“Right.”
“So you think—?”
“We don’t know what to think,” said Hansen, cutting me off. “What doyouthink?”
I sighed and leaned back in the chair, wishing I had a stiff drink to take the edge off. “I think the timing is uncanny,” I said honestly. “And when I think about the unexpected visits and drop-ins, there’s an entirely different vibe now. She’s a hard read.”
“I agree,” said Chief Davis. “We’ve spoken about an arsonist in the area, someone trying to get attention, but we never considered someone could be seeking revenge.”
Silence settled over the room. None of us knew what to say. If Amanda was guilty, this was a big deal, and she could be more dangerous than ever.
“Where is she then?” I asked. “What do we do? Call the police? Report her? We have no proof.”
“No, we don’t. Not yet, anyway.” Hansen sighed and wiped the palms of his hands on his pants, looking at me. “There’s nothing we can do until she’s proven a suspect. Except maybe try and get it out of her ourselves.”
“Yeah, because that worked out so well the first time,” I grumbled, thinking of Jake Finn, the recruit a few years back who was working with the mayor to frame Paisley and get her put behind bars. He’d seemed like such a good kid, but his willingness to throw another recruit under the bus and into the line of danger had backfired on him. An arsonist was dangerous, and they often didn’t care who was injured or killed in the process. But would we be so lucky again?
“I don’t think the woman is stable,” Chief Davis said. “And I think she could potentially be very dangerous. We need to keep our eyes open, and our doors locked.”
“When is the last time she came around?” I asked. “Has she visited the station recently?”
“Not since you saw her here last,” said Hansen. “When the second fire started, we didn’t see her again. What a coincidence, right?”
“Peyton said she was at her mother’s house the other day,” I said quietly. “She’s working as a home nurse for Susan.”
“So, she’s still around. She hasn’t bailed yet.”
“Yeah.” Considering this, I leaned forward in my seat and rested my elbows on my thighs. “Do we think that Amanda is dangerous?”
“Possibly.”
“What do we do about it?”
“Hope she gives us a reason to suspect her,” said Chief Davis. “Otherwise, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Chapter34
Peyton
I woke the following day in an empty bed, checking my phone. Korbin had texted me sometime in the night to let me know that he had some things and wouldn’t be home by the time I had to go to work. I got dressed and headed to the clinic to take my mind off Korbin and put it on my patients instead. Even that didn’t seem to distract me enough from the cloud of doom that seemed to hang over my head for no good reason.
“Hey, are you okay?” Maggie asked, joining me in the staff lounge during our lunch break. Usually, Korbin would have shown up with food or to take me to lunch, but I hadn’t heard from him, which worried me more. It wasn’t like him. Something was going on, and I had no idea what it was.
“I’m great,” I lied, picking at the ramen noodles I’d stashed in the cupboard weeks ago. “Just tired. I haven’t been sleeping well.”
“Too much fucking?” Maggie asked bluntly, and it was so funny coming from her lips that both of us laughed, making me feel slightly better than I had in days.
“I wish that was the case,” I told her. “But no, it’s just been a weird couple of days. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Are things good with you and Korbin?” Maggie asked. “Do you regret moving in?”
“Not even a little,” I told her honestly. “It’s been wonderful. Now that he’s back at work, I don’t get to see him as much, but it’s nice. I think it’s a perfect balance, really.”
“Do you miss Denver?”
“I miss my friends and old coworkers,” I said with a shrug. “But otherwise, not really.”
Maggie got up to wash her dish in the sink, setting it in the drainer to dry. “I just have to say that we really love having you here,” she said with a grin. “This place was lacking in the social department before you came along. You’ve brought a whole new vibe that people really like.”
