I’m still not convinced two fires so close to each other in time and proximity can be a coincidence.So, I want to see if he can shed some light on the auto shop fire at least.
By the time I pull my shirt back on and grab my coat from the chair, she is back at the window, her arms folded around herself.
“Bess…”
She swings around, a tight smile on her lips and a blush on her cheeks.
“I’m sorry I got carried away,” she says in a soft voice.
Two steps bridge the gap and I cup her face with my hand.
“Don’t you dare apologize for the best fucking make-out session I can remember.But I have to warn you, there’s no turning back now I’ve had a taste, Twinkie.”
As much as she’s trying to keep a straight face, I can see the light twitch at the corner of her mouth.A mouth I quickly press a hard kiss to before I reluctantly let her go.
But before I walk out, I feel the need to share one more thought.
“For the record, I’ve never just seen a quiet, simple coffee shop owner.That’s what you do, not who you are.”
Chapter13
Hugo
“It wasn’t me.”
“You said that before,” I remind him, trying to keep the interview moving forward.
Chance Tanek insisted his brother be present while I question him.I don’t have an issue with Clem, who thus far has been listening and not contributing, but his brother keeps turning to him with the repeated claims of his innocence when I need to keep him focused on my questions.
“You were mentioning you stopped by Strange Brew first on that day,” I prompt him, turning him back to the day of the fire.
“Every day, ’cept Sundays ’cause she’s closed.I go there in the morning, before the place gets busy, and she usually has a paper baggie for me with some food.”
Of course she does.
It doesn’t surprise me in the least, Bess is known for her kindness and generosity.
“So she gave you food that morning?”
He nods.“Yeah, because I remember heading over to the garage.When it’s cold I take the food to eat it in the small storage room at the back.Nobody goes in there.”
For the first time Clem pipes up.
“I just use it for old junk and file storage, but it’s usually locked.”Then he turns to his brother.“How’d you get in?”
Chance lowers his eyes and focuses on his trembling hands restlessly fidgeting with the edge of the sheet.
“I kept the key, but I don’t know where it is now.It must’ve fallen when I was running.Dropped my food too.”
“Running?”I attempt to pick up the thread again.“Why were you running?”
“From the guy with the gun.”
I know Chance probably can’t help the way his mind skips all over the timeline I’m trying to pry from his alcohol-poisoned brain, but I just want to shake him.To think I left a hot-blooded woman wrapped around me for this.
“Whoa, back up a little.Where was the guy with the gun?”
“At the back of the garage,” he explains.“I was just about to unlock the storage room when he came jogging out the back door.A second later, I had a gun pointed at me.I dropped everything and took off.”
