totally locking you in the closet when you get home.”
She disconnected and returned to her friends. Jasmine was flirting with a firefighter, and Jim was still staring at the fire in glassy-eyed delight.
“What was that about?” Josie demanded.
“Nothing,” Riley said, nodding in Jim’s direction. She held up her index finger and wiggled it. Josie got the hint and gave her a cool nod.
