"You have your own key?" Franks asked.
"Well, no. Tom had one in his office. Sometimes he'd run out of stuff and Kathy would let one of his chefs go in and get what they needed. I just grabbed the key while I was in Tom's office that afternoon. In fact, I still have the key at home. I guess that won't matter now with the whole building gone." Hillary closed her eyes. "I hadn't even thought about the cake with everything else going on."
"Can you explain what you did in detail once you entered the bakery?" Franks asked.
"Why?" Hillary narrowed her eyes. "Why would that matter?"
"It's just a question. We're trying to cover all our bases." Amy smiled, her voice calm and friendly. "Did you know where the cake was when you went into the building?"
Hillary looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Did you have to look for the cake, or did you know where it would be kept when the store was closed?" Amy asked.
"Oh, well, I knew kind of where to look. She keeps cakes either in the first fridge or in the walk-in. I found it in the first fridge. I pulled it out, put it in a box, then left the building." Hillary's hand seemed to tighten on the tissue she was holding.
"So, you didn't look for anything else or touch anything else in the bakery that day? You didn't sneak a cookie or two, or look at cupcakes?" Franks asked.
"No, I wanted a cake. I had no reason to look at the other products."
"What about the ovens or things like that? Did you touch them?" Franks leaned forward, his arms folded on the table as he gave Hillary a hard stare, daring her to lie to him.
"No, of course not. Why would I bother with the ovens?"
This was where Franks was glad, he didn't have to be honest with her. He could let her think they had more evidence than they did. "So, your fingerprints wouldn't be on any of the ovens. Maybe on the knobs that turn the gas on?"
Hillary shook her head. "I don't know why they would."
"Funny thing is that Kathy Willgrow swears her ovens were turned off when she left for the day, but somehow, they got turned back on after she left. You were the only person that was seen going into the bakery after hours. In fact, your own daughter saw you go in there. Let me ask you again, Mrs. Hilton, will we find your fingerprints on any of the equipment other than that first fridge you mentioned?"
Hillary didn't answer.
"Truth is, you knew that Sweet Things was once part of the main building where Desorio's is and a wall was put up between them to make room for the bakery, right? You know that there is a shared space above both businesses. Want to tell us why you messed with the gas in Sweet Things that afternoon? We already know you were in there around four, and I'm sure they are pulling fingerprints from the knobs and gas lines as we speak." Franks had no clue if fingerprints would even survive an explosion or if any of the parts still existed to get prints from, but Hillary probably knew less than he did. He was counting on her fear and guilt to push her to admit what he was pretty sure she'd done.
Hillary wiped tears from her eyes. These tears appeared real. Not fake like earlier. These tears weren't from grief, butfear. "I begged him to take a night off. Do you know how many times I'd ask him to take time off for his family? All the damn time. He never would. The only thing that mattered to him was that stupid restaurant." She looked at Amy as if she might understand. "I didn't mean to blow everything up. I just thought someone would smell the gas, think there was a leak, and they'd have to close down for the night. I just wanted Tom to go to dinner with us. I never thought…" She ducked her head and cried harder. "I think I need a lawyer." Hillary's voice was barely a whisper now.
Amy stood and pulled her cuffs from her back pocket. "Hillary Hilton, you are under arrest for arson, attempted murder, and murder. Please stand and put your hands behind your back."
Hillary's head snapped up. "Murder?"
"Eight people died because of what you did, and others are still fighting for their lives as we speak. I'm sure there will be several charges added as the investigation goes on. Now please stand." Amy went to stand behind Hillary.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Hillary cried as she stood, her legs shaking as she moved to stand beside her chair.
"You got her?" Franks asked Amy.
"I'll arrange transport to the jail and meet you back in the office," Amy told him.
"Jail? Wait, what about my lawyer?" Hillary voice trembled as Amy locked the cuffs on her.
"You'll get your phone call once you're at the jail." Amy met Franks' gaze across the room.
Neither of them were happy. They got answers, but that didn't make up for the deaths or injuries that this woman's actions had brought on.
Franks grabbed his folder, then Amy's from the table. He didn't dare speak. The woman had nearly cost Angus his life. Shehad killed others. And for what? To spend time with a husband who she would never be able to spend time with again thanks to her actions. Nodding to Amy as she walked Hillary out the door, Franks took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to write his report and tell the public people were dead because a woman was jealous of her husband's job.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Lance smiled at Betty as she sat beside Angus's hospital bed. Like him, she barely took her eyes off Angus. It was as if they were both scared that his spirit might float from his body again. It had been long enough since Betty had left Angus's side that it probably wouldn't happen, but Lance couldn't push that fear completely away. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to.
