“Yes,” she says, but steps into my embrace anyway, her body rigid against mine.
“There’s an explanation for this,” I whisper.
“And it’s not a good one,” Seton says, softening into my arms.
“We don’t know that.”
“We do, though.”
I cough.
“Are you okay?” Seton asks into my shoulder.
“Mostly.”
“I’ll give you a ride home.”
“You should stay here. Hadley can take me.”
“I could use a break.” Seton pushes away from me. “And don’t mess with my reputation, Charlie Kilgore. I can’t get teary-eyed where the nurses might see. They’ll never let me forget it.”
She marches out of the room to the elevator, punching at the down button before giving up and taking the stairs. I trot after her as we make our way through the hospital and outside. Once Seton reaches her cruiser, she covers her face with her hands and sobs, and I know her well enough to let her be till she swipes at her eyes with a fist. “If you tell one person about this—”
“I know. You’ll kill me,” I say, glancing at the clock on the dashboard. It’s after five. I was in the ER all day. “We could go to the Landing for a drink.”
Seton blows her nose. “I can only be away for so long. Gilcrest must be ready to make an arrest.”
“Gilcrest came by when I was in the ER. He asked me if I ran into a tree.”
“He’s covering his bases,” Seton says as she starts the car and pulls into downtown Kingston. It’s a bigger town than Hero, with a main street lined with restaurants and shops and an extensive marina. “If you ran into a tree,” she adds, “then Gilcrest doesn’t need to explain who else was at the scene, and there wouldn’t be reasonable doubt over who started the fire. He could focus on building the case against my mom. But he’s a good cop, I’ll give him that. He won’t go for the easy close. I told him he couldn’t speak to my mom without a lawyer. And I don’t know why you’re being nice to me after what happened today.”
Seton’s been nice to me my whole life, despite the events we try not to discuss. I owe her more than she knows. “It’s not likeyoustarted the fire,” I say. “How well do you know Gilcrest, anyway?”
“Our paths have crossed a few times. My department works with the state cops pretty often, and this is his county. They handle major crimes.” Seton steers around a pair of bikers pedaling in tandem. “My father’s murder made Gilcrest’s career. The state cops scooped him up right away and promoted him after that other detective drowned. And he’s been prancing around in his fancy suits ever since.”
A few moments later, she approaches the turnoff for Burkehaven, where the scent of smoke hangs in the air. She pulls to the side of the road and asks, “Hadley stays at that house there when she’s here, right?”
“At the bungalow? Yeah. She takes care of the flower beds, and it gives her some space away from the rest of us.”
“I listened to your 9-1-1 call. You were efficient, appropriately upset.”
“Works in my favor?” I ask.
Seton glances toward the bungalow. “Inyourfavor, yes,” she says.
The 9-1-1 log would show that the call came in from the landline at the bungalow. And I suspect Seton’s wondering now why it took Hadley so long to arrive at the scene, which I’ve wondered myself. There couldbe any number of explanations. Maybe Hadley sleeps in the nude. Or maybe she didn’t want to talk to her annoying nephew at the crack of dawn. Or maybe she’d driven to the Landing for coffee. I won’t offer a theory unless Seton asks. Thankfully, she pulls onto the lane, pressing the accelerator and mumbling, “Bungalow,” under her breath. “That’s not like any bungalow I’ve ever seen. It must have five bedrooms.”
It has eight, but they’re small. Plus, there’s the little studio out back.
“I wouldn’t mind living in thatbungalow,” Seton says as she jerks to a stop beside Reid’s Audi. I follow her gaze to where Reid stretches on the dock before his afternoon swim.
“Does he always wear a Speedo?” she asks.
“He has one for every day of the month,” I say.
“At least he wears it well. I’ve seen much worse giving tickets at the town beach.” Seton closes her eyes. “I need to find a lawyer.”
“Ask Paul,” I say. “He doesn’t do criminal law, but he must have someone to refer.”
